 | Term | Definition |
| |
sensation |
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment |
| |
perception |
the process of organizing and interpreting information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events |
| |
bottom-up processing |
analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information |
| |
top-down processing |
information processing guided by the higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations |
| |
psychophysics |
the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them |
| |
absolute threshold |
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time |
| |
signal detection theory |
a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation. Assumes their is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue |
| |
subliminal |
below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness |
| |
priming |
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response |
| |
difference threshold |
the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference |
