Psychology Test 2 - Chapter 6

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Questions and Answers

What is the difference between sensations and perception?

Sensation involves bringing in information through the five senses. Perception is how our brains make sense of this information.

What is bottom-up processing?

Bottom-up processing is when receptors register information about the external environment and send it up to the brain for analysis and interpretation.

What real-life example is bottom-up processing good for?

Situations where thinking first would be dangerous, inefficient, or difficult to do.

Where does bottom-up processing begin?

It starts with body sensations which lead to emotion and then to the brain where cognition occurs. Signup and view all the answers

Bottom-up processing is generally a slow process which explains why it seldom occurs.

False (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is top-down processing?

Top-down processing refers to how our brain makes use of information that has already been processed by the sensory systems. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of bottom-up processing? (Select all that apply)

Taking a step backwards when someone walks into your personal space (A), All are correct (B), Ducking when a ball is about to hit you in the head (D), Staring at the refrigerator contents until something strikes you as appealing (E) Signup and view all the answers

Top-down processing is associated with which area of psychology?

Sensation and perception Signup and view all the answers

An example of top-down processing is:

Reciting your favorite poem in your head (D) Signup and view all the answers

The phrase top-down refers to what?

It refers to the idea that information flows from higher level cognitive processes down to lower level processes. Signup and view all the answers

What three steps make up the process of sensation?

Reception, Transduction, Transmission. Signup and view all the answers

What is absolute threshold?

The minimum level of stimulus intensity needed to detect a stimulus half the time. Signup and view all the answers

What is difference threshold?

The minimum difference needed for a person to detect a change half the time. Signup and view all the answers

What is Weber's Law?

Weber's Law states that for two stimuli to be perceived as different, they must differ by a minimum percentage. Signup and view all the answers

What is perceptual set?

What we expect to see, which influences what we do see. Signup and view all the answers

How does light pass through the eye?

Light passes through the cornea and the pupil, gets focused and inverted by the lens, and lands on the retina. Signup and view all the answers

Why does a blind spot occur?

Because the eye has no receptor cells at the place where the optic nerve leaves the eye. Signup and view all the answers

What does Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (Three-Color) Theory state?

There are three types of color receptor cones: red, green, and blue. Signup and view all the answers

What is perceptual adaptation?

The ability to adjust and function after sensory information is distorted. Signup and view all the answers

________________ refers to more intense sound vibrations.

Amplitude Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

Sensation and Perception

Sensation involves gathering information through the five senses, while perception is the brain's interpretation of that information.
Bottom-up processing begins with sensory receptors registering external stimuli, sending data up to the brain for analysis.
Top-down processing utilizes pre-existing knowledge and cognition to interpret sensory information received from the environment.

Bottom-Up Processing

Effective in situations where immediate reaction is necessary, such as ducking from an object to avoid danger.
Starts with body sensations, leading to emotional responses before cognitive processing occurs in the brain.
It is a rapid process, occurring often and frequently outside of conscious awareness.

Top-Down Processing

Involves higher-level cognitive functions, with the brain using previously acquired sensory information to inform interpretation.
Associated with the fields of sensation and perception in psychology.
An example is reciting a favorite poem mentally rather than reading it.

Sensation Process

Comprises three steps:
- Reception: Activation of sensory receptors by energy (e.g., sound, light).
- Transduction: Conversion of this energy into neural impulses.
- Transmission: Sending these neural signals to the brain for processing.

Thresholds

Absolute threshold: The minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.
Difference threshold: The smallest detectable difference between stimuli, also known as just noticeable difference (JND).

Weber's Law

Principle providing that perceived differences in stimuli correlate to minimum percentage differences:
- Weight: 2%
- Light intensity: 8%
- Sound frequency: 0.3%

Perception Concepts

Perceptual set: Expectations that influence perception and interpretation of sensory information; an example of top-down processing.
Blind spot: Area where the optic nerve exits the eye, lacking receptor cells, resulting in a gap in visual perception.

Vision and Light Processing

Light enters through the cornea and pupil, is focused by the lens, and then reaches the retina, where it undergoes transduction into neural impulses.
The lens can change shape to focus on objects at varying distances, a process known as accommodation.

Color Vision

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory posits three types of cones for color vision: red, green, blue, with all colors stemming from their combinations.

Sensory Adaptation

Perceptual adaptation allows individuals to adjust to distorted sensory input, such as new glasses or delayed audio, facilitating functioning despite initial disorientation.