Module 11

Front 1

sensation

Back 1

in process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment

Front 2

perception

Back 2

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

Front 3

bottom-up processing

Back 3

analysis that begins whith the sense receptors and works up to the brain's integration and sensory information

Front 4

top-down processing

Back 4

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

Front 5

psychophysics

Back 5

the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them

Front 6

absolute threshold

Back 6

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Front 7

signal detection theory

Back 7

a theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus ("signal") amid background stimulation ("noise"). Assumes that there is no single absolute threshold and that detection depends partly on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and level of fatigue

Front 8

subliminal

Back 8

below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness

Front 9

difference threshold

Back 9

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference

Front 10

Weber's law

Back 10

the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)

Front 11

sensory adaptation

Back 11

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Front 12

selective atention

Back 12

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, as in the cocktail party effect