Sensation and Perception Test

Schema

A mental framework that organizes and interprets information based on past experience.

Concept

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

Prototype

The best or most typical example of a concept (like a robin for “bird”).

Perceptual Sets

A mental tendency to perceive things one way and not another, based on expectations, context, or past experience.

Closure

The Gestalt principle that we fill in gaps to see a complete, whole object.

Figure/Ground

The organization of the visual field into a focal object (figure) that stands out from its background (ground).

Proximity

The Gestalt tendency to group objects that are close together.

Similarity

The Gestalt tendency to group objects that look alike (same color, shape, size).

Monocular Cues

Depth cues that only need one eye.

Relative Size

If two objects are assumed to be the same size, the one that looks smaller is perceived as farther away.

Linear Perspective

Parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance (like train tracks). The more they converge, the farther away they seem.

Interposition

When one object partially blocks another, the blocking object is seen as closer.

Relative Clarity

Hazy, blurry objects look farther away than sharp, clear ones.

Texture Gradient

Textures look coarse and detailed up close and finer and smoother as distance increases.

Binocular Cues

Depth cues that need both eyes, such as retinal disparity and convergence.

Perceptual Constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging (in size, shape, color, brightness) even when the sensory input changes.

Bottom-Up Processing

Perception that starts with the raw sensory input and builds up to a whole (data-driven).

Top-Down Processing

Perception guided by prior knowledge, expectations, and experience, which shape how we interpret sensory input (concept-driven).

Transduction

Converting physical energy from stimuli (light, sound, etc.) into neural signals the brain can use.

Absolute Threshold

The minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time.

Difference Threshold (Just Noticeable Difference / JND)

The minimum difference between two stimuli that a person can detect 50% of the time.

Weber’s Law

To be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage, not a constant amount.

Signal Detection Theory

A theory that predicts how and when we detect a faint stimulus (signal) amid background noise, depending on both the stimulus strength and the person’s experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.

Subliminal Stimulation

Stimuli below the absolute threshold that you can’t consciously detect but may still influence you.

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, which predisposes perception, memory, or response.

Sensory Adaptation

Diminished sensitivity to a constant, unchanging stimulus (like not noticing a smell after a few minutes).