AP Psychology Vocabulary (Modules 16-25)

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 sensory 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 higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

Selective Attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus, while ignoring others.

Cocktail Party Effect

The ability to focus on one conversation in a noisy environment.

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

Change Blindness

The inability to notice changes in the environment, often due to focused attention.

Transduction

The process of converting one form of energy into another, such as transforming sensory stimuli into neural impulses.

Psychophysics

The study of the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they affect.

Absolute Threshold

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

Signal Detection Theory

A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus amid background stimulation.

Subliminal

Below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

Prime

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

Weber’s Law

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

Sensory Adaptation

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation.

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

ESP

Extrasensory perception

Parapsychology

The study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.

Wavelength

The distance between successive peaks of a wave

Hue

The dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light.

Intensity

The amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which influences what we perceive as brightness or loudness.

Cornea

The clear, curved outer layer of the eye that helps focus light.

Pupil

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.

Iris

The colored part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil.

Lens

The transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to help focus images on the retina.

Accommodation

The process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.

Retina

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing receptor rods and cones.

Acuity

The sharpness of vision.

Nearsightedness

A condition in which nearby objects are seen clearly but distant objects appear blurry.

Farsightedness

A condition in which distant objects are seen clearly but nearby objects appear blurry.

Rods

Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray

Cones

Retinal receptors that function in daylight or well-lit conditions and detect fine detail and color.

Optic Nerve

The nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.

Blind Spot

The point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a "blind" spot because there are no receptor cells located there.

Fovea

The central focal point in the retina, around which the eye's cones cluster.

Dichromatism

A color vision deficiency in which only two colors can be perceived.

Monochromatism

A condition characterized by the inability to see any color

Blindsight

A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it.

Prosopagnosia

A condition characterized by the inability to recognize familiar faces.

Trichromatic Theory

The theory that the retina contains three different color receptors (red, green, blue) which can produce the perception of any color.

Opponent Process Theory

The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision.

Parallel Processing

The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously

Gestalt

An organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.

Figure Ground

The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

Grouping

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Proximity

The tendency to group nearby figures together.

Continuity

The perception of smooth, continuous patterns rather than disjointed ones.

Closure

The tendency to fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object.

Depth Perception

The ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and judge distance.

Visual Cliff

A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

Binocular Cues

Depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes.

Retinal Disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth

Convergence

A binocular cue for perceiving depth

Monocular Cues

Depth cues available to either eye alone.

Phi Phenomenon

An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

Perceptual Constancy

The perception of objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change.

Color Constancy

The perception of familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.

Perceptual Adaptation

In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.

Audition

The sense or act of hearing.

Frequency

The number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second).

Pitch

A tone's experienced highness or lowness

Middle Ear

The chamber between the eardrum and cochlea that contains three tiny bones (the ossicles).

Cochlea

A coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger neural impulses.

Inner Ear

The innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.

Place Theory

The theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.

Frequency Theory

The theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch.

Conduction Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves

Cochlear Implant

A device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.

Touch

The sense of pressure, temperature, and pain.

Gate-Control Theory

The theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain.

Phantom Limb Syndrome

The sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached and functioning.

Sensory Interaction

The principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.

Gustation

The sense of taste.

Oleogustus

The taste sensation associated with fatty substances.

Olfaction

The sense of smell.

Pheromones

Chemical signals released by an organism that influence the behavior of others of the same species.

Kinesthesis

The sense of the position and movement of body parts.

Vestibular Sense

The sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.

Embodied Cognition

The idea that the mind is not only connected to the body but that the body influences the mind.