ap psych

Sensation and Perception Study Guide

Part 1: Sensation and Perception Concepts

1.      How does sensation differ from perception?

Sensation –

Perception -

2.      What is sensory adaptation?

3.      What is prosopagnosia? Is it a sensation problem or perception problem?

4.      What is the difference between bottom-up processing and top-down processing?

5.      What is the absolute threshold? Is it different from person to person?

6.      Difference thresholds (Weber’s Law is relevant to understanding this)

7.      Define subliminal message

8.      Define perceptual set

 

Part 2: Psychophysics

1.      What is transduction?

2.      Selective attention vs. inattentional blindness

3.      What is signal detection theory?

 

Part 3: Vision

1.      What is accommodation?

2.      Differentiate between the two theories of color vision:

  • Opponent-process theory

  • Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory

  • How do you explain after-images?

3.      Structures/functions of the eye:

  • Cornea –

  • Iris - 

  • Pupil –

  • Lens –

  •  Retina

4.  Rods vs. cones

5.  Pathway for visual information

6.   Where is the blind spot in the eye?

 

Part 4: Hearing

1.      Pitch is determined by ________________

2.      What is the cochlea? (Purpose of a cochlear implant)How is it similar to the retina?

3.      Structures/functions of the ear:

  • Eardrum- 

  •  Ossicles - 

  •  Cochlea - 

  • Semicircular Canals (What does it relate to)? - 

4.      Pathway for hearing

5.      Conduction and Sensorineural deafness

6.      Theories of pitch (high versus low frequencies)

  •  Place theory

  •  Frequency theory

 

Part 5: How do we process our “other senses?”

1.      What does our vestibular sense help us process?

2.      Where are the receptor cells for kinesthesis located?

3.      What are the five primary tastes?

4.      How is pain processed?

5.      Taste and smell are what kind of senses?

 

Part 6: Perception

1.      How do we judge depth (monocular vs. binocular depth cues)

2.      Be able to name and understand different depth cues:

       Monocular Cues:

  • Relative Size:

  •  Linear Perspective:

  • Interposition:

  • Relative Height

       Binocular Cues

  •  Retinal Disparity

  •  Convergence

      Gestalt Theory (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts)

  •  Figure Ground

  •  Closure

  •  Proximity

  •   Similarity

3.      What did the visual cliff experiment suggest?

4.      What is ESP?ESP, or extrasensory perception, refers to the ability to gain information without the use of the known human senses, often categorized into phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. 5.      How does ESP relate to psychological research? Research in psychology often investigates the validity of ESP claims through controlled experiments, seeking to understand whether these phenomena can be reliably demonstrated or if they stem from psychological biases and cognitive errors.