AP PSYCH 3.2 Principles of Perception

Processing Types

Bottom-Up

• We sense the stimulus first
• The perceive and process the experience

Top-Down

• First, we perceive and process the experience
  • This causes expectations
  • And can be from experience,
  • Culture
  • Motivation
  • Emotion
• Then, the stimulus is sensed

Phenomenons

Perceptual Set

• Our tendency to perceive some parts of sensory data and ignore others
• Influences on perceptual set are the same as in top-down processing
  • Expectations
  • Experience
  • Culture
  • Motivation
  • Emotion
  • Angry people perceive hostility in others

Schemas

• Mental frameworks for organizing our understanding of the world around us
• We build schemas from birth, and they influence our expectations and preconceptions
• Examples include…
  • How you expect your day to go
  • What friendship, family, and love mean to you
  • Good and bad food