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

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