Perception
Definition
Perception is the process by which our brain interprets sensory information, giving us an understanding of our environment.
Analogy
Think of perception as a movie director. The director doesn't just record raw footage (like sensation); they interpret it, cut and edit scenes, add music and effects to create a final product that tells a story. Similarly, perception takes raw sensory data and turns it into something meaningful.
Related terms
Top-Down Processing: This is when our perceptions are influenced by our expectations or prior knowledge.
Bottom-Up Processing: This refers to processing sensory information as it comes in. In this case, there's no preconceived cognitive input.
Selective Attention: This is the process of focusing on one particular thing while ignoring others around us.
"Perception" appears in:
Subjects (1)
Study guides (1)
Practice Questions (20+)
What is the difference between sensation and perception?
Which scientific discipline's findings could best support psychological theories about perception and sensory processing?
How has our perception evolved regarding stress response mediated by adrenal glands?
How did our perception evolve regarding neurons' ability to regenerate after injury?
What is the role of sensory adaptation in our perception of stimuli?
How does sensory adaptation affect our perception of constant stimuli over time?
How might you design an experiment evaluating how sensory adaptation affects our perception of temperature?
Which theory explains that perception is influenced by our expectations and experiences?
What historical theory proposed that perception is the result of combining sensory inputs, contrary to our current understanding?
Which early psychologist's work on psychophysics influenced our current understanding of perception?
What does Gibson’s ecological theory propose about perception contrasting earlier theories?
How does the principle of informed consent apply to experiments on perception?
What is the cause behind our perception changing from seeing white light into various individual colors when passed through a prism according to wave theory?
Which psychologist proposed that perception is not merely a passive receipt of information but an active process involving selection, inference, and interpretation?
Who pioneered groundbreaking research on visual processing and perception related to the concept of "feature detectors"?
What development in the study of auditory sensation and perception led to the discovery of place theory?
What real-world application of auditory sensation and perception explains why a person can distinguish their friend's voice in a noisy room?
What is the term for the perception that two stimuli are different when they are not physically identical?
Which experiment would most effectively study how frequency influences the perception of pitch in human auditory sensation?
What type of receptor cells are involved in the perception of taste?
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