AP Psychology:: Unit 3 - Sensation Perception

Which sensation or perceptual phenomenon is accurately described below?

*The minimum stimulus energy needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time (e.g., seeing a candle flame 30 miles away on a clear dark night).*

**A)** Absolute threshold
**B)** Difference threshold
**C)** Subliminal threshold
**D)** Sensory adaptation

Which sensation or perceptual phenomenon is accurately described below?

*Weber's Law states that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount).*

**A)** Weber's Law
**B)** Fechner's Law
**C)** Signal Detection Theory
**D)** Stevens' Power Law

Which sensation or perceptual phenomenon is accurately described below?

*A theory predicting how and when we detect the presence of a faint stimulus (signal) amid background stimulation (noise), acknowledging that detection depends on a person's experience, expectations, motivation, and alertness.*

**A)** Signal Detection Theory
**B)** Sensory Adaptation Theory
**C)** Gestalt Theory
**D)** Opponent-Process Theory

Which sensation or perceptual phenomenon is accurately described below?

*Diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging, constant stimulus over time (e.g., no longer noticing the hum of an air conditioner or the smell of perfume).*

**A)** Sensory adaptation
**B)** Habituation
**C)** Transduction
**D)** Selective attention

Which sensation or perceptual phenomenon is accurately described below?

*The conversion of one form of physical energy (e.g., light waves, sound vibrations, chemicals) into neural impulses that the brain can interpret.*

**A)** Transduction
**B)** Transmission
**C)** Accommodation
**D)** Parallel processing

Which sensation or perceptual phenomenon is accurately described below?

*The theory that the retina contains three distinct types of color receptor cones—one most sensitive to red, one to green, and one to blue—which combine to produce the perception of any hue.*

**A)** Trichromatic Theory
**B)** Opponent-Process Theory
**C)** Frequency Theory
**D)** Place Theory

Which sensation or perceptual phenomenon is accurately described below?

*The theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision, explaining why we see negative afterimages when staring at a colored shape.*

**A)** Opponent-Process Theory
**B)** Trichromatic Theory
**C)** Dual-Process Theory
**D)** Gate-Control Theory

Which sensation or perceptual phenomenon is accurately described below?

*Photoreceptors located in the peripheral retina that detect black, white, and gray, and are essential for peripheral and twilight/night vision.*

**A)** Rods
**B)** Cones
**C)** Bipolar cells
**D)** Ganglion cells