AP Exam Weight

6 - 8%

Essential Questions

1. How do we process the information we receive from our environments?
2. How does our interpretation of the information we receive from the environment influence our behaviors and mental processes?

Topic

Principles of Sensation

Learning Target (I can…)

1. Describe general principles of organizing and integrating sensation to promote stable awareness of the external world.
2. Discuss basic principles of sensory transduction, including absolute threshold, difference threshold, signal detection, and sensory adaptation.
3. Identify the research contributions of major historical figures in sensation and perception.

Topic

Principles of Perception

Learning Target (I can…)

1. Discuss how experience and culture can influence perceptual processes.
2. Discuss the role of attention in behavior.

Topic

Visual Anatomy

Learning Target (I can…)

1. Describe the vision process, including the specific nature of energy transduction, relevant anatomical structures, and specialized pathways in the brain for each of the senses.
2. Explain common sensory conditions.

Topic

Visual Perception

Learning Target (I can…)

1. Explain the role of top-down processing in producing vulnerability to illusion.

Topic

Auditory Sensation and Perception

Learning Target (I can…)

1. Describe the hearing process, including the specific nature of energy transduction, relevant anatomical structures, and specialized pathways in the brain for each of the senses.

Topic

Chemical Senses

Learning Target (I can…)

1. Describe taste and smell processes, including the specific nature of energy transduction, relevant anatomical structures, and specialized pathways in the brain for each of the senses.

Topic

Body Senses

Learning Target (I can…)

1. Describe sensory processes, including the specific nature of energy transduction, relevant anatomical structures, and specialized pathways in the brain for each of the body senses.