AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -In top-down processing, perceptions begin with the most general and move toward the more specific. These perceptions are heavily influenced by our expectations and prior knowledge. 1 Put simply, your brain applies what it knows to fill in the blanks and anticipate what’s next.

Detailed explanation-2: -Goldstein (2018) argues that our ability to make sense of typos and misspellings is another example of top-down processing because we are actively applying our previous experiences, knowledge, and expectations to correctly identify misspelled words!

Detailed explanation-3: -Bottom-up and top-down processing are two different ways of making sense of stimuli. In bottom-up processing, we allow the stimulus itself to shape our perception, without any preconceived ideas. In top-down processing, we use our background knowledge and expectations to interpret what we see.

Detailed explanation-4: -For example, a standard introductory psychology textbook provides the following definition: “Top-down processing is how knowledge, expectations, or past experiences shape the interpretation of sensory information” (Gazzaniga, Heatherton, & Halpern, 2016, p. 173).

Detailed explanation-5: -An example of this is stubbing your toe on a chair, the pain receptors detect pain and send this information to the brain where it is processed. On the other hand, how we interpret those sensations is influenced by our available knowledge, our experiences, and our thoughts. This is called top-down processing.