AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -What Is Top-Down Processing? 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: -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-3: -Top-down processing is defined as the development of pattern recognition through the use of contextual information. For instance, you are presented with a paragraph written with difficult handwriting.

Detailed explanation-4: -1. Bottom-up processing is when the environment (stimuli) influence our thinking. 2. Top-down processing is when our thinking influences how we see (understand/perceive) the environment.

Detailed explanation-5: -Bottom-up processing is the process of ‘sensation’, whereby the input of sensory information from the external environment is received by our sensory receptors. Perception is how our brains choose, organize, and interpret these sensations.