Question 1

In __________ processing, we construct a whole stimulus from its parts.

Accepted Answer

Bottom-up processing involves building a whole stimulus from its individual parts, such as recognizing letters in a word or identifying the color of each pixel in an image. This process is driven by sensory information and occurs without the influence of prior knowledge or expectations, making it different from top-down processing. Parallel processing refers to the ability to process multiple aspects of a stimulus simultaneously, while perceptual set refers to the biases and expectations that influence perception.

Question 2

Visible light with a long wavelength and a low amplitude would be perceived as ______________.

Accepted Answer

Light with a long wavelength (around 700 nanometers) is in the red end of the visible spectrum. Low amplitude means low intensity, so the light would be perceived as dim.

Question 3

Which of the following accurately describes how we perceive and interpret the visual world?

Accepted Answer

Perception is a complex process that involves both top-down processing, which involves using our existing knowledge and expectations to interpret sensory information, and bottom-up processing, which involves building up perceptual experience from individual pieces of sensory information. Both of these processes work together to enable us to perceive and interpret the visual world.

Question 4

Visible light with a short wavelength and a high amplitude would be perceived as _____________.

Accepted Answer

A short wavelength corresponds to a higher frequency and bluish color, while a high amplitude translates to a brighter light. Therefore, visible light with a short wavelength and high amplitude would be perceived as bluish and bright.

Question 5

As she watches her granddaughter's dance recital, Patty perceives two separate groups of dancers. Her granddaughter's group wears bright turquoise costumes with gold accents and the other group wears bright gold costumes with turquoise accents. Patty perceives the girls as belonging to two different groups due to the Gestalt principle of ____________.

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt principle of similarity suggests that elements that look similar to one another will be perceived as part of a group. In this case, Patty perceives two separate groups of dancers because they are wearing costumes that are different in color, but similar in style and design.

Question 6

Elements that share common features such as size, shape, or color are viewed as a set. This defines which Gestalt law of organization?

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt law of similarity states that elements that share common features such as size, shape, or color are viewed as a set. Hence, choice B (similarity) is the correct answer. The other options are: 
A) Figure-ground - this law states that objects are perceived as either standing out from their surroundings (figure) or blending in with their surroundings (ground).
C) Proximity - this law states that objects that are close together are perceived as a group or set.
D) Closure - this law states that people tend to perceive incomplete objects as complete by mentally filling in the missing information.

Question 7

______________ refers to the perceptual rule that lines and other objects tend to be continuous, rather than abruptly changing direction.

Accepted Answer

Continuity refers to the tendency for lines or shapes to be perceived as continuously flowing in one direction rather than abruptly changing direction. For example, if a line is interrupted by another shape, our brain will perceive the line as continuing in the same direction on the other side of the shape.

Question 8

Two or more objects that are close together are viewed as belonging to the same a set. This defines which Gestalt law of organization?

Accepted Answer

The principle of proximity states that items that are near each other appear to be grouped together. So, when two or more objects are close together, they are viewed as belonging to the same set, and this defines the law of proximity.

Question 9

__________ processing is conceptually driven and influenced by our beliefs and expectations.

Accepted Answer

Top-down processing is influenced by our beliefs, expectations, and prior knowledge. It involves using this information to interpret incoming sensory information. This is different from bottom-up or sensory processing, which relies solely on incoming sensory information, and parallel processing, which involves processing multiple stimuli simultaneously.

Question 10

Which of the following is true about multitasking?

Accepted Answer

Research suggests that the brain can effectively handle doing more than one cognitive task at a time, but only if the tasks can be processed by different brain structures. This is known as "task switching" rather than true multitasking, as the brain is quickly alternating between processing different tasks. The brain is not designed for true multitasking, or attempting to process two complex tasks at the same time, as this can lead to decreased efficiency and increased errors. Therefore, option C is the most accurate option.

Question 11

Clay has played professional soccer for seven years and is easily able to tune out the sound of the crowd and all other irrelevant sensory information during the game. Bruce is a rookie and is often distracted by what his opponents are saying and the mood of the crowd. Clay and Bruce are showing differing levels of ______________.

Accepted Answer

Clay's ability to tune out the sound of the crowd and other irrelevant sensory information during the game is an example of selective attention, which is the ability to focus on relevant information while ignoring irrelevant information. Bruce, on the other hand, is easily distracted by what his opponents are saying and the mood of the crowd, indicating a lower level of selective attention. Therefore, the differing levels of selective attention is the best choice for this scenario.

Question 12

Failure to consciously perceive something you are looking at because your attention is directed elsewhere is called ___________.

Accepted Answer

Inattentional blindness refers to the failure to consciously perceive something you are looking at because your attention is directed elsewhere.

Question 13

Light, a central player in our visual perception of the world, is a form of _____________.

Accepted Answer

Light is a form of electromagnetic energy, consisting of oscillating electric and magnetic fields that travel through space at the speed of light. This energy is measured in units of wavelength, which determine the color or frequency of the light.

Question 14

Gina likes to use multiple forms of media at the same time. For example, she often watches TV while working on her computer or texting. Lilly prefers to focus on one task at a time. In class one day, the teacher gives both girls an assignment that requires concentration and switching from one task to another several times. Based on the research on multitasking discussed in your textbook, who is most likely to do a good job on the assignment?

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that individuals who prefer to focus on one task at a time typically do better on tasks that require concentration and switching from one task to another. Therefore, Lilly is more likely to do a good job on the assignment compared to Gina.

Question 15

Lidia visits an art exhibit of abstract paintings. One painting is composed of seemingly random lines and shapes. However, because Lidia knows the painting is supposed to be a portrait, she perceives the various lines and shapes as forming a face. Which type of perceptual processing is Lidia most likely using?

Accepted Answer

Lidia's prior knowledge or expectation that the painting is a portrait is influencing her interpretation of the lines and shapes. This is an example of top-down processing, where higher-level knowledge or expectations guide lower-level perceptual processing.

Question 16

During a break from his job as a waiter, Barnardo begins to read Hamlet and is so engrossed in the play that he fails to notice the clattering of dishes all around him. This is an example of _______________.

Accepted Answer

Selective attention refers to the ability to focus on specific stimuli while filtering out others. In this scenario, Barnardo is so focused on reading Hamlet that he fails to notice the clattering of dishes around him, indicating his attention was selectively focused on reading.

Question 17

The process of selecting one stimulus or task to focus on and ignoring or minimizing others is called ____________.

Accepted Answer

Selective attention is the process of selecting one stimulus or task to focus on and ignoring or minimizing others. Selective perception refers to the tendency to filter our perceptions of reality through our personal biases and expectations. Perceptual set is the tendency to perceive things in a certain way based on previous experience and expectations. Selective processing is not a commonly used term in psychology.

Question 18

Freddy is looking for his girlfriend in a large crowd of people. Because he is so focused on finding her, he fails to notice when a man in a clown costume walks right up next to him. This is an example of ______________.

Accepted Answer

Inattentional blindness is the failure to perceive or notice unexpected stimuli in one's surroundings due to a lack of attention. In this scenario, Freddy's focus on finding his girlfriend caused him to miss the presence of the man in a clown costume standing right next to him.

Question 19

When you look at the drawing below, your brain fills in the gaps so that you perceive a complete form-in this case, a square. This occurs due to the principle of ___________.

Accepted Answer

The principle of closure refers to the brain's tendency to fill in missing information to create a complete and recognizable form. In this case, even though the square is not fully formed, our brains fill in the gaps to perceive the complete shape.

Question 20

Research indicates that people who like to multitask:

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that people who like to multitask actually perform worse than low multitaskers on tests that measured their abilities to concentrate. Multitasking can lead to divided attention, which can result in decreased productivity and poorer performance on tasks that require focused attention.

Quiz 4: Sensation and Perception