Question 1

When Jason is watching the Thanksgiving Parade, he perceives more distant objects as farther away because the lenses in his eyes change shape to focus on those objects. This cue for depth perception is called

Accepted Answer

Accommodation is the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus on near or far objects on the retina, providing a cue for depth perception.

Question 2

Will can tell that Leza is farther away from him than the display rack because the display rack blocks the view of Leza. This is an example of the depth perception cue called

Accepted Answer

Interposition is a depth perception cue where one object partially blocks the view of another, indicating that the blocked object is farther away.

Question 3

When little Rosario quickly flipped the pages of her new "flip" book, Sniffy the rat appeared to run around, eat cheese, and scratch himself. Rosario's perception of Sniffy's movements is due to

Accepted Answer

A stroboscopic illusion occurs when a rapid series of still images or frames are perceived as continuous motion. In Rosario's "flip" book, the quickly flipping pages create a stroboscopic effect, making Sniffy the rat appear to move and perform actions.

Question 4

Rebecca's new boyfriend Andy takes her to a 3-D movie. In an effort to impress Rebecca, Andy explains to her that the movie appears to be three-dimensional by providing each eye with slightly different images, thus creating the illusion of depth. Andy can't remember what this phenomenon is called, but Rebecca, tired of Andy's showing off, tells him it is called

Accepted Answer

Retinal disparity refers to the slight difference in images between the two eyes due to their different positions, which the brain uses to perceive depth in three-dimensional space.

Question 5

Oscar is in a fight and he sees the image of a fist that expands so that it fills his retina. He realizes that the fist is coming at him, rather than growing in size, because of

Accepted Answer

The expanding fist that fills Oscar's retina appears to be getting closer, which is known as "looming." This is a visual cue that allows us to perceive depth and distance and helps us determine whether objects in our environment are moving toward or away from us. Induced motion refers to the perception of movement in an object that is actually stationary, eye convergence is the coordinated movement of our eyes to focus on a single object, and retinal disparity is the slight difference in the images projected on each of our retinas that helps us perceive depth.

Question 6

In his art class, Justin's teacher is lecturing on depth perception cues in two-dimensional art. The instructor explains that people tend to perceive objects at the top of an image as being

Accepted Answer

This is because the visual field is cone-shaped, and objects at the top of the image are perceived as being farther away because they are closer to the horizon line.

Question 7

In perceiving depth and distance, we interpret the pattern of light and shadow, and we normally assume that illumination comes from

Accepted Answer

We typically assume that illumination comes from above because that is the most common source of light (the sun or indoor lighting fixtures on the ceiling). This assumption helps us interpret the pattern of light and shadow to perceive depth and distance accurately.

Question 8

While watching a home video of their daughter learning to ride a bicycle, Stella and Chad perceive the video as showing motion, not as a series of many still photographic images. This perceptual illusion is known as

Accepted Answer

The stroboscopic illusion is the perception of motion caused by a rapid succession of still images, similar to how movies and videos work.

Question 9

After a fencing accident, Jerome had to wear a patch over one eye for several weeks. He was advised by his doctor not to drive a car because the patch would affect Jerome's use of the __________ cue for depth perception.

Accepted Answer

Eye convergence is a binocular cue for depth perception that relies on both eyes working together. With one eye covered, Jerome would not be able to use this cue effectively.

Question 10

Aaron has the ability to cross his eyes, so that both of them move close to his nose. His friends find this to be very unusual, and he often does it just to creep them out! Knowing what you know about depth perception, you might assume that Aaron's ability to move his eyes like this gives him better depth perception due to the process of

Accepted Answer

Eye convergence is the process where the eyes move inward to focus on a close object, which helps in perceiving depth.

Question 11

Alexandra notices that in many old Western movies, there is a shot of the desert with the wavy background signifying the intense heat of the landscape. The more distant objects tend to be the haziest in these shots, which provides a depth cue known as

Accepted Answer

Reduced clarity refers to the phenomenon where distant objects appear hazier or less distinct due to atmospheric effects, providing a depth cue in visual perception.

Question 12

A brochure displays a long stretch of road. The lines that make up the road are drawn so that they converge at the horizon. The result is that the picture creates a sense of distance. This is based on an environmental depth cue called

Accepted Answer

Linear perspective is an environmental depth cue that creates a sense of distance by making lines converge at the horizon.

Question 13

While watching the movie Monkeys Typing on Computers , Christopher is able to perceive motion in the still images presented by the film due to the __________ illusion of motion.

Accepted Answer

The stroboscopic illusion of motion is when a series of still images are perceived as moving, as in movies or animations.

Question 14

While waiting at the end of a long line, Roger notices that he can't determine the hair color or facial features of the people at the front of the line, but he can do so with people near him. Roger would perceive people at the front of the line to be farther away due to what depth perception cue?

Accepted Answer

Texture gradient is a depth perception cue where objects that are closer appear more detailed, while those farther away appear less detailed.

Question 15

Long John Silver is a pirate who always wears a patch over one eye. Whenever Long John goes to battle at sea, he has a difficult time hitting other ships with his cannon. Because Long John has the use of only one eye, he is lacking the depth cue of

Accepted Answer

Retinal disparity is a binocular cue for depth perception that requires the use of both eyes. Since Long John Silver has only one eye, he lacks this cue, making it difficult for him to judge distances accurately.

Question 16

You know that your friends Manuel and William are the same height. You use the fact that Manuel's image on your retina is smaller than William's to conclude that Manuel must be farther away from you. Which depth cue are you using?

Accepted Answer

Relative size is a depth cue where the smaller image on the retina is perceived as being farther away when the objects are known to be of the same size.

Question 17

Noel bet Alexa $5 that he can make Alexa see a piece of gum in two different places without moving it. Alexa agrees to the bet. Noel holds the stick of gum about six inches in front of Alexa's face and tells her to close her eyes. Then Noel instructs Alexa to open one eye and remember where the gum is relative to other objects in the background. Next, he tells Alexa to close that eye and open the other one. Noel will win the $5 because of which depth cue?

Accepted Answer

Retinal disparity is the depth cue that allows us to perceive depth because each eye sees a slightly different image. When Alexa opens one eye and then the other, the gum appears in different positions relative to the background, demonstrating retinal disparity.

Question 18

Stella is walking near the railroad tracks and notices that the tracks recede to a point in the distance. She realizes that as the tracks get closer together, things appear farther away while objects located at spots where the tracks are far apart appear close. Stella has recognized the depth perception cue called

Accepted Answer

Stella has recognized the depth perception cue called linear perspective, where parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance, creating a sense of depth.

Question 19

Russel is having difficulty creating a sense of depth to his painting. His instructor, Olivier, suggests that he use a little blue in his color mixture for the deep background features. This will create the depth cue of

Accepted Answer

The suggestion to use a little blue in the color mixture for deep background features to create a sense of depth is related to the atmospheric perspective, which is a depth cue based on the understanding that distant objects appear less clear and bluer than nearer objects due to the scattering of light by the atmosphere. This makes distant objects appear more faded and blue, which is why the correct answer is "reduced clarity."

Question 20

Malcolm was born with a unique birth defect that does not allow the lenses in his eyes to change shape. Which of the following visual cues will this affect?

Accepted Answer

Accommodation is the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus on objects at different distances. Since Malcolm's lenses cannot change shape, his ability to accommodate will be affected.

Quiz 3: Sensation and Perception