Question 1

Perception of movement can help in perception of the shape of humans or animals. This is termed

Accepted Answer

Form from motion is the perceptual phenomenon where the movement of objects (or parts of objects) allows observers to perceive the shape of those objects, particularly when static cues are hard to discern. This is especially relevant in perceiving the shape of humans or animals in motion.

Question 2

Any visual stimulus that we perceive to be a self-contained object would be called a(n)

Accepted Answer

A figure is a visual stimulus perceived as a self-contained object, distinct from the background or ground, according to the principles of figure-ground perception in Gestalt psychology.

Question 3

Suppose that you are lying on your back in the middle of a big grassy field watching a flock of geese fly overhead against a backdrop of big fluffy clouds. In this scene, psychologists would consider the __________ to be the "ground."

Accepted Answer

The ground is the surface on which the geese and clouds are moving.

Question 4

The classification of an object as figure or ground depends on

Accepted Answer

The classification of an object as figure or ground depends on whether the observer is fixating on the object or not. When an object is fixated, it is perceived as the figure, and the surrounding area is perceived as the ground.

Question 5

Space enclosed by a continuous boundary will most likely be perceived as

Accepted Answer

A space enclosed by a continuous boundary is typically perceived as a figure, according to the principles of figure-ground perception in Gestalt psychology. This principle suggests that people automatically separate images into figure (the focused object) and ground (the background) based on various visual cues, including boundaries.

Question 6

The fact that the presence of boundaries is not necessary to perceive form is demonstrated by the phenomenon of

Accepted Answer

Illusory contours, also known as subjective contours, demonstrate that the human visual system can perceive contours and cues to shape that are not physically present. This phenomenon shows that boundaries are not necessary for the perception of form, as the mind can fill in missing information to create a complete image.

Question 7

Gestalt psychologists would argue that our visual system analyses

Accepted Answer

Gestalt psychologists emphasize the importance of perceiving whole structures and patterns, focusing on the relationships among elements rather than individual components.

Question 8

The tendency to perceive stimuli that are positioned closely together as a group is the basis for the Gestalt law of

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt law of proximity states that objects that are close to each other tend to be perceived as a group. This principle explains how our minds tend to group nearby elements together as part of the same object or group, aiding in our perception of order in the visual world.

Question 9

The Gestalt law of similarity predicts that

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt law of similarity states that elements that are similar to each other tend to be perceived as a unified group or pattern. This means that similar elements appear to be part of the same form, which is why option A is correct.

Question 10

The Gestalt law of good continuation states that

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt law of good continuation suggests that elements are perceived as aligned in the simplest way or continue in a predictable pattern, making D the correct answer.

Question 11

When our visual system fills in missing elements from the outline of a figure, this demonstrates the Gestalt law of

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt law of closure refers to the visual system's tendency to perceive incomplete shapes or patterns as complete by filling in missing information. This principle explains how we often see a whole figure even when parts of it are missing.

Question 12

From a distance a "C"may appear to be an "O."This is an example of which Gestalt law?

Accepted Answer

The law of closure explains how we perceive incomplete shapes as complete; in this case, seeing a "C" as an "O" is due to our mind's tendency to fill in missing information to perceive a complete, familiar shape.

Question 13

According to the Gestalt law of common fate,

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt law of common fate states that elements moving in the same direction are perceived as part of the same group or pattern.

Question 14

Wild animals often "freeze"their positions when they are startled. That is, they do not move. Freezing often makes these animals very difficult to see, a strategy that has confounded many a hunter. This behaviour seems to work against the Gestalt law of

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt law of common fate suggests that elements moving in the same direction are perceived as a collective or unit. When animals freeze, they do not move, thus they do not share a common movement with surrounding elements, making this behavior work against the principle of common fate.

Question 15

When the contrast between several lines and their background was changed in the same temporal sequence, subjects saw the lines as __________. An effect the researchers termed a __________ effect, after the Gestalt law of organization.

Accepted Answer

The common tempo effect is a Gestalt law of organization that states that elements that move together are perceived as belonging together. In this case, the lines were seen as belonging together because they changed contrast in the same temporal sequence.

Question 16

The template model of pattern recognition holds that

Accepted Answer

The template model of pattern recognition posits that for a pattern to be recognized, it must match an exact template stored in memory. This means that when we perceive a pattern, we compare it to templates we have stored, and if there's an exact match, we recognize the pattern as familiar.

Question 17

The major advantage of the template model of pattern recognition is its

Accepted Answer

The major advantage of the template model of pattern recognition is its simplicity, as it involves matching incoming sensory information with stored templates or patterns in the memory to recognize objects or stimuli.

Question 18

Most psychologists view the template model as

Accepted Answer

The template model is often considered unworkable because it requires an exact match between the stimulus and the stored template, which is impractical given the variability in real-world stimuli.

Question 19

A __________ is a hypothetical idealized pattern that resides in the nervous system and is used to perceive objects and shapes by a process of, not necessarily exact, comparison.

Accepted Answer

A prototype is a hypothetical idealized pattern in the nervous system used for recognizing objects and shapes through a process of comparison, which does not require exact matches.

Question 20

Walking in the woods, Thom recognized the tree in front of him as a maple. In recognizing this particular example, Thom was probably using a(n) __________, a hypothetical idealized pattern of a maple tree.

Accepted Answer

Thom was likely using a prototype, which is a mental image or best example of a category. Prototypes help us quickly identify objects in our environment by comparing them to our idealized or most typical example of a category.

Quiz 6: Perception