Question 1

Visual distance and depth cues that require the use of both eyes are called _______________.

Accepted Answer

Binocular cues require the use of both eyes to perceive distance and depth. Monocular cues, on the other hand, can be perceived with just one eye, and dichromatic cues refer to differences in color perception. Diocular cues is not a commonly used term in psychology.

Question 2

Our ability to see objects as relatively stable and unchanging despite changing sensory information is called perceptual ___________.

Accepted Answer

Perceptual constancy refers to the ability of the brain to perceive objects as unchanged despite changes in sensory information such as changes in lighting or distance. Closure refers to the brain's ability to fill in missing information. Reversibility refers to the ability to mentally reverse an action or process, and coherency refers to the quality of being consistent and logical.

Question 3

Prosopagnosia is the inability to

Accepted Answer

Prosopagnosia is a condition where the person is unable to recognize faces. They may have difficulty recognizing friends, family members, and even themselves in the mirror. This condition is often referred to as face blindness.

Question 4

Feature detection cells in the visual cortex respond primarily to features such as

Accepted Answer

Feature detection cells in the visual cortex respond primarily to specific features of an image, such as angles and edges. These cells are responsible for detecting and processing basic visual information that is necessary for visual perception. While color and brightness may be processed by other cells in the visual cortex, and size and distance may involve multiple layers of processing, feature detection cells are primarily sensitive to angles and edges.

Question 5

When we look at a white house,we can recognize it as a white house by day or night and from any angle.This is due to perceptual _____________.

Accepted Answer

Perceptual constancy refers to the ability of the brain to recognize and perceive objects as the same, even when they appear differently due to changes in illumination, angle, or distance. In this case, we can recognize the white house as a white house from any angle or lighting condition, demonstrating perceptual constancy. Closure refers to the brain's ability to fill in missing information to perceive complete objects, reversibility refers to the ability to mentally rotate objects in space, and coherency refers to the integration of information from different senses to perceive a unified percept. None of these concepts fully explain the ability to recognize a white house from any angle or lighting condition.

Question 6

People with normal vision will perceive a pyramid whether they see the object from the side,top,or any other angle as long as the object is,in fact,a pyramid.This is an example of ________________.

Accepted Answer

Shape constancy refers to the ability to recognize an object as having a consistent shape, regardless of changes in perspective or viewing angle. In this scenario, people with normal vision are able to perceive the object as a pyramid regardless of the angle it is viewed from, demonstrating shape constancy. B, C, and D are not accurate descriptions of this phenomenon.

Question 7

Although she is normally not aware of its existence,Ingrid discovers that she has a blind spot in her vision by closing one eye and focusing on a fixed point.What explains why Ingrid has this blind spot in her vision?

Accepted Answer

The optic nerve exits the retina at the optic disc, which contains no photoreceptors, resulting in a blind spot in that area of the visual field.

Question 8

Stewart is sitting in his office,which is lighted with a bluish neon light,eating a red apple.Even though the apple is bathed in bluish light,he continues to perceive it as red.This illustrates:

Accepted Answer

This scenario illustrates colour constancy, which is our brain's ability to perceive the actual colour of an object despite changes in lighting conditions. Even though the bluish light should make the apple appear more blue, Stewart continues to perceive it as red, indicating that his brain is adjusting for the lighting and maintaining a stable colour perception. This phenomenon is part of the broader topic of perceptual constancy, which refers to our ability to maintain a stable perception of objects despite variations in their sensory input.

Question 9

Kevin watches as his wife Denise walks toward the house.Even though Denise fills more and more of Kevin's visual field as she approaches,she does not appear to be growing larger as she moves closer to Kevin.This illustrates ______________.

Accepted Answer

Size constancy refers to the perceptual constancy that allows us to perceive objects as maintaining the same size, despite changes in their retinal image size as they move closer or farther away from us. In Kevin's case, Denise does not appear to be growing larger as she approaches him, which is an example of size constancy.

Question 10

A blind spot is a part of the visual field we can't see,where the _____________ connects to the_____________.

Accepted Answer

The optic nerve is responsible for transmitting visual signals from the retina to the brain for processing, and it connects to the retina at a point where there are no photoreceptor cells. This is the location of the blind spot in the visual field. The cornea and iris are not directly involved in the formation or transmission of visual signals, and the pupil is simply an opening that allows light to enter the eye. The sclera is the white outer layer of the eye and is not involved in visual processing either.

Question 11

Jan can see objects well up close,but they appear blurry from afar.She is probably ____________.

Accepted Answer

Jan can see objects up close well, but has trouble seeing things far away, indicating myopia or nearsightedness. This is a common refractive error where the eye focuses on images in front of the retina, rather than on the surface of the retina itself, causing distant objects to appear blurry.

Question 12

The ______________ carries sensory information from the retina to the brain areas where visual perception will occur.

Accepted Answer

The optic nerve carries sensory information from the retina to the brain areas where visual perception will occur. The fovea is a small area in the retina responsible for sharp, detailed vision. The lens helps to focus light onto the retina. The retina contains cells that detect light and send signals to the brain via the optic nerve.

Question 13

The ventral stream is a pathway extending from the visual cortex to the temporal lobe and is where ______________occurs.In contrast,the dorsal stream extends from the visual cortex to the parietal lobe of the cortex and is where ________________ occurs.

Accepted Answer

The ventral stream is responsible for object recognition, while the dorsal stream is responsible for depth and movement perception.

Question 14

The process by which rods and cones become more sensitive to light in response to lowered levels of illumination is called ______________.

Accepted Answer

The process described in the question is known as dark adaptation, which refers to the physiological adjustments that occur in the eye as it adjusts to changes in illumination levels. During this process, the rods and cones become more sensitive to light in order to help us see in low-light conditions.

Question 15

Which is the correct order of structures as visual information travels from the eye to the visual cortex?

Accepted Answer

Visual information travels from the eye to the optic chiasm, where some fibers cross over and some stay on the same side. The fibers then project to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in the thalamus, which then projects to the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe. Therefore, the correct order is optic chiasm, LGN, occipital lobe. Choice D is the only option with this order.

Question 16

The visual information from each eye is split at the __________________,with half of the nerve fibres from each eye projecting to each half of the brain.

Accepted Answer

The point at which the visual information from each eye is split and half of the nerve fibres from each eye project to each half of the brain is called the optic chiasm. This is located at the base of the brain, near the pituitary gland.

Question 17

Visual information is sent to a part of the thalamus called the ______.

Accepted Answer

LGN stands for Lateral Geniculate Nucleus, and it is the specific part of the thalamus that receives visual information from the eyes. Option B, MLN, does not exist. Option C, MGN, stands for Medial Geniculate Nucleus, which is involved in auditory processing, not visual processing. Option D, LMN, stands for Lower Motor Neuron, which is involved in motor control, not visual processing.

Question 18

Which of the following is true regarding the normal perception of faces?

Accepted Answer

Viewing a face upside down significantly impairs our ability to recognize facial expressions and identify individual features, indicating that our perception of faces relies on a specific orientation. This phenomenon is part of the reason why facial recognition becomes much more challenging when the face is presented in an inverted position.

Question 19

Caleb has good vision and can easily recognize common objects.However,he cannot recognize people by looking at their faces.For example,Caleb often relies on the sound of her voice to be certain he is talking to his wife and not another person.Caleb suffers from a rare disease called _______________.

Accepted Answer

Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, is a rare neurological disorder characterized by the inability to recognize faces, even those of familiar people such as family and friends, despite intact vision and intellect. Caleb's inability to recognize people by their faces and reliance on voice recognition is indicative of prosopagnosia. Retinal disparity, parallaxia, and tactile agnosia do not relate to Caleb's symptoms.

Question 20

Why are we normally unaware of the blind spot in our vision?

Accepted Answer

Our brains “fill in” the missing visual information for us, meaning that even though there is a blind spot in our vision, our brain seamlessly integrates the information from surrounding areas to create a complete image.

Quiz 4: B: Sensation and Perception