Question 1

The Kanizsa square is used in your text to demonstrate the phenomenon called subjective contours. We typically 'see' a square even though the image is made of other shapes that give the impression that a square should be there. What Gestalt principle helps to explain why we perceive subjective contours?

Accepted Answer

The principle of Closure explains why we perceive subjective contours. Our brain fills in the missing information to create a complete shape, even when the edges or lines are not fully present. In the Kanizsa square, our brain fills in the missing lines to create the illusion of a square.

Question 2

A road starts off 10cm wide in the foreground of the painting and is only 2cm wide in the background. Which pictorial depth cue is illustrated in this example?

Accepted Answer

Linear perspective is the pictorial depth cue that is illustrated in this example. This is because there is a decreasing size of the road as it goes further away from the viewer, which is a characteristic of linear perspective. Disparity refers to the difference in the location of objects in the two eyes, relative size refers to the size of an object in comparison to other objects, and motion parallax refers to the perceived difference in motion between objects that are close to us and objects that are far away. None of these apply to the scenario given.

Question 3

If a patient has a condition called prosopagnosia, which of the following problems will the patient experience?

Accepted Answer

Prosopagnosia is a neurological condition characterized by the inability to recognize faces. People with prosopagnosia may not be able to recognize familiar faces or even their own face in the mirror.

Question 4

When taking a picture, photographers attempt to draw people's attention toward a particular aspect of the scene by focusing on that aspect, and leaving the rest of the image slightly blurry. This is one example of the Gestalt principle of

Accepted Answer

The principle of figure-ground states that our brains perceive objects in a scene as either the central figure or the background. In photography, blurring the background and focusing on one aspect creates a clear figure-ground distinction, drawing the viewer's attention to the focused element.

Question 5

Both the Necker cube and Rubin's vase illusion are examples of __________, and we can typically perceive them only one way at a time.

Accepted Answer

The Necker cube and Rubin's vase illusion are examples of bistable images, which means they have two distinct interpretations and we can typically perceive only one interpretation at a time. Figure-ground images refer to the perception of an object as distinct from its background, subjective contours involve perceiving contours that are not actually present in a stimulus, and the phi phenomenon refers to the illusion of movement created by presenting two or more stationary stimuli in quick succession.

Question 6

Brianna just bought new lights for her Christmas tree that turn on and off, one at a time. When she puts them up, it looks as if a single light is moving continuously around the tree. This perception of movement is due to

Accepted Answer

The perception of movement caused by the lights turning on and off one at a time is an example of the phi phenomenon. This phenomenon occurs when our brain perceives a series of still images as continuous motion.

Question 7

At a dance, Jack tends to think of people sitting close together as "couples" regardless of whether they are actually dating. This illustrates the Gestalt principle of

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt principle of proximity states that objects that are close together are perceived as a group, and Jack's perception of people sitting close together as "couples" indicates that he is grouping them based on their proximity.

Question 8

Where in the brain would you find 'grandmother cells' that seem to respond to specific faces?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Where in the brain would you find...

Question 9

What depth cue is used when our brains use information from our eye muscles to determine how far an object is away from us?

Accepted Answer

When our brains use information from our eye muscles to determine how far an object is away from us, it is using the depth cue called binocular convergence. This is because the brain uses the amount of convergence, or inward turning of the eyes, to estimate the distance of an object.

Question 10

What psychological school first identified that visual perception occurs in terms of whole objects rather than individual component parts?

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt school of psychology identified that visual perception occurs in terms of whole objects rather than individual component parts. They emphasized that the whole is different from the sum of its parts and focused on the organization of sensory information into meaningful wholes or patterns.

Question 11

As Jackie walks through the trees, the sunlight sometimes hits her hair and makes it shine while other times she is in shadow and her hair looks more dull. When you see her, you never think that her hair is actually changing colour. What accounts for this smooth perception of Jackie's hair?

Accepted Answer

Perceptual constancy is the ability to perceive objects as relatively stable and constant despite changes in sensory input. In this case, even though the light hitting Jackie's hair is changing, we still recognize her hair as being the same color because of our ability to maintain perceptual constancy. Bistable images refer to images that can be seen in two different ways, which is not applicable in this scenario. Perceptual sets refer to expectations and biases that we bring to a situation, which are also not applicable here. Bottom-up processing is the processing of sensory information from the environment, but this alone cannot account for the smooth perception of Jackie's hair color.

Question 12

In a photo, you can see that the house is farther away than the car because part of the house is blocked from view by the car. Which monocular cue is illustrated in this example?

Accepted Answer

Interposition is the monocular cue illustrated in this example because the car blocks part of the house from view, indicating that the car is closer to the viewer than the house. Relative size refers to the perception of objects having different sizes based on their distance from the viewer, but it does not apply in this example. Light and shadow and linear perspective are other monocular cues that can indicate depth, but they are not illustrated in this example.

Question 13

__________ depth cues require both eyes, whereas __________ depth cues rely on one eye alone.

Accepted Answer

Binocular depth cues require the use of both eyes to perceive depth, while monocular depth cues can be perceived with just one eye.

Question 14

Taylor is driving and when he looks out the window right beside him, mailboxes on the side of the road seem to fly by, whereas the cows in the field appear to be moving slower. What depth cue is responsible for this perception?

Accepted Answer

Motion parallax is responsible for the perception that closer objects move faster than further ones when passing by them. This occurs because the closer objects appear to move a greater distance across our visual field than further ones. This is why Taylor perceives the mailboxes as moving faster than the cows in the field. Linear perspective, disparity, and convergence are not relevant to this particular scenario.

Question 15

Sandra is staring at a painting where the blades of grass in the front appear close and are very detailed and the mountains on the horizon appear hazy and farther away. What monocular cue is being used in this painting to create the illusion of depth?

Accepted Answer

Texture gradient is the monocular cue being used, as it involves the detail of objects decreasing with distance, creating an illusion of depth.

Question 16

Our ability to see action in videos, rather than a series of static pictures, is the result of

Accepted Answer

The phi phenomenon refers to the illusion of motion that occurs when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession. This phenomenon underlies our ability to perceive motion in videos, where a series of static images are presented in rapid succession, such that they appear to be in motion.

Question 17

In a photo of a field full of deer, the deer that seem closer take up more space on the photo than the deer that seem farther away. Which monocular cue is illustrated in this example?

Accepted Answer

The monocular cue illustrated in this example is relative size. The deer that seem closer appear larger on the photo, while the deer that seem farther away appear smaller.

Question 18

Craig has a serious disorder that disrupts his perception of movement. He has difficulty with everyday tasks, such as pouring himself a glass of juice, because he doesn't notice changes in the level of liquid in the glass (i.e., one moment it is empty and the next it is full). Craig likely suffers from

Accepted Answer

Craig likely suffers from motion blindness, also known as akinetopsia, which is the inability to perceive motion in objects or a person's visual field. This can result in difficulties with everyday tasks that involve tracking moving objects, such as pouring a glass of juice. Prosopagnosia refers to the inability to recognize faces, while visual agnosia is the inability to recognize objects. Blindsight is the ability to respond to visual stimuli even though conscious perception is impaired.

Question 19

At what age do infants show evidence that they can perceive depth, in visual cliff experiments?

Accepted Answer

Infants typically start to show evidence that they can perceive depth in visual cliff experiments between 6 and 14 months of age. Before this age, they may not have developed the ability to perceive the difference in height between the "shallow" and "deep" sides of the visual cliff.

Question 20

As we listen to music, we often are aware of the arrangement of tones into melodies rather than focusing on individual notes. This auditory perception is compatible with the principles established by

Accepted Answer

The principles of Gestalt psychology focus on the idea that people perceive objects as whole units rather than as a collection of individual parts. In terms of auditory perception, this means that people tend to focus on the overall melody rather than individual notes.

Quiz 4: Sensation and Perception