Question 1

Suppose that you hear another student turning a page of this exam. The representation of that noise by the receptors in your auditory system is called

Accepted Answer

The proximal stimulus is the physical stimulation that is available to be measured by an individual's sensory receptors. In this case, the sound waves produced by the page turning are the proximal stimulus that the auditory system detects and represents.

Question 2

Right now, the words in this sentence are being registered on the retina of your eye. This representation on your retina is called

Accepted Answer

The proximal stimulus refers to the physical energy from a stimulus as it directly interacts with sensory receptors such as the retina in the eye. This is distinct from the distal stimulus, which is the actual object or event in the external world that you perceive.

Question 3

What is perception?

Accepted Answer

Perception involves the interpretation and organization of sensory information, utilizing past experiences and knowledge to understand and make sense of what we sense. It is not merely the immediate registration of sensory input (that's more akin to sensation), nor does it involve only unprocessed sensory information or require complex problem-solving on its own.

Question 4

Which of the following students provides the best, most complete definition of the term "perception"?

Accepted Answer

Perception involves using prior knowledge and experiences to interpret and make sense of sensory information received from the environment.

Question 5

The identification of a complex arrangement of visual stimuli is known as

Accepted Answer

Object recognition refers to the cognitive process by which the brain identifies and understands what the eyes see, recognizing and distinguishing complex arrangements of visual stimuli as specific objects.

Question 6

The primary visual cortex is located in the _______ lobe of the brain.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The primary visual cortex is located in...

Question 7

According to the gestalt psychology approach to visual perception,

Accepted Answer

Gestalt psychology emphasizes that we tend to perceive objects as well-organized patterns rather than as separate, disparate parts. This approach suggests that our brains are wired to see structure, simplicity, and continuity in complex stimuli, leading us to perceive a whole that is more than just the sum of its parts.

Question 8

The feature-analysis approach to object recognition argues that

Accepted Answer

The feature-analysis approach to object recognition posits that recognition involves identifying specific features or components of a stimulus, such as lines, edges, or shapes, rather than matching the stimulus to a holistic template or understanding the arrangement of objects in a scene.

Question 9

The template model of object recognition would have the most difficulty explaining

Accepted Answer

The template model of object recognition suggests that we recognize objects by matching them to stored templates in our memory. It would have difficulty explaining how people recognize letters of the alphabet when they are turned upside-down because this orientation does not match the typical template stored in memory. Recognition in such cases likely involves more flexible, feature-based or structural understanding mechanisms rather than rigid templates.

Question 10

Suppose that you are looking at an object on your desk. Which of the following is the best example of the term perception?

Accepted Answer

Perception involves interpreting sensory information by combining it with existing knowledge, experiences, and thoughts, which is what option A describes.

Question 11

According to the introductory discussion about perceptual processes,

Accepted Answer

Perception involves both the direct information we receive from our senses (stimulus) and our previous experiences and knowledge, which help us interpret what we perceive. This is why it's not solely based on bottom-up processing (stimulus-driven) but also involves top-down processing (knowledge-driven).

Question 12

Suppose that a psychologist loans you an art book and says that the book includes some interesting ambiguous figure-ground pictures. You should expect to see

Accepted Answer

Ambiguous figure-ground pictures are images where the perception can shift between seeing a figure in the foreground and seeing it as part of the background. This means that what is perceived as the figure can become the background upon a different interpretation, and vice versa, fitting the description in choice C.

Question 13

Imagine that you are looking at a geometric drawing. At first, one shape in this drawing seems to be in front of other shapes. The next moment, this same shape seems to be located behind a second shape. This phenomenon is called:

Accepted Answer

An ambiguous figure-ground relationship describes a visual phenomenon where the perceived foreground and background of an image can switch back and forth in the viewer's perception, making it seem like one shape is in front of others at one moment and behind at the next.

Question 14

You are now reading a sentence on an examination. The actual stimulus (the words on the piece of paper) is called

Accepted Answer

The distal stimulus refers to the actual object or event in the external world, which in this case is the words on the piece of paper.

Question 15

The feature-analysis theories

Accepted Answer

Feature-analysis theories suggest that we recognize visual stimuli based on a limited set of characteristics or features, rather than comparing stimuli to an idealized whole form in memory. This applies to various visual stimuli, not just letters.

Question 16

In object recognition, an important problem with the feature-analysis approach is that

Accepted Answer

The feature-analysis approach struggles with viewpoint invariance, meaning it has difficulty explaining how we can recognize an object as the same when seen from different angles or perspectives. This is because it focuses on the identification of objects based on a set of features, which can appear different when the viewpoint changes.

Question 17

Which of the following statements about object recognition is correct?

Accepted Answer

The primary visual cortex (V1) is involved in the initial stages of visual processing, such as detecting edges and simple shapes. The recognition of complex objects involves higher-order visual areas beyond V1, such as the inferotemporal cortex. These areas are specialized for processing complex visual information, enabling object recognition.

Question 18

Which of the following is the best example of object recognition?

Accepted Answer

Object recognition refers to the ability to perceive an object's properties (such as shape, color, and texture) and apply semantic attributes to it (such as identifying it as a letter, in this case, the letter M). This process allows us to recognize and categorize objects in our environment. Options A, C, and D involve mental rotation, problem-solving, and attention switching, respectively, which are different cognitive processes.

Question 19

The discussion of the template model of object recognition pointed out that

Accepted Answer

The template model of object recognition suggests that we recognize objects by matching sensory input to stored templates in the brain. However, this model struggles with explaining the recognition of objects that can vary widely in appearance, such as handwritten letters, because it relies on having specific templates for recognition.

Question 20

Suppose that you look at a television screen for less than a second and then close your eyes. The image that is briefly preserved after the stimulus has disappeared is held in

Accepted Answer

Iconic memory refers to the brief visual memory of an image or scene, which is exactly what is described when looking at a television screen and then closing your eyes. This type of memory preserves a visual image for a short period, typically under a second, before it fades.

Quiz 2: Visual and Auditory Recognition