Question 1

In order to become a better eyewitness to life, you should
A)maintain perceptual habits.
B)try to consciously pay closer attention.
C)become less aware of reality testing.
D)narrow your frame of reference.

Accepted Answer

Paying closer attention allows for a more detailed and accurate perception of events.

Question 2

Normally, _____remains constant, but in the moon illusion, the _____ appears constant.
A)perceived distance; retinal image
B)retinal image; perceived distance
C)perceived size; retinal image
D)retinal image; perceived size

Accepted Answer

The answer of Normally, _____remains constant, but in the moon...

Question 3

The optical illusion known as the Ames room results from
A)the left side being farther from the viewer.
B)the floor being built at an angle.
C)the two window frames being different sizes.
D)all of these factors contribute to the illusion.

Accepted Answer

The Ames room illusion is created by a combination of factors, including the left side of the room being farther away from the viewer, the floor being built at an angle, and the two window frames being different sizes. Therefore, all of these factors contribute to the illusion.

Question 4

The design of the Ames room creates
A)retinal disparity.
B)a size and shape constancy illusion.
C)motion parallax.
D)stroboscopic movement.

Accepted Answer

The design of the Ames room creates a size and shape constancy illusion. The room is shaped in a way that makes one person appear much larger than the other, but due to the angle and the distance from which the room is viewed, both people appear to be the same size. This illusion plays with our perception of size constancy and shape constancy.

Question 5

The moon looks larger on the horizon that when it is higher in the sky, in part due to our reliance on
A)motion parallax.
B)stroboscopic movement.
C)size constancy.
D)aerial perspective.

Accepted Answer

Size constancy is the tendency of the brain to perceive objects as having a constant size, regardless of their distance from the observer. However, when the moon is on the horizon, we have familiar objects such as trees or buildings for size comparison, which makes the brain perceive the moon as larger. As it rises higher in the sky, it lacks these familiar objects and thus appears smaller. This phenomenon is known as the moon illusion. Motion parallax refers to the way objects appear to move at different speeds depending on their distance from the observer and is not relevant to the moon illusion. Stroboscopic movement is the illusion of movement caused by a rapid series of still images, and aerial perspective refers to the way distant objects appear hazy due to atmospheric conditions, neither of which are relevant to the moon illusion.

Question 6

The text suggests that enhanced perceptual accuracy would be achieved through
A)forming perceptual habits.
B)using divided attention principles.
C)being aware of motives and expectations that can influence your perceptions.
D)maintaining adaptation levels.

Accepted Answer

The text clearly states that being aware of motives and expectations that can influence perceptions can lead to enhanced perceptual accuracy. There is no mention of forming perceptual habits, using divided attention principles, or maintaining adaptation levels as methods for achieving enhanced perceptual accuracy.

Question 7

To become a better "eyewitness" to life, you should do all of the following EXCEPT
A)seek out-of-the-ordinary experiences.
B)increase your perceptual sets.
C)engage in reality testing.
D)listen to others and watch their facial expressions.

Accepted Answer

Increasing your perceptual sets can actually limit your ability to be a good eyewitness because it can cause you to focus on certain aspects of a situation while ignoring others. The other options listed - seeking out-of-the-ordinary experiences, engaging in reality testing, and observing others' facial expressions and behaviors - can all help improve your ability to be a good eyewitness.

Question 8

When you are riding down a road, you may experience _____, which involves objects in the foreground, such as a telephone poles, appearing to fly by, while objects in the distance, such as mountains, seeming to barely move.
A)interposition
B)the apparent-distance hypothesis
C)motion parallax
D)the Ames effect

Accepted Answer

This is a description of motion parallax, which refers to the perceptual phenomenon where objects closer to the observer appear to move faster than objects farther away from the observer when the observer is in motion.

Question 9

The fact that we can walk and chew gum at the same time illustrates that we use divided attention.

Accepted Answer

Divided attention is the ability to focus on multiple tasks at the same time. Walking and chewing gum are two tasks that require different motor skills and cognitive processes, and we are able to perform them simultaneously. Therefore, this illustrates the use of divided attention.

Question 10

The text suggests that enhanced perceptual accuracy is LESS likely if we
A)relied only on our motivations and expectations.
B)voluntarily directed attention toward sensations that are normally tuned out.
C)engaged in reality testing.
D)interrupt habituation and break perceptual sets.

Accepted Answer

The text mentions that relying solely on our motivations and expectations can lead to perceptual inaccuracies. Therefore, enhanced perceptual accuracy is less likely if we rely only on our motivations and expectations.

Question 11

The three factors related to size constancy are the perceived size,
A)the relative motion, and the retinal image.
B)the aerial perspective, and the relative motion.
C)the retinal image, and the perceived distance.
D)the retinal disparity, and the aerial perspective.

Accepted Answer

Perceived size is affected by both the retinal image and the perceived distance. Relative motion and aerial perspective are not directly related to size constancy, although they can affect the overall perception of an object's size. Retinal disparity is more related to depth perception than size constancy. Therefore, the best choice is C which includes the two factors that are directly related to size constancy: perceived size and perceived distance.

Question 12

Which of the following suggestions would be considered good advice for a person who wants to become a better "eyewitness" to life?
A)Remember that perceptions are reconstructions of reality.
B)Utilize perceptual sets.
C)Increase habituation.
D)Beware of reality testing.

Accepted Answer

Understanding that perceptions are not necessarily an accurate reflection of reality can help someone become a better eyewitness by encouraging them to question and analyze their own perceptions and memories.

Answer: B 
 Utilizing perceptual sets, or intentionally focusing on certain aspects of a situation or environment, can help someone pay attention to details and remember important information.

Answer: C 
 Habituation, or getting used to a certain stimulus over time, may actually decrease one's ability to accurately perceive and remember details.

Answer: D 
 Beware of reality testing suggests that one should be cautious about relying solely on their own perceptions and memories, and instead seek confirmation or clarification from others or outside sources. This can be useful in ensuring an accurate and objective account of events.

Question 13

For a person who wants to become a better "eyewitness" to life, which of the following suggestions would be considered good advice?
A)Engage in reality testing and try taking the other person's perspective.
B)Break perceptual habits and interrupt habituation.
C)Seek out-of-the ordinary experiences.
D)All of these suggestions are good advice.

Accepted Answer

All of the suggestions are good advice for becoming a better eyewitness to life. Engaging in reality testing and taking on other perspectives can improve observation skills, breaking perceptual habits and interrupting habituation can help expand the range of things noticed, and seeking out-of-the-ordinary experiences can expose a person to different situations and perspectives.

Question 14

The optical illusion known as the _____, two boys are placed on opposite ends of a room and appear to be very different in size because our assumptions about the shape of the room are violated.
A)Ames room
B)motion parallax
C)stroboscopic movement
D)Müller-Lyer illusion

Accepted Answer

The description matches the Ames room illusion, where the shape and angles of the room are constructed to create the illusion of one person being much larger than the other. The other options (motion parallax, stroboscopic movement, and Müller-Lyer illusion) involve different types of visual phenomena that do not match the given description.

Question 15

When our attention is narrowly focused, we may experience inattentional blindness.

Accepted Answer

Inattentional blindness is a phenomenon where we fail to notice unexpected stimuli in our environment because our attention is narrowly focused on something else.

Question 16

Regarding size constancy, which of the following statements is FALSE?
A)Size constancy helps us make sense of changing stimuli in the world.
B)In the case of the moon illusion, size constancy can actually hinder us judging the actual size of a object.
C)Most people have difficulty judging the actual size of an object if they use only one eye, that is, receiving only one retinal image.
D)Size of an image on the retina directly depends on the distance of that object from the eye and the actual size of the object.

Accepted Answer

This statement is false as most people can judge the actual size of an object reasonably well even if they use only one eye. Size constancy helps us to perceive objects as having a consistent size even when viewed from different distances or angles, but it is not necessary for accurate size judgment in all situations.

Question 17

Bottom-up processing is like putting together a picture puzzle you've seen many times.

Accepted Answer

Bottom-up processing involves building a perception from the smallest pieces of sensory information, not from prior knowledge or experience.

Question 18

Habituation increases the ability of a stimulus to capture attention.

Accepted Answer

Habituation refers to a decrease in response to a stimulus as it becomes familiar or repetitive. Therefore, it reduces the ability of a stimulus to capture attention.

Question 19

An example of the _____ illusion was shown in the video clip when the line on the horizon looked larger than the closer line even though both lines were the same size and cast the same size retinal image.
A)Müller-Lyer
B)Ponzo
C)Poggendorff
D)Fraser's spiral

Accepted Answer

The Ponzo illusion involves the perceived size of an object being influenced by its surrounding context. In this case, the line on the horizon appears larger because it is positioned over converging lines, giving the impression that it is farther away and therefore larger.

Question 20

Normally, as an object moves closer to us, its retinal image grows larger, but we know it is not growing larger because of
A)size constancy.
B)distance constancy.
C)shape constancy.
D)motion parallax.

Accepted Answer

Size constancy is the perceptual ability to recognize that an object maintains the same size regardless of its distance from us. Therefore, even though the retinal image of an object may be growing larger as it moves closer, our size constancy mechanism kicks in and allows us to perceive the object as the same size.

Quiz 5: Extension B: Perceiving the World

In order to become a better eyewitness to life, you should

Normally, _remains constant, but in the moon illusion, the _ appears constant.

The optical illusion known as the Ames room results from

The design of the Ames room creates

The moon looks larger on the horizon that when it is higher in the sky, in part due to our reliance on

The text suggests that enhanced perceptual accuracy would be achieved through

To become a better "eyewitness" to life, you should do all of the following EXCEPT

When you are riding down a road, you may experience _____, which involves objects in the foreground, such as a telephone poles, appearing to fly by, while objects in the distance, such as mountains, seeming to barely move.

The fact that we can walk and chew gum at the same time illustrates that we use divided attention.

The text suggests that enhanced perceptual accuracy is LESS likely if we

The three factors related to size constancy are the perceived size,

Which of the following suggestions would be considered good advice for a person who wants to become a better "eyewitness" to life?

For a person who wants to become a better "eyewitness" to life, which of the following suggestions would be considered good advice?

The optical illusion known as the _____, two boys are placed on opposite ends of a room and appear to be very different in size because our assumptions about the shape of the room are violated.

When our attention is narrowly focused, we may experience inattentional blindness.

Regarding size constancy, which of the following statements is FALSE?

Bottom-up processing is like putting together a picture puzzle you've seen many times.

Habituation increases the ability of a stimulus to capture attention.

An example of the _____ illusion was shown in the video clip when the line on the horizon looked larger than the closer line even though both lines were the same size and cast the same size retinal image.

Normally, as an object moves closer to us, its retinal image grows larger, but we know it is not growing larger because of