Deck 3: Visual Perception

Question 1

Lateral inhibition leads to which perceptual experience?

A)The middle of an object is emphasized.
B)The edge of an object is enhanced.
C)Edges of objects tend to fade into the background.
D)Colors appear brighter next to a textured background.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following statements about the retina is FALSE?

A)There are three types of photoreceptors.
B)The axons of ganglion cells form the optic nerve.
C)You have a "blind spot" in the retina where there are no rods or cones.
D)Bipolar cells have connections with both photoreceptors and ganglion cells.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The ________ is the part of the eye involved in transducing light energy into neural energy.

A)lens
B)cornea
C)pupil
D)retina

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Patients who have suffered damage to the occipital-parietal pathway (the "where" system)will have difficulties with which of the following tasks?

A)visually identifying a toothbrush on the counter in front of them
B)describing the function of the toothbrush without touching it
C)reaching in the correct direction to retrieve the toothbrush
D)describing how to use the toothbrush

Question 5

A researcher wishes to define the receptive field for a particular neuron in the visual cortex.To do this,the researcher will need to specify

A)the portion of the neuron that receives input from neighboring neurons.
B)an area in the visual field within which targets will cause the cell to fire.
C)where the neuron is located within the visual cortex.
D)the brain area from which the neuron is receiving its input.

Question 6

A researcher wishes to determine under what circumstances,or in response to what input,a particular neuron fires.A technique well suited to this purpose is

A)neuropsychological testing.
B)lesion studies.
C)stereotaxis.
D)single-cell recording.

Question 7

Through single-cell recordings,researchers have identified the ________ neurons in the visual system.

A)receptive fields of
B)connections between
C)shape of
D)problems with some

Question 8

________ are located primarily in the fovea,while ________ are located primarily in the periphery.

A)Cones;rods
B)Rods;cones
C)Short-wave cones;long-wave cones
D)Long-wave cones;short-wave cones

Question 9

Which of the following would NOT be considered part of the fovea?

A)a cluster of cones in the center of the retina
B)the area of the retina found far out in the periphery
C)the region of the retina with the greatest acuity
D)the area of the retina on which we place a target image in order to see the target clearly

Question 10

Because of its center-surround organization,a neuron that has its entire receptive field (i.e. ,the center and the surround)exposed to bright light will

A)fire rapidly.
B)stop firing entirely.
C)maintain the same rate of firing as if there were no light presented.
D)fire slowly until the light turns off,then begin firing rapidly.

Question 11

The lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)acts as

A)a way station between the eye and the occipital cortex,located in the thalamus.
B)an important area in the amygdala,associated with long-term memory.
C)a relay station to the amygdala.
D)the location in the temporal cortex where auditory information is stored.

Question 12

Cells A and B receive the same high levels of stimulation,but Cell A shows a lower level of activity relative to Cell B.A likely explanation for this fact is that Cell A

A)is defective.
B)is receiving input from the edge of a surface,while Cell B is receiving input from a portion of the surface away from the edge.
C)is being laterally inhibited by other nearby cells.
D)has a higher resting level than Cell B.

Question 13

Which of the following statements does NOT illustrate the difference between rods and cones?

A)Rods are sensitive to lower levels of light.
B)Only cones are able to discriminate color (hue).
C)There are three types of rods (for three different wavelengths of light)and only one type of cone.
D)Cones have greater acuity.

Question 14

The importance of vision for humans is reflected in the

A)close proximity of the eyes to the visual cortex.
B)inability of brain damage to disrupt the visual system.
C)lack of a "blind spot" in humans.
D)relative size of the visual cortex.

Question 15

Parvo and magno cells

A)are similarly sized.
B)are linked so that parvo cells trigger firing in magno cells.
C)inhibit firing of one another.
D)provide input for the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN).

Question 16

A researcher has identified the receptive field for a neuron and has determined that the receptive field has a center-surround organization.If the researcher were to shine light into the entire receptive field,including both the center and the surrounding areas,we would expect the neuron to

A)continue firing at its resting rate.
B)increase its firing rate.
C)decrease its firing rate.
D)cease firing.

Question 17

If visual information conflicts with other information,we usually

A)trust the visual input.
B)distrust the visual input,as our eyes can play tricks on us.
C)trust input from other senses,like auditory input.
D)become confused and give up.

Question 18

Single-cell recordings measure the ________ of individual neurons.

A)shape
B)pattern of firing
C)release of neurotransmitters
D)synaptic connections

Question 19

Cells detecting the boundary of a surface are subject to less lateral inhibition than cells detecting the center of the same surface.This leads to an effect called

A)lateral enhancement.
B)edge enhancement.
C)the boundary rule.
D)the all-or-none law.

Question 20

Which of the following statements about the visual stimulus,light,is FALSE?

A)Light can be described as wavelengths that vary in frequency and amplitude.
B)Perceived color (hue)is determined primarily by the wavelength of the incoming light.
C)Our visual system is only able to detect a small proportion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
D)Light perceived as red is associated with longer wavelengths,relative to blue light.

Question 21

Which of the following statements most accurately represents the order of events involved in interpreting a visual stimulus?

A)First you perceive the components of the stimulus,then you interpret the overall stimulus.
B)First you interpret the overall stimulus,then you perceive the components.
C)You perceive the components and interpret the stimulus in a parallel fashion.
D)There are not sufficient data to know how this process occurs.

Question 22

To perceive the visual world,we have to bind various elements of a scene together so that they are perceived in an integrated fashion.Which of the following is NOT likely to be involved in this process?

A)attention
B)iconic memory
C)spatial position
D)different groups of neurons firing in synchrony

Question 23

Brad is able to read a clock but is unable to see the arms of a clock move from position to position.He is suffering from

A)akinetopsia.
B)change blindness.
C)visual neglect.
D)prosopagnosia.

Question 24

The specialization evident in visual processing shows that

A)the visual system relies on parallel processing.
B)all of the various aspects of visual processing occur within the occipital cortex.
C)the visual system relies exclusively on serial processing.
D)all visual processing occurs in the right hemisphere.

Question 25

________ cells in the LGN are specialized for spatial analysis and form detection,whereas ________ cells are specialized for the detection of motion and depth.

A)Magnocellular;parvocellular
B)M-cells;magnocellular
C)Parvocellular;p-cells
D)Parvocellular;magnocellular

Question 26

Which of the following characteristics seems NOT to carry information within the visual system?

A)the rate of firing of the neuron
B)the rhythm of the firing of the neuron
C)the chemicals released by the neuron
D)the shape of the neuron

Question 27

Visual agnosia is associated with damage to which of the following?

A)area V1
B)the "where" system,which carries information from the occipital cortex to the parietal cortex
C)the "what" system,which carries information from the occipital cortex to the temporal cortex
D)area MT

Question 28

The primary visual cortex is located

A)immediately behind one's eyeballs.
B)in the middle of the brain,near the thalamus.
C)at the part of the cortex that is farthest from the eyes.
D)in the parietal lobe.

Question 29

The Necker cube is an ambiguous figure.Which of the following statements regarding the cube is FALSE?

A)The drawing does not force perception of the cube in one orientation over the other.
B)The lines on the page are neutral in regard to the cube's configuration and depth.
C)The lines on the page contradict one another,so that the perception has to "overrule" the information given.
D)There is more than one perceptual interpretation of the cube's orientation.

Question 30

Some people have sustained brain damage and lost the ability to identify color.Other people have sustained damage to a different area of the brain and lost the ability to detect motion.What does this indicate about our visual system?

A)Identifying color is more important than identifying motion.
B)Perception of motion gets processing priority over perception of other attributes.
C)We have specialized areas for processing different kinds of visual information.
D)The brain is unable to simultaneously process information in multiple ways.

Question 31

Which of the following sentences best illustrates the effect that Gestalt principles have on perception?

A)"Go beyond the information given."
B)"Seeing is believing."
C)"Think outside the box."
D)"Believing is seeing."

Question 32

Which of the following would NOT be considered an advantage of parallel processing in the visual system?

A)It is fast.
B)Information is processed only once,making it efficient.
C)Multiple areas can process the information simultaneously.
D)Disparate systems can work together to negotiate an accurate interpretation.

Question 33

In order to summarize the Gestalt psychologists' movement in a few words,one might say,

A)"If you can't see it happen,it isn't worth studying."
B)"The perceptual whole is different than the sum of its parts."
C)"All that is important happens in the subconscious."
D)"What you see is what you get."

Question 34

Julie has sustained damage to the "what" system in her brain.She will likely have difficulty with which of the following tasks?

A)remembering where she put her keys
B)identifying a chair
C)providing directions to the store
D)hitting a baseball with a bat

Question 35

The face/vase example illustrates what important principle of perceptual organization?

A)If the input is ambiguous,the image can be interpreted in different ways at different times.
B)Illusions do not occur with complex,detailed figures.
C)Faces are easier to see than vases,because of the social aspect of human behavior.
D)The perceiver does not contribute information to an ambiguous image.

Question 36

Human brains have a distinct division-of-labor strategy.Each task is achieved as a result of multiple brain areas working together.But the work of the various parts of the brain must be compiled into a finished whole.The issue of how this reassembly works is referred to as the

A)binding problem.
B)law of integration.
C)reassembly law.
D)synchronize process.

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT one of the Gestalt principles governing perception?

A)good continuation
B)complexity
C)proximity
D)closure

Question 38

Jenna sees a picture of a dog standing in front of a tree.The dog is blocking part of Jenna's view,so that she cannot see a portion of the tree trunk.Jenna does,however,perceive the tree to have an intact,continuous trunk.Jenna's perception reminds us that

A)people generally "fill in" missing perceptual information,guided by the Gestalt principles.
B)people generally assume that trees have intact trunks.
C)people are able to perceive accurately if the scene they are viewing is a familiar one.
D)the viewer's contribution to perception is evident in the laboratory but not in more realistic settings.

Question 39

Which of the following does NOT provide an example for parallel processing in the visual system?

A)Rods and cones function simultaneously in the retina.
B)There are magnocellular and parvocellular cells in the LGN.
C)Visual information is sent from the retina,to the LGN,to the visual cortex.
D)The "what" and "where" streams in the visual association cortex work together.

Question 40

Someone with akinetopsia would have difficulty with all of the following EXCEPT

A)crossing the street.
B)pouring a drink.
C)watching a tennis match.
D)recognizing faces.

Question 41

The fact that your view of one object is blocked by another object can provide information about depth.This depth cue is termed

A)interposition.
B)similarity.
C)good continuance.
D)binocular depth cue.

Question 42

The action pathway corresponds with the ________ system,while the perception pathway corresponds with the ________ system.

A)where;what
B)distance;evaluation
C)what;where
D)evaluation;distance

Question 43

It is possible to perceive depth with one eye closed because of

A)feature detectors.
B)monocular cues.
C)lateral inhibition.
D)perceptual disparity.

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT considered a monocular cue for depth perception?

A)interposition
B)linear perspective
C)texture
D)similarity

Question 45

As you perceive a bus traveling down a street,________ cells convey information relevant to detailed analysis of form,and ________ cells convey information relevant to movement detection.

A)V1;parvocellular
B)parvocellular;magnocellular
C)bipolar;magnocellular
D)V1;bipolar

Question 46

Which of the following statements most accurately describes visual illusions?

A)Cognitive principles that generally help us can cause illusions in some cases.
B)Illusions are mostly beneficial to perception.
C)Illusions will not occur if you know how to avoid them.
D)Illusions can occur for shape and size,but not for color or brightness.

Question 47

Despite the fact that sensory stimuli can change from moment to moment,we perceive the details (color,shape,etc. )of an image to be stable because of

A)constancy.
B)memory.
C)proximity.
D)good continuation.

Question 48

One way that we can perceive depth is through our sensitivity to the adjustment our lens is making.This cue would be

A)a monocular depth cue.
B)a binocular depth cue.
C)interposition.
D)constancy.

Question 49

Jose is walking toward Dan,who is standing still.As Dan watches Jose move toward him,a series of physical and perceptual events will occur.Which of the following is NOT one of those events?

A)The image of Jose will increase on Dan's retina.
B)Dan will consciously make the effort to calculate Jose's distance based on the size of the retinal image.
C)Dan will likely perceive no change in Jose's height,because of size constancy.
D)Dan's perception of Jose's height will be influenced by Dan's perception of how far away Jose is.

Question 50

Shadowing can provide a cue for depth.For example,if a shadow appears on the bottom of a circle,the object appears convex.However,if the shadow appears on the top of the object,it appears concave.This happens because

A)we have a part of the visual cortex that is dedicated to the interpretation of shadows that are at the bottom of an object.
B)in the real world,light comes from above more often than from below.
C)we were taught in school how to interpret shadows.
D)we are born with the ability to discriminate depth through use of shadows.

Question 51

Which of the following refers to the problem of reuniting aspects of a scene that were initially processed by distinct brain systems?

A)sensory integration problem
B)visual perception problem
C)binding problem
D)integration problem

Question 52

The observation that different neurons function as dot,edge,and movement detectors suggests that

A)different neurons have different receptive fields.
B)lateral inhibition is essential in visual processing.
C)rods and cones are more complex than initially understood.
D)neurons have similar preferences.

Question 53

Visual illusions often occur because of

A)errors in retinal transduction.
B)the perceiver's interpretation of the input.
C)optical flaws in the cornea.
D)obstructions in the image.

Question 54

Molly sees a black crow standing on a brightly lit snow field.In this setting,a great deal of light will be reflected off of the crow's feathers.Molly will likely perceive the crow as

A)gray or even white,because brightness constancy cannot operate in this setting.
B)black,thanks to brightness constancy.
C)lighter in color than it actually is,because of brightness contrast.
D)black,only if she has some direct information about the level of illumination.

Question 55

As you move toward an object,the object gets larger on your retina.This is called

A)optic flow.
B)motion parallax.
C)similarity.
D)linear perspective.

Question 56

If a cat casts a 5 mm image on your retina when it is 10 ft away from you,that same cat will cast an image that is ________ mm when it is 20 ft away from you.

A)5
B)10
C)2.5
D)20

Question 57

The cues to depth perception

A)are random.
B)generally rely on simple principles of physics.
C)change based on one's age.
D)are inconsistent across individuals.

Question 58

It seems inefficient to rely on so many different cues for depth perception.Why,then,do we have so many disparate cues?

A)We use different cues in different situations.
B)We are born with the ability to use some cues,but others have to be learned.
C)Although we have many cues,they are all served by the same neural area,which is efficient.
D)Some of the cues are always more accurate than other cues.

Question 59

Krista is sitting on a bench,watching the world go by.She notices that the people who are near to her move across her retina more quickly than the cars in the distance move.This effect is called

A)optic flow.
B)motion parallax.
C)linear perspective.
D)continuation.

Question 60

A horse is blocking the front of a barn door,obstructing your view of the door.This configuration allows you to determine that the horse is closer to you than the barn door is.This is called

A)good continuation.
B)closure.
C)interposition.
D)linear perspective.

Question 61

Think of a real-world example in which two people will interpret the same stimulus differently.Describe the example and the factors that contribute to the different interpretations.

Question 62

Pick one of the ambiguous figures that was mentioned in the chapter.Describe how this figure is perceived and why it occurs.Make sure to differentiate between the role the stimulus plays and the role the interpreter plays in the perception.

Question 63

It has been argued that the visual system relies on a "divide and conquer" strategy.What does this mean? Provide one example of the organization of the visual system that provides support for your conclusion.

Question 64

Explain the disorder known as akinetopsia,including the biological changes that cause the disorder and the behavioral changes that result.

Question 65

Describe at least two cues that facilitate perception of distance/depth.Why is redundancy in the visual system advantageous?

Question 66

Describe the sequence of events through which visual information is processed.Begin by discussing how light is converted into neural energy.Then describe the pathway from the eye to the primary visual cortex.Finally,describe the processing that occurs outside of the primary visual cortex.

Question 67

Describe the method and results of Hubel and Wiesel's experiments on the visual system.

Question 68

Explain the Gestalt perspective of form perception by providing examples and descriptions of at least two Gestalt principles.

Question 69

Describe the process of lateral inhibition and how it may result in edge enhancement.

Question 70

Describe the "what" and the "where" streams,making sure to describe the function and location of each stream.

Question 71

Describe three different cues we can use to perceive depth.What are the advantages to having so many different cues for depth?