Deck 21: Sensation and Perception: Perceptual Processes

Question 1

One of the authors of your psychology textbook described what appeared to be an apparent murder,but it turned out to be something quite different.The girl's words that "someone is killing her father" had completely shaped the author's perceptions.This illustrates that our experiences are filtered through our expectations and beliefs to form

A)attentional creations.
B)perceptual constructions.
C)sensory accommodations.
D)assimilated constructs.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Peter,who uses PCP,sees "flaky black smoke falling from the ceiling." Peter is experiencing a

A)visual hallucination.
B)visual illusion.
C)perceptual reconstruction.
D)sane hallucination.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In the Ames room,people appear to grow larger or smaller as they walk from one side of the room to the other because

A)retinal disparity occurs and causes motion parallax.
B)the room illustrates the reversibility of figure-ground objects.
C)accommodation cannot be maintained with movement by the people.
D)the observer's perceptual construction of the room is based on the assumption that the room is square.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Distorted perceptions of stimuli that actually exist is the definition of

A)hallucinations.
B)psychosis.
C)illusions.
D)delusions.

Question 5

Perceptual misconstruction occurs when viewing the Ames room because

A)the room appears square when viewed from a certain angle.
B)observers have prior knowledge of the experiment and expect bizarre experiences.
C)retinal disparity occurs and results in the phenomenon known as motion parallax.
D)of the autokinetic effect.

Question 6

In the textbook is a photomosaic by Robert Silver that is made up entirely of small,individual photos.An infant or newly sighted person would see only a jumble of meaningless colors.However,most people say that they see a familiar picture.This illustrates that visual perception involves

A)the automatic recording of action potentials by the rods and cones.
B)finding meaningful patterns in complex stimuli.
C)the storage and retrieval of particular visual scenes into your vestibulary system.
D)habituating the image and assimilating it into an existing schema.

Question 7

An imaginary perception,such as seeing,hearing,or smelling something that does not exist in the external world,is called a(n)

A)illusion.
B)hallucination.
C)stroboscopic movement.
D)Müller­Lyer illusion.

Question 8

Perceptions can be misconstructed as they are filtered through

A)our needs.
B)our attitudes,values,and beliefs.
C)our expectations.
D)all of these.

Question 9

You are at a carnival and go into a fun house in which mirrors create distorted images of you and your friends, while flashing lights cause apparent "movements of objects" where there is no movement.These are examples of

A)sane hallucinations.
B)illusions.
C)figure-ground reversible figures.
D)contiguity.

Question 10

Perceptual misconstruction is responsible for misleading or distorted perceptions known as

A)illusions.
B)hallucinations.
C)physiological nystagmus.
D)sensory habituations.

Question 11

To help us make sense out of sensations,our brain creates our perceptions by using preexisting knowledge,such as

A)transduction and feature detectors.
B)sensory coding and sensory localization.
C)the principles of perceptual grouping and perceptual constancies.
D)the principle of accommodation and psi phenomena.

Question 12

Studies of people who have had their vision restored after a lifetime of blindness found that it takes time for these people to learn to organize their sensations into

A)sensory habituations.
B)sensory sets.
C)realizations.
D)perceptions.

Question 13

A meaningful mental model of external events that is actively created by your brain is known as a(n)

A)attentional creation.
B)perceptual construction.
C)sensational accommodation.
D)assimilated construct.

Question 14

Perceiving objects or events that have no external reality describe

A)hallucinations.
B)stroboscopic movement.
C)figure-ground images.
D)illusions.

Question 15

After a lifetime of blindness,newly sighted people must learn to

A)identify objects.
B)judge sizes and distances.
C)interpret handwriting.
D)do all of these.

Question 16

Obtaining additional information as a check on the accuracy of one's perceptions is called

A)perceptual expectancy.
B)perceptual set.
C)reality testing.
D)perceptual verification.

Question 17

Like most experiences,seeing a "sunrise" is actually a mental model of an external event that is actively created by your brain.Thus,seeing a "sunrise" is a(n)

A)attentional creation.
B)sensational creation.
C)perceptual construction.
D)assimilated construction.

Question 18

You are asked to look through an opening into what appears to be an ordinary room that has a small boy standing in the left corner.As the boy walks from the left corner to the right corner,he appears to grow very large.You have just experienced the illusion created by

A)retinal disparity.
B)the Gestalt principle of contiguity.
C)physiological nystagmus.
D)the Ames room.

Question 19

A hallucination is

A)another name for an illusion.
B)a distorted or misleading perception of stimuli that actually exist.
C)a perception of objects or events that have no external reality.
D)characterized by none of these.

Question 20

Physical properties of an object,such as length,position,motion,curvature,or direction,are consistently misjudged in

A)illusions.
B)hallucinations.
C)physiological nystagmus.
D)sensory habituations.

Question 21

Upon seeing the Fraser's spiral,most people must carefully trace one of the circles to confirm what is "real" in the design.This is an example of

A)sensation analysis.
B)perceptual evaluation.
C)perceptual verification.
D)reality testing.

Question 22

Individuals who have Charles Bonnet syndrome

A)are partially blind.
B)are mentally disturbed.
C)lack the ability to engage in reality testing.
D)are characterized by all of these.

Question 23

You decide to practice working the algebra problems that the teacher worked in class.You already know what the correct answer should be,so you work the problem with this answer in mind.This scenario illustrates

A)top-down processing.
B)bottom-up processing.
C)convergence.
D)perceptual accommodation.

Question 24

When you put a picture puzzle together that you have seen many times,you will be using processing.

A)bottom-up
B)top-down
C)left-right
D)selective

Question 25

Which of the following is a major symptom of psychosis,dementia,epilepsy,migraine headaches,alcohol withdrawal,and drug intoxication and is also one of the clearest signs that a person has "lost touch with reality"?

A)illusions
B)hallucinations.
C)stroboscopic movement
D)reality testing

Question 26

When you put a picture puzzle together that you have never seen before,you will be using processing.

A)bottom-up
B)top-down
C)left-right
D)selective

Question 27

If you think you see a three-foot-tall butterfly,you can confirm you are hallucinating by trying to touch its wings. You are engaging in

A)perceptual verification.
B)perceptual evaluation.
C)sensation analysis.
D)reality testing.

Question 28

Regarding Charles Bonnet syndrome,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)This syndrome is a rare condition which afflicts mainly older people who are partially blind,but not mentally disturbed.
B)People with this syndrome may "see" people,animals,building,plants,and other objects appear and disappear in front of their eyes.
C)People with this syndrome experience "sane hallucinations."
D)People with this syndrome have an inability to engage in reality testing.

Question 29

A person with schizophrenia continually "hears" a voice shouting,"Buckets of blood!" when there is no one around and no radio or television is turned on.This person is experiencing a(n)

A)auditory hallucination.
B)vestibulary illusion.
C)sane delusion.
D)sane hallucination.

Question 30

Older people who are partially blind but not mentally disturbed may "see" people,animals,building,plants,and other objects appear and disappear in front of their eyes.This rare condition is known as

A)paranoid schizophrenia.
B)Charles Bonnet syndrome.
C)Klinefelter's syndrome.
D)Turner's syndrome.

Question 31

When you use inductive reasoning,you reason from specific facts and construct a general principle from these facts.Thus,inductive reasoning is similar to

A)bottom-up processing.
B)top-down processing.
C)perceptual expectancy.
D)perceptual habituation.

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a person who has Charles Bonnet syndrome?

A)They are partially blind.
B)They are mentally disturbed.
C)They are capable of engaging in reality testing.
D)They experience "sane hallucinations."

Question 33

When we start with pre-existing knowledge in order to organize features into a meaningful whole,we are exhibiting

A)perceptual dishabituation.
B)top-down processing.
C)bottom-up processing.
D)perceptual habituation.

Question 34

Which of the following psychologists proposed that the simplest organization involves grouping some sensations into an object or figure,that stands out on a plainer background?

A)humanistic psychologists
B)structuralists
C)psychodynamic psychologists
D)Gestalt psychologists

Question 35

Mark has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.In order to sort out which of his experiences are perceptions and which are hallucinations,he must engage in

A)stroboscopic movement.
B)reality testing.
C)perceptual reconstruction.
D)illusionary adaptation.

Question 36

When you use deductive reasoning,you start with a general principle and deduce specific information from this principle.Thus,deductive reasoning is similar to

A)convergence.
B)bottom-up processing.
C)top-down processing.
D)perceptual accommodation.

Question 37

Reality testing refers to

A)obtaining additional information to check the accuracy of one's perceptions.
B)an initial guess regarding how to organize a stimulus pattern.
C)changes in perception that can be attributed to prior experience.
D)the well-established patterns of perceptual organization and attention.

Question 38

Jonathan is suffering from Charles Bonnet syndrome.He tells his daughter that he wishes that he would stop seeing these "imaginary" animals in his house.Jonathan is experiencing

A)stroboscopic movement.
B)illusions.
C)sane hallucinations.
D)delusions.

Question 39

The organization of information starting with low-level features and building into a complete perception is known as

A)perceptual expectancy.
B)top-down processing.
C)bottom-up processing.
D)perceptual habituation.

Question 40

Perceptual construction proceeds in two major ways,which are processing.

A)inductive and intuitive
B)top-down and bottom-up
C)deductive and divergent
D)lateral and vertical

Question 41

The tendency to group together objects that are the same size,shape,color,or form is known as

A)closure.
B)continuation.
C)similarity.
D)nearness.

Question 42

Camouflage tends to "hide" objects because it breaks up which perceptual pattern?

A)closure
B)figure-ground
C)contiguity
D)common region

Question 43

You are driving down an unfamiliar road when it suddenly ends with two side roads from which to choose.Without a road sign,you choose the road that is only slightly angled rather than the road which makes a ninety degree angle with your original road.Your tendency to see the road chosen as part of the original road illustrates which perceptual principle?

A)similarity
B)continuation
C)nearness
D)figure-ground

Question 44

According to the Gestalt psychologists,the simplest perceptual organization is

A)shape constancy.
B)depth perception.
C)figure-ground.
D)size constancy.

Question 45

Because figure-ground organization is the first perceptual ability to appear after cataract patients regain their sight,it

A)is probably inborn.
B)is a type of perceptual habituation.
C)involves retinal disparity.
D)involves bottom-up processing.

Question 46

You are sitting in the pit area at the Indianapolis 500.You closely watch one of the cars whiz around on the track in front of the seething mass of humanity crammed into the stands.You have organized this visual scene such that the race car is considered the

A)figure.
B)ground.
C)common region.
D)contiguity object.

Question 47

Figure and ground can be switched in

A)shape perception.
B)depth perception.
C)reversible figures.
D)nonlinear figures.

Question 48

Patterns that break up figure-ground organization are known as

A)closure.
B)continuity.
C)camouflage.
D)contiguity.

Question 49

Closure,nearness,similarity,and continuation are categories of

A)Gestalt organizing principles.
B)Piagetian cognitive styles.
C)Humanistic subjective perceptions.
D)perceptual integration.

Question 50

Even though you "proofread" your term paper,the teacher returns your term paper with circles around several words in which you left out a letter when typing,such as "th" for "the" and "drivng" for "driving." Your tendency to add letters to these words when proofreading illustrates which perceptual principle?

A)closure
B)contiguity
C)figure-ground
D)common region

Question 51

The tendency to fill in gaps in the perception of a figure is called

A)sensory completion.
B)closure.
C)figure-ground.
D)continuation.

Question 52

The fact that objects that are close in space to each other tend to be grouped together is known as

A)closure.
B)continuation.
C)similarity.
D)nearness.

Question 53

Which of the following principles of perception would be most useful for those intending to camouflage military vehicles?

A)nearness
B)closure
C)figure-ground
D)contiguity

Question 54

When you look into the two classrooms in Hardin Hall,the desks appear to form vertical rows,while the seats that are side-by-side in the Hardin auditorium appear to form horizontal rows.The different perceptual groupings of these seats illustrate which principle?

A)closure
B)contiguity
C)nearness
D)figure-ground

Question 55

The organizational principle demonstrated by the stimuli below in which you tend to see a line of X's and a line of O's is known as XOXOX XOXOX XOXOX XOXOX XOXOX

A)continuity.
B)figure-ground.
C)similarity.
D)nearness.

Question 56

When one can alternately see both a wine glass and then two faces within the same image,this illustrates the reversibility of images.

A)continuation
B)proximity
C)closure
D)figure-ground

Question 57

At the national cheerleading contest,all the contestants are seated in one area within the stadium.Although 1,000 students are seated in this area,your eyes discern about 100 groups due to each group of cheerleaders having different color outfits.The way you grouped these students is most likely due to the perceptual principle of

A)continuity.
B)nearness.
C)similarity.
D)contiguity.

Question 58

When you complete an illusory figure in your mind,so that the figure now has a consistent overall form,you are exhibiting

A)closure.
B)sensory completion.
C)figure-ground organization.
D)continuation.

Question 59

Which of the following perceptual skills will be the first to appear if a blind person regains his or her sight?

A)perceptual set
B)size constancy
C)linear perspective
D)figure-ground

Question 60

You are sitting in the pit area at the Indianapolis 500.You closely watch one of the cars whiz around on the track in front of the seething mass of humanity crammed into the stands.You have organized this visual scene such that the people in the stands form the

A)figure.
B)ground.
C)vestibular area.
D)contiguity region.

Question 61

At the political convention,the people are crowded together on the convention floor.Although the large group is a mixture of different gender,ages,and races with many different outfits,you easily group these people together based on the sign being held up in the middle of each group that bears their state's name.Your grouping was the result of which perceptual principle?

A)contiguity
B)common region
C)figure-ground
D)continuation

Question 62

A cheetah scrambling up a rocky slope in Montana is likely to be perceived as a mountain lion because

A)perceptual hypotheses are guided by expectations.
B)figure and ground have been confused.
C)contiguity is a powerful influence on perception.
D)the setting provides an ideal camouflage.

Question 63

Which of the following is the perceptual principle involving the nearness in time and space and which is often responsible for the perception that one thing has caused another?

A)closure
B)continuation
C)figure-ground
D)contiguity

Question 64

Which principle of perception may explain why we tend to mentally group together people from a particular country or geographic region?

A)closure
B)common region
C)perceptual constancy
D)figure-ground

Question 65

Ambiguous stimuli demonstrate that

A)we passively record the events and stimuli around us.
B)we actively construct meaningful perceptions.
C)we are very quick to undergo sensory adaptation.
D)sensory gating prevents us from experiencing sensory overload in everyday situations.

Question 66

If you look at a cloud,you may discover dozens of ways to organize its contours into fanciful shapes and scenes. This is an example of

A)visual illusions.
B)texture gradient.
C)ambiguous stimuli.
D)aerial perspective.

Question 67

Which of the following illustrates the principle of contiguity?

A)the false dawn before a sunrise
B)the shadows cast on a cloudy day
C)a person lip-syncing to a song
D)a darker balloon seen as farther away than a lighter one

Question 68

Falsely identifying someone as a friend until he or she comes nearer demonstrates the idea that visual patterns often represent

A)perceptual transduction.
B)duplications of sensory information.
C)perceptual invariances.
D)perceptual hypotheses.

Question 69

The Gestalt principles offer us some basic "plans" for organizing parts of our day­to­day perceptions based on

A)habituation.
B)sensory adaptation.
C)top-down processing.
D)bottom-up processing.

Question 70

Implied shapes that are not actually bounded by an edge or an outline reveal our tendency to form shapes constructed with minimal cues and are referred to as figures.

A)contiguity
B)uniform
C)illusory
D)delusional

Question 71

Ambiguous stimuli allow us to hold more than one

A)texture gradient.
B)motion parallax.
C)perceptual constancy.
D)perceptual hypothesis.

Question 72

A friend of yours knocks on his head with one hand while knocking on a wooden table (out of sight)with the other.The knocking sound is perfectly timed with the movements of his visible hand.This leads to the irresistible perception that his head is made of wood and illustrates the Gestalt principle of

A)contiguity.
B)nearness.
C)continuation.
D)common region.

Question 73

The Necker's cube and the Rorschach inkblots are good examples of

A)discontinuous figures.
B)ambiguous stimuli.
C)retinal disparity.
D)motion parallax.

Question 74

Which of the following is an example of an ambiguous stimulus?

A)a spotted dog on a spotted background
B)an old picture of a long forgotten friend
C)multi-colored army fatigue uniforms
D)a group of clouds

Question 75

A ventriloquist is able to convince you that words are coming from his dummy's mouth because the dummy's mouth movements match the timing of the words actually coming from the ventriloquist.The ventriloquist is making use of the perceptual principle of

A)continuation.
B)figure-ground.
C)closure.
D)contiguity.

Question 76

You have a craving for ice cream.In the lunch room,you see a large bowl of pistachio ice cream.Excitedly,you run up to the bowl,only to find that it smells like tuna and is,in fact,a large bowl of tuna fish.You have just experienced

A)sensory adaptation.
B)the Gestalt notion of similarity.
C)the failure of a perceptual hypothesis.
D)camouflage interfering with figure-ground organization.

Question 77

People from Bangkok,Thailand,Katmandu,Nepal,and Malaysia can be mentally grouped together as Asians.Which of the following principles of perceptual grouping best fits this example?

A)nearness
B)continuity
C)common region
D)closure

Question 78

The active and fluctuating nature of perceptual organization can be demonstrated by looking at patterns that allow more than one interpretation.These patterns are called

A)visual aberrations.
B)illusory figures.
C)ambiguous stimuli.
D)impossible figures.

Question 79

An initial guess or plan about how to organize a stimulus pattern is referred to as a

A)cognitive style.
B)perceptual hypothesis.
C)sensory hypothesis.
D)perceptual closure.

Question 80

Regarding the principles of perception,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)Illusory figures are implied shapes that are not actually bounded by an edge or an outline.
B)Young children are unable to see illusionary shapes because there are only minimal cues.
C)Contiguity is often responsible for the perception that one thing has caused another.
D)Perceptions tend toward simplicity and continuity.