Deck 22: Sensation and Perception: Perception and Objectivity

Question 1

While you are driving,you make an illegal lane change and see a flashing light behind you.You immediately think,"Ticket time" and prepare to pull over.But as the car behind you draws nearer,you see that is is just a car with a vivid turn signal.Your behavior regarding the flashing light illustrates

A)dishabituation.
B)a perceptual set.
C)reality testing.
D)precognition.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

One explanation for the greatly differing accounts of the same athletic contest by fans of opposing teams involves the

A)confusion of cause and effect.
B)effect of motives on perception.
C)habituation of familiar stimuli.
D)effect of sublimation on memory.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to psychologist Barbara Frederickson,the scope of one's attention is actually broadened by

A)positive emotions.
B)negative emotions.
C)habituation.
D)perceptual sets.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A perceptual expectancy is

A)a readiness to perceive in a particular manner.
B)the organization of perceptions by beginning with low-level features.
C)an ingrained pattern of perceptual organization and attention.
D)the information surrounding a stimulus that gives meaning to the stimulus.

Question 5

The underlying mechanism for perceptual expectancies is

A)a misleading perception that distorts or misjudges a stimulus.
B)top-down processing.
C)the organization of perception by beginning with low-level features.
D)bottom-up processing.

Question 6

A perceptual hypothesis that we are likely to apply to a stimulus,even if applying it is inappropriate is called

A)dishabituation.
B)a perceptual expectancy.
C)reality testing.
D)extrasensory perception.

Question 7

According to psychologist Barbara Frederickson,negative emotions generally narrow our perceptual focus,increasing the likelihood of

A)bottom-up processing.
B)sensory gating.
C)inattentional blindness.
D)sensory adaptation.

Question 8

A readiness to perceive in a particular manner,induced by strong expectations is known as a perceptual

A)illusion.
B)grouping.
C)motive.
D)set.

Question 9

If you are riding in a car and are running low on gas,your attention will shift to gas stations.This is an example of the influence of

A)habituation.
B)divided attention.
C)motives.
D)inattentional blindness.

Question 10

If you are led to perceive in a certain way due to past experience,motives,context,or suggestion,then you are experiencing which of the following?

A)perceptual set
B)cognitive threshold
C)perceptual orientation
D)sensory bias

Question 11

You are low on gas and you see a sign saying "FUEL AHEAD." However,as you draw closer to the sign,you realize it actually says "FOOD AHEAD." This is an example of a

A)cognitive bias.
B)perceptual deficit.
C)perceptual expectancy.
D)sane hallucination.

Question 12

If you are hungry,food and even food-related words are more likely to gain your attention than nonfood-related words.This illustrates the influence of

A)motives.
B)divided attention.
C)habituation.
D)inattentional blindness.

Question 13

You enter a class and sit by a student,who tells you that Dr.Martin is hard and boring and does not care whether the students learn or not.At the end of the lecture,a friend asks you about Dr.Martin's class,and you tell her that a student you met before class was "certainly right" about Dr.Martin.His lecture was boring,and he does not care about his students.Your friend replies that he was the "best professor" she ever had,that he graded fairly,told interesting stories,and was always willing to help the students after class.Your original view of the teacher was due to

A)a perceptual set.
B)precognition.
C)bottom-up processing.
D)dishabituation.

Question 14

In the young woman/old woman illustration in your textbook,the effect of seeing either the picture of the "old woman" or the picture of the "young woman" first will lead a person to respond in a particular way to the third picture in which both an "old" and a "young" woman can be seen.Seeing the first picture of either the "old" or the "young" woman created which of the following?

A)stereoscopic vision
B)habituation
C)psychological closure
D)perceptual expectancy

Question 15

Advertisers often gain attention when selling a product by

A)utilizing the "soft sell."
B)increasing the viewer's habituation.
C)using motives,such as anxiety and sex.
D)creating inattentional blindness to the advertiser's intentions.

Question 16

According to psychologist Barbara Frederickson,which of the following generally narrows our perceptual focus and increases the likelihood of inattentional blindness?

A)positive emotions
B)negative emotions
C)sensory gating
D)bottom-up processing

Question 17

In one study,participants said that a $90 wine tasted better than a $10 wine,although the participants had really tasted the same wine.Interestingly,the participants' functional MRI images showed that the pleasure areas of their brains were more active when they were told they were drinking the "$90 wine." The results of this experiment illustrate that

A)suggesting the wine was expensive created a perceptual expectancy that it would taste better.
B)few people are supertasters that have the ability to discern the difference in wines.
C)few people are trained to do adequate reality testing.
D)suggesting the wine was expensive created inattentional blindness,blocking the actual taste sensation of the wine and creating a delusion.

Question 18

In one study,participants said that a $90 wine tasted better than a $10 wine,although the participants had really tasted the same wine.The participants' functional MRI images showed that the pleasure areas of their brains were

A)more active when they were told they were tasting the "$10 wine."
B)more active when they were told they were tasting the "$90 wine."
C)equally active when both the "$90" and the "$10" wines were tasted.
D)not active when either bottle of wine was tasted.

Question 19

Labeling people as "gang members" or "mental patients" tends to

A)facilitate actively thinking about a particular group.
B)cause dishabituation.
C)distort perceptions.
D)lead to more accuate categorizations.

Question 20

Perceptual expectancies are frequently created by

A)figure-ground relationships.
B)inattentional blindness.
C)reality testing.
D)suggestion.

Question 21

In England,the drivers drive on the opposite side of the road than American drivers do on American roads.Therefore,Jeanie and the other American tourists,who are visiting England will need to be very careful crossing the streets of London since they will have a tendency to look in the wrong direction to assess the traffic.This example illustrates the powerful effect that learning has on which of the following regarding our perception?

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

Question 22

Regarding perception,learning has a powerful effect on

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

Question 23

Chua,Boland,and Nisbett presented American and Chinese participants with pictures of a figure,such as a tiger,placed on a ground,such as a jungle,and monitored their eye-movement patterns.The Chinese tended to focus their eye movements

A)haphazardly.
B)in a structured and coordinated way.
C)on the figure (the tiger).
D)on the ground (the jungle).

Question 24

Regarding culture and perception,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)The society we live in can influence our most basic perceptual habits.
B)The differences in perceptual style influence the artistic and esthetic preferences expressed in Eastern and Western art.
C)East Asians tend to explain a person's actions in terms of the social context,while European Americans perceive actions in terms of internal factors.
D)Western cultures have a broader focus of attention,while Eastern cultures have a relatively narrow focus of attention.

Question 25

Regarding how they perceive the world,East Asians tend to

A)be individualistic.
B)be collectivist.
C)explain actions in terms of internal factors.
D)focus on a sense of personal control.

Question 26

Regarding cultural differences in perception,which of the following statements is TRUE?

A)Japanese participants were better at detecting alterations to the background than detecting changes in the figure of a scene.
B)European Americans tend to be collectivist and focus on interpersonal relationships and social responsibility.
C)East Asians tend to be individualistic and tend to focus on self and their sense of personal control.
D)European Americans tend to explain a person's actions in terms of the social context.

Question 27

When American and Japanese participants were shown drawings of everyday scenes,such as a farm,and were later shown slightly changed versions of the same scene,the Americans participants tended to

A)be better at detecting changes in the figure of the scene.
B)be better at finding alterations in the background of the scene.
C)find fewer overall changes.
D)find significantly more of the changes.

Question 28

Chua,Boland,and Nisbett presented American and Chinese participants with pictures of a figure,such as a tiger,placed on a ground,such as a jungle,and monitored their eye-movement patterns.The Americans tended to focus their eye movements

A)haphazardly.
B)in a structured and coordinated way.
C)on the figure (the tiger).
D)on the ground (the jungle).

Question 29

In tests of facial recognition,people

A)are much better at recognizing faces of other races than their own race.
B)show a consistent other-race effect.
C)are able to recognize the faces of people from other races better if they are in a negative mood.
D)exhibit all of these.

Question 30

Because Janie has more experience with people from her own race,she is better able to recognize people from her own race and tends to show a bias in perceiving persons from other racial and ethnic groups.This illustrates

A)the apparent-distance hypothesis.
B)the other-race effect.
C)color blindness.
D)the psi phenomena.

Question 31

Because Robin has more experience with people from her own race,she is better able to recognize people from her own race because she is more familiar with the features that help us recognize different persons.This illustrates the importance of

A)habituation.
B)sensory adaptation.
C)perceptual learning.
D)dishabituation.

Question 32

Regarding how they perceive the world,European Americans tend to

A)be individualistic.
B)be collectivist.
C)explain actions in terms of social context.
D)have a broader focus of attention.

Question 33

Research conducted by Chua,Boland,and Nisbett found that American participants tended to focus on the figure within a scene,while the Chinese participants focused on the background.They concluded that Americans tend to have a

A)broader focus of attention.
B)narrow focus of attention.
C)shorter attention span.
D)longer attention span.

Question 34

Regarding how they perceive the world,European Americans tend to

A)focus on personal relationships and social responsibilities.
B)be collectivist.
C)explain actions in terms of internal factors.
D)look at the social context in determining the causes of actions.

Question 35

An individual's ability to recognize people from other races improves when the individual is

A)trained to do top-down processing.
B)trained to do bottom-up processing.
C)in a positive mood.
D)in a negative mood.

Question 36

Which of the following refers to changes in the brain that alter how we process sensory information so that we can focus on just one part of a group of stimuli rather than processing all of the stimuli?

A)sensory adaptation
B)sensory habituation
C)perceptual learning
D)perceptual accommodation

Question 37

Regarding how they perceive the world,East Asians tend to

A)explain actions in terms of internal factors.
B)have a narrow focus of attention.
C)explain actions in terms of social context.
D)focus on a sense of personal control.

Question 38

Research on perceptual sensitivity has shown that people

A)are more likely to recognize the faces of people from their own race.
B)are more likely to recognize the faces of people from a different race.
C)are equally likely to recognize faces of people from any race or their own.
D)have more difficulty recognizing faces if they use only one eye.

Question 39

When American and Japanese participants were shown drawings of everyday scenes,such as a farm,and were later shown slightly changed versions of the same scene,the Japanese participants tended to

A)be better at detecting changes in the figure of the scene.
B)be better at finding alterations in the background of the scene.
C)find fewer overall changes.
D)find significantly more of the changes.

Question 40

Research conducted by Chua,Boland,and Nisbett found that American participants tended to focus on the figure within a scene,while the Chinese participants focused on the background.They concluded that the Chinese tend to have a

A)broader focus of attention.
B)narrow focus of attention.
C)shorter attention span.
D)longer attention span.

Question 41

If two objects make the same size image on the retina,but one is more distant than the other,the more distant object must be larger.This is formally known as

A)the size illusion.
B)the stroboscopic effect.
C)size constancy.
D)size-distance invariance.

Question 42

Regarding eyewitness testimony,which of the following statements is TRUE?

A)Most victims do not have an adequate weapon focus.
B)Victims certain of their testimony are usually more accurate.
C)Eyewitness testimony is generally very accurate.
D)Perception rarely provides an instant replay of events.

Question 43

The Müller­Lyer illusion is best explained by

A)size-distance invariance.
B)perceptual habits.
C)a lifetime of experience with the corners of rooms and buildings.
D)all of these.

Question 44

Eyewitness reports of a traumatic event may be distorted because perceptions are affected by

A)stress.
B)visual capture.
C)self-consciousness.
D)reality testing.

Question 45

A linebacker in football may be able to tell if the next play will be a run or a pass by watching one or two key players,rather than the entire opposing team.This illustrates

A)contiguity.
B)convergence.
C)perceptual learning.
D)reality testing.

Question 46

A novice chef discovers how to tell the difference between dried basil,oregano,and tarragon by focusing on a specific aspect of each herb.This illustrates

A)perceptual learning.
B)convergence.
C)contiguity.
D)reality testing.

Question 47

The problem with giving so much weight to eyewitness testimony in court is that

A)judges are reluctant to use it.
B)juries rarely believe the eyewitness.
C)reconstructions of events are deliberately altered.
D)it is frequently wrong.

Question 48

In general,learning tends to create

A)dishabituation.
B)stereoscopic vision.
C)habitual revision.
D)perceptual habits.

Question 49

Regarding the upside down face illustration in the textbook,a person knows what to expect when the face is in the normal position.However,when the face is inverted,the person is forced to

A)use sensory adaptation.
B)change his or her sensory coding.
C)rely on perceptual habits developed through past experience.
D)perceive the individual features of the face separately.

Question 50

In the demonstration of the upside down face in the textbook,perceptual learning

A)creates a lack of depth perception regarding the upside-down face.
B)has less impact on our perceptions of the upside-down face.
C)has more impact on our perceptions of the upside down face.
D)causes us to see no reversal of the features of the upside-down face.

Question 51

In one study of eyewitness cases,what percent of the time was the wrong person chosen from police lineup?

A)five percent
B)10 percent
C)18 percent
D)25 percent

Question 52

When a person first begins to use a computer,he or she has to deliberately pay attention to specific stimuli,such as icons,commands,and signals.These experiences changed how the person's brain processes information about this technology known as a computer.This change is called

A)sensory adaptation.
B)sensory habituation.
C)perceptual accommodation.
D)perceptual learning.

Question 53

The Müller­Lyer illusion is

A)based upon experience with the edges and corners of rooms and buildings.
B)based solely on figure-ground relationships.
C)experienced similarly in all cultures.
D)only present with arrows and lines less that one foot in length.

Question 54

Some research indicates that,compared to witnesses of crimes,victims of crimes are

A)more accurate in their accounts of the event.
B)about equally accurate in their accounts of the event.
C)less accurate in their accounts of the event.
D)less accurate in their accounts when the crime is a violent one.

Question 55

A general conclusion that one might draw from the relationship between San bushmen's experiences and their perception of the Müller­Lyer illusion is that

A)past experience and perceptual habits play a role in determining human perception.
B)some principles of perception are universal.
C)people cannot trust their own senses because they can never provide completely reliable knowledge.
D)perception has a more powerful effect on experience than experience on perception.

Question 56

Regarding the Müller­Lyer illusion,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)This illusion can be explained by our experience with the edges and corners of rooms and buildings.
B)This illusion can be explained by size-distance relationships.
C)The San bushmen,who live in a "round" culture,experience this illusion in exactly the same way as Americans,who live in a "square" culture.
D)Cues that suggest a three-dimensional space alter the perception of this two-dimensional design.

Question 57

Recent experiments on eyewitness testimony have shown that the relationship between a person's confidence in his or her testimony and its accuracy

A)depends upon whether the witness is male or female.
B)depends upon whether the witness has at least a high school education.
C)has almost no relationship.
D)is more suspect for children than for adults.

Question 58

Perceptual habits are

A)ingrained patterns of organization and attention.
B)muscular responses to sudden movements.
C)bodily sensations.
D)innate patterns of behavior.

Question 59

In a tilted mystery house at an amusement park,objects appear to roll uphill.This illusion is most likely caused by our

A)sensory adaptation.
B)sensory localization.
C)perceptual habits.
D)bottom-up processing.

Question 60

Students have found that if their psychology teacher repeats a term "three times," this term will definitely be on the test.Paying attention to specific stimuli illustrates the students'

A)perceptual learning.
B)convergence.
C)auditory accommodation.
D)ability to use reality testing.

Question 61

Creative people habituate

A)more slowly than average.
B)more rapidly than average.
C)more often during creative production.
D)to unfamiliar stimuli.

Question 62

Regarding eyewitness testimony,which of the following statements is TRUE?

A)The victim of a crime is a more accurate eyewitness than an observer.
B)The presence of a weapon impairs an eyewitness's ability to accurately identify the culprit's face.
C)Very high levels of stress increase the accuracy of eyewitness perceptions.
D)The more confident the eyewitness,the more accurate the eyewitness will be.

Question 63

Enhanced perceptual accuracy can be achieved through

A)unconscious transference.
B)actively attending to stimuli.
C)attempting to do three or four things simultaneously.
D)altered states of consciousness.

Question 64

According to Maslow,people who perceive their world more accurately than others tend to be characterized by

A)immersion in episodic memories.
B)egocentrism.
C)a freedom from selecting,criticizing,and evaluating.
D)self-consciousness.

Question 65

A decrease in perceptual responding to a predictable and unchanging stimulus is known as

A)habituation.
B)dishabituation.
C)perseveration.
D)a perceptual set.

Question 66

The key to dishabituation is

A)breaking functional fixedness.
B)paying close attention.
C)multi-tasking and divided attention.
D)daily meditation.

Question 67

Most of us tend to look at a tree and classify it into the perceptual category of "trees in general" without really appreciating the miracle standing before us.When we take the time to stop and pay attention to "this miracle" that we previously ignored,then we are exhibiting

A)habituation.
B)deductive reasoning.
C)inductive reasoning.
D)dishabituation.

Question 68

Regarding eyewitness testimony,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)Judgments of color made under monochromatic light are highly unreliable.
B)The less time an eyewitness has to observe an event,the less well she or he will perceive and remember it.
C)The confidence of an eyewitness in their testimony is a good predictor of his or her accuracy.
D)Alcohol intoxication impairs later ability to recall events.

Question 69

If you show an increased perceptual awareness,you would most likely experience

A)dishabituation.
B)unconscious transference.
C)high levels of stress.
D)stimulus repetition with variation.

Question 70

Abraham Maslow believed that people who are unusually accurate in their perceptions have which of the following qualities?

A)a surrender to perceptual habits
B)a reliance on evaluation and criticism
C)immersion in past experiences
D)a lack of self-consciousness

Question 71

Humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow believed that some people perceive themselves and others with unusual accuracy.Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of these people?

A)immersion in the present
B)a lack of self-consciousness
C)open,aware,and mentally healthy
D)selects,criticizes,and evaluates

Question 72

To maintain personal objectivity requires

A)frequent reality testing.
B)empathic responding.
C)confidence and high self-esteem.
D)being open to suggestion.

Question 73

When you download a new song from iTunes,the music initially holds your attention all the way through.But when the song becomes "old," it may play without you really attending to it.This illustrates

A)habituation.
B)sensory gating.
C)perseveration.
D)dishabituation.

Question 74

Research evidence has shown that the presence of a weapon

A)increases the accuracy of the account.
B)reduces the ambiguity of the interpretation of the situation.
C)impairs an eyewitness's accuracy of a description of a suspect.
D)allows an eyewitness to remember the event longer.

Question 75

Which of the following is a type of learning in which we learn to cease paying attention to familiar stimuli?

A)habituation.
B)dishabituation.
C)perseveration.
D)a perceptual set.

Question 76

The gathering of more information to check one's perceptions and improve one's objectivity is called

A)habituation.
B)a perceptual set.
C)precognition.
D)reality testing.

Question 77

Regarding eyewitness testimony,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)Eyewitnesses sometimes experience unconscious transference in which they identify as a culprit someone they have seen in another situation or context.
B)Eyewitnesses are better at identifying members of other races than they are at identifying people of their own race.
C)Eyewitness testimony about an event often reflects not only what was actually seen,but also information obtained later on.
D)An eyewitness's testimony about an event can be affected by how the questions for the witness are worded.

Question 78

Taking a fresh look and paying attention to those sensations that were previously ignored is known as

A)divergent thinking.
B)dishabituation.
C)convergent thinking.
D)habituation.

Question 79

Maria tries to listen to others with full concentration,making eye contact and watching their facial expressions.She is enhancing her perceptual accuracy by

A)paying attention.
B)forming perceptual sets.
C)exhibiting habituation.
D)allowing her emotions to influence her perceptions.

Question 80

Concerning eyewitness testimony,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)More than 300 people who were convicted of murder,rape,and other crimes in the United States based on eyewitness testimony have been exonerated by DNA testing.
B)An eyewitness's perception and memory for an event may be affected by his or her attitudes and expectations.
C)Our everyday perceptions are rarely as inaccurate or distorted as those of an emotional eyewitness to a crime.
D)Personal objectivity requires frequent reality testing to maintain.