Deck 11: Perception and Action

Question 1

Woodworth suggested that the initial stage of a reaching to grasp movement is ballistic. What evidence contradicts this view?

A) Movement slows near the target
B) If the target is moved during the reach, the direction of movement is changed appropriately
C) A movement can still be made if the target is hidden after the movement has begun
D) Appropriate movements can be very fast

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Patients with optical ataxia cannot:

A) Correct a reaching movement if the target is moved during it
B) Judge object size correctly
C) Pick up small objects
D) Make lateral eye movements

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Jeannerod (1981) distinguished two stages in reaching to grasp an object, the 'transport' and the 'grip' components. He suggested that:

A) The transport component is ballistic
B) The grip component is governed by the size and shape of the object
C) The transport component is modulated by the occipital lobes
D) The grip component is programmed before the reach begins

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Verheij et al. found that Maximum Grasp Aperture when picking up and object was related to:

A) Object mass
B) Perceived object volume
C) Desired precision
D) Avoidance of collisions.

Question 5

In the Size-Weight Illusion:

A) Larger objects feel lighter
B) Of two objects with the same mass, the smaller feels heavier
C) Telling participants that two objects of different sizes have the same mass removes the illusion
D) It is necessary for the participant to see the objects for the illusion to occur

Question 6

In the Material-Weight Illusion:

A) More expensive cloth feels heavier
B) Objects with smoother surfaces feel lighter
C) When two objects have the same size and mass, which apparently made of a less dense material will feel heavier
D) Objects made of lead feel lighter than they really are

Question 7

In their study presenting targets near to or away from the participant's hands, Reed et al. found:

A) Targets near the dominant hand were more easily identified
B) The forefinger was the critical region in aiding detection
C) Reaction times were faster for targets near the palm than near the back of the hand
D) Targets near the hand appeared larger

Question 8

Gozli et al. studied how well small stimulus changes could be detected for stimuli near or away from the hands. They found that:

A) When stimuli were near the hands, temporal gaps were better detected than when stimuli were away from the hands
B) When stimuli were near the hands, spatial gaps were better detected than when stimuli were away from the hands
C) Spatial gaps were not affected by adjacency to the hands
D) None of these

Question 9

The attentional blink is:

A) The increase in blink rate when people are paying attention
B) The loss of visual sensitivity during an eye movement
C) The intermittent loss of vision during blinks
D) The loss of sensitivity to the second of two targets presented in close proximity in a stream

Question 10

Kelly and Brockmole found, when participants judged whether two arrays of lines were the same or different, that:

A) Performance was better when the stimuli were near the hands
B) Orientation differences were more easily detected for stimuli near the hands
C) Colour differences were more easily detected for stimuli near the hands
D) None of these

Question 11

Job et al. found, when participants had to judge whether a square target was present in the display, that:

A) Responses were faster to a local target with a power grip
B) Responses slower to a local target with a precision grip
C) Responses were faster to a global target with a power grip
D) Responses were slower to a global target with a power grip

Question 12

Vainio et al. found, when presenting objects suitable for a power or precision grip, that:

A) Power grip responses were faster when made by the left hand (and so the right hemisphere)
B) Power grip responses were slower when made by the right hand (and so the left hemisphere)
C) Precision grip responses were faster when made by the left hand (and so the right hemisphere)
D) None of these

Question 13

Behaviour in the swinging room shows that:

A) Proprioceptive information in not important in maintaining posture
B) Visual information can overcome proprioceptive and vestibular information in maintaining posture
C) Adults can disregard misleading visual information in maintaining posture
D) Children are not sensitive to optic flow

Question 14

Warren and Hannon showed, using optic flow displays, that:

A) Optic flow governs visual fixation
B) Optic flow can be used to judge heading direction
C) Optic flow does not change when the fixation point changes
D) Optic flow is only useful when driving

Question 15

Participants of Harris and Carré approached a target wearing prisms in several conditions. The experiments showed that:

A) Deviation from the correct path was smallest when participants crawled rather than walked
B) Optic flow is unimportant in the perception of heading
C) Faster walking leads to greater deviation from the correct path
D) None of these

Question 16

Tau, as an estimate of Time-To-Collision, has been criticised because:

A) There is an error in the mathematics
B) It is difficult to apply when an approaching object change shape
C) It only works for long distances
D) It relies on an accurate estimate of one's own speed

Question 17

It should be impossible for a batter to hit a fast-moving baseball because:

A) There is a delay of about 100 ms in visual information from the retina reaching the brain
B) The batter cannot move their feet quickly enough
C) It is difficult to maintain attention as the ball approaches
D) Optic flow is an ineffective guide to movement

Question 18

Participants of Brenner et al. hit moving tennis balls with a bat. The experimenters found that:

A) Performance was worse when vision was blurred
B) Participants learned to swing the bat a fixed time after the ball first appeared
C) Performance was better if the balls were made larger
D) Performance depended on the length of time available to view the ball's trajectory

Question 19

Prinz suggested that:

A) Visual information resonates in the brain
B) Perception is a constructive process
C) Perception and action share common codes in the brain
D) Actions are slowed if perception is more difficult

Question 20

The Theory of Event Codes has been criticised because:

A) It does not take into account the Gestalt view of perception
B) It is supported by simple experimental situations rather than continuously changing complex behaviours
C) It does not take into account individual differences
D) It has no support from neurology

Question 21

A ballistic movement is:

A) A pre-programmed movement, made without feedback about its trajectory
B) Part of the repertoire of a dancer
C) A wild uncontrolled movement
D) A movement made without apparent effort

Question 22

When an object appears in the path of the hand during a reach, how is behaviour affected?

A) There is inevitably a collision with the hand
B) The reach immediately stops
C) The reacher usually takes avoiding action
D) None of these

Question 23

In Buckingham and Goodale's study, participants lifted a cube which they could not see. Before each lift, they saw either a large or a small cube, whose size biased the apparent weight of the medium cube. This effect shows that:

A) A bottom-up explanation for the Size-Weight Illusion is plausible
B) Vision does not influence processing of proprioception
C) Proprioception is unreliable
D) Participants' expectations play a role in the Size-Weight Illusion.

Question 24

Abrams et al. found that search for a target in an array of distractors was slower when the display was presented near the hands. They suggested that:

A) Hand movement distracted participants
B) Stimuli near the hands get more thorough evaluation, which takes more time
C) Putting the hand near the display was uncomfortable, and this slowed responses
D) None of these

Question 25

Makris et al. found that the nature of an object presented before a high or low tone primed participants to use a precision or a power grip in responding to the tones, but only when binocular vision was used. Their explanation for this was that:

A) Two eyes are better than one
B) Monocular viewing is unnatural
C) Binocular viewing makes the 3D nature of the object clearer
D) Vergence makes focussing on the object more efficient

Question 26

The importance of vision in maintaining posture is shown by:

A) The increase in body sway with reduced lighting or reduced visual acuity
B) The increased likelihood of falls in the elderly
C) A reduction in vestibular acuity
D) Impairment of leg proprioception

Question 27

Participants of Rushton et al. walked in a curved path towards a target when fitted with prisms which moved the visual scene sideways. The authors suggested that this was because:

A) Optic flow was distorted by the prisms
B) Visual direction, but not optic flow, was changed by the prisms
C) Walking correctly was harder when the visual field was constricted
D) The prisms impaired stereoscopic vision

Question 28

Time-To-Collision is thought to be important in:

A) The perception of motion
B) The progress of political debate
C) The onset of economic recession
D) Judgements involved in safe driving

Question 29

The time window with which a skilled batter can hit a moving ball can be as short as

A) 2 ms
B) 750 ms
C) 100 ms
D) 200 ms

Question 30

Prinz's view of actions is that they are controlled by:

A) Perceptual hypotheses
B) The recent history of behaviour
C) A neural code shared with perception
D) Direct pickup of sensory information

Question 31

How have our views of reaching to grasp been modified by experiments?

Question 32

How is the Size-Weight Illusion to be explained?

Question 33

How does adjacency to the hand affect visual perception?

Question 34

How does a batter manage to hit a ball?

Question 35

Do perception and motor control use a common code?