Deck 11: Visual Knowledge

Question 1

Damage to brain areas needed for vision

A) usually has little impact on visualizing.
B) generally has opposite effects on visualizing and on vision.
C) is likely to destroy altogether the patient's ability to visualize.
D) often has disruptive effects for visualizing similar to the disruption observed for visual perception.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

If participants are asked to imagine an object, such as a dog, information that will be prominent if the mental image

A) tends to concern aspects that are strongly associated with, or distinctive for, the imaged object.
B) matches the pattern of information prominent in a description of the imaged object.
C) corresponds well with the information that is prominent in an actual picture.
D) is similar to the information prominent in other forms of mental representation.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Chronometric studies

A) are time-measuring techniques used to record how long it takes to fulfill a mental process.
B) have been relatively uninformative for the study of complex mental events.
C) have documented the descriptive (language-like) properties of mental imagery.
D) require an understanding of the brain events underlying a particular mental function.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Matt is shown two complex three-dimensional images (A and B) and asked to determine if the images are identical. The images are aligned in different planes, so answering the question requires mentally rotating one of the images. Which of the following statements about Matt's task is true?

A) The larger the required the rotation, the faster responding will be.
B) The smaller the required rotation, the slower responding will be.
C) The time it takes will be the same, regardless of the required rotation.
D) There is a systematic correlation between the required rotation and reaction time.

Question 5

Segal and Fusella asked their participants to visualize one stimulus while attempting to detect a different, rather faint, signal. The data indicate that the activity of visualization

A) disrupted the detection of a visual signal but had much less impact on the detection of an auditory signal.
B) served to prime the visual system and the auditory system, promoting the detection of both signals.
C) served as a general distracter, thereby disrupting the detection of either a visual or an auditory signal.
D) had no impact on the detection of the signal.

Question 6

Studies of mental rotation indicate that

A) participants are able to imagine the rotation of a two-dimensional display but are unable to imagine rotation in depth.
B) the greater the degree of rotation required, the more time is needed to complete the rotation.
C) participants seem able to compare objects in mental imagery without bothering to imagine these objects rotated into alignment.
D) imagined rotation in depth is appreciably faster than imagined rotation in two dimensions.

Question 7

The technique of transcranial magnetic stimulation employs strong magnetic pulses at a particular site on the scalp. When it is used on the scalp near Area V1, the effect is

A) to give the participant rich and detailed hallucinations.
B) a temporary disruption of vision but not visual imagery.
C) a permanent disruption of visual imagery, and therefore use of the technique is unethical.
D) a temporary disruption of vision and visual imagery.

Question 8

A researcher asks a participant to memorize a city map. On the map, the library and the school are 2 inches apart; the school and the hospital are 4 inches apart. The researcher now instructs the participant to form an image of the map and to scan from the library to the school. The researcher then asks the participant to scan from the school to the hospital. It is most likely true that the scanning time from the school to the hospital is ________ the scanning time between the library and the school.

A) half
B) triple
C) the same as
D) double

Question 9

Which of the following claims is true for a depiction of a cat but NOT for a description of a cat?

A) Properties strongly associated with the cat (e.g., whiskers) will be particularly prominent.
B) The distinctive features of the cat (e.g., claws) will be particularly prominent.
C) Aspects of the cat that are obvious (e.g., the fact that the cat has a body) are likely not to be prominent.
D) The cat's head will probably be prominent, but the cat's claws are likely not to be.

Question 10

In some cases, participants (often unknowingly) change their responses to what they think that the experimenter is looking for. Here participants are said to be sensitive to the ________ of the experiment.

A) demand character
B) imagined response
C) implicit hypothesis
D) mental weightings

Question 11

A psychologist asks her experimental participants to describe their experiences in using mental imagery. The psychologist is collecting

A) sentence-verification results.
B) self-report data.
C) chronometric evidence.
D) converging evidence.

Question 12

Bradley has visual neglect. He is asked to imagine he is looking at the front of his home and to describe everything that he can see. His response will be

A) very detailed for the entire scene.
B) very detailed for the left side of the scene.
C) detailed for the right half of the scene.
D) based on his schema of a house, not his own house.

Question 13

When participants are asked to report on their imagery experience, we discover that

A) imagery is employed less often than researchers have proposed.
B) many individuals prefer not to use mental imagery.
C) participants differ widely in how they describe the experience.
D) visual imagery is a skill shared by all people.

Question 14

Studies of image scanning indicate that

A) participants' scanning rate is slow for short distances but is faster for greater distances.
B) there is a linear function linking scanning distances and scanning times.
C) the fastest scanning times tend to be obtained with moderate scanning distances.
D) participants are able to scan across their images virtually instantaneously.

Question 15

In some studies, participants have been asked to visualize a particular stimulus (e.g., the letter A). If the same stimulus is then presented at low contrast, visualization

A) has no effect on the perception of the stimulus.
B) primes perception, but no more than when participants were asked to visualize a different letter (e.g., the letter B).
C) disrupts perception of the stimulus.
D) serves to prime perception of the stimulus.

Question 16

Studies of moment-by-moment brain activity indicate that

A) the activity of visualization produces widespread activation of the brain, particularly in the left hemisphere.
B) the brain regions needed for visualization are distinct from the brain regions needed for actual vision.
C) when participants are visualizing, activity levels are high in brain regions also crucial for visual perception.
D) different people employ different brain areas to support their visualizing.

Question 17

One group of participants is instructed to imagine a cat and the participants are then asked several yes/no questions about their image. A second group of participants is instructed simply to think about cats, with no mention of imagery, and the participants are then asked the same yes/no questions. We expect that participants responding on the basis of the image will respond more quickly to which of the following questions?

A) Does the cat have a head?
B) Does the cat have whiskers?
C) Is the cat a mammal?
D) Does the cat have claws?

Question 18

Evidence from fMRI studies indicates that people show similar patterns of activity in the brain when viewing objects as they do when ________ the objects.

A) visualizing
B) talking about
C) interacting with
D) avoiding thinking about

Question 19

Bobby wants to be a "good participant," so he tries to perform in a way that will impress the experimenter. Bobby is sensitive to the

A) demand character.
B) external validity.
C) internal validity.
D) experimental demands.

Question 20

Participants are given a task that requires them to zoom in on a mental image in order to inspect a detail. Evidence indicates that

A) the greater the distance to be zoomed, the more time is required.
B) the shorter the distance to be zoomed, the more time is required.
C) zooming in on an image is a virtually instantaneous process.
D) there is no regular relationship between the amount of zoom and the time required.

Question 21

The ________ face area of the visual cortex is highly active for faces, while the ________ place area is highly active for places.

A) fusiform; fusiform
B) fusiform; parahippocampal
C) parahippocampal; fusiform
D) ventral; dorsal

Question 22

Information about an image is stored as a "package" made up of both the perceptual frame of reference and

A) information on the relative size of the image.
B) the depiction of the image.
C) information as to whether the item is ambiguous.
D) verbal labels of the image.

Question 23

Brian is a person with brain damage who has lost the ability to do most visual tasks, including tasks requiring him to think about an object's color. On the basis of other evidence, it is likely that Brian

A) may still be able to perform normally on spatial tasks.
B) will also be unable to do auditory tasks, including tasks requiring him to think about pitch.
C) will also be unable to do image scanning.
D) will also be unable to perform mental rotation tasks.

Question 24

Hank is an eidetic imager. This means that after viewing an image for a very short amount of time, he will

A) be able to describe the image pretty well.
B) draw the image in amazing detail, as if it were a photograph.
C) use mnemonic techniques to describe the gist of the image.
D) not be able to remember the image at all.

Question 25

The text considers various arguments concerning pictures and percepts. According to the text, pictures are

A) depictions and percepts are descriptions.
B) descriptions and percepts are depictions.
C) ambiguous and percepts are organized and thus unambiguous.
D) organized and thus unambiguous and percepts are ambiguous.

Question 26

Truly photographic memory is called

A) long-term memory.
B) perfect pitch.
C) perfect perception.
D) eidetic imagery.

Question 27

In a memory experiment, participants were shown a form that could be interpreted in more than one way. Half the participants were told, "Here is a picture of the sun." The other participants were told, "Here is a picture of a ship's steering wheel." Sometime later, participants were asked to draw the exact form they had seen earlier. The data indicate that

A) participants' visual memories were distinct from their verbal memories, so participants were uninfluenced by the labels.
B) participants' drawings were biased in a fashion that reflected the labels that they had been given earlier.
C) the labels had called attention to the ambiguity of the figures, leading to improved memory accuracy.
D) participants were able to remember only the labels, not the drawings.

Question 28

When asked to determine which city is farther south, Seattle or Montreal, people are likely to mistakenly say "Seattle." This is probably because

A) people depend on their "gut feelings" when they don't know an answer.
B) some spatial information is stored in memory in a propositional form rather than an image form.
C) people are great at reading visual images and can discover surprising facts in them.
D) people are miserably bad at reading visual images, and so images are no help in this type of problem.

Question 29

Studies of individual differences in mental imagery ability indicate that

A) women tend to be poorer in visual skills than men.
B) individuals seem not to differ with regard to their imagery skills.
C) "good" imagers do well on all imagery tasks, while "less good" imagers have a consistent disadvantage in every imagery task.
D) each individual has his or her own profile of imagery skills that he or she can do well and skills that he or she does poorly.

Question 30

Homer, Lisa, and Moe are asked to remember pairs of words. Homer tries to accomplish this task by rehearsing the words over and over again. Lisa decides to create a narrative combining the words together. Finally, Moe decides to imagine the objects interacting in some way. Who is likely to remember the items best?

A) Homer
B) Lisa
C) Moe
D) They will remember them equally well.

Question 31

The text argues that image files in long-term memory

A) are distinctive because special processes (like scanning or zooming) operate on them.
B) hold large-scale "templates" indicating how the imaged form looks.
C) contain the instructions needed to create a mental image.
D) usually contain a picture-like representation of an image.

Question 32

"Image file" refers to

A) the information that can be derived from a close inspection of a mental image.
B) the portion of long-term storage that contains all of one's knowledge about visual appearances.
C) the memory representation of a basic element of visual appearance, such as the representation for "red" or "circular."
D) descriptive information in long-term memory used as the basis for creating an active image.

Question 33

Participants' self-reports about their imagery vividness

A) are correlated with their performances on visual tasks but not with their performances on spatial tasks.
B) are generally uncorrelated with their performances on imagery tasks.
C) seem to represent only the manner in which participants describe their imagery and do not represent actual differences in the imagery experience.
D) are correlated with the ease with which participants can do mental rotation tasks.

Question 34

If you are asked to imagine a three-dimensional cube, like a Necker cube, that is ambiguous with respect to depth, your mental image will be

A) based on one configuration or the other.
B) able to be viewed from several angles, just as the picture would be.
C) indeterminate with regard to depth.
D) static and incapable of being altered.

Question 35

Mona has been blind since birth. Which of the following is most likely true about her visual abilities?

A) Her imagery abilities, like her other senses, are superior to those of sighted individuals.
B) Her performance on imagery tasks is similar to the performance of sighted individuals.
C) She will be unable to perform most tasks requiring mental imagery.
D) She will be unable to perform mental imagery tasks, unlike participants who lost their sight gradually over time.

Question 36

________ imagery is associated with how things look, while ________ imagery is associated with an abstract form or arrangement.

A) Spatial; visual
B) Visual; spatial
C) Spatial; eidetic
D) Sensory; perceptual

Question 37

Evidence indicates that

A) discoveries flow easily from mental imagery provided that the discoveries are compatible with both the image's depiction and its reference frame.
B) mental imagery rarely serves as a source for creative discovery.
C) participants are not able to find new forms in their own mental images.
D) participants have an easier time making discoveries from their own mental images if the discoveries require a shift in the image's reference frame.

Question 38

Researchers have argued that visual images are created by

A) activating large-scale "templates" in long-term memory.
B) following "recipes" for the image construction, with the recipes drawn from image files in long-term memory.
C) activating the relevant neurons on the retina.
D) activating nodes within long-term memory that happen to be associated with sensory information.

Question 39

When imagining an object, it is often difficult to reimagine that object as something else. For example, an ambiguous picture could be interpreted as a duck or a rabbit, but when imagining it, people will see only the duck or the rabbit, not both. Hints such as, "Try thinking about the form from the right," can help people to see both aspects of the image. Why would this hint help?

A) This hint alters the image's reference frame.
B) This hint encourages rotating the object.
C) This hint facilitates understanding of the object.
D) This hint acts like a new retrieval pathway for the object.

Question 40

Participants are asked to perform an imagery task while simultaneously keeping track of a visual target (a light that varies in brightness). The visual task will

A) disrupt the imagery task.
B) have no effect on the imagery task.
C) disrupt the imagery task if it requires visual imagery but not if the task can be done with spatial imagery.
D) cause the images to be less vivid but will have no other effects.

Question 41

Lisa and Katie are both using imagery mnemonics to try to remember the words "dog" and "Ferris wheel." Lisa imagines a dog riding a Ferris wheel, while Katie remembers a person at a theme park walking her dog. Lisa's strategy will

A) provide no benefit over Katie's strategy.
B) improve her memory for both words because the mnemonic is bizarre.
C) hinder her ability to remember compared to Katie's, because Lisa's mnemonic makes no sense.
D) improve her ability to remember "Ferris wheel" but not "dog."

Question 42

In memorizing new material, it is consistently helpful if one imagines the items

A) interacting with each other in some way.
B) in a typical situation.
C) close to each other but separated so that each is easily visible.
D) one by one so that the items do not blur together.

Question 43

In this chapter, it was suggested that putting your thoughts into imagery can literally shape the flow and sequence of your ideas. What piece of evidence leads to this claim?

A) Images are stored in an organized fashion.
B) Creating an image in your mind causes some objects to be more prominent and other objects less prominent.
C) Visual and spatial imagery are separate.
D) Images are not pictures.

Question 44

In one study on picture memory, researchers showed participants pictures of typical scenes, such as a bedroom. In each typical scene there were some unexpected objects (e.g., a washing machine). During the test, participants were shown the same scene with a few changes. Results from this study indicate that

A) participants rarely notice any changes in the scene.
B) only changes to the largest objects (the bed) were noticed.
C) changes to the unexpected objects were often noticed.
D) changes to the typical objects were usually noticed.

Question 45

Taken together, the evidence about memory for images suggests that

A) representations in working memory are different than those in long-term memory.
B) we cannot store visual imagery in long-term memory.
C) schemas influence images in working memory more than long-term memory.
D) we can experience familiarity for imagery, but not source memory.

Question 46

Gertrude is shown a picture of a backyard and later asked to replicate the image by drawing it. When compared to the original, her drawing has a "zoomed out" perspective. This tendency is called

A) wide-angle memory.
B) larger context.
C) eidetic imagery.
D) boundary extension.

Question 47

With respect to the storage of images, how are images different from other mental representations?

A) They are different in working memory, but not in long-term memory.
B) They are not different.
C) They are not susceptible to encoding specificity effects.
D) Memory for images is more complete relative to memory for other representations.

Question 48

Boundary extension suggests that, if given a picture of a classroom with a chalkboard, desks, and students, people are likely to

A) remember it as less of a close-up than it actually was, adding bookshelves on the side of the room.
B) include objects that were not part of the original scene, such as a teacher.
C) remember the salient objects, such as desks, but neglect the background, such as the chalkboard.
D) remember it with great accuracy.

Question 49

According to Paivio, a word like "chair" is ________ than a word like "faith."

A) easier to memorize
B) more difficult to memorize
C) more easily confused with another word
D) easier to identify

Question 50

Mentally zooming in and out of an image requires

A) working memory.
B) long-term memory.
C) working memory for zooming and long-term memory for representation of the image.
D) sensory memory for zooming and working memory for keeping the memory trace active.

Question 51

Memory for pictures

A) tends to be poor, and participants have difficulty remembering series of pictures that contain more than a dozen presentations.
B) shows an influence of schematic knowledge, just like memories of other sorts.
C) is not influenced by rehearsal.
D) is accurate even for elements of the picture that were not closely attended during the initial encoding.

Question 52

Paivio and others have proposed that some types of knowledge are encoded in image-based representations and that other types of knowledge are stored in verbal form. In addition, they claim that

A) both forms of representation are more efficiently accessed with words as the memory cues.
B) the knowledge expressed in image-based representations cannot be expressed in verbal form.
C) information about semantic associations is more easily represented in the image-based format.
D) image-based knowledge is more efficiently accessed with a picture as the memory cue.

Question 53

Which of the following phrases would best describe the notion of boundary extension?

A) "Think outside the box."
B) "Think about the big picture."
C) "Don't believe everything you see."
D) "Seeing is believing."

Question 54

It is difficult to examine mental imagery because mental images cannot be tested directly. Describe the various experimental techniques that psychologists have used to study imagery. Include a brief description of the task and the basic findings.

Question 55

In memorizing new material, the pattern of "dual coding" refers to

A) the strategy of encoding the material from two separate visual perspectives.
B) the process of encoding the material on two separate occasions.
C) steps that lead to both a verbal memory and a visual memory.
D) the formation of a mental image in which the target item is in two separate relationships with its surrounding context.

Question 56

The concept of boundary extension illustrates that

A) people understand a picture by means of a perceptual schema.
B) schemas influence memory for images, but not as much as they influence memory for verbal information.
C) people remember pictures in a "zoomed-in" manner.
D) semantic knowledge has no influence on memory for images.

Question 57

Visual information may be stored in memory via a verbal description of the previously viewed object. Memory can be improved when an appropriate label of description is available. This is consistent with which of the following themes about memory?

A) Memory is relatively robust to decay.
B) Memory benefits from understanding.
C) Memory varies across individuals.
D) Retrieval is key to successful memory.

Question 58

Words that easily evoke imagery, like "ball," are ________ relative to words like "hope."

A) more easily remembered
B) less easily remembered
C) remembered equally as well
D) unlikely to be remembered

Question 59

It has been suggested that nodes in long-term memory can represent complete pictures, but this claim is no longer accepted. Which of the following pieces of evidence related to this claim is FALSE?

A) Images can be quite sketchy or very elaborate.
B) Images containing more parts take longer to create.
C) Images are stored in a piecemeal fashion.
D) Images containing more detail take less time to create.

Question 60

Which of following statements is FALSE about memory for pictures?

A) Picture memory benefits from rehearsal.
B) Picture memory is affected by schematic knowledge.
C) Picture memory can be affected by intrusion errors.
D) Picture memory does not show the primacy or recency effect.

Question 61

Differentiate between visual imagery and spatial imagery by considering the experiences of a blind man or woman. Use a mental rotation task as the basis for your evaluation.

Question 62

How do imagery and perception influence and interact with one another? Under what circumstances will they work together to facilitate processing and memory? Under what circumstances will they interfere with one another and potentially hinder processing? What does this tell us about the nature of imagery?

Question 63

How could one improve his or her visual memory? List the techniques that can be used and describe which approaches are most effective. What does this suggest about the nature of imagery within memory, generally?

Question 64

Compare and contrast the concepts of "photographic memory" and eidetic imagery.

Question 65

Long-term memory contains images that can include verbal labels or visual representations. Compare and contrast the effects that these two sources of information have on memory by answering the following questions:
a. What sort of memory errors would you expect when verbal labels are stored?
Visual representations?
b. Why would it be beneficial to have both forms of information in LTM?

Question 66

David suffers from unilateral neglect. Name the area of the brain that is likely affected, and then describe visual and mental imagery abnormalities that he likely experiences.

Question 67

Describe the method and results from one chronometric study of visual imagery. Next, argue for or against the idea that demand characteristics could lead to that pattern of behavior and results.

Question 68

Describe how memory for pictures is similar to other kinds of long-term memories, and then describe how it is different.

Question 69

Compare and contrast imagery and perception. In what ways are they similar? How do they differ?