Perception

Question 1

Accommodation

Answer 1

Monocular depth cue that involves the automatic adjustment of the shape of the lens to focus an object in response to changes in how far away the object is. Information about how much the lens bulges or elongates is used by the brain to determine the depth and distance of the object in focus.

Question 2

Cones

Answer 2

photoreceptors that allow someone to see colour and fine details in well-lit conditions p. 308

Question 3

Cranial nerves

Answer 3

the nerves which extend from the tongue to the brain, along which gustatory information is transmitted p. 320

Question 4

Depth cues

Answer 4

visual clues that allow someone to judge the distance or depth of stimuli in their environment p. 312

Question 5

Eye

Answer 5

the sensory organ for vision p. 308

Question 6

Fallibility

Answer 6

the quality of being prone to error or experiencing difficulties in judgement p. 327

Question 7

Gestalt principles

Answer 7

guiding rules of perception that allow us to organise independent visual signals into meaningful wholes p. 310

Question 8

Gustatory receptors

Answer 8

the sensory receptors which detect chemical molecules in food p. 320

Question 9

Interpretation

Answer 9

the process of understanding and assigning meaning to sensory information p. 303

Question 10

Neuronal reception

Answer 10

the process in which a neuron accepts (receives) a message p. 99

Question 11

Optic nerve

Answer 11

the two nerves which extend from the back of the eye to the brain, along which visual information is transmitted to the brain p. 308

Question 12

Organisation

Answer 12

the process of regrouping features of sensory stimuli together in order to form cohesive and meaningful information p. 302

Question 13

Perception

Answer 13

the process of selecting, organising, and interpreting sensory information to be able to understand it (giving sensory information MEANING) p. 302

Question 14

Perceptual distortion

Answer 14

an error in the judgement or interpretation of sensory stimuli p. 327

Question 15

Perceptual set

Answer 15

a predisposition to perceive stimuli in a certain way due to a range of factors including a perceiver’s mood, motivations, context, culture and past experiences p. 314, 323

Question 16

Photoreceptors

Answer 16

the sensory receptors of the eye which receive light and are responsible for the process of transduction p. 308

Question 17

Reception

Answer 17

when a sensory stimulus is first detected by a sensory organ p. 299

Question 18

Receptive field

Answer 18

the space in which a sensory stimulus can be detected by a sensory receptor p. 300

Question 19

Rods

Answer 19

photoreceptors that allow someone to see in low levels of light. Exist mainly around the outsides/edges of the retina. p. 308

Question 20

Selection

Answer 20

the process of attending to certain features of sensory stimuli to the exclusion of others p. 302

Question 21

Sensation

Answer 21

the process of receiving and detecting raw sensory information via our sensory organs and sending it to the brain p. 299

Question 22

Synaesthesia

Answer 22

a perceptual phenomenon characterised by the experience of unusual perceptions in one sensory system after another sensory system has been activated p. 331

Question 23

Synaesthete

Answer 23

a person who experiences synaesthesia p. 331

Question 24

Taste

Answer 24

the sensation and perception of flavour p. 319

Question 25

Taste buds

Answer 25

clusters of gustatory receptors on the tongue p. 320

Question 26

Tongue

Answer 26

the primary sensory organ involved in taste p. 320

Question 27

Transduction

Answer 27

the conversion of raw sensory information detected by sensory receptors into a form that can be sent to the brain p. 300

Question 28

Transmission

Answer 28

the process of sending sensory information as a neural impulse to the part of the brain responsible for processing sensory information p. 301

Question 29

Vision

Answer 29

the sensory system which allows us to see our internal and external environment p. 307

Question 30

Visual constancy

Answer 30

our ability to perceive visual objects as staying the same even though the sensation of the objects may change p. 312

Question 31

Visual illusion

Answer 31

the perception of a visual stimulus in a way that conflicts with how it is in physical reality p. 327

Question 32

Visual perception principles

Answer 32

guiding rules that apply to visual signals and determine how they are organised and interpreted p. 310

Question 33

Figure-Ground

Answer 33

Gestalt Principle. When we use figure–ground, we organise visual information by perceptually dividing a visual scene into a ‘figure’, which stands out from the ‘ground’, which is its surroundings. We use the contour (boundary line) to separate the two features.

Question 34

Closure

Answer 34

Gestalt principle. the perceptual tendency to mentally ‘close up’, fill in or ignore gaps in a visual image and to perceive incomplete objects as complete (‘whole’).

Question 35

Similarity

Answer 35

Gestalt principle. the tendency to perceive parts of a visual image that have similar features — such as size, shape, texture or colour — as belonging together in a unit, group or ‘whole’.

Question 36

Proximity

Answer 36

Gestalt principle. (also called nearness) is the tendency to perceive parts of a visual image which are positioned close together as belonging together in a group.

Question 37

Linear perspective

Answer 37

Pictorial depth cue (monocular). Linear perspective is the apparent convergence of parallel lines as they recede (‘go back’) into the distance- creating the impression of increasing distance/depth in an image or scene.

Question 38

Interposition

Answer 38

Pictorial depth cue (monocular) also called overlap, occurs when one object partially blocks or covers another, and the partially blocked object is perceived as further away than the object that obscures it (and vice versa).

Question 39

Texture gradient

Answer 39

Pictorial depth cue (monocular) refers to the gradual reduction of detail that occurs in a surface as it recedes into the distance, compared with a surface that is close and perceived in fine detail. We perceive objects for which fine detail is clear as being closer and those that lack detail, as being further away.

Question 40

Relative size

Answer 40

Pictorial depth cue (monocular) refers to the tendency to visually perceive the object that produces the largest image on the retina as being closer, and the object that produces the smallest image on the retina as being further away. However, the objects being perceived must be expected to be about the same size in real life.

Question 41

Height in the visual field

Answer 41

Pictorial depth cue (monocular) refers to the location of objects in our field of vision, whereby objects that are located closer to the horizon are perceived as being more distant than objects located further from the horizon.

Question 42

Size constancy

Answer 42

involves recognising that an object’s actual size remains the same, even though the size of the image it casts on each retina changes.

Question 43

Shape constancy

Answer 43

the tendency to perceive an object as maintaining its shape despite any change in shape of the image of the object on the retina.

Question 44

Brightness constancy

Answer 44

the tendency to perceive an object as maintaining its level of brightness in relation to its surroundings, despite changes in the amount of light being reflected from the object to the retina.

Question 45

Papillae

Answer 45

On the tongue, the taste buds are located within the thousands of small bumps called papillae that you can see and feel on the surface. An individual papilla may hold one or more taste buds.

Question 46

Tastant

Answer 46

the dissolved chemical molecules that can be tasted (combination of chemical molecules and saliva).