perception

Question 1

perception-

the organisation and interpretation of sensory information by the brain to help us understand the world around us.

Answer 1

sensation-

physical simulation of the five senses processed by the sense receptors

Question 2

ames room

misinterpreted depth cue

rooms shaped of a trapezoid

people seems as different sizes even though they the same.

Answer 2

rubin’s vase

ambiguous figure

face and vase:
brain alternates

Question 3

ponzo illusion

misinterpreted depth cue

perceive horizontal line higher up as longer

Answer 3

muller-later illusion

misinterpreted depth cue

2 vertical lines same length

line with outgoing fins seen as longer

Question 4

misinterpreted depth cue

e.g. ponzo illusion and muller-purr illusion

Answer 4

objects apparently in the distance scaled up by brain to look normal size, causes visual illusions

Question 5

size constancy

Answer 5

objects perceived as constant size despite size of retina changing with distance

Question 6

fiction

e.g kaniza triangle

Answer 6

seeing something that’s is not there

Question 7

ambiguity

e.g necker cube

Answer 7

two possible interpretations of an image

brain can’t decide which is correct

Question 8

visual cues constancies

Answer 8

cues- information about movement/ distance

constancies- seeing objects as the same from different angles and distances

Question 9

binocular depth cues

-two eyes

Answer 9

retinal disparity-
difference between the view of the left and right eye gives brain information about depths and distance

convergence-
eyes point closer together when and object is close. muscles work harder to know distance and depth to focus

Question 10

monocular depth cues

-one eye

Answer 10

height in plane-
object higher up appear further away

relative size-
smaller object appear further away

occlusion-
if one object obscures part of another object, it is seen as closer

linear perspective-
parallel lines appear closer as they become more distant

Question 11

perceptual set-

Answer 11

is the tendency of readiness to notice certain aspects of the sensory environment whilst ignoring others, set is affected by several factors; culture, emotion, motivation and expectation

Question 12

culture-

hudson’s study

Answer 12

social world we live in affects what our senses pick up

Question 13

HUDSONS STUDY

AIM
to find out weather different cultures perceive depth cues in 2D images differently

METHOD
showed 2D images to black and while children, schooled and unschooled
children were asked which is nearer? man, elephant or antelope?

Answer 13

RESULTS
black and white schooled participants more likely to perceive depth more.
white schooled more likely, over black schooled

CONCLUSION
different cultures use depth cues differently so have differing perceptual sets.

Question 14

HUDSONS STUDY EVALUATION

weakness- cross cultural research, language differences could have made method used unclear, so validity is affected.

Answer 14

weakness- problems with the method, the way the pictures were represented on paper may have confused participants, affecting findings.

Question 15

motivation

gilchrist and nesburgs study

Answer 15

wanting something increases it’s attractiveness

Question 16

GILCHRIST AND NESBURGS STUDY

AIM
to find out if food deprivation affects the perception of food

METHOD
hungry (no food for 20 hours) and not hungry participants shown a slide of a meal. they
had to adjust light level of slide shown

Answer 16

RESULTS
perceive food as brighter the longer deprived of food

CONCLUSION
sensitivity greater when food deprived.
hunger is a motivation factor that affects perception of food

Question 17

GILCHRIST AND NESBURGS STUDY EVALUATION

strength- support from similar studies, standfords study found similar results which strengths the validity of the conclusions

Answer 17

weakness- ethical issues, depriving people of food causes discomfort, a case of physical harm

Question 18

emotion

mcginnies study

Answer 18

the tendency for our brain to notice exciting things and block threatening things

Question 19

MCGINNIES STUDY

AIM
to know if anxiety provoking things are noticed more than neutral things

METHOD
students shown normal and taboo words.
had to say out loud.
emotional arousal measured though GSR.

Answer 19

RESULTS
took longer to say taboo words
taboo words have bigger change in GSR

CONCLUSION
emotion effects perceptual set, in this case perceptual defence

Question 20

MCGINNIES STUDY EVALUATION

strength- objective measurement, GSR is a scientific method to measure emotion, better than rating scales

Answer 20

weakness- embarrassment not defence, delaying recognition may just be embarrassment not perceptual defence

Question 21

GIBSONS direct theory of perception

perception doesn’t draw on past experience, in contrast with gregory’s theory

Answer 21

sufficient information for direct perception-
sensation and perception are the same.
eyes detect everything we need without having to make inferences

optic flow patterns-
when moving, things in the distance appear stationary and everything else rushes past.
provides perceptual info about speed and distance

Question 22

gibson’s theory

motion parallax-
monocular depth cue
when moving past them, closer objects appear to move faster then objects far away.
provides perceptual info about speed and distance

the influence of nature-
perception is inborn not learnt

Answer 22

evaluation

strength- real world meaning, research was on WW2 pilots so it’s relèvent to daily life.

weakness- theory struggles to explain visual illusions, perception is seems as accurate but illusions trick the brain so the theory is incomplete

Question 23

GREGORYS constructive theory of perception

contrasts with gibson’s theory
proposes that sensation and perception are not the same

Answer 23

perception as a construction-
brain uses incoming information and information we already know to form a hypotheses/ guess

inference-
brains fills in the gaps to create a conclusion about what is being seen

visual cues- visual illusions occur because of incorrect conclusions from visual cues

Question 24

GREGORYS continued

past experience- nurture
perception is learned from experience
the more we interact the more sophisticated our perception

Answer 24

evaluation

strengths- good support from similar studies about culture and nurture

weakness- doesn’t relate to real world cause of unusual examples of perception