Perception

Question 1

What is sensation?

Answer 1

The information that we receive through our senses.

Question 2

What is transduction?

Answer 2

The process of our sensory organs detecting and converting information into electrical signals.

Question 3

What is perception?

Answer 3

How we interpret or make sense of the sensory information that we receive.

Question 4

Vision

Answer 4

What you can see.

Question 5

Hearing

Answer 5

What you can hear.

Question 6

Smell

Answer 6

Can you smell anything?

Question 7

Touch

Answer 7

Are parts of your body in contact with anything?

Question 8

Taste

Answer 8

Can you taste anything?

Question 9

Kinesthesia

Answer 9

Are you moving at all?

Question 10

What is a depth cue?

Answer 10

A feature of an image which indicates distance.

Question 11

What is a monocular depth cue?

Answer 11

A way of detecting depth or distance which will work with just one eye.

Question 12

Monocular depth cues:

Answer 12

• Height in plane
• Relative size
• Occlusion
• Linear perspective

Question 13

Height in plane

Answer 13

How high the object appears in the image.

Question 14

Relative size

Answer 14

How large an object appears in an image.

Question 15

Occlusion

Answer 15

When one object seems to cover part of another object.

Question 16

Linear perspective

Answer 16

When straight lines are angled so that they come together at a point on the horizon.

Question 17

What is a binocular depth cue?

Answer 17

A way of detecting depth or distance, which requires two eyes in order to work.

Question 18

Binocular depth cues:

Answer 18

• Convergence

- Retinal disparity

Question 19

Convergence

Answer 19

A form of depth perception which uses how eye muscles focus on images.

Question 20

Retinal disparity

Answer 20

A form of depth perception which compares the images from two eyes, side by side.

Question 21

What is Gibson’s theory of direct perception?

Answer 21

The idea that we perceive simply by using the information we receive through our senses. This gives us enough information to make sense of the world.

Question 22

Motion parallax

Answer 22

The way that the visual field changes with movement, with close objects seeming to move more than objects that are further away

Question 23

Gradient of texture

Answer 23

Objects closer to you will look more detailed, and objects further from you will appear to have less texture.

Question 24

Gradient of colour

Answer 24

Colours appear brighter when they are close up, and paler when they are further away.

Question 25

Inference

Answer 25

A conclusion reached on the basis of past experience or knowledge.

Question 26

What is a visual illusion?

Answer 26

Visual illusions happen when our visual perception is tricked into seeing something inaccurately. Some of them happen because the brain uses inappropriate strategies for interpreting the sensory information it is receiving.

Question 27

Why do visual illusions occur

Answer 27

• Misinterpreted depth cues
• Ambiguity
• Fiction
• Size constancy

Question 27

What is Gregory’s theory of perception?

Answer 27

He argues that our perception is built up from our past knowledge and experience- this is how we make sense of the world

Question 28

How doe expectations affect our perception

Answer 28

We are more likely to perceive things if our perception is set to notice that thing.

Question 29

Eval of gregory’s theory of perception

Answer 29

:) Lots of supporting evidence for the idea that the interpretations we make of the sensations are affected by our past experiences
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:( Not everyone agrees with explanations given for some illusions. Its suggested that the muller lyer illusion works because the arrows on the lines make them look like the edge of a building but the illusion also works with circles and this doesn’t fit in with out past experiences of building affecting our perception

Question 30

How does culture affect perception

Answer 30

The cultures we are brought up in influence our perception (western children draw elephant from side on/ asian children draw elephant from birds eye view)

Question 31

How does motivation affect perception

Answer 31

Our perception can be affected by our social motives e.g if we want someone to like us, we notice actions that fit in with our motivations and ignore those which don’t

Question 32

How do emotions affect our perception

Answer 32

They contribute to our perceptual set by making us perceive things in a way that is in line with how we feel