05. Perception

Question 1

Accommodation

Answer 1

in visual perception, a monocular depth cue involving the automatic focusing of the lens in the eye to adjust shape in response to changes in the distance of view from an object

Question 2

Agnosia

Answer 2

loss or impairment of the ability to recognise and identify objects, persons, sounds or other sensory stimuli using one or more of the senses due to brain injury

Question 3

Ames Room illusion

Answer 3

perceptual misinterpretation involving a trapezium-shaped room which appears rectangular when viewed through a peephole using only one eye and people appear small or large, depending on where they stand in the room

Question 4

Attention

Answer 4

the process of focusing on specific stimuli or aspects of the sensory environment whilst ignoring and therefore excluding others

Question 5

Binocular depth cues

Answer 5

the use of both eyes working together in order to provide information to the brain about depth and distance

Question 6

Bottom-up processing

Answer 6

the perceptual process starts ‘at the bottom’ with raw sensory information that is sent ‘up’ to the brain for higher level mental ‘processing’

Question 7

Cones

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Convergence

Answer 8

a visual perception binocular depth cue involving the inward turning of the eyes to focus on nearby objects

Question 9

Cranial nerves

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Closure

Answer 10

a Gestalt principle of visual perception that involves a perceptual tendency to mentally ‘close up’, fill in or ignore gaps in a visual image and to perceive objects as complete

Question 11

Divided attention

Answer 11

the ability to distribute attention so that two or more activities may be performed simultaneously

Question 12

Depth cues

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Eye

Answer 13

the sensory organ for vision p. 308

Question 14

Fallibility

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Gestalt principles

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Gustatory cortex

Answer 16

the region of the cerebral cortex responsible for the perception of taste

Question 17

Gustation

Answer 17

the sense of taste

Question 18

Gustatory receptors

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Height in the visual field

Answer 19

a visual perception monocular depth cue involving a perceptual tendency to visually perceive objects located closer to the horizon as being more distant than objects located further from the horizon

Question 20

Interposition

Answer 20

a visual perception monocular depth cue based on the principle that an object which partially covers another is closer than the object it covers and the covered object is further away; also called overlap

Question 21

Interpretation

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Linear perspective

Answer 22

a visual perception monocular depth cue based on the apparent convergence of actual or imagined parallel lines as they recede into the distance

Question 23

Monocular depth cue

Answer 23

the use of only one eye to provide information to the brain about depth and distance

Question 24

Miraculin

Answer 24

a protein found in the fleshy part of a miracle berry that has a taste changing effect whereby a sweet taste is perceived

Question 25

Muller-lyer illusion

Answer 25

a visual illusion in which one of two lines of equal length, each of which has opposite shaped ends, is incorrectly perceived as being longer than the other

Question 26

Neuronal reception

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Optic nerve

Answer 27

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 28

figure-ground organisation

Answer 28

a Gestalt principle of visual perception, that involves organising visual information by perceptually dividing a visual scene into a ‘figure’, which stands out from the ‘ground’, which is its surroundings

Question 29

Perception

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Perceptual distortion

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Perceptual set

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Primary visual cortex

Answer 32

In occipital lobe- receives and processes visual information from the eyes

Question 33

Photoreceptors

Answer 33

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

Question 34

Reception

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Receptive field

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Relative size

Answer 36

a visual perception monocular depth cue involving perceptual 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 as being further away (when objects are expected to be the same size)

Question 37

Retinal disparity

Answer 37

a visual perception binocular depth cue based on the difference (disparity) of the two retinal images

Question 38

Rods

Answer 38

photoreceptors that allow someone to see in low levels of light p. 308

Question 39

Proximity

Answer 39

a Gestalt principle of visual perception, that involves a tendency to perceive parts of a visual image which are positioned close together as belonging together in a group; also called nearness

Question 40

Sensation

Answer 40

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

Question 41

selective attention

Answer 41

choosing and attending to a specific stimulus whilst at the same time excluding other stimuli

Question 42

Similarity

Answer 42

Gestalt principle of visual perception that involves a tendency to perceive parts of a visual image that have similar features, such as size, shape, texture or colour

Question 43

Spatial neglect

Answer 43

a neurological disorder whereby individuals are unable to notice anything either on their left or right side even though there may be no sensory loss; also called visual neglect

Question 44

Synaesthesia

Answer 44

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

Question 45

Synaesthete

Answer 45

a person who experiences synaesthesia p. 331

Question 46

sustained attention

Answer 46

maintenance of attention on a specific stimulus or task for a continuous period of time without being distracted

Question 47

Texture gradient

Answer 47

a visual perception monocular depth cue based on the extent to which fine detail can be perceived in a surface

Question 48

top-down processing

Answer 48

a perceptual process that starts ‘at the top’ with higher level ‘cognitive processing’ in the brain and then works ‘down’ from the whole to the details

Question 49

Taste

Answer 49

the sensation and perception of flavour p. 319

Question 50

Taste buds

Answer 50

clusters of gustatory receptors on the tongue p. 320

Question 51

Tongue

Answer 51

the primary sensory organ involved in taste p. 320

Question 52

Transduction

Answer 52

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

Question 53

Transmission

Answer 53

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

Question 54

Vision

Answer 54

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

Question 55

Visual illusion

Answer 55

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

Question 56

Visual perception principles

Answer 56

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