psychology sem 2 sac 1

Question 1

define sustained attention

Answer 1

refers to maintaining focus on a specific stimulus for a long period of time

Question 2

define divided attention

Answer 2

refers to the ability attend to two or more activities at the same time

Question 3

define selective attention

Answer 3

involves choosing to attend to a specific stimulus while ignoring others

Question 4

what is top-down processing?

Answer 4

top-down processing is driven by mental processes, knowledge, experience and expectation.
(experience and expectations influence perception)

Question 5

what is bottom-up processing?

Answer 5

bottom-up processing is a stimulus driven process that entirely relies on sensory information
(stimulus influences perception)

Question 6

define convergence (binocular)

Answer 6

involves the inward turning of the eyes to focus on nearby objects

Question 7

define retinal disparity (binocular)

Answer 7

based on the difference of the two retinal images

Question 8

define accommodation (monocular)

Answer 8

the automatic adjustment of the shape of the actual lens to focus on an object in the distance

Question 9

define pictorial cues (monocular)

Answer 9

a depth cue that can be represented on a 2D surface

Question 10

define linear perspective (pictorial cues- monocular)

Answer 10

the apparent convergence between two parallel lines as they recede into the distance

Question 11

define relative size (pictorial cues- monocular)

Answer 11

objects that look bigger are seen as closer and objects that look smaller are seen as further away

Question 12

define interposition (pictorial cues- monocular)

Answer 12

occurs when the object that sits in front of another object is perceived as being closer

Question 13

define texture gradient (pictorial cues- monocular)

Answer 13

the more detailed a surface is, the closer we perceive it to be

Question 14

define height in the visual field (pictorial cues- monocular)

Answer 14

an object that is closer to the horizon is perceived as being further away

Question 15

define figure ground (gestalt principle)

Answer 15

the tendency to organise what we see by making the main object stand out from the background

Question 16

define closure (gestalt principle)

Answer 16

the tendency to mentally fill in or ignore gaps of a visual image and to perceive incomplete objects as a whole

Question 17

define similarity (gestalt principle)

Answer 17

the tendency to perceive parts of a visual image that have similar features as belonging to the same group

Question 18

define proximity (gestalt principle)

Answer 18

the tendency to perceive objects that are closer together as belonging to a group

Question 19

what is size constancy? (perceptual constancies)

Answer 19

having the ability to recognise that an object’s size remains the same even if the size it appears on our retina changes

Question 20

what is shape constancy? (perceptual constancies)

Answer 20

having the ability to recognise that an object’s shape remains the same despite changes on the retinal image

Question 21

what is brightness constancy? (perceptual constancies)

Answer 21

having the ability to recognise that an object’s brightness remains the same despite changes in the amount of light reflected to the retina

Question 22

past experience (perceptual set)

Answer 22

our combination of differences in past experiences can lead to our differences in our perception

Question 23

motivation (perceptual set)

Answer 23

the internal processes that drive our behaviour toward achieving a goal.

Question 24

emotional state (perceptual set)

Answer 24

emotions can shape our perception to match the feeling we’re currently experiencing.

Question 25

culture (perceptual set)

Answer 25

the perception of how life should be lived of a community sets it apart from other communities

Question 26

context (perceptual set)

Answer 26

our perception is influenced by our current setting or environment

Question 27

define synaesthesia

Answer 27

synaesthesia is an involuntary, perceptual experience in which stimulation of one sense produces additional unusual experiences in another sense

Question 28

name some characteristics of synaesthesia

Answer 28

- difficult to suppress - vivid experience - consistant - highly memorable

Question 29

name the process of taste perception

Answer 29

stimulus- molecules of the item combine with saliva on tongue reception- taste receptor cells in the mouth are stimulated transduction- molecules are converted into signals which can then be sent to the brain transmission- sent to the brain via the cranial nerves interpretation- received and processed in the primary gustatory cortex

Question 30

identify the 5 tastes

Answer 30

sweet- caused by sugar and its components such as fructose or lactose sour- mostly acidic solutions salty- food containing table salt bitter- produced by a variety of substances, generally identified as undesirable umami- savoury

Question 31

biological factors that influence taste perception

Answer 31

age: - children carry the greatest amount of functional taste buds - as we age, we do not regenerate taste buds as quickly as they die genetics: - our sensitivity to certain tastes is genetically determined

Question 32

psychological factors that influence taste perception

Answer 32

memory: - we expect food to taste the same way again on another occasion food packaging/appearance: - food packaging can give the impression of higher quality food - we often use the colour of food to judge food

Question 33

social factors that influence taste perception

Answer 33

culture: - we tend to prefer foods that we grew up eating and are familiar with - flavour preferences are influenced by early-life learned experiences

Question 34

define 'supertasters'

Answer 34

supertasters are individuals who have inherited an unusually large number of papillae which means they have significantly more taste buds leading to greater sensitivity compared to average person

Question 35

what is miraculin?

Answer 35

a protein found in the pulp of a berry of a west african shrub

Question 36

what does miraculin do?

Answer 36

- modifies how we perceive taste and - changes a flavour stimulus to be perceived as sweet