Step Up To: Psychology
by John J. Schulte, Psy.D.
From Myers,
Psychology 8e
Worth Publishers
Chapter 6: Perception
That looks funny!
Get Organized!
What’s it mean?
Pay Attention!
This and That
Pay Attention!
500
400
300
200
100
Get Organized
500
400
300
200
100
That Looks Funny!
500
400
300
200
100
What’s it mean?
500
400
300
200
100
This and That
500
400
300
200
100
1. Our inability to consciously perceive
all the sensory information available to
us at any single point in time best
illustrates the necessity of:
•
•
•
•
A) perceptual constancy.
B) selective attention.
C) perceptual adaptation.
D) retinal disparity.
2. While a student provided directions to a
construction worker, two experimenters rudely
interrupted by passing between them carrying a
door. The student’s failure to notice the worker
was replaced by a different person illustrates:
•
•
•
•
A) retinal disparity.
B) visual capture.
C) change blindness.
D) perceptual adaptation.
3. When the soundtrack for a movie is
played in the back of a classroom,
students tend to perceive the sound as
originating from the picture screen in
front of the room. This best illustrates:
•
•
•
•
A) visual capture.
B) location constancy.
C) the phi phenomenon.
D) perceptual adaptation.
4. Participants in an experiment were told
to listen to and repeat a prose passage
played in one ear, while a novel tune was
played in their other ear. The results of
this experiment indicated that they:
• A) suffered a sense of discomfort.
• B) were able to identify exactly which tune
had been played.
• C) produced an increasing level of alpha
waves while exposed to music.
• D) showed in increase in their liking for
the novel tune.
5. Because she was listening to the news
on the radio, Mrs. Schulte didn’t
perceive a word of what her husband
was saying. Her experience best
illustrates:
•
•
•
•
A) perceptual adaptation.
B) the cocktail party effect.
C) perceptual constancy.
D) the phi phenomenon.
6. The Müller-Lyer illusion involves the
misperception of:
•
•
•
•
A) figure-ground relationships.
B) relative clarity.
C) binocular distance cues.
D) the length of lines.
7. When there is a conflict between bits
of information received by two or more
senses, which sense tends to dominate
the others in humans?
•
•
•
•
A) hearing.
B) vision.
C) smell.
D) none, they all work together
equally.
8. When asked to estimate the distances
of white disks under clear or foggy
conditions, people:
• A) judged them to be closer when viewed in the
fog than in the sunshine.
• B) found it impossible to make any distance
estimates under foggy conditions.
• C) judged the disks to be the same distance
away whether viewed under clear or foggy
conditions.
• D) judged the disks to be farther away when
viewed in the fog than when viewed in the
sunshine.
9. The tendency to hear the steady drip
of a leaky faucet as if it were a repeating
rhythm of two or more beats best
illustrates:
•
•
•
•
A) perceptual constancy.
B) the phi phenomenon.
C) perceptual organization.
D) perceptual adaptation.
10. When listening to rock music played
backward, people often perceive an evil
message only if specifically forewarned
what to listen for. This best illustrates the
dangers of:
•
•
•
•
A) bottom-up processing.
B) feature detection.
C) perceptual set.
D) the phi phenomenon.
11. The greatest difficulty facing
contemporary parapsychology is
the:
• A) inability to subject claims of ESP to
scientific testing.
• B) lack of a reproducible ESP
phenomenon.
• C) willingness of most parapsychologists
to knowingly accept fraudulent
evidence.
• D) difficulty of persuading many people
that there really is such a thing as ESP.
12. Although college textbooks
frequently cast a trapezoidal image on
the retina, students typically perceive the
books as rectangular objects. This
illustrates the importance of:
•
•
•
•
A) interposition.
B) size constancy.
C) linear perspective.
D) shape constancy.
13. Which of the following cues do
artists use to convey depth on a
flat canvas?
•
•
•
•
A) convergence.
B) interposition.
C) continuity.
D) closure.
14. When the moon is near the horizon,
it appears larger than when it is high in
the sky. This effect is primarily a result
of:
• A) the slightly dimmer appearance of the
horizon moon.
• B) the scattering of the horizon moon’s
light waves, which penetrate the
atmosphere at an angle.
• C) distance cues, which make the
horizon moon seem farther away.
• D) the brighter appearance of the horizon
moon.
15. It has been suggested that
experience with the corners of buildings
and the rectangular shapes of a
carpentered world may contribute to:
•
•
•
•
A) the Ponzo illusion.
B) shape constancy.
C) the moon illusion.
D) the Müller-Lyer illusion.
16. As the retinal image of a horse
galloping toward you becomes larger, it is
unlikely that the horse will appear to grow
larger. This best illustrates the
phenomenon of:
•
•
•
•
A) visual capture.
B) size constancy.
C) closure.
D) convergence.
17. Retinal disparity refers to the:
• A) tendency to see parallel lines as
coming together in the distance.
• B) tendency to see stimuli that are
near each other as parts of a
unified object.
• C) somewhat different images our
two eyes receive of the same
object.
• D) extent to which our eyes turn
toward each other when looking at
an object.
18. The perceptual tendency to fill in
gaps in order to perceive disconnected
parts as a whole object is called:
•
•
•
•
A) closure.
B) constancy.
C) interposition.
D) convergence.
19. The perception of the letter “t” as two
intersecting lines rather than as four
nonintersecting lines illustrates the
principle of:
•
•
•
•
A) convergence.
B) proximity.
C) closure.
D) continuity.
20. The organizational principles
identified by Gestalt psychologists best
illustrate the importance of:
•
•
•
•
A) perceptual constancy.
B) retinal disparity.
C) top-down processing.
D) perceptual adaptation.
21. Gestalt psychologists emphasize
that:
• A) perception is the same as
sensation.
• B) the whole is more than the
sum of its parts.
• C) we learn to perceive the world
through experience.
• D) sensation has no effect on
perception.
22. The perception of an object as
distinct from its surroundings is called:
•
•
•
•
A) perceptual set.
B) perceptual constancy.
C) figure-ground perception.
D) the phi-phenomenon.
23. Human factors psychologists would
be most likely to aid in the design of:
•
•
•
•
A) computer keyboards.
B) weight-reduction programs.
C) protective clothing.
D) classroom management
techniques.
24. The illusion of movement in
animated neon signs is known as:
•
•
•
•
A) interposition.
B) relative motion.
C) retinal disparity.
D) the phi phenomenon.
25. As she gazed down from a bridge at
the rapidly flowing river, Nancy felt as
thought she were moving. Her
experience best illustrates the
phenomenon of:
•
•
•
•
A) retinal disparity.
B) perceptual adaptation.
C) location constancy.
D) visual capture.
Stop here, or continue as a review
1. Our inability to consciously perceive
all the sensory information available to
us at any single point in time best
illustrates the necessity of:
•
•
•
•
A) perceptual constancy.
B) selective attention.
C) perceptual adaptation.
D) retinal disparity.
237
2. While a student provided directions to a
construction worker, two experimenters
rudely interrupted by passing between
them carrying a door. The student’s failure
to notice the worker was replaced by a
different person illustrates:
•
•
•
•
A) retinal disparity.
B) visual capture.
C) change blindness.
D) perceptual adaptation.
239
3. When the soundtrack for a movie is
played in the back of a classroom,
students tend to perceive the sound as
originating from the picture screen in
front of the room. This best illustrates:
•
•
•
•
A) visual capture.
B) location constancy.
C) the phi phenomenon.
D) perceptual adaptation.
242
4. Participants in an experiment were told
to listen to and repeat a prose passage
played in one ear, while a novel tune was
played in their other ear. The results of this
experiment indicated that the participants:
• A) suffered a sense of discomfort.
• B) were able to identify exactly which
tune had been played.
• C) produced an increasing level of alpha
waves while exposed to music.
• D) showed in increase in their liking for
the novel tune.
260
5. Because she was listening to the
news on the radio, Mrs. Schulte
didn’t perceive a word of what her
husband was saying. Her
experience best illustrates:
•
•
•
•
A) perceptual adaptation.
B) the cocktail party effect.
C) perceptual constancy.
D) the phi phenomenon.
238
6. The Müller-Lyer illusion involves the
misperception of:
•
•
•
•
A) figure-ground relationships.
B) relative clarity.
C) binocular distance cues.
D) the length of lines.
251
7. When there is a conflict between bits
of information received by two or more
senses, which sense tends to dominate
the others in humans?
•
•
•
•
A) hearing.
B) vision.
C) smell.
D) none, they all work together
equally.
242
8. When asked to estimate the distances
of white disks under clear or foggy
conditions, people:
• A) judged them to be closer when viewed in
the fog than in the sunshine.
• B) found it impossible to make any distance
estimates under foggy conditions.
• C) judged the disks to be the same distance
away whether viewed under clear or foggy
conditions.
• D) judged the disks to be farther away when
viewed in the fog than when viewed in the
sunshine.
242
9. The tendency to hear the steady drip
of a leaky faucet as if it were a repeating
rhythm of two or more beats best
illustrates:
•
•
•
•
A) perceptual constancy.
B) the phi phenomenon.
C) perceptual organization.
D) perceptual adaptation.
242
10. When listening to rock music played
backward, people often perceive an evil
message only if specifically forewarned what
to listen for. This best illustrates the dangers
of:
•
•
•
•
A) bottom-up processing.
B) feature detection.
C) perceptual set.
D) the phi phenomenon.
257
11. The greatest difficulty facing
contemporary parapsychology is the:
• A) inability to subject claims of ESP to
scientific testing.
• B) lack of a reproducible ESP
phenomenon.
• C) willingness of most parapsychologists
to knowingly accept fraudulent evidence.
• D) difficulty of persuading many people
that there really is such a thing as ESP.
267
12. Although college textbooks frequently
cast a trapezoidal image on the retina,
students typically perceive the books as
rectangular objects. This illustrates the
importance of:
•
•
•
•
A) interposition.
B) size constancy.
C) linear perspective.
D) shape constancy.
250
13. Which of the following cues do
artists use to convey depth on a
flat canvas?
•
•
•
•
A) convergence.
B) interposition.
C) continuity.
D) closure.
246
14. When the moon is near the horizon,
it appears larger than when it is high in
the sky. This effect is primarily a result
of:
• A) the slightly dimmer appearance of the
horizon moon.
• B) the scattering of the horizon moon’s
light waves, which penetrate the
atmosphere at an angle.
• C) distance cues, which make the
horizon moon seem farther away.
• D) the brighter appearance of the
horizon moon.
251
15. It has been suggested that
experience with the corners of buildings
and the rectangular shapes of a
carpentered world may contribute to:
•
•
•
•
A) the Ponzo illusion.
B) shape constancy.
C) the moon illusion.
D) the Müller-Lyer illusion.
251
16. As the retinal image of a horse
galloping toward you becomes larger, it
is unlikely that the horse will appear to
grow larger. This best illustrates the
phenomenon of:
• A) visual capture.
• B) size constancy.
• C) closure.
• D) convergence.
250
17. Retinal disparity refers to the:
• A) tendency to see parallel lines as
coming together in the distance.
• B) tendency to see stimuli that are near
each other as parts of a unified object.
• C) somewhat different images our two
eyes receive of the same object.
• D) extent to which our eyes turn
toward each other when looking at an
object.
246
18. The perceptual tendency to fill in
gaps in order to perceive disconnected
parts as a whole object is called:
•
•
•
•
A) closure.
B) constancy.
C) interposition.
D) convergence.
244
19. The perception of the letter “t” as two
intersecting lines rather than as four
nonintersecting lines illustrates the
principle of:
•
•
•
•
A) convergence.
B) proximity.
C) closure.
D) continuity.
244
20. The organizational principles
identified by Gestalt psychologists best
illustrate the importance of:
•
•
•
•
A) perceptual constancy.
B) retinal disparity.
C) top-down processing.
D) perceptual adaptation.
243
21. Gestalt psychologists emphasize
that:
• A) perception is the same as
sensation.
• B) the whole is more than the sum of
its parts.
• C) we learn to perceive the world
through experience.
• D) sensation has no effect on
perception.
243
22. The perception of an object as
distinct from its surroundings is called:
•
•
•
•
A) perceptual set.
B) perceptual constancy.
C) figure-ground perception.
D) the phi-phenomenon.
243
23. Human factors psychologists would
be most likely to aid in the design of:
•
•
•
•
A) computer keyboards.
B) weight-reduction programs.
C) protective clothing.
D) classroom management
techniques.
261
24. The illusion of movement in
animated neon signs is known as:
•
•
•
•
A) interposition.
B) relative motion.
C) retinal disparity.
D) the phi phenomenon.
250
25. As she gazed down from a bridge
at the rapidly flowing river, Nancy felt
as thought she were moving. Her
experience best illustrates the
phenomenon of:
•
•
•
•
A) retinal disparity.
B) perceptual adaptation.
C) location constancy.
D) visual capture.
244
Acknowledgements
• Step Up Created by:
– John J. Schulte, Psy.D.
• Based on Psychology,
Eighth Edition by
• David Myers
• Published by
• Worth Publishers, 2006
Answers
1.
B
9.
C
17.
C
2.
C
10.
C
18.
A
3.
A
11.
B
19.
D
4.
D
12.
D
20.
C
5.
B
13.
B
21.
B
6.
D
14.
C
22.
C
7.
B
15.
D
23.
A
8.
D
16.
B
24.
D
25.
D