Name: 
 

Perception


Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

 1. 
Experiments involving infants' perception of 3-D figures, when combined with visual cliff data, suggest that
a.
at least some level of depth perception is innate.
b.
depth perception is heavily dependent on skillful motor coordination.
c.
depth perception is almost entirely learned.
d.
neither innate mechanisms nor learning have much effect on depth perception.
 

 2. 
When infants are placed in the middle of a visual cliff, they usually
a.
remain still.
b.
move to the shallow side of the apparatus.
c.
move to the deep side of the apparatus.
d.
approach their mothers when called, whether that requires moving to the shallow or deep side.
 

 3. 
If you stand in the middle of a cobblestone street, the street will look coarse near your feet and finer if you look into the distance. This is called
a.
texture gradient.
b.
linear perspective.
c.
relative size.
d.
relative motion.
 

 4. 
When traveling in a car, near objects seem to move past you faster than distant objects. This is called
a.
aerial perspective.
b.
linear perspective.
c.
relative size.
d.
relative motion.
 

 5. 
Internal standards used to judge stimuli are referred to as
a.
adaptation level.
b.
context.
c.
intuition.
d.
frames of reference.
 

 6. 
Illusions are
a.
distortions of existing stimuli.
b.
the same as hallucinations.
c.
the result of innate mechanisms.
d.
not based on external reality.
 

 7. 
An industrial psychologist interested in human factors would most likely participate in
a.
the collection of biodata.
b.
vocational interest testing.
c.
an assessment center evaluation.
d.
machine design.
 

 8. 
The fact that we can walk and chew gum at the same time illustrates that
a.
our attention depends on different motor systems.
b.
we use selective attention.
c.
we use divided attention.
d.
we use sequential attention.
 

 9. 
You are sitting in the pit area at the Indianapolis 500. You closely watch one of the cars whiz around on the track in front of the seething mass of humanity crammed into the stands. You have organized this visual scene such that the race car is __________ and the people and the stands are __________.
a.
figure; ground
b.
ground; figure
c.
figure; common region
d.
common region; camouflage
 

 10. 
The fact that objects that are near each other tend to be grouped together is known as
a.
closure.
b.
continuation.
c.
similarity.
d.
nearness.
 

 11. 
The underlying mechanism for perceptual expectancies is
a.
a misleading perception that distorts or misjudges a stimulus.
b.
top-down processing.
c.
the organization of perception by beginning with low-level features.
d.
bottom-up processing.
 

 12. 
Which of the following is considered a monocular cue for depth?
a.
convergence
b.
accommodation
c.
depth perspective
d.
singularity
 

 13. 
Inductive reasoning goes from the specific to the general. Which of the following is analogous to inductive reasoning?
a.
top-down processing
b.
bottom-up processing
c.
perceptual expectancies
d.
illusions
 

 14. 
Compared to males who had not read a sexually arousing written passage, males who had read the passage were
a.
more likely to perceive a female as attractive.
b.
less likely to perceive a female as attractive.
c.
no more likely to perceive a female as attractive.
d.
greatly affected in their rates of habituation to an attractive female.
 

 15. 
The tendency to group together objects that are the same size, shape, color, or form is known as
a.
closure.
b.
continuation.
c.
similarity.
d.
nearness.
 

 16. 
As a door opens toward you, you perceive it as a rectangular door rather than going through actual image changes on the retina (from rectangular to trapezoid). This is an example of
a.
perceptual closure.
b.
shape constancy.
c.
ambiguous stimuli.
d.
retinal disparity.
 

 17. 
Closure, nearness, similarity, and continuation are categories of
a.
perceptual (Gestalt) organization.
b.
cognitive style.
c.
cognitive organization.
d.
perceptual integration.
 

 18. 
A man 6 feet in height will look "tall" when surrounded by others of average height, and "short" among a group of professional basketball players. This is an example of
a.
inverted vision.
b.
active movement.
c.
adaptation level.
d.
context.
 

 19. 
The tendency to fill in gaps in the perception of a figure is called
a.
sensory completion.
b.
closure.
c.
figure-ground.
d.
continuation.
 

 20. 
Twenty extremely accurate clocks are locked in two bank vaults (ten in each). A subject who claims to have paranormal powers concentrates on the clocks in one of the vaults, attempting to make them run faster. If she succeeds, she will have demonstrated
a.
clairvoyance.
b.
telepathy.
c.
mesmerism.
d.
psychokinesis.
 

 21. 
A 70-year-old man defines middle age as 50 years of age. A 10-year-old child defines middle age as 35 years of age. Their estimates differ because of
a.
selective attention.
b.
perceptual constancy.
c.
perceptual defense.
d.
their frame of reference.
 

 22. 
The organizational principle demonstrated by the stimuli below is known as

XOXOX
XOXOX
XOXOX
XOXOX
XOXOX
a.
continuity.
b.
figure-ground.
c.
similarity.
d.
nearness.
 

 23. 
The text's illustration of the police officer's faulty "eyewitness" identification is an example of
a.
the fact that perceptions are often reconstructions of events.
b.
the low degree of accuracy of human psi phenomena.
c.
perceptual closure operating in a real life situation.
d.
an "innocence of vision" in stressful situations.
 

 24. 
You observe two cars of identical make and model. Although one roars away and its image on your retina is changed, you still perceive the cars as identical. This phenomenon is
a.
size constancy.
b.
shape constancy.
c.
concept constancy.
d.
form constancy.
 

 25. 
Attention is aroused by
a.
subtle differences in stimuli.
b.
bright stimuli.
c.
contrast or change in stimulation.
d.
subliminal stimuli.
 

 26. 
Decreased perceptual response to a repeated stimulus is called
a.
habituation.
b.
selective attention.
c.
divided attention.
d.
hallucination.
 

 27. 
Interposition is the pictorial depth cue more commonly known as
a.
relative motion.
b.
overlap.
c.
linear perspective.
d.
motion parallax.
 

 28. 
The most convincing evidence that depth perception is native to humans (and possibly other species) is its
a.
importance in adaptive activity.
b.
early emergence as a perceptual skill.
c.
integration with motor skills.
d.
reliance on monocular and binocular cues.
 

 29. 
Improved research techniques in parapsychology have resulted in
a.
the ability to repeat spectacular results.
b.
more positive results.
c.
less skepticism among scientists.
d.
fewer positive results.
 

 30. 
Research evidence has shown that the presence of a weapon
a.
increases the accuracy of the account.
b.
reduces the ambiguity of the interpretation of the situation.
c.
impairs an eyewitness's accuracy of a description of a suspect.
d.
allows an eyewitness to remember the event longer.
 

 31. 
The purported ability to perceive events at a distance or through physical barriers is termed
a.
clairvoyance.
b.
telepathy.
c.
precognition.
d.
psychokinesis.
 

 32. 
A cheetah scrambling up a rocky slope in Montana is likely to be perceived as a mountain lion because
a.
perception is guided by expectations.
b.
figure and ground have been confused.
c.
contiguity is a powerful influence on perception.
d.
the setting provides an ideal camouflage.
 

 33. 
A white shirt reflects more light outdoors than in a dimly lit room; however, it is seen as being equally bright in both places. This demonstrates the role of __________ in perception.
a.
brightness constancy
b.
lightness constancy
c.
brightness parallax
d.
visual system limitations
 

 34. 
The most basic source of normal depth perception and stereoscopic vision is
a.
accommodation.
b.
convergence.
c.
retinal disparity.
d.
linear perspective.
 

 35. 
__________ processing is like putting together a picture puzzle you've never seen before.
a.
Bottom-up
b.
Top-down
c.
Left-right
d.
Selective
 

 36. 
Deductive reasoning goes from the general to the specific. Which of the following is analogous to deductive reasoning?
a.
top-down processing
b.
bottom-up processing
c.
perceptual expectancies
d.
illusions
 

 37. 
A major criticism of ESP research is that
a.
if the experimenter really believes in ESP, he or she is much more likely to interpret coincidence as cause-and-effect.
b.
ESP researchers have made no attempt to be objective or scientific.
c.
parapsychological skills are too consistent to be real.
d.
researchers have been unwilling to investigate psychic phenomena in laboratory settings.
 

 38. 
You call the Psychic Hotline and talk with a real, live psychic. He tells you about future events in your life that he claims to "see." The psychic would possess which psi ability?
a.
telepathy
b.
precognition
c.
clairvoyance
d.
psychokinesis
 

 39. 
The tendency to complete a figure is called
a.
continuation.
b.
similarity.
c.
continuity.
d.
closure.
 

 40. 
Which of the following is TRUE of eyewitness testimony?
a.
Most victims do not have an adequate "weapon focus."
b.
Victims certain of their testimony are usually more accurate.
c.
Eyewitness testimony is generally very accurate.
d.
Perception rarely provides an instant replay of events.
 

 41. 
The bodily depth cue generated by changes in the shape of the lens is called
a.
retinal disparity.
b.
aerial perspective.
c.
accommodation.
d.
convergence.
 

 42. 
The moon illusion is best explained by
a.
the effects of depth cues on apparent distance.
b.
the perceptual closure effect.
c.
magnification caused by the denser atmosphere along the horizon.
d.
convergence.
 

 43. 
A "guess" about what a sensation represents that is held until more information is available is referred to as a
a.
cognitive style.
b.
perceptual hypothesis.
c.
sensory hypothesis.
d.
perceptual closure.
 

 44. 
Parapsychology is
a.
a pseudopsychology dealing with the prediction of the future.
b.
the study of psychic phenomena or psi events.
c.
limited to the study of extrasensory perception.
d.
a non-scientific field concerned with clairvoyance, magic, and witchcraft.
 

 45. 
Which of the following illustrates the principle of contiguity?
a.
the "false dawn" before a sunrise
b.
the shadows cast on a cloudy day
c.
a person "lip-syncing" to a record
d.
a darker balloon seen as farther away than a lighter one
 

 46. 
Recent experiments on eyewitness testimony have shown that the relationship between a person's confidence in his or her testimony and its accuracy
a.
depends upon whether the witness is male or female.
b.
depends upon whether the witness has at least a high school education.
c.
has almost no relationship.
d.
is more suspect for children than for adults.
 

 47. 
A widespread increase in the reported sightings of UFOs following newspaper reports of similar sightings may be attributed to
a.
perceptual defense.
b.
coordinated perceptual set.
c.
mass hallucination.
d.
perceptual expectancy.
 

 48. 
The fact that many people are unconcerned about the gradual depletion of the ozone can be attributed to the __________.
a.
pygmalion effect
b.
size-distance invariance
c.
boiled frog syndrome
d.
habituation effect
 

 49. 
The information surrounding a stimulus is known as the
a.
adaptation level.
b.
context.
c.
aura.
d.
internal frame of reference.
 

 50. 
Psi phenomena
a.
are the subject matter of psychophysicists.
b.
include clairvoyance, telepathy, and precognition.
c.
are considered a normal part of the human experience.
d.
have been found true in all cultures studied thus far.
 

 51. 
The stimuli below are seen as one group of circles
and one group of squares due to the organizational principle of

perception_files/i0520000.jpg
a.
similarity.
b.
nearness.
c.
closure.
d.
continuity.
 

 52. 
Illusions differ from hallucinations in that
a.
illusions are based on perceptions that have no external reality.
b.
hallucinations are simply misjudgments of sensory information.
c.
illusions are based on perceptual learning.
d.
hallucinations are the result of past experience.
 

 53. 
Assembling sensations into usable patterns is called
a.
attention.
b.
evaluation.
c.
habituation.
d.
perception.
 

 54. 
The __________ believe that depth perception is learned.
a.
nativists
b.
empiricists
c.
humanists
d.
structuralists
 

 55. 
When Jewish subjects tried to remember briefly flashed groups of stimuli, they recognized fewer items when one was a swastika. This was because
a.
they were concentrating harder on the other stimuli.
b.
the stimuli were figures which had no meaning.
c.
their attention was shifted away from other information.
d.
their attention span decreased with constant repetition of the stimuli.
 

 56. 
Figure and ground can be switched in
a.
shape perception.
b.
depth perception.
c.
reversible figures.
d.
nonlinear figures.
 

 57. 
Even though the retinal image of an object may change drastically, the object appears unchanged. This is the principle underlying
a.
perceptual closure.
b.
shape constancy.
c.
ambiguous stimuli.
d.
retinal disparity.
 

 58. 
An ability to "read" another person's mind is termed
a.
clairvoyance.
b.
telepathy.
c.
precognition.
d.
psychokinesis.
 

 59. 
The film Star Wars created illusions of depth by quickly changing images of the sizes of planets and starships using the pictorial depth cue called
a.
convergence.
b.
accommodation.
c.
linear perspective.
d.
relative size.
 

 60. 
The fact that infants will often crawl off tables or beds shows that
a.
depth perception is completely learned.
b.
human depth perception emerges at about 4 months of age.
c.
integration of depth perception with motor skills has not yet been accomplished.
d.
depth perception is completely innate.
 

 61. 
Experiments with the visual cliff show that
a.
human infants are aware of shape constancy.
b.
human and animal depth perception is entirely learned.
c.
perceptual grouping does not begin until a baby is from six to fourteen months old.
d.
human infants perceive depth by the age of six months.
 

 62. 
Motion parallax
a.
is not enough, alone, to indicate depth when most other cues fail.
b.
refers to the illusion that distant objects move slightly against a background, while closer objects move a sizable distance.
c.
is responsible for motion sickness.
d.
is dependent on stereoscopic vision.
 

 63. 
The stimuli below are organized as three columns rather than
six columns because of the organizational principle of

XX XX XX
XX XX XX
XX XX XX
XX XX XX
XX XX XX
a.
similarity.
b.
nearness.
c.
closure.
d.
continuity.
 

 64. 
Features of the environment, or messages from the body, that supply information about distance and space are called
a.
sensations.
b.
depth cues.
c.
muscular cues.
d.
size-distance phenomena.
 

 65. 
Which of the following is a monocular depth cue?
a.
linear perspective
b.
retinal disparity
c.
convergence
d.
divergence
 

 66. 
Sensations are organized into meaningful perceptions by
a.
perceptual constancies.
b.
localization of meaning.
c.
perceptual grouping (Gestalt) principles.
d.
sensory adaptation.
 

 67. 
An imaginary perception, such as seeing, hearing, or smelling something that does not exist in the external world is called a(n)
a.
illusion.
b.
hallucination.
c.
stroboscopic movement.
d.
Müller-Lyer illusion.
 

 68. 
The ability to identify the direction from which a sound originates is strongly dependent on having two ears separated in space by several inches. The ability to perceive visual depth is related to a similar property known as
a.
accommodation.
b.
aerial perspective.
c.
retinal disparity.
d.
inverted vision.
 

 69. 
The __________ believe that depth perception is inborn.
a.
nativists
b.
empiricists
c.
humanists
d.
behaviorists
 

 70. 
Cross-cultural experiences suggest that pictorial cues for depth perception are
a.
universal.
b.
learned.
c.
irrelevant.
d.
illusions.
 

 71. 
The analysis of information starting with pre-existing knowledge in order to organize features into a meaningful whole is known as
a.
perceptual expectancy.
b.
top-down processing.
c.
bottom-up processing.
d.
Gregory's phenomenon.
 

 72. 
The purported ability to predict future events is called
a.
clairvoyance.
b.
precognition.
c.
psychokinesis.
d.
telepathy.
 

 73. 
Highway engineers sometimes paint stripes on freeway off-ramps to enhance the perception of depth, using the cue of
a.
aerial perspective.
b.
parallax.
c.
texture gradients.
d.
overlap.
 

 74. 
In making a charcoal pencil drawing, which pictorial depth cue could you most effectively use?
a.
accommodation
b.
retinal fusion
c.
convergence
d.
light and shadow
 

 75. 
To perceive the size of an object remaining the same even though the retinal image changes is called
a.
perceptual closure.
b.
size constancy.
c.
retinal disparity.
d.
psychophysics.
 

 76. 
Assembling a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what it portrayed would require
a.
bottom-up processing.
b.
holistic reasoning.
c.
synthesis.
d.
top-down processing.
 

 77. 
The idea that many people seem unable to detect gradual but deadly trends in modern civilization is an example of
a.
the "Hawthorne Effect."
b.
the "Boiled Frog Syndrome."
c.
the "Zeigarnik Effect."
d.
the "von Restorff Phenomenon."
 

 78. 
The most basic perceptual organization is
a.
shape constancy.
b.
depth perception.
c.
figure-ground.
d.
size constancy.
 

 79. 
A field that focuses primarily on the psychology of work and adaptation of machines for human use is
a.
engineering psychology.
b.
systems psychology.
c.
social psychology.
d.
environmental psychology.
 

 80. 
Perception is a process by which
a.
environmental stimuli are sensed.
b.
sensations are assembled into meaningful patterns that represent external events.
c.
sensations and experiences are stored permanently in the brain.
d.
many different forms of stimulus energy are converted into electrical signals for use by the nervous system.
 

 81. 
The ability to see three-dimensional space and to accurately judge distances is called
a.
size constancy.
b.
shape constancy.
c.
depth perception.
d.
perceptual organization.
 

 82. 
Many natural ESP occurrences are apparently a result of
a.
practice.
b.
coincidence.
c.
misrepresentation.
d.
unconscious psychological processes.
 

 83. 
Disney's cartoons are made up of thousands of still pictures, but we see motion in these cartoons because of
a.
motion parallax.
b.
linear perspective.
c.
stroboscopic movement.
d.
the Müller-Lyer illusion.
 

 84. 
When you estimate a distance under 50 feet (as when you approach a stop sign or play catch), you are using
a.
convergence.
b.
accommodation.
c.
retinal disparity.
d.
relative size.
 

 85. 
Placing priorities on sensory messages occurs in the process of
a.
selective attention.
b.
divided perception.
c.
repetitious stimulation.
d.
subliminal attention.
 

 86. 
The binocular cue of convergence occurs
a.
because the eyes are about 2.5 inches apart.
b.
when the lens in each eye bends or bulges to focus on nearby objects.
c.
just as easily in a person with only one eye.
d.
when trying to focus on an object less than 50 feet in distance.
 

 87. 
Television ads that are in black and white are just trying to take advantage of which attention getting technique?
a.
loudness
b.
motion
c.
contrast
d.
repetition
 

 88. 
Psychologists believe that depth perception is
a.
innate.
b.
learned.
c.
imprinted.
d.
partly learned and partly innate.
 

 89. 
The analysis of information starting with features and building into a complete perception is known as
a.
perceptual expectancy.
b.
top-down processing.
c.
bottom-up processing.
d.
Gregory's phenomenon.
 

 90. 
Which type of psychologist would most likely be interested in things such as displays, controls, and sensory and motor capabilities?
a.
industrial/organizational psychologist
b.
social psychologist
c.
human factors engineer
d.
cognitive psychologist
 

 91. 
The illusion that railroad tracks come together in the distance involves the depth cue of
a.
atmospheric perspective.
b.
texture gradient.
c.
light and shadow.
d.
linear perspective.
 

 92. 
A person living in the desert calls a 60 degree day "cold" whereas one living in Alaska calls it "warm." Their perceptions differ because of
a.
attention shifts.
b.
their frame of reference.
c.
temperature parallax.
d.
perceptual constancy.
 



 
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