Perception

CHAPTER
OVERVIEW Selective Attention (pp. 237-2a0)

Chapter 6 explores how we select, organize, and D a v i d M y e r s a t t i m c s u s e si c l i o m st h t r ti r r c u n -

intcrpret our sensationsirrto mearrir-rgfulpc.rce.ptions. f a m i l i a r t o s o m c r c a c l c r s I. f v o t t c l o n o t k t r o w
Thc chaptcr introclucesarwide range of terminology, worcls,
t h e m e a n i n g o f a r r yo f t l r t ' f r , l l t , r n ' i n g
t'spccially in the Perceptui'rl Organization section. phrases,or exprcssionsirr thc context in rvhich
Each oi the twcl sections thtrt follow deals with an tlrey aprpearirr thc tcxt, re-ferto page 175 ior an
important issue. T'he first issue is the role of experi- explana tion : 11 Lttrr nt t n rt i orn I s1to t I i qlrt slri.ft s; t1otr
elrcr), ils opposed to he.re.clity,in perception. M;rke ttrttrytlrntun ltlurtk;sntrutcrt'd; po1t-ortt.
sure y()Llunclerrstancl tl.reresr-rltsof studies of recovery
from blindrless, sens()ry clc.privation, adaptation to
tlistclrtetlenvinrnments, ;rnd perccptutrl set. Note also
Objective 1: Describc thc intcrprl.rybertweenattentiorr
thc nrle of psychokrgistsin hr-rmanfactors clesign.
'Ihc and pe'rceptirln.
seconclisstreconsidcre'din the chapter is the
possiblc cxistcncc of FISI),or perception withtlut st'n-
1. Our tendency to foclrs at irrrv rnomct'tton only a
si.ttion.You shotrlclbe able to discuss both the cltrims
m a d c f o r E S I ta r r d t h e c r i t i c i s m so f t h e . s cc l a i m s . limitccl aspect of all tl-r;rtwc iir(' capirblc of cxperi-
encingis ctrllecl
N O T E : A n s w e r g u i d e l i n e sf o r a l l C h a p t e r 6 q u e s t i o n s
. l ' h i s i s i l l n s t r . r t c cul s i r r ga
bc'gin rxr page 168.
figure c.rlletl.r ctrbe

CHAPTER
REVIEW 2. An cxamplc of this linritecl foclrs is the

First, skim each section,notinS;heaclingsand boldface -the abilitv to attcncl

ite'ms.Aftcr you have reacl the section, review etrcl"r
obicctive by answering the fill-in and essav-type selectively to clnly one voicer<rnlonglnanv.
cluestions that follow it. As yc'lu proceed, evaluate 3. Onc' e'xampleof our lack of irwarL'lrL'ss
of l"raprpt'n-
yotrr performance by consulting the answers begin-
inss around r.rsis ,in
ning on page 168. Do not continue with the next scc-
tion until you understand each answer. lf you need whieh-aftt'r a hrit'f inter-
to, review or rereacl the secticln in the textbook before ruption-we fail to notice a charrgeirr the cnvi-
continuing. ronment. Two forms of this phenclme.nonthat
1. The philosopher first involve visior-rand hearing, re.spe.ctively,
are
proposed that we perceive objectsthrough the ancl
senses,with the mind.
Another example is

157
 I
158 Chapter 6 Perception

-l'he
Perceptual|llusions(pp.2a0-2a2) tions. distinction betwe.e'nsenstltic)nalltl pp1-
ception itr tertns of thesc two typcs tlf inforr-u.rtiorr
lf you clo not know tht' me'aningof any of the
p n r c e s s i n gi s (clcar
, r e r p r e s s i o n si r r
g o r d s , p l t r a s t ' so
f t r l l t r l , r ' i nw
the context in which tht'v trppetrr in the text, cut/ fttz.tt').
'l
rcfer to p.-rge 75 for an cxplan;.rtion:
ctcntriloquist's dttnrntry; nnrt' to tottchtltnn nccts Objective 4: F.xplirinthc figr-rrc-grounclrelationship,
tlu'skitr. l r o u p r i n gi r l
a n d i d e n t i f r ' p r i n c i p l c so f p e r c e p t l t i t g
form perception.

\,vescL'the ccntral objcct,

vien' c)SCerlr',
3. When rn"'e
Objective 2: IJxplainl'rrxvillusions hclp us to undcr-
or , . r s c l i s t i n c 'ftr t l m s l t r -
stand sorne of tl.rcwirvs wc orgarrize.stir-nr-rli
irrto
mcarringfn l pcrceptiorrs. r o u n d i n g s t i n r r - r Ioi ,l t h c

l d c r r t i f y t h c t r . r j o t 'c o n t r i b t r t i t t r r so i ( l c s t a l t p s y c h o l o -
1. Jllusions reveal the n,irys rn,e'
trort.nally gv ttt ott r tttrdt'r-statttl i rtg ot ;)1'l't--t'p f i1111.
il I1 L]

t.lttrsenstttions.

2. Tht. tcntlerncyof vision to c'lonrinatcthc otl.rerr

scnses is refcrrecl to irs

3. ln a conterstbctrvecn hearir.rganci touclr,

dor-trinatcs.

PerceptualOrganization(pp.242 254)
4 . I ) r o x ir ni t v , s im i l a r it y , c l o s l tr e , c o r - r t i n ttryi , i l n d
lf you clo rrot krrow'thr. mcirnir.rgof alry of tht'
corrnc'ctccllrt'ss ilrc ('xittlples ttf (lcstalt rttlcs of
f o l l o w i r r g w o r t l s , p h r . r s c so, r c r f - r r r ' s s i o nisr r t l - t c
contcxt in w,lriclrthcy app-rcar irr thc text, rcfcr
ttr pagcs 175-176 ior irtr erxplatratiotr: r7r'rt;
5 . T h e p r i n c i p l c 't l . r i rrt , t , eo r g . t t r i z es t i m u l i i l r t o
t', I q I
Sttrrtt't i rrt t's, It ttrttt'rtt' t tc cn t s d r ns t ro ry; rtrot I tt'r s
tlrt,rtcttttxt'd tlrctrtto cro'iul ottt tttrto tlre g/rlss; T/rc snrootlr, cttnti It u t'ru s Pattr'rrrsi s cirI lt'cl
. fht'principlcthatwe iill in
$
$
flottirtg.firrt('rsrrt/s/tt'(';
orc nctrtollqs[nblt'rrtrrrl
As u,t' rtttt'(,t', objccts
ilpp(nr t0 ruttit(;ltv.flnshitrg
tlnl
gaps t() cretrtea cornpletc, whttlt' objcct is

t_._" 24 still ptictrtrt's; throttghtt pttpL'rttrltc;t'nrpt'rrtcrctl. . l ' h c g r o t r p i n go f i t e m s t h a t

Objective 3: Describe Clerstaltpsychology's contribu-
tion to our undcrstanclirrgof pcrceptior.r.
1. Accordinu to thc
psychology, we tend to orgarrizea clr,tstcrof sell-
a r c c k r s ct o c ; r c ho t h c r i s t h e p r i n c i p l c o f
; thc grouping of itcms thrrt
l o o k . r l i k t ' i st h e p r i r - r c i p loef
. I l r t ' I t ' t t t l t ' t r t V t o 1 r t ' 1 ' 1i' 1f r . '
school of
uniform or attirchcd items .rs .t singlc r-rnitis thc

sations into tr , clr PrinciPlt'of

form.
Objective 5: Explain tl'reimportance oi clcpth Pcrcep-
2. Or-rrtender-rcyto perceive complctc forms tion, and discuss thc.contribtrtion of visual cliff
oi this ability.
rescarchto our r,rnclerstttrrdirrg
involves sensory trnalysis,or

6. The ability to sec objectsin thrcc dimensrons

processingof stimuli, as well as dcspite their two-dimernsionalrepresentationsoI1
prc)- our re'tintrsis cirllecl
cessing thtrt uses our It enablesus to estimatc'
and ttr tntr'rpret r)ttr settsc-t-
 PerceptualOrganization 159

7. Gibson and Walk developed the away:

to test 15. As an object becomes increasinglv clistant,it
depth perception in infants. By appears progressivelv less distitrct:
(lr'hartage?)infants
demonstrate thcy are using Gestalt perception
16. Objectslower in the visual fielcl are seen as
principle.s.
nearer:
Summarize the resultsof Cibson and Walk's studies
1 7 . As we move, objectsartclificrcrrtclistatrct'silPpcar
of depth perception.
to move at diffcrent rtrtes:

18. Perrallellines trppear to cotrvergein the rlist.rnct':

19. Dimmcr, or shaded, objectsseetl f.trtht't-.t\\'ct\':

Objective 6: Dcscribc two binocr-rlarcucs for prerceiv-
ing clcpth, and e.xplain l-row the.y help the brtrin to
c o r n p u t cd i s t a n c e .
Objective 8: State thc' basic assumptiotr n't' nr.rkt' it.t
For cluestions8-.19,iderrtify the depth perceptiorrcue o u r p e r c e p t i o n so f m o t i o n , a n d e x p l a i n h o n ' t h e . t '
that is c'lcfinecl. p t ' r c t ' p t i o r r ts' a n b e d t ' c t ' i v ir r g .
8. Any cue.that rccluirc.sboth eves:
20. ln gerncral,\ryer
are (r'crr

-I'he goocl/not vcry gooci) at qtrickly clctcctirigtht:

9. greater the diffcrcncc bctwccn thc im.rgcs
spccd of moving objccts.Sometinrt's,wc .lrc
rcccive.c-l
by tlre two c'yes,the ncarer the object:
fooleclbecauselarger objectssccnl to tt.rot'e
.3-D
(fastcr/ more slort'lv ) tlr.rn
nrovir.ssimulate this cue by photographing each
smaller objects.
scencrt,ith two camcras.This chaptcr's funda-
n r e n t a ll e s s o ni s t h a t o u r arc 21. Thc br;.rininterrprctsa rapriclscrics of slightlv

t h c c o n s t r u c t i o n so f o u r v . r r v r n gr m i g c s . r s This
p l r t ' n o m t ' r r o rirs c . r l l c d
10. T'hem()rc our cycs focus irrwarc'lwhcn we view
an olrject,the ncarer the obiect:
'Ihc
22. illusion of movcment that rcsr,rltswhen trt,tr
adjacent stationary spots of light blink orr irrcl oii
Obiective 7: Explairr how, monocular cues diffe.r from
in ouick successionis callcclthc
binocular clrcs,rrnd dcscribe.sc.r,e.ral
monocular cuts
ior pcrcciv ing cle.ptl-r.

11. Any ctrc that rccluirescitirer eyc akrne: Objective 9: Explain the importance of perce'pturtl
collstancy.

12. If two obfectsare presumed to be the same size, 23. Our tendency to see objccts as unchanging rvhile
the one that castsa smaller retinal image is per- the stimuli from them change in size, shaper,ancl
ceived as farther away: l i g h t n e s si s c a l l e d

13. An object partially covered by another is seen as 24. This (bottom-up/top-clown)

f a| t h r ' r n w a y : processenablesus to identify things regarrdlessof
1.4. Objects that appear hazy are seen as farther the
0r by r.t'hich we view them
 I
160 Chapter 6 Perception

Objective 10: Describe the shtrpeand size constan- PerceptualInterpretation1pp.2s4^264)

cies, and explain how our expectations about per-
ceived size and distance contribute to some rrisual lf yclu do not know the meaning of anv of tl-re
illusions. folkrwing words, phrirses,or t'xprcssiotrsin tlre
context in which they appear in the te'xt,refer
25. Due to shape trncl size.consterncy,familiar objects to page 776 for an explanatiorr:Pirru'-Ports ltnll;
(cio/do not) appeartcr rut'rrtLtq.ft'cl sliglrtlVtlisorit'tttt'tl , ctur dizztl;to sct'
change shaperrlr size despiterchangcs in our is to Ltt'lit'i,c. . . ttt ltclit'rrt'isfo -scc;0 "ntottst('r" itt
Scotlorrtl's /,rrc/rl/r'ss;frotrrulttt's bcltittdoltr (vcs
im.lges of thcrn.
nrrtlbt'tipct:u ()trr('ors;irt thc ctlt'sof tlu'ir ltt'hLtldcrs.
il
2 6 . S e v e r a li l l u s i o r - r si n, c l u d i n g t h c
, atrcl
illu- Objective 12: Dcscribc thc colrtribution of rcst()rccl-
sit'rtts,itre'r:xprlirine.cl
by the intcrplay between per- v i s i o n a n c ls e n s o r yc l e r p r i v a t i o rnc s c a r c hi u o t t r t t t r d c r -
s t a n c l i n go f t h c l l a t u r c - n u r t u r ei r r t t ' r p l a yi t " to u r p er -
ceived arrd ;rc.rcci."'ccl
ct-ptions.
. Whcn clistirncccLlcsilrc
rcnr ove'cl,tlrc.sc.i I Itrsiorls a re c()nrcsfrom itrbortr
1. The iclctrthat knor'r,lcclgc

(clinr in ishccl/ strorgthcrrccl). w a y s o f o r g r r r r i z i n gs e n s ( ) r vc x p c r i c n c e su / a s p r ( ) -

poscclby thc phikrsoprhcr
Explain how thc sizc-clistanccrelationship arccounts
for thc Moon illtrsiolr. 2 . C ) n t h e o t l r t ' r s i c l cw c r c p h i k l s o p h er s w l r o t l . r i u -
tiriuccltl"rirtwe lcartr to pt'rccivc the wclrlcl by
c x ; r c r i o r c i n gi t . C ) n cp h i k r s o p h e ro" f t h i s s c h o o l
W.IS

3. Stuclicsoi casesirr which r.'isiotrhas bccu rcstorccl

who was blincl ironr Lrirthslrow tl.rat,
to .'r1-rL'151111
sccin..'tactilclyfanriliar objt'ctsfor thc first
trp'rorr
tirne, the pcrs()r1 (ciilt / ciill-

rrot) recogrrizethcr-n.
4. Sttrclicsof scnsory clcprivatior"rclcmorrstratcthat
27. Peoplerlvlro har,'clivcd thcir lives in Llncarpen- v isu.rl cxpcriernccsd r-rring
t e r c d r t r r a l c n v i r o n m e n t sa r c i r r c c r u c i a l f o r p c r c e p t u a ld e v e l o p m c n t .S u c h
( m ore./ Icss) strsc-cpr
ti b Ie to the M ii llcr- Lye'r crpe'rie'nccsstrggestthat thcre is a
illusion. for
normal scnsorv and pcrceptr-rirl clevelopmerrrt. For
Objective 11: Discr-rss lightnessconstitncyand its sirn-
tlris reason,htrman infar.rtsborn with itn ()pitqLre.
ilarity to cokrr constancy.
l e r r s , c a l l e .dd , typically
28. The brarincom;rutcs an object'sbrightncss h a v c c o r r c c t i r " es t r r g c r yr i g h t r r w a y .
(reiative.tol independent of)
Objective 13: Explain how the rescarchon clistorting
surrorrndirrg ob jects.
goggles irtcreascsour unde-rstanclingof the adaptabil-
29. The amount of light arr object reflectsrelartiveto ity of perccption.
i t s s u r r o u n d i n g si s c a l l e d
5. Flr-rmansgiven glassesthertshift or inverrtthe
visual field (will/will not)
30. Thanks tcr adapt to the distorted perception. This is calle'd
wc scc objccts as having a
constant hue relativc to surrotrnding objects.
Animals such alschicks
(adapt/clo not i,rdapt)to distorting lenses.
 Perception?
Is ThereExtrasensory 161

7. When clistorting goggles are first removed, most
people experience a brief perceptual
, a s t h e i r p e r c e p t u a ls y s t e m s
continue to compensate for the shifted visual
input.
L6. Another example of failure to consider the
human factor in design is the
technology that provides embarrassing headsets
that amplify sound for people with hcaring loss.

Objective 14: Define perceptual set, and explain how fs ThereExtrasensoryPerception?(pp.264-268)

it influences what we do or do not perceive.
If yc'rudo not knor'r' the nreaning of any ttf thc
that influences percep-
8. A me.ntalpreclispositior.r
fclllowing worcls, phr;rses,trr urPrt'ssitrnsin the
tion is callcda
context in which thcv ;rprpetrrirr thc text, refcr
t o p a g e 1 7 6 f c t ra n c ' x p l a n a t i o nt:t r t c r t t tlt;r rt t r i t t , l
9 . Tl-rrou gh erxperricncc,p-rcop
lc accluire perceptua I bltnuingTtcrfttrntttttcc; unstttis.ficd ltrutgt'r. . . Lttr
itch.
, as rcflcctcd in children's i

drawings at differre'ntages.This explains why we

morr' J('cur.ttt'lv rt'cogtrizt'
forms of
Objective 17: Idcntify thc three most te'sti-rble
of famotrs iaccs thrrn thcse.pc.oplc.'sactual faces.
ESP,and expltrir-rwhy most researchpsychologists
10. Or-rrfacc recognition is especially attuned to the remain skeptical of ESPclaims.
nrt.asof the
cxprc-'ssive and
outside thc r;rngeof nctrm:rlsensation
1. Perceptic'rn
is callt'd
O b j e c t i v e 1 5 : I l x p l a i n w h y t h e s a m es t i m u l u s c a n
t:r,okeclifferent prerceptionsin difierent contexts.
2. Psychologistswho study ESP i'rre.
cerlled

1 1 . How r-rstimulr-rsis pcrccived dcpenc-lson our per-

ceptr-ralschemirsand the The form of ESPin which peoplc claim to bc
in which it is e'xperiencecl. ctrpablcof re'adingothcrs' minds is callcd
. A pcrson who "scnses"
12. The corrtextof n stimulus createstr
(top-down/bottom-up) that a fricnd is in danger might claim to havc tlre
ESP ability of . An abilitv to
cxpcctt.rtionthat influcnccs our perccption as we
( t o p - d o w n/ b o t - "se.e"into the future is callcd
m a t c ho u r
. A person whct cltrims ttt be
t o m - u p ) s i g n a l a g a i n s ti t .
'13. a b l e .t o l e v i t a t ea n d m o v e o b f c c t si s c l a i m i n g t h e
Our perception is r-rlsoinflucnced by
power of
abor-rtgcncler and the
t o t t t t ' r I o I o u r ( ' \ p er i e n c e s . 4. Analyses of psychic visions and premonitittns
reveal (high/chance-lcvel)
Obiective 16: Dcscribe thc role human factors psy- accuracy.Neverthelcss,some people cttntinuc'ttl
chologists play in cretrtinguser-friendly machines believe in the'iraccuracy becausevilgue predic-
and work settings. tions often are ltrter ttt In.ltch
In adciition,
events that have ;rlready c:rccurred.
14. I'sychologistswho study the importance of con-
people are more likely to recall or
sidcring perceptual principles in the design of
to havc
dretrms that se-.e'm
machine-s,appliances, and work settings are
come true.
ct'rlled
psychologists. 5 . Critics point out that a major difficulty for para-
psychology is that ESP phenomena are not con-
15. Victims of the "curse of knowledge," technology
sistently
developers who assume that others share their
, m a y c r e a t ed e s i g n st h a t
are unclear to others.
 I
162 Chapter 6 Perception

5. Researcherswho tried to reduce external distrac- b. relative mcltion.

tions bctween a "sender" and a "receiver" in an c. linear perspective.
ESPexperiment. reported performance levels that d. continuity.
(beat/did not beat) chance Which of the follon'ing illustrates the' principrlc ol
levels.More rccent studics v i s u aI c a p t u r e ?
(failed to replicate the results/found equally, high a. We tencl to form iirst itnpressions of other
ler..elsof performance). pc.oplcon the basis of appe'arar1ce.
b. Becar-rscr.'istral procL.ssing is autttmatic, \\ c
can L).ly ;rttention to a vistterlimagc and ittrv
PROGRESS
TEST 7 other scnsatiotrtrt the'sttnretimet.
c . W e c ; r n r r o ts i r . n r - r l t a t r c o u saltyt e n d t o a v i s t t a l
Mu ltip I c- Cho i ce Qu e sti ons image arrclanother scustrtitlu.
Circle vorrr answLrrsto the following questions and d. When thcrc is ir corrflict betwercnvisttal infor-
chcck tlror witlr the answers beginning on ptrge 169. mation anrl that inrm anotlrcr se'nsc',r'isiort
lf your alrswcr is incorrcct, rc.ad the. explanation for t e n r l st ( ) t l o r l i r r , t t t ' .
Ivl.rv it is ir"rcorrcctand thcn consult the appropriater
7. A perst'rr.r cl.rinring to be ablc to rcacl anotlrer's
pragcsoi thc tcxt (in parcnthcsesfollowing tlre correct
m i n c ' li s c l a i m i n g t o l t i r v et h e E S I ' a b i l i t y o f :
anslvcr).
a. psychokinesis. c. clirirvoyarrcc.
'l'hc d. telcpathy.
1. historical rnovc.ment trssociatec'lwith the b. precogrrition.
s t a t e m e n t" T h e w h o l e m t r y e x c e e dt h e s u m o f i t s
parts" is: 8 . Wh ich ph i loso;rl.rcr tn.ri trtari rtt'rl tlrat krrttw'lc.clgc
c()nresfrurnrirrborrrr,r'rrvs of orgalrizing our scns()-
a. parapsychology.
ry experierrccs?
b. b c h a v i o r a lp s y c h o l o g y .
c. f r . r n c t i o n apl s y c h o l o g y . a. Locke c. Clibson
d. ( l e s t i r l tp s y c h o l o g y . b. Kirnt d. Walk

2. Figurcs tcncl to bc perccivc.clas whole, complete 9. Dr. Martin is trsing trirturirl nrirp;rirrgto redcsign
objects,r'r,en if spaces or gaps e.xistin the reprc- t h e i n s t r t r r n e n tg a u g e so i a u t o m o b i l c st t l b c m o r c
s e n t a t i o n ,t h u s c l e n r o n s t r a t i r rtgh c p r i n c i p l e o
. f: " u s c r f r i c n c l l y . " D r . M a r t i n i s c r ' ' i r l o r t l ya ( r r ) :
a. cortrtcctcclncss. c. continuity. a. 1-rsychoprhysic'ist.
b. similarity. d. closurc. b. cognitivcpsychologist.
c. human it.tctorspsychologist.
3. Thc figr-rrc-gror-rnd
reltrtionship has demonstrated d. e x p e r i n r c n t a lp s y c h o l o g i s t .
that:
a . p c r c c p t i o ni s l a r g e l y i n n a t e . 1 0 . Thc vistral cliff tcsts an infrrnt's prerc-cptr-tal
scnsi-
b. pcrccprtion is simply a point-for-point repre- tivity to which dcpth ctrc?
senti'rtionof se.rrsation. a. interposition c . l i n e i r rp c r s p e c t i v e
c. thc same stimr-rluscan trigger more than one b. relt.rtivehcight d. tcxttrre gradient
perception.
d. diifcrent people see cliffc.rent things when 1 1 . Kittens irnd nl()rlk€]ysrertrrcdsee.ingonly clifftrsc,
vier,r,ingir scene. unpatterned light:
a. later had difficultv rlistinguishingcolor arrd
4. Whcn we stare at an object, each eye receives a
brightness.
slightly diffcrcnt image, provicling a depth cue
b. later had difficr-rlty percciving color and
known t-rs:
brightness, but eventually regainecl Irornral
a. convertlence. c. relative motion.
sensitivity.
b . l i r r e a rp e r s p e c t i v e d. retinal disptrrity.
c. later hac-ldifficulty percciving the shapc of
5. As we move, r,iewed objectscast changing shapes objects.
on our retinas, although we do not perceive the d. showed no imptrirment in pc'rception,inclictrt-
objccts as changing. This is part of the phenome- ing that neural feature detectors develop even
non of: in the absenceof normal sensory expe'riences.
a. perceptualconstancy.
 ProgressTest 2 163

12. Adults who are born blind but later have their
vision restored:
a. are almost immediately able to recognize
familiar objects.
b. typically fail to recognize familiar objects.
c. are unable to follow moving objectswith their
eyes.
d. have excellenteye-hand ccrordinaticln.
20. Researchers r'r'ho investiEiated telt.pathv found
that:
a. when e'xternal distractions are recluced, Lroth
the "sender" and the "receiver" become'mttcl't
more.accuratein demonstrating ESP.
b. only "scnders" becomc much morc accuratc.
c. onlv "receivers" becomc mttch more accuratc.
d. over many studies, none ttf thetabove occur.

13. Drocessinsrcfcrs to how the phvs- Tnre-False ltems

ical characteristicsof stimuli influence their inte'r-
Indicertelvhethcr cach stutcrncnt is truc tlr fallsc bt'
pre.tation.
placing 7'or F ir-rthc blank trcxt to thc iten.r.
a. Top-down c. Parapsychological
b. Bottom-up d. Human factors l. C)ncc'we perceir''ean ite'm ils a figtlrc, it
is impossiblc to see it as grolrncl.
74. W h i c h o f t h c f o l l o w i n q is nof a monocular depth 2. [.aboratory cxpcrimcnts have lt.rid ttr
cue? r e s t i r l l c r i t i c i s r n so i E S P .
a. tcxture gradicnt c. rctinal disparity 3 . S i x - m o n t h - t t l t li r t f t r r r t sw i l l c r o s sa v i s t r . r l
b. relirtive heigl'rt d. inte.rposition c l i f f i f t h c i r n r o t h e rc a l l s .
4 . U r r l i k e o t h e ' r a n i m a l s , h u n r a t t s l t . . t t ct r t r
1 5 . The Moon illusion ()ccursin parrtbecausedistance
c r i t i c a lp c r i o d f t t r v i s u a l s t i m l t l a t i t l n .
cucs i.rtthc horizon make the Moon secm: 5. lmmanttcl Kant argucclthilt t'x1-rc1jg11c1'
a. farthcr trwiry and the.reforelarger. cletcrmineclltow l,r'cpercei.,,ethc worlrl.
b. closer and thcrcforc larger. 6. Peoplc who livc in a carpctrtereclw'tlrlcl
c. farther away trnd thereiore smaller. ilrL. more likt'11,thirn othcrs ttt cxpcri
d. closcr and thcrcfore smallcr. euct' tlre M r-iI lcr- l,yer i I I r-rsittrr.
't6. F i r u r t ' i s [ o s r o t t n c l. t s 7. Aitcr a pcriocl oi timc, httntirtrsare aLrlt'
is to
to adjust to livirrg irr a world rnaclc
a. night; day L r p s i d ec l o w n b y c l i s t o r t i r r gg o g g l c s .
b. top; bottom 8. As otrr clistatrccfrom att obiect clrar.rgcs,
c. cloud; sky the obicct's size sccms to clrangc.
d. s t ' t t s , t t i o nl ;' r t ' r t ' t ' [ r t i t r n 9. Pcrception is inflr.rcrrcecj bv psvcl-rtllogi-
cal ftrctorssttch as sct .rtrclt'xpcctatitltrils
1 7 . The stucly of perccptiorr is primarrily concerned
well its bv prhysiologicitlcvcr.rts.
with how we:
10. John l.ockc argr-recltltat perception is
a. detcct sights, sounds, ancl other stimuli. inborn.
b. s e n s ec n v i r o n m c n t a l s t i m u l i .
c. dcvelop se-rrsitivityto illusions.
d. i n t e r p r e t s c n s o r ys t i r n u l i . TESTZ
PROGRESS
1 8 . Which of the following infltre.ncesperception? l)rogrcss Test 2 shoulcl be conrpletetl clLrrirrg.r iirtal
a. b i o l o g i t . t lm a t t t r a t i o t t chapter rerview.Answer thc following c1r-tcstitlns after
b. the context in which stimuli are perceivecl you thoroughly understr-rncltl-recttrrt'ct .lttsrvtt'rsfor
c. expectations the section rerriewsand ProgrcssJ'est l.
d. all of thc above
1. The tendencv tct organize stirntrli it.tto st'nootlr,
19. Jarckcltrims that he often has dreams that predict uninterrupted patterrnsis callecl:
fr-rtureevents. He clainrs to havc the power of:
a. closure-. c. similaritY.
a . telepathy. c. precognition. b. continuity. d. proximitv.
b . clairvoyance. d. psychokincsis.
2. Which of the following is a monocttlar rlt'Pth ,--u.'7
a. light and shadow
b. convergence
c. retinal disparity
d. AII of the above arc'monocular depth cues.
164 Chapter 6 Perception

3 . Which of the follor.t ing statements is consistent c . I t h a s m o r e d a n r . ' t g r n qt ' i i c c t : ' , r : r r ' : -. .' - . ' . -
with the Gestalt theorv of perception? enccd durilrg ini;rncr .
a. Perception develops largely through learning. d . I t h a s g r e a t t e er f f e c t so n . r r l u l t > t h . n ' , 1 -. : ' : .
b. Perception is the product of heredity. clrc'rr.
c. The mind organizes sensationsinto meaning-
1 1 . P s y c h o l o g i s t sw h o s t u c l v E S P . r r cc . r l l e r i :
ful pcrceptions.
a. clairvovauts. c. p.trapsvchologi-tr.
d. Perception re.sultsclirectly from senstrtion.
b. telepaths. d. lcvitators.
4. Experiments with clistortcclvisual cnvirclnmc.nts
de.monstrate.that: 12. Thc depth cuc that occLlrswltctt n,c n'.rtch st.rble
o b j c c t si r t c l i i i c r o r t c l i s t a r r c ei 'ls w c . l r e n r t t v i t r qi s :
a. adaptatiorr rirre'lytakcs placc.
b . a n i m a l s a c l a p tr e r a d i l yb, u t h r r m a n sd o n o t . a. coltVcrge lrc('. c . r c l a t i v cc l a r i t \ ' .
b. intcrposition d . r e l a t i v cr n o t i o n .
c. htrmans arlapt rcaclily,wl-rilelowerr;rnimals
t y p i c a l l y c l on o t . 13. W h i c h o i t h c f o l l o u ' i n g s t i r t c ' m c n t sc o t " t c r ' t ' t t i t ' t g
d . a d a p t a t i o n i s p o s s i b l ed. u r i n g a c r i t i c i - rpl e r i o c l ESI' is trr-rc?
in infi'urcy but not thcrci'rftcr.
a. Most llSP rcscarchersarc'11r-tacks.
5 . The phernomcnonthat rcfcrs to thc ways irr which b. Thcre havc bet'n .r lalgc trttmbcr of lcliablc
ar.ri n clivi clua l's expectatiorrs i rrfI ucncc pcrcc;-rti
on clcmonstra tions of llSI'.
is callcd: c . M o s t r c s t ' a r c l "pr s v c h o l o g i s t sa r e s k e p t i c i r l o f
a. perccpttral sct. c. convcrgcncc. t h c c l a i m s o i r l e i e n c l c r so f I I S [ ' .
b. retinal clispi'rrity. d. r,isual ctrpturc, d. Therc havc bccr.rrcliablc laborattlrv c'lcmorr-
, r r t t l r t ' r c s t r l t s i t r L -n ( ) r l i f f e r -
s t r a t i o r - rosi F . S I ' b
6 . Thirnks to , TiVo arrd DVR havc sol'"'etl crrt fronr tlrose th.rt w'oulcloccr.rrby clr.rnce.
'l'V
the re.corrlir"rgproblem causccl by tht' corn-
14. L'ltrclr tinrc v()Lrs('c yoLlr cilr, i t p r o j c c t sa d i f f c r c n t
plexity of VCRs.
inragc on thc rt'tinirs of yor-rrcycs, yct yott c1<t rtttt
a. partrpsycl.rologists
p c r c - r ' i v ci t a s c h a r . r g i r r gl -. h i si s b c c a n s co f :
b. h u m a n f a c t o r sp s y c h o l o g i s t s
a. p e r c e p t l r a ls e t .
c. psychokineticists
b. r c t i r " r . cr ll i s p a r i t y .
d. Clcstaltpsvchologists
c. pcrccpttr.rlc-ortstarrcv.
7. According to the philosophcr wc lcarrl d. convcrgcrrcc.
to pt'rceivc the worlcl. 'fhc
15. tcrrrrgr's/rrllnreirrs:
a. Lockc c. (libscln
b. Karrt d. Walk a. grotrpirrg. c . pe rceprtion.
b. sensation. d. wholc.
'['he
8. tenc]cncyto pcrc-cirrchazy objccts as bcing at 'l'hc
'l'his 16. perceptrral error in wl'rirrh rt,e'fitil to sct' an
a d i s t . r r r c ei s k n o w r r a s . is .r
tlepth cut'. objcct r,vhcrrour irttentiorris directcc-lelsewlrerc is:
a. l i n c a r p c r s p e c t i v eb ; irroctrlar a. r , i s r . r acla p t t r r t ' .
b. l i n e a r p r e r s p e c t i v em; o n o c u l a r b. i r r a t t c n t i o r r abl l i t r c l n c s s .
c. relative clarity; binocr-rlar c. perccptr-ralrtriaptatiorr.
d. r e l a t i v ec l a r i t y ; m o n o c t r l a r d. clivergencc.

9 . The phe'norrrcnotrof size cc'u.tstancy

is basetl upon 1 7 . Stuclicsof the visual cliff harvcproviclecle'r,iclcncc
thc close conrtection between .rn objcct's pc'r- that rnr,rchoi clcpth pcrct'ptior.ris:
ceirred and its perrceived a. irrnrrtr..
a. size; shtrpe c. size; brightncss b. lcarnecl.
b. sizc; distarrcc. d . s h a p e ;d i s t a n c e c, i n n a t e i n l o w e r a n i m a l s ,l c a r r r e di n h u m a n s .
d. i n n a t e i' n h n m i r n s ,l c a r t r e ciln l o w er a n i m a l s .
10. Which of tl-rcfollowing statcrnentsbest de.scribes
the effectsof sensory rcstriction? 1 8 . A l l o i t h c f o l l o w i n g a r c l a n ' s o f p e . r c c p t u aol r g a -
niztrtion crct'1tt'.
a. It produces functionirl blindnc.sswhen cxpcri-
encecl ior anv length of time trt any trge. a. proxirnity. c. continuity.
b. lt has greater effects on humans than on .rni- b. closr-rre. d. converge'nce.
mals.
 Psychology Applied L65

oooooo b. interposition d. convergencc

19. You probably perceive the diergram above as Concluding her presentation on sensation and
three separate objects due to the principle of: perception, Kellv notes that:
a. proximity. c. closure. a . s e n s a t i o ni s b o t t o m - u p p r o c e s s i r t g .
b. continuity. d. connectedness. b. perception is top-down processing.
c. a. and b. are both true.
20. p r o c c s s i n gr t ' f e r st o h t t w r t u r k n o w l e d c e d. se-nsationand perception blend inttl tlnc cotr-
and expectationsinfluence pcrce'ption. tinuous procnss.
a. Top-down c. Pararpsychological
b. Bottom-tr1-r d. Hurnan factors
7 As he.rfriend Milo walks toward hcr, Noriko pcr-
ceives his size as remaining constant becausc'his
pcrce'iveddistance at the samc tirne tl.rtrt
APPLIED
PSYCHOLOGY hcr retinal image of him
a. increases;dccreases
Arrswcr these qtrestions thc day bcfore an exi'llrlils il b. incrcases
incre-'ases;
final che.ck on y()ur undcrstirnding of the chaprter's c. decrcases;decrcases
terms and conccpts. d. decreases;increases

In the nbscnccof perce'ptttalc-ttrrstarncy:

Mu ltip Ie-Choicc Que sti ons
a . o b j e c t s w o u l d a p p e a r t o c h a n g e .s i z c a s t h c i r
1. Although carpenter Smith perceivccl a briefly distancc from tts ch;rngecl.
vicwcd objcct as a scrcwdriver, policc offict'r b. depth pcrce'ption would be basc'tlerxclttsivcll'
Wt'ssorrperce.iveclthe same objec'tas a krrifc..This on monocular cue>.
i l l u s t r a t e st h i r t p c r c c p t i o n i s g t r i c l e db y : c. dcpth perception woulcl be bascclt'xclttsivelt'
a . l i n e a rp c r s p c c - t i v c . c . r e . t i n acl l i s p a r i t y . o n b i n o c u l a rc u e s .
b. shtrpeconstarrcy. d. pe'rceptualset. d . c l e . p t hp e r c e p t i o nw o t r l c lb e ' i m p o s s i b l c .
'Ihc
2. Bc--causc thc flowcrs in the forergrourrdappcared 9. illusion that thc St. l,otris (latewav .rrclr
coirrse.ancl grariny,thc photographcr dccide'd that appcilrs taller than it is wiclc (even thotrgh its
'This
ther picture was takcn too rtcar the sr-rbje'ct. height and width are eclual)is b;rsetl()lt ()Llrst.ltsl-
conclusion was birscd on which clcptl-rcue? tivitv to which ntonocttlar de.prthctre?
a . r el a t i v e s i z e c. rertinalclisptrrity a. rcla.rtive
size c. rclativcheright
b. interposition d. tcxturcgradicrrt b. interposition d. retirralclisparity

3. Tlre fact that a whitc'objcct unclcr dim ilh-rmintr- 10. H o w c l o w e p c r c e i v ea p o l e ' t h a t p i r r t i a l l v c o v e r sa

tion appcnrs lighter than a grtry object nncle.r wall?
bright illumination is callecl: a. as farther awi'ly
a. r e l r r t i v cl l r m i n u n c e . b. as neitre'r
b. p e r c e p t u a la d a p t a t i o n . c. t'rslarger
c. cokrr contrast. d. There is not enitugh infttrmatittt"tto clt'ternlitle
d. lightnessconstancy. the object'ssize ()r clistance.

4. When two ft.rmiliar obje.cts of e-c1ui'rl size cast 11. An artist paints a tree.orchard so that the parr.rllell
unequal retinal imt-rgcs,the' clbject that casts the rows of trecs convergc irt the ttlp c-tithe canr'.]s.
smtrller retin.rl imagc will bc pcrcc'ivedas being: Which cue has the'artist Llscdto c()n\rcvdist;rnce?
a. closer than tl.reother object. a. interpclsition c. Iinear pcrspectivc
b. morc distant than the other object. b. relative clarity d. texture gradient
c. larger than the other object.
d. smaller than the other object. 12. Objects higher in our field of visiou are percc'ived
ds d u e t o t h cp r i n c i p l t ' o f
5. If you slowly bring yor-rrfinger toward yrrtrr i.rce a. nearer; relative height
r,rntilit e.ventu.rllytouches yoLlr l1ose,eye-muscle b. nearer; linear perspective
cues called convev depth information to c. farther away; relative height
vour brain. d. farther away; linear perspective
a. retinal disparitv c. continuity
 T
166 Chapter 6 Perception

1 3 . Accordir-rg to the principle of light and shadow, ii b. is unpredictable.

one of two identical objects reflects more light tcr c. is influenced by cultural experience.
your eyes it will be perceived as: d. is characterizedby all of tl.reabove.
a. Iarger. c. farther away.
b. smaller. d. nearer. Essarl Questiorr

ln many movics fmm tlre 1930s,dancers perforr.nc.l

14. Your frie.nd tosscs yc'rut.rfrisbee. You know that it
seemingly r"nearringlessmot,cmcnts which, r.t'het't
is gc.ttingckrser instead of larger becauseof:
viewed frclnr ;rbove, \\rere transformed inttt intric.rtc
a. shapc constarrcv. c. size constancv.
p a t t e r n s a n c l d e s i g r . r sS . imilarlv, thc formations of
b. rclativc motion. d. all of the above.
marching bands ofter"rcrctttt'picturcs ancl spcll
15. W h i c h c x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e M i i l l e r - L y e r i l l u s i o n i s worcls. lc-lc'ntifvancl describr: at lcitst for-rr Gest;.rlt
offe.rcd by thc tcxt? p r i n c i p l c s o f r r o r - r p i r . r gt h i r t c r p r l a i n t h e a u c l i c n c e ' s
pcrccption of thc inr.rgcscrcatctl by these typcs of for-
a. Thc corners in our carpcntc.rcdworlc-lterachus
mations. (Usc the s;racebelor,r,to list the prtlintsvotr
to intcrprct outrvard- or inward-pointing
want to makc, ancl organize thcrn. Thur write thc
alrrowheaclsat thc cncl of ir lineras a ctre to thc
essayon a sc1'raratc pict-c of ;rapcr.)
lirrc's clistancefnrm us and so to its lcngth.
b . T h c . d r a n , i r r g ' sv i o l a t i o n o f l i n e a r p c r s P c c t i r , , c
makcs orre linc scem longer.
c. Top-clolr,rr prurccssingof tl're illusiorr is plg-
ventccl becauscof tl.rcstimuli's ambigr-rity.
d. All of thc abovcwt'rt'offcretlas cxplanirtions.

16. Whr:r-rthc traffic light ch.rnged from rcd to grcen,

thc clrivcrs or"rboth siclcsof Lcon's vchicle pullccl
rluickly forw.rrcl, giving Lcon thc disorientir.rg
f e c l i n g t h t r t I ' r i sc a r w i r s r o l l i n g b a c k w t r r c l W
. hich
p r i r r c i p l cc x p l ai r r s I - e o r r ' sm i s p e r c c p t i o n ?
a . r c l a t i v en r o t i o n c . v i s t r a lc r r p t t r r c
b. continuity d. proxinrity
KEYTERMS
1 7 . li.erginaclaims that she calr berrd spo()r-ls,levitatc
furniturc, irncl perform many otherr "rnincl ovcr
Writing I)cfinitiorrs
matte'r" ferrts.Ilcgina apparortly be.licve'sshe.lras
the power of: Using yotrr o\trtt l,t,otcls,( ) n d s ( ' p a r a t cp i c c e o f p a p er
a. tclcpathy. c. prrccogrrition. w r i t e a b r i e f c l e f i n i t i o no r c r p l a n i r t i t l r ro f c a c l r o f t h e
b. clairvoyar.rcc. d. ;-rsychokincsis. follolving tcrnts.

1 8 . The prcclictionsof lctrrling psvchics are: 1 . s c l e c t i v ca t t e n t i o r r

a. often ambiguous prophecies later intcrprctcd 2. irrattcrrtiorralblinc-lness
t o m a t c h a c t u a lc v e n t s .
3. visr-ralcirptLrrLl
b. no nrrlre irccnratc than glresscs mitcle by
others. 4. gcstalt
c. nearly alwirys irraccur;ttc.
5. figurc-gror"rnd
d. all of the above.
6. grouping
t9. Stuclying the road map before her trip, Collee'n
hacl r-rotrouble followirrg the nrute of the. high- 7. clepth pcrccption
w a y s h c p l a n n e d t o t r a r . e l .C o l l e . c n ' sa b i l i t v i l l t r s - 8 . v i s u t r lc l i f f
trates the principle of:
9 . b i n o c r - r l acr u c
a. ckrsure. c. continuity.
b. similtrrity. d. proximity. 10. rctinal clisparity

20. The insensitir.ity of many rural Africans to the 11. convergence

Mtillcr-Lyer illusion proves thirt perception:
12. monocular cue
a. is largely a "bottom-trp" phenomenorr.
 Key Terms 157

13. phi phenomenon 17. human factors psychology

14. perceptual constancy 18. extrasensory perception (ESP)
L5. perceptual adaptation 19. parapsychology
16. perceptual set

Cross-Check

As yc'rulcarned in the Prokrgue,

reviewing and overlearning of
matcrial are important tcl the
learning process.Aftcr you have
writte.rrthc definitions of thc key
terms in this chapter, you shoulcl
comple'tethc crosswt'rrc|puzzle
to ensure that y<-rucan reverse
the proccss-rccognizc the term,
given thc dcfirrition.

ACROSS

1. Part of the visr-rirlfielcl that

su rrouncls thc f i gu re'.
8. The tendcncy to perceive ther
c()nvergL'rlcc of parallel Iines
as ir"rd
ict.rti
rrg dccrcasing dis-
tance is thc'
Pc'rsPective.
13. Derpthcucs that dcpencl on
iniormation from both eycs.
15. Principle. that we terndtcr
group stimuli that arenc-.ar
onc anothe.r.
16. Part of thc visuirl ficld that
stands out from its
s u r r o u n c il n g s .
17. I'hilosol--rher who bclicverdthat all knowledge of all that wc are
ness on only a limitecl a-rsperct
trriscsfrom experience. capablc of experiencing.
18. Pe.rccptualtenclencyto fill in incomplete figures lllusion of move-mentcrcate'dby adiacent lights
to createrthc. perception of a whole object. thatblink off and on n succcssiolt.
19. Procc.ssby which we tend to organize stimuli into 7 . Classicvisual illusion invttlving therpcrception of
colrerentgroups. line.length.
20. Me;rns "organize.dwhole." 9 . Depth cue in which nearby obje'ctspartiallv
obscurc more distant objects.
10. The amount of light an object reflects relativel ttr
DOWN
its surroundings.
2. Figure-ground relationships are often
11. Tendcncy of distant objectsto appear hazier than
3. Crcating three-dimensional perceptions from the
nearer objects.
two-dirnensional images that strike the retina
12. Gestalt principle that we perceive uniform ancl
requires perception.
linked spots, lines, or areas as a single unit.
4. The ability to attenclto only one voice among
74. The irreversible effects of sensory restriction dur-
many is the _ effect.
ing infancy suggest the existence of a -
5. Becauseclf - attention, we focus our aware-
for normal sensory and perceptual development.
 I
168 Chapter 6 Perception

ANSWERS 16. reltrtir.e height

motion (motion parallax)
17. relative-.
ChapterReview 18. linear pe.rspective
19. light and shadow
1. Plato
20. \'ery goorl; more slowly
SelcctiocAtfention 21. movement; stroboscopicmoveme'nt
22. phi phenomenorr
1. sclcctive attention; Ne.cker
23. perceptual corrstirncy
2. cocktail prartyr.fferct
iIIumirrt.rtion
24. top-clown; anglc; clist.rt.rce;
3 . i n a t t c n t i o n a lb l i n c l r r e s sv;i s u a l ; c h a n g e b l i n d n e s s ;
cl-rangetlcafncss;choice blindness 25. do not; re.tilrirl
26. Moon; I'onzo; Miillcr-Lyer; size; disttrnce;climin-
Perccptual lllusions ishcd
A partial reasolr for the illtrsion that thc Moon at thc
1. organize; interpret
horizon appcars u;-r to 50 perccr-rtlargcr than thc
2 . r , i s u a lc a p t L l r e Moon clircctly overheaclis tl'rirtctrc.sto tlrc distancc oi
3. hearing objects at thc horizon nrakc thc Moon, bchind tht'm,
scem farthcr away .rncl thercfort' largcr. Whcn we set'
Pcrccptrtn I () rcttilizn I i o tr thc Moorr <lverlrcatlin thc skv, thcsc mislcacling ctrers
-1. a r c .I a c k i n g .
C l c s t a l tw
; hole
27. lerss
2. bottonr-r-rp;top-dowlt; e\pL.rictlccs;expectatictns;
28. rel.rtive to
fuzzy
29. rclativc luntiuanc'.,
3. figr-rrc;grotrncl
30. colrlr c-onstancy
Thc Clest.rltpsyclrokrgistsdescribcd somerkc.y princi-
ples of percepttral organizatiorrand, in so doing,
P c rcep tu al I nta rp raf at i o tr
clcmorrstr.rte.d that pcrcerptionis far mrtre than a sim-
plc sclrsory proccss. The re.versiblc figure-ground 1. Kant
rclationslrip.r, for cx;rmplc, rlemonstrates that a single
2. I-ockc
stirnulus can triggt-.r mrlre tharr orrc perception. As
(lcstirlt psychokrgists showercl,we. continually filter J. citr-tttot
s c n s ( ) r yi n f o r m a t i o r ra n c l c o n s t r u c to u r p c r c e p t i o n si n 4. irrfancy;cri ticaI pcriorl; c.rtaract
ways tlrat nrake senscto us. will; pcrccptr-rirI
aclaptation
4. groupirrg
6 . clo rrot irclapt
5 . c ' o n t i n u i t y ; c l o s L r r c ;p n r x i m i t y ; s i m i l a r i t y ; c o n - 7 aftercf fcct
rrcctt:clness
8 . p c r c c p t u a ls c t
6. rlcpth perccption; clistance
7 . v i s u a lc l i f f ; 3 m o n t h s 9 . s c h c m a s ;c a r i c a t r r r c s

Il.esearchon the visr-rirlcliff suggests that in many 1 0 . eyes; moutlr

spccics tlrc irbility to pcrceive clepth is present at, or 11. con text; stertlotyp-rcs
vcry shortly after, birth. 12. top-down; bottom-up
8. binoctrlar I
13. stereotype.s;emotit.u-r.r
9. rctintrl disparity; perceptions;brains
1.4. hnman ftrctors
10. convergencer
1 5 . expertise
11. monocular
16. a s s i s t i v el i s t e r r i n g
12. relative sizc
13. intcrposition ls There Extrasensory Perceptiort?
14. relative clarity
1. extrasensoryperccption
15. texture gradient
2. parapsychologists

3. telepathy; clairvoyance; precognition; psychoki-
nesis
4. chance-level; interpreted (retrofitted); reconstruct
5. reproducible
6. beat; failecl to replicate the results
Testr
Progress
Mu It i p le- Choice Qu esti ons
1. d. is the. answer. Cestalt psychology, which
dcveloped in Germtrny early in thc twentieth cen-
tury, was intererstedin how clustcrs of serrsations
arc orgrrnized into "whole" perceptiorrs (pp
212,243)
a. l'arapsychology is the study of ESP and otherr
p a r t r n o r m aI p h e n o m e n a .
b. & c. llehtn,ioral t.rnd functional psychology
dcveloped later in the Unitcd State's.
2 . d . i s t h e a n s w e r .( p . 2 a a )
a. Conne.cteclncssrefers to the tendency to sL'c
uniiorm and lirrkc.dittms arsa unit.
b. Similaritv rcfc-rsto thc tencle.ncyto grotrp simi-
lar items.
c. Continuity rcfcrs to thc. tcnde.ncy to group
s t i m u l i i n t o s n r o o t h ,c o n t i r r u o u sp a t t e r n s .
3. c. is thc alnswcr. Although we always differenti-
irtc a stimulus irrto figtrreand ground, thosc clc-
nrcnts of the stimulus we perce.iveas figurc ancl
thosc as grotrnd may changer.Irr this way, the'
strrnestimulLrscan trigger more than ()ne percep-
t i o n .( p . 2 4 3 )
a. Thc icleaof a figure-grouncl relatiorrship has no
bearing on the issue of whether perceptiorr is
ltlnate.
b. I)erception cannot bc simply a point-for-point
repre.sentation of scnsation, since in figure-
grouncl relationships a single stimulus can trigger
nrore than one.percc-ption.
d. Figtrrc-grouncl relt'rtionshipsdemonstrate. tlre.
cxistence of generall,rilther than irrdividual, prin-
ciplcs of perceptr-ralorganization. Significantly,
even the sam€-'person can see different figr.rre-
ground relationships when viewing a scene.
4. d. is the .rnswer. Tlre greater the retinal disparity,
or difference between the images, the less the dis-
tancc'.(p. 246)
a. Convergence is the extent to which the e'yes
movc inwarcl when looking at an object.
b. Linear perspective is the monocular distance
cue in r,r'hich parallel lines appear to converge in
the distance.
c. Relative motion is the monocular distance cue
I
Answers 1,69
in which objects at different distances change
their relative positions in ottr visual image, with
those.closest moving mctst.
a. is the answer. Perception of constirnt shape,
like perception of constant size, is 1-rart of tl-rephc'-
nomenon of perceptual cctnstatrct'.(p. 250)
b. I{elative motion is a mcttrttcttl.trtlist.rtrccct-tt'il.t
which objects at differrerrt c'listances.rppciir ttr
move at different rates.
c. Linear perspective is a mctnttcttlarclist.ltrc-c clter
i n w h i c h l i n c s w e ' k n o w t t t b e p a r a l l c l c o t t v e r g ci t r
t h c d i s t a n c e :t ,h u s i n d i c a t i n g d c p t h .
d. Continuity is the pcrct.ptual tcnclct'tclt() srotlf-)
items into continuotts pattcrtrs.
d . i s t h e a n s w c r .( p . 2 4 2 )
a . , b . , & c . V i s u a l c ; ' t p t t t r el r a s n o t h i n g t o c l o n ' t t l . t
forming imprcssions of peoplc ttr i'n,hcthcr\\'e calr
attenci t() more than cttrestitntrlr-rsat a tir.ne.
7. d . i s t h c a n s w e r .( p . 2 6 5 )
a. Psychokincsis refc'rs to the cliiinretl abilitv t t t
p e r f o r m a c t so f " m i n d o v c r m a t t e r . "
b . P r t ' c o g n i t i o n r c f c r s t o t h c c l a i t . n c t la b i l i t v to
p t ' r c t ' i v t 'f t tI t tr r ' e v ( ' t tl s .
c. Cilairvoyirnce rcfcrs to tl.rc clainrerl abilitv
perceivc rcntote ct,cnts.
8 . b . i s t h c a n s w c r .( p . 2 5 4 )
a. Lockc argued that knowlecigc is trot inbort.rbtrt
c()mesthrurr-rgh learnilrg.
c. & d. (libson arrcl Walk stutlit'tl clcpth ;rcrcep-
t i r l n r t s i n g t h e v i s t r a l c l i f f ; t h e v l ' l r d L l ( ' 1 1col t r i r r r s
about thc s()Llrccof knowlcclgc.
9 . c . i s t h c a n s w e r .( p 2 6 1 )
1 0 . d. is thc answer. Tht're is, of t:ttttrse,rrtt itctttill
drop-ofi. Thc terxturc grarlierrt of tlrt' cht'ckt'r-
board pattern bene'.rththe glass t.rblc irlparts tht'
impressirln tlf depth. Tl.rc other crtes nretttiotrctl
woulcl not bc reler''.rnttt thc sittratitln irl this
crperi ment. (y'tp.245,247)
1 1 . c . i s t h e ra n s w c r . ( p . 2 5 5 )
a . & b . T h e k i t t c n s h a c l c l i f f i c t r l t vo n l v l v i t l ' r l i r r e s
thev hacl never cxpel-ierrcccl, ittttl trever rcgttirrt'cl
normal sensitivitv.
d. Both pt'rceptual .rnd ferirttrre-tletcctorirnp.rir'-
ment rcsulteclfrom visttaI c-ic'p ri vrrtiorr.
12. b. is the answer. Becausethcv hi'rventlt lrad earlv
visual experie'nces,the'sc trdtrlts typicitlly havt:
objects.(pr.255)
difficulty letrrning to perrccir.'e
a. Such patients typically could nttt visuirllv rec-
ognize objects with which they w,t're iamiliar bv
touch, and in somc casesthis intrbility pc'rsisted.
c. Being able to perceive figure-eround relatiiln-
 170 Chapter 6 Perception

ships, patients ors ablc to follow moving objects ProgressTest z

with their eyes.
d. This answer is incorrect because eye-hand 1 . b . i s t h e a n s w e r .( p . z a a )
coordination is an acquired skill ancl requires a. Closure refers to the tendency to percr'ptrr.rllr
much practicc. i i l l i n g a p s i n r e c o g n i z a b l co b j e r c t si n t h e i i s u . r l
1 3 . b . i s t h e a n s w e r .( p . 2 3 7 ) iieltl.
a. Top-down processing refers tcl how our knowl- c. Similaritv rcfcrs to the terndencyto group iterns
edge and expectatiorrsinfluence perccption. t h a ta r es i n r i l a r .
c. Parapsychology is the study of pe.rceptionotrt- d. I)rcxiniitv rcfcrs to the tenclencvto gnrup iteurs
side normal s<:llsorvinpr-rt. that irrc neirr ()lle (llrother.
d. Human factors psychologv is concerned with
2 . a . i s t h c . r n s r ' r ' c r(.p . 2 4 8 )
l.rowbest to clesignmachincs and wclrk settings to
b. & c. Convergence irnd rctirral disptrrity irre
take irrto account human perccptictn.
botl'r binocul.rr ctrcs thirt clcpcrrrl on information
14. c. is tlre answcr. Rctinal clisparitvis a birrttcLtlur from botl.rcvcs.
cuc; all therothcr cur.s nrentiorred are monocrrlar.
3 . c . i s t h e a n s l r , c r .( p . 2 - 1 3 )
gt.2a6)
a . & b . T h e C , e s t . r l tp s \ / c h ( ) l ( ) g i s tcsl i c l n o t c l e a l
15. a. is thc answcr. l'lre Moon appe.rrs large'ritt tl'rc with tht' origins oi pcrctl-rtion; thcy were l1lorc
horizor-rthan overhr'ad in thc sky becar:scobjccts a ( ) r t ( r ' r ' n (r'vr il t l t i t r l t ' t t t t .
at tl're horizon provicle clistance cues that makc d . I n f a c t , t h c \ , . r r - u t ' t l j r - r s tt h c o p p - r o s i t c[:) c r -
thc-Moon scc'ntfirrthcr away anrl thcrcfrtrc larger. cr'pti()l.ris morc th.rlr nrerc scns()rycxpc'riencc.
ln tlre open sky, of c()Llrsc,thcrc are no such cut's.
4 . c . i s t h c a r r s w , c r .f l r r r l a r r s a r r c l c c r h r i n n n i n r a l s ,
(p.251)
such irs monkcvs, alt' aLrlc to aclftrst kr trprsicie-
16. c. is thc irnswcr. Wc scc a clotrcl as a figurc c l o r l , nw o r l c l s i r n c lo t h e r v i s u a I c l i s t o r t i o r r sf,i g r - r r -
a g a i n s tt h c b t r c k g r o u n do i s k y . ( p . 2 : 1 3 ) i n g o t r t t h c r c l a t i o r r s l r i pb c t w c c n t h c ; r c r c c i v c c l
a . , b . , & d . T ' h c i i g u r c - g r o u n c lr c l a t i o r r s l r i ; r c f c r s r - r r r ctlh c a c t l r . r l r e a l i t l ' ; l o r t , r ' r a r t i n r i r l s ,s r - r c ha s
t o t h c o r g a n i z i r t i o no f t h c v i s r - r afli e l c l i r r t o o b j c c t s c h i r : k e n sa r r c li i s h , a r c t y ; r i c a l l v u r r . r b l et o a r - l a ; r t .
(figtrres) tlrirt star-rclout front thcir surrourrdings (p. 25rr)
(grottntl). a . I l u n ' r a l r sa r r r l c e r t i t i r ra r r i r n a l sa r c a b l e t o a r l a ; r t
c 1 r - r i tl tec l I t o d i s t o r t c c lv i s u a I c l r v i r o r r n r rer t s ( a r r c l
1 7 . d . i s t h c a n s w c r .( p . 2 3 7 )
'l'l're thcrr to rcirrlapt).
a. & b. s t u c l Vo f s e n s a t i o r ri s c o n c e n t e c wl ith
b. l-his ins\ry('r is ir-rr'orrcctbt'cartsehtrntitns arc
thcsc processr's.
I l t t 't t t o s l , l t l . r P t , 1(l)1l(l .r '( ' . t I u r ' ( ' 5 .
c . A l t h o r , r g hs t u d y i r r g i l l u s i o n s h a s h e l p e r l p s y -
d . H t r m a n s i r r c ' a L r l ck r a c l . r p ta t a r r v a g c t o c l i s t o r t -
chokrgists u nclerstarrd ord i na ry pcrcepttraI nrr'ch-
ccl visuaI cnl,i ronntcr-tts.
anisrns, it is not the primary focrrs of the ficlc-loi
perception. 5 . a . i s t h c a n s w c r .( p . 2 5 7 )
b . R c t i n a lc l i s p a r i t yi s a b i r r o c r - r l acri c p t hc t r e b a s c d
1 8 . d . i s t h c a n s w r . r .( p p . 2 5 , 1 2 6 1 )
orr thc iact tlrat cach cyc reccivcs a sliglrtly cliffcr-
1 9 . c . i s t h e a n s w e r .( p . 2 6 5 ) ent vicw of the worlcl.
a. This .rnswer would bc correct hacl Jack claimcd c. Convergence is a binocular clcpth crrc baseclon
to be able to rctrd sotneoncclsc's minc-I. the fact that the eyes swing inwtrrcl to focus on
b. This answcr w,ould be.correct hacl Jack claimed net'rrobjects.
to be t-rbleto sense re'rnote.events, such as a friend d. Visual ct'rpturerefers to the tenderncyof r,,ision
in distress. to clominate.the.othcr scnscs.
d. This ans\ver would be correct had lack claimecl
6 . b . i s t h e a n s w e r .( p . 2 6 1 )
to be ablc to lervittrteobjccts or bencl spoons with-
a . P a r a p s y c h o l o g i s tsst u d y c l t r i m so f E S P .
out applying any physicerlforce.
c. Psychokineticiststrre people r,r,hoclaim ESP has
20. d. is the rrnswer.(p.267) the polver of "minc1 or..elmatter."
d. Cestalt psychologists emplrtrsizethe trrg.rniz.r-
True-FalseItems tion of sensationsinto meanirrgful perceptions.
1. F (p.243) s. F (p. 25a) 8. F (p. 250) 7. a. is tlre irnswer. (p. 25a)
2. F (p.267) 6. T (p.251) e. T (pp.257-259) b. Kant clairned that know,le.dgcis inborn.
3. F (p. 2as) 7. T (p.256) 10. F (p.25a) c. & d. Gibson and Walk make no claims abont
a. F (p. 256) the origins of perception.

I

8. d. is the answer. (p.247)
a. & b. Linear perspective, which is a monocular
cue, refers to the tendency of parallel lines to con-
verge in the distance.
c. Relative clarity requires only one eye and is
therefore a monocular cue.
9. b. is the trnswer.(pp. 250-251)
10. c. is the answer. There appears to be a critical
pcriod for perceptual dc.vc'lopme'nt,in that senscr-
ry restrictit'rnhas severe, even permanently, dis-
rtrptive effc.ctswhe'n it occurs in infancy but not
when it occurs later in life. (p. 256)
a. & d. Sensory rcstriction does not have the samc'
effectsat r-rllage.s,and it is more damtrging b chil-
dren than to adults. This is becausethere is a criti-
cal pc.riod for pc.rccptr-ralder.,elopment;whcthc'r
functional blinclness will result depends in part
on thc nature of the sensory restriction.
b. Rcsearchstuclieshave not indicatcd that senso-
r y r c s t r i c t i o ni s m o r e d a m a g i n g t o h u m a n s t h a n
to animals.
'l'1.
c . i s t h e a n s w c r .( p . 2 6 a )
a., b., & d. These psychicsclaim to exhibit the
phcnomena studied by parapsychologists.
-12.
d. is thc answer. When we n1ove, stablc' objccts
wc scc also appear to movt', and thc distance-ancl
spc.c.d of tlrr- ir1-rparer-rt motion cLlc r.ls to the'
objccts' rclative disttrncers. (p. 248)
a., b., & c. Thersedepth ctrcs arc trnrclatccl to
nrovcment ancl thtrs work cvcn when we are sta-
tlonary.
-13.
c. is thc answerr.(y't.267)
a. Marry ESI' rcsearchcrs arc sinccrc, rcpr-rtable
rcscarchcrs.
'Ihere
b. & d. have berenno rerliablcdc'monstra-
t i o r r so f E S P .
14. c. is the answer. Bccaust:of pcrce'ptualconstancy,
we see thc car's shape ancl size as trlwt.tysthe:
s a m e .( p . 2 5 0 )
a. Perceptuillset is a mental predisposition to per-
ceil'e one thing ancl not irnothcr.
b. Iletinal disparity means that or-rrright and left
cycs circh rece.iveslightly clifferent images.
d, Convergence is ir form of neLrromuscular feecl-
back in which thc r'yr's swing in, or out, as wc-'
vie.w objectsat different distances.
15. d. is the answer. Cestalt means a "form" or "orga-
nized whole." (p.242)
1 6 . b . i s t h e a n s w e r .( p p . 2 3 8 )
a. Visual capture is the tendency for vision tct
clominate the other senses.
c. Perceptual adaptation is the ability to adjust tc'r
an artificially displaced or even inverted visual
field.
Answers 171
d. Divergence or divergent thinking is not dis-
cussed in this chapter.
17. a. is the answer. Most infants refused to crawl ottt
over the "clitf" even when coaxccl, stregesting
that much of depth perception is inuate. Str-rclies
with the young of "lowe.r" ;ruimals shor'r,'the
same thing. (p.245)
1 8 . d . i s t h e a n s w e r .( p . 2 a a )
1 9 . d . i s t h e a n s w e r .( p . 2 a a )
a. Proximity is thc tendency to group obje'ctsrrc.ar
to one another. The diagram is pc'rceivccias thrcc
distinct units, cvcn though thc points .lre t:r'cnly
spaced.
b. Continuity is the te'nclencyto grolrp stinrtrli
'l'hcrc
into smooth, uninterrupted patterrns. is tltr
suchcontinuity in the diagram.
c. Clostrrc is the percerptuirlterrdencv ttl fill irr
gaps in a form. In the diagram, threc cliscttnlrect-
ecl units are perrcc.ive'd rathcr thttt.ti'tsirrglc tvholc.
2 0 . a . i s t h e a n s w e r .( p . 2 3 7 )
b. IJottom-up processing refers to the prhl'sical
characteristicsof stimuli rather th;.rntheir pcrc('P-
tr-ralirrterpretatiorr.
c. Parapsycholclgyis the stuclv of perct'prtiotrottt-
s i d c n o r m a l s c n s ( ) r vi n p u t .
d. Human factors psychttlogv is conct'rnccl u'itlr
how best to clesignmachirrcs..ttrclr,t,orkscttings ttr
takc irrto accouttt hltmtrn pcrcc'Ptior.r.
Applied
Psychology
Mu lt ip I e- Cho icc Que sti on s
1. d. is the answer. The twtl peroplc irrterprctecl a
briefly perceivec-lobject irr terms of tht'ir frcrccP-
tual sets, or mental prcdispttsitiotrs, iu this cilst'
crrnclitionedby their work experienccs.(l'r.257)
a. tsoth Smith and Wessorrhi'rc-l the same sellsory
e-xperie'nceof thet ttbje'ct, so litre.ar prerspt'ctivc
cues wolrld not cattsetheir differirrg petrceptitlrrs.
b. Sharpcconstancy refers to tht. pe'rcepticlntlr.lt
objects remain constant in shtrpc cvctt tt'hctt tlttr
retinal image'sof them charnge.
c. Retinal disparity is a binocular depth cut'; it has
nothing to do with individual diffcrcr.rcesin ;.g1-
ception.
2. d. is the answer. When the texture' of an clbiectis
coarse and grainy, we perceive the obie'ctas near-
er than when its te'xture is finer and less distinct.
@.247)
a. & b. Relative size and interposition are usccl tcr
judge the relative distances of two or mttre ob-
jects; because only one photograph was involved,
these cues are irrelevant.
172 Chapter 6 Perception
c. Retinal disparity refers to the different images
our eyes receive; whether the photograph's tex-
ture was coarse or fine, the retinirl disptrrity
would be the same.
J. d. is the answer. Although the amount of light
reflected from a white object is less in dim light
than in bright light-and may be less than the
amount of Iight reflected from a brightly lit gray
objcct-thc brightncss of thc white object is per-
ceived as remairring constant. Be.causea white
object reflects a higher perccntagc of tht light
falling orr it than docs i'r gray rrbjcct, irnd thc.
brightncss of objccts is perceived as corrstalrt
despite variaticxrs ir.r illtrr-nination,wlritc is prL'1-
ccivcd as brightcr than gray cvcn undcr dim illrr-
m i n a t i o n .( p . 2 5 3 )
a. Rclativc lr-rminancerefers io thc rerlativr:interr.r-
s i t y o f l i g h t f a l l i n g o n s t r r f t r c c st h a t a r e i t r p r o x i m -
ity. Lightness constarrc'yis pcrccived despite r'.rri-
. r t i t r r ri sn i l l t r m i r r . r t i o u .
b. I)crccpttr.rl acli.rptationrefcrs to tlrc abilitv to
t r d j u s t t o a n a r t i f i c i a l l y m o c l i f i c c lp r : r c e ' p t u ael n v i -
r o n m e n t ,s u c h a s a n i n v c r t c ' dv i s t r a lf i c l d .
c. Color contrast is trot rliscusseclin this tcxt.
4. b. is the rrnsr'r,er.Thc rrlruronlclr()rl cicscribercl is
t h c b a s i s f o r t h e n r t r n o . - t r l acr u L ' o f r c l . r t i v c s i z c .
(p.2a6)
a. Tlrc objerct casting thc /cr,qcr rctirral image
worrld bc pcrcci"'crl as closcr.
c. & d. Bccausc of sizc constirncy, thc purccir.'crl
s i z c o f f i r n r i l i a ro b j c c t s r e m a i n s c o n s t i r r r td, e r s p i t c
c h a n g c si n t h c i r r c t i n a l i m . r g es i z e .
5. d. is thc i'tnslt,cr.As an objcct c()mescloscr iu olrr
field of vision, thc cversswing inr,r,arcl(crtrtverge)
and provicle:muscular clrL.sas to thc object's clis-
tancc. (p. 246)
a. Retinal disparity refers to the sliglrtly diffc.rcrrt
imagcs of an object received bv the.two eyes duc
to their different anglc.sof vielr,ing.
b. Interpositicln is a monocnlar cue to distance ir-r
which an object that partiirlly blocks another is
seen as clclser.
c. Continuity is a Ccstalt grouping prirrciple,
rather than a clistancecue.
6 . d. is the answer. (p 2a3)
7. d. is the answer. (p. 251)
8 . a. is the answcr. Becausewe perceive the size of a
familiar obje.ct trs constant even i.rs its retinal
imarge gro\ rs smaller, we perceive tl-reobject as
being f;rrtlreraway. (pp. 250-251)
b. & c. Pcrccptual constancy is a cognitive, rather
than sensor.y,phenome'nOn. Th,:rctrri-r..::-! .::-
sence of perceptual cc)nst.]r1c\'\\ (rLlr.i t'.,'i --;.irl
sensitivity to monocular or birrocr-riar LLic:.
d . A l t h o u g h t h e a b s c n c eo f p e r c c p t l r . r l. , , r ' . . : r : ' - ' .
r,r'ouldimpair depth perception b.rset-ltrrl tht, ../.-
distance relationship, other cues to tlepth, str.i1.-,.
texturc gradient, could still be use'cl.
9. c. is the answer. We perceive objectshighcr in trrrr
fie.ld of vision as farther away. Thus, thc brain
perceivesa i.'crticalline the same le'ngth as a hon-
z o n t a l l i n e t o b c m o r c d i s t a r r ta n d m e n t ; r l l v a r l -
justs its appilrc.llt length to make it seenr longer.
@ p . 2 a'l'hr-set,2a7)
a. & b. nrouocular cucs arc irrclevattt it't
t h i s p a r t i c u l a ri l l u s t o r . r .
d . I l c t i n a l c l i s p a r i t vt s a b i r r t t c t r l oc rt t c t o c l e p t l r .
10. b . i s t h e a r l s \ v e r . ' [ ' h i si s . l l r e x i ] m p l c o f t h e p r i r r c i -
p l e o i i n t e r p o s i t i o r ri n c l e p t l rp c r c c p t i o n .( p . 2 a 6 )
a. Tlre partially obscttrt'd object is pcrccived .rs f.rr-
ther aw,i.rv.
c. l-hr- pr.rccivr:rlsizc oi an objcct is not r.rltetrecl
r,r'ht:nthat objt'ct ovcrIirLrsatrothcr.
1 1 . c. is the answer. (pp. 2218, 2'1c))
a . I r r t t . r ; r o s i t i o r i-sr . r r n o n o c u l a r d e p r t h c t t c i r r
w h i c h a r . ro b j e c t t h a t p a r t i a l l y c ( ) v e r s. r t ' t o t l r e ri s
pcrccivccl irs closcr.
b. FIacl thc artist pi.rintcclthc tt'ccs so tht.rt thc'
inragcs of sorr-rt'lr,,t'resh.rrp irrrclotlrers l-r.rzy,the
a r t i s t r , r , o l r l chla v c b c t ' n t r s i r r gr c l a t i v c c l a r i t y .
d. Had tl.rc irrtist rraintc'cltl'rc trccs so thitt thcrc
w a s a g r i r r l n a lc l r a n g ef r o n t n c ( ) a r s ed, i s t i n c t t o i r
finc, intlistinct texturc, tcxturc grirdicnt woulcl
havc bccn uscd to c()rl\/Lrv clepth.
"t2. c. is thc i.u1s\'vcr.
(p.247)
b . & d . [ , i n e a rp c r s p c c t i v ei s t h e a p p a r c l t t c o n v c r -
gcncc of parallel lincs rrsit ctrc to c'listancc.
13. d. is the irrlswer. Ncarby objccts rcflcct nrorc light
to the cycs. T'hus,givcn tw,o identical objects,thc
brighter one.se.e.msrlcarcr. (p. 248)
a. & b. Becauscclf thc principle of sizc constancv,
an object's perce.ivedsize is unaffectcciby its dis-
tance,irnglc of viewing, or illun.rination.
t4. c. is the answer. This is an illtrstration of the size-
distancc relationship in clepth pcrception. (pp-r.
250-257)
a. Although the frisbee's shape is perceivecl i.ts
constant (even as the shape of its retirrirl im.rgt'
changes),this is not a clle'to its distance.
b. Ilelative mcltion is thc perce'ption tht-rtwhcn lt,e
mo\re, stationary objects at different distances
change their relative positions in our visuirl
image, with those closcst moving rnost. In this

()l1h'the frisbee is movinEI.
e\cimp16.,
1 5 . a . i s t h e . r n s ne r . ( p . 2 5 1 )
16. c. is thc .lnsrver. Althoush Leon's other senses
n'oultl h.rr r. tolcl him his car was not moving, the
visr-ralir.u,rgesoi the othcr cars moving forward
"cafrtrlr(,rl"his an'.rrenessand created the percep-
tirrn tl.r.rthe n'..tsrolling backward. (p.242)
a. Ilt'latire motior.r is a distance cue that occurs
rr hr-rr :t.rtit'rnarv objccts appear to move as we
nr()\ c. .lr-rst the rtppositc'is happe'ning to Lecln.
b. & d. Cor.rtinuitv ancl proximity are Cestalt
f.rirrcif.lcs of grttr-rping, rather than cues to
tl i: tart c t',
1 7 . d . i s t h t ' . . t t t s r v c (r p
. . 265)
a. l clc;..rtllr is the. claimed ability to "read"
rt.tr r-tt1c .
b . C l , r i r ro r . r n c e r c f e r s t c r thc claimed ability to
pcr(('i\ c rcrt"totecr''ents.
6 . f 1 1 ' 6 q r g n i t i o r rc f e r s t o the. claimed ability tcr
l ' r ' 1. r ' i' ,t ' f t tt t tr t ' t ' r e n t s .
(pp. 265 266)
18. d. ir tirc ansn't-rr.
j:
19. c. tht' .tr.tstver.Shc perceives the line for the
r().trl.ts contir.ruous,eve'n though it is interrupted
f.r lint': rnclic.rtingo t l ' r e rr o a d s .( p . 2 1 4 ) '
a. Clo:r-rlc refcrs to thc pc'rce'ptualfilling in of
!.rfr: ilr r stir-nulus to crcate a completc, whole
llPltrtt.
b . S r n r i l . r l i t vi s t h e t e n c ' l c n c vt o p e ' r c e i v es i m i l a r
1lbjr'cts.rs bclonging trtgctl-rcr.C)n a road map, all
t h c l i n c s r r . p r e s c n t i n gr o a d s a p p e a r s i m i l a r . T h u s ,
t h i s c u c c o u l c l n o t b c t h c b a s i s f o r C o l l e e n ' sa b i l i -
tv to tracr' the ror-rtcoi a particular road.
d. I)rorinritv is thc tenc'lencvtcl grctup ttbje'ctsnear
trr ()lrr'.rnothcr as tr sirrglerttnit.
2 0 . c . i s t h e . r r . t s w e r( .p . 2 5 1 )
a. If ;rcrceprtionwcre'cntirely based on thc physi-
c a l c h . r r a c t c r i s t i c so f a s t i m u l u s ( " b o t t o m - u p " ) ,
l.rck oi cxperir'l1c(-with a carpentered environ-
nrent n'otrlcl rrot rcduce sc'nsitivityto the illusion.
b. I'rinriples of groupirrg, clepth perception, and
scnsitir itr. to illusions all demonstrtrte that per-
ception oftt.n l.spredictablc.
EssnrlQuestiorr
1. Protirrtitr1.We tend to perceive items that are near
e.rch othcr trs belonging together. Thus, a small
st:ctior.roi dancers or members of a marching
b.rrrd may separate themselves from the larger
grollp in order to form part of a particular image.
2. Sitrtilnritq.Becarrscwe perceive similar figures as
belonging top;ether, choreographers and band
c'lirectors often create distinct visual groupings
within the larger band or dance troupe by having
Answers 173
the members of each group wear a distinctive
costume or uniform.
3. Continuity. Becausewe perceive smooth, continu-
ous patterns rather than discontinuous ones,
dancers or marching musicians moving together
(as in a column, for example) are perceived as a
seParateunit.
4. ClLtsure.If a figure has gaps, we complete it, fill-
ing in the gaps to create a whole image. Thus, we
perceptually fill in the relatively wide spacing
between dancers or marching musicians in ttrdt'r
to perceive the complete words or forms thelyarc'
creatrng.
Key Terms
Writing Definitions
1. Selective attention is the focusing tlf conscious
a w a r e n e s so n a p a r t i c u l a r s t i m u l u s o u t t l f t r l l t l f
those that wc are capable of experierncing.(p. 237)
2. Inattentional blindness is a percepttrtrl error in
which wc fail to scc a visiblc' objcct whcn ottr
nttention is dire'ctedelse'wlrere.(p. 238)
3. Visual capture is the tendcncy ftlr visitln tcl dtlmi-
nate thc.other scnses.(p.242)
4. Gestalt means "organized whtlle." Thc Clestalt
psychologists emphasized clur tcnclenc'yto irrtc-
gratc pieccs ttf informaticln into mcanilrgful
w h o l e ' s .( p . 2 a 2 )
5. Figure-ground rcfcrs to thc organizittitlrl of the
visutrl fie'ld into two parts: thc figure, which
stands out from its surroundings, antl the' stlr-
roundings, or background. (p. 243)
6. Grouping is the perceptutrl tendency ttl orgtrtrizc
stimuli into coherc'rrtgroups. Clcstalt psycholo-
gists idcntified variotts principles of grouping. (p.
243)
7. Depth perception is the ability to see objects in
three dimcnsions although thc images that strike
the retina are two-dimetnsictnirl;it alltlws trs ttl
judge distance.(p. 245)
8. The visual cliff is t.rlaboratory device for testing
depth perception, especiarllyin infants and ytlung
animals. In their experimellts with the visr-ralcliff,
Gibson and Walk found strong c'vidence' thr-rt
depth perception is at least in part innate. (p. 2a5)
9. Binocular cues are depth cues that depend on
information from both eyes. (p.245)
Memory sid: Bi- indicates "two"; octllrr means
somethinp; pertaining to the eye. Binocular cues
are cues for the "two eyes."
 t.+ Chapter 6 Perception

1 0 . Retinal disparity refers to the differences 18. Extrasensory perception (ESP) refers to the con-
bctwe.en the images received bv the left eye and troversial claim that perceprtion can occur without
thc. right eye as a result .'f vic.n,ing the world sensory input. Suppclsed ESP powers includc
from slightly diffcrent ;rngle.s.It is a binocular telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. (p. 26a)
de.pth cue, since the greater the difference
Memttrtl Ltid:Ertra- means "beyond" or "irr addi-
bertweenthe tn,c'rimages, the nearer the object. (p.
tion to"; extrasensory perception is perceplion
216)
outside or bevond the normal senses.
"1"t.Convergence is a neunrmuscular binocular depth
19. Parapsychology is the stucly of ESP,psvchokine.-
cue based orr the extent to which the eyes cctn-
sis, ancl other paranormal forms of intcraction
\/ergL.,or tum inrtard, when lctoking at near or
bc.twecn ther indiviclual arrd thc cnvirorrment.
disterntobjects. Thc mrlre the eyes converge, the
ne.rrerthc.objt'cts.(p.2a6) @.264)
"t2.Monocular cues are depth cues that depend on McrrtLtrtlnitl: Port-,Iike crfrn-, indicatcs "beyond";
tlrus, paranormal is bcyond thernornral ancl para-
i n f o r r n a t i o r rf r o m e i t h e r e . y ea. l o n e .( p . 2 a 6 )
psychology is the. study of phenomcna beyoncl
Mt'trtor.ry oitl'. Motto- nlcirls ()n€r;a monocle is an
t h e r e - a l mo f p s y c h o l o g va n d k n o w n r r a t u r a ll a w s .
e'ycglassfor orrc cye. A monocular cue is one that
i s a v a i l a b l et o e i t l . r c rt h e l e f t o r t h e r i g h t e y e .
1 3 . Thc phi phenomenon is irn illusion of movement Cross-Chcck
creatc.dwhen two c)r more. trdjacent lights blink
ACROSS DOWN
orr ancl off in succession.(p. 250)
1. gror-rncl 2. rcvcrsiblc
14. Perceptual constancy is the perception that 8. Iine.ar 3. dcpth
objccts h;rvc consistcnt lightne.ss,color, shirpc, 13. binoctrlirr 4 . c o c k t a i lp a r t y
ancl sizc, ('vcn .'ls illr-rrnin.rtionernclretinal images 15. proximity 5. sclectivc:
c h a n g c .( p . 2 5 0 ) 16. figr-rre 6. phi phcnomenon
1 5 . Perceptual adaptation refers to our ability t<r 17. Lockc 7. Miillcr-l-yer
a c jl u s t t o a r r a r t i f i c i i r l l yd i s p l a c c c rl t r e t v e ni r r v c r t e d 18. closure f. intcrprosition
v i s r r a l f i el c l . C l i v e r rc l i s t o r t i n gl e n s e s ,w c p e r c e i v e 19. grcrrping 1 0 . r c l a t i r . ' cl u m i n a n c c
tlrings irccorclingly but soon adjust by learning 20. ge'stalt 1 1 . r e l a t i v r :c l a r i t v
the rclirtiorrship betwccn oLrr distortc.d pcrcep- 12. conncctcclncss
t i o n s a n r l t h c r e . r l i t y .( p . 2 5 6 ) 14. criticalperiotl
1 6 . Perceptual set is a mcntal ;rrcdispositictnto pc.r-
c c i r . ' ct r r r ct h i n g a n d n o t a n o t h e r .( p . 2 5 7 )
1 7 . Human factors psychology explorcs how peoplc
arrd rnirchincs intcract anr-l how machincs and
p h y s i c a l e n v i r o n m e n t sc e r nb e a c l a p t e dt o h u m a n
bchaviors ancl thus to incrcasesafetv and produc-
i ; v i 1 y (. p . 2 6 1 )