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Shaw - PSYC& 100 Lilienfeld et al (2014) - Chapter 4 – Sensation and Perception: How we sense and conceptualize the world

1 / Distinguish between sensation and perception. Include as part of your answer where each takes place. / 1 / Track how our brain constructs a perception, beginning with the energy in the external world. A sketch might be helpful. /
2 / What is transduction? Be sure to include what a sense receptor is in your answer. / 2 / Give two different examples of transduction. You may need to use your knowledge of thermodynamics to answer this! /
3 / In the context of this chapter, what is reduction? (From class) / 3 / How might a “reduced” version of the human world differ from that of a dog’s “reduced” version of the world? /
4 / What is sensory adaptation? / 4 / a) Give an example of a time when you noticed sensory adaptation in yourself.
b) Why is sensory adaptation a useful thing for us?
c) Why do you think sensory adaptation is problematic for a researcher trying to investigate our perception of a stimulus? /
5 / What is the definition of an absolute threshold? /
6 / What is the definition of a difference threshold. Note: Difference thresholds are also called JNDs. /
7 / What does Weber’s Law say with regard to difference thresholds? / 5 / Give a concrete example that illustrates Weber’s Law. Pick something distinctive, disgusting or funny to help you remember. /
8 / What is psychophysics? / 6 / Why might psychophysics be a useful field of study? /
9 / What is Signal Detection Theory? Include the following in your answer (in part from class):
·  Why is it called “signal” detection?
·  What is a “hit,” “a miss,” “a false alarm,” “a correct rejection”?
·  What is a response bias?
·  What is “signal to noise ratio”?
·  What is a yeah-sayer? A nay-sayer? / 7 / a) Describe a scenario in which it would be important to know a person’s response bias.
b) Give an example of a situation when it would it be beneficial to be a ‘yeah sayer’?
c) Give an example of a situation when it would it be beneficial to be a ‘nay sayer’? /
10 / What is synesthesia? /
11 / What is selective attention? / 8 / How does selective attention relate to multitasking? /
12 / What did Donald Broadbent propose? /
13 / What is inattentional blindness? /
14 / How does change blindness differ from inattentional blindness? /
15 / What is the “binding problem”? /
16 / Diagram the eye, label each part and identify the function of each part. /
17 / What is accommodation? Where does it occur? /
18 / Rods and Cones:
a) How are rods and cones distributed across the retina?
b) How do rods and cones contribute differentially to (a) brightness perception, (b) color vision and (c) visual acuity? / 9 / Using what you know of how the characteristics of rods and cones, explain the roles that rods and cones play as we enter a darkened theater for a matinee (i.e., dark adaptation) and as we exit the theater into the parking lot (i.e., light adaptation. Be sure to add the detail we discuss in class. /
19 / How do the axons of the optic nerve diverge to go to different parts of the brain? /
20 / What is the blind-spot in our eye? Explain why we have a blind spot. /
21 / What did Hubel and Wiesel discover about visual perception? /
22 / a) What are the basic claims regarding the trichromatic theory of color vision?
b) What evidence supports this theory? /
23 / Distinguish between blindness, blindsight, and visual agnosia. /
24 / a)  What is “bottom-up processing”?
b)  What is “top-down processing”? / 10 / Describe an example that illustrates the difference between the two. Be sure to indicate what part of your example illustrates which type of processing. /
25 / What are the two basic types of cues to depth? (from your Depth Cue concept map) / 11 / Explain how 3-D movies or ViewMaster gadgets work. (You might have to look elsewhere to find the answer to this question!) /
26 / Describe the oculomotor cues to depth. (From class) /
27 / What is Binocular (or retinal) disparity? /
28 / For each of the following monocular cues to depth, describe the cue, being sure to distinguish between what hits the retina and how our brains perceive the information. The cues in bold text can be found in your text. If we have time we’ll cover the others. / 12 / For each of the cues listed in the Content column, provide an example that will help you remember the cue. /
29 / Motion parallax: /
a / Interposition/Overlap: /
b / Shading/Light or Shadow: /
c / Relative size: /
d / Texture gradient: /
e / Aerial (atmospheric) perspective: /
f / Linear perspective: /
g / Position in visual field/Height in plane: /
h / Position relative to horizon: /
i / What is a perceptual set? Note this is also sometimes called a mental set. / 13 / a)  Using your own head (!), explain how prejudices are nothing more than extreme perceptual sets.
b)  Give examples to make your point clear. /
30 / What is perceptual constancy? /
31 / a. What are Gestalt principles in general?
Be sure you know the specific Gestalt principles (which are tendencies that we have). /
32 / What is the current state of evidence on ESP? /
33 / Distinguish between subliminal perception and subliminal persuasion. / 14 / To what extent could subliminal stimuli lead to increased sales of products? /
34 /

14-Revised 2/2016