cognitive psych quiz 2

Brain ablation

removing part of the brain

Stroboscopic motion

A rapid series of slightly varying images as continuous movement

Perception of Motion

Apparent movement: An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

Ventral pathway

Determining the identity of an object

Dorsal pathway

Determining the location of an object

Law of good figure

Every stimulus pattern is seen so the resulting structure is as simple as possible

sterotypes

False assumptions that all members of some group share same characteristics

Scene schema

It is knowledge of what a given scene ordinarily contains.

"New" view - Gestalt (wholeness) psychology

- Absent features do not disrupt perception of the whole figure - The mind groups patterns according to intrinsic laws of perceptual organization

mirror neurons

- Facilitate learning by imitation. - Language development - Skill learning - Enhances social interaction - Empathy (understanding others or what others think) - - Connecting with others - Autism may be caused by the deficiency in mirror neurons

Light-from-above assumption

- Light comes from above - Is usually the case in the environment - We perceive shadows as specific information about depth and distance

Mirror neurons

- Particular neurons in the premotor area - Respond to a particular "kind" of action (e.g., grasping) observing someone doing the action.

top down processing

- Perception may start with the brain (preexisting knowledge) - Person's knowledge, experience, and expectations 1. A personal knowledge of the environment (contextual information) 2. the expectations

bottom up processing

- Perception may start with the senses - Incoming raw data - Energy registering on receptors - Parts are analyzed into basic features and identified

"Old" view - structuralism

- Psychology has to be studied like chemistry. - Identify different elements - Study individually - Perception involves adding up sensations

perception

-Experience resulting from stimulation of the senses -The process of recognizing, organizing, and interpreting information from senses

two types of perception information

1. environmental energy stimulating the senses 2. knowledge and expectations the observer brings to the situation

Law of good continuation

Lines tend to be seen as following the smoothest path

Bayesian Inference

One's estimate of the probability of a given outcome is influenced by two factors: - The prior probability - The likelihood of a given outcome

Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Radioactive material is injected or inhaled Participant is then scanned to produce an image of the brain's activity

Double dissociation

Requires two individuals with different damage and opposite deficits

Law of similarity

Similar things appear grouped together

sense receptors

Specialized receptors pick up info from environment Skin Eye Ear

What is a scene schema? a. Knowledge of what a scene typically contains b. Knowledge of the meaning of a scene c. Knowledge of the events leading to a scene d. Knowledge of why a scene should be visualized

a. Knowledge of what a scene typically contains

Brain imaging has made it possible to a. determine which areas of the brain are involved in different cognitive processes. b. view individual neurons in the brain. c. show how environmental energy is transformed into neural energy. d. view propagation of action potentials.

a. determine which areas of the brain are involved in different cognitive processes.

You look at a rope coiled on a beach and are able to perceive it as a single strand because of the law of a. good continuation. b. simplicity. c. familiarity.

a. good continuation.

Alex is on a ritual fast in which he will avoid eating any food for the next 48 hours. As the fast continues, Alex finds that he thinks more and more about food, but he does not eat. While watching television, though, he notes that there seem to be more ads for food than usual. There are actually no more food ads today than there usually are, but Alex's perception best illustrates a. top-down processing. b. bottom-up processing. c. feature analysis. d. visual dominance.

a. top-down processing.

Lucas and his brother Jonathan are lying on their backs, staring up at the clouds. Jonathan says that he sees a poodle-shaped cloud and points it out to Lucas. Lucas tries to see another shape in the cloud, but now all he can see is the poodle. The fact that Jonathan's telling Lucas what he saw in the cloud biased Lucas's perception of the cloud is an example of a. top-down processing. b. bottom-up processing. c. Fechner's law. d. framing.

a. top-down processing.

1. When Frieda first looked at an advertisement, she noticed only that it showed a glass of cola on a tray. After her friend Cal told her that he saw two people dancing in the blur on the left ice cube, Frieda instantly noticed the dancers. "You're right; I can see them," said Frieda, "but I think I see them mostly due to ___, since you made me expect them to be there." a. Bottom-up processing b. Top-down processing c. Common fate d. Similarity

b. Top-down processing

Shaun's parents decorate their home each winter with a string of white lights. When the lights are turned on, there seems to be one light moving across the string, constantly circling the house. This apparent perception of movement is due to the motion illusion known as a. perceptual constancy. b. apparent movement c. looming. d. common fate

b. apparent movement

1. "While watching a crowd of people, one does not focus on individual colors, movements, and shapes. Instead, one perceives the event as a whole." This statement has most likely been made by a. cognitive psychologist. b. functionalist. c. Gestalt psychologist. d. structuralist.

c. Gestalt psychologist.

At a recent family reunion, the Boltinis were all told to wear red, white, and green to show their Italian pride. The few people who did not wear these colors stood out from the group. This occurred because of what grouping principle? a. Proximity b. Closure c. Similarity d. Continuity

c. Similarity

Compared to brain-imaging techniques, ERP occurs on a a. much slower time scale. b. similar time scale. c. much faster time scale. d. more precise scale for understanding which brain structures are active.

c. much faster time scale.

The landmark discrimination problem is more difficult to do if you have damage to your _____ lobe. a. frontal b. temporal c. parietal d. occipital

c. parietal

When little Rosario quickly flipped the pages of her new "flip" book, Sniffy the rat appeared to run around, eat cheese, and scratch himself. Rosario's perception of Sniffy's movements is due to a. looming. b. optical flow. c. stroboscopic motion. d.motion parallax.

c. stroboscopic motion.

Indiana looks at the ground near his feet. He hears a hissing sound and sees a long, thin shape with scales. From this information only, he determines the object is a snake. He is using ______________ processing. a. sequential b. top-down c. ecological d. bottom-up

d. bottom-up

The word superiority effect:

discriminating between letters is easier in the context of a word than as letters alone or in the context of a nonword string.

what is perception based on?

past experiences and expectations

perceptual organization

perceiving particular relationships among potentially separate elements

sense

system that translates info from outside into neural activity

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

• fMRI imaging takes a series of images of the brain in quick succession • Analyzes the images for differences among them • Brain areas with more blood flow = better visibility on MRI images