AP Psychology : Sensation and Perception

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology

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Example Questions

Example Question #1278 : Ap Psychology

Lucia is sunbathing on a bright day. She notices that, while her eyes are closed, the light behind her eyelids appears as red spots, but when she opens her eyes, the scenery takes on a bluish hue until she adjusts to the light. Her experience is best explained by which of the following theories of perception?

Possible Answers:

Gestalt

Trichromatic color

Opponent-process

Inattentional blindness

Correct answer:

Opponent-process

Explanation:

The opponent-process theory of color vision posits that colors are processed in pairs of chromatic opposites. This theory explains why the suffusion of reddish hues from the direct sunlight though Lucia’s eyelids left an afterimage of bluish color in their absence. The trichromatic theory of color vision attributes the discernment of color to specializations of the eye’s cones and does not account for negative afterimages. Gestalt theory concerns the perception of parts and wholes. Inattentional blindness is not a theory, but a phenomenon in which objects that are plainly available in an individual’s perceptual field nonetheless go unnoticed due to a lack of attention paid to them.

Example Question #111 : Sensation And Perception

Which of the following is an example of synesthesia?

Possible Answers:

When solving math problems, Angela gets a certain taste in her mouth whenever she sees a certain digit– for example, she tastes the number 9 as sour.

George still feels pain in his left arm below the elbow, even though his left arm was amputated three years ago.

Ashley was in a car accident that resulted in severe head trauma, and now she cannot remember any events that occurred leading up to the accident or six months prior to it.

Taylor once ate pineapple pizza and got very sick to his stomach afterwards. He later learned that he had gotten the stomach flu and so his sickness had nothing to do with the pizza, but he still hates pineapple pizza.

Correct answer:

When solving math problems, Angela gets a certain taste in her mouth whenever she sees a certain digit– for example, she tastes the number 9 as sour.

Explanation:

The situation with Angela is the best example of synesthesia—a phenomenon, in which stimulation of one sensory pathway triggers a response by a different, unrelated sensory pathway. People with synesthesia might see a certain color whenever they taste a certain food. The important thing to note is that in synesthetic perception, the person experiences the synesthetic connection as being projected outside the body, not just in the mind’s eye (e.g. Angela does not simply imagine the color red when she sees the letter A: she actually sees A as being colored red, even if it is printed in plain black font). The other situations described in the answer choices reflect other psychological phenomena. Ashley is experiencing amnesia; George, phantom limb syndrome; and Taylor, taste aversion.

Example Question #1271 : Ap Psychology

A series of lights rapidly blinking off and on in succession creates the illusion of motion. This effect, which is often used in animation pictures, is referred to as which of the following?

Possible Answers:

Prägnanz effect

Opponent-process theory

Gestaltian experience

Phi phenomenon

Correct answer:

Phi phenomenon

Explanation:

The Gestalt laws of perception are a set of principles that govern the way humans tend to perceive visual stimuli as a collective whole, rather than discrete individual objects or events. Different names are given to the specific applications of this overarching principle. For example, the phi phenomenon refers to the tendency to perceive a series of lights blinking on and off down a line as a single light moving along, instead of a number of lights turning on and off for no apparent reason. The law of prägnanz (not the prägnanz effect that was listed as an answer choice) is the Gestalt law that suggests that people perceive visual stimuli in terms of the simplest explanation or form possible. Opponent-process theory is a concept of visual perception that explains why some colors seem to be incompatible (e.g. we might see a yellowish green, but we cannot really imagine a reddish green). 

Example Question #111 : Sensation And Perception

Thresholds are defined as the limits of one's perceptions. There are different types of thresholds for perceiving stimuli. Which of the following is the absolute threshold?

Possible Answers:

The amount of stimulus that's necessary to determine if a stimulus has been changed

The average amount of information that's necessary to understand a stimulus is actually present

The most amount of information that's necessary to understand a stimulus is actually present

The least amount of information that's necessary to understand a stimulus is actually present

The amount of stimulus that's necessary to determine if a stimulus has been kept the same

Correct answer:

The least amount of information that's necessary to understand a stimulus is actually present

Explanation:

The answer is "the least amount of information that's necessary to understand a stimulus is actually present." The average amount of information that's necessary to understand a stimulus is actually present holds no relevance in psychological terms, while the amount of stimulus that's necessary to determine if a stimulus has been changed is called the difference thresholdThe other answers hold no actual meaning in psychological terms, such as the max amount of stimulus, or the difference in stimulus to determine if the stimulus has been kept the same. 

Example Question #111 : Sensation And Perception

Which of the following are defined as symptoms that involve the perception of nonexistent sensory stimulation?

Possible Answers:

Anxiety

Delusions

Hallucinations 

Mania

Correct answer:

Hallucinations 

Explanation:

Mania and anxiety are most closely associate with behavior and not sensory perception. The main difference between delusions and hallucinations are that delusions are false beliefs. Conversely, "hallucinations" are false perceptions from a stimulus that does not exists. These perceptions are generated by the mind and occur during consciousness. 

Example Question #1 : Attention And Focus

The __________ is the lowest level of a stimulation that an organism can detect.

Possible Answers:

sensory adaptation

minimal activity stimulus

difference threshold

absolute threshold

all-or-nothing phenomenon

Correct answer:

absolute threshold

Explanation:

Absolute threshold is the lowest level of stimulation that an organism can detect. For example, the quietest sound that a human can hear is their absolute threshold for hearing.

Example Question #2 : Attention And Focus

Which type of processing makes us vulnerable to optical illusions?

Possible Answers:

Bottom-Up

Left-right

Biological

Cognitive

Top-down

Correct answer:

Top-down

Explanation:

Top-down processing involves the impact of prior knowledge on sensation and perception. Many optical illusions are successful by capitalizing on our prior knowledge to influence our perception of an image.

Example Question #1 : Attention And Focus

During which of the following activities might you use selective attention?

Possible Answers:

Quietly reading a book

Driving on a busy freeway during rush hour

Having a convorsation with a friend at a loud party

All of these activities would employ selective attention

Attending a concert at a sold out show

Correct answer:

All of these activities would employ selective attention

Explanation:

Selective attention allows one to focus on certain specific sensory information, while ignoring other sensory input. All of the given examples would require selective attention, and in fact, almost every situation you could imagine would require some level of selective attention. For example, when reading a book, even if you are in a quiet room, you require selective attention to focus on the pages and words while ignoring any sort of background noise or action in your periphery. 

Example Question #1281 : Ap Psychology

The cocktail party effect focuses on which type of perception?

Possible Answers:

Gustatory

Olfactory

Visual

Auditory

Vestibular

Correct answer:

Auditory

Explanation:

The cocktail party effect explains one's ability to focus one's attention on one particular sound (an auditory stimulus) while simultaneously filtering out others. The name for this effect comes from the ability of a person at a party to focus his attention onto a particular conversation, while drowning out the other conversations happening at the party.

Example Question #1 : Attention And Focus

Which of the following describes the ability to pay attention to one voice among many?

Possible Answers:

Auditory polarity

The cocktail party effect

Grouping

Divided attention

Figure-ground

Correct answer:

The cocktail party effect

Explanation:

The cocktail party effect describes a person's ability to attend to just one voice among a group of voices--akin to a party guest's ability to listen to just one person's voice among the voices of many conversations. 

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