Question 1

Advertisers often gain attention when selling a product by
A) utilizing the "soft sell."
B) increasing the viewer' habituation.
C) using motives, such as anxiety and sex.
D) creating inattentional blindness to the advertiser's intentions.

Accepted Answer

Advertisers often use motives such as anxiety and sex to gain attention and capture the viewer's interest. These motives create an emotional response that tends to make the viewer pay attention to the advertisement. However, it is important to note that not all advertisers use these tactics, and some may utilize a softer approach to selling their product.

Question 2

In one study,participants said that a $90 wine tasted better than a $10 wine,although the participants had really tasted the same wine.Interestingly,the participants' functional MRI images showed that the pleasure areas of their brains were more active when they were told they were drinking the "$90 wine." The results of this experiment illustrate that
A) suggesting the wine was expensive created a perceptual expectancy that it would taste better.
B) few people are supertasters that have the ability to discern the difference in wines.
C) few people are trained to do adequate reality testing.
D) suggesting the wine was expensive created inattentional blindness, blocking the actual taste sensation of the wine and creating a delusion.

Accepted Answer

The study shows that the perceived value or price of the wine has a significant effect on the perceived taste of the wine. This is because the suggestion that the wine was expensive created a perceptual expectancy that it would taste better, and this influenced the participants' subjective experience of the wine. This highlights the importance of context and expectations in shaping our sensory experiences.

Question 3

According to psychologist Barbara Frederickson,the scope of one's attention is actually broadened by
A) positive emotions.
B) negative emotions.
C) habituation.
D) perceptual sets.

Accepted Answer

According to Barbara Frederickson's broaden-and-build theory, positive emotions broaden an individual's scope of attention, allowing them to see more possibilities and ideas. Negative emotions, on the other hand, narrow a person's attention and focus on specific threats or problems, limiting their scope of attention.

Question 4

Because Janie has more experience with people from her own race,she is better able to recognize people from her own race and tends to show a bias in perceiving persons from other racial and ethnic groups.This illustrates
A) the apparent-distance hypothesis.
B) the other-race effect.
C) color blindness.
D) the psi phenomena.

Accepted Answer

This situation exemplifies the other-race effect, which is a phenomenon in which individuals have a harder time recognizing individuals from races or ethnicities other than their own. This is likely caused by a lack of exposure and familiarity with other races and ethnicities.

Question 5

Regarding how they perceive the world,East Asians tend to
A) be individualistic.
B) be collectivist.
C) explain actions in terms of internal factors.
D) focus on a sense of personal control.

Accepted Answer

East Asians tend to be collectivist, focusing on group harmony and social norms, rather than individual achievement or autonomy. Additionally, they tend to explain actions in terms of external factors, such as situational constraints or the influence of others, rather than internal characteristics or personality traits. Finally, while they do value personal control, this is often seen as necessary for fulfilling group obligations and maintaining social harmony, rather than for individual achievement or self-expression.

Question 6

You are low on gas and you see a sign saying "FUEL AHEAD." However,as you draw closer to the sign,you realize it actually says "FOOD AHEAD." This is an example of a
A) cognitive bias.
B) perceptual deficit.
C) perceptual expectancy.
D) sane hallucination.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a perceptual expectancy. The person was expecting to see a sign for fuel and therefore perceived "fuel" instead of "food" when they first glanced at the sign.

Question 7

According to psychologist Barbara Frederickson,negative emotions generally narrow our perceptual focus,increasing the likelihood of
A) bottom-up processing.
B) sensory gating.
C) inattentional blindness.
D) sensory adaptation.

Accepted Answer

Negative emotions narrow our perceptual focus which increases the likelihood of inattentional blindness, a phenomenon where we fail to notice unexpected stimuli in our visual field.

Question 8

According to psychologist Barbara Frederickson,which of the following generally narrows our perceptual focus and increases the likelihood of inattentional blindness?
A) positive emotions
B) negative emotions
C) sensory gating
D) bottom-up processing

Accepted Answer

According to Barbara Frederickson's broaden-and-build theory, negative emotions such as fear, anger or stress tend to narrow our perceptual focus, limiting our attention only to what is relevant to the problem at hand. This increases the likelihood of inattentional blindness, meaning we may miss other important stimuli in the environment that are not directly related to the perceived threat or challenge.

Question 9

In one study,participants said that a $90 wine tasted better than a $10 wine,although the participants had really tasted the same wine.The participants' functional MRI images showed that the pleasure areas of their brains were
A) more active when they were told they were tasting the "$10 wine."
B) more active when they were told they were tasting the "$90 wine."
C) equally active when both the "$90" and the "$10" wines were tasted.
D) not active when either bottle of wine was tasted.

Accepted Answer

The participants' pleasure areas of the brain were more active when they were told they were tasting the "$90 wine," indicating that the perception of the wine's higher value influenced their perception of its taste.

Question 10

Because Robin has more experience with people from her own race,she is better able to recognize people from her own race because she is more familiar with the features that help us recognize different persons.This illustrates the importance of
A) habituation.
B) sensory adaptation.
C) perceptual learning.
D) dishabituation.

Accepted Answer

Perceptual learning refers to the process by which our brain improves its ability to recognize and distinguish between different stimuli through repeated exposure and experience. In this scenario, Robin's frequent exposure to and interaction with people from her own race has allowed her to develop a stronger ability to recognize and distinguish between different individuals from her own race, demonstrating the importance of perceptual learning.

Question 11

Research on perceptual sensitivity has shown that people
A) are more likely to recognize the faces of people from their own race.
B) are more likely to recognize the faces of people from a different race.
C) are equally likely to recognize faces of people from any race or their own.
D) have more difficulty recognizing faces if they use only one eye.

Accepted Answer

Studies have consistently shown that people are better at recognizing faces of their own race compared to faces of different races. This phenomenon is known as the other-race effect or the own-race bias.

Question 12

Perceptual expectancies are frequently created by
A) figure-ground relationships.
B) inattentional blindness.
C) reality testing.
D) suggestion.

Accepted Answer

Perceptual expectancies can be created through suggestion, such as when someone tells you what to expect before an experience or when social norms influence your expectations. Figure-ground relationships refer to how we perceive objects against a background, and inattentional blindness refers to not noticing something unexpected because we are too focused on something else. Reality testing is the process of verifying our perceptions against reality. While all of these may contribute to our perceptual expectancies, suggestion is the best answer to the question.

Question 13

If you are riding in a car and are running low on gas,your attention will shift to gas stations.This is an example of the influence of
A) habituation.
B) divided attention.
C) motives.
D) inattentional blindness.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of motives, as the individual's goal or motive to fill up on gas is driving their attention towards gas stations.

Question 14

An individual's ability to recognize people from other races improves when the individual is
A) trained to do top-down processing.
B) trained to do bottom-up processing.
C) in a positive mood.
D) in a negative mood.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that an individual's ability to recognize people from other races can be improved when the individual is in a positive mood. This is because positive mood is associated with more open-mindedness and less stereotyping. Training in top-down or bottom-up processing may improve ability to recognize faces in general, but it is not specifically related to improving recognition of people from other races. A negative mood may actually decrease recognition ability due to heightened levels of stress and anxiety.

Question 15

In the young woman/old woman illustration in your textbook,the effect of seeing either the picture of the "old woman" or the picture of the "young woman" first will lead a person to respond in a particular way to the third picture in which both an "old and a "young" woman can be seen.Seeing the first picture of either the "old" or the "young" woman created which of the following?
A) stereoscopic vision
B) habituation
C) psychological closure
D) perceptual expectancy

Accepted Answer

Seeing either the "old" or the "young" woman first creates a perceptual expectancy, or a mental prediction, of what to expect in the third picture. This can influence how the person perceives the ambiguous image, leading them to see either the "old" or the "young" woman first.

Question 16

In tests of facial recognition,people
A) are much better at recognizing faces of other races than their own race.
B) show a consistent other-race effect.
C) are able to recognize the faces of people from other races better if they are in a negative mood.
D) exhibit all of these.

Accepted Answer

Studies have consistently shown the other-race effect, where individuals are better at recognizing faces of their own race compared to other races. There is no evidence to suggest that being in a negative mood improves recognition of faces from other races. Option A is incorrect as it is the opposite of what has been found in research.

Question 17

You enter a class and sit by a student,who tells you that Dr.Martin is hard and boring and does not care whether the students learn or not.At the end of the lecture,a friend asks you about Dr.Martin's class,and you tell her that a student you met before class was "certainly right" about Dr.Martin.His lecture was boring,and he does not care about his students.Your friend replies that he was the "best professor" she ever had,that he graded fairly,told interesting stories,and was always willing to help the students after class.Your original view of the teacher was due to
A) a perceptual set.
B) precognition.
C) bottom-up processing.
D) dishabituation.

Accepted Answer

The student's original view of Dr. Martin was influenced by their perceptual set, which is their predisposition to perceive something in a certain way based on their past experiences, attitudes, and expectations. The student may have had negative experiences with teachers in the past or heard negative things about Dr. Martin from others, leading them to approach the lecture with a negative bias. This bias influenced their perception of the lecture and Dr. Martin's teaching style.

Question 18

Regarding how they perceive the world,European Americans tend to
A) be individualistic.
B) be collectivist.
C) explain actions in terms of social context.
D) have a broader focus of attention.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Regarding how they perceive the world,European Americans...

Question 19

One explanation for the greatly differing accounts of the same athletic contest by fans of opposing teams involves the
A) confusion of cause and effect.
B) effect of motives on perception.
C) habituation of familiar stimuli.
D) effect of sublimation on memory.

Accepted Answer

Motives and biases can greatly influence how individuals perceive and interpret information, including their recollection of events such as a sports game. Fans of opposing teams may have different motivations (e.g. loyalty to their team) that affect their perception and memory of the same game.

Question 20

Labeling people as "gang members" or "mental patients" tends to
A) facilitate actively thinking about a particular group.
B) cause dishabituation.
C) distort perceptions.
D) lead to more accuate categorizations.

Accepted Answer

Labeling people as "gang members" or "mental patients" can lead to distorted perceptions because it can create stereotypes and overgeneralizations about the individuals in those groups. It can also lead to stigmatization and discrimination.

Quiz 4: C: Sensation and Perception

Advertisers often gain attention when selling a product by

According to psychologist Barbara Frederickson,the scope of one's attention is actually broadened by

Because Janie has more experience with people from her own race,she is better able to recognize people from her own race and tends to show a bias in perceiving persons from other racial and ethnic groups.This illustrates

Regarding how they perceive the world,East Asians tend to

You are low on gas and you see a sign saying "FUEL AHEAD." However,as you draw closer to the sign,you realize it actually says "FOOD AHEAD." This is an example of a

According to psychologist Barbara Frederickson,negative emotions generally narrow our perceptual focus,increasing the likelihood of

According to psychologist Barbara Frederickson,which of the following generally narrows our perceptual focus and increases the likelihood of inattentional blindness?

In one study,participants said that a $90 wine tasted better than a $10 wine,although the participants had really tasted the same wine.The participants' functional MRI images showed that the pleasure areas of their brains were

Because Robin has more experience with people from her own race,she is better able to recognize people from her own race because she is more familiar with the features that help us recognize different persons.This illustrates the importance of

Research on perceptual sensitivity has shown that people

Perceptual expectancies are frequently created by

If you are riding in a car and are running low on gas,your attention will shift to gas stations.This is an example of the influence of

An individual's ability to recognize people from other races improves when the individual is

In tests of facial recognition,people

Regarding how they perceive the world,European Americans tend to

One explanation for the greatly differing accounts of the same athletic contest by fans of opposing teams involves the

Labeling people as "gang members" or "mental patients" tends to