Attention
Contrast between Selective attention and Divided attention
Selective = focus on ONE stimulus, ignore rest.
Divided = split attention across TWO+ stimuli (multitasking).
Define independent variable (IV) and dependent variable (DV) in an experiment
IV: The variable that is manipulated/changed by the researcher.
DV: The variable that is measured, which is affected by the IV.
Define Synaesthesia
A perceptual experience in which stimulation of one sense produces additional sensations in another. The experience associated with the additional sensations 'adds' to the overall perceptual experience without replacing the initial sense.
Define Fallibility
The quality of being prone to error or experiencing difficulties in judgement.
What food might supertasters avoid eating?
Bitter foods such as: Coffee, Beer, Dark chocolate, Brussel sprouts.
Defined sustained attention and provide an example
Focusing on one stimulus/task over a continuous period.
E.g. watching a video start to finish.
State one advantage of a within-subjects design design.
Define Spatial Neglect
A neurological disorder whereby individuals are unable to notice anything either on their left or right side even though there may be no sensory loss. They tend to behave as if that one side of their world does not exist.
What is a Gestalt principle? Name one example.
A guiding rule of perception that allows us to organise and group separate visual stimuli into a meaningful whole. Examples: proximity, similarity, figure-ground, closure.
Identify one biological factor that can influence gustatory perception, and briefly explain its effect.
Age, as the number of taste buds declines over time, reducing sensitivity to flavour;
or Genetics, which determines whether someone is a supertaster, medium-taster,
or non-taster, affecting sensitivity to bitter and sweet flavours.
Contrast between Top-Down and Bottom-up Processing
Top-down processing refers to the the processing of sensory information by applying prior knowledge and expectations. Whereas, Bottom-up processing refers to the processing of sensory information beginning with salient sensory data, which is then integrated to form a bigger picture.
What is a confounding variable, and why is it a problem?
An uncontrolled variable that varies systematically with the IV, making it impossible to know if the DV was affected by the IV or the confound — reduces internal validity.
If someone with Spatial neglect has damaged their Left parietal lobe. Which side of their vision will they only pay attention to?
Left side. This is because spatial neglect occurs contralaterally, meaning the side of the world opposite to the damaged hemisphere is neglected. Left hemisphere damage results in the right side being neglected, so the individual will only pay attention to the left side.
In the Müller-Lyer illusion, are the two lines actually the same length? Name the hypothesis used to explain the illusion.
Yes, they are the same length. The carpentered world hypothesis explains the illusion, suggesting we automatically apply the plain two-dimensional lines to real three-dimensional objects stored in our memory, such as the corners of rooms and buildings, causing the arrowheads to be misjudged as different lengths.
James hates the sour taste of lemons but loves to eat them becasue of the texture. What can someone gift James so that he can enjoy both the texture and the taste?
Miraculin
In the Stroop effect, participants are slower to name the ink colour of a word when the word itself names a different colour (e.g. the word "RED" printed in blue ink). Which type of attention does this task require, and why is it difficult?
This task requires selective attention
participants must exclusively focus on the ink colour while ignoring the automatic urge to read the word itself. It's difficult because reading is a highly automatic process that is hard to suppress, causing interference with the selective attention task.
What is the difference between an extraneous variable and a confounding variable?
An extraneous variable is any variable other than the IV that could affect the DV. It becomes a confounding variable specifically when it varies systematically with the IV, making it impossible to determine whether the IV or the confound caused the change in the DV.
Describe one possible explanation for why some people experience synaesthesia.
Any one of: a neurological, inherited, or familial condition; unusual sensitivity to external stimuli with 'hyperexcitable' sensory processing areas in the brain; a breakdown in sensory and perceptual processes; an excess of neural connections formed during early development that were not normally pruned as the brain matured.
Identify one biological factor that can influence visual perception, and briefly explain its effect.
Colour blindness — results from defective photoreceptors, causing difficulty distinguishing certain colours (e.g. red-green, blue-yellow, or complete colour blindness)
or Myopia (short-sightedness) — the focal point falls in front of the retina, causing distant objects to appear blurry
or Depth cues (monocular/binocular) — biological mechanisms like retinal disparity or accommodation that help judge distance.
What factor contributes to people that would rather it a bright red strawberry compared to a light pink one?
Colour Intensity
Matthew studies while watching TV in the background. Using divided attention, explain why this may hurt his performance, and suggest one improvement referencing sustained attention.
Divided attention means neither task receives full attention, and performance suffers more when tasks are unrelated or complex, as switching between them is disruptive.
Improvement: study in short 10-15 minute bursts with breaks, since sustained attention is a limited resource and fatigue reduces focus over long periods.
Identify and explain two ethical considerations in experiment design.
Any two: informed consent, voluntary participation, withdrawal rights, confidentiality, debriefing, protection from harm.
A patient's line bisection task shows their mark consistently far to the right of the true centre, and in the cancellation task they only cross out shapes on the right side. Identify which side of the brain is most likely damaged, and justify your answer.
The right hemisphere (right parietal lobe) is most likely damaged. Since the patient is only attending to and processing information on the right side, the left side is being neglected, and spatial neglect occurs contralaterally, meaning the damage is on the opposite side to the neglected field, in this case the right hemisphere.
Explain how the Ames Room impairs a viewer's ability to apply size constancy.
The room is actually trapezoid rather than rectangular, with the back wall extending further away on one side and the ceiling higher on that same side. These design manipulations prevent the viewer from perceiving the true change in distance, meaning they are unable to apply size constancy, causing the person further away to appear smaller.
Describe how you might design packaging for an orange juice bottle to increase sales.
- Farm/ farmers
- Bright coloured oranges
- Gold (luxurious)