Attention
This type of attention allows us to focus on one task or object while ignoring distractions.
selective attention
A schema is a mental framework or organised cluster of knowledge that we use to interpret and make sense of information, objects, situations, or people.
Deine retina
A light-sensitive layer of cells at the back of the eye contains photoreceptors that receive and process visual information
Define synaesthesia
Synaesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon where the stimulation of one sense automatically and involuntarily triggers an additional, unusual experience in another sense.
which type of attention involves multi-tasking?
Divided attention
Hearing a sound is an example of this process, while identifying the sound as music is an example of this.
sensation, perception
Identify 1 psychological factors that influence our gustatory perception and explain
Any of of the following:
1) Appearance
2) Food packaging
3) Perceptual set
A person with this condition may fail to attend to objects or people on one side of their visual field due to damage to the brain’s right hemisphere
Spatial neglect
During an exam, Nathan is trying to solve a difficult math problem. He doesn’t notice the loud ticking of the classroom clock until he finishes the problem. Which type of attention was Nathan primarily using?
A. Divided attention
B. Selective attention
C. Sustained attention
D. Automatic processing
B
Explain how biological factors can influence our gustatory perception.
As we age, the number of taste buds decreases and our sensitivity to tastes declines. Genetic differences account for variations in the number and sensitivity of taste receptors. Some individuals are “supertasters".
Define Top-down processing and provide an example.
Perception is driven by prior knowledge and expectations, moving from general knowledge to specific stimulus information
This condition involves the inability to recognize familiar objects despite intact sensory processing.
agnosia
1) Distinguish between the internal stimuli and the external stimuli.
2) Give an example for each.
Internal stimuli - information or sensations that originate from within the body.
External stimuli - information or sensations that originate from outside the body.
Identify and explain 2 Gestalt principles
Figure–Ground: Organising visual information by separating the object (figure) from its surroundings (ground).
Closure: Mentally filling in gaps in an incomplete image to perceive it as a whole.
Similarity: Grouping elements that look alike (e.g., shape, size, colour) as belonging together.
Proximity: Perceiving objects that are close together as belonging in a group.
Identify and explain the 2 binocular depth cues
Retinal Disparity - When the two retinal images are received in the brain, the images are compared, any mismatch between the two images provides information to the brain about the object’s depth or distance.
Convergence - Involves the brain detecting changes in muscle tension in muscles surrounding the eye as the eyes turn inwards to focus on objects that are close.
Which statement about the Müller-Lyer illusion is most accurate?
A. It is caused by a problem in the retina, leading to inaccurate retinal images.
B. It occurs because of brain damage that disrupts depth perception.
C. It demonstrates that visual perception is fallible, as depth cues are misapplied.
D. It shows that perceptual constancies are always reliable.
C
During a 2-hour VCE Psychology exam, Maya finds her mind drifting to worries about an upcoming soccer match. She misses key details in several questions. Later, when proofreading her answers, she struggles to focus because of students packing up around her.
Explain which types of attention are being disrupted in Maya’s case, and how internal and external factors influenced her performance.
Maya’s sustained attention was challenged by the long exam. Her selective attention was disrupted by internal distractions (worrying thoughts) and external distractions (noise from classmates).
Zoe and Alex walk into the same art gallery. Zoe immediately notices the abstract patterns in the paintings and interprets them as faces. Alex, however, sees only random shapes and colours.
Later, both view a 3D street artwork on the ground; Zoe says it looks like a hole, while Alex insists it looks flat. Using the concepts of perceptual set and depth cues, explain why their perceptions differ.
Zoe’s prior experience and expectations created a perceptual set to see faces in abstract images. Alex lacked that schema, so he relied more on raw sensory input. For the 3D street art, Zoe interpreted monocular depth cues (e.g., linear perspective, shadowing) as depth, while Alex did not apply them, so he saw it as flat.
Ella is at a restaurant and tries a bright yellow smoothie, she assumes that it will taste like bananas however, she’s surprised when it tastes bitter instead.
Why did Ella expect the smoothie to taste sweet, and how did this influence her perception of the taste?
Perceptual set influenced Ella’s expectation of sweetness based on the smoothie’s colour and smell, affecting her experience of the actual taste.
Rina participates in a psychology experiment where she tastes a lemon both before and after eating a “miracle berry.” Beforehand, she finds it extremely sour. After the berry, she reports that the lemon tastes sweet.
Explain how this experiment demonstrates the fallibility of gustatory perception, and identify the factor involved.
The experiment shows that gustatory perception is fallible, because the same physical stimulus (lemon) is perceived differently after eating the berry.
The factor is the protein miraculin, which binds to sweet receptors and alters taste perception.