AP Psychology · Topic 2.1
Perception Practice
Part of Cognition.
Practice questions
16
Sample questions
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Sample 1difficulty 2/5
In a study, researchers placed 6-month-old infants on a "visual cliff" apparatus, a glass-covered table with a shallow side and a deep drop visible beneath the glass. Mothers stood on the deep side and called the infants. Most infants crawled across the shallow side but refused to cross the deep side, even when coaxed. Infants who had recently begun crawling showed the strongest avoidance.
The infants' avoidance of the deep side most directly demonstrates the use of which depth cue?
- A
Top-down processing of verbal warnings from caregivers
- B
Bottom-up processing of color contrast only
- Ccheck_circle
Binocular and monocular depth cues such as texture gradient and retinal disparity
- D
Sensory adaptation to the glass surface
Why
The visual cliff demonstrates that infants perceive depth using multiple cues including texture gradient and binocular disparity, suggesting these abilities emerge early.
- A
Sample 2difficulty 2/5
In a study, researchers showed participants a series of figures composed of dots and lines. One figure had dots arranged in two parallel rows; participants reported seeing two rows rather than a random scatter. Another figure had a circle with a small gap; participants reported seeing a complete circle. A third image had blue dots intermixed with red dots; participants grouped the blue dots into one shape and the red dots into another.
Perceiving the gapped circle as complete best illustrates which gestalt principle?
- A
Figure-ground
- B
Common fate
- C
Proximity
- Dcheck_circle
Closure
Why
Closure is the tendency to mentally fill in gaps to perceive a complete, recognizable figure. Figure-ground separates objects from background; common fate involves grouping objects moving together.
- A
Sample 3difficulty 2/5
In a study, researchers showed participants a series of figures composed of dots and lines. One figure had dots arranged in two parallel rows; participants reported seeing two rows rather than a random scatter. Another figure had a circle with a small gap; participants reported seeing a complete circle. A third image had blue dots intermixed with red dots; participants grouped the blue dots into one shape and the red dots into another.
Reporting two rows rather than scattered dots best illustrates which gestalt principle?
- A
Continuity
- B
Similarity
- Ccheck_circle
Proximity
- D
Closure
Why
Proximity is the tendency to group objects that are near each other into a single perceptual unit. The dots in two rows are close along the rows, so they are perceived as rows rather than random.
- A
Sample 4difficulty 3/5
Change blindness refers to
- A
Difficulty perceiving objects in low-light conditions
- B
Failure to notice an unexpected stimulus in plain view
- Ccheck_circle
Failure to detect changes in the visual environment
- D
Reduced sensitivity to a stimulus after constant exposure
Why
People often miss large changes during brief interruptions.
- A
Sample 5difficulty 3/5
In a study, researchers showed participants a series of figures composed of dots and lines. One figure had dots arranged in two parallel rows; participants reported seeing two rows rather than a random scatter. Another figure had a circle with a small gap; participants reported seeing a complete circle. A third image had blue dots intermixed with red dots; participants grouped the blue dots into one shape and the red dots into another.
The overall tendency observed across these figures—that perception favors the simplest, most stable, organized form—is summarized by which gestalt law?
- A
Weber's law
- Bcheck_circle
The law of Pragnanz (good figure)
- C
The Yerkes-Dodson law
- D
The law of effect
Why
The law of Pragnanz, also called the law of good figure or simplicity, states that we perceive ambiguous or complex stimuli in their simplest, most stable form. The law of effect concerns reinforcement learning.
- A