AP Psychology › AP Psychology
Which of the following is not a monocular depth cue?
Retinal disparity
Relative size cue
Texture gradient
Linear perspective
“Retinal disparity” is a binocular depth cue, not a monocular cue. The other answers—relative size cue, texture gradient, and linear perspective—are all monocular cues.
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?
Phi phenomenon
Prägnanz effect
Gestaltian experience
Opponent-process theory
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).
A baby girl is sitting in a high chair. Her father is playing with her by ducking down below the table and popping back up. His daughter seems very distressed by this game. Which of the following best describes why this game of peekaboo is upsetting for her?
She has not yet developed object permanence
She fears the rapid motion
She is insecurely attached to her father
She has an innate fear of heights
Object permanence is the understanding that even though an object has disappeared from view, that disappearance is probably temporary: the object has not disappeared totally from existence. Infants do not achieve this understanding until around eight months of age. Because of this, the baby girl likely believes her father no longer exists when he disappears from view, which is upsetting.
Which of the following is true regarding subliminal perceptions?
They are defined as the perception of stimuli which are presented too weakly or quickly to be recognized consciously.
They are highly effective at influencing behavior.
They are used frequently by advertisers to increase the sales of products.
They can produce significant changes in a person's emotions.
Subliminal perceptions are those that involve stimuli occurring too weakly or quickly to be recognized consciously. When these were first discovered, there was much excitement and concern over the potential applications of non-conscious perceptions to the field of advertising. Although many subliminal ads were created and tested, it has since become apparent that they are largely ineffective. Although subliminal perceptions can alter behavior in laboratory settings, they fail to have a significant impact on human behavior—especially in the area of complex decision making that interested marketers. Subliminal perceptions also fail to produce significant changes in emotions, and—if anything—have a weak or negligible effect at best.
Which of the following is an example of synesthesia?
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.
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.
What's the difference between a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist?
A psychiatrist prescribes medication whereas a clinical psychologist performs therapy
A clinical psychologist prescribes medication whereas a psychiatrist performs therapy
There is no difference
A psychiatrist has to get a graduate degree whereas a clinical psychologist does not
A clinical psychologist has to get a graduate degree whereas a psychiatrist does not
The difference between a psychiatrist and clinical psychologist is mostly in their functions-- psychiatrists give referrals for medications and clinical psychologists act as therapists. Both psychiatrists and clinical psychologists have to go to graduate school for multiple years. Keep in mind that although their functions differ, they often work together to help a patient successfully go through treatment.
What is the name for the least amount of energy required for a sensation to take place?
The absolute threshold
The minimum threshold
Transduction
The just noticeable difference
The minimum amount of energy for a stimulus to be registered as a sensation is known as the absolute threshold. Any stimulus that occurs too weakly to surpass this threshold will not result in a sensation, and will thus be undetected.
The just noticeable difference refers to the minimum amount of change in a stimulus necessary for a difference in its intensity to be recognized.
Transduction is the conversion of energy from one form into another, for example, from light energy into electrical energy during vision.
The minimum threshold may sound like the correct answer, but it is in fact not the correct term. The absolute threshold is the appropriate label for the phenomenon.
Which of the following is not a monocular depth cue?
Retinal disparity
Relative size cue
Texture gradient
Linear perspective
“Retinal disparity” is a binocular depth cue, not a monocular cue. The other answers—relative size cue, texture gradient, and linear perspective—are all monocular cues.
What's the difference between a psychiatrist and a clinical psychologist?
A psychiatrist prescribes medication whereas a clinical psychologist performs therapy
A clinical psychologist prescribes medication whereas a psychiatrist performs therapy
There is no difference
A psychiatrist has to get a graduate degree whereas a clinical psychologist does not
A clinical psychologist has to get a graduate degree whereas a psychiatrist does not
The difference between a psychiatrist and clinical psychologist is mostly in their functions-- psychiatrists give referrals for medications and clinical psychologists act as therapists. Both psychiatrists and clinical psychologists have to go to graduate school for multiple years. Keep in mind that although their functions differ, they often work together to help a patient successfully go through treatment.
A baby girl is sitting in a high chair. Her father is playing with her by ducking down below the table and popping back up. His daughter seems very distressed by this game. Which of the following best describes why this game of peekaboo is upsetting for her?
She has not yet developed object permanence
She fears the rapid motion
She is insecurely attached to her father
She has an innate fear of heights
Object permanence is the understanding that even though an object has disappeared from view, that disappearance is probably temporary: the object has not disappeared totally from existence. Infants do not achieve this understanding until around eight months of age. Because of this, the baby girl likely believes her father no longer exists when he disappears from view, which is upsetting.