All AP Psychology Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #93 : Sensation And Perception
You are reading a sign. Only half of the letters are present, yet you are still able to guess what the sign should say if it were complete. What is this called?
Instinct theory
Top-down processing
The law of assumptions
Gestalt's principles
Meaningful inference
Top-down processing
A big part of the way humans learn is by starting with a very general concept, and then organizing more detailed concepts within that general paradigm. This means that concepts we have learned before can influence new ideas and concepts that we are learning. When reading a sign, you use your previous knowledge of possible words and phrases, and put that together with the sensory knowledge you acquire from the sign.
Gestalt's principles do reference the phenomena of the mind making a whole based on small parts, but generally refers to visual construction as opposed to semantic meaning.
Example Question #94 : Sensation And Perception
How does prosopagnosia affect the intake of information?
One's ability to recognize faces is impaired
The "phantom limb" phenomenon occurs
One's motor coordination is bolstered
The ability to sense one's limbs and body in space is impaired
One's perception of time and space is altered
One's ability to recognize faces is impaired
Prosopagnosia can be either congenital or acquired. Congenital cases are more rare, and the most difficult to treat. Acquired prosopagnosia usually results from damage to the occipito-temporal lobe. The fusiform gyrus has been shown to activate in response to faces in several different neuro-psychological studies. This disorder is famously chronicled in the novel "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" by Oliver Sacks.
Example Question #3 : Perception
Which of these is not a monocular depth cue?
Occlusion
Texture gradient
Perspective
Retinal disparity
Relative size
Retinal disparity
Our brains use the differences in the location of an object on our retinas in order to judge their relative distance from one another. This requires two eyes, and thus is binocular. The other cues listed require only one eye (monocular).
Example Question #4 : Perception
What does the gate-control theory seek to explain?
Our perception of social exclusion
Our perception of pain
Our perception of complex auditory sounds
Our perception of temperature
Our perception of multi-colored objects
Our perception of pain
Gate-control theory posits that the spinal cord contains a "gate" that controls whether pain signals get sent to the brain or not. This "gate" is opened based on the strength of the pain signals from the body.
Example Question #1263 : Ap Psychology
Being able to identify the black words from the white paper is an example of which principle?
Figure-ground
Relative luminance
Gestalt principles
Retinal disparity
Binocular cues
Figure-ground
Figure-ground is a perception used to distinguish a figure from its background, whether that be black words on a white page or distinguishing a particular voice from a crowd. There are many cues that enable us to distinguish a figure from its background, like color, shapes, edges, movements, or sounds. Figure-ground perception is a part of “Gestalt principles," or the prcoess of evaluating the bigger picture.
Example Question #92 : Sensation And Perception
Justin's accident has caused him to lose his ability to understand language, however, he can still speak. Which lobe of Justin's brain was likely injured in his accident?
temporal
occipital
parietal
frontal
temporal
Justin can physically speak, so we can rule out Broca's area, which is in the frontal lobe. However, he is unable to understand language, which is handled by Wernicke’s area. Wernicke’s area is located in the temporal lobe.
Example Question #93 : Sensation And Perception
What is a binocular cue for perceiving depth?
Assimilation
Ocular degeneration
Retinal disparity
Heptactic cue
Accommodation
Retinal disparity
Retinal disparity is a binocular cue that involves observing the difference between the two images the retinas receive of a single object. The greater the difference, the closer the object is to the viewer.
Example Question #4 : Perception
Where are visual receptor cells located in the eye?
The sulcus
The gyrus
The ocular lens
The retina
The iris
The retina
The retina captures external light and converts it into visual images that are sent to the brain. The retina contains rods, which detect black and white, and cones, which detect color.
Example Question #3 : Perception
"Transduction" refers to __________.
the absorption of neurotransmitters by a neuron's presynaptic terminal
one neuron fires and causes another neuron to fire
multiple areas of the brain are active during one activity
the translation of stimuli into neural impulses
the translation of stimuli into neural impulses
Transduction occurs when sensations are perceived. In the case of touch, our fingers detect pressure which is translated into a neural impulse, causing our brain to perceive that we have made contact with a surface.
Example Question #101 : Sensation And Perception
Which of the following is not a Gesalt rule for perception?
Difference
Similarity
Closure
Proximity
Continuity
Difference
Proximity, closure, similarity, and continuity are four of the Gesalt rules for perception, whereas difference (the opposite of similarity) is not. Proximity states that groups of objects close together are likely to be grouped together, closure is the tendency to fill in the gaps in a visual scene, similarity describes how objects that look similar are likely to be grouped together, and continuity states that objects with similar orientations are likely to be grouped together.