QCAA Psychology Sensation and perception
14 sample questions with marking guides and sample answers · Avg. score: 90.9%
Describe the process of transduction in visual perception, with reference to the function of photoreceptors.
Reveal Answer
Transduction in visual perception is the conversion by photoreceptors of light energy to electrochemical energy.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Describes the process of transduction in visual perception with reference to the function of photoreceptors | 1 |
The Ames room creates the illusion that two people of about the same size are radically different in size.
Explain how visual perception principles and the properties of the room create this illusion.
Reveal Answer
In the illusion, the room appears to be rectangular in shape, but it is not. To maintain the illusion, binocular depth cues are avoided due to forced monocular vision. The two back corners are different distances from the viewer but appear to be at the same distance; thus, the person in one corner appears to be as distant as the person in the other corner, even though they are much closer and thus appear much larger.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
describes a relevant property of the room | 1 |
describes an associated visual perception principle, such as absence of binocular depth cues | 1 |
explains how this results in the illusion of two people of very different size | 1 |
Hudson (1960) investigated the effects of social influences on visual perception by presenting two-dimensional drawings with pictorial depth cues to participants from different educational and cultural backgrounds.
Describe a conclusion of the investigation and identify two specific findings that support this conclusion.
Reveal Answer
The conclusion of the investigation was that culture influenced pictorial depth perception.
One reason for this conclusion is that schooling improved the ability of participants from either cultural background to use pictorial depth cues to perceive depth.
A second reason for this conclusion is that Caucasian participants had greater success in using pictorial depth cues than African participants with similar levels of schooling.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Provides the conclusion that cultural background influenced pictorial depth perception | 1 |
Identifies one specific finding for this conclusion | 1 |
Identifies another specific finding for this conclusion | 1 |
Cells in the visual cortex that respond only to certain components of a stimulus are known as
photoreceptor cone cells.
photoreceptor rod cells.
feature detector cells.
retinal ganglion cells.
Reveal Answer
photoreceptor cone cells.
Incorrect. Photoreceptor cone cells are located in the retina of the eye, not the visual cortex, and are responsible for color vision and fine detail.
photoreceptor rod cells.
Incorrect. Photoreceptor rod cells are located in the retina, not the visual cortex, and are specialized for vision in low-light conditions.
feature detector cells.
Correct. Feature detector cells are specialized neurons in the visual cortex that fire in response to specific characteristics of a stimulus, such as lines, angles, or movement.
retinal ganglion cells.
Incorrect. Retinal ganglion cells are located in the eye and transmit visual information to the brain via the optic nerve, rather than performing feature extraction within the cortex.
Cole (2013) asked participants to estimate the distance to a target location. Researchers had measured the waist-to-hip ratios of participants and manipulated their motivational states. They concluded that these two factors interacted to affect visual perception.
Which of the following biological influences on visual perception best describes this study with regards to distance perception?
ageing
genetics
cultural skills
psychological make-up
Reveal Answer
ageing
This is incorrect because the study focuses on body composition and motivation, not on the physiological decline of sensory systems associated with the ageing process.
genetics
This is incorrect because, while body shape has genetic components, the study examines the immediate interaction of physical fitness and motivation on perception rather than direct genetic coding of visual mechanisms.
cultural skills
This is incorrect because cultural skills refer to learned perceptual habits based on environmental exposure (e.g., interpreting depth cues), whereas this study investigates internal physiological and motivational states.
psychological make-up
This is correct because 'psychological make-up' in this context refers to how an individual's internal state—combining physical capabilities (waist-to-hip ratio) and psychological drives (motivation)—influences their perception, a concept known as embodied perception.
This question refers to the investigation by Hudson (1960).
Identify the lobes of the brain needed to perceive the visual stimuli in the investigation.
Reveal Answer
Occipital lobes
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Identifies valid lobe(s) | 1 |
Describe the specific visual perception function of the area of the brain identified in Question 4a).
Reveal Answer
The occipital lobes are responsible for organising the visual world around the body, such as the shape, colour and location of objects.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Describes the visual perception function of the valid lobe(s) identified in Q4a) | 1 |
Explain perceptual set. Provide an example of how it influenced the participants’ visual perception and interpretation of images in the investigation.
Reveal Answer
Perceptual set is when past perceptual experiences can influence subsequent perception of images.
In the investigation, students who had previous experience perceiving 2D images were able to use depth cues to correctly interpret the bird as being closer than the elephant in the images.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Explains how perceptual set influences perception | 1 |
Identifies an example from the investigation | 1 |
Explain how a relevant pictorial depth cue would assist in the interpretation of images in the ‘flying bird scene’ from the investigation.
Reveal Answer
Relative size assists in the interpretation of the images, as typically elephants are larger than birds, however in the image the bird is depicted as larger and as such would be interpreted as being closer to the viewer than the elephant.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Identifies a relevant pictorial depth cue | 1 |
Explains how the depth cue would assist in the interpretation of images in the investigation | 1 |
Explain how cultural skills can affect visual perception and provide an example from the investigation.
Reveal Answer
Visual pictorial conventions are culturally acquired knowledge.
The African children had difficulty with pictorial interpretation.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Explains that visual perception is culturally acquired | 1 |
Identifies an example from the investigation | 1 |
Rowe et al. (2008) recruited patients with a mean age of 69 years for a visual impairment study. They found that 20.5% of patients had visual perceptual difficulties — considerably higher than the rate in the general population.
Determine the most likely biological influence on visual perception for these patients.
Reveal Answer
Ageing
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Identifies ageing or an associated event | 1 |
Which type of optical illusion involves a two-dimensional figure that people interpret as three-dimensional?
Ponzo illusion
Impossible figure
Ambiguous figure
Müller-Lyer illusion
Reveal Answer
Ponzo illusion
The Ponzo illusion is a geometrical-optical illusion where identical lines appear to be different lengths due to converging lines that provide depth cues (linear perspective), rather than being a figure interpreted as a 3D object.
Impossible figure
Impossible figures, such as the Penrose triangle, are two-dimensional drawings that the visual system automatically interprets as three-dimensional objects, even though their geometry is physically impossible in 3D space.
Ambiguous figure
Ambiguous figures, like the Necker cube or Rubin vase, are visual stimuli that induce bistable perception, meaning the viewer can switch between two or more distinct interpretations of the image.
Müller-Lyer illusion
The Müller-Lyer illusion involves the misperception of the length of two identical lines based on the orientation of arrowheads at their ends, which is a distortion of size rather than a 3D object interpretation.
What did Hudson's (1960) investigation of cultural influences on visual perception find?
Formal education improved 3D perception for all subcultures.
Level of intelligence was the main determinant of 3D perception for all subcultures.
Ability to perceive 3D information was determined by subculture regardless of education level.
The main determinant of 3D perception was exposure to printed pictorial material portraying 3D information.
Reveal Answer
Formal education improved 3D perception for all subcultures.
Incorrect. While formal education had some influence, Hudson found that it was not a universal solution; even educated participants from cultures with limited exposure to pictorial materials often struggled to perceive 3D depth in 2D images.
Level of intelligence was the main determinant of 3D perception for all subcultures.
Incorrect. Hudson explicitly concluded that the differences in perception were not due to intelligence, but rather to cultural conditioning and learning experiences.
Ability to perceive 3D information was determined by subculture regardless of education level.
Incorrect. This statement is false because Hudson's data showed that education levels did impact performance (literate participants generally performed better than illiterate ones), so the ability was not determined by subculture entirely regardless of education.
The main determinant of 3D perception was exposure to printed pictorial material portraying 3D information.
Correct. Hudson concluded that the ability to interpret depth cues (like relative size and overlap) in 2D images is not innate but is a learned skill acquired through habitual exposure to pictorial materials, which varies by culture.
State the biological influence that causes colour blindness.
Reveal Answer
Colour blindness is caused by faulty photopigments, which are typically genetically inherited from your parents.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Determines the biological influence is genetic or references faulty photopigments | 1 |
In a visual perception task, children were presented with a series of words printed in different colours. The words were the names of colours, and the names did not match the colours that the words were printed in. For example, the word ‘green’ was printed in red. Children were asked to name the print colours of the words. Children who had not yet learned to read responded more quickly than children who had learned to read.
Explain this finding using the concept of perceptual set.
Reveal Answer
For children who had learned to read, the words were relevant to their past experience and contributed to their perceptual set.
This past experience provided a meaning that clashed with the meaning of the print colour of the word, thereby increasing their response time.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
explains the finding | 1 |
uses the concept of perceptual set | 1 |
Explain transduction as a process of early visual perception.
Reveal Answer
Transduction begins when light enters the eye and activates photoreceptors.
These photoreceptors in turn connect to bipolar cells that pass information to ganglion cells.
Finally, the electrical signals move along the axons of the ganglion cells through the optic nerve to the visual cortex in the brain.
| Descriptor | Marks |
|---|---|
Explains that transduction begins when light enters the eye and activates photoreceptors | 1 |
Explains that photoreceptors pass electrical energy to bipolar and then ganglion cells | 1 |
Explains that ganglion cells pass electrical energy through the optic nerve to the visual cortex in the brain | 1 |
The Ames room illusion demonstrates the fallibility of visual perception as it causes the observer to
misapply shape constancy but maintain size constancy.
misapply size constancy but maintain shape constancy.
misapply size constancy but maintain linear perspective cues.
misapply shape constancy but maintain linear perspective cues.
Reveal Answer
misapply shape constancy but maintain size constancy.
This option reverses the mechanism; the illusion occurs because the observer maintains shape constancy of the room (seeing it as rectangular), which forces the visual system to perceive the people as changing size (failing size constancy).
misapply size constancy but maintain shape constancy.
The observer maintains shape constancy by perceiving the trapezoidal room as a normal rectangle. Because the brain assumes the room is rectangular and the distance is constant, it misinterprets the difference in retinal image size as a difference in physical size, thus misapplying size constancy.
misapply size constancy but maintain linear perspective cues.
While linear perspective cues help create the illusion of a rectangular room, the primary psychological phenomenon is the trade-off between shape and size constancy. The observer maintains shape constancy of the room, which leads to the size error.
misapply shape constancy but maintain linear perspective cues.
The observer does not misapply shape constancy; rather, they rigidly apply it to perceive the distorted room as a standard rectangular room. It is the size constancy of the people within the room that is misapplied.
Presbyopia is a common condition in which the lens in the eye hardens over time, making the eye less able to focus on nearby objects. The most common treatment is the use of reading glasses.
Identify the biological influence most commonly related to presbyopia.
ageing
disease
injuries
genetics
Reveal Answer
ageing
Presbyopia is a natural part of the aging process where the lens gradually loses its elasticity and ability to change shape, typically becoming noticeable around age 40.
disease
While presbyopia is a medical condition, it is considered a normal physiological change resulting from aging rather than a disease caused by pathogens or systemic illness.
injuries
Injuries typically cause acute damage to the eye, whereas presbyopia is a gradual, progressive hardening of the lens that occurs naturally over time.
genetics
While genetics may influence the specific timing of onset, the condition itself is a universal consequence of the aging process affecting the lens proteins.