Sensation and Perception
Knowledge Revision
- Quiz: Distinction between sensation and perception
- Quiz: Structures of the eye
- Quiz: The Gestalt principles
- Kahoot on sensation and perception: Preview mode (play alone)
- Quiz: Sensation, perception, the eye and the Gestalt principles | PDF of the quiz with answers
- Quiz: Depth principles | PDF of quiz with answers
- Tiny Cards: Overview of sensation and perception and the perceptual principles
- Kahoot: Perceptual principles → Preview mode
Practice Short Answer Questions
Begin by brainstorming the key terms that would need to be identified and explained in each answer. For instance, in an answer to the question on visual sensation, you would have to refer to reception, transduction and transmission. What else?
- Sensation versus perception: Distinguish between sensation and perception with reference to an example of a visual stimulus. [See my long sample answer with suggested wording here.]
- Gestalt principles of perceptual organisation: Explain how two of the Gestalt principles might be applied by a perceiver, with reference to a specific visual stimulus of your choice. Possible stimuli: brain tree,scrambled, partial faces, wild animals
- Visual sensation and the human eye: Outline the process of visual sensation, with reference to the structures and functions of the relevant components of the eye.
- Depth cues and depth perception: In the quadrangle at lunchtime, you notice a large group of students in the distance and two trees of similar size, one relatively close to you and one further away. A student walks towards you and holds out a note for you to read. With close reference to this description, identify two pictorial cues and one non-pictorial cue that would permit you to perceive depth in this situation.
- Perceptual set/expectancy: Explain the meaning of the term “perceptual set”. Give an example of a situation in which your own experience or motivation influences your interpretation of a scene and leads you towards perceptual hypotheses that support swift and accurate perceptual judgements.
- Illusions: What is an illusion? Give an example of an illusion, outline the error that is commonly made and add an explanation of how the stimulus is believed to lead to perceptual error.
