PSY 200 EXAMS 1 UPDATED TEST PAPER
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔What is top-down processing? - ✔✔Experience influencing the perception of stimuli
(context)
✔✔Define reconstual - ✔✔our perception of an image can change based on suggestion
✔✔what is the ventral visual stream? - ✔✔moves to the temporal lobe, tells us what it is
✔✔what is the dorsal visual stream? - ✔✔moves to the parietal lobe, tells us where it is
✔✔What is the fusiform face area? - ✔✔The FFA is the location that is activated when
we see faces.
✔✔What is the other-race effect? - ✔✔poorer recognition of other-race than own-race
faces
exposure to other races before age 12 can mitigate this (critical period)
✔✔What is the expertise hypothesis? - ✔✔faces aren't particularly special, the FFA
responds to anything greatly familiar to a person, including faces. (eg. a car expert
when they see a car)
, ✔✔What is the Parahippacampal place area - ✔✔The PPA is the location of the brain
activated when we see places.
✔✔What is wishful seeing? - ✔✔people subconsciously alter their perception toward
their preferences
✔✔How does meaning of our work affect our attention? - ✔✔The more meaningful we
find a task, the easier we can pay attention
✔✔How does difficulty affect our attention? - ✔✔If a task is too hard or too easy it gets
harder to pay attention, the difficulty level has to be "just right"
✔✔What is attention? - ✔✔a concentration or focusing of mental activity and resources
✔✔How does attention relate to consciousness? - ✔✔Attention refers to the mental
processes that set priorities for mental functioning, it determines the content of
consciousness
✔✔What is the filter theory of attention? - ✔✔our brains filter through sensory
information so only one information source at a time is given awareness and transferred
to working memory
✔✔What is change blindness? - ✔✔failing to notice changes in the environment
✔✔What is inattentional blindness? - ✔✔failing to see visible objects when our attention
is directed elsewhere
✔✔What is an attentional blink? - ✔✔Second of two stimuli cannot be identified when it
closely follows (100-500ms) the first
✔✔disjunctive vs conjunctive search - ✔✔disjunctive search is looking for what "pops
out," so you look through everything in parallel
conjunctive search takes more time because the items are similar at first glance, serial
search
✔✔What is feature integration theory? - ✔✔Suggests that there are two stages when
perceiving objects: the pre-attentive stage (low level features) and the focused attention
stage (conjunctive)
✔✔exogenous vs endogenous attention - ✔✔exogenous: controlled by lower brain
functions (automatic)
endogenous: controlled by executive systems and the frontal lobe (voluntary)
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔What is top-down processing? - ✔✔Experience influencing the perception of stimuli
(context)
✔✔Define reconstual - ✔✔our perception of an image can change based on suggestion
✔✔what is the ventral visual stream? - ✔✔moves to the temporal lobe, tells us what it is
✔✔what is the dorsal visual stream? - ✔✔moves to the parietal lobe, tells us where it is
✔✔What is the fusiform face area? - ✔✔The FFA is the location that is activated when
we see faces.
✔✔What is the other-race effect? - ✔✔poorer recognition of other-race than own-race
faces
exposure to other races before age 12 can mitigate this (critical period)
✔✔What is the expertise hypothesis? - ✔✔faces aren't particularly special, the FFA
responds to anything greatly familiar to a person, including faces. (eg. a car expert
when they see a car)
, ✔✔What is the Parahippacampal place area - ✔✔The PPA is the location of the brain
activated when we see places.
✔✔What is wishful seeing? - ✔✔people subconsciously alter their perception toward
their preferences
✔✔How does meaning of our work affect our attention? - ✔✔The more meaningful we
find a task, the easier we can pay attention
✔✔How does difficulty affect our attention? - ✔✔If a task is too hard or too easy it gets
harder to pay attention, the difficulty level has to be "just right"
✔✔What is attention? - ✔✔a concentration or focusing of mental activity and resources
✔✔How does attention relate to consciousness? - ✔✔Attention refers to the mental
processes that set priorities for mental functioning, it determines the content of
consciousness
✔✔What is the filter theory of attention? - ✔✔our brains filter through sensory
information so only one information source at a time is given awareness and transferred
to working memory
✔✔What is change blindness? - ✔✔failing to notice changes in the environment
✔✔What is inattentional blindness? - ✔✔failing to see visible objects when our attention
is directed elsewhere
✔✔What is an attentional blink? - ✔✔Second of two stimuli cannot be identified when it
closely follows (100-500ms) the first
✔✔disjunctive vs conjunctive search - ✔✔disjunctive search is looking for what "pops
out," so you look through everything in parallel
conjunctive search takes more time because the items are similar at first glance, serial
search
✔✔What is feature integration theory? - ✔✔Suggests that there are two stages when
perceiving objects: the pre-attentive stage (low level features) and the focused attention
stage (conjunctive)
✔✔exogenous vs endogenous attention - ✔✔exogenous: controlled by lower brain
functions (automatic)
endogenous: controlled by executive systems and the frontal lobe (voluntary)
