NIOS Class 12 Psychology Chapter 6 Answers
INTEXT QUESTIONS 6.1
1. The process of selection of few/certain stimuli over the others is called___
Ans: Attention
2. ____ _____in this state there is a complete physiological and mental preparedness to receive information.
Ans: Alerting function
3. Nature of attention includes ____ and ___.
Ans: Fringe and focus
4. There are two types of attention____ and ___.
Ans: Sustained and selective
5. The term ____ ____ ____was coined by the English scientist Colin Cherry in 1953.
Ans: Cocktail party effect
INTEXT QUESTIONS 6.2
Complete the sentences given below
1. Internal factors of attention are also called___ factors.
Ans: Physical
2. The internal factors that can draw our attention are:___, ____ and_____.
Ans: Need, interest and emotional state
3. During festivals, the movement of lights on shops is an example of__ factor of attention.
Ans: Movement
4. If we suddenly pay attention to the electricity when there is a sudden power breakdown, it is an example. of_____ factor of attention.
Ans: Change
INTEXT QUESTIONS 6.3
Match the correct statements:
| 1. We perceive objects as whole rather than their parts. | A. Proximity |
| 2. We are more likely to view the lines crossing over instead of as independent subsets. | B. Closure |
| 3. Objects similar to one another and have similar characteristics are perceived as a group. | C. Symmetry |
| 4. Objects that are close together in space are perceived as belonging together or as a group. | D. Continuity |
| 5. Symmetrical areas tend to be seen as figures against asymmetrical backgrounds. | E. Similarity |
Ans:
1. B
2. D
3. E
4. A
5. C
INTEXT QUESTIONS 6.4
Answer true or false:-
1. Depth perception is the ability tosee the world in three dimensions.
Ans: True
2. There are two types of cues for depth perception: overt and covert.
Ans: False
3. Other names for the two types of cues are physiological and psychological cues.
Ans: True
4. We perceive the world in three dimensions even though the sensation is in two dimensions.
Ans: True
INTEXT QUESTIONS 6.5
Answer with one or two words:-
1. Why does our experience of brightness not change despite changes in the amount of reflected light reaching our eyes?
Ans: Brightness constancy
2. The image of a coin looks different from every angle, yet we perceive it as flat and round. Why does it happen? Give reasons.
Ans: Shape constancy
3. A red apple looks the same bright red even if it is in a dark room; what is the psychological phenomenon behind it?
Ans: Brightness constancy
INTEXT QUESTIONS 6.6
Fill in the gaps:
1. Some perceptual illusions are _____and found in all individuals. For example, the rail tracks appear to be converging to all of us.
Ans: Universal
2. Some other illusions seem to vary from individual to individual; these are called ______ illusions.
Ans: Personal
3. When we see moving pictures in a cinema show, we are influenced by this kind of illusion. This is called the ___- ____.
Ans: Phi-Phenomena
TERMINAL QUESTIONS
1. Distinguish between selective and sustained attention.
Ans:
- Selective attention is concerned mainly with the selection of a limited number of stimuli or objects from a large number of stimuli. It means that at any moment, we focus our awareness only on a limited aspect of all that we are capable of experiencing.
- Sustained attention is concerned with concentration. It refers to our ability to maintain attention on an object or event for longer durations. It is also known as “vigilance,” as discussed above. Sometimes people have to concentrate on a particular task for many hours. Air traffic controllers and radar readers provide us with good examples of this phenomenon.
2. Enumerate the laws of perceptual organization.
Ans:
- According to Gestalt laws of Organization, we perceive different stimuli not as discrete elements, but as an organised “whole” that carries a definite form.
- The Gestalt psychologists also indicate that the cerebral processes are always oriented towards the perception of a good figure or pragnanz. That is the reason why we perceive everything in an organised form.
3. The retinal image of the world is only two-dimensional- yet why do we perceive the world in three dimensions? Explain.
Ans: While the images of objects projected onto our retina are flat and two-dimensional (left, right, up, down), we still perceive three dimensions in space. The process of viewing the world in three dimensions is called distance or depth perception. Depth perception is important in our daily lives. In perceiving depth, we depend on two main sources of information, called cues. One is called binocular cues because they require both eyes. Another is called monocular cues, because they allow us to perceive depth with just one eye.
4. What is perceptual constancy? Explain with your own examples.
Ans: Perceptual constancy is a phenomenon in which physical objects are perceived as unvarying and consistent despite changes in their appearance or in the physical environment. Perception of the objects as relatively stable in spite of changes in the stimulation of sensory receptors is called perceptual constancy. It leads us to view objects as having an unvarying size, shape, color, and brightness, even if the image on our retina varies. For example, despite the varying images on the retina as the aircraft approaches, flies overhead, and disappears, we do not perceive the airplane as changing in shape.
5. Describe any three illusions.
Ans: The misperceptions resulting from the misinterpretation of information received by our sensory organs are generally known as illusions.
- Apparent Movement Illusion: This illusion is experienced when some motionless pictures are projected one after another at an appropriate rate. This illusion is referred to as “phi-phenomenon”. When we see moving pictures in a cinema show, we are influenced by this kind of illusion. The succession of flickering electrical lights also generates this illusion. For the experience of this illusion, Max Wertheimer had reported the presence of an appropriate level of brightness, size, spatial gap, and temporal contiguity of different lights.
- Illusion of Vertical and Horizontal Lines: Although both lines are equal, we perceive the vertical line as longer than the horizontal line.
- The Muller-Lyer Illusion: Line A is perceived as shorter than line B, although both lines are equal. This illusion is experienced even by children, and some studies suggest that even animals experience this.
6. Differentiate between sensation and perception.
Ans: Sensation is the activation of sensory receptors by environmental stimuli. The process by which we recognise, interpret, or give meaning to the information provided by sense organs is called perception. Sensation is the activation of the sense organs by a source of physical energy, while perception is the organization, interpretation, analysis, and integration of stimuli carried out by the sense organs and brain.
7. What are the different internal and external factors affecting selective attention
Ans: Several factors influence selective attention. They are generally classified as “external” and “internal” factors.
External factors / Outer / Physical factors
- a. Movement: A moving object draws our attention more easily than a stationary object.
- b. Intensity: More intense light, sound, or smell draws our attention more easily than a less intense one.
- c. Novelty: New kinds of objects draw our attention quickly.
- d. Size: A bigger or a smaller object draws the attention of people more easily than an average-sized object.
- e. Change: Any change in our environment draws our attention quickly.
- f. Repetition: When a stimulus is presented repeatedly, our attention is drawn.
- g. Clarity: An object or sound that can be experienced clearly draws our attention more than stimuli that are not clear.
- h. Colours: Colourful objects draw our attention more easily than black or white objects.
- i. Contrast: An object that is strikingly different from its background draws our attention.
Internal Factors / Psychological Factors
- a. Need: A need would be related to our biological or psychosocial needs. When we are hungry, we notice even a faint smell of food, or when we are hot and thirsty, our attention is drawn towards water or a cold beverage.
- b. Interest: Objects or events, which appear interesting, are readily attended to by individuals.
- c. Emotional state: Attention is affected during an emotional state.
8. What were the contributions of the Gestalt psychologists?
Ans: Laws of Perceptual Organization, Known as Gestalt laws of Organization, these principles were put forth in the early 1900s by a group of German psychologists who studied patterns, or gestalts. Prominent among them are Köhler, Koffka, and Wertheimer. Gestalt means a regular figure or a form. According to Gestalt psychologists, we perceive different stimuli not as discrete elements, but as an organised “whole” that carries a definite form.
The Gestalt psychologists also indicate that the cerebral processes are always oriented towards the perception of a good figure or pragnanz. That is the reason why we perceive everything in an organised form.
9. Explain ESP. Why do many psychologists reject the existence of ESP?
Ans: Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) refers to such abilities of people that do not include the usual sensory organs, but an abstract sixth sense. Such abilities include knowing something ordinary people cannot know, communicating with people who are not in the immediate surroundings, knowing about events happening in distant places ,or about the future events that are going to take place.
However, due to the difficulty of observing this procedure objectively, researchers feel that this concept cannot be studied using the traditional scientific methods and that the experimental findings in this area are unreliable and inaccurate. Thus, most psychologists reject the existence of ESP.
10. While perceiving depth, what are the two main sources of information we depend upon?
Ans: In perceiving depth, we depend on two main sources of information, called cues. One is called binocular cues because they require both eyes. Another is called monocular cues, because
they allow us to perceive depth with just one eye.
- Monocular Cues (Psychological Cues): Monocular cues of depth perception are effective when the objects are viewed with only one eye. These cues are often used by artists to induce depth in two-dimensional paintings. Hence, they are also known as pictorial cues.
- Binocular Cues (Physiological Cues): Some important cues to depth perception in three-dimensional spaces are provided by both eyes. Three of these are:
- Retinal Or Binocular Disparity: Retinal disparity occurs because the two eyes have different locations in our head. They are separated from each other horizontally by a distance of about 6.5 centimetres. Because of this distance, the image formed on the retina of each eye of the same object is slightly different. This difference between the two images is called retinal disparity.
- Convergence: When we see a nearby object, our eyes converge inward to bring the image to the fovea of each eye. A group of muscles sends messages to the brain regarding the degree to which the eyes are turning inward, and these messages are interpreted as cues to the perception of depth. The degree of convergence decreases as the object moves further away from the observer.
- Accommodation: Accommodation refers to the process by which we focus the image on the retina with the help of the ciliary muscle. These muscles change the thickness of the lens of the eye. If the object gets away (more than 2 meters), the muscle is relaxed, but as the object moves nearer, the muscle contracts and the thickness of the lens increases. The degree of contraction of the muscle is sent to the brain, which provides the cue for distance.
Additional Study Materials
- NIOS Class 12 Psychology Syllabus Bifurcation
- NIOS Class 12 Sample Question Paper
- Understanding Psychology
- Bases of Human Behaviour
- Methods of Psychological Enquiry-I
- Methods of Psychological Enquiry-II
