Perception | AQA GCSE Psychology (8182)
Perception
- 79 questions
- 5 subtopics
- Paper 1
- Paper 1
Perception is examined in Paper 1, Cognition and behaviour.
It covers sensation, perception and depth cues, Gibson's direct theory of perception, visual illusions, Gregory's constructivist theory of perception and perceptual set and factors affecting perception.
Sample questions from Perception
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Sensation, perception and depth cues
What is the depth cue of height in plane?
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Height in plane means objects placed higher in the visual field, nearer the horizon, are seen as further away. -
Sensation, perception and depth cues
Why is retinal disparity less useful for judging the distance of far-away objects?
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Distant objects produce almost identical images in the two eyes. The disparity becomes too small for the brain to use. -
Gibson's direct theory of perception
Looking out of a moving train, why do nearby fence posts seem to rush past while distant hills barely move?
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The fence posts rush past because of motion parallax. Close objects cross the visual field quickly, while far objects cross it slowly. -
Gibson's direct theory of perception
Give one strength of Gibson's direct theory.
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Gibson's theory explains why perception is usually fast and accurate in the real world. Quick, direct perception would have helped our ancestors to survive. -
Visual illusions
Describe the Ponzo illusion.
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The Ponzo illusion shows two identical horizontal lines placed between two lines that converge, like railway tracks. The upper line looks longer than the lower one. -
Visual illusions
Why do people appear to change size in the Ames Room?
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The brain assumes the room is rectangular, based on past experience. One corner is actually much further away, so size constancy is misapplied. -
Gregory's constructivist theory of perception
How does the Necker cube support Gregory's idea of hypothesis testing?
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The Necker cube offers two equally good hypotheses about which face is at the front. The brain keeps switching between them because neither can be confirmed. -
Gregory's constructivist theory of perception
Why is the evidence from visual illusions a weakness for Gregory's theory?
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Most illusions are flat, artificial images viewed briefly in a laboratory. Everyday scenes give far richer information, so illusions may exaggerate how much inference is needed.
The 5 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Sensation, perception and depth cues | The difference between sensation and perception, the monocular cues of height in plane, relative size, occlusion and linear perspective, and retinal disparity, convergence and size constancy. | 16 |
| Gibson's direct theory of perception | Bottom-up processing, the optic array and motion parallax, the visual cliff study and the nature side of the debate, and the problem visual illusions pose for the theory. | 16 |
| Visual illusions | Ambiguity, misinterpreted depth cues, fiction and size constancy as explanations, and the Ponzo, Müller-Lyer, Rubin's vase, Ames Room, Kanizsa triangle and Necker cube illusions. | 16 |
| Gregory's constructivist theory of perception | Top-down processing, perceptual inference and hypotheses, the evidence from illusions and cross-cultural research, and how the theory compares with Gibson's. | 15 |
| Perceptual set and factors affecting perception | Perceptual set and the effects of culture, emotion, motivation and expectation, with Gilchrist and Nesberg's hunger study and Bruner and Minturn's ambiguous figure study. | 16 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA GCSE Psychology Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 619 questions with their answers.