©THEBRIGHT EXAM STUDY SOLUTIONS 8/22/2024 12:54 PM
MCAT Bros Psych/Soc Exam Questions
And Correct Answers
Retinal disparity - answer✔✔a binocular cue for perceiving depth, eyes are 2.5 inches apart
convergence - answer✔✔A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes
converge inward when looking at an object. Eye muscles are relaxed for things far away but they
contract for things close to us.
relative size - answer✔✔The monocular cue for perceiving object forms. If an object seems
larger, it is probably closer, and if an object is smaller, it is probably distant.
Interposition - answer✔✔monocular cue for depth perception; if one object partially blocks our
view of another object, we perceive it as closer
relative height - answer✔✔a monocular cue for perceiving depth; objects higher in our field of
vision are perceived as farther away
shading and contour - answer✔✔monocular cue using light and shadows to perceive form and
depth
motion parallax - answer✔✔Monocular cue; the perception of motion of objects in which close
objects appear to move more quickly than objects that are farther away
constancy - answer✔✔monocular cue; the tendency to perceive certain objects in the same way
regardless of changing angle, distance, or lighting
size constancy - answer✔✔the tendency to interpret an object as always being the same actual
size, regardless of its distance
shape constancy - answer✔✔the tendency to interpret the shape of an object as being constant,
even when its shape changes on the retina
color constancy - answer✔✔perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if
changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object
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hearing adaptation of inner ear muscle - answer✔✔when there's a lot of noise, the inner ear
muscle contracts to dampen vibrations in the inner ear and protect the ear drum
Proprioception - answer✔✔The cumulative sensory input to the central nervous system from all
mechanoreceptors that sense body position and limb movement.
down regulation for sight - answer✔✔when it's bright outside, pupils construct and allow less
light to enter the eye. rods and cones become saturated and desensitized to light
up regulation for light - answer✔✔when it's dark outside, pupils dilate and allow more light to
enter the eye. rods and cones are hypersensitive to light (rods much more sensitive)
just noticeable difference (JND) - answer✔✔the smallest change in the intensity of a stimulus
that we can detect
Weber's Law - answer✔✔the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion
despite variations in intensity. Predicts a linear relationship between incremental threshold and
background intensity
ΔI (JND)/I (initial intensity) = k (constant)
Absolute threshold of sensation - answer✔✔minimum intensity of stimulus needed to detect a
particular stimulus 50% of the time. the lowest level of intensity a person can detect reliably
Psychological states influencing absolute threshold of sensation - answer✔✔expectation of the
stimuli, experience with stimuli, motivation to perceive the stimuli, alertness
subliminal stimuli - answer✔✔Stimuli below absolute threshold of sensation
vestibular sense - answer✔✔the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of
balance
processed by the semicricular canals, the utricle, the saccule and the ampullae
semicircular canals (anterior, posterior, lateral) - answer✔✔three canals within the inner ear that
contain endolymph, a fluid whose direction and speed of rotation allows us to perceive what
direction our head is turning in and the strength of the rotation.
otolithic organs - answer✔✔Utricle and saccule. Detect linear acceleration and head positioning.
Calcium carbonate crystals are attached to hair cells in a viscous gel. If we go from lying down
to standing up, they move and pull on the hair cells, triggering action potentials
why do we feel dizzy? - answer✔✔endolymph in the semicircular canals doesn't stop spinning as
soon as we do so it indicates to the brain that we're moving even when we've stopped
signal detection theory - answer✔✔looks at how we make decisions under uncertain conditions,
how we discern between important stimuli and unimportant noise
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hit - answer✔✔the subject responded affirmative when a signal was present
false alarm - answer✔✔the subject perceived a signal when none was present
correct rejection - answer✔✔the subject did not respond when no signal was present
miss - answer✔✔subject did not respond when a signal was present
d' - answer✔✔strength of a signal or stimuli
c - answer✔✔strategy
conservative strategy: always say no unless you're 100% sure there is a signal present, might
miss some weaker signals
liberal strategy: always say yes, might get some false alarms
bottom-up processing - answer✔✔aka inductive reasoning
we have no preconceived cognitive constructs of the stimulus, the stimulus influences what we
perceive
top-down processing - answer✔✔aka deductive reasoning
the use of background knowledge to influence perception, theory and expectation driven
Gestalt Principles - answer✔✔laws of grouping, tries to explain how we perceive things the way
we do
similarity, pragnanz, continuity, closure, proximity, symmetry, law of common fate, law of past
experiences
similarity - answer✔✔the tendency to perceive things that look similar to each other as being
part of the same group
pragnanz - answer✔✔reality is reduced to the simplest form possible (eg Olympic rings)
proximity - answer✔✔objects that are close together are more likely to be perceived as
belonging in the same group
continuity - answer✔✔the tendency to perceive things as simply as possible with a continuous
pattern rather than with a complex, broken-up pattern
closure - answer✔✔objects grouped together are seen as a whole and the mind fills in missing
information
symmetry - answer✔✔the mind perceives objects as being formed around a center point
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law of common fate - answer✔✔Gestalt principle that things moving in the same direction
appear to be grouped together
Law of Past Experiences - answer✔✔Implies that under some circumstances visual stimuli are
categorized according to past experience.
conjunctiva - answer✔✔Delicate membrane lining the eyelids and covering the eyeball
cornea - answer✔✔The clear tissue that covers the front of the eye, the first part of the eye that
light hits
anterior chamber - answer✔✔filled with aqueous humor, gives shape to the eyeball and allows
nutrients to supply eye cells in the cornea and iris
pupil - answer✔✔the adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters
iris - answer✔✔a ring of muscle tissue that forms the colored portion of the eye around the pupil
and controls the size of the pupil opening
lens - answer✔✔the transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shape to adjust how
much light goes to the retina, uses suspensory ligaments to change shape
suspensory ligaments and ciliary muscle - answer✔✔suspensory ligaments change the shape of
the lens, both structures form the ciliary body which secretes aqueous humor
posterior chamber - answer✔✔space between the back of the iris and the front of the vitreous
chamber; filled with aqueous humor
vitreous chamber - answer✔✔the main interior cavity of the eye, filled with vitreous humor that
gives nutrients to the inside of the eyeball
retina - answer✔✔the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and
cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information
macula - answer✔✔part of the retina rich in cones and some rods
fovea - answer✔✔special part of the macula that only has cones
light hits cones directly because there is no bundles of axons to go through like in the peripheral
areas
cones - answer✔✔photoreceptors that detect color, operate under normal daylight conditions,
and allow us to focus on fine detail
rods - answer✔✔photoreceptors in the retina of the eye that respond to dim light and provide us
with black and white vision, much more sensitive to light than cones
choroid - answer✔✔middle, vascular layer of the eye, between the retina and the sclera
