NCERT Class 11 Psychology Chapter 4 Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes

NCERT Class 11 Psychology Chapter 4 Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes Solutions to each chapter is provided in the list so that you can easily browse through different chapters NCERT Class 11 Psychology Chapter 4 Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes Notes and select need one. NCERT Class 11 Psychology Chapter 4 Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes Question Answers Download PDF. CBSE Class 11 Psychology Texbook Solutions.

NCERT Class 11 Psychology Chapter 4 Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes

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Also, you can read the NCERT book online in these sections Solutions by Expert Teachers as per Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Book guidelines. CBSE Class 11 Psychology Textual Solutions are part of All Subject Solutions. Here we have given NCERT Class 11 Psychology Chapter 4 Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes Notes, CBSE Class 11 Psychology in English Medium Textbook Solutions for All Chapters, You can practice these here.

Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes

Chapter: 4

1. Explain the functional limitations of sense organs.

Ans: The functional limitations of sense organs are:

(i) Limited Range of Stimulation: The functional limitations of sense organs of human beings refer to their limited range of stimulation. In order to be noticed, a stimulus has to be of an optimal intensity and magnitude. For example, eyes cannot perceive very dim or extremely bright light, and ears cannot detect sounds that are either too faint or too loud. This applies to all sense organs.

(ii) Absolute Threshold (AL): Absolute threshold is the smallest level of energy required by an external stimulus to be detectable by the human senses, including vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch. It is more precisely defined as the degree of intensity of a stimulus necessary to correctly detect that stimulus 50% of the time. It can also apply to any stimulus that can be detected by the human senses, including sound, touch, taste, sight, and smell. For example, adding sugar granules to water might not make it taste sweet immediately. However, after a certain number of granules, the sweetness becomes noticeable. This point is the absolute threshold of sweetness. 

(iii) Difference Threshold (DL): The difference threshold refers to the smallest change to something that can be detected 50% of the time. For instance, after experiencing sweetness from the first few granules of sugar, you may wonder how many more granules are required to notice a difference in the level of sweetness.  For example Suppose you are holding a 1 kg weight in one hand. If someone adds 10 grams, you might not notice the difference. However, if 50 grams are added, you may start to feel that the weight has increased.

2. Define attention. Explain its properties. 

Ans: Attention is a process through which we select certain information by filtering out many others that appear to be irrelevant at a given moment of time. Activation, concentration, and search are important properties of attention.

The properties of attention are:

(i) Selection: Attention is selective, meaning we focus on certain stimuli while ignoring others.

(ii) Alertness: It alludes to the person’s status to manage upgrade that they experience.

(iii) Concentration: Concentration is an attentional process that involves the ability to focus on the task at hand while ignoring distractions. Cognitive research shows that it is vital for success in any field of skilled performance.

(iv) Search: It takes place when an observer looks for a specific subset of objects among a set of objects.

3. State the determinants of selective attention. How does selective attention differ from sustained attention? 

Ans: The determinants of selective attention are the following:

(i) The external factors: External factors Factors which are present outside the stimuli or situation refer to external factors. These can also be called as objective factors. These are the features of stimuli such as size, intensity, shape, etc. 

(ii) The internal factors: Internal factors such as mood, hunger, motivation, or personality can draw attention to one topic, hold it there, or release it. These are present within the individual and can be divided into motivational factors and cognitive factors. 

Difference Between Selective Attention and Sustained Attention:

4. What is the main proposition of Gestalt psychologists with respect to perception of the visual field? 

Ans: The main proposition of Gestalt psychologists with respect to perception of the visual field is that humans perceive different stimuli as an organised “whole”, which carries a definite form. His means that when we perceive objects, we do not merely see individual components but rather organize them into meaningful wholes based on certain principles.

5. How does perception of space take place? 

Ans: Perception of space occurs through visual, auditory, and tactile cues, allowing us to judge depth, distance, and size. Space is perceived as a three-dimensional entity because of the ability of the retina to convert a two-dimensional vision into a three-dimensional perception. Spatial attributes of objects like size, shape and direction, and the distance between objects also contribute towards the perception of space. Space perception provides cues, such as depth and distance, that are important for movement and orientation to the environment.

6. What are the monocular cues of depth perception? Explain the role of binocular cues in the perception of depth? 

Ans: Monocular cues refer to the ways that each of your eyes takes in visual information that’s used to judge: distance, depth, three-dimensional space. Monocular vision grants a wide field of view and enhanced peripheral vision which help prey spot predators.  

One of the reasons that binocular vision is so important is that it allows us to perceive depth and relationships between objects. Binocular depth cues are the images taken in by both eyes to give depth perception, or stereopsis. Binocular cues create a three-dimensional image of the world one views. There are two types of binocular depth cues: convergence and retinal disparity.

Role of Binocular Cues in Depth Perception:

(i) Retinal Disparity: Retinal disparity is the fact that the left and right fields of vision provide slightly different visual images when focusing on a single object.

(ii) Convergence: When focusing on nearby objects, our eyes turn inward (converge). The brain interprets the degree of convergence to estimate depth, with greater convergence indicating closer objects.

7. Why do illusions occur? 

Ans: Illusions occur due to misinterpretations of sensory information by the brain. The brain creates your perception of the world. This means that sometimes your brain fills in gaps when there is incomplete information, or creates an image that isn’t even there. For example, exploit visual cues, while cognitive illusions arise from assumptions and biases in perception.

8. How do socio-cultural factors influence our perceptions?

Ans: Socio-cultural factors influence our perceptions by generating differential familiarity and salience of stimuli as well as certain habits of perception. People living in different cultural settings have varying perceptions like identification of objects and interpretation of depth. Socio-cultural factors influence development by providing it with a social context. Influenced by his/her experiences. The socio-cultural background of an individual has an impact over his/her interaction with the rest of the society.