Module 17 REVIEW

• 17-1 How do our expectations, contexts, motivation, and emotions influence our perceptions?

• Perceptual set is a mental predisposition that functions as a lens through which we perceive the world.
• Our learned concepts (schemas) prime us to organize and interpret ambiguous stimuli in certain ways.
• Our motivation, as well as our physical and emotional context, can create expectations and color our interpretation of events and behaviors.

• 17-2 What are the claims of ESP, and what have most research psychologists concluded after putting these claims to the test?

• Parapsychology is the study of paranormal phenomena, including extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis.
• The three most testable forms of ESP are telepathy (mind-to-mind communication), clairvoyance (perceiving remote events), and precognition (perceiving future events).
• Skeptics argue that (1) to believe in ESP, you must believe the brain is capable of perceiving without sensory input, and (2) researchers have been unable to replicate ESP phenomena under controlled conditions.

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Tonya’s psychology teacher played some backwards music to the class, and they were not able to make out any words or phrases in the selection. When the teacher told them to listen for the words “The rat ate the cat” when she played it again, most of the class now heard the words. Which principle explains this experience?
   1. A context effect
   2. Perceptual set
   3. Extrasensory perception
   4. Selective attention
   5. Weber’s law
2. On a warm summer day, Kimberly tells her brother to put on a suit. Kimberly’s brother knows to put on a swimsuit instead of a business suit because of
   1. context.
   2. priming.
   3. sensory adaptation.
   4. bottom-up processing.
   5. clairvoyance.
3. A famous psychic is a YouTube sensation because of his ability to read the minds of people in the audience at his shows. Which type of psychic power would he claim?
   1. Precognition
   2. Psychokinesis
   3. Clairvoyance
   4. Telepathy
   5. Bottom-up processing

Practice FRQs

1. Martha is convinced she has extrasensory perception. Explain the specific abilities Martha would display if she had each of the following forms of ESP:
   • Telepathy
   • Clairvoyance
   • Precognition

   Then briefly explain why you should doubt her claims.

Answer

1 point: Telepathy: Martha would be able to use mind-to-mind communication. For example, she may know what someone in another room is thinking. Page 172

1 point: Clairvoyance: Martha would be able to perceive things happening at a distance. For example, she may know that her cousin who lives in another state has just burned her hand on the oven. Page 172

1 point: Precognition: Martha would be able to see future events happen. For example, she may know that a pop quiz will take place next week. Page 172

1 point: There has never been a conclusive scientific demonstration of extrasensory ability. Page 173

2. David has just witnessed a robbery at his bank. Explain how the following can affect his perceptions of the robbery:
   • Context effects
   • Emotions
   • Motivations

(3 points)