Exam 4: Perceiving and Believing

In the text, the author uses the example of contact lenses to describe how different people have differing interpretations of external stimuli.The contact lenses act as a

"The Great Wall of China is more than 1,500 miles long" is an example of a__________.

Because _______play such an important role in our exchange and accumulation of information about the world, it is important that they be as accurate and complete as possible.

Your total collection of beliefs constitutes your _________, the guiding beacon you use to chart the course of your personal existence.

It is tempting to think that you are like a human camera taking in everything around you.However, you are, in fact, an active participant who is always trying to understand the sensations you are encountering.

"The actual building of roads devoted to motor cars is not for the near future in spite of many rumors to that effect" is an example of_________.

Describing the world in ways that are based on factual information yet going beyond this information to make statements about what is not currently known is referred to as judging.

What do we call the process by which we describe the world in ways that are based on factual information yet go beyond this information to make statements about what is currently known?

At almost every waking moment of your life, your senses are being bombarded by a tremendous number of stimuli: images to see, noises to hear, odors to smell, textures to feel, and flavors to taste.

The author offers us five accounts of the assassination of Malcolm X.Notice that each account is considerably different.How do you account for the differences between the reports? What details of the events has each writer selected to focus on?

When we go shopping, we focus on the items we are looking for.Walking down the street, we tend to notice certain kinds of people or events while completely ignoring others.We call this automatic process perception.Which of the following is not an element of perception?

We are all ___________in perceiving our world.

Having an accurate picture of the world depends on your ability to evaluate how certain your beliefs are.Therefore, it is crucial that you distinguish inferences from facts and then endeavor to act only on those bits of information that you know are facts.

Dublin University student Shane Fitzgerald said if he had not come forward about his phony quote attributed to French composer Maurice Jarre, "it would have become another example where, once anything is printed enough times in the media without challenge, it becomes fact." Using the information on perceptions and inferences from this chapter, explain why this happens.

Factual reports represent an interpretation, evaluation, conclusion, or prediction about the nature of the world.

What do we call the process by which we describe the world in ways that express an evaluation based on certain criteria?

The credibility of a judgment depends on the criteria used to make the judgment and the evidence or reasons that support the criteria.

Your perceptions of the world are not dramatically influenced by your past experiences.

Keeping in mind that your perceptions color your interpretations of everything that occurs around you, it is important to recognize the influence of your perceptions.For that reason, you must clarify and validate your perceptions by doing what?

In addition to factual reports, your descriptions of the world may contain inferences based on factual information.Facts and inferences are designed to help you figure out what is actually happening; the purpose of ___________is to express your evaluation about what is happening.