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TO THE STUDENT xix Perception MODULE 17 279PSYCHOLOGY IN THE REAL WORLDMotion Perception Our ability to perceive motion is just as critical for survival as is our ability to perceive depth. In many ways, motion perception is the more complex task. To perceive motion accurately, you must interpret a large number of variables rapidly. Not only does the object move, but so does your body. Swing your head from side to side and you will see a great deal of motion%u2014motion that you correctly conclude is a result of head movement rather than object movement. Sometimes, however, our conclusions are wrong, and we perceive motion when there is none. These mistakes are not all bad. For example, we rely on this illusion of movement to make movies move . When we watch a film, we are able to see motion from a rapidly projected (24 images per second) series of slightly varying still images. This illusion is called stroboscopic motion %u2014an outcome you%u2019ve used to your advantage if you%u2019ve ever created a flip movie, such as the one that we%u2019ve begun in Figure 17.8. Stroboscopic motion also helps us not be distracted when we blink. A blink lasts a tenth of a second and happens an amazing 15,000 times a day. 6 Yet we don%u2019t notice these interruptions (unless we are thinking about them) because stroboscopic motion allows our vision to seem continuous and unobstructed. A second, equally handy example of an apparent motion effect is the phi phenomenon, which creates the illusion of movement when nonmoving lights are turned on and off in sequence. Highway construction sites often use the phi phenomenon to make the arrows on signs appear to move, directing motorists to merge. Computerized marquee signs and even strings of holiday lights also use this illusion, as do sports scoreboards. A stadium scoreboard at the University of Northern Iowa, located in my town, is programmed to display a panther, the UNI mascot, leaping across the display area. The action seems so real that it%u2019s easy to forget that all you%u2019re looking at is a bunch of tiny lights blinking on and off. THINK ABOUT . . . Psychology in the Real World 1. What are stroboscopic motion and the phi phenomenon? 2. Why do designers incorporate the phi phenomenon into lighted signs? 3. Activity: Shoot a video that illustrates two examples of the phi phenomenon in your town. If you don%u2019t have the ability to shoot video, find two examples of the phi phenomenon on the Internet. FIGURE 17.8 Movement That Isn%u2019t Movement%u2014Courtesy of Stroboscopic Motion Each of these figures differs only slightly from the ones on either side of it. This is the first step to creating stroboscopic motion: project each figure rapidly one after the other in order, and the resulting figure appears to dance. MAKE IT STICK! 1. Briefly describe how three monocular depth cues operate. Include the name of the cue and an explanation of how the cue produces a sense of an object being closer or farther away. 2. When do people develop depth perception?a. At about age 4, when they start to develop perceptual sets b. At birth or in early infancy c. When the visual cortex of the brain fully develops during early adolescence d. When they are capable of developing gestalts 3. ____________ depth cues rely on the use of one eye; ____________ depth cues rely on the use of both eyes. Adolescence MODULE 11 191guiding principle in their lives, and 80 percent rated family relationships as %u201cimportant.%u201d 52 This is good because a growing number of children will remain at least partially dependent on their parents for financial support and housing until their mid-twenties, a phase called emerging adulthood, which we will explore in the next module. 53 %u2013 55 50%403020100Percentagereporting%u201chigh-qualityrelationship%u201dwith parentsYear in schoolGr.6 Gr.7 Gr.8 Gr.9 Gr.10MaleFemaleFIGURE 11.3 Changes in Parent%u2013Child Relationships Over Time A large survey of Canadian families shows that there is less warmth, and presumably more distance, in parent%u2013child interactions as children grow older. (Data from Pepler & Craig, 2012.) A few decades ago, young people needed to find jobs as soon as they finished schooling to ensure that they had health insurance. But if your parents have health insurance, you now can remain on their health care plan until the age of 26. That gives teens and young adults more time to figure things out. Apply psychological research to your everyday world by diving into the Psychology in the Real World boxes. Be your best! Pick up tips on how to live and work at your optimal performance level by finding the Positive Psychology Icons throughout the text. This icon highlights content related to this significant and fascinating area of psychology. CONNECT the text material with your everyday life! Cartoon Charlieand Randy appear in the margins throughout to connect topics in psychology to the broader world. Information Processing MODULE 18 297 Here%u2019s your eighth tip for becoming a successful encoder: you can encode more efficiently if you take a few moments to organize your information first . Organizing information into meaningful units is called chunking . You can encode many more letters if they are organized into meaningful words and sentences than you can if they are just randomly grouped ( Figure 18.7). Organizing information into a hierarchy is another effective encoding technique. Hierarchies are organizational systems that focus on the relationships between pieces of information. The most familiar example of a hierarchical organization is an outline, which you%u2019ve probably created for papers or other assignments. By indenting subpoints beneath main points, you get a sense of how each piece of information relates to the rest of the information. Chemistry%u2019s periodic table of elements is another example of hierarchical organization. It is so central to understanding chemistry that it hangs on the wall of every chemistry classroom and is printed inside the cover of every chemistry textbook. Each row and column is associated with specific meaning to help the user know how the elements relate to one another. Tips for Becoming a Better Encoder The goal of positive psychology is to achieve optimal human functioning. A good memory helps you function better and make fewer mistakes in virtually every aspect of day-to-day life. One way to think of encoding is to consider whether your strategy is shallowor deep. Deep encoding involves processing information in a way that is rich and multifaceted. Adding emotion, imagery, personal connections, and organization are all ways to encode more deeply. Deep encoding is effective encoding, so strive to create as much depth as you can when you are faced with memory tasks. Avoid shallow encoding as you review and master the tips on becoming a better encoder. Almost everyone can improve their memory skills by applying the principles of encoding that we have discussed in this module. Here, in one place, are the eight encoding tips that have been presented in this module. Think about each one in relation to your own study skills. Are there a couple you can focus on to improve your memory and become a better student? 1. Rehearse. The more time you invest in rehearsing, and especially testing yourself over information you%u2019re trying to learn, the more effective your memory is going to be. 2. Overlearn. Continue to rehearse academic information even after you think you have it mastered. 3. Overcome the serial position effect. Devote extra rehearsal time to the middle of lists you must memorize. 4. Benefit from the spacing effect. If you cram all your studying into one long session the night before an exam, you will not encode the information as effectively as you would if you spaced your study time fairly evenly throughout the unit. 5. Test yourself. Forcing yourself to recall answers is one of the most effective ways to study. chunking Organizing information into meaningful units. ROW 1 RNN TYW KTYU ACDF OAHNSOO RTA UO UCR OYOROW 2 ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOUFIGURE 18.7 Effectiveness of Chunking Give yourself 10 seconds to learn the letters in row 1. How well did you do? Now try row 2. Did you do any better? The identical letters appear in both rows, but they are easier to encode if they are chunked, or organized into meaningful units%u2014in this case, into words and then into a meaningful sentence. %u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.