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CBSE · Class 11 · Psychology

Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes

Standard difficulty · 20 questions · 40 marks · Time: 36 minutes

Name: Date: Score: ____ / 40

Show your working for Sections B and C. Answers are on the last page — try every question first!

Section A — Choose the correct answer8 × 1 = 8 marks
1.
The minimum value of a stimulus needed for it to be noticed is the:
  1. span of attention
  2. figure-ground
  3. difference threshold
  4. absolute threshold
2.
What does the ears register?
  1. hearing
  2. the position and movement of body parts
  3. the body’s balance and orientation
  4. touch, warmth, cold and pain
3.
Kabir hears their own name across a noisy dining hall. Which kind of attention is this?
  1. perceptual constancy
  2. divided attention
  3. sustained attention
  4. selective attention
4.
Isha sees three corner angles as a whole triangle. Which Gestalt principle is at work?
  1. closure
  2. continuity
  3. surroundedness
  4. similarity
5.
Your eyes turn inward as a finger comes close to your nose. Which depth cue is this?
  1. texture gradient
  2. relative size
  3. motion parallax
  4. convergence
6.
A plate seen from the side still looks round. What explains this?
  1. the Müller-Lyer illusion
  2. the vertical-horizontal illusion
  3. shape constancy
  4. brightness constancy
7.
Who proposed filter theory?
  1. Wundt
  2. Miller
  3. Broadbent
  4. Johnston and Heinz
8.
Miller put the span of attention at seven plus or minus two. Suppose a list of 12 unrelated digits is flashed once. Is it within that span?
  1. yes: any list under 15 fits
  2. yes: 12 lies between 5 and 9
  3. no: 12 lies outside 5 to 9
  4. no: only 7 items ever fit
Section B — Short answer8 × 2 = 16 marks
9.
What is sensation?
10.
Is each depth cue monocular or binocular? (a) convergence (b) retinal disparity
11.
Name the Gestalt principle in each case. (a) Zoya sees two smooth crossing lines, not four lines meeting at a point. (b) Ananya sees three corner angles as a whole triangle.
12.
Name the kind of attention in each case. (a) Dev hears their own name across a noisy dining hall. (b) Vikram talks to a friend while tying shoelaces without thinking.
13.
Is each an external or internal factor in selective attention? (a) its novelty (b) its motion
14.
What explains each? (a) A friend walking towards you does not seem to grow bigger. (b) A plate seen from the side still looks round.
15.
Who proposed each? (a) the span of attention as seven plus or minus two (b) filter-attenuation theory
16.
Suppose plain water first tastes sweet after 5 grains of sugar, and tastes sweeter than before only after 9 more grains. What do the 5 and the 9 grains show, and how many grains are there in all?
Section C — Word problems4 × 4 = 16 marks
17.
Explain the three theories of selective attention.
18.
Match each with its job: (a) the ears (b) the eyes (c) the tongue. Choose from: hearing; vision; taste.
19.
Ananya hums a song while cycling on a familiar road. (a) Which concept does this show? (b) Explain your answer.
20.
For each scene, name the depth cue, say whether it is monocular or binocular, and explain how it shows distance: (a) Of two cars expected to be the same size, the smaller-looking one seems farther. (b) Each eye gets a slightly different image of a nearby pen.
AmbifulWorksheets
Practice that never repeats
CBSE · Class 11 · Psychology

Answer key

Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual Processes · AW-11PY-SAP-2026-V1 · For parents — fold back or tear off before handing the sheet to your child.

QAnswerWorking
1(d) absolute threshold—
2(a) hearing—
3(d) selective attention—
4(a) closure—
5(d) convergence—
6(c) shape constancy—
7(c) Broadbent—
8(c) no: 12 lies outside 5 to 97 − 2 = 5 and 7 + 2 = 9
9The initial experience of a stimulus registered by a sense organ, such as hard, warm, loud or blue.—
10(a) binocular (b) binocular—
11(a) continuity (b) closure—
12(a) selective attention (b) divided attention—
13(a) external (b) external—
14(a) size constancy (b) shape constancy—
15(a) Miller (b) Treisman—
165 grains: the absolute threshold; 9 grains: the difference threshold; 14 grains in all5 + 9
17Filter theory (Broadbent): one stimulus passes the filter, others are blocked. Filter-attenuation theory (Treisman): others are weakened, so relevant ones like your name slip through. Multimode theory (Johnston and Heinz): selection at three stages, needing more effort later.—
18(a) hearing (b) vision (c) taste—
19(a) divided attention (b) Divided attention: well-practised tasks run almost automatically, so attention is shared.—
20(a) relative size, monocular (b) retinal disparity, binocular; explanations as in the chapter—