task4题目 Reading Part:

　　Perceptual Constancy

　　How an object affects our senses depends in part on external conditions, and these conditions are always changing. An object viewed from one angle presents a different shapes to our eye than when viewed from another angle; similarity, as the distance from which we view an object changes, the object will appear larger or smaller. In spite of this, even as conditions change and we see objects differently, we still recognize that they remain the same. This is what is known as perceptual constancy. If not for perceptual constancy, we might have difficulty recognizing familiar objects if we viewed them in a new and different context.

　　Listening Part:

　　Now listen to part of a lecture on this topic in a psychology class.

　　(Male Professor) Let’s take an everyday example an ordinary round plate like you’d find in a kitchen. If you hold the plate directly in front of your face and look at it, what shape do you see? A perfect circle, right?

　　Suppose you tilt the plate to a different angle, to a horizontal position, like you’re planning to put food on it, still a perfect circle? No! The circle is no w stretched out, flattened into an oval. Do you conclude the plate had actually changed shape? Or that it’s a different object, not the same plate? Of course not! It looks different, but we perceive it as still being the same.

　　Here’s a different example. This classroom we’re in. It’s fairly large, right?

　　Now, from up close, from the front row, I app ear to be relatively big, bigger than if you’re in the last row, right? But let’s say you’re sitting in the front row today but tomorrow you’re sitting in the back row. From back there I’m going to look smaller, but you don’t think I've actually gotten smaller. Yo u don’t think you’re seeing a different professor, a guy who looks like me except he’s smaller. No matter where you are, up close or far away, you understand without even thinking about it, that I’m the same size, the same person.

　　Question:

　　Explain what is meant by perceptual constancy using the examples provided by the professor.

　　答案解析：

　　1. Reading key

　　(1.1) Term: Perceptual Constancy

　　(1.2) Definition: Even as conditions change and we see objects differently, we still recognize that they remain the same.

　　2. Listening key

　　(2.1) Change of perspective

　　(2.1.1) Example: a plate appears to be a perfect circle when viewed up front; it looks stretched out when tilted; we can still recognize the plate remains the same

　　(2.2) Change of distance

　　(2.2.1) Example: the professor will look bigger to a student sitting in the front raw, but smaller if the student sits in back raw the next class. The student won’t have problem recognizing it is still the same professor