QCAA Psychology - Deregowski, Muldrow & Muldrow (1972)

Recall what helps people to estimate and interpret depth from two-dimensional pictures.

• Perceptual constancy

• Depth cues

• Perceptual set

• Sensation

Answer explanation

Pictorial depth cues are the pieces of information that exist in a 2D image that enables the brain to interpret the relationships between the objects within the image as 3D.

Recall the depth cue(s) that were present in the hunting scene (picture 3 of the experiment).

Select ALL correct options.

• Height in visual field

• Interposition

• Linear perspective

• Relative size

Answer explanation

Picture 3 was modified from Hudson's (1960) hunting scene. The modified picture used a shaded foreground to strengthen interposition cues. Since an elephant is much larger than a buck in real life, relative size was also a depth cue.

Identify the correct order of the missing words to complete the information below about the participants in the investigation by Deregowski, Muldrow & Muldrow (1972).

Participants from the ______ were ______, living a semi-nomadic lifestyle due to the need to herd cattle and sheep for grazing. They had ______ exposure to pictorial materials of any type. Some of the older tribe members may have seen some posters when visiting markets, however younger children, particularly ______ would have never previously seen a picture.

Participants from the ______ were ______ people, who were more likely to live in ______ settlements due to the large numbers of crops they planted. These participants tended to have ______ contact with the outside world, and pictures were relatively ______.

• lowlands, agricultural,
  some, boys,
  highlands, pastoral,
  temporary, minimal,
  uncommon

• highlands, pastoral,
  very minimal, boys,
  lowlands, agricultural,
  permanent, a lot of,
  common

• highlands, agricultural,
  some, girls,
  lowlands, pastoral,
  temporary, minimal,
  uncommon

• lowlands, pastoral,
  very minimal, girls,
  highlands, agricultural,
  permanent, a lot of,
  common

Recall the types of animals that members of the lowland group would be familiar with in real life, from Deregowski, Muldrow & Muldrow (1972) investigation.

• Buck and elephant

• Buck, elephant and leopard

• Leopard and buck

• Leopard and elephant

Answer explanation

Participants from the lowlands branch of the tribe were predominantly pastoral, with large herds of cattle and goats. All of them were almost certain to have seen the animals depicted in the test images in real life (buck, leopard and elephant).

Recall the remote tribe that participants in Deregowski, Muldrow & Muldrow's (1972) investigation came from.

• Ethiopian Me'en (Mekan) tribe

• South African Bantu

• Western countries

• Zambian tribes

Answer explanation

Participants were from the Me'en (Mekan) tribe, living in the remote Ethiopian provinces of Gamu-Gofa and Kaffa.

In a previous investigation by Elizabeth Muldrow, it was observed that when participants from remote tribes were given pictures to view on paper, they were so unfamiliar with paper that they focused on examining the paper, rather than on the images of the animals printed on it.

Identify the type of variable present in the original study.

• Confounding

• Dependent

• Extraneous

• Independent

Answer explanation

The paper in Muldrow's original study was a confounding variable (CV).

A confounding variable is a variable other than the independent variable (IV) that has a systematic effect on the value of the dependent variable (DV). If a confounding variable exists, then no valid conclusions can be drawn, as it becomes unclear if it was the IV or the CV that caused a change in the DV.

Recall the stimuli used in the study by Deregowski, Muldrow & Muldrow (1972).

• A running buck, a standing leopard and a hunting scene.

• Hunting scenes, flying bird scenes and a photograph.

• A standing buck, a running leopard and a hunting scene.

• A hunting scene, the impossible trident and a split elephant drawing.

Identify the correct modification made to the hunting scene in this study, based on Hudson (1960).

• A running leopard.

• Turning the buck's head to face the viewer.

• A shadowed foreground.

• A shadowed foreground and turning the buck's head to face the viewer.

Select the correct set of words to complete the following passage summarising the findings
of Deregowski, Muldrow & Muldrow (1972).

The study showed that accurate recognition and interpretation of pictorial information is based on ________ (that is, the level of familiarity with an object, animal or person in pictorial form, as well as familiarity with pictorial cues). These skills are heavily influenced by ________.

• past experience,
  cultural factors

• motivation,
  biological factors

• context,
  cultural factors

• past experience,
  psychological factors

Identify which group(s) had more experience observing animals in real life.

• Highland

• Lowland

• Both Highland and Lowland

• Neither Highland nor Lowland

Answer explanation

Since the participants from the Lowlands portion of the tribe were predominantly pastoral, they lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle due to herding cattle and goats for grazing. As a result, Lowlands people regularly walked across the country and most likely saw the animals shown in the test materials (buck, leopard and elephant) in real life.