Deck 6: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

The fact that some perceptual processes appear to be innate doesn't mean that all people perceive the world in the same way. List four psychological factors that can influence what we perceive and how we perceive it.

Answer 1

A good answer will include the following key points.
- Needs
- Beliefs
- Emotions
- Expectations

Question 2

The textbook illustrated the production of negative afterimages by suggesting that readers stare at the centre of a green heart, edged in yellow. After 20 seconds, when the gaze was switched to a white paper, there was a "change of heart!" What colours did you "see" in the image of the heart on the white paper? How does opponent-process theory explain this finding?

Answer 2

A good answer will include the following key points.
- The heart appeared to be red, edged in blue.
- According to the opponent-process theory, red and green are encoded as antagonistic colours, as are blue and yellow.
- When the yellow and green are removed after staring at them, the cells that were signaling these colours briefly signal the presence of the antagonistic colour.

Question 3

Aiko is a Japanese national living in Canada. She invites her Canadian friends to her home and the raw oysters, raw smoked salmon, and raw herring that she serves are well received. But when Aiko's guests notice the raw sea urchin and the raw octopus, they get squeamish, even after she explains that they taste good! Explain the differences in taste preferences between Aiko and her American friends.

Answer 3

A good answer will include the following key points.
- Some taste preferences are a matter of culture.
- Taste preferences are also affected by learning and experience.
- People in the United States don't generally have experience eating some forms of raw seafood, such as sea urchin and octopus, which are popular in Japan.

Question 4

Despite the impressive sensory skills possessed by humans, the human senses are tuned into only a narrow band of physical energies. Discuss several species that are able to pick up signals that humans do not pick up. What can each of these species detect that humans cannot?

Question 5

When Miles and Mandi leave the bright lobby and enter the movie theatre, they cannot tell where the empty seats are. Explain why this occurs and describe the process through which they will gradually be able to see.

Question 6

Testing an infant's perception of depth requires ingenuity, but Gibson and Walk were able to design a procedure in order to test infants on a "visual cliff." Explain how they created a "cliff" and describe the results of their research.

Question 7

Define sensation and perception. Explain what sense receptors are.

Question 8

In what way does the lens of the eye operate differently than the lens of a camera?

Question 9

Describe loudness and explain how perceived loudness is affected by pitch.

Question 10

Describe the course of hearing from the time a sound wave passes into the outer ear until the time that a signal is passed along to the auditory nerve.

Question 11

Zoe is a participant in a psychophysical study and is having her absolute threshold for brightness measured. Describe a likely procedure for determining this measurement.

Question 12

Normally, kinesthesis and equilibrium work together to give us a sense of our own physical reality. But when they do not, the consequences are profound. What happens to patients whose kinesthetic nerve fibres are damaged irreversibly?

Question 13

Discuss Vilayanur Ramachandran's work with phantom pain and his success with tricking the brain of an amputee with a simple mirror. How are his techniques being used today?

Question 14

Like human infants, kittens are born with the ability to detect horizontal lines and vertical lines. In one famous study, kittens were reared in darkness for five months after birth. But for several hours each day, they were put into a special cylinder that permitted them to see only vertical or horizontal lines and nothing else. Describe the results of this research study.

Question 15

After taking your best friend to the airport, you stay to watch the plane take off. As you watch it go, the image of the plane on your retinas becomes smaller and smaller. Why is it that you perceive the airplane as flying away from you instead of shrinking? Briefly explain how this works.

Question 16

The sun produces a mixture of all the visible wavelengths. Describe what happens when drops of moisture in the air act like a prism.

Question 17

What did Johannes Müller propose in his doctrine of specific energies?

Question 18

Contrast the reactions of adults who were born deaf and then received cochlear implants to the reactions of adults who became deaf later in life and then received the implants.

Question 19

Rita's favourite navy-blue sweater is perceived as maintaining its hue whether Rita is outdoors or indoors. But the wavelengths of light reaching Rita's eyes change as the illumination changes. Explain why.

Question 20

This figure -O- tends to be perceived as a single line partially covered by a circle. Which Gestalt principle explains the tendency to organize the visual world in this way? Explain why.

Question 21

The tendency to perceive what you expect is called _______________.

A) a perceptual set
B) the expectancy effect
C) misperception
D) the Müller-Lyer effect

Question 22

The doctrine of specific nerve energies states that:

A) each type of sensory receptor releases a different type of energy.
B) different sensory nerves release different neurotransmitters.
C) each sensory neuron can respond to all sensory modalities.
D) what a person experiences depends on which nerve was stimulated.

Question 23

The trichromatic theory states that:

A) the visual system treats triads of colour as antagonistic to each other.
B) three types of colour feature detectors in the visual cortex are responsible for colour perception.
C) three types of cones exist, each sensitive to a certain range of wavelengths.
D) species that detect ultraviolet light perceive three colours that are outside of the range of humans.

Question 24

Sarah says that certain colours make her experience different smells. For example, she says that the colour purple smells like a rose to her. Sarah is displaying the symptoms of:

A) parapsychology.
B) synesthesia.
C) sensation pruning.
D) functional sensation.

Question 25

Hubel and Wiesel discovered feature detector cells in the visual cortex that respond selectively to:

A) spots of light in different locations.
B) different colours of stimuli.
C) faces.
D) lines at different orientations.

Question 26

The saturation (colourfulness) of a visual stimulus is related to the _______________ of the light.

A) intensity
B) complexity
C) amplitude
D) wavelength

Question 27

What is the difference between sensation and perception?

A) Sensation is the detection of sensory stimuli and perception is the interpretation of sensory information.
B) Sensation is the interpretation of sensory information and perception is the detection of sensory stimuli.
C) Perception refers to what goes on in the sensory organs and sensation is what happens in the brain.
D) Nothing. They are the same thing.

Question 28

The auditory receptors are located in the _______________.

A) cochlea
B) middle ear
C) eardrum
D) oval window

Question 29

The Gestalt psychologists were especially interested in research about _______________.

A) colour vision
B) form perception
C) sensory receptors
D) distance perception

Question 30

The actual "detectors" for taste are called _______________.

A) papillae
B) olfactory cells
C) taste buds
D) taste receptor cells

Question 31

_______________ can cause the perception of an odour that is constant and unchanging to disappear.

A) Sensory deprivation
B) Sensory overload
C) Sensory adaptation
D) Sensory constancy

Question 32

_______________ allows a researcher to distinguish between a person's response bias and his or her actual sensory capacity.

A) Threshold theory
B) Signal-detection theory
C) Weber's law
D) Sensory adaptation

Question 33

_______________ is a measure of the smallest amount of energy a person can reliably detect.

A) Absolute threshold
B) Difference threshold
C) Just noticeable difference (jnd)
D) Sensory sensitivity

Question 34

The research about kittens raised in horizontal or vertical environments demonstrates the concept of _______________.

A) sensory adaptation
B) depth perception
C) a perceptual set
D) critical periods

Question 35

The amplitude of a sound wave is related to our perception of _______________.

A) pitch
B) timbre
C) loudness
D) tonal quality

Question 36

One difference between rods and cones is that:

A) rods are sensitive to colour and cones are not.
B) rods are less numerous than cones.
C) rods are more sensitive to light than cones.
D) rods are located in the centre of the retina and cones in the periphery.

Question 37

The _______________ protects the eye and bends incoming light rays toward a lens located behind it.

A) pupil
B) iris
C) cornea
D) retina

Question 38

The gate-control theory helps to explain the perception of _______________.

A) touch
B) smell
C) pain
D) pressure

Question 39

Why is it important to make a distinction between subliminal perception and subliminal persuasion? What has empirical research revealed about each?

Question 40

The colour or hue that we perceive is related to the _______________.

A) intensity of light
B) complexity of light
C) amplitude of light
D) wavelength of light

Question 41

_______________ is a measure of the smallest amount of energy a person can reliably detect.

A) Absolute threshold
B) Difference threshold
C) Just noticeable difference (jnd)
D) Sensory sensitivity

Question 42

________________ studies the relationship between physical energies and psychological experiences.

A) Physiology
B) Psychophysics
C) Psychometrics
D) Psychopathology

Question 43

Which of the following forms of coding is described in Müller's doctrine of specific nerve energies?

A) functional
B) anatomical
C) fractional
D) alchemical

Question 44

Sense receptors convert the energy of the stimulus to:

A) mechanical signals.
B) visual signals.
C) electrical impulses.
D) vibrations.

Question 45

Our sense of vision produces a two-dimensional image on the back of the eye, but we interpret the world in three dimensions due to the process of _______________.

A) perception
B) sensation
C) specific nerve energy
D) functional encoding

Question 46

The ________________ contain receptors responsible for a sense of bodily movement.

A) nose
B) glial cells
C) skeletal muscles
D) eyes

Question 47

_______________ is a sensory crossover condition where stimulation of one sense consistently evokes a sensation in another.

A) Sensation
B) Perception
C) Synesthesia
D) Signal detection

Question 48

Neil is seated in a dark room and asked to look at a screen. He watches as flashes of light, varying in brightness, are shown on the screen one at a time. Whenever he notices a flash, he informs the researchers. What are the researchers measuring?

A) Neil's anatomical encoding of brightness
B) Neil's absolute threshold for brightness
C) Neil's functional encoding of brightness
D) Neil's difference threshold for brightness

Question 49

Sarah says that certain colours make her experience different smells. For example, she says that the colour purple smells like a rose to her. Sarah is displaying the symptoms of:

A) parapsychology.
B) synesthesia.
C) sensation pruning.
D) functional sensation.

Question 50

_______________ codes rely on the fact that sensory receptors and neurons fire, or are inhibited from firing, only in the presence of specific sorts of stimuli.

A) Temporal
B) Anatomical
C) Functional
D) Utilitarian

Question 51

Sense receptors for vision, hearing, and taste are:

A) extensions of sensory neurons.
B) specialized cells separated from sensory neurons by synapses.
C) modified axons of sensory neurons.
D) modified skin cells connected to sensory neurons.

Question 52

Receptors that account for our sense of balance are found in the _______________.

A) eyes
B) ears
C) nose
D) skin

Question 53

Although the human senses are very sensitive:

A) they do not allow us to easily detect differences in intensity.
B) they respond only to a narrow band of physical energy.
C) they are very slow to respond to changes in a stimulus.
D) their just noticeable difference (jnd) is low.

Question 54

The doctrine of specific nerve energies states that:

A) each type of sensory receptor releases a different type of energy.
B) different sensory nerves release different neurotransmitters.
C) each sensory neuron can respond to all sensory modalities.
D) what a person experiences depends on which nerve was stimulated.

Question 55

Our sense of hearing brings us the sound of a C, an E, and a G played simultaneously on the piano, but we interpret the sound as a C-major chord due to the process of _______________.

A) perception
B) sensation
C) specific nerve energy
D) functional encoding

Question 56

Which of the following is a true statement?

A) Much of our perception occurs without our conscious awareness.
B) Behaviour cannot be affected by subliminal stimuli.
C) Subliminal perception is easy to demonstrate and replicate.
D) There is concrete evidence that subliminal persuasion is effective.

Question 57

_______________ is a set of mental operations that organize sensory impulses into meaningful patterns.

A) Sensation
B) Perception
C) Synesthesia
D) Signal detection

Question 58

What is the difference between sensation and perception?

A) Sensation is the detection of sensory stimuli and perception is the interpretation of sensory information.
B) Sensation is the interpretation of sensory information and perception is the detection of sensory stimuli.
C) Perception refers to what goes on in the sensory organs and sensation is what happens in the brain.
D) Nothing. They are the same thing.

Question 59

The detection of physical energy emitted or reflected by physical objects is called _______________.

A) perception
B) sensation
C) specific nerve energy
D) functional encoding

Question 60

Sense receptors for smell, pressure, pain, and temperature are:

A) extensions of sensory neurons.
B) specialized cells separated from sensory neurons by synapses.
C) modified glands.
D) modified skin cells connected to sensory neurons.

Question 61

Signal-detection theory assumes that:

A) a person's ability to detect a stimulus depends only on the stimulus.
B) people will always be biased toward thinking the stimulus was not there, even if it was.
C) a person's response depends on the stimulus and on a decision about it.
D) people will always be biased toward thinking the stimulus was there, even if it wasn't.

Question 62

As she studies in the library, Beatrice is not aware of the pressure of her watchband on her wrist. This is likely due to:

A) sensory adaptation.
B) feature detection.
C) saturation.
D) the doctrine of specific energies.

Question 63

_______________ can cause the perception of an odour that is constant and unchanging to disappear.

A) Sensory deprivation
B) Sensory overload
C) Sensory adaptation
D) Sensory constancy

Question 64

When she goes into her mother's kitchen, Amelia doesn't know how long she will be able to stay in the room because of the overpowering smell of onions. But when her sister comes home an hour later and complains about the smell, Amelia realizes that she no longer smells the onions at all. This is an example of:

A) sensory adaptation.
B) a just noticeable difference.
C) a correct rejection.
D) a miss.

Question 65

In addition to a subject's sensory capacity, signal detection theory takes into account:

A) the tendency for the subject's performance to worsen over time.
B) the tendency for the subject's performance to improve over time.
C) the subject's response bias.
D) the amount of practice a subject has had.

Question 66

After playing tennis, Briana hurries home because her mother always bakes Briana's favourite scones on Saturday afternoons. As Briana opens the front door, she notices the kitchen trash can smells horrible, but her mother says, "I don't smell anything." The most likely explanation for this is that Briana's mother:

A) experienced a decline in her sense of smell as she reached middle age.
B) has a different absolute threshold for olfaction than does her daughter.
C) adapted to the smell of the trash can because it is an unchanging stimulus.
D) is a naysayer, while Briana is a yea-sayer.

Question 67

The absence of normal levels of sensory stimulation is called _______________.

A) sensory neglect
B) sensory deprivation
C) retinal disparity
D) perceptual constancy

Question 68

In a signal detection task, the participant doesn't detect a signal but a signal was present. This is called a _______________.

A) hit
B) false alarm
C) miss
D) correct rejection

Question 69

Which of the following is true about sensory deprivation?

A) It can cause edginess and visual hallucinations.
B) It is always unpleasant.
C) It violates the principles of signal-detection theory.
D) It demonstrates that sensory stimuli are not necessary for our brain to function normally.

Question 70

In a signal detection task, Jenny tends to be a "yea-sayer." She will have:

A) more misses than "naysayers."
B) more correct rejections than "naysayers."
C) more false alarms than "naysayers."
D) fewer hits than "naysayers."

Question 71

The difference threshold is:

A) the ability of different species to detect varying aspects of electromagnetic waves, from radio waves to cosmic waves.
B) the smallest difference in stimulation that can be detected by an observer when two stimuli are compared.
C) the difference in absolute thresholds between individuals with normal sensory abilities and those who have limitations in one or more senses.
D) the difference between anatomical codes and functional codes when determining how individuals are able to experience so many different kinds of sensations.

Question 72

In a signal detection task, the participant reports a signal when no signal was present. This is called a _______________.

A) hit
B) false alarm
C) miss
D) correct rejection

Question 73

It has been found that humans:

A) are sensitive to almost the entire range of electromagnetic energy.
B) can hear sounds that are two octaves beyond the range of bats.
C) are one of the few species that can see ultraviolet light.
D) can see a candle flame on a clear, dark night from 30 miles away.

Question 74

As you take this test, it is unlikely that you are constantly aware that your legs are making contact with the legs of the chair. This is likely due to:

A) sensory adaptation.
B) sensory threshold.
C) a correct rejection.
D) a miss.

Question 75

At the orientation for first-year students, April felt overwhelmed by the number of people, the multiple conversations, and the forms that needed to be completed. April is experiencing _______________.

A) sensory adaptation
B) selective attention
C) sensory overload
D) perceptual constancy

Question 76

The difference threshold is also known as the:

A) just noticeable difference.
B) signal detection difference.
C) absolute threshold.
D) comparison threshold.

Question 77

_______________ allows a researcher to distinguish between a person's response bias and his or her actual sensory capacity.

A) Threshold theory
B) Signal-detection theory
C) Weber's law
D) Sensory adaptation

Question 78

A decline in sensory responsiveness that occurs when a stimulus is unchanging or repetitive is called _______________.

A) the difference threshold
B) psychophysics
C) sensory adjustment
D) sensory adaptation

Question 79

In a signal detection task, the participant reports a signal and a signal was present. This is called a _______________.

A) hit
B) false alarm
C) miss
D) correct rejection

Question 80

Keegan notices that his favourite 55-cent chocolate bar seems lighter than usual, so he checks the label and finds that it is lighter by 10 grams. He decides to buy a larger candy bar instead and doesn't notice that the 99-cent chocolate bar also is lighter than it used to be by 10 grams. Keegan's behaviour illustrates the fact that:

A) the just noticeable difference is not a reliable measure of psychophysiological judgment.
B) sensory adaptation may occur in the short time between holding one candy bar and then the other.
C) jnds are unpredictable because sometimes he can and sometimes he can't detect a 10-gram change.
D) the larger a weight is, the greater the change must be before one can detect a difference.