Deck 1: Foundations

Question 1

The minimum intensity of a physical stimulus that can just be detected by an observer is called

A)the absolute threshold.
B)the difference threshold.
C)the just noticeable difference.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

According to the "law of specific nerve energies," the reason the brain interprets certain incom- ing signals as being visual information is that these signals

A)are the result of photons entering the eye.
B)are the output of specialized neurons called photoreceptors.
C)enter the brain via the optic nerve (a bundle of fibers that connects the eye to the brain).

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The wavelengths of the visible spectrum

A)do not include infrared or ultraviolet light.
B)are the least abundant wavelengths of light emitted by the sun.
C)are poorly transmitted in water.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The idea that perception depends on the combined activity of many specialized neurons,each of which responds to specific aspects of a stimulus defines the

A)neuron doctrine.
B)law of specific nerve energies.
C)principle of natural selection.

Question 5

An axon's membrane potential results from

A)the concentration of positively and negatively charged ions on either side of the cell membrane.
B)the concentration of only sodium and potassium ions within the cell membrane.
C)the concentration of neurotransmitters on either side of the cell membrane.

Question 6

With a dorsal view of the cerebral hemispheres,you would be able to see

A)only the parietal lobes.
B)only the frontal and occipital lobes.
C)the frontal,parietal,temporal,and occipital lobes.

Question 7

Perception primarily differs from sensation in that only perception involves

A)forming mental representations of objects and events.
B)converting features of the environment into electrochemical signals.
C)the use of specialized sense organs.

Question 8

Muller's states that "the kinds of perceptions we have depend on which neurons are activated,not on what's activating those neurons."

A)law of specific nerve energies
B)law of effect
C)neural doctrine

Question 9

A person's knowledge,expectations,and goals are referred to as

A)bottom-up information.
B)top-down information.
C)either top-down or bottom-up information.

Question 10

The central sulcus separates the parietal lobe from the lobe.

A)frontal
B)temporal
C)occipital

Question 11

A neuron's baseline firing rate

A)depends on the frequency of previous action potentials.
B)is a low spontaneous firing rate in the absence of stimulation.
C)requires a very weak stimulus.

Question 12

A neuropsychologist has been studying two patients who suffered strokes.One can still under- stand spoken English but can only speak gibberish.The other can still speak English fluently but can no longer understand spoken English.This is an example of

A)a single dissociation.
B)a double dissociation.
C)experience-dependent plasticity.

Question 13

Cells in the nervous system that convert proximal stimuli into neural signals are called

A)dendrites.
B)synapses.
C)sensory receptors.

Question 14

Our sense of the position of our limbs as well as our feeling of their movement is known as

A)proprioception.
B)nociception.
C)olfaction.

Question 15

Most neural signals originating in the sensory organs pass through which subcortical structure?

A)thalamus
B)hippocampus
C)amygdala

Question 16

Dr.Lazarte is testing an elderly patient's hearing by presenting a set of tones at different intensi- ties.Each tone is presented multiple times,interleaved with the other tones in a random order.After each presentation,the patient indicates whether she heard the tone.The psychophysical technique being used is the

A)method of adjustment.
B)staircase method.
C)method of constant stimuli.

Question 17

A cognitive neuroscientist measures ,while a psychophysicist assesses .

A)neural activity;cognition
B)neural circuit activity;individual neural activity
C)neural activity;simple behavioral responses

Question 18

In the field of cognitive neuropsychology,findings based on studies of just a few individuals can be generalized and applied to most human brains based on the

A)doctrine of specific nerve energy.
B)notion of modularity.
C)assumption of cognitive uniformity.

Question 19

In baseball,most hitters can detect the initial rotation of a pitched ball.More experienced hitters are able to use this information to accurately anticipate the ball's position when it reaches the plate,but most rookies cannot.Apparently,experienced hitters can better apply

A)bottom-up information.
B)top-down information.
C)distal stimuli.

Question 20

An example of a distal stimulus would be ,while an example of a proximal stimu- lus would be .

A)a slamming door;sound waves
B)a pine tree;a slamming door
C)sound waves;a slamming door

Question 21

The voltage-gated potassium ions channels

A)lead to depolarization when opened.
B)are found in the dendrites.
C)allow K⁺ ions to exit the neuron.

Question 22

______________ states that "the size of the JND tends to increase as the intensity of the stan- dard stimulus (or background)increases."

A)Weber's law
B)Weber's fraction
C)Fechner's law

Question 23

Describe the activities involving neurotransmitters that occur in response to an action potential,focusing on what happens in the axon terminal of the presynaptic neuron,in the synapse,and in the postsynaptic membrane.

Question 24

During the action potential,the membrane potential reaches a peak of

A)-30 mV.
B)+30 mV.
C)+70 mV.

Question 25

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the method of adjustment,the method of constant stimuli,and the staircase method in determining absolute threshold.

Question 26

The typical neuron has

A)one dendrite.
B)one axon.
C)multiple axons.

Question 27

Through some tasty culinary investigation,Chef Willie has found the difference threshold for the sweetness of sugar in a cake.For a cake with 100 mg of sugar,the difference threshold is 5 mg.Based on this information,how much sugar would need to be added to a cake already con- taining 250 mg of sugar in order to make it taste just noticeably sweeter.(Assume Weber's law applies. )

A)5 mg
B)10 mg
C)12.5 mg

Question 28

Describe five distal stimuli and their associated proximal stimuli that you are experiencing in your present environment;no two stimuli should be from the same perceptual dimensions.For each of these distal stimuli,describe the top-down processes used in perceiving it.

Question 29

Focusing on the role of voltage-gated channels (Na⁺ and k⁺),describe the events that occur along the axon in the course of an action potential.

Question 30

Describe a neuroimaging study that could be used to investigate the presence of a brain area specialized for the processing of faces.(For this question,you need to think of the appropriate visual stimuli to present to participants. )

Question 31

In a single-cell recording,

A)one electrode is placed inside the cell membrane and one electrode is placed outside the cell membrane.
B)one electrode is placed inside the soma and one electrode is placed inside the axon.
C)two electrodes are placed inside the cell membrane at different locations.

Question 32

According to your text,Fechner's law adds to Weber's law the idea that 1 JND

A)equals 1 unit of perceived intensity.
B)equals log 1 unit of perceived intensity.
C)equals 1 unit of perceived intensity raised to the second power.

Question 33

According to signal detection theory,saying "yes" after a signal is presented is considered a

A)hit.
B)false alarm.
C)miss.

Question 34

In a signal detection experiment,the value of d` is a function of

A)the observer's sensitivity and the magnitude of the stimulus.
B)the observer's decision criterion and the magnitude of the stimulus.
C)the observer's sensitivity and decision criterion.

Question 35

The staircase method is a variation on the method of

A)limits.
B)adjustment.
C)constant stimuli.

Question 36

Using examples from three different senses,describe three activities in which you need to detect small differences in the intensity of sensory stimuli.What role does your difference threshold play in each activity?

Question 37

You and a friend jump into a pool,forgetting you are both still carrying your smart phones.Your smart phone now has no sound but has a picture.Your friend's identical phone has sound but no picture.Is this a single or double dissociation? Discuss whether this pattern implies the existence of sound and picture modules within the phones.

Question 38

The process of transduction occurs in

A)the brain.
B)all neurons.
C)specialized neurons.

Question 39

When interpreting medical diagnosis in terms of signal detection theory,which diagnostic result is equivalent to a miss?

A)true positive
B)false positive
C)false negative

Question 40

In a signal detection experiment,participants are asked to respond when they detect a very low in- tensity tone.Fred responds to the tone on 80% of its presentations and Miguel responds to it 50% of the time.How could you determine whether Fred is more sensitive to the tone than is Miguel?

Question 41

______________ is a curve that relates a measure of perceptual experience to the intensity of a physical stimulus.

A)The staircase method
B)A neuropsychological function
C)A psychometric function

Question 42

Positron emission tomography (PET)indirectly measures neural activity by measuring

A)changes in blood flow.
B)changes in metabolic activity.
C)the magnetic properties of neurons.

Question 43

In a signal detection experiment,an ROC curve is a graph of

A)hits versus misses.
B)hits versus correct rejections.
C)hits versus false alarms.

Question 44

The method of is considered a more reliable method for estimating absolute threshold.

A)limits
B)adjustment
C)constant stimuli

Question 45

The probability of hits plus the probability of misses in a signal detection experiment would

A)equal 1.0.
B)equal 0.5.
C)equal 1.5.

Question 46

A psychophysical researcher who was in a hurry and not overly concerned with accuracy would probably use

A)the method of adjustment.
B)the method of constant stimuli.
C)the method of limits.