Deck 4: Sensory Systems and Perception

Question 1

Juanita was drinking some warm punch and she thought she could just detect a faint taste of nutmeg in the punch. However when she took another sip the taste wasn't there. On the third sip she could just make out the taste of nutmeg again. It is very likely that the amount of nutmeg in the punch was

A) just below her taste constancy level.
B) producing inhibitory synapses rather than excitatory synapses.
C) producing action potentials that were too weak to reach the terminal buttons.
D) just at her absolute threshold for taste.

Answer 1

just at her absolute threshold for taste.

Question 2

Jacob has been working at his computer for the past two hours, and the hum that he found so annoying when he started no longer bothers him. The change in Jacob's sensitivity to the noise from the computer illustrates the process known as

A) perceptual invariance.
B) perceptual assimilation.
C) adjusting just noticeable differences.
D) sensory adaptation.

Answer 2

sensory adaptation.

Question 3

If one is subjected to prolonged stimulation, eventually

A) sensory overload will occur.
B) sensory adaptation will occur.
C) perceptual agnosia will occur.
D) perceptual inversion will occur.

Answer 3

sensory adaptation will occur.

Question 4

When Celeste was playing her stereo at 40 decibels and she turned it up to 44 decibels, she could notice that it was louder. Based on this information you could predict that if Celeste has her stereo playing at 80 decibels, her just noticeable difference for loudness would be

A) 4 decibels, the same as it was at 40 decibels.
B) 2 decibels, half as much as it was at 40 decibels.
C) impossible to determine without more information.
D) 8 decibels, twice as much as it was at 40 decibels.

Question 5

Subliminal means

A) below threshold.
B) barely perceptible.
C) deceptive.
D) superimposed.

Question 6

Sensory adaptation can explain all of the following EXCEPT

A) getting used to the smell of the perfume you are wearing.
B) hearing your name spoken in a noisy room.
C) feeling comfortable in a cold swimming pool after being in for a few minutes.
D) getting used to the touch of your clothes on your skin.

Question 7

According to ____, the ability to detect a stimulus depends not only on the intensity of the stimulus but also on other variables such as the level of noise in the system and your expectations.

A) Weber's Law
B) Gustav Fechner
C) signal detection theory
D) subliminal perception

Question 8

The stronger your expectation that a signal is present, the greater the likelihood that you will

A) miss a signal.
B) report a false alarm.
C) correctly reject a signal when it appears.
D) be aware of background noise.

Question 9

In psychophysics the approach that examines the influence of probability and decision-making processes as well as sensory processes in explaining the detection of stimuli is

A) signal-detection theory.
B) just noticeable difference law.
C) Gestalt theory.
D) Fechner's theory.

Question 10

The fact that your criterion for "hearing" mysterious noises at night may change after a rash of burglaries in your neighborhood can best be explained by

A) Weber's law.
B) Fechner's law.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) signal-detection theory.

Question 11

Lebo was watching the night sky on a clear evening in November. He noticed that sometimes when he looked directly overhead he could detect a very faint star. A few minutes later it seemed that the star had disappeared, and then it "appeared" again. In this case, it is very likely that the light from the star was

A) just below Lebo's level for perceptual invariance.
B) producing action potentials that were too weak to reach the terminal buttons.
C) just at Lebo's absolute threshold for light.
D) producing inhibitory synapses rather than excitatory synapses.

Question 12

While ____ involves the stimulation of sense organs, ____ involves the selection, organisation and interpretation of sensory input.

A) perception; sensation
B) sensation; perception
C) activation; sensation
D) activation; perception

Question 13

According to psychologists, the smallest difference in stimulus intensity that a specific sense can detect is

A) its sensory memory.
B) subject to sensory adaptation.
C) the absolute threshold.
D) the just noticeable difference (JND).

Question 14

Issac, a nuclear operator, must monitor 50 different gauges that keep track of various aspects of the nuclear reactor. According to ____, Issac's detection of any problems will be influenced by the probability of any problem occurring in conjunction with the payoff associated with detecting the problem.

A) signal-detection theory
B) Frazier Kannard
C) sensory conversion theory
D) the Gestaltists

Question 15

Evelyn turned the thermostat up from 24 °C to 25 °C; however, she doesn't think it feels any warmer and she wants to turn it up even higher. Her roommate thinks that it is now too hot, and she wants to turn the thermostat back down. Apparently Evelyn has

A) a smaller just noticeable difference for temperature than her roommate does.
B) a lower absolute threshold for temperature than her roommate does.
C) a larger just noticeable difference for temperature than her roommate does.
D) a higher absolute threshold for temperature, compared to her roommate.

Question 16

According to the signal-detection theory performance will also depend on all of the following EXCEPT

A) the criterion you set for how sure you must be before reacting.
B) the level of noise in the system.
C) whether the stimulus is a visual or auditory stimulus.
D) the stimulus intensity.

Question 17

The registration of sensory input without conscious awareness refers to

A) a false alarm.
B) subliminal perception.
C) a just noticeable difference.
D) a superimposed stimulus.

Question 18

If your roommate slowly and carefully turns up the volume on the stereo until you can determine "now it's louder than it was before", it would be MOST accurate to say the volume increased by a

A) perceivable difference.
B) just noticeable difference.
C) fractional difference.
D) proportional difference.

Question 19

According to psychologists, the minimum stimulus intensity of any sensory input that an organism can detect is

A) its sensory memory.
B) subject to sensory adaptation.
C) the absolute threshold.
D) the just noticeable difference (JND).

Question 20

Ruan is making potato soup. His roommate tastes it and tells Ruan it is great, but Ruan thinks it needs more salt. He adds just a little salt, and thinks the soup now tastes perfect. However, his roommate tastes it again and tells Ruan that the soup is ruined because it is too salty. Apparently, for the taste of salt

A) Ruan can detect a smaller just noticeable difference than his roommate.
B) Ruan's roommate can detect a smaller just noticeable difference than Ruan can.
C) Ruan has a higher absolute threshold than his roommate does.
D) Ruan has a lower absolute threshold than his roommate does.

Question 21

The wavelength of light mainly affects our perception of

A) colour.
B) brightness.
C) saturation.
D) light purity.

Question 22

The lens in the eye

A) converts light energy into neural energy.
B) controls the amount of light entering the eye.
C) bends entering light rays and focuses them onto the retina.
D) is the part of the eye that gives it its colour.

Question 23

Our perception of the brightness of a colour is affected mainly by

A) the wavelength of light waves.
B) the amplitude of light waves.
C) the purity of light waves.
D) the saturation of light waves.

Question 24

As people age, the lens of the eye loses its ability to accommodate, and it tends to remain flat instead of becoming fat and round. This suggests that as people age they will

A) lose their ability to focus on objects in the distance.
B) be less likely to detect differences in light purity.
C) be more likely to detect differences in brightness and hue.
D) lose their ability to focus on objects that are close.

Question 25

Overall, it appears that we perceive

A) changing stimuli better than constant ones.
B) constant stimuli better than changing ones.
C) long-acting better than short-acting stimuli.
D) stimuli that are steady in the environment.

Question 26

The amount of light entering the eye is regulated by changes in the size of the

A) pupil.
B) lens.
C) cornea.
D) retina.

Question 27

Light, the stimulus for vision, is

A) a form of chemical energy.
B) a form of mechanical energy.
C) a form of electromagnetic energy.
D) the result of vibrations of molecules.

Question 28

The blind spot in the eye is

A) where photoreceptor cells do not "bleach".
B) the point at which ganglion cells synapse with bipolar cells.
C) where the optic nerve exits the back of the eye.
D) what leads to colour blindness.

Question 29

If the human eye was not responsive to differences in the wavelength of light, we would not be able to perceive differences in

A) brightness.
B) saturation.
C) colour.
D) purity.

Question 30

A red light, green light, and blue light differ in

A) amplitude.
B) complexity.
C) wavelength.
D) purity.

Question 31

Lerato wears glasses to correct the far-sightedness in her left eye. If she were not wearing her glasses,

A) the lens would focus images in front of the retina in her left eye.
B) the pupil in her left eye would dilate and let in too much light energy.
C) the lens would focus images behind the retina in her left eye.
D) the pupil in her left eye would constrict and not let in sufficient light energy.

Question 32

If the human eye was not responsive to differences in the amplitude of light waves, we would not be able to perceive differences in

A) saturation.
B) purity.
C) colour.
D) brightness.

Question 33

The optic disc is

A) where the optic nerve exits the retina.
B) the brain structure responsible for the merging of visual fields from both eyes.
C) where light enters the eye.
D) another term for the lens.

Question 34

The structure that controls the size of the pupil is the

A) lens.
B) iris.
C) cornea.
D) vitreous humor.

Question 35

The process in which the lens adjusts its shape depending on the distance between the eye and the object viewed in order to project a clear image onto the retina is

A) accommodation.
B) focusing.
C) constriction.
D) dilation.

Question 36

Our perception of the richness, or saturation of a colour is affected mainly by

A) the wavelength of light waves.
B) the amplitude of light waves.
C) the purity of light waves.
D) the saturation of light waves.

Question 37

Sensory adaptation is probably a behavioural adaptation that allows people to

A) notice changes in their environment that may signal threats.
B) notice changes in their environment that many signal safety.
C) notice constants in their environment that may signal threats.
D) notice constants in their environment that may signal safety.

Question 38

If a person views three lights that differ only in amplitude, the person would perceive the lights as

A) differing in brightness.
B) different colours.
C) differing in brightness and colour.
D) different shades of the same colour.

Question 39

In dim light, the pupil of the eye is

A) dilated, producing a sharper image.
B) constricted, producing a sharper image.
C) constricted, producing an image that is not as sharp.
D) dilated, producing an image that is not as sharp.

Question 40

Light first enters the eye through a transparent structure on the surface of the eye called

A) the pupil.
B) the cornea.
C) the retina.
D) the lens.

Question 41

At the musical he attended over the weekend, Andile noticed that whenever the red and green spotlights overlapped, they seemed to change to a yellow spotlight. This can be explained using the principles of

A) additive colour mixing.
B) subtractive colour mixing.
C) hypercomplex feature detection.
D) opponent-processing of colours.

Question 42

As a result of the pathway through which visual information travels from the eye to the visual cortex, images seen in the left visual field are received in

A) both the left and right visual cortex.
B) only the right visual cortex.
C) only the left visual cortex.
D) only half of the right visual cortex and half of the left visual cortex.

Question 43

After visual input has been processed in the primary visual cortex, signals are processed further along a number of pathways. The dorsal stream processes information about

A) form and colour.
B) motion and depth.
C) brightness and contours.
D) complexity and contrast.

Question 44

Imagine that biologists have discovered an animal that has eyes very similar to human eyes, but that the only receptor cells in the retina are rods; there are no cones. Based on what is known about human vision you might expect that this animal would

A) have poor vision in low illumination.
B) have no colour vision.
C) have poor peripheral vision.
D) be able to detect extremely fine details.

Question 45

Television sets are able to recreate the entire visible spectrum by additively mixing three primary colours. This process is similar to the view of human colour vision called

A) opponent-process theory.
B) saturation theory.
C) complementary color theory.
D) trichromatic theory.

Question 46

The main pathway visual signals travel from the eye to the visual cortex is

A) optic nerve - optic chiasm- thalamus -temporal lobe.
B) optic nerve - optic chiasm - thalamus -occipital lobe.
C) optic nerve - thalamus - optic chiasm -temporal lobe.
D) optic nerve -thalamus -optic chiasm -occipital lobe.

Question 47

Jasmine woke up in the middle of the night and turned on the light in her bedroom, as a result she had to squint to ward off the bright light. Jasmine is experiencing

A) dark adaptation.
B) sensory adaptation.
C) light adaptation.
D) lateral antagonism.

Question 48

While visiting the art museum, Laura stared at a black and white photograph in a red frame for over a minute. When she looked away from the photograph she saw an afterimage of a rectangle. Consistent with the opponent process theory the image she saw was

A) green.
B) red.
C) blue.
D) yellow.

Question 49

While finger painting, Muhammed mixed yellow paint and blue paint and ended up with green, an example of

A) trichromatic theory.
B) additive colour mixing.
C) subtractive colour mixing.
D) multiplicative colour mixing.

Question 50

MOST accurately, additive colour mixing occurs when combining

A) two or more colours.
B) the three primary colours.
C) lights of different colours.
D) pigments of different colours.

Question 51

If you project a red, a green and a blue light into space, the point at which the three lights cross will lead to the perception of

A) black light.
B) ultraviolet light.
C) white light.
D) infrared light.

Question 52

An animal species normally active at night (or nocturnal) would be expected to have a visual system that consists primarily of

A) rods.
B) cones.
C) bipolar cells.
D) ganglion cells.

Question 53

Devina looked directly into a very bright light and damaged her retina. The ophthalmologist has told her that she has sustained massive damage to her rods, but for the most part her cones have not been affected. One change that you could predict for Devina's vision is that she will now have

A) no colour vision.
B) poor vision in bright illumination.
C) poor peripheral vision.
D) more accurate depth perception.

Question 54

Night and peripheral vision depend mainly on ____, while daylight and acute vision depend mainly on ____.

A) rod cells; cone cells
B) cone cells; rod cells
C) rod cells; bipolar cells
D) bipolar cells; cone cells

Question 55

Researchers investigating feature detectors have found individual neurons that are activated by images of specific individuals. These neurons may be adaptive primarily because they allow us to

A) distinguide friends from foes.
B) distinguish people from animals.
C) distinguish animals from plants.
D) distinguish animals from food.

Question 56

The action of the visual receptors supports the

A) Hering theory of colour vision.
B) opponent process theory of colour vision.
C) James-Lange theory of colour vision.
D) trichromatic theory of colour vision.

Question 57

The structure of the eye that absorbs light, processes images and sends visual information to the brain is the

A) fovea.
B) lens.
C) rods and cones.
D) retina.

Question 58

The fovea is the area of the retina where ____ is best in large part because the fovea contains only ____.

A) peripheral vision; cones
B) peripheral vision; rods
C) visual acuity; cones
D) visual acuity; rods

Question 59

Carl's eyes function normally but he is unable to recognise objects. Carl is suffering from

A) visual agnosia.
B) inattention.
C) inattentional blindness.
D) prosopagnosia.

Question 60

Which of the following statements MOST accurately describes how visual information is transmitted to the brain?

A) signals from each eye only go to the corresponding (same) hemisphere of the brain.
B) signals from both eyes go to both hemispheres of the brain.
C) signals from each eye only go to the opposite hemisphere of the brain.
D) signals from the fovea of each eye go to the left hemisphere and signals from the remaining areas of the retina go to the right hemisphere.

Question 61

Our past experiences and current expectations often influence the way we perceive sensory information because they create

A) bottom-up processing.
B) a phi phenomenon.
C) feature detectors.
D) a perceptual set.

Question 62

The lights around the movie marquee flashed on-and-off in succession. However, Tshepo did not perceive them as separate lights flashing, but instead saw a continuous band of light moving around the edge of the marquee. Tshepo's perception illustrates

A) the phi phenomenon.
B) bottom-up processing.
C) feature detection.
D) preattentive processing.

Question 63

Three people look at the same sketch and report seeing three different things. This illustrates the contribution to perception of

A) stimulus ambiguity.
B) cognitive interpretation.
C) sensory readiness.
D) cognitive dissonance.

Question 64

We often perceive a series of dots on a printed form as a "solid" line because of the Gestalt principle of

A) constancy.
B) similarity.
C) closure.
D) symmetry.

Question 65

A perceptual set implies that

A) people often see what they expect to see.
B) visual perception is based on a bottom-up processing strategy.
C) feature analysis is a "hard-wired" process.
D) the focused-attention stage of processing is often overridden by preattentive processes.

Question 66

The successive blinking on and off of the lights on the neon sign gave the impression of beer filling a glass. This illusion of motion is the

A) phi phenomenon.
B) constancy principle.
C) common-fate principle.
D) motion parallax effect.

Question 67

Christina was skiing down an intermediate run when the run broke into two separate trails. One trail turned off at a 90-degree angle; the second trail appeared to continue in the same general direction she had been headed. If Christina takes the second trail her actions would be consistent with the Gestalt principle of

A) continuity.
B) closure.
C) proximity.
D) common region.

Question 68

The Gestalt principle of proximity refers to the idea that

A) people tend to gravitate toward a common interaction distance.
B) centre-surround cells that are closer fire more often.
C) perception occurs in discrete time frames.
D) objects nearer to each other are seen as forming a unit.

Question 69

Zach is looking at a reversible figure, which first appears to be a vase, and then appears to be two faces. His perception of the figure keeps switching between these two interpretations. This switching perception is caused by the fact that

A) reversible figures cause people to experience the phi phenomenon.
B) the Gestalt principle of simplicity doesn't work for reversible figures.
C) the Gestalt principles of proximity and closure are both at work in reversible figures.
D) the figure-ground distinction in reversible figures is often ambiguous.

Question 70

The process of detecting specific elements in visual input and assembling them into a more complex form is known as

A) perceptual set.
B) inattentional blindness.
C) feature analysis.
D) top-to-bottom processing.

Question 71

Reversible figures illustrate the observation that

A) individuals may fail to see fully visible objects.
B) expectations do not influence perceptions.
C) the same visual input can result in different perceptions.
D) there is a one-to-one correspondence between sensory input and perception.

Question 72

It is difficult to see a chameleon that has blended in with its background because

A) of the principle of common fate.
B) we cannot easily distinguish between figure and ground.
C) of the perceptual principle of shape constancy.
D) of the illusion of relative size.

Question 73

When Justin looked up at the night sky, he perceived the three stars that make up the belt in the constellation Orion as a single complete figure, rather than as individual stars. Justin's perception of the night sky illustrates the Gestalt principle of

A) proximity.
B) closure.
C) similarity.
D) figure-ground.

Question 74

Rather than provide details about the party she just attended, Palesa tried to give her overall impression, operating on the assumption of ____, that the whole may be greater than the mere sum of its parts.

A) psychophysics
B) holistic psychology
C) Gestalt psychology
D) psychodynamics

Question 75

Natalie sat on her porch looking out at the field of soybeans. The fact that Natalie perceived the soybean plants as being grouped into a series of separate rows is consistent with the Gestalt principle of

A) closure.
B) simplicity.
C) proximity.
D) similarity.

Question 76

Ashlynn was listening to a tape recording of a famous speech that was being played backward. She just heard gibberish until a classmate said the phrase "meet me in St. Louis" was clearly spoken. The tape was rewound and as Ashlynn listened this time, she also clearly heard the same phrase. Ashlynn's ability to detect the phrase the second time through the tape illustrates

A) the opponent-process model of perception.
B) the top-down processing model of perception.
C) the bottom-up processing model of perception.
D) the eclectic model of perception.

Question 77

Psychologists who took the structuralist approach to the study of consciousness believed that the best way to understand an individual's conscious experiences was to understand all the component parts that combined to produce the experience. This view is most consistent with

A) the top-down processing model of perception.
B) the eclectic model of perception.
C) the bottom-up processing model of perception.
D) the opponent-process model of perception.

Question 78

If a radio play-by-play announcer describing each pitch during a baseball game fails to notice a naked fan running across the infield, the announcer would be demonstrating

A) inattentional blindness.
B) attentional blindness.
C) perceptual set.
D) feature analysis.

Question 79

Themba was at a football game, and even though people wearing green jackets were spread fairly evenly throughout the stands, he still perceived all the people in green jackets as a single group of visiting fans. Themba's perception is most consistent with the Gestalt principle of

A) proximity.
B) similarity.
C) closure.
D) simplicity.

Question 80

Inattentional blindness is likely to increase when a person is

A) watching television.
B) consuming caffeine.
C) studying.
D) talking on a cell phone.