Deck 1: Introduction to Perception

Question 1

The physical energy that starts the sequence of events leading to perception is the

A) base event.
B) perceptual link.
C) stimulus.
D) acoustic marker.

Answer 1

stimulus.

Question 2

The process by which physical energy is converted into a neural event is called

A) perceptual transformation.
B) sensory transduction.
C) psychomotor transmission.
D) perceptual reduction.

Answer 2

sensory transduction.

Question 3

If you were professionally involved in specifying the relationship between physical events and perceptual ones, you'd be working in the area of

A) psychophysics.
B) environmental psychology.
C) perceptual biology.
D) experiential determinism.

Answer 3

psychophysics.

Question 4

Some physical energy is not detectable directly by the perceptual system. Such energy, however, often can be detected by using specialized instruments that

A) amplify it.
B) convert it into a form that is within our sensory bounds.
C) doing either amplify it or convert it into a form that is within our sensory bounds
D) doing neither amplify it nor convert it into a form that is within our sensory bounds

Question 5

Our senses are capable of directly detecting

A) only a restricted range of the energy available.
B) most energy available.
C) virtually all acoustic energy.
D) virtually all electromagnetic energy.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is true and indicates that different species experience the world differently?

A) Dogs can hear sound frequencies beyond the human audible range.
B) Some snakes can readily detect infrared energy.
C) Bees can navigate by the polarization of light.
D) all of these

Question 7

Perception is said to be symbolic in that

A) your experience of an object is the same as the object itself.
B) your perceptual experiences are produced by brain states.
C) perception occurs immediately and automatically.
D) brain representations are identical to the objects represented.

Question 8

What did the philosopher Thomas Nagel conclude about what it would be like to be a bat?

A) It would be similar to being a blind human, relying on hearing.
B) It would be similar to being a pilot, moving in three dimensions.
C) It would be similar to being a toddler, with a low angle of regard.
D) We can never really know.

Question 9

Some people with impaired vision experience realistic and complex visual hallucinations. This phenomenon is called

A) Charles Bonnet syndrome.
B) senile dementia.
C) psychosis.
D) Anton's syndrome.

Question 10

Which view holds that perceptual experience depends on the operation of the nervous system with no requirement for the involvement of some noncorporeal force?

A) materialism
B) naïve realism
C) subjective idealism
D) solipsism

Question 11

The approach of dualism in the study of perception holds that

A) perception and sensation are two different processes.
B) conscious experience can exist independently of a material foundation.
C) physiology and anatomy both determine and influence perceptual experience.
D) there are two basic types of sense.

Question 12

According to Rene Descartes, perception requires consideration of the physical brain as well as some nonphysical substance. This approach is referred to as

A) materialism.
B) subjective.
C) dualism.
D) solipsism.

Question 13

The view of perception as an active process was championed by

A) James Gibson.
B) William James.
C) Hermann von Helmholtz.
D) Richard Gregory.

Question 14

Churchland's argument(s) against dualism involved

A) the notion that the condition of the brain affects perception.
B) complex perceptions that can be accounted for by simple elements.
C) both the notion that the condition of the brain affects perception and complex perceptions that can be . accounted for by simple elements
D) none of these

Question 15

Which of the following would NOT be considered a near sense?

A) touch
B) hearing
C) smell
D) All of these are near senses.

Question 16

In comparing near and far senses, it is generally the case that

A) crucial reactions called for by near senses must be executed more swiftly.
B) crucial reactions called for by far senses must be executed more swiftly.
C) the loss of near senses is thought to be especially devastating.
D) the loss of near and far senses is thought to be equally serious.

Question 17

There are many practical reasons for studying perception. According to the study of perception, which of the following designs is inappropriate for human use?

A) a sign with blue lettering on a green background
B) a high-pitched fire alarm
C) both a sign with blue lettering on a green background and a high-pitched fire alarm
D) neither a sign with blue lettering on a green background nor a high-pitched fire alarm

Question 18

As dusk approaches, _________ appear to take on a deeper hue or richness.

A) reds
B) yellows
C) oranges
D) greens

Question 19

The philosopher John Locke drew a distinction between primary and secondary qualities, asserting that

A) primary qualities are actually present in an object, whereas secondary qualities are sensations evoked by that object.
B) primary qualities are illusory, whereas secondary qualities are real.
C) primary qualities include color, sound, and taste; secondary qualities include bulk, number, and motion.
D) primary qualities must be accepted with caution, whereas secondary qualities accurately reflect the nature of the world.

Question 20

What is the view that the world is perceived as it is because it is as it is?

A) materialism
B) naïve realism
C) subjective idealism
D) solipsism

Question 21

The view that the physical world is entirely the product of the mind is

A) materialism.
B) naïve realism.
C) subjective idealism.
D) solipsism.

Question 22

Which of the following statements challenge(s) the notion of naive realism?

A) A single stimulus can change in appearance from one moment to the next.
B) Infants cannot see small objects that adults can see.
C) Young adults can hear sounds that older persons can't.
D) all of these

Question 23

The critical difference between seeing and hearing appears to depend on the

A) different forms of physical energy involved.
B) areas of the brain that are stimulated.
C) strength and type of the stimulus.
D) differences between the eyes and the ears.

Question 24

The idea that a sensation depends on the particular set of nerve fibers stimulated is referred to as

A) the doctrine of specific nerve energies.
B) the naturalistic approach.
C) phenomenal approach.
D) Anton's syndrome.

Question 25

The individual associated with postulating the doctrine of specific nerve energies is

A) Anton
B) James J. Gibson.
C) Paul Churchland.
D) Johannes Mü ller.

Question 26

Which one of the following is NOT one of the approaches to perception adopted in the text?

A) psychological
B) biological
C) theoretical
D) All of these are approaches to perception.

Question 27

The focus of the textbook is to consider perception as a function of

A) biological processes.
B) empiricism.
C) both biological processes and empiricism
D) none of these

Question 28

The approach that emphasizes the use of one's conscious experiences as evidence is a(n)

A) psychological approach.
B) biological approach.
C) experimental approach.
D) phenomenal/naturalistic approach.

Question 29

The extent to which a method controls or structures stimuli and the reactions to them are called

A) formality.
B) precision.
C) solipsism.
D) structuralism.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a psychological approach to the study of perception?

A) mechanistic approach
B) phenomenal/naturalistic approach
C) experimental approach
D) none of these

Question 31

According to the textbook, which one of the following is NOT a problem associated with phenomenal descriptions?

A) Studies would necessarily exclude nonhumans and preverbal infants.
B) Verbal reports can be fallible and misleading.
C) Individuals cannot accurately describe their experiences.
D) All of these are considered problems with phenomenal descriptions.

Question 32

If Albert reported that he could see even when it was obvious to others that he was blind, he might well be a victim of

A) hallucinations.
B) schizophrenia.
C) Anton's syndrome.
D) Charles Bonnet syndrome.

Question 33

When Sandra says she can hear a sound, but Nancy reports not hearing the same sound, it means that

A) Sandra and Nancy have different sensitivity levels.
B) Sandra and Nancy might differ in their expectations.
C) Sandra and Nancy might differ in their respective motivations.
D) any of the choices might be occurring

Question 34

The primary advantage of using signal detection theory is that it

A) establishes thresholds more quickly than other methods do.
B) establishes thresholds more accurately than other methods do.
C) separates sensitivity from motivational factors.
D) requires less sophisticated equipment than other methods do.

Question 35

Typical experimental approaches to perception use

A) stimuli not found in the natural environment.
B) natural scene statistics.
C) multimodal stimuli.
D) biological stimuli.

Question 36

The idea that the relation between perception and biology can be understood by destroying parts of the brain and determining the effects on behavior is referred to as

A) lesioning.
B) an evoked potential.
C) a trauma.
D) none of these

Question 37

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a technique to

A) create temporary lesions in parts of the brain.
B) control epileptic seizures.
C) enhance perception.
D) reduce perception of pain.

Question 38

Which technique allows us to see a "snapshot" of activity in brain regions?

A) positron-emission tomography (PET)
B) single-cell technique
C) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
D) both positron-emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Question 39

The advantage(s) of magenetoencephalography as an image technique is (are) its

A) spatial precision.
B) temporal precision.
C) low cost.
D) all of these

Question 40

The ability to determine which aspects of the brain are active when an individual perceives a stimulus can be accomplished using which of the following?

A) CAT scan
B) PET scan
C) lesion
D) none of these

Question 41

Single-cell techniques have been recently enhanced by

A) allowing nearby cells to be stimulated.
B) allowing nearby cells to be recorded.
C) being combined with magenetoencephalography.
D) being combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Question 42

An ideal perceiver is

A) a mathematical abstraction.
B) someone with 20/20 vision.
C) a person perceiving optimally.
D) a person imagining perceiving something.

Question 43

Which of the following statements is an example of orderliness of sensory information?

A) The various parts of any object tend to be far from one another.
B) Color tends to change abruptly across an object.
C) Light tends to come from above.
D) Sounds tend to be absorbed by objects.

Question 44

Proof for the notion that the visual system uses built-in assumptions comes from

A) illusions.
B) single-cell recording.
C) subjective contours.
D) PET scans.

Question 45

The phenomenon in which contours are seen even though they are not physically present is called

A) haptic contours.
B) hallucination.
C) subjective contours.
D) shape constancy.

Question 46

Subjective contours

A) are experienced by animals other than humans.
B) arise because the visual system assumes that near objects occlude far objects.
C) are fabricated by the brain.
D) all of these

Question 47

What is meant by the distinction between the physical world and the perceptual world?

Question 48

What is the essence of the philosophical position called "dualism,"
and how does it differ from "materialism"?

Question 49

How would someone who believes in naïve realism explain visual illusions?

Question 50

According to the doctrine of specific nerve energies, why does thunder elicit the perception of sound and lightening elicit the perception of light?

Question 51

What is a lesion, and what can it tell us about perception?

Question 52

List the four primary levels of analysis often adopted in the examination of perception, and explain why it is important to study perception from each of these perspectives.

Question 53

Fechner established a new science, which he called

A) physics.
B) psychophysics.
C) kinetics.
D) psychoanalysis.

Question 54

The minimum intensity at which a stimulus can just be detected is termed the

A) difference threshold.
B) absolute threshold.
C) intrinsic threshold.
D) just noticeable difference (JND).

Question 55

Which of the following is a possible pair of JNDs? The difference threshold for the intensity of a light with an intensity of 100 units is ______, and the difference threshold for a light with an intensity of 1,000 units is ______.

A) 10; 100
B) 100; 10
C) 10; 10
D) 100; 100

Question 56

According to Weber's law,

A) a fixed-proportion increase in intensity is sufficient to produce a JND in sensation.
B) large increases in intensity are needed to discriminate weak stimuli.
C) stimulus magnitude grows with a power function.
D) a constant intensity must be added to any stimulus to make it noticeably stronger.

Question 57

Weber's Law

A) breaks down at very weak values of a stimulus.
B) breaks down at very intense values of a stimulus.
C) both breaks down at very weak values of a stimulus and breaks down at very intense values of a stimulus.
D) neither breaks down at very weak values of a stimulus nor breaks down at very intense values of a stimulus.

Question 58

Measuring absolute thresholds is complicated by sensory noise for

A) vision.
B) hearing.
C) smell.
D) all of these

Question 59

Dark light in vision is analogous to ______________________ in audition.

A) the lowest audible frequency
B) white noise
C) dark sound
D) the sounds of silence

Question 60

A psychometric function is a graph showing

A) the proportion of trials on which stimuli of different intensities are detected.
B) changes in threshold with some stimulus dimension.
C) hit rate plotted against false alarm rate.
D) a subject's ratings of stimulus magnitude plotted against physical intensity.

Question 61

In the method of adjustment, who adjusts what?

A) The observer adjusts the absolute threshold.
B) The experimenter adjusts the intensity of the stimulus.
C) The observer adjusts the intensity of the stimulus.
D) The experimenter adjusts the position of the observer.

Question 62

When using the method of adjustment to estimate a difference threshold, the threshold is given by

A) the level of the settings.
B) the difference in the levels of the settings.
C) the variability of the settings.
D) all of these

Question 63

When using the method of adjustment to measure the difference threshold, the observer

A) adjusts the comparison stimulus to match the intensity of the standard stimulus.
B) adjusts the comparison stimulus to be just noticeably more intense than the standard stimulus.
C) adjusts the comparison stimulus to be just noticeably less intense than the standard stimulus.
Duses adjusts the comparison stimulus to be just noticeably more intense than the standard stimulus on
) some trials and adjusts the comparison stimulus to be just noticeably less intense than the standard stimulus on others.

Question 64

Compared to other procedures, the forced-choice technique

A) is much quicker.
B) minimizes the role of criterion effects in performance.
C) generally yields higher thresholds than other procedures.
D) gets around the problem of guessing.

Question 65

According to signal detection theory

A) perception is immune to influences of motivation.
B) people should always say "no" when a stimulus isn't presented.
C) good discrimination is shown by the combination of a high hit rate and a low false alarm rate.
D) all people tend to have the same criterion and differ only in perceptual sensitivity.

Question 66

The power, or exponent, in the power law is greatest for perception of which of the following?

A) length
B) brightness
C) loudness
D) electric shock

Question 67

A person who adjusts a light so that it is equal in brightness to the loudness of a sound is using

A) intersensory comparison.
B) cross-modality matching.
C) threshold shifting.
D) loudness contouring.

Question 68

Summarize the procedures involved in measuring a difference threshold using the method of constant stimuli.

Question 69

What is the staircase method, and what are its advantages over other psychophysical techniques?

Question 70

Suppose we measure Randolph's and Robert's thresholds for detecting a pure tone, using the method of adjustment. Randolph's thresholds turn out to be lower than Robert's. Is Randolph's hearing better than Robert's? What possible interpretations can we draw from these measurements?

Question 71

What is the distinction between a psychophysical function and a psychometric function?

Question 72

Suppose Ted and Alice participate in a magnitude estimation experiment on the perceived intensity of salt. Ted's exponent turns out to be larger than Alice's. When Alice prepares a meal, which is Ted likely to complain about: too much salt in the dish or too little salt in the dish? Why?

Question 73

Summarize the procedures involved in performing a multidimensional scaling experiment.

Question 74

All your sensory systems change as you get older. Write an essay to your elderly aunt, describing the major age-related changes in vision, audition, and taste. Wherever possible, tell your aunt what she might do to compensate for each change or to minimize its effect.

Question 75

You've been hired to design a vision exam that will be administered to every applicants for a driver's license. Right now your state tests only three aspects of vision: photopic visual acuity, depth perception, and color vision. After taking this course, you realize that these tests are inadequate. What four other functions would you recommend be tested? Describe each of the functions, how you'd test them, and explain the importance of each for driving.

Question 76

What exactly is constancy behavior? Define constancy behavior in terms of the proximal and distal stimuli. How would your daily life be altered if you were suddenly to lose constancy behavior? Give a physiological explanation of how one particular constancy, lightness constancy, might be achieved.

Question 77

The large mass of the brain involved in vision seems to be organized into functionally distinct areas, each specialized for processing information about color, motion, form, and so on. What is an advantage of this type of organization? What is a disadvantage? Describe Anne Treisman's work on illusory conjunctions, and explain what that work says about modularity. The concept of modularity can, of course, be extended to the different sensory modalities, each with its own distinct brain region. Do the same principles
of modularity apply across modalities that apply within modalities? If so, illustrate with one other modality.

Question 78

In 1890 William James wrote: "Whilst part of what we perceive comes through our senses from the object before us, another part . . . always comes out of our own head."
Using at least four different examples drawn from class and the text, support James' statement.

Question 79

The Gestalt principles of perceptual organization generalizes across modalities. Select two Gestalt principles and give examples of their operation in hearing, taste or smell, and vision.

Question 80

Gibson stressed that perception is an active process. Support his assertion by giving examples of the active nature of perception in the case of vision, hearing, and touch.