Deck 4: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Apprehending objects and events in the environment, sensing them, identifying them, and reacting to them implies the process of

A) sensation.
B) learning.
C) thinking.
D) perception.

Answer 1

perception.

Question 2

The processes of ________ assign meaning to percepts.

A) sensation
B) perceptual organization
C) synthesis
D) identification and recognition

Answer 2

identification and recognition

Question 3

In perceiving the "real" object in the environment, what we wish to perceive is the ________ stimulus, whereas the stimulus from which we must derive our information is the ________ stimulus.

A) distal; proximal
B) proximal; distal
C) distal; differential
D) proximal; differential

Answer 3

distal; proximal

Question 4

A friend has decided she would like to participate in a psychophysics study, but when she goes to the bulletin board that lists experiments, she can't figure out which research title probably relates to psychophysics. She asks for your help. Can you select the appropriate study for her?

A) the relationship between personality and physical size
B) the effect of light intensity on the experience of brightness
C) moving objects through space in the absence of physical touch
D) the effect of aerobic exercise on psychological adjustment

Question 5

A superhero in a comic book boasts that his senses are so well developed that he can see a candle flame at night at a distance of 30 miles, hear the tick of a watch at 20 feet, detect by tasting the presence of one teaspoon of sugar in 200 gallons of water, and smell whether one drop of perfume has been sprayed in an area equivalent to a three-room apartment. The only claim that sounds extraordinary is that he can

A) see the flame from a candle at a distance of thirty miles.
B) hear the tick of a watch at a distance of twenty feet.
C) taste the presence of a teaspoon of sugar in 200 gallons of water.
D) smell the perfume in an area the size of a three-room apartment.

Question 6

When you walk into your classroom, you notice the words "matrix," "hits," and "false alarms" written on the blackboard. You can conclude that the topic discussed in the previous class was most probably

A) gate-control theory.
B) signal detection theory.
C) accommodation.
D) nociceptive pain.

Question 7

Suppose you are using a signal detection theory approach. On each trial, observers respond by saying "yes" if they think the signal was present and "no" if they think it was not present. If a stimulus is not presented, but the observer believes it was presented, it is called a

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

Question 8

Psychologists who study sensory processes are most likely to use signal detection theory because it makes it possible to

A) lower an individual's difference threshold.
B) separate sensory processes from response bias.
C) determine why an individual would be a "naysayer."
D) determine the single, true absolute threshold.

Question 9

You try a new potato chip and it tastes great, so you encourage a friend to try it. He tastes a new chip, then an old-style chip, and finally says that as far as he is concerned, all potato chips taste the same. The behavior of your friend is most similar to what might occur in a study of

A) difference thresholds.
B) absolute thresholds.
C) accommodation.
D) response bias.

Question 10

A difference threshold is operationally defined as the

A) point at which two stimuli sometimes are recognized as different.
B) point at which two stimuli are recognized as different half of the time.
C) point at which two stimuli are recognized as different all of the time.
D) smallest quantity of physical energy that can be detected.

Question 11

In tracing some of the structures that light energy encounters as it moves through the eye from the outside world, the sequence is

A) cornea, anterior chamber, pupil, lens, vitreous humor, retina.
B) anterior chamber, lens, pupil, cornea, vitreous humor, retina.
C) pupil, vitreous humor, lens, cornea, anterior chamber, retina.
D) anterior chamber, cornea, pupil, retina, vitreous humor, lens.

Question 12

An elderly man jokes that his arms have gotten too short to be able to read the morning newspaper without his glasses. In reality, his vision problem is most likely due to

A) the range of accommodation shifting too close.
B) flattening of the cornea.
C) the inability of the lens to thicken properly.
D) ciliary muscles that are too strong.

Question 13

Rods operate best in ________; cones operate best in ________.

A) near darkness; near darkness
B) bright light; bright light
C) bright light; near darkness
D) near darkness; bright light

Question 14

A child notices that, after he is tucked into bed at night and the light is turned off, he can't see much of anything. But if he keeps his eyes open, over time he can see his toys scattered around the room. He doesn't know it, but this dark adaptation comes about because of the

A) improved sensitivity of his rods over time.
B) improved sensitivity of his cones over time.
C) improved sensitivity of amacrine cells over time.
D) presence of horizontal cells in his eyes.

Question 15

The fovea is on the retina of the eye; it is the place where

A) the blind spot is located.
B) only rods can be found.
C) horizontal cells and amacrine cells are located.
D) vision is sharpest.

Question 16

At night, when you look at a star directly, the image of the star hits the fovea of your retina and you find it difficult to see it very clearly. This is because this area

A) is densely packed with rods.
B) is rod-free.
C) does not allow you to focus well.
D) is where you have your weakest vision.

Question 17

Walking home after the lecture on the visual system, a student is thinking about what he has heard when he realizes that he has forgotten which type of cells carry visual information to the brain and which type of cells spread the signal within the retina. When he gets home and opens up his book, he will find out that

A) bipolar cells and ganglion cells spread the signal within the retina, and horizontal and amacrine cells send the signal to the brain.
B) horizontal and amacrine cells spread the signal within the retina, and bipolar cells send the signal to the brain.
C) horizontal cells send the signal to the brain, and amacrine cells spread the signal across the retina.
D) ganglion cells send the signal to the brain, and horizontal and amacrine cells spread the signal across the retina.

Question 18

As they carry neural messages to the visual centers in the brain, the optic nerves from each eye first come together in the ________; as they continue, ________ of the fibers from each retina remain on the side of the body from which they originated.

A) optic tract; a few
B) optic tract; most
C) optic chiasma; all
D) optic chiasma; half

Question 19

Which type of cortical cell is NOT one described by Hubel and Wiesel in their Nobel Prize-winning studies of visual processing?

A) simple
B) intermediate
C) complex
D) hypercomplex

Question 20

According to research described by your authors, which of the following brain areas would be more active in a woman who was viewing a mirror reflection of her own body?

A) bed nucleus of the stirate terminalis (BST)
B) optic chiasma (OC)
C) fusiform functional area (FFA)
D) extrastriate body area (EBA)

Question 21

Pastel colors, like beige and mauve, have intermediate amounts of

A) hue.
B) saturation.
C) brightness.
D) color.

Question 22

Imagine wandering into an auditorium where a lecturer is talking about the negative afterimage. The audience is looking at a blank white screen, but when they are asked what they see, they respond that they see the red, white, and blue American flag. Obviously, they have previously been staring at a ________ flag.

A) green, black, and yellow
B) blue, white, and red
C) red, orange, and yellow
D) blue, indigo, and violet

Question 23

When a child combines the yellow and blue crayon colors in her drawing, the resulting color is green. Why is this so?

A) Because in an additive color mixture, combining these two colors yields green.
B) When yellow and blue are combined, the yellow absorbs the yellow, and the blue absorbs the blue, leaving green as the only remaining color.
C) The only wavelengths that are not absorbed look green.
D) Because of an afterimage created by the particular addition of these two colors.

Question 24

As a participant in a classroom debate, a student has been asked to find support for the trichromatic theory of color vision. She would be advised to look at the research that shows there are three

A) types of rods, each sensitive to red, blue, and green.
B) types of cones, each sensitive to red, blue, and green.
C) retinal ganglion cells, each capable of responding to red, blue, green, but not their afterimages.
D) sections of the visual cortex which respond most directly to each of the colors red, blue, and green.

Question 25

Which of the following pairs of opponent elements was NOT part of the opponent-process theory proposed by Ewald Hering?

A) blue versus violet
B) red versus green
C) blue versus yellow
D) black versus white

Question 26

If you were told that the opponent-process theory was preferred over the trichromatic theory to explain color vision, which of the following statements would logically support that statement?

A) the existence of complementary afterimages.
B) the greater likelihood of males to have color blindness.
C) the fact that the inability to distinguish yellows and blues is less common.
D) why some people see no color at all.

Question 27

In part, the contemporary version of color vision says that

A) there are four types of color cones in the retina, rather than three.
B) ganglion cells combine outputs of cone types in an opponent-process manner.
C) color cones are equally responsive to all wavelengths of light.
D) people who are color-blind possess an inhibitory system, but lack an excitatory system.

Question 28

The intensity closest to the level at which sound can be expected to cause hearing loss is about ________ decibels.

A) 65
B) 90
C) 115
D) 140

Question 29

A musician is listening to a piece of classical music. His ability to tell apart the various instruments he hears is due to the dimension of sound known as

A) timbre.
B) amplitude.
C) loudness.
D) pitch.

Question 30

A child loves it when the piano tuner comes. His tuning forks have such a clear sound. The child doesn't know it, but that is because a tuning fork produces a pure tone which has

A) multiple sine waves.
B) a single sine wave.
C) one frequency and many amplitudes.
D) all possible frequencies.

Question 31

There is an interactive exhibit on the senses at a science fair. For the sense of hearing, there is a gigantic ear through which viewers can walk. What is the order in which patrons will encounter the structures listed below, as they move through the ear?

A) tympanic membrane, middle ear, auditory nerve, pinna, cochlea
B) cochlea, middle ear, pinna, tympanic membrane, auditory nerve
C) auditory nerve, tympanic membrane, pinna, cochlea, middle ear
D) pinna, tympanic membrane, middle ear, cochlea, auditory nerve

Question 32

Suppose that an elderly friend who has been having trouble hearing learns that she has something called "conduction deafness." What should you tell her about this problem?

A) It is the most serious form of hearing impairment.
B) It may result from malfunctioning bones in the middle ear.
C) It refers to a defect in the neural mechanisms.
D) It can only be cured by regeneration of cochlear hair cells.

Question 33

A man returns from the doctor after having been informed that he is suffering from nerve deafness. Should he be concerned?

A) No, because this form of deafness is not very serious.
B) No, because this type of deafness can easily be cured by microsurgery.
C) No, because it means that his auditory cortex has definitely not been damaged.
D) Yes, because it is a serious type of deafness.

Question 34

Suppose you were listening to a high-frequency tone. According to the place theory of pitch perception,

A) the entire basilar membrane will vibrate very quickly.
B) the rate at which neurons fire codes the pitch, so neurons will be firing rapidly.
C) movement of the basilar membrane should be greatest at the end of the cochlea (farthest away from the oval and round windows).
D) movement of the basilar membrane should be greatest at the base of the cochlea (closest to the oval and round windows).

Question 35

You and a friend are quizzing each other in preparation for your next psychology test. Your friend asks you which theory of pitch relies on the rate of vibration in the basilar membrane, does not depend on where in the basilar membrane the vibrations take place, and equates rate of firing with a neural code for pitch. Because you know the answer, you instantly say,

A) place theory.
B) frequency theory.
C) it's a combination of place theory and frequency theory.
D) opponent-process theory.

Question 36

The "volley principle" was developed in order to explain how the auditory system detects ________ sounds.

A) high-amplitude
B) low-amplitude
C) high-frequency
D) low-frequency

Question 37

You hear that a man is suing the local restaurant because he claims the food that he was served contained spices that permanently damaged his taste receptors. Do you think his suit has merit?

A) Yes. The taste buds may have been damaged, and are irreplaceable.
B) Yes. This is a common reaction to eating spicy foods.
C) No. The taste buds get replaced every ten days or so, so he is likely to regain his sense of taste.
D) No. The taste buds are virtually indestructible and are rarely damaged.

Question 38

As the result of a classroom demonstration, a classmate recently discovered that he is a supertaster. He has done some research, and found out that

A) men are more likely to be supertasters than are women.
B) supertasters are likely to have fewer pain receptors on their tongues.
C) supertasters have more taste buds than nontasters.
D) it would be unlikely that other members of his family are also supertasters.

Question 39

Meissner corpuscles respond best when the skin ________; Merkel discs are most active when ________.

A) rubs against another object; something warm touches the skin
B) is touched by something warm; the skin rubs against another object
C) rubs against another object; an object puts steady pressure on the skin
D) senses steady pressure from an object touching the skin; an object rubs against the skin

Question 40

If you are like most people, you will be LEAST sensitive to pressure originating from the

A) fingertips.
B) face.
C) tongue.
D) back.

Question 41

Which item is NOT related to the vestibular sense?

A) papillae
B) saccule
C) utricle
D) semicircular canals

Question 42

People who get motion sickness easily typically find that it is quite common when the signals from their ________ system conflict with those from the ________ system.

A) kinesthetic; vestibular
B) kinesthetic; auditory
C) visual; auditory
D) visual; vestibular

Question 43

Scientists who have studied pain mechanisms have discovered that

A) there is one set of receptors that responds to all forms of pain-producing stimuli.
B) the location and intensity of pain is identified by mechanisms in the spinal cord.
C) pain signals are sent to the central nervous system via two pathways.
D) pain signals rarely reach the cerebral cortex of the brain.

Question 44

In research discussed by your authors, which type of neuroimaging technique was used to examine the relationship between the psychological pain of a romantic break-up and the experience of physical pain?

A) EEG
B) fMRI
C) PET
D) rTMS

Question 45

When you look around the stadium, you see half the crowd is wearing the blue colors of the home team and a much smaller number is wearing the red colors of the away team. The way these colors seem to automatically group themselves together illustrates the Gestalt law of

A) proximity.
B) common fate.
C) similarity.
D) effect.

Question 46

Research suggests that our moment-to-moment visual impressions of the world do not preserve precise details. One reason for this less-than-perfect representation may be that

A) boundary extension contributes to memories.
B) temporal integration is emplyed when it is not needed.
C) spatial integration is used when temporal integration is needed.
D) the visual system is not sufficiently developed to register details.

Question 47

To be able to use the information about depth that is supplied by the cues of retinal disparity and convergence,

A) people must keep one eye closed.
B) people must have two working eyes.
C) the head must be moved slowly back and forth.
D) objects must be farther than ten feet away.

Question 48

The special information required by the depth cue of convergence is provided by the

A) optic disk.
B) conjunctiva.
C) eye muscles.
D) optic chiasma.

Question 49

In an introductory drawing class, an art student is learning about pictorial cues for depth. Which of the following is NOT likely to be described?

A) relative size
B) linear perspective
C) convergence
D) texture gradients

Question 50

The Ponzo illusion is created as the result of the way the visual system interprets

A) apparent motion.
B) retinal disparity.
C) converging lines.
D) texture gradients.

Question 51

As you leave the classroom, you see a friend at the end of the hall. Although your retinal image of your friend is much smaller than it would be if he were standing right next to you, you do not notice anything unusual about his height. This is most clearly an example of

A) size constancy.
B) perceptual ambiguity.
C) change blindness.
D) recognition by compounds.

Question 52

Lightness constancy works because the

A) percentage of light an object reflects remains about the same even as the absolute amount of light changes.
B) absolute amount of light that an object reflects remains constant across all environments.
C) visual system has evolved to ignore the percentage of light that an object reflects.
D) retinal image of an object remains constant even when the object is placed in different locations.

Question 53

When grading the exam, the experienced teacher had few problems reading the student's sloppy handwriting because she had asked this question before and knew in advance what the student was likely to write. This example shows most clearly the importance of

A) top-down processing.
B) bottom-up processing.
C) data-driven processing.
D) phonemic restoration.