Deck 4: A: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

When listening to your professor's lecture,hearing the various sounds of the professor's words would involve the process of

A) perception.
B) sensation.
C) assimilation.
D) accommodation.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Your eyes transduce only a tiny fraction of the entire range of electromagnetic energies,which we call the

A) perceptual limit.
B) visible spectrum.
C) biological transduction range.
D) spectral analysis limitation.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Because our senses select,analyze,and filter information until only the most important information remains,our senses are considered __________ systems.

A) convergent
B) data reduction
C) somesthetic
D) replicating

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Regarding the sensation of various species,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) The eyes of honeybees transduce parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that are invisible to humans.
B) Bats' ears transduce sound waves that humans cannot hear.
C) Research has shown that the human eye transduces all of the electromagnetic spectrum to the brain, but the brain is unable to perceive it.
D) Sharks have special organs that can sense the bioelectric fields of other living things.

Question 5

The minimum amount of energy needed for a sensation to occur is called

A) the absolute threshold.
B) a transducer level.
C) data reduction threshold.
D) perceptual limit.

Question 6

Regarding sensation and perception,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) We are constantly surrounded by electromagnetic radiation, heat, pressure, vibrations, molecules, and mechanical forces.
B) The senses are enough to give people a completely accurate "picture" of reality.
C) During the process of perception, our brain assembles sensations into a meaningful "picture"of events.
D) Unless your senses translate information into a form your brain can understand, you will experience only a void of silence and darkness.

Question 7

The process of detecting physical energies with the sensory organs is called

A) sensation.
B) perception.
C) adaptation.
D) cognition.

Question 8

Sense receptors are biological transducers,which means that they

A) select from a broad range of stimulation.
B) analyze the environment into important features.
C) convert one form of energy to another.
D) detect only a limited range of energies.

Question 9

In order to take your psychology quiz,you must read and process the information.The ability to organize the black marks on the paper into meaningful patterns involves the process of

A) perception.
B) sensation.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) sensory accommodation.

Question 10

Dr.Azure measures sound waves and electromagnetic radiation and relates them to the sensations people experience as loudness and brightness,respectively.Dr.Azure is conducting research in the area of

A) physiological psychology.
B) neurological psychology.
C) psychophysics.
D) sensory deprivation.

Question 11

The sensory receptors of your eyes are able to convert light energy into neural energy,which can then be utilized by the brain.thus,the sensory receptors in your eyes act as

A) visual adapters.
B) biological assimilators.
C) phosphenes.
D) biological transducers.

Question 12

The science of measuring changes in physical stimuli and relating them to changes in psychological sensations is called

A) physiological psychology.
B) neurological psychology.
C) psychophysics.
D) sensory deprivation.

Question 13

The primary function of the senses is to act as devices that convert one kind of energy into another,which are referred to as

A) visual adapters.
B) biological assimilators.
C) phosphenes.
D) biological transducers.

Question 14

When listening to your professor's lecture,interpreting the meaning of the professor's words is an example of

A) perception.
B) sensation.
C) assimilation.
D) accommodation.

Question 15

Our sensory systems act as data reduction systems.This means that they

A) can change one form of energy to another.
B) transmit information to the brain in the form of codes.
C) select and analyze information and send only the most important data to the brain.
D) are only sensitive to a small range of sensations that will require additional interpretation by the brain.

Question 16

In order to take your psychology quiz,you must read and process the information.The initial step of your eyes detecting the black marks on the page depends on the process of

A) perception.
B) sensation.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) sensory accommodation.

Question 17

The ears of bats can transduce and hear sound waves that humans cannot.This allows them to fly in complete darkness by using

A) feature detectors.
B) depth cues.
C) hyperopia.
D) echolocation.

Question 18

Which of the following animals have special organs that can sense the bioelectric fields of other living creatures?

A) owls
B) honey bees
C) bats
D) sharks

Question 19

The process by which the brain organizes sensations into meaningful patterns is known as

A) reception.
B) adaptation.
C) perception.
D) cognition.

Question 20

Regarding the sensory abilities of humans,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) Our sensory receptors do not transduce all of the energies they encounter.
B) Many types of stimuli cannot be sensed directly because we lack sensory receptors to tranduce the energy.
C) Some sense receptors transduce only part of their target energy range.
D) Because our sense organs are able to convert one kind of energy into another, they are known as feature detectors.

Question 21

When you first get into the swimming pool,the water feels rather cool,but after swimming for awhile,the water feels fine.A friend asks you how the water is,and you tell her the "water's great." She jumps in and then accuses you of lying because the water is freezing.You really were not lying.It is just that you experienced

A) sensory gating.
B) sensory adaptation.
C) sensory conflict.
D) selective attention.

Question 22

In their experiments on the brain and perceptual features,Blakemore,Cooper,Grobstein and Chow found that

A) the kittens raised in the vertically-striped rooms ran into chair legs in the normal environment.
B) the kittens raised in the horizontally-striped rooms had difficulty jumping onto a chair in the normal environment.
C) there was an actual decrease in brain cells tuned to the missing features.
D) all of these findings were true.

Question 23

In order for a frog's visual bug-detector to work,the bug must be

A) a dark color.
B) coming closer to the frog.
C) stationary.
D) moving.

Question 24

The visual system is able to analyze incoming sensory information into lines,angles,shading,and movement because it has a set of

A) sight cells.
B) second stage sensors.
C) feature detectors.
D) neurological transducers.

Question 25

The separation of sensory information into its important elements is known as

A) sensory analysis.
B) sensory adaptation.
C) perceptual gating.
D) perceptual localization.

Question 26

Owls,who hunt at night,can hear sounds that cannot be heard by humans,which illustrates that,compared to humans,they have a much

A) higher absolute threshold.
B) lower absolute threshold.
C) higher sensory adaptation level for sounds.
D) lower sensory adaptation level for sounds.

Question 27

Important elements of a stimulus pattern,such as lines,shapes,edges,spots,and colors,are referred to as

A) perceptual features.
B) sensory amplifiers.
C) perceptual transducers.
D) phosphenes.

Question 28

As the senses process information,they divide the world into basic stimulus patterns known as

A) phosphenes.
B) perceptual features.
C) perceptual sets.
D) sensory adaptations.

Question 29

Sensory receptors respond best to

A) changes in stimulation.
B) changes in threshold.
C) subliminal images.
D) repetitive stimuli.

Question 30

Which of the following explains why you are not constantly aware of the pressure of your wristwatch on your arm or your shoes on your feet?

A) sensory adaptation
B) sensory gating
C) sensory conflict
D) perceptual localization.

Question 31

In a drawing,a single vertical line is placed among a group of slanted lines.This effect,which is so basic that babies as young as three months respond to it,is called the __________ effect.

A) somesthetic
B) pop-out
C) gate-control
D) stereoscopic

Question 32

The decrease in sensory response to an unchanging stimulus is known as

A) sensory conflict.
B) sensory gating.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) selective attention.

Question 33

A dog whistle can be heard by dogs but not by humans.This whistle takes advantage of a characteristic of sensory systems known as

A) the absolute threshold.
B) the difference threshold.
C) perceptual defense.
D) a just noticeable difference.

Question 34

The "pop-out" effect,or eye-catching effect,of such visual stimuli as lines,shapes,edges,spots,and colors occurs because your visual system is highly sensitive to perceptual

A) amplitudes.
B) transducers.
C) features.
D) thresholds.

Question 35

Sensory adaptation refers to a decrease in sensory response that accompanies

A) perceptual defense.
B) threshold shifts.
C) an unchanging stimulus.
D) selective attention.

Question 36

Regarding sensory analysis,which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) As they process information, the senses divide the world into important perceptual features.
B) Our sensitivity to perceptual features is an innate characteristic of our nervous system.
C) Our sensitivity to perceptual features is influenced by our experiences early in life.
D) Our sensitivity to perceptual features prevents our visual system from being vulnerable to the pop-out effect.

Question 37

Which of the following involves the process of extracting perceptual features from stimulus patterns?

A) sensory analysis.
B) sensory adaptation.
C) perceptual gating.
D) perceptual localization.

Question 38

A frog's eyes are highly sensitive to small,dark,moving spots.Since the frog's eyes are attuned to this specific stimuli,the frog's eyes act as

A) feature detectors.
B) sensory amplifiers.
C) perceptual transducers.
D) phosphenes.

Question 39

You go into your son's room,only to be met with a combination of smells,including day-old pizza,wet towels,and gym shoes.Your son seems unconcerned with the putrid odors.When you ask how he can stand the stench of his "pig sty," he replies that he does not smell anything because of __________.(Well,at least he's listening in psychology class.)

A) sensory adaptation
B) sensory gating
C) sensory conflict
D) selective attention

Question 40

Sensory adaptation is normally most rapid for the sense of

A) vision.
B) olfaction.
C) taste.
D) kinesthesis.

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT one of the general functions of the sensory system?

A) sensory coding
B) sensory localization
C) sensory analysis
D) sensory assimilation

Question 42

Phosphenes occur because the

A) eyes are able to transduce only a tiny fraction of electromagnetic energies.
B) eyes are sensitive to the pop-out effect.
C) eyes are only prepared to code stimulation as visual features.
D) sensitivity of the eyes to perceptual features in influenced by experiences early in life.

Question 43

Light sensations caused by pressure applied to the eye are referred to as

A) pheromones.
B) phosphenes.
C) visual features.
D) artificial vision.

Question 44

Some brain areas receive visual information,others receive auditory information,and still others receive taste or touch.Knowing which brain areas are active tells us,in general,what kinds of sensations you are feeling.This illustrates

A) transduction.
B) sensory localization.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) cerebralization.

Question 45

A minimum change in sensory intensity that is noticeable to an observer and can be coded into neural messages is known as the

A) absolute threshold.
B) psychophysical equation.
C) difference threshold.
D) transduction limit.

Question 46

Sensory localization means that the sensation experienced depends on the

A) area of the brain activated.
B) rate of firing of the nerve impulse.
C) the type of receptor stimulated.
D) the neural stimulation pattern.

Question 47

The visible spectrum is is made up of a narrow range of wavelengths of

A) spectral particles.
B) ionized nanometers.
C) phosphenes.
D) electromagnetic radiation.

Question 48

Experiments in which cats were raised in environments which emphasized one feature over another showed that

A) even though cats did not have experience with some features, they could easily learn about them.
B) there was an actual decrease in brain cells tuned to the missing feature.
C) when returned to a normal environment, the cats became frightened and refused to move around.
D) there was an actual increase in brain cells tuned to the missing feature.

Question 49

The spread of electomagnetic energies to which the eyes respond is called the

A) perceptual field.
B) gamma quatrant.
C) visible spectrum.
D) spectral composite.

Question 50

In their experiments on the brain and perceptual features,Blakemore,Cooper,Grobstein and Chow found that the kittens raised in the horizontally-striped rooms

A) bumped into chair legs.
B) missed when they tried to jump to horizontal surfaces.
C) had difficulty walking in a straight line.
D) experienced no difficulty in any visual task since the eyes easily adapt.

Question 51

Creating phosphenes illustrates how which of the following processes occurs in the eye?

A) sensory gating
B) accommodation
C) absolute threshold
D) sensory coding

Question 52

The difference between stimuli must be sufficiently large in order for your sensory systems to __________ it.

A) accommodate
B) assimilate
C) code
D) decelerate

Question 53

You are undergoing a PET scan.The doctor finds that when he asks you questions,the temporal lobe of the brain shows activation,while areas on the somatosensory area of the parietal lobe are activated when your hand is stroked.This association of brain area activation and sensation experienced illustrates

A) sensory gating.
B) sensory assimilation.
C) sensory localization.
D) cerebralization.

Question 54

Converting important features of the world into neural messages understood by the brain is called

A) sensory coding.
B) sensory accommodation.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) sensory gating.

Question 55

Regarding difference thresholds,which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Difference thresholds occur when we can first detect some stimulus.
B) Difference thresholds occur when we can first detect the change in the intensity of a stimulus.
C) Difference thresholds involve the decrease in sensory response to an unchanging stimulus.
D) Difference thresholds involve the mental process of organizing sensations into meaningful patterns.

Question 56

The type of sensation you experience depends on which area of the brain is activated.This is known as

A) transduction.
B) sensory localization.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) cerebralization.

Question 57

A researcher presents two lights of varying brightness to a subject who is asked to respond same or different by comparing their intensities.The researcher is seeking the __________ threshold.

A) difference
B) absolute
C) subliminal
D) phosphene

Question 58

Assume that a scientist is working on a device to route sounds directly to the brain to provide a type of hearing for people who are completely deaf.Which principle of sensory functioning would be most useful to the scientist in achieving her goal?

A) selective attention
B) data reduction
C) sensory adaptation
D) sensory localization

Question 59

In one approach,researchers have used a miniature television camera to send electrical signals to directly stimulate to the brain,while in another approach,a grid of light-sensitive elements is implanted into the retina so that it can electrically stimulate the optic nerve.Both of these systems involved the use of sensory

A) adaptation.
B) localization.
C) gating.
D) assimilation.

Question 60

In their experiments on the brain and perceptual features,Blakemore,Cooper,Grobstein and Chow found that the kittens raised in the vertically-striped rooms

A) bumped into chair legs.
B) missed when they tried to jump to horizontal surfaces.
C) had difficulty walking in a straight line.
D) experienced no difficulty in any visual task since the eyes easily adapt.

Question 61

Light waves of greater amplitude cause colors to appear

A) dull or "washed out."
B) brighter.
C) saturated.
D) transparent.

Question 62

We sense the longest wavelengths of visible light as the color

A) white.
B) purple.
C) red.
D) violet.

Question 63

Brightness refers to the

A) basic color categories.
B) pureness of color.
C) amplitude of light.
D) perception of meaningful patterns.

Question 64

Humans respond to different wavelengths of light by experiencing differing

A) hues.
B) levels of brightness.
C) amounts of saturation.
D) amplitudes.

Question 65

Colors that appear brighter

A) are more saturated.
B) have shorter wavelengths of light.
C) have light waves that carry more energy.
D) have light waves with a lower amplitude.

Question 66

The layer of light-sensitive pixels in the digital image sensor of a camera is analogous to the layer of photoreceptors of which area of the eye?

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

Question 67

Within one's eye,the light-sensitive cells are called

A) photoreceptors.
B) phosphenes.
C) tympanics.
D) stereocilia.

Question 68

White light is

A) made up of the longest wavelengths.
B) made up of the shortest wavelengths.
C) a mixture of many wavelengths.
D) the absence of any wavelength.

Question 69

The area of the eye,which is about the size and thickness of a postage stamp and converts light energy into nerve impulses,is called the

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

Question 70

Hue refers to the

A) basic color categories.
B) pureness of color.
C) amplitude of light.
D) perception of meaningful patterns.

Question 71

Within one's eye,the light-sensitive cells are located in the

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

Question 72

Saturated or pure hues are produced by which type of wavelengths?

A) wide band
B) narrow band
C) combination
D) high amplitude

Question 73

Visible light is made up of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths of

A) 400-700 nanometers.
B) 20 to 20,000 C.P.S.
C) 300-800 decibels.
D) 20 to 20,000 hectometers.

Question 74

Visible light starts at the "short" wavelengths,which we sense as

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

Question 75

Compared to a muddy brick red,a fire-engine red is said to be more

A) assimilated.
B) aqueous.
C) saturated.
D) accommodated.

Question 76

Most of the focusing is done at the front of the eye by a clear membrane that bends light inward.This membrane is called the

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

Question 77

The clear membrane that covers the outside of the eye and helps gather and bend light inward is called the

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

Question 78

The function of the lens is to

A) locate an image.
B) focus an image on the retina.
C) combine the location and projection on the blind spot.
D) project an image on the cornea.

Question 79

The dimension of vision which corresponds to the amplitude of light waves is

A) hue.
B) brightness.
C) transparency.
D) timbre.

Question 80

The basic color categories of red,orange,yellow,green,etc.refer to

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