Deck 4: B: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Which of the following best summarizes researchers' views concerning subliminal perception?

A)Subliminal perception does not influence behaviour, but it appears likely to have practical importance.
B)While subliminal perception may influence behaviour, it appears unlikely to have much practical importance.
C)Subliminal perception has no demonstrated effect on behaviour.
D)Subliminal perception may influence behaviour and it appears likely to have practical importance.

Answer 1

While subliminal perception may influence behaviour, it appears unlikely to have much practical importance.

Question 2

If the just-noticeable difference for detecting a change in the weight of your shopping bag is 50 grams, what would the JND be if your shopping bag were twice as heavy?

A)25 grams
B)50 grams
C)75 grams
D)100 grams

Answer 2

100 grams

Question 3

Which of the following describes light as the stimulus for vision?

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

Answer 3

a form of electromagnetic energy

Question 4

According to signal-detection theory, what is the term for sleeping through your alarm in the morning?

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

Question 5

At the absolute threshold, what proportion of the time is a target stimulus detected?

A)1 percent of the time
B)25 percent of the time
C)50 percent of the time
D)100 percent of the time

Question 6

According to signal-detection theory, what is the term for waking up to your alarm in the morning?

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

Question 7

In order to determine thresholds for detection of a spice, researchers diluted various amounts of the spice in 10 litres of water and determined whether those concentrations could be detected by people with normal taste perception. Participants were always able to detect 5 grams of the spice, and never able to detect 1 gram of the spice. About half of the time, participants could detect 2 grams of the spice, and nearly always detected 3 grams. In this example, what is the absolute threshold for detection of this spice?

A)1 gram
B)2 grams
C)3 grams
D)5 grams

Question 8

What is the minimum stimulus intensity that an organism can detect?

A)the detection threshold
B)the just noticeable threshold
C)the signal-detection threshold
D)the absolute threshold

Question 9

What is the term for the gradual decline in sensitivity to stimuli that follows prolonged stimulation?

A)sensory overload
B)perceptual adaptation
C)perceptual overload
D)sensory adaptation

Question 10

When you first put on a pair of tight-fitting pants in the morning you may be aware of pressure on your waist; however, after a few minutes the pants will not feel as tight. What does this example illustrate?

A)sensory adaptation
B)sensory overload
C)tactile stretching
D)tactile continuity

Question 11

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," which of the following represents how much the volume increased?

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

Question 12

If you're in a quiet room and someone blows a horn behind your head, the change in intensity of perceived sound will be very large. If you're at a rock concert and someone blows a horn behind your head, the change in intensity of perceived sound will be small. What does this example illustrate?

A)signal-detection theory
B)calculations of the Weber fraction
C)Fechner's law
D)subliminal perception

Question 13

Nicole is a vision scientist who conducts studies where people are presented with lines of different orientations. She documents how different those orientations need to be in order for people to perceive a difference. What is the term used to describe this type of research?

A)sensation
B)signal-detection
C)psychophysics
D)physiological psychology

Question 14

Jessica's furnace broke one winter day. She didn't notice that the temperature had dropped until it was two degrees colder than the usual programmed temperature. What is the psychophysics term for the two-degree difference between the usual temperature and the temperature at which Jessica noticed that it was colder?

A)a just noticeable difference
B)a detection difference
C)an absolute difference
D)a Weber fractional difference

Question 15

"Can we be influenced by things that we are not consciously aware of?" Which topic addresses this question?

A)subliminal perception
B)sensory adaptation
C)sensory perception
D)subliminal adaptation

Question 16

Which term is defined as the stimulation of sense organs?

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

Question 17

What is perception?

A)subjectivity of emotional experience
B)selection, organization, and interpretation of sensory input
C)the study of how physical stimuli are translated into psychological experience
D)stimulation of the sense organs

Question 18

If you have undergone sensory adaptation for the sounds that are all around you as you study in the library, which of the following will you be most likely to do?

A)be unable to concentrate
B)block out all sounds and ignore any changes
C)become increasingly irritated by the sounds if they do not change
D)notice when the quality of those sounds changes

Question 19

According to signal-detection theory, what is the term for thinking that you heard your phone ring when it did not?

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

Question 20

The detection of stimuli involves decision processes as well as sensory processes, which are both influenced by a variety of factors besides stimulus intensity. Which of the following reflects this fact?

A)subliminal perception
B)signal-detection theory
C)sensory adaptation
D)Weber's law

Question 21

If you walk from a bright room to a dark room, which of the following would be true after five minutes in the dark?

A)Your peripheral vision would be enhanced.
B)Your absolute thresholds for object detection would be increasing.
C)Your dark adaptation would be essentially complete.
D)Your cones would have adapted to a greater degree than did your rods.

Question 22

Susan can see distant objects clearly, but close objects appear blurry to her. Which of the following is likely true about Susan?

A)She is farsighted.
B)She has astigmatism.
C)She has a cataract.
D)She is nearsighted.

Question 23

What is the optic disc?

A)It is the layer of muscle that operates the lens and degenerates with age.
B)It is the hole in the retina where the optic nerves exit the eye, causing a blind spot.
C)It is the area on the retina where cones are most densely represented, causing a focal point.
D)It is the low-acuity outer area of the retina that contains a high density of rods.

Question 24

Which structure of the eye absorbs light, processes images, and sends visual information to the brain?

A)retina
B)rods
C)lens
D)fovea

Question 25

If a person views two red lights, but one is more obviously red than the other, what differs between the two lights?

A)purity of the light
B)wavelength
C)brightness of the light
D)wave amplitude

Question 26

What is the transparent structure on the surface of the eye where light first enters the eye?

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

Question 27

Which structure of the eye changes size in order to help regulate the amount of light entering the inner areas of the eye?

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

Question 28

If an animal species is normally active at night, which receptors should be most common in its visual system?

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

Question 29

If your entire retina was the fovea, which of the following aspects of vision would you be best able to accomplish?

A)motion detection
B)peripheral vision
C)visual acuity
D)night vision

Question 30

Which aspect of vision is NOT associated with the actions of rods?

A)dark adaptation
B)night vision
C)peripheral vision
D)colour vision

Question 31

What determines our perception of colour?

A)amplitude of light waves
B)frequency of light waves
C)wavelength of light waves
D)purity of light waves

Question 32

What is the retinal area that, when stimulated, affects the firing of a visual cell?

A)fovea
B)focal point
C)receptive field
D)visual field

Question 33

If you did not have saccades, what would you lose the ability to see?

A)poorly illuminated scenes
B)objects that don't change
C)moving things
D)colours

Question 34

If a person views three lights that differ only in amplitude, what would the person perceive about the lights?

A)They are different shades of the same colour.
B)They differ in colour.
C)They differ in brightness.
D)They differ in saturation.

Question 35

What differs between a red light and a green light?

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

Question 36

Jacqueline has gone to get her eyes checked because she has been having trouble focusing. Her optometrist tells her that it is due to the normal aging of her lens. Which process is likely impaired?

A)refraction
B)constriction
C)accommodation
D)dilation

Question 37

Which aspect of vision is not associated with the action of cones?

A)daytime vision
B)peripheral vision
C)high visual acuity
D)colour vision

Question 38

If someone has a problem with colour vision due to defective receptors, which of the following receptors could be the problem?

A)rods
B)hair cells
C)cilia
D)cones

Question 39

Multiple rods and cones within an area of the retina will send information to a single visual cell. What is the term for such an area?

A)fovea
B)optic disc
C)light adaptation region
D)receptive field

Question 40

Which structure of the eye focuses light rays onto the retina?

A)pupil
B)optic disk
C)cornea
D)lens

Question 41

What method is a child using if he mixes yellow and blue fingerpaints together to produce green?

A)primary colour mixing
B)complementary colour mixing
C)subtractive colour mixing
D)additive colour mixing

Question 42

If lights representing all wavelengths of the visible spectrum are combined, what colour would a person perceive?

A)red, blue, or yellow
B)red, blue, or green
C)white
D)black

Question 43

Visual cells respond to relative amounts of light, rather than absolute amounts of light. Which process allows that to happen?

A)lateral reception
B)absolute threshold
C)absolute inhibition
D)lateral antagonism

Question 44

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

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

Question 45

Which of the following is the correct order that neural signals travel from the eye to the brain?

A)receptor, ganglion cell, optic nerve
B)optic nerve, ganglion cell, receptor
C)receptor, optic nerve, ganglion cell
D)ganglion cell, receptor, optic nerve

Question 46

If a stroke patient is experiencing prosopagnosia, which of the following will be most difficult?

A)recognizing faces
B)understanding language
C)balance
D)manual dexterity

Question 47

Which cells in the visual cortex respond to lines of a specific width and angle of orientation that are located at any position in a receptive field?

A)complex cells
B)hypercomplex cells
C)ganglion cells
D)simple cells

Question 48

Which of the following is consistent with the trichromatic theory of colour vision?

A)complementary colour afterimages
B)additive colour mixing
C)the visual receptors consist of rods and cones
D)subtractive colour mixing

Question 49

If a stroke patient is experiencing a visual agnosia, which area of the brain has likely been damaged?

A)bipolar cells
B)parietal lobe
C)temporal lobe
D)ganglion cells

Question 50

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, what colour was the rectangle?

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

Question 51

What is being combined when you are using additive colour mixing?

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

Question 52

After visual information is processed in the primary visual cortex, it is often routed to other cortical areas for additional processing. Where does information travel if it is used for object recognition?

A)to the occipital lobe
B)to the parietal lobe
C)to the temporal lobe
D)to the frontal lobe

Question 53

Which of the following has been demonstrated in examinations of the McCullough effect in patients with brain damage?

A)The effect is mediated by primary visual cortex and does not require conscious form perception.
B)The effect is illusory, and is not represented in visual cortex.
C)The effect is mediated by subcortical visual areas, and does not require conscious experience.
D)The effect is mediated by the "what" pathway, so it depends on conscious form perception.

Question 54

While visiting the art museum, Laura stared at a black and white photograph in a blue 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, what colour was the rectangle?

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

Question 55

One cell in the visual cortex responds only to vertical lines presented in a specific portion of the visual field. Another cell responds only to vertical lines that are moving across the visual field. Which term applies to both of these cells?

A)complex cell
B)simple cell
C)threshold detector
D)feature detector

Question 56

What type of stimuli will stimulate simple cells in the visual cortex?

A)lines of a specific width and oriented at a specific angle at any location in the receptive field
B)lines of various widths, oriented at various angles that are stationary anywhere in the receptive field
C)lines of specific width, oriented at a specific angle, at a specific location in the receptive field
D)lines moving across the receptive field

Question 57

Given our present knowledge concerning colour vision, what theory provides the most accurate explanation of how we perceive colour?

A)Both the trichromatic and opponent process theories are required to explain it.
B)The opponent process theory is more accurate.
C)The trichromatic theory is more accurate.
D)Neither trichromatic nor opponent process theory is sufficient, so a new theory is required.

Question 58

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

A)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.
B)Signals from both eyes go to both hemispheres of the brain.
C)Signals from each eye go to only the corresponding (same) hemisphere of the brain.
D)Signals from each eye go to only the opposite hemisphere of the brain.

Question 59

Which of the following represents the main pathway that visual signals travel from the eye to the visual cortex?

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

Question 60

If you stare at a colourful image and then stare at a white surface, you will experience an afterimage. Which theory of colour vision is supported by this phenomenon?

A)subtractive colour theory
B)additive colour theory
C)trichromatic theory
D)opponent process theory

Question 61

Which of the following processes is consistent with bottom-up processing?

A)recognizing subjective contours
B)dark adaptation
C)detecting edges in a visual stimulus
D)reading messy handwriting

Question 62

If you saw the stimulus '0' in the context of 'B0SS' you are likely to see it as a letter, but in the context of '5038' you are likely to see it as a number. What differs between the two contexts that leads to your different understanding of the same stimulus?

A)features of the stimulus
B)bottom-up processing
C)perceptual hypotheses
D)figure and ground

Question 63

Which of the following processes is consistent with top-down processing?

A)reading messy handwriting
B)distinguishing between colours
C)detecting edges in a visual stimulus
D)dark adaptation

Question 64

If you could choose the colour of your examination booklet, in order to get the best score possible, which of the following colours should you avoid?

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

Question 65

When your psychology professor is lecturing to your class, your professor can tell which students are sitting in the first, second, third, etc., row, in part because students in the closer rows obstruct his or her view of students in more distant rows. Which depth cue does this illustrate?

A)texture gradient
B)relative size
C)interposition
D)linear perspective

Question 66

What is the term for the perceptual tendency to group objects together that are near each other?

A)similarity
B)common fate
C)continuity
D)proximity

Question 67

Imagine you are sitting at the dinner table and looking at the round plate in front of the person sitting across from you. What shape would the proximal stimulus of the plate be?

A)oval
B)the same as the distal stimulus
C)the proximal stimulus has no form
D)round

Question 68

There is a difference in the visual image of an object projected to each eye. Which depth cue uses this information?

A)accommodation
B)interposition
C)retinal disparity
D)linear disparity

Question 69

Which of the following is the most general of the Gestalt principles describing how individual elements are grouped into higher-order figures?

A)continuity
B)simplicity
C)similarity
D)proximity

Question 70

Which Gestalt principle best explains our perception of reversible figures such as the two silhouetted faces/vase figure?

A)visual illusion
B)figure-ground
C)phi phenomenon
D)perceptual constancies

Question 71

What is the basic assumption of Gestalt psychology?

A)Our perception of form has a preference for stationary objects over moving objects.
B)Our perception has a preference for complex forms over simple forms.
C)Our perception of a "whole" may have qualities that do not exist in any of the parts.
D)There is a one-to-one correspondence between sensory input and perception.

Question 72

Which of the following is illustrated by our perception of reversible figures?

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

Question 73

Which depth perception cue is based on the observation that parallel lines converge in the distance?

A)linear perspective
B)height in plane
C)interposition
D)retinal disparity

Question 74

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

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

Question 75

Which of the following depth cues could be used by an artist to depict depth in a painting?

A)convergence
B)retinal disparity
C)motion parallax
D)interposition

Question 76

At the level of the retina and brain, which colour vision theory is supported?

A)opponent process theory at the retina, but trichromatic theory in the brain
B)trichromatic theory
C)trichromatic theory at the retina, but opponent process theory in the brain
D)opponent process theory

Question 77

When you look at a pile of loose change, you're very likely to see it as comprising pennies, nickels, and dimes. Which perceptual tendency is consistent with this example?

A)similarity
B)continuity
C)closure
D)proximity

Question 78

Which type of cue is used by artists to create a perception of depth on a two-dimensional surface?

A)accommodation
B)binocular
C)disparity
D)monocular

Question 79

When your psychology professor is lecturing to your class, your professor can tell which students are sitting in the first, second, third, etc., row, in part because students in the closer rows appear to have more distinct or clearer facial features than students in more distant rows. Which depth cue is your professor using?

A)linear perspective
B)texture gradient
C)interposition
D)relative size

Question 80

The house across the street is decorated with a lot of lights for a party. The lights along the roof turn on and off, one at a time, so that it looks as if a light is moving across the edge of the roof. What is the Gestalt term for this illusion?

A)continuity
B)the phi phenomenon
C)Pragnanz
D)figure-ground reversal