Deck 4: A: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

In signal detection, which type of response is more likely if you have a strong expectation that a signal is present?

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

Answer 1

false alarm

Question 2

If a 100-Hz tone had to be increased to 110 Hz for a subject to just notice the difference, what would you change a 1000-Hz tone to, in order for that subject to notice the difference?

A)1010 Hz
B)1050 Hz
C)1100 Hz
D)1200 Hz

Answer 2

1100 Hz

Question 3

Which of the following is most accurate regarding our inner measurements of sensory experiences?

A)There is generally a one-to-one correspondence with the physical intensity of the stimulus.
B)Although there is a one-to-one correspondence with the physical intensity of the stimulus for vision, there is no similar correspondence for hearing.
C)There is no one-to-one correspondence with the physical intensity of the stimulus, especially at the higher intensity levels.
D)There is a one-to-one correspondence with the physical intensity of the stimulus at lower intensity levels, but not at higher intensity levels.

Answer 3

There is no one-to-one correspondence with the physical intensity of the stimulus, especially at the higher intensity levels.

Question 4

Light has entered Jeff's eye and has stimulated receptors there. Which of the following terms describes this process?

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

Question 5

Joan was sitting talking with some friends when she suddenly left the room to check on her baby. She was sure she heard little Emily cry out, but when she checked, Emily was sleeping peacefully. What would you call Joan's response based on signal detection theory?

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

Question 6

When Celeste was playing her stereo at 40 decibels and she turned it up to 44 decibels, she could notice that it was louder. If Celeste's stereo were playing at 80 decibels, what should her just noticeable difference be?

A)2 decibels, half as much as it was at 40 decibels
B)4 decibels, the same as it was at 40 decibels
C)6 decibels, 50 percent more than it was at 40 decibels
D)8 decibels, twice as much as it was at 40 decibels

Question 7

Evelyn turned the thermostat up from 68 degrees to 70 degrees; 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. How does Evelyn's just-noticeable-difference compare to her roommate's?

A)Evelyn's is smaller.
B)Evelyn's is lower.
C)Evelyn's is larger.
D)Evelyn's is higher.

Question 8

Which of the following reflects a distinction between the process of sensation and the process of perception?

A)Sensation is not necessary for perception but perception is necessary for sensation.
B)Sensation occurs at the level of the brain, while perception occurs at the level of the mind.
C)Sensation reflects reality, while perception is entirely subjective.
D)Sensation occurs at the level of the sense organs, while perception occurs at the level of the brain.

Question 9

In the signal-detection method, what do we call it when a subject detects a stimulus when no stimulus is actually present?

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

Question 10

A neural signal from Mary's taste bud has travelled to her cortex and she experiences enjoyment of a sweet flavour. Which of the following terms describes this process?

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

Question 11

Jerry, a nuclear operator, must monitor 50 different gauges that keep track of various aspects of the nuclear reactor. Which of the following theories provides the most specific predictions for Jerry's likelihood of detecting any changes or problems?

A)signal-detection
B)Fechner's law
C)pragnanz
D)Weber's law

Question 12

Werner was having his hearing tested, and a number of the tones that were presented were so faint he was not able to detect them. What can you say about the faint sounds?

A)They fall below Werner's absolute threshold for sound.
B)They cause more inhibitory than excitatory PSPs.
C)They cause action potentials that were too weak to reach the terminal buttons.
D)They fall below Werner's adaptation level for sound.

Question 13

You have a lamp with a three-way light bulb. You can use the light at 50 watts, 100 watts, or 150 watts. When you change between settings, which of the following changes will be perceived as a larger increase in brightness?

A)from 50 to 100 watts
B)from 100 to 150 watts
C)both changes will result in an equivalent difference
D)it would depend on whether there is any additional light present in the room

Question 14

What is your absolute threshold?

A)the point at which you detect any portion of a stimulus
B)the point at which you detect a stimulus that registers on sensory memory
C)the point at which you detect any stimulus set point
D)the point at which you detect a stimulus about half of the time

Question 15

Which type of signal-detection error becomes more likely when the expectation of a stimulus is weak?

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

Question 16

Dalton was sitting in the hallway outside his chemistry class. Some students said they thought they could smell smoke, but Dalton didn't smell anything. When they all checked the lab to see if there were any problems, everything was fine and nothing was burning. What would you call Dalton's response based on signal detection theory?

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

Question 17

Giovanni 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. How would you describe the light from the star, in this case?

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

Question 18

Which of the following is being measured if a subject is presented with a series of light bulb pairs of different wattages and is asked whether the members of each pair differ in brightness?

A)subject's visual acuity
B)subject's absolute threshold for brightness
C)subject's just noticeable difference for brightness
D)physical intensity difference between the two lights

Question 19

Juanita was drinking some warm punch and she thought she could just detect a faint taste of nutmeg in the punch. When she took another sip the taste wasn't there. On the third sip she could just make out the taste of nutmeg again. What could you say about the taste of nutmeg in this situation?

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

Question 20

Raul is making potato soup. His roommate tastes it and tells Raul it is great, but Raul 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 Raul that the soup is ruined because it is too salty. Which of the following is most accurate?

A)Raul's roommate has a higher absolute threshold than does Raul.
B)Raul has more taste cells on the back of his tongue than does his roommate.
C)Raul is a nontaster.
D)Raul's roommate can detect a smaller just noticeable difference than Raul can.

Question 21

Which process allows Darcy to not be distracted by the hockey game?

A)Gestalt continuation
B)neural fatigue
C)sensory adaptation
D)selective attention

Question 22

You enter a room and notice a distinctive new odour. After a bit of time you no longer notice the odour. What phenomenon does this illustrate?

A)sensory adaptation
B)sensory novelty
C)progressive desensitization
D)sensory contrast

Question 23

Sonja put on a new watch this morning and found it uncomfortable because it was so much heavier than her old watch. However, at noon, when a friend asks her if she knows what time it is, Sonja finds she has forgotten she is even wearing the watch. Which of the following processes is illustrated by the change in Sonja's sensitivity to the pressure of the watch?

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

Question 24

What aspect of perception is affected by the wavelength of light?

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

Question 25

Which type of nerve fibres were responsible for the immediate sensation when Darcy felt pain in her baby toe?

A)C fibres
B)A-delta fibres
C)ungated thalamic fibres
D)periaqueductal fibres

Question 26

What aspect of visual perception is responsive to differences in the purity of light waves?

A)saturation
B)colour constancies
C)hue
D)brightness

Question 27

Which of the following CANNOT be explained by sensory adaptation?

A)feeling comfortable in a cold swimming pool after being in for a few minutes
B)getting used to the smell of the perfume you are wearing
C)getting used to the touch of your clothes on your skin
D)feeling no sensation in a foot that has lost circulation

Question 28

Your criterion for "hearing" mysterious noises at night may change after a rash of burglaries in your neighbourhood. Which of the following best explains this change?

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

Question 29

What is sensory adaptation?

A)perceptual inversion principle
B)increase in sensitivity after prolonged stimulation
C)decline in sensitivity after prolonged stimulation
D)weakening of a neurotransmitter substance

Question 30

What does "subliminal" mean?

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

Question 31

Which of the following brain areas is critical when Darcy reaches out for her water glass?

A)dorsal stream
B)primary visual cortex
C)periaqueductal gray
D)temporal lobe

Question 32

Yaniv 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. Which of the following processes is illustrated by the change in Yaniv's sensitivity to the computer noise?

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

Question 33

Jose is wearing a blue shirt, and Evan is wearing a red shirt. What is the difference between the two shirts, in terms of light waves?

A)Jose's reflects higher amplitude light waves than Evan's.
B)Jose's reflects shorter light waves than Evan's.
C)Jose's reflects longer light waves than Evan's.
D)Jose's reflects lower amplitude light waves than Evan's.

Question 34

Which of the following increases led to Darcy being startled when Darcy's brothers started yelling?

A)frequency of the sound
B)amplitude of the sound
C)purity of the sound
D)timbre of the sound

Question 35

Which of the following statements about subliminal perception is most accurate?

A)Subliminal perception is possible only if sensory adaptation has taken place.
B)Although subliminal perception was once dismissed by scientists as preposterous, recent evidence suggests it has some effects on behaviour.
C)Scientists have conclusively demonstrated that perception simply cannot take place without conscious awareness.
D)Recent research suggests that subliminal messages can be quite persuasive in convincing us to buy products we don't want.

Question 36

What affects our perception of the brightness of a colour?

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

Question 37

Which perceptual process allows Darcy to read her notes without noticing small errors?

A)linguistic adaptation
B)bottom-up processing
C)top-down processing
D)sensory adaptation

Question 38

What will eventually occur if you stare at an unchanging image for a long time?

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

Question 39

What aspect of visual perception is responsive to differences in the amplitude of light waves?

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

Question 40

What have researchers typically found when they have attempted to demonstrate subliminal perception effects in the real world?

A)Such effects are substantial and a potential cause for public concern.
B)People are much more likely to be influenced by "positive" subliminal stimuli (e.g., self-help tapes) than "negative" ones (e.g., subliminal advertising).
C)People are much more likely to be influenced by "negative" subliminal stimuli than "positive" ones.
D)Such effects are so weak as to be of little, if any, practical importance.

Question 41

In visual processing, when does lateral antagonism occur?

A)when neural activity in a cell increases activity in surrounding cells
B)when cones are activated and rods are inactivated
C)when neural activity in a cell opposes activity in surrounding cells
D)when rods are activated and cones are inactivated

Question 42

What is the blind spot in the eye?

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

Question 43

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. What would you expect about this animal's vision, based on what is known about human vision?

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

Question 44

What happens to the pupil of the eye in bright sunlight?

A)it constricts
B)it is larger than it would be in dim light
C)it dilates
D)it closes

Question 45

What happens to the pupil of the eye in dim light?

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

Question 46

What is the structure that controls the size of the pupil?

A)lens
B)vitreous humour
C)cornea
D)iris

Question 47

What does the lens in the eye do?

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

Question 48

Where is the optic disk?

A)where the visual fields from both eyes merge
B)where the optic nerve exits the retina
C)immediately in front of the lens
D)where light enters the eye

Question 49

Visual fields have a centre-surround arrangement. What does this allow the eye to be?

A)a contrast detector
B)an absolute-intensity detector
C)insensitive at low illumination
D)insensitive to low amplitude light waves

Question 50

Petra looked directly into a very bright light and damaged her retina. The ophthalmologist has told her that she has sustained massive damage to her cones, but for the most part her rods have not been affected. Which of the following aspects of Petra's vision is likely to be deficient?

A)colour vision
B)depth perception
C)vision in low illumination
D)peripheral vision

Question 51

What changes in size, in order to regulate the amount of light that enters the eye?

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

Question 52

Isaiah is having his eyes checked. The doctor has put drops in Isaiah's eyes that will cause the pupils to open wide. What will happen to Isaiah's vision as the drops begin to work?

A)His vision will start to become quite blurry.
B)He will lose some of his colour vision.
C)His vision will become extremely sharp and clear.
D)Colours will appear to be "super" saturated.

Question 53

What should a ganglion cell have in order to have good visual acuity?

A)direct transmission to the visual cortex
B)direct transmission to the thalamus
C)a large receptive field
D)a small receptive field

Question 54

Fifteen minutes after Zigfried left the brightly lit hallway and entered the dark passageway, what would you expect about his dark adaptation?

A)It is still taking place in both his rods and his cones.
B)It is complete in his rods, but still taking place in his cones.
C)It is complete in both his rods and cones.
D)It is complete in his cones, but still taking place in his rods.

Question 55

What does the receptive field of a visual cell refer to?

A)a length of time necessary for the cell to integrate information at the ganglion level of the retina
B)a cell's degree of sensitivity or receptivity
C)a range of wavelengths of light the cell reacts to
D)a collection of rod and cone receptors that funnel signals to a particular visual cell in the retina

Question 56

Devin has contracted a very rare eye disease. The ophthalmologist has told him that he has sustained massive damage to his rods, but for the most part his cones have not been affected. Which of the following aspects of Devin's vision is likely to be deficient?

A)vision in bright illumination
B)peripheral vision
C)colour vision
D)detecting differences in wavelengths of light

Question 57

Which of the following processes acts to compensate for sensory adaptation?

A)transduction
B)saccades
C)dilation
D)lens accommodation

Question 58

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. What does this suggest about the effects of aging on vision?

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

Question 59

Which of the following techniques would allow you to maximize visual acuity at night?

A)Close one eye.
B)Blink your eyes several times to hasten dark adaptation.
C)Turn your head at a slight angle to the object.
D)Look directly at the object you wish to see.

Question 60

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 cones; there are no rods. What would you expect about this animal's vision, based on what is known about human vision?

A)It would have poor peripheral vision.
B)It would have poor visual acuity.
C)It would have excellent vision in dim light.
D)It could not see in colour.

Question 61

In which of the following lobes would you find the primary visual cortex?

A)frontal
B)occipital
C)temporal
D)parietal

Question 62

A microelectrode is recording the activity from a single cell in the visual cortex of a cat. The cell begins to fire rapidly when a line is presented at a 45-degree angle directly in front of the cat, but stops firing when the line is shifted to a position that is off to the left. What type of cell is likely being monitored in this case?

A)complex cell
B)simple cell
C)cell in the superior colliculus
D)hypercomplex cell

Question 63

While finger painting, Imran mixed yellow paint and blue paint and ended up with green. Which mixing method did Imran use?

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

Question 64

What type of colour would be produced if you mixed many varied paints together?

A)dull, dark colour
B)reddish-green colour
C)bright, light colour
D)rich, saturated colour

Question 65

If the pathway through your superior colliculus were not functioning correctly, what would be difficult for you to do?

A)perceiving depth
B)integrating visual and auditory information
C)distinguishing colours
D)detecting differences in texture

Question 66

In a vision experiment, subjects are asked to view stimuli that include vertical black-and-red bars, as well as horizontal black-and-green bars, for a few minutes. Given what you know about the McCullough effect, what afterimages should the subjects see when presented with vertical or horizontal arrays of black-and-white bars?

A)Vertical white bars would appear green and horizontal white bars would appear pink.
B)All white bars will be seen as a pale purple.
C)Vertical white bars would appear pink and horizontal white bars would appear green.
D)Vertical white bars would appear blue and horizontal white bars would appear yellow.

Question 67

What does parallel processing in the visual pathways suggest about separate neural channels?

A)They aren't necessary for vision.
B)They send the same information to many different places.
C)They extract different information from visual inputs.
D)They provide safety backups for each other.

Question 68

Where does the ventral stream project to after leaving the primary visual cortex?

A)basal forebrain
B)cerebellum
C)temporal lobes
D)parietal lobes

Question 69

What is the optic chiasm?

A)the portion of the lateral geniculate nucleus that is responsible for coordination of sensory input
B)the point at which the optic nerves cross over one another before projecting to the occipital lobe
C)the portion of the visual cortex responsible for feature detection
D)the gap between the right occipital lobe and the left occipital lobe

Question 70

Charley has visual agnosia and is unable to recognize common, everyday objects. Damage to which component of the visual system does this condition most likely result from?

A)ventral stream
B)feature detectors
C)superior colliculus
D)lateral geniculate nucleus

Question 71

What are the cells in the visual cortex that respond selectively to specific details of complex stimuli?

A)hypocomplex cells
B)selective detectors
C)feature detectors
D)ganglion cells

Question 72

If you project a red, a green, and a blue light into space, what type of light will be perceived at the point where the three lights cross?

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

Question 73

If the magnocellular system within your thalamus were not functioning correctly, what would you find difficult to do?

A)localizing sounds
B)perceiving brightness
C)distinguishing colours
D)perceiving fine details

Question 74

What do complex cells in the visual cortex respond to?

A)specific widths and orientation of lines anywhere in their receptive field
B)different colours in their receptive field
C)figure-ground disparity in their receptive field
D)circles of light anywhere in their receptive field

Question 75

If the parvocellular system within your thalamus were not functioning correctly, what would you find difficult to do?

A)distinguishing colours
B)perceiving depth
C)localizing sounds
D)detecting movement

Question 76

What are the cells in the visual cortex that respond to a line of the correct width, oriented at the correct angle, and located in the correct position in its receptive field?

A)triarchic
B)binary
C)hypercomplex
D)simple

Question 77

Which of the following depicts an accurate pathway for neural signals leaving the retina?

A)optic chiasm, optic nerve, occipital lobe, lateral geniculate nucleus
B)optic nerve, optic chiasm, thalamus, primary visual cortex
C)optic nerve, lateral geniculate nucleus, optic chiasm, occipital lobe
D)optic chiasm, medial geniculate nucleus, primary visual cortex, thalamus

Question 78

After visual input has been processed in the primary visual cortex, signals are processed further along a number of pathways. Where is information about object recognition processed?

A)temporal lobes
B)occipital lobes
C)frontal lobes
D)parietal lobes

Question 79

A microelectrode is recording the activity from a single cell in the visual cortex of a cat. The cell begins to fire rapidly when a vertical line sweeps across the visual field to the left, but stops firing when the same line sweeps back across the visual field to the right. What type of cell is likely being monitored in this case?

A)cell in the parvocellular channel
B)simple cell
C)hypercomplex cell
D)complex cell

Question 80

After visual input has been processed in the primary visual cortex, signals are processed further along a number of pathways. Which of the following types of visual information would be processed in the temporal lobe, along the ventral stream?

A)movement
B)brightness and contours
C)faces
D)complexity and contrast