Deck 3: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Signal detection theory incorporates all of the following EXCEPT the

A)activation of feature detectors.
B)perceiver's motivation, expectations, and learning.
C)contrast between signal and background noise.
D)sharpness of one's sensory capacity.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is a prediction of Weber's constant for noticing differences?

A)A person of 200 pounds would have to lose twice as much weight as a person of 100 pounds in order for the difference to be noticed.
B)The maximum difference in stimuli that can be detected is the same for all senses.
C)The constant is the same for all sense modalities.
D)Motivation, attention, and past experience are factors in the constant.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Some people are concerned with hidden sexual images in ads for alcohol and cigarettes that may unconsciously influence people to buy these products. This phenomenon is known as

A)absolute threshold
B)difference threshold
C)subliminal stimulation
D)just noticeable stimulation

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The background noise, the perceiver's motivation, and the sharpness of the perceiver's sensory system are among the variables incorporated in __________.

A)Weber's constant
B)psychophysics theory
C)opponents process theory
D)signal-detection theory

Question 5

Sensation is to mechanical stimulation as __________ is to mental representation.

A)perception
B)consciousness
C)motivation
D)adaptation

Question 6

Sensory stimulation that is below a person's absolute threshold for conscious perception is termed

A)absolute threshold
B)difference threshold
C)subliminal stimulation
D)just noticeable stimulation

Question 7

The process by which sensations are organized to form inner representations of the world is called

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

Question 8

Looking at a painting in an art gallery, many of your brain cells fire in response to lines presented at various angles, while others fire in response to specific colors. These cells are termed

A)firing detectors.
B)feature detectors.
C)sensory cortex detectors.
D)visual input detectors.

Question 9

The difference threshold for light is defined as the

A)weakest amount of light the average person can perceive most of the time.
B)ratio of the amplitude and wavelength.
C)difference in wavelengths between analogous hues.
D)smallest difference in intensity required to perceive a difference in intensity 50% of the time.

Question 10

A psychological factor in signal detection is focusing your _________ on stimuli that you consider important.

A)attention
B)feature detectors
C)perception
D)threshold

Question 11

The difference threshold for various sensory systems is expressed as

A)Webster's constant.
B)Fechner's constant.
C)Weber's constant.
D)Sensory constant.

Question 12

Weber's constant for light is _______.

A)1/60th
B)2%
C)1/53rd
D)1/333

Question 13

Which of the statements below is NOT True according to Ernst Weber?

A)The constant for noticing differences in lifted weight is 1/53rd.
B)He found that the jnd did not really differ for each of the senses.
C)People can tell when a tone rises or falls in pitch by one-third of l%.
D)Taste is the least sensitive of all the senses.

Question 14

A mechanical process resulting in the stimulation of the senses and the transmission of sensory information to the brain or spinal cord is called

A)perception.
B)sensation.
C)absolute threshold.
D)dark adaptation.

Question 15

What are feature detectors?

A)A mechanical process that involves the stimulation of sensory receptors.
B)Neurons that fire in response to specific features of sensed stimuli.
C)Visible light that triggers visual sensations.
D)The lowest intensity at which the stimulus can be detected.

Question 16

_______________is stimulation of the sense receptors; perception is an inner representation of the world.

A)Adaptation
B)Organization
C)Sensation
D)Cognition

Question 17

Which of the following statements about absolute thresholds is NOT True?

A)There are individual differences in absolute thresholds.
B)Our ears are particularly sensitive to sounds that are very low in pitch.
C)The measure of the absolute threshold for taste is the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of sugar dissolved in 2 gallons of water.
D)A person's motivation to detect a stimulus may affect their absolute threshold.

Question 18

Which factor listed below does NOT affect a person's ability to perceive sensory stimuli or a difference between stimuli?

A)The intensity of the stimuli.
B)The sharpness or acuteness of a person's biological sensory system.
C)Psychological factors, such as motivation, expectations, and learning.
D)None of these.

Question 19

The ________ __________ is the minimum amount of stimulation needed to produce a sensation.

A)absolute threshold
B)difference threshold
C)Weber's threshold
D)darkness threshold

Question 20

The absolute threshold is detected by exposing a participant to progressively stronger stimuli until the participant can detect the stimuli ________ of the time.

A)100%
B)50%
C)25%
D)10%

Question 21

As you leave a darkly lit movie theater and enter the parking lot on a bright sunny day, the ______ in your eyes adjust so you are not blinded by the increase in light.

A)retina
B)fovea
C)pupils
D)optic nerve

Question 22

Light first passes through the outer surface of the eye called the ___________.

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

Question 23

Which of the following colors is longest in wavelength?

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

Question 24

After being in a dark room for a while, you can see much better than you could when you walked in. This is known as

A)desensitization.
B)sensitization.
C)virtual stabilization.
D)motion imaging.

Question 25

Through the process of sensory adaptation we become _____ sensitive to stimuli that are low in magnitude and ______ sensitive to unchanging stimuli.

A)less; more
B)more; less
C)less; less
D)more; more

Question 26

The trash really stinks, but it doesn't bother you as much as it did when you first came home, so you put off taking it out for another day. ____________ has probably occurred.

A)Positive adaptation
B)Negative adaptation
C)Sensory adjustment
D)Signal adaptation

Question 27

If you become more sensitive to stimulation this is called ____________; and if you become less sensitive to stimulation this is called __________.

A)sensitization; desensitization
B)positive adaptation; negative adaptation
C)desensitization; sensitization
D)Both a and b

Question 28

Artemis is watching television with the lights out. Seymour walks into the room and flips on the light, which momentarily blinds Artemis because her

A)corneas are slow to adapt.
B)lenses have not yet thickened to accommodate the increased light.
C)retina continues to hold afterimages of the television screen.
D)pupils need a brief time to adjust to the increased light.

Question 29

Light enters the eye, stimulates the retina, and relays visual information to the brain through nerve impulses. What is the order of cell firing to the brain?

A)photoreceptors, ganglion cells, bipolar cells
B)ganglion cells, photoreceptors, bipolar cells
C)bipolar cells, photoreceptors, ganglion cells
D)photoreceptors, bipolar cells, ganglion cells

Question 30

What is a photoreceptor?

A)The part of the spectrum that stimulates the eye and produces visual sensations.
B)Cells of the retina that respond to light.
C)Neurons whose axons form the optic nerve.
D)Neurons that conduct neural impulses from rods and cones to ganglion cells.

Question 31

Wallace lives near a major railroad changing station. He is desensitized to the noise of the roaring trains. What has taken place?

A)positive adaptation
B)negative adaptation
C)signal detection
D)just noticeable difference

Question 32

The __________ of ganglion cells in the retina form the optic nerve.

A)cell bodies
B)dendrites
C)axons
D)none of these

Question 33

________ are the photoreceptors that allow us to see black and white; ______ are the photoreceptors that allow us to see colors.

A)Cones; rods
B)Rods; cones
C)Ganglion cells; bipolar cells
D)Bipolar cells; ganglion cells

Question 34

Which sensory system is dominant for most individuals?

A)hearing
B)smelling
C)vision
D)touch

Question 35

The part of the eye that changes its thickness to adjust an image to make it clearer is the________.

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

Question 36

Rods and cones outnumber _______ by more than 100 to 1.

A)bipolar cells
B)ganglion cells
C)amacrine cells
D)horizontal cells

Question 37

The axons of the __________ make up the optic nerve, which exits the eye at the __________.

A)bipolar cells; fovea
B)ganglion cells; blind spot
C)bipolar cells; blind spot
D)horizontal cells; fovea

Question 38

Even when he blocks out all visible light waves from his field of vision, Petros cannot see infrared or ultraviolet light waves because

A)his eyes adapted to the darkness.
B)most people have never seen ultraviolet or infrared waves and are unable to identify them.
C)nobody can see in the dark.
D)only one small part of the electromagnetic spectrum triggers visual sensations.

Question 39

Visible light is

A)electromagnetic energy.
B)chemical energy.
C)biochemical energy.
D)pressure/vacuum energy.

Question 40

Rods and cones respond to light and produce neural impulses that are then collected by

A)ganglion cells.
B)bipolar cells.
C)amacrine cells.
D)helper cells.

Question 41

Why does grass appear green?

A)The pigment in chlorophyll absorbs most of the red, blue, and violet wavelengths of light, and the green is reflected.
B)The pigment in chlorophyll reflects most of the red, blue, and violet wavelengths of light, and the green is absorbed.
C)The red pigment reflects all the wavelengths of light, leaving only various shades of green.
D)The blue pigment absorbs all the wavelengths of light, and various amounts of green are absorbed.

Question 42

Your 45-year-old father was just told by his eye doctor that he needs reading glasses. This could be

A)macular degeneration.
B)retinitis pigmentosis.
C)presbyopia.
D)nearsightedness.

Question 43

Hair cells are to hearing as ___________ are to vision.

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

Question 44

Your good friend Agnes has difficulty reading road signs when she drives. What condition does she likely exhibit?

A)Her eyeballs are too short.
B)She has presbyopia.
C)She is farsighted.
D)She is nearsighted.

Question 45

You have been at the beach all day and forgot your sunglasses. What part of the eye is most likely damaged?

A)peripheral area
B)blind spot
C)optic nerve
D)fovea

Question 46

Juliana is nearsighted; therefore images of distant objects are focused _________ the retina.

A)behind
B)in front of
C)above
D)below

Question 47

What are complementary colors?

A)colors that are beside each other on the color wheel
B)colors that are across from each other on the color wheel
C)colors that are mixed together and dissolve into light yellow
D)colors that reflect very little light

Question 48

What is the source of all color?

A)light
B)shadows
C)hues
D)pigment

Question 49

Jim sees only in white and black. After careful examination of his retina, the ophthalmologist concludes that Jim's ___________ have degenerated.

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

Question 50

What is the most sensitive area of the retina?

A)blind spot
B)fovea
C)pupil
D)presbyopia

Question 51

If you mix blue and yellow, you get green. This is True only when you are mixing

A)light.
B)pigments.
C)afterimages.
D)wavelengths.

Question 52

Colors across from each other on the color wheel are labeled

A)complementary.
B)analogous.
C)primary.
D)trichromatic.

Question 53

The blind spot is

A)an area of the retina that is insensitive to visual stimulation.
B)where the axons of ganglion cells converge and form the optic nerve.
C)both a and b
D)an area of the retina that is very sensitive to visual stimulation.

Question 54

To avoid the heat it is better to wear white clothing as opposed to black when out in the sun. This is True because

A)black reflects light whereas white reflects little light.
B)white absorbs the light.
C)white reflects a lot of light whereas black reflects little light.
D)none of these.

Question 55

A visual disorder caused by brittleness of the lens is known as

A)astigmatism.
B)presbyopia.
C)strabismus.
D)binocular acuity.

Question 56

The living room of your new apartment seems cold and forbidding, and you decide to remedy the problem by adding color to the decorating scheme. To add warmth to the room, you should consider using

A)yellow, blue, and red.
B)orange, green, and blue.
C)green, blue, and violet.
D)yellow, orange, and red.

Question 57

In the eye disorder presbyopia, the primary symptom is the

A)difficulty in perceiving near objects.
B)retina becoming detached.
C)eye muscles not working in synchrony.
D)tendency toward eyestrain.

Question 58

Wavelength of light determines its

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

Question 59

The process of dark adaptation happens more quickly for _________which can adjust to lower lighting in about _________ minutes.

A)cones; 10
B)rods; 10
C)cones; 45
D)rods; 45

Question 60

It is 100 ° F outside; which of the following rooms would you probably find most appealing?

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

Question 61

A perceptual tendency to integrate disconnected pieces into a whole image is called

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

Question 62

__________ are the persistent sensations of color followed by the perception of the complementary color when the first color is removed.

A)Analogous hues
B)Complementary colors
C)Afterimages
D)Sensory impressions

Question 63

The blue automobile gains its color by __________ red, yellow, and violet wavelengths and __________ the blue wavelengths.

A)absorbing; reflecting
B)adding; subtracting
C)reflecting; absorbing
D)absorbing; complementing

Question 64

The opponent-process theory of color vision is based on the idea that the retina contains

A)three types of simple receptors sensitive to red, green, and blue.
B)three types of receptors, two sensitive to color and one to differences in brightness.
C)three sets of cells responsive to brightness.
D)three types of receptors responsive to primary colors.

Question 65

The complementary colors situated across from each other on the color wheel unite to produce gray when combining __________ through a(n) __________ process.

A)pigments; additive
B)lights; additive
C)pigments; subtractive
D)lights; subtractive

Question 66

When mixing a blue pigment with a yellow pigment, the result is

A)green.
B)gray.
C)purple.
D)orange.

Question 67

According to opponent-process theory, a __________ afterimage produced by a yellow sheet of paper represents a process of reestablishing a neural __________ in the retina.

A)red; balance
B)blue; inhibition
C)blue; balance
D)green; rebound

Question 68

Ewald Hering proposed the opponent-process theory of color vision which claims:

A)Three types of color receptors are responsible for afterimages.
B)The four types of color receptors are sensitive to red, green, blue and the brightness of the light.
C)A red-green cone can transmit messages for red and green at the same time.
D)Staring at a green, black, and yellow flag for 30 seconds will not disturb the perception of color.

Question 69

Research on the patterns of neural transmission from the cones to the bipolar and ganglion cells, then to the brain, suggests that the messages are consistent with

A)trichromatic theory.
B)opponent-process theory.
C)neural rebound effect.
D)Thomas Young's studies.

Question 70

Opponent-process theory of color vision was proposed by

A)Hermann von Helmholtz.
B)Thomas Young.
C)Georges Seurat.
D)Ewald Hering.

Question 71

A person who is sensitive to black and white only and hence color-blind is called a(n)

A)dichromat.
B)invalid.
C)monochromat.
D)trichromat.

Question 72

Gestalt psychologists have noted the rules in the way humans integrate bits and pieces of sensory stimulation into meaningful whole experiences. The rules are referred to as the laws of

A)bottom-up processing.
B)figure-ground perception.
C)perceptual organization.
D)opponents process theory.

Question 73

If a man of normal color vision looks at a green paper for about 30 seconds and then shifts his gaze to a sheet of white paper, that paper will appear

A)yellow.
B)blue.
C)red.
D)gray.

Question 74

The idea that the eye contains three kinds of photoreceptors differentially sensitive to red, green, and blue that are responsible for color vision was proposed by the German physiologist

A)Gustav Fechner.
B)Ewald Hering.
C)Ernest Heinrich Weber.
D)Hermann von Helmholtz.

Question 75

The trichromatic theory was based on the initial discoveries of whom?

A)Thomas Young
B)Herman von Helmholtz
C)Ewald Hering
D)John Lock

Question 76

Your professor has just called you a trichromat. What does this mean?

A)You can only perceive three colors.
B)You have normal color vision.
C)You have damaged cones in your retina.
D)You have damaged rods in your retina.

Question 77

George is partially colorblind yet his sister is not, but her sons are partially colorblind. These family traits are best described by which of the following statements?

A)Partial color blindness occurs only in men.
B)The gene responsible for partial color blindness has nothing to do with gender.
C)George's and his sister's eye color chromosomes are different.
D)Partial color blindness is a sex-linked trait that affects mostly males.

Question 78

On theories of color vision, the weight of evidence tends to support

A)opponent-process theory.
B)trichromatic theory.
C)neural rebound effect.
D)opponent-process and trichromatic theories as both partially correct.

Question 79

According to trichromatic theory, three types of cones are differentially sensitive to which of the following colors?

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

Question 80

Thomas Young projected three different colored lights onto a screen so they partially overlapped. He found that he could produce ______________________ of the lights.

A)analogous colors by varying the duration
B)any color by varying the saturation
C)afterimages by varying the intensities
D)any color by varying the intensities