Deck 3: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Chemicals released into the bloodstream by the endocrine glands are called:

A)corticoids.
B)hormones.
C)pheromones.
D)endorphins.

Answer 1

hormones.

Question 2

A brain-imaging method using radio waves and magnetic fields of the body to produce detailed images of the brain is called:

A)electroencephalography (EEG).
B)magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
C)positron-emission tomography (PET).
D)computerized axial tomography (CT).

Answer 2

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Question 3

Which of the following neurotransmitters functions as a common inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain?

A)serotonin
B)GABA
C)acetylcholine
D)norepinephrine

Answer 3

GABA

Question 4

Which of the following represents the correct path of light through the eye?

A)iris,cornea,lens,retina
B)cornea,vitreous humour,iris,lens,aqueous humour,retina
C)cornea,pupil,lens,vitreous humour,retina
D)cornea,lens,pupil,iris,retina

Question 5

Which part of the nervous system takes the information received from the senses,makes sense out of it,makes decisions,and sends commands out to the muscles and the rest of the body?

A)spinal cord
B)brain
C)frontal cortex
D)temporal lobes

Question 6

The smallest difference between two stimuli that can be detected 50 percent of the time it is present is called:

A)absolute threshold.
B)just noticeable difference.
C)sensation.
D)sensory adaptation.

Question 7

The two main divisions of the nervous system are the ________ and ________.

A)brain; spinal cord
B)autonomic; somatic nervous systems
C)peripheral nervous system; central nervous system
D)parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems

Question 8

The part of the autonomic nervous system that is responsible for reacting to stressful events and bodily arousal is called the ______________ nervous system.

A)central
B)somatic
C)sympathetic
D)parasympathetic

Question 9

Which of your senses does not adapt to a constant stimulus at the level of the receptor cells?

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

Question 10

Vicary's study of subliminal advertising was remarkable in that:

A)it demonstrated the usefulness of subliminal perception.
B)people actually bought more colas and popcorn after seeing the movie.
C)the subliminal stimuli had no effect on buying behaviour.
D)it never happened.

Question 11

Which two sensory modalities are most commonly fused in synesthesia?

A)vision-smell
B)touch-taste
C)vision-hearing
D)touch-vision

Question 12

You are holding a piece of candy in your mouth.After a while,the candy doesn't taste as strong as it did when you first tasted it.What has happened?

A)sensory adaptation
B)subliminal perception
C)threshold adaptation
D)perceptual defence

Question 13

Which of the following is a function of the right hemisphere?

A)perception,expression of emotion,and recognition of patterns
B)sense of time and rhythm
C)speech,handwriting,and calculation
D)language processing in most individuals

Question 14

Which part of the neuron is responsible for maintaining the life of the cell?

A)axon
B)soma
C)dendrite
D)cell membrane

Question 15

Using visual priming,researchers have been able to show that subliminal stimuli:

A)can influence only how we act.
B)can influence only our complex emotions.
C)can influence only our attitudes and beliefs.
D)cannot influence us in any way.

Question 16

What part of the brain acts as a relay station for incoming sensory information?

A)hypothalamus
B)thalamus
C)cerebellum
D)pituitary gland

Question 17

When receptor cells for the senses are activated,the process called _____________ has begun.

A)perception
B)sublimination
C)adaptation
D)sensation

Question 18

Which of the following terms refers to the psychological effect of the amplitude of light waves?

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

Question 19

Which of the following regions contains the primary visual cortex?

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

Question 20

If you wanted to see a star better at night,what should you do?

A)Look directly at it because the cones will focus better at night.
B)Look off to the side,using the cones in the periphery of the retina.
C)Look directly at it because the rods can see sharply at night.
D)Look off to the side,using the rods in the periphery of the retina.

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT a monocular cue for depth?

A)convergence
B)linear perspective
C)overlap
D)texture gradient

Question 22

An illusion:

A)is the same thing as a hallucination.
B)exists only in the brain cells of the viewer.
C)is a distorted perception of an actual stimulus.
D)corresponds directly to reality.

Question 23

Why might you want to decrease the amount of loud music being pumped directly into the ear canal?

A)to avoid tinnitus later in life
B)to avoid growing antlers
C)to avoid conductive hearing loss
D)No need to avoid-I'll just get a cochlear implant!

Question 24

Pain sensations in the skin,muscles,tendons,and joints that are carried on large nerve fibres are called:

A)visceral pain.
B)somatic pain.
C)referred pain.
D)indigenous pain.

Question 25

Which theory of colour vision accounts better for the afterimage?

A)trichromatic theory
B)opponent-process theory
C)both a and b
D)neither a nor b

Question 26

A reversible figure,such as the Necker cube,makes use of which principle of perception?

A)shape constancy
B)expectancy
C)figure-ground relationships
D)depth perception

Question 27

The tendency to perceive a quarter as being round even when it is viewed at an angle is called:

A)size constancy.
B)shape constancy.
C)brightness constancy.
D)colour constancy.

Question 28

Which of the following statements about olfactory receptors is FALSE?

A)Olfactory receptors are replaced every few years.
B)There are at least 1000 types of olfactory receptors.
C)Signals from the receptors go directly to the olfactory bulbs in the brain.
D)Olfactory receptors have hairlike projections called cilia.

Question 29

In gate-control theory,substance P:

A)opens the spinal gates for pain.
B)closes the spinal gates for pain.
C)is unrelated to pain.
D)is similar in function to endorphins.

Question 30

The receptors on our taste buds work most like:

A)receptors in the ears.
B)receptors in the eyes.
C)receptor sites on neurons.
D)receptors in the skin.

Question 31

The first time Joe had to put together a child's bicycle,it took a long time.But several bicycles later,he's a whiz at constructing them.His improved speed and skill can be attributed to:

A)bottom-up processing.
B)top-down processing.
C)perceptual set.
D)perceptual expectancy.

Question 32

After some time has passed,you can no longer smell the odour of the paper mill that you noticed when you first walked in your classroom.Which is the most likely reason for this?

A)The smell has gone away.
B)You've adapted to the smell,even though it's still there.
C)Your nose fell asleep.
D)You fell asleep.

Question 33

Which of the following properties of sound would be the most similar to the colour or hue of light?

A)pitch
B)loudness
C)purity
D)timbre

Question 34

The ________________ theory explains how we hear sounds above 1000 Hz.

A)place
B)frequency
C)volley
D)adaptive

Question 35

If the bones of the middle ear begin to deteriorate,you will develop _______________ hearing impairment.

A)nerve
B)stimulation
C)brain pathway
D)conduction

Question 36

The eardrum is also called the:

A)pinna.
B)oval window.
C)tympanic membrane.
D)cochlea.

Question 37

Ned found a decaying carcass lying on the beach one day.Looking at the size of the body (which had decomposed quite a bit),Ned decided that it was the body of a sea monster,something like the Loch Ness monster in Scotland.If we know that Ned loves to read about weird,mythical animals,we might expect that he has made an error of perception because of:

A)perceptual set.
B)perceptual defence.
C)bottom-up processing.
D)none of the above

Question 38

Which statement about colour blindness is true?

A)There are more men who are colour blind than women.
B)It can influence only our complex emotions.
C)Some colour-blind people see only in blue.
D)Some colour-blind people see only in blue and red.

Question 39

Which of the following is most likely to open the pain gate?

A)negative thinking about pain
B)excitement over an upcoming big game
C)rubbing a sore spot
D)both a and b

Question 40

A bowl of gelatin with fruit in it will wiggle more than if it did not contain fruit.This is most similar to the way the ____________ work.

A)semicircular canals
B)proprioceptors
C)otolith organs
D)none of the above

Question 41

The difference threshold is defined as the degree of change in a stimulus level that is required in order for a person to detect a change _____ percent of the time.

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

Question 42

The smallest amount of a particular stimulus required to produce any sensation at all in the person to whom the stimulus is presented is the ______ threshold.

A)absolute
B)minimum
C)difference
D)noticeable

Question 43

The mental process of converting sensory information into neural impulses is called:

A)transducton.
B)sensation.
C)perception.
D)consciousness.

Question 44

The absolute threshold for human vision is a candle flame seen from ______ kilometres on a dark,clear night.

A)30
B)40
C)50
D)60

Question 45

The lowest intensity of a particular stimulus that enables the average person to detect that stimulus 50 percent of the time it is presented is called the:

A)absolute threshold.
B)difference threshold.
C)just noticeable difference.
D)sensation threshold.

Question 46

When Ann went to her doctor,he gave her a hearing test.During the test,the doctor presented tones to Ann through earphones.The tones started at a low intensity and then became louder.The doctor asked Ann to raise her hand whenever she started to hear a sound.The doctor was testing Ann's:

A)auditory convergence.
B)absolute threshold.
C)refractory threshold.
D)difference threshold.

Question 47

Any given sense being a constant fraction or proportion of the stimulus being judged is called the just noticeable difference principle or:

A)Young's law.
B)Newton's law.
C)Einstein's law.
D)Weber's law.

Question 48

We can see a candle flame at 50 kilometres on a clear,dark night,and we can hear the tick of a watch 7 metres away in a quiet room.These two facts are examples of:

A)visual and auditory priming.
B)difference threshold.
C)sensory transduction.
D)absolute thresholds.

Question 49

The term just noticeable difference is synonymous with ______ threshold.

A)sensation
B)response
C)difference
D)absolute

Question 50

Ernest Weber provided a formulation that is used to determine the:

A)largest detectable stimulus.
B)smallest detectable stimulus.
C)largest detectable difference between two stimuli.
D)smallest detectable difference between two stimuli.

Question 51

Which of the following statements is NOT true about sensory receptors?

A)They are actually specialized neurons.
B)They are stimulated by neurotransmitters received from other cells.
C)They are stimulated by different types of energy.
D)They are stimulated by light,sound,touch,etc.

Question 52

The lowest stimulus intensity required for detection is the ______ and the smallest noticeable difference between standard stimulus intensity and another stimulus value is the ______.

A)absolute threshold; difference threshold
B)baseline threshold; just noticeable difference (jnd)
C)sensation threshold; absolute threshold
D)difference threshold; absolute threshold

Question 53

If someone tells you that the sounds of the music notes from the piano are yellow,blue,and green,you might suspect that the person has a condition called:

A)migraines.
B)psychosis.
C)synesthesia.
D)presbyopia.

Question 54

Although there is no substantial research to support the positive effects of subliminal perception in advertising,University of Waterloo's Dr.Phillip Merikle has shown that under the right conditions subliminal stimuli may influence us.He uses a procedure known as ________ in his research.

A)visual priming
B)Weber's law
C)synesthesia
D)transduction

Question 55

______ are the raw data of experience,based on the activation of certain receptors located in the various sensory organs.

A)Perceptions
B)Emotions
C)Cognitions
D)Sensations

Question 56

Activation of the receptors in the various sense organs by stimuli is called:

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

Question 57

The point at which a person can detect a stimulus 50 percent of the time it is presented is called the:

A)absolute threshold.
B)sensation threshold.
C)just noticeable difference.
D)difference threshold.

Question 58

The average threshold for human hearing is the tick of a watch from ______ metres under very quiet conditions.

A)7
B)10
C)13
D)16

Question 59

What was the ultimate outcome of James Vicary's famous study on subliminal advertising and perception?

A)It demonstrated the validity of the concept of subliminal perception.
B)it did not prove as had been implied that people actually bought more colas and popcorn for several months after seeing a subliminal movie message.
C)It showed that subliminal stimuli had only a very small effect on consumer patterns.
D)The study never actually happened.

Question 60

Laverne goes to a movie theatre to watch her favourite movie.About halfway through the movie she becomes aware of an overpowering hunger for popcorn.What she doesn't realize is that throughout the first part of the movie,a message saying,"Eat Popcorn!" was repeatedly flashed on the screen at a speed too fast for her to be consciously aware of it.If her desire for popcorn is due to that message,she is responding to:

A)intuitive perception.
B)subliminal perception.
C)subconscious perception.
D)rapid cognition.

Question 61

The clear,transparent protective coating over the front part of the eye is the:

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

Question 62

The longest wavelengths we can see are found at the ______ end of the colour spectrum.

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

Question 63

Light is said to have a dual nature,meaning it can be thought of in two different ways.These two ways are:

A)particles and photons
B)waves and frequencies
C)photons and waves
D)dark light,daylight

Question 64

Joachim and Maricella are going for a romantic walk in the park after an afternoon storm.Maricella looks up in the sky and sees a rainbow.She exclaims,"How beautiful!" Joachim,a psychology student who has read Ciccarelli's chapter on "Sensation and Perception," might correctly say:

A)"You are just seeing the visible spectrum."
B)"You are just seeing light saturation"
C)"You are just seeing particles and photons."
D)"You are just seeing ultraviolet,infrared light waves"

Question 65

The process by which unchanging information from the senses of taste,touch,smell,and vision is "ignored" by the sensory receptors is called:

A)habituation.
B)adaptation.
C)accommodation.
D)transduction.

Question 66

What is the pupil of the eye?

A)It is the white part of the eye.
B)It is the coloured part of the eye.
C)It is the location of the visual receptors.
D)It is the small opening in the centre of the eye.

Question 67

Which of our senses do not totally adapt to a constant stimulus?

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

Question 68

Saccades are defined as:

A)tiny vibrations of the eye that prevent images from fading.
B)visual sensory receptors found at the back of the retina,responsible for colour vision and sharpness of vision.
C)the photoreceptors in the eye responsible for night vision.
D)the area in the retina where the axons of the three layers of retinal cells exit the eye to form the optic nerve,insensitive to light

Question 69

When light waves enter the eye,they first pass through the:

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

Question 70

When we describe someone's eyes as blue,technically we are referring to his or her blue:

A)pupils.
B)irises.
C)corneas.
D)humours.

Question 71

Which pairing of a scientist's name and a property of light is correct?

A)Helmholtz; particle nature (photon)
B)Young; particle nature
C)Newton; wave nature
D)Einstein; particle nature (photon)

Question 72

According to sensory adaptation theory,you would think that if you stared at a picture for a long period of time,the image you see would eventually:

A)blend into the background.
B)disappear.
C)change colours.
D)fuse with hearing.

Question 73

Which part of the eye is a muscle that regulates the size of the pupil?

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

Question 74

Erin has learned to create a "truly red" light by focusing on only one wavelength of the visible spectrum.She is most likely to be concerned with which property of light?

A)intensity
B)brightness
C)wave length
D)saturation

Question 75

Which of the following is NOT one of the three psychological aspects associated with how humans experience light?

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

Question 76

Which two sensory modalities are most commonly fused in synesthesia?

A)vision-smell
B)touch-taste
C)vision-hearing
D)touch-vision

Question 77

The term photon refers to:

A)the smallest possible unit of light.
B)tiny particles of light.
C)waves of light.
D)the property of light that gives us the perception of colour.

Question 78

The shortest wavelengths that we can see are found at the ______ end of the colour spectrum.

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

Question 79

When you first put your hat on,you can feel it quite easily,but after a while,you forget that you are wearing a hat at all-the sensation is gone.What happens?

A)sensory fatigue
B)synesthesia
C)habituation
D)sensory accommodation

Question 80

What colour would you report seeing if a researcher projects the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum onto a screen?

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