Deck 3: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

_____ is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense.

A)Consciousness
B)Perception
C)Sensation
D)Reception

Answer 1

Perception

Question 2

In the context of sensory receptors, chemoreception most likely occurs when a person

A)punches a wall.
B)stares at bright light.
C)listens to the radio.
D)smells a rose.

Answer 2

smells a rose.

Question 3

Which of the following sensory processes is most activated when a person is listening to a song?

A)thermoreception
B)chemoreception
C)mechanoreception
D)photoreception

Answer 3

mechanoreception

Question 4

As you walk barefoot in the park, your nose conveys to your brain the smell of the freshly cut grass; your skin sends information about the feel of the gentle breeze; and your ears transmit the sound of children laughing on the playground to your auditory cortex.This process of detecting stimuli in the environment is called

A)sensation.
B)selective attention.
C)sensory adaptation.
D)cognition.

Question 5

Identify a true statement about the different types of sensory functions.

A)Sensory functions are handled by all parts of the brain except the cerebral cortex.
B)Functions related to hearing usually involve the parietal lobes.
C)Visual information is mainly processed in the occipital lobes.
D)Functions related to touch and temperature are primarily processed by the cerebellum.

Question 6

Which of the following explains the ability of an animal to distinguish among sight, sound, odor, taste, and touch?

A)Sensory neurons (unlike all neurons) do not follow the all-or-nothing principle.
B)The senses create a process known as synaesthesia that describes an experience in which one sense induces an experience in the same sense.
C)Sensory receptors are selective and have different neural pathways.
D)The receptor holds the frequency of action potentials sent to the brain.

Question 7

Rachel is walking in the woods and feels a sudden pain in the back of her neck.Due to the nature of the pain she recognizes that she has been stung by a bee.In this scenario, which of the following processes has most likely helped her identify the source of her pain?

A)photoreception
B)perception
C)incubation
D)transduction

Question 8

The factor that differentiates top-down processing from bottom-up processing is that, top-down processing

A)starts with cognitive processing in the brain.
B)begins with the external world.
C)means taking in information and trying to make sense of it.
D)cannot happen in the absence of a stimulus.

Question 9

In the context of sensation, which of the following sensory processes is most activated when a person is tickled?

A)thermoreception
B)chemoreception
C)mechanoreception
D)photoreception

Question 10

Melanie is learning how to read Spanish by sounding out each word one letter at a time.Melanie is engaging in

A)top-down processing.
B)bottom-up processing.
C)sensory adaptation.
D)subliminal perception.

Question 11

Identify a true statement about mechanoreception.

A)It plays a major role in detection of light.
B)It transmits information about chemical stimuli such as smell and taste.
C)It plays a significant role in detection of vibration and movement.
D)It transmits information wherein the energy is perceived as sight.

Question 12

Mrs.Robinson shows her students different fruits every day.At the end of the month, she tests the children by showing them pictures of the same fruits to see if the children are able to recognize them.The children are able to accurately recall the names of all the fruits.Which of the following processes is specifically involved in the children's successful recall?

A)forward processing
B)top-down processing
C)backward processing
D)bottom-up processing

Question 13

In the context of sensory receptors, the intensity of the stimulus is communicated to the brain by varying the _____ of the action potential sent to the brain.

A)strength
B)frequency
C)depth
D)lucidity

Question 14

_____ is the process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neural energy.

A)Consciousness
B)Perception
C)Sensation
D)Reception

Question 15

Which of the following sensory processes is most activated when a person is tasting food that is extremely salty?

A)thermoreception
B)chemoreception
C)mechanoreception
D)photoreception

Question 16

While walking barefoot on the beach, the physical pain one experiences when stepping on a jellyfish most accurately exemplifies

A)sensation.
B)perception.
C)incubation.
D)photoreception.

Question 17

Which of the following examples best illustrates extrasensory perception (ESP)?

A)George performs a magic trick.
B)Tony runs faster than the others in a race.
C)Jeff reads another person's mind.
D)Richard levitates in front of an audience.

Question 18

Which of the following sensory processes is most activated when a person is watching a silent movie?

A)thermoreception
B)chemoreception
C)mechanoreception
D)photoreception

Question 19

Identify an example of precognition.

A)George senses a future event at a party.
B)Miguel reads another person's mind.
C)Sarah levitates at a park.
D)Vincent performs a magic trick.

Question 20

Which of the following is true of sensatory receptors?

A)Sensory receptors are specialized cells that are not selective.
B)Sensory receptors send information to the environment, creating local electrical currents.
C)Not all sensation begins with sensory receptors.
D)Sensory receptors are the openings through which the brain and nervous system experience the worlD.

Question 21

You arrive at your friend's apartment for a big party at the end of the semester.When you first arrive, the music is so loud that it almost hurts your ears.After a couple of hours, even though the music is still at the same volume, it no longer bothers you or seems that loud.This change in your sensations describes the process of

A)auditory adjustment.
B)transduction.
C)sensory adaptation.
D)sensory deprivation.

Question 22

George is looking at the colors on a paint swatch card to select the right shade of red for his wall.He is able to differentiate between the various shades of red on the card and makes a quick decision.His perception of the differences in the shades can be attributed to the _____ of light reflecting from the shades.

A)gradients
B)timbres
C)frequencies
D)wavelengths

Question 23

Jennifer is a chain smoker.When her friend Irene, a non-smoker, gets in the car with Jennifer she is overwhelmed by the smell of smoke.One day she mentioned this fact to Jennifer, who was surprised by the comment.Jennifer claims that when she sniffs her hair and clothing she can't sense the smoky scent.Jennifer's inability to detect the smoky scent is an example of

A)perceptual redundancy.
B)sensory adaptation.
C)the cocktail-party phenomenon.
D)closure.

Question 24

Linda is studying while listening to her iPod.She notices that when she raises the volume five decibels when the volume is initially low, the change is very noticeable.However, when the volume is initially high, increasing the volume by five decibels doesn't result in as noticeable of a change in sound.This phenomenon is best explained by

A)the volley principle.
B)Weber's law.
C)perceptual constancy.
D)selective attention.

Question 25

A predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way is known as

A)selective attention.
B)a perceptual set.
C)the cocktail-party effect.
D)top-down processing.

Question 26

In the context of perception, _____ refers to the minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect.

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

Question 27

Identify a true statement about inattentional blindness.

A)It is a form of a psychiatric and physiological disorder.
B)It is type of color blindness.
C)It is more likely to occur when a task is difficult.
D)It is predominantly associated with visual deficits or disorders.

Question 28

Although the volume of the television is low, Katherine does not hear her phone ring when she is watching a movie that she likes.In this scenario, Katherine is demonstrating

A)color blindness.
B)inattentional blindness.
C)subliminal perception.
D)correct rejection.

Question 29

Michael, a famous musician, is designing a new apartment that will serve as both his residence and his recording studio.Since the music studio shares a wall with his bedroom, Michael wants to be sure that the recording studio is soundproof.This means that Michael wants to be sure that sound from the studio is well under his _____ while he is in his bedroom.

A)absolute threshold
B)difference threshold
C)papillae
D)minimum threshold

Question 30

Which of the following principles states that two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage to be perceived as different?

A)ricco's law
B)the volley principle
C)weber's law
D)perceptual attention

Question 31

Which of the following refers to the detection of information below the level of conscious awareness?

A)subliminal perception
B)sensory adaptation
C)top-down processing
D)selective attention

Question 32

Lauren is at the airport waiting to board her flight.She initiates a friendly conversation with another passenger.Despite the noise at the airport and multiple announcements being made at the same time, Lauren is able to focus on what the passenger is saying.This scenario best demonstrates the

A)cocktail-party effect.
B)Stroop effect.
C)volley principle.
D)sound shadow.

Question 33

What theory of perception proposes that detection of stimuli depends on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, physical intensity of the stimulus, fatigue of the observer, and expectancy?

A)opponent-process theory
B)multiple-perceptual-context theory
C)signal-detection theory
D)weber's theory

Question 34

When Carlos first jumped into the pool, he thought the water was very cold.Although the actual temperature of the pool remained constant, after a few minutes Carlos no longer complained about feeling cold.This change is his reaction to the temperature of the water is an example of

A)sensory deprivation.
B)a perceptual set.
C)sensory adaptation.
D)top-down processing.

Question 35

The smallest intensity of a stimulus that you can detect 50 percent of the time is the

A)absolute threshold.
B)sensory threshold.
C)extrasensory perception.
D)perceptual set.

Question 36

Daniel conducts an experiment to see whether he can taste a quarter teaspoon of sugar dissolved in a glass of water.The same quantity of water is used for ten trials.Five out of ten times, Daniel does detect the taste of the sugar in the water.His taste of the sugar five out of ten times represents his

A)taste aversion.
B)extrasensory perception.
C)synaesthesia.
D)absolute threshold.

Question 37

Gary is watching a movie.He can hear the dialogue at all times except when the actors are whispering in a scene.This is because the actors' whispers are too soft for Gary to hear.In other words, the whispers are most likely below the level of Gary's

A)expectation.
B)arbitrary value.
C)absolute threshold.
D)upper limit.

Question 38

You are studying in your dorm room, but your neighbor is blasting the television in the adjacent room.When you gently request that your neighbor turn the volume down until you cannot hear it, you are asking your neighbor to make the volume less than your

A)absolute threshold.
B)difference threshold.
C)minimum transduction level.
D)basilar level.

Question 39

Which part of an eye usually acts like the aperture of a camera, opening and closing depending on the amount of light required to enter the eye?

A)the pupil
B)the sclera
C)the retina
D)the iris

Question 40

Emily is selecting a new paint color for her bedroom.She detects a difference between sky blue and midnight blue.Emily's ability to distinguish these two colors from one another can best be explained by the concept of

A)sensory adaptation.
B)difference threshold.
C)selective attention.
D)top-down processing.

Question 41

The tiny area in the center of the retina that contains only cones is called the

A)cornea.
B)fovea.
C)chiasm.
D)optic nerve.

Question 42

The _____ is the area on the retina where there are no rods and no cones.

A)cornea
B)blind spot
C)fovea
D)lens

Question 43

The crossover point where the right visual field information goes to the left hemisphere is called the

A)fovea.
B)optic nerve.
C)retina.
D)optic chiasm.

Question 44

Which of the following statements is true of the structure of the eye?

A)The curved surface of the cornea does most of the bending of the light.
B)The light reaching the eye from objects that are far is more scattered.
C)The rods are the receptors that are used for color perception.
D)The cones are the receptors that are hard at work at night.

Question 45

Jane is having trouble sleeping.As she sits in bed looking around the darkened room, she notices that her peripheral vision seems to be better than her central vision.This is because vision in low light conditions

A)depends on the rods.
B)depends on the cones.
C)doesn't require the use of the pupil.
D)doesn't require the retina.

Question 46

In the context of the visual system, which of the following scenarios best illustrates the need for the functioning of rods in the retina?

A)Shelby is window shopping on her favorite street during the day.
B)Ray is reading under a bright light in the library.
C)Marcus is trying to find his seat in the dark in a movie theater.
D)Andrew is watching football on the television in his living room.

Question 47

Which of the following statements is true of the cones of the eye's retina?

A)Cones require larger amounts of light than rods in order to respond.
B)Cones are not light sensitive.
C)Cones are not found in the fovea.
D)Cones operate best in the dark.

Question 48

Cones

A)are receptors in the cornea that are insensitive to light.
B)are receptor cells that are used for color perception.
C)function best at night or under low illumination conditions.
D)are concentrated in the blind spot.

Question 49

The _____ is a transparent and somewhat flexible, disklike structure filled with a gelatin-like material.

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

Question 50

Jane was in a car accident, which caused severe damage to her head.As a result, Jane's vision was affected.Although her eyes are able to detect visual stimuli and form images on her retina, her brain is not receiving the visual information.This problem with Jane's vision is most likely due to improper functioning of the

A)optic nerve.
B)lens.
C)sclera.
D)blind spot.

Question 51

In the visual system, which of the following statements is true of parallel processing?

A)It is the transfer of information across a single neural pathway.
B)It is a system that processes information about sensory qualities serially.
C)It is the simultaneous distribution of information across different neural pathways.
D)It first processes the shapes of stimuli and then the color and movement.

Question 52

The multilayered light-sensitive surface in the eye that records electromagnetic energy and converts it to neural impulses for processing in the brain is known as the

A)sclera.
B)iris.
C)retina.
D)optic nerve.

Question 53

The major purpose of the sclera is to

A)help maintain the shape of the eye and protect it from injury.
B)control the size of the pupil.
C)focus light on the retina.
D)record what we see and convert it to neural impulses for processing in the brain.

Question 54

Which of the following parts of the eye are most likely to be affected for an individual who is color blind?

A)optic chiasms
B)rods
C)blind spots
D)cones

Question 55

In the visual system, the main function of rods and cones is to

A)stretch and bend light entering the eye.
B)direct the optic nerve to the brain.
C)adjust sensory thresholds.
D)convert light into electrochemical impulses.

Question 56

The pupil is the

A)white, outer part of the eye that helps to maintain the shape of the eye and to protect it from injury.
B)colored part of the eye, which might be light blue in one individual and dark brown in another.
C)opening in the center of the iris, which appears black.
D)multilayered light-sensitive surface in the eye that records electromagnetic energy.

Question 57

Which of the followings statements is true of the rods in the eye's retina?

A)Rods are very useful for color vision.
B)Rods are not hard at work at night.
C)Rods are found everywhere except in the fovea.
D)Rods do not function well under low illumination.

Question 58

The _____ is made up of axons of the ganglion cells, which carries visual information to the brain for further processing.

A)fovea
B)optic nerve
C)lens
D)iris

Question 59

As light enters the eye, eventually it reaches the light-sensitive _____ at the back of the eye.

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

Question 60

The iris is the

A)clear membrane just in front of the cornea through which light first passes.
B)colored part of the eye that contains muscles that control the size of the pupil.
C)white outer part of the eye that helps to maintain the shape of the eye and to protect it from injury.
D)light-sensitive surface at the back of the eye that records what we see and converts it to neural impulses for processing in the brain.

Question 61

Which of the following statements is true of Young and Helmholtz's trichromatic theory?

A)It states that there are four types of cones present in the human visual system.
B)It states that there are three types of rods present in the human visual system.
C)It is based on experiments that show that cells in the visual system respond to red-green and blue-yellow colors.
D)It is based on experiments that show that any color in the spectrum can be matched by combining three other wavelengths.

Question 62

If Howard, a student, has the most common form of colorblindness, he will have trouble distinguishing

A)red from blue and white.
B)white from red and green.
C)orange from red and blue.
D)green from blue and red.

Question 63

In depth perception, familiar size and relative size, height in field of view, and shading are examples of

A)binocular cues.
B)monocular cues.
C)stereograms.
D)feature detectors.

Question 64

Although several bulbs have burned out on the Movie Buff Theater's sign at the entrance and the letters are not completely formed, Caleb can still read the announcement for the upcoming movie.Which gestalt principle best accounts for this phenomenon?

A)principle of closure
B)principle of proximity
C)principle of similarity
D)principle of convergence

Question 65

Derek is watching an airplane fly by.The plane seems to get smaller as it goes farther away.Which of the following aspects of perceptual constancy allows Derek to understand that the airplane is not getting smaller?

A)shape constancy
B)size constancy
C)apparent movement
D)pattern recognition

Question 66

Gestalt psychologists emphasize that

A)perception is the same as sensation.
B)we learn to perceive the world through experience.
C)the whole is different from the sum of its parts.
D)perception is a neurological process.

Question 67

Mrs.Johnson's third grade class is creating a model of their school grounds.Each group of students is responsible for different aspects of the model.Some are cutting cardboard, some are painting, and some are making miniature figurines out of Play-Doh.Eventually, Mrs.Johnson will combine all these elements into a finished product.Which of the following visual processes in the brain is this scenario most analogous to?

A)transduction
B)binding
C)feature detection
D)subliminal perception

Question 68

_____ depth-vision cues depend on the combination of the images in the left and right eyes and on the way the two eyes work together.

A)Monocular
B)Binocular
C)Gradient
D)Parallel

Question 69

Perceptual constancy refers to our ability to

A)switch back and forth between the figure and the ground in a figure-ground problem.
B)have all of our sensory systems working on overload in a highly stressful situation.
C)adjust to the amount of light in the room even if that requires light or dark adaptation.
D)see an object as the same size even though we move closer to it or farther from it.

Question 70

The purpose of parallel processing is to

A)allow sensory information to travel rapidly through the brain.
B)allow rods and cones to function simultaneously.
C)prevent the misinterpretation of colors.
D)use binocular cues to perceive depth.

Question 71

Which of the following statements about research on color blindness is true?

A)Most individuals who are colorblind literally see the world in black and white.They are unable to perceive any colors other than black or white.
B)Colorblindness is more common among women than among men.
C)The nature of colorblindness depends on which of the three kinds of cones (green, red, and blue) is inoperative.
D)Research on colorblindness does not support the trichromatic theory of vision.

Question 72

Which of the following theories of vision can best explain the occurrence of afterimages (i.e., sensations that remain after a stimulus is removed)?

A)trichromatic theory
B)opponent-process theory
C)frequency theory
D)place theory

Question 73

The perception that a stationary object is moving is known as _____.

A)real movement.
B)apparent movement.
C)convergence.
D)depth perception.

Question 74

Which depth cue accounts for why parallel lines appear to grow closer together the farther away they are?

A)texture gradient
B)superposition
C)vertical position
D)linear perspective

Question 75

The _____ theory states that cells in the visual system respond to complementary pairs of red-green and blue-yellow colors; a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green, whereas another cell might be excited by yellow and inhibited by blue.

A)trichromatic
B)place
C)frequency
D)opponent-process

Question 76

Depth perception involves

A)perceiving three dimensions.
B)seeing in three colors.
C)the pinna.
D)the papillae.

Question 77

The _____ is the principle by which we organize the perceptual field into stimuli that stand out and those that are left over.

A)opponent-process theory
B)trichromatic theory
C)apparent movement
D)figure-ground relationship

Question 78

In order to get a good idea of an object's depth, we rely on a number of binocular and monocular cues.Which of the following would be an example of a binocular cue?

A)texture gradient
B)convergence
C)height in field of view
D)shading

Question 79

In the context of visual perception, _____ is the bringing together and integration of what is processed by different neural pathways or cells.

A)parallel processing
B)binding
C)depth perception
D)perceptual integration

Question 80

Which of the following is a disadvantage of the trichromatic theory of color vision?

A)It cannot explain colorblindness.
B)It fails to adequately explain afterimages.
C)It negates the role of cone receptors in color vision.
D)It states that cones are sensitive to red, yellow, and blue.