Deck 4: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

You just ordered a pizza from your favourite restaurant and can't wait for it to arrive. As time passes, everything you hear sounds like a car driving by. What accounts for your "heightened" sense of hearing?

A)Signal-to-noise ratio
B)Just noticeable difference
C)Signal detection theory
D)The quiet environment you are waiting in

Answer 1

Signal detection theory

Question 2

A soldier stationed at a base in the Northern Territory is dressed in his sand-coloured camouflage. He wants to know the exact distance that another person can distinguish him from the earth mound in which he is hiding. The soldier is concerned with the

A)just noticeable difference.
B)absolute threshold.
C)visual processing boundary.
D)limits of perceptual ability.

Answer 2

just noticeable difference.

Question 3

Sarah is a pianist who reports that she sees musical tones as colours. This is one example of

A)binocular cues.
B)the Ganzfield technique.
C)the Ponzo illusion.
D)synesthesia.

Answer 3

synesthesia.

Question 4

As the number of people talking in a room increases, the stimulus intensity needed to detect a change in the number of people talking becomes

A)finer.
B)greater.
C)same.
D)smaller.

Question 5

Computer programmers often use binary codes (strings of 1s and 0s)to write programs for computers. These codes are then changed into patterns that the computer recognises as words, pictures, sounds, and so forth. Which process does this most resemble in humans and other animals?

A)Transduction
B)Bottom-up processing
C)Top-down processing
D)Conversion

Question 6

The lowest level of a stimulus needed for the nervous system to detect a change half the time is called the

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

Question 7

The minimum sensitivity of our sensory abilities and systems is demonstrated in our ________ thresholds.

A)absolute
B)difference
C)pain
D)psychophysical

Question 8

Alicia is talking on her mobile phone to her friend Maya. If Maya is in a crowded train station, Alicia finds that she has to nearly shout for Maya to be able to hear her. However, when Maya is in a paddock on her grandparents' farm, she can easily tell what Alicia is watching on TV as they talk. This is one illustration of

A)absolute threshold.
B)the just noticeable difference.
C)signal-to-noise ratio.
D)transduction.

Question 9

When Julius first entered and sat down in the classroom, he felt cold. However, ten minutes later he no longer felt cold. This change is most likely the result of sensory ________.

Question 10

Light, a central player in our visual perception of the world, is a form of

A)chemical energy.
B)mechanical energy.
C)vibration.
D)electromagnetic energy.

Question 11

A ________ is a specialised cell responsible for converting external stimuli into neural activity for a specific sensory system.

A)sense receptor
B)sensory adaptation
C)selective attention
D)cell sensor

Question 12

The colour of light is what psychologists call

A)brightness.
B)hue.
C)synesthesia.
D)timbre.

Question 13

Which of the following is the best example of the signal-to-noise ratio?

A)Lisa has to listen very carefully to hear her friend talking in the car.
B)Bobby is shouting at the neighbour's dog that is digging up his yard.
C)While listening to the television, Kate is also reading her textbook.
D)Robyn has to shout over the boisterous crowd at the football game to be heard.

Question 14

The conversion of external energy into something that the nervous system can understand is known as

A)accommodation.
B)perception.
C)sensation.
D)transduction.

Question 15

Zach and David decide to go exploring the bush behind their farm on a cold June day. The fact that they felt much colder when they initially got outdoors than they do five minutes later, despite having not done anything to warm themselves, is known as

A)sensory adaptation.
B)sensory illusion.
C)sensory interaction.
D)transduction.

Question 16

Dr Balkin is heating up a liquid he just created in the lab. He has recruited students to observe his experiments and pinpoint the exact moment the liquid begins to change colour. Dr Balkin is concerned with the

A)signal-to-noise ratio.
B)just noticeable difference.
C)perceptual accuracy.
D)absolute threshold.

Question 17

The intensity of the reflected light that reaches our eyes is known as

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

Question 18

Cason is initially blinded as he walks out of a daytime movie. However, very rapidly, his eyes begin to adjust to the bright light. What is the best explanation for his rapid recovery?

A)Perceptual adjustments
B)Sensory deprivation
C)Oversensitivity of his rods and cones
D)Sensory adaptation

Question 19

________ says that there is a constant proportional relationship between the just noticeable difference (JND)and the original stimulus intensity.

A)Weber's law
B)Signal detection theory
C)Signal-to-noise ratio
D)Sensory adaptation

Question 20

Which of the following most closely mimics the process of transduction?

A)Betty mixes eggs, flour, and sugar together to make a cake.
B)While painting, Stan combines the colours red and blue to make purple.
C)Gas companies convert crude oil into a fuel that car engines can run on.
D)Nike changes its logo from a "swoosh" to a "panther".

Question 21

When Stewart wakes up at night and has to walk from his bedroom to the bathroom in the dark, he is most directly aided in this process by his

A)cones.
B)corneas.
C)irises.
D)rods.

Question 22

Phoebie brags to her boyfriend that she scored a "twenty twenty" at the optometrist's office today. The boyfriend tells her how proud he is of her, although he doesn't really know what that means. Phoebie is technically referring to her performance on the ________ eye chart.

A)von Helmholtz
B)Ishihara
C)Snellen
D)Colavita

Question 23

The ________ carries sensory information from the retina to the brain areas where visual perception will occur.

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

Question 24

People who see less than all of the colours are said to be ________.

Question 25

Which type of receptor cell is associated with seeing colours?

A)Ganglia
B)Bipolar
C)Rods
D)Cones

Question 26

Changing the shape of the lens to focus on objects near or far is called

A)focusing.
B)accommodation.
C)constriction.
D)dilation.

Question 27

Our visual sensory receptor cells are located in the

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

Question 28

Morris has got into the collection of paint cans that his mother uses to create beautiful works of art. Because it is fun, Morris takes the lids off of each can and pours the paints into a puddle on the floor. If every colour is represented by the paints, what colour will the puddle be?

A)clear
B)grey
C)white
D)black

Question 29

The central portion of the retina is the

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

Question 30

Jan can see objects well up close, but they appear blurry from afar. She is probably

A)colour blind.
B)nearsighted.
C)farsighted.
D)developing a cataract.

Question 31

A blind spot is a part of the visual field we can't see, where the ________ connects to the ________.

A)retina; pupil
B)cornea; iris
C)optic nerve; retina
D)optic nerve; sclera

Question 32

What structure is primarily responsible for focusing light at the back of the eye?

A)Pupil
B)Fovea
C)Lens
D)Retina

Question 33

The ________ is a small circular opening that allows light to enter the eye.

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

Question 34

According to the opponent process theory of colour vision, the correct pairings of opposite colours are ________.

A)black versus white, red versus green, and blue versus yellow
B)black versus gray and white versus coloured
C)greyscales, blue versus red, and green versus yellow
D)blue versus green and red versus yellow

Question 35

The sensory receptors associated with vision are located in the ________.

Question 36

According to ________, colour vision evolved because perceiving colour helped our early ancestors find edible food.

A)binocular theory
B)Gestalt theory
C)opponent process theory
D)trichromatic theory

Question 37

Describe the general process of how light enters the eye and is transmitted to the brain to be perceived.

Question 38

What structure changes its shape to focus light at the back of the eye?

A)Cone
B)Fovea
C)Lens
D)Retina

Question 39

As we age, we are more likely to need glasses because

A)of damage to our corneas.
B)of damage to our retinas.
C)the lens loses its flexibility.
D)the retina can no longer accommodate subtle changes in light.

Question 40

The white part of the eye is the

A)pupil.
B)retina.
C)fovea.
D)sclera.

Question 41

The ________ is determined by the frequency of a sound wave.

A)audition
B)timbre
C)amplitude
D)pitch

Question 42

The part of the ear we see is called the

A)cochlea.
B)pinna.
C)tympanic membrane.
D)ossicle.

Question 43

The ________ is the ear structure that converts vibrations into neural activity that can be interpreted by the brain.

Question 44

Our sense of taste is called

A)gustation.
B)olfaction.
C)proprioception.
D)the vestibular sense.

Question 45

Brightness refers to the intensity of light. The corresponding term when discussing sound is

A)hue.
B)loudness.
C)pitch.
D)timbre.

Question 46

One theory of pitch perception is the ________ theory, which suggests that the rate at which neurons in the ear fire produces different pitches. This theory is particularly effective at explaining humans' perception of lower pitches.

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

Question 47

A whistle that gives a sound so high that it can only be heard by dogs, but not humans, exploits which aspect of the auditory system?

A)Loudness
B)Timbre
C)Pitch
D)Decibels

Question 48

Once sound waves have been converted into neural activity, the ________ carries them to the brain for auditory perception.

A)auditory nerve
B)basilar membrane
C)cochlea
D)pinna

Question 49

Our sense of hearing is called

A)audition.
B)gustation.
C)olfaction.
D)proprioception.

Question 50

Which of the following would NOT be considered one of the ossicles?

A)Pinna
B)Hammer
C)Anvil
D)Stirrup

Question 51

Loudness is associated with a sound wave's

A)amplitude.
B)length.
C)pitch.
D)timbre.

Question 52

The wave frequency of a sound is what we refer to as its ________.

Question 53

Human perception of high-pitched tones is best explained by ________ theory.

A)frequency
B)opponent process
C)place
D)volley

Question 54

As we age, it becomes more difficult for us to hear ________ sounds.

A)high-frequency
B)low-frequency
C)low- to moderate-frequency
D)moderate-frequency

Question 55

The difference between high-definition television and regular television is analogous to which component of sound?

A)Pitch
B)Loudness
C)Amplitude
D)Timbre

Question 56

The complexity or quality of sound that makes instruments, voices, and other sources of sound unique is called

A)audition.
B)acuity.
C)timbre.
D)wavelength.

Question 57

The bony, spiral-shaped sense organ used for hearing is the

A)basilar membrane.
B)cochlea.
C)timbre.
D)pinna.

Question 58

Quentin is suffering from a disorder that causes him to have problems recognising everyday objects. The other day he was looking at a wine glass and couldn't come up with its name. He said to his wife, "I want one of those things that you hold the wine in", but try as he did, he could not find the word "glass". This demonstrates a form of visual ________.

A)ataxia
B)apraxia
C)aphasia
D)agnosia

Question 59

Pete has played lead guitar in a rock band for years. He would often turn the volume on his guitar up loud and spend a great deal of time in front of the speakers during the shows. His resulting hearing loss over the past few years is most likely the result of

A)conductive deafness.
B)nerve deafness.
C)noise-induced hearing loss.
D)tinnitus.

Question 60

Humans can hear sounds ranging from

A)20 to 2000 dB.
B)20 to 2000 Hz.
C)20 to 20 000 dB.
D)20 to 20 000 Hz.

Question 61

The ability to detect our balance and keep our balance as we move around in our daily life is known as

A)olfaction.
B)the proprioceptive sense.
C)somatosensory information.
D)the vestibular sense.

Question 62

Our sense of equilibrium is called

A)the vestibular sense.
B)proprioception.
C)balance.
D)kinesthesia.

Question 63

Explain why food tastes different when we have a cold versus when we do not.

Question 64

The average human being has more than ________ olfactory genes.

A)1000
B)10 000
C)100 000
D)1 000 000

Question 65

The sense of smell is also known as ________.

A)olfaction
B)the salivary sense
C)chemical infarctation
D)gustation

Question 66

What neurotransmitter seems to be very highly present in many food products that have umami as their primary taste profile?

A)dopamine
B)acetylcholine
C)gamma-aminobutyric acid
D)glutamate

Question 67

Our ability to experience so many different tastes, despite the limited number of taste sensations, demonstrates the interplay between our senses of taste and

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

Question 68

Bumps on the tongue called ________ contain numerous ________.

A)mechanoreceptors; taste buds
B)papillae; taste buds
C)taste buds; mechanoreceptors
D)taste buds; papillae

Question 69

According to the authors, we experience the taste sensation of saltiness

A)at the tip of the tongue.
B)throughout all areas of the tongue; there is no one location for any of the tastes.
C)towards the front of the tongue, but not on the tip.
D)towards the rear area of the tongue.

Question 70

The name given to the sense of our body position is

A)gustation.
B)proprioception.
C)somatosensory sense.
D)the vestibular sense.

Question 71

The somatosensory system responds to sensory information about

A)body position and equilibrium.
B)sound and vision.
C)taste and smell.
D)temperature, touch, and pain.

Question 72

Which of the following is the most recently identified of the basic taste sensations?

A)Bitter
B)Salty
C)Umami
D)Sour

Question 73

Our memories from childhood often involve not only visual information but olfactory information as well. This is because the olfactory cortex is located near the

A)brainstem.
B)cerebellum.
C)limbic system.
D)thalamus.

Question 74

The vestibular senses rely on three ________, which are located in the inner ear. They are fluid-filled structures that provide information about balance and equilibrium.

A)ossicles
B)corpuscles
C)tympanic membranes
D)semicircular canals

Question 75

Odourless chemicals that serve as a social signal to other members of one's species are called ________.

A)pheromones
B)nitriles
C)umamis
D)olfactoceptors

Question 76

We are able to distinguish pleasant from disgusting smells and tastes because of the contribution of the ________, the emotional centre of the brain.

A)brainstem
B)cerebellum
C)thalamus

Question 77

Which of the following statements about taste and smell is true?

A)Our nose and tongue identify approximately the same numbers of odours and tastes, respectively.
B)Our nose and tongue identify exactly the same numbers of odours and tastes, respectively.
C)Our nose identifies far more odours than our tongue identifies tastes.
D)Our tongue identifies far more tastes than our nose identifies odours.

Question 78

Rafael has a cold and has blocked sinuses. These symptoms are most likely to affect

A)his ability to listen to his Art History professor's lecture.
B)his enjoyment of the food at the university cafeteria.
C)his pain tolerance threshold.
D)his sense of balance.

Question 79

A common symptom associated with depression is loss of appetite. Research indicates that this occurs because

A)our taste sensitivity is heightened by the neurotransmitters targeted by antidepressant drugs.
B)our taste thresholds are increased by the neurotransmitters targeted by antidepressant drugs.
C)our taste thresholds are unchanged by the neurotransmitters targeted by antidepressant drugs.
D)we are more likely to label food as "disgusting" when we are emotionally aroused.

Question 80

We are sensitive to ________ basic tastes.

A)three
B)five
C)seven
D)countless