Deck 3: Section 2: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Perception that is below the threshold of conscious perception or awareness is called:

A)absolute perception.
B)ESP.
C)Weber's perception.
D)subliminal perception.

Answer 1

subliminal perception.

Question 2

A large group of students were tested for their ability to distinguish among different tones. Although tone A and tone B were slightly different, more than half of the group thought that they sounded exactly the same. The contrast between tone A and tone B can be said to be less than the:

A)difference threshold, or just noticeable difference.
B)absolute threshold, or average absolute threshold.
C)subliminal threshold.
D)Weber's threshold.

Answer 2

difference threshold, or just noticeable difference.

Question 3

As you go to sleep at night, you realize that you can hear your roommate's wristwatch ticking. Out of curiosity, you keep a record of when you hear the watch ticking and find out that you can hear it about half the time. Your ability to hear your roommate's wristwatch about half the time is an example of:

A)a difference threshold.
B)an absolute threshold.
C)Weber's law.
D)sensory adaptation.

Answer 3

an absolute threshold.

Question 4

As the manager of a food store, your friend is trying to come up with ways of increasing sales of items that have a high profit margin. He decides that he is going to embed subliminal messages to buy certain items in the music that is playing in the store. What do you predict will happen to the sales of the items that are subliminally advertised?

A)There will be a significant increase in the sales of those subliminally advertised items.
B)There will be no real change in the sales of those subliminally advertised items.
C)There will be a significant decrease in the sales of those subliminally advertised items.
D)There will be a significant decrease in the sales of all items regardless of whether they were subliminally advertised or not.

Question 5

In psychology, the term sensation formally refers to:

A)a vague feeling of excitement or pleasure.
B)the process of detecting a physical stimulus such as light, sound, heat, or pressure.
C)the transformation of physical energy into chemical energy.
D)the interpretation and organization of sensory stimuli.

Question 6

When Andrew had his hearing tested, some sounds were too soft for him to detect. These sounds were below his _____ threshold for hearing.

A)difference
B)absolute
C)Weber's
D)transduction

Question 7

The smallest possible discrepancy between two stimuli which can be detected half the time is called the:

A)difference threshold, or just noticeable difference.
B)transduction threshold.
C)the absolute threshold.
D)subliminal difference.

Question 8

You catch a whiff of freshly popped popcorn as you enter the movie theater. The process by which the odor of popcorn is converted into neural signals that your brain can interpret as the smell of popcorn is called:

A)sensory adaptation.
B)proprioception
C)transduction.
D)accommodation.

Question 9

According to _____, whether we can detect a change in the strength of a stimulus depends upon the intensity of the original stimulus.

A)the principle of sensory adaptation
B)the principle of absolute threshold
C)Weber's law
D)the principle of just noticeable difference

Question 10

By definition, stimuli that are perceived subliminally are:

A)accessible to conscious awareness.
B)inaccessible to conscious awareness.
C)effective motivators of consumer behavior.
D)ineffective motivators of consumer behavior.

Question 11

When sensory receptors convert different forms of energy into neural signals, the process is known as:

A)proprioception.
B)transduction.
C)sensory accommodation.
D)kinesthesis.

Question 12

The process by which physical energy, such as light, is converted into a coded neural signal that can be transmitted to and interpreted by the brain is called:

A)transduction.
B)gate-control theory.
C)sensation.
D)the mere exposure effect.

Question 13

In order to answer this test item, you must read the words on this page. Detecting the black marks on the page relies on the process of _____, and the ability to interpret these black lines and curves as letters and words involves the process of _____.

A)sensory adaptation; proprioception
B)sensation; perception
C)perception; sensation
D)proprioception; sensory adaptation

Question 14

Weber's law reminds us that our psychological experience of sensation is:

A)relative.
B)fluid.
C)bidirectional.
D)inverse.

Question 15

Sensation results when sensory receptor cells are stimulated by:

A)some form of energy.
B)substance P.
C)messages transmitted from the brain.
D)monocular cues.

Question 16

When you were younger, you probably had your hearing checked. Headphones were placed over your ears and you were to respond when you heard a sound. You were being tested for your hearing:

A)threshold.
B)sensory adaptation.
C)accommodation potential.
D)transduction.

Question 17

In contrast to sensation, the term perception is formally defined as the:

A)process of integrating, organizing, and interpreting sensory data.
B)process of detecting a physical stimulus such as light, sound, heat, or pressure.
C)active mental process of understanding the meaning of a new, difficult concept.
D)way in which different areas of the brain interact.

Question 18

Recent research using subliminal perception has shown that:

A)faces paired with a pleasant subliminal odor received the highest likeability ratings, while faces paired with an unpleasant subliminal odor received the lowest ratings.
B)people are more strongly affected by subliminally presented product advertisements with odors than by regular advertisements without odors.
C)we tend to avoid products that are subliminally advertised, regardless of whether the subliminal advertisement is accompanied by pleasant or unpleasant odors.
D)faces paired with a pleasant subliminal odor received the lowest likeability ratings, while faces paired with an unpleasant subliminal odor received the highest ratings.

Question 19

Which of the following accurately illustrates an absolute threshold?

A)Hearing an airplane fly over your apartment
B)Watching fireworks a mile from your home
C)One teaspoon of sugar in two gallons of water
D)A candle flame seen from the house next door on a clear, dark night

Question 20

What makes sensation possible?

A)conceptually driven processes
B)absolute thresholds
C)Weber's law
D)sensory receptors

Question 21

The muscle that controls the amount of light entering the pupil is the:

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

Question 22

Ron's eyeball is abnormally shaped, and incoming light is focused at a point behind his retina. Ron wears glasses to correct this visual condition, which is called:

A)astigmatism.
B)myopia or nearsightedness.
C)anosmia or night blindness.
D)hyperopia or farsightedness.

Question 23

The finding that repeated exposure to a particular stimulus leads to increased liking for that stimulus is called:

A)the mere exposure effect.
B)psychokinesis.
C)perceptual constancy.
D)sensory adaptation.

Question 24

X-rays, radio waves, microwaves, and ultraviolet waves are all forms of _____ that differ in terms of their _____.

A)electromagnetic energy; absolute threshold
B)wavelength; intensity
C)electromagnetic energy; wavelength
D)sensation; absolute threshold

Question 25

As you walk into an Indian restaurant, you immediately notice the delicious odors of curry, saffron, and other spices. After a few minutes, however, you no longer notice the smell. This experience is an example of:

A)the mere exposure effect.
B)sensory adaptation.
C)anosmia.
D)Weber's law.

Question 26

The clear membrane that covers the outside of the eye and helps gather and direct incoming light is called the:

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

Question 27

Jill runs a hot bath. She starts to get into the tub, but the water feels extremely hot. She stands in the hot water for a few minutes, then slowly sits down, easing the rest of her body into the water. After a few minutes, she feels quite comfortable; the water no longer feels too hot to her. This decline in sensitivity to a constant stimulus that Jill has experienced is called:

A)bottom-up processing.
B)sensory saturation.
C)sensory adaptation.
D)transduction.

Question 28

John puts one toe into a swimming pool and shivers because the water is so cold. He grits his teeth and dives in anyway. After about ten minutes, the temperature of the water seems quite comfortable to him. This example illustrates the principle of:

A)sensory difference.
B)just noticeable difference, or jnd.
C)accommodation.
D)sensory adaptation.

Question 29

Psychologists have found that the effects of subliminal stimuli tend to be:

A)weak and short-lived.
B)weak but long-lasting.
C)fairly strong but short-lived.
D)fairly strong and long-lasting.

Question 30

As you glance at the person sitting next to you in class, light reflected from the person's shirt first passes through which three structures of your eye?

A)pupil, iris, lens
B)cornea, iris, pupil
C)cornea, pupil, lens
D)fovea, iris, pupil

Question 31

As light waves enter the eye, which three structures do they pass through first?

A)pupil, iris, lens
B)cornea, iris, pupil
C)cornea, pupil, lens
D)fovea, iris, pupil

Question 32

As you walk into a brightly lit room, the black structure in the center of your eye seems to shrink to a tiny black dot. This response is caused by the action of the eye structure called the:

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

Question 33

When psychologists refer to the visible spectrum, they mean:

A)red, orange, and yellow light waves.
B)the visual field, including peripheral vision.
C)ultraviolet rays, gamma rays, and radio waves.
D)the narrow range of wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum that are visible to the human eye.

Question 34

What causes nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism?

A)The blind spot is abnormally large or small.
B)Incoming light signals are not properly focused on the retina.
C)The iris and cornea do not function properly.
D)Accommodation does not take place.

Question 35

This image depicts a cross section of the human eye. Which structure changes shape to focus incoming light?

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

Question 36

The mere exposure effect:

A)holds true for exposure to subliminal stimuli but not for exposure to nonsubliminal stimuli.
B)works when the particular stimulus presented is very familiar to the observer.
C)holds true for exposure to subliminal stimuli as well as exposure to nonsubliminal stimuli.
D)is another example of pseudoscience, much like subliminal perception.

Question 37

The receptor cells for vision are sensitive to what kind of stimulus?

A)light
B)heat
C)airborne molecules
D)chemical molecules

Question 38

This image depicts a cross section of the human eye. Pick the alternative that correctly labels the structures in the drawing.

A)1 = retina, 2 = lens, 3 = cornea, 4 = fovea
B)1 = cornea, 2 = lens, 3 = fovea, 4 = retina
C)1 = lens, 2 = cornea, 3 = retina, 4 = fovea
D)1 = fovea, 2 = lens, 3 = cornea, 4 = optic chiasm

Question 39

The _____ thickens or thins to focus incoming light. This process is called _____.

A)lens; accommodation
B)iris; sensory adaptation
C)pupil; accommodation
D)pupil; sensory adaptation

Question 40

The mere exposure effect refers to the:

A)view that the basilar membrane vibrates at the same frequency as the sound stimulus it is briefly exposed to.
B)fact that when people are repeatedly exposed to a novel stimulus, their liking for that particular stimulus will decrease.
C)point at which a stimulus is strong enough to be detected because it activates sensory receptors after a brief exposure.
D)finding that repeated exposure to a particular stimulus leads to increased liking for that stimulus.

Question 41

How do glasses correct visual problems?

A)Glasses correct vision by amplifying the frequencies of incoming light waves, which magnify and enlarge the image that falls on the retina.
B)Glasses correct vision by intercepting and bending incoming light waves so that they are focused properly on the retina.
C)Looking through the corrective lenses exercises the muscles of the eye, aligning the eye structures properly.
D)The corrective lenses diffuse the incoming light, which causes the pupil to widen and let in more light waves, enhancing visual acuity.

Question 42

Rods and cones are the:

A)sensory receptor cells for vision, found in the retina.
B)sensory receptor cells for hearing, found in the cochlea.
C)tiny bones of the middle ear.
D)sensory receptor cells for taste, embedded in the taste buds.

Question 43

What happens when rods and cones are exposed to light?

A)They undergo accommodation.
B)They undergo a chemical reaction that results in a neural signal.
C)They become more light-sensitive and thus cause an increase in visual acuity.
D)They create problems with dark adaptation in the fovea.

Question 44

In a condition called _____, a misshapen eyeball causes light from distant objects to be focused at a point in front of the retina.

A)anosmia
B)hyperopia or farsightedness
C)astigmatism
D)myopia or nearsightedness

Question 45

Rods are to cones as _____ are to _____.

A)peripheral vision and night vision; color vision and visual acuity
B)color vision and night vision; bright light conditions
C)bipolar cells; ganglion cells
D)color vision and visual acuity; peripheral vision and night vision

Question 46

The thin, light-sensitive membrane that lies at the back of the eye and contains the sensory receptors for light is the:

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

Question 47

The brain receives less detailed information from the _____ than from the _____.

A)lens; cones
B)cones; rods
C)rods; cones
D)cones; lens

Question 48

In _____, an abnormally curved eyeball results in blurry vision for lines in a particular direction.

A)presbyopia
B)astigmatism
C)myopia
D)hyperopia

Question 49

A common form of farsightedness occurs in middle age in which the lenses in the eyes become brittle and inflexible. This disorder is known as:

A)myopia.
B)astigmatism.
C)hyperopia.
D)presbyopia.

Question 50

The visual sensory receptor cells that transform light energy into a neural signal are the:

A)bipolar cells in the blind spot.
B)ganglion cells in the optic disk.
C)bipolar cells in the optic nerve.
D)rods and cones in the retina.

Question 51

Each eye contains about _____ rods and about _____ cones.

A)7 million; 125 million
B)25; 200
C)1 million; 3 million
D)125 million; 7 million

Question 52

Identify the sequence that correctly represents the path taken by light signals through the eye.

A)lens, pupil, optic nerve, retina
B)cornea, pupil, lens, retina
C)cornea, lens, iris, retina
D)lens, iris, retina, pupil

Question 53

The sensory receptors for vision are:

A)found in the pupil.
B)the rods and cones of the retina.
C)found in the lens and cornea.
D)distributed throughout the inner eye.

Question 54

Which sensory receptors are involved in color vision?

A)trichromatic cells
B)cones but not rods
C)rods but not cones
D)both rods and cones

Question 55

What region of the eye has the largest concentration of cones?

A)the periphery
B)the iris
C)the optic nerve
D)the fovea

Question 56

Cones are MOST concentrated in the:

A)periphery of the eye.
B)optic disk.
C)optic chiasm.
D)fovea.

Question 57

Rods are used for vision in _____ light, and cones are used for vision in _____ light.

A)bright; dim
B)black; white
C)dim; bright
D)infrared; ultraviolet

Question 58

Bob had perfect vision until he was 45, and then he needed to start wearing glasses for reading. MOST likely, Bob has developed a visual problem called:

A)presbyopia, caused by the lens of the eye losing its flexibility.
B)astigmatism, caused by a gradual shrinking of the eyeball.
C)myopia, caused by a thickening of the cornea.
D)hyperopia, caused by the eyeball becoming elongated.

Question 59

This image depicts a cross section of the human eye. Which structure contains the highest concentration of cones?

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

Question 60

Jake is nearsighted, and his cousin Janelle is farsighted. Their visual problems are caused by the fact that:

A)the images are not properly focused on the retina.
B)the cornea is clouded due to age or disease.
C)the size of the blind spot has increased.
D)the pupil no longer dilates in dim light.

Question 61

Each _____ cell receives information from its receptive field, which _____.

A)bipolar; consists of rods but not cones
B)ganglion; is a particular area of the retina
C)ganglion; is a particular area of the iris
D)bipolar; consists of the rods and cones that connect to that bipolar cell

Question 62

The optic chiasm is the:

A)junction of the ganglion and bipolar cells.
B)point at which the optic nerve fibers from each eye meet and partly cross over to opposite sides of the brain.
C)point in the visual field at which peripheral vision begins.
D)place where the optic nerve exits the back of the eye, causing a blind spot or gap in vision.

Question 63

The _____ develop from brain tissue and combine, analyze, and encode visual information in the retina.

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

Question 64

Identify the sequence that correctly traces the transmission of visual information from the eye to the brain.

A)retina, bipolar cells, ganglion cells, optic nerve, thalamus, visual cortex
B)retina, optic nerve, ganglion cells, visual cortex, thalamus
C)retina, optic nerve, thalamus, bipolar cells, visual cortex
D)retina, ganglion cells, optic nerve, bipolar cells, thalamus, visual cortex

Question 65

The blind spot:

A)increases in size with age.
B)is caused by nearsightedness.
C)is a small gap in our field of vision.
D)can be cured with laser surgery.

Question 66

The secondary visual pathway projects first to the _____ and seems to be involved in processing information about the _____.

A)midbrain; location of objects
B)thalamus; form, color, brightness, and depth of objects
C)parietal lobe; movement, speed, and direction of objects
D)optic disk; shape, size, and distance of objects

Question 67

What is the optic disk?

A)a tiny spot in the center of the fovea where there is a high concentration of rods and cones
B)the portion of the lens which focuses incoming light
C)the point at which the optic nerve fibers leave the back of the eye
D)a transparent membrane that lies just behind the pupil of the eye and that helps funnel light waves to the lens and retina

Question 68

_____ are MOST involved with visual acuity.

A)Rods
B)Cones
C)Bipolar cells
D)Ganglion cells

Question 69

From the optic chiasm, visual information travels first to the:

A)olfactory bulb.
B)thalamus.
C)primary visual cortex.
D)hypothalamus.

Question 70

Visual acuity is highest when images are focused on the fovea because of the high concentration of _____ in that region.

A)rods
B)bipolar cells
C)cones
D)peripheral cells

Question 71

We have a blind spot in our field of vision, but we ordinarily don't notice it. What fills in the missing visual information?

A)bipolar cells
B)optic disk
C)ganglion cells
D)the brain

Question 72

Your friend shows you an old coin that he found in his great-grandfather's attic. To examine it, you instinctively bring the coin close to your eye and to the very center of your visual field. Why?

A)Visual acuity is highest in the region with the largest concentration of rods, which is the fovea at the very center of the eye.
B)Visual acuity is highest in the region with the largest concentration of cones, which is the fovea at the very center of the eye.
C)You want to avoid focusing the image on your blind spot.
D)You need to avoid focusing the image on the optic disk.

Question 73

A ganglion cell might receive information from a hundred _____, but from only one or two _____.

A)rods; cones
B)cones; rods
C)bipolar cells; retinal spots
D)bipolar cells; corneal cells

Question 74

Axons from the _____ are bundled together to form the _____.

A)bipolar cells; optic chiasm
B)photoreceptors; optic nerve
C)rods and cones; optic chiasm
D)ganglion cells; optic nerve

Question 75

What does the optic disk cause?

A)color vision
B)night vision
C)blind spot
D)light adaptation

Question 76

The primary visual pathway is to _____ as the secondary visual pathway is to _____.

A)brightness and depth; angles and lines
B)the location of an object; form and color
C)form and color; the location of an object
D)angles and lines; brightness and depth

Question 77

From the thalamus, visual signals are sent to the _____, where they are interpreted.

A)midbrain
B)temporal lobe
C)visual cortex
D)optic chiasm

Question 78

The blind spot is caused by:

A)diabetes.
B)the absence of rods or cones at the point where the optic nerve leaves the eye.
C)malformation of the eyeball.
D)degeneration of the optic nerve.

Question 79

From the optic chiasm, the primary visual pathway projects first to the _____ and processes information about _____.

A)midbrain; location of objects
B)thalamus; form, color, brightness, and depth of objects
C)temporal lobe; movement, speed, and direction of objects
D)optic disk; shape, size, and distance of objects

Question 80

Information from the rods and cones is first collected by which type of specialized neuron?

A)ganglion cells
B)blind spot cells
C)bipolar cells
D)corneal cells