Deck 3: Section 3: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Weber's law holds that the size of a just noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the size of the original stimulus.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Sensation is the result of the stimulation of specialized cells called sensory receptors.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Studies of self-help videos which use subliminal messages, such as stop smoking or lose weight, show that most of these videos are not effective.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Research indicates that subliminal messages exert very powerful influences on our subconscious minds.

Question 5

In 1957, James Vicary falsely claimed to have increased the sale of popcorn and Coca-Cola at a New Jersey movie theater when the owner used subliminal messages to flash "Eat popcorn" and "Drink Coke" on the movie screen during the movie.

Question 6

The finding that repeated exposure to a particular stimulus leads to increased liking for that stimulus is called sensory adaptation.

Question 7

The process by which physical energy is converted into a coded neural signal that can be processed by the nervous system is called transduction.

Question 8

There are two kinds of sensory thresholds for each sense: the absolute threshold and the difference threshold.

Question 9

Subliminal images in advertising have been shown to influence consumer decisions.

Question 10

Sensation refers to the response of sense organs to environmental stimuli and the transmission of that information to the brain. Perception refers to the active process of organizing and interpreting sensory information.

Question 11

Another term for difference threshold is just noticeable difference.

Question 12

Weber's law refers to the equation that is used to calculate the absolute threshold for visual and auditory stimuli.

Question 13

Recent research using subliminal perception demonstrated conclusively that faces paired with a pleasant subliminal odor receive the lowest likeability ratings, while faces paired with an unpleasant subliminal odor receive the highest likeability ratings.

Question 14

Transduction is the perceptual process of organizing and interpreting coded neural messages.

Question 15

Sensation and perception can be unambiguously distinguished.

Question 16

Recent research using subliminal perception has shown that faces paired with a pleasant subliminal odor receive the highest likeability ratings, while faces paired with an unpleasant subliminal odor receive the lowest likeability ratings.

Question 17

Sensory receptors respond only when stimulated by electromagnetic energy or sound waves.

Question 18

The absolute threshold refers to the reduced sensitivity that occurs in response to a constant stimulus, such as a constant smell.

Question 19

The absolute threshold is the smallest possible strength of a stimulus that can be detected half the time.

Question 20

The mere exposure effect holds true for exposure to subliminal stimuli as well as exposure to nonsubliminal stimuli.

Question 21

The cornea is a clear membrane that covers the front of the eye.

Question 22

Nearsightedness is caused by a lack of cones in the retina, while farsightedness results from the deterioration of rods in the fovea.

Question 23

Cones adapt much more slowly than do rods to changes in the amount of available light.

Question 24

In a process called accommodation, the lens thins or thickens to focus the incoming light so that the light falls on the retina.

Question 25

The human eye is specialized to detect only a very narrow range of wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Question 26

Myopia is another name for the farsightedness that often occurs in people after the age of 40.

Question 27

The iris is the black opening in the middle of the eye.

Question 28

Some animals, such as snakes and insects, can see wavelengths of electromagnetic energy that are invisible to humans.

Question 29

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

Question 30

Scientific research has demonstrated that stimuli that are presented subliminally (that is, below the threshold of conscious perception) have no effect on attitudes or behavior.

Question 31

Psychologists have found that the effects of subliminal stimuli tend to be strong and long-lasting.

Question 32

Cones are most common in the fovea and become progressively less common toward the periphery of the retina.

Question 33

Cones operate best under dim light conditions.

Question 34

Within a few minutes after putting on your wristwatch in the morning, you no longer feel the watch on your wrist. This is an example of sensory adaptation.

Question 35

Cellphones and microwaves are examples of invisible short waves.

Question 36

The optic disk is rich in rods but lacks cones.

Question 37

Although the mere exposure effect works with overtly presented messages, research indicates that the mere exposure effect does not work with subliminal exposure to stimuli.

Question 38

Nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism are all caused by an abnormally shaped retina.

Question 39

Since there are no photoreceptors in the optic disk, this area is referred to as the blind spot.

Question 40

The mere exposure effect refers to the fact that when people are repeatedly exposed to a particular stimulus, their liking for that stimulus will increase.

Question 41

Some of the axons that make up the optic nerve project to the midbrain, and this secondary pathway is responsible for processing information about the location of an object.

Question 42

According to the trichromatic theory, color vision is the product of opposing pairs of color receptors, red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white, and when one member of a color pair is stimulated, the other member is inhibited.

Question 43

The preliminary processing of visual data in the cells of the retina is possible because the retina develops from a bit of brain tissue that migrates to the eye during fetal development.

Question 44

The 1 million axons of the ganglion cells are bundled together to form the optic nerve, a thick nerve that exits from the back of the eye at the optic disc and extends to the brain.

Question 45

Most of the neurons in the visual cortex are highly specialized, responding to particular types of visual information.

Question 46

Most of the axons that make up the optic nerve project to the thalamus, and this primary pathway is responsible for processing information about the form and color of an object.

Question 47

The red color of a table is due to the fact that the table absorbs the wavelength of light that corresponds to the red portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Question 48

The vast majority of people who are color blind are unable to distinguish red from yellow or blue.

Question 49

The bipolar cells funnel raw data from the photoreceptors to the ganglion cells.

Question 50

Axons from the left eye project to the optic chiasm and are sent to the left side of the brain. Axons from the right eye project to the optic chiasm and are sent to the right side of the brain.

Question 51

The blind spot in our visual field is due to the fact that there are no rods or cones in the tiny area where the optic nerve exits the eye.

Question 52

The trichromatic theory provides the best explanation for red-green color blindness.

Question 53

The trichromatic theory of color vision states that we have three different types of cones. Each cone is sensitive to blue/yellow light, red/green light, or black/white light.

Question 54

Color involves three properties of the light wave: hue, saturation, and brightness.

Question 55

Because the opponent-process theory of color vision correctly explains all aspects of color vision, the trichromatic theory of color vision is no longer considered to be valid.

Question 56

Before visual information is sent to the brain, it undergoes some preliminary processing in the retina by specialized neurons called ganglion cells.

Question 57

The trichromatic theory provides the best explanation for the most common form of color blindness.

Question 58

Afterimages can be explained by the opponent-process theory of color vision.

Question 59

In the case study of Mike, presented in the Focus on Neuroscience box: Vision, Experience, and the Brain, Mike's recognition of complex three-dimensional objects, such as tables, shoes, and pencils, was automatic.

Question 60

Research suggests that color and motion perception develop throughout the lifespan.

Question 61

Damage to the hair cells in the basilar membrane or to the auditory nerve can result in nerve deafness, a form of deafness that cannot be helped by a hearing aid.

Question 62

Place theory explains how people hear high-pitched sounds, while frequency theory explains how people hear low-pitched sounds.

Question 63

When stimulated by the hair cells, the auditory nerve carries signals to the thalamus.

Question 64

The loudness of a sound corresponds to the frequency of the sound wave; the higher the frequency, the louder the sound.

Question 65

Both place and frequency theories are used to explain the sensation of mid-range frequencies.

Question 66

Every human voice has its own distinctive timbre.

Question 67

Conduction deafness, which is caused by exposure to loud noises, cannot be helped with a hearing aid.

Question 68

According to place theory different wave frequencies cause larger vibrations at different locations along the basilar membrane.

Question 69

Tiny bones in the outer ear, called the anvil, the hammer, and the stirrup, transmit vibrations to the eardrum, which in turn funnels sound waves to the cochlea in the middle ear.

Question 70

The ability to sense sounds above 1,000 hertz is best explained by the place theory of pitch discrimination.

Question 71

Nerve deafness, which is caused by exposure to loud noises, can be helped with a hearing aid that amplifies the frequency of sound waves.

Question 72

The perception of sound is directly related to the characteristics of the sound wave.

Question 73

There are two basic theoretical explanations of how we sense the pitch of a sound: frequency theory and place theory.

Question 74

The technical name for the sense of taste is olfaction.

Question 75

According to place theory the basilar membrane vibrates at the same frequency as the sound wave.

Question 76

The pinna of the ear helps to pinpoint the location of a sound.

Question 77

Embedded in the basilar membrane of the inner ear are the sensory receptors for sound, called hair cells.

Question 78

Frequency theory explains the perception of both high-pitched and low-pitched sounds.

Question 79

Place theory explains how people hear low-pitched sounds, while frequency theory explains how people hear high-pitched sounds.

Question 80

Place theory describes the perception of pitch; frequency theory describes the perception of loudness.