Deck 3: Section 2: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Signal detection theory is based on which of the following premises?

A) People differ in their physiological sensitivity to weak signals.
B) People differ in the amount of evidence they need to decide whether a weak signal was present.
C) People who have the same physiological sensitivity to a signal may make different decisions about whether a signal was present.
D) All of these.

Answer 1

All of these.

Question 2

According to signal detection theory, our ability to detect a faint sensory signal is a decision-making process that depends on_____.

A) physiological sensitivity to the signal only
B) a person's decision criterion that is influenced by nonsensory factors such as personality traits, expectations, alertness, and motivation only
C) absolute thresholds
D) physiological sensitivity to the signal and a person's decision criterion that are influenced by nonsensory factors such as personality traits, expectations, alertness, and motivation

Answer 2

physiological sensitivity to the signal and a person's decision criterion that are influenced by nonsensory factors such as personality traits, expectations, alertness, and motivation

Question 3

Which statement about subliminal perception is FALSE?

A) Subliminal stimuli are stimuli that are detected less than 50 percent of the time.
B) Subliminal stimuli do not have a long-term effect on behavior.
C) Subliminal tapes to help you lose weight or improve your memory do not exert effects on behavior.
D) Subliminal perception is the same as extrasensory perception.

Answer 3

Subliminal perception is the same as extrasensory perception.

Question 4

How is the theoretical absolute threshold related to the observed absolute threshold?

A) They are identical.
B) The observed absolute threshold is consistently greater than the theoretical absolute threshold.
C) The observed absolute threshold is consistently less than the theoretical absolute threshold.
D) The observed absolute threshold is more variable than the theoretical absolute threshold.

Question 5

Which occupations would MOST likely be concerned with the detection question?

A) a perfume maker, seeking the perfect combination of different chemicals and oils while creating a new fragrance
B) a radiologist, examining chest X-rays for a potential cancerous tumor
C) a chef, selecting the best wine to accompany her baked halibut entrée
D) a television network programmer, determining the best programming mix to maximize number of viewers

Question 6

The scaling question is to _____ as the detection question is to _____.

A) sensory processing limits; sensory processing limits
B) sensory processing limits; perception of magnitudes
C) perception of magnitudes; sensory processing limits
D) perception of magnitudes; perception of magnitudes

Question 7

Researchers have found that subliminal perception is _____.

A) a very effective means of conveying a message because of its long-term impact on our behavior
B) a somewhat effective means of conveying a message because it has a moderate impact on our behavior
C) short lived and does not seem to have any long-term impact on our behavior
D) not possible

Question 8

When psychophysicists ask participants to answer "yes" or "no" regarding whether a stimulus was detected, they are measuring the _____.

A) just noticeable difference (jnd)
B) absolute threshold
C) difference threshold
D) All of these are being measured.

Question 9

When researchers use the term subliminal stimuli, they are referring to stimuli that are _____.

A) above threshold and detected up to 49 percent of the time
B) above threshold and detected at least 50 percent of the time
C) below threshold and detected up to 49 percent of the time
D) below threshold and detected at least 50 percent of the time

Question 10

Which topic(s) would a psychophysics researcher be MOST likely to study?

A) the relationship between various decibel levels and their perceived loudness
B) the relationship between physical and psychological pain for trauma survivors
C) the relationship between sound wave frequency level and hair cell damage
D) All of these.

Question 11

What is meant by the statement "Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, but rather in the brain of the beholder"?

A) Due to differences in brain structure, people make different judgments about beauty.
B) The brain's subjective interpretation of an actual stimulus is what we perceive.
C) We perceive reality objectively but prior knowledge influences our judgments of beauty.
D) Our brain processes attractive stimuli more rapidly than it processes unattractive stimuli.

Question 12

The study of psychophysics _____.

A) is a very recent area of psychological inquiry
B) occurred in response to the controversy surrounding the cognitive revolution
C) dates back to nineteenth-century Germany and the experimental roots of psychology
D) is controversial because it attempts to pull together two very different fields: physics and physiology

Question 13

The absolute threshold is the _____ amount of physical energy required for detection _____ of the time.

A) minimum; 100 percent
B) maximum; 100 percent
C) minimum; 50 percent
D) maximum; 50 percent

Question 14

Which term is NOT related to the field of psychophysics?

A) detection
B) difference
C) development
D) scaling

Question 15

In a signal detection experiment, a tendency to say "yes" leads to _____, whereas a tendency to say "no" leads to _____.

A) many false alarms; few misses
B) few false alarms; many misses
C) few misses; few false alarms
D) many misses; many false alarms

Question 16

The absolute threshold for visual input might also be described as the _____ of the time.

A) maximum amount of light energy a person can detect 50 percent
B) minimum amount of light energy a person can detect 50 percent
C) complete range of light energy a person can detect 100 percent
D) theoretical range of light energy a person can detect 100 percent

Question 17

In a signal detection experiment, a very lax decision criterion leads to _____, whereas a very strict decision criterion leads to _____.

A) many false alarms; few false alarms
B) few false alarms; many false alarms
C) few misses; many false alarms
D) many misses; few misses

Question 18

Which statement about subliminal perception has been supported by research?

A) Advertisers can sometimes influence consumer behavior with subliminal stimuli.
B) Subliminal tapes have been shown to improve memory among older adults.
C) Sensory input can be registered without conscious awareness.
D) With training, some people can learn how to perceive another person's thoughts.

Question 19

Which statement about psychophysics is FALSE?

A) Psychologists were the first people to become involved in the study of psychophysics.
B) The study of psychophysics began in Germany in the nineteenth century.
C) Researchers in psychophysics used experimental methods.
D) Psychophysicists study how physical properties and psychological perceptions of stimuli are related.

Question 20

John is participating in an experiment that is designed to determine how much brighter a light has to be before he perceives the magnitude as twice as bright as the original light. Jane is participating in an experiment to determine how strong an odor has to be before she initially perceives the odor. The experiment in which John is participating relates to the _____ question and the experiment in which Jane is participating relates to the _____ question.

A) detection; difference
B) scaling; detection
C) difference; scaling
D) difference; detection

Question 21

According to Stevens's power law, for which judgment is the perceived magnitude actually equal to the physical magnitude?

A) brightness
B) electric shock
C) line length
D) loudness

Question 22

The difference threshold is the minimum difference between two stimuli detected _____ percent of the time.

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

Question 23

According to Weber's law, if the difference threshold for a 10-pound weight were .20 pounds, the difference threshold for a 50 pound weight would be_____.

A) 50 pounds
B) 1 pound
C)1)5 pounds
D) 2 pounds

Question 24

Which constant fraction of a standard stimulus would indicate the ability to detect smaller differences between the same stimuli?

A) 1/2
B) 1/4
C) 1/8
D) 1/16

Question 25

David is holding a surprise birthday party for Ellen and has asked Fredo to stand outside his apartment door to signal when Ellen is approaching. According to signal detection theory, if Fredo is more concerned about noticing when Ellen is approaching than about being incorrect, he is likely to adopt a _____ decision criterion and thus have more _____ than _____.

A) lax; false alarms; misses
B) lax; misses; hits
C) strict; false alarms; misses
D) strict; misses; hits

Question 26

According to Stevens's power law, for which judgment is the perceived magnitude greater than the actual magnitude?

A) brightness
B) electric shock
C) line length
D) loudness

Question 27

In a signal detection task, Josh often indicates he has seen the signal, even when he is not sure. Josh is using a criterion that will result in _____ false alarms and _____ misses.

A) many; many
B) many; few
C) few; many
D) few; few

Question 28

According to signal detection theory, if your life depended on an X-ray technician's ability to detect a cancerous tumor, you would want her to have a _____ detection criterion, which would result in a high rate of _____.

A) lax; hits and false alarms
B) lax; misses and correct rejections
C) strict; hits and false alarms
D) strict; misses and correct rejections

Question 29

Based on signal detection theory, a "yea" sayer is to _____ as a "nay" sayer is to _____.

A) many false alarms; many misses
B) many misses; many false alarms
C) many false alarms; few misses
D) few false alarms; many misses

Question 30

Don is in an experiment in which the researcher has him hold a constant weight in one hand. The researcher varies the amount of weight in Don's other hand, and each time the weight is changed, Don has to determine whether it differs from the constant weight. Don is participating in an experiment measuring _____.

A) absolute thresholds
B) false alarms
C) misses
D) difference thresholds

Question 31

Based on signal detection theory, a "yea" sayer is to _____ as a "nay" sayer is to _____.

A) lax decision criteria; strict decision criteria
B) strict decision criteria; lax decision criteria
C) many misses; few misses
D) few false alarms; many false alarms

Question 32

How is Stevens's power law different from Weber's law?

A) It was developed to apply to perceptions that are well above threshold levels.
B) It was developed to relate changes in actual physical magnitude to perceived magnitude.
C) It relates to scaling rather than to detection or difference.
D) All of these are differences.

Question 33

According to Weber's law, the constant for loudness of tones, measured in decibels, is .05. This means that a person should be able to tell the difference between a standard stimulus of 50 decibels and a comparison stimulus of _____ decibels.

A) 47
B) 49
C) 51
D) All of these.

Question 34

Which of the following would be MOST useful in describing differences in how our perceptions of the magnitude of a stimulus relate to its actual physical intensity?

A) Weber's law
B) Stevens's power law
C) sensory adaptation
D) signal detection theory

Question 35

If the Weber fraction for lifted weights is 1/50 and the standard stimulus used to determine the just noticeable difference (jnd) is 500 pounds, the jnd would be _____ pounds.

A) 50
B) 5
C) 10
D) 25

Question 36

According to signal detection theory, a "yea" sayer has _____, whereas a "nay" sayer has _____.

A) many hits and many correct rejections; many false alarms and many misses
B) many hits and many false alarms; many correct rejections and many misses
C) many hits and many false alarms; few misses and many correct rejections
D) many hits and many correct rejections; few hits and few correct rejections

Question 37

_____ states that the perceived stimulus magnitude is equal to the actual physical intensity raised to some constant power.

A) Stevens's power law
B) The power threshold
C) The absolute threshold
D) The difference threshold

Question 38

When studying the difference threshold, the stimulus that remains the same across trials is called the _____ stimulus.

A) standard
B) comparison
C) test
D) control

Question 39

Another name for the difference threshold is the _____ noticeable difference.

A) barely
B) just
C) minimally
D) reliably

Question 40

_____ states that for each type of sensory judgment that we make, the measured just noticeable difference (jnd) is a constant proportion of the standard stimulus value used to measure it.

A) Fechner's law
B) Weber's law
C) Stevens's power law
D) The absolute threshold

Question 41

Humans can hear wave frequencies between _____ hertz (Hz).

A) 15 and 15,000
B) 15,000 and 20,000
C) 20 and 20,000
D) 20,000 and 25,000

Question 42

Amplitude is _____.

A) the height of a wave at its crest
B) the amount of energy in a wave
C) the intensity of a wave
D) All the answers are correct.

Question 43

High amplitude is to _____ as low amplitude is to _____.

A) loud sounds; soft sounds
B) soft sounds; loud sounds
C) high-pitched sounds; low-pitched sounds
D) low-pitched sounds; high-pitched sounds

Question 44

For light waves, long wavelengths are to _____ as shorter wavelengths are to _____,

A) red; violet
B) violet; red
C) brighter light; dimmer light
D) None of these.

Question 45

Humans can perceive wavelengths of light between _____ nanometers.

A) 100 and 1,000
B) 500 and 1,000
C) 400 and 700
D) 700 and 1,400

Question 46

For the perception of light waves, 700 nanometers is to _____ as 400 nanometers is to _____.

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

Question 47

In relation to sound, which of the following is determined by the frequency of a sound wave?

A) amplitude of a sound wave
B) intensity of a sound
C) loudness of a sound
D) pitch of a sound

Question 48

What is the purpose of transduction?

A) increasing the intensity of a stimulus so it is easier for the brain to detect
B) determining whether a stimulus is detectable
C) translating physical energy into signals the brain can understand
D) integrating visual signals with auditory signals

Question 49

If presented with an object that measured 400 nanometers, we would MOST likely be observing a _____.

A) red-colored object
B) violet-colored object
C) very brightly lit object
D) very dimly lit object

Question 50

According to _____, our sensitivity to unchanging or repetitious stimuli disappears over time.

A) subliminal perception
B) Stevens's power law
C) Weber's law
D) sensory adaptation

Question 51

As wavelengths of light decrease from 700 nanometers to 400 nanometers, the resulting hues go from _____.

A) red through the color spectrum to violet
B) violet through the color spectrum to red
C) blue through the color spectrum to yellow
D) yellow through the color spectrum to blue

Question 52

Long wavelength is to _____ as short wavelength is to _____.

A) loud sounds; soft sounds
B) soft sounds; loud sounds
C) high-pitched sounds; low-pitched sounds
D) low-pitched sounds; high-pitched sounds

Question 53

The distance in one cycle of a wave, from one crest to the next crest, is called _____.

A) a waveform
B) a wavelength
C) amplitude
D) frequency

Question 54

Wavelength influences the perception of _____, whereas amplitude influences the perception of _____.

A) color; brightness
B) brightness; color
C) loudness; pitch
D) All the answers are correct.

Question 55

If a researcher wanted to increase the brightness of a light, he would need to _____ its _____.

A) increase; frequency
B) increase; amplitude
C) decrease; frequency
D) decrease; amplitude

Question 56

The process of converting physical energy into neural signals is called _____.

A) adaptation
B) stimulus scaling
C) the volley principle
D) transduction

Question 57

Although Henry's watchband felt uncomfortable when he first put it on, a short while later he did not even notice it. This illustrates _____ in action.

A) subliminal perception
B) Stevens's power law
C) Weber's law
D) sensory adaptation

Question 58

When Marsha first entered the air-conditioned room, it seemed quite cold, but after she was there a few minutes it no longer seemed cold. This change in the perception of coldness BEST illustrates _____.

A) a change in absolute threshold
B) Stevens's power law
C) sensory adaptation
D) Weber's law

Question 59

For the auditory sense, wavelength (frequency) is a measure of _____ and amplitude is a measure of _____.

A) pitch; loudness
B) loudness; pitch
C) hue; loudness
D) pitch; hue

Question 60

Which statement(s) regarding hearing is (are) TRUE?

A) Humans can perceive wave frequencies from about 20 to 20,000 hertz (Hz).
B) Amplitude of a sound wave provides information about its perceived loudness.
C) The human female voice typically contains shorter wavelengths than the male voice.
D) All of the statements are true.

Question 61

Which of the following is the correct order of visual information processing?

A) cornea $\rightarrow$ accommodation $\rightarrow$ ganglion cells $\rightarrow$ rods & cones
B) rods & cones $\rightarrow$ bipolar cells $\rightarrow$ optic nerve $\rightarrow$ ganglion cells
C) bipolar cells $\rightarrow$ ganglion cells $\rightarrow$ rods & cones $\rightarrow$ optic nerve
D) rods & cones $\rightarrow$ bipolar cells $\rightarrow$ ganglion cells $\rightarrow$ optic nerve

Question 62

The size of the _____ is regulated by the _____.

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

Question 63

Which lobe contains the primary visual cortex?

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

Question 64

Visual processing begins when _____.

A) light passes through the cornea
B) the accommodation process begins
C) light waves reach the rods and cones in the retina
D) the optic nerve carries the visual information to the thalamus

Question 65

The retina is to the visual system what the _____ is to the auditory system.

A) cochlea
B) basilar membrane
C) tympanic membrane
D) oval window

Question 66

The receptor cells for the visual system are the _____.

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

Question 67

In the process of accommodation, _____.

A) the lens changes shape to focus light waves from objects at different distances on the retina
B) the iris changes the size of the pupil to increase or decrease the amount of light entering the eye
C) the cornea changes shape to focus light waves from objects at different distances on the retina
D) the lens changes shape to increase or decrease the amount of light entering the eye

Question 68

The _____ is the clear covering on the front of the eye, whereas the _____ is the colored muscle that determines how much light enters the eye.

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

Question 69

A completely dilated pupil lets in about _____ times as much light as one that is completely constricted.

A) 5
B) 11
C) 16
D) 19

Question 70

In farsightedness, light waves from nearby objects come into focus _____ the retina, resulting in an inability to see clearly objects that are _____.

A) in front of; near
B) behind; near
C) in front of; far
D) behind; far

Question 71

_____ are cortical cells in the visual system that recognize elementary features, such as angles and diagonal lines.

A) Photopigments
B) Accommodators
C) Processors
D) Feature detectors

Question 72

Light-sensitive chemicals called _____ within receptor cells absorb light waves.

A) photopigments
B) accommodators
C) processors
D) feature detectors

Question 73

For sound waves, long wavelengths are to _____ as shorter wavelengths are to _____.

A) higher frequencies; lower frequencies
B) 20,000 Hz; 20 Hz
C) lower frequencies; higher frequencies
D) All of these.

Question 74

What is the correct pathway of visual processing?

A) optic nerve $\rightarrow$ primary visual cortex $\rightarrow$ thalamus
B) thalamus $\rightarrow$ optic nerve $\rightarrow$ primary visual cortex
C) optic nerve $\rightarrow$ thalamus $\rightarrow$ primary visual cortex
D) primary visual cortex $\rightarrow$ optic never $\rightarrow$ thalamus

Question 75

When light waves from distant objects come into focus in front of the retina, _____ occur(s).

A) farsightedness
B) nearsightedness
C) transduction
D) both farsightedness and transduction

Question 76

The _____ is responsible for the process of accommodation.

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

Question 77

When light waves from nearby objects come into focus behind the retina, _____ occur(s).

A) farsightedness
B) nearsightedness
C) transduction
D) both nearsightedness and transduction

Question 78

Frances, who recently celebrated her 50th birthday, has noticed that she has difficulty focusing on nearby objects. This change in eyesight occurs because _____.

A) the cornea loses its ability to bend the light waves
B) the iris loses its ability to constrict
C) the pupil loses its ability to dilate
D) the lens loses its ability to accommodate

Question 79

The _____ is the first structure in the eye to bend light waves.

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

Question 80

The _____ controls the amount of light that enters the eye.

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