Deck 4: Sensation, Perception, and Attention

Question 1

According to the common cause hypothesis,the link between sensory processes and cognitive functioning _____________.

A)is stronger in young adulthood than it is in older adulthood
B)is stronger in older adulthood than it is in young adulthood
C)is equally strong over the entire adult life span

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The premotor component of reaction time ___________.

A)is difficult to observe directly
B)accounts for a larger proportion of total reaction time compared to the motor time
C)consists mainly of the time taken for the brain to process information
D)All of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is (are) true regarding older adults and reaction time?

A)Regular exercise can moderate age-related slowing.
B)Practice does not help older adults to respond more quickly.
C)Short-term exercise always helps older adults respond more quickly.
D)The gap between young and older adults' speed can be closed with practice.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

If all of the following were the same intensity (or loudness),for which one would a 70-year-old person's hearing threshold be the lowest?

A)A squeaky door
B)A cat's meow
C)Frying bacon
D)A clap of thunder

Question 5

In general,older adults' greater cautiousness when making a decision about the presence of a stimulus means that we are likely to underestimate their actual sensitivity.

Question 6

Older adults perform more slowly than young adults do.As reaction time tasks become more complex (that is,involve more and more choices and decisions),age-related differences in speed of response _________.

A)get smaller
B)get larger
C)stay the same

Question 7

An individual with presbyopia will have the greatest difficulty _____________.

A)being able to see a red traffic light
B)being able to see the time on a large wall clock
C)being able to read the small numbers in the telephone book
D)being able to see things under brightly lit conditions

Question 8

Glaucoma is a disease of the eye associated with __________.

A)opaque formations in the lens
B)elevated pressure in the aqueous humor
C)smaller than normal pupils
D)dullness of the cornea

Question 9

The signal detection model of determining threshold takes into account _____.

A)only a person's sensitivity to a stimulus
B)only a person's decisional criteria
C)both a person's sensitivity and decisional criteria
D)neither a person's sensitivity nor decisional criteria

Question 10

The far-sightedness,or difficulty focusing on close-up objects,that is experienced by many older adults is called ____________.

A)presbycusis
B)macular degeneration
C)glaucoma
D)presbyopia

Question 11

Useful field of view (UFOV) __________.

A)is often more restricted in older adults than in young adults
B)can be improved with lenses for near-sightedness
C)can be improved with surgery on the lens of the eye
D)is a measure of sensory rather than perceptual processes

Question 12

In designing a living environment for older adults,which of the following would NOT be recommended?

A)Use reds and yellows whenever there is a need for color coding.
B)Use a high but even level of illumination (lighting) in hallways and stairways.
C)Place grab bars on walls inside bathtubs and shower stalls.
D)For floor coverings,use shiny tiles that reflect light.

Question 13

Compared to the young eye,the older eye lets in ______ under a given level of illumination.

A)less light
B)more light
C)the same amount of light

Question 14

Individuals with a high level of sensitivity to a particular type of stimulation will have ________ for detecting its presence.

A)a low threshold
B)a high threshold
C)no threshold

Question 15

Most older adults acknowledge that they are at risk of falling and they are more than willing to participate in programs that involve balance training to prevent such falls.

Question 16

In general,older adults are _______ than young adults are and they tend to have ____ false alarms compared to young adults.

A)less cautious; more
B)less cautious; fewer
C)more cautious; more
D)more cautious; fewer

Question 17

Absolute threshold is the intensity of stimulation in order for a stimulus to be detected ______ of the time when it is present.

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

Question 18

Which is the most important reason for age-related changes in color vision?

A)Changes in the vestibular canal
B)Changes in the lens of the eye
C)Changes in the vitreous humor of the eye
D)Changes in the frontal lobe of the cortex

Question 19

Compared to young adults,older adults have ________ for smell,taste,and touch sensitivity.

A)a lower threshold
B)a higher threshold
C)the same threshold

Question 20

_______ is a disease associated with an irreversible loss of nerve cells in the retina.

A)Glaucoma
B)Macular degeneration
C)Presbyopia
D)Visual regression

Question 21

Phonemic regression refers to a phenomenon whereby ______________.

A)the tiny bones in the middle ear fuse together
B)older adults say "I hear it but I cannot understand it"
C)older adults can only hear tones that are in the middle frequency ranges
D)older adults begin to regress back to their childhood years

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a good suggestion for communicating with the hearing-impaired older adult?

A)If the older adult does not understand,rephrase the statement with words that have low-frequency speech sounds.
B)Always stand to the side and speak directly into the older adult's ear.
C)Speak at a normal rate,but not too rapidly.
D)Do not try to speak to the older adult when there is a great deal of background noise.

Question 23

In a study on younger and older drivers,young drivers were more likely than older drivers to __________.

A)operate more controls in a parallel manner
B)operate controls in a serial manner
C)drive more slowly and carefully
D)use controls simultaneously under demanding driving conditions

Question 24

Explain what the concepts of sensitivity and threshold are and how these two concepts are related.Briefly describe the age-related changes in each.

Question 25

What is meant by the age-complexity effect? Use reaction time to explain.

Question 26

What can be done to minimize the effects that presbycusis has on communication?

Question 27

Research has shown that the _______ of the brain is more susceptible than other regions to the effects of normal aging.

A)parietal area
B)occipital area
C)hindbrain area
D)frontal area

Question 28

Describe the kinds of auditory (hearing) changes that are usually found when older adults have presbycusis.

Question 29

Vigilance requires ________ and under noncomplex situations,it shows __________.

A)sustained attention; little evidence for age-related decline
B)divided attention; little evidence for age-related decline
C)selective attention; little evidence for age-related decline
D)sustained attention; no improvement with practice

Question 30

The Stroop Color Word test is a measure of _________.

A)vigilance
B)negative priming
C)selective attention
D)divided attention

Question 31

Describe the age-related changes that occur in the lens of the eye and explain how older adults' vision is affected by these changes.

Question 32

People with presbycusis _________________.

A)have more difficulty with high frequency tones rather than low frequency tones
B)are more likely to be women than men starting in the 50s
C)are more likely to live in nonindustrialized than industrialized societies
D)hear speech best when there is some background noise

Question 33

Exaggerated gestures and terms of endearment _______________.

A)are often used when people communicate with older adults
B)can make the older adult who is spoken to appear to be incompetent
C)may be acceptable to certain,but by no means all,older adults
D)all of the above

Question 34

According to one theory,young adults have ________ of attentional resources,or attentional capacity,than older adults do.

A)a smaller quantity
B)the same amount
C)a greater quantity

Question 35

How can caution in making decisions influence how we evaluate old adults' sensitivity for hearing sounds?

Question 36

Elderspeak refers to _______________.

A)a special language spoken only by older adults
B)a language consisting only of vowels and no consonants
C)the simplified grammar people often use when communicating with older adults
D)sign language that makes use only of gestures and other visual cues

Question 37

A top-down strategy would be more useful than a bottom-up strategy when an older adult with presbycusis is trying to process spoken information.

Question 38

Presbycusis can be attributed to the calcification of the ossicles (hammer,anvil,stirrup) in the middle ear.

Question 39

In one example of a laboratory-type _________ task,individuals are required to respond when they hear a tone and also monitor a screen and respond when a specific geometric form appears.

A)selective attention
B)divided attention
C)sustained attention
D)implicit priming

Question 40

According to one theory,older adults have ________ than young adults do when it comes to ignoring distracting information and focusing their attention to relevant information.

A)less difficulty
B)greater difficulty
C)an equal degree of difficulty

Question 41

What is the reduced attentional resources/capacity model and how can this model be used to explain age-related differences in divided attention?

Question 42

Describe the characteristics of elderspeak.Which aspects of elderspeak are likely to be helpful to older adults with a hearing loss and which might not be viewed positively?

Question 43

What is the inhibitory deficit model and how has this model been used to explain age-related differences in selective attention?

Question 44

What is the basic premise of the communication predicament model? Relatedly,what part does patronizing speech play in this model?