Deck 5: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Tactile information is first sent from touch receptors in the skin to the somatosensory cortex.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The auditory receptor cells are easily replaceable.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Approximately 1 in 1000 people in the Western world can detect absolute pitch.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

To determine the importance of a sound,it is necessary to localize it in space.

Question 5

Sweet/sour is the taste associated with monosodium glutamate.

Question 6

Describe characteristics shared by all the senses,including receptor cells,transduction,and thresholds,and differentiate between top-down and bottom-up processes of perception.

Question 7

All sensory systems send information through the thalamus.

Question 8

Summarize the biological changes that underlie smell and taste.

Question 9

Describe key processes in visual sensation and perception.

Question 10

The ossicles are fluid-filled membranes in the inner ear.

Question 11

Some people are incapable of detecting pain.

Question 12

Various parts of your body have differing levels of sensitivity.

Question 13

Olfaction and gustation emerged early in our evolutionary history.

Question 14

Transduction is the process by which sensory receptor cells convert environmental stimuli into neural impulses.

Question 15

Bottom-up processing begins with previously acquired knowledge.

Question 16

Research suggests that women have twice as many pain receptors in their facial skin as men.

Question 17

Summarize what happens when we hear.
-The frequency and amplitude of sound waves produce our perceptions of pitch and loudness of sounds.
-When sounds enter the ear,they move the ear drum,which sets in motion the ossicles.The last of these,the stirrup,vibrates the oval window,setting into motion fluid in the cochlea.Hair cells on the basilar membrane in the cochlea transduce movements along the basilar membrane into neural signals the brain can interpret.
-Frequency theory suggests that patterns in the firing rates of the neurons are perceived as different sounds.Place theory suggests that information from different locations along the basilar membrane is related to different qualities of sound.
-Top-down processing lets us use the general loudness of sounds,as well as differences in the signals received from each ear,to determine location of a sound.
-Different pitches are represented in a tonotopic map in the auditory cortex of the brain.Association areas of the cortex help us recognize familiar sounds,including speech.
-The brain integrates information from multiple sensory systems to enable the appropriate recognition and response to stimuli.Some people experience an overlap of sensory systems,known as synesthesia.
-As young children,we experience a sensitive period during which it is especially easy for us to learn auditory information,including language and music.Some people,particularly those exposed to pure tones during this sensitive period,develop absolute pitch.
-Common hearing problems include hearing loss and deafness,as well as hearing unwanted sounds,such as tinnitus.

Question 18

Describe how the different senses of touch work and what can happen when things go wrong.

Question 19

Studies have shown that the piriform cortex is changeable in adulthood.

Question 20

The frequency of a sound wave is measured in Hertz.

Question 21

Jenny's just noticeable difference for detecting a lemon flavour in a glass of water is much larger than Kelsey's just noticeable difference.This means that:

A) Jenny is less sensitive to changes in lemon flavour than Kelsey.
B) Kelsey is not able to detect lemon flavour.
C) Jenny needs a lot of lemon flavour in order to notice it.
D) Both females are considered supertasters for lemon.

Question 22

Under certain conditions,people can see radio waves.

Question 23

People with red-green colour blindness have a shortage of cones that respond to either greenish or reddish wavelengths.

Question 24

The process of converting physical stimuli in the environment into a signal that the brain can read is called:

A) transduction
B) perception
C) top-down processing
D) sensory adaptation

Question 25

The reason you are seeing this test is because the light being reflected off the test is converted to neural impulses that the brain can then understand.This process is called ___.

A) transformation
B) sensory transduction
C) sensory adaptation
D) perception

Question 26

Matteo misses his grandpa since he passed away.He has his grandpa's old hat and he often smells it to remember him.He notices,however,that the smell quickly fades each time he does it,but it is back again the next time he tries it.What is the best explanation for Matteo's inability to smell his grandpa's scent after a few minutes?

A) it is below his just noticeable difference threshold
B) perceptual set
C) sensory adaptation
D) bottom-up processing

Question 27

The law of good form states that we tend to group objects that are visually attractive.

Question 28

Detection is to identification as ___ is to ___.

A) sensation; transduction
B) transduction; sensation
C) sensation; perception
D) perception; sensation

Question 29

A musician described how he could see each musical note as a colour.This phenomenon is known as

A) sensory adaptation.
B) synesthesia.
C) difference threshold.
D) polysensory confusion.

Question 30

Eszter thinks that the perfume her boyfriend got her is cheap,because she can't smell it after she wears it for only a few minutes.What is another possible explanation for Eszter's inability to smell her perfume?

A) perceptual set
B) it is below her just noticeable difference
C) bottom-up processing
D) sensory adaptation

Question 31

Jason's just noticeable difference for detecting the change in the frequency of a tone is much larger than Kevin's just noticeable difference.This means that:

A) Both males are considered to have absolute pitch
B) Jason needs a larger difference in pitch in order to notice it
C) Kevin is not able to detect any differences in pitch
D) Jason is less sensitive to changes in pitch than Kevin

Question 32

The blind spot created by the location where the optic nerve leaves the eye is not noticeable in most people.

Question 33

Transduction is the process of:

A) interpreting the physical stimuli in the environment and assigning it meaning
B) converting physical stimuli in the environment into a signal that the brain can read
C) associating synchronous firing patterns in neurons throughout the brain
D) attending to and consolidating some environmental stimuli and not others

Question 34

Petra has just identified the funky smell in her kitchen as an old peach that she threw away in the trash and then forgot.The process of having her olfactory system detect the odour is best described as:

A) transduction
B) sensation
C) perception
D) top-down processing

Question 35

If a light bulb does not cast a light that can be detected,what threshold has not been surpassed?

A) difference
B) absolute
C) stimulus
D) transduction

Question 36

When you look up at the sky and see the clouds,your eyes are engaging in the process of ___; when you think about the clouds and try to pick out recognizable shapes or object,you are engaging in the process of ___.

A) perceiving; sensing
B) sensing; perceiving
C) passive observation; active observation
D) active observation; passive observation

Question 37

Tami is visiting a tribe that she has learned eats snake eyes and monkey brains for their festive events.In honour of her visit,they hold a festive dinner and serve Tami with a big bowl of colourful meats and vegetables.Tami tries the stew and gags at the thought that a chewy bit she found in her mouth was a piece of brain.Tami's belief that the texture of her food resembles monkey brains is best described as:

A) bottom-up processing
B) sensory adaptation
C) transduction
D) a perceptual set

Question 38

Linear perspective occurs when parallel lines seem to diverge from one another.

Question 39

The conversion of environmental stimuli into neural impulses is called ___.

A) perception
B) translation
C) adaptation
D) transduction

Question 40

Bence is camping with his Grade 5 class and hears a ghost story about the Stick Monster in the woods.The beast is made out of sticks and it snaps children's bones like twigs.On his way back to his tent,Bence can't help but notice all the sticks and twigs poking at him along the narrow path.Finally,he screams with certainty that the Stick Monster has grabbed him.Bence's belief that the Stick Monster has him is best described as:

A) sensory adaptation
B) bottom-up processing
C) a perceptual set
D) transduction

Question 41

Which of the following concepts belongs the most with top-down processing?

A) sensation
B) transduction
C) sensory adaptation
D) perceptual sets

Question 42

Which of the following is an instance of top-down processing?

A) perceptual sets
B) sensory adaptation
C) transduction
D) sensation

Question 43

"It's so noisy! How can you stand it?" remarks Lily as the thruway traffic screams past her friend Dmitry's ground floor apartment."I don't even notice it anymore," Dmitry replies.This exchange best exemplifies the concept of ___.

A) adaptation
B) accommodation
C) adjustment
D) attenuation

Question 44

Sensory adaptation is a reduction in the response due to:

A) repeated stimulation of a sensory receptor
B) muscle fatigue
C) habituation
D) opponent processes

Question 45

The first step in any perceptual analysis of an environmental stimulus is:

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

Question 46

"Wow! I'm sorry! I didn't recognize you out of context!" you exclaim,excusing your blank stare when your accounting professor greets you in a café.This vignette illustrates the importance of ___ in perception.

A) transduction
B) adaptation
C) bottom-up processes
D) top-down processes

Question 47

Without sensory adaptation,our perceptual world would be chaos.What would be the biggest problem without sensory adaptation?

A) Our sensory receptors wouldn't be able to simultaneously transduce stimuli from multiple sensory systems.
B) Our sensitivity to stimuli that are below threshold would be less.
C) We wouldn't have any mental resources left over to focus on potentially important environmental stimuli.
D) We would succumb to top-down processing at the expense of bottom-up processing.

Question 48

Which of the following sentences expresses bottom-up processing?

A) You see what's in front of you.
B) You see what you want to see.
C) You see what you expect to see.
D) You see what you're conditioned to see.

Question 49

Technically,the first thing that happens with bottom-up processing is:

A) attention
B) perception
C) transduction
D) sensory adaptation

Question 50

Why do we adapt after prolonged exposure to a constant stimulus?

A) so that we continue to respond to ongoing stimulation
B) so that we don't become distracted by irrelevant changes in the environment
C) so that we detect potentially significant changes in what is happening in our environments
D) so that we don't become overstimulated by the environment

Question 51

A snack manufacturer finds that it must increase the salt content of its chips by 8% so that a sample of consumers will notice that the chips are saltier than they were before.This example most nearly illustrates the concept of a(n)___ threshold.

A) transduction
B) difference
C) adaptation
D) absolute

Question 52

What is the advantage of sensory adaptation?

A) We can focus on bottom-up processing and not succumb to top-down processing.
B) We can free up mental resources to focus on potentially important environmental stimuli.
C) We can increase our sensitivity to stimuli that are below absolute threshold.
D) Our sensory receptors are able to simultaneously transduce stimuli from multiple sensory systems.

Question 53

When a sensory receptor is repeatedly stimulated,it can lead to a reduction in the response.This is called:

A) the just noticeable difference threshold
B) a perceptual set
C) fatigue
D) sensory adaptation

Question 54

Ye-jun is participating in a study in which he is presented with different unpleasant odours that he has to identify.Unfortunately,most of the odours are presented above his absolute threshold.What does this mean?

A) Ye-jun can smell most of the odours
B) Ye-jun can only smell the strongest odours
C) Ye-jun can't tell the difference between any of the odours
D) Ye-jun didn't notice most of the odours

Question 55

Without the transduction of the physical stimulus into a neural signal that the brain can read,technically,the physical stimulus doesn't exist.This is most similar to the philosophical statement:

A) A rolling stone gathers no moss.
B) A tree falling in the woods with no one to hear makes no sound.
C) Lightning never strikes the same place twice.
D) Freedom never extends to outside the mind

Question 56

The philosophical question: "Does a tree falling in the woods with no one around make a sound?" would be best interpreted by a psychologist interested in sensation and perception to mean that:

A) without transduction of sound waves into a neural signal, technically, there is no sound.
B) bottom-up processing does not allow conceptual knowledge to influence perception, and so there is no sound.
C) for a sound to be defined as such, it must cross absolute threshold in a human ear.
D) vibrations in air pressure are best detected by the auditory sense, rather than the olfactory, somatosensory, gustatory, or visual sense.

Question 57

In an experiment,observers first view an adapting stimulus in which small dots on a computer screen all move steadily toward the right.They then view a test stimulus in which they must determine whether a patch of dots is stationary or moving.Based on your text's discussion,you might predict that the adapting stimulus would

A) decrease observers' absolute threshold for motion detection.
B) increase observers' absolute threshold for motion detection.
C) have little or no effect on observers' absolute threshold for motion detection.
D) decrease observers' difference threshold for motion detection.

Question 58

Which of the following statements most accurately expresses the relationship between top-down and bottom-up processing?

A) Some stimuli are processed in a bottom-up fashion, while others are processed in a top-down manner.
B) Bottom-up processing precedes top-down processing during the perception of most stimuli.
C) Top-down processes only contribute to perception when stimuli are highly novel, unexpected, or ambiguous.
D) Top-down and bottom-up processes occur simultaneously during the perception of many, if not all, stimuli.

Question 59

We can detect a single drop of perfume diffused in an area the size of a one-bedroom apartment.This is a(n)___.

A) absolute threshold
B) difference threshold
C) sensory minimum
D) just noticeable difference

Question 60

If a stimulus is at an intensity that doesn't reach your absolute threshold,what is the most likely result?

A) You will not be able to distinguish this stimulus from another stimulus
B) The difference threshold is just noticeable
C) The stimulus will go unnoticed to you
D) You have adapted to the stimulus and no longer notice it

Question 61

Suppose Marlene is unable to balance,and Lucas is unable to maintain his body's posture.What sensory systems have most likely been damaged in each case?

A) Marlene damaged her chemical sense and Lucas damaged his auditory sense
B) Marlene has damaged her somatosensory system and Lucas has damaged his gustatory sense
C) Marlene has damaged her vestibular sense and Lucas has damaged his kinesthetic sense
D) Marlene has damaged her visual sense and Lucas has damaged his auditory sense

Question 62

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the responsiveness of an individual olfactory receptor?

A) A given olfactory receptor responds only to a specific airborne chemical.
B) A given olfactory receptor responds to a wide range of odorants.
C) A given olfactory receptor responds to one of four or five basic classes of odorants.
D) A given olfactory receptor responds to virtually any airborne chemical.

Question 63

Karina is cooking hamburger when she suddenly finds that the smell is making her nauseous.When she checks the package,she finds that the "best before" date of the meat had expired a week before,so the meat was no longer safe to eat.What type of psychologist would find this example important to the explanation of the olfactory system?

A) cognitive
B) evolutionary
C) behavioural
D) biological

Question 64

We have taste receptors for sweet,salty,sour,and:

A) bitter
B) bitter and spicy
C) bitter and umami
D) spicy and umami

Question 65

Olfaction is to gustation as ___ is to ___.

A) smell; taste
B) hearing; taste
C) taste; hearing
D) taste; smell

Question 66

Your text states that "continuous binding of certain odorants ...will result in the fatigue of the olfactory receptor neurons to which they bind." This passage should remind you of the concept of

A) tolerance.
B) adaptation.
C) habituation.
D) desensitization.

Question 67

Proprioceptive feedback is a combination of which senses?

A) visual, auditory, and vestibular
B) chemical, kinesthetic, and visual
C) vestibular, kinesthetic, and visual
D) somatosensory, vestibular, and kinesthetic

Question 68

Approximately how many taste receptors are on each taste bud?

A) 20-40
B) 50-90
C) 30-50
D) 60-100

Question 69

The sense receptors for olfaction are located on hair-like structures called ___.They convert odorants into neural impulses,an example of a process termed ___.

A) papillae; transduction
B) papillae; perception
C) cilia; transduction
D) cilia; perception

Question 70

You are driving to school and your favourite song comes on the radio.You immediately recognize the song and begin to sing along.What type(s)of processing allowed you to do this?

A) top-down
B) bottom-up
C) top-down and bottom-up
D) perceptual set

Question 71

For which of the following tastes do we NOT have a receptor?

A) umami
B) spicy
C) sweet
D) bitter

Question 72

Gustatory receptors are contained in the ___,located on the ___.

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

Question 73

Regarding taste receptors,which of the following statements is true?

A) Each taste receptor responds to any of the five basic tastes.
B) The diverse types of taste receptors are located on distinct parts of the tongue.
C) The diverse types of taste receptors are evenly distributed across the tongue.
D) The diverse types of taste receptors are not distributed evenly across the tongue.

Question 74

Julian,Carson,and Zoe are having a disagreement.Julian claims that there are five senses.Carson,on the other hand,says that there are seven,and Zoe says there are six.Which student is right?

A) Julian
B) Carson
C) Zoe
D) None of them. There are, in fact, eight senses.

Question 75

How many basic types of taste are there?

A) 3
B) 4
C) 4, perhaps 5
D) 5, perhaps 6

Question 76

The combination of our visual,vestibular,and kinesthetic senses constitutes:

A) our sense of proprioceptive feedback
B) our sense of balance
C) our awareness of our body's position in space
D) our sense of movement

Question 77

Hunter and Samuel are both looking at an ambiguous picture.Hunter was shown a series of rabbit pictures in advance of viewing the ambiguous picture; whereas Samuel was shown a series of duck pictures in advance of seeing the ambiguous picture.Based on the concept of perceptual set,what would each say was the object in the picture?

A) Hunter - rabbit; Samuel - duck
B) Hunter - duck; Samuel - rabbit
C) They would both see the same object.
D) It depends on how long they have to look at the picture.

Question 78

Lola has a pet mouse named Mickey.Which of the following statements would most accurately describe the difference between Lola and Mickey's senses?

A) Lola relies most heavily on vision; Mickey relies on kinesthesia.
B) Lola relies most heavily on the gustation; Mickey relies on olfaction.
C) Lola relies most heavily on vision; Mickey relies on olfaction.
D) There is no difference. Both rely most heavily on vision.

Question 79

Marcus has damage to his vestibular sense and Larissa has damage to her kinesthetic sense.Which of the following best describes their symptoms?

A) Marcus is unable to hear, and Larissa is unable to taste or smell.
B) Marcus is unable to stop running on his own once he starts and Larissa is unable to balance.
C) Marcus is unable to balance, and Larissa is unable to maintain her body's posture.
D) Marcus is unable to adapt to sensory input and Larissa is unable to integrate sensory information.

Question 80

In what hair-like structures are the sensory receptors of the olfactory system located?

A) nasal mucosa
B) papillae
C) odorants
D) cilia