Deck 3: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Sensation is to perception as ________ is to ________.

A) stimulation; recognition
B) awareness; interpretation
C) interpretation; awareness
D) organization; interpretation
E) awareness; transduction

Answer 1

stimulation; recognition

Question 2

________ suggests that we are more likely to notice when a newborn gains five pounds than when a sumo wrestler gains five pounds.

A) Subliminal perception
B) Transduction theory
C) Sensory adaptation
D) Weber's law
E) Kinesthesia

Answer 2

Weber's law

Question 3

Your roommate can hear a hum from the air conditioner that you are unable to hear. This difference reflects the operation of

A) difference thresholds.
B) equilibrium.
C) vestibular activity.
D) cortical processing.
E) absolute thresholds.

Answer 3

absolute thresholds.

Question 4

The most complex, most important, and most highly developed sense for humans is

A) hearing.
B) sight.
C) pain.
D) touch.
E) taste.

Question 5

The lowest stimulus intensity required for detection is the ________ and the smallest noticeable difference between a standard stimulus intensity and another stimulus value is the ________.

A) absolute threshold; just noticeable difference
B) base value; just noticeable difference (JND)
C) response criterion; sensory constant
D) difference threshold; absolute threshold
E) sensory detector; Weberian threshold

Question 6

Seeing a face is to sensation as recognizing a friend's face is to

A) kinesthesia.
B) olfaction.
C) transduction.
D) sensation.
E) perception.

Question 7

The perceptual threshold for vision is defined as the ability to detect a(n) ________ located _________ on a clear night.

A) candle flame; 1 mile away
B) car headlight; 1 mile away
C) emergency flare; 30 miles away
D) candle flame; 30 miles away
E) camp fire; 8 miles away

Question 8

Rods are photoreceptors that would allow us to perceive

A) a bagful of jelly beans.
B) a glass of grape Kool-Aid.
C) the rainbow.
D) the stars at night.
E) a small multi-colored butterfly.

Question 9

Neurons cannot

A) convert an external stimulus into a nerve impulse.
B) carry information to the cerebral cortex.
C) transmit light or sound waves or any other external stimulus.
D) transform stimuli into diverse sensations.
E) code sensory information.

Question 10

Which of the following examples best illustrates the principle of sensory adaptation?

A) the shock felt by a swimmer who jumps into a pool of ice cold water
B) your awareness of the weight of your backpack when you first pick it up
C) the irritation felt when your roommate turns on your bedroom light at 3 a.m.
D) your eventual failure to notice the background music at a restaurant
E) A and B are correct.

Question 11

The term just noticeable difference is synonymous with

A) separation threshold.
B) response threshold.
C) difference threshold.
D) absolute threshold.
E) Weber's law.

Question 12

The average threshold for human hearing is the tick of a watch from ________ feet under very quiet conditions.

A) 20
B) 60
C) 40
D) 80
E) 100

Question 13

Visual transduction occurs within the

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

Question 14

Which of the following is true of rods?

A) They respond to color.
B) They are found mainly in the fovea.
C) They operate mainly in the daytime.
D) They are responsible for night vision.
E) They combine to make up the iris.

Question 15

When Ann went to her doctor, he gave her a hearing test. During the test, the doctor presented tones to Ann through earphones. The tones started at a low intensity and then became louder. The doctor asked Ann to raise her hand whenever she started to hear a sound. The doctor was testing Ann's

A) auditory convergence.
B) absolute threshold.
C) refractory threshold.
D) difference threshold.
E) Weber threshold.

Question 16

If you are able to taste one teaspoon of salt in a bucketful of hot buttered popcorn, this amount is above your

A) difference threshold.
B) equilibrium.
C) vestibular sense.
D) olfaction.
E) absolute threshold.

Question 17

Suppose Maria is painting while the sun is setting; once she notices that the room is getting darker, she decides to call it quits for the day. This example illustrates the role of

A) threshold.
B) a just noticeable difference.
C) absolute threshold.
D) bias.
E) attention.

Question 18

It is difficult to distinguish between colors at night because

A) we are seeing primarily with the cones.
B) rods do not adapt to the dark.
C) we are seeing primarily with the rods.
D) we are used to seeing mostly with the fovea.
E) visual accommodation cannot occur in the dark.

Question 19

Signal detection theory suggests that differences in absolute thresholds between different people reflect variations in

A) signal strength.
B) sensory processes.
C) human judgment.
D) absolute thresholds.
E) sensory adaptation.

Question 20

The fact that the great smell of baked goods is more powerful when you first enter a bakery than when you have been there for a while is because of

A) sensory adaption.
B) the just noticeable difference.
C) Weber's law.
D) closure.
E) subliminal messaging.

Question 21

Which of the following properties of sound is the most similar to the brightness of light?

A) pitch
B) volume
C) purity
D) timbre
E) saturation

Question 22

The sound that is produced when you strike a tuning fork has the physical properties of

A) timbre and pitch.
B) frequency and amplitude.
C) tempo and timbre.
D) loudness and speed.
E) key and intensity.

Question 23

Pitch is to frequency as

A) frequency is to amplitude.
B) high is to low.
C) loudness is to amplitude.
D) peak is to wave.
E) timbre is to saturation.

Question 24

Which of the following properties of sound would be the most similar to the color, or hue, of light?

A) pitch
B) loudness
C) timbre purity
D) hue
E) saturation

Question 25

Which of the following is a characteristic of both light waves and sound waves?

A) hue
B) decibels
C) amplitude
D) wavelength
E) timbre

Question 26

Which of the following is true about cones?

A) They are responsible for black and white vision.
B) They are found mainly in the center of the eye.
C) They operate mainly at night.
D) They respond only to black and white.
E) They combine to make up the cornea.

Question 27

The eardrum is also called the

A) bass fiddler membrane.
B) oval window.
C) tympanic membrane.
D) cochlea.
E) Corti membrane.

Question 28

If you stare for 30 seconds at a red object and then look at a blank sheet of white paper, you will see a greenish image of the object. This phenomenon BEST supports the ________ theory of color vision.

A) Grieco trichromatic
B) opponent-process
C) Helmholtz trichromatic
D) Hering's vibration
E) Ponzo's

Question 29

A person who cannot distinguish pale colors such as pink and tan would be said to have a(n)

A) color weakness.
B) negative color attitude.
C) optic chiasm.
D) color complement disorder.
E) electromagnetic apperception.

Question 30

John Russell has color blindness. He is most likely to have difficulty doing which of the following?

A) distinguishing red from blue
B) distinguishing red from green
C) distinguishing blue from yellow
D) distinguishing red from yellow
E) distinguishing light from dark

Question 31

Snapping your fingers causes the surrounding air to

A) move in circles.
B) lose heat.
C) vibrate.
D) gain moisture.
E) implode.

Question 32

The frequency of a sound wave determines how high or low the sound sounds, a quality known as

A) tone.
B) amplitude.
C) pitch.
D) gigahertz.
E) timbre.

Question 33

Joachim and Maricella are going for a romantic walk in the park after an afternoon storm. Maricella looks up in the sky and sees a rainbow. She exclaims, "How beautiful!" Joachim, being something of a science buff, might correctly say,

A) "You are just seeing the visible spectrum."
B) "That's because you are seeing all the wavelengths of light we can see from short to long."
C) "That's because different wavelengths lead to the perception of different colors."
D) "That's because the visible spectrum ranges from red to violet wavelengths of light."
E) All of these things would be correct.

Question 34

A person who has the most common form of color blindness will probably have the hardest time distinguishing between

A) red and green.
B) yellow and blue.
C) tan and pink.
D) yellow and red.
E) orange and red.

Question 35

One of your mother's siblings is always known for putting together awful-looking colors when getting dressed. Who is this person more likely to be?

A) your aunt because women have more problems with color vision
B) your uncle because men have more problems with color vision
C) You can't tell as men and women have an equal chance of having problems with color vision.
D) You would only be able to know if you had information about the color vision of your niece or nephew.
E) Humans rarely have problems with color vision, so this wouldn't happen.

Question 36

What color would you report seeing if a researcher projects the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum onto a screen?

A) red
B) blue
C) yellow
D) violet
E) white

Question 37

An alien from outer space was just captured. Scientists take turns examining the creature. At a press conference, one of the scientists reports that the alien can hear frequencies between 10,000 and 30,000 Hz. How does the alien's ability to detect sound compare to a human being's ability?

A) The alien and humans detect the same frequencies.
B) Humans can detect higher frequencies than the alien.
C) The alien can detect higher frequencies, but its hearing is not as acute at lower frequencies.
D) Humans can detect higher frequencies; however, the alien detects lower frequencies better than humans.
E) Humans can detect both lower and higher frequencies than this alien.

Question 38

A sound wave generated in outer space will travel at the rate of

A) 100 feet per second.
B) 3,000 feet per second.
C) 3,000 feet per minute.
D) 0 feet per second as sound waves can't be formed in outer space.
E) 1,000 feet per minute.

Question 39

Place theory argues that sounds of different frequencies induce vibration in different areas of the

A) pinna.
B) basilar membrane.
C) auditory nerve.
D) temporal lobe.
E) chorionic membrane.

Question 40

The trichromatic and opponent?process theories of color vision are not in conflict because each corresponds to

A) a different portion of the spectrum.
B) the opposite half of perceivable colors.
C) one type of color blindness.
D) a different stage of visual processing.
E) a different area of the eye.

Question 41

Closing your eyes and then touching your nose with your forefinger most accurately illustrates which of the following?

A) vestibular sense
B) kinesthetic sense
C) somasthetic sense
D) anomalous cognition
E) tactile sense

Question 42

Maricella always uses less seasoning on her food than do the other members of her family. Her sister has just taken an introductory psychology course and says to Maricella, "I know what you are-

A) you are a taster pro."
B) you are a taster queen."
C) you are a supertaster."
D) you are a Gustavus Adolphus."
E) you are an anosmic."

Question 43

The capacity of a placebo treatment to reduce pain perception is due to

A) the release of endorphins in the brain.
B) inactivation of cells in the occipital cortex.
C) the release of naloxone in the spinal cord.
D) damage by needles to skin receptors.
E) B and D are correct.

Question 44

A person with damage to the ________ would be clumsy and uncoordinated.

A) phosphenes
B) hippocampus
C) olfactory bulb
D) temporal lobes
E) kinesthetic receptors

Question 45

The fact that you perceive your psychology professor as being the same size when viewed from different parts of the classroom is known as

A) size constancy.
B) conservation.
C) recognition.
D) perceptual ambiguity.
E) the law of Prägnanz.

Question 46

Top-down processing emphasizes all of the following EXCEPT

A) stimulus features.
B) experience.
C) cultural background.
D) knowledge.
E) memory.

Question 47

Perceptual constancy reflects the understanding of the perceiver that

A) objects remain the same despite changes in their appearance.
B) most objects readily change their shape but not their color.
C) our brain is readily fooled by sensory input.
D) images can be interpreted in more than one way.
E) perceived boundaries are not a function of the stimulus.

Question 48

Top-down processing is also known as ________ processing.

A) stimulus-driven
B) data-driven
C) conceptually-driven
D) feature-driven
E) time-driven

Question 49

The ________ of sound allows us to distinguish a guitar note from a saxophone note.

A) timbre
B) kinesthetics
C) harmonics
D) auditory diffusion
E) absolute thresholds

Question 50

In bottom-up processing, the resulting percept is determined by

A) stimulus characteristics.
B) our expectations.
C) our current emotions.
D) what others tell us.
E) other environmental stimuli.

Question 51

A Necker cube is an example of a(n)

A) ambiguous figure.
B) Gestalt creation.
C) mental set.
D) pheromone.
E) phosphene.

Question 52

The sense of smell is adaptive in that

A) it aids in the location of food.
B) it allows us to detect tainted food.
C) it signals sexual receptivity in some mammals.
D) smell can mark the boundaries of a territory.
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 53

A student takes a drug that distorts perception. He holds up his hand right in front of his face. Horrified, he yells, "I have a giant hand!" Most likely the drug interfered with

A) size constancy
B) shape constancy
C) brightness constancy
D) color constancy
E) Gestalt constancy

Question 54

The concept of ________ explains why you know a door is rectangular even though your sensory image is distorted when you are not looking at it straight on.

A) closure
B) the law of proximity
C) the placebo effect
D) perceptual constancy
E) olfaction

Question 55

The idea that pain signals must pass through a type of "doorway" in the spinal cord is referred to as the

A) opponent-process theory of pain.
B) revolving door theory of pain.
C) substance P theory of pain.
D) gate-control theory of pain.
E) Capsaicin theory.

Question 56

Most natural sounds in the real world

A) have the same amplitude but different frequencies.
B) are mixtures rather than pure tones.
C) consist of frequencies that are narrow in range but vary greatly in amplitude.
D) usually have only one frequency and one amplitude.
E) combine amplitudes and frequencies in basically the same way.

Question 57

The place theory of pitch suggests that pitch is determined by the

A) specific location where hair cells are stimulated.
B) number of hair cells that are stimulated.
C) size of the hair cells that are stimulated.
D) degree of bend in the stimulated hair cells.
E) rate at which the ossicles in the middle ear fire.

Question 58

When most people look at the black-and-white Hermann grid illusion,

A) they see other colors where there are none.
B) the inhibiting process causes them to see gray dots.
C) the boxes blur together and it is difficult to determine boundaries.
D) the black boxes are seen as white, and the white lines are seen as black.
E) they see two alternating patterns appear and disappear.

Question 59

Your dog has been lost for three days. When you hear a bark, you assume that it is Fido because of

A) location constancy.
B) closure.
C) the law of common fate.
D) olfaction.
E) top-down processing.

Question 60

The gate-control theory of pain suggests that

A) the pain signals must pass through a kind of "gate" located in the spinal cord.
B) the skin receptors act as a gate for the pain sensation.
C) the cortex blocks pain unless released by substance P.
D) the gate is a physical structure that blocks pain signals.
E) there are mechanisms at each level of the brain that can selectively block pain messages.

Question 61

Some people may wear dark clothes with stripes that go up and down because they look thinner in these clothes. This is most likely an example of

A) a hallucination.
B) a distraction.
C) a perceptual set.
D) an illusion.
E) the law of continuity.

Question 62

"The whole is more than the sum of its sensory parts" is a statement reflecting

A) experience-based inference.
B) the artificial intelligence approach.
C) environmental adaptation.
D) Gestalt psychology.
E) top-down processing.

Question 63

An example of a group or organization that tries to maximize the similarity between figure and ground would be a(n)

A) business.
B) legal office.
C) hospital.
D) army.
E) artist studio.

Question 64

Learning-based inference is to nurture as ________ is to nature.

A) Pavlovian theory
B) gene therapy
C) artificial intelligence
D) environmental theory
E) Gestalt theory

Question 65

If you want to make your dorm room appear larger, you should

A) paint the room in dark colors.
B) paint the room with vertical stripes.
C) paint the room in light colors.
D) place a lot of furniture in the room.
E) paint the room in alternating light and dark patterns.

Question 66

The law of Prägnanz is also known as the

A) minimum principle of perception.
B) law of common fate.
C) grouping perception.
D) principle of least resistance.
E) just noticeable difference.

Question 67

An aircraft pilot with only one eye is able to guide the plane during takeoff and landing using the depth cues of

A) relative size.
B) interposition.
C) light and shadow.
D) atmospheric perspective.
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 68

Your ability to view and interpret an ambiguous figure in two different ways is a result of

A) visual problems.
B) alternating between the occipital and parietal lobes.
C) mental fatigue and exhaustion.
D) alternating perceptual control between the left and right hemispheres.
E) perceptual sets.

Question 69

Discuss the thresholds theory of classical psychophysics and explain how this perspective has been modified by the advances of signal detection theory.

Question 70

Proofreading is a task that is made difficult because of the Gestalt principle known as the law of

A) continuity.
B) proximity.
C) Prägnanz.
D) common fate.
E) similarity.

Question 71

An overweight person who wants to appear thinner would be advised to

A) wear light clothing.
B) stay away from crowded rooms.
C) choose shirts with large horizontal stripes.
D) wear dark clothing.
E) turn up the room lights.

Question 72

According to the Gestalt law of ________, we assume that the nerd we knew in fifth grade is still a nerd today.

A) Prägnanz
B) common fate
C) similarity
D) continuity
E) kinesthesia

Question 73

Examine this pattern: XXX XXX XXX XXX. You are likely to perceive this as four groups of three X's, rather than six pairs of X's. This is due to the law of

A) proximity.
B) common fate.
C) similarity.
D) Prägnanz.
E) continuity.

Question 74

When Bill looks at his lamp alternately with his left eye and right eye, the image seems to jump from one position to another. This phenomenon illustrates

A) the Gestalt principle of similarity.
B) retinal disparity.
C) interposition.
D) the Gestalt principle of proximity.
E) convergence.

Question 75

Adults from the mainland United States are tricked by the Ponzo illusion, whereas Guam citizens are often not fooled by it. This is best explained by

A) Gestalt psychology.
B) learning-based inference.
C) heredity.
D) the law of continuity.
E) the law of Prägnanz.

Question 76

A sprinter's readiness to react to the starter gun given his or her anticipation is an example of

A) proximal stimuli.
B) perceptual sets.
C) bottom-up processing.
D) difference thresholds.
E) phosphenes.

Question 77

It may take your favorite teacher a few seconds to recognize you when you see her in the grocery store. This experience illustrates the importance of

A) perceptual sets.
B) context.
C) closure.
D) contiguity.
E) common fate.

Question 78

Shannon reads Jason the words folk, soak, and joke. Then she asks him, "What do you call the white of an egg?" He replies by saying, "yolk," when the correct answer is albumen (or simply, egg white). Jason gave an incorrect answer due to

A) bottom-up processing.
B) a perceptual illusion.
C) closure.
D) a perceptual set.
E) the law of common fate.

Question 79

Contrast the two major views of color vision theory.

Question 80

Figure is to ground as

A) light is to dark.
B) obvious is to hidden.
C) characteristics are to background.
D) shape is to texture.
E) Gestalt is to learning.