Deck 4: B: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

In a signal detection task,the participant says that she doesn't detect a signal but a signal was present.This is called a _____________.

A)hit
B)false alarm
C)miss
D)correct rejection

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The organization and interpretation of olfactory information is one example of ____________.

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

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In a signal detection task,the participant says that he detects a signal when no signal is present.This is called a __________.

A)hit
B)false alarm
C)miss
D)correct rejection

Answer 3

B

Question 4

When first exposed to a stimulus,our sensory receptors tend to respond strongly.However,if the stimulus remains unchanged,the activity of the receptors tends to decrease.This process is called ________________.

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

Question 5

Sensation is to _______ as perception is to _______.

A)psychological;physical
B)gathering;understanding
C)understanding;gathering
D)interpreting;detecting

Question 6

The processing of sensory information that occurs below the level of conscious awareness is called ____________.

A)selective attention
B)top-down processing
C)subliminal perception
D)bottom-up processing.

Question 7

__________ involves the detection of energy by sense organs,whereas __________ involves interpreting sensory inputs.

A)Perception;sensation
B)Adaptation;perception
C)Sensation;perception
D)Sensation;adaptation

Question 8

Keegan notices that his favorite 55-cent candy bar seems lighter than usual and so he checks the label to find that it is lighter by 10 g than it used to be.He decides to buy a larger candy bar instead and doesn't notice that the 99-cent candy bar is also 10 g lighter.Keegan's behaviour illustrates the fact that

A)the just noticeable difference is not a reliable measure of psychophysiological judgment.
B)sensory adaptation may occur in the short time between holding one candy bar and then the other.
C)difference thresholds are unpredictable because sometimes he can and sometimes he can't detect a 10 g change.
D)the larger a weight is,the greater the change must be before one can detect a difference.

Question 9

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 varied only along the loud-soft dimensions (from very loud to very soft).The doctor asked Ann to raise her hand whenever she heard a sound.The doctor was testing Ann's _____________.

A)auditory convergence
B)refractory threshold
C)absolute threshold
D)difference threshold

Question 10

The lowest level of a stimulus needed for the nervous system to detect a change half the time is called the ___________.

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

Question 11

The ability to detect external events through our sensory systems is known as ______________.

A)accommodation
B)perception
C)sensation
D)sensory adaptation

Question 12

In a signal detection task,the participant says that he detected a signal and a signal was present.This is called a ____________.

A)hit
B)false alarm
C)miss
D)correct rejection

Question 13

The conversion of external energy into something that the nervous system can understand is known as _____________.

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

Question 14

___________ was developed to isolate separate measures of sensory experience and the decision process of the person being tested.

A)The absolute threshold
B)The difference threshold
C)Signal detection theory
D)Psychophysics

Question 15

One reason sensory adaptation can be beneficial is that it allows us to

A)ignore continuous stimuli and shift our focus and attention to other events.
B)detect visual stimuli outside of the normal visual spectrum.
C)locate the source of sounds in the environment.
D)convert physical and chemical stimuli into nerve impulses.

Question 16

A single eyelash lands on Neil's hand,but because the pressure is __________________,he does not notice it.

A)above the difference threshold
B)below the difference threshold
C)above the absolute threshold
D)below the absolute threshold

Question 17

The study of how physical energy such as light and sound and their intensities relate to psychological experience is called _________________.

A)psychophysics
B)Gestalt psychology
C)signal detection theory
D)haptics

Question 18

When she walks into her mother's kitchen,Amelia doesn't know how long she will be able to stay in the room because of the overpowering smell of onions.But when her sister comes home an hour later and complains about the smell,Amelia realizes that she no longer smells the onions at all.This is an example of ________________.

A)sensory adaptation
B)just noticeable difference
C)a correct rejection
D)a false alarm

Question 19

When Bethany steps on her digital scale,a mechanism in it measures the physical pressure pushing down on the scale and converts it into an electrical signal that can be read by the scale.The converting of the physical pressure on the scale caused by Bethany's weight into an electrical signal is similar to the process of ____________.

A)transduction
B)bottom-up processing
C)top-down processing
D)perception

Question 20

The difference threshold is

A)the minimum amount of energy,or quantity of a stimulus,required for it to be reliably detected at least 50% of the time it is presented.
B)the smallest difference in stimulation that can be detected by an observer when two stimuli are compared.
C)the difference in absolute thresholds between individuals with normal sensory abilities and those who have limitations in one or more senses.
D)the smallest amount of stimulation that can be detected after sensory adaptation.

Question 21

Light,a central player in our visual perception of the world,is a form of _____________.

A)chemical energy
B)mechanical energy
C)vibration
D)electromagnetic energy

Question 22

Lidia visits an art exhibit of abstract paintings.One painting is composed of seemingly random lines and shapes.However,because Lidia knows the painting is supposed to be a portrait,she perceives the various lines and shapes as forming a face.Which type of perceptual processing is Lidia most likely using?

A)Top-down
B)Parallel
C)Bottom-up
D)Sensory

Question 23

During a break from his job as a waiter,Barnardo begins to read Hamlet and is so engrossed in the play that he fails to notice the clattering of dishes all around him.This is an example of _______________.

A)feature detection
B)absolute threshold
C)bottom-up processing
D)selective attention

Question 24

As we listen to music on the radio or on our iPods,we often are more aware of the arrangement of tones into melodies rather than just focusing on the individual notes.This auditory perception is compatible with the principles established by _____________.

A)behavioural psychologists
B)Gestalt psychologists
C)humanistic psychologists
D)psychodynamic psychologists

Question 25

According to your textbook,subliminal advertising

A)is a form of "mind control."
B)can lead people to purchase items they otherwise would not.
C)at most can have only a very temporary effect on thought.
D)are pointless,because humans are not affected by subliminal stimuli.

Question 26

Freddy is looking for his girlfriend in a large crowd of people.Because he is so focused on finding her,he fails to notice when a man in a clown costume walks right up next to him.This is an example of ______________.

A)a feature detection failure
B)sensory overload
C)sensory adaptation
D)inattentional blindness

Question 27

In __________ processing,we construct a whole stimulus from its parts.

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

Question 28

Clay has played professional soccer for seven years and is easily able to tune out the sound of the crowd and all other irrelevant sensory information during the game.Bruce is a rookie and is often distracted by what his opponents are saying and the mood of the crowd.Clay and Bruce are showing differing levels of ______________.

A)absolute thresholds
B)parallel processing
C)selective attention
D)top-down processing

Question 29

Elements that share common features such as size,shape,or colour are viewed as a set.This defines which Gestalt law of organization?

A)figure-ground
B)similarity
C)proximity
D)closure

Question 30

Failure to consciously perceive something you are looking at because your attention is directed elsewhere is called ___________.

A)sensory overload
B)selective attention
C)inattentional blindness
D)divided attention

Question 31

______________ refers to the perceptual rule that lines and other objects tend to be continuous,rather than abruptly changing direction.

A)Figure-ground
B)Continuity
C)Proximity
D)Closure

Question 32

Miley is concerned that advertisers are using subliminal messages to make her buy their products.Based on the information in your textbook,what should you tell her?

A)You're right,subliminal messages are very powerful.
B)It's unclear;almost no research has been done on subliminal perception.
C)Don't worry;people cannot perceive subliminal stimuli at all.
D)There is little evidence that subliminal messages can be used to persuade people to do anything.

Question 33

Two or more objects that are close together are viewed as belonging to the same a set.This defines which Gestalt law of organization?

A)figure-ground
B)similarity
C)proximity
D)closure

Question 34

According to the ________________ principle,when we look at an image,we tend to perceive some parts as standing out and other parts as being part of the background.

A)figure-ground
B)closure
C)proximity
D)continutiy

Question 35

The process of selecting one stimulus or task to focus on and ignoring or minimizing others is called ____________.

A)selective perception
B)selective attention
C)perceptual set
D)selective processing

Question 36

Which of the following accurately describes how we perceive and interpret the visual world?

A)We always start with small details and use them to build a recognizable whole.
B)We always start with our expectations of what we are looking at,which guides how we will perceive it.
C)Perception involves neither top-down nor bottom-up processing.
D)Perception is a combination of both top-down and bottom-up processing.

Question 37

As she watches her granddaughter's dance recital,Patty perceives two separate groups of dancers.Her granddaughter's group wears bright turquoise costumes with gold accents and the other group wears bright gold costumes with turquoise accents.Patty perceives the girls as belonging to two different groups due to the Gestalt principle of ____________.

A)proximity
B)continuity
C)similarity
D)closure

Question 38

__________ processing is conceptually driven and influenced by our beliefs and expectations.

A)Bottom-up
B)Parallel
C)Top-down
D)Sensory

Question 39

Which saying captures the principle emphasized by the Gestalt psychologists?

A)The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
B)Perception is based more on what we do not see than on what we do see.
C)Perception is part sensory experience and part judgment.
D)No two people will perceive a stimulus in the exact same way.

Question 40

Which psychological school first identified that visual perception occurs in terms of whole objects rather than individual component parts?

A)behaviourism
B)Gestalt
C)humanistic
D)osychoanalytic

Question 41

When Brett walks out of the theatre into the glare of the sun,his _______________ get smaller to let less light in.

A)pupils
B)lenses
C)corneas
D)retinas

Question 42

When light enters the eye,it first passes through what structure?

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

Question 43

When you enter a dim room,the _______________ widens to let more light in.

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

Question 44

Light receptors that help us to see best at night are the __________.

A)foveae
B)cones
C)shafts
D)rods

Question 45

The coloured part of the eye that contains muscles to contract or expand the pupil is the ____________.

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

Question 46

The pupil is the

A)coloured part of the eye.
B)opening in the centre of the iris.
C)white of the eye.
D)lining in the back of the eyeball.

Question 47

Which of the following is the correct order in which light passes through the structures of the eye?

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

Question 48

The intensity of the reflected light that reaches our eyes is known as ____________.

A)hue
B)contrast
C)brightness
D)saturation

Question 49

_____________ are sensitive to the different wavelengths of light,which is what allows us to detect colour.______________ do not detect colour,but can work under low light conditions.

A)Foveae;Retinas
B)Retinas;Foveae
C)Cones;Rods
D)Rods;Cones

Question 50

When scuba divers take red objects underwater,they appear to lose their colour,but this does not happen to bluish objects.This demonstrates that water filters out light waves that have

A)long wavelengths.
B)short wavelengths.
C)a high amplitude.
D)a low amplitude.

Question 51

Rods and cones are both types of _________.

A)foveas
B)lenses
C)retinas
D)photoreceptors

Question 52

Visible light with a short wavelength and a high amplitude would be perceived as _____________.

A)reddish and dim
B)bluish and dim
C)reddish and bright
D)bluish and bright

Question 53

Visible light with a long wavelength and a low amplitude would be perceived as ______________.

A)reddish and dim
B)bluish and dim
C)reddish and bright
D)bluish and bright

Question 54

What structure is primarily responsible for focusing light onto the back of the eye?

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

Question 55

Which structure in your eye is most like the film in a camera?

A)the retina
B)the lens
C)the cornea
D)the pupil

Question 56

Which animal can see ultraviolet light?

A)humans
B)whales
C)bees
D)snakes

Question 57

Our visual sensory receptor cells are located in the ___________.

A)cornea
B)fovea
C)optic nerve
D)retina

Question 58

Which of the following is true of the fovea?

A)It contains only rods.
B)It contains the highest concentration of cones.
C)It is located around the periphery of the retina.
D)It works best in low light conditions.

Question 59

The central portion of the retina is the ____________.

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

Question 60

The lens

A)is the transparent outer membrane of the eye that covers the pupil and iris.
B)allows one to focus on objects at different distances.
C)allows light initially to enter the eye.
D)controls the amount of light entering the eye.

Question 61

Visual distance and depth cues that require the use of both eyes are called _______________.

A)monocular cues
B)diocular cues
C)binocular cues
D)dichromatic cues

Question 62

Our ability to see objects as relatively stable and unchanging despite changing sensory information is called perceptual ___________.

A)closure
B)constancy
C)reversibility
D)coherency

Question 63

Prosopagnosia is the inability to

A)see far-away objects.
B)see objects in your peripheral vision.
C)perceive depth or distance.
D)recognize faces.

Question 64

Feature detection cells in the visual cortex respond primarily to features such as

A)colour and brightness.
B)size and distance.
C)angles and edges.
D)eyes,noses,and mouths.

Question 65

When we look at a white house,we can recognize it as a white house by day or night and from any angle.This is due to perceptual _____________.

A)closure
B)constancy
C)reversibility
D)coherency

Question 66

People with normal vision will perceive a pyramid whether they see the object from the side,top,or any other angle as long as the object is,in fact,a pyramid.This is an example of ________________.

A)shape constancy
B)size constancy
C)figure-ground
D)visual angle

Question 67

Although she is normally not aware of its existence,Ingrid discovers that she has a blind spot in her vision by closing one eye and focusing on a fixed point.What explains why Ingrid has this blind spot in her vision?

A)She suffers from retinal degeneration.
B)She is experiencing sensory adaptation.
C)No photoreceptors are located where the optic nerve leaves the eye.
D)There is insufficient light to activate her rods.

Question 68

Stewart is sitting in his office,which is lighted with a bluish neon light,eating a red apple.Even though the apple is bathed in bluish light,he continues to perceive it as red.This illustrates:

A)the trichromatic theory.
B)retinal disparity.
C)the opponent-process theory.
D)colour constancy.

Question 69

Kevin watches as his wife Denise walks toward the house.Even though Denise fills more and more of Kevin's visual field as she approaches,she does not appear to be growing larger as she moves closer to Kevin.This illustrates ______________.

A)relative size
B)size constancy
C)retinal disparity
D)linear perspective

Question 70

A blind spot is a part of the visual field we can't see,where the _____________ connects to the_____________.

A)retina;pupil
B)cornea;iris
C)optic nerve;retina
D)optic nerve;sclera

Question 71

Jan can see objects well up close,but they appear blurry from afar.She is probably ____________.

A)colour blind
B)nearsighted
C)farsighted
D)developing a cataract

Question 72

The ______________ carries sensory information from the retina to the brain areas where visual perception will occur.

A)fovea
B)lens
C)optic nerve
D)retina

Question 73

The ventral stream is a pathway extending from the visual cortex to the temporal lobe and is where ______________occurs.In contrast,the dorsal stream extends from the visual cortex to the parietal lobe of the cortex and is where ________________ occurs.

A)object recognition;depth and movement perception
B)depth and movement perception;object recognition
C)colour perception;control of eye movements
D)control of eye movements;colour perception

Question 74

The process by which rods and cones become more sensitive to light in response to lowered levels of illumination is called ______________.

A)afterimage resolution
B)light adaptation
C)dark adaptation
D)afterimage adaptation

Question 75

Which is the correct order of structures as visual information travels from the eye to the visual cortex?

A)LGN;optic chiasm;occipital lobe
B)optic chiasm;occipital lobe;LGN
C)LGN;occipital lobe;optic chiasm
D)optic chiasm;LGN;occipital lobe

Question 76

The visual information from each eye is split at the __________________,with half of the nerve fibres from each eye projecting to each half of the brain.

A)fovea
B)optic chiasm
C)lateral geniculate nucleus
D)visual cortex

Question 77

Visual information is sent to a part of the thalamus called the ______.

A)LGN
B)MLN
C)MGN
D)LMN

Question 78

Which of the following is true regarding the normal perception of faces?

A)We rely most on the nose and ears to identify faces.
B)The perception of faces is no different than the perception of any other object.
C)Viewing a face upside down makes it much more difficult to recognize facial expressions.
D)A part of the frontal lobe is specialized for facial recognition.

Question 79

Caleb has good vision and can easily recognize common objects.However,he cannot recognize people by looking at their faces.For example,Caleb often relies on the sound of her voice to be certain he is talking to his wife and not another person.Caleb suffers from a rare disease called _______________.

A)retinal disparity
B)prosopagnosia
C)parallaxia
D)tactile agnosia

Question 80

Why are we normally unaware of the blind spot in our vision?

A)Light does not normally fall on the blind spot.
B)Our brains "fill in" the missing visual information for us.
C)Despite the name,the blind spot does not actually prevent light in our visual field from being detected.
D)The blind spot is only an issue in very low light conditions.