Question 1

Odors trigger firing of receptor neurons in the olfactory membrane high in each nostril.

Accepted Answer

Odor molecules bind to receptors on the olfactory membrane, triggering the firing of receptor neurons in the nose.

Question 2

Retinal disparity causes feelings of tension in the eye muscles and provides a binocular cue for depth.

Accepted Answer

Retinal disparity does not cause feelings of tension in the eye muscles; it refers to the slight difference in the images projected on the retina of each eye, which the brain uses as a cue for perceiving depth.

Question 3

Kinesthesis is about motion and perception. In kinesthesis, sensory information is fed back to the brain from sensory organs in the joints, tendons, and muscles.

Accepted Answer

Kinesthesis involves sensory information from joints, tendons, and muscles related to motion and perception.

Question 4

The organ of Corti is a membrane that lies coiled within the cochlea.

Accepted Answer

The organ of Corti is not a membrane; it is a complex structure located on the basilar membrane inside the cochlea, containing hair cells that act as sensory receptors for hearing.

Question 5

Humans can detect the odor of 1 one-millionth of a milligram of vanilla in a liter of air.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Humans have a very sensitive sense of smell and can detect certain odors at very low concentrations. The ability to detect 1 one-millionth of a milligram of vanilla in a liter of air is an example of this sensitivity.

Question 6

Joy and her family moved to a subdivision near a train track. At first, every night at midnight and every afternoon at 5 p.m., Joy could hear the train go by. She thought it would drive her crazy. But after a few weeks, she didn't notice it at all. Joy had become desensitized to the stimulation of the sound of the train.

Accepted Answer

The passage states that Joy became desensitized to the sound of the train and didn't notice it after a few weeks, indicating that she had become accustomed to the stimulation.

Question 7

Researchers historically agreed on four primary taste qualities: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

Accepted Answer

This is a true statement. However, in recent years, a fifth taste quality called umami (savory or meaty) has been recognized by researchers.

Question 8

Cochlear implants contain microphones that sense sounds and electronic equipment that transmits sounds past damaged hair cells to stimulate the auditory nerve.

Accepted Answer

This is a correct description of how cochlear implants work.

Question 9

Cones allow us to see in black and white, while rods provide color vision. Cones are more sensitive to dim light than rods are.

Accepted Answer

This statement is incorrect. Cones are responsible for color vision, while rods detect light and dark, providing vision in low-light conditions.

Question 10

Pitch and loudness are two psychological dimensions of sound. The pitch of a sound is determined by its frequency, or the number of cycles per second as expressed in the unit hertz (Hz). The loudness of a sound is expressed in decibels (dB).

Accepted Answer

This is correct according to the commonly accepted scientific definitions of pitch and loudness.

Question 11

When we think of the eye as the camera to the world, the photosensitive surface is called the lens, which contains photoreceptors called rods and cones.

Accepted Answer

The lens is actually a clear structure that helps to focus light onto the photosensitive surface of the retina, which is where the rods and cones are found.

Question 12

The difference between sensation and perception is that sensation, or the stimulation of our senses, is an automated process resulting from sources of energy (light and sound) or the presence of chemicals (as in taste and smell), while perception is an active process in which sensations are organized and interpreted to form an inner representation of the world.

Accepted Answer

Sensation and perception are two different processes in which sensation is an automated process resulting from stimuli, and perception is an active process in which sensations are organized and interpreted to form an inner representation of the world.

Question 13

Melzack's view that neurons in the spine can simultaneously transmit only a limited amount of information, so that stimulation of neurons from many regions can limit the perception of pain in one region is called gate theory of pain.

Accepted Answer

Melzack's theory is known as the gate theory of pain and it proposes that stimulation of non-painful sensory nerve fibers can close the "gate" to painful stimuli in the spinal cord, reducing pain perception.

Question 14

The part of the electro-magnetic spectrum that stimulates the eye and produces visual sensations is called visible light.

Accepted Answer

Visible light is the part of the electro-magnetic spectrum that stimulates the eye and produces visual sensations.

Question 15

Early in the 20th century, Gestalt psychologists noted certain consistencies in the way we integrate bits and pieces of sensory stimulation into meaningful wholes. This group of rules is referred to as the laws of similarity.

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt psychologists identified several principles for how we organize sensory information into meaningful patterns, including the law of similarity, but also other laws such as proximity, closure, continuity, and figure-ground. The laws of similarity is just one part of the broader Gestalt principles of perception.

Question 16

Genetic components do not contribute to an individual's sensitivity to basic tastes.

Accepted Answer

Genetic components do contribute to an individual's sensitivity to basic tastes. Variations in genes responsible for encoding taste receptors can lead to differences in how people taste and perceive different flavors.

Question 17

The Hering-Helmholtz illusion is a visual illusion.

Accepted Answer

The Hering-Helmholtz illusion is a well-known visual illusion that affects the perception of straight lines.

Question 18

Active touching means continuously moving your hand along the surface of an object so that you continue to receive sensory input from the object.

Accepted Answer

Active touching involves moving the hand along the surface of an object to receive continuous sensory input, as opposed to passive touching where the hand remains still and receives limited information.

Question 19

Psychophysicist Ernst Weber discovered through laboratory research that the threshold for perceiving differences in the intensity of light. His research became known as the difference threshold.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Psychophysicist Ernst Weber discovered through laboratory research...

Question 20

Your friends had to tell what the painting meant because all you could see was a bunch of random dots on the canvas. You are most likely using Bottom-up processing.

Accepted Answer

Bottom-up processing involves perceiving individual elements of a stimulus and combining them to form a cohesive whole. In this case, the person is only perceiving the "random dots," indicating that they are relying on the individual elements rather than the overall meaning of the painting.

Quiz 3: Sensation and Perception