Question 1

The tiny bones in the middle ear serve to transfer incoming sound waves from the cochlea to the basilar membrane.

Accepted Answer

The tiny bones in the middle ear (the malleus, incus, and stapes) transfer incoming sound waves from the eardrum to the oval window of the cochlea, not directly to the basilar membrane. The cochlea then converts these vibrations into neural signals.

Question 2

The decreasing sensitivity of sensory receptors to a constant stimulus is called sensory adaptation.

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation refers to the process by which sensory receptors become less sensitive to constant stimuli, allowing organisms to focus on changes in their environment rather than unchanging background stimuli.

Question 3

With ageing, the eyeball typically becomes longer over time, contributing to the development of hyperopia.

Accepted Answer

With ageing, the eyeball typically does not become longer; instead, it can change in ways that contribute to the development of presbyopia or worsen myopia. Hyperopia (farsightedness) is more commonly associated with a shorter eyeball.

Question 4

Sound localization is made possible by how the nervous system processes the time and intensity differences of sounds arriving at the two ears.

Accepted Answer

Sound localization is based on the brain's ability to process the differences in the time it takes for a sound to reach each ear (interaural time difference) and the difference in the intensity or loudness of the sound at each ear (interaural level difference). These differences help the brain determine the direction from which a sound is coming.

Question 5

The frequency of a sound corresponds to our perception of the loudness of the sound.

Accepted Answer

The frequency of a sound corresponds to our perception of its pitch, not loudness. Loudness is related to the sound's amplitude.

Question 6

Under conditions of low illumination, cones are most sensitive to light in the green-yellow part of the colour spectrum.

Accepted Answer

Cones are most sensitive to light in the green-yellow part of the colour spectrum under conditions of low illumination.

Question 7

There are significantly more rods than cones located in the fovea.

Accepted Answer

The fovea is densely packed with cones and contains very few rods, making it the region of the retina responsible for sharp central vision.

Question 8

When various pieces of visual information related to a stimulus object are processed simultaneously it is referred to as parallel processing.

Accepted Answer

Parallel processing refers to the brain's ability to simultaneously process incoming stimuli of differing quality, such as color, shape, and motion, which is essential for visual recognition and interpretation.

Question 9

Perception has been likened to the process of creating a theory, and perceptual sets are the representations or images that we make use of to test our perceptual theories.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Perception has been likened to the process...

Question 10

Research on the impact of subliminal stimuli has shown that they have a stronger effect on behaviour than they do on attitudes.

Accepted Answer

Research on subliminal stimuli suggests that while they can influence attitudes or preferences to some extent, their effect on behavior is generally weak and inconsistent. The impact on attitudes is more commonly observed and studied, but even then, it is limited and context-dependent.

Question 11

The fact that a door appears to have the same shape whether we look at it from the side or front-on is an example of what is called a perceptual constancy.

Accepted Answer

Perceptual constancy refers to our ability to see objects as appearing the same even under different lighting conditions, at different distances and angles, or when their context changes. This phenomenon allows us to perceive the shape, size, and color of objects as constant even when the angle of observation, distance, or lighting changes, as in the case of a door appearing to retain its shape whether viewed from the side or front-on.

Question 12

The Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory of colour vision is based on the laws of additive colour mixture and argues that each of the three types of cones is most sensitive to one wavelength of light.

Accepted Answer

The Young-Helmholtz trichromatic theory of color vision posits that the human eye has three types of receptors (cones) sensitive to three specific wavelengths of light, corresponding to red, green, and blue. This theory explains how different colors are perceived through the additive mixing of these primary colors.

Question 13

Sensation is to stimulus detection as perception is to sense-making.

Accepted Answer

Sensation involves the process of detecting environmental stimuli, while perception involves interpreting and making sense of those stimuli.

Question 14

The opponent-process theory of colour combines the dual-process and trichromatic theories of colour.

Accepted Answer

The opponent-process theory of color vision is distinct from the trichromatic theory. It suggests that color perception is controlled by the activity of two opponent systems: a blue-yellow mechanism and a red-green mechanism, in addition to a black-white mechanism for brightness, which contrasts with the trichromatic theory's focus on three types of cones sensitive to different wavelengths.

Question 15

The four tactile sensations that people are sensitive to are pressure, warmth, pain, and cold.

Accepted Answer

These are indeed the four primary tactile sensations that the human sensory system can detect through the skin.

Question 16

The Gestalt law of proximity states that elements that are near one another are likely to be perceived as part of the same configuration.

Accepted Answer

The Gestalt law of proximity suggests that objects or shapes that are close to one another appear to form groups even if they are completely different.

Question 17

Research has suggested that endorphins play a significant role in the phenomenon of menstrual synchrony.

Accepted Answer

Research has not found a significant role for endorphins in menstrual synchrony; instead, studies have largely debunked the phenomenon, suggesting that menstrual synchrony among women living together is due to chance rather than biological factors like endorphins.

Question 18

The two complementary processes involved in attention are focusing on certain stimuli and filtering out other information.

Accepted Answer

Focusing on certain stimuli allows us to direct our attention to specific aspects of our environment, while filtering out other information helps us ignore irrelevant or distracting stimuli, ensuring that our cognitive resources are allocated efficiently.

Question 19

The scientific area of psychophysics is concerned with the determination of absolute thresholds and difference thresholds.

Accepted Answer

Psychophysics is the branch of psychology that deals with the relationships between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they produce, focusing on determining absolute thresholds (the minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected) and difference thresholds (the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection of a difference).

Question 20

The smallest difference between two stimuli that people can perceive 50% of the time is called the absolute threshold.

Accepted Answer

The smallest difference between two stimuli that people can perceive 50% of the time is called the just noticeable difference (JND) or differential threshold, not the absolute threshold. The absolute threshold refers to the minimum intensity of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time.

Quiz 5: Sensation and Perception