Question 1

The collection of processes used to arrive at a meaningful interpretation of an experience is called perception.

Accepted Answer

Perception involves the collection and interpretation of sensory information in order to make sense of an experience.

Question 2

Gerard is making some chicken soup.His roommate tastes it and tells Gerard it is perfect, but Gerard thinks it needs more salt.He adds just a little salt and thinks that now it tastes fine.However, his roommate tastes it again and tells Gerard that now it is ruined because it has too much salt.Based on research conducted by psychophysicists you should conclude that compared to his roommate, Gerard has:

Accepted Answer

The scenario described in the question is an example of difference threshold, which is the smallest amount of change in a stimulus that can be detected. Gerard added a little bit of salt which was enough to make a difference for him, but too much for his roommate. This means that Gerard has a higher difference threshold for the taste of salt than his roommate.

Question 3

The trichromatic theory proposed by Young and Helmholtz suggests that when short-wavelength cones are strongly activated, people will perceive colors in the violet to blue range.

Accepted Answer

According to the trichromatic theory, short-wavelength cones (also known as blue cones) are responsible for perceiving colors in the blue to violet range.

Question 4

Walter has been working at his computer for the past 2 hours and the hum that he found so annoying when he started no longer bothers him.The change in Walter's sensitivity to the noise from the computer illustrates the principle of:

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation refers to the decrease in sensitivity to a constant or unchanging stimulus over time. In this scenario, Walter's decreased sensitivity to the noise from his computer after working on it for 2 hours is an example of sensory adaptation.

Question 5

When you move from a brightly lit environment into a dark environment, such as a movie theater, it takes about 20-25 minutes for your eyes to completely adapt to the lower illumination.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. It takes some time for your eyes to adjust to the lower illumination, and it generally takes around 20-25 minutes for full adaptation.

Question 6

Sensory adaptation occurs for:

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation can occur in all the senses including vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. It is the process by which the sensitivity of the sensory receptor decreases in response to a constant stimulus.

Question 7

Of the roughly 126 million receptor cells within each eye, about 120 million are cones and 6 million are rods.

Accepted Answer

Of the roughly 126 million receptor cells within each eye, about 120 million are rods, which are responsible for vision in low light, and 6 million are cones, which are responsible for color vision and detail in bright light.

Question 8

Psychophysicists define sensory adaptation as:

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation is the tendency of sensory systems to reduce sensitivity to a constant source of stimulation. This allows the sensory system to adjust to a constant background stimulation and focus on detecting any changes or variations in the stimulation. A is incorrect as it describes sensory facilitation. B is incorrect as it describes the threshold for detecting a stimulus. D is incorrect as it describes the just noticeable difference.

Question 9

Hering's opponent-process theory suggests that the colors red and blue and the colors green and yellow are linked to each other as opposing colors.

Accepted Answer

Hering's opponent-process theory suggests that the colors red and green and the colors blue and yellow are linked to each other as opposing colors, not red and blue or green and yellow.

Question 10

The tendency of sensory systems to reduce sensitivity to a constant source of stimulation is called:

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation refers to the tendency of our sensory systems to become less sensitive to a constant source of stimulation over time, resulting in decreased or even complete loss of responsiveness to the stimulus.

Question 11

Weber's law states that:

Accepted Answer

Weber's law states that the ability to notice a difference in the magnitude of two stimuli is a constant proportion of the size of the standard stimulus. This means that the noticeable difference between two stimuli is not a fixed amount but rather a percentage of the initial stimulus.

Question 12

Gertrude put on a new watch this morning and found it uncomfortable because it was so much heavier than her old watch.However, at 3:00 o'clock when someone asks her for the time Gertrude finds she has forgotten she is even wearing the watch.The change in Gertrude's sensitivity to the pressure of the watch illustrates the principle of:

Accepted Answer

Gertrude's experience of forgetting she is wearing the watch indicates that she has adapted to the pressure sensation, which can be explained by the principle of sensory adaptation. This principle states that our senses adapt to constant or unchanging stimuli over time, leading to a decrease in sensitivity to them. This phenomenon can apply to any of our senses, including touch (as in Gertrude's case), as well as vision, hearing, taste, and smell.

Question 13

During vision, changes in the intensity of light, which is determined by the amount of light falling on an object, are generally experienced as changes in color or hue.

Accepted Answer

Changes in the intensity of light are generally experienced as changes in brightness or saturation, not color or hue. Color or hue changes are typically the result of changes in wavelength or frequency of the light.

Question 14

When an object is far away the lens in the eye is relatively long and thick; as objects move closer, muscles attached to the lens contract and the lens becomes thicker and rounder.

Accepted Answer

This is correct. The lens in the eye changes shape to adjust the focus depending on the distance of the object being viewed. When an object is far away, the lens is relatively long and thick, but as it moves closer, the muscles attached to the lens contract and the lens becomes thicker and rounder, allowing the eye to focus on the object.

Question 15

The elementary features or building blocks of experience are the basis of sensation.

Accepted Answer

Sensation refers to the process of receiving information from the environment through our sensory organs, such as eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. The elementary features or building blocks of experience, such as color, texture, shape, sound, taste, and temperature, are the basis of sensation. These features are detected by our sensory receptors and transmitted to the brain, where they are organized and interpreted to form perceptual experiences.

Question 16

Individuals who wear glasses on their face would always see the frames blocking their vision if the human nervous system didn't respond to unchanging stimulation through:

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation is the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system adapt to an unchanging or constant stimulus, gradually decreasing our sensitivity to it. In the case of wearing glasses, the frames are a constant visual stimulus that our nervous system adapts to, allowing us to eventually ignore or perceive them as part of our visual field. Therefore, A is the best choice as it accurately describes the process involved in overcoming the obstruction of glasses frames. Perceptual invariance refers to the ability to recognize an object as the same despite changes in the angle or distance from which it is viewed, perceptual assimilation is the process of incorporating new information into existing knowledge, and changing difference thresholds refer to the minimum difference in intensity or stimulus required for a person to detect a change. These concepts are not directly related to the issue of glasses obstructing vision.

Question 17

Brent dives into a swimming pool and instantly feels cold.However, 10 minutes later the pool actually feels comfortably warm.The change in Brent's sensitivity to the temperature of the pool illustrates the principle of:

Accepted Answer

Brent's decreased sensitivity to the temperature of the pool over time is an example of sensory adaptation, which refers to the brain's tendency to become less responsive to constant or unchanging stimuli. As Brent spends more time in the pool, his sensory receptors stop signaling the sensation of coldness to his brain as strongly, leading to an increased perception of warmth. The other answer choices do not accurately describe this phenomenon. Perceptual invariance refers to the brain's ability to recognize an object regardless of variations in its sensory input, while perceptual assimilation refers to the tendency to perceive ambiguous stimuli in a way that fits preexisting expectations. Changing difference thresholds refer to the minimum amount of change required in a stimulus for an observer to detect the difference.

Question 18

After passing the optic chiasm, the majority of the neural impulses from the eyes travel directly to a major relay station in the midbrain called the superior colliculus.

Accepted Answer

After passing the optic chiasm, the majority of the neural impulses from the eyes travel to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus, which serves as a major relay station for visual information en route to the primary visual cortex, not the superior colliculus. The superior colliculus is involved in visual reflexes and eye movements.

Question 19

Hubel and Weisel discovered feature detectors in the visual cortex, called simple cells, that responded actively only when a small bar of light, with a specific orientation, was displayed.

Accepted Answer

This statement is true. Hubel and Weisel did discover feature detectors in the visual cortex called simple cells that respond actively only when a small bar of light with a specific orientation was displayed.

Question 20

People would constantly be aware of the pressure of their clothing on their skin if the human nervous system didn't respond to unchanging stimulation through:

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation refers to the decreasing responsiveness of sensory receptors to unchanging stimulation. Therefore, if the human nervous system didn't respond to unchanging stimulation, sensory adaptation would not occur, causing people to constantly be aware of the pressure of their clothing on their skin.

Quiz 5: Sensation and Perception