Question 1

Perception is best defined as the interpretation of

Accepted Answer

Perception refers to the process of interpreting sensory information received by the brain. It involves the brain selecting, organizing, and interpreting sensory input from the environment. Therefore, Option B (sensory input) is the best definition of perception.

Question 2

Today, most developmental psychologists believe that sensations begin

Accepted Answer

Most developmental psychologists believe that sensations begin before birth and that early perceptions are coherent not chaotic. This is supported by research on fetal development, including studies on prenatal learning and sensitivity to various stimuli. Infants are also able to perceive and discriminate sensory information from birth, suggesting that their early perceptions are organized and meaningful rather than random and chaotic.

Question 3

A wave of light proceeds through to the back of the eye where it encounters and stimulates a receptor neuron. What process has taken place?

Accepted Answer

When a wave of light stimulates a receptor neuron in the eye, it is a process of sensation. Perception, thinking, and cognition all involve higher-level processing and interpretation of sensory information.

Question 4

If an adult were cloned, a nativist would predict that once born, the clone would

Accepted Answer

The answer of If an adult were cloned, a nativist...

Question 5

Nerves are stimulated during the process of _____, and the brain interprets this information in the process of _____.

Accepted Answer

Sensation refers to the process by which sensory receptors detect information from the environment and transmit it to the brain, while perception refers to the process by which the brain selects, organizes, and interprets sensory information in order to make sense of it. Therefore, nerves are stimulated during the process of sensation, while the brain interprets this information in the process of perception.

Question 6

Sensation refers to

Accepted Answer

Sensation refers to the stimulation of sensory neurons in the sense organs, which occurs in response to environmental stimuli such as light, sound, touch, etc. This stimulation produces neural impulses that are transmitted to the brain for further processing and interpretation.

Question 7

Dr. Violet is interested in how young children perceive color. In her study, Dr. Violet simultaneously shows young children two blobs of different color and measures the amount of time they focus on each blob. Dr. Violet's technique is knows a(n) _____ task.

Accepted Answer

Dr. Violet's technique of showing young children two blobs of different color and measuring the amount of time they focus on each blob is known as preferential looking.

Question 8

Who would be most likely to develop a theory hypothesizing that in order to interpret music, a person would have to hear many versions of the sound?

Accepted Answer

A constructivist would be most likely to develop a theory hypothesizing that in order to interpret music, a person would have to hear many versions of the sound. This is because constructivists believe that individuals construct their own understanding and interpretation of the world around them through experiences and interactions. By hearing multiple versions of a musical sound, a person would be able to construct a more comprehensive understanding and interpretation of the music.

Question 9

Habituation is best defined as the process of "learning to be _____" with a stimulus.

Accepted Answer

Habituation refers to the decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure to it. It can be described as "learning to be bored" with the stimulus, as it becomes less novel and interesting over time. The other options (A) smart, (B) you, and (D) free, do not accurately describe the process of habituation.

Question 10

Constructivists are likely to say that perceptions are

Accepted Answer

Constructivists believe that perceptions are built through sensory experience, meaning that they are shaped by the individual's interactions with the environment. They do not believe that perceptions are innate or developed prior to sensations, as experiences are necessary to construct perceptions. They also do not believe that perceptions are necessarily false, but instead are subjective and depend on the individual's interpretation of sensory information.

Question 11

Glinda jingles her keys in front of baby Elphaba's face, and she watches and smiles. Glinda continues to bring her keys up and jingle them in front of Elphaba because she appears to enjoy this game. After a while, though, Elphaba seems to lose interest in the game and no longer focuses on the keys when Glinda jingles them. This illustrates the process of

Accepted Answer

Habituation is the process of becoming less interested or responsive to a stimulus after repeated exposure to it. In this scenario, Elphaba initially found the jingling of the keys interesting and responded to them by watching and smiling. However, as Glinda continued to jingle the keys, Elphaba became habituated to the sound and lost interest.

Question 12

Peter believes that his newborn already detects a difference between when he walks away from her and when he walks toward her, and that she understands that these two actions will lead to different outcomes for her. Peter's beliefs are most similar to those of a(n)

Accepted Answer

Peter's belief in the infant's ability to perceive and understand a cause-and-effect relationship at such a young age aligns with the nativist perspective, which posits that humans are born with innate knowledge and abilities that guide their development. The other options (empiricist, psychoanalyst, humanist) do not focus specifically on innate abilities or early perceptual and cognitive development.

Question 13

A wave of sound proceeds through the auditory canal to the inner ear where receptor neurons on the basilar membrane are stimulated. The neurons send a message to the brain. When the brain receives the message, the result is a person thinking, "That sounds like my mom calling me for dinner." What has taken place?

Accepted Answer

Sensory receptors in the ear received the sound waves (sensation), and the brain interpreted the message as the sound of the person's mom calling them for dinner (perception). Therefore, both sensation and perception have taken place.

Question 14

If you turn on a floor fan, an infant will orient toward the sound. After a while, it will appear to lose interest in the spinning blades. The phenomenon underlying the loss of interest is known as

Accepted Answer

Habituation is the phenomenon where an individual becomes less responsive to a repeated stimulus over time. In this scenario, the infant initially orients towards the sound of the fan, but after a while, the sound becomes familiar, and the infant loses interest. This is an example of habituation. Discrimination refers to the ability to distinguish between different stimuli. Generalization refers to the tendency to respond to similar stimuli in the same way. Maturation refers to the natural biological growth and development that occurs over time.

Question 15

A(n) _____ task always involves attaching an electrode to a subject.

Accepted Answer

Evoked potentials are a type of neuroscience task that involves attaching electrodes to a subject's scalp or other parts of the body to measure electrical activity that is generated in response to a stimulus. This type of task is used to study sensory and cognitive processes in the brain. Habituation, preferential looking, and operant conditioning tasks do not always involve attaching electrodes.

Question 16

On a preferential looking task, a researcher measures

Accepted Answer

On a preferential looking task, the researcher measures how long an infant views each of the objects presented, and then determines which object the infant prefers by comparing the amount of time spent looking at each object. Usually, the object that the infant looks at the longest is the one that they prefer.

Question 17

If an adult were cloned, a constructivist would predict that once born, the clone would

Accepted Answer

According to constructivist theory, individuals must actively construct their understanding of the world through their experiences and interaction with the environment. Therefore, even if an adult were cloned, they would still have to learn and perceive the world as meaningful based on their own experiences.

Question 18

Which of the following is the best example of a perceptual process?

Accepted Answer

Perceptual processes involve interpreting sensory information to understand what is present in the environment. Realizing that the odor you smell is vanilla involves not just detecting the smell (a sensory process) but also interpreting and recognizing it as vanilla, which is a perceptual process. Choices A, B, and C describe sensory processes (hearing, seeing, and feeling, respectively) but do not explicitly involve the interpretation or recognition aspect that characterizes perception.

Question 19

In an effort to study the acquisition of speech, Dr. Verball reinforces an infant every time it makes a sound. Given this description, Dr. Verball's research method would best be described as a(n) _____ task.

Accepted Answer

Dr. Verball's reinforcement of infants every time they make a sound is an example of operant conditioning, which involves reinforcing or punishing behavior in order to shape future behavior.

Question 20

Nativists believe that

Accepted Answer

Nativists believe that humans have innate perceptual abilities, meaning that we are born with the ability to process certain types of information without any prior experience or learning. This perspective is in contrast to empiricists who believe that all knowledge comes from experience. Option B is incorrect as it represents the empiricist perspective. Option C is not necessarily true as it is too generalizing and not a core belief of nativism. Option D is also incorrect as nativists believe that genes play an important role in shaping our innate abilities and predispositions towards certain behaviors.

Quiz 6: Sensation, Perception, and Attention