Question 1

The extrasensory ability to perceive an automobile accident taking place in a distant location is to ________ as the extrasensory ability to know at any moment exactly what your best friend is thinking is to ________.

Accepted Answer

The first blank refers to the ability to perceive distant events, which is clairvoyance, and the second blank refers to knowing someone else's thoughts, which is telepathy.

Question 2

Weber's law is relevant to an understanding of

Accepted Answer

Weber's law, also known as the just noticeable difference (JND), states that the smallest difference between two stimuli that is detectable is a constant proportion of the intensity of the stimuli. This is relevant to an understanding of difference thresholds, or the minimum difference between two stimuli that a person can detect 50% of the time.

Question 3

The local fire department sounds the 12 o'clock whistle.The process by which your ears transform the sound waves from the siren into neural impulses is an example of

Accepted Answer

Transduction is the process by which sensory receptors convert stimulus energies into neural impulses that are sent to the brain. In this case, the sound waves from the siren are being transformed into neural impulses, which is an example of transduction. Threshold refers to the minimum level of stimulation needed for a person to perceive a stimulus. Signal detection is the ability to detect and identify a stimulus among other stimuli. Sensory adaptation refers to the process by which sensory receptors become less responsive to a constant stimulus over time.

Question 4

Psychics' suggestions that perception can occur apart from sensory input involve claims for the existence of

Accepted Answer

Psychics suggest that perception can occur apart from sensory input through ESP (extrasensory perception), which includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. However, these claims are not supported by scientific evidence. Phantom limb sensations, posthypnotic suggestion, and synesthesia are all examples of perceptions that can occur through sensory input or altered states of consciousness, rather than through ESP.

Question 5

The greatest difficulty facing contemporary parapsychology is the

Accepted Answer

Parapsychology faces the greatest difficulty in establishing a reproducible ESP phenomenon. Despite several studies and claims, there has been no consistent evidence of ESP under controlled settings, making it difficult for parapsychologists to establish its scientific validity.

Question 6

Telepathy refers to the

Accepted Answer

Telepathy specifically refers to the transmission of thoughts from one mind to another without using any of the five senses. Extrasensory perception (ESP) of remote events (choice B) is usually referred to as remote viewing. Perception of future events (choice C) is usually referred to as precognition. The ability to understand and share the emotions of another person (choice D) is usually referred to as empathy.

Question 7

Psychics who have worked with police departments in an effort to solve difficult crimes have demonstrated the value of

Accepted Answer

There is no scientific evidence to support the accuracy or effectiveness of psychics in solving crimes. While some may claim success in certain cases, these claims cannot be proven and are not accepted by the scientific community. Therefore, psychics cannot be considered a reliable or valid tool for police investigations.

Question 8

Joshua just watched a movie in which one of the characters could levitate objects.This is known as

Accepted Answer

Levitating objects is an example of psychokinesis, which is the ability to move objects with the power of the mind. Telepathy refers to the ability to read someone's thoughts, clairvoyance is the ability to see events or objects that are distant in space or time, and precognition is the ability to see or sense things before they happen. None of these abilities relate directly to levitating objects.

Question 9

Mathilda has been jogging and is now extremely thirsty.When she enters her home,the water bottle sitting on her counter seems closer to her than it actually is.This effect is related to the

Accepted Answer

The effect described is related to the influence of motivations (in this case, thirst) on perception, making the water bottle seem closer than it actually is. This phenomenon illustrates how our needs and desires can alter our perception of the environment.

Question 10

For some people,hearing certain sounds may activate color-sensitive regions of the cortex so as to trigger a sensation of color.This phenomenon is called

Accepted Answer

Synesthesia is a phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. In this case, hearing certain sounds may activate color-sensitive regions of the cortex, leading to a sensation of color. Tinnitus is a ringing in the ears and is not related to this phenomenon. Telepathy is a supposed ability to communicate with others through extrasensory perception and is not related to this phenomenon. Kinesthesia is the sense that enables us to perceive our own movements and the position and movement of our limbs and is also not related to this phenomenon.

Question 11

Parapsychology refers to the

Accepted Answer

Parapsychology is the study of phenomena that cannot be explained by natural science, such as ESP (extra-sensory perception), psychic abilities, and psychokinesis (the ability to move objects through mental concentration).

Question 12

Normal vision accompanied by prosopagnosia best illustrates the distinction between

Accepted Answer

Normal vision involves sensation, while prosopagnosia involves a deficit in perception of faces. This distinction highlights the difference between sensation (the raw sensory input) and perception (the interpretation of that input).

Question 13

Jamal claims that his special psychic powers enable him to perceive exactly where the body of a recent murder victim is secretly buried.Jamal is claiming to possess the power of

Accepted Answer

Clairvoyance is the ability to perceive objects or events that are not present to the senses. In this case, Jamal is claiming to perceive the exact location of a buried body, which qualifies as clairvoyance.

Question 14

Sam and Terrance both play baseball.Sam is generally a good hitter while Terrance is not.Sam tends to see the baseball coming toward him as bigger than Terrance does.This phenomenon is related to the

Accepted Answer

The phenomenon where Sam sees the baseball as bigger than Terrance does, likely because he is a good hitter and thus more motivated or confident in hitting the ball, illustrates the influence of motivations on perception. This suggests that our desires or motivations can affect how we perceive the world around us.

Question 15

If you move your watchband up your wrist an inch or so,you will feel it for only a few moments.This best illustrates

Accepted Answer

This situation best illustrates sensory adaptation, as when the watchband is moved up the wrist, the sensory receptors in that area will adjust to the new pressure and eventually stop sending signals to the brain, leading to a decrease in awareness of the sensation.

Question 16

Which of the following does NOT demonstrate the effect of emotions on perception?

Accepted Answer

Option C does not involve a changed perception due to emotions. Instead, it involves a behavioral response to emotions. Option A, B, and D involve altered perceptions due to emotions.

Question 17

The existence of convincing scientific evidence that ESP is possible would pose the greatest challenge to the

Accepted Answer

The existence of ESP would challenge contemporary scientific understanding of human nature, which assumes that our abilities are limited to what can be explained through physical and natural processes. ESP would suggest the possibility of a supernatural or paranormal realm, which would require a significant revision of our understanding of human nature.

Question 18

Margo insists that her dreams frequently enable her to perceive and predict future events.Margo is claiming to possess the power of

Accepted Answer

Margo's claim of perceiving and predicting future events aligns with the definition of precognition, which is the ability to see events that have not yet occurred. The other options (telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis) do not involve predicting future events.

Question 19

Researchers use priming to activate

Accepted Answer

Priming is used to activate unconscious associations, which are thoughts and feelings that we are not consciously aware of. This is done by exposing people to a stimulus (the prime) that is related to a subsequent stimulus (the target) that they will be asked to respond to. Priming can occur through visual, auditory, or semantic means.

Question 20

Andre claims that he can make a broken watch begin to run again simply by entering a state of intense mental concentration.Andre is claiming to possess the power of

Accepted Answer

Andre is claiming to have the power of psychokinesis, which is the ability to move or affect objects with the power of the mind. He believes that through intense mental concentration, he can make a broken watch run again, which would require some sort of manipulation of the physical object through mental means.

Quiz 6: Sensation and Perception

The extrasensory ability to perceive an automobile accident taking place in a distant location is to as the extrasensory ability to know at any moment exactly what your best friend is thinking is to .