Question 1

The smallest level of added or reduced stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred is known as the ________.

Accepted Answer

The difference threshold, also known as the just noticeable difference, is the smallest level of added or reduced stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred. Option B, absolute threshold, is the minimum amount of stimulation necessary for a person to detect a stimulus 50% of the time. Option C, adaptation threshold, refers to the point at which the sensory system becomes less responsive to a constant stimulus. Option D is not a recognized term in the study of perception.

Question 2

"It's so noisy! How can you stand it?" remarks Caitlyn as the thruway traffic screams past her friend Dave's ground floor apartment. "I don't even notice it anymore," Dave replies. This exchange best exemplifies the concept of:

Accepted Answer

Adaptation refers to the process of getting used to a new or changing environment or stimulus over time. In this scenario, Dave has adapted to the noise of the traffic outside his apartment and no longer notices it, while Caitlyn is still sensitive to it. Therefore, the best choice is A) adaptation.

Question 3

________ states that a just noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the intensity of an initial stimulus.

Accepted Answer

Weber's law, also known as the Weber-Fechner law, states that there is a constant proportion between the magnitude of a physical stimulus and the perception of its change. Specifically, the just noticeable difference (JND) between two stimuli is a constant fraction of the intensity of the initial stimulus. This means that the smaller the initial stimulus, the smaller the JND will be, reflecting a proportional increase in sensitivity as stimulus intensity increases. Weber's law is applicable to a wide range of sensory and cognitive domains, including vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, as well as basic decision-making and response time tasks.

Question 4

Acme Foods wants to make its chips saltier, but it doesn't want to spend more than it has to on salt. A sample of consumers is asked to compare its current chips variety (saltiness = 100) with saltier versions and to say whether the new versions are saltier. On an average, sample consumers reliably say that a new chips variety is saltier when its saltiness value is 108, but not when its saltiness value is below 108. Assuming Acme Foods' sample consumers are representative of people in general, which of the following percentage values best represents the just noticeable difference for saltiness?

Accepted Answer

The just noticeable difference (JND) is the smallest difference between two stimuli that can be perceived by an observer. In this case, the JND for saltiness is 8%, as the sample consumers reliably noticed a difference when the saltiness value increased by 8%, but not when it was lower than that. Therefore, the correct answer is A.

Question 5

The study of the relationship between the physical aspects of stimuli and our psychological experience of them is known as ________.

Accepted Answer

Psychophysics is the only option that specifically deals with the relationship between physical stimuli and psychological experience. The other options, while related to psychology, do not specifically address this aspect of it.

Question 6

Which of the following sequences best reflects the order in which light passes through the structures of the eye during the process of vision?

Accepted Answer

Light first enters the eye through the cornea, then passes through the pupil (the opening in the iris), is focused by the lens, and finally reaches the retina at the back of the eye.

Question 7

Under ideal circumstances, it is possible for someone to detect a single drop of perfume diffused in an area equivalent to that of a one-bedroom apartment. This is due to:

Accepted Answer

The ability to detect a single drop of perfume in a one-bedroom apartment is an example of absolute threshold, which is the lowest level of stimuli that can be detected by an organism.

Question 8

The ________ is a dark hole in the center of the ________, the colored part of the eye.

Accepted Answer

The pupil is the dark hole in the center of the iris, which is the colored part of the eye. The cornea is the clear outer layer of the eye, and the lens is a clear structure behind the iris that helps to focus light onto the retina.

Question 9

Which of the following laws best explains why a person in a quiet room is more startled by the ringing of a telephone than a person who is already in a noisy room?

Accepted Answer

Weber's law explains the principle of just noticeable difference, which states that the ability to detect a change in the intensity of a stimulus depends on the intensity of the original stimulus. In a quiet room, a small change in noise level (like a ringing telephone) is more noticeable compared to a noisy environment, where the same change is less perceptible.

Question 10

A snack manufacturer realizes that he must increase the salt content of his company's chips by at least 3% for a sample of consumers to notice that the chips are saltier than they were before. This scenario best illustrates the concept of a(n):

Accepted Answer

The difference threshold, also known as the just noticeable difference (jnd), refers to the minimum difference in stimulation that a person can detect 50% of the time. In this scenario, the minimum increase in salt content that consumers can detect as being saltier illustrates the concept of the difference threshold.

Question 11

The law relating the value of a stimulus along some dimension to the just noticeable difference is ________ law.

Accepted Answer

Weber's law states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli is proportional to the magnitude of the stimuli along some dimension.

Question 12

________ is an adjustment in sensory capacity after prolonged exposure to unchanging stimuli.

Accepted Answer

Adaptation is the process by which the sensory system adjusts to constant or repetitive stimuli. This allows the sensory system to remain responsive to changes in the environment and filter out irrelevant information. Accommodation refers to the ability of the eye to adjust its focus, acclimation is the process by which an organism adjusts to a new environment, and attenuation refers to the reduction of intensity or amplitude of a signal.

Question 13

Dr. Breiland examines the relationship between the physical properties of light, such as its amplitude and wavelength, and the human perception of color. Which of the following terms best describes Dr. Breiland's field of study?

Accepted Answer

Dr. Breiland's field of study involves examining the relationship between physical properties of light and human perception, which falls under the discipline of psychophysics. Developmental psychology focuses on the study of human development over time, thermodynamics pertains to the study of heat and energy transfer, and experimental psychology covers a wide range of experimental methods to study behavior and mental processes.

Question 14

A(n) ________ is the smallest intensity of a stimulus that must be present for the stimulus to be detected.

Accepted Answer

The definition provided is describing the concept of absolute threshold, which is the smallest amount of stimulus energy that can be detected by an observer. The other answer choices are not accurate descriptions of this concept.

Question 15

In the context of what one can see, the range of wavelengths that humans can detect is called the ________.

Accepted Answer

The visual spectrum is the range of wavelengths that humans can detect through their sense of sight. Option A (power spectrum) refers to a mathematical representation of a signal, Option B (mass spectrum) is a range of masses in a sample, and Option C (frequency spectrum) is a range of frequencies in a signal.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is true of sensation and perception?

Accepted Answer

Sensation refers to the physical and neurological processes that occur when sensory receptors are stimulated by a stimulus in the environment. Perception, on the other hand, involves the interpretation of these sensations by the brain. In other words, sensation involves the activation of sense receptors, while perception involves the interpretation and processing of sensory information. Therefore, option D is the correct statement.

Question 17

The ________ bends light as it passes through and focuses the light more sharply.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The ________ bends light as it passes...

Question 18

Which of the following statements best explains the meaning of the term noise as psychophysicists use it?

Accepted Answer

Psychophysicists use the term "noise" to refer to a background stimulation that interferes with the perception of other stimuli, not necessarily exclusively auditory, that may or may not be unwanted or unpleasant.

Question 19

Weber's law states that a just noticeable difference is a ________.

Accepted Answer

According to Weber's law, a just noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the intensity of an initial stimulus. This means that the difference threshold between two stimuli is not a fixed amount, but rather a percentage of the initial stimulus intensity. For example, the difference threshold for detecting a change in weight would be larger for a heavier object than for a lighter object.

Question 20

A person can forget where his or her sunglasses are placed even though they are on top of his or her head. Which of the following statements best explains this phenomenon?

Accepted Answer

Sensory nerve receptors can adapt to constant stimuli, leading to a decrease in sensitivity over time, which is why the sensation of the sunglasses might not be noticed.

Quiz 3: Reading and Remembering