Question 1

Methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer's sensitivity to the stimulus are called:

Accepted Answer

Psychophysics is the branch of psychology that deals with the relationships between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they produce.

Question 2

Which study would constitute one that is psychophysical?

Accepted Answer

A psychophysical study involves determining the relationship between physical stimuli (e.g. sound, light) and psychological experiences (e.g. perception). Option B involves determining the lowest-decibel sound that can be reliably detected by humans, which is a classic example of a psychophysical study.

Question 3

Tammy and Chad sent their toddler to time-out 10 minutes ago,and ever since,the boy has been crying.Tammy notes that the crying just decreased in volume ever so slightly and comments that perhaps he is beginning to settle down.From Chad's perspective,however,the boy is crying just as loudly as before.Tammy and Chad differ in the _____ threshold for detecting a sound.

Accepted Answer

Tammy and Chad differ in their ability to detect a difference threshold, which is the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli. In this case, Tammy is detecting a slight decrease in the volume of the crying, while Chad is not perceiving any change. This suggests that Tammy has a lower difference threshold for detecting changes in sound than Chad. The other answer choices do not accurately describe the concept illustrated in this scenario.

Question 4

The approximate absolute threshold for hearing is a clock's tick from 6 metres away when all is quiet.Given that information,which statements is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold is the minimum stimulus intensity required for detection 50% of the time, meaning a person will not hear the clock tick 50% of the time.

Question 5

On a clear,dark night,a person with normal vision can detect a candle flame 15 km away 50% of the time.This illustrates the approximate _____ for vision.

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold is the minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time, which in this case is the candle flame 15 km away.

Question 6

The minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus is called the:

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold refers to the minimum intensity needed to detect a stimulus at least 50% of the time. The just noticeable difference (A) refers to the smallest difference between two stimuli that can be detected. Receptive field (B) refers to the specific sensory stimuli that can activate a particular sensory neuron. The difference threshold (D) refers to the smallest detectable difference between two stimuli.

Question 7

Fifty percent of the time,a person with normal hearing will be able to detect a clock's ticking 6 metres away when all is quiet.This illustrates the approximate _____ for hearing.

Accepted Answer

The scenario described is an example of the absolute threshold, which is the minimum stimulation necessary for a person to detect a particular sensory input (in this case, the sound of a ticking clock).

Question 8

People are MOST sensitive to the range of tones corresponding to:

Accepted Answer

Human conversation typically falls within the frequency range of 300 to 3000 Hz, which is the range of tones that people are most sensitive to. This frequency range is important for speech perception and is the focus of many hearing tests and studies on auditory thresholds. While notes on a pipe organ or high-frequency dog whistles may be outside of this range, they may still be perceived by some individuals with sensitive hearing or specialized training. The sound made by striking a tuning fork typically produces a single tone and does not cover a range of tones.

Question 9

A mother scolds her teenage son to turn down his music.The son tells his mom that he will do so and turns the volume down slightly.A minute later,the mother cannot tell that her son complied with her request,so she yells at him.Apparently,the decrease in volume did not meet the mother's:

Accepted Answer

The difference threshold refers to the minimum change in a stimulus that can be detected. The mother's inability to notice the decrease in volume suggests that the change did not exceed her difference threshold.

Question 10

_____ states that the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity.

Accepted Answer

Weber's law states that the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity. This means that the minimum difference in stimulus intensity required to detect a change will increase proportionally with the intensity of the stimulus.

Question 11

Noelle wants to measure her cat's auditory threshold.She quietly whispers Ernie's name and slowly increases her volume until the cat turns and looks at her.Over the course of several days,she whispers ten times at each volume.The volume at which Ernie responds five times is called:

Accepted Answer

The volume at which Ernie responds five times (out of ten) is the minimum volume at which he can detect the sound, which is equivalent to the auditory threshold. Therefore, choice A, the absolute threshold, is the best answer. The other options are not relevant to this scenario: the just noticeable difference is the smallest detectable change in a stimulus, Weber's law is the principle that the relationship between a stimulus and its perceived intensity is logarithmic, and the relative threshold is not a recognized term in psychology.

Question 12

The just noticeable difference (JND)is the:

Accepted Answer

The just noticeable difference (JND) refers to the minimal change in a stimulus that can just barely be detected. It is a measure of sensitivity to small changes in a stimulus, and is often used in studies of sensory perception. Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

Question 13

The absolute threshold is the:

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold is the minimum intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus.

Question 14

Which study would constitute one that is psychophysical?

Accepted Answer

A psychophysical study involves measuring the relationship between physical stimuli and perceptual experiences. In this case, determining the smallest amount of sugar that can be added to water and still be perceived as sweet is measuring the relationship between a physical stimulus (sugar concentration) and a perceptual experience (taste perception).

Question 15

Early structuralist psychologists attempted to study perception using:

Accepted Answer

Early structuralist psychologists believed that perception was composed of basic sensory elements, and thus attempted to break down perception through introspection, in which individuals would report the contents of their experience in response to a stimulus.

Question 16

The approximate absolute threshold for taste is being able to detect a teaspoon of sugar dissolved in 8 liters of water.Given that information,which statements is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold is the minimum stimulus intensity required for detection 50% of the time, meaning a person will not detect the sugar 50% of the time.

Question 17

Stimuli that are presented at the absolute threshold will be detected _____% of the time.

Accepted Answer

Stimuli that are presented at the absolute threshold will be detected 50% of the time. This means that half of the time the person will detect the stimulus and the other half of the time they will not.

Question 18

Robert lightly taps the student sitting in front of him on the shoulder.The student doesn't notice,so Robert taps harder.The minimum pressure Robert must tap such that the other student notices half of the time is called:

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold is the minimum stimulation needed for a person to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time. In this scenario, Robert is attempting to determine the minimum pressure needed to reach this threshold.

Question 19

Stimuli that are presented slightly below the absolute threshold will:

Accepted Answer

Stimuli that are presented slightly below the absolute threshold will be detected less than 50% of the time. This is because they are too weak to activate enough sensory receptors to reach the threshold for conscious awareness.

Question 20

The field of psychophysics was FIRST developed by:

Accepted Answer

Psychophysics was first developed by Gustav Fechner, who established the relationship between physical stimuli and psychological experience in his book "Elemente der Psychophysik" (Elements of Psychophysics) published in 1860.

Quiz 4: Sensation and Perception

Methods that measure the strength of a stimulus and the observer's sensitivity to the stimulus are called:

Which study would constitute one that is psychophysical?

The approximate absolute threshold for hearing is a clock's tick from 6 metres away when all is quiet.Given that information,which statements is TRUE?

On a clear,dark night,a person with normal vision can detect a candle flame 15 km away 50% of the time.This illustrates the approximate _____ for vision.

The minimal intensity needed to just barely detect a stimulus is called the:

Fifty percent of the time,a person with normal hearing will be able to detect a clock's ticking 6 metres away when all is quiet.This illustrates the approximate _____ for hearing.

People are MOST sensitive to the range of tones corresponding to:

A mother scolds her teenage son to turn down his music.The son tells his mom that he will do so and turns the volume down slightly.A minute later,the mother cannot tell that her son complied with her request,so she yells at him.Apparently,the decrease in volume did not meet the mother's:

_____ states that the just noticeable difference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations in intensity.

Noelle wants to measure her cat's auditory threshold.She quietly whispers Ernie's name and slowly increases her volume until the cat turns and looks at her.Over the course of several days,she whispers ten times at each volume.The volume at which Ernie responds five times is called:

The just noticeable difference (JND) is the:

The absolute threshold is the:

Which study would constitute one that is psychophysical?

Early structuralist psychologists attempted to study perception using:

The approximate absolute threshold for taste is being able to detect a teaspoon of sugar dissolved in 8 liters of water.Given that information,which statements is TRUE?

Stimuli that are presented at the absolute threshold will be detected _____% of the time.

Robert lightly taps the student sitting in front of him on the shoulder.The student doesn't notice,so Robert taps harder.The minimum pressure Robert must tap such that the other student notices half of the time is called:

Stimuli that are presented slightly below the absolute threshold will:

The field of psychophysics was FIRST developed by: