Question 1

Haley is very upset about her hearing loss,but she is thrilled when the doctor tells her that they can treat her deafness by breaking apart the bones in her middle ear.Haley is experiencing ____ deafness.

Accepted Answer

Haley's hearing loss is being caused by a problem with the conduction of sound waves from her outer ear to her inner ear. This can be treated by breaking apart the bones in her middle ear to improve the transmission of sound waves. Therefore, Haley is experiencing conduction deafness.

Question 2

Tim and Amy are listening to their TV surround-sound system.They are impressed with the low tones of the grizzly bear in the movie that they are watching.Tim and Amy are happy with the ____ of sound.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Tim and Amy are listening to their...

Question 3

When he watches the movie Halloween,Julio gets creeped out by the music.When you laugh at him,he says,"Those repetitive high notes on the piano scare me out of my mind! Even if I can barely hear the music,it still freaks me out." Julio is referring to the ____ of the music.

Accepted Answer

Julio is referring to the repetitive high notes on the piano which are an aspect of the pitch of the music. Loudness refers to the volume, timbre refers to the quality of the sound, and compression refers to the process of reducing the dynamic range of a recording.

Question 4

Shane was on the rifle team all through high school and college.After years of exposure to the excessive noise of gunfire,Shane became partially deaf when the hair cells in his ears were damaged.Shane most likely has ____ deafness.

Accepted Answer

Shane most likely has nerve deafness, also known as sensorineural hearing loss, which occurs when there is damage to the hair cells in the cochlea or the auditory nerve pathways. This type of hearing loss is often caused by exposure to loud noises, such as gunfire.

Question 5

Terry loves to listen to the violin.As a joke,Carry replaces Terry's favorite CD,"Sounds of the Violin," with the CD "Sounds of the Cello." When the music starts playing,Terry immediately knows that the sounds were not made by the violin because each instrument has a unique ____.

Accepted Answer

Timbre refers to the quality of sound that is unique to each instrument, regardless of pitch or frequency. In this case, Terry was able to recognize that the sound was not made by a violin based on the timbre.

Question 6

As you listen to your brilliant psychology instructor in class,the sound will travel through which of the following paths?

Accepted Answer

The correct path for sound to travel from the outer ear to the brain is: pinna (the outer part of the ear that we can see, which captures sound waves), acoustic nerve (which carries the sound information from the cochlea to the brain), thalamus (a relay station in the brain for sensory information), and finally the primary auditory cortex (where the brain processes auditory information).

Question 7

The ____ theory best explains the phenomena of complementary colors.

Accepted Answer

The opponent-process theory suggests that our visual system processes colors in opposing pairs, such as red-green and blue-yellow. This theory can explain the phenomenon of complementary colors, where colors that are opposite on the color wheel (such as red and green) create a strong contrast and enhance each other's perception.

Question 8

Most of the properties that make food taste good are the ____.

Accepted Answer

While the tactile properties of food (like texture and mouthfeel) and the activities of the taste system (which detect sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami flavors) do play a role in our experience of food, the vast majority of what we consider "taste" actually comes from odors detected by the olfactory system. This is why food often seems to have less flavor when we have a cold or stuffy nose that limits our ability to smell. Leptin, on the other hand, is a hormone that helps regulate appetite and metabolism and is not directly related to our perception of taste.

Question 9

Brittany observed that the people having conversations on cell phones are quite loud-spoken,while those having conversations on pay phones were quite soft-spoken.Those using cell phones are producing a higher ____ of sound waves than are those using pay phones.

Accepted Answer

The amplitude of a sound wave refers to the magnitude of the pressure changes produced by the sound. Higher amplitude corresponds to louder sound. Therefore, people using cell phones are producing a higher amplitude (i.e., louder) sound wave than those using pay phones. Frequency, timbre, and wavelength are not directly related to the observed difference in loudness between the two types of phones.

Question 10

While at the bookstore,you listen in on an author speaking to a crowd of fans about her research and experience working with color in the clothing industry.She talks about the biology behind color,including how our eyes have thousands of receptors that are each sensitive to a different range of light wavelengths.As she continues,you realize she is explaining the ____ theory of color vision.

Accepted Answer

The trichromatic theory of color vision explains that our eyes have three types of color receptors, each sensitive to a different range of light wavelengths. This theory was first proposed by Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz in the early 19th century and is widely accepted today. The author's mention of thousands of receptors sensitive to different ranges of light wavelengths aligns with the trichromatic theory.

Question 11

The ____ sense is the only one that does not send information to the cortex via the thalamus.

Accepted Answer

The olfactory sense is unique in that it bypasses the thalamus and sends sensory information directly to the olfactory cortex in the brain. Therefore, the correct choice is C) olfactory. The auditory, visual, and cutaneous senses all send sensory information to the cortex via the thalamus.

Question 12

Transduction of auditory information takes place in the ____.

Accepted Answer

Transduction of auditory information takes place in the cochlea, a spiral-shaped organ in the inner ear that contains thousands of hair cells which convert sound waves into neural signals that can be transmitted to the brain. The fovea is a small area in the retina of the eye responsible for central vision, the pinna is the external part of the ear that collects sound waves, and the malleus is one of three tiny bones in the middle ear that amplify sound waves. None of these structures are directly involved in the transduction of auditory information.

Question 13

In a freak accident involving ice,a potato gun,and a ballpoint pen,Justin damages part of his ear.Now Justin can no longer generate vibrations that match the sound waves entering his ear.Justin has most likely damaged his ____.

Accepted Answer

The tympanic membrane, or eardrum, is responsible for converting sound waves into vibrations. Damage to it would prevent the generation of vibrations that match incoming sound waves.

Question 14

Creighton has been working in construction for many years.At first,his co-workers warn him to wear earplugs,but he refuses.Now he can no longer hear sounds at high pitches.Creighton's ____ have been damaged.

Accepted Answer

Hair cells in the inner ear are responsible for detecting sound vibrations and converting them into electrical signals that are sent to the brain. Repeated exposure to loud noises without appropriate protection can damage these hair cells, leading to hearing loss.

Question 15

Dr.Laboy's research on human hearing shows that if a person listens to a tone of 1,000 cycles per second (hertz),the acoustic nerve produces 1,000 action potentials per second.Dr.Laboy's results support the idea of ____.

Accepted Answer

Dr. Laboy's research supports the volley theory, which suggests that groups of neurons take turns firing in order to produce action potentials that match the frequency of the sound wave. In this case, the auditory nerve produces 1,000 action potentials per second when a tone of 1,000 Hz is heard, which is consistent with the volley theory. Topographical representation and convergence are not relevant to this specific research, and the place theory is not supported by the findings presented.

Question 16

Ophelia has two types of cones: those sensitive to red light and those sensitive to green light.Ophelia has ____.

Accepted Answer

Having only two types of cones, sensitive to red and green light, means Ophelia lacks the third type of cone, which is typically sensitive to blue light. This condition would result in a form of colorblindness, as normal vision relies on three types of cones to perceive the full spectrum of colors.

Question 17

While daydreaming,Felix stares at a yellow school bus.When he then looks at a white wall,he sees the color ____.This is best explained by the ____ theory.

Accepted Answer

According to the opponent-process theory, staring at one color for an extended period of time can create an afterimage of its opponent color. In this case, staring at the yellow school bus would create an afterimage of blue when Felix looks at the white wall. This phenomenon supports option D, where Felix sees the color blue.

Question 18

Dr.Tsunami wants to produce a sound that will be perceived as very loud.He should produce a waveform that has ____.

Accepted Answer

The perception of loudness in sound is directly related to the amplitude of the waveform, so producing a waveform with a large amplitude would result in a sound perceived as very loud. Frequency and wavelength are related to the pitch of a sound and would not necessarily make it louder. Fundamental timbre does not relate to loudness either.

Question 19

Clifford the cat can move his accessory structures for hearing to help him localize the source of even a very faint sound.In other words,unlike most humans,Clifford can move his ____.

Accepted Answer

The pinnae are the external ear structures that help collect and funnel sound waves into the ear canal. By moving his pinnae, Clifford can adjust the directionality of sound and thus more effectively localize the source of a sound, even if it is very faint. The basilar membrane, stapes, and organs of Corti are all internal structures of the ear that are involved in detecting and processing sound, but they do not help with sound localization in the same way that the pinnae do.

Question 20

Chiang wishes he had a date.As he changes the channels on TV one day,he hears a commercial stating,"The pheromones in our product guarantee you'll get a date the first time you use it!" That product would most likely be a ____.

Accepted Answer

The commercial is talking about pheromones which are chemicals produced by the body that can attract potential mates. The product being advertised is most likely a perfume or cologne that contains synthetic pheromones to attract the opposite sex.

Quiz 4: Sensation and Perception