AP Psych Unit 3 MCQ Test Review
The gate-control theory states that "gates" for pain must be open in order for the brain to receive pain messages from the body. Where are these gates located?
Spinal cord
What do we call the specialized neurons in the occipital lobe's visual cortex that respond to particular edges, lines, angles, and movements?
Feature detectors
According to the gate control theory of pain, which of the following contains a neurological gate that controls the transmission of pain messages to the brain?
The spinal cord
What is the purpose of the iris?
To allow light into the eye
Which of the following structures helps you most in detecting the color of your friend's shirt?
Cones
When you listen to music, the sound waves cause your _____ to vibrate first.
Eardrum
Which of the following describes a perception process that the Gestalt psychologists would have been interested in?
How an organized whole is formed out of its component pieces
Which of the following statements is best explained by research on depth perception using the visual cliff?
Human infants must learn to perceive depth
Narmeen is viewing the board in the classroom. She knows that the board is located far away because the view from her left eye is slightly different than the view from her right eye. Her ability to judge the distance of the board is due to which depth cue?
Retinal disparity
Which of the following is the process of detecting environmental stimuli and converting them into signals that can be detected by the nervous system?
Sensation
After being exposed to loud music for many years, which of the following types of deafness is more likely in a musician?
Sensorineural
The experience of a smooth picture at the movies, even though the actual film is made up of thousands of separate pictures is due to
Stroboscopic movement
Which of the following phrases accurately describes top-down processing?
The effect that our experiences and expectations have on perception
If you scratch your eye, which structure are you most likely to damage?
Cornea
Which of the following anatomical structures is involved in the vestibular sense?
Semicircular canals
Which of the following examples best illustrates the concept of interposition?
Because the chair partially obscured his view of the sofa, Brendan perceived the chair as being closer than the sofa.
Signal detection theory is most closely associated with which perception process?
Absolute threshold
Which of the following is most closely associated with hair-like receptors in the semicircular canals?
Balance
Because of the repeated exposure to loud noise they experience during their daily jobs, airport ground workers are most susceptible to damage to which of the following?
Cochlea
Tracey was in pain from an ear infection, which her doctor said was in her inner ear. Which of the following is the most likely location of the infection?
Cochlea
Even though the banana seemed to change color as the lighting in the room changed, Jane knew that the color of the banana was not actually changing. This is due to
Color constancy
Which of the following might result from a disruption of your vestibular sense?
Dizziness and a loss of balance
Kimmie stood on the sidewalk rather than crossing the street because she saw that the approaching car was quite close to her. Which of the following concepts is best illustrated in this example?
Depth perception
Natalia is washing her hands, and she adjusts the faucet handle until the water feels just slightly hotter than it did before. Natalia's adjustment until she feels the change in temperature is an example of
Difference threshold
_____ are neurons that fire in response to specific edges, lines, angles, and movements.
Feature detectors
Bryanna and Charles are in a dancing competition. It is easy for spectators to see them against the dance floor because of
Figure-ground relationships
Which of the following is the best example of sensory interaction?
Finding that food tastes bland when you have a bad cold
Which of the following best illustrates the most predictable effect of schemas on perception?
Grant has more difficulty recognizing a penguin as a bird than he does a blue jay.
As you look down the road, the lines of the road seem to come together in the distance, even though you know they do not. Which depth cue explains this phenomenon?
Linear perspective
Your friend is playing the low notes on her tuba quite loudly. Which of the following best explains the physical properties of the sound waves?
Long wavelength; large amplitude
After looking at a yellow, black, and green American flag for a minute, you shift your gaze to a white wall. Which of the following best explains why you "see" a red, white, and blue flag when looking at the white wall?
Opponent-process theory
Which perceptual process explains why you can see varied aspects of your favorite singer's face and instantly recognize him or her?
Parallel processing
A teacher used distortion goggles, which shifted the wearer's gaze 20 degrees, to demonstrate an altered perception. A student wearing the goggles initially bumped into numerous desks and chairs while walking around, but after 30 minutes of wearing the goggles was able to smoothly avoid obstacles, illustrating the concept of
Perceptual adaptation
Helena did not recognize her English teacher when she unexpectedly saw him while traveling in Paris, even though she knew him well back in the classroom. The fact that Helena can recognize her teacher back home more easily than in Paris best demonstrates what concept?
Perceptual set
Tonya's psychology teacher played some backwards music to the class, and they were not able to make out any words or phrases in the selection. When the teacher told them to listen for the words "The rat ate the cat" when she played it again, most of the class now heard the words. Which principle explains this experience?
Perceptual set
Your friend tells you that a cloud looks like your math teacher; you look up and agree. Which principle explains why this is so?
Perceptual set
What do we call the illusion of movement that results from two or more stationary, adjacent lights blinking on and off in quick succession?
Phi phenomenon
Which of the following reflects the notion that pitch is related to the stimulation of different areas of the cochlea's basilar membrane?
Place theory
Human tactile sense is actually a mix of which of the following distinct skin senses?
Pressure, warmth, cold, pain
As she looks down the hallway, Elaine is not tricked into thinking that the friend who is closer to her looks larger than the friend who is farther down the hall. Which monocular cue helps her with this understanding?
Relative size
Which of the following is the correct order of the eye-to-brain pathway of vision?
Retina, optic nerve, thalamus, occipital lobe
Tyshane went swimming with friends who did not want to get into the pool because the water felt cold. Tyshane jumped in and after a few minutes declared, "It was cold when I first got in, but now it's fine. Come on in!" Tyshane's body became accustomed to the water temperature due to
Sensory adaptation
Which of the following concepts refers to the diminished sensitivity to a stimulus that occurs due to constant exposure to that stimulus?
Sensory adaptation
Marlene had an infection that led to deafness in her left ear. Which of the following will be the most likely impact of losing her hearing in her left ear?
She will have trouble locating the source of sounds.
Your best friend decides to paint her room an extremely bright electric blue. Which of the following best describes the physical properties of the color's light waves?
Short wavelength; large amplitude
Denise has damaged her auditory nerve and now has difficulty understanding what people are saying. Which of the following descriptions explains how that damage impairs her hearing?
Sound messages fail to be transmitted directly to the brain.
Frequency theory relates to which element of the hearing process?
The rate at which the basilar membrane vibrates
A famous psychic is a YouTube sensation because of his ability to read the minds of people in the audience at his shows. Which type of psychic power would he claim?
Telepathy
Charles and his wife are at a loud baseball game, yet are able to have a conversation with each other in spite of all the noise around them. Which principle best explains this scenario?
The cocktail party effect
Orville is talking with his friends at a cafeteria table when suddenly he is distracted by hearing his name at a neighboring table. Orville's shift of attention most clearly illustrates which psychological concept?
The cocktail party phenomenon
Which of the following is most likely to influence our memory of a painful event?
The intensity of pain at the end of the event
Which of the following is the best definition for absolute threshold?
The lowest strength of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time
As she looks at a face, Jamie is able to recognize it as the face of her mother. Which of the following explains why she can recognize her mother's face?
Top-down processing
Bryan perceived a duck instead of other animals when viewing an ambiguous image because he watched a documentary about ducks the previous night. Which of the following best explains why Bryan perceived a duck?
Top-down processing, because his perception of the duck was influenced by past experience.
Which of the following is the best example of your kinesthetic sense?
Touching your nose with your eyes closed
As Jeff reads his psychology textbook he is able to convert the light waves into signals that his brain can interpret due to the concept of
Transduction
The process by which rods and cones change electromagnetic energy into neural messages is called
Transduction
Which sensory process are the hammer, anvil, and stirrup involved in?
Transmitting sound waves to the cochlea
Meghan's friends seek her out for help with their problems because she can "see the future" and know what the outcome of an event will be before it happens. Her friends think that Meghan has the power of
precognition
