Psych 101 Exam 2

dreams-for-survival theory of dreams

After practicing a new sport (lacrosse) in the evening, a child performs the skilled movements even better after getting up the next morning, thus supporting the

What drugs activate the reward pathway?

Any drugs that effect dopamine

cornea, pupil, lens, retina

As light passes through the eye, it proceeds in the following structural sequence:

Depressants

-increase GABA -decrease glutamate -alcohol, barbiturates, Rohynol

Stimulants

-increase dopamine -nicotine, amphetamines, cocaine, Adderall

Hallucinogens

-increases serotonin -Marijuana, MDMA (ecstacy), LSD

umami

A possible fifth taste that is present in foods with a meaty or savory flavor is called

opponent-process theory

After having your picture taken with a yellow flash, you momentarily see blue spots before your eyes. This phenomenon is best explained by:

absolute threshold

The smallest intensity at which you are able to detect a stimulus refers to the

Closure

We usually group elements to form enclosed or complete figures

It doesn't offer an adequate explanation of the perception of afterimages

What is a shortcoming of trichromatic theory?

feature detection

Hubel and Wiesel discovered that many neurons in the brain are activated only by visual stimuli of a particular shape or pattern. This is called _______.

activation-synthesis

brains make up stories out of the random neural activity that occurs while we sleep

Substance P

chemical that transmits messages about pain to the brain

pupil

controls the amount of light that enters the eye

simplicity

overriding gestalt principle is _______, meaning that we tend to see it in the most basic manner that we can.

cochlea

receptor cells for hearing are located in the

Freud's psychoanalytic theory

reflect an individual's unconscious desires

cochlea

structure of the ear that tranduces sound vibrations into nerve impulses

Wish fulfillment

-Freud's theory about dreaming -amygdala

semicircular canals

At the state fair, Marcus loves to ride the "Hurricane" because it spins around very fast. However, when he gets off the ride, he feels dizzy and has an upset stomach. This response is due to stimulation of which sensory structure?

Bottom-up processing

Basic features are analyzed and recombined

difference threshold

Being able to detect the difference between two brands of Riesling wine is an example of _________

absolute threshold

Being able to taste one teaspoon of sugar in 2 gallons of water is an example of _________.

feature analysis theory of perception

Bottom-up processing is closest to the

Activation-synthesis

Brain makes "sense" of random neural activity

dark adaptation

Cathy carefully walks down the aisle of the dark movie theatre. After hesitating a few times, she finds an empty seat. After a short while she can distinguish her friend Suzy sitting a few rows ahead of her. Cathy has experienced the phenomenon known as:

gate control theory

Damon hurt his arm when he bumped into the corner of a piece of furniture. He started to rub his arm around the contact spot and soon the pain seemed to lessen. Damon's experience regarding the lessening of the pain can be explained by

Binocular disparity

Different retinal images received by each eye (3-D movies)

psychophysics

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

stages 3 and 4; stages 1 and 2

During the first half of the night, most sleepers will predominantly experience _____ sleep, whereas they will predominantly experience _____ sleep during the second half of the night.

Similarity

Elements that are similar seem grouped together

Opponent process theory

Explains after image

closure

Filling in the missing parts is known as _______ in gestalt psychology

generate a response in a sense organ

For an event to be considered a stimulus, it must

motion parallax

If you take a photograph from the window of a moving car, you may notice that objects in the distance appear very clear, while nearby objects appear blurred. This is an example of the principle of:

stimulus

The sight of a police car causes Wanda to touch her brake, slowing her speeding car. The police car has served as a

figure and ground

Paintings or drawings that lead to ambiguous interpretations often invert or reverse the

Top-down processing

Perception influenced by knowledge, experience, expectations, and motivations (2+2=4)

Survival

Permits one to reconsider and reprocess during sleep; critical for ones daily survival

Feature analysis

Processing of individual elements of an object (lines, direction, movement)

dreaming

REM sleep is associated with which feature of sleep?

dimly lit

Rods are related to vision in _____ situations.

trichromatic theory

Sometimes, after she has been staring at a computer screen for a long tme, Jane looks at a blank wall and sees an image of the screen that resembles a photographic negative. Which theory BEST accounts for this visual phenomenon?

the optic nerve leaves the eye toward the brain

The blind spot is the place on the retina where

color

The cone is responsible for which type of sensation?

amplify sound waves being relayed to the oval window

The function of the three tiny bones of the middle ear is to

Weber's Law

The function relating the value of a stimulus along some dimension to the just noticeable difference

Texture gradient

The further away you are the details become less clear

olfactory cells

The sensory receptors for smell are referred to as

context

Top-down processing is illustrated by the importance of ________ in determining how we perceive objects.

Proximity

We perceive elements that are closer together as grouped together

sensory adaptation

When Jeremy first jumped into the pool, he almost jumped back out again because the water was so cold. After a while, the water temperature seemed almost like a warm bathtub. This is an example of:

in the hour or 2 before awakening

When does the longest REM sleep cycle tend to occur?

Simplicity

When we observe a pattern, we perceive it in the most basic, straightforward manner that we can

perceptual constancy

When we perceive the characteristics of external objects as remaining the same even though the retinal image has changed, __________ has been maintained

semicircular canals

When your head moves about in space, a response in the ______ is triggered

circadian rhythms

Which phenomenon most likely explains the fact that workers who work constantly changing time shifts are more prone to have accidents?

so that we detect potentially important changes in what's going on

Why do we adapt after prolonged exposure to a constant stimulus?

motion parallax

You and a friend are driving home on a college break; you're in the passenger seat. Bored, you gaze into the middle of an empty field. You notice that distant hilltops seem to move slowly in the same direction in which your car is moving; by contrast, mile markers on the side of the highway seem to whiz past you in the opposite direction. The difference in the apparent speed and direction of objects' motion serves as a depth cue called:

extrasensory perception

Your aunt believes that she can perceive objects or events as they are happening. She tells of your uncle getting into a car accident which she saw happen even though it occurred three thousand miles away. Your aunt believes that she can perceive without involving the known senses. This is called:

sensation

activation of the sense organs by a source of physical energy

Blind spot

behind the optic nerve

Multimodel perception

brain collects the info from the individual sensory systems and integrates and coordinates

Otoliths

crystals that sense forward, backward, or up and down as well as the pull of gravity

Müller-Lyer illusion

describes a case where a line with arrow tips pointed inward appears to be longer than one with arrow tips pointed outward.

binocular disparity

difference between the image of a scene received by the right eye and that received by the left eye can serve as a depth cue called:

outer ear

functions to collect and amplify sound

outer ear

help humans primarily to detect the source of sound

rods

important in peripheral vision because they are concentrated outside the fovea.

cornea

protective covering of the eye that bends to focus an image on the back of the eye

place theory

provides a good explanation for sensing high-frequency sounds.

Optic Chiasm

separates left and right visual field into different hemispheres of the brain

lens

serves to focus an image on the back of the eye

frequency

the entire basilar membrane acts like a microphone, vibrating as a whole in response to sound

perception

the eye is to sensation as the brain is to _________

Perceptual consistency

the perception that objects maintain their size, shape, and color despite changes in their retinal image

perception

the sorting out, interpretation, analysis and integration of stimuli by the sense organs and brain

pitch

two sounds vary in frequency they are perceived as differing in

The Parthenon

was built with a slight distortion to compensate for a visual illusion

difference threshold

when you try to determine the smallest level of added or reduced stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred?

consciousness

your psychology professor calls on you during class. The first thought that goes through your mind is, "Why me?" This thought could be characterized as