Unit 3 Psych Test "Sensation and Perception"

almost half the birds in the yard were brown cardinals and the rest were bright red cardinals, so Jimmy perceived them as two distinct groups of birds. This best illustrates the principle of

similarity

Trying to see a hidden representational image in a piece of abstract art by looking carefully at each element in the picture and trying to form an image employs which kind of perceptual process?

bottom-up processing

The minimum amount of stimulation a person needs to detect a stimulus 50 percent of the time is called the

difference threshold

Which process allows more light to reach the periphery of the retina?

dilation of the pupil

Sensory adaptation refers to

diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus

When given a placebo that is said to relieve pain, we are likely to be soothed by the brain's release of

endrorphins

which of the following types of cells are located in the brains occipital lobe?

feature detectors

a floating sea vessel is to the ocean water as _______ is to ______

figure; ground

When most people stare at a red square and then shift their eyes to a white surface, the afterimage of the square is

green

The mechanical vibrations triggered by sound waves are transduced into neural impulses by

hair cells

audiotapes of soothing ocean sounds accompanied by faint and imperceptible verbal messages designed to increase a desire to lose weight best illustrates

subliminal simulation

intensity is to brightness as wavelength is to

hue

The ability to simultaneously process the pitch, loudness, melody, and meaning of a song best illustrates

parallel processing

Evidence that some cones are especially sensitive to red light, others to green light, and still others to blue light is most directly supportive of the ________ theory.

Young-Helmholtz

lines, angles, and edges of objects

perception

The volley principle is most directly relevant to our perception of

pitch

the perceptual tendency to group together stimuli that are near each other is called

proximity

the adjustable opening in the center of the eye is the

pupil

a 3-D movie enhances our sense of depth perception by stimulating the effects of

retinal disparity

Which cells for visual processing are located closest to the back of the retina?

rods and cons

Because she was listening to the news on the radio, Mrs. Schultz didn't perceive a word her husband was saying. Her experience best illustrates

selective attention

apple>lights travels to the eye

sensation

Hearing a sequence of sounds of different pitches is to ________ as recognizing the sound sequence as a familiar melody is to ________.

sensation; perception

bottom-up processing involves analysis that begins with the

sensory receptors

Although textbooks frequently cast a trapezoidal image on the retina, students typically perceive the books as rectangular objects. This illustrates the importance of

shape constancy

Which theory emphasizes that personal expectations and motivations influence the level of absolute thresholds?

signal detection theory

Kinesthesis refers to the

system for sensing the position and movement of muscles, tendons, and joints.

knowing the effects of the perceived distance of objects on their perceived size helps us to understand

the Moon illusion

experiments with the visual cliff suggest that

the ability to perceive depth is at least partly innate

the ability to pay attention to only one voice at a time is called

the cocktail party effect

The pitch of a sound is determined by what?

the frequency of the sound wave

Experiencing a green afterimage of a red object is most easily explained by

the opponent-process theory

The axons of ganglion cells converge to form

the optic nerve

When informed that a brief imperceptible message would be flashed repeatedly during a popular TV program, many viewers reported feeling strangely hungry or thirsty during the show. Since the imperceptible message had nothing to do with hunger or thirst, viewers' strange reactions best illustrate:

the placebo effect

The ability to detect whether your body is in a horizontal or vertical position depends most directly on

the vestibular sense

What was the purpose of the eardrum

to transmit sound from the air to the bones of the middle of the ear

Patients' negative expectations about the outcome of a surgical procedure can increase their postoperative experience of pain. This best illustrates the importance of:

top-down processing

the process by which our sensory system converts stimulus energies into neutral messages is called

transduction

A gestalt is best described as a(n)

organized whole

Who emphasized that perceptual understanding comes from inborn ways of organizing sensory experience?

Immanuel Kant

Giulo's bag of marbles is twice as heavy as Jim's. If it takes 5 extra marbles to make Jim's bag feel heavier, it will take 10 extra marbles to make Giulio's bag to feel heavier. This best illustrates:

Weber's Law

hair cells line the surface of the

basilar membrane

our sense of taste originally was thought to involve only the following four sensations

bitter, sweet, sour, and salty

The area of the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye is called the

blind spot

When Jason briefly turned to summon the waiter, his wife quickly switched her glass of red wine with his glass of white wine. Jason's failure to notice that his chosen wine had been replaced best illustrates

changed blindness

the basilar membrane is located in the

cochlea

brightness is to intensity as hue is to

color

As your teacher dims the lights to show a movie clip, you still perceive your friend's shirt as red. Which of the following best explains this phenomenon?

color constancy

The organization of two-dimensional retinal images into three-dimensional perceptions is called

depth perception

Sound wave vibrations are transmitted by three tiny bones located in the

middle ear