AP Psychology Unit 4
Our sense of taste originally was thought to involve only the following four sensations
bitter, sweet, sour, and salty
Some people are better than others at detecting slight variations in the tastes of various blends of coffee. This best illustrates the importance of
difference thresholds
The perceived size of an object is most strongly influenced by that object's perceived
distance
If Jared watches a nurse give him an injection, he experiences more pain than if he closes his eyes during the procedure and thinks about his favorite food. This illustrates the valve of ___________________ for pain control.
distraction
In one experiment, most of the participants who viewed a videotape of men tossing a basketball remained unaware of an umbrella-toting woman sauntering across the screen.
inattention blindness
Light-wave amplitude determines the
intensity of colors
Brightness is to light as _______________________ is to sound.
loudness
The brain's release of endorphins reduces
pain
Damage to the temporal lobe area of the brain essential for facial recognition produces a loss of
perception
In 1972, a British newspaper published pictures of a "Loch Ness Monster." Many people readily perceived photographs of a floating tree trunk as the partially submerged monster. This illustrates the powerful influence of
perceptual set
Alex tickles his brother by stroking adjacent _________________ spots on his skin.
pressure
Photographs of people were rated more positively if the photos immediately followed a briefly flashed image of kittens. This best illustrates the impact of
priming
The adjustable opening in the center of the eye is the
pupil
The process of receiving and representing stimulus energies through the nervous system is called
sensation
Hearing a sequence of sounds of different pitches is to ______________________ as recognizing the sound sequence as a familiar melody is to ______________________.
sensation: perception
Olfactory receptor cells are essential for our sense of
smell
Parapsychology refers to the
study of phenomena such as ESP and psychokinesis
According to frequency theory
the rate at which impulses travel up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of the tone being heard
Which of the following best illustrates the impact of central nervous system activity in the absence of normal sensory input?
tinnitus
The biopsychosocial approach to pain is likely to emphasize the importance of both
top-down and bottom-up processing
Which basic taste attracts us to protein-rich foods?
umami
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
Researchers found that 40 percent of people focused on repeating a list of challenging words failed to notice a change in the person speaking. This best illustrates
change blindness
When given a placebo that is said to relieve pain, we are likely to be soothed by the brain's release of
endorphins
Which theory suggests that large-fiber activity in the spinal cord can prevent pain signals from reaching the brain?
gate-control theory
After losing his left hand in an accident, Jack continued to experience pain in his nonexistent hand. His experience illustrates
phantom limb sensations
A cochlear implant would be most helpful for those who suffer
sensorineural hearing loss
After listening to your high-volume car stereo for 15 minutes, you fail to realize how loudly the music is blasting. This best illustrates
sensory adaptation
Heather Sellers suffers from prosopagnosia and is unable to recognize her own face in a mirror. Her difficulty stems from a deficiency in
top-down processing
Our experience of pain may be intensified when we perceive that others are experiencing pain. This best illustrates the importance of
top-down processing
The process by which our sensory systems convert stimulus energies into neural messages is called
transduction
Why do people who have lost all hearing in one ear have difficulty locating sounds?
Sound waves strike one ear sooner and more intensely than the other
The mechanical vibrations triggered by sound waves are transduced into neural impulses by
hair cells
During a hearing test, many sounds were presented at such a low level of intensity that Mr. Antall could hardly detect them. These sounds were below Mr. Antall's
absolute threshold
The retina is to the eye as the _________________ is to the ear.
cochlea
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
The McGurk effect best illustrates
sensory interaction
The fact that fear may increase your sensitivity to an almost imperceptible pain stimulus is of most relevance to
signal detection theory
Why is transduction important to sensation?
It converts physical stimuli, such as light, into neural messages
A football player was tackled hard during a very physical game, but he did not feel any pain until the post-game celebration party. Which of the following best explains phenomenon?
Psychological factors, such as distraction, can diminish pain sensations
Giulio'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 feel heavier. This best illustrates
Weber's law
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
a placebo effect
A subliminal message is one that is presented
below one's absolute threshold for awareness
by amplifying soft sounds but not loud sounds, digital hearing aids produce
compressed sound
Which of the following is the correct order of structures light passes through in the eye?
cornea, iris, pupil, lens, retina
Receptor cells for kinesthesis are located in the
joints, tendons, bones, and ear
While playing tennis you need to know where your limbs are located so you can move them into the right positions to run or swing your racket. Which of the following senses provides this information?
kinesthesis
Jody's horse looks just a black in the brilliant sunlight as it does in the dim light of the stable. This illustrates what is known as
lightness constancy
Sound wave vibrations are transmitted by three tiny bones located in the
middle ear
Which of the following sensory receptors detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals?
nociceptors