Psychology Ch 3

Which of the following is true of the sense of touch?

In touch we detect mechanical energy, or pressure against the skin.

_____ is the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it makes sense.

Reception

_____ is the process of receiving stimulus energies from the external environment and transforming those energies into neural energy.

Sensation

Linda usually listens to music on her phone while studying. When the volume is initially low, raising by five decibels is highly noticeable. However, when the volume is initially high, increasing it by five decibels does not result in a noticeable change in sound. This phenomenon is best explained by

Weber's law.

In the context of perception, _____ refers to the minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect.

absolute threshold

Mihail is watching a play. He can hear the dialogue at all times except when the actors are whispering in a scene. This is because the actors' whispers are too soft for Mihail to hear. In other words, the whispers are most likely below Mihail's

absolute threshold level.

The smallest intensity of a stimulus that you can detect 50 percent of the time is known as the

absolute threshold.

You are studying in your room, and your neighbor is listening to the news on television at a loud volume in the adjacent room. When you gently request your neighbor to turn the volume down until you cannot hear it, you are asking your neighbor to make the volume less than your

absolute threshold.

Ali is learning how to reach Spanish by speaking aloud one letter at a time. Ali is engaging in which of the following?

bottom-up processing

Which of the following terms refers to the degree of dissimilarity that must exist between two stimuli before the dissimilarity is detected?

difference threshold

Emma enters her college auditorium that is almost packed to capacity and tries to find an empty seat. She fails to notice her friend waving to her in the crowd. This scenario most likely illustrates

inattentional blindness.

While walking barefoot on a beach, the physical pain that one experiences when stepping on a jellyfish most accurately exemplifies

sensation.

When Carlos first jumped into the pool, he thought that the water was very cold. Although the temperature of the pool remained constant, after a few minutes Carlos no longer complained about feeling cold. This change is his reaction to the temperature of the pool water is an example of

sensory adaptation.

The artist Wassily Kandinsky saw colors when he heard music and then painted what he saw onto a canvas. This best describes which of the following?

synaesthesia

Amelia has been working as a tea taster for approximately 15 years. She visits tea gardens in the country of Bodonia to grade teas according to their quality and taste. While tasting, she uses her prior knowledge to grade the teas. In this scenario, Amelia is most likely engaged in

top-down processing.