Psychology: Sensation and Perception

When we see the mouth movements for "ga" while hearing "ba," we may perceive "da." This BEST illustrates the _____ effect.

McGurk

The electromagnetic spectrum:

contains the wavelengths people see as light.

With respect to our sensory experience of light waves, a low-amplitude wave is to _____ as a high-amplitude wave is to _____.

dull blue; bright blue

Carlos was just touched on his cheek, which is a(n) _____. In order for Carlos to know if he were kissed or slapped, Carlos needs a(n) _____.

sensation; perception

Marc is driving his 12-year-old car. He notices a sound coming from the engine, which involves _____ processing. He immediately starts thinking that the sound is similar to the sound his car made the last time he had it repaired, which involves _____ processing.

sensation; perception

After many years of playing extremely loud rock music, David has suffered significant hearing loss that cannot be corrected with a hearing aid. David is suffering from:

sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness).

Today, a man on television described his experience of _____, a condition in which the senses become joined. He explained that when certain types of music are played he often sees patterns of colors.

synesthesia

"We can practically read each other's minds and feel each other's emotions!" Tim exclaims in describing his relationship with his longtime partner. Tim is attributing the extrasensory perception ability of _____ to the relationship.

telepathy

An airplane is descending into its destination airport. Currently, it is about 500 feet above the ground. The amplitude of its noise is about _____ decibels.

110

As you walk into a brightly lit room, the black structure in the center of your eye seems to shrink to a tiny black dot. This response is caused by the action of the eye structure called the:

Iris

_____ is the sensory system for detecting the position and movement of individual body parts.

Kinesthesia

Wilson was born deaf. At 3 years of age, his parents had the doctor put in this device so he will be able to hear.

a cochlear implant

A person can detect a single drop of perfume diffused in an area the size of a one-bedroom apartment. This is a(n) _____ threshold.

absolute

According to the text's introduction to sensation and perception, male silkworm moths' odor receptors can detect one-billionth of an ounce of chemical sex attractant released by a female 1 mile away. This is an example of a(n) _____ threshold.

absolute

_____ processing proceeds from the lines, angles, and colors that form the stimuli around us.

bottom up

You are a building contractor surveying the progress on a home that is being built. From one angle, it appears that the home is completely framed. However, when you move to the right, you see the gaps. This illustrates the Gestalt principle of _____.

closure

You are a building contractor surveying the progress on a home that is being built. From one angle, it appears that the home is completely framed. However, when you move to the right, you see the gaps. This illustrates the principle of:

closure

Lonnie is waiting for Brandon to arrive at a café for an afternoon coffee date. They have not been out together one-on-one yet; call it a prelude to a "real" first date, in the evening and with dinner. Lonnie has made sure to order Brandon hot rather than iced coffee, and he is seated at a booth rather than a rickety chair or stool. These choices MOST likely reflect Brandon's knowledge of:

embodied cognition.

One may see one's relationship with one's partner or roommate as less stable when wobbly chairs and rickety tables predominate than when the furniture feels more solid. This example illustrates the concept of:

embodied cognition.

The axons of the _____ cells form the optic nerve.

ganglion

Denise wears an extremely bright safety yellow sweatshirt when she cycles to the gym after dark. The sweatshirt's brightness reflects the _____ of the light it reflects.

high amplitude

The place theory is specialized to detect _____ sounds, and the temporal theory is specialized for _____ sounds.

high-frequency; low-frequency

You are waiting for your friend to give you a ride on his new motorcycle. As your friend pulls up the driveway, the brakes squeal loudly. You get on, and then your friend steps on the gas. As the motorcycle accelerates, the engine roars loudly. The high-pitched squeal of the brakes was caused by _____ sound waves, and the equally loud but low-pitched roar of the engine was caused by _____ sound waves.

high-frequency; low-frequency

One sense influencing the perception of another is known as sensory _____.

interaction

The sensory experience of bending one's knees or raising one's arms BEST illustrates the sense of:

kinesthesia

Talia is 45 years old. She has started to notice that newspaper print is too small for her to read. Talia needs reading glasses because the:

lens of her eyes is less able to accommodate.

Railroad tracks appear to converge in the distance. This provides a cue for depth perception known as _____.

linear perspective

Hammer, anvil, and stirrup are to hair cells as _____ is to _____.

middle ear; inner ear

Afterimages are BEST explained by:

opponent-process theory

When Sanjay recognizes line segments and areas of light and dark as his friend's face at an airport gate, he is demonstrating:

perception

When people look at a photograph of an adult-child pair and are told that the two individuals are parent and child, the people tend to say the pair looks more alike than people who are told the pair are unrelated. This is MOST likely due to:

perceptual sets

People perceive young infants as bigger and stronger if it is introduced with a male rather than a female name. This best illustrates the concept of:

perceptual sets.

Lucy is convinced she senses the odor of rotten eggs, but no one in the house can detect the odor. Lucy's sensation is known as:

phantom smells

A famous Hollywood director has decided to present his latest film in 3-D. This will create a great moviegoing experience for viewers, as 3-D movies exaggerate:

retinal disparity

There is no scientific support for extrasensory perception (ESP). With respect to the distinction between sensation and perception, that means that:

sensation is necessary for perception.

Fifty-year-old Jack finds that he really enjoys the taste of scotch, whiskey, mushrooms, strong peppers, and onions but that his 21-year-old son does not. The reason for this difference in taste is likely due to:

the number of taste buds in the mouth that decreases with age.

This is an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

the phi phenomenon

Perceptions can be influenced _____ by expectations, the context, emotions, and motivation.

top-down

Perceptual analysis that is guided by higher-level mental processes such as expectations is called _____ processing.

top-down

The phenomenon of perceptual set underscores the contribution of _____ processes to perception.

top-down