Ap Psych ch 4
Which receptor cells most directly enable us to distinguish different wavelengths of light?
cones
Which of the following is the correct order of structures light passes through in the eye?
cornea, iris, pupil, lens, retina
Sensation is to ________ as perception is to
detection; interpretation
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
Weber's law is relevant to an understanding of
difference thresholds
Sensory adaptation refers to
diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus
One of the ways we perceive images is by organizing stimuli into an object seen against its surroundings. What is this perceptual tendency called?
figure-ground
A floating sea vessel is to the ocean water as ________ is to
figure; ground
The cochlea is a
fluid-filled tube in which sound waves trigger nerve impulses
Which theory best explains how we perceive low-pitched sounds?
frequency theory
Visual information is processed by
ganglion cells before it is processed by feature detectors.
Which theory suggests that large-fiber activity in the spinal cord can prevent pain signals from reaching the brain?
gate-control theory
When most people stare at a red square and then shift their eyes to a white surface, the afterimage of the square is
green
According to the opponent-process theory, cells that are stimulated by exposure to
green light are inhibited by exposure to red light.
Frequency theory best explains _______, while place theory best explains ________.
how we perceive low-pitched sounds; how we perceive high-pitched sounds
If you burn your finger, ________ transmit pain-triggering signals to your central nervous system.
nociceptors
In response to a harmful stimulus, ________ initiate neural impulses leading to the sensation of pain.
nociceptors
Sensory adaptation helps us to focus our attention on what kind of stimuli?
novel
Color constancy refers to the fact that
objects are perceived to be the same color even if the light they reflect changes
The sense of smell is known as
olfaction
Which of the following would play a role in quickly alerting you to a gas leak in your home?
olfactory receptors
Which theory best explains the occurrence of afterimages?
opponent-process
A gestalt is best described as a(n)
organized whole
The brain's release of endorphins reduces
pain
Perceiving the color, motion, and form of a bird in flight illustrates
parallel processing
The ability to simultaneously process the pitch, loudness, melody, and meaning of a song best illustrates
parallel processing
The human ability to speedily recognize familiar objects best illustrates the value of
parallel processing
As the brain receives information about the lines, angles, and edges of objects in the environment, higher-level cells process and interpret the information to consciously recognize objects. This process best illustrates
perception
Damage to the temporal lobe area of the brain essential for facial recognition produces a loss of
perception
The process by which we select, organize, and interpret sensory information in order to recognize meaningful objects and events is called
perception
ESP refers to
perception that occurs apart from sensory input
After learning that her new school friend had experienced several episodes of depression during junior high, Erin incorrectly perceived her friend's laughter as artificial and phony. This best illustrates the impact of
perceptual set
Who emphasized that the whole may exceed the sum of its parts?
Gestalt psychologists
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 this phenomenon?
Psychological factors, such as distraction, can diminish pain sensations.
If an image falls on the eye's blind spot, you do not detect it. Which of the following best explains this phenomenon?
The image is not perceived because without receptor cells, transduction cannot occur.
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
The principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion for their difference to be perceived is known as
Weber's law
Which of the following best explains why children are more likely to resist eating strong-tasting foods?
Young children have more taste receptors, so their sensitivity to taste is greater.
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
feature detectors
are nerve cells in the brain's visual cortex that fire in response to specific edges, lines, and angles
As Maria and her little brother looked up at the clouds, he exclaimed, "That one looks like a giant dinosaur!" Maria thought it looked more like a giant duck. Which of the following concepts best explains their different interpretations of the same ambiguous stimuli?
perceptual set
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
The tendency to perceive a moving light in the night sky as belonging to an airplane rather than a satellite best illustrates the impact of
perceptual set
When researchers added a few drops of vinegar to a brand-name beer, the beer tasters disliked it only if they had been told they were drinking vinegar-laced beer. This best illustrates the impact of
perceptual set
After a small section of his basilar membrane was damaged, Jason experienced a noticeable loss of hearing for high-pitched sounds only. Jason's hearing loss is best explained by the ________ theory.
place
The discovery that high-frequency sounds trigger large vibrations near the beginning of the basilar membrane supports the ________ theory.
place
After watching a scary television movie, Julie perceived the noise of the wind rattling her front windows as the sound of a burglar breaking into her house. Her mistaken interpretation best illustrates the influence of
perceptual set
In experiments, an image is quickly flashed and then replaced by a masking stimulus that inhibits conscious perception of the original image. In these experiments, the researchers are studying the effects of
priming
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
Accommodation refers to the
process by which the lens changes shape to focus images on the retina
The perceptual tendency to group together stimuli that are near each other is called
proximity
Bipolar cells are located in the
retina
The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the rods and cones, is the
retina
Which of the following is a binocular cue for the perception of distance?
retinal disparity
The most light-sensitive receptor cells are the
rods
The receptor cells that convert light energy into neural signals are called
rods and cones
Which cells for visual processing are located closest to the back of the retina?
rods and cones
Under very dim levels of illumination
rods are more light-sensitive than cones
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
In University of Utah driving-simulation experiments, students conversing on cell phones were slower to detect and respond to traffic signals. This best illustrates
selective attention
You typically fail to consciously perceive that your own nose is in your line of vision. This best illustrates
selective attention
As you look at an apple, its reflected light travels to the eye. The rods and cones absorb the light and help transmit the information to the brain. This process best illustrates
sensation
The detection and encoding of stimulus energies by the nervous system is called
sensation
The process of receiving and representing stimulus energies through the nervous system is called
sensation
We tend to perceive more pain when others around us also report feeling pain. This research finding indicates that pain perception is affected by both biological and what other influences?
social-cultural
The classic gate-control theory suggests that pain is experienced when small nerve fibers activate and open a neural gate in the
spinal cord
Psychologists are skeptical about ESP claims because
studies claiming to demonstrate such abilities fail at replication.
Feature detectors pass information to other cortical areas where complex patterns are processed by
supercell clusters
Kinesthesis refers to the
system for sensing the position and movement of muscles, tendons, and joints.
Opponent-process cells have been located in the
thalamus
Experiments with the visual cliff suggest that
the ability to perceive depth is at least partly innate
Standing atop a mountain on an utterly dark, clear night, most of us would see a candle flame atop another mountain 30 miles away. This best illustrates
the absolute threshold
The area of the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye is called the
the blind spot
The ability to pay attention to only one voice at a time is called
the cocktail party effect
On the day she is to be interviewed for an important new position, Ariel awakens with a severe toothache. During the interview she feels no pain; not until 30 minutes later does she become aware again of the troublesome toothache. Ariel's experience is best explained by
the gate-control theory
Experiencing a green afterimage of a red object is most easily explained by
the opponent-process theory
The fact that people who are colorblind to red and green may still see yellow is most easily explained by
the opponent-process theory.
The axons of ganglion cells converge to form
the optic nerve
The sequentially flashing Christmas tree lights appeared to generate pulsating waves of motion. This best illustrates
the phi phenomenon
When two adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession, we perceive a single light moving back and forth between them. This is called
the phi phenomenon
Current research on pitch perception suggests that
the place and frequency theories correctly explain different aspects of how we hear pitch.
according to frequency theory
the rate at which impulses travel up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of the tone being heard
According to the Young-Helmholtz theory
the retina contains three kinds of color receptors.
The ability to detect whether your body is in a horizontal or vertical position depends most directly on
the vestibular sense
what is the purpose of the eardrum?
to transmit sound from the air to the bones of the middle ear
As the text notes, "Once we have formed a wrong idea about reality, we have more difficulty seeing the truth." This best illustrates the impact of
top-down processing
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 experiences, assumptions, and expectations may give us a perceptual set that influences what we perceive. This is an example of
top-down processing
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 effect of prior experience and current expectations on perception best illustrates the importance of
top-down processing
The principles of continuity and closure best illustrate the importance of
top-down processing
The local fire department sounds the 12 o'clock whistle. The process by which your ears convert the sound waves from the siren into neural impulses is an example of
transduction
The process by which our sensory systems convert stimulus energies into neural messages is called
transduction
Which basic taste attracts us to protein-rich foods?
umami
The feature detectors identified by Hubel and Weisel respond to specific aspects of ________ stimulation.
visual
Damage to the fovea would have the greatest effect on
visual acuity
According to the opponent-process theory, cells that are stimulated by exposure to ________ light are inhibited by exposure to ________ light.
yellow; blue
Which of the following senses is best described as a chemical sense?
smell
Stereotypes are mental conceptions that can strongly influence the way we interpret the behaviors of individuals belonging to specific racial or ethnic groups. A stereotype is most similar to
a perceptual set
Although Manuel was sitting right next to his parents, he smelled a skunk minutes before they did. Apparently, Manuel has a lower ________ for skunk odor than his parents have.
absolute threshold
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 minimum amount of stimulation a person needs to detect a stimulus 50 percent of the time is called the
absolute threshold
According to the gate-control theory, a back massage would most likely reduce your physical aches and pains by causing
activation of nerve fibers in your spinal cord
The direct link between a single cone and a single ________ preserves the fine details in the cone's message.
bipolar cell
Our sense of taste originally was thought to involve only the following four sensations
bitter, sweet, sour, and salty.
Current research suggests that
both the trichromatic and opponent-process theories are valid in explaining color vision.
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
taste and smell are both what kind of senses?
chemical
While singing to you on your birthday, your friends leave off the very last word of the song, "Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear David, Happy birthday to...." Your tendency to mentally fill in the last word best reflects which of the following Gestalt principles of organization?
closure
The basilar membrane is located in the
cochlea
The coiled, fluid-filled tube in which sound waves trigger nerve impulses is called the
cochlea
The retina is to the eye as the ________ is to the ear.
cochlea
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
Damage to the hammer, anvil, and stirrup is most likely to cause
conduction hearing loss
The organization of two-dimensional retinal images into three-dimensional perceptions is called
depth perception
Which of the following is the correct sequence of structures that sound waves pass through on the way to the auditory nerve?
eardrum, hammer, anvil, cochlea
When looking at the hands of a clock showing 8 o'clock, certain brain cells in the visual cortex are more responsive than when the hands show 10 o'clock. This is most indicative of
feature detection
Which of the following types of cells are located in the brain's occipital lobe?
feature detectors
The cocktail party effect is your ability to selectively attend to one voice among many. This ability also illustrates the Gestalt principle of
figure and ground
Movement of the hair cells along the basilar membrane
initiates transduction and the transmission of neural messages to the auditory cortex
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
With her eyes closed, Sierra can accurately touch her mouth, nose, and chin with her index finger. Sierra's accuracy illustrates the importance of
kinesthesis
Compared with rods, cones are
less sensitive to dim light and more sensitive to fine detail
Brightness is to light as ________ is to sound.
loudness
Psychologists are skeptical about the existence of ESP because
many apparent demonstrations of ESP have been shown to be staged illusions.
A perceptual set is a
mental predisposition that influences what we perceive
Sound wave vibrations are transmitted by three tiny bones located in the
middle ear
Depth perception that uses information transmitted to only one eye depends on
monocular cues
Which of the following is most helpful in perceiving the distance of objects far away from you?
monocular cues
Rods are
more light-sensitive and less color-sensitive than are cones.
Olfactory receptor cells are essential for our sense of
smell
Hearing a sequence of sounds of different pitches is to ________ as recognizing the sound sequence as a familiar melody is to ________.
sensation; perception
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
Diminished sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus is known as
sensory adaptation
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
As a door opens, it casts an increasingly trapezoidal shape on our retinas; however, we still perceive it as rectangular. Which of the following best explains this phenomenon?
shape constancy
An exhausted forest ranger may notice the faintest scent of a forest fire, whereas much stronger but less important odors fail to catch her attention. This fact would be of greatest relevance to
signal detection theory
The fact that fear may increase your sensitivity to an almost imperceptible pain stimulus is of most relevance to
signal detection theory
When you are expecting an incoming text message, you are much more likely to notice it the second it arrives. This best illustrates
signal detection theory
Which theory can best explain why people respond differently to the same stimuli?
signal detection theory
Which theory emphasizes that personal expectations and motivations influence the level of absolute thresholds?
signal detection theory