PSY unit 2 exam

Daniel wants to find out if he can notice the difference in light intensity when he adds some lit candles to a set of 50 lit candles. When he adds 5 candles to the set, he notices the difference in intensity half the time. However, when he adds less than 5 candles to his set, he does not notice any difference in the intensity of light. In this scenario, Daniel's difference threshold for detecting the change in light intensity is ________ lit candles.

5?

Gary lives near an intersection. In his hall, he can hear cars honking. However, in his bedroom, he cannot hear any cars honking. In this scenario, the volume of car honks in Gary's bedroom falls below his

absolute threshold

Manuel is listening to a lecture. Then the bell rings in the hallway. In order to hear this stimulus, Manuel's ________ nerves must carry electrochemical messages from his ears to his brain.

afferent

While watching a film of a climb of Mount K2, the second highest peak in the world, at an IMAX movie theater, Rachel suddenly starts feeling breathless as her visual field is flooded with startling images. This can best be explained by the concept of

apparent movement

________ is the process of focusing awareness on a narrow aspect of the environment.

attention

In the context of the divisions of the nervous system, the brain and spinal cord constitute the

central nervous system

While walking down the street of an old town, Caleb notices a burnt sign. Even though most of the words in the sign are illegible, she is able to piece together that the sign is pointing to the town hall. In this scenario, the gestalt principle of ________ accounts for this phenomenon.

closure

Ashley, a secretary at Plato Inc., is typing on her computer, talking on the phone, and handing some papers to her colleague simultaneously. Which of the following characteristics of the nervous system is best illustrated in this scenario?

complexity

In the visual system, the major purpose of the iris of the eye is to

control the pupil size

Robert asks Thomas if he heard a knock at the door and Thomas says that he did not. Robert, swearing he heard a knock, goes to the door and opens it but sees no one there. Signal detection theorists would label Robert's perception that someone knocked at the door as a

correct rejection

Which of the following is the best representation of the flow of information within a neuron?

dendrite to cell body to axon

Filip, aged 64, was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. His medical reports will most likely reveal a diminished production of

dopamine

Adrian, a neurologist, is examining the brain activity of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He observes images of their brains while they are performing a reading task and then again when they are not engaged in the activity. He compares these readings. Although he establishes a relationship between the two variables, he is not able to establish that one variable causes the other. Which of the following brain imaging techniques is he most likely to have used for his study?

fMRI

In the context of specialized cell structure, the myelin sheath is a layer of cells containing

fat

Peter is driving on a highway and is trying to find his exit. He is so focused on reading the signboards that he fails to notice a dog that comes in front of his car. This scenario best illustrates

inattentional blindness

Josh, a teenager, is attending his first party. He wants to ask a girl, Fiona, to dance but does not know whether she will say yes. He notices that Fiona is pretty, a little shy, and wants to dance. He also sees that she is not surrounded by friends. Which component of signal detection theory is Josh illustrating by gathering these details about Fiona?

information acquisition

Roy, the conductor of an orchestra, guides and coordinates other musicians during stage performances. While conducting, he also listens carefully to the sounds and coordinates his own body movements to help musicians pace the music. His brain receives multiple inputs and puts the information together in a way that makes sense and helps him conduct the orchestra successfully. Which characteristic of the nervous system does this scenario exemplify?

integration

A neurobiologist explains to his students that the human nervous system is analogous to electrical circuits in homes. If the circuit wires are not insulated, they are likely to cause a short circuit. In this scenario, the insulation on the wires can be likened to the ________ in the neural system.

myelin sheath

The body's electrochemical communication circuitry is known as the ________ system.

nervous

Depression is associated with low levels of the neurotransmitter

norephinephrine

The point at which the optic nerve fibers divide and approximately half of the nerve fibers cross over the midline of the brain is called the

optic chiasm

Thomas, a veteran, still experiences occasional aches in the arm that was amputated when he was injured in a war. In the context of sensory receptors and the brain, Thomas's condition best illustrates the phenomenon of

phantom limb pain

Megan lost her eyesight after she suffered a stroke. However, gradually, over a span of few years, her vision was partially restored, and she could see blurry images. Her neurologist explained to her that this was because her brain had rewired itself to compensate for the loss of part of her occipital lobe. Which of the following characteristics of the nervous system does Megan's restored vision exemplify?

plasticity

The membrane of a resting neuron is said to be

polarized

In the nervous system, glial cells

provide support and nutritional benefits to neurons

The term ________ refers to the stable, negative charge of an inactive neuron.

resting potential

After a neurotransmitter delivers its message, some of it is used up in the production of energy, and some of it is reabsorbed by the axon that released it to await the next neural impulse. In the context of synaptic transmission, this reabsorption is called

reuptake

The membrane surrounding an axon prevents negative and positive ions from randomly flowing into or out of the cell because it is

semipermeable

As you walk barefoot in the park, your nose conveys to your brain the smell of the freshly cut grass, your skin sends information about the feel of the gentle breeze, and your ears transmit the sound of children laughing to your auditory cortex. This process of detecting stimuli in the environment is called

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

sensort adaptation

A door is still perceived as a rectangle even after we view it from different angles. This is due to

shape constancy

The ________ theory of perception states that detection of sensory stimuli depends on a variety of factors besides the physical intensity of the stimulus and the sensory abilities of the observer.

signal detection

Nancy is in her building elevator going down to the lobby when the elevator stops suddenly between floors, and the doors don't open. Nancy's heart starts pounding, and her palms start sweating. In this scenario, Nancy's physiological responses can be best attributed to her ________ nervous system.

sympathetic

Jen and Jack are seated in the same row in an airplane but across the aisle from each other. If the information they exchange across the aisle represents the neural impulse between neurons, and Jen and Jack represent the neurons, the aisle most likely represents the

synapse

You are standing on a beach; the sea is choppy. You observe that the crests of distant waves appear less distinct than the crests of waves nearer the beach. This example illustrates a monocular cue known as

texture gradient

Fred always comments that his mother's and sister's voices sound alike on the telephone. Both voices are equally high-pitched and loud. Yet, he is able to tell the voices apart by a subtle difference in their voice quality. This difference is most likely due to the feature of sound known as

timbre

Melinda suffers from migraine headaches and seizures. In the context of neurotransmitter functioning, which of the following most likely plays a significant role in her symptoms?

too much glutamate

As Mike gets up to go to his kitchen, the lights go out. Despite not being able to see in his house, he is still able to go to his kitchen. In this scenario, Mike's ability to use his knowledge of the layout of his house to find his way is an example of

top-down processing

The ________ theory of color vision states that color perception is produced by three types of cone receptors in the retina that are particularly sensitive to different, but overlapping, ranges of wavelengths.

trichromatic

George is looking at the colors on a paint swatch card to select the right shade of red for his wall. He is able to differentiate between the various shades of red on the card and makes a quick decision. His perception of the differences in the shades can be attributed to the ________ of light reflecting from the shades.

wavelengths