Sensation and Perception Practice Test

Bryan perceived a duck instead of other animals when viewing an ambiguous image because he watched a documentary about ducks the previous night. Which of the following best explains why Bryan perceived a duck? A. Top-down processing, because his perception of the duck was influenced by past experience. B. Bottom-up processing, because he constructed the image of the duck piece by piece, starting with his sensory receptors. C. Top-down processing, because he constructed the image of the duck piece by piece, starting with his sensory receptors. D. Bottom-up processing, because his perception of the duck was influenced by past experience. E. Color constancy, because his perception of the duck was not affected by different illuminations.

A

The most common form of color blindness is related to deficiencies in the A. red-green system B. bipolar cells C. process of visual summation D. blue-yellow system E. secretion of rhodopsin

A

Dr. Ramen recruited 100 adults to participate in her study. The taste buds of each participant were measured, and the participants tasted a number of foods. She found there was a relationship between the size of a participant's taste buds and the number of foods that a participant could taste. What research method did Dr. Ramen use, and what was she most likely studying? A. Correlational; sensitivity to the taste of umami B. Correlational; the sensitivity of supertasters C. Correlational; sensitivity to the taste of salt D. Experimental; the sensitivity of supertasters E. Experimental; sensitivity to the taste of umami

B

Which of the following anatomical structures is involved in the sense of balance? A. Taste buds B. Semicircular canals C. Retinas D. Olfactory bulb E. Nociceptors

B

Which of the following examples best illustrates the concept of interposition? A. Because the tree was higher than the bush in Jane's field of vision, she perceived the tree as being farther away than the bush. B. Because the chair partially obscured his view of the sofa, Brendan perceived the chair as being closer than the sofa. C. Because the train tracks had a large angle of convergence, Miko perceived them to go quite far into the distance. D. Because all of the zucchini she had seen in the past were green, Candice continued to perceive a zucchini held under a black light as green. E. Because Miranda stared at the burger restaurant sign as she drove by it, the restaurant behind the sign looked like it was moving backward.

B

Helena did not recognize her English teacher when she unexpectedly saw him while traveling in Paris, even though she knew him well back in the classroom. The fact that Helena can recognize her teacher back home more easily than in Paris best demonstrates what concept? A. Change blindness B. Extrasensory perception C. Perceptual set D. Functional fixedness E. Synesthesia

C

Human tactile sense (touch) is actually a mix of which of the following distinct skin senses? A. Warmth, cold, wet, dry B. Pressure, warmth, tickle, pain C. Pressure, warmth, cold, pain D. Pressure, pain, tickle, wet E. Pressure, pain, wet, dry

C

Tracey was in pain from an ear infection, which her doctor said was in her inner ear. Which of the following is the most likely location of the infection? A. The eardrum B. The hammer C. The cochlea D. The anvil E. The pinna

C

Which of the following is the correct order of the eye-to-brain pathway of vision? A. Optic nerve, thalamus, occipital lobe, retina B. Occipital lobe, retina, optic nerve, thalamus C. Retina, optic nerve, thalamus, occipital lobe D. Optic nerve, retina, thalamus, occipital lobe E. Retina, thalamus, optic nerve, occipital lobe

C

Which of the following is the process of detecting environmental stimuli and converting them into signals that can be detected by the nervous system? A. Difference threshold B. Top-down processing C. Sensation D. Perception E. False alarm

C

Which of the following scenarios most clearly describes the effects of a strong kinesthetic (proprioceptive) sense? A. Being able to locate where a sound is coming from B. Balancing oneself on a ladder C. Being able to tell exact bodily position without looking at the body D. Developing a craving for a food after smelling it E. Being able to navigate using directions

C

A person is asked to listen to a series of tones presented in pairs, and asked to say whether the tones in each pair are the same or different in pitch. In this situation the experimenter is most likely measuring the individual's A. echoic memory B. attention span C. dichotic listening ability D. difference threshold E. sound localization ability

D

Even though it was nearly dark outside, Kaci could still tell that the basketball she was playing with was orange. Which of the following concepts is best illustrated in this example? A. Interposition B. Perceptual adaptation C. Absolute threshold D. Color constancy E. Shape constancy

D

Kimmie stood on the sidewalk rather than crossing the street because she saw that the approaching car was quite close to her. Which of the following concepts is best illustrated in this example? A. Gestalt B. Closure C. Figure-ground relationship D. Depth perception E. Color constancy

D

Which of the following concepts refers to the diminished sensitivity to a stimulus that occurs due to constant exposure to that stimulus? A. Absolute threshold B. Difference threshold C. Perceptual set D. Sensory adaptation E. Transduction

D

Which of the following is the best definition for absolute threshold? A. The largest change between two stimuli that a person can detect B. The difference between two stimuli that can be detected 50% of the time C. The smallest change between two stimuli that a person can detect D. The lowest strength of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time E. The highest strength of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time

D

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the opponent-process theory of color vision? A. Manuel sees the color yellow when the EE note is played. B. Randy is able to process many aspects of a visual scene simultaneously. C. Russell is able to differentiate between dark green and light green. D. Kayla sees afterimages of opposing colors when she stares at a poster for a long time. E. Conrad can identify specific features in his environment, such as color.

D

A person with sight in only one eye lacks which of the following visual cues for seeing in depth? A. Motion parallax B. Linear perspective C. Relative size D. Texture gradient E. Retinal disparity

E

Denise has damaged her auditory nerve and now has difficulty understanding what people are saying. Which of the following descriptions explains how that damage impairs her hearing? A. Sound vibrations are not strong enough to stimulate middle-ear activity. B. The hair cells fail to vibrate sufficiently to transmit the message. C. The brain receives the sound message, but it is unable to process the sound. D. The ear components fail to amplify the sound to render it sufficiently detectable. E. Sound messages fail to be transmitted directly to the brain.

E

Domingo has just hit Play to begin listening to a new song he bought. Based on the structure of the ear, what will the sound waves contact first after moving through Domingo's auditory canal? A. The stirrup B. The cochlea C. The auditory nerve D. The anvil E. The eardrum

E