Topic 3 Practice Test

Which part of the brain receives messages from the hair-like receptors that are involved in the vestibular sense?

Cerebellum

Which monocular depth cue is illustrated in the figure above?

Linear perspective

All summer Thomas hears the sound of the icecream truck approaching before his brother Oscar hears it. Thomas most likely has which of the following?

A lower absolute threshold for hearing than Oscar

The intensity at which a sound becomes audible for a given individual is known as the individual's

absolute threshold

The change in the curvature of the lens that enables the eye to focus on objects at various distances is called

accommodation

One-year-old Marcus turns away in disgust if a bitter substance is placed on his tongue. The reason for such a reaction is most likely

an inborn distaste for bitter that protects us from potential poisons in the environment

A sound is often detected by one ear more intensely and a fraction of a second earlier than it is detected by the other ear. These cues help individuals determine the

location of the source

David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel's research on responses of the brain to visual stimuli showed that

many cortical cells respond most strongly to specific visual information

The most common form of color blindness is related to deficiencies in the

red-green system

In vision, transduction occurs within the

retina

An individual's ability to focus on a particular conversation in a noisy and crowded room is called

selective attention

Balance is influenced by the

semicircular canals

As you watch a friend walk away from you, your retinal image of your friend gets smaller. Despite this, you do not perceive him to be shrinking. This is an example of

size constancy

On his first day of work at the bakery, Brad was nearly overwhelmed by the sweet odor of the baked goods. However, by lunchtime, he did not even notice the smell. This is an example of

sensory adaptation

When Rocco views the image above, he sees it as a 13 when it is part of a larger number but as a B when it is part of a word. Rocco's response shows the importance of what perceptual concept?

Context effects

Which of the following refers to the just-noticeable difference between two stimuli?

Difference threshold

The ability to see a cube in the diagram above is best explained by which of the following?

Gestalt principles of closure and continuity

Which of the following theories most accurately explains pitch perception? I. Opponent process II. Frequency III. Place

II and III only

Hyrum is at a concert when a flute player hits a very high note at the end of a song. Which of the following best explains why the pitch of the note sounds so high?

It has a short wavelength and high frequency.

Which of the following scenarios best demonstrates a context effect?

Jeannette does better on her exam when she takes it in the same room where she studies.

Feature detectors are neurons that are turned on or off by specific features of visual stimuli like edges and movement. Where in the visual system are these feature detectors located?

Occipital cortex

After his friend said a new movie was the funniest he had seen in years, Willard found himself laughing throughout the viewing, even though the movie was not very funny. What concept is Willard demonstrating?

Perceptual set

Laura arrives at a park that is located very close to a factory that produces cookies. She immediately notices the strong odor of chocolate chip cookies, but after a while she no longer detects the smell of the cookies. This can best be explained by which of the following?

Sensory adaptation

When Rosa has a cold, she cannot taste the flavor of her pizza. Which of the following psychological terms describes Rosa's inability to taste?

Sensory interaction

The Gestalt principle that refers to an individual's tendency to perceive an incomplete figure as whole is called

closure

The coiled tube in the inner ear that contains the auditory receptors is called the

cochlea

The reversible figure above illustrates the Gestalt organizing principle of

figure-groung

If Carmelita stares at a red spot for one minute and then shifts her gaze to a white piece of paper, she is likely to experience an afterimage that is

green

When viewed from the window of a moving train, nearby objects seem to pass by more quickly than do more distant objects. This cue for depth perception is called

motion parallax

In the figure above, what letter corresponds to the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain?

optic nerve

In visual perception, size constancy occurs as an object comes closer to the viewer because the

perceived distance of the object becomes smaller

Gustatory receptors are sensitive to all of the following taste qualities EXCEPT

spicy

A reason that one typically does not notice a blind spot in the visual field is that

the brain fills in missing information so there is no awareness that the visual field is incomplete