AP Psych Perception and Sensation

Because Carmella, Jorge, and Gail were all sitting behind the same bowling lane, Ruth perceived that they were all members of the same bowling team. This best illustrates the organizational principle of

proximity

Renny knew the red tulip was closer to her than the yellow tulip because the red one cast a larger retinal image than the yellow one. This illustrates the importance of the distance cue known as

relative size

The light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the rods and cones, is the

retina

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

Who emphasized that the whole may exceed the sum of its parts?

gestalt psychologists

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

The phenomenon of color constancy best demonstrates that:

an object's perceived color is influenced by its surrounding objects

In additive color mixing, the combination of red, green, and blue creates ____: in subtractive color mixing, the combination of red, yellow, and blue creates ____

black; white

The area of the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye is called the

blind spot

The amplitude of electromagnetic waves determines the ________ of light.

brightness

The perceptual tendency to fill in gaps in order to perceive disconnected parts as a whole object is called:

closure

The coiled, fluid-filled tube in which sound waves trigger nerve impulses is called the

cochlea

The perception of the letter "t" as two intersecting lines rather than as four non intersection lines illustrates the principle of:

continuity

The visual cliff is a laboratory device for testing ____ in infants

depth perception

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

In one experiment, most of the participants who viewed a videotape of men tossing a basketball remained unaware of an umbrella-toting woman sauntering across the screen. This illustrated

inattentional blindness

Which of the following is a cue used by artists to convey depth on a flat canvas

interpostion

Dilation and constriction of the pupil are controlled by the

iris

The apparent narrowing of a river as it flows directly away from you into the distance best illustrates the depth cue known as:

linear perspective

Sound wave vibrations are transmitted by three tiny bones located in the

middle ear

Receptor cells for kinesthesis are located in the

muscles, tendons, and joints

The ability to simultaneously process the pitch, loudness, melody, and meaning of a song best illustrates

parallel processing

The process by which we select, organize, and interpret sensory information in order to recognize meaningful objects an events is led:

perception

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

While reading a novel, Raoul isn't easily distracted by the sounds of the TV or even by his brothers' loud arguments. This best illustrates

selective attention

The detection and encoding of stimulus energies by the nervous system is called

sensation

Hearing a sequence of sounds of different pitches is to ______ 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

The green-colored ham and eggs had such a strange appearance that they tasted terrible to Sam. This illustrates the importance of:

sensory interaction

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

Because the two teams wore different-colored uniforms, Cheri perceived the ten basketball players as two distinct groups. This best illustrates the principle of:

similarity

As the retinal image of a horse galloping toward you becomes larger, it is unlikely that the horse will appear to grow larger. This best illustrates the importance of

size constancy

Which of the following senses is best described as a chemical sense?

smell

News about the supposed effects of briefly presented messages on moviegoers' consumption of popcorn and Coca-Cola involved false claims regarding:

subliminal stimulation

The individual boulders and crevices of the huge and clearly visible mountain peak appeared so indistinct to the hikers that they knew it would take them another full day to reach it. This best illustrates the impact of ________ on distance perception.

texture gradient

On the day she is to be interviewed for an important new position, Rachel 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. Rachel's experience is best explained by:

the gate-control theory

The illusion of movement in animated neon sign is known as:

the phi phenomenon

The ability to detect whether your body is in a horizontal or vertical position depends most directly on:

the vestibule sense

People are more likely to perceive a figure and ground illustration as reversible if they are told it is reversible. This best illustrates the importance of:

top-down processing

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