ap psych sensation and perception test

Our sense of taste originally was thought to involve only the following four sensations

bitter, sweet, sour, and salty

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

If Jared watches a nurse give him an injection, he experiences more pain than if he closes his eyes during the procedure and thinks about his favorite food. This illustrates the value of ________ for pain control.

distraction

Current research suggests that

both the trichromatic and opponent-process theories are valid in explaining color vision

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

cochlea

The rupture of the eardrum can lead to

conduction hearing loss

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

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

perception

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

The adjustable opening in the center of the eye is the

pupil

Diminished sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus is known as

sensory adaptation

The ability to pay attention to only one voice at a time is called

the cocktail party effect

The axons of ganglion cells converge to form

the optic nerve

Accommodation refers to the

process by which the lens changes shape to focus images on the retina

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

retina

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 process of receiving and representing stimulus energies through the nervous system is called

sensation

A cochlear implant would be most helpful for those who suffer

sensorineural hearing loss

With her eyes closed and her nose plugged, Chandra was unable to taste the difference between an onion and a pear. Her experience best illustrates the importance of

sensory interaction

Bottom-up processing involves analysis that begins with the

sensory receptors

Olfactory receptor cells are essential for our sense of

smell

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

smell

The classic gate-control theory suggests that pain is experienced when small nerve fibers activate and open a neural gate in the

spinal cord

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 principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion for their difference to be perceived is known as

weber's law

The sense of smell is known as

olfaction

Which theory best explains the occurrence of afterimages?

opponent-process

The brain's release of endorphins reduces

pain

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

middle ear

Bipolar cells are located in the

retina

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.

What is the purpose of the eardrum?

To transmit sound from the air to the bones of the middle ear.

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

While a man provided directions to a construction worker, two experimenters rudely interrupted by passing between them carrying a door. The student's failure to notice that the construction worker was replaced by a different person during this interruption illustrates

change blindness

Standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, Jerry kept looking at his watch to see the time. As a result, he failed to see that a store employee was being robbed by a person just in front of him. Jerry most clearly suffered

inattentional blindness

Movement of the hair cells along the basilar membrane

initiates transduction and the transmission of neural messages to the auditory cortex

Dilation and constriction of the pupil are controlled by the

iris

According to frequency theory

the rate at which impulses travel up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of the tone being heard

Our experiences, assumptions, and expectations may give us a perceptual set that influences what we perceive. This is an example of

top-down processing

The process by which our sensory systems convert stimulus energies into neural messages is called

transduction