Ch 3 Sensation and Perception

perception

4. The process of _____ involves organizing and interpreting incoming sensory information. A. perception B. sensation C. transduction D. inhibition

The nature of color blindness depends on which of the three kinds of cones (green, red, and blue) is inoperative.

48. Which of the following statements about research on color blindness is true? A. Most individuals who are color-blind literally see the world in black and white. They are unable to perceive any colors other than black or white. B. Color blindness is more common among women than among men. C. The nature of color blindness depends on which of the three kinds of cones (green, red, and blue) is inoperative. D. Research on color blindness does not support the trichromatic theory of vision.

bottom-up processing

5. Melanie is learning how to read Spanish by sounding out each word one letter at a time. Melanie is engaging in _____. A. top-down processing B. bottom-up processing C. sensory adaptation D. subliminal perception

a perceptual set

A predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way is known as _____. A. selective attention B. a perceptual set C. the cocktail party effect D. top-down processing

retina

As light enters the eye, eventually it reaches the light-sensitive _____ at the back of the eye. A. iris B. lens C. retina D. cornea

sensation

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 on the playground to your auditory cortex. This process of acquiring "raw data" about the stimuli in the environment is called _____. A. sensation B. selective attention C. sensory adaptation D. cognition

are specialized receptor cells that enable us to see color

Cones _____. A. are receptors in the retina that are sensitive to light B. are specialized receptor cells that enable us to see color C. function best at night or under low illumination conditions D. are concentrated in the blind spot

difference threshold

Emily is selecting a new paint color for her bedroom. She detects a difference between sky blue and midnight blue. Emily's ability to distinguish these two colors from one another can best be explained by the concept of _____. A. sensory adaptation B. difference threshold C. selective attention D. top-down processing

the whole is more than the sum of its parts

Gestalt psychologists emphasize that _____. A. perception is the same as sensation B. we learn to perceive the world through experience C. the whole is more than the sum of its parts D. perception is a neurological process

depends on the rods

Jane is having trouble sleeping. As she sits in bed looking around the darkened room, she notices that her peripheral vision seems to be better than her central vision. This is because vision in low light conditions _____. A. depends on the rods B. depends on the cones C. doesn't require the use of the pupil D. doesn't require the retina

sensory adaptation

Jennifer is a chain smoker. When her friend Irene, a non-smoker, gets in the car with Jennifer she is overwhelmed by the smell of smoke. One day she mentioned this fact to Jennifer who was surprised by the comment. Jennifer claims that when she sniffs her hair and clothing she can't sense the smoky scent. Jennifer's inability to detect the smoky scent is an example of _____. A. perceptual redundancy B. sensory adaptation C. the cocktail party phenomenon D. closure

Weber's law

Linda is studying while listening to her iPod. She notices that when she raises the volume 5 decibels when the volume is initially low, the change is very noticeable. However, when the volume is initially high, increasing the volume by 5 decibels doesn't result in as noticeable of a change in sound. This phenomenon is best explained by _____. A. the volley principle B. Weber's law C. perceptual constancy D. selective attention

absolute threshold

Michael, a famous musician, is designing a new apartment that will serve as both his residence and his recording studio. Since the music studio shares a wall with his bedroom, Michael wants to be sure that the recording studio is soundproof. This means that Michael wants to be sure that sound from the studio is well under his _____ while he is in his bedroom. A. absolute threshold B. difference threshold C. papillae D. minimum threshold

retina

Rods and cones are located in the _____. A. retina B. lens C. cornea D. occipital lobe

lens

The _____ is a transparent and somewhat flexible, disklike structure filled with a gelatin-like material. A. retina B. lens C. optic nerve D. fovea

optic nerve

The _____ is made up of axons of the ganglion cells, which carries visual information to the brain for further processing. A. fovea B. optic nerve C. lens D. iris

blind spot

The _____ is the area near the center of the retina where there are no rods and no cones. A. cornea B. blind spot C. fovea D. lens

iris

The _____ is the colored part of the eye. A. lens B. pupil C. cornea D. iris

figure-ground relationship

The _____ is the principle by which we organize the perceptual field into stimuli that stand out and those that are left over. A. opponent-process theory B. trichromatic theory C. apparent movement D. figure-ground relationship

absolute threshold

The _____ marks the point where we can just barely perceive a stimulus. A. just noticeable difference B. difference threshold C. absolute threshold D. just noticeable threshold

opponent-process

The _____ theory states that cells in the visual system respond to complementary pairs of red-green and blue-yellow colors; a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green, whereas another cell might be excited by yellow and inhibited by blue. A. trichromatic B. place C. frequency D. opponent-process

optic chiasm

The crossover point where the right visual field information goes to the left hemisphere is called the _____. A. fovea B. optic nerve C. retina D. optic chiasm

colored part of the eye that contains muscles that control the size of the pupil

The iris is the _____. A. clear membrane just in front of the cornea through which light first passes B. colored part of the eye that contains muscles that control the size of the pupil C. white outer part of the eye that helps to maintain the shape of the eye and to protect it from injury D. light-sensitive surface at the back of the eye that records what we see and converts it to neural impulses for processing in the brain

help maintain the shape of the eye and protect it from injury

The major purpose of the sclera is to _____. A. help maintain the shape of the eye and protect it from injury B. control the size of the pupil C. focus light on the retina D. record what we see and convert it to neural impulses for processing in the brain

difference threshold

The minimal change in stimulation that is required to detect whether one stimulus differs from another is the _____. A. difference threshold B. absolute threshold C. perceptual constant D. vestibular sense

retina

The multilayered light-sensitive surface in the eye that records electromagnetic energy and converts it to neural impulses for processing in the brain is known as the _____. A. sclera B. iris C. retina D. optic nerve

sensation

The process through which the senses detect environmental stimuli and transmit them to the brain is called _____. A. consciousness B. perception C. sensation D. reception

opening in the center of the iris, which appears black

The pupil is the _____. A. white, outer part of the eye that helps to maintain the shape of the eye and to protect it from injury B. colored part of the eye, which might be light blue in one individual and dark brown in another C. opening in the center of the iris, which appears black D. multilayered light-sensitive surface in the eye that records electromagnetic energy

allow sensory information to travel rapidly through the brain

The purpose of parallel processing is to _____. A. allow sensory information to travel rapidly through the brain B. allow rods and cones to function simultaneously C. prevent the misinterpretation of colors D. use binocular cues to perceive depth

parallel processing

The simultaneous distribution of sensory information across different neural pathways is called _____. A. binding B. bottom-up processing C. top-down processing D. parallel processing

absolute threshold

The smallest intensity of a stimulus that you can detect 50 percent of the time is the _____. A. absolute threshold B. sensory threshold C. the extrasensory perception D. Weber's law

fovea

The tiny area in the center of the retina that contains only cones is called the _____. A. cornea B. fovea C. chiasm D. optic nerve

Signal detection theory

What theory of perception proposes that detection of stimuli depends on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, physical intensity of the stimulus, fatigue of the observer, and expectancy? A. Opponent-process theory B. Multiple perceptual context theory C. Signal detection theory D. Weber's theory

sensory adaptation

When Carlos first jumped into the pool, he thought the water was very cold. Although the actual 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 water is an example of _____. A. sensory deprivation B. a perceptual set C. sensory adaptation D. top-down processing

Mechanoreception

Which of the following classes of sensory receptors play an important role in detecting pressure, vibration, movement, touch, and hearing? A. Chemoreception B. Photoreception C. Mechanoreception D. Endorphins

Photoreception

Which of the following classes of sensory receptors provide information about sight and the detection of light? A. Chemoreception B. Photoreception C. Chemoreception D. Synaesthesia

Sensory receptors are selective and have different neural pathways.

Which of the following explains the ability of an animal to distinguish among sight, sound, odor, taste, and touch? A. Sensory neurons (unlike all neurons) do not follow the all-or-nothing principle. B. The senses create a process known as synaesthesia that describes an experience in which one sense induces an experience in the same sense. C. Sensory receptors are selective and have different neural pathways. D. The receptor holds the frequency of action potentials sent to the brain.

Inattentional blindness refers to the failure to detect unexpected events when attention is engaged by a task.

Which of the following is true of attention? A. Attention is neither selective, nor shiftable. B. Novel stimuli often fail to attract our attention. C. Inattentional blindness refers to the failure to detect unexpected events when attention is engaged by a task. D. Objects that are small, dull-colored, or stationary are more likely to grab our attention than objects that are large, vividly colored, or moving.

Sensory receptors are the openings through which the brain and nervous system experience the world.

Which of the following is true of sensation? A. Sensory receptors are specialized cells that are not selective. B. Chemoreception helps in the detection of light, perceived as sight. C. Synaesthesia describes an experience in which one sense induces an experience in the same sense. D. Sensory receptors are the openings through which the brain and nervous system experience the world.

Weber's law

Which of the following principles states that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion to be perceived as different? A. Ricco's law B. The volley principle C. Weber's law D. Perceptual attention

Opponent-process theory

Which of the following theories of vision can best explain the occurrence of afterimages (i.e., sensations that remain after a stimulus is removed)? A. Trichromatic theory B. Opponent-process theory C. Frequency theory D. Place theory

absolute threshold

You are studying in your dorm room, but your neighbor is blasting the television in the adjacent room. When you gently request that your neighbor turn the volume down until you cannot hear it, you are asking your neighbor to make the volume less than your _____. A. absolute threshold B. difference threshold C. minimum transduction level D. basilar level

sensory adaptation

You arrive at your friend's apartment for a big party at the end of the semester. When you first arrive, the music is so loud that it almost hurts your ears. After a couple of hours, even though the music is still at the same volume, it no longer bothers you or seems that loud. This change in your sensations describes the process of _____. A. auditory adjustment B. transduction C. sensory adaptation D. sensory deprivation

Fovea

You try to note the incredibly fine details of a computer microchip through a magnifying glass. On which area of the retina should you be focusing this image? A. Optic chiasm B. Rods C. Periphery D. Fovea

Sensory receptors

_____ are specialized cells that detect stimulus information and transmit it to afferent nerves and the brain. A. Perceptual sets B. Sensory receptors C. Binocular cues D. Monocular cues

Signal detection theory

_____ focuses on decision making about stimuli under conditions of uncertainty. A. Parallel processing perspective B. Trichromatic theory C. Opponent-process theory D. Signal detection theory

Binding

_____ is a process that involves coupling of the activity of various cells and pathways and helps integrate information about an object. A. Parallel processing B. Binding C. Depth perception D. Perceptual integration

Perception

_____ is the process by which the brain actively organizes and interprets sensory information. A. Consciousness B. Perception C. Sensation D. Reception

Extrasensory perception

_____ means that a person can detect information from the world without receiving concrete sensory input. A. Retrocognition B. Selective attention C. Absolute threshold D. Extrasensory perception

Subliminal perception

_____ refers to the detection of sensory information that occurs below the level of conscious awareness. A. Subliminal perception B. Perceptual set C. Top-down processing D. Bottom-up processing