PSY 200 - Chapter 4

When Sanjay recognizes line segments and areas of light and dark as his friend's face at an airport gate, he is demonstrating: A) perception. B) priming. C) adaptation. D) sensation.

A) perception.

The local fire department sounds an alarm. The conversion of the siren's sound waves into neural impulses exemplifies the process of: A) transduction. B) transmission. C) detection. D) conduction.

A) transduction.

In the visual system, ganglion cells convert the light detected by the retina into electrical impulses, which then travel to the brain. This example illustrates the process of: A) transduction. B) detection. C) transmission. D) conduction.

A) transduction. (when many sensors in the body convert physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the central nervous system)

A person can detect a single drop of perfume diffused in an area the size of a one-bedroom apartment in half of a set of trials. This is a(n) _____.

Absolute Threshold

Perception is the process by which: A) nerve cells respond to specific features of a stimulus. B) sensory input is selected, organized, and interpreted. C) stimulus energies are transformed into neural activity. D) the stimulation of a sense organ is detected.

B) sensory input is selected, organized, and interpreted.

Sensation is to _____ as perception is to _____. A) encoding; stimulation B) stimulation; interpretation C) organization; identification D) interpretation; organization

B) stimulation; interpretation

The minute Beth walks into her mother-in-law's house to visit, she is struck by the strong smell of her perfume. However, after about 10 minutes, Beth no longer notices the smell. This is probably the result of: A) signal detection. B) Weber's law. C) sensory adaptation. D) transduction.

C) sensory adaptation.

Which theory would suggest that watching a horror movie late at night could lower a person's absolute threshold for sound as he or she subsequently tries to fall asleep? A) opponent process theory B) gate-control theory C) signal detection theory D) frequency theory

C) signal detection theory (the response to a stimulus depends both on a person's sensitivity to the stimulus in the presence of noise and on a person's decision criterion.)

The registration of light, sound, pressure, odor, or taste as the human body interacts with the physical world is called: A) cognition. B) perception. C) priming. D) sensation.

D) sensation.

Anna is reading her psychology text. The activation of receptors in her retina is called _____; her interpretation of the stimuli as particular words is termed _____. A) perception; transduction B) perception; sensation C) sensation; transduction D) sensation; perception

D) sensation; perception

The function relating the value of a stimulus along some dimension to the just noticeable difference is known as _____ law.

Weber's

Jackson was just touched on his cheek. The pressure is registered in his brain as a(n) _____.

sensation