Sensation & Perception

How many sensory systems do humans have?

7-12

8. Which sentence is true about Weber's law? a. The specific neurons activated determine the particular type of experience. b. Information from a sensory signal is inadequate to explain the richness of human experience. c. A just-noticeable difference between two stimuli is related to the magnitude or strength of the stimuli. d. To perceive a doubling of brightness, the intensity of light must increase 10-fold

A just-noticeable difference between two stimuli is related to the magnitude or strength of the stimuli.

Bob and Caroline are sitting next to each other while watching a tennis match. What is one reason why they might disagree on a judge's call, based on personal bias? a. Each individual is cheering for a different player, therefore their perceptions of the match may be affected. b. They are watching the match from very different angles, so they interpret it differently. c. Vision and emotion are casually linked, so their visual experiences of the match are affected. d. Since watching sports causes different neurons to fire in male and female brains, they experience the event differently

Each individual is cheering for a different player, therefore their perceptions of the match may be affected

Biologists have little interest in sensation.

False

Emotion does not factor into perception in psychology.

False

Most scientists believe that vision and hearing should be considered part of the same sensory system

False

Perception is the process of creating conscious perceptual experience from sensory input

False

. Artist Bev Doolittle paints pictures of horses in the snow, where the horses appear to blend into the background. What do these paintings show about human perception? a. Individuals struggle to identify shapes if they are not told what to see. b. Human beings use knowledge to discern objects and shapes. c. Transduction does not occur when we look at objects and shapes. d. Seeing the horses is an example of aftereffect in perceptual abilities.

Human beings use knowledge to discern objects and shapes.

Which view proposes that perceptual processes take place over time and can be thought of in terms of a software/hardware metaphor? a. information processing view b. direct perception view c. Gibsonian approach d. provisionist approach

Information processing view

Which statement about neuroscience is true? a. It is interested in the cellular level. b. It envisions the brain as a giant computer. c. It focuses on the whole rather than its parts. d. It is primarily concerned with a single region of the brain.

It is interested in the cellular level.

. Which statement is true of Gestalt psychology? a. It was first articulated by Gustav Fechner. b. It rejects the role of nature in human behavior. c. It stresses the visual perception of edges. d. It views the human brain as a giant computer.

It stresses the visual perception of edges.

What has the ability to penetrate a single neuron in a mammal without destroying the cell? a. receptors b. transductions c. microelectrodes d. fMRIs

Microelectrodes

Which is, in fact, a human sensory ability even if it is not considered one of the five canonical senses?

Proprioception

Which finding is remarkable about Kanizsa's triangle? a. The triangle is seen because we perceive edges that are not present. b. It is physically presented but masked so that it is not seen. c. Fading in and out occurs when you stare at the triangle. d. A spinning motion appears to occur even though the triangle is stationary

The triangle is seen because we perceive edges that are not present.

Every day Wanda gets up and turns on her coffee pot that she prepped the night before. As soon as she smells the coffee, she knows that she can go pour a cup for herself. Which process is occurring in this scenario with the receptor cells in Wanda's nose? a. They are converting light waves into an olfactory experience. b. They are responding to signals produced by the vestibular system. c. They are transducing the presence of airborne chemicals into a neural signal. d. They are interrupting the normal sequence of mental operations.

They are transducing the presence of airborne chemicals into a neural signal.

Which term is defined as converting physical energy into a neural signal? a. sensation b. perception c. transduction d. aftereffect

Transduction

. The computational approach builds on the information-processing approach. a. true b. false

True

Human beings have more than five senses.

True

Neuropsychology tries to understand the changes in behavior that can occur due to brain damage

True

Perception is the process of creating conscious perceptual experience from sensory input

True

Transduction is the process of converting a physical stimulus into an electrochemical signal. a. true b. false

True

Damage to area V1 in patient DB's occipital cortex resulted in ______. a. a condition known as apraxia b. a condition known as visual agnosia c. blindness in certain parts of the visual field d. no behavioral changes

a condition known as visual agnosia

What is most likely to happen when we spin Benham's top? a. We see colors that are illusory. b. We see motion-induced auditory illusions. c. The direction of the spin appears to reverse. d. Our fingers detect two-point thresholds.

a. We see colors that are illusory.

4. Which definition best describes prosopagnosia? a. an acquired deficit in face perception because of brain damage b. the complete loss of the somatosensory c. blindness due to brain damage d. a condition that develops after extended exposure to fMRI field

a. an acquired deficit in face perception because of brain damage

A food company wants to develop a psychological measure to evaluate people's perception of sweetness. What should the participants be asked to do? a. rate the number of levels of sweetness on a numerical scale b. indicate the sweetest food that they like to eat c. judge the point at which a drink becomes too sweet d. judge the amount of capsaicin in the foods they consume

a. rate the number of levels of sweetness on a numerical scale

Which concept was developed by Johannes Mueller in trying to understand perception in the early years? a. the doctrine of specific nerve energies b. the discovery of the sensory experience known as motion aftereffect c. the view that three nerve fibers are responsible for color vision d. the first acuity test for vision

a. the doctrine of specific nerve energies

In the Aristotle illusion, two crossed fingers are touched by a pencil. Participants observe that ______. a. two points are perceived instead of one b. the pencil feels larger than it is c. the two touches cancel each other out d. the touch is felt only on the bottom finger

a. two points are perceived instead of one

Which term is defined as motor activity? a. perception b. aftereffect c. action d. agnosia

action

Humans must choose which stimuli to focus on. Which term refers to the important or interesting stimuli that stand out to us?

attended

The doctrine of specific nerve energies argues that activating ______. a. visual neurons will cause auditory experience b. auditory neurons can cause only an auditory experience c. sensory neurons cause loss of action in the opposite hemisphere d. multiple neurons simultaneously can lead to misperception

b. auditory neurons can cause only an auditory experience

The ecological approach to perception finds fault with experiments that ______. a. focus on audition because vision is more important b. use laboratory stimuli that do not correspond to real-world stimuli c. use neuroimaging technology to study perceptual phenomena d. focus on physiological rather than psychological processes

b. use laboratory stimuli that do not correspond to real-world stimuli

Why is a marathon runner finishing a race able to feel both pain and exhilaration? a. because senses are interpreted in the context in which they are experienced b. because exhaustion causes the body to misinterpret sensory data c. because pain is experienced through unconscious inference d. because sense experience is altered by functional imaging

because senses are interpreted in the context in which they are experienced

Which statement best explains psychological processes in sensation and perception? a. Attention makes it difficult to fully trust our senses and perceptions. b. Neuroimaging is the only way we understand our sensory experiences. c. Bias affects how we perceive sensory stimuli. d. Emotion most clearly affects our sensation and perception of sound.

c. Bias affects how we perceive sensory stimuli.

Dr. Hernandez is beginning a new study in perception. She is going to assign a visual task to a computer and then measure if it can complete the task. She will also focus on any possible mistakes the computer may make in the task to compare with human mistakes. Which approach is illustrated in this scenario? a. direct perception b. ecological c. computational d. Unconscious

computational

Which view states that perceptions are created using information from our senses and cognitive processes? a. environmental b. direct perception c. constructivist d. Gestalt

constructivist

Hubel and Wiesel used single-cell recording to ______. a. uncover the basic organization of the olfactory system b. determine the function of individual neurons in mammalian visual cortex c. determine the rate at which information moves across synapses in the mammalian visual cortex d. uncover the role of dopamine and other neurotransmitters in perceptual processes

determine the function of individual neurons in mammalian visual cortex

Which approach to perception claims that information in the sensory world is complex and abundant, and therefore the perceptual systems need only directly perceive such complexity? a. signal detection view b. cognitive approach c. unconscious inference approach d. direct perception view

direct perception view

Candace is participating in a research study. In this study, she is shown different flowers and asked questions about her reflections of these flowers. Which approach is most likely being utilized to study perception in this scenario? a. ecological b. gestalt c. computational d. psychophysics

ecological

Which action is associated with our proprioception system? a. keeping our balance b. processing temperatures c. monitoring body position d. identifying pressure

monitoring body position

You stare at a downward-moving escalator for some time and then look at a black suitcase sitting stationary on the floor. How will the suitcase most likely appear at that moment? a. different colored b. moving upward c. moving downward d. wobbly

moving upward

Which term is defined as the study of the relation of brain damage to changes in behavioral and cognitive function? a. functional neuroscience b. gestalt psychology c. psychophysics d. neuropsychology

neuropsychology

Agnosia is a deficit in what due to brain damage?

perception

Uriah is studying in the library. Suddenly, a loud noise causes Uriah to look up from his notebook. What has occurred in this scenario? a. an aftereffect b. perception-guided action c. an unconscious inference d. neuroimaging

perception-guided action

. Zion is enjoying the symphony with his friends. At one point, he reacts very emotionally to a piece of music that nearly brings him to tears. Which term could be used to describe this internal mental experience of the music in this scenario? a. prosopagnosia b. phenomenology c. aftereffect d. gestalt

phenomenology

Which term describes our subjective experience of perception?

phenomenology

Which term refers to the registering of a physical stimulus on our sensory receptors? a. sensation b. perception c. attention d. registration

sensational

Which understanding did Helmholtz and Hering disagree about? a. what should be considered perception and what should be considered sensation b. signal detection theory and just-noticeable differences c. the nature of color vision and whether perception involves unconscious inferences d. the doctrine of specific energy and the role of psychophysics in understanding perception

the nature of color vision and whether perception involves unconscious inferences

The idea that the brain needs to reconstruct a visual image based on insufficient information is consistent with a constructivist approach. a. true b. false

true

A central goal of our perceptual processes is producing a(n) ______ representation

truthful

Which definition most accurately describes the understanding of perception? a. turning sensory input into meaningful conscious experiences b. registering a physical stimulus on our sensory receptors c. using logic to interpret sensory data d. converting auditory input into a visual stimulus

turning sensory input into meaningful conscious experiences

Carla notices that she has trouble keeping her balance in the dark. Which system is Carla most likely having a problem with in this scenario? a. vestibular b. proprioception c. auditory d. olfactory

vestibular