Ap Psych ch 4

Which receptor cells most directly enable us to distinguish different wavelengths of light?

cones

Which of the following is the correct order of structures light passes through in the eye?

cornea, iris, pupil, lens, retina

Sensation is to ________ as perception is to

detection; interpretation

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

Weber's law is relevant to an understanding of

difference thresholds

Sensory adaptation refers to

diminishing sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus

One of the ways we perceive images is by organizing stimuli into an object seen against its surroundings. What is this perceptual tendency called?

figure-ground

A floating sea vessel is to the ocean water as ________ is to

figure; ground

The cochlea is a

fluid-filled tube in which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

Which theory best explains how we perceive low-pitched sounds?

frequency theory

Visual information is processed by

ganglion cells before it is processed by feature detectors.

Which theory suggests that large-fiber activity in the spinal cord can prevent pain signals from reaching the brain?

gate-control theory

When most people stare at a red square and then shift their eyes to a white surface, the afterimage of the square is

green

According to the opponent-process theory, cells that are stimulated by exposure to

green light are inhibited by exposure to red light.

Frequency theory best explains _______, while place theory best explains ________.

how we perceive low-pitched sounds; how we perceive high-pitched sounds

If you burn your finger, ________ transmit pain-triggering signals to your central nervous system.

nociceptors

In response to a harmful stimulus, ________ initiate neural impulses leading to the sensation of pain.

nociceptors

Sensory adaptation helps us to focus our attention on what kind of stimuli?

novel

Color constancy refers to the fact that

objects are perceived to be the same color even if the light they reflect changes

The sense of smell is known as

olfaction

Which of the following would play a role in quickly alerting you to a gas leak in your home?

olfactory receptors

Which theory best explains the occurrence of afterimages?

opponent-process

A gestalt is best described as a(n)

organized whole

The brain's release of endorphins reduces

pain

Perceiving the color, motion, and form of a bird in flight illustrates

parallel processing

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

parallel processing

The human ability to speedily recognize familiar objects best illustrates the value of

parallel processing

As the brain receives information about the lines, angles, and edges of objects in the environment, higher-level cells process and interpret the information to consciously recognize objects. This process best illustrates

perception

Damage to the temporal lobe area of the brain essential for facial recognition produces a loss of

perception

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

perception

ESP refers to

perception that occurs apart from sensory input

After learning that her new school friend had experienced several episodes of depression during junior high, Erin incorrectly perceived her friend's laughter as artificial and phony. This best illustrates the impact of

perceptual set

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

Gestalt psychologists

Why is transduction important to sensation?

It converts physical stimuli, such as light, into neural messages.

A football player was tackled hard during a very physical game, but he did not feel any pain until the post-game celebration party. Which of the following best explains this phenomenon?

Psychological factors, such as distraction, can diminish pain sensations.

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.

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

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

Weber's law

Which of the following best explains why children are more likely to resist eating strong-tasting foods?

Young children have more taste receptors, so their sensitivity to taste is greater.

Evidence that some cones are especially sensitive to red light, others to green light, and still others to blue light is most directly supportive of the ________ theory.

Young-Helmholtz

feature detectors

are nerve cells in the brain's visual cortex that fire in response to specific edges, lines, and angles

As Maria and her little brother looked up at the clouds, he exclaimed, "That one looks like a giant dinosaur!" Maria thought it looked more like a giant duck. Which of the following concepts best explains their different interpretations of the same ambiguous stimuli?

perceptual set

In 1972, a British newspaper published pictures of a "Loch Ness Monster." Many people readily perceived photographs of a floating tree trunk as the partially submerged monster. This illustrates the powerful influence of

perceptual set

The tendency to perceive a moving light in the night sky as belonging to an airplane rather than a satellite best illustrates the impact of

perceptual set

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

After a small section of his basilar membrane was damaged, Jason experienced a noticeable loss of hearing for high-pitched sounds only. Jason's hearing loss is best explained by the ________ theory.

place

The discovery that high-frequency sounds trigger large vibrations near the beginning of the basilar membrane supports the ________ theory.

place

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

In experiments, an image is quickly flashed and then replaced by a masking stimulus that inhibits conscious perception of the original image. In these experiments, the researchers are studying the effects of

priming

Photographs of people were rated more positively if the photos immediately followed a briefly flashed image of kittens. This best illustrates the impact of

priming

Accommodation refers to the

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

The perceptual tendency to group together stimuli that are near each other is called

proximity

Bipolar cells are located in the

retina

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

retina

Which of the following is a binocular cue for the perception of distance?

retinal disparity

The most light-sensitive receptor cells are the

rods

The receptor cells that convert light energy into neural signals are called

rods and cones

Which cells for visual processing are located closest to the back of the retina?

rods and cones

Under very dim levels of illumination

rods are more light-sensitive than cones

Because she was listening to the news on the radio, Mrs. Schultz didn't perceive a word her husband was saying. Her experience best illustrates

selective attention

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

sensation

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

sensation

We tend to perceive more pain when others around us also report feeling pain. This research finding indicates that pain perception is affected by both biological and what other influences?

social-cultural

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

spinal cord

Psychologists are skeptical about ESP claims because

studies claiming to demonstrate such abilities fail at replication.

Feature detectors pass information to other cortical areas where complex patterns are processed by

supercell clusters

Kinesthesis refers to the

system for sensing the position and movement of muscles, tendons, and joints.

Opponent-process cells have been located in the

thalamus

Experiments with the visual cliff suggest that

the ability to perceive depth is at least partly innate

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

the blind spot

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

the cocktail party effect

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

the gate-control theory

Experiencing a green afterimage of a red object is most easily explained by

the opponent-process theory

The fact that people who are colorblind to red and green may still see yellow is most easily explained by

the opponent-process theory.

The axons of ganglion cells converge to form

the optic nerve

The sequentially flashing Christmas tree lights appeared to generate pulsating waves of motion. This best illustrates

the phi phenomenon

When two adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession, we perceive a single light moving back and forth between them. This is called

the phi phenomenon

Current research on pitch perception suggests that

the place and frequency theories correctly explain different aspects of how we hear pitch.

according to frequency theory

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

According to the Young-Helmholtz theory

the retina contains three kinds of color receptors.

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

the vestibular sense

what is the purpose of the eardrum?

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

As the text notes, "Once we have formed a wrong idea about reality, we have more difficulty seeing the truth." This best illustrates the impact of

top-down processing

Heather Sellers suffers from prosopagnosia and is unable to recognize her own face in a mirror. Her difficulty stems from a deficiency in

top-down processing

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

top-down processing

Patients' negative expectations about the outcome of a surgical procedure can increase their postoperative experience of pain. This best illustrates the importance of

top-down processing

The effect of prior experience and current expectations on perception best illustrates the importance of

top-down processing

The principles of continuity and closure best illustrate the importance of

top-down processing

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

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

transduction

Which basic taste attracts us to protein-rich foods?

umami

The feature detectors identified by Hubel and Weisel respond to specific aspects of ________ stimulation.

visual

Damage to the fovea would have the greatest effect on

visual acuity

According to the opponent-process theory, cells that are stimulated by exposure to ________ light are inhibited by exposure to ________ light.

yellow; blue

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

smell

Stereotypes are mental conceptions that can strongly influence the way we interpret the behaviors of individuals belonging to specific racial or ethnic groups. A stereotype is most similar to

a perceptual set

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

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

According to the gate-control theory, a back massage would most likely reduce your physical aches and pains by causing

activation of nerve fibers in your spinal cord

The direct link between a single cone and a single ________ preserves the fine details in the cone's message.

bipolar cell

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

bitter, sweet, sour, and salty.

Current research suggests that

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

Trying to see a hidden representational image in a piece of abstract art by looking carefully at each element in the picture and trying to form an image employs which kind of perceptual process?

bottom-up processing

taste and smell are both what kind of senses?

chemical

While singing to you on your birthday, your friends leave off the very last word of the song, "Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear David, Happy birthday to...." Your tendency to mentally fill in the last word best reflects which of the following Gestalt principles of organization?

closure

The basilar membrane is located in the

cochlea

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

cochlea

The retina is to the eye as the ________ is to the ear.

cochlea

As your teacher dims the lights to show a movie clip, you still perceive your friend's shirt as red. Which of the following best explains this phenomenon?

color constancy

Damage to the hammer, anvil, and stirrup is most likely to cause

conduction hearing loss

The organization of two-dimensional retinal images into three-dimensional perceptions is called

depth perception

Which of the following is the correct sequence of structures that sound waves pass through on the way to the auditory nerve?

eardrum, hammer, anvil, cochlea

When looking at the hands of a clock showing 8 o'clock, certain brain cells in the visual cortex are more responsive than when the hands show 10 o'clock. This is most indicative of

feature detection

Which of the following types of cells are located in the brain's occipital lobe?

feature detectors

The cocktail party effect is your ability to selectively attend to one voice among many. This ability also illustrates the Gestalt principle of

figure and ground

Movement of the hair cells along the basilar membrane

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

Receptor cells for kinesthesis are located in the

joints, tendons, bones, and ear

While playing tennis you need to know where your limbs are located so you can move them into the right positions to run or swing your racket. Which of the following senses provides this information?

kinesthesis

With her eyes closed, Sierra can accurately touch her mouth, nose, and chin with her index finger. Sierra's accuracy illustrates the importance of

kinesthesis

Compared with rods, cones are

less sensitive to dim light and more sensitive to fine detail

Brightness is to light as ________ is to sound.

loudness

Psychologists are skeptical about the existence of ESP because

many apparent demonstrations of ESP have been shown to be staged illusions.

A perceptual set is a

mental predisposition that influences what we perceive

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

middle ear

Depth perception that uses information transmitted to only one eye depends on

monocular cues

Which of the following is most helpful in perceiving the distance of objects far away from you?

monocular cues

Rods are

more light-sensitive and less color-sensitive than are cones.

Olfactory receptor cells are essential for our sense of

smell

Hearing a sequence of sounds of different pitches is to ________ as 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

Diminished sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus is known as

sensory adaptation

Bottom-up processing involves analysis that begins with the

sensory receptors

Although textbooks frequently cast a trapezoidal image on the retina, students typically perceive the books as rectangular objects. This illustrates the importance of

shape constancy

As a door opens, it casts an increasingly trapezoidal shape on our retinas; however, we still perceive it as rectangular. Which of the following best explains this phenomenon?

shape constancy

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

The fact that fear may increase your sensitivity to an almost imperceptible pain stimulus is of most relevance to

signal detection theory

When you are expecting an incoming text message, you are much more likely to notice it the second it arrives. This best illustrates

signal detection theory

Which theory can best explain why people respond differently to the same stimuli?

signal detection theory

Which theory emphasizes that personal expectations and motivations influence the level of absolute thresholds?

signal detection theory