AP Psych Unit 4: Sensation and Perception Exam

Which of the following best explains why we have difficulty locating sounds that are directly overhead? a. When the sound is directly overhead. it reaches both ears immediately. b. The hair cells along the basilar membrane do not fire when the sounds are directly overhead. c. The bones of the middle ear are all vibrating at different rates. d. The sound has become compressed and harder to hear. e. An individual neuron can't fire faster than 1000 times per second.

a. When the sound is directly overhead. it reaches both ears immediately.

The mechanical vibrations triggered by sound waves are transduced into neural impulses by a. hair cells b. the eardrum c. the oval window d. the auditory cortex e. the vestibular apparatus

a. hair cells

Light-wave amplitude determines the a. intensity of colors b. color hue we experience c. firing of rods in the retina d. curvature and thickness of the lens e. parallel processing of a scene

a. intensity of colors

A time lag between left and right auditory stimulation is important for accurately a. locating sounds b. detecting pitch c. recognizing rhythms d. judging amplitude e. determining frequency

a. locating sounds

Which theory can best explain why people respond differently to the same stimuli? a. signal detection theory b. frequency theory c. opponent-process theory d. the Young-Helmholtz theory e. bottom-up theory

a. signal detection theory

Bottom-up processing involves analysis that begins with the a. optic nerve b. sensory receptors c. cerebral cortex d. feature detectors e. occipital lobe

b. sensory receptors

Feature detectors pass information to other cortical areas where complex patterns are processed by a. bipolar cells b. supercell clusters c. the optic nerve d. the opponent-process cells e. cochlear implants

b. supercell clusters

When Jason briefly turned to summon the waiter, his wife quickly switched her glass of red wine with his glass white wine. Jason's failure to notice that his chosen wine had been replaced best illustrates a. place theory b. sensory interaction c. change blindness d. parallel processing e. figure-ground

c. change blindness

Which process allows more light to reach the periphery of the retina? a. accommodation of the lens b. transduction of the blind spot c. dilation of the pupil d. sensory adaptation of feature detectors e. focusing light effectively on the fovea

c. dilation of the pupil

According to the opponent-process theory, cells that are stimulated by exposure to a. green light are inhibited by exposure to blue light b. yellow light are inhibited by exposure to red light c. green light are inhibited by exposure to red light d. red light are inhibited by exposure to blue light e. yellow light are inhibited by exposure to green light

c. green light are inhibited by exposure to red light

Receptor cells for kinesthesis are located in the a. fovea b. inner ear c. joints, tendons, bones, and ear d. olfactory epithelium e. auditory cortex

c. joints, tendons, bones, and ear

The fact that fear may increase your sensitivity to an almost imperceptible pain stimulus is of most relevance to a. place theory b. frequency theory c. the Young-Helmholtz theory d. opponent-process theory e. signal detection theory

e. signal detection theory

When informed that a brief imperceptible message would be flashed repeatedly during a popular TV program, many viewers reported feeling strangely hungry or thirsty during the show. Since the imperceptible message had nothing to do with hunger or thirst, viewers' strange reactions best illustrate a. the McGurk effect b. sensory adaptation c. the volley principle d. a placebo effect e. accommodation

d. a placebo effect

Ms. Shields, a recent stroke victim, can't consciously perceive the large book on the coffee table in front of her. Yet, when urged to identify the book, she correctly reads aloud the printed title on the book cover. Her response best illustrates a. subliminal perception b. sensory adaptation c. synaethesia d. blindsight e. the McGurk effect

d. blindsight

The basilar membrane is located in the a. middle ear b. auditory canal c. semicircular canal d. cochlea e. feature detector

d. cochlea

Cones and rods are to vision as __________ are to audition. a. eardrums b. cochleas c. oval windows d. hair cells e. semicircular canals

d. hair cells

Compared with rods, cones are a. more sensitive to dim light and more sensitive to fine detail b. less sensitive to dim light and less sensitive to fine detail c. more sensitive to dim light and less sensitive to fine detail d. less sensitive to dim light and more sensitive to fine detail e. more sensitive to any light and less sensitive to fine detail

d. less sensitive to dim light and more sensitive to fine detail

Cocking your head would be most useful for detecting the _____________ of a sound. a. intensity b. pitch c. loudness d. location e. amplitude

d. location

Researchers have identified receptors for which of the following skin sensations? a. pain b. cold c. warmth d. pressure e. hot

d. pressure

The axons of ganglion cells converge to form a. the basilar membrane b. bipolar cells c. the auditory nerve d. the optic nerve e. the olfactory epithelium

d. the optic nerve

The local fire department sound the 12 o'clock whistle. The process by which your ears convert the sounds waves from the siren into neural impulses is an example of a. sensory adaptation b. accommodation c. parallel processing d. transduction e. sensory interaction

d. transduction

What is the purpose of the eardrum? a. Vibration of the eardrum directly causes ripples in the basilar membrane. b. Axons on the eardrum converge to form the auditory nerves, which sends auditory messages to the brain. c. Transduction of sound waves into neural messages occurs in the eardrum. d. Movement of the eardrum directly causes the stirrup to vibrate. e. To transmit sound from the air to the bones of the middle ear.

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

Certain stroke victims report seeing nothing when shown a series of sticks, yet they are able to correctly report whether the sticks are vertical or horizontal. This best illustrates a. prosopagnosia b. serial procession c. the McGurk effect d. sensory interaction e. blindsight

e. blindsight

Researchers found that 40% of people focused on repeating a list of challenging words failed to notice a change in the person speaking. This best illustrates a. feature detectors b. the blind spot c. the difference threshold d. priming e. change deafness

e. change deafness

Sound waves vibrations are transmitted by 3 tiny bones located in the a. vestibular sacs b. semicircular canals c. inner ear d. cochlea e. middle ear

e. middle ear

The ability to simultaneously process the pitch, loudness, melody, and meaning of a song best illustrates a. subliminal perception b. kinesthesis c. accommodation d. sensory adaptation e. parallel processing

e. parallel processing

The discovery that high-frequency sounds trigger large vibrations near the beginning of the basilar membrane supports the ______________ theory. a. gate-control b. frequency c. Young-Helmholtz d. opponent-process e. place

e. place

Hearing a sequence of sounds of different pitches is to ____________ as recognizing the sound sequence as familiar melody is to _____________. a. the just noticeable difference; accommodation b. absolute threshold; difference threshold c. sensory interaction; feature detection d. feature detection; sensory interaction e. sensation; perception

e. sensation; perception

A cochlear implant would be most helpful for those who suffer a. loss of movement b. loss of position c. loss of balance d. conduction hearing loss e. sensorineural hearing loss

e. sensorineural hearing loss

Experiencing a green afterimage of red object is most easily explained by a. the opponent-process theory b. the gate-control theory c. place theory d. the Young-Helmholtz theory e. frequency theory

the opponent-process theory

Which theory emphasizes that personal expectations and motivations influence the level of absolute thresholds? a. signal detection theory b. frequency theory c. opponent-process theory d. place theory e. bottom-up theory

a. signal detection theory

According to the Young-Helmholtz theory, a. the retina contains 3 kinds of color receptors b. color vision depends on pairs of opposing retinal proceses c. the size of the difference threshold is proportional to the intensity of the stimulus d. certain nerve cells in the brain respond to specific features of a stimulus e. the optic nerve processes top-down stimuli

a. the retina contains 3 kinds of color receptors

The principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion for their difference to be perceived is known as a. the opponent-process theory b. Weber's law c. feature detection d. sensory interaction e. the difference threshold

b. Weber's law

Evidence that some cones are especially sensitive to red light, others to green light, and still others to blue lights is most directly supportive of the __________ theory. a. frequency b. Young-Helmholtz c. gate-control d. opponent-process e. signal detection

b. Young-Helmholtz

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 a. subliminal threshold b. absolute threshold c. adaptation threshold d. difference threshold e. auditory threshold

b. absolute threshold

By amplifying soft sounds but not loud sounds, digital hearing aids produce a. sensory interaction b. compressed sound c. subliminal stimulation d. sensory compensation e. feature detectors

b. compressed sound

Sensation is to ____________ as perception is to _______________. a. encoding; detection b. detection; interpretation c. interpretation; organization d. organization; accommodation e. threshold; transduction

b. detection; interpretation

Joe Wilson, age 55, has been told by experts that a hearing aid would restore his lost sense of hearing. It is likely that Joe's hearing loss involves problems within the a. inner ear. b. middle ear c. auditory nerve d. basilar membrane e. oval window

b. middle ear

Complete sensation in the absence of complete perception is best illustrated by a. Weber's Law b. prosopagnosia c. conduction deafness d. color constancy e. sensory interaction

b. prosopagnosia

Bipolar cells are located in the a. optic nerve b. retina c. blind spot d. lens e. cochlea

b. retina

Under very dim levels of illumination a. the iris expands to allow more light to reach the retina b. rods are more light-sensitive than cones c. foveas react to increase the sensitivity of the optic nerve d. feature detectors in the retina activate e. rods fire according to place theory to perceive the available light

b. rods are more light-sensitive than cones

Which of the following circumstances is most likely to contribute to conduction hearing loss? a. a failure to use earplugs while working in a noisy factory b. exposure to very loud rock music c. misuse of Q-tips in cleaning your ears d. exposure to unpredictable or uncontrollable noise e. biological changes linked with aging

c. misuse of Q-tips in cleaning your ears

Sensory adaptation helps us to focus our attention on what kind of stimuli? a. familiar b. subliminal c. novel d. intense e. transduced

c. novel

The receptor cells that convert light energy into neural signals are called a. bipolar cells b. ganglion cells c. rods and cones d. feature detectors e. opponent processors

c. rods and cones

The pop-out phenomenon illustrates that some stimuli almost inevitably trigger a. sensory adaptation b. transduction c. selective inattention d. priming e. difference threshold

c. selective inattention

Diminished sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus is known as a. accommodation b. blindsight c. sensory adaptation d. transduction e. equilibrium

c. sensory adaptation

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 a. the Young-Helmholtz theory b. opponent-process theory c. signal detection theory d. frequency theory e. place theory

c. signal detection theory

Audiotapes of soothing ocean sounds accompanied by faint and imperceptible verbal messages designed to increase a desire to lose weight best illustrates a. synaesthesia b. sensory interaction c. subliminal stimulation d. parallel processing e. difference thresholds

c. subliminal stimulation

According to frequency theory, a. most sound waves are a complex mixture of may frequencies b. high-frequency sounds trigger a wave of activity that peaks near the beginning of the basilar membrane c. the rate at which impulses travel up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of the tone being heard d. frequent or prolonged simulation of a sensory receptor causes that receptor to become less sensitive e. we hear different pitches because different sound waves cause different parts of the never cells in the cochlea to fire

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

The fact that people who are colorblind to read red and green may still see yellow is most easily explained by a. the Young-Helmholtz theory b. the gate-control theory c. place theory d. frequency theory e. the opponent-process theory

e. the opponent-process theory