Psychology Module 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, & 21 Quiz Questions

Which of the following is the best example of kinesthesia?

Awareness of the position of your arms when swimming the backstroke

Which of the following is most closely associated with hairlike receptors in the semicircular canals?

Body position

How can context effects, emotions, and motivation trigger different perceptions of a single stimulus?

Context effects: Environmental factors can influence perception. For example, a tall basketball player might look short when standing next to a much taller player. Emotion: Mood can influence perception. For example, happy or sad music can alter one's perception of ambiguous words and scenes. Motivation: Motivation can influence perception. For example, a water bottle can seem closer when one is thirsty.

Which of the following is the best example of sensory interaction?

Finding that food tastes bland when you have a bad cold

Which of the following explains reversed-color afterimages?

Hering's opponent-process theory

What do we call a mental predisposition that influences our interpretation of a stimulus?

Perceptual set

What do we call the illusion of movement that results from two or more stationary, adjacent lights blinking on and off in quick succession?

Phi phenomenon

The view from Narmeen's left eye is slightly different from the view from her right eye. This is due to which depth cue?

Retinal disparity

Your best friend decides to paint her room an extremely bright electric blue. Which of the following best fits the physical properties of the color's light waves?

Short wavelength; large amplitude

Pitch depends on which of the following?

Strength of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve

Which of the following is produced by perceptual set?

Surprise at hearing an Oklahoma cowboy speak with a British accent

Briefly explain the biopsychosocial perspective on pain and pain treatment.

The biological approach on pain refers to the differences in genetics of the production of endorphins, the activity in the small fibers and spinal cord, and how the brain interprets the central nervous system's activity. The psychological approach refers to your expectations, attention to pain, and learning that is based on experiences. The social-cultural approach refers to empathy for others pain, presence of others, and expectations based off of your culture. Overall, the biopsychsocial approach possesses all of the factors mentioned above. They work together to influence our pain. Our brains receive the information enabling us to then feel the pain. There exist physical methods and psychological methods for treating pain. For example, medications, acupuncture, hypnosis, meditation are all treatment options.

What roles do the outer, middle, and inner ear play in helping a person hear a song on the radio?

The outer ear consists of the pinna, which is where the sound will collect coming from the radio. Then the sound waves will travel down the auditory canal to the eardrum. The eardrum will then vibrate once the sound waves strike it. Within the middle ear are the hammer, anvil, and stirrup (tiny bones) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's (fluid-filled tube) oval window. Within the inner ear the basilar membrane (inside of the cochlea) possesses hair cells that vibrate and then turn the vibrations into neural impulses. These neural impulses then go up the auditory nerve, to the thalamus, and finally to the auditory cortex allowing for the brain to interpret the sound. This process is quick and allows for us to hear the music and interpret it.

Explain two theories of color vision in humans. How does one of them explain color deficiency?

The trichromatic theory states that our color perception is created by three types of cone receptors in the retina, therefore, when we stimulate combinations of the red, green, or blue cones we are then able to see other colors. The opponent-process theory states that there are three sets of colors: red-green, blue-yellow, and black-white that allow for us to perceive color (sensory receptors are in pairs). Neurons turn on and off, meaning that if one color is stimulated then the other color is inhibited. Color deficiency is explained by the opponent-process theory. Essentially, it can be explained as a disfunction of the red or green colors (most common color blindness). The two colors work together because if you tire out your response to one color the other color (its oponent) should appear. But if one of the cones is faulty, the individual will not be able to distinguish the colors (between red or green).

What occurs when experiences influence our interpretation of data?

Top-down processing

What principle states that to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a minimum percentage rather than a constant amount?

Weber's law

Natalia is washing her hands and adjusts the faucet handle until the water feels just slightly hotter than it did before. Natalia's adjustment until she feels a difference is an example of...

a difference threshold

What type of hearing loss is due to damage to the mechanism that transmits sound waves to the cochlea?

conduction

Kimberly tells her brother to put on a suit on a warm summer day. Kimberly's brother knows to put on a swimsuit instead of a business suit because of...

context

What do we call the specialized neurons in the occipital lobe's visual cortex that respond to particular edges, lines, angles, and movements?

feature detectors

Bryanna and Charles are in a dancing competition. It is easy for spectators to see them against the dance floor because of...

figure-ground relationships

Which of the following reflects the notion that pitch is related to the number of impulses traveling up the auditory nerve in a unit of time?

frequency theory

Bringing order and form to stimuli, which illustrates how the whole differs from the sum of its parts, is called...

grouping

Sensing the position and movement of individual body parts is an example of which sense?

kinaesthetic

What do we call the conversion of stimulus energies, like sights and sounds, into neural impulses?

transduction

Light's _________ is the distance from one wave peak to the next. This dimension determines the ___________ we experience.

wavelength; hue

Tyshane went swimming with friends who did not want to get into the pool because the water felt cold. Tyshane jumped in and after a few minutes declared, "It was cold when I first got in, but now my body is used to it. Come on in!" Tyshane's body became accustomed to the water due to...

sensory adaptation

Marisol is planning a ski trip for spring break. Define absolute threshold and difference threshold, and explain how each one might play a role in her perception of the winter weather she will experience.

Absolute threshold is the minimum amount of stimulation a person can detect 50% of the time, through the senses. In this case, Marisol would need to experience an intensity of temperature allowing her to correctly detect the temperature 50% of the time. Difference threshold is the difference that must exist between two stimuli for the difference to be detected. In this case, Marisol would be able to notice the change in temperature depending on the amount it changes. Essentially Marisol will be able to sense the weather (get the information from the environment) and then be able to perceive it (make sense of the information). Therefore, she can detect the external stimulation, like the temperature, in order to understand the environment surrounding her.

Explain the meaning of the word gestalt as it applies to perception. Then, apply any two gestalt principles to the perception of food on a plate.

Gestalt is organizing a whole, meaning that people tend to naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns. We take pieces of information and transform them into meaningful wholes. Figure-perception is the organization of your visual into objects that stand out from their surroundings. Using the figure-perception principle for the plate of food example, the food would be the objects/figures that are able to stand out from the plate, which is the surrounding/ground. You are able to see what is the food that you are supposed to eat from the plate, which is only holding your food. Also, you are able to see your plate of food (object) stand out from the surface it is on (surrounding). Proximity is the objects distance from one another, that they may even seem like they belong together. Using the figure-perception principle for the plate of food example, the food on your plate can be arranged in such a way that they seem to all belong there, even if they may look different.

What do we call the transparent, protective layer that light passes through as it enters the eye?

cornea

The three small bones of the ear are located in the...

middle ear

A teacher used distortion goggles, which shifted the wearer's gaze 20 degrees, to demonstrate an altered perception. A student wearing the goggles initially bumped into numerous desks and chairs while walking around, but chose to wear the goggles for a half hour. After 30 minutes, the student was able to smoothly avoid obstacles, illustrating the concept of...

perceptual adaptation