AP Psychology Sensation and Perception Practice Test Answers

Sensation is to ___ as perception is to ___

detection; interpretation

Objects are brought into focus on the retina by changes in the curvature and thickness of the

lens

Damage to the basilar membrane is most likely to result in

nerve deafness

Interposition is a cue for depth perception in which closer objects

obstruct our view of distant objects

The brain's release of endorphins reduces

pain

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

parallel processing

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

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

The volley principle is most directly relevant to our perception of...

pitch

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

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

sensation

As the retinal image of a horse galloping toward you becomes larger, it is unlikely that the horse will appear to grow larger. This best illustrates the phenomenon of

size constancy

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

spinal cord

The Ames illusion involving two girls who are perceived as very different in size can best be explained in terms of

the misperception of distance

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

the vestibular sense

The biopsychosocial approach to pain is likely to emphasize the importance of both

top-down and bottom-up processing

As we move, objects that are fixed in place, a light pole, for example, may appear to move. What is this monocular cue for depth called?

Relative motion

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

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

Binocular cues

Although Sue Yen sees her chemistry teacher several times a week, she didn't recognize the teacher when she saw her in the grocery store. This best illustrates the importance of

Context effects

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

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

Figure; ground

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

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

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

The McGurk effect best illustrates...

Sensory interaction

With her eyes closed and her nose plugged, Chandra was unable to taste the difference between an onion and a pear. Her experience best illustrates the importance of

Sensory interaction

The mechanical vibrations triggered by sound waves are transduced into neural impulses by

hair cells

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

conduction hearing loss

On a cloudy day, a yellow flower is likely to be perceived ___ it does on a bright sunny day

equally as yellow as

Visual information is processed by

ganglion cells before it is processed by feature detectors

Distant trees were located closer to the top of the artist's canvas than were the nearby flowers. The artist was clearly using the distance cue known as

relative height

Renny knew the red tulip was closer to her than the yellow tulip because the red one cast a larger retinal image than the yellow one. This illustrates the importance of the distance cue known as

relative size

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

retinal disparity

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