Psych AP: Sensation+Perception, Hearing, Sight Quiz
the change in the curvature of the lens that enables the eye to focus on objects at various distances is called
accommodation
coiled tube in the inner ear that contains the auditory receptors is called the
cochlea
the process of converting incoming physical energy into a neural code that can be processed is called
transduction
in the dark, an object is more clearly seen when viewed in peripheral vision than when viewed directly; this phenomenon occurs because the rods located in the retina are
more sensitive in the dark than cones and are not found in the fovea
middle ear
vibrations from the eardrum are transferred to a piston made up of hammer, anvil, stirrup
which of the following is the most accurate description of how we process color
occurs in three color system in the retina and opponent process cells en route to visual cortex
after sharon stares at a patch of saturated green color for a brief period of time, she looks at a white surface and sees a red patch of color; this perceptual phenomenon is best explained by
opponent process theory
negative afterimages are explained by
opponent-process theory
in visual perception, size constancy occurs as an object comes closer to the viewer because the
perceived distance of the object becomes smaller
admits light
pupil
what is psychophysics?
relationship between physical stimuli and our psychological experiences
when a pair of lights flashing in quick succession seems to an observer to be one light moving from place to place, the effect is referred to as
the phi phenomenon
given normal sensory ability, a person standing atop a mountain on a dark, clear night can see a candle flame atop a mountain 30 miles away; this is a description of vision's
absolute threshold
sensorineural hearing loss is caused by
damage to the cochlea
sensation is to ________ as perception is to ________
detecting a stimulus; recognizing a stimulus
n shopping for a new stereo, you discover that you cannot differentiate between the sounds of models X and Y; the difference between X and Y is below your
difference threshold
what is subliminal threshold?
energy of stimulus is below ones absolute threshold for conscious awareness
damage to which of the following best explains conduction deafness?
hammer, anvil, and stirrup
length
hue/color
webers law states that
the jnd for any stimulus is a constant proportion
what is back masking?
recording studio technique where backward messages are superimposed on soundtracks
in the opponent process theory, the three pairs of processes are
red-green, blue-yellow, black-white
the depth cue that occurs when we watch stable objects at different distances as we are moving is
relative motion
the process by which the lens changes its curvature is
accommodation
which of the following supports the opponent-process theory of color vision?
afterimages
frequency is to pitch as ____ is to ____
amplitude; loudness
what is bottom up processing?
analysis of the stimulus that begins with the sensor receptors and works up to the level or brain and mind
the inner ear contains receptors for
audition and the vestibular sense
when struck by light energy, cones and rods in the retina generate neural signals that then activate the
bipolar cells
the place in the retina where the optic nerve exits to the brain is called the
blind spot
___ processing refers to how the physical characteristics of stimuli influence their interpretation
bottom up
superman's eyes used ________, while his brain used ________
bottom up processing; top down processing
process of light in brain
brain->thalamus->cerebral cortex->occipital lobe
great amplitude
bright colors, loud sounds
what are subliminal messages?
can only occur in controlled lab studies
what is conduction hearing loss?
caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea
figures tend to be perceived as whole, complete objects, even if spaces or gaps exist in the representation, thus demonstrating the principle of
closure
even though it was nearly dark outside, kaci could still tell that the basketball she was playing with was orange; which of the following concepts is best illustrated in this example?
color constancy
which of the following explains why a rose appears equally red in bright and dim light
color constancy
color vision
cones
which of the following refers to the photoreceptors responsible for color vision?
cones
as the football game continued into the night, le var noticed that he was having difficulty distinguishing the colors of the player's uniforms; this is because the _____, which enable color vision, have a ______ absolute threshold for brightness than the available light intensity
cones; higher
the tendency to organize stimuli into smooth, uninterrupted patterns is called
continuity
the correct order of the structure through which light passes after entering the eye is
cornea, pupil, lens, retina
small amplitude
dull colors, soft sounds
domingo has just hit play to begin listening to a new song he bought; based on the structure of the ear, what will the sound waves contact first after moving through domingo's auditory canal?
eardrum
which of the following is an example of shape constancy?
even though the angle from which she viewed the table had changed, elise still perceived the table as rectangular
which of the following is an example of sensory adaption
finding the cold water of a swimming pool warmer after you have been in it for a while
selective attention is most accurately defined as
focusing of conscious awareness of a particular stimulus
why are cochlear implants used?
for nerve deafness to regain hearing, converts sound into electrical signals
visual acuity is best in the
fovea
perceived pitch of a tone is largely determined by its
frequency
the psychological experience of pitch is related to a sound wave's
frequency
which of the following theories most accurately explains pitch perception?
frequency, place
if carmelita stares at a red spot for one minute and then shifts her gaze to a white piece of paper, she is likely to experience an afterimage that is
green
after staring at a very intense red stimulus for a few minutes, carrie shifted her gaze to a beige wall and "saw" the color _____; carrie's experience provides support for the _____ theory
green; opponent process
what is sensorineural hearing loss?
hearing loss caused by damage to the cochleas receptors cells or to the auditory nerves
latisha noticed that in the early evening she begins to have difficulty seeing the vibrant colors in her artwork; which of the following best explains her difficulty?
her cones cannot detect color well in dim light
short wavelength...
high frequency (bluish colors, high-pitched sounds)
shorter wavelength
higher frequency, high pitched sounds
what is pitch?
how high or low a sound is from 20 hz to 200000 hz
height
how intense/brightness
the pitch of a sound is analogous to which of the following features of light?
hue
wavelength is to___ as ___ is to brightness
hue; intensity
experiments with distorted visual environments demonstrate that
humans adapt readily, while lower animals typically do not
what is weber's law?
idea that to perceive a difference between two stimuli, they must differ by a constant percentage NOT amount
when admiring the texture of a piece of fabric, calvin usually runs his fingertips over the cloth's surface; he does this because
if the cloth were held motionless, sensory adaption to its feel would quickly occur
the perceptual error in which we fail to see an object when our attention is directed elsewhere is
inattentional blindness
what is top-down processing?
information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
studies of the visual cliff have provided evidence that much of depth perception is
innate
transduction of sound
inner ear
the study of perception is primarily concerned with how we
interpret sensory stimuli
controls pupil
iris
the size of the pupils is controlled by the
iris
which of the following statements best describes the effects of sensory restrictions
it has more damaging effects when experienced during infancy
most color-deficient people will probably
lack functioning red or green sensitive cones
accommodation
lens
the fact that a white object under dim illumination appears lighter than a gray object under bright illumination is called
lightness constancy
What do feature detectors do?
lines, motion, curves in visual cortex
a sound is often detected by one ear more intensely and a fraction of a second earlier than it is detected by the other ear; these cues help individuals determine the
location of the source
great amplitude
loud sounds
long wavelength...
low frequency (reddish colors, low-pitched sounds)
the place theory of pitch perception cannot account for how we hear
low pitched sounds
longer wavelength
lower frequency, low pitched sounds
amplifies sound
middle ear
what is timbre?
mix of frequencies and amplitudes that make up quality of sound
when two unfamiliar objects of equal size cast unequal retinal images, the object that casts the smaller retinal image will be perceived as being
more distant than the other objectt
assuming that the visual systems of humans and other mammals function similarly, you would expect that the retina of a nocturnal mammal (one active only at night) would contain
mostly rods
what is parallel processing?
multitasking ability that lets our brain handle many aspects simultaneously
what is the volley principle?
neural cells can alternate firing is that they can achieve a combined frequency above 1000 times per second
according to the opponent-process theory
neurons involved in color vision are stimulated by one color's wavelength and inhibited by another's
in the absence of perceptual constancy
objects would appear to change size as their distance from us changed.
feature detectors are neurons that are turned on or off by specific features of visual stimuli like edges and movement; where in the visual system are these feature detectors located?
occipital cortex
i am a cell in the thalamus that is excited by red and inhibited by green, i am
opponent process cell
after staring at a green, black, and orange "american flag" for about a minute, an individual will see a red, white, and blue flag afterimage; which of the following explains this phenomenon?
opponent process theory
the brain breaks vision into separate dimensions such as color, depth, movement, and form, and works on each aspect simultaneously; this is called
parallel processing
as we move, viewed objects cast changing shapes on our retinas, although we do not perceive the objects as changing; this is part of the phenomenon of
perceptual constancy
each time you see your car, it projects a different image on the retinas of your eyes, yet you do not perceive it as changing; this is because of
perceptual constancy
although carpenter smith perceived a briefly viewed object as a screwdriver, police officer Wesson perceived the same object as a knife; this illustrates that perception is guided by
perceptual set
the phenomenon that refers to the ways in which an individual's expectations influence perception is called
perceptual set
In comparing the human eye to a camera, the film would be located in the eye's
retina
the transduction of light energy into nerve impulses takes place in the
retina
When we stare at an object, each eye receives a slightly different image, providing a depth cue known as
retinal disparity
all of the following are laws of perceptual organization except
retinal disparity
which of the following is not a monocular depth cue
retinal disparity
the receptor of the eye that functions best in dim light is the
rod
vision in dim light
rods
which of the following is the correct path a neural impulse will follow through the different layers of the retina?
rods and cones, bipolar cells, ganglion cells, optic nerve
which of the following describes the correct order of information processing in vision?
rods and cones→bipolar cells→ganglion cells→optic nerve
vestibular sense
semicircular canals
a decrease in sensory responsiveness accompanying an unchanging stimulus is called
sensory adaption
the principle that one sense may influence another is
sensory interaction
hyrum is at a concert when a flute player hits a very high note at the end of a song; which of the following best explains why the pitch of the note sounds so high?
short wavelength and high frequency
as you watch a friend walk away from you, your retinal image of your friend gets smaller; despite this, you do not perceive him to be shrinking; this is an example of
size constancy
the phenomenon of size constancy is based on the close connection is between an objects perceived ___ and its perceived ___
size, distance
small amplitudes
soft sounds
outer ear
sound waves are channeled through auditory canal to the eardrum that vibrates
to maximize your sensitivity to fine visual detail you should
stare directly at the object
luis constructed a flip-book with 30 different still images of a cartoon cat; when Luis quickly flipped through successive images of the cat, the cat appeared to move; which of the following concepts does the example illustrate?
stroboscopic movement, because the book is a series of images presented at separate time intervals
a reason that one typically does not notice a blind spot in the visual field is that
the brain fills in missing information so there is no awareness that the visual field is incomplete
the frequency theory of hearing is better than place theory at explaining our sensation of
the lowest pitches
what is difference threshold?
the minimum difference that a person can detect b/t two stimuli
what is absolute threshold?
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time
what is sensation?
the process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive stimuli from the environment
what is perception?
the process of organizing and interpreting sensory info, enables us to recognize meaningful objects and events
what is the frequency theory?
the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone so we can sense pitch; explains low pitched sounds
differences between the right and left ear
the right ear picks up more intense sound faster and better with speech, the left ear is more sensitive to music
the figure ground relationship has demonstrated that
the same stimulus can trigger more than one perception
julia is practicing her trumpet and produces a loud sound; which of the following is the best explanation for the loudness of the sound?
the sound has a high-amplitude sound wave
why do humans have stereophonic or 3d hearing?
they have one ear on each side
___ processing refers to how our knowledge and expectations influence perception
top down
general function of the bones in the middle ear is to
transfer sound information from the tympanic membrane to the oval window
adults who are born blind but later have their vision restored
typically fail to recognize familiar objects
what do decibels measure?
units for sound energy
inner ear
vibrations from piston are transferred to the cochlea, the cochleas membrane vibrates and the liquid moves, which causes that bends the hair located in basilar membrane to trigger the acoustic nerve, sends messages to thalamus and auditory cortex
scott lost his vision at a young age; when he was much older, he received a corneal transplant that allowed him to see again; after so many years of not being able to see, he had a very difficult time interpreting visual information such as faces and expressions; his visual problems most likely came from processing difficulties in the
visual cortex
one light may appear reddish and another greenish if they differ in
wavelength
what is the place theory?
we hear different pitches because different sound waves trigger activity at different places along the cochlea's basilar membrane; explains high pitched
