Chapter 5

Question 1

Which of the following describes the difference in stimuli required to detect a difference between the stimuli?
A. just noticeable
B. signal detection
C. subliminal
D. top down

Answer 1

A. just noticeable

Question 2

What is described by the concept of perception?

Answer 2

How sensory information is interpreted and consciously experienced

Question 3

Inattentional ________ refers to the failure to notice something that is completely visible due to a lack of attention.

Answer 3

blindness

Question 4

Which type of processing involves the interpretation of sensations and is influenced by available knowledge, experiences, and thoughts?

Answer 4

Top-down

Question 5

What is amplitude?

Answer 5

The height of a wave

Question 6

The visible spectrum refers to the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we _______.

Answer 6

can see

Question 7

Hertz is a measure of ________.

Answer 7

frequency

Question 8

Which nerve carries visual information from the retina to the brain?

Answer 8

Optic

Question 9

What is a binaural cue?

Answer 9

two-eared cue to localize sound

Question 10

Congenital deafness refers to deafness ________.

Answer 10

since birth

Question 11

Which term describes the perception of the body’s movement through space?
A. dimensionality
B. kinesthesia
C. neurasthenia
D. nociception

Answer 11

B. kinesthesia

Question 12

________ is a chemical message sent by another individual.

Answer 12

pheromone

Question 13

Our vestibular sense contributes to our ability to ________.

Answer 13

maintain balance and body posture

Question 14

Which field of psychology includes the following concepts: figure-ground relationship, law of continuity, and principle of closure?
A. biometric
B. Gestalt
C. Pacinian
D. somatosensory

Answer 14

B. Gestalt

Question 15

_______ refers to the way that sensory information is interpreted and consciously experienced; ________ refers to what happens when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor.

Answer 15

perception; sensation

Question 16

Your ears receive sound waves and convert this energy into neural messages that travel to your brain and are processed as sounds. This is an example of ________.

Answer 16

transduction

Question 17

What concept is illustrated by the following study? Participants were instructed to focus on either white or black objects, disregarding the other color. When a red cross passed across the screen, about one third of the subjects did not notice it.

Answer 17

Inattentional blindness

Question 18

Derek wants to win the student of the year award so badly that when the name of the award winner is announced, he is convinced that he hears his name. He stands up and begins to leave the aisle when his friend grabs his hand. Someone else won the award. This illustrates how ________can affect perception.

Answer 18

motivation

Question 19

Imagine yourself in a dark classroom reading PowerPoint slides. If an audience member were to check the internet using her cell phone and causing her screen to light up, chances are that many people would notice the change in illumination in the classroom. However, if the same thing happened in a brightly lit classroom during a discussion, very few people would notice. The cell phone brightness does not change, but its ability to be detected as a change in illumination varies dramatically between the two contexts. This is an example of ________.

Answer 19

Merkel’s theory

Question 20

Which of the following exemplifies olfaction?
A. feeling the warmth of the sun
B. hearing an airplane fly overhead
C. smelling cookies in the oven
D. tasting white chocolate fudge

Answer 20

smelling cookies in the oven

Question 21

Which of the following exemplifies gustation?
A. Hearing a cat purr
B. Feeling a piece of petrified wood
C. Smelling fresh mint in a garden
D. Tasting freshly caught salmon

Answer 21

Tasting freshly caught salmon

Question 22

Suppose you are watching a movie on a large screen. For a fraction of a second, the words “Drink Cola” flash on the screen. You do not perceive the words “Drink Cola” because it is beyond your absolute threshold. In this example, the message “Drink Cola” is an example of ________.

Answer 22

a subliminal message

Question 23

Due to his sense of ________, Abraham knows he is cold when he is outside during a blizzard, and he knows he is hot after he comes inside and eats soup by the fire.

Answer 23

thermoception

Question 24

The amplitude of a wave is the height of a wave as measured from the highest point on the wave________ to the lowest point on the wave ________.

Answer 24

crest, trough

Question 25

Longer wavelengths will have ________ frequencies, and shorter wavelengths will have ________ frequencies.

Answer 25

lower; higher

Question 26

Within the visible spectrum, our experience of red is associated with ________.

Answer 26

longer wavelengths

Question 27

Wesley is in a movie theater with no windows—the only light is low illumination from the emergency lights on the floor. Which photoreceptors will be most useful to Wesley as he attempts to leave the theater?

Answer 27

Rods

Question 28

________-frequency sound waves are perceived as high-pitched sounds, while ________-frequency sound waves are perceived as low- pitched sounds.

Answer 28

high; low

Question 29

Tyrahn’s rods do not transform light into nerve impulses as easily and efficiently as they should, so he has difficulty seeing in dim light. This is called ________.

Answer 29

night blindness

Question 30

________ amplitudes are associated with ________ sounds. A. higher; quieter B. higher; weaker C. higher; louder D. lower; louder

Answer 30

higher; louder

Question 31

In a normal-sighted individual, the ________ will focus images perfectly on a small indentation in the back of the eye known as the ________.

Answer 31

lens; fovea

Question 32

Why are olfaction and gustation called chemical senses?

Answer 32

They have sensory receptors that respond to molecules in the food we eat or in the air we breathe.

Question 33

At the point of the optic chiasm, information from the right visual field (which comes from both eyes) is sent to the ________ side of the brain, and information from the left visual field is sent to the ________ side of the brain.

Answer 33

left; right

Question 34

Which of the following statements best describes trichromatic theory and opponent-process theory? A. Both theories are equally accurate, but they apply to different levels of the nervous system. B. The trichromatic theory is more accurate than the opponent-process theory. C. Research has not supported either theory. D. The opponent-process theory is more accurate than the trichromatic theory.

Answer 34

Both theories are equally accurate, but they apply to different levels of the nervous system.

Question 35

What does the place theory of pitch perception suggest?

Answer 35

Different portions of the basilar membrane are sensitive to sounds of different frequencies.

Question 36

In addition to sweet, salty, sour, and bitter, what other taste groupings do we possess?

Answer 36

Umami and fat content

Question 37

How does the term Gestalt relate to the psychological study of perception?

Answer 37

Perception involves more than simply combining sensory stimuli; therefore, perception is studied as Gestalt.

Question 38

What was the original focus of Swets’ (1964) signal detection Theory?

Answer 38

Improving the sensitivity of air traffic controllers to plane blips

Question 39

Individuals suffering from congenital analgesia have a shorter life span due to ________

Answer 39

their injuries and secondary infections of injured sites

Question 40

Several studies have suggested that non-Black participants identify weapons faster and are more likely to identify non-weapons as weapons when the image of the weapon is paired with the image of a Black person. What does this imply about perception?

Answer 40

Perceptions are influenced by implicit prejudice and stereotypes.