Psychology/Sociology Chapter 3: Sensation and Perception

Question 1

Pain threshold for sound

Answer 1

130-140 dB

Question 2

Auditory nerve is composed of a bundle of fibers made up of

Answer 2

Both bipolar and unipolar cells

The human cochlear (i.e. auditory) nerve is comprised of about 30,000 nerve fibers, most of which are bipolar (2 neurite branches) but there are also unipolar (1 neurite) cells present in the cochlear ganglia.

Question 3

Sound-induced vibrations depolarize hair cells of the cochlea by opening ion channels that are gated in what way?

Answer 3

Mechanically

Sound wave-induced vibration of hair cells generates tension within the cell membrane that directly activate ion channels responsible for auditory signaling. This type of ion channel is a mechanically-gated channel, such that upon its activation, it generates a depolarizing current within the cell.

Question 4

Lateral geniculate nucleus

Answer 4

is a visual information relay center in the thalamus. The LGN detects and interprets information from the retina and passes it on to the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe.

Question 5

parietal lobe integrates

Answer 5

multiple inputs of sensory information, from spatial sense and navigation (proprioception) to temperature (thermoreceptors) and touch (mechanoreceptors)

Question 6

signal detection theory

Answer 6

refers to the ability to pick up the true or false presence or absence of stimuli in the environment

Question 7

motion parallax

Answer 7

refers to the fact that objects close to us move further across our visual field than objects that are far from us

Question 8

the context effect

Answer 8

the context effect refers to the influence of environmental characteristics on a person’s perception of a stimulus. For example, a participant may have better recall when the original learning and recall take place in similar environments.

B.

Question 9

The strength, or amplitude, of a nervous response is

Answer 9

fixed

Question 10

dichotic listening task

Answer 10

presenting different auditory stimuli to each ear.

used to study how the brain processes auditory information, particularly in relation to selective attention, language processing, and hemispheric specialization

Question 11

monocular vs binocular depth cue

Answer 11

Question 12

👁️👁️ Binocular Depth Cues

Answer 12

Require both eyes working together

Based on the slightly different images each eye sees (because they’re spaced apart)

Most important for close-up depth perception

✅ Examples:
Retinal Disparity – The brain compares the differences between the two retinal images to judge distance.

Convergence – The closer an object, the more your eyes turn inward to focus on it; your brain uses that muscle tension as a depth cue.

Question 13

👁️ Monocular Depth Cues

Answer 13

Work with just one eye

Help us perceive depth in 2D images or at long distances

Often used in art and photography

✅ Examples:
Relative Size – Smaller objects are perceived as farther away.

Interposition – If one object blocks another, it’s perceived as closer.

Linear Perspective – Parallel lines appear to converge with distance.

Texture Gradient – Closer objects have more detail.

Shadowing/Light and Shadow – Creates a sense of form and depth.

Motion Parallax – When you move, closer objects appear to move faster than distant ones.