WK 6 - Sensation & perception

Question 1

the process of detecting a physical stimulus such as light, sound, heat, pressure

Answer 1

sensation

Question 1

the process of intergrating organizing and interpreting sensations

Answer 1

perception

Question 2

specialized cells unique to each sense organ that respond to a particular form of sensory stimulation

Answer 2

sensory receptors

Question 3

the process by which a form of physical energy is converted into a coded neural signal that the nervous system can process

Answer 3

transduction

Question 4

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

Answer 4

absolute threshold

Question 5

minimum difference between any two stimuli that person can detect 50% of the time

Answer 5

difference threshold

Question 6

principle that the just noticeable diffference of a stimulus is a constant proportion despite variations

Answer 6

weber’s law

Question 7

diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Answer 7

sensory adaptation

Question 8

binocular input

Answer 8

stimulation from both eyes

Question 9

Three aspects of sound waves

Answer 9

Amplitude
Frequency
Wavelength

Question 10

Determines the pitch of the sound we perceive

Answer 10

frequency

Question 11

Determined loudness of the sound wave we perceive

Answer 11

amplitude

Question 12

Determined timbre (quality) of the sound we perceive

Answer 12

wavelength

Question 13

Three main regions of the ear

Answer 13

inner, middle, outer

Question 14

Conversion of sound waves into neural impulses in the air of the inner ear

Answer 14

acoustical transduction

Question 14

Conversion of sound waves into neural impulses in the air through of the inner ear

Answer 14

acoustical transduction

Question 15

Brenda smells coffee brewing, sees a mountain scene as she waits for it to be poured, and listens to the early morning call of a magpie. Though all of these sensations start as different forms of physical energy they all end up as patterns of neural impulses. This process of changing the physical energy into neural impulses is called:

Answer 15

transduction

Question 16

I catch up with a friend I haven’t seen since we were kids and can still recognise her despite her different cut and colour, different style clothing, and piercings. I am displaying:

Answer 16

Perceptual constancy

Question 17

I turn on my television and can’t hear the program. This causes me to turn up the volume so I can finally hear the show 50 percent of the time. I have:

Answer 17

crossed my absolute threshold

Question 18

Lucas is fascinated by a book he was bought for his birthday which is full of coloured pictures designed to create interesting after-images on the book’s white pages. After-images provide evidence in support of the __________ theory of colour vision.

Answer 18

opponent-process

Question 19

Which of the following is not a major perceptual rule by which the brain automatically and unconsciously organises sensory input into meaningful wholes, as proposed by Gestalt psychologists?
a. Simplicity
b. Proximity
c. Shading
d. Continuation

Answer 19

Shading

Question 20

Specialised cells that respond to environmental stimuli and typically generate action potentials in adjacent sensory neurons

Answer 20

sensory receptors

Question 21

The lowest level of stimulation required to sense that a change in stimulation has occurred (a just noticeable difference)

Answer 21

The difference threshold

Question 22

The tendency of sensory systems to respond less to stimuli that continue without change.

Answer 22

Sensory adaptation

Question 23

The tendency to perceive information outside our conscious awareness.

Answer 23

Subliminal perception

Question 24

Perceptual processing that starts with raw sensory data that feed ‘up’ to the brain.

Answer 24

Bottom-up processing

Question 25

The tendency to perceive the colour of objects as stable despite changing illumination.

Answer 25

colour constancy

Question 26

The organisation of perception in three dimensions.

Answer 26

Depth perception

Question 27

A neuron that fires only when stimulation in its receptive field matches a particular pattern or orientation.

Answer 27

Feature detectors

Question 28

The perception that an object’s shape remains constant despite the changing shape of the retinal image as the object is viewed from varying perspectives.

Answer 28

Shape constancy

Question 29

Perceptual processing that starts with the observer’s expectations and knowledge.

Answer 29

Top-down processing

Question 30

A theory of colour vision that proposes that the eye contains three types of receptors, each sensitive to wavelengths of light that produce sensations of blue, green and red.

Answer 30

Trichromatic theory / Young-Helmholtz theory

Question 31

Which Gestalt principle explains why we perceive a square instead of four separate lines?

a) The principle of proximity
b) The principle of closure
c) The principle of similarity

Answer 31

a) The principle that states that objects that are similar in appearance are perceived as belonging together.

Question 32

What is the Gestalt principle of similarity?

a) The principle that states that objects that are similar in appearance are perceived as belonging together.
b) The principle that states that objects that are close to each other are perceived as belonging together.
c) The principle that states that objects that are moving together are perceived as belonging together.

Answer 32

a) The principle that states that objects that are similar in appearance are perceived as belonging together.

Question 33

Which Gestalt principle explains why we see a pattern of alternating light and dark squares on a checkerboard?

a) The principle of similarity
b) The principle of continuity
c) The principle of figure-ground

Answer 33

b) The principle of continuity.

Question 34

What is the Gestalt principle of figure-ground?
a) The principle that states that we tend to organize visual elements into groups.
b) The principle that states that we tend to perceive objects as being in the foreground or the background.
c) The principle that states that we tend to perceive objects as being larger if they are closer to us.

Answer 34

b) The principle that states that we tend to perceive objects as being in the foreground or the background.

Question 35

What is the Gestalt principle of figure-ground?

a) The principle that states that we tend to organize visual elements into groups.
b) The principle that states that we tend to perceive objects as being in the foreground or the background.
c) The principle that states that we tend to perceive objects as being larger if they are closer to us.

Answer 35

b) The principle that states that we tend to perceive objects as being in the foreground or the background.

Question 36

Which cells in the retina are responsible for visual transduction?
a) Rod cells
b) Cone cells
c) Both a and b

Answer 36

Both A and B

Question 37

What is a photopigment?
a) A molecule in photoreceptor cells that is responsible for detecting light
b) A type of protein in the eye that helps to focus light
c) A structure in the ear that vibrates in response to sound waves

Answer 37

a) A molecule in photoreceptor cells that is responsible for detecting light

Question 38

What is the role of transducin in visual transduction?
a) It triggers a cascade of chemical reactions that lead to the generation of an electrical signal in the photoreceptor cell
b) It helps to focus light on the retina
c) It transmits electrical signals from the retina to the brain

Answer 38

a) It triggers a cascade of chemical reactions that lead to the generation of an electrical signal in the photoreceptor cell

Question 39

What is dark adaptation?
a) The process by which the retina adjusts to low levels of light
b) The process by which the ear adjusts to high levels of sound
c) The process by which the tongue adjusts to different tastes

Answer 39

a) The process by which the retina adjusts to low levels of light

Question 40

Which is the correct order of the path of light through the eye?
a) lens, cornea, pupil, retina
b) cornea, pupil, lens, retina
c) pupil, lens, retina, cornea
d) retina, lens, cornea, pupil

Answer 40

b) cornea, pupil, lens, retina