Chapter 4 Multiple Choice Questions 1. The process of receiving stimulus energy from the environment and transforming it into neural energy is called _____. A. sensation B. consciousness C. perception D. cognition Answer: A 2. Jack sees a sleek object with four wheels and four doors on the street and recognizes that it is a car. This process of interpreting what he sees as a car is called _____. A. perception B. sensation C. transduction D. inhibition Answer: A 3. In psychology, the process of organizing and interpreting incoming sensory information is called _____. A. perception B. sensation C. awareness D. arousal Answer: A 4. Every day, one sees, hears, smells, tastes, and feels stimuli from the outside world. The process of collecting this data about the world is referred to as _____. A. perception B. inoculation C. sensation D. transduction Answer: C 5. Lionel steps on a jellyfish as he walks barefoot on the beach. At the moment of contact, the physical pain he experiences most accurately exemplifies _____. A. sensation B. perception C. incubation D. photoreception Answer: A 6. Rachel is walking in the woods and feels a sudden pain in the back of her neck. Due to the nature of the pain she recognizes that she has been stung by a bee. In this scenario, which of the following processes has most likely helped her identify the source of her pain? A. Photoreception B. Perception C. Incubation D. Transduction Answer: B 7. In the context of perception, _____ processing involves starting with a sense of what is happening and then applying that framework to incoming information from the world. A. forward B. top-down C. backward D. bottom-up Answer: B 8. In the context of perception, bottom-up processing involves analysis that begins with: A. perceptual sets. B. sensory receptors. C. the brain. D. the heart. Answer: B 9. Which of the following scenarios illustrates top-down processing in sensation and perception? A. As Jack is walking down the street, he sees people around him running indoors for shelter and runs indoors because it is raining. B. Tim listens to a song and realizes that he enjoys it. C. Josh eats a cheeseburger and realizes that he does not like the taste of beef. D. As Tom is swimming in the ocean, he suddenly experiences extreme pain on his feet and realizes that he has been stung by a jellyfish. Answer: A 10. Mrs. Robinson shows her students different fruits every day. At the end of the month, she tests the children by showing them pictures of the same fruits to see if the children are able to recognize them. The children are able to accurately recall the names of all the fruits. Which of the following processes is specifically involved in the children’s successful recall? A. Forward processing B. Top-down processing C. Backward processing D. Bottom-up processing Answer: B 11. A teacher uses pictures of animals to help her students identify those animals. The children look at each picture and then say the name of the animal in the picture out loud. This method of learning is most reflective of _____ processing. A. backward B. top-down C. forward D. bottom-up Answer: D 12. Which of the following correctly differentiates between top-down processing and bottom-up processing? A. Top-down processing starts with cognitive processing; bottom-up processing starts with the external environment. B. Top-down processes begin with sensory receptors; bottom-up processes begin with the interpretation of information. C. Bottom-up expectations are not always accurate; top-down expectations are always accurate. D. Bottom-up processing can happen in the absence of a stimulus; top-down processing cannot happen in the absence of a stimulus. Answer: A 13. Four-year-old Jimmy is reading for the first time. He is paying no attention to the meaning of the words because he is busy trying to say the words out loud by placing the letters together. In this scenario, Jimmy is primarily using _____ processing. A. threshold B. top-down C. transduction D. bottom-up Answer: D 14. _____ is a very subjective interpretation of information received from the sense organs. A. Perception B. Amplitude C. Sensation D. Transduction Answer: A 15. In the context of sensation and perception, specialized cells that detect stimulus information and transmit it to afferent nerves and the brain are called _____. A. ganglion cells B. sensory receptors C. sensory effectors D. barrier cells Answer: B 16. _____ are the openings through which the brain and nervous system experience the world. A. Sensory receptors B. Stem cells C. Sensory effectors D. Barrier cells Answer: A 17. In the context of sensory receptors, the intensity of the stimulus is communicated to the brain by varying the _____ of the action potential sent to the brain. A. strength B. frequency C. intensity D. lucidity Answer: B 18. Which of the following sensory processes is most activated when a person is listening to a song? A. Thermoreception B. Chemoreception C. Mechanoreception D. Photoreception Answer: C 19. Which of the following receptors is most activated when a person is watching a silent movie? A. Thermoreceptors B. Chemoreceptors C. Mechanoreceptors D. Photoreceptors Answer: D 20. In the context of sensation and perception, the detection of pressure by sensory receptors is called _____. A. thermoreception B. chemoreception C. mechanoreception D. photoreception Answer: C 21. In the context of sensory receptors, chemoreception occurs when: A. a person punches a wall. B. a person stares at bright light. C. a person listens to the radio. D. a person smells a rose. Answer: D 22. In the context of sensation, which of the following receptors is most activated when a person is tickled? A. Thermoreceptors B. Chemoreceptors C. Mechanoreceptors D. Photoreceptors Answer: C 23. Teresa, a young woman, is an object of interest for psychological researchers because her senses work differently from other people. She hears her favorite song when she eats meatballs and she smells fish when she touches a rose. In the context of sensory receptors and the brain, Teresa’s experiences best illustrate the phenomenon of _____. A. extra sensory perception B. synaesthesia C. phantom limb pain D. incubation Answer: B 24. Thomas, a war veteran, still experiences occasional aches in the arm that was amputated when he was injured in a war. In the context of sensory receptors and the brain, Thomas’s condition best illustrates the phenomenon of _____. A. extra sensory perception B. synaesthesia C. phantom limb pain D. incubation Answer: C 25. Which of the following examples best illustrates extrasensory perception (ESP)? A. George performs a magic trick. B. Tony runs faster than the others in a race. C. Jeff reads another person’s mind. D. Richard levitates in front of an audience. Answer: C 26. In the context of sensory receptors and the brain, a person’s ability to read another person’s mind is known as _____. A. magic B. levitation C. precognition D. telepathy Answer: D 27. In the context of sensory receptors and the brain, a person’s ability to sense future events is known as _____. A. magic B. levitation C. precognition D. telepathy Answer: C 28. Gary is watching a movie. He can hear the dialogue at all times except when the actors are whispering in a scene. This is because the actors’ whispers are too soft for Gary to hear. In other words, the whispers are most likely below the level of Gary’s _____. A. expectation B. arbitrary value C. absolute threshold D. upper limit Answer: C 29. In the context of sensation and perception, _____ is the minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect. A. noise B. amplitude C. perceptual set D. absolute threshold Answer: D 30. An architect is designing an apartment for his client, who wants to soundproof the interiors so that she cannot hear noises from the outside. In order for the client to be satisfied, the architect should ensure that the walls are thick enough to keep external noises out. In other words, the architect will work to increase his client’s _____. A. absolute threshold B. perceptual set C. saturation D. amplitude Answer: A 31. Mary requests her neighbor to turn down the volume of his television so that Mary does not hear it. The volume at which Mary cannot hear the television most of the time is: A. below her absolute threshold. B. above her difference threshold. C. above the level of noise. D. below her expected level of noise. Answer: A 32. Rachel is at home awaiting her son’s arrival; she has not seen him for three months. She does not hear his car until it is in her driveway, at which point she runs to the door to greet him. The point at which she can detect the sound of the car 50 percent of the time is her _____. A. absolute threshold B. frequency C. amplitude D. perceptual set Answer: A 33. Daniel conducts an experiment to see whether he can taste a quarter teaspoon of sugar dissolved in a glass of water. The same quantity of water is used for ten trials. Five out of ten times, Daniel does detect the taste of the sugar in the water. His taste of the sugar five out of ten times represents his _____. A. taste aversion B. extrasensory perception C. synaesthesia D. absolute threshold Answer: D 34. If a person hears two sounds that fluctuate in intensity, the point at which he or she can detect the contrast in the sounds is referred to as the _____. A. difference threshold B. amplitude C. absolute threshold D. saturation Answer: A 35. In the context of the difference threshold, _____ is the principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion to be perceived as different. A. Stroop effect B. Weber’s law C. the law of effect D. the Ponzo illusion Answer: B 36. Jenny detects a change in brightness when a 25W light bulb is replaced with a 100W light bulb but not when it is replaced with a 50W light bulb. However, she detects a change if the same 50W light bulb is replaced with a 200W light bulb. The differences in Jenny’s ability to perceive these changes can be explained by _____. A. the Stroop effect B. Thorndike’s law C. the Ponzo illusion D. Weber’s law Answer: D 37. When a person is paid $5 instead of $10, he or she feels cheated. When the same person is paid $90 instead of $100, it does not seem like a big difference to him or her. However, if the person is paid 90$ instead of $180, he or she feels cheated again. This scenario can be best explained by _____. A. the Ponzo illusion B. the Stroop effect C. Weber's law D. Thorndike’s law Answer: C 38. John is appalled when he is charged $50 for a cake instead of its usual price of $25. When he is charged $50 instead of $40, he barely notices the difference. In the context of Weber’s law, which of the following price increases for a cake would most likely be equally appalling to John? A. $100 instead of $80 B. $100 instead of $50 C. $60 instead of $50 D. $60 instead of $80 Answer: B 39. Subliminally presented stimuli: A. can sometimes be subconsciously perceived. B. are not recognized by the brain. C. increase the absolute thresholds for visual images. D. occur above the level of the absolute threshold. Answer: A 40. The _____ theory of perception states that detection of sensory stimuli depends on a variety of factors besides the physical intensity of the stimulus and the sensory abilities of the observer. A. opponent process B. trichromatic C. signal detection D. activation-synthesis Answer: C 41. Josh, a teenager, is attending his first party. He wants to ask a girl, Fiona, to dance but does not know whether she will say yes. He notices that Fiona is pretty, a little shy, and wants to dance. He also sees that she is not surrounded by friends. Which component of the signal detection theory is Josh illustrating by gathering these details about Fiona? A. Information acquisition B. Criterion C. False alarm D. Sensory failure Answer: A 42. Peter who lives in the United States has been offered a job in India. Before he makes his decision, he reads books on India and likes what he reads. He believes that according to his personal criteria, India will suit him very well. A few months after his move to India, Peter realizes that he cannot adapt to the weather or the culture in India and regrets his decision. According to the signal detection theory, this outcome can best be labeled as a _____. A. hit B. miss C. false alarm D. correct rejection Answer: C 43. Nathan is being tutored by one his classmates, Sarah. Nathan wants to ask Sarah to the prom but does not know whether she is interested in him. He looks out for signals of encouragement from her and realizes that she does not have a date for the prom. He also notes that she often calls him on the telephone just to talk, and joins him for lunch on most days. This encourages Nathan to ask Sarah out and when he does, she says yes. According to the signal detection theory, this outcome can best be labeled as a _____. A. hit B. miss C. false alarm D. correct rejection Answer: A 44. Donna is a marathon runner. When she runs a race, she does not see or hear the spectators because she is completely focused on the finish line. In this scenario, Donna is clearly demonstrating the phenomenon of _____. A. saturation B. selective attention C. inoculation D. sensory adaptation Answer: B 45. Lauren is at the airport waiting to board her flight. She initiates a friendly conversation with another passenger. Despite the noise at the airport and multiple announcements being made at the same time, Lauren is able to focus on what the passenger is saying. This scenario best demonstrates the occurrence of the _____. A. cocktail party effect B. Stroop effect C. volley principle D. sound shadow Answer: A 46. As Peter drives down the interstate, he misses his exit because his attention is diverted by the accident site in front of him. In this scenario, Peter is illustrating the phenomenon of _____. A. emotion-induced blindness B. color blindness C. subliminal perception D. correct rejection Answer: A 47. Although the volume of the television is low, Katherine does not hear her phone ring when she is watching a movie that she likes. In this scenario, Katherine is demonstrating _____. A. color blindness B. inattentional blindness C. subliminal perception D. correct rejection Answer: B 48. _____ refers to the failure of a person to detect unexpected events when he or she is focused on another task. A. Emotion-induced blindness B. Inattentional blindness C. Sensory adaptation D. Perpetual set Answer: B 49. A person’s predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way is known as _____. A. subliminal perception B. an optic illusion C. sensory adaptation D. a perceptual set Answer: D 50. When Carlos first arrives at his friend’s party, the music is so loud that he covers his ears. After a few hours, even though the music is still at the same volume, it stops bothering him. This change in his reaction to the volume of the music illustrates: A. perceptual constancy. B. sensory adaptation. C. transduction. D. saturation. Answer: B 51. Jenna is unable to fall asleep because the neighbor’s dog is barking. After fifteen minutes, Jenna stops noticing the dog barking and falls asleep. This scenario best illustrates the process of _____. A. perceptual constancy B. saturation C. amplification D. sensory adaptation Answer: D 52. The wavelength of light determines its _____, and the amplitude of light determines its _____. A. hue; brightness B. brightness; hue C. hue; saturation D. saturation; hue Answer: A 53. George is looking at the colors on a paint swatch card to select the right shade of red for his wall. He is able to differentiate between the various shades of red on the card and makes a quick decision. His perception of the differences in the shades can be attributed to the _____ of light reflecting from the shades. A. gradients B. timbres C. frequencies D. wavelengths Answer: D 54. The _____ of the wavelengths of a visual stimulus determines the perceived saturation, or richness, of the stimulus. A. height B. width C. purity D. strength Answer: C 57. In the visual system, the _____ of the eye is filled with a gelatinous material that helps focus light. A. pupil B. lens C. iris D. fovea Answer: B 55. In the visual system, the _____ is the white, outer part of the eye that helps to maintain the shape of the eye and to protect it from injury. A. cornea B. iris C. sclera D. lens Answer: C 56. In the visual system, the opening in the center of the iris is known as the _____. A. pupil B. cornea C. sclera D. lens Answer: A 58. In the visual system, the major purpose of the iris of the eye is to: A. protect the eye from injury. B. control the pupil size. C. focus light on the retina. D. transform light energy. Answer: B 59. In the visual system, the clear membrane just in front of the eye is the _____. A. retina B. lens C. cornea D. rod Answer: C 60. In the visual system, _____ are the receptors in the retina of the eye that are sensitive to light but are not very useful for color vision. A. rods B. cones C. bipolar cells D. ganglion cells Answer: A 61. Which of the following statements is true of the structure of the eye? A. The curved surface of the cornea does most of the bending of the light. B. The light reaching the eye from objects that are far is more scattered. C. The rods are the receptors that are used for color perception. D. The cones are the receptors that are hard at work at night. Answer: A 62. The multilayered light-sensitive surface in the eye that records electromagnetic energy and converts it into neural impulses for processing in the brain is known as the _____. A. retina B. cornea C. blind spot D. optic chiasm Answer: A 63. Which of the following statements is true of the retina in the eye? A. The fovea is a tiny area at the center of the retina where there is no vision. B. The cones are present everywhere in the retina except at the fovea. C. The bipolar cells carry the visual information directly to the brain. D. The blind spot contains neither rods nor cones. Answer: D 64. Timothy’s vision is a focus of interest for many ophthalmologists. He is able to see well when there is low illumination but not so well when there is a lot of light, for instance, if he is outdoors during the day. He is also unable to detect most colors during the day. Which poorly-functioning structure of the eye is most likely causing Timothy’s unusual vision? A. Rods B. Cones C. Optic nerve D. Sclera Answer: B 65. Which of the followings statements is true of the rods in the eye’s retina? A. Rods are very useful for color vision. B. Rods are not hard at work at night. C. Rods are found everywhere except in the fovea. D. Rods do not function well under low illumination. Answer: C 66. Which of the following statements is true of the cones of the eye’s retina? A. Cones are used for color perception. B. Cones are not light-sensitive. C. Cones are not found in the fovea. D. Cones operate best in the dark. Answer: A 67. In the context of the structure of the eye, the area toward the center of the retina that contains only cones is called the: A. cornea. B. fovea. C. optic chiasm. D. optic nerve. Answer: B 68. The blind spot is the area on the retina that contains: A. only rods. B. neither rods nor cones. C. only cones. D. both rods and cones. Answer: B 69. In the context of the structure of the eye, the axons of the ganglion cells make up the _____. A. optic chiasm B. rods C. cones D. optic nerve Answer: D 70. Jane was in a car accident, which caused severe damage to her head. As a result, Jane’s vision was affected. Although her eyes are able to detect visual stimuli and form images on her retina, her brain is not receiving the visual information. This problem with Jane’s vision is most likely due to improper functioning of the _____. A. optic nerve B. lens C. sclera D. blind spot Answer: A 71. In the context of the visual system, which of the following scenarios best illustrates the need for the functioning of rods in the retina? A. Shelby is window-shopping on her favorite street during the day. B. Ray is reading under a bright light in the library. C. Marcus is trying to find his seat in the dark in a movie theater. D. Andrew is watching football on the television in his living room. Answer: C 72. In the visual system, the main function of rods and cones is to: A. stretch and bend light entering the eye. B. direct the optic nerve to the brain. C. adjust sensory thresholds. D. convert light into electrochemical impulses. Answer: D 73. The place on the retina that contains neither rods nor cones is where the: A. lens becomes cloudy. B. retina degenerates. C. optic nerve leaves the eye. D. ciliary muscle is located. Answer: C 74. The _____ is the place on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye on its way to the brain. A. fovea B. blind spot C. cornea D. bipolar cell Answer: B 75. The crossover point in the eye, where the visual information originating in the right halves of the two retinas is transmitted to the right side of the occipital lobe is called the: A. fovea. B. optic nerve. C. cornea. D. optic chiasm. Answer: D 76. _____ are individual neurons or groups of neurons in the brain’s visual system that respond to particular characteristics of a stimulus. A. Rods B. Blind spots C. Bipolar cells D. Feature detectors Answer: D 77. The _____, located in the occipital lobe at the back of the brain, is the part of the cerebral cortex involved in sight. A. cerebellum B. visual cortex C. medulla D. reticular formation Answer: B 78. In the context of visual processing in the brain, the simultaneous distribution of sensory information across different neural pathways is referred to as: A. amplification. B. bottom-up processing. C. transduction. D. parallel processing. Answer: D 79. In the context of visual processing in the brain, the purpose of parallel processing is to: A. see and process all information about sensory qualities at once. B. ensure that the bending power of the cornea is sufficient to keep things in focus. C. prevent the misinterpretation of colors. D. use binocular and monocular cues to perceive depth. Answer: A 80. In the visual system, which of the following statements is true of parallel processing? A. It is the transfer of information across a single neural pathway. B. It is a system that processes information about sensory qualities serially. C. It is the simultaneous distribution of information across different neural pathways. D. It first processes the shapes of stimuli and then the color and movement. Answer: C 81. In the visual system, _____ is the bringing together and integration of what is processed by different neural pathways or cells. A. saturation B. binding C. signal detection D. subliminal perception Answer: B 82. Mrs. Johnson’s third grade class is creating a model of their school grounds. Each group of students is responsible for different aspects of the model. Some are cutting cardboard, some are painting, and some are making miniature figurines out of play dough. Eventually, Mrs. Johnson will combine all these elements into a finished product. Which of the following visual processes in the brain is this scenario most analogous to? A. Transduction B. Binding C. Feature detection D. Subliminal perception Answer: B 83. According to the opponent-process theory of color vision, how many types of cone receptors are there in the human eye? A. Two B. Three C. Four D. Five Answer: C 84. The _____ theory of color vision states that color perception is produced by three types of cone receptors in the retina that are particularly sensitive to different, but overlapping, ranges of wavelengths. A. afterimage B. opponent-process C. dark adaptation D. trichromatic Answer: D 85. If Howard, a student, has the most common form of color blindness, he will have trouble distinguishing: A. red from blue and white. B. white from red and green. C. orange from red and blue. D. green from blue and red. Answer: D 86. In the context of the opponent-process theory of color vision, afterimages refer to: A. all the images stored in the human brain. B. sensations that remain once a stimulus is removed. C. the entire spectrum of colors. D. figure-ground relationships. Answer: B 87. Which of the following statements is true of the trichromatic theory proposed by Hermann von Helmholtz? A. It states that there are four types of cones present in the human visual system. B. It states that there are three types of rods present in the human visual system. C. It is based on experiments that show that cells in the visual system respond to red-green and blue-yellow colors. D. It is based on experiments that show that any color in the spectrum can be matched by combining three other wavelengths. Answer: D 88. Which of the following is a disadvantage of the trichromatic theory of color vision? A. It fails to explain colorblindness. B. It cannot adequately explain afterimages. C. It negates the role of cone receptors in color vision. D. It states that cones are sensitive to red, yellow, and blue. Answer: B 89. According to the _____ theory of color vision, cells in the visual system respond to red-green and blue-yellow colors. A. trichromatic B. place C. opponent-process D. frequency Answer: C 90. _____ psychology is a school of thought interested in how people naturally organize their perceptions according to certain patterns. A. Gestalt B. Behavioral C. Perceptual D. Contour Answer: A 91. Although several bulbs have burned out on the Movie Buff theater’s sign at the entrance and the letters are not completely formed, Caleb can still read the announcement for the upcoming movie. Which gestalt principle best accounts for this phenomenon? A. Principle of closure B. Principle of proximity C. Principle of similarity D. Principle of convergence Answer: A 92. Objects that resemble one another are often perceived as a unit. This is the gestalt principle of _____. A. similarity B. closure C. continuity D. constancy Answer: A 93. The gestalt principle that reflects the tendency to mentally complete forms and figures that are actually incomplete is known as _____. A. contouring B. similarity C. closure D. convergence Answer: C 94. A gestalt is best described as a(n): A. binocular cue. B. illusion. C. configuration. D. perceptual constant. Answer: C 95. Gestalt psychology emphasizes that: A. perception is the same as sensation. B. people learn to perceive the world through experience. C. the whole is different from the sum of its parts. D. sensation has no effect on perception. Answer: C 96. The ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally is called: A. depth perception. B. perceptual constancy. C. apparent movement. D. subliminal perception. Answer: A 97. In the context of depth perception, _____ cues are ones that depend on the combination of the images in the left and right eyes. A. opponent B. binocular C. gradient D. monocular Answer: B 98. In the context of depth perception, which of the following is a binocular cue? A. Linear perspective B. Convergence C. Familiar size D. Texture gradient Answer: B 99. In the context of depth perception, familiar size, overlap, and shading are examples of: A. binocular cues. B. monocular cues. C. stereograms. D. feature detectors. Answer: B 100. In the context of depth perception, which of the following is a monocular cue? A. Vivid colors B. Disparity C. Convergence D. Texture gradient Answer: D 101. Which of the following monocular cues of depth perception accounts for why parallel lines appear to grow closer as an object recedes into the distance? A. Texture gradient B. Superposition C. Vertical position D. Linear perspective Answer: D 102. In the context of motion perception, _____ occurs when a person perceives a stationary object as moving. A. shape constancy B. apparent movement C. difference threshold D. motion constancy Answer: B 103. The recognition that objects are unvarying and unchanging even though sensory input about them is changing is known as _____. A. rotational illusion B. perceptual constancy C. pattern recognition D. apparent movement Answer: B 104. Derek is watching an airplane fly by. The plane seems to get smaller as it goes farther away. Which of the following aspects of perceptual constancy allows Derek to understand that the airplane is not getting smaller? A. Shape constancy B. Size constancy C. Apparent movement D. Pattern recognition Answer: B 105. When a person reads a book, the black ink of the words on the white pages looks the same, regardless of the place, time, and lighting in the room. This best demonstrates the phenomenon of: A. closure. B. shape constancy. C. color constancy. D. proximity. Answer: C 106. When Taylor sees a German shepherd standing thirty feet from him, he still recognizes its height even though the image of the dog on his retina is much smaller than the dog’s physical height. This scenario best illustrates the phenomenon of: A. size constancy. B. proximity. C. shape constancy. D. closure. Answer: A 107. Derek checks on his new car parked on the street before he goes up to his 19th floor apartment. From his apartment, he looks down and makes sure the car is still there. Even though the image of the car on his retina is smaller from where he is looking, Derek knows that the car is still as big as it was downstairs. This scenario best illustrates the phenomenon of: A. subliminal perception. B. color constancy. C. apparent movement. D. size constancy. Answer: D 108. Each key on a touch-tone telephone makes a slightly different sound when touched. This difference is due to the pitch of sound produced by each key. The difference in pitch is determined by the _____ of the sound waves coming from each key. A. intensity B. timbre C. decibel D. frequency Answer: D 109. In terms of amplitude, which of the following statements correctly differentiates between loud and soft sounds? A. Loud sounds cause the air around the ears to rise in temperature more rapidly than do soft sounds. B. Loud sounds cause the surrounding air to press more forcibly against the ears than do soft sounds. C. Loud sounds move faster through the air in the ear canal than do soft sounds. D. All of these. Answer: B 110. In the auditory system, the unit for measuring the amplitude of sound is _____. A. pitch B. saturation C. timbre D. decibel Answer: D 111. A sound wave’s _____ is the number of cycles or full wavelengths that pass through a point in a given time interval. A. timbre B. bandwidth C. frequency D. amplitude Answer: C 112. In the auditory system, _____ is the perceptual interpretation of the frequency of a sound. A. loudness B. bandwidth C. pitch D. amplitude Answer: C 113. In the auditory system, a sound wave’s _____ is the amount of pressure the sound wave produces relative to a standard. A. frequency B. bandwidth C. pitch D. amplitude Answer: D 114. In the auditory system, _____ is the perception of a sound wave’s amplitude. A. frequency B. bandwidth C. pitch D. loudness Answer: D 115. In the auditory system, _____ is the tone saturation, or the perceptual quality, of a sound. A. timbre B. bandwidth C. pitch D. loudness Answer: A 116. Fred always comments that his mother’s and sister’s voices sound alike on the telephone. Both voices are equally high-pitched and loud. Yet, he is able to tell the voices apart by a subtle difference in their voice quality. This difference is most likely due to the feature of sound known as _____. A. timbre B. wavelength C. frequency D. amplitude Answer: A 117. Danny is a sound editor at a recording studio. He is selecting a voice artist for a new animation movie. While listening to various artists’ voice recordings, he realizes that he likes Stella’s voice, even though it has a consistently high decibel level. He notes, however, that the frequency of Stella’s voice changes rapidly. Keeping this information in mind, which of the following is the most reasonable conclusion about Stella’s voice? A. Stella’s voice is consistently high-pitched. B. Stella is speaking in a whisper. C. Stella’s voice fluctuates in pitch. D. Stella’s voice has low amplitude. Answer: C 118. In the auditory system, the pinna is the: A. outer, visible part of the ear. B. membrane of the eardrum. C. curled structure of the inner ear. D. part of the ear that includes the oval window. Answer: A 119. In the auditory system, the hammer, anvil, and stirrup are an intricately connected chain of the three smallest _____ in the human body. A. bones B. muscles C. membranes D. cells Answer: A 120. In the auditory system, the pinna of the ear is responsible for: A. collecting sounds and channeling them into the interior of the ear. B. separating the outer ear from the inner ear. C. lining the inner wall of the cochlea and running its entire length. D. vibrating in response to sounds. Answer: A 121. In the auditory system, the _____ or tympanic membrane separates the outer ear from the middle ear and vibrates in response to sound. A. eardrum B. oval window C. cochlea D. hammer Answer: A 122. In the auditory system, the bones of the middle ear vibrate by vibrations of the: A. cochlea. B. eardrum. C. saccule. D. basilar membrane. Answer: B 123. In the auditory system, which of the following structures is present in the middle ear? A. Pinna B. Hammer C. Cochlea D. Oval window Answer: B 124. In the auditory system, what is the major function of the hammer, anvil, and stirrup? A. They soften the auditory tone of incoming stimuli. B. They collect sound and channel it into the middle of the ear. C. They transmit sound waves to the fluid-filled inner ear. D. Their vibrations clean the external auditory canal. Answer: C 125. In the auditory system, the _____ is the opening of the inner ear. A. oval window B. ear drum C. stirrup D. cochlea Answer: A 126. Tina was born with a hearing deficiency. When Dr. Albert studied the physiology of her auditory system, he found that Tina’s eardrums were intact and were receiving auditory stimulus. However, the stimulus was not moving forward from the eardrums and was not reaching the inner ear. Which of the following conclusions is Dr. Albert most likely to have drawn from these findings? A. The cerebral cortex in Tina’s brain was damaged. B. The hammer, anvil, and stirrup in Tina’s ears were not performing their functions. C. The pinna in Tina’s outer ear was not performing its functions. D. The occipital lobe in Tina’s brain was damaged. Answer: B 127. In the auditory system, which of the following structures of the middle ear is connected to the oval window? A. Hammer B. Anvil C. Stirrup D. Eardrum Answer: C 128. In the auditory system, which of the following is the function of the muscles of the middle ear? A. They collect sounds. B. They transmit neural impulses directly to the brain. C. They amplify sound waves. D. They convert sound waves into neural impulses. Answer: C 129. In the auditory system, which of the following is the ear’s sensory receptor? A. Hair cells B. Stirrup C. Oval window D. Pinna Answer: A 130. In the auditory system, the _____ is a tubular, fluid-filled structure that is coiled up like a snail. A. auditory nerve B. pinna C. ear drum D. cochlea Answer: D 131. Samantha was injured in a skiing accident, due to which she lost her sense of hearing. The doctor who operated on her injuries stated that the hair cells in Samantha’s ears were damaged. In order to help Samantha detect sound again, the doctor should suggest _____. A. proprioceptive feedback B. subliminal perception C. a cochlear implant D. a hair transplant Answer: C 132. In the context of the auditory system, place theory states that: A. the vibrations in the ear produced by auditory stimuli travel in one direction—from the tip of the cochlea to the oval window. B. each frequency produces vibrations at a particular spot on the basilar membrane of the inner ear. C. the perception of a sound’s frequency depends on how often the auditory nerve fires. D. a cluster of nerve cells in the inner ear can fire neural impulses in rapid succession. Answer: B 133. In the context of the auditory system, one critique of place theory is that it does not explain: A. the linear perspective. B. low-frequency sounds. C. findings from split-brain research. D. the different functions of rods and cones. Answer: B 134. In the context of the auditory system, frequency theory states that: A. the vibrations in the ear produced by auditory stimuli travel in one direction—from the tip of the cochlea to the oval window. B. each frequency produces vibrations at a particular spot on the basilar membrane of the inner ear. C. the perception of a sound’s frequency depends on how often the auditory nerve fires. D. a cluster of nerve cells in the inner ear can fire neural impulses in rapid succession. Answer: C 135. In the context of the auditory system, the _____ was developed to overcome the limitations of the frequency theory. A. signal-detection theory B. all-or-none principle C. volley principle D. place theory Answer: C 136. The cortical destination of most of the auditory nerve fibers crossing over the midline is the _____ lobes of the brain. A. temporal B. frontal C. occipital D. parietal Answer: A 137. Emma is waiting for a bus at her regular bus stop when she hears someone calling her name. She is able to identify that the voice is on her left because she feels the sound of the voice more quickly and intensely in her left ear. This can be explained through the phenomenon of _____. A. sound localization B. thermoreception C. synaesthesia D. extra sensory perception Answer: A 138. In the context of the skin senses, when warm and cold receptors that are close to each other in the skin are stimulated simultaneously, a person experiences the sensation of _____. A. hotness B. coldness C. hotness and coldness D. neither hotness nor coldness Answer: A 139. In the context of the skin senses, which of the following is true of pain receptors? A. They are present only in the skin. B. They differ anatomically for different physical stimuli. C. They respond not only to physical stimuli, but also to chemical stimuli. D. They have a lower threshold for firing than receptors for temperature and touch. Answer: C 140. What is the difference between the fast and slow neural pathways of pain messages? A. The fast pathway connects directly with the thalamus; the slow pathway goes through the limbic system. B. The fast pathway goes through the limbic system; the slow pathway goes through the thalamus. C. The fast pathway takes less than a second; the slow pathway has a delay of several minutes. D. The fast pathway goes to the cerebral cortex first; the slow pathway goes through the limbic system first. Answer: A 141. Jenny is a little girl whose experience of pain is different from other children her age. She does not have quick reactions to pain that help her avoid painful situations such as pressing a pin between her fingers or biting down on her hand. However, she is able to feel the prolonged pain from these injuries. Which of the following provides the most likely explanation for Jenny’s responsiveness to pain? A. Jenny’s body releases no endorphins. B. Jenny’s fast pathway does not function as well as her slow pathway. C. Jenny’s brain is unable to receive the neural impulses from all pain receptors. D. Jenny’s threshold for pain is low. Answer: B 142. In the context of the chemical senses, taste buds are bunched together in the: A. tonsils. B. papillae. C. salivary glands. D. organ of Corti. Answer: B 143. In the context of the chemical senses, which of the following is true of the tongue? A. Papillae are the inner linings of the tongue. B. Teeth help the tongue to experience taste. C. Taste buds are housed in the tongue. D. The taste buds on the tongue cannot be replaced. Answer: C 144. In the context of the chemical senses, which of the following is true of the neural pathway of smell? A. It passes through the thalamus. B. It does not go through the limbic system. C. It is the same as that of other sensory pathways. D. It first goes to the olfactory areas in the temporal lobe. Answer: D 145. Which of the following actions involves the application of chemical senses? A. Reading a book B. Listening to music C. Smelling a flower D. Playing basketball Answer: C 146. In the context of the chemical senses, the _____ is the lining of the roof of the nasal cavity which contains a sheet of receptor cells for smell. A. basilar membrane B. olfactory epithelium C. reticular formation D. occipital lobe Answer: B 147. What part of the body is most responsible for kinesthetic senses? A. Spinal cord B. Thalamus C. Muscle fibers and joints D. Small bones in the inner ear Answer: C 148. Which of the following statements is true of the kinesthetic sense in humans? A. The skin is responsible for the kinesthetic sense. B. No specific organ contains the kinesthetic senses. C. It provides information about balance and movement. D. It is transmitted along the same pathways to the brain as information about smell. Answer: B 149. Abel knows that his legs are crossed and that his hands are on top of his head. This is a demonstration of: A. central feedback. B. perceptual constancy. C. vestibular sense. D. proprioceptive feedback. Answer: D 150. Which of the following is required for healthy eyes? A. Eating high-fat food B. Eating a wide variety of fruits C. Avoiding foods that contain zinc D. Avoiding foods that contain vitamin A Answer: B Short Answer Questions 151. Describe the difference between bottom-up processing and top-down processing. Provide an example for each type of processing. Answer: Students’ answers will vary. In bottom-up processing, sensory receptors register information about the external environment and send it up to the brain for interpretation. Bottom-up processing means taking in information and trying to make sense of it. In contrast, top-down processing starts with cognitive processing in the brain. Top-down processing begins with some sense of what is happening (the product of experiences) and applies that framework to incoming information from the world. One way to understand the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing is to think about how individuals experience a song they never heard before versus that same song when they have heard it many times. The first time they hear the song, they listen carefully to get a “feel” for it; that is bottom-up processing: taking the incoming information of the music and relying on that external experience. Now, once they have a good feel for the song, they listen to it in a different way. They have expectations, and know what comes next. That is top-down processing. They might even sing along with the song when it comes on the radio or at a club. 152. Describe the phenomenon of phantom limb pain. Answer: Phantom limb pain is an example of confused senses. Among individuals who have lost an arm or a leg, as many as 95 percent of them report alarming and puzzling pain in the amputated limb. Although the limb that contains the sensory receptors is gone, the areas of the brain and nervous system that received information from those receptors are still there, causing confusion. 153. Explain the main difference between absolute and difference thresholds. Answer: The main difference between absolute and difference thresholds is that investigation of the absolute threshold involves the presence or absence of a stimulus, while investigation of the difference threshold involves the amount of change in a known stimulus. 154. When Bill started working in his new office, he found the noise of the air purifier in his room distracting and felt it interfered with his ability to concentrate. After a week or so, the noise stopped bothering him, even though it was still present. Explain the concept that is most likely responsible for Bill’s reaction to the noise after a week. Answer: Sensory adaptation explains Bill’s reaction to the noise after a week. Sensory adaptation is defined as a change in the responsiveness of the sensory system based on the average level of surrounding stimulation. 155. Explain the functions of rods and cones in the context of the visual system. Answer: • Rods are the receptors in the retina that are sensitive to light, but they are not very useful for color vision. Rods function well under low illumination. • Cones are the receptors that are used for color perception. Like rods, cones are light-sensitive. However, they require a larger amount of light to respond than the rods do, so they operate best in daylight or under high illumination. • Rods are found almost everywhere on the retina except in the fovea. Rods give human beings the ability to detect fainter spots of light on the peripheral retina than at the fovea. If a person wants to see a very faint star, he or she should gaze slightly away from it, to allow the rods to do their work. • The rods and cones at the back of the retina convert light into electrochemical impulses. 156. Describe the main principles of the trichromatic theory of color vision. Answer: The trichromatic theory of color vision states that color perception is produced by three types of cone receptors in the retina that are particularly sensitive to different, but overlapping, ranges of wavelengths. The theory is based on experiments showing that a person with normal vision can match any color in the spectrum by combining three other wavelengths. According to this theory, if the combination of any three wavelengths of different intensities is indistinguishable from any single pure wavelength, the visual system must base its perception of color on the relative responses of three receptor systems—cones sensitive to red, blue, and green. 157. Explain how two-dimensional images on the retina are perceived as three-dimensional objects. Answer: Individuals use cues from the environment to perceive objects three-dimensionally. Binocular cues are depth cues that depend on the combination of the images in the left and right eyes. The image from each eye is slightly different because the eyes are in slightly different positions. The brain uses this “disparity” to determine depth. Additionally, individuals use monocular cues (or depth cues) such as familiar size, height in the field of view, linear perspective, overlap, shading, and texture gradient. 158. In the context of the visual system, describe the three aspects of perceptual constancy. Answer: Retinal images change constantly. Yet even though the stimuli that fall on human retinas change as people move closer to or farther away from objects, or as they look at objects from different orientations and in light or dark settings, their perception of them remains stable. Perceptual constancy is the recognition that objects are constant and unchanging even though sensory input about them is changing. There are three types of perceptual constancy—size constancy, shape constancy, and color constancy—as follows: • Size constancy allows human beings to understand that even though the images on the retina are changing, the size of an object remains constant. • Shape constancy allows human beings to understand that even though from different angles an object may look different; it retains its natural shape. • Color constancy allows human beings to understand that even when a shadow falls on the page they are reading, they know that the color of the page remains the same. 159. Describe the structure and functions of the middle ear. Answer: The middle ear channels sound waves to the inner ear. It consists of the eardrum, hammer, anvil, and stirrup. The eardrum or tympanic membrane separates the outer ear from the middle ear and vibrates in response to sound. It is the first structure that sound touches in the middle ear. The hammer, anvil, and stirrup are an intricately connected chain of the three smallest bones in the human body. When they vibrate, they transmit sound waves to the fluid-filled inner ear. The muscles that operate these tiny bones take the vibration of the eardrum and transmit it to the oval window, the opening of the inner ear. 160. In the context of the auditory system, what is a cochlear implant? Answer: Cochlear implants are devices that were specifically developed to replace damaged hair cells. A cochlear implant is a small electronic device that is surgically implanted in the ear and head. It allows deaf or profoundly hard-of-hearing individuals to detect sound. The implant works by using electronic impulses to directly stimulate whatever working auditory nerves the recipient has in his or her cochlea. 161. Explain the frequency theory of hearing. What is one limitation of the frequency theory? Answer: Frequency theory states that the perception of a sound’s frequency depends on how often the auditory nerve fires. According to this theory, higher-frequency sounds cause the auditory nerve to fire more often than do lower-frequency sounds. One limitation of frequency theory, however, is that a single neuron has a maximum firing rate of about 1,000 times per second. Therefore, frequency theory does not apply to tones with frequencies that would require a neuron to fire more rapidly. 162. Why is the sound reaching one ear more intense than that reaching the other ear? What is this phenomenon known as? Answer: The sound reaching one ear is more intense than the sound reaching the other ear for two reasons: (1) It has traveled less distance, and (2) the other ear is in what is called the sound shadow of the listener’s head, which provides a barrier that reduces the sound’s intensity. This phenomenon is known as sound localization. 163. Describe the fast pathway that transmits pain messages to the brain. Answer: In the fast pathway, fibers connect directly with the thalamus and then to the motor and sensory areas of the cerebral cortex. This pathway transmits information about sharp, localized pain, as when a person cuts his or her skin. The fast pathway may serve as a warning system, providing immediate information about an injury—it takes less than a second for the information in this pathway to reach the cerebral cortex. 164. What are the two distinct systems that form the chemical senses? Answer: Taste and smell are the two distinct systems that form the chemical senses. 165. What is the most dangerous threat with respect to the sense of hearing? Answer: With respect to the sense of hearing, perhaps the most dangerous threat comes from loud noise. A special concern is hearing damage that can be caused by loud noise during leisure activities. True/False Questions 166. Katie smells a flower. While receptors in her nose register the stimulus, the actual process of recognizing it as a flower’s fragrance and interpreting it as pleasant is known as perception. Answer: True 167. Afferent nerves bring information from the brain to the sense organs. Answer: False 168. In the context of sensory receptors, the intensity of a stimulus cannot be communicated to the brain by changing the strength of the action potential. Answer: True 169. When the energy of a stimulus falls below the absolute threshold, its presence cannot be detected. Answer: True 170. The degree of difference that must exist between two stimuli before the difference is detected is known as “just noticeable difference.” Answer: True 171. A person walking on the beach hears music in the distance. He follows the music to find its source. The point at which the sound of the music is loudest is the person’s absolute threshold. Answer: False 172. In the context of attention, the cocktail party effect is demonstrated by the ability to tolerate large amounts of noise at the same time. Answer: False 173. Attention is selective but not shiftable. Answer: False 174. In the context of perceiving sensory stimuli, perceptual sets reflect top-down influences on perception. Answer: True 175. In the visual system, the primary function of the pupil is to bend or refract light as it passes through the eye. Answer: False 176. In the visual system, stimuli in the left visual field are registered in the left half of the retina in both eyes. Answer: False 177. The opponent-process theory of color vision overcomes the limitation of the trichromatic theory of color vision by explaining color afterimages. Answer: True 178. In the context of the auditory system, the frequency of sound waves is measured in decibels. Answer: False 179. In terms of amplitude, the air presses against the ears more gently during loud sounds and more forcibly during quiet sounds. Answer: False 180. In a music concert, the pitch of the music is the perception of its frequency, and the loudness of the music is the perception of its amplitude. Answer: True 181. Auditory information moves up the auditory pathway in a simpler manner than does visual information in the visual pathway. Answer: False 182. The auditory information from the left ear goes only to the right side of the brain. Answer: False 183. There is no specific organ that contains the kinesthetic senses. Answer: True 184. The semicircular canals of the inner ear aid in detecting head motion. Answer: True 185. Some of the common causes of blindness are preventable but also undetectable. Answer: True Test Bank for The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View Laura A. King 9780078035401, 9781260500523, 9780073532066, 9781259255533
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