Question 1

Which of the following concepts refers to the diminished sensitivity to a stimulus that occurs due to constant exposure to that stimulus?

Accepted Answer

sensory adaptation

Answer

absolute threshold

Answer

difference threshold

Answer

transduction

Answer

perceptual set

Question 2

Which of the following is the process of detecting environmental stimuli and converting them into signals that can be detected by the nervous system?

Accepted Answer

sensation

Answer

perception

Answer

false alarm

Answer

top-down processing

Answer

difference threshold

Question 3

Which of the following is the best definition for absolute threshold?

Accepted Answer

The lowest strength of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time

Answer

The highest strength of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time

Answer

The largest change between two stimuli that a person can detect

Answer

The difference between two stimuli that can be detected 50% of the time

Answer

The smallest change between two stimuli that a person can detect

Question 4

Which of the following best illustrates the most predictable effect of schemas on perception?

Accepted Answer

Grant  has more difficulty recognizing a penguin as a bird than he does a blue jay.

Answer

Erick has more difficulty understanding a speech made by someone with a British accent than by someone with an American accent.

Answer

Lindsey recognizes that her shirt’s color has not changed in the dim light, even though the color is less brilliant.

Answer

Roberto sees trees that are higher up in a painting as being farther away than lower trees.

Answer

Doris sees a shape as a five-pointed star, even though one of the points is blocked from her vision.

Question 5

Orville is talking with his friends at a cafeteria table when suddenly he is distracted by hearing his name at a neighboring table. Orville’s shift of attention most clearly illustrates which psychological concept?

Accepted Answer

The cocktail party phenomenon

Answer

Gestalt psychology

Answer

Inattentional blindness

Answer

Stimulus desensitization

Answer

The phi phenomenon

Question 6

Helena did not recognize her English teacher when she unexpectedly saw him while traveling in Paris, even though she knew him well back in the classroom. The fact that Helena can recognize her teacher back home more easily than in Paris best demonstrates what concept?

Accepted Answer

perceptual set

Answer

change blindness

Answer

functional fixedness

Answer

synesthesia

Answer

extrasensory perception

Question 7

Which of the following is the correct order of the eye-to-brain pathway of vision?

Accepted Answer

Retina, optic nerve, thalamus, occipital lobe

Answer

Retina, thalamus, optic nerve, occipital lobe

Answer

Optic nerve, retina, thalamus, occipital lobe

Answer

Occipital lobe, retina, optic nerve, thalamus

Answer

Optic nerve, thalamus, occipital lobe, retina

Question 8

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the opponent-process theory of color vision?

Accepted Answer

Kayla sees afterimages of opposing colors when she stares at a poster for a long time.

Answer

Russell is able to differentiate between dark green and light green.

Answer

Manuel sees the color yellow when the

Answer

Randy is able to process many aspects of a visual scene simultaneously.

Answer

Conrad can identify specific features in his environment, such as color.

Question 9

Which of the following scenarios is the best example of synesthesia?

Accepted Answer

Anastasia sees swirls of color when she hears music because stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to the experience of another sensation.

Answer

Susie sees afterimages of opposing colors when she stares at a poster for a long time because light that stimulates one half of an organized pair of cones inhibits the other half.

Answer

Manuel sees swirls of color when he hears music because his retina contains three types of color receptors.

Answer

Rufus sees swirls of color when he hears music because only his cones are stimulated.

Answer

Kara sees afterimages of opposing colors when she stares at a poster for a long time because the optic nerve sends impulses to the occipital lobe.

Question 10

Kimmie stood on the sidewalk rather than crossing the street because she saw that the approaching car was quite close to her. Which of the following concepts is best illustrated in this example?

Accepted Answer

Depth perception

Answer

Color constancy

Answer

Figure-ground relationship

Answer

Gestalt

Answer

Closure

Question 11

Which of the following examples best illustrates the concept of interposition?

Accepted Answer

Because the chair partially obscured his view of the sofa, Brendan perceived the chair as being closer than the sofa.

Answer

Because the tree was higher than the bush in Jane’s field of vision, she perceived the tree as being farther away than the bush.

Answer

Because all of the zucchini she had seen in the past were green, Candice continued to perceive a zucchini held under a black light as green.

Answer

Because Miranda stared at the burger restaurant sign as she drove by it, the restaurant behind the sign looked like it was moving backward.

Answer

Because the train tracks had a large angle of convergence, Miko perceived them to go quite far into the distance.

Question 12

Bryan perceived a duck instead of other animals when viewing an ambiguous image because he watched a documentary about ducks the previous night. Which of the following best explains why Bryan perceived a duck?

Accepted Answer

Top-down processing, because his perception of the duck was influenced by past experience.

Answer

Bottom-up processing, because his perception of the duck was influenced by past experience.

Answer

Top-down processing, because he constructed the image of the duck piece by piece, starting with his sensory receptors.

Answer

Bottom-up processing, because he constructed the image of the duck piece by piece, starting with his sensory receptors.

Answer

Color constancy, because his perception of the duck was not affected by different illuminations.

Question 13

Denise has damaged her auditory nerve and now has difficulty understanding what people are saying. Which of the following descriptions explains how that damage impairs her hearing?

Accepted Answer

Sound messages fail to be transmitted directly to the brain.

Answer

The ear components fail to amplify the sound to render it sufficiently detectable.

Answer

Sound vibrations are not strong enough to stimulate middle-ear activity.

Answer

The brain receives the sound message, but it is unable to process the sound.

Answer

The hair cells fail to vibrate sufficiently to transmit the message.

Question 14

Tracey was in pain from an ear infection, which her doctor said was in her inner ear. Which of the following is the most likely location of the infection?

Accepted Answer

The cochlea

Answer

The anvil

Answer

The eardrum

Answer

The pinna

Answer

The hammer

Question 15

Marlene had an infection that led to deafness in her left ear. Which of the following will be the most likely impact of losing her hearing in her left ear?

Accepted Answer

She will have trouble locating the source of sounds.

Answer

She will show less activity in her left temporal lobe.

Answer

She will not be able to hear high pitches.

Answer

She will not be able to detect harmony in music.

Answer

Her hearing overall will improve.

Question 16

In a study on taste, what would researchers need to do to test participants’ ability to distinguish umami from similar sensations?

Accepted Answer

Place disks soaked in MSG on the participants’ tongues. Then replace those disks with disks that have been soaked in water. Compare the participants’ reactions.

Answer

Blindfold the participants and ask them to distinguish between the smell of a rose and the smell of a honeysuckle.

Answer

Blindfold the participants and ask them to distinguish between the smell of pork and the smell of a lemon.

Answer

Blindfold the participants and ask them to distinguish between the taste of pork broth and the taste of beef broth.

Answer

Place disks soaked in lemon juice on the participants’ tongues. Then replace those disks with disks that have been soaked in water. Compare the participants’ reactions.

Question 17

Dr. Ramen recruited 100 adults to participate in her study. The taste buds of each participant were measured, and the participants tasted a number of foods. She found there was a relationship between the size of a participant's taste buds and the number of foods that a participant could taste. What research method did Dr. Ramen use, and what was she most likely studying?

Accepted Answer

Correlational; the sensitivity of supertasters

Answer

Correlational; sensitivity to the taste of umami

Answer

Correlational; sensitivity to the taste of salt

Answer

Experimental; the sensitivity of supertasters

Answer

Experimental; sensitivity to the taste of umami

Question 18

A researcher wants to study the human sense of taste over a life span. The researcher has a group of participants taste foods that are salty, bitter, sweet, sour, and umami. Which study would best allow the researcher to test the sensation of taste as people age, and what is the likely outcome?

Accepted Answer

The researcher follows the same group of people over the course of 40 years. The researcher also measures the number of the people's taste buds throughout the 40 years. The researcher finds that as people grow older, their sense of taste diminishes and their number of taste buds decreases.

Answer

The researcher tests a group of 50 ten to twenty-five year olds, 50 twenty-six to fifty year olds, and 50 fifty-one to seventy-five year olds. The researcher also measures the number of the people's taste buds for each group. The researcher finds that as people grow older, their sense of taste remains the same because as their number of taste buds decreases, each taste bud becomes more sensitive.

Answer

The researcher tests a group of 50 ten to twenty-five year olds, 50 twenty-six to fifty year olds, and 50 fifty-one to seventy-five year olds at the same time. The researcher also measures the number of the people's taste buds for each group. The researcher finds that as people grow older, their sense of taste diminishes and their number of taste buds decreases.

Answer

The researcher follows the same group of people over the course of 40 years. The researcher also measures the number of the people's taste buds throughout the 40 years. The researcher finds that as people grow older, their sense of taste remains the same because as their number of taste buds decreases, each taste bud becomes more sensitive.

Answer

The researcher tests a group of 50 ten to twenty-five year olds, 50 twenty-six to fifty year olds, and 50 fifty-one to seventy-five year olds. The researcher also measures the number of the people's taste buds for each group. The researcher finds that as people grow older, their sense of taste remains the same because as their number of taste buds increases, each taste bud becomes less sensitive.

Question 19

Human tactile sense is actually a mix of which of the following distinct skin senses?

Accepted Answer

Pressure, warmth, cold, pain

Answer

Pressure, warmth, tickle, pain

Answer

Pressure, pain, tickle, wet

Answer

Pressure, pain, wet, dry

Answer

Warmth, cold, wet, dry

Question 20

According to the gate control theory of pain, which of the following contains a neurological gate that controls the transmission of pain messages to the brain?

Accepted Answer

The spinal cord

Answer

Skin tissues

Answer

Muscles and organs

Answer

Nerve cells

Answer

Nociceptors

Question 21

Which of the following anatomical structures is involved in the vestibular sense?

Accepted Answer

Semicircular canals

Answer

Olfactory bulb

Answer

Retinas

Answer

Taste buds

Answer

Nociceptors

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