Chapter 5 - Sensation and Perception

Question 1

stimulation of the sense organs is?

Answer 1

sensation

Question 2

the selection, organization, and interpretation of sensory input is?

Answer 2

perception

Question 3

What is psychophysics?

Answer 3

the study of how physical stimuli are translated into psychological experiences.

Question 4

any detectable input from the environment is a:

Answer 4

stimulus

Question 5

what is an absolute threshold?

Answer 5

the minimum amount of stimulation that an organism can be detected (50% of the time)

Question 6

what is the just noticeable difference (JND)?

Answer 6

the smallest difference in the amount of stimulation that a specific sense can detect

Question 7

what is weber’s law?

Answer 7

the size of a JND is a constant proportional to the size of the initial stimulus

Question 8

do constants differ depending on the type of sensory input in weber’s law?

Answer 8

yes

Question 9

in perception, everything is _____.

Answer 9

relative

Question 10

what is fechner’s law?

Answer 10

subjective sensation is proportional to the stimulus intensity

Question 11

under fechner’s law, the ______ changes depending on the intensity of the stimuli.

Answer 11

just noticeable difference

Question 12

detection of stimuli involving decision processes and sensory processes is:

Answer 12

signal detection theory

Question 13

according to signal detection theory, the presence of a stimulus and the presence of a participant response is a:

Answer 13

hit

Question 14

according to signal detection theory, the absence of a stimulus and the presence of a participant response is a:

Answer 14

false alarm

Question 15

according to signal detection theory, the presence of a stimulus and absence of a participant response is a:

Answer 15

miss

Question 16

according to signal detection theory, the absence of a stimulus and absence of a participant response is a:

Answer 16

correct rejection

Question 17

the registration of sensory input without conscious awareness is:

Answer 17

subliminal perception

Question 18

what is sensory adaptation?

Answer 18

a gradual decline in sensitivity due to prolonged stimulation (tuning something out)

Question 19

_____ are vibrations of molecules that travel through a medium.

Answer 19

sound waves

Question 20

frequency is measured in:

Answer 20

cycles per seconds of hertz (Hz)

Question 21

what is wavelength?

Answer 21

distance from crest-to-crest or trough-to-trough

Question 22

loudness depends mainly on the _____ of a sound wave.

Answer 22

amplitude

Question 23

what is purity?

Answer 23

a sound that has a single frequency and wavelength.

Question 24

what are the three major parts of the human ear?

Answer 24

outer ear, middle ear, inner ear

Question 25

what are the parts of the outer ear?

Answer 25

auditory canal, tympanic membrane (eardrum)

Question 26

what are the three bones in the middle ear?

Answer 26

malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), stapes (stirrup)

Question 27

the oval window is located in the _____ ear

Answer 27

middle

Question 28

what are the three main parts of the inner ear?

Answer 28

semicircular canals, cochlea, auditory vestibular nerve

Question 29

what is the basilar membrane? where is it located?

Answer 29

the basilar membrane is a stiff structure that separates two liquid-filled tubes in the cochlea

Question 30

the perception of pitch corresponds to the vibration of different places along the basilar membrane is:

Answer 30

place theory

Question 31

the perception of pitch corresponds to the the frequency at which the entire bsilar membrane vibrates is:

Answer 31

frequency theory

Question 32

low-frequency tones are translated into pitch through:

Answer 32

frequency coding

Question 33

high-frequency pure tones are translated into pitch through:

Answer 33

place theory

Question 34

what is auditory localization? what are two important cues for it?

Answer 34

locating the source of a sound in space. cues: loudness and timing of sounds arriving at each ear.

Question 35

what are some causes of deafness?

Answer 35

genetics, disease, injury, exposure to loud noise

Question 36

what are the two major types of deafness?

Answer 36

conductive deafness and nerve deafness

Question 37

what is the gustatory system?

Answer 37

sensory system for taste

Question 38

what are gustatory receptors? where are they found?

Answer 38

clusters of taste cells found in the taste buds

Question 39

what does perception of taste depend on?

Answer 39

complex patterns of neural activity

Question 40

what are non-tasters?

Answer 40

people who don't have as many taste receptors

Question 41

what are supertasters?

Answer 41

people with more densely packed taste receptors or have better perception

Question 42

_____ is a combination of taste, smell, and the tactile sensation of food in one's mouth

Answer 42

flavour

Question 43

in the olfactory system, stimuli are:

Answer 43

volatile chemical substances

Question 44

the hair-like structures located in the upper portion of the nasal passages are:

Answer 44

olfactory cilia

Question 45

sense of smell shows:

Answer 45

sensory adaptation

Question 46

chemical messages that can be sent by one organism and received by another member of the same species are:

Answer 46

pheromones

Question 47

physical stimuli for touch are _______________ that affect the skin.

Answer 47

mechanical, thermal, and chemical energy

Question 48

nerve cells that carry information about tactile stimulation are routed through the ______ to the ______.

Answer 48

spinal cord, brain-stem

Question 49

does sensory adaptation occur with sense of pressure?

Answer 49

yes

Question 50

what is perception of pain influenced by?

Answer 50

expectations, personality, mood

Question 51

what is the gate control theory?

Answer 51

incoming pain sensations must pass through a "gate" in the spinal cord that can be closed, thus blocking ascending pain signals

Question 52

which neurotransmitters modulate pain perception?

Answer 52

endorphins and serotonin

Question 53

what is the kinesthetic system?

Answer 53

monitors the positions of the various parts of the body

Question 54

what is the vestibular system?

Answer 54

responds to gravity and keeps you informed of your body's location in space

Question 55

what is the major organ involved in the vestibular system?

Answer 55

the semicircular canals in the inner ears

Question 56

light enters the eye through the ____ and then passes through the ____.

Answer 56

cornea, lens

Question 57

what are accommodations in the lens?

Answer 57

the lens changes shape to focus an image

Question 58

what is the iris?

Answer 58

coloured ring of muscle around the pupil

Question 59

what is the retina? what does it do?

Answer 59

the neural tissue lining the back of the eye. it absorbs light, processes images, and sends visual information to the brain.

Question 60

what are cones?

Answer 60

specialized visual receptors that play a key role in daylight vision and colour vision.

Question 61

what is the fovea?

Answer 61

the "focal point" of the retina. only contains cones.

Question 62

what are rods?

Answer 62

specialized visual receptors that play a key role in night vision and peripheral vision

Question 63

the process in which the eyes become more sensitive to light in low illumination is:

Answer 63

dark adaptation

Question 64

what properties of light influence the perception of colour?

Answer 64

wavelength (hue), amplitude (brightness), purity (saturation)

Question 65

what kind of colour mixing superimposes lights, putting more light in the mixture that exists in any one light by itself?

Answer 65

additive colour mixing

Question 66

what kind of colour mixing removes some wavelengths of light, leaving less light than was originally there?

Answer 66

subtractive colour mixing

Question 67

what theory suggests that the human eye has three types of receptors with differing sensitivities to different light wavelengths?

Answer 67

trichromatic theory

Question 68

what does trichromatic theory explain? why?

Answer 68

colour blindness. most people who are colourblind are dichromats.

Question 69

what is opponent-process theory?

Answer 69

each cone is responsive to two wavelengths (on/off switch)

Question 70

what does opponent-process theory explain?

Answer 70

afterimages

Question 71

what theory combines trichromatic and opponent-process theories?

Answer 71

dual-process theory

Question 72

the interpretation of visual cues that indicate how near or how far away objects are is:

Answer 72

depth perception

Question 73

what are the two main components of monocular depth cues?

Answer 73

motion parallax and pictorial depth cues

Question 74

what are the two main components of binocular depth cues?

Answer 74

retinal disparity and convergence

Question 75

emphasizes the stimulus characteristics that are important when you recognize an object

Answer 75

bottom-up processing

Question 76

what are the steps to bottom-up processing?

Answer 76

1) start with the individual elements 2) put them together 3) interpret the object as a whole

Question 77

what process interprets sensory information in light of existing knowledge, concepts, and ideas?

Answer 77

top-down processing

Question 78

what is Gestalt psychology?

Answer 78

humans have basic tendencies to actively organize what they see.

Question 79

what are illusory contours?

Answer 79

you can "see" boundaries that do not exist.

Question 80

what are the four gestalt laws of organization?

Answer 80

1) law of similarity 2) law of proximity 3) law of closure 4) law of continuity

Question 81

shape constancy, size constancy, and brightness constancy are all:

Answer 81

perceptual constancies

Question 82

perceptual constancies show that context can produce ______.

Answer 82

illusions

Question 83

the impossible triangle, never-ending staircase, and the devil's tuning fork are all examples of:

Answer 83

illusions