Final

Question 1

Absolute Threshold

Answer 1

minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus in at least 50% of sensory exposures

Question 2

A test examining the level of sensation-seeking has a mean of 80 with a standard deviation of 4. Give an example of a score that is within one standard deviation of the mean.

Answer 2

Any number between 76-80, 80-84

Question 3

Framing Effect

Answer 3

the way that a problem is presented to someone, and it can drastically change that person’s perception or reaction to the problem or situation.

Question 4

Afterimage effect; Explain the role of retinal cones in this optical illusion.

Answer 4

a visual illusion that occurs when you see or stare at an image for an extended period of time that continues to appear in your eyes after the original image is gone (or upon blinking…). The overstimulated retinal cones reduce their response which allows the complementary color cones to dominate perception.

Blue Colors = Yellow Afterimage
Black = White Afterimage
Red= Green Afterimage

Question 5

What do color blind people have deficiencies in?

Answer 5

Their cones

Question 6

Dichromatism

Answer 6

Unable to distinguish between red and green

Question 7

Inattentional blindness

Answer 7

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Question 8

Nociceptors

Answer 8

They send increased pain signals when we pay more attention to the pain

Question 9

Scatterplot

Answer 9

When you have a table with two parts of data that you can make into coordinates

Question 10

Sensory adaptation

• example

Answer 10

Diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation

Ex: How much time lapses after putting on your socks before you actually stop feeling the socks on your feet or around your leg?

Question 11

A teacher finds the distribution of scores on a social-cognitive personality assessment to be positively skewed with low variability. On the basis of this information, what is a justified conclusion for the teacher to make?

Answer 11

The exam was too difficult because a positive skew means that the average was really low and the variance was low meaning most students did low and there wasn’t varied scores.

Question 12

Retinal Convergence

Answer 12

Binocular cue whereby we use both eyes to focus on the same object. As an object moves close, the eyes come closer together to focus. As the eyes look at an object further away, the eyes move further apart to focus

Question 13

Autokinetic effect

Answer 13

An illusory phenomenon in which a stationary, small point of light in an otherwise dark or featureless environment appears to move

Question 14

Priming

• example

Answer 14

When we have unconscious activation of certain associations that predispose our perception, memory, or response

• If you are shown the color yellow and asked to name the first word on your mind, it will probably be “banana” because you associate yellow and banana closely.

Question 15

Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory

Answer 15

Retina contains three different color receptors – one most sensitive to red, one to green, and one to blue – which, when stimulated in combination can produce the perception of any color

Question 16

What role does binocular vision play in retinal disparity and depth perception?

Answer 16

It uses the slightly different images seen by each eye to calculate the distance and depth of objects. The brain processes the difference in position of images to help create perception of the world(retinal disparity). This ability helps us judge distances and perceive depth accurately.

Question 17

Blindspot closure

Answer 17

The brain compensates by filling in the gap of visual info(blindspot) using info from the surrounding visual field and prior knowledge. This way we have the perception of a continuous image.

Question 18

Cocktail party effect

Answer 18

imagine being at a crowded party and you’re trying to talk to someone and listen to another person’s conversation and understand both. You can focus on a particular stimulus while filtering out other distracting sounds

Question 19

Sound localization

Answer 19

a listener’s ability to identify the location or origin of a detected sound in terms of direction and distance

Question 20

Synesthesia

Answer 20

One sensory pathway leads to the automatic response in another pathway; any two senses can experience this “cross-wiring” effect. When you can taste a color for example.

Question 21

Range

Answer 21

Difference between highest and lowest scores in a distribution

Question 22

If Carmelita stares at a red spot for one minute and then shifts her gaze to a white piece of paper, she is likely to experience an afterimage that is..

Answer 22

Green

Question 23

Is multi-tasking possible? Explain what happens when people are attempting to multi-task. How does this impact information storage while studying or doing homework?

Answer 23

No, we cannot consciously focus on 2 or more things at once. When we attempt to multi-task we are automating between certain behaviors quickly. A dopamine boost occurs in the frontal lobe. We lose around 30-40% of info when multi-tasking during studying or homework.

Question 24

Opponent-Process Theory

Answer 24

Theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-green, white-black) enable color vision. One member of the color pair suppresses the other color.

Question 25

Vestibular Sense

Answer 25

Sense of body movement and position mainly dealing with the head. AKA balance

Question 26

Embodied cognition

Answer 26

Influence of bodily sensations (textures, posture, temp), gestures and other states can impact perception, performance, etc. Ex: When wearing really comfortable clothes (sweatpants vs. dress clothes), we tend to behave less professionally and are typically lazier and less productive and focused.

Question 27

Selective attention

Answer 27

Focusing your conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Question 28

Context effect - example

Answer 28

Stimuli perception is connected to environmental influences - For example, research has shown that the comfort level of the floor that shoppers are standing on while reviewing products can affect their assessments of product's quality

Question 29

Why do we have a blindspot in our visual field?

Answer 29

Because the optic nerve exits the retina which creates an area without photoreceptors

Question 30

Explain the process of vision using the following terms in your own example (please underline or highlight each term): pupil, iris, lens, cornea, fovea, retina, rods, cones (include cone color types for each light wavelength), optic nerve, ganglion cells, transduction, feature detection (color, shape, movement, etc.), occipital lobe, visual accommodation

Answer 30

Light passes through the cornea(protective layer of the eye). Then, it enters into the pupil which is controlled by the iris. The light will then be focused by the lens in visual accommodation, which is when the lens can change shape based on how far away something is to help you perceive it. The light will be focused onto the fovea(focal point) on the retina, which contains rods, cones, and ganglion cells. Rods help us with black, white, and gray colors. Cones help with red, green, and blue cones. Blue cones have short wavelengths of light, green has medium, and red has long. The ganglion cells assist in transduction, which is converting light into an electrical signal. The signal then travels through the optic nerve and then to the occipital lobe in the brain where feature detection occurs(noticing shape, color, form, etc.).

Question 31

Stroboscopic effect

Answer 31

A moving object such as a spinning fan is perceived as standing still or even moving in a different direction that it is actually moving

Question 32

Phi Phenomenon

Answer 32

An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession. This is how movies create the appearance of motion from frame to frame.

Question 33

Semicircular canals

Answer 33

Dealing with balance due to the fluid inside

Question 34

What causes conduction hearing loss?

Answer 34

Caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea (hammer, anvil, stirrup)

Question 35

Perceptual Adaptation

Answer 35

In vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or inverted visual field

Question 36

Gender stereotypes

Answer 36

overgeneralizations about the behavior of people based on their gender and are rooted in society (the environment)

Question 37

Monochromatism

Answer 37

Complete color-blindness where all colors appear as shades of one color. They have none or only one type of functional cone receptor.

Question 38

Another name for face blindness

Answer 38

Prosopagnosia

Question 39

Pitch

Answer 39

A tone's highness or lowness which depends on frequency

Question 40

Because of studies in the past that exposed participants to danger without their knowledge, which of the following was added to the American Psychological Association ethical guidelines?

Answer 40

Research may not involve deception unless participants are debriefed

Question 41

Transduction

Answer 41

converting one form of energy into another Ex: sights, sounds and smells converted into neural impulses

Question 42

Gate-control theory

Answer 42

A neurological "gate" blocks or allows pain signals to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by pain signals from small nerve fibers and closed by activity in large fibers or information coming from the brain.

Question 43

Optic nerve

Answer 43

Carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Question 44

Where does transduction occur in the eye?

Answer 44

Retina

Question 45

Frequency

Answer 45

Number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time

Question 46

Stratton Experiment

Answer 46

Inversion goggles (flips visual field) were worn for 8 days nonstop and the subject grew to have full visual functionality. It took 4-5 days for vision to return to normal after removing the goggles.

Question 47

What two senses make up the chemical senses?

Answer 47

Gustation(taste) and Olfaction(smell)

Question 48

Sensory Interaction

Answer 48

Principle that one sense may influence another, as in the case of smell and taste Smell + texture + taste = flavor experience

Question 49

Perception

Answer 49

Process of organizing and interpreting sensory info so we can recognize objects and events.

Question 50

Amplitude

Answer 50

Determines volume of sound

Question 51

Sensation

Answer 51

Process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive stimuli from our environment

Question 52

Gestalt psychology

Answer 52

Pieces of info integrated into whole pieces

Question 53

Color constancy

Answer 53

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters wavelengths of light

Question 54

Shape constancy

Answer 54

The perception of an object's shape as remaining constant even when its angle or orientation changes.

Question 55

Perceptual constancy

Answer 55

Perceiving objects as unchanging (shape, size, color, etc.) even as illumination and retinal images change

Question 56

Relative size

Answer 56

A depth cue where objects of the same size are perceived differently based on their distance

Question 57

Lightness constancy

Answer 57

he lightness of an object tends to remain the same even when the lighting changes

Question 58

Size constancy

Answer 58

The perception of an object’s size as consistent, even when its distance changes and the retinal image becomes smaller or larger

Question 59

Relative clarity

Answer 59

A depth cue where closer objects appear sharper and more detailed, while distant objects appear hazy or blurry due to atmospheric effects

Question 60

Linear Perspective

Answer 60

A depth cue where parallel lines appear to converge as they recede into the distance, such as train tracks appearing to meet at the horizon.

Question 61

Layout the process of hearing using the following terms (please underline or highlight each term): eardrum (tympanic membrane), cochlea, auditory ossicles, auditory nerve, basilar membrane, cilia, transduction, temporal lobe

Answer 61

A wavelength foes into the ear canal and strikes the eardrum. The eardrum will pulse or vibrate which pulls on the auditory ossicles, which are tiny bones in the mid-ear region. These bones will eventually tap on the cochlea. Inside the cochlea, there is fluid that will ripple in response to the tapping from the ossicles. The movement of the fluid triggers the cilia, tiny hair cells, on the basilar membrane, and since each one of these has a nerve attached this triggering causes transduction. Transduction is where the vibration is converted into an electrical signal. This signal goes to the auditory nerve and then the temporal lobe so that the sound can be heard or perceived.

Question 62

Figure-ground concept

Answer 62

Organization of the visual field into objects or figures that stand out from their surroundings.

Question 63

Parapsychology

Answer 63

The study of paranormal phenomena that cannot be explained or studied accurately.

Question 64

Just-Noticeable Difference

Answer 64

Principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage

Question 65

Blindsight

Answer 65

People who are perceptually blind in a certain area of their visual field demonstrate some response to visual stimuli (still images vs. motion). They can see objects that move but are blind to stationary objects and cannot describe any of visual features

Question 66

Cochlear implant

Answer 66

Device for converting sounds into electrical signals. Conduction hearing loss can potentially be repaired through this.

Question 67

Place theory

Answer 67

Links pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated

Question 68

Frequency theory

Answer 68

Rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve that matches the frequency of a tone. It includes the volley principle which is the idea that groups of neurons can work together to perceive sounds at frequencies beyond their individual firing rate.