Sensation and Perception

Question 1

What psychological term refers to the raw sensory data from the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, balance, touch, and pain?

Answer 1

Sensation

Question 2

What psychological term refers to the process of creating meaningful patterns from that raw sensory data?

Answer 2

Perception

Question 3

The least amount of energy needed to generate any sensation at all in a person 50 percent of the time is called the

Answer 3

Absolute threshold

Question 4

What psychological metric is the smallest change in stimulation that is detectable 50 percent of the time?

Answer 4

difference threshold or the just noticeable difference (jnd)

Question 5

In most cases, our senses adjust to the level of stimulation they are experiencing, a process known as

Answer 5

adaptations

Question 6

These are messages that fall below the level of conscious perception and are therefore perceived subconsciously

Answer 6

Subliminal messages

Question 7

This psychological “phenomenon” is defined as “a response to an unknown event not present in any known sense.”

Answer 7

Extrasensory Perception (ESP)

Question 8

In the process leading to vision, light enters the eye through the

Answer 8

cornea

Question 9

One spot on the retina, called the ______________, has no receptor cells.

Answer 9

blind spot

Question 10

Directly behind the lens and on the retina is a depressed spot called the _____________, which lies at the center of the visual field.

Answer 10

fovea

Question 11

How many types of receptor cells are present in the human retina?

Answer 11

two

Question 12

type of receptor cell present in the human retina

Answer 12

rods and cones

Question 13

Which type of receptor cell is responsible for night vision?

Answer 13

rod cells

Question 14

Which type of receptor cell operates mainly in daytime, and are also present only in the fovea?

Answer 14

cone cells

Question 15

Rods and cones connect to nerve cells, called _____________, leading to the brain.

Answer 15

bipolar cells

Question 16

In psychology and biology, the ability to distinguish fine details by sight is known as

Answer 16

visual acuity

Question 17

True or false: The sensitivity of rods, cones, and pan cells change according to the amount of available light.

Answer 17

true

Question 18

An __________________can appear until the retina adapts after a visual stimulus has been removed.

Answer 18

afterimage

Question 19

The physical stimuli for the sense of hearing is/are ________________.

Answer 19

sound waves

Question 20

Frequency is the number of cycles per second in a wave, expressed in a unit called:

Answer 20

hertz

Question 21

Loudness is measured in

Answer 21

decibels

Question 22

What are the three major bones in the middle ear that allow for the sense of hearing?

Answer 22

hammer, anvil, and stirrup

Question 23

In the inner ear, the vibrations cause fluid inside the cochlea to vibrate, pushing the _________________ and the ____________________ up and down.

Answer 23

basilar membrane, organ of corti

Question 24

True or false: Inside the organ of Corti are tiny hair cells that act as sensory receptors for hearing.

Answer 24

true

Question 25

What theory regarding hearing states that the brain determines pitch by noting the place on the basilar membrane where the message is the strongest?

Answer 25

Place theory

Question 26

What theory regarding hearing holds that the frequency of vibrations of the basilar membrane as a whole is translated into an equivalent frequency of nerve impulses.

Answer 26

Frequency theory

Question 27

What principle regarding hearing holds that nerve cells fire in sequence to send a rapid series of impulses to the brain?

Answer 27

volley principle

Question 28

The sense of smell is activated by substances carried by airborne molecules into the nasal cavities, where the substances activate highly specialized receptors for smell, located in the __________________________.

Answer 28

olfactory epithelium

Question 29

The receptor cells for the sense of taste are housed in the __________________ on the tongue.

Answer 29

taste buds

Question 30

How many primary tastes do healthy humans experience?

Answer 30

seven

Question 31

What do we refer to as the mixture of taste and smell, combined?

Answer 31

flavor

Question 32

two nerve endings that kinesthetic senses rely on

Answer 32

stretch receptors, Golgi tendon organs

Question 33

Which senses control equilibrium and create an awareness of body position?

Answer 33

vestibular senses

Question 34

The sensation of gravitation and movement forward and backward, as well as up and down, arises in the two ______________________ that lie between the semicircular canals and the cochlea.

Answer 34

vestibular sacs

Question 35

The most commonly accepted explanation of pain is the

Answer 35

gate control theory

Question 36

This theory on pain holds that it is a dynamic process that involves biological, psychological, and social mechanisms.

Answer 36

Biopsychosocial theory

Question 37

What effect occurs when a pain sufferer feels relief from pain when given a chemically neutral pill but told that it is an effective pain reliever?

Answer 37

placebo effect