Question 1

You are studying in your dorm room. You gently request that your neighbor turn the volume of his television down until you cannot hear it. You are asking your neighbor to find your
A) absolute threshold.
B) difference threshold.
C) transduction level.
D) basilar level.

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold refers to the lowest level of a stimulus that can be detected by an individual. In this scenario, the individual is asking the neighbor to turn down the volume until it cannot be detected, indicating that they are trying to find their absolute threshold for hearing the neighbor's television.

Question 2

Lionel just put his hand down on something sharp. At the moment of contact he is experiencing
A) sensation.
B) perception.
C) transduction.
D) interpretation.

Accepted Answer

Sensation refers to the process in which sensory receptors detect and respond to a physical stimulus, such as Lionel's hand coming into contact with something sharp. It is the initial process of receiving information from the environment through our senses. Perceptual experiences, on the other hand, are created after the brain processes and interprets the sensory information. Transduction refers to the conversion of physical energy into neural signals, while interpretation involves the higher-level cognitive processes involved in analyzing and making meaning out of sensory information. Therefore, the best choice in this scenario is sensation, as Lionel is detecting a physical stimulus through his sensory receptors.

Question 3

It is the process of ________ that organizes and interprets incoming sensory information.
A) perception
B) sensation
C) transduction
D) inhibition

Accepted Answer

Sensation refers to the process of detecting sensory information from the environment through our senses. Transduction refers to the process of converting sensory information into neural signals. Inhibition refers to the process of preventing or reducing neural activity. Perception, on the other hand, refers to the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information so that it has meaning and makes sense to us.

Question 4

The smallest intensity of a stimulus that you can detect 50 percent of the time is the ________ threshold.
A) transduction
B) sensory
C) difference
D) absolute

Accepted Answer

The smallest intensity of a stimulus that can be detected is known as the absolute threshold. This refers to the smallest amount of physical energy required to produce a sensation in at least 50% of the trials during perceptual testing.

Question 5

As young children learn to read, they often have difficulty comprehending what the story is saying because they are working so hard to decode what the words are. This reflects an over-reliance on which type of processing?
A) threshold
B) top-down
C) transduction
D) bottom-up

Accepted Answer

This reflects an over-reliance on bottom-up processing, which involves analyzing individual elements of a stimulus (in this case, decoding the words) before combining them into a cohesive whole (understanding the story).

Question 6

You are watching a movie with some scenes set in a noisy bar, some scenes containing gunfire, and some scenes containing very quiet dialogue. During the quiet scenes, you can hear most of the dialogue but you find that if the actors drop their volume on certain lines, you cannot hear what they are saying. This reflects the fact that a message must exceed a(n) ________ in order to be processed.
A) expectation
B) arbitrary value
C) threshold
D) upper limit

Accepted Answer

The missing word in the sentence is "threshold", which refers to the minimum amount of stimulation required for a message to be perceived or processed. This concept applies to all sensory modalities, including hearing. Therefore, if the actors drop their volume below the threshold during quiet dialogue scenes, the viewer may not be able to hear what they are saying.

Question 7

When you see the bright color and round shape of a tomato on the vine in your vegetable garden, smell its sun-warmed fragrance, hear the buzzing of a nearby bee, feel the velvety texture of its skin, and taste the flavor as you bite into it, your process of receiving this stimulus energy from the environment is called
A) sensation.
B) selective attention.
C) perception.
D) cognition.

Accepted Answer

Sensation refers to the process of receiving stimulus energy from the environment through our sensory organs (in this case, the sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste of the tomato) and transmitting it to the brain for further processing. Selective attention is the ability to focus on a particular stimulus while ignoring others, cognition refers to the mental processes of thinking, learning, and remembering, and perception is the process of interpreting and organizing sensory information into meaningful experiences.

Question 8

________ processing involves starting with a sense of what is happening and then applying that framework to information in the world.
A) Logical
B) Top-down
C) Referential
D) Bottom-up

Accepted Answer

Top-down processing involves using prior knowledge and expectations to interpret incoming sensory information. It starts with a schema or framework and then applies it to the incoming information.

Question 9

Bottom-up processing involves analysis that begins with the
A) absolute threshold.
B) sensory receptors.
C) cerebral cortex.
D) spinal cord.

Accepted Answer

Bottom-up processing starts with sensory receptors that detect external stimuli and transmit information to higher brain centers for analysis and interpretation. This type of processing is data-driven and relies on the physical properties of stimuli to form perceptions.

Question 10

When you are able to taste a quarter teaspoon of salt dissolved in a glass of water five times out of ten, you have attained your ________ threshold.
A) difference
B) adaptation
C) perceptual
D) absolute

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold is the minimum intensity of a stimulus that one can detect 50% of the time. In this case, it refers to the smallest concentration of salt that can be tasted in water.

Question 11

An architect is designing apartments and wants them to be soundproof. She asks a psychologist what the smallest amount of sound is that can be heard. Her question is most related to the ________ threshold.
A) absolute
B) difference
C) transduction
D) sensory

Accepted Answer

The question is asking about the smallest amount of sound that can be heard, which is related to the absolute threshold. The absolute threshold is the minimum amount of stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50% of the time.

Question 12

Jenny did not blink an eye when she paid an extra fifty cents for her favorite CD, but almost fell out of the car when her local gas station raised the price of gas by a dollar over night. What concept best explains her contradicting reactions?
A) absolute threshold
B) just noticeable difference
C) subliminal perception
D) Weber's law

Accepted Answer

Weber's law states that the size of a just noticeable difference (JND) is a constant proportion of the original stimulus. In this case, Jenny's reaction to the price increase for gas is more extreme than her reaction to the price increase for the CD because the JND for the price of gas is larger (a dollar) compared to the JND for the price of the CD (fifty cents).

Question 13

Which concept is most critical to a soldier wearing camouflage?
A) absolute threshold
B) just noticeable difference
C) subliminal perception
D) Weber's law

Accepted Answer

The concept of "just noticeable difference" is critical to a soldier wearing camouflage because it involves the smallest change in a stimulus that can be detected, which is essential for blending into the environment and avoiding detection.

Question 14

Rachel is walking in the woods and feels a sharp prick on her neck. She feels pain and recognizes that she has been stung by a wasp. Which process allowed her to identify the source of her pain?
A) sensation
B) perception
C) nature
D) transduction

Accepted Answer

Perception is the process by which the brain interprets sensory information, allowing Rachel to recognize and identify the source of her pain as a wasp sting.

Question 15

When you visit a new city for the first time, it often takes a lot of cognitive effort to find your way around. One explanation lies in the fact that new experiences require us to rely primarily on ________ processing.
A) threshold
B) top-down
C) transduction
D) bottom-up

Accepted Answer

Bottom-up processing involves taking in information from the environment and using it to build a perception. In a new city, we are bombarded with new sights, sounds, and smells, requiring us to rely mainly on bottom-up processing to gather information about our surroundings and map out our route.

Question 16

If a person hears two tones that differ in intensity just barely enough to be detected, the point of detection is referred to as the ________ threshold.
A) difference
B) sensory
C) absolute
D) transduction

Accepted Answer

The point at which a person can just barely detect a difference in intensity between two tones is known as the "difference threshold" or "just noticeable difference (JND)."

Question 17

When you are paid $1 instead of $2, it is a big deal. When you are paid $91 instead of $92, it feels less painful. This is similar to
A) absolute thresholds.
B) perceptual constancy.
C) Weber's law.
D) stimulus transduction.

Accepted Answer

Weber's law states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli is proportional to the magnitude of the stimuli. This means that the difference between $1 and $2 is more noticeable than the difference between $91 and $92, as the former is a larger percentage difference in magnitude. Therefore, the phenomenon described in the question is an example of Weber's law.

Question 18

As Rena gets out of the shower, she thinks, but is not certain that she hears a car outside. What perceptual process is she experiencing?
A) absolute threshold
B) just noticeable difference
C) partial deafness
D) signal-to-noise ratio

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold is the minimum amount of stimulation that can be detected. In this case, Rena is trying to detect the sound of a car outside.

Question 19

Every day, you see, hear, smell, taste and feel stimuli from the outside world. Collecting this data about that world is the function of
A) perception.
B) adaptation.
C) sensation.
D) integration.

Accepted Answer

Sensation is the process of detecting and encoding sensory information from the environment using our sensory organs such as eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. It involves the conversion of physical energy such as light or sound waves into electrical signals that the brain can understand. Perception refers to the interpretation of these sensory signals by the brain, allowing us to recognize and understand what we are sensing. Adaptation involves the way in which our sensory systems adjust to changing environmental conditions over time. Integration involves the coordination of sensory information from different modalities to form a unified perceptual experience.

Question 20

Contestants on the game show Wheel of Fortune are given labels to assist them solving the puzzles. These labels activate ________ processing.
A) threshold
B) top-down
C) transduction
D) bottom-up

Accepted Answer

Top-down processing involves the use of prior knowledge and context to interpret and understand information. In this case, the labels given to the contestants are providing contextual information that helps them solve the puzzles, which is an example of top-down processing. Threshold processing refers to the activation of a neuron or sensory receptor, transduction is the conversion of one form of energy to another, and bottom-up processing involves the analysis of individual sensory information to create a complete perception.

Quiz 4: Sensation and Perception

You are studying in your dorm room. You gently request that your neighbor turn the volume of his television down until you cannot hear it. You are asking your neighbor to find your

Lionel just put his hand down on something sharp. At the moment of contact he is experiencing

It is the process of ________ that organizes and interprets incoming sensory information.

The smallest intensity of a stimulus that you can detect 50 percent of the time is the ________ threshold.

As young children learn to read, they often have difficulty comprehending what the story is saying because they are working so hard to decode what the words are. This reflects an over-reliance on which type of processing?

________ processing involves starting with a sense of what is happening and then applying that framework to information in the world.

Bottom-up processing involves analysis that begins with the

When you are able to taste a quarter teaspoon of salt dissolved in a glass of water five times out of ten, you have attained your ________ threshold.

An architect is designing apartments and wants them to be soundproof. She asks a psychologist what the smallest amount of sound is that can be heard. Her question is most related to the ________ threshold.

Jenny did not blink an eye when she paid an extra fifty cents for her favorite CD, but almost fell out of the car when her local gas station raised the price of gas by a dollar over night. What concept best explains her contradicting reactions?

Which concept is most critical to a soldier wearing camouflage?

Rachel is walking in the woods and feels a sharp prick on her neck. She feels pain and recognizes that she has been stung by a wasp. Which process allowed her to identify the source of her pain?

When you visit a new city for the first time, it often takes a lot of cognitive effort to find your way around. One explanation lies in the fact that new experiences require us to rely primarily on ________ processing.

If a person hears two tones that differ in intensity just barely enough to be detected, the point of detection is referred to as the ________ threshold.

When you are paid $1 instead of $2, it is a big deal. When you are paid $91 instead of $92, it feels less painful. This is similar to

As Rena gets out of the shower, she thinks, but is not certain that she hears a car outside. What perceptual process is she experiencing?

Every day, you see, hear, smell, taste and feel stimuli from the outside world. Collecting this data about that world is the function of

Contestants on the game show Wheel of Fortune are given labels to assist them solving the puzzles. These labels activate ________ processing.