Question 1

The longest wavelengths we can see are experienced as __________ colors.
A) red
B) blue-violet
C) green
D) yellow

Accepted Answer

Red is the color with the longest wavelength that is visible to the human eye.

Question 2

Because of what you have learned about sensory adaptation, you might think that if you stared at a picture for a long period of time, the image you see would eventually fade. This would be the case if not for the tiny vibrations of your eye called __________.
A) glissades
B) microsaccades
C) habituation movements
D) light wave responses

Accepted Answer

Microsaccades are tiny vibrations of the eye that prevent sensory adaptation from occurring. These movements allow us to view a stable image, even if we are staring at it for an extended period of time.

Question 3

Some people believe that __________ are messages that can be sent to consumers, prompting them to buy a product without their being aware of receiving such messages.
A) selective perceptions
B) subliminal stimuli
C) inductive perceptions
D) below threshold perceptions

Accepted Answer

Subliminal stimuli are messages that are presented below the threshold of conscious awareness, meaning people are not aware of receiving them. Some people believe these stimuli can influence consumers to buy products without their conscious knowledge. The other choices (A, C, D) do not accurately describe this concept.

Question 4

In the process known as __________, sensory receptors become less sensitive to repeated presentations of the same stimulus.
A) sensation
B) sensory fatigue
C) sensory adaptation
D) discrimination

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation is the process in which sensory receptors become less sensitive to repeated presentations of the same stimulus. This occurs as a result of the brain's filtering out of unnecessary or redundant information in order to focus on new or changing stimuli.

Question 5

The shortest wavelengths that we can see are experienced as __________ colors.
A) red
B) blue
C) green
D) yellow

Accepted Answer

Blue light has the shortest wavelength among the visible colors, which ranges from 400 to 500 nanometers.

Question 6

Which pairing of name and property of light is correct?
A) Helmholtz; particle nature (photon)
B) Holstein; wave nature
C) Newton; wave nature
D) Einstein; wave packet (photon)

Accepted Answer

Einstein proposed the concept of wave-particle duality of light, which means that light can exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties. He also introduced the concept of wave packets, which are clusters of waves that behave as particles.

Question 7

One problem with James Vicary's study of subliminal perception is that it __________.
A) demonstrated the validity of the concept of subliminal perception
B) did not prove that people actually bought more colas and popcorn for several months after seeing the movie
C) showed that subliminal stimuli had only very small effects on consumer patterns
D) never happened

Accepted Answer

James Vicary's study of subliminal perception, which claimed to increase sales of popcorn and Coca-Cola through subliminal messages in a movie theater, was later revealed to be a hoax. Vicary admitted that the study never actually took place.

Question 8

Microsaccades are __________.
A) tiny vibrations of the eye that prevent images from fading
B) the tiny bones in the ear that transmit sound waves to the cochlea
C) the photoreceptors in the eye responsible for night vision
D) pain receptors in the limbs

Accepted Answer

Microsaccades are tiny, involuntary eye movements that occur even when we try to keep our gaze fixed on a steady object. They play an important role in preventing images from fading and maintaining visual acuity.

Question 9

When you first put your hat on, you can feel it quite easily, but after a while, you forget that you are wearing a hat at all-the sensation is gone. What happens?
A) sensory fatigue
B) subliminal perception
C) habituation
D) perceptual defense

Accepted Answer

Habituation is the process of becoming accustomed to a stimulus and therefore, no longer having the same level of response to it. In this case, the sensation of the hat on the head becomes less noticeable over time as the individual becomes habituated to it. Option A, sensory fatigue, refers to the temporary inability to detect a stimulus due to prolonged exposure or fatigue of the sensory receptors. Option B, subliminal perception, refers to the perception of stimuli that are below the threshold of conscious awareness. Option D, perceptual defense, refers to the process by which people selectively perceive what they want to perceive and ignore what they don't want to perceive.

Question 10

Brooklyn goes to a movie theater to watch her favorite movie. About halfway through the movie, she becomes aware of an overpowering hunger for popcorn. What she doesn't realize is that throughout the first part of the movie, a message saying "Eat Popcorn!" was repeatedly flashed on the screen at a speed too fast for her to be consciously aware of it. If Brooklyn's desire for popcorn is due to that message, she is responding to __________.
A) selective perception
B) subliminal perception
C) cognitive restructuring
D) stroboscopic perception

Accepted Answer

Brooklyn's desire for popcorn is a result of subliminal perception, which refers to the processing of stimuli that are presented below the threshold of conscious awareness. In this case, the message to "Eat Popcorn!" was flashed at a speed too fast for Brooklyn to consciously perceive, but it still influenced her behavior by triggering her subconscious desire for popcorn.

Question 11

The visible spectrum refers to the __________.
A) portion of the whole spectrum of light that is visible to the human eye
B) effect of intensity on how we see dark to grey to white
C) effect of the sound density on the perceptions of those with synesthesia
D) well-known fact that colors are less visible to some men's eyes

Accepted Answer

The visible spectrum refers to the portion of the whole spectrum of light that is visible to the human eye, which includes the colors of the rainbow from red to violet.

Question 12

__________ is the process by which unchanging information from the senses of taste, touch, smell, and vision is "ignored" by the sensory receptor cells themselves.
A) Transformation
B) Sensory adaptation
C) Transmutation
D) Transduction

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation is the process by which sensory receptor cells become less responsive to constant or unchanging stimuli. This allows the brain to focus on detecting new or changing stimuli in the environment. Transformation refers to changing the form of something, transmutation refers to changing the nature of something, and transduction refers to converting one form of energy into another (such as converting sound waves into electrical signals in the ear).

Question 13

In the process known as __________, the brain stops attending to constant, unchanging stimuli from one's surroundings.
A) habituation
B) sensory fatigue
C) sensory adaptation
D) discrimination

Accepted Answer

Habituation is the process by which the brain stops attending to constant, unchanging stimuli from one's surroundings.

Question 14

Light is said to have a dual nature, meaning it can be thought of in two different ways. These two ways are __________.
A) particles and photons
B) waves and frequencies
C) waves and particles
D) dark light and daylight

Accepted Answer

Light can be described as both a wave and a particle, known as a photon. This concept is known as wave-particle duality.

Question 15

A method for assessing the accuracy of judgments or decisions under uncertain conditions is called __________ theory. This method assesses a person's "hits" and "rejections" compared to their "misses" and "false alarms."
A) neural appraisal
B) transductive
C) signal detection
D) psychophysics

Accepted Answer

The method described in the prompt is signal detection theory, which assesses judgments or decisions under uncertain conditions by measuring the person's ability to distinguish between signal (hits and rejections) and noise (misses and false alarms). Neural appraisal, transductive, and psychophysics are not methods for assessing accuracy in this manner.

Question 16

What color would you report seeing if a researcher projected the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum onto a screen?
A) red
B) blue
C) yellow
D) violet

Accepted Answer

The longest wavelength in the visible spectrum is red, so if a researcher were to project that wavelength onto a screen, the color seen would be red.

Question 17

Misaki has learned to create a "truly red" light by focusing on only one wavelength of the visible spectrum. In which property of light would Misaki be most interested?
A) intensity
B) decibels
C) accommodation
D) saturation

Accepted Answer

Saturation refers to the purity or intensity of a color, and Misaki's interest in creating a "truly red" light suggests a focus on achieving a high level of saturation. The other options (intensity, decibels, accommodation) are not as relevant to this specific scenario.

Question 18

The aspect of color that corresponds to names such as red, green, and blue is __________.
A) brightness
B) saturation
C) hue
D) fine detail

Accepted Answer

Hue refers to the attribute of color that describes the dominant wavelength of light, which gives a color its unique identity as red, green, blue, etc. Brightness refers to the intensity of light or how light or dark a color appears, while saturation refers to the purity or vividness of a color. Fine detail does not relate to any characteristic of color.

Question 19

The term photon refers to __________.
A) a tiny packet of light waves
B) a torpedo used by the USS Enterprise
C) the smallest unit of sound
D) the property of light that gives us the perception of color

Accepted Answer

A photon is the smallest indivisible unit of light, which behaves both as a particle and a wave. It carries energy and momentum and can interact with matter in a variety of ways.

Question 20

Our eyes don't adapt completely to a repeated visual stimulus because __________.
A) tiny little vibrations called microsaccades keep the eyes from adapting to what they see
B) the optic chiasm enables fibers to carry messages to all parts of the brain
C) ganglion cells fire continuously
D) visual acuity is greatest in the fovea

Accepted Answer

Tiny little vibrations called microsaccades keep the eyes from adapting to what they see. These microsaccades constantly shift our gaze ever so slightly, preventing complete adaptation to a repeated visual stimulus.

Quiz 3: Sensation and Perception

The longest wavelengths we can see are experienced as __________ colors.

Because of what you have learned about sensory adaptation, you might think that if you stared at a picture for a long period of time, the image you see would eventually fade. This would be the case if not for the tiny vibrations of your eye called __________.

Some people believe that __________ are messages that can be sent to consumers, prompting them to buy a product without their being aware of receiving such messages.

In the process known as __________, sensory receptors become less sensitive to repeated presentations of the same stimulus.

The shortest wavelengths that we can see are experienced as __________ colors.

Which pairing of name and property of light is correct?

One problem with James Vicary's study of subliminal perception is that it __________.

Microsaccades are __________.

When you first put your hat on, you can feel it quite easily, but after a while, you forget that you are wearing a hat at all-the sensation is gone. What happens?

The visible spectrum refers to the __________.

__________ is the process by which unchanging information from the senses of taste, touch, smell, and vision is "ignored" by the sensory receptor cells themselves.

In the process known as __________, the brain stops attending to constant, unchanging stimuli from one's surroundings.

Light is said to have a dual nature, meaning it can be thought of in two different ways. These two ways are __________.

A method for assessing the accuracy of judgments or decisions under uncertain conditions is called __________ theory. This method assesses a person's "hits" and "rejections" compared to their "misses" and "false alarms."

What color would you report seeing if a researcher projected the longest wavelength in the visible spectrum onto a screen?

Misaki has learned to create a "truly red" light by focusing on only one wavelength of the visible spectrum. In which property of light would Misaki be most interested?

The aspect of color that corresponds to names such as red, green, and blue is __________.

The term photon refers to __________.

Our eyes don't adapt completely to a repeated visual stimulus because __________.