Question 1

Dee says that she has developed special sunglasses to enable people to see light with wavelengths of 550-700 nanometers.Would these be useful for humans?

Accepted Answer

The wavelengths of 550-700 nanometers fall within the visible spectrum for humans, which ranges approximately from 380 to 750 nanometers. Therefore, these sunglasses would not provide a new ability, as humans can already see light within this range.

Question 2

Boris is blindfolded and holding a pile of laundry.Natasha adds some dirty laundry to Boris's pile,then some more dirty laundry,then some more,and so on,just until Boris says,"Now the pile of laundry feels heavier." Boris's judgment is best described by ____ law.

Accepted Answer

Weber's law states that the just noticeable difference (JND) between two stimuli is directly proportional to the magnitude of the stimuli. In this scenario, Boris is able to perceive the increase in weight of the laundry pile only after a certain threshold of difference is reached. This is in line with Weber's law, which deals with the concept of JNDs. The other options - A) the Gestalt, C) Fechner's, and D) Stevens's power - are not applicable in this context.

Question 3

The process of translating the physical properties of a stimulus into a pattern of neural activity that allows us to identify those properties is known as ____.

Accepted Answer

A

Question 4

Raz is a stormtrooper working for the evil commander,Vader.Vader tells Raz that he is in charge of detecting enemy ships on a radar screen.Vader also tells Raz that if he misses one ship,he will be thrown into space.This makes Raz more likely to detect a ship if it is not there.Vader has influenced Raz's ____.

Accepted Answer

Vader has influenced Raz's response criterion, which is the standard that he uses to decide whether to respond to a sensory stimulus or not. Raz is now more likely to respond to a false alarm (detecting a ship that is not there) rather than miss a target, because the consequence of missing a target is so severe (being thrown into space).

Question 5

The discovery that stimulation of a particular sensory nerve provides codes for that sense,no matter how the stimulation takes place is called _____.

Accepted Answer

The discovery that stimulation of a particular sensory nerve provides codes for that sense, regardless of the type of stimulation, is known as the specific energy doctrine. This theory was proposed by Johannes Muller in the 19th century, and it states that each sensory nerve is specifically tuned to detect a particular type of energy or sensory modality, such as light for vision, sound for hearing, or pressure for touch. Regardless of how that sensory nerve is stimulated, it will always produce a code for that particular sensory modality.

Question 6

Vision is considered a sense because it ____.

Accepted Answer

Vision is considered a sense because it translates data from outside the nervous system into neural activity.

Question 7

On Saturday,Elbert walked through a crowd at the state fair in a small town in Illinois.On Monday,he walked through a crowded train station in a large crime-ridden city.In both situations,Elbert felt someone brush up against his back pocket.Elbert is more likely to detect that someone is stealing his wallet while in the large city than in the small town due to his lower ____.

Accepted Answer

In the large city, Elbert's response criterion for detecting theft is likely lower due to the higher expectation of crime, making him more alert and sensitive to the possibility of someone stealing his wallet.

Question 8

As you and your friend walk across the street toward the cafeteria,she says,"Oh,I can smell the lobster from here." You,however,can't smell it yet.Which explanation is most plausible?

Accepted Answer

A lower absolute threshold means that your friend can detect the smell of the lobster at a lower intensity than you can.

Question 9

A psychologist conducts an experiment in which he presents tones to subjects at various levels of intensity (that is,soft,moderate,and loud).The point at which the tone can be detected 50 percent of the time is known as the ____.

Accepted Answer

The point at which the tone can be detected 50 percent of the time is known as the absolute threshold.

Question 10

A ____ is a system that translates data from outside the nervous system into neural activity,thus giving the brain information about the world.

Accepted Answer

A sense is a system that allows organisms to perceive and respond to specific types of stimuli in their environment. This includes the sensory organs and neural pathways that translate information from the external world into neural signals that the brain can interpret. Examples of senses include vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

Question 11

Inspector Holmes and his trusty assistant,Watson,are snooping around a dark,deserted house in London.Watson suddenly screams,"Holmes! I thought I just saw a flicker of light!" Holmes turns to him and says,"No,my dear boy.You must have been interpreting a random firing of sensory neurons as a stimulus." Holmes is describing ____.

Accepted Answer

Holmes is referring to internal noise, which refers to the random electrical or chemical activity in the sensory system that can be misinterpreted as a stimulus. This concept is related to the detection of thresholds, but Holmes' specific explanation does not correspond to either an absolute threshold or just-noticeable difference. Weber's law is also unrelated to this scenario.

Question 12

Carol is listening to her new CD with the stereo's volume set twice as high as usual.Her mother yells at her to turn the volume down,so Carol gives the volume control her usual half turn.Her mother cannot tell that she had turned the volume down at all.Carol will have to decrease the volume even more than usual to attain a(n)____.

Accepted Answer

The just-noticeable difference (JND) refers to the minimum amount of change in a stimulus that can be detected by a person. In this scenario, Carol's mother couldn't tell that the volume had been turned down after Carol gave it her usual half turn. Therefore, Carol will have to further decrease the volume to reach a point where it is noticeable to her mother, indicating a change that is greater than the just-noticeable difference.

Question 13

Visible light is electromagnetic radiation with a light wavelength range of about ____ nanometers

Accepted Answer

Visible light has a wavelength range of approximately 400 to 750 nanometers, which corresponds to the colors violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. Choice A and B are too narrow, while choice D is too broad.

Question 14

Liz Lemon needs to remember to pick up lunch for her writing staff,so she ties a string around her finger as a reminder.Unfortunately,by noon,she no longer notices the string around her finger.This was most likely due to ____.

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation occurs when our sensory receptors become less responsive over time with continuous exposure to a specific stimulus. In this case, Liz Lemon's brain adapted to the sensation of the string around her finger, so she no longer noticed it.

Question 15

Mr.Wizard introduces the children on his TV show to accessory structures of our sensory systems.He tells them these structures are responsible for ____.

Accepted Answer

Accessory structures of our sensory systems, such as the outer part of the ear or the lens of the eye, modify physical energy from the environment so that sensory receptors can detect it. They do not convert the energy into neural signals, carry information to the brain, or interpret signals; those functions are performed by other parts of the sensory system.

Question 16

Sensation consists of ____,and perception consists of ____.

Accepted Answer

Sensation is the process of sensing our environment through touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell. This information is sent to our brains in raw form where perception comes into play. Perception is the way we interpret these sensations and therefore make sense of everything around us.

Question 17

During his adventures around the galaxy,Arthur Dent relies on an earpiece that deciphers all the strange alien languages he hears.Similarly,receptors in the ear encode sound waves into neural activity that the brain can understand,a process called ____.

Accepted Answer

The process of encoding sound waves into neural activity that the brain can understand is called transduction.

Question 18

Imagine that humans can taste a new sensation,called "highlight," that allows the person to taste the brightness of the food they are eating.Everyone would need a new type of ____ cell to taste this new sensation.

Accepted Answer

Neural receptors are responsible for detecting and transmitting sensory information, including taste sensations, to the brain. The new sensation of "highlight" would require a new type of neural receptor that can detect the brightness of food in addition to the traditional tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami). Ganglion, bipolar, and interneuron cells are involved in the processing of neural information and not specific to taste receptors.

Question 19

______ is a mathematical model of what determines a person's report of a near-threshold stimulus.

Accepted Answer

Signal detection theory is a mathematical model that explains an individual's ability to detect a signal amidst background noise or ambiguity. It takes into account both the individual's sensitivity to a stimulus (signal) and their response bias (the tendency to respond in a certain way). Therefore, it is the best choice for the given question. Response bias theory only explains an individual's tendency to respond in a certain way, while Weber's law and Fechner's threshold are principles related to the physical attributes of stimuli.

Question 20

The structures responsible for the process of transduction are known as ____.

Accepted Answer

Transduction refers to the process of converting a physical stimulus into an electrical signal that can be transmitted by nerves. The structures responsible for this conversion are called neural receptors, which are specialized cells located in sensory organs such as the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. Option A, accessory structures, refers to parts that support the function of sensory organs but are not directly involved in transduction. Option B, sensory nerves, are responsible for transmitting the electrical signals generated by the neural receptors to the brain. Option D, feature detectors, are specialized neurons in the brain that respond to specific features of a stimulus, such as lines or edges in visual stimuli.

Quiz 4: Sensation and Perception