Question 1

Mike May, who went blind at age three, had surgery to restore his sight when he reached adulthood. However, although he had functioning eyes, it took him several years to learn how to "see" again. Your text speculates that this is because Mike's __________.

Accepted Answer

Mike's visual cortex likely took on other roles after he lost his sight, which is a phenomenon known as neuroplasticity. When his sight was restored, his brain had to rewire itself to process visual information again, which is why it took him years to learn how to "see" again.

Question 2

We are said to be experiencing _________________ when physical energy from our environment comes into contact with our sense organs.

Accepted Answer

Sensation occurs when physical energy from the environment comes into contact with our sense organs, initiating the process of perception by converting external stimuli into neural signals.

Question 3

__________________ happens when the brain interprets and comprehends information that is received from sensory organs.

Accepted Answer

Perception happens when the brain interprets and comprehends information that is received from sensory organs. Sensation is the process of sensing our environment through touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell. Perception takes these sensations and makes sense of them.

Question 4

Leah no longer feels the chair underneath her as she sits in the classroom-she has stopped attending to the stimulation. Psychologists call this experience __________.

Accepted Answer

Sensory adaptation refers to the process by which our sensory receptors become less sensitive to constant stimuli over time, which explains why Leah no longer feels the chair.

Question 5

Transduction is the __________.

Accepted Answer

Transduction is the process by which sensory receptors convert physical signals from the environment into encoded neural signals sent to the central nervous system.

Question 6

The sound of a bell that a research subject can hear in 50 percent of an experiment's trials is that person's __________.

Accepted Answer

The absolute threshold refers to the minimum level of stimulus intensity needed for a stimulus to be detected at least 50 percent of the time by a subject. In this context, it is the minimum sound level of a bell that a person can hear in half of the experiment's trials.

Question 7

A doctor diagnoses Maggie with strep throat, and medical tests verify that she does actually have it. According to signal detection research, the doctor has committed a __________.

Accepted Answer

A hit occurs when the doctor correctly identifies a condition that is present, as in this case with Maggie's strep throat diagnosis confirmed by medical tests.

Question 8

The security guards at a concert have to search everyone who enters the area for cameras, and they confiscate each camera. Most people searched did not have cameras, and therefore, according to signal detection research, the security guards committed many ___________.

Accepted Answer

False alarms occur when a non-target (in this case, people without cameras) is incorrectly identified as a target (people with cameras). Since most people did not have cameras, the security guards mistakenly identifying them as having cameras would be false alarms.

Question 9

Matilda did not hear the phone ringing when her girlfriend called. Signal detection theorists would call this a __________.

Accepted Answer

A "miss" in signal detection theory occurs when the signal is present (the phone is ringing) but the observer (Matilda) fails to detect it.

Question 10

Which of the following is assumed to be true under signal detection theory?

Accepted Answer

Signal detection theory assumes that detecting a stimulus involves decision-making processes and can be influenced by various factors, making it more reflective of real-world experiences than the concept of an absolute threshold.

Question 11

What is a difference threshold (just noticeable difference)?

Accepted Answer

The difference threshold, also known as the just noticeable difference (JND), is the minimum difference in stimulation that a person can detect 50 percent of the time. It varies depending on the sensory modality and the intensity of the initial stimulus.

Question 12

Colin, who has been arguing with his co-workers all day, thinks the movie he saw this evening was a lot more violent than his wife thought it was. Colin's evaluation of the movie was probably influenced by his __________.

Accepted Answer

Colin's evaluation of the movie's violence was likely influenced by his perceptual set, which refers to a tendency to perceive or notice some aspects of the available sensory data and ignore others, influenced by his mood from arguing with co-workers.

Question 13

Light enters the interior of the eye through the __________.

Accepted Answer

The pupil is the opening in the center of the iris through which light enters the interior of the eye.

Question 14

The ______________ adjusts the pupil to control the amount of light entering the eye.

Accepted Answer

The iris is the part of the eye that adjusts the size of the pupil, controlling the amount of light that enters the eye.

Question 15

Muscles around the ____________ change the eye's shape to allow it to focus light on the retina as appropriate to the distance of the object.

Accepted Answer

Muscles around the lens of the eye adjust its shape to focus light correctly on the retina, allowing the eye to see objects at various distances clearly. This process is known as accommodation.

Question 16

________________ in the retina convert light into neural impulses.

Accepted Answer

Photoreceptors, which include rods and cones, are the cells in the retina responsible for converting light into neural impulses.

Question 17

Luke is in the woods at night, yet he can still see the path below and the trees around him. This is due to the action of __________.

Accepted Answer

Rods are responsible for vision in low light conditions, allowing Luke to see the path and trees around him at night. Cones are responsible for color vision and function best in bright light, afterimages are visual illusions that occur after looking away from a visual stimulus, and interposition is a depth cue in visual perception, none of which are directly related to seeing in low light.

Question 18

Which of the following describes the role of ganglion cells in vision?

Accepted Answer

Ganglion cells are a type of neuron located in the retina of the eye. Their primary role is to transmit visual information from the retina to the brain through their axons, which form the optic nerve. This process is crucial for vision, as it allows the brain to receive and interpret visual stimuli. Choices A, B, and C do not accurately describe the function of ganglion cells in vision.

Question 19

The blind spot of the eye is __________.

Accepted Answer

The blind spot of the eye is where the optic nerve leaves the eye, an area not covered with receptor cells, and thus, an area where no vision occurs. This is because there are no photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) in the optic disc to detect light.

Question 20

The optic nerves of the left eye and the optic nerves of the right eye cross in an area called the __________.

Accepted Answer

The optic nerves from both eyes partially cross paths at the optic chiasm, allowing visual information from each eye to be processed on both sides of the brain. This structure is crucial for binocular vision and depth perception.

Quiz 4: Sensing and Perceiving Our World