______Is the Smallest Amount of Energy Required for the Stimulus to Be Reported 50% of the Time

Chapter AssessmentsIntroductory
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Question 1

Type:
Multiple Choice

______is the smallest amount of energy required for the stimulus to be reported 50% of the time.

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Answer / Graded As / Feedback
The ascending method of limits / Incorrect
The absolute threshold / Correct
The adaptation level / Incorrect
The criterion / Incorrect

Question 2

Type:
Multiple Choice

The classical psychophysical methods were developed by

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Gustav Fechner. / Correct
Gestalt psychologists. / Incorrect
New Look psychologists. / Incorrect
James J. Gibson. / Incorrect

Question 3

Type:
Multiple Choice

You decide to be kind to your roommate and play your radio as quietly as possible. It is playing loudly and you turn it down until your roommate can no longer hear it. What psychophysical method did you use?

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signal detection method / Incorrect
descending method of limits / Correct
forced-choice method / Incorrect
method of constant stimuli / Incorrect

Question 4

Type:
Multiple Choice

What is one difference between the method of adjustment and the method of limits?

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In the method of adjustment, the observer (rather than the experimenter) makes adjustments. / Correct
In the method of limits, the changes are continuous rather than discrete. / Incorrect
Stimuli are presented in random order in the method of limits. / Incorrect
Stimuli are presented in random order in the method of adjustment. / Incorrect

Question 5

Type:
Multiple Choice

The method of constant stimuli

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involves a consistent movement from intense to less intense stimuli. / Incorrect
is most likely to produce errors of habituation and errors of anticipation. / Incorrect
presents the stimuli in random order. / Correct
is the least reliable of the psychophysical methods. / Incorrect

Question 6

Type:
Multiple Choice

In the method of adjustment,

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the experimenter begins all trials with a stimulus level far above threshold. / Incorrect
people are less likely to make errors of habituation than in the method of limits. / Correct
people are more likely to make errors of anticipation than in the method of limits. / Incorrect
the procedure of estimating a threshold is particularly time-consuming. / Incorrect

Question 7

Type:
Multiple Choice

Imagine that you are a participant in a psychophysics experiment, and you are supplying judgments in a descending series for the method of limits. You have just said "Yes, I see it" on the last four trials, and you reply "Yes, I see it" for the fifth trial because you figure that the stimulus is not likely to change much. What kind of error are you making?

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Error of anticipation / Incorrect
Criterion error / Incorrect
Error of habituation / Correct
Error of adaptation / Incorrect

Question 8

Type:
Multiple Choice

Suppose that you wanted to obtain a threshold that is as reliable as possible, and time is of no concern. Which psychophysical method would you choose?

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incorrect answers:
Answer / Graded As / Feedback
signal detection method / Incorrect
method of limits / Incorrect
method of adjustment / Incorrect
method of constant stimuli / Correct

Question 9

Type:
Multiple Choice

If Mary has a high threshold for tasting solution #1 and low sensitivity for tasting solution #2, we can say that she has

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low sensitivity for solution #1 and a high threshold for solution #2. / Correct
high sensitivity for solution #1 and a low threshold for solution #2. / Incorrect
low sensitivity for solution #1 and a low threshold for solution #2. / Incorrect
high sensitivity for solution #1 and a high threshold for solution #2. / Incorrect

Question 10

Type:
Multiple Choice

One of the basic principles of signal detection theory is that

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a clear-cut borderline exists between those stimuli that can be detected and those stimuli that cannot be detected. / Incorrect
classical psychophysical techniques cannot accurately determine a threshold. / Incorrect
no absolute threshold exists; observers' judgments vary according to the situation. / Correct
highly motivated participants produce more accurate thresholds. / Incorrect

Question 11

Type:
Multiple Choice

In signal detection theory, one factor that influences sensitivity (d') is

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how much the observer is paid for the task. / Incorrect
how much the observer is paid for correct responses. / Incorrect
the likelihood that the signal is being presented. / Incorrect
the intensity of the stimulus. / Correct

Question 12

Type:
Multiple Choice

In signal detection theory, the ______measures the observer's willingness to say, "I detect the stimulus."

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criterion / Correct
sensitivity / Incorrect
threshold / Incorrect
detectivity / Incorrect

Question 13

Type:
Multiple Choice

A participant in a signal detection experiment has just responded, "I hear it," even though no signal had been presented. This response is a

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false alarm. / Correct
miss. / Incorrect
correct rejection. / Incorrect
hit. / Incorrect

Question 14

Type:
Multiple Choice

You think that the chef added salt to the chocolate sauce on your dessert, and in fact the sauce does contain salt. In signal detection terms, you made a

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Answer / Graded As / Feedback
hit. / Correct
correct rejection. / Incorrect
false alarm. / Incorrect
miss. / Incorrect

Question 15

Type:
Multiple Choice

The radiologists think that an x-ray of region in the lung shows no abnormality, but indeed the region is abnormal. In signal detection terms, they made a

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hit. / Incorrect
correct rejection. / Incorrect
false alarm. / Incorrect
miss. / Correct

Question 16

Type:
Multiple Choice

Suppose that a study using classical psychophysics showed that women who have participated in prepared childbirth classes have lower thresholds for pain than women in a control condition. Why might a variation of that study using the signal detection theory be valuable?

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SDT could give us a more accurate estimate of the just noticeable difference. / Incorrect
SDT could tell us whether the difference was due to a difference in sensitivity or a difference in criterion. / Correct
SDT would provide more accurate thresholds. / Incorrect
SDT would provide quicker thresholds. / Incorrect

Question 17

Type:
Multiple Choice

Your textbook showed a figure with one probability distribution representing "Noise" and one representing "Signal + noise." In this kind of figure, a very sensitive observer would be represented by

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two completely overlapping probability distributions. / Incorrect
a criterion line at the extreme right of the figure. / Incorrect
two probability distributions that overlap very little. / Correct
a criterion line at the extreme left of the figure. / Incorrect

Question 18

Type:
Multiple Choice

In signal detection theory, a person with a large d' will typically

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make many false alarms. / Incorrect
fail to detect a very high intensity stimulus. / Incorrect
make more hits than a person with a small d'. / Correct
be guessing about the presence of the signal. / Incorrect

Question 19

Type:
Multiple Choice

A person with a high sensitivity and a high criterion in a signal detection study

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will be less likely to have a high false alarm than a person with a high sensitivity and a low criterion. / Correct
will be more likely to have a high false alarm than a person with a high sensitivity and a low criterion. / Incorrect
will make more hits than a person with a high sensitivity and a low criterion. / Incorrect
will make more false alarms than a person with low sensitivity and a low criterion. / Incorrect

Question 20

Type:
Multiple Choice

On a cold winter morning, you are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a bus. You are listening intently for the bus's growling engine, but you are hampered somewhat by the muffler you are wearing over your ears. In signal detection terms, you probably have

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increased sensitivity and a relatively low criterion. / Incorrect
decreased sensitivity and a relatively low criterion. / Correct
increased sensitivity and a relatively high criterion. / Incorrect
decreased sensitivity and a relatively high criterion. / Incorrect

Question 21

Type:
Multiple Choice

In a signal detection study, suppose that we change the probability of the stimulus. As a result, we can also change

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the observer's criterion. / Correct
the observer's sensitivity. / Incorrect
the observer's threshold. / Incorrect
the observer's d'. / Incorrect

Question 22

Type:
Multiple Choice

In signal detection theory, the rewards and punishments associated with a particular response are called the

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sensitivity. / Incorrect
detection threshold. / Incorrect
criterion. / Incorrect
payoff. / Correct

Question 23

Type:
Multiple Choice

A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve shows

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the relationship between d' and criterion. / Incorrect
the relationship between sensitivity and false alarm rate. / Incorrect
the number of correct rejections a typical observer might make. / Incorrect
the relationship between the probability of a hit and a false alarm. / Correct

Question 24

Type:
Multiple Choice

Eyewitnesses are

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very accurate in identifying perpetrators of all crimes. / Incorrect
very accurate in identifying perpetrators of serious or violent crimes. / Incorrect
very inaccurate in identifying perpetrators of crimes. / Correct
unwilling to mistakenly identify a person as a perpetrator of a crime. / Incorrect

Question 25

Type:
Multiple Choice

The two-alternative forced choice procedure is often used in a perception experiment because

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it is fast and efficient. / Incorrect
it minimizes the influence of the observer's sensitivity. / Incorrect
it minimizes the influence of the observer's expectations and criterion. / Correct
it requires a small number of trials. / Incorrect

Question 26

Type:
Multiple Choice

In a discrimination study, the two stimuli presented are called

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the just noticeable difference and the discriminated stimulus. / Incorrect
the sensitivity and the criterion. / Incorrect
the standard stimulus and the comparison stimulus. / Correct
the standard stimulus and the differential stimulus. / Incorrect

Question 27

Type:
Multiple Choice

The termjust noticeable difference

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is important in signal detection theory. / Incorrect
refers to the value of the physical stimulus that is just barely detectable. / Incorrect
refers to the psychological sensation that corresponds to a change in the physical stimulus that can barely be detected. / Correct
is the same as the point of subjective equality. / Incorrect

Question 28

Type:
Multiple Choice

If you were to use the method of constant stimuli for measuring discrimination of

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you would present comparison tones that were substantially lower than the standard stimulus. / Incorrect
you would have to use both ascending and descending series. / Incorrect
you would notice the frequency of the comparison stimulus at which the judgments changed from "higher than" to "same as." / Incorrect
you would present comparison stimuli in random order and ask observers to compare these stimuli with the standard stimulus. / Correct

Question 29

Type:
Multiple Choice

An important conclusion from Weber's law is that

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the just noticeable difference is always a constant. / Incorrect
when we start with an intense stimulus, we must make a large change in that stimulus in order for a change to be noticed. / Correct
Weber's fraction is the same for all sensory systems. / Incorrect
a one-to-one correspondence exists between physical stimuli and / Incorrect

Question 30

Type:
Multiple Choice

Fechner's law

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states that we double the intensity of the psychological response whenever we double the intensity of the physical stimulus. / Incorrect
demonstrates that when we double the intensity of the physical stimulus, we more than double the intensity of the psychological response. / Incorrect
is based on Stevens' power law. / Incorrect
is reasonably accurate in many situations. / Correct

Question 31

Type:
Multiple Choice

According to Stevens's power law,

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a logarithmic relationship is found between the magnitude of the physical stimulus and the magnitude of the psychological response. / Incorrect
no predictable relationship is found between physical stimuli and psychological responses. / Incorrect
a change in the physical stimulus is often translated into either a greater change in the psychological reaction or a smaller change in the psychological reaction. / Correct
the just noticeable difference is a constant fraction of the magnitude of the stimulus. / Incorrect

Question 32

Type:
Multiple Choice

Suppose that you are told that you will be participating in a magnitude estimation

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listen to a series of sounds decreasing in loudness and indicate when you no longer hear the sounds. / Incorrect
say "I detect it" or "I do not detect it" for sounds that are either present or absent. / Incorrect
adjust a sound until its estimated magnitude is substantially larger than that of a standard loudness. / Incorrect
assign a number to indicate how loud a stimulus appears to be. / Correct