Unit 5. Sensation and Perception Name______
AP Psychology Version A
December 1, 2006
1. The effect of past experience and current expectations on perception best illustrates the importance of
a. accommodation.
b. transduction.
c. sensory thresholds.
d. topdown processing.
2. The absolute threshold is the minimum amount of stimulation that a person needs to detect a stimulus:
a. at the beginning of a sensory experience.
b. on a subliminal level.
c. 50 percent of the time.
d. reliably on any occasion.
3. An exhausted forest ranger may notice the faintest scent of a forest fire, whereas much stronger but less important odors fail to catch her attention. This fact would be of greatest relevance to:
a. the YoungHelmholtz theory.
b. opponentprocess theory.
c. signal detection theory.
d. frequency theory.
e. place theory.
4. Soothing musical audiotapes accompanied by faint and imperceptible verbal messages designed to increase a desire to lose weight best illustrate:
a. kinesthesis.
b. sensory interaction.
c. subliminal stimulation.
d. parallel processing.
e. difference thresholds.
5. Some people are better than others at detecting slight variations in the taste of various blends of coffee. This best illustrates the importance of
a. sensory adaptation.
b. subliminal stimulation.
c. difference thresholds.
d. parallel processing.
e. the vestibular sense.
6. Weber's law is relevant to an understanding of
a. absolute thresholds.
b. difference thresholds.
c. sensory adaptation.
d. sensory interaction.
e. all of the above.
7. Green light is ______in wavelength than ______light.
a. longer; yellow
b. shorter; blue
c. longer; orange
d. shorter; red
8. The process by which the lens changes shape so as to focus the image of an object on the retina is called:
a. adaptation.
b. accommodation.
c. transduction.
d. feature detection.
9. As people grow older, they are most likely to need glasses because:
a. the iris loses its ability to contract the pupil.
b. the blind spot increases in diameter.
c. the lens loses its ability to change shape readily.
d. the feature detectors progressively decrease in number.
e. the cornea loses much of its transparency.
10. The receptor cells that convert light energy into neural signals are called:
a. bipolar cells.
b. ganglion cells.
c. rods and cones.
d. feature detectors.
11. The area of the retina where the optic nerve leaves the eye is called the:
a. blind spot.
b. pupil.
c. visual cortex.
d. cornea.
e. lens.
12. Compared to rods, cones are ______sensitive to dim light and ______sensitive to detail.
a. more; more
b. less; less
c. more; less
d. less; more
13. When you look at a vertical line, you are probably activating different ______than when you look at a horizontal line.
a. feature detectors
b. opponent processes
c. sensory thresholds
d. hair cells
14. The ability to simultaneously recognize the color, shape, size, and speed of an oncoming automobile best illustrates:
a. kinesthesis.
b. sensory interaction.
c. parallel processing.
d. subliminal perception.
e. accommodation.
15. The ability to process information automatically and without conscious awareness of doing so is best illustrated by:
a. blindsight.
b. sensory adaptation.
c. serial processing.
d. sensory interaction.
16. According to the YoungHelmholtz theory:
a.the retina contains three kinds of color receptors.
b.color vision depends on pairs of opposing retinal processes.
c.the size of the difference threshold is proportional to the intensity of the stimulus.
d. certain nerve cells in the brain respond to specific features of a stimulus.
17. Experiencing a green afterimage of a red object is most easily explained by:
a. the opponentprocess theory.
b. the gatecontrol theory.
c. place theory.
d. the YoungHelmholtz theory.
e. frequency theory.
18. The phenomenon of color constancy best demonstrates that:
a. an object's perceived color is influenced by its surrounding objects.
b. the retina has three types of color receptors.
c. the brain processes information about color and shape simultaneously.
d. quivering eye movements help to maintain the perception of color.
e. color vision depends on pairs of opposing retinal processes.
19. The coiled, fluidfilled tube in which sound waves trigger nerve impulses is called the:
a. eustachian tube.
b. auditory canal.
c. semicircular canal.
d. cochlea.
e. vestibular apparatus.
20. The mechanical vibrations triggered by sound waves are transduced into neural impulses by:
a. hair cells.
b. the eardrum.
c. the oval window.
d. the auditory cortex.
e. the vestibular apparatus.
21. The discovery that highfrequency sounds trigger large vibrations near the beginning of the basilar membrane supports the ______theory.
a. gatecontrol
b. frequency
c. YoungHelmholtz
d. opponentprocess
e. place
22. According to the frequency theory:
a. most sound waves are a complex mixture of many frequencies.
b. highfrequency sounds trigger a wave of activity that peaks near the beginning of the basilar membrane.
c. the rate at which impulses travel up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of the tone being heard.
d. frequent or prolonged stimulation of a sensory receptor causes that receptor to become less sensitive.
23. Which of the following circumstances is most likely to contribute to conduction hearing loss?
a. failure to use earplugs while working in a noisy factory
b. exposure to very loud rock music
c. misuse of Qtips (cotton swabs) in cleaning your ears
d. exposure to unpredictable or uncontrollable noise
24. The importance of central nervous system activity for the experience of pain is best highlighted by:
a. Weber's law.
b. frequency theory.
c. phantom limb sensations.
d. the opponentprocess theory.
25. On the day she is to be interviewed for an important new position, Rachel awakens with a severe toothache. During the interview she feels no pain; not until 30 minutes later does she become aware again of the troublesome toothache. Rachel's experience is best explained by:
a. the opponentprocess theory.
b. Weber's law.
c. the gatecontrol theory.
d. the YoungHelmholtz theory.
e. frequency theory.
26. Areas of the brain involved in memory are located most closely to areas of the brain responsible for our sense of
a. touch.
b. smell.
c. vision.
d. hearing.
27. With her eyes closed, Sandra can accurately touch her mouth, nose, and chin with her index finger. Sandra's accuracy illustrates the importance of
a. accommodation.
b. kinesthesis.
c. sensory interaction.
d. sensory adaptation.
e. feature detectors.
28. Receptor cells for the vestibular sense are located in the:
a. fovea.
b. inner ear.
c. muscles and joints.
d. olfactory epithelium.
29. Because she was listening to the news on the radio, Mrs. Schultz didn't perceive a word of what her husband was saying. Her experience best illustrates:
a. perceptual adaptation.
b. perceptual constancy.
c. relative clarity.
d. the phi phenomenon.
e. selective attention.
30. Visual capture refers to the tendency for:
a.attention to be captured by novel or threatening stimuli in the visual field.
b.visual deprivation early in life to limit later ability to perceive visual information
c.visual information to dominate other types of sensory information.
d. people and other animals to have difficulty adjusting to lenses that displace their visual world.
31. Which of the following concepts best illustrates the perspective of Gestalt psychologists?
a. extrasensory perception
b. retinal disparity
c. visual capture
d. convergence
e. closure
32. Although several students in the classroom are talking loudly, Jim's attention is focused onlyon
what his girlfriend is saying. In this instance, the girlfriend's voice is a:
a. figure.
b. gestalt.
c. perceptual set.
d. perceptual adaptation.
33. People are more likely to perceive a figure and ground illustration as reversible if they are told it is reversible. This best illustrates the importance of
a. visual capture.
b. retinal disparity.
c. perceptual adaptation.
d. perceptual constancy.
e. topdown processing.
34. Almost half the birds in the yard were brown cardinals and the rest were bright red cardinals, so Jimmy perceived them as two distinct kinds of birds. This best illustrates the principle of
a. proximity.
b. closure.
c. similarity.
d. connectedness.
e. relative clarity.
35. The tendency to see all the spokes in a bicycle wheel as part of a single unit best illustrates the principle of.
a. closure.
b. continuity.
c. convergence.
d. connectedness.
e. interposition.
36. The tendency to see complete letters on a neon sign, even though some of the bulbs are out, illustrates the principle of
a. closure.
b. convergence.
c. similarity.
d. constancy.
e. connectedness.
37. Which of the following is a binocular cue for the perception of distance?
a. relative size
b. retinal disparity
c. relative motion
d. linear perspective
38. Renny knew the red tulip was closer to her than the yellow tulip because the red one cast a larger retinal image than the yellow one. This illustrates the importance of the distance cue known as:
a. relative size.
b. interposition.
c. proximity.
d. linear perspective.
39. In order to give greater depth to his painting, Shakir enveloped the background landscape in a misty haze. Shakir was making use of the distance cue known as:
a. relative clarity.
b. interposition.
c. closure.
d. proximity.
40. The individual boulders and crevices of the huge and clearly visible mountain peak appeared so indistinct to the hikers that they knew it would take them another full day to reach it. This best illustrates the impact of ______on distance perception.
a. interposition
b. continuity
c. retinal disparity
d. linear perspective
e. texture gradient
41. The apparent narrowing of a river as it flows directly away from you into the distance best illustrates the depth cue known as:
a. interposition.
b. convergence.
c. relative motion.
d. continuity
e. linear perspective.
42. The perception that (in a cartoon) Bugs Bunny is hopping across the movie screen best illustrates:
a. visual capture.
b. retinal disparity.
c. perceptual adaptation.
d. the Ponzo illusion.
e. stroboscopic movement.
43. As Sherod walked away from the camera, the image of his body filled a smaller area of the television screen. Nevertheless, viewers did not perceive Sherod as suddenly shrinking. This illustrates:
a. perceptual adaptation.
b. convergence.
c. size constancy.
d. relative clarity.
e. visual capture.
44. Kittens raised in a visual environment consisting solely of vertical stripes subsequently had difficulty:
a. seeing vertically oriented objects.
b. seeing horizontally oriented objects.
c. perceiving any figureground relationships.
d. doing all of the above.
45. After reading her horoscope in the morning newspaper, Sabrina readily interpreted numerous experiences of that day as clear verifications of its accuracy. This best illustrates the dangers of
a. visual capture.
b. perceptual set.
c. the cocktail party effect.
d. bottomup processing.
e. relative clarity.
46. Shauna claims that she knows at any given moment exactly what important political figures are thinking. Shauna is claiming to possess the power of
a. telepathy.
b. precognition.
c. psychokinesis.
d. clairvoyance.
47. Farouk insists that by intense mental concentration he can actually influence the mechanically generated outcomes of slot machines. Farouk is most specifically claiming to possess the power of
a. telepathy.
b. clairvoyance.
c. psychokinesis.
d. precognition.
48. The ganzfeld procedure has recently been used in studies of
a. perceptual adaptation.
b. depth perception.
c. the phi phenomenon.
d. perceptual set.
e. telepathy.
49. Which of the following is a monocular depth cue?
a. relative size
b. convergence
c. retinal disparity
d. all of the above are monocular depth cues.
50. In the absence of perceptual constancy:
a. objects would appear to change size as their distance from us changed.
b. depth perception would be based exclusively on monocular cues.
c. depth perception would be based exclusively on binocular cues.
d. depth perception would be impossible.
51. Which of the following statements best describes the effects of sensory restriction?
a. It produces functional blindness when experienced for any length of time at any age.
b. It has greater effects on humans than on animals.
c. It has more damaging effects when experienced during infancy.
d. It has greater effects on adults than on children.
52. Dr. Frankenstein has forgotten to give his monster an important part; as a result, the monster cannot transduce sound. Dr. Frankenstein omitted the:
a. eardrum.
b. middle ear.
c. semicircular canals.
d. basilar membrane.
53. Which of the following is the correct order of the structures through which light passes after entering the eye?
a. lens, pupil, cornea, retina
b. pupil, cornea, lens, retina
c. pupil, lens, cornea, retina
d. cornea, retina, pupil, lens
e. cornea, pupil, lens, retina
54. Hubel and Wiesel discovered feature detectors in the ______of a monkey’s visual system.
a. fovea
b. optic nerve
c. iris
d. cortex
e. retina
55. The process by which sensory information is converted into neural energy is
a. sensory adaptation
b. feature detection
c. signal detection
d. transduction
e. parallel processing.
56. Which of the following explains why a rose appears equally red in bright and dim light?
a. the Young-Helmholtz theory
b. the opponent-process theory
c. feature detection
d. color constancy
57. The brain breaks vision into separate dimensions such as color, depth, movement, and for, and works on each aspect simultaneously. This is called:
a. feature detection
b. parallel processing.
c. accommodation
d. opponent processing.
58. Assuming that the visual systems of humans and other mammals function similarly, you would expect that the retina of a nocturnal mammal (one active only at night) would contain:
a. mostly cones
b. mostly rods
c. an equal number of rods and cones.
d. more bipolar cells than an animal active only during the day.
59. Which of the following is not a monocular depth cue?
a. texture gradient
b. relative height
c. retinal disparity
d. interposition
e. relative clarity
60. The correct sequence that the sound waves take as they travel through the ear is:
a. auditory canal, eardrum, ossicles, oval window, cochlea
b. eardrum, oval window, auditory canal, ossicles, cochlea
c. oval window, cochlea, auditory canal, ossicles, eardrum
d. auditory canal, ossicles, oval window, eardrum, cochlea