Step Up To: Psychology
by John J. Schulte, Psy.D.
From Myers,
Psychology 8e
Worth Publishers
Chapter 5: Sensation
Sensational
Eyes Have It
The Better to Hear You
With.
Basics
What’s it Mean?
Basics
500
400
300
200
100
Eyes Have It
500
400
300
200
100
Sensational
500
400
300
200
100
The Better to Hear You With
500
400
300
200
100
What’s it Mean?
500
400
300
200
100
1. 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.
2. Psychophysics is best defined as
the study of relationships between :
• A) sensation and perception.
• B) stimulus energies and neural impulses.
• C) absolute thresholds and difference
thresholds.
• D) physical stimuli and psychological
experience.
3. Weber’s law is relevant to an
understanding of:
•
•
•
•
A) absolute thresholds.
B) difference thresholds.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) sensory interaction.
4. Sensory adaptation helps us to
focus our attention on _______ stimuli.
•
•
•
•
A) familiar
B) subliminal
C) novel
D) intense
5. Experiencing an apple as being red is
_____, whereas recognizing an apple as
being a fruit is ____.
• A) absolute threshold; difference
threshold
• B) accommodation; feature detection.
• C) sensation; perception
• D) feature detection; difference
threshold
6. Dilation and constriction of the pupil are
controlled by the:
•
•
•
•
A) optic nerve.
B) iris.
C) lens.
D) cornea.
7. The most light-sensitive receptor cells
are the:
•
•
•
•
A) ganglion cells.
B) cones.
C) bipolar cells.
D) rods.
8. According to the Young-Helmholtz
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.
9. When most people stare at a red square
and then shift their eyes to a white surface,
the afterimage of the square is:
•
•
•
•
A) yellow.
B) red.
C) green.
D) blue.
10. Damage to the fovea would have
the greatest effect on:
•
•
•
•
A) night vision.
B) peripheral vision.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) visual acuity.
11. Heavy smoking is most likely
to interfere with your sense of:
•
•
•
•
A) vision.
B) taste.
C) kinesthesis.
D) equilibrium.
12. With her eyes closed and her nose
plugged, Joan was unable to taste the
difference between an onion and a
pear. Her experience best illustrates
the importance of:
•
•
•
•
A) sensory interaction.
B) sensory transduction.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) kinesthesis.
13. 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.
14. With her eyes closed, Sandra can
accurately touch her mouth, nose, and
chin with her index finger. Her
accuracy illustrates the importance of:
•
•
•
•
A) kinesthesis.
B) accommodation.
C) sensory interaction.
D) parallel processing.
15. There are no specialized receptor neurons
devoted solely to the sense of:
•
•
•
•
A) pressure.
B) sight.
C) pain.
D) smell.
16. The coiled, fluid-filled tube in which
sound waves trigger nerve impulses is
called the:
•
•
•
•
A) eustachian tube.
B) auditory canal.
C) semicircular canal.
D) cochlea.
17. Hue is to light as ____ is to sound.
•
•
•
•
A) wavelength
B) loudness
C) pitch
D) amplitude
18. Small differences in the intensity of a
sound received by each ear enable us to
identify the _____ of the sound.
•
•
•
•
A) location
B) amplitude
C) pitch
D) timbre
19. The basilar membrane is located in the:
•
•
•
•
A) middle ear.
B) auditory canal.
C) cochlea.
D) semicircular canal.
20. Conduction hearing loss is most
likely to result from damage to the:
•
•
•
•
A) cochlea.
B) eardrum.
C) auditory canal.
D) auditory nerve.
21. 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.
22. If the just-noticeable difference for a
10-ounce weight is 1 ounce, the just
noticeable difference for an 80-ounce
weight would be ____ ounces.
•
•
•
•
A) 1
B) 2
C) 4
D) 8
23. A subliminal message is one that is
presented:
• A) while an individual is under hypnosis.
• B) below the absolute threshold for
awareness.
• C) in a manner that is unconsciously
persuasive.
• D) with very soft background music.
24. The discovery that high-frequency sounds
trigger large vibrations near the beginning of the
basilar membrane supports the _____ theory.
•
•
•
•
A) gate-control
B) frequency
C) place
D) opponent-process
25. Our experience of pain may be
intensified when we perceive that others are
experiencing pain. This best illustrates the
importance of:
•
•
•
•
A) top-down processing.
B) sensory adaptation.
C) accommodation.
D) difference thresholds.
Stop here, or continue as a review
1. 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.
2. Psychophysics is best defined as
the study of relationships between :
• A) sensation and perception.
• B) stimulus energies and neural impulses.
• C) absolute thresholds and difference
thresholds.
• D) physical stimuli and psychological
experience.
3. Weber’s law is relevant to an
understanding of:
•
•
•
•
A) absolute thresholds.
B) difference thresholds.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) sensory interaction.
4. Sensory adaptation helps us to
focus our attention on _______ stimuli.
•
•
•
•
A) familiar
B) subliminal
C) novel
D) intense
5. Experiencing an apple as being red is
_____, whereas recognizing an apple as
being a fruit is ____.
• A) absolute threshold; difference
threshold
• B) accommodation; feature detection.
• C) sensation; perception
• D) feature detection; difference
threshold
6. Dilation and constriction of the pupil are
controlled by the:
•
•
•
•
A) optic nerve.
B) iris.
C) lens.
D) cornea.
7. The most light-sensitive receptor cells
are the:
•
•
•
•
A) ganglion cells.
B) cones.
C) bipolar cells.
D) rods.
8. According to the Young-Helmholtz
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.
9. When most people stare at a red square
and then shift their eyes to a white surface,
the afterimage of the square is:
•
•
•
•
A) yellow.
B) red.
C) green.
D) blue.
10. Damage to the fovea would have
the greatest effect on:
•
•
•
•
A) night vision.
B) peripheral vision.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) visual acuity.
11. Heavy smoking is most likely
to interfere with your sense of:
•
•
•
•
A) vision.
B) taste.
C) kinesthesis.
D) equilibrium.
12. With her eyes closed and her nose
plugged, Joan was unable to taste the
difference between an onion and a
pear. Her experience best illustrates
the importance of:
•
•
•
•
A) sensory interaction.
B) sensory transduction.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) kinesthesis.
13. 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.
14. With her eyes closed, Sandra can
accurately touch her mouth, nose, and
chin with her index finger. Her
accuracy illustrates the importance of:
•
•
•
•
A) kinesthesis.
B) accommodation.
C) sensory interaction.
D) parallel processing.
15. There are no specialized receptor neurons
devoted solely to the sense of:
•
•
•
•
A) pressure.
B) sight.
C) pain.
D) smell.
16. The coiled, fluid-filled tube in which
sound waves trigger nerve impulses is
called the:
•
•
•
•
A) eustachian tube.
B) auditory canal.
C) semicircular canal.
D) cochlea.
17. Hue is to light as ____ is to sound.
•
•
•
•
A) wavelength
B) loudness
C) pitch
D) amplitude
18. Small differences in the intensity of a
sound received by each ear enable us to
identify the _____ of the sound.
•
•
•
•
A) location
B) amplitude
C) pitch
D) timbre
19. The basilar membrane is located in the:
•
•
•
•
A) middle ear.
B) auditory canal.
C) cochlea.
D) semicircular canal.
20. Conduction hearing loss is most
likely to result from damage to the:
•
•
•
•
A) cochlea.
B) eardrum.
C) auditory canal.
D) auditory nerve.
21. 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.
22. If the just-noticeable difference for a
10-ounce weight is 1 ounce, the just
noticeable difference for an 80-ounce
weight would be ____ ounces.
•
•
•
•
A) 1
B) 2
C) 4
D) 8
23. A subliminal message is one that is
presented:
• A) while an individual is under hypnosis.
• B) below the absolute threshold for
awareness.
• C) in a manner that is unconsciously
persuasive.
• D) with very soft background music.
24. The discovery that high-frequency sounds
trigger large vibrations near the beginning of the
basilar membrane supports the _____ theory.
•
•
•
•
A) gate-control
B) frequency
C) place
D) opponent-process
25. Our experience of pain may be
intensified when we perceive that others are
experiencing pain. This best illustrates the
importance of:
•
•
•
•
A) top-down processing.
B) sensory adaptation.
C) accommodation.
D) difference thresholds.
Acknowledgements
• Step Up Created by:
– John J. Schulte, Psy.D.
• Based on Psychology,
Eighth Edition by
• David Myers
• Published by
• Worth Publishers, 2006
Answers to Chapter 5
1.
C
9.
C
17.
C
2.
D
10.
D
18.
A
3.
B
11.
B
19.
C
4.
C
12.
A
20.
B
5.
C
13.
B
21.
A
6.
B
14.
A
22.
D
7.
D
15.
C
23.
B
8.
A
16.
D
24.
C
25.
A