SENSATION AND PERCEPTION

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Sensory information is interpreted through the process of

A) sensation.
B) translation.
C) perception.
D) sensory adaptation.

2. The process of receiving, translating, and transmitting messages from the outside world to the brain is called
A) sensation.
B) selective attention.
C) perception.
D) cognition.

3. A brain-injured patient cannot interpret sensory stimuli but can detect the presence of a stimulus. This person has
a problem with
A) sensation.
B) perception.
C) transduction.
D) adaptation.

4. Your friend asks you to help move some boxes. You look at the boxes and without even trying to move them you
say, "These boxes are too heavy." Seeing the boxes as heavy is an example of
A) sensation.
B) transduction.
C) constancy.
D) perception.

5. Sensory systems have specialized neurons that transform physical energy into neural messages. These specialized
neurons are called
A) interneurons.
B) transducers.
C) receptors.
D) adaptors.

6. The color of the white paper and the correction fluid you use to cover up mistakes on the paper are not exactly the
same, but they are so close that you cannot see any difference. This is because your _______ abilities are limited.
A) perceptual
B) sensory
C) associative
D) cognitive

7. The main function of sensory receptor cells is to

A) maintain a system of checks and balances with perception cells.
B) receive outside forms of energy and translate into neural impulses.
C) inform the brain which types of electromagnetic energy are harmful.
D) collect information about the outside world so the brain can disregard it.

8. The process of converting light, sound, and other forms of energy from the world we live in into a form of neural
impulses our brain can understand is called
A) transduction.
B) induction.
C) recovery of function.
D) circumlocution.

9. If a person hears two tones that differ in intensity just barely enough to be detected, the point of detection would
be the ________ threshold.
A) difference
B) sensory
C) absolute
D) transduction

10. The smallest intensity of a stimulus that is detected 50 percent of the time is
A) Weber's law.
B) the sensory threshold.
C) the difference threshold.
D) the absolute threshold.

11. An architect is designing apartments and wants them to be soundproof. She asks a psychologist what the
smallest amount of sound is that can be heard. Her question is most related to
A) the absolute threshold.
B) the difference threshold.
C) Weber's law.
D) the sensory receptors.

12. You are studying in your dorm room, but your neighbor is blasting the television in the adjacent room. When
you gently request that your neighbor turn the volume down until you cannot hear it, you are asking your neighbor
to find your
A) absolute threshold.
B) difference threshold.
C) transduction level.
D) basilar level.

13. If you are able to taste a quarter teaspoon of salt dissolved in a glass of water five time out of the ten, you have
attained your ________ threshold.
A) difference
B) adaptation
C) perceptual
D) absolute

14. You arrive at your friend’s apartment for a big party at the end of the semester. When you first arrive, the music
is so loud that it almost hurts your ears. After a couple of hours, even though the music is still at the same volume, it
doesn’t bother you any more, and you like it. This change over time describes the process of
A) light adaptation.
B) transduction.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) sensory deprivation.

15. You can't feel the waistband of your underwear (though you know it is there). This is the result of
A) sensory deprivation.
B) difference thresholds.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) transduction.
16. You go swimming in cold water. At first you are in agony, but later the water doesn't feel so bad. You have
experienced
A) sensory adaptation.
B) perceptual constancy.
C) vestibular adaptation.
D) gustation.

17. Tom walked into the anatomy lab for the first time and was overpowered by the odor of formaldehyde. By the
end of the lab, he said there was only a slight smell. This can best be explained by
A) stereochemical desensitization.
B) opponent-process theory.
C) sensory adaptation.
D) gustatory adaptation.

18. Information about the location and movement of skin, muscles, joints, and tendons is provided by
A) saccule and utricle cells.
B) kinesthetic receptors.
C) semicircular canals.
D) tactile discs.

19. When ______ are activated, you know you are moving.
A) rods and cones
B) kinesthetic receptors
C) endorphin gates
D) auditory canals

20. Although there are at least found types of skin receptors, ______ are believed to be the primary receptors for
temperature and pain.
A) basket cells
B) tactile discs
C) free nerve endings
D) specialized end bulbs

21. The sense of smell is called ______ and the sense of taste is called ______.
A) transduction; olfaction
B) olfaction; gustation
C) gestation; olfaction
D) olfaction; transduction

22. When looking at these letters: XXX XXX XXX XXX we tend to see 4 groups of 3 X’s rather than 12
individual X’s due to the principle of
A) closure.
B) similarity.
C) proximity.
D) continuity.

23. A door is still perceived as a rectangle even after we view it from different angles. This is due to
A) depth cues.
B) retinal disparity.
C) shape constancy.
D) linear constancy.
24. Depth perception depends on monocular and binocular cues. Monocular cues are cues
A) relating to single colors.
B) relating to single shapes.
C) available to one eye.
D) available as the two eyes interact.

25. What do the Ames room and Müller-Lyer illusion have in common?
A) They demonstrate a different type of depth perception.
B) They exhibit monocular cues to depth perception.
C) They demonstrate closure and continuity.
D) They are visual illusions.