Psychology Unit 3

Which of the following concepts refers to the diminished sensitivity to a stimulus that occurs due to constant exposure to that stimulus?

• Perceptual set

• Difference threshold

• Absolute threshold

• Transduction

• Sensory adaptation

Which of the following is the process of detecting environmental stimuli and converting them into signals that can be detected by the nervous system?

• Perception

• Sensation

• Top-down processing

• Difference threshold

• False alarm

Which of the following is the best definition for absolute threshold?

• The lowest strength of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time

• The highest strength of a stimulus that a person can detect 50% of the time

• The smallest change between two stimuli that a person can detect

• The largest change between two stimuli that a person can detect

• The difference between two stimuli that can be detected 50% of the time

Which of the following best illustrates the most predictable effect of schemas on perception? 

• Roberto sees trees that are higher up in a painting as being farther away than lower trees.

• Lindsey recognizes that her shirt’s color has not changed in the dim light, even though the color is less brilliant.

• Grant has more difficulty recognizing a penguin as a bird than he does a blue jay.

• Doris sees a shape as a five-pointed star, even though one of the points is blocked from her vision.

• Erick has more difficulty understanding a speech made by someone with a British accent than by someone with an American accent.

Orville is talking with his friends at a cafeteria table when suddenly he is distracted by hearing his name at a neighboring table. Orville’s shift of attention most clearly illustrates which psychological concept?

• Inattentional blindness

• Gestalt psychology

• The phi phenomenon

• The cocktail party phenomenon

• Stimulus desensitization

Helena did not recognize her English teacher when she unexpectedly saw him while traveling in Paris, even though she knew him well back in the classroom. The fact that Helena can recognize her teacher back home more easily than in Paris best demonstrates what concept?

• Perceptual set

• Change blindness

• Synesthesia

• Functional fixedness

• Extrasensory perception

Which of the following is the correct order of the eye-to-brain pathway of vision?

• Retina, thalamus, optic nerve, occipital lobe

• Retina, optic nerve, thalamus, occipital lobe

• Optic nerve, retina, thalamus, occipital lobe

• Occipital lobe, retina, optic nerve, thalamus

• Optic nerve, thalamus, occipital lobe, retina

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates the opponent-process theory of color vision?

• Manuel sees the color yellow when the E note is played.

• Conrad can identify specific features in his environment, such as color.

• Kayla sees afterimages of opposing colors when she stares at a poster for a long time.

• Randy is able to process many aspects of a visual scene simultaneously.

• Russell is able to differentiate between dark green and light green.

Which of the following scenarios is the best example of synesthesia?

• Susie sees afterimages of opposing colors when she stares at a poster for a long time because light that stimulates one half of an organized pair of cones inhibits the other half.

• Kara sees afterimages of opposing colors when she stares at a poster for a long time because the optic nerve sends impulses to the occipital lobe.

• Manuel sees swirls of color when he hears music because his retina contains three types of color receptors.

• Anastasia sees swirls of color when she hears music because stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to the experience of another sensation.

• Rufus sees swirls of color when he hears music because only his cones are stimulated.

Kimmie stood on the sidewalk rather than crossing the street because she saw that the approaching car was quite close to her. Which of the following concepts is best illustrated in this example?

• Gestalt

• Figure-ground relationship

• Closure

• Depth perception

• Color constancy