Psychology Quiz

Jenny is at a loud concert, but she still notices her phone vibrating in her pocket. According to signal detection theory, what is this an example of? What would it be if Jenny didn’t notice her phone?

• Hit/Correct Negative

• Hit/Miss

• Correct Negative/Miss

• Hit/False Alarm

Answer explanation

A hit occurs when a stimulus is present and detected. A miss occurs when a stimulus is present and not detected.

Alex stares at a bright red image for 30 seconds, they look away and see a green afterimage. What theory explains this?

• Trichromatic Theory

• Opponent-Process Theory

• Signal Detection Theory

• None of the above

Answer explanation

• Cells that are excited by red fire when we see red, and green inhibits this. There are cells that are the opposite, that fire at green and are inhibited by red. If you look at the same color for a while, cells fire over and over again and then get tired. When the color goes away, the opposite color cells fire instead and make us see a color that isn’t actually there. (Red responding cells turn off and make green burst.)

When walking through a crowded street, you’re able to focus on one conversation while tuning out others. This is an example of:

• Sensory Overload

• Signal Detection Theory

• Selective Attention

• Sensory Adaptation

Answer explanation

Selective attention is the cognitive process of focusing on a specific piece of information or task while ignoring other irrelevant stimuli in the environment. It's like having a mental spotlight that helps you concentrate on what's most important at any given moment. :)

In the Smelly T-Shirt experiment, the man preferred the scent of women with different immune system genes. What evolutionary advantage might this offer?

• Stronger olfactory senses

• Greater immune diversity in offspring

• Better scent recognition in children

• Reduced pheromone exposure

Answer explanation

• The less genes that match, the more attractive the smell is because opposites attract. This is biologically driven as well, because the more immune protections we have, the healthier our babies will be. 

Sam misreads a sentence that has jumbled letters “wrnog” instead of “wrong,” but still understands it. This demonstrates the power of:

• Top-down Processing

• Sensory Adaptation

• Bottom-up Processing

• Absolute Threshold

Answer explanation

Top-down processing draws from our experiences throughout development, and we construct our perceptions through those experiences.

Which Gestalt principle explains why we perceive a dotted line as a complete shape?

• Proximity

• Similarity

• Continuity

• None of the above

Answer explanation

This is the principle of closure. If we perceive a small break in a whole, we fill it in.

Josh is studying for his first psychology exam. He is so locked in that he doesn’t notice that someone has knocked on his door. According to signal detection theory, this is an example of what? If there was no knock, then what would it be?

• Miss/False Alarm

• Miss/Correct Negative

• False Alarm/Correct Negative

• None of the above

Answer explanation

A miss occurs when a stimulus is present and not detected. A correct negative occurs when there is no stimulus and nothing is detected.

Rachel is learning a new word for the first time. This is an example of:

• Bottom-up Processing

• Top-down Processing

• Transduction

• None of the above

Answer explanation

With bottom-up processing, perception starts with raw sensory input. It’s data-driven, meaning the brain processes incoming stimuli without prior knowledge influencing the interpretation. (Such as learning a new word!)

According to lecture, how can you get rid of an earworm?

• Chewing gum

• Working on an intense puzzle

• Making peace with it

• All of the above

Answer explanation

All of these activities allow for the ear worm to take up less cognitive space. Chewing gum disrupts your "inner voice" loop. Puzzles overload your brain, leaving no room for the earworm. Acceptance prevents your brain from obsessively focusing on the song.

The passive transport task (blindfolded participants with headphones on wheeled around in a chair) involved mainly what?

• Kinesthetic Senses

• Transduction

• Vestibular Senses

• Both A and B

Answer explanation

The vestibular sense is your body's internal balance system, located in the inner ear. It helps you maintain balance, posture, and spatial orientation. The vestibular senses detect rotational movements, like spinning or turning your head, and linear movements, (like moving forward in a car or wheelchair.)