Intro to Psychology

Question 1 of 20 5.0 Points

The study of sensation and perception is important to a psychologist because perception and sensation are the foundation of:

A. neurotransmitters and the brain’s function.

B. memory and how it is experienced in the world.

C. the science of neuropsychology.

D. learning, thinking, and acting.

Question 2 of 20 5.0 Points

Which one of the following statements about sense receptors is true?

A. Chemicals, light, and pressure convert stimuli into electrical impulses.

B. Electrical impulses within the nerve pathways trigger an awareness of stimuli in the sensory receptors.

C. Sensory receptors are located in the body’s “command center” (the brain).

D. Sensory receptors are the primary cause of the common condition called synesthesia.

Question 3 of 20 5.0 Points

Every night in Cordele, Georgia, 24 trains crisscross the city’s five-mile radius. Each train blows its whistle to alert citizens that it is passing through. Because of __________, the residents of Cordele can sleep through all these whistles.

A. selective attention

B. the signal-detection theory of sound and sleep

C. sensory adaptation

D. the “cocktail party phenomenon”

Question 4 of 20 5.0 Points

Humans rely most heavily on the sense of __________, because evolution designed us to be more active during the daytime than at night.

A. taste

B. touch

C. hearing

D. sight

Question 5 of 20 5.0 Points

Visual receptors are located in the retina, which is:

A. a transparent part of the lens.

B. an extension of the brain.

C. the part of the eye that allows light to enter.

D. the part of the eye that produces color.

Question 6 of 20 5.0 Points

The “face module,” located in the right temporal lobe of the brain, explains why:

A. the cells fire when a dog lover looks at pictures of show dogs.

B. infants are not afraid to go to strangers.

C. ganglion cells in this area respond to simple features.

D. we need only the right eye to recognize familiar faces.

Question 7 of 20 5.0 Points

The __________ Gestalt principle explains why the figures, $$$$AAA###, are perceived as three groups instead of nine separate figures.

A. Closure

B. Continuity

C. Similarity

D. Proximity

Question 8 of 20 5.0 Points

As you watch a door opening, its aspect changes from rectangular to trapezoidal, yet you continue to think of the door as rectangular. __________ explain(s) this phenomenon.

A. Selective attention

B. Retinal disparity

C. Monocular depth cues

D. Perceptual constancy

Question 9 of 20 5.0 Points

Perceptual illusions occur when our brain misinterprets sensory information or because of sensory:

A. overload.

B. adaptation.

C. deprivation.

D. patterns.

Question 10 of 20 5.0 Points

Habitually listening to loud music through headphones can result in loss of hearing in the:

A. organ of Corti.

B. middle ear.

C. auditory nerve.

D. semicircular canals.

Question 11 of 20 5.0 Points

Whether you hear the dripping of sink faucets as the figure or the ground depends on:

A. its similarity to other noises.

B. your distance from the stimulus.

C. whether you choose to pay attention to it.

D. the other types of sounds you hear in the environment.

Question 12 of 20 5.0 Points

Which one of the following statements about human taste buds is true?

A. Receptor cells line the outside of the taste bud.

B. Taste buds are not the receptors for gustation.

C. The number of taste buds remains constant until the age of seventy, after which there is a rapid decline.

D. Taste buds respond to three basic flavors: salty, sour, and sweet.

Question 13 of 20 5.0 Points

At a restaurant, you bite into a stalk of broccoli and it tastes bitter to you. Your date thinks it tastes just fine.You may have:

A. a sensitivity to tastes of bitter and salty, whereas your date has an elevated taste for sweet and sour.

B. a large concentration of taste buds in the center of your tongue.

C. suffered damage to your papillae.

D. more taste buds than your date.

Question 14 of 20 5.0 Points

Generally, inability to taste food is traceable to impairment of the sense of:

A. smell.

B. sight.

C. sound.

D. touch.

Question 15 of 20 5.0 Points

The sense of smell is closely linked to:

A. proper functioning of the auditory canal.

B. perceptual constancy.

C. memories and emotions.

D. the physiology of the taste buds.

Question 16 of 20 5.0 Points

Which one of the following statements about the gate-control theory is true?

A. Pain impulses create a gate leading to the brain.

B. The brain is capable of generating pain on its own.

C. The gate closes when pain messages go to the brain.

D. Damage to small nerve fibers lets pain through to the brain.

Question 17 of 20 5.0 Points

The physical structure of the auditory sense is responsible for transmitting messages about balance to the brain. It does this through:

A. the “hammer” and “anvil” bones.

B. sound waves.

C. the part of the auditory nerve that is not involved in hearing.

D. hair cells.

Question 18 of 20 5.0 Points

During periods of physical development, the __________ of a sensation is critical if perception is to function normally.

A. experience

B. interpretation

C. expectation

D. mass function

Question 19 of 20 5.0 Points

Tabatha is 18 years old and from a small and friendly Alabama town where people wave to each other and will stop to help someone in need. She has a scholarship to study medicine in Florida, and her parents are driving her to school. Passing through Miami, they see a woman standing next to a car that seems to have run out of gas. They are appalled at the number of cars that have rushed by without stopping. When the woman waves at Tabatha’s family, they stop to help her. Their car gets hijacked, and they are left on the side of the road without their belongings. Their decision to stop is an example of:

A. cultural sensory deprivation.

B. lack of critical period formation.

C. sensory overload.

D. a perceptual set.

Question 20 of 20 5.0 Points

An advertisement has the best chance for success if it:

A. is accompanied by loud music and rapid banter.

B. is above threshold.

C. contains a single subliminal message.

D. contains a grouping of words repeated below threshold