The process by which we select, organize, and interpret sensory information in order to recognize meaningful objects and events is called

perception.

The detection and encoding of stimulus energies by the nervous system is called

sensation

Trying to see a hidden representational image in a piece of abstract art by looking carefully at each element in the picture and trying to form an image employs which kind of perceptual process?

bottom-up processing

Because she was listening to the news on the radio, Mrs. Schultz didn't perceive a word her husband was saying. Her experience best illustrates

selective attention.

In one experiment, most of the participants who viewed a videotape of men tossing a basketball remained unaware of an umbrella-toting woman sauntering across the screen. This illustrated

inattentional blindness.

Although Manuel was sitting right next to his parents, he smelled a skunk minutes before they did. Apparently, Manuel has a lower ________ for skunk odor than his parents have.

absolute threshold

Which theory emphasizes that personal expectations and motivations influence the level of absolute thresholds?

signal detection theory

Audiotapes of soothing ocean sounds accompanied by faint and imperceptible verbal messages designed to increase a desire to lose weight best illustrate

subliminal stimulation.

Weber's law is relevant to an understanding of

difference thresholds.

The amplitude of electromagnetic waves determines the ________ of light.

brightness

The amount of light entering the eye is regulated by the

iris

Accommodation refers to the

process by which the lens changes shape to focus images on the retina.

Which cells for visual processing are located closest to the back of the retina?

rods and cones

Feature detectors

are nerve cells in the brain's visual cortex that fire in response to specific edges, lines, and angles

Experiencing a green afterimage of a red object is most easily explained by

the opponent-process theory.

The basilar membrane is located in the

cochlea.

The cochlea is a

fluid-filled tube that provides a sense of body movement.

According to frequency theory

the rate at which impulses travel up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of the tone being heard.

The semicircular canals are most directly relevant to

the vestibular sense.

Taste and smell are both what kind of senses?

chemical

The convergence of parallel lines provides the distance cue known as

linear perspective.

The sequentially flashing Christmas tree lights appeared to generate pulsating waves of motion. This best illustrates

the phi phenomenon.

Renny knew the red tulip was closer to her than the yellow tulip because the red one cast a larger retinal image than the yellow one. This illustrates the importance of the distance cue known as

relative size.

Sensation is to __________ as perception is to __________.

Detecting a stimulus; recognizing a stimulus

Given normal sensory abilities, a person standing atop a mountain on a dark, clear night can see a candle flame atop a mountain 30 miles away. This is a description of vision's:

Absolute threshold

Which of the following is an example of sensory adaptation?

Finding the cold water of a swimming pool warmer after you’ve spent a few minutes in it

Wavelength is to ___________ as ___________ is to brightness.

Hue; intensity

Nearsightedness is a condition in which the:

Eyeball is longer than normal

The size of the pupil is controlled by the:

Iris

Which of the following is the correct order of the structures through which light passes after entering the eye?

Cornea, pupil, lens, retina

The brain breaks vision into separate dimensions such as color, depth, movement and form, and works on each aspect simultaneously. This is known as:

Parallel processing

The Young-Helmholtz Theory proposes that:

There are three different types of color-sensitive cones

Most color-deficient people will probably:

Lack functioning red-or-green-sensitive cones

Which of the following correctly lists the order of structures through which sound travels after entering the ear?

Auditory canal, eardrum, middle ear, cochlea

The Frequency Theory of hearing is better than Place Theory at explaining the sensation of:

The lowest pitches

Tamika hates the bitter taste of her cough syrup. Which of the following would she find most helpful in minimizing the syrup’s bad taste?

Holding her nose while taking the cough syrup

The principle that one sense may influence another is:

Sensory interaction

Kinesthesis involves:

Information from muscles, tendons and joints

Which of the following enables you to feel yourself wiggling your toes even with your eyes closed?

Sense of kinesthesis

The historical movement associated with the statement “the whole may exceed the sum of its parts” is:

Gestalt psychology

________________ processing refers to how the physical characteristics of stimuli influence their interpretation.

Bottom-up

Figures tend to be perceived as whole, complete objects, even if spaces or gaps exist in the representation, thus demonstrating the principle of:

Closure

Weber’s Law states that:

The JND for any stimulus is a constant ratio

The process by which sensory information is converted into neural energy is:

Transduction

Assuming that the visual systems of humans and other mammals function similarly, you would expect that the retina of a nocturnal mammal (one active only at night) would contain:

Mostly rods

As the football game continued into the night, Leondre noticed that he was having difficulty distinguishing the colors of the players' uniforms. This is because the _______________, which enable color vision, have a _______________ absolute threshold for brightness than the available light intensity.

Cones; higher

The inner ear contains receptors for:

Audition and the vestibular sense

Of the four distinct skin senses, the only one that has definable receptors is:

Pressure

The study of perception is primarily concerned with how we:

Interpret sensory stimuli

Which of the following statements is consistent with the Gestalt theory of perception?

The mind organizes sensations into meaningful perceptions

_______________ processing refers to how the physical characteristics of stimuli influence their interpretation.

Bottom-up

Concepts or frameworks that organize and interpret information.

schemas

Proposed theory for color vision with cones that are differentially sensitive to different wavelengths of light

trichromatic theory

Minimum difference between any two stimuli that a person can detect 50% of the time.

Difference threshold

The weakest level of a stimulus that can be correctly detected at least 50% of the time.

absolute threshold

The study of paranormal events that investigates claims of ESP

parapsychology

The idea that pain can only be experienced if pain messages can pass through a gate in the spinal cord on their way to the brain.

gate control theory

Clues about distance based on the image of one eye.

monocular depth cues

Receiving messages below one's absolute threshold for conscious awareness.

subliminal stimulation

Proposed theory for color vision with opposing retinal process for red-green, yellow-blue, white-black.

opponent process theory