Name: 
 

Ch4 Sensory Processes



Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 

 1. 

Sensation can be defined as the
a.
process of converting physical energy into neural energy.
b.
detection of the external stimuli around us.
c.
process of organizing external stimuli into meaningful concepts.
d.
mental processes necessary to locate and identify an external stimulus.
 

 2. 

Human sensory sensitivity levels
a.
allow us to detect all of the information available in our environment.
b.
are equal across all senses.
c.
are about as good as is physically possible for the stimuli to which we are dependent upon.
d.
are far from optimal.
 

 3. 

Researchers have shown that a person can detect a flash of light containing only 100 photons. This is known as our _____ for light.
a.
brightness constancy
c.
difference threshold
b.
just noticeable difference
d.
absolute threshold
 

 4. 

The minimum amount of stimulation required to distinguish one stimulus from another is called
a.
absolute threshold.
c.
difference threshold.
b.
psychophysical function.
d.
absolute difference.
 

 5. 

_____ is a process by which the sense organs convert energy from environmental events into neural activity.
a.
Anatomical coding
c.
Weber's fractionation
b.
Psychophysics
d.
Transduction
 

 6. 

The process by which rods and cones convert electromagnetic energy into the activity of neurons is an example of
a.
transduction.
c.
sensory adjustment.
b.
feature detection.
d.
accommodation.
 

 7. 

The psychological experience of a sensory event occurs in the
a.
spinal cord.
c.
brain area which represents the sense.
b.
receptors of the sense organ.
d.
sense organ itself.
 

 8. 

Coding the intensity of a stimulus by the variability or regularity of neural firing is known as coding by
a.
transduction.
c.
temporal pattern.
b.
specific neural energies.
d.
neural timing.
 

 9. 

Light is what we experience when presented with some types of
a.
mechanical energy.
c.
electromagnetic radiation.
b.
electrochemical energy.
d.
electrical impulses.
 

 10. 

For the human, visible light is _____ the total electromagnetic spectrum.
a.
a large part of
c.
equal to
b.
a very small part of
d.
not a part of
 

 11. 

What is the transparent, protective, outer layer that is first point of the eye through which light passes as it enters the human eye?
a.
retina
c.
cornea
b.
lens
d.
aqueous humor
 

 12. 

In the visual system, transduction takes place in the
a.
ganglion cells.
c.
blind spot.
b.
optic nerve.
d.
rods and cones.
 

 13. 

It is easier to detect a dim spot of light (in a dark room) if we don't look directly at it. Which of the following is the best explanation of this?
a.
The retina's periphery has more rods, and rods are more sensitive than cones.
b.
A larger part of the retina is stimulated when we "look away."
c.
The fovea is located in the periphery of the retina.
d.
There is less interference from the blind spot when we look away.
 

 14. 

The process of light adaptation
a.
occurs in the rods first, then the cones.
b.
takes longer for the rods.
c.
is complete in about one minute.
d.
increases in length as time in the dark increases.
 

 15. 

The purity of light is its
a.
brightness.
c.
wavelength.
b.
saturation.
d.
hue.
 

 16. 

The method of using the colors red, blue, and green in color televisions is an example of
a.
additive color mixing.
b.
subtractive color mixing.
c.
the similarity between mixing lights and mixing pigments.
d.
saturation and purity of colors.
 

 17. 

The modern analysis of color vision suggests that we have
a.
separate processes for negative afterimages and day-to-day color vision.
b.
three types of color receptors and opponent-color cells at another level.
c.
both separate photoreceptors for specific colors and opponent-color cells at the retina, whose input is combined for integrated color vision.
d.
a primary color stage in the periphery and a color mixing stage in the central nervous system.
 

 18. 

The highness or lowness of a sound, as determined by the frequency of the sound waves, is the sound's
a.
intensity.
c.
decibel level.
b.
loudness.
d.
pitch.
 

 19. 

After sound waves pass through the auditory canal, they reach the
a.
eardrum.
c.
tunnel of Corti.
b.
middle ear.
d.
oval window.
 

 20. 

Nerve impulses are generated in the auditory system when
a.
the eardrum moves the malleus, incus, and stapes.
b.
the basilar membrane vibrates and moves the hair cells.
c.
the stapes vibrates the oval window.
d.
sound waves displace the eardrum, causing it to vibrate.
 



 
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