Chapter 4 - part 1: Psychophysics: Basic Concepts and Issues

Which of the following reflects a distinction between the process of sensation and the process of perception?

Light has entered Jeff’s eye and has stimulated receptors there. Which of the following terms describes this process?

A neural signal from Mary’s taste bud has travelled to her cortex, and she experiences enjoyment of a sweet flavour. Which of the following terms describes this process?

What is your absolute threshold?

Werner was having his hearing tested, and a number of the tones that were presented were so faint he was not able to detect them. What can you say about the faint sounds?

Juanita was drinking some warm punch, and she thought she could just detect a faint taste of nutmeg in the punch. When she took another sip, the taste wasn’t there. On the third sip, she could just make out the taste of nutmeg again. What could you say about the taste of nutmeg in this situation?

Giovanni was watching the night sky on a clear evening in November. He noticed that sometimes when he looked directly overhead he could detect a very faint star. A few minutes later, it seemed that the star had disappeared and then it “appeared” again. How would you describe the light from the star in this case?

Which of the following is being measured if a subject is presented with a series of light bulb pairs of different wattages and is asked whether the members of each pair differ in brightness?

If a 100 Hz tone had to be increased to 101 Hz for a subject to just notice the difference, what would you change a 1000 Hz tone to in order for that subject to notice the difference?

Evelyn turned up the thermostat from 68 degrees to 70 degrees; however, she doesn’t think it feels any warmer and she wants to turn it up even higher. Her roommate thinks that it is now too hot, and she wants to turn the thermostat back down. How does Evelyn’s just noticeable difference compare to her roommate’s?

Raul is making potato soup. His roommate tastes it and tells Raul it is great, but Raul thinks it needs more salt. He adds just a little salt, but doesn’t think that he has added enough because he doesn’t detect a difference. However, his roommate tastes it again and tells Raul that the soup is now perfect, with just the right amount of salt. Which of the following is most accurate?

When Celeste was playing her stereo at 40 decibels and she turned it up to 42 decibels, she could notice that it was louder. If Celeste’s stereo were playing at 80 decibels, what should her just noticeable difference be?

You have a lamp with a three-way light bulb. You can use the light at 50 watts, 100 watts, or 150 watts. When you change between settings, which of the following changes will be perceived as a larger increase in brightness?

In the signal-detection method, what do we call it when a subject detects a stimulus when no stimulus is actually present?

Which type of signal-detection error becomes more likely when someone is not expecting the stimulus?

In signal detection, which type of error is more likely if you are expecting the stimulus to occur?

Jerry, a nuclear operator, must monitor 50 different gauges that keep track of various aspects of the nuclear reactor. Which of the following theories provides the most specific predictions for Jerry’s likelihood of detecting any changes or problems?

Joan was sitting talking with some friends when she suddenly left the room to check on her baby. She was sure she heard little Emily cry out, but when she checked, Emily was sleeping peacefully. What would you call Joan’s response based on signal-detection theory?

Dalton was sitting in the hallway outside his chemistry class. Some students said they thought they could smell smoke, but Dalton didn’t smell anything. When they all checked the lab to see if there were any problems, everything was fine and nothing was burning. What would you call Dalton’s response based on signaldetection theory?

Your criterion for “hearing” mysterious noises at night may change after a rash of burglaries in your neighbourhood. Which of the following best explains this change?

What does “subliminal” mean?

Which of the following statements about subliminal perception is most accurate?

What have researchers typically found when they have attempted to demonstrate subliminal perception effects in the real world?

What will eventually occur if you stare at an unchanging image for a long time?

What is sensory adaptation?

You enter a room and notice a distinctive new odour. After a bit of time, you no longer notice the odour. What phenomenon does this illustrate?

Yaniv has been working for the past two hours, and the hum of his laptop computer that he found so annoying when he started no longer bothers him. Which of the following processes is illustrated by the change in Yaniv’s sensitivity to the laptop noise?

Sonja put on a new watch this morning and found it uncomfortable because it was so much heavier than her old watch. However, by noon, Sonja has forgotten that she is even wearing the watch. Which of the following processes is illustrated by the change in Sonja’s sensitivity to the pressure of the watch?

Which of the following CANNOT be explained by sensory adaptation?