Psyc 209

Exam 1

Name_________________ Shannon Geraghty ________________________________

Instructions: Please circle and write (to the left of the question number) the letter that
represents the BEST answer. Pay close attention to KEY words.

1. Dualism is the idea that

a. both mind and body exist.
b. two sensations can co-occur simultaneously.
c. one sensation often follows another.
d. the body can be divided into two parts.

2. The idea that the mind is the true reality, and that objects exist only as aspects of the
mind’s awareness is known as
a. mentalism.
b. perception.
c. dualism.
d. empiricism.

3. JND is the
a. smallest detectable difference between two stimuli.
b. difference in detection time for two different stimuli.
c. true difference in detection time.
d. time it takes to notice a stimulus.

4. Absolute threshold is the minimum amount of stimulation necessary for a person to

detect a stimulus _______ of the time.
a. 30%
b. 100%
c. 50%
d. 80%

5. The method of _______ requires the random presentation of many stimuli, ranging
from rarely to almost always perceivable, one at a time.
a. limits
b. constant stimuli
c. adjustment
d. magnitude estimation
6. The __________ or nerve impulse is primarily responsible for conducting the
messages of the nervous system.
a. resting membrane potential
b. neurotransmitter
c. action potential
d. specific nerve energy

7. The chemical substance used in neuronal communication at synapses is known as

a. axon.
b. receptor.
c. transducer.
d. neurotransmitter.

8. Light can be described as a wave or a(n)

a. signal.
b. stream of photons.
c. source.
d. outlet of energy.

9. Accommodation is the process in which the _______ of the eye changes its shape.
a. retina
b. lens
c. pupil
d. iris

10. Which of the following depicts hyperopia?

a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
11. Photoreceptors that are specialized for daylight vision, fine acuity, and color are
called
a. duplexes.
b. cones.
c. ganglion cells.
d. bipolar cells.

12. The vertical pathway in the retina consists of each of the following except
a. photoreceptors.
b. amacrine cells.
c. bipolar cells.
d. ganglion cells.

13. The area where the optic nerve leaves the eye is known as the ______ or blind spot.
a. fundus
b. sclera
c. cornea
d. optic disk

14. An on-center/off-surround cell responds most strongly when

A) the entire center and surround are illuminated.
B) a spot of light illuminates part of the center.
C) the entire center is illuminated.
D) a spot of light illuminates part of the surround.

15. The bipolar cells of the retina have contacts with the _______ cells.
A) amacrine
B) ganglion
C) receptor
D) All of the above

16. Cones are most densely concentrated in which part of the human retina?
A) Blind spot
B) Fovea
C) Periphery
D) No one part; cones are evenly distributed across the retina.

17. In retinitis pigmentosa there is

a. a regeneration of too many photoreceptors.
b. degeneration of the pigment epithelium.
c. loss of macular pigment.
d. loss of the ability to use the lens in order to focus.
18. Eye doctors specify acuity in terms like 20/20, but vision scientists prefer to talk
about the smallest _______ of a cycle of the grating that you can perceive.
a. sine wave
b. segment
c. visual angle
d. viewing distance

19. Spatial frequency refers to the

a. number of cycles of a grating per unit of visual angle.
b. distance between the observer and the grating.
c. amount of contrast in a room.
d. contrast threshold.

20. The finest high-contrast details that can be resolved is ultimately dependent on
a. spacing of the cones
b. spacing of the rods
c. spacing of the bipolar cells
d. location of the blind spot

21. Topographical mapping is the

a. layout of the brain.
b. guide to the structures of the brain.
c. simultaneous mapping of two objects in the visual system.
d. orderly mapping of the world in the LGN and the visual cortex.

22. Cortical magnification is the _______ devoted to a specific region in the visual field.
a. topographical map
b. amount of cortical area
c. amount of magnification
d. number of neuronal connections

23. The tendency of neurons in striate cortex to respond optimally to certain orientations,
and less to others is known as
a. spatial frequency.
b. spatial selection.
c. orientation tuning.
d. cortical magnification.
24. Hubel and Wiesel concluded that neurons with similar orientation preferences were
arranged in _______ that extended vertically through the cortex.
a. stacks
b. columns
c. rows
d. tangles

25. The diminishing response of a sense organ to a sustained stimulus is referred to as

a. constant stimulation.
b. response decrease.
c. adaptation.
d. accommodation

26. No single neuron receives input from both eyes until the
a. LGN.
b. striate cortex.
c. occipital lobe.
d. magnocellular layer.

27. _______ neurons are most responsive to which spatial frequency (see figure)?

a. Low frequency
b. Medium frequency
c. High frequency
d. There is no difference between each type
28. Gestalt psychologists emphasize that
a. a percept is nothing more than the sum of its sensory elements.
b. objects and faces are processed via different mechanisms.
c. the perceptual whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
d. the visual system must assume that objects are viewed from generic viewpoints.

29. Refer to the two figures below.

Figure II is very similar to Figure I in many ways, but you organize it differently.
Which Gestalt grouping principle shifts the interpretation here towards two
irregularly-shaped lines?
a. Similarity
b. Symmetry
c. Connectedness
d. Good continuation

30. The word “figure” in the term “figure–ground assignment” refers to

a. a group of separate lines that must be combined into a single object contour.
b. the number of distinct objects in an image.
c. the main object that is to be recognized in an image.
d. the “correct” interpretation of an ambiguous figure.

31. Refer to the figure below.

Which Gestalt figure–ground assignment principle is most responsible for this

interpretation?
 a. Symmetry
b. Size
c. Parallelism
d. Surroundedness

32. The visual system interprets boundaries as being “owned” by

a. the portion of an image interpreted as figure.
b. the portion of an image interpreted as ground.
c. either the figure or the ground, depending on the situation.
d. neither the figure nor the ground.

33. A major problem with template theories of object recognition is that

a. we cannot possibly store enough templates in memory to match every object we
might encounter.
b. template theories predict that object recognition should usually be viewpoint-
invariant, but in fact recognition has been shown to viewpoint-dependent.
c. template theories predict that object recognition should usually be viewpoint-
dependent, but in fact recognition has been shown to viewpoint-invariant.
d. templates are only useful when recognizing objects from accidental viewpoints.

34. Viewpoint invariance refers to the idea that

a. any image should be interpretable as one and only one object.
b. objects should cast the same image on the retina when viewed from any viewpoint.
c. an object can only be recognized quickly if it is always seen from the same
viewpoint.
d. objects should be just as easy to recognize from any viewpoint.

35. The fact that faces are more difficult than many other types of objects to recognize
when viewed upside-down is taken by many researchers to indicate that
a. faces are recognized via structural descriptions.
b. it is more difficult to segment faces from their backgrounds than other types of
objects.
c. the visual system uses special recognition processes for faces that are not used for
other types of objects.
d. face recognition can be doubly dissociated from object recognition.