Exam Preparation Guide
60. In the visual system, which of the following statements is true of parallel processing?
A. It is the transfer of information across a single neural pathway.
B. It is a system that processes information about sensory qualities serially.
C. It is the simultaneous distribution of information across different neural pathways.
D. It first processes the shapes of stimuli and then the color and movement.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Describe the structural components of the eye and explain how the brain processes visual information.
Topic: Visual Processing
Feedback: The Visual System, 101
61. The purpose of parallel processing is to
A. allow sensory information to travel rapidly through the brain.
B. allow rods and cones to function simultaneously.
C. prevent the misinterpretation of colors.
D. use binocular cues to perceive depth.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Describe the structural components of the eye and explain how the brain processes visual information.
Topic: Visual Processing
Feedback: The Visual System, 101
62. In the context of visual perception, _____ is the bringing together and integration of what is processed by different neural pathways or cells.
A. parallel processing
B. binding
C. depth perception
D. perceptual integration
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Describe the structural components of the eye and explain how the brain processes visual information.
Topic: Visual Processing
Feedback: The Visual System, 102
63. Which of the following statements is true of Young and Helmholtz's trichromatic theory?
A. It states that there are four types of cones present in the human visual system.
B. It states that there are three types of rods present in the human visual system.
C. It is based on experiments that show that cells in the visual system respond to red-green and blue-yellow colors.
D. It is based on experiments that show that any color in the spectrum can be matched by combining three other wavelengths.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Compare the theories of color vision.
Topic: Trichromatic Color Theory
Feedback: The Visual System, 102
64. Mrs. Johnson’s third grade class is creating a model of their school grounds. Each group of students is responsible for different aspects of the model. Some are cutting cardboard, some are painting, and some are making miniature figurines out of Play-Doh. Eventually, Mrs.Johnson will combine all these elements into a finished product. Which of the following visual processes in the brain is this scenario most analogous to?
A. transduction
B. binding
C. feature detection
D. subliminal perception
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology.
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: High
Learning Objective: Describe the structural components of the eye and explain how the brain processes visual information.
Topic: Visual Processing
Feedback: The Visual System, 102
65. Which of the following statements about research on color blindness is true?
A. Most individuals who are colorblind literally see the world in black and white. They are unable to perceive any colors other than black or white.
B. Colorblindness is more common among women than among men.
D. Research on colorblindness does not support the trichromatic theory of vision.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Compare the theories of color vision.
Topic: Color Vision
Feedback: The Visual System, 102
66. If Howard, a student, has the most common form of colorblindness, he will have trouble distinguishing
A. red from blue and white.
B. white from red and green.
C. orange from red and blue.
D. green from blue and red.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Compare the theories of color vision.
Topic: Trichromatic Color Theory
Feedback: The Visual System, 103
67. Which of the following is a disadvantage of the trichromatic theory of color vision?
A. It cannot explain colorblindness.
B. It fails to adequately explain afterimages.
C. It negates the role of cone receptors in color vision.
D. It states that cones are sensitive to red, yellow, and blue.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Compare the theories of color vision.
Topic: Trichromatic Color Theory
Feedback: The Visual System, 103
68. Which of the following theories of vision can best explain the occurrence of afterimages (i.e., sensations that remain after a stimulus is removed)?
A. trichromatic theory
B. opponent-process theory
C. frequency theory
D. place theory
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Compare the theories of color vision.
Topic: Color Vision
Feedback: The Visual System, 104
69. The _____ theory states that cells in the visual system respond to complementary pairs of red-green and blue-yellow colors; a given cell might be excited by red and inhibited by green, whereas another cell might be excited by yellow and inhibited by blue.
A. trichromatic
B. place
C. frequency
D. opponent-process
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Compare the theories of color vision.
Topic: Color Vision
Feedback: The Visual System, 104
70. The _____ is the principle by which we organize the perceptual field into stimuli that stand out and those that are left over.
A. opponent-process theory
B. trichromatic theory
C. apparent movement
D. figure-ground relationship
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Figure-Ground Relationship
Feedback: The Visual System, 104
71. Gestalt psychologists emphasize that
A. perception is the same as sensation.
B. we learn to perceive the world through experience.
C. the whole is different from the sum of its parts.
D. perception is a neurological process.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Gestalt Principles
Feedback: The Visual System, 105
72. Although several bulbs have burned out on the Movie Buff Theater’s sign at the entrance and the letters are not completely formed, Caleb can still read the announcement for the upcoming movie. Which gestalt principle best accounts for this phenomenon?
A. principle of closure
B. principle of proximity
C. principle of similarity
D. principle of convergence
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology.
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: High
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Gestalt Principles
Feedback: The Visual System, 105
73. Depth perception involves
A. perceiving three dimensions.
B. seeing in three colors.
C. the pinna.
D. the papillae.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Depth Perception
Feedback: The Visual System, 105
74._____ depth-vision cues depend on the combination of the images in the left and right eyes and on the way the two eyes work together.
A. Monocular
B. Binocular
C. Gradient
D. Parallel
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Depth Perception
Feedback: The Visual System, 105
75. In order to get a good idea of an object's depth, we rely on a number of binocular and monocular cues. Which of the following would be an example of a binocular cue?
A. texture gradient
B. convergence
C. height in field of view
D. shading
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Depth Perception
Feedback: The Visual System, 105
76. In depth perception, familiar size and relative size, height in field of view, and shading are examples of
A. binocular cues.
B. monocular cues.
C. stereograms.
D. feature detectors.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Depth Perception
Feedback: The Visual System, 106
77. Which depth cue accounts for why parallel lines appear to grow closer together the farther away they are?
A. texture gradient
B. superposition
C. vertical position
D. linear perspective
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Depth Perception
Feedback: The Visual System, 106
78. The perception that a stationary object is moving is known as _____.
A. real movement.
B. apparent movement.
C. convergence.
D. depth perception.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Motion Perception
Feedback: The Visual System, 107
79. Perceptual constancy refers to our ability to
A. switch back and forth between the figure and the ground in a figure-ground problem.
B. have all of our sensory systems working on overload in a highly stressful situation.
C. adjust to the amount of light in the room even if that requires light or dark adaptation.
D. see an object as the same size even though we move closer to it or farther from it.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Perceptual Constancy
Feedback: The Visual System, 107
80. Derek is watching an airplane fly by. The plane seems to get smaller as it goes farther away. Which of the following aspects of perceptual constancy allows Derek to understand that the airplane is not getting smaller?
A. shape constancy
B. size constancy
C. apparent movement
D. pattern recognition
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology.
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: High
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Perceptual Constancy
Feedback: The Visual System, 107
81. Looking at a quarter in your hand casts a different image on your retina compared to looking at a quarter across the room, yet we know that the quarter is the same and retains the same dimensions. This phenomenon is known as
A. perceptual constancy.
B. figure-ground.
C. the Ponzo illusion.
D. Gestalt closure.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology.
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: High
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Perceptual Constancy
Feedback: The Visual System, 107
82. If we see a German shepherd standing 30 feet from us, we perceive that it is just as big as it was when it was much closer to us. This is primarily due to
A. size constancy.
B. shape constancy.
C. proximity.
D. figure-ground.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology.
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: High
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Perceptual Constancy
Feedback: The Visual System, 107
83. The recognition that objects are constant and unchanging even though sensory input about them is changing is called
A. monocular constancy.
B. perceptual constancy.
C. linear perspective.
D. the figure-ground principle.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Perceptual Constancy
Feedback: The Visual System, 107
84. When a person reads a book, the black ink of the words on the white pages looks the same, regardless of the place, time, and lighting in the room. This best demonstrates the phenomenon of
A. closure.
B. shape constancy.
C. color constancy.
D. proximity.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Perceptual Constancy
Feedback: The Visual System, 108
85. A door is still perceived as a rectangle even after we view it from different angles. This is due to
A. depth cues.
B. retinal disparity.
C. shape constancy.
D. linear constancy.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology.
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: High
Learning Objective: Identify the principles underlying our organization of the visual world that allow us to make sense of our environment.
Topic: Perceptual Constancy
Feedback: The Visual System, 108
86. _____ is the perceptual experience of the frequency of a sound.
A. Amplitude
B. Loudness
C. Pitch
D. Sound wave
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: Sound
Feedback: The Auditory System, 110
87. In the context of nature of sound, wavelength determines a sound wave's
A. frequency.
B. amplitude.
C. decibel level.
D. timbre.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound. Topic: Sound
Feedback: The Auditory System, 110
88. Which of the following is the unit of measurement for assessing loudness?
A. pitch
B. saturation
C. hue
D. decibel
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: Sound
Feedback: The Auditory System, 110
89. Mark's ability to distinguish a trumpet and a trombone or his mother's voice from his sister's voice is most likely due to the _____ of these stimuli.
A. pitch
B. amplitude
C. decibels
D. timbre
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology.
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: High
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: Sound
Feedback: The Auditory System, 110
90. Which of the following is true of the nature of sound?
A. Loudness is the perceptual experience of the frequency of a sound.
B. Timbre is the amount of pressure the sound wave produces relative to a standard.
C. Frequency is the perception of the sound wave's amplitude.
D. Sound waves vary in frequency as well as in amplitude.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: Sound
Feedback: The Auditory System, 110
91. Each key on a touch-tone telephone makes a slightly different sound when touched. This difference is due to the pitch of sound produced by each key. The difference in pitch is determined by the _____ of the sound waves coming from each key.
A. intensity
B. timbre
C. decibel
D. frequency
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology.
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: High
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: Sound
Feedback: The Auditory System, 110
92. When sound waves move through the auditory canal to the middle ear, they first cause the
A. eardrum to vibrate.
B. oval window to move.
C. cochlea to vibrate.
D. hammer to vibrate.
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
93. The primary function of the _____ is to collect sounds and channel them into the interior of the ear.
A. cochlea
B. pine
C. cilia
D. basilar membrane
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APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
94. Identify the true statement about the pine of the ear.
A. It is funnel shaped and is the visible part of the ear.
B. It is responsible for separating the outer ear from the inner ear.
C. It is the last structure through which the sound enters the ear.
D. It typically vibrates in response to sounds.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
95. In the auditory system, which of the following is true of the middle ear?
A. It is funnel shaped and represents the visible part of the ear.
B. It transmits neural impulses directly to the brain.
C. It channels and amplifies sound waves.
D. It converts sound waves into neural impulses.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
96. The eardrum is located in the
A. auditory cortex.
B. inner ear.
C. middle ear.
D. outer ear.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
97. The major function of the _____ is to amplify vibrations and pass them on to the inner ear.
A. pinnae
B. hammer, anvil, and stirrup
C. papillae
D. olfactory epithelium
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
98. Tina was born with hearing impairment. When Dr.Albert studied the physiology of her auditory system, he found that Tina’s eardrums were intact and were receiving auditory stimulus. However, the stimulus was not moving forward from the eardrums and was not reaching the inner ear. Which of the following conclusions is Dr. Albert most likely to have drawn from these findings?
A. The cerebral cortex in Tina’s brain was damaged.
B. The hammer, anvil, and stirrup in Tina’s ears were not performing their functions.
C. The pinna in Tina’s outer ear was not performing its functions.
D. The occipital lobe in Tina’s brain was damaged.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology.
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: High
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
99. When one hears any sound, one's eardrum vibrates. These vibrations are then transferred to the inner ear by the hammer, anvil, and stirrup. These three bones are all located in the
A. outer ear.
B. middle ear.
C. inner ear.
D. marginal ear.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.2 Develop a working knowledge of psychology’s content domains.
Bloom’s: Understand
Difficulty: Medium
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
100. The cochlea is part of the
A. pinnae.
B. inner ear.
C. middle ear.
D. outer ear.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
101. Samantha was injured in a skiing accident, and she lost her sense of hearing. The doctor who operated on her injuries stated that the hair cells in Samantha’s ears were damaged. In order to help Samantha detect sound again, the doctor should suggest
A. proprioceptive feedback.
B. subliminal perception.
C. a cochlear implant.
D. a hair transplant.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.3 Describe applications of psychology.
Bloom’s: Apply
Difficulty: High
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
102. Which of the following statements about cochlear implants is FALSE?
A. A cochlear implant is a small electronic device that is surgically implanted in the ear and head.
B. Cochlear implants, like hearing aids, work by amplifying sound.
C. Cochlear implants stimulate whatever working auditory nerves the recipient has in his or her cochlea with electronic impulses.
D. Cochlear implants are devices that were specifically developed to replace damaged hair cells.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low
Learning Objective: Identify the structural parts and functions of the ear and explain how the ear detects sound.
Topic: The Ear
Feedback: The Auditory System, 112
103. Place theory states that
A. in vision, depth perception occurs because of a combination of binocular and monocular cues.
B. in vision, color perception occurs because of different types of cones.
C. in hearing, a cluster of neurons "volley" neural impulses in rapid succession.
D. in hearing, each frequency produces vibrations at a particular spot on the basilar membrane.
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
APA Learning Outcome: 1.1 Describe key concepts, principles, and overarching themes in psychology.
Bloom’s: Remember
Difficulty: Low