PSYCH 255 QUIZ 5 CERTIFICATION REVIEW
SET 2026 QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
GRADED A+
⫸ Perception Answer: The act of giving meaning to a detected sensation
⫸ Psychophysics Answer: The science of defining quantitative
relationships between physical and psychological events
⫸ Two point threshold Answer: the minimum distance at which two
stimuli are just perceptible as separate
⫸ Just Noticeable Difference (JND) Answer: the minimum difference
necessary to tell two stimulus apart
⫸ Absolute threshold Answer: the minimum stimulation needed to
detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time
⫸ Weber's Law Answer: Larger stimulus values have greater JNDs,
Smaller stimulus values have smaller JNDs
⫸ Fechner's Law Answer: The magnitude of subjective sensation
increases proportionally to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity
,⫸ Stevens power law Answer: The relation between physical intensity
and psychological intensity is linear
⫸ Method of constant stimuli Answer: many stimuli, ranging from
rarely to almost always perceivable are presented one at a time
⫸ Method of limits Answer: The magnitude of a single stimulus or the
difference between two stimuli is varied incrementally until the
participant responds differently
⫸ Method of adjustment Answer: Similar to method of limits, but
participant controls the stimulus directly
⫸ Magnitude Estimation Answer: the participant assigns values
according to perceived magnitudes of the stimuli
⫸ Cross Modality Matching Answer: matches magnitude between two
stimuli (ex: visual and auditory)
⫸ Signal Detection Theory Answer: A psychophysical theory that
quantifies the response of an observer to the presentation of a signal in
the presence of a noise - distinction between an observers ability to
perceive a signal and willingness to report it
⫸ Signal Detection Theory Hit Answer: Stimulus is present and
observer responds "yes"
, ⫸ Signal Detection Theory Miss Answer: Stimulus is present and
observer responds "no"
⫸ Signal Detection Theory False Alarm Answer: Stimulus is not
present and observer responds "Yes"
⫸ Stimulus Detection Theory Correct Rejection Answer: Stimulus is
not present and observer responds "no"
⫸ Stimulus Detection Theory Criterion Answer: An internal threshold
that is set by the observer. If the internal response is above criterion, the
observer gives one response. Below criterion, another response.
⫸ Signal Detection Theory Sensitivity Answer: A value that defines the
ease with which an observer can tell the difference between the presence
and absence of a stimulus or the difference between stimulus 1 and
stimulus 2
⫸ d' Answer: Representation for sensitivity. Measure of how
discriminable 2 distributions are, distance between the distribution
means.
⫸ Doctorine of specific nerve energies Answer: Formulated by Müller,
states that the nature of a sensation depends on which sensory fibers are
stimulated, not how they are stimulated
SET 2026 QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
GRADED A+
⫸ Perception Answer: The act of giving meaning to a detected sensation
⫸ Psychophysics Answer: The science of defining quantitative
relationships between physical and psychological events
⫸ Two point threshold Answer: the minimum distance at which two
stimuli are just perceptible as separate
⫸ Just Noticeable Difference (JND) Answer: the minimum difference
necessary to tell two stimulus apart
⫸ Absolute threshold Answer: the minimum stimulation needed to
detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time
⫸ Weber's Law Answer: Larger stimulus values have greater JNDs,
Smaller stimulus values have smaller JNDs
⫸ Fechner's Law Answer: The magnitude of subjective sensation
increases proportionally to the logarithm of the stimulus intensity
,⫸ Stevens power law Answer: The relation between physical intensity
and psychological intensity is linear
⫸ Method of constant stimuli Answer: many stimuli, ranging from
rarely to almost always perceivable are presented one at a time
⫸ Method of limits Answer: The magnitude of a single stimulus or the
difference between two stimuli is varied incrementally until the
participant responds differently
⫸ Method of adjustment Answer: Similar to method of limits, but
participant controls the stimulus directly
⫸ Magnitude Estimation Answer: the participant assigns values
according to perceived magnitudes of the stimuli
⫸ Cross Modality Matching Answer: matches magnitude between two
stimuli (ex: visual and auditory)
⫸ Signal Detection Theory Answer: A psychophysical theory that
quantifies the response of an observer to the presentation of a signal in
the presence of a noise - distinction between an observers ability to
perceive a signal and willingness to report it
⫸ Signal Detection Theory Hit Answer: Stimulus is present and
observer responds "yes"
, ⫸ Signal Detection Theory Miss Answer: Stimulus is present and
observer responds "no"
⫸ Signal Detection Theory False Alarm Answer: Stimulus is not
present and observer responds "Yes"
⫸ Stimulus Detection Theory Correct Rejection Answer: Stimulus is
not present and observer responds "no"
⫸ Stimulus Detection Theory Criterion Answer: An internal threshold
that is set by the observer. If the internal response is above criterion, the
observer gives one response. Below criterion, another response.
⫸ Signal Detection Theory Sensitivity Answer: A value that defines the
ease with which an observer can tell the difference between the presence
and absence of a stimulus or the difference between stimulus 1 and
stimulus 2
⫸ d' Answer: Representation for sensitivity. Measure of how
discriminable 2 distributions are, distance between the distribution
means.
⫸ Doctorine of specific nerve energies Answer: Formulated by Müller,
states that the nature of a sensation depends on which sensory fibers are
stimulated, not how they are stimulated
