, Instructor Resource
Schwartz, Sensation and Perception 2e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Chapter 1: What Is Perception?
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Why are sensation and perception studied by psychologists?
a. to understand how mood disorders arise from deficits in perception
b. because biologists tend to shy away from neuroscience issues
c. to understand how our brains make sense of the world around us
d. because biology has little effect on sensation or perception
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1.1: Discuss why understanding sensation and perception is
important.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Why Is This Psychology?
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. Which statement best explains the role of bias in sensation and perception?
a. Bias makes it difficult to fully trust our senses and perceptions.
b. Bias most clearly affects our sensory experiences.
c. Bias affects how we perceive sensory stimuli.
d. Bias most clearly affects our sensation and perception of sound.
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1.1: Discuss why understanding sensation and perception is
important.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
, Instructor Resource
Schwartz, Sensation and Perception 2e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Answer Location: Why Is This Psychology?
Difficulty Level: Medium
3. A marathon runner finishing a race can feel both pain and exhilaration because
______.
a. senses are interpreted in the context in which they are experienced
b. exhaustion causes the body to misinterpret sensory data
c. pain can be either an internal or an external stimulus
d. sense experience is altered by extreme physical exertion
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1.1: Discuss why understanding sensation and perception is
important.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Why Is This Psychology?
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. Bob and Caroline are sitting next to each other while watching a tennis match. What
is one reason that they might disagree on a judge’s call, based on principles of
perception?
a. Because each is cheering for a different player, their perceptions of the match are
affected.
b. Because they see the play from very different angles, they interpret it differently.
c. Because vision and emotion are casually linked, their visual experiences of the match
are affected.
d. Because watching sports causes different neurons to fire in male and female brains,
they experience the event differently.
Ans: A
, Instructor Resource
Schwartz, Sensation and Perception 2e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Learning Objective: 1.1: Discuss why understanding sensation and perception is
important.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Why Is This Psychology?
Difficulty Level: Medium
5. Artist Bev Doolittle paints pictures of horses in snow. What do these painting show
about human perception?
a. We struggle to identify shapes if we are not told what to see.
b. We use our knowledge to discern camouflaged shapes.
c. Our perception is influenced by our biases, even when we try to be objective.
d. Our ability to differentiate between objects is affected by our vantage point.
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1.1: Discuss why understanding sensation and perception is
important.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Why Is This Psychology?
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. Which is NOT considered one of the five canonical senses but is, in fact, a human
sensory ability?
a. touch
b. proprioception
c. vision
d. lateralization
Ans: B
Schwartz, Sensation and Perception 2e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Chapter 1: What Is Perception?
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. Why are sensation and perception studied by psychologists?
a. to understand how mood disorders arise from deficits in perception
b. because biologists tend to shy away from neuroscience issues
c. to understand how our brains make sense of the world around us
d. because biology has little effect on sensation or perception
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1.1: Discuss why understanding sensation and perception is
important.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Why Is This Psychology?
Difficulty Level: Easy
2. Which statement best explains the role of bias in sensation and perception?
a. Bias makes it difficult to fully trust our senses and perceptions.
b. Bias most clearly affects our sensory experiences.
c. Bias affects how we perceive sensory stimuli.
d. Bias most clearly affects our sensation and perception of sound.
Ans: C
Learning Objective: 1.1: Discuss why understanding sensation and perception is
important.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
, Instructor Resource
Schwartz, Sensation and Perception 2e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Answer Location: Why Is This Psychology?
Difficulty Level: Medium
3. A marathon runner finishing a race can feel both pain and exhilaration because
______.
a. senses are interpreted in the context in which they are experienced
b. exhaustion causes the body to misinterpret sensory data
c. pain can be either an internal or an external stimulus
d. sense experience is altered by extreme physical exertion
Ans: A
Learning Objective: 1.1: Discuss why understanding sensation and perception is
important.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Why Is This Psychology?
Difficulty Level: Medium
4. Bob and Caroline are sitting next to each other while watching a tennis match. What
is one reason that they might disagree on a judge’s call, based on principles of
perception?
a. Because each is cheering for a different player, their perceptions of the match are
affected.
b. Because they see the play from very different angles, they interpret it differently.
c. Because vision and emotion are casually linked, their visual experiences of the match
are affected.
d. Because watching sports causes different neurons to fire in male and female brains,
they experience the event differently.
Ans: A
, Instructor Resource
Schwartz, Sensation and Perception 2e
SAGE Publications, Inc., 2019
Learning Objective: 1.1: Discuss why understanding sensation and perception is
important.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Why Is This Psychology?
Difficulty Level: Medium
5. Artist Bev Doolittle paints pictures of horses in snow. What do these painting show
about human perception?
a. We struggle to identify shapes if we are not told what to see.
b. We use our knowledge to discern camouflaged shapes.
c. Our perception is influenced by our biases, even when we try to be objective.
d. Our ability to differentiate between objects is affected by our vantage point.
Ans: B
Learning Objective: 1.1: Discuss why understanding sensation and perception is
important.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Why Is This Psychology?
Difficulty Level: Medium
6. Which is NOT considered one of the five canonical senses but is, in fact, a human
sensory ability?
a. touch
b. proprioception
c. vision
d. lateralization
Ans: B
