PYC1501 EXAM PACK QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH NOTES
◉ Perception. Answer: the process of organizing and interpreting
sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects
and events, make judgements
◉ absolute threshold. Answer: the minimum intensity of stimulation
that must occur before you experience a sensation
◉ signal detection. Answer: how and in what circumstances we can
detect a stimulus; assumes there is no single threshold
◉ differential threshold. Answer: the ability of a sensory system to
detect changes in or differences between two stimuli
◉ sensory adaptation. Answer: diminished sensitivity as a
consequence of constant stimulation (e.g. wearing a hat)
◉ Ossicles. Answer: three tiny bones in the middle ear
◉ malleus. Answer: hammer; first of the three auditory ossicles of
the middle ear
, ◉ incus. Answer: anvil; middle of the three auditory ossicles of the
middle ear
◉ stapes. Answer: stirrup; last of the three auditory ossicles of the
middle ear
◉ Pinna. Answer: the visible part of the ear
◉ concha. Answer: the concave shell of the ear; the deepest
depression of the ear
◉ cochlea. Answer: a snail shaped, coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in
the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses
◉ chemical senses. Answer: taste and smell
◉ olfactory receptor cells. Answer: receive chemicals interpreted as
smells, located in mucous membrane at the top of the nose
◉ olfactory bulb. Answer: a brain structure located above the nasal
cavity beneath the frontal lobes
ANSWERS WITH NOTES
◉ Perception. Answer: the process of organizing and interpreting
sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects
and events, make judgements
◉ absolute threshold. Answer: the minimum intensity of stimulation
that must occur before you experience a sensation
◉ signal detection. Answer: how and in what circumstances we can
detect a stimulus; assumes there is no single threshold
◉ differential threshold. Answer: the ability of a sensory system to
detect changes in or differences between two stimuli
◉ sensory adaptation. Answer: diminished sensitivity as a
consequence of constant stimulation (e.g. wearing a hat)
◉ Ossicles. Answer: three tiny bones in the middle ear
◉ malleus. Answer: hammer; first of the three auditory ossicles of
the middle ear
, ◉ incus. Answer: anvil; middle of the three auditory ossicles of the
middle ear
◉ stapes. Answer: stirrup; last of the three auditory ossicles of the
middle ear
◉ Pinna. Answer: the visible part of the ear
◉ concha. Answer: the concave shell of the ear; the deepest
depression of the ear
◉ cochlea. Answer: a snail shaped, coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in
the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses
◉ chemical senses. Answer: taste and smell
◉ olfactory receptor cells. Answer: receive chemicals interpreted as
smells, located in mucous membrane at the top of the nose
◉ olfactory bulb. Answer: a brain structure located above the nasal
cavity beneath the frontal lobes
