REVIEW The Nonvisual Senses

Learning Objectives

Page 243

Test Yourself by taking a moment to answer each of these Learning Objective Questions (repeated here from within the module). Research suggests that trying to answer these questions on your own will improve your long-term memory of the concepts (McDaniel et al., 2009).

Question

18-1 What are the characteristics of air pressure waves that we hear as sound?
ANSWER: Sound waves are bands of compressed and expanded air. Our ears detect these changes in air pressure and transform them into neural impulses, which the brain decodes as sound. Sound waves vary in amplitude, which we perceive as differing loudness, and in frequency, which we experience as differing pitch.

Question

18-2 How does the ear transform sound energy into neural messages?
ANSWER: The outer ear is the visible portion of the ear. The middle ear is the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea. The inner ear consists of the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs. Through a mechanical chain of events, sound waves traveling through the auditory canal cause tiny vibrations in the eardrum. The bones of the middle ear amplify the vibrations and relay them to the fluid-filled cochlea. Rippling of the basilar membrane, caused by pressure changes in the cochlear fluid, causes movement of the tiny hair cells, triggering neural messages to be sent (via the thalamus) to the auditory cortex in the brain. Sensorineural hearing loss (or nerve deafness) results from damage to the cochlea's hair cells or their associated nerves. Conduction hearing loss results from damage to the mechanical system that transmits sound waves to the cochlea. Cochlear implants can restore hearing for some people.

Question

18-3 How do we detect loudness, discriminate pitch, and locate sounds?
ANSWER: Loudness is not related to the intensity of a hair cell's response. The brain interprets loudness from the number of activated hair cells. Place theory explains how we hear high-pitched sounds, and frequency theory explains how we hear low- pitched sounds. (A combination of the two theories explains how we hear pitches in the middle range.) Place theory proposes that our brain interprets a particular pitch by decoding the place where a sound wave stimulates the cochlea's basilar membrane. Frequency theory proposes that the brain deciphers the frequency of the neural impulses traveling up the auditory nerve to the brain. Sound waves strike one ear sooner and more intensely than the other. To locate sounds, the brain analyzes the minute differences in the sounds received by the two ears and computes the sound's source.

Question

18-4 How do we sense touch?
ANSWER: Our sense of touch is actually several senses—pressure, warmth, cold, and pain—that combine to produce other sensations, such as "hot."

Question

18-5 What biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences affect our experience of pain? How do placebos, distraction, and hypnosis help control pain?
ANSWER: Pain reflects bottom-up sensations (such as input from nociceptors, the sensory receptors that detect hurtful temperatures, pressure, or chemicals) and top-down processes (such as experience, attention, and culture). One theory of pain is that a "gate" in the spinal cord either opens to permit pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers to reach the brain, or closes to prevent their passage. The biopsychosocial perspective views our perception of pain as the sum of biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences. For example, our experience of pain is influenced by activity in the spinal cord's large and small fibers (a biological influence), attention to pain (a psychological influence), and cultural expectations (a social-cultural influence). Pain treatments often combine physical and psychological elements. Placebos can help by dampening the central nervous system's attention and response to painful experiences. Distractions draw people's attention away from painful stimulation. Hypnosis, which increases our response to suggestions, can also help relieve pain. Posthypnotic suggestion is used by some clinicians to control undesired symptoms.

Question

18-6 In what ways are our senses of taste and smell similar, and how do they differ?
ANSWER: Taste and smell are both chemical senses. Taste is a composite of five basic sensations—sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami—and of the aromas that interact with information from the taste receptor cells of the taste buds. There are no basic sensations for smell. We smell something when molecules of a substance carried in the air reach a tiny cluster of 20 million receptor cells at the top of each nasal cavity. Odor molecules trigger combinations of receptors, in patterns that the olfactory cortex interprets. The receptor cells send messages to the brain's olfactory bulb, then to the temporal lobe, and to parts of the limbic system.

Question

18-7 How do we sense our body's position and movement?
ANSWER: Through kinesthesia, we sense the position and movement of our body parts. We monitor our head's (and thus our body's) position and movement, and maintain our balance, with our vestibular sense.

Question

18-8 How does sensory interaction influence our perceptions, and what is embodied cognition?
ANSWER: Our senses can influence one another. This sensory interaction occurs, for example, when the smell of a favorite food amplifies its taste. Embodied cognition is the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive prefer- ences and judgments.

Question

18-9 What are the claims of ESP, and what have most research psychologists concluded after putting these claims to the test?
ANSWER: Parapsychology is the study of paranormal phenomena, including extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis. The three most testable forms of ESP are telepathy (mind-to-mind communication), clairvoyance (perceiving remote events), and precognition (perceiving future events). Skeptics argue that (1) to believe in ESP, you must believe the brain is capable of perceiving without sensory input, and (2) researchers have been unable to replicate ESP phenomena under controlled conditions.

Terms and Concepts to Remember

Test yourself on these terms.

Question

audition (p. 226)
frequency (p. 226)
pitch (p. 226)
middle ear (p. 227)
cochlea [KOHK-lee-uh] (p. 228)
inner ear (p. 228)
sensorineural hearing loss (p. 228)
conduction hearing loss (p. 228)
cochlear implant (p. 229)
place theory (p. 229)
frequency theory (p. 230)
gate-control theory (p. 232)
hypnosis (p. 235)
dissociation (p. 235)
posthypnotic suggestion (p. 235)
kinesthesia [kin-ehs-THEE-zhuh] (p. 238)
vestibular sense (p. 238)
sensory interaction (p. 239)
embodied cognition (p. 240)
extrasensory perception (ESP) (p. 241)
parapsychology (p. 241)
the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea's oval window.
the influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments.
the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second).
the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts.
a split in consciousness, which allows some thoughts and behaviors to occur simultaneously with others.
less common form of hearing loss, caused by damage to the mechanical system that conducts sound waves to the cochlea.
the most common form of hearing loss, also called nerve deafness; caused by damage to the cochlea's receptor cells or to the auditory nerves.
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance.
the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological "gate" that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The "gate" is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
in hearing, the theory that the rate of nerve impulses traveling up the auditory nerve matches the frequency of a tone, thus enabling us to sense its pitch. (Also called temporal theory.)
the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.
the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
a social interaction in which one person (the hypnotist) suggests to another (the subject) that certain perceptions, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors will spontaneously occur.
a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear; sound waves traveling through the cochlear fluid trigger nerve impulses.
in hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place where the cochlea's membrane is stimulated.
the sense or act of hearing.
the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste.
a suggestion, made during a hypnosis session, to be carried out after the subject is no longer hypnotized; used by some clinicians to help control undesired symptoms and behaviors.
the controversial claim that perception can occur apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
a device for converting sounds into electrical signals and stimulating the auditory nerve through electrodes threaded into the cochlea.
a tone's experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.

Experience the Testing Effect

Test yourself repeatedly throughout your studies. This will not only help you figure out what you know and don’t know; the testing itself will help you learn and remember the information more effectively thanks to the testing effect.

Question 6.24

1. The snail-shaped tube in the inner ear, where sound waves are converted into neural activity, is called the .

Question 6.25

2. What are the basic steps in transforming sound waves into perceived sound?
ANSWER: The outer ear collects sound waves, which are translated into mechanical waves by the middle ear and turned into fluid waves in the inner ear. The auditory nerve then translates the energy into electrical waves and sends them to the brain, which perceives and interprets the sound.

Question 6.26

3. theory explains how we hear high-pitched sounds, and theory explains how we hear low-pitched sounds.

Question 6.27

4. The gate-control theory of pain proposes that

A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 6.28

5. How does the biopsychosocial approach explain our experience of pain? Provide examples.
ANSWER: Our experience of pain is influenced by biological factors (such as sensory receptors that detect pressure), psychological factors (such as our focused attention), and social-cultural factors (such as social expectations about tolerance and expression of pain).

Question 6.29

6. We have specialized nerve receptors for detecting which five tastes? How did this ability aid our ancestors?
ANSWER: We have specialized receptors for detecting sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami tastes. Being able to detect pleasurable tastes enabled our ancestors to seek out energy- and protein-rich foods. Detecting aversive tastes deterred them from eating toxic substances, increasing their chances of survival.

Question 6.30

7. is your sense of body position and movement. Your specifically monitors your head's movement, with sensors in the inner ear.

Question 6.31

8. Why do you feel a little dizzy immediately after a roller-coaster ride?
ANSWER: Your vestibular sense regulates balance and body positioning through kinesthetic receptors triggered by fluid in your inner ear. Wobbly legs and a spinning world are signs that these receptors are still responding to the ride's turbulence. As your vestibular sense adjusts to solid ground, your balance will be restored.

Question 6.32

9. A food's aroma can greatly enhance its taste. This is an example of

A.
B.
C.
D.

Question 6.33

10. Which of the following ESP phenomena is supported by solid, replicable scientific evidence?

A.
B.
C.
D.

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