Activity for the book
My Psychology
My Take: 3.2 Sensory Adaptation
View the
My Take
video and then answer the questions.
View the transcript
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Question 1
1
You move to a new house that is located right next to a major highway. At first you notice every time a large truck or loud motorcycle drives by, but after a short period of time you are not even aware of these continual noises anymore. This demonstrates the process of
_____
blank
.
Choice
A
,
sensorineural deafness
Choice
B
,
perceptual constancy
Choice
C
,
sensory adaptation
Choice
D
,
transductive weakening
Question 1
SUBMIT
Question 2
2
Which of the following is a good example of sensory adaptation?
Choice
A
,
Several minutes after getting in the cold swimming pool, you don’t notice the chill of the water anymore.
Choice
B
,
After a loud noise some people hear an ongoing ringing in their ears that can last for several seconds or longer.
Choice
C
,
When you look at a green visual stimulus and then look away, you experience an afterimage of that same stimulus in a red color.
Choice
D
,
Erin’s sons yell at her whenever they need something, but she has stopped answering because she is tired of the screaming.
Question 2
SUBMIT
Question 3
3
In what way does sensory adaptation differ from habituation?
Choice
A
,
Sensory adaptation involves the visual and auditory systems, while habituation refers to the same process in the olfactory, gustatory, or somatosensory systems.
Choice
B
,
Sensory adaptation is the reduction in sensation to an ongoing stimulus, while habituation is the reduction in behavior response to a constant stimulus.
Choice
C
,
Habituation involves the visual and auditory systems, while sensory adaptation refers to the same process in the olfactory, gustatory, or somatosensory systems.
Choice
D
,
Habituation is the reduction in sensation to an ongoing stimulus, while sensory adaptation is the reduction in behavior response to a constant stimulus.
Question 3
SUBMIT
Question 4
4
Your Take!
Is the fact that we experience sensory adaptation beneficial to our sensory and perceptual systems? What do you think life might be like if we did not experience sensory adaptation?
Question 4
SUBMIT