Activity for the book My Psychology

Instructions

Listen to the following podcast and then answer the questions that follow.

Question 1

What does Dr. Szeli provide as an example of selective attention?

Choice A, Driving in an unfamiliar area and turning down the radio to focus

Choice B, Being in a large crowd of people and hearing someone across the room use your name in conversation

Choice C, Sitting in class and thinking about your evening plans rather than listening to the lecture

Choice D, Completing your homework while the television is on in the background

Question 1 SUBMIT

Question 2

You and your friend Sarah are on the way to the mall. As she drives, there’s great music pumping and she is enthusiastically telling you about her date last night. Based on what you’ve learned about attention, what should you tell her?

Choice A, She’s doing a great job dividing her attention because she’s young.

Choice B, She should either turn off the music or tell you the story later, since we can only divide our attention between two things.

Choice C, She should turn the music down and save the story for later so she can focus on driving.

Choice D, She should focus on driving, because only older people are good at dividing their attention.

Question 2 SUBMIT

Question 3

As sound waves from music enter your ear, what is the process that converts them into signals your brain can decode as music?

Choice A, Perception

Choice B, Transduction

Choice C, Sensation

Choice D, Habituation

Question 3 SUBMIT

Question 4

Which of the following is true of human perception?

Choice A, Our perceptions are an interpretation of what’s going on in the physical world.

Choice B, All sensory signals are processed into perception.

Choice C, Our brain receives information exactly as it occurs in the physical world.

Choice D, Our perceptions are mirror images of what’s going on in the physical world.

Question 4 SUBMIT

Question 5

What does Dr. Pomerantz provide as a metaphor for top-down processing?

Choice A, Overhearing your name spoken in a crowded room

Choice B, Your partner finishing your sentences

Choice C, Initially thinking you don’t know something and then realizing you do

Choice D, Google auto-predicting a search term as you are typing it in

Question 5 SUBMIT

Question 6

When Maria first moved into a new apartment above a seafood restaurant, she was constantly bothered by the fishy smell, but she hardly noticed it after a month. Which of the following is the most likely reason for this?

Choice A, She is experiencing sensory overload.

Choice B, Experience has changed her difference threshold.

Choice C, Her senses have adapted to the smell of the fish.

Choice D, Her brain shut down her sense of smell.

Question 6 SUBMIT

Question 7

What does Dr. Barnes provide as a personal example of a small difference threshold?

Choice A, Her husband being able to easily tell a difference between Coke and Pepsi

Choice B, Her mother-in-law being able to detect small changes in body weight

Choice C, Her best friend noticing when she wears a different color of eyeshadow

Choice D, Her father easily being able to discriminate between differences in accents

Question 7 SUBMIT

Question 8

Your friend plays in a metal band and refuses to wear earplugs when they perform. Based on what you know of the auditory system, what should you tell him?

Choice A, Because he is young, any damage he incurs to his ears will repair itself, so there’s no need for earplugs.

Choice B, Wearing earplugs does not protect against any long-term damage loud noises can cause to his ears.

Choice C, The music at his shows is not likely loud enough to cause any damage to his hearing.

Choice D, He should wear earplugs, because the hair cells in the ear can be permanently damaged due to loud noise.

Question 8 SUBMIT

Question 9

Dr. Szeli’s father only hearing conversations that are relevant to him is an example of:

Choice A, the cocktail party effect.

Choice B, divided attention.

Choice C, habituation.

Choice D, having a small difference threshold.

Question 9 SUBMIT

Question 10

Which of the following is a current example of information processing and how it yields the cocktail party effect?

Choice A, Your car’s navigation system

Choice B, The hands-free device you use to speak on the phone

Choice C, The autocorrect feature on your cell phone

Choice D, Your Amazon Alexa smart speaker

Question 10 SUBMIT