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Discovering Behavioral Neuroscience

An Introduction to Biological
Psychology 4th Edition Freberg Test
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Chapter 06
1. Light is entering George’s eye and is being converted to neural signals by the cells in his retina in a process called
____. When George realizes that what he is looking at is a red car, he is using a process called ______.
a. sensation; perception
b. perception; sensation
c. conscious; unconscious
d. natural; supernatural
ANSWER: a

2. The transformation of sensory stimuli into neural signals in any of the sensory systems is called ________.
a. sensation
b. interpolation
c. perception
d. transduction
ANSWER: d

3. The process of translating sensory information into action potentials is known as


a. transduction.
b. translation.
c. absorption.
d. the dark current.
ANSWER: a

4. ________ serves as an important gateway to perception.


a. Attention
b. Learning
c. Memory
d. Reflexive behavior
ANSWER: a

5. The amplitude of a light wave is encoded as _____________, while the wavelength of a light wave is encoded as
___________________.
a. brightness; color
b. color; brightness
c. saturation; reflection
d. hue; saturation
ANSWER: a

6. Mariah will interpret small amplitude waves of light as


a. dim.
b. bright.
c. red.
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d. purple.
ANSWER: a

7. Photons
a. may be divided into smaller particles.
b. possess constant amounts of energy.
c. always travel at the same speed.
d. are too small to impact the visual systems of animals.
ANSWER: c

8. Electromagnetic radiation
a. does not really exist.
b. can be described as the movement of tiny indivisible particles called photons.
c. is made up of tiny particles called electromagnetons.
d. describes only the type of energy that is visible to the human eye.
ANSWER: b

9. Among the advantages of light as a stimulus is the fact that light


a. passes through any medium.
b. is absorbed by the ozone layer of the atmosphere.
c. does not travel in straight lines.
d. travels very quickly.
ANSWER: d

10. Francesca is working on a project where she was tasked to design a hypothetical new visual system. She suggested
that the visual system detect ultraviolet (UV) light. Why might this be a bad idea?
a. It passes through objects rather than reflecting from them.
b. It is too abundant at the surface of the earth.
c. Most UV light is blocked by the earth’s atmosphere.
d. It travels at too slow a speed.
ANSWER: c

11. Jerold is working on a project where he was tasked to design a hypothetical new visual system. He suggested that the
visual system detect microwaves. Why might this be a bad idea?
a. Most longer wavelengths are blocked by the earth’s atmosphere.
b. They travel at too slow a speed.
c. They are too abundant at the earth’s surface to be useful in vision.
d. Longer wavelengths penetrate objects instead of being reflected from them.
ANSWER: d

12. The range of electromagnetic energy visible to humans falls between _________ nm.

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a. 400 and 700
b. 100 and 600
c. 700 and 1,000
d. 1,000 and 10,000
ANSWER: a

13. Within the visible light spectrum, shorter wavelengths are perceived as_________, whereas longer wavelengths are
perceived as _________.
a. red; violet and blue
b. violet and blue; red
c. yellow; blue and blue
d. red; green
ANSWER: b

14. Sarah is in charge of lighting for a school play, and she must find the right “gel,” or color filter, to produce a light
with a wavelength of about 680 nm. When used on stage, the light will look
a. violet.
b. green.
c. yellow.
d. red.
ANSWER: d

15. The color of an object that a human sees is a function of the wavelengths that are _________ the object.
a. refracted by
b. absorbed by
c. reflected by
d. passed through
ANSWER: c

16. A sweater looks blue because it has properties that


a. reflect short wavelengths while absorbing longer wavelengths.
b. reflect long wavelengths while absorbing shorter wavelengths.
c. refract short wavelengths while absorbing longer wavelengths.
d. refract long wavelengths while absorbing shorter wavelengths.
ANSWER: a

17. The double pupils in each eye of Anableps anableps allows the fish to overcome distortions of light in both water and
air caused by
a. refraction.
b. reflection.
c. absorption.

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d. both reflection and absorption.
ANSWER: a

18. Based on the placement of the human eye, we should probably be classified as
a. primarily a prey species.
b. primarily a predator species.
c. both a prey and a predator species.
d. neither a prey nor a predator species.
ANSWER: b

19. Which of the following features do NOT contribute to the protection of the human eye?
a. the bony orbits
b. tears
c. the placement of the eyes toward the front
d. blinking
ANSWER: c

20. The reason we do not perceive our eye blinks as “blackouts” might be that
a. blinks happen too quickly to be perceived by the cerebral cortex.
b. during a blink, the visual cortex is deactivated.
c. we learn to ignore these interruptions in visual input.
d. during a blink, areas of the brain involved with consciousness become less active.
ANSWER: d

21. Nyla is shedding tears because she is sad. Willow is shedding tears because she is cutting an onion. Nyla’s tears
contain ______ than Willow’s tears.
a. more hormones
b. more glucose
c. less water
d. less salt
ANSWER: a

22. Marybeth is in pain because she scratched the white, tough outer covering of her eye called the
a. fovea.
b. iris.
c. sclera.
d. cornea.
ANSWER: c

23. Which of the following structures is actually a clear extension of the sclera?
a. the fovea
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b. the macula
c. the lens
d. the cornea
ANSWER: d

24. The cornea obtains nutrients from


a. its own blood supply.
b. the aqueous humor.
c. the vitreous humor.
d. the blood supply of the iris.
ANSWER: b

25. The cornea and lens both remain clear, because


a. they consist of special proteins found only in the eye.
b. we habituate to the sight of their blood vessels.
c. neither has a blood supply.
d. their blood vessels contain clear plasma only.
ANSWER: c

26. Professor MacLeod is lecturing on the parts of the eye. He tells the class that the aqueous humor is found in the
a. anterior chamber.
b. vitreous chamber.
c. cornea.
d. lens.
ANSWER: a

27. Courtney suffered a corneal abrasion on one eye after she fell asleep with her hard contact lenses in place. When she
asked her physician what to expect from her injury, the physician told her that
a. she would no longer be able to see from that eye.
b. she would need painkillers, as the cornea has a high density of pain receptors.
c. she wouldn’t need any pain medication, because the cornea lacks pain reception.
d. her monocular depth perception would no longer function normally.
ANSWER: b

28. Nick’s grandfather has just been diagnosed with glaucoma and was told by his doctor that this condition results from a
blockage of fluid in the anterior chamber of the eye. Based on Nick’s understanding of the anatomy of the eye, he was
able to tell his grandfather that the blockage involves his
a. vitreous humor, which circulates around the cornea and lens.
b. aqueous humor, which circulates around the cornea and lens.
c. vitreous humor, located in the main chamber of the eyeball.
d. aqueous humor, located in the main chamber of the eyeball.

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ANSWER: b

29. Blaine just drove from outside where it was bright into a dark tunnel. When he entered the tunnel, his pupils
a. did not change at all.
b. got smaller (less open).
c. got bigger (more open).
d. quickly got bigger and then got smaller and stayed that way.
ANSWER: c

30. Vernita has brown eyes and her husband has green eyes. Their eyes differ in color mostly due to the
a. thickness of their corneas.
b. number of blood vessels in the cornea.
c. amount of melanin in the iris.
d. number of blood vessels in the retina.
ANSWER: c

31. Professor Toomer tells his class that all of the following influence eye color except
a. the amount of melanin in the iris.
b. reflection of light by the blood vessels and tissue in the iris.
c. absorption of light by the blood vessels and tissue in the iris.
d. the thickness of the cornea.
ANSWER: d

32. Ashley’s mother woke up one morning seeing rings of flashing light in one eye. Her doctor diagnosed the event as a
“vitreous detachment.” Although Ashley was unfamiliar with this condition until she looked it up in her search engine,
she was able to tell her mother that it probably involved
a. the pigmented tissue at the back of the eye that supports the photoreceptors.
b. a blockage of the tear ducts at the outer upper corner of the eye.
c. the fluid located in the main interior chamber of the eyeball.
d. the fluid located in the secondary anterior chamber of the eyeball.
ANSWER: c

33. The lens obtains its nutrients from


a. its own blood supply.
b. the aqueous humor.
c. the vitreous humor.
d. the blood supply of the iris.
ANSWER: b

34. The process of adjusting focus when looking at objects close up or at a distance is known as
a. accommodation.

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b. assimilation.
c. transduction.
d. lateral inhibition.
ANSWER: a

35. Amber’s mom is in her mid-40s, and she’s starting to complain about how long it takes her to see well when she shifts
her vision from the speedometer of her car to the road ahead of her. It is likely that Amber’s mom is experiencing age-
related deficits in the ability of her lens to
a. assimilate.
b. accommodate.
c. transduce.
d. laterally inhibit.
ANSWER: b

36. The major interior chamber of the eye is known as the _________ chamber.
a. anterior
b. aqueous
c. vitreous
d. macular
ANSWER: c

37. The aqueous and vitreous humors differ in that the


a. aqueous humor is replenished and the vitreous humor is not.
b. vitreous humor is replenished and the aqueous humor is not.
c. aqueous humor nourishes the cornea, whereas the vitreous humor nourishes the lens.
d. vitreous humor nourishes the cornea, whereas the aqueous humor nourishes the lens.
ANSWER: a

38. Relative to the actual image being viewed, the image reflected on the retina of the eye is
a. identical in its spatial orientation.
b. slightly elongated.
c. right side up and reversed.
d. upside down and reversed.
ANSWER: d

39. Before reaching the photoreceptors, light must pass through the
a. retinal epithelium.
b. optic disk.
c. vitreous humor and several layers of neurons.
d. vitreous humor, blood vessels, and several layers of neurons.
ANSWER: d
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40. We do not see the blood vessels and neurons that lie in front of the photoreceptors because
a. the visual system does not respond much to stimuli that never change.
b. these structures are made of special proteins whose fibers make them transparent.
c. they are blocked by the vitreous humor.
d. they lie behind the lens and cornea.
ANSWER: a

41. Blood vessels and axons forming the optic nerve enter and exit the eye at the
a. optic disk.
b. macula.
c. fovea.
d. temporal retina.
ANSWER: a

42. Professor Gasaway tells her class that humans have a blind spot in each eye because of the
a. fovea.
b. optic disk.
c. macula.
d. rods.
ANSWER: b

43. When Tana stares directly at an object, the light from that object is projected onto the center of her
a. optic disk.
b. anterior chamber.
c. sclera.
d. macula.
ANSWER: d

44. The small pit within the macula, specialized for detailed vision, is known as the
a. optic disk.
b. epithelium.
c. fovea.
d. inner plexiform layer.
ANSWER: c

45. The fovea contains only


a. rods in all animals.
b. cones in all animals.
c. rods in primates.
d. cones in primates.
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ANSWER: d

46. The layer of pigmented cells supporting the photoreceptors in the retina and absorbing random light is known as the
a. macula.
b. epithelium.
c. fovea.
d. ganglion layer.
ANSWER: b

47. The “red eye” that appears in some flash photography results from the
a. distortion of the eye’s color by the aqueous and vitreous humors.
b. scattering of light from the iris of the eye.
c. reflection from the red epithelium behind the retina.
d. rich blood supply of the retina.
ANSWER: d

48. The axons of which type of cell form the optic nerve?
a. bipolar
b. amacrine
c. ganglion
d. horizontal
ANSWER: c

49. The cell bodies of bipolar, amacrine, and horizontal cells are located in the _________ layer.
a. inner nuclear
b. outer nuclear
c. inner plexiform
d. outer plexiform
ANSWER: a

50. The type of retinal cells indicated by #3 in the given image are _________ cells.

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(see Figure 6.1)


a. ganglion
b. horizontal
c. bipolar
d. amacrine
ANSWER: d

51. The dendrites of ganglion cells form connections with the amacrine and bipolar cells in the _________ layer.
a. inner nuclear
b. outer nuclear
c. inner plexiform
d. outer plexiform
ANSWER: c

52. Bipolar cells form connections with horizontal cells and photoreceptors in the _________ layer.
a. inner nuclear
b. outer nuclear
c. inner plexiform
d. outer plexiform

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ANSWER: d

53. Bing has had a stroke that affected an area of his brain that serves his macula, including the foveas of both eyes. What
should you expect his vision to be like?
a. He will be totally blind.
b. He will be able to see only what is exactly in front of him.
c. He will be able to see only what is in his peripheral visual area.
d. He will be able to see color but not movement.
ANSWER: c

54. Cell bodies of the photoreceptors are located in the _________ area.
a. inner nuclear
b. outer nuclear
c. inner plexiform
d. outer plexiform
ANSWER: b

55. Photoreceptors absorb light in their


a. axons.
b. dendrites.
c. outer segments.
d. inner segments.
ANSWER: c

56. Professor Crass tells her students that each human eye contains around _____ million rods.
a. 3
b. 50
c. 100
d. 150
ANSWER: c

57. Rods contain which of the following photopigments?


a. rhodopsin
b. cyanolabe
c. chlorolabe
d. erythrolabe
ANSWER: a

58. Renetta’s _______ vision is the result of activity of her rods that respond to ______ light.
a. scotopic; dim
b. scotopic; bright
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c. photopic; dim
d. photopic; bright
ANSWER: a

59. Compared with photopic vision, scotopic vision is


a. highly sensitive to light and color.
b. less sensitive to light and color.
c. highly sensitive to light but not detail.
d. highly sensitive to detail but not light.
ANSWER: c

60. Gary’s physician warned him that changes in his vision made it too dangerous for him to drive his car anymore after
dark, although he would be perfectly safe during the daytime. Gary is probably experiencing deficits in his
a. color vision.
b. retinal disparity.
c. photopic vision.
d. scotopic vision.
ANSWER: d

61. Jessica’s vision is 20/20, but her friend Joshua needs to wear glasses to correct for his 20/200 vision. Without his
glasses, Joshua sees as much detail in objects that are 20 feet away from him as Jessica sees in objects that are _________
feet away from her.
a. 10
b. 20
c. 200
d. 2,000
ANSWER: c

62. Chong is looking at the fine details of a beautiful painting in an art gallery. Most likely, he is relying on his ____ that
give him ______ vision to stare at the picture.
a. rods; scotopic
b. cones; scotopic
c. rods; photopic
d. cones; photopic
ANSWER: d

63. Professor Savedra tells his class that the human eye contains around _____ million cones.
a. 3
b. 100
c. 150
d. 300
ANSWER: a
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64. Cones are responsible for _________ vision, which refers to our ability to see in _________ light.
a. scotopic; dim
b. scotopic; bright
c. photopic; dim
d. photopic; bright
ANSWER: d

65. Moving from the fovea to the outer margins of the retina,
a. rods and cones are evenly distributed.
b. the concentration of rods decreases and the concentration of cones increases.
c. the concentration of cones decreases and the concentration of rods increases.
d. rods and cones are concentrated in distinct clusters.
ANSWER: c

66. The periphery of the retina is superior to the center for viewing
a. colorful objects in bright light.
b. black and white objects in bright light.
c. objects in fine detail in dim light.
d. objects with less detail in dim light.
ANSWER: d

67. On a night patrol with his platoon, Charles has been ordered to watch a house through night vision goggles and notify
his commander when the front door opens. Suddenly his night vision goggles malfunction. Until he can figure out how to
readjust them, he will see the door opening best if he
a. continues to look straight ahead at the door, focusing light on his foveas.
b. continues to look straight ahead at the door to use his scotopic vision.
c. focuses on a point to the left or right of the door in order to use his scotopic vision.
d. focuses on a point to the left or right of the door in order to use his photopic vision.
ANSWER: c

68. As they walked on the beach on a starry night, Louise complimented her friend Josh on the color of his new sweater.
It is most likely that Louise
a. saw the sweater earlier under brighter light, because she would be unable to see its color in the dark.
b. might not like the color of the sweater as well when she sees it under brighter light, because color vision in the
dark is more reddish.
c. can see the color of the sweater perfectly well, as color vision is excellent even in starlight conditions.
d. possibly has a color deficiency, resulting in her “seeing” a color that she shouldn’t be able to see at night.
ANSWER: a

69. While you are reading this test, your _________ vision is most active because of activity in your _________.
a. photopic; fovea
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b. scotopic; fovea
c. photopic; ganglion area
d. photopic; rods
ANSWER: a

70. Rhodopsin, the photopigment found in rods, has two parts, opsin and ________.
a. cyanolabe
b. retinal
c. erythrolabe
d. ganglia
ANSWER: b

71. When a rod absorbs a photon of light, retinal changes from the
a. 11-cis form to the all-trans form and merges with opsin to form rhodopsin.
b. all-trans form to the 11-cis form and merges with opsin to form rhodopsin.
c. 11-cis form to the all-trans form, and the rhodopsin molecule breaks apart.
d. all-trans form to the 11-cis form, and the rhodopsin molecule breaks apart.
ANSWER: c

72. When rods are in the dark, cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) keeps sodium channels _________ allowing
sodium to _________ the cell.
a. open; enter
b. open; leave
c. closed; enter
d. closed; leave
ANSWER: a

73. Photoreceptors
a. are hyperpolarized in the dark and depolarized by light.
b. are depolarized in the dark and hyperpolarized by light.
c. produce action potentials in response to being in the dark.
d. experience no refractory periods in response to light.
ANSWER: b

74. Photoreceptors release which of the following neurotransmitters when depolarized?


a. substance P
b. serotonin
c. gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
d. glutamate
ANSWER: d

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75. When you enter a darkened theatre, it takes a while before you can see your surroundings clearly. The most likely
explanation for this phenomenon is that
a. the lens needs time to accommodate to the change in lighting.
b. the glutamate in rods has been depleted and more must be synthesized.
c. the visual system switches slowly between processing inputs from cones to inputs from rods.
d. it takes about 30 minutes for rhodopsin to regenerate after it has broken apart in response to light.
ANSWER: d

76. James is comparing recordings of a rod’s reaction to a very bright light and a dim light. He soon observes that the
bright light produces _________ in the rod compared with activity in the dim light.
a. greater hyperpolarization
b. less hyperpolarization
c. greater depolarization
d. little change
ANSWER: a

77. Jennifer has been assessing the rate at which neurotransmitters are being released by a population of rods. So far she
has observed a very low rate of release, which most likely means that the rods are
a. completely in the dark.
b. being exposed to dim light.
c. being exposed to bright light.
d. no longer functioning normally.
ANSWER: c

78. Rhodopsin absorbs photons most effectively from wavelengths that appear
a. red.
b. yellow.
c. blue-green.
d. violet.
ANSWER: c

79. Red, or long-wavelength, cones contain which of the following photopigments?


a. rhodopsin
b. cyanolabe
c. chlorolabe
d. erythrolabe
ANSWER: d

80. Cone photopigments differ from rhodopsin in that they


a. respond to black and white as opposed to color.
b. require more light before breaking apart.

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c. take longer to synthesize.
d. are not contained in the photoreceptor outer segment.
ANSWER: b

81. One of the reasons that rods are more sensitive to dim light than cones is that
a. they form graded potentials instead of the action potentials formed by cones.
b. they are found in the eye in greater numbers than cones.
c. it takes less light to break apart rhodopsin than the photopigments found in cones.
d. rhodopsin shows a peak response to all wavelengths in the visual spectrum.
ANSWER: c

82. Which of the following sets of cells forms a direct pathway for visual information and lies perpendicular to the back
of the eye?
a. photoreceptors, horizontal cells, ganglion cells
b. photoreceptors, bipolar cells, ganglion cells
c. photoreceptors, horizontal cells, amacrine cells
d. photoreceptors, amacrine cells, bipolar cells
ANSWER: b

83. Which of the following cells form a system that lies parallel to the back of the eye and integrates information across
the surface of the retina?
a. bipolar cells and ganglion cells
b. photoreceptors and bipolar cells
c. horizontal cells and amacrine cells
d. amacrine cells and ganglion cells
ANSWER: c

84. Horizontal cells receive input from _________ and provide output to _________.
a. photoreceptors; bipolar cells
b. photoreceptors; ganglion cells
c. amacrine cells; bipolar cells
d. bipolar cells; photoreceptors
ANSWER: a

85. Bipolar cells receive input from


a. photoreceptors only.
b. horizontal cells only.
c. photoreceptors and horizontal cells.
d. photoreceptors and ganglion cells.
ANSWER: c

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86. A visual interneuron’s receptive field is defined as the
a. portion of the visual field to which the interneuron fails to respond.
b. group of photoreceptors providing the interneuron with input.
c. combination of the interneuron and the cells with which it communicates.
d. location on the retina where light affects the interneuron’s activity.
ANSWER: d

87. While recording from a bipolar cell with an on-center off-surround receptive field, you shine a light on the entire
receptive field. What will you observe in your recording?
a. The cell will increase its rate of firing.
b. The cell will decrease its rate of firing.
c. The cell will not change its rate of firing much.
d. The cell will first increase then rapidly decrease its rate of firing.
ANSWER: c

88. While recording from a bipolar cell with an off-center on-surround receptive field, you observe a hyperpolarization in
your cell. The stimulus that most likely triggered this response is light that covered
a. the surround but not the center.
b. the center but not the surround.
c. half of the center and half of the surround.
d. the entire receptive field.
ANSWER: b

89. What is the approximate ratio of on-center bipolar cells to off-center bipolar cells in the human retina?
a. 1:1
b. 2:1
c. 5:1
d. 10:1
ANSWER: a

90. The process by which active photoreceptors and horizontal cells limit the activity of neighboring, less active cells is
known as ________ inhibition.
a. lateral
b. proximal
c. rostral
d. caudal
ANSWER: a

91. Antagonistic center-surround organization means that


a. photoreceptors in the fovea will suppress input from photoreceptors in the periphery of the eye.
b. photoreceptors in the periphery of the eye will suppress input from photoreceptors in the fovea.

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c. light falling on the center of a receptive field has the opposite effect than light falling on the surround.
d. light falling on the center of a receptive field has the identical effect as light falling on the surround.
ANSWER: c

92. Professor Bling tells her class that our visual system produces an effect called lateral inhibition so that
a. color contrast is produced.
b. edges or boundaries can be identified.
c. movement is sensed.
d. the blood vessels of the eye are not perceived.
ANSWER: b

93. Heidy is studying for a quiz and writes in her notes that amacrine cells help process
a. color.
b. movement.
c. edges.
d. shapes.
ANSWER: b

94. Amacrine cells form direct connections with


a. photoreceptors and bipolar cells.
b. photoreceptors and ganglion cells.
c. horizontal cells and bipolar cells.
d. bipolar cells, ganglion cells, and other amacrine cells.
ANSWER: d

95. The human eye has approximately _________ million ganglion cells.
a. 1.25
b. 6.5
c. 12.75
d. 20
ANSWER: a

96. In which of the following ways do ganglion cells differ from the other cells in the retina?
a. They are active only when light is present.
b. They produce graded potentials instead of conventional action potentials.
c. They produce conventional action potentials instead of graded potentials.
d. They contain larger quantities of photopigment.
ANSWER: c

97. In response to light falling on the retina, ganglion cells


a. go from being silent to very active.
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b. go from being active to being silent.
c. change their spontaneous rate of firing.
d. release glutamate onto photoreceptors.
ANSWER: c

98. Ganglion receptive fields


a. are always the same size.
b. do not show the same center-surround organization as bipolar receptive fields.
c. are smaller in the periphery than in the macula.
d. are smaller in the macula than in the periphery.
ANSWER: d

99. On-center ganglion cells receive input


a. from on-center bipolar cells.
b. from off-center bipolar cells.
c. from both on-center and off-center bipolar cells.
d. directly from photoreceptors.
ANSWER: a

100. The majority of human ganglion cells are _________ cells.


a. P
b. M
c. A
d. K
ANSWER: a

101. Deshawn is studying for a quiz. He writes in his notes that, compared to P cells, M cells have
a. no ability to detect movement.
b. smaller receptive fields.
c. the ability to respond to low contrast objects.
d. the ability to respond to color.
ANSWER: c

102. The M cells are primarily responsible for processing information about
a. small, high-contrast, colorful objects.
b. large, high-contrast, moving objects.
c. small, low-contrast, colorful objects.
d. large, low-contrast, moving objects.
ANSWER: d

103. Coreen has a pet rabbit. For her rabbit, _____ percent of optic nerve fibers cross the midline, whereas ______
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Chapter 06
percent of Coreen’s optic nerve fibers cross the midline.
a. 50; 100
b. 100; 50
c. 100; 70
d. 70; 100
ANSWER: b

104. Just past the optic chiasm, the optic fibers continue on to the optic
a. nerves.
b. tracts.
c. radiations.
d. pathways.
ANSWER: b

105. In her biology lab, Meredith performed a dissection that demonstrated that most of the axons from the optic nerve
travel to the
a. suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus.
b. superior colliculus.
c. inferior colliculus.
d. thalamus.
ANSWER: d

106. Trevor is studying for a quiz. He writes in his notes that the superior colliculus is needed for
a. setting circadian rhythms.
b. recognizing faces of people he knows.
c. guiding visual movements.
d. being able to see color.
ANSWER: c

107. Visual input to the suprachiasmatic nucleus participates in


a. regulating daily rhythms.
b. recognizing familiar objects.
c. visually guided reflexes.
d. recognizing color.
ANSWER: a

108. Many axons in the optic tract form synapses to the _________ nucleus of the thalamus.
a. medial geniculate
b. lateral geniculate
c. ventral posterior
d. ventral posterior medial
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Chapter 06
ANSWER: b

109. How many major layers are found in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)?
a. two
b. four
c. six
d. eight
ANSWER: c

110. In the LGN, there are _________ magnocellular and _________ parvocellular layers.
a. three; three
b. four; four
c. two; four
d. four; two
ANSWER: c

111. At the level of the LGN, input from the two eyes in humans is
a. kept completely separate.
b. kept separate in the magnocellular layers but not in the parvocellular layers.
c. kept separate in the parvocellular layers but not in the magnocellular layers.
d. mingled in all layers.
ANSWER: a

112. The LGN


a. does not show an antagonistic center-surround organization.
b. shows antagonistic center-surround organization that has the same strength as that found in the retina.
c. shows antagonistic center-surround organization that is weaker than that found in the retina.
d. shows antagonistic center-surround organization that is stronger than that found in the retina.
ANSWER: d

113. Information from the left half of the visual field is processed by
a. the left eye and the left occipital cortex.
b. both the right and left occipital cortices.
c. both eyes and the right hemisphere occipital cortex.
d. both eyes and the left hemisphere occipital cortex.
ANSWER: c

114. Professor Hama tells her class that the primary visual cortex is also called the _____ cortex and is found in the _____
cortex.
a. striate; frontal
b. geniculate; parietal
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Chapter 06
c. geniculate; temporal
d. striate; occipital
ANSWER: d

115. Which layer of striate cortex (primary visual cortex) receives input from the LGN?
a. layer II
b. layer III
c. layer IV
d. layer VI
ANSWER: c

116. Hiroko is studying for an exam. She writes in her notes that end-stopped cells are
a. simple cortical cells that do not respond to object shape.
b. complex cells that respond most vigorously to a stimulus that falls within their receptive field but not beyond.
c. simple cortical cells that do not respond to object orientation.
d. both simple and complex cells that respond most vigorously to a stimulus that falls within their receptive field
but not beyond.
ANSWER: d

117. Which of the following groups of cells respond to input from only one eye?
a. ocular dominance columns
b. orientation columns
c. hypercolumns
d. cytochrome oxidase blobs
ANSWER: a

118. Which of the following groups of cells participate in the processing of color?
a. ocular dominance columns
b. orientation columns
c. hypercolumns
d. cytochrome oxidase blobs
ANSWER: d

119. Cortical modules described by Hubel and Wiesel contain


a. one set of ocular dominance columns, one hypercolumn, and four cytochrome oxidase blobs.
b. one set of ocular dominance columns, two hypercolumns, and eight cytochrome oxidase blobs.
c. two sets of ocular dominance columns, two hypercolumns, and sixteen cytochrome oxidase blobs.
d. four sets of ocular dominance columns, four hypercolumns, and sixteen cytochrome oxidase blobs.
ANSWER: c

120. The dorsal stream projects to the


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Chapter 06
a. parietal lobe and participates in the analysis of movement.
b. temporal lobe and participates in object recognition.
c. parietal lobe and participates in object recognition.
d. frontal lobe and participates in the analysis of movement.
ANSWER: a

121. The ventral stream projects to the


a. lateral parietal lobe and participates in the analysis of movement.
b. inferior temporal lobe and participates in object recognition.
c. superior parietal lobe and participates in object recognition.
d. dorsal frontal lobe and participates in the analysis of movement.
ANSWER: b

122. Generally speaking, when you are watching a football game, your _________ system is responsible for helping you
determine which team just made the touchdown, while your _________ system is responsible for telling you if the kick
made it through for the extra point.
a. magnocellular; parvocellular
b. on-center; off-surround
c. parvocellular; magnocellular
d. off-center; on-surround
ANSWER: c

123. Stimulus rotation, expansion, and contraction appear to be processed by Area


a. MT.
b. MST.
c. V4.
d. IT.
ANSWER: b

124. When looking at faces, Kyle’s fusiform face area, located in Area ____, is very responsive.
a. MT
b. MST
c. V4
d. IT
ANSWER: d

125. The idea of a hierarchical system of visual perception is challenged by which of the following?
a. Single visual neurons are not capable of responding simultaneously to changes in two dimensions, such as
orientation and movement.
b. A visual hierarchy would require a very large number of “grandmother” cells.
c. Single visual neurons can easily incorporate complex input from memory systems.

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d. Hierarchies help us predict how other species “see.”
ANSWER: b

126. Small black print on a white background is an example of a stimulus with _________ frequency and _________
contrast.
a. high; high
b. high; low
c. low; high
d. low; low
ANSWER: a

127. High frequency gratings have


a. few bars within a given distance.
b. many bars within a given distance.
c. large differences in intensity between adjacent bars.
d. small differences in intensity between adjacent bars.
ANSWER: b

128. Researchers are training pigeons to peck to receive food pellets when they see gratings but withhold their pecks to
receive pellets when they see a uniform gray circle. This procedure will help the researchers determine
a. whether or not pigeons can see color.
b. whether or not pigeons have feature detectors.
c. how much contrast a grating must have before it looks different from the gray circle to a pigeon.
d. whether pigeons are intelligent enough to learn to peck one stimulus rather than another.
ANSWER: c

129. Using contrast sensitivity functions, we can conclude that cats would have superior vision compared to humans for
stimuli with _________ frequency and _________ contrast.
a. high; high
b. high; low
c. low; high
d. low; low
ANSWER: d

130. Samuel lost vision in his right eye due to an accident. Samuel must use great care while driving because his
a. color vision has been distorted.
b. depth perception will not be as accurate as before his accident.
c. peripheral vision is no longer functional.
d. scotopic vision will be distorted.
ANSWER: b

131. Which of the following involves a binocular depth cue?


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a. texture gradient
b. relative size
c. retinal disparity
d. perspective (parallel lines converge at the horizon)
ANSWER: c

132. Retinal disparity is when the two eyes send _____ and allows us to see ____.
a. two completely different images; movement
b. two completely different images; depth
c. slightly overlapping images; depth
d. slightly overlapping images; movement
ANSWER: c

133. Binocular cells respond most vigorously when


a. a grating appears different than a uniformly colored disk.
b. an object is moving.
c. when a person is scanning a painting that uses perspective to achieve an impression of depth.
d. both eyes are looking at the same feature of an object.
ANSWER: d

134. Information about retinal disparity combines with an assessment of an object’s movement in the anterior _________
lobes.
a. frontal
b. parietal
c. temporal
d. occipital
ANSWER: b

135. Natasha is testing her school’s theatre lighting system, beginning with _____ lights, which are the primary colors.
When she mixes them all together, she sees ______.
a. red, yellow, and blue; white
b. red, yellow, and blue; brown
c. red, green, and blue; white
d. red, green, and blue; brown
ANSWER: c

136. The trichromatic theory of color vision is based on _________ and best explains the processing of color at the level
of the _________.
a. the existence of three types of cones; retina
b. the existence of three types of cones; primary visual cortex
c. antagonistic center-surround receptive fields; retina

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d. antagonistic center-surround receptive fields; primary visual cortex
ANSWER: a

137. The trichromatic theory of color vision _________ and the opponent process theory _________.
a. is accurate; is false
b. is false; is accurate
c. explains one part of color vision; explains another part of color vision, but neither explains it completely
d. explains color vision in the cortex; explains all of color vision in the retina
ANSWER: c

138. Ganglion receptive fields can be found that show which of the following antagonistic center-surround organizations?
a. blue-green and yellow-red
b. blue-yellow and green-red
c. blue-red and yellow-green
d. blue-yellow-red and green-violet
ANSWER: b

139. David has a color deficiency because he has a missing cone pigment. He is considered to be a
a. dichromat.
b. monochromat.
c. anomalous trichromat.
d. tetrachromat.
ANSWER: a

140. Which of the following statements correctly summarizes the relationship between color deficiency and sex?
a. No type of color deficiency is related to the sex of the individual.
b. Both red-green color deficiency and blue-yellow color deficiency are sex-linked conditions.
c. Red-green color deficiency is a sex-linked condition, but blue-yellow color deficiency is not.
d. Blue-yellow color deficiency is a sex-linked condition, but red-green color deficiency is not.
ANSWER: c

141. If in fact tetrachromats, or people with four color photopigments, exist, what can we conclude about their sex?
a. All tetrachromats would be female.
b. All tetrachromats would be male.
c. Tetrachromats would be equally likely to be male or female.
d. Tetrachromats would be slightly more likely to be female than male.
ANSWER: a

142. The influence of context on the appearance of a color is referred to as


a. anomalous trichromacy.
b. color constancy.
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c. color contrast.
d. opponent processes.
ANSWER: c

143. Maria is looking at an optical illusion online of a dress. She thinks it looks gold and white. In part, this is probably
due to the lighting in her room as she is looking at her computer, which is related to
a. color constancy.
b. dichromacy.
c. opponent process theory.
d. trichromatic theory.
ANSWER: a

144. The reduced accommodation to changes in focal distance that accompany typical aging is known as
a. amblyopia.
b. myopia.
c. hyperopia.
d. presbyopia.
ANSWER: d

145. Coreen has started to experience “old sight.” Her doctor said it was normal, but she is finding it hard to live with the
condition, also known as
a. monochromacy.
b. dichromacy.
c. strabismus.
d. presbyopia.
ANSWER: d

146. Johnny has a condition called “lazy eye” or


a. amblyopia.
b. myopia.
c. hyperopia.
d. presbyopia.
ANSWER: a

147. Luisa has cataracts that are caused because her


a. lens is elongated.
b. eye is shortened.
c. cornea is misshapen.
d. lens became clouded.
ANSWER: d

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148. Gabriella has myopia. This means she is ____, and this occurs because her ____.
a. nearsighted; eye is elongated
b. farsighted; eye is elongated
c. nearsighted; eye is shortened
d. farsighted; eye is shortened
ANSWER: a

149. Astigmatism usually occurs when the


a. eye is elongated.
b. eye is shortened.
c. cornea is misshapen.
d. lens becomes clouded.
ANSWER: c

150. A region of blindness in the visual field of patients with cortical damage is known as a(n)
a. scotoma.
b. agnosia.
c. cataract.
d. presbyopia.
ANSWER: a

151. Elanor is unable to recognize faces, even if they should be familiar to her (e.g., her daughter). She is likely to be
diagnosed with
a. prosopagnosia.
b. scotomas.
c. cataracts.
d. astigmatism.
ANSWER: a

152. Carmella is an artist and calls her most recent work “short wavelength” because she used mostly red colors.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

153. The blind spot of the eye occurs when light falls on the macula.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

154. Rods are unable to distinguish color, yet show a peak sensitivity to light in the blue-green range of the visible
spectrum.
a. True
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b. False
ANSWER: True

155. If we record from an on-center bipolar cell in the retina, the cell will show maximum activity if we shine a light on
its entire receptive field.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

156. Areas MT and MST are important parts of the ventral stream and participate in the visual recognition of familiar
objects and people.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

157. Angelia has a cat named Mittens. As a result of increased contrast sensitivity, Mittens has better vision for details
than Angelia.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

158. Retinal disparity decreases with the distance of the object from the viewer.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

159. People with color deficiencies actually do see color, but they will match colors differently than people who have
typical trichromatic vision.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

160. The lens of the eye continues to grow throughout the lifespan.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: True

161. Cherise has prosopagnosia. Her biggest struggle is a clouding of both of her lenses.
a. True
b. False
ANSWER: False

162. In this image, #6 and #7 together are known as _____. They send information to _________ (#4), which, in turn,
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sends information to ___________ (#2).

(see Figure 6.10)


ANSWER: photoreceptors, bipolar cells, ganglion cells

163.

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(see Figure 6.12)


When a rod is exposed to light, retinal changes into the ____________________ form, sodium channels close, and the cell
releases ____________________ glutamate.
ANSWER: all-trans, less

164. Information about vision travels from the retina to the ____________________ and the ____________________
cortex.

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(see Figure 6.16)


ANSWER: lateral geniculate nucleus, primary visual (or striate or V1)

165. Many animals are either diurnal (active during daylight) or nocturnal (active during night). What do the abilities of
rods and cones to respond to different lighting conditions tell us about the niche of human beings relative to night and
day?
ANSWER: Rods are responsible for scotopic vision, or the ability to see in dim light. Under ideal conditions, the human
eye can see a single photon. The cost for this extraordinary sensitivity to light is in the clarity and color of the
image provided by the rods. Rods do not provide any information about color, and they do not produce sharp
images. Cones are responsible for photopic vision or vision in bright light. Photopic vision is sensitive to
color and provides images with excellent clarity. Given that humans are normally awake during the day
would suggest that we rely much more heavily on the fine details provided by our cones for the majority of
our visual information.

166. Compare and contrast the receptive fields of retinal cells (bipolar and ganglion cells) with cortical receptive fields.
ANSWER: The arrangement of receptive fields for bipolar and ganglion cells is referred to as an antagonistic center-
surround organization. The response of a cell depends on the amount of light falling on its center relative to
the amount of light falling on its surround. It is called antagonistic because light falling on the center of the
receptive field always has the opposite effect on the cell’s activity from light falling on the surround. Retinal
cells have doughnut shaped receptive fields that respond best to dots of light. In the cortex, the receptive
fields are determined by simple and complex cortical cells. Simple cortical cells are those cells that respond
to stimuli shaped like bars or edges that have a particular slant or orientation in a particular location on the
retina. Complex cortical cells are cortical cells that share the simple cells’ preference for stimulus size and
orientation but without reference to the stimulus’s location, as long as it appears in the receptive field.

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167. Describe some of the changes in vision that most of us can expect to experience as we age. Based on these changes,
what recommendations would you make for senior drivers?
ANSWER: As we age, predictable changes occur in our vision. In middle age, the lens accommodates more slowly to
changes in focal distance. This condition is known as presbyopia or “old sight.” Older adults also have
trouble responding quickly to changes in lighting, as when exiting a dark theater into the sunlight. The lens,
which provides most of the focus of light onto the retina, continues to grow throughout the life span. As
fibers are continually added to the structure of the lens, it takes on a yellow hue. Although this change in
color provides more protection from UV rays that might otherwise harm the aging retina, the yellow lens will
also distort the person’s perception of blue and green. Aging is also associated with smaller pupils, probably
due to the loss of elasticity in the muscles of the iris. Smaller pupils allow less light into the eye, negatively
affecting the quality of vision. Finally, aging might have a negative effect on the cortical processing of visual
information. Compared to younger adults, the visual cortex of older adults does not show an increase in
activity as the rate of stimulus presentation increases. This change at an early stage of processing might affect
the quality of information available to higher cognitive processes.
Recommendations about senior drivers: answers may vary.

168. Discuss the portion of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum that humans can see. What is the approximate range
(in nm) and what colors do we experience at each end of that range?
ANSWER: Humans can see the visual light spectrum, an area of electromagnetic waves from 400 nm to 700 nm. Shorter
wavelengths, approaching 400 nm, are perceived by humans as violet and blue, whereas longer wavelengths,
approaching 700 nm, are perceived as red.

169. Professor Bethea is giving a lecture on the eye and the visual system. Name and describe three features that protect
the eye that she would tell her class to study.
ANSWER: Professor Bethea would tell her students to study
1. the bony orbit of the skull, which can deflect many blows.
2. the fat that cushions the eye for protection.
3. the eyelids. The eyelids can be opened and closed either voluntarily or involuntarily (blinking).
4. blinking of the eyes, which protects the eye from incoming objects and moistens and cleans the front of the
eye.
5. tears, another feature of the eyes’ protective system, which are produced in the lacrimal gland at the outer
corner of each eye. The fluid is composed primarily of water and salt but also contains proteins, glucose, and
substances that kill bacteria.

170. Rosemarie wore a pink dress to a school dance. She could clearly tell that her dress was pink when she was outside
taking pictures and when she was in the dim lights of the dance floor. What allowed her to be able to do this?
ANSWER: Rosemarie was able to tell her dress was pink in both bright and dim light due to color constancy. Color
constancy describes the fact that an object’s colors do not appear to change much even as the light falling on
that object changes.

171. Myles has hyperopia and his sister has myopia. What is occurring with their visual abilities?
ANSWER: Myles is farsighted meaning that he cannot see things close up. He probably needs glasses for reading. His
sister is nearsighted meaning that she cannot see things far away. She probably wears glasses most of the
time, but especially for tasks like driving.

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Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
That was all, no signature, nothing but the message and the threat.
Carmel bit her lip.
“Tubal,” she called.
“Yes, Lady.”
“Who has been in the office—inside the railing?”
“Hain’t been a soul in this mornin’,” he said—“not that I seen.”
Carmel crumpled the paper and threw it in the waste basket. Then
she picked up her pen and began to write—the story of the
disappearance of Sheriff Churchill. Without doubt she broke the
newspaper rule that editorial matter should not be contained in a
news story, but her anger and determination are offered as some
excuse for this. She ended the story with a paragraph which said:
“The editor has been warned that she will be sent to join Sheriff
Churchill if she meddles with his disappearance. The Free Press
desires to give notice now that it will meddle until the whole truth is
discovered and the criminals brought to justice. If murder has been
done, the murderers must be punished.”
CHAPTER IV
WHEN Carmel entered the office next morning she found Prof. Evan
Bartholomew Pell occupying her chair. On his face was an
expression of displeasure. He forgot to arise as she stepped through
the gate, but he did point a lead pencil at her accusingly.
“You have made me appear ridiculous,” he said, and compressed his
lips with pedagogical severity. “In my letter, which you published in
this paper, you misspelled the words ‘nefarious’ and ‘nepotist.’ What
excuse have you to offer?”
Carmel stared at the young man, nonplused for an instant, and then
a wave of pity spread over her. It was pity for a man who would not
admit the existence of a forest because he was able to see only the
individual trees. She wondered what life offered to Evan Pell; what
rewards it held out to him; what promises it made. He was vain, that
was clear; he was not so much selfish as egotistical, and that must
have been very painful. He was, she fancied, the sort of man to
whom correct spelling was of greater importance than correct
principle—not because of any tendency toward lack of principle, but
because pedantry formed a shell about him, inside which he lived
the life of a turtle. She smiled as she pictured him as a spectacled
turtle of the snapping variety, and it was a long time before that
mental caricature was erased from her mind. Of one thing she was
certain; it would not do to coddle him. Therefore she replied, coolly:
“Perhaps, if you would use ordinary words which ordinary people can
understand, you would run less risk of misspelling—and people
would know what you are trying to talk about.”
“I used the words which exactly expressed my meaning.”
“You are sitting in my chair,” said Carmel.
Evan Bartholomew flushed and bit his lips. “I—my mind was
occupied——” he said.
“With yourself,” said Carmel. “Have you come to work?”
“That was my intention.”
“Very well. Please clear off that table and find a chair.... You may
smoke!”
“I do not use tobacco.”
She shrugged her shoulders, and again he flushed as if he had been
detected in something mildly shameful. “I am wondering,” she said,
“how you can be of use.”
“I can at least see to it that simple words are correctly spelled in this
paper,” he said.
“So can Tubal, given time and a dictionary.... What have you done all
your life? What experience have you had?”
He cleared his throat. “I entered the university at the age of sixteen,”
he said, “by special dispensation.”
“An infant prodigy,” she interrupted. “I’ve often read about these boys
who enter college when they should be playing marbles, and I’ve
always wondered what became of them.”
“I have always been informed,” he said, severely, “that I was an
exceptionally brilliant child.... Since I entered college and until I came
here a year ago I have been endeavoring to educate myself
adequately. Before I was twenty I received both LL.B. and A.B.
Subsequently I took my master’s degree. I have also worked for my
D.C.L., my Ph.D....”
She interrupted again. “With what end in view?” she asked.
“End?...” He frowned at her through his spectacles. “You mean what
was my purpose?”
“Yes. Were you fitting yourself for any particular work?”
“No.”
“Merely piling up knowledge for the sake of piling up knowledge.”
“You speak,” he said, “as if you were reprehensible.”
She made no direct reply, but asked his age.
“Twenty-six,” he said.
“Nine years of which you have spent in doing nothing but study;
cramming yourself with learning.... What in the world were you going
to do with all of it?”
“That,” he said, “is a matter I have had little time to consider.”
“Did you make any friends in college?”
“I had no time——”
“Of course not. Sanscrit is more important than friends. I understand.
A friend might have dropped in of an evening and interrupted your
studies.”
“Exactly,” he said.
“Of course you did not go in for athletics.”
“Exercise,” he said, “scientifically taken, is essential to a clear mind. I
exercise regularly morning and evening. If you are asking whether I
allowed myself to be pummeled and trampled into the mud at
football, or if I played any other futile game, I did not.”
“So you know almost everything there is to be known about books,
but nothing about human beings.”
“I fancy I know a great deal about human beings.”
“Mr. Pell,” she said, becoming more determined to crush in the walls
of his ego, “I’ve a mind to tell you exactly what I think of you.”
For an instant his eyes twinkled; Carmel was almost sure of the
twinkle and it quite nonplused her. But Evan’s expression remained
grave, aloof, a trifle patronizing. “I understood I was coming here to
—work.”
“You are.”
“Then,” said he, “suppose we give over this discussion of myself and
commence working.”
How Carmel might have responded to this impact must remain a
matter for debate, because she had not quite rallied to the attack
when the arrival of a third person made continuance impossible.
There are people who just come; others who arrive. The first class
make no event of it whatever; there is a moment when they are not
present and an adjoining moment when they are—and that is all
there is to it. The newcomer was an arrival. His manner was that of
an arrival and resembled somewhat the docking of an ocean liner.
Carmel could imagine little tugs snorting and coughing and churning
about him as he warped into position before the railing. It seemed
neither right nor possible that he achieved the maneuver under his
own power alone. His face, as Carmel mentally decapitated him, and
scrutinized that portion of his anatomy separately from the whole,
gave no impression of any sort of power whatever. It was a huge
putty-mask of placid vanity. There was a great deal of head, bald and
brightly glistening; there was an enormous expanse of face in which
the eyes and nose seemed to have been crowded in upon
themselves by aggressive flesh; there were chins, which seemed not
so much physical part of the face as some strange festoons hung
under the chin proper as barbaric adornments. On the whole, Carmel
thought, it was the most face she had ever seen on one human
being.
She replaced his head and considered him as a whole. It is difficult
to conceive of the word dapper as applying to a mastodon, but here
it applied perfectly. His body began at his ears, the neck having long
since retired from view in discouragement. He ended in tiny feet
dressed in patent-leather ties. Between ears and toes was merely
expanse, immensity, a bubble of human flesh. One thought of a pan
of bread dough which had been the recipient of too much yeast....
The only dimension in which he was lacking was height, which was
just, for even prodigal nature cannot bestow everything.
He peered at Carmel, then at Evan Bartholomew Pell, with an
unwinking baby stare, and then spoke suddenly, yet carefully, as if
he were afraid his voice might somehow start an avalanche of his
flesh.
“I am Abner Fownes,” he said in a soft, effeminate voice.
“I am Carmel Lee,” she answered.
“Yes.... Yes.... I took that for granted—for granted. I have come to
see you—here I am. Mountain come to Mohammed—eh?...” He
paused to chuckle. “Very uppity young woman. Wouldn’t come when
I sent for you—so had to come to you. What’s he doing here?” he
asked, pointing a sudden, pudgy finger at Evan Pell.
“Mr. Pell is working for the paper.”
“Writing more letters?” He did not pause for an answer. “Mistake,
grave mistake—printing letters like that. Quiet, friendly town—
Gibeon. Everybody friends here.... Stir up trouble. It hurt me.”
Carmel saw no reason to reply.
“Came to advise you. Friendly advice.... I’m interested in this paper
—er—from the viewpoint of a citizen and—er—financially. Start right,
Miss Lee. Start right. Catch more flies with honey than with
vinegar.... You commenced with vinegar. Nobody likes it. Can’t make
a living with vinegar. To run a paper in Gibeon you must be
diplomatic—diplomatic. Can’t expect me to support financially a
paper which isn’t diplomatic, can you? Now can you?”
“What do you mean by being diplomatic?”
“Why—er taking advice—yes, taking advice.”
“From whom?”
His little eyes opened round as if in great astonishment.
“From me,” he said. “People in Gibeon—er—repose great
confidence in my judgment. Great confidence.”
“What sort of advice?”
“All sorts,” he said, “but principally about what you print about
different things.... Now, I should have advised you against printing
this young man’s letter.”
“Would you have advised me against printing anything about the
threatening note I found on my desk?”
“Ah—sense of humor, miss. Boyish prank.... Jokers in Gibeon.
Town’s full of ’em.... Best-natured folks in the world, but they love to
joke and to talk. Love to talk better than to joke. Um!... Mountains out
of molehills—that’s Gibeon’s specialty. Mean no harm, Lord love you,
not a particle—but they’ll tell you anything. Not lying—exactly. Just
talk.”
“Is Sheriff Churchill’s disappearance just talk?”
“Um!... Sheriff Churchill—to be sure. Disappeared. Um!... Gabble,
gabble, gabble.”
“Talk of murder is not gabble,” said Carmel.
“Ugly word.... Shouldn’t use it. Makes me shiver.” He shivered like a
gelatin dessert. “Forget such talk. My advice—straight from the
heart.... Stirs things up—things best forgot. Best let rest for the sake
of wife and children.... Paper can’t live here without my support.
Can’t be done. Can’t conscientiously support a paper that stirs up
things.”
“Is that a threat, Mr. Fownes.”
“Goodness, no! Gracious, no! Just want to help.... Kind heart, Miss
Lee. Always think of me as a kind heart. Love to do things for folks....
Love to do things for you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Fownes. You hold a chattel mortgage on this plant.”
“Don’t think of it. Not a breath of worry—cancel it if you say so—
cancel it this minute.”
“In consideration of what?”
“Why—you put it so sharplike, so direct. I wasn’t thinking of
consideration. Just being friendly and helpful.... Public-spirited gift to
Gibeon. Newspaper a wonderful benefit to a town—the right kind of
a newspaper.”
“That’s it, of course. The right kind of a newspaper.
“Naturally you wouldn’t make so munificent a gift to the wrong kind of
newspaper. Is this the right kind?”
“It always has been,” said Mr. Fownes.
“What made it the right kind?”
“Your uncle—the former proprietor—relied on my advice. Consulted
with me daily.... During many years his paper made few mistakes.”
“So, if I consult with you—daily—and act upon your advice, I’m sure
to have the right kind of a paper, too?... And in that case you would
cancel the chattel mortgage?”
“To be sure—exactly.”
“But if, on the contrary, I should decide to run this paper myself, as I
see fit, without taking advice from anybody, and printing what I think
should be printed?”
Mr. Fownes pondered this briefly. “Then,” he said, “I should have to
wait—and determine how sound your judgment is.... I fear your
sympathies—natural sympathies for a young woman—sway you....
Er ... as in the instance of this young man. His letter was not kindly,
not considerate. It hurt people’s feelings. Then, it appears, you have
hired him.... I hope that step may be reconsidered.... Gibeon—found
this young man unsatisfactory.”
“Would that have anything to do with—the chattel mortgage?”
“It might—it might.”
“My uncle always followed your advice?”
“Ah ... implicitly.”
“He did not grow rich,” said Carmel.
“He lived,” said Mr. Fownes, and blinked his little eyes as he turned
his placid gaze full upon her.
“I think you have made yourself clear, Mr. Fownes. I shall think over
what you have said—and you will know my decision.”
“Consider well—er—from all angles.... Mountain came to
Mohammed....”
He commenced to warp himself away from the railing, and slowly,
ponderously, testing the security of each foot before he trusted his
weight to it, he moved toward the door. There he paused, turned his
bulk, the whole of him, for it was quite impossible for him to turn his
head without his shoulders going along with it, and smiled the most
placid smile Carmel ever saw. “Er—I am a widower,” he said....
Carmel remained standing, her eyes following him as he turned up
the street. “What’s underneath it all?” she said, aloud. “What’s it all
about?”
Evan Pell turned in his chair and said, sharply, “Textbooks have this
merit at least—they can instruct in the simplest rules of logic.”
“The fatuous idiot,” said Carmel.
“It must be a great satisfaction,” said Evan, dryly, “to understand
human beings so thoroughly.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was admiring,” said Evan, “the unerring certainty with which you
arrived at Mr. Fownes’s true character.”
She peered at him, searching for a trace of irony, but his face was
innocent, bland.
“Why does a wealthy man like Mr. Fownes—a powerful man—give a
thought to so insignificant a thing as this paper?”
“An interesting speculation—provided your premises are true.”
“What premises?”
“Your major premise, so to speak—wealth.”
“Why, is he not rich?”
“All the indications bear you out.”
“He owns mills, and miles of timberland.”
“Um!... Am I to remain in your employ—or shall you accept the—
advice—of Mr. Fownes?”
“This is my paper. So long as it is mine I’m going to try to run it. And
if that man thinks he can threaten me with his old chattel mortgage,
he’s going to wake up one bright morning to find his mistake. Maybe
he can take this paper away from me, but until he does it’s mine....
You are working for me, Mr. Pell.”
“Very gratifying.... In which case, if you mean what you say, and if I,
with so many years wasted upon books, as you say, may offer a
word of advice, this would be it: Find out who owns the Lakeside
Hotel.”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Protracted study of the various sciences
may be folly, but it does train the mind to correct observation and in
the ability to arrange and classify the data observed. It teaches how
to move from cause to effect. It teaches that things which equal the
same thing are equal to each other.”
“What is the Lakeside Hotel?”
“A resort of sordid reputation some three miles from town.”
“And who owns it?”
“Jonathan Bangs, colloquially known as Peewee, is the reputed
owner.”
“And what has that to do with Abner Fownes?”
“That,” he said, “is a matter which has aroused my curiosity for some
time.”
CHAPTER V
CARMEL was not long in discovering Gibeon’s attitude toward
advertising. The local merchants regarded it much as they did taxes,
the dull season, so called (for in Gibeon’s business world there were
only two seasons, the dull and the busy) and inventory sales. All
were inevitable, in the course of nature, and things which always had
and always would happen. One advertised, not with enthusiasm and
in expectancy of results, but because men in business did advertise.
Smith Brothers’ grocery bore reluctantly the expense of a four-inch
double-column display which was as unchanging as the laws of the
Medes and Persians. It stated, year in and year out, that Smith
Brothers were the headquarters for staple and fancy groceries. The
advertisement was as much a part of their business as the counter.
The Busy Big Store was more energetic; its copy was changed every
year on the 1st of January. Seven years before, Miss Gammidge let
it be known through the columns of the Free Press that she was
willing to sell to the public millinery and fancy goods, and that
statement appeared every week thereafter without change of
punctuation mark. The idea that one attracted business by means of
advertising was one which had not penetrated Gibeon, advertising
was a business rite, just as singing the Doxology was an
indispensable item in the service of the local Presbyterian church. It
was done, as cheaply and inconspicuously as possible, and there
was an end of it.
As for subscribers, they were hereditary. Just as red hair ran in
certain families, subscribing to the paper ran in others. It is doubtful if
anybody took in the paper because he wanted it; but it was tradition
for some to have the Free Press, and therefore they subscribed. It
was useful for shelf covering. Red hair is the exception rather than
the rule; so were subscribing families.
Carmel pondered deeply over these facts. If, she said to herself, all
the merchants advertised as they should advertise, and if all the
inhabitants who should subscribe did subscribe, then the Free Press
could be made a satisfactorily profitable enterprise. How might these
desirable results be obtained? She was certain subscribers might be
gotten by making the paper so interesting that nobody could endure
to wait and borrow his neighbor’s copy; but how to induce merchants
to advertise she had not the remotest idea.
There was the bazaar, for instance, which did not advertise at all; the
bank did not advertise; the two photographers did not advertise; the
bakery did not advertise. She discussed the matter with Tubal and
Simmy, who were not of the least assistance, though very eager.
She did not discuss it with Prof. Evan Bartholomew Pell because that
member of the staff was engaged in writing a snappy, heart-gripping
article on the subject of “Myths and Fables Common to Peoples of
Aryan Derivation.” It was his idea of up-to-date journalism, and
because Carmel could think of nothing else to set him to work at, she
permitted him to continue.
“Advertising pays,” she said to Tubal. “How can I prove it to these
people?”
“Gawd knows, Lady. Jest go tell ’em. Mebby they’ll believe you.”
“They won’t b’lieve nothin’ that costs,” said Simmy, with finality.
“I’m going out to solicit advertising,” she said, “and I’m not coming
back until I get something.”
“Um!... G’-by, Lady. Hope we see you ag’in.”
In front of the office Carmel hesitated, then turned to the left. The
first place of business in that direction was identified by a small
black-and-gold sign protruding over the sidewalk, making it known
that here one might obtain the handiwork of Lancelot Bangs,
Photographer. In glass cases about the doors were numerous
specimens of Lancelot’s art, mostly of cabinet size, mounted on gilt-
edged cards. Mr. Bangs, it would appear, had few ideas as to the
posturing of his patrons. Gentlemen, photographed alone, were
invariably seated in a huge chair, the left hand gripping the arm,
inexorably, the right elbow leaning upon the other arm, and the head
turned slightly to one side as if the sitter were thinking deep thoughts
of a solemn nature. Ladies stood, one foot advanced, hands clasped
upon the stomach in order that the wedding ring might show plainly;
with chins dipped a trifle downward and eyes lifted coyly, which, in
dowagers of sixty, with embonpoints and steel-rimmed spectacles,
gave a highly desirable effect.
Carmel studied these works of art briefly and then climbed the
uncarpeted stairs. Each step bore upon its tread a printed cardboard
sign informative of some business or profession carried on in the
rooms above, such as Jenkins & Hopper, Fire Insurance; Warren P.
Bauer, D.D.S., and the like. The first door at the top, curtained within,
was labeled Photographic Studio, and this Carmel entered with
some trepidation, for it was her first business call. As the door swung
inward a bell sounded in the distance. Carmel stood waiting.
Almost instantly a youngish man appeared from behind a screen
depicting a grayish-blue forest practically lost to view in a dense fog.
At sight of Carmel he halted abruptly and altered his bearing and
expression to one of elegant hospitality. He settled his vest
cautiously, and passed his hand over his sleek hair daintily to
reassure himself of its perfect sleekness. Then he bowed.
“A-aa-ah.... Good morning!” he said, tentatively.
“Mr. Bangs?”
“The same.”
“I am Miss Lee, proprietor of the Free Press.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Lee, though, of course, I
knew who you were right off. I guess everybody in town does,” he
added. “We don’t have many move here that would photograph as
well as you would—bust or full length.... What kin I do for you?”
“I came to talk to you about advertising in the Free Press.”
“Advertising!” Manifestly he was taken aback. “Why, I haven’t ever
advertised. Haven’t anythin’ to advertise. I just take pictures.”
“Couldn’t you advertise that?”
“Why—everybody knows I take pictures. Be kind of funny to tell folks
what everybody knows.” He laughed at the humor of it in a very
genteel way.
“You would like to take more pictures than you do, wouldn’t you? To
attract more business.”
“Can’t be done.”
“Why?”
“Wa-al, folks don’t get their pictures taken like they buy flour. Uh-
uh!... They got to have a reason to have ’em taken—like a weddin’,
or an engagement, or gettin’ to be sixty year old, or suthin’ sim’lar.
No. Folks in Gibeon don’t just go off and get photographed on the
spur of the moment, like you might say. They hain’t got any reason
to.”
“There are lots of people here who have never been photographed,
aren’t there?”
“Snags of ’em.”
“Then why not induce them to do it at once?”
“Can’t be done, no more’n you can induce a man to have a weddin’
anniversary when he hain’t got one.”
“I believe it could. I think we could put the idea into their heads and
then offer them inducements to do it right off.”
He shook his head stubbornly and glanced down at the crease in his
trousers. Carmel’s eyes twinkled as she regarded him, for he was
quite the dressiest person she had seen in Gibeon. He was
painstakingly dressed, laboriously dressed. He was so much
dressed that you became aware of his clothes before you became
aware of him.
“Mr. Bangs,” she said, “you look to me like a man who is up to the
minute—like a man who would never let a chance slip past him.”
“Folks do give me credit for keepin’ my eyes open.”
“Then I believe I can make you a proposition you can’t refuse. I just
want to prove to you what advertising can do for your business. Now,
if you will let me write an ad for you, and print it, I can show you, and
I know it. How much are your best cabinet photographs?”
“Twelve dollars a dozen.”
“Would there be a profit at ten dollars?”
“Some—some.”
“Then let me advertise that for a week you will sell your twelve-dollar
pictures for ten. The advertisement will cost five dollars. If my
advertisement brings you enough business so your profit will be
double that amount, you are to pay for the ad. If it is less, you
needn’t pay.... But if it does bring in so many customers, you must
agree to run your ad every week for three months.... Now, I—I dare
you to take a chance.”
Now there was one thing upon which Lancelot Bangs prided himself,
and that was his willingness to take a chance. He had been known to
play cards for money, and the horse races of the vicinity might
always count upon him as a patron. Beside that, he had a natural
wish to impress favorably this very pretty girl whose manner and
clothes and bearing coincided with his ideal of a “lady.”
“I’ll jest go you once,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said, and was turning toward the door when
Lancelot arrested her.
“Er—I wonder if I could get your opinion?” he said. “You come from
where folks know what’s what.... This suit, now.” He turned
completely around so she might view it from all sides. “How does it
stand up alongside the best dressers where you come from?”
“It—it is very impressive, Mr. Bangs.”
“Kind of figgered it would be. Had it made to order. Got a reputation
to keep up, even though there’s them that tries to undermine it. Folks
calls me the best-dressed man in Gibeon, and I feel it’s my duty to
live up to it.... Well, I ain’t vain. Jest kind of public duty. Now George,
he’s set out to be the best-dressed man, and so’s Luke. That’s why I
got this suit and this shirt and tie. I aim to show ’em.”
“I should say you were doing it,” said Carmel. “And who are Luke
and George?”
“George Bogardus is the undertaker, and Luke Smiley clerks in the
bank.”
“I haven’t seen them,” said Carmel, “but I’m certain you haven’t the
least cause for worry.”
“Would you call this suit genteel?”
“That’s the word. It is exactly the word. It—it’s the most genteel suit I
ever saw.”
She was about to leave when a rapping on the back door of the
studio attracted Mr. Bangs’s attention, and attracted it so peculiarly
that Carmel could not but remark it with something more than
curiosity. If one can have suspicion of an individual one does not
know, with whose life and its ramifications she is utterly unaware,
Carmel was suspicious of Mr. Bangs. It was not an active suspicion
—it was a vague suspicion. It resembled those vague odors which
sometimes are abroad in the air, odors too faint to be identified, so
adumbrant one cannot be sure there is an odor at all.... Mr. Bangs,
who had been the picture of self-satisfaction, became furtive. For the
first time one ceased to be aware of his clothes and focused upon
his eyes....
“Er—pardon me a moment,” he said, in a changed voice, and made
overrapid progress to answer the knock. It was inevitable that
Carmel’s ears should become alert.
She heard a door opened and the entrance of a man who spoke in
an attempted whisper, but not a successful whisper. It was as if a
Holstein bull had essayed to whisper.
“Sh-sssh!” warned Mr. Bangs.
“It’s here,” said the whisper. “Back your jitney into the first tote road
this side of the hotel, and then mosey off and take a nap.
Everything’ll be fixed when you git back.”
“Sh-sssh!” Mr. Bangs warned a second time.
Carmel heard the door open and close again, and Mr. Bangs
returned.
“Express Parcel,” he said, with that guilty air which always
accompanies the unskillful lie.
The zest for selling advertising space had left Carmel; she wanted to
think, to be alone and to consider various matters. She felt a vague
apprehension, not as to herself, but of something malign, molelike,
stealthy, which dwelt in the atmosphere surrounding Gibeon.
Perfunctorily she took her leave, and, instead of pursuing her quest,
returned to her desk and sat there staring at the picture above her
head.
Gibeon! She was thinking about Gibeon. The town had ceased to be
a more or less thriving rural community, peopled by simple souls who
went about their simple, humdrum round of life pleasantly, if stodgily.
Rather the town and its people became a protective covering, a sort
of camouflage to conceal the real thing which enacted itself invisibly.
She wondered if Gibeon itself realized. It seemed not to. It laughed
and worked and went to church and quarreled about line fences and
dogs and gossiped about its neighbors as any other town did....
Perhaps, unaccustomed to the life, excited by new environment, she
had given too great freedom to her imagination.... She did not
believe so. No. Something was going on; some powerful evil
influence was at work, ruthless, malevolent. Its face was hidden and
it left no footprints. It was capable of murder!... What was this thing?
What was its purpose? What activity could include the doing away
with a sheriff and the services of a rural fop like Lancelot Bangs?...
Carmel was young. She was dainty, lovely. Always she had been
shielded and protected and petted—which, fortunately, had not
impaired the fiber of her character.... Now, for the first time, she
found herself staring into the white, night eyes of one of life’s grim
realities; knew herself to be touched by it—and the knowledge
frightened her....
Evan Bartholomew Pell stayed her unpleasant thoughts, and she
was grateful to him.
“Miss Lee—I have—ah—been engaged upon a computation of some
interest—academically. It is, of course, based upon an arbitrary
hypothesis—nevertheless it is instructive.”
“Yes,” said Carmel, wearily.
“We take for our hypothesis,” said Evan, “the existence of a number
of men willing to evade or break the law for profit. Having assumed
the existence of such an association, we arrive upon more certain
ground.... Our known facts are these. Intoxicating liquor is prohibited
in the United States. Second, intoxicants may be bought freely over
the Canadian line. Third, the national boundary is some twenty miles
distant. Fourth, whisky, gin, et cetera, command exceedingly high
prices in the United States. I am informed liquor of excellent quality
commands as much as a hundred dollars per dozen bottles, and less
desirable stock up to fifty and seventy-five dollars. Fifth, these same
liquors may be bought for a fraction of that cost across the line. Now,
we arrive at one of our conclusions. The hypothetical association of
lawless men, provided they could smuggle liquor into this country,
would realize a remarkable percentage of profit. Deducting various
costs, I estimate the average profit per dozen bottles would
approximate thirty-five dollars. I fancy this is low rather than
excessive. One thousand cases would fetch a profit of thirty-five
thousand dollars.... Let us suppose an efficient company engaged in
the traffic. They would smuggle into the country a thousand cases a
month.... In that case their earnings would total three hundred and
fifty thousand dollars.... Ahem!... Interesting, is it not?”
“Yes,” said Carmel, “but what set you thinking about it?”
Evan peered at her gravely through his spectacles, as he might peer
at some minute zoological specimen through a microscope, and was
long in replying.
“I—er—was merely wondering,” he said, “if a life of lawlessness
could not offer greater rewards than—ah—respectable journalism.”
“Are you proposing that I become a—rum runner?”
“Not exactly,” said Evan Bartholomew, “not precisely. I was, so to
speak, offering you an opportunity to exercise your reason.... If
exercise is salubrious for the body, why not for the mind?” He
cleared his throat and turned his back upon her abruptly.
“The various sciences you have studied,” she said, sharply, “did not
include good manners.”
“As I understand it,” said Evan, “our relations are not social, but
purely of a business nature. If I am in error, I beg you to correct me.”
Carmel smiled. What a strange, self-centered, egotistical little
creature he was! So this was what became of infant prodigies....
They dried up into dusty intellect, lived for intellect alone; became a
species of hermit living in social poverty in the cave of their own
skulls!
“I cannot,” she said, “fancy you in any relation which remotely
approximated social.”
“H’m!” said Professor Pell.
CHAPTER VI
IT was on the morning following the issuance of the second
publication of the Free Press under Carmel’s editorship that she
became uneasily aware of a marked scrutiny of herself by Evan
Bartholomew Pell. There was nothing covert about his study of her; it
was open and patent and unabashed. He stared at her. He watched
her every movement, and his puckered eyes, wearing their most
studious expression, followed her every movement. It was the first
sign of direct interest he had manifested in her as a human being—
as distinct from an employer—and she wondered at it even while it
discomfited her. Even a young woman confident in no mean
possession of comeliness may be discomfited by a persistent stare.
It was not an admiring stare; rather it was a researchful stare, a sort
of anatomical stare. Being a direct young person, Carmel was about
to ask him what he meant by it, when he spared her the trouble.
“Er—as I was approaching the office this morning,” he said, in an
especially dry and scholarly voice, “I chanced to overhear a young
man make the following remark, namely: ‘Mary Jenkins is a pretty
girl.’... Now it is possible I have encountered that expression on
numerous occasions, but this is the first time I have become
conscious of it, and curious concerning it.”
“Curious?”
“Precisely.... As to its significance and—er—its causes. I have been
giving consideration to it. It is not without interest.”
“Pretty girls,” said Carmel, somewhat flippantly, “are always
supposed to be of interest to men.”
“Um!... I have not found them so. That is not the point. What arrested
my thought was this: What constitutes prettiness? Why is one girl
pretty and another not pretty? You follow me?”
“I think so.”

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