Section: Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior

48) All of the following are example of sensory, or neural, adaptation EXCEPT:

1. After putting on a shirt, you eventually no longer feel the sensation of the fabric on your back.
2. After first walking into a crowded room, you no longer are distracted by the buzz of conversation around you.
3. After first walking outside on a sunny day, you no longer are blinded by the initial brightness of the light.
4. After first walking into an anatomy lab, you no longer notice the smell of formaldehyde.

Choices A, B, and D are all examples of sensory adaptation occurring the due to the brain’s adaptation to a constant neural stimulus. Choice C, on the other hand, is due to the contraction of the iris, which in narrows the pupil and restricts the amount of light being received by our retina. It is therefore not an example of our brain’s adaptation to a constant neural stimulus, but a muscular contraction that changes the amount of stimulus. A) After putting on a shirt, you eventually no longer feel the sensation of the fabric on your back. B) After first walking into a crowded room, you no longer are distracted by the buzz of conversation around you. C) After first walking outside on a sunny day, you no longer are blinded by the initial brightness of the light. D) After first walking into an anatomy lab, you no longer notice the smell of formaldehyde.