Semester 1

Question 1

Biopsychology or behavioural neuroscience is the study of:

Answer 1

Electrical and chemical processes underlying mental events.

Question 2

Which one of the following is NOT a method used by philosophers?

a. Logic
b. Argumentation
c. Reasoning
d. Experimentation

Answer 2

Experimentation

Question 3

The two schools of thought that dominated psychology in its earliest years
were:

Answer 3

Structuralism and functionalism.

Question 4

Proponents of determinism in psychology believe that:

Answer 4

Actions of humans and animals follow physical laws.

Question 5

Humanistic theorists believe that people:

Answer 5

Have an innate desire to improve themselves.

Question 6

One method often used by cognitive psychologists in experiments on
memory is:

Answer 6

Response time

Question 7

To practise as a psychologist in Australia there is a legal requirement that:

Answer 7

You be registered with the national registration board.

Question 8

The scientific approach to research has three main goals:

Answer 8

Description, prediction and understanding.
Description is the summarising of data in such a way that
the results can be easily understood.
Prediction involves using the outcome of the research to identify what would happen in the future.
Understanding involves identifying the causal factors that led to the results found in the research.

Question 9

A sample is defined as a subgroup:

Answer 9

Of the population that is likely to be representative of the population as a
whole.

Question 10

A measure is internally consistent if:

Answer 10

Several ways of asking the same question yield similar results.
Internal consistency is a form of reliability and is required to ensure that a test is measuring what it purports to measure.

Question 11

To operationalise the variables means to:

Answer 11

Turn abstract concepts into concrete variables that are defined by some set
of actions or operations.

Question 12

A correlation coefficient measures the extent to which two variables are:

Answer 12

Co-related.

The correlation coefficient is the statistic that describes the extent to which two variables are related.

Question 13

One of the best ways to obtain an accurate assessment of a variable is:

Answer 13

By using multiple measures.

Question 14

If the finding of my study can be generalised to situations outside the laboratory, the study has:

Answer 14

External validity, it means that findings can be generalised to situations outside, or external to, the laboratory.

Question 15

In an experiment to test the effects of anxiety on memory performance, the independent variable is:

Answer 15

Anxiety.

Question 16

If I perform some statistics on the data that I have gathered, and those statistics merely summarise the findings, I must have used:

Answer 16

Descriptive statistics.
Descriptive statistics are the first step in understanding a data set and summarise their essential features while inferential statistics apply more complex statistical tests in order to draw inferences from the sample to the population.

Question 17

Stephanie wants to know whether it is true that sugary soft drinks cause hyperactivity in young children. She decides she will study it using her 3-year old daughter, Seonaid. Which research strategy should Stephanie use to answer her question?

Answer 17

Experiment.
Experimental methods are important because they can establish cause and effect directly whereas other
methods can, at best, only suggest causal relationships between variables.

Question 18

I am interested in whether different types of therapy result in faster recovery. I follow 7 different therapists using a different type of therapy with 20 patients in each condition and I record how long it takes for them to be
cured. As you can imagine, I cannot determine who goes to which therapist and thus there is no random assignment of patients. What kind of research
method am I using?

Answer 18

Quasi-experimental research.
Quasi-experimental research shares many of the features of experimental research except that random assignment to conditions is not possible because of some innate characteristic of the participant or ethical reason.

Question 19

The membrane of a neuron at rest is:

Answer 19

Polarised. The inside of the cell membrane has a negative electrical charge while
the fluid outside the cell membrane has a positive electrical charge.

Question 20

The electrical difference between the inside and outside of a resting neuron is:

Answer 20

-70 millivolts.

Question 21

People who do not have sufficient acetylcholine in the brain are likely to experience:

Answer 21

Difficulty with learning and memory.

Question 22

Which neurotransmitters increase the polarization of the postsynaptic membrane?

Answer 22

Inhibitory.
Inhibitory neurotransmitters hyperpolarise the membrane (increase its polarisation) which reduces the likelihood of an action potential.

Question 23

Serotonin

Answer 23

Involved in regulation of sleep and wakefulness, eating, aggression Abnormal levels may contribute to
depression and OCD Prozac and similar antidepressant drugs affect ___ circuits.

Question 24

Norepinephrine/No radrenaline (NE)

Answer 24

Contributes to modulation of mood and arousal - low is related to depression, high is related to schizophrenia
Cocaine and amphetamines elevate activity at ___ synapses.

Question 25

Dopamine (DA)

Answer 25

Contributes to control of voluntary movement, pleasurable emotions. Decreased levels associated with
Parkinson’s disease Overactivity of ___ synapses associated with schizophrenia Cocaine and amphetamines elevate activity at ___ synapses.

Question 26

Endorphins

Answer 26

Resemble opiate drugs in structure and effects
Contribute to pain relief and perhaps to some pleasurable emotions “Runner’s high” may be associated with high ___ levels.

Question 27

Acetylcholine (ACh)

Answer 27

Activates motor neurons controlling skeletal muscles
Contributes to the regulation of attention,
arousal, and memory. Some ___ receptors stimulated by nicotine.

Question 28

GABA (gamma‐amino butyric acid)

Answer 28

Most common inhibitory neurotransmitter. Low levels linked to anxiety.

Question 29

The preferred method of the psychodynamic psychologist is

Answer 29

An intensive case study

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a limitation of naturalistic observation?

a. May not generalise to a broader population
b. Observer effects
c. Cannot establish causation
d. Self-report bias

Answer 30

Self-report bias

Question 31

Liam is concerned about whether his test measures what it is supposed to measure. Liam is concerned about the test’s ________.

Answer 31

Validity

Question 32

People with excessive levels of dopamine may experience

Answer 32

Schizophrenia