First exam

Question 1

Wilhelm Wundt defined psychology as the scientific study of conscious experience, which school of thought/perspective/approach did he establish?

Answer 1

Structuralism

Question 2

What is a positive correlation?

Answer 2

A positive correlation is a relationship between two variables where if one variable increases, the other one also increases. A positive correlation also exists in one decreases and the other also decreases.

Question 3

In an experiment, each participant receives one level of the independent variable. The design is called a:

Answer 3

Within subjects design

Question 4

The three subtypes of descriptive-correlational research are:

Answer 4

naturalistic observation, case study and surveys

Question 5

In a correlational design, a negative correlation would be seen with:

Answer 5

As values in the first variable increases, values on the second variable increases, or:
As values in the first variable decrease, values on the second variable also decrease.

Question 6

Ego:

Answer 6

Operates at a conscious level.
Represents your sense of reality
Guides the ID to gratification via realistic and appropriate thought

Question 7

ID:

Answer 7

Selfish instincts
Largest and least controlled part of the brain
Feeds on needs and desires

Question 8

Superego:

Answer 8

Ethical standard of society

Limits both the ID + Ego based gratifications

Question 9

What is the metaphor for Psychodynamic/Psychoanalytic And why?

Answer 9

Iceberg

Conscious mental processes occur at the tip, but why we do what we do/feel what we feel is mostly below our surface, in the unconscious.

Question 10

What is the metaphor for Behaviourist

And why?

Answer 10

Black Box

Stimulus enters the box and a response comes out.
What happens inside is not the behaviourists’ business. Inaccessible via scientific investigation.

Question 11

What is the metaphor for Humanistic

And why?

Answer 11

Bottle of Milk

Cream always rises to the top: does not matter how disadvantaged one may be, there is a drive/desire to achieve all that we are capable of.

Question 12

What is the metaphor for Cognitive

And why?

Answer 12

Computer

Thinking is processing: the environment provides input which is transformed, stored and retrieved using mental “programs” which lead to specific response outputs.

Question 13

What is the metaphor for Evolutionary

And why?

Answer 13

Race for survival and reproduction

Emphasis on natural selection: adaptive behavioural traits are passed on through the generations

Question 14

What are the two types of Conditioning?

Answer 14

Operant

Classical

Question 15

Which 2 famous names used animals in their experiments?

Answer 15

Operant:
B.F. Skinner with pigeons and rats inside the Skinner Box

Classical:
Ivan Pavlov with dogs

Question 16

What are the 5 stages, from 1-5, in Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Answer 16

Self-actualisation- Morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of predjudice, acceptance of facts.

Esteem- self esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others.

Love/belonging- Friendship, family, sexual intimacy.

Safety- Security of body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of family, of health, of the preoperty.

Physiological- Breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostasis, excretion.

Question 17

Which research methods do all 5 perspectives use?

Answer 17

Psychodynamic:
Case Studies

Behaviourists:
Experimental methods

Humanistic:
Person-centred therapeutic methods

Cognitive:
Experimental methods,
Computer modelling

Evolutionary:
Deduction,
Cross-species and cross-cultural comparisons

Question 18

Definition of Variable

Answer 18

Any phenomenon that can take on more than one value

Question 19

Definition of Hypothesis

Answer 19

A tentative belief about the way two (or more) variables interact/impact each other.

Question 20

Definition of Correlational Designs

Answer 20

Concerned with predicting behaviour

Question 21

Reason for Experimental Designs

Answer 21

Concerned with establishing the causes of behaviour

Question 22

Definition of Continuous Variable

Answer 22

Has a continuum of possible values and varies across this range

Question 23

Definition of Negative Correlations

Answer 23

High values of one variable are associated with low values of the other variable.

Question 24

Three types of Descriptive Design research:

Answer 24

Case studies, naturalistic observations and survey research

Question 25

Autonomic Nervous System has two divisions:

Answer 25

Sympathetic: Emergency system, typically activated in face of a threat (e.g., fight or flight) Parasympathetic: Vegetative functions (e.g., digestion), ‘business as normal’

Question 26

Reason for Central Nervous System (CNS)

Answer 26

Integrates and coordinates all body functions, processes all incoming neural messages, and sends out commands to different parts of the body

Question 27

The hindbrain

Answer 27

Medulla Oblongata: Extension of spinal cord that regulates heartbeat, circulation and respiration Cerebellum: Involved in movement, learning and sensory discrimination Reticular Formation: A network of neurons involved in consciousness and arousal Pons: Links Medulla Oblongata and Cerebellum with upper part of brainstem

Question 28

The midbrain

Answer 28

Tectum: involved in orienting to visual and auditory stimuli Tegmentum: is involved in movement and arousal Play an important role in learning to produce behaviours that minimise unpleasant (aversive) consequences and maximise pleasant (rewarding) consequences

Question 29

Other Important Non-cortical Structures

Answer 29

Hypothalamus: Helps regulate eating, sleeping, sexual activity and emotional experiences Thalamus: Processes incoming sensory information and transmits it to higher brain areas Basal Ganglia: Involved in the control of movement and also plays a part in ‘automatic’ responses and judgements

Question 30

Limbic System – main structures

Answer 30

Septal area: nuclei involved in pleasure, relief from pain, emotionally-significant learning Amygdala: involved in learning and remembering emotionally significant events, and recognition of fear Hippocampus: involved in the storage of new memories

Question 31

Speech is localized in the _______ hemisphere

Answer 31

Left

Question 32

The two brain hemispheres embody different types of processing

Answer 32

Left hemisphere tends to be more analytic Right hemisphere tends to be more holistic

Question 33

Females typically score higher on tests of

Answer 33

verbal fluency, perceptual speed and manual dexterity.

Question 34

Males typically score higher on tests of

Answer 34

mathematical ability and spatial processing.

Question 35

Memory is

Answer 35

the process by which we take something we have observed (encountered), and convert it into a form we can store, retrieve and use.

Question 36

Encoding

Answer 36

getting information into memory, forming a | memory code

Question 37

Storage

Answer 37

refers to keeping the information in memory

Question 38

Short-term memory (STM)

Answer 38

Information from the sensory registers that is attended to moves into STM Holds a small amount of information (limited capacity of approximately 7 2 chunks of inormation) for a short period of time (limited duration of approximately 20–30 seconds) If material is rehearsed then it can be maintained in STM for a longer period (e.g., chanting a phone number until it is dialled = maintenance rehearsal)

Question 39

Research demonstrating the Serial Position Curve supports the existence of

Answer 39

STM versus LTM Primacy effect reflects LTM Recency effect reflects STM

Question 40

The ‘Working Memory’ Approach of Baddeley memory model

Answer 40

Memory is no longer thought of in terms of a serial processing model Memory is now thought to be comprised of a number of modules which are discrete but interdependent (parallel processing) It is recognised that remembering is not always conscious or retroactive Memory is no longer likened to the processing of a computer Working memory is temporary storage and processing of information is used to: solve problems respond to environmental demands achieve goals. Baddeley and Hitch suggest that working memory is comprised of three memory systems.

Question 41

Working memory systems

Answer 41

Central executive: controls the flow and processing of information (limited capacity) Visual memory store (visuospatial sketchpad) A temporary image (20–30 seconds) that stores information about the location and nature of objects Verbal memory store (phonological loop) Involves storage of verbal items (equates to STM). It has limited capacity.

Question 42

Working memory is thought to be directed by the

Answer 42

prefrontal cortex

Question 43

Implicit memory

Answer 43

memory that is expressed in behaviour but does not require conscious recollection (e.g., driving a car)

Question 44

Explicit memory

Answer 44

memory that is expressed through conscious recollection (e.g., remembering telephone numbers) Involves the conscious retrieval of information

Question 45

Neuropsychology of long-term memory

Answer 45

The medial temporal region (esp. hippocampus) plays a key role in consolidation of explicit declarative information. Frontal lobes more important in working, procedural, and aspects of episodic memory. Posterior regions of the cortex are involved in memory by creating mental representations. Amygdala is important in emotional memory - PTSD

Question 46

Levels of processing long-term memory

Answer 46

The storage of information in LTM requires that it be cast into a representational form (encoded) The type and level of encoding influences the accessibility of information Levels of processing Shallow processing: focus on the physical characteristics of the stimulus Deep processing: focus on the meaning of the stimulus

Question 47

Theories of forgetting

Answer 47

Decay theory: memory is like a fading neural trace that is weakened with disuse Interference theory: conflict between new and old memories Proactive: old interferes with new Retroactive: new interferes with old Motivated forgetting implies that forgetting can avoid painful memories. Repressed memories