Midterm 1 Flashcards
(172 cards)
1
Q
Knew-it-all-along phenomenon:
A
hindsight bias
2
Q
tendency to make predictions about one’s life so self-assuredly is called:
A
overconfidence
3
Q
Psychologists ask the two questions “What do you mean?” and “How do you know?” b/c they approach the world of behavior with:
A
curious skepticism
4
Q
A person who engages in _______ does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. They would analyze assumptions and try to determine if conclusions are warranted.
A
critical thinking
5
Q
______ is one phenomenon that illustrates why we should NOT rely on our intuition and common sense when trying to explain why people act, think, and feel the way they do.
A
overconfidence
6
Q
Even in random data we often find order, because random sequences often don’t look _____.
A
random
7
Q
Pharmaceutical company begins to write a research protocol based on their belief that the new medication called Drug R may be useful in treating anxiety. They predict that Drug R should lower symptoms of anxiety. This prediction is a:
A
hypothesis
8
Q
By organizing isolated facts, a theory ultimately __________ things.
A
simplifies
9
Q
What qualities would researchers in psychology ascribe to a “good” theory?
A
It should organize observations and imply clear, testable predictions.
10
Q
A hypothesis is a prediction that is:
A
testable
11
Q
This technique gathers peoples’ self-reported attitudes or behaviors by questioning people randomly and representatively:
A
a survey
12
Q
The best basis for generalizing behavior is from:
A
a representative sample of cases
13
Q
One strength of the case study method is that it:
A
suggests hypotheses for future study
14
Q
____________ is a type of descriptive research method.
A
Naturalistic observation
15
Q
Dr. James found a correlation of +0.81 between obesity and the consumption of fast foods. This would be considered a ________ correlation.
A
strong positive
16
Q
If the points on the scatterplot show an upward pattern (both scores going up), the correlation is:
A
a positive
17
Q
Unlike correlation, the only way to demonstrate causation is to conduct a(n):
A
experiment
18
Q
The _____ is a simple measure of central tendency, which indicates the score or scores that occur most frequently.
A
mode
19
Q
To say that the difference between sample averages is statistically significant means that the difference is:
A
probably NOT due to chance variation
20
Q
Random samples provide ___________ estimates of population averages if the samples have small
A
good; means
21
Q
The _____ can be particularly biased or misleading when there are a few _____ scores.
A
mean; extreme
22
Q
Which philosopher believed that the mind was located in the heart?
A
Aristotle
23
Q
Most of the signals neurons receive are _____; others are the opposite, or _____
A
inhibitory; excitatory
24
Q
Dendrites transmit messages ______ the cell body and axons transmit messages _____ the cell body.
A
toward; away from
25
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that is most directly associated with the degeneration of:
the myelin sheath
26
The amount of information that a neuron can receive increases with the number of _____ that the neuron has.
dendrites and dendrite branches
27
The part of the neuron that carries messages to other cells in the body is the:
axon
28
What occurs during the refractory period?
The neuron reestablishes the negative-inside/positive-outside condition.
29
The action potential is produced by the:
movement of positive ions across the membrane of the axon.
30
Neurotransmitter is to ______ as neural receptor site is to ________.
key; lock
31
Depressed mood states are linked to ________ levels of serotonin and ________ levels of norepinephrine.
low; low
32
A drug that blocks the reuptake of a particular neurotransmitter is called a(n):
agonist.
33
Which of the following does the autonomic nervous system most directly control?
bladder contractions
34
Which of the following is an important part of the endocrine system but is not an endocrine gland?
the hypothalamus
35
Brain activity results in telltale electrical signals that can be detected by a(n):
electroencephalogram (EEG).
36
If a researcher electrically stimulates the _______ in an animal, the animal will immediately wake up and be alert.
reticular formation
37
The _______ is responsible for heartbeat and breathing.
medulla
38
After suffering an accidental brain injury, Kira has difficulty walking in a smooth, coordinated manner. It is likely that she has suffered damage to her:
corpus callosum
39
The limbic system structure that influences aggression is called the:
amygdala.
40
The limbic system structure that regulates hunger is called the:
hypothalamus.
41
The ______ of the cerebral cortex are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.
association areas
42
Ralph was involved in a bar fight and sustained a blow to the back of the head from a beer bottle. He was dazed and could not see for about two minutes. Which lobe was affected?
occipital
43
The signals for voluntary muscle movements originate in a band of tissue called the _____, which is located on the _____ lobe.
motor cortex; frontal
44
Scientists hope that someday, through the use of master stem cells, they will be able to help the body create new neurons for damaged areas of the brain, through the process of:
neurogenesis.
45
In reading these test questions, you are primarily using your _____ to understand what you are reading.
left hemisphere
46
A person's subjective experience of the world and one's self is:
consciousness.
47
_____ is a condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it.
blindsight
48
Selective attention is BEST illustrated by:
change blindness
49
_____ is the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions.
Parallel processing
50
Drivers detect traffic signals more slowly if they are conversing on a cell phone while driving. This best illustrates the impact of:
selective attention.
51
_____ is the capacity to selectively focus senses and awareness on particular stimuli or aspects of the environment.
attention
52
____ is periodic, natural loss of consciousness one experiences within a 24-hour period.
sleep
53
If you are like most people, you experience daily fluctuations in many bodily processes, such as blood pressure, the secretion of hormones, and so on. These daily variations in biological and psychological processes are called:
circadian rhythms.
54
The relatively slow brain waves of a relaxed, awake state are called:
alpha waves
55
Melatonin is manufactured by the:
pineal gland
56
In response to bright morning light:
the suprachiasmatic nucleus causes the pineal gland to decrease production of melatonin.
57
In studies of fraternal and identical twins, only the identical twins had strikingly similar sleep patterns and durations. This study seems to indicate that sleep patterns are influenced by:
genes
58
This brain part controls thinking
cerebrum
59
this brain part controls balance, movement, and coordination
cerebellum
60
this brain part controls involuntary actions such as breathing, heartbeats, and digestion
brain stem
61
this part of the nervous system moves messages between the brain and the body
spinal cord
62
this part of the cerebrum interprets and sorts info from the senses
parietal
63
this part of the cerebrum processes messages from the eyes
occipital
64
this part of the cerebrum helps us with speech and hearing and learning language
temporal
65
this part of the cerebrum helps us make decisions and solve problems
frontal
66
this neuron part receives messages from other neurons
dendrites
67
this neuron part sends on messages to other neurons
axon
68
this neuron part gives messages to muscle tissues
terminal ends
69
this neuron part processes incoming messages
cell body
70
this neuron part contains instructions for making proteins that the neuron needs
nucleus
71
A gene is a small segment of a(n):
DNA molecule
72
Adopted children are especially likely to have similar ____________ if raised in the same home.
values and attitudes
73
Epigenetics is the study of environmental influences on ______ that occur without a DNA change.
gene expression
74
External influences on development such as social support are said to constitute our:
environment
75
Given findings from adoption studies, which of the following scenarios is the MOST likely?
An adopted brother and sister raised together will share the same political and religious beliefs
76
Identical twins raised apart have ________ similar personalities than identical twins raised together and ________ similar personalities than fraternal twins raised apart.
less;more
77
Identical twins separated at birth and raised in completely different home environments would be most likely to have similar:
personality traits
78
Our genetic predispositions help to explain:
both our shared human nature and our human diversity
79
The study of the relative power and limits of genetic and environmental influences on behavior is known as:
behavior genetics
80
The thread-like structures that contain genes are called:
chromosomes
81
Two individuals are most likely to differ in personality if they are:
fraternal twins who were raised apart
82
Which of the following is TRUE regarding heredity?
We can never say what percentage of an individual's personality or intelligence is inherited.
83
____ is the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes.
Heritability
84
______________ develop from a single fertilized egg, whereas ______________ develop from separate fertilized eggs.
Identical twins; fraternal twins
85
These are the biochemical units of heredity that make up the chromosomes.
genes
86
According to evolutionary psychologists, our predisposition to overconsume fatty junk foods illustrates that we are biologically prepared to behave in ways that promoted the ________ of our ancestors.
reproductive success
87
According to evolutionary psychology all humans share a universal _____ that has survived from a distant past in which we lived in small groups and punished those who directly harmed others.
moral instinct
88
According to research studies done on U.S. college students:
men more often than women attribute a woman's friendliness to sexual interest.
89
An evolutionary psychologist would suggest that people are genetically predisposed to:
do all of these things.
90
Casual, impulsive sex is most frequent among _________ with traditional __________ attitudes.
males; masculine
91
Critics of evolutionary psychology are particularly likely to emphasize that gender differences in mate preferences can also be byproducts of:
cultural practices.
92
Evolutionary psychologists attribute gender differences in sexuality to the fact that women have:
lower reproductive potential than do men.
93
Evolutionary psychologists attribute the human tendency to fear snakes and heights to:
genetic predispositions.
94
Evolutionary psychologists suggest that human behavioral similarities arise from our shared:
genome
95
Evolutionary psychologists would be most likely to predict that:
children are more likely to be safely cared for by their biological fathers than by their stepfathers.
96
Using the principles of natural selection, _________________ studies how behavior and the mind have evolved.
evolutionary psychology
97
Your professor suggests that the increasing problem of obesity in Western cultures might be attributable to our inherited predisposition to love the taste of sweets and fats. Although these foods were difficult for our ancestors to find, they helped them to survive famines. Now, these foods are easily available and Westerners are eating too much of them. What field does this theory belong to?
evolutionary psychology
98
Due to a random error in genetic replication, a lion is born with a heightened sense of smell. This variation in an inherited trait is due to:
mutation.
99
Martha's child was born with an extra chromosome resulting in Down syndrome. This is an example of:
mutation
100
People all over the world react similarly when they are reunited with loved ones. For example, if you watch people greeting each other at family reunions, they tend to have the same joyful expressions on their faces, no matter what country they come from. This similarity can be attributed to:
our shared human genome.
101
Teens who smoke typically have friends who smoke. To avoid overestimating the impact of peer pressure on teens' smoking habits, it would make the most sense to consider the impact of:
smoking preferences on friendship choices.
102
Because of cataracts, your neighbor was deprived of visual experiences during early childhood. Last year her vision was restored by surgery, but she is having difficulty in dealing with the visual world. This is probably because:
brain cells normally devoted to vision died or were diverted to other uses.
103
The tendency to exaggerate the impact of child-raising practices on children's personalities has been most characteristic of:
Freudian psychologists.
104
Although they beg and plead, a preschooler's parents have zero success in coaxing him to eat broccoli. The parents might try to use peer influence by:
asking his daycare center to serve broccoli and seating him with classmates who like to eat it.
105
A local high school is running an experiment with a colony of infant rats. Half of the infant rats are isolated in barren cages and the other half live together in an enriched environment with lots of rat toys and exercise equipment. What would you expect the outcome to be at the end of the school year?
The rats in the enriched environment will have significantly larger cerebral cortices.
106
Even if the musician Stevie Wonder had his vision restored by a miracle surgery, he probably would not get his eyesight back because:
brain cells normally devoted to vision have died or been diverted to other uses.
107
Workers at the Ito motor plant are willing to work long hours and put the company's success ahead of their own as they are from a(n) __________________ culture.
collectivist
108
Your best friend is worried about the increase in divorce rates, prison populations, and incidence of depression in the United States. She thinks there are genetic reasons for these increases. Is this possible?
No; the human gene pool evolves far too slowly to account for high-speed cultural transformations.
109
If you were studying children raised in a culture that focused on cultivating emotional closeness, which of the following child-raising practices would you likely find?
children sleeping with their mothers and spending their daytime hours close to a family member
110
____________ is more than just being social. It allows enduring ideas and traditions shared by a group of people to be transmitted from one generation to the next. For example, although chimpanzees are social animals, their lives function in pretty much the same way they did 10,000 years ago. Humans, on the other hand, are living in a way their ancestors from 200 years ago could not imagine.
Culture
111
Gwen is quite upset and asks why she is always the one who cooks, cleans, and takes care of the children the majority of the time. Which of the following is NOT a reason for Gwen to be in this situation?
Employed women have an hour more time to devote to taking care of the children.
112
_________________ assumes that children learn gender-linked behaviors by observing and imitating others and through the rewards and punishments they receive for their imitation.
Social learning theory
113
In a study on aggression, a group of university students were given an experimental task meant to be purposely frustrating. Then, the participants were given a task that forced them to administer (fake) electric shocks to other participants. Given what we know about gender differences and aggression, who do you think administered more painful electric shocks?
Men administered more painful electric shocks.
114
Among your _____ chromosomes, ____ are unisex.
46; 45
115
Nonreproductive sex characteristics such as the deepened male voice and male facial hair are called:
secondary sex characteristics.
116
The elderly are more susceptible to _____________ than when they were younger.
cancer
117
Although physical decline begins in early adulthood, it is not until later in life that it becomes really noticeable. Which of the following declines in later life?
All of these abilities decline in later life.
118
Which of the following statements is true of the life expectancy of males and females?
Worldwide, women outlive men by 4 years.
119
People differ the most in their learning and memory abilities during:
late adulthood.
120
Niko is an 11-year-old who has experienced abuse, bullying, and poverty most of his young life. This situation has produced a great deal of stress and anxiety. Due to these experiences Niko is likely to have shortened _____, which are the biological scars of these experiences and which will lead to a shortened life expectancy.
telomeres
121
As far as we know, the primary cause of Alzheimer's disease is:
deterioration of neurons that produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
122
These are studies in which people of different ages are compared with one another.
cross-sectional studies
123
Tamera is 73 years old and is having problems remembering significant events in her life. She has to write down appointments and meetings at her church or she will forget about these commitments. Tamera is demonstrating a decline in:
episodic memory.
124
In older adults _____ disorders were formerly called dementia.
neurocognitive disorders
125
The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement is known as the:
social clock.
126
According to Erik Erikson, the two fundamental themes that dominate adult development are:
intimacy and generativity.
127
Aja is worried that as her husband approaches his fortieth birthday he will become depressed and unhappy with his life and begin to seek other women to help compensate for these feelings. Studies cited in your text indicate that very few men go through this sort of:
midlife crisis.
128
The majority of adults aged 65 and older in the United States are:
healthy, active, and self-sufficient.
129
Harry is a 76-year-old who has an optimistic outlook on life, plays golf several times a week, and teaches English to non-English speaking people. These factors demonstrate the role of _____ factors play in helping older people live longer and flourish.
psychological
130
Research has shown that, among U.S. couples that live together before marriage, there are:
higher rates of divorce.
131
Psychologists who today focus on the adaptive function of behaviors and emotions (that is, those who study behaviors and emotions that appear to have allowed our ancestors to survive) would likely consider __________________ an early representative of their approach to psychology.
William James
132
It is 1965, and Professor B. F. Skinner is lecturing in your introductory course. He defines psychology as "the scientific study of __________________."
observable behavior
133
_____ practice promotes better retention of material studied than _____ practice.
Spaced; mass
134
Structuralists introduced which research method to identify basic elements of the human mind?
introspection
135
Who was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in psychology?
Washburn
136
A focus on how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information is most relevant to the ____________ perspective.
cognitive
137
Jim is a 43-year-old male presenting with auditory hallucinations, delusions of reference, delusions of persecution, and claims of "special powers." Jim suffers from schizophrenia and has not been taking his medication as prescribed. Dr. Verde is evaluating Jim, and may admit him to the hospital so that she can restart his medications and monitor his response. Dr. Verde is most likely a:
psychiatrist.
138
Researchers today can use technology such as CT scans and fMRI scans to measure brain activity. Some researchers ask their research participants to describe elements of their experiences (for example, sensations, images, feelings) while undergoing the scans. This ___________ technique is similar to the methodology of ___________.
introspection; Titchener
139
A focus on how we learn observable responses is most relevant to the ____________ perspective.
behavioral
140
______________ rejected the notion of innate ideas, offering his notion that the mind is a blank slate on which experience writes.
John Locke
141
A unified understanding of explanations provided by the neuroscience, cognitive, social-cultural, and other psychological perspectives is most clearly provided by:
a biopsychosocial approach.
142
Psychology is the scientific study of:
behavior and mental processes.
143
Titchener is to _________________ as Freud is to personality theory.
structuralism
144
Inherited traits are to learned habits as the _____________ perspective is to the _____________ perspective.
evolutionary; behavioral
145
Basic research on persistent human traits, such as optimism and pessimism, is most characteristic of the specialty known as ____________ psychology.
personality
146
One strength of the case study method is that it:
suggests hypotheses for future study
147
The ________________ is a measure of ________________.
standard deviation; variation
148
You are a school psychologist who administers the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) to all sixth graders before they enter into junior high. You notice that the intelligence scores have a smaller standard deviation than when you administer the WISC to children in your consulting practice. Why?
The community in your consulting practice is more diverse than the school.
149
You are trying to decide between two schools for your 8-year-old daughter to attend. The Einstein School brags that the average IQ of its students is 125, with a standard deviation of 5.3. The Marie Curie School reports that the average IQ of its students is 125, with a standard deviation of 15.6. If you are most interested in finding a school that has children with diverse abilities, which school would you choose for your daughter?
the Marie Curie School
150
After carrying out the appropriate statistical calculations of their data, the researchers concluded that the probability of obtaining the results, if random factors alone were operating, was less than 1 chance out of a 100. The researchers used _____, and can conclude that the results are _____.
inferential statistics; statistically significant
151
If the results of a study are deemed significant, this means that the observed difference:
is probably not due to chance variation between the samples.
152
The all-or-none response of a neuron is similar to a:
light switch that only has two positions—on and off
153
The part of the neuron that carries messages to other cells in the body is the:
axon
154
He sustained numerous lacerations, a right femoral contusion, and, most importantly, had a large open wound on his head. When he arrived at the emergency room, the attending physician immediately ordered which neuroimaging technique to rule out any soft tissue damage to the brain?
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
155
Jason is participating in a study in which he is situated inside a tube-shaped machine and asked to look at photographs of people making various facial expressions. The experimenters explain that they are looking at areas of his brain that have increased blood flow, which indicates higher levels of activity when he looks at the photographs. The device the researchers are utilizing is a(n):
functional MRI (fMRI).
156
Which area of the limbic system regulates thirst, body temperature, and sexual behavior, and helps maintain a steady (homeostatic) internal state?
the hypothalamus
157
Hillary just began teaching a class and is trying to memorize the names of her students. Her ability to store these to memory will rely upon the work of her:
the hippocampus
158
James Olds and Peter Milner (1954) were trying to implant an electrode in a rat's reticular formation when they mistakenly placed the electrode incorrectly. Curiously, as if seeking more stimulation, the rat kept returning to the location where it had been when it received a stimulus from this misplaced electrode. On discovering that they had actually placed the device in a region of the _____, Olds and Milner realized they had stumbled upon a _____.
hypothalamus; reward center
159
Some researchers believe that addictive disorders, such as substance abuse and binge eating, may stem from a malfunction in the brain's reward centers. Some believe that this malfunction is genetically predisposed and the addictive behavior replaces missing pleasure or relieves negative feelings. This condition is called:
reward deficiency syndrome.
160
Which area of the brain receives all sensory input collected from the senses, except the sense of smell, and relays this information to the higher regions of the brain?
thalamus
161
Which specialized area of the brain registers and processes body touch and movement sensations and is located at the front of the parietal lobes?
the somatosensory cortex
162
Amir suffered a severe brain injury in a motorcycle accident and was partially paralyzed on the left side of his body. After several months of intensive physical therapy, he gradually regained the use of his left leg and arm. This example best illustrates the principle of:
plasticity.
163
Tonya had her left index finger severed in a factory accident. Months later she noticed that the sensitivity of the fingers near the missing finger had increased. This increased sensitivity is caused by:
the area in the somatosensory cortex that once received input for the missing index finger is now receiving input from the adjacent fingers.
164
Dr. Render is a neuropsychologist who works with post-surgical patients who have had surgery to sever their corpus callosum (to reduce severe seizures). When she presents the word "sal-ted" to one patient, "sal" transmits to his left visual field and "ted" to his right visual field. She then asks him to tell her what he saw. What does this patient say?
ted
165
Research with split-brain patients led Michael Gazzaniga to conclude that the _____________ typically constructs the theories people offer to explain their own behaviors.
left cerebral hemisphere
166
Based on research with split-brain patients, we know that the _____ hemisphere is specialized for _____.
right; visual perception tasks
167
Which of the following is NOT a possible explanation of consciousness found by cognitive neuroscientists?
A weak stimulus that is below conscious perception will trigger areas of the brain in the same way as a stronger stimulus that is consciously perceived.
168
According to cognitive neuroscientists, perception, memory, thinking, language, and attitudes all operate on two levels in what is called dual processing. In dual processing, a conscious, deliberate “high road” is _________, and an unconscious, automatic “low road” is _____.
reflective; intuitive
169
Experiments show that when you move your wrist at will, you consciously experience the decision to move it about 0.2 seconds before the actual movement (Libet, 1985, 2004). But your brain waves jump about 0.35 seconds before you consciously perceive your decision to move. From this study one can conclude:
consciousness sometimes arrives after decision-making.
170
Marie was driving home from school and she stopped at an intersection. She looked to her left and right for oncoming cars and then made a left turn, pulling out right in front of a motorcycle. Even though she had looked in that direction, she failed to see the motorcycle, likely because she was looking only for cars. Her inability to see the motorcycle is a phenomenon known as:
inattentional blindness.
171
Freddy was a participant in a research study looking at the content of people's dreams. If he is typical, most of his dreams will:
contain a story line that incorporates traces of previous days' nonsexual experiences and preoccupations.
172
According to researchers, which of the following is NOT likely to occur during sleep?
we can learn a foreign language
