Midterm

Question 1

In their discussions of the process of development, the advocates of nature in the nature-nurture controversy emphasize which of the following?

Answer 1

maturation

Question 2

The notion that human behavior is greatly influenced by unconscious thoughts and desires is most consistent with which of the following psychological approaches?

Answer 2

psychodynamic

Question 3

Of the following, a behavioral psychologist is most likely to study the

Answer 3

effects of token economies on establishing social skills among children with emotional disturbances

Question 4

cognitive psychologists are most likely to study

Answer 4

the acquisition of knowledge, planning, and problem solving

Question 5

Gestalt psychology is concerned primarily with understanding which of the following?

Answer 5

perception

Question 6

Research finds that, in general, the higher an incoming college student scores on a given test, the higher the student’s college grade point average (GPA). Which of the following best describes this relationship?

Answer 6

a positive correlation

Question 7

The most important reason to use operational definitions in psychological research is it

Answer 7

helps everyone involved with the research understand and collect data in the same manner

Question 8

In a recent report, a developmental psychologist who studied peer pressure in middle schools obtained data from a large, representative sample of adolescents across the United States. This research most likely involved a

Answer 8

survey

Question 9

In which of the following types of research are the same children tested periodically at different points in their development?

Answer 9

longitudinal

Question 10

A psychological researcher designs a study to determine whether positive feedback affects self-esteem. The researcher requires each participant to toss twenty coins into a coffee can that is three feet away. Half of the participants are fold that their performance is superior, and the other half are told that their performance is well below average. Although some of the participants want to quit tossing coins after a few attempts, they are told that once they begin the study they have to complete it. After the coin toss, participants take a test measuring self-esteem. Following the test, all participants are debriefed and told that information about their performance was false. Results of the study indicate that participants who are told their performance is well below average report lower levels of self-esteem than do those who are told their performance is superior.11. Which of the following elements constitutes the independent variable in the study?

Answer 10

the feedback about relative performance in coin tossing

Question 11

A study can be regarded as scientific only if

Answer 11

its conclusions can be verified or refuted by subsequent studies

Question 12

A psychologist designed a study to test the effects of cell phone use on driving safety. Participants were randomly assigned either to drive an automobile simulator while talking to a friend on a cell phone or to drive a simulator without talking on a phone.
which is the cell phone

Answer 12

an independent variable

Question 13

In an experiment designed to determine whether watching violent scenes on television increases the frequency of aggressive behavior in children, one group of subjects saw a nonviolent cartoon and another group saw a violent cartoon In the play period that followed the viewing of the cartoons, researchers observed the two groups of children together an counted instances of aggressive behavior. The control group in the experiment is the group that

Answer 13

watched the nonviolent cartoon

Question 14

An instructor conducted an experiment to determine the effects of two different methods of study on the amount students learned in introductory physics. The results showed that the average amount learned by the group using one method was greater than the average amount learned by the group using the other. However, the difference was not statistically significant. Which of the following is the most appropriate conclusion to be drawn?

Answer 14

there is a possibility that the difference between the two groups occurred by chance

Question 15

There is a strong positive correlation between ice cream sales and instances of snakebites. Which of the following is the most likely explanation for this correlation?

Answer 15

hot weather is related to both ice cream sales and snake activity

Question 16

Professor Ahad has forty-three students in section one of the psychology classes she teaches and fifty-two students in section two. Section one meets at eight a.m. and, section two meets at one p.m. Professor Ahad gives all of her students the same final exam, and those in section two score significantly higher than those in section one. Professor Alad concludes that her section one students are academically inferior to students in section two. the biggest problem With Professor Ahad’s conclusion is that

Answer 16

the time of day is a confounding variable in this scenario

Question 17

What is the best way to ensure that results of a study are generalizable to a population?

Answer 17

by using a random sample of people in that population

Question 18

20. A psychologist gives the same test to a class of students at the beginning of the day and again at the end of the school day. The extent to which test scores are similar across the two administrations demonstrates which of the following test properties

Answer 18

reliability

Question 19

Which of the following statements best describes the placebo effect?

Answer 19

it can be brought about by the individual’s expectations

Question 20

A test with normally distributed results was returned to a class of 100 students. Later, the teacher realized an error was made and added 10 points to each student’s score. Which of the following must have changed as a result of the increase in scores?

Answer 20

the mode

Question 21

27. When is it permissible for a psychologist to share a client’s test scores with another person?

Answer 21

when the client provides written permission to share results

Question 22

Which of the following studies has had the most profound impact on ethical issues in psychological research?

Answer 22

Stanley Milgram’s study of obedience

Question 23

All of the following are American Psychological Association ethical guidelines for researchers EXCEPT:

Answer 23

research may not involve deception

Question 23

According to the ethical guidelines set by the American Psychological Association (APA), which of the following is true of psychological research in which animals are used as subjects?

Answer 23

it should conform to all APA ethical guidelines for animal research

Question 24

I. A common psychological effect of alcohol intake is

Answer 24

reduced inhibition

Question 25

3. A person with damage to Broca's area would most likely demonstrate which of the following symptoms?

Answer 25

difficulty with speech production

Question 26

4. Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system results in which of the following?

Answer 26

a decrease in heart rate

Question 27

5. In terms of the effect on the central nervous system, alcohol is most accurately classified as which of the following types of drug?

Answer 27

depressant

Question 28

During the night, Ave stops breathing repeatedly, frequently gasps for air, and snores loudly at regular intervals. Ave is most likely suffering from which of the following conditions?

Answer 28

sleep apnea

Question 29

7. Which of the following allows the examination of living brain tissue visually without performing surgery?

Answer 29

computerized axial tomography

Question 30

8. Many common antidepressants ease symptoms of depression by

Answer 30

inhibiting serotonin reuptake, which makes serotonin more available

Question 31

9. The area of the brain stem that is important in controlling breathing is the

Answer 31

medulla

Question 31

10. The autonomic nervous system is most directly involved in

Answer 31

digesting food

Question 32

Lexi was enjoying a walk in the woods on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. As she went around a curve, she noticed a bear walking toward her. Immediately her pupils dilated, she began to perspire, and her heart accelerated. These changes are most closely related to the function of the

Answer 32

sympathetic nervous system

Question 33

2. Lisa received a hemispherectomy to treat a seizure disorder when she was two years old. However, by the time she was live years old, her give abilities were the same as those of a neurotypical live-year-old. Which of the following best explains her abilities?

Answer 33

neuroplasticity

Question 33

3. The biological clock that operates in human beings to adjust their functioning to night-and-day periodicity is referred to as

Answer 33

a circadian rhythm

Question 34

4. Which of the following biological systems is most likely responsible for an increase in heart rate while experiencing anxiety?

Answer 34

the sympathetic nervous system

Question 35

15. Significant damage to which of the following parts of the brain will most likely cause a person to fall into a deep coma from which the person will be unable to awaken?

Answer 35

reticular formation

Question 36

Brain lateralization refers to the

Answer 36

Inclination for certain cognitive processes to be specialized to one hemisphere of the brain or the other

Question 37

7. Which of the following provides information regarding brain function by monitoring the brain at work through metabolism of glucose?

Answer 37

positron emission tomography (PET)

Question 38

18. The brain scans of people with amnesia are most likely to show damage to the

Answer 38

hippocampus

Question 39

19. Which of the following brain structures is most closely associated with Chris' fear response?

Answer 39

amygdala

Question 40

20. Caffeine and nicotine are in the same class as which of the following drugs?

Answer 40

cocaine

Question 41

21. Cocaine blocks the reuptake of which neurotransmitter?

Answer 41

dopamine

Question 42

22. Santi had an argument with his coworker, Emma. That night, Santi had a dream that he was shopping at a mall and Emma was in every store in which he shopped. A psychoanalyst would say that Emma's being at the mall in Santi's dream was an example of which of the following?

Answer 42

the manifest content

Question 43

Curare blocks action at acetylcholine synapses and causes paralysis. This drug is an example of an

Answer 43

antagonist

Question 43

24. An individual who drinks alcohol daily finds it necessary to drink increasing amounts to achieve the state of wellbeing attained in the past. This individual is showing

Answer 43

alcohol tolerance

Question 44

26. Damage to the cerebellum would most likely result in which of the following problems?

Answer 44

a loss of motor coordination

Question 44

25. Damage to a small part of the occipital lobe would most likely result in a

Answer 44

visual deficit

Question 45

3. Dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine are all

Answer 45

neurotransmitters that excite or inhibit a neural signal across a synapse

Question 46

The division of the nervous system that most directly allows voluntary muscle movement is the

Answer 46

somatic

Question 47

A drug that has the effect of intensifying or mimicking a particular neurotransmitter can be characterized as

Answer 47

an antagonist, because it intensifies the effects of a particular neurotransmitter

Question 48

A participant in a study of music perception listens to music with electrodes attached to her scalp while data are collected on the activity of her brain. This technique is called

Answer 48

electroencephalography (EEG)

Question 49

31. The part of the endocrine system that is responsible for overseeing and regulating the release of hormones across the entire body is the

Answer 49

hypothalamus

Question 50

The hypothesis that intelligence is in part inherited is best supported by the fact that the IQ correlation for Based on the scores on the three tasks, Task 3 most likely involves

Answer 50

pairs of identical twins is greater than for pairs of fraternal twins

Question 51

34. Most glands in the human body are a part of which system?

Answer 51

endocrine

Question 52

35. Neurotransmitters that function like the drug morphine and are involved in pain modulation include which of the following?

Answer 52

endorphins

Question 53

Malina has a sleep disorder for which she takes medically prescribed amphetamines. For which of the following sleep disorders is Malina most likely being treated?

Answer 53

narcolepsy

Question 54

Which of the following groups of characteristics best describes the REM sleep stage?

Answer 54

Fast breathing, relatively high heart rate, relatively high blood pressure

Question 55

The nature-nurture issue is best exemplified by which of the following questions?

Answer 55

Oh is level of intelligence the results of one's environment and specific learning, or is it a result of biological maturation?

Question 56

19. The pituitary gland is controlled by the

Answer 56

hypothalamus

Question 57

40. What hormone seems to be most closely linked with aggressive behavior?

Answer 57

testosterone

Question 58

One-year-old lan turns away in disgust if a bitter substance is placed on his tongue. The reason for such a reaction is most likely

Answer 58

an inborn distate for bitter that protects us from potential poisons in the environment

Question 59

An individual's ability to focus on a particular conversation in a noisy and crowded room is called

Answer 59

selective attention

Question 60

Balance is influenced by the

Answer 60

semicircular canals

Question 61

If Bella stares at a red spot for one minute and then shifts her gaze to a white piece of paper, she is likely to experience an afterimage that is

Answer 61

green

Question 62

People who are color blind most likely have deficiencies in their

Answer 62

cones

Question 62

Climbing an irregular set of stairs is more difficult for an individual who wears a patch over one eye primarily

Answer 62

Some depth perception is lost

Question 63

Gavin has a condition in which tiny crystals break loose and randomly touch and bend the hair cells in his semicircular canals. Which of the following is the most likely effect of this condition?

Answer 63

dizziness and loss of balance

Question 64

The process of converting incoming physical energy into a neural code that can be processed is called

Answer 64

transduction

Question 65

Damage to which of the following best explains conduction deafness?

Answer 65

hammer, anvil, stirrup

Question 66

The ability to see a cube in the diagram above is best explained by which of the following?

Answer 66

Gestalt principles of closure and continuity

Question 67

Emma, a math major, sees the drawing above as a Venn diagram. Her brother, an art major, sees it as two circles. The difference in perception is an example of

Answer 67

top down processing

Question 68

14. Dizziness is most closely associated with which of the following senses?

Answer 68

vestibular

Question 69

15. Chris has just hit Play to begin listening to a new song he bought. Based on the structure of the ear, what will the sound waves contact first after moving through Chris' auditory canal?

Answer 69

the eardrum

Question 70

Ave sees the figure above as six unified columns, not four unified rows. Which of the following Gestalt principles is operating most strongly?

Answer 70

similarity

Question 71

17. The Gestalt principle that refers to an individual's tendency to perceive an incomplete figure as whole is called

Answer 71

closure

Question 72

21. The tendency of most people to identify a three-sided figure as a triangle, even when one of its sides is incomplete, is the result of a perceptual process known as

Answer 72

closure

Question 72

18. Eleanor Gibson and her colleagues have used the visual cliff to measure an infant's ability to perceive

Answer 72

depth

Question 73

19. Gustatory receptors are sensitive to all of the following taste qualities EXCEPT

Answer 73

spicy

Question 73

20. Eli is attending a parade that features the local high school band. Elli's friend Lisa plays the trombone in the band. It is difficult for Eli to hear Lisa play at the parade. Which of the following would best allow Eli to hear Lisa's trombone?

Answer 73

selective attention

Question 74

23. In vision, transduction occurs within the

Answer 74

retina

Question 75

22. A person is asked to listen to a series of tones presented in pairs, and asked to say whether the tones in each pair are the same or different in pitch. In this situation the experimenter is most likely measuring the individual's

Answer 75

difference threshold

Question 76

24. Which of the following refers to the just-noticeable difference between two stimuli?

Answer 76

difference threshold

Question 77

25. Which of the following scenarios most clearly describes the effects of a strong kinesthetic sense?

Answer 77

being able to tell exact bodily position without looking at the body

Question 78

26. Laurie noticed that in the early evening she begins to have difficulty seeing the vibrant colors in her artwork. which of the following best explains her difficulty?

Answer 78

Her cones cannot detect color in dim light

Question 79

7. Malina arrives at a park that is located very close to a factory that produces cookies. She immediately notices the strong odor of chocolate chip cookies, but after a while she no longer detects the smell of the cookies. This can best be explained by which of the following?

Answer 79

sensory adaptation

Question 80

28. Receptors that are especially important for helping a person maintain balance are located in the

Answer 80

inner ear

Question 81

Gabe fell off his skateboard and badly bruised his elbow. He immediately began rubbing the area around the bruise until the pain subsided. This method of reducing pain can be explained by which of the following?

Answer 81

gate-control theory

Question 82

Afterimages are explained by

Answer 82

the opponent process theory

Question 83

Which of the following is the best example of the opponent process theory?

Answer 83

Fred stares at a green book for a minute, and then when he looks at a white page he sees the color red

Question 84

32. The perceived pitch of a tone is largely determined by its

Answer 84

frequency

Question 85

33. The place in the retina where the optic nerve exits to the brain is called the

Answer 85

blind spot

Question 86

34. Which study is a researcher who wants to draw correct cause-and-effect conclusions about the sense of smell 1 to conduct?

Answer 86

rose vs odor free experiment

Question 87

35. Consider the relationship between various body parts and the size of their corresponding somatosensory cortex areas in the brain. How does a body part relate to the devoted cortical area?

Answer 87

the more sensitive the body part, the larger the area of the somatosensory cortex

Question 88

36. A researcher studied 30 people ages twenty to forty, 30 people ages forty-one to sixty, and 30 people ages six to eighty. The researcher set up two rooms one with a faint rose smell, and one with a faint lemon smell. Each participant was asked to enter each room and identify the smell in the room. What research method did the researcher use, and what outcome would be found?

Answer 88

A cross-sectional. As people age, their sense of smell diminishes, especially in older age.

Question 89

37. Using cell phones while driving increases the number of accidents because use of the phones requires

Answer 89

selective attention

Question 90

The reversible figure above illustrates the Gestalt organizing principle of

Answer 90

figure-ground

Question 91

As you watch a friend walk away from you, your retinal image of your friend gets smaller. Despite this, you do not perceive him to be shrinking. This is an example of

Answer 91

size constancy

Question 92

When a pair of lights flashing in quick succession seems to an observer to be one light moving from place to place, the effect is referred to as

Answer 92

the phi phenomenon

Question 93

In a two-phase study, participants were randomly assigned to either group A or group B. All participants were subjected to a series of irritating air puffs directed at the face. In the first phase of the study, participants in group A pressed a button that stopped the air puffs. Participants in group B pressed a button that had no effect on the air puffs. In the second phase of the study, both groups had buttons that, if pressed, would stop the air puffs. The study most directly explores the concept of

Answer 93

learned helplessness

Question 94

A particular group of brain cells seems to provide a basis for observational learning. Researchers call these specialized cells

Answer 94

mirror neurons

Question 95

3. Gavin has difficulty solving a physics problem in class. The next day, he suddenly thinks of a solution to the problem as he is watching a friend play the guitar. The thought process that Gavin experienced is an example of

Answer 95

insight learning

Question 96

Linda can no longer stomach the taste of sushi after she vomited from eating a spoiled serving of it. However, the appearance of sushi does not make her sick. Which of the following best accounts for why Linda becomes sick upon tasting sushi but not seeing sushi?

Answer 96

biological predisposition

Question 97

5. The idea that the explanation for prejudice lies in children's modeling of their parents' prejudicial beliefs, emotions, and behaviors is most closely aligned with the theories of which of the following?

Answer 97

Albert Bandura

Question 98

Two-year-old Ian fell down the stairs at his grandmother's house. Although he was not badly hurt, he was very frightened. Now, whenever his parents mention visiting his grandmother's house, he feels anxious and fearful. In classical conditioning terms, what are the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) in the scenario, respectively?

Answer 98

grandmother's house; falling

Question 99

7. Bella is allergic to dogs. While in the toy store she sees a stuffed toy dog and has an allergic reaction. Bella's reaction to the toy best demonstrates the process of

Answer 99

generalization

Question 100

8. A cancer patient becomes nauseated following chemotherapy treatments. After a few treatments, the patient begins having a sick feeling whenever entering the treatment room. The treatment room has become

Answer 100

a conditioned stimulus

Question 101

9. Which of the following is the most accurate statement regarding the difference between classical and operant conditioning?

Answer 101

Classical conditioning involves the formation of associations between to stimuli, whereas operant conditioning involves the formation of associations between responses and their consequences

Question 102

After several trials during which a dog is given a certain kind of food at the same time that a specific tone is sounded, there is evidence of conditioning if the dog salivates when

Answer 102

The tone only is presented

Question 103

12. Tyler is a somewhat distractible second-grade student who finds schoolwork a bit boring. After a couple of minutes of working silently, Tyler often starts to misbehave until his teacher, Ms. Skinner, calls his name and scolds him. However, he enjoys this attention from her and continues to misbehave. With respect to Tyler's misbehavior, Ms. Skinner's attention serves as

Answer 103

positive reinforcement

Question 104

3. Which of the following is the best example of shaping?

Answer 104

The one with the word teacher

Question 105

14. When a child behaves well for an entire day, the child earns a star. After acquiring fifteen stars, the child is allowed to pick a prize from a toy chest. The star is best described as

Answer 105

Secondary reinforcer

Question 106

5. Ave picks up the clothes from her bedroom floor and puts them away to avoid her mother's repeated nagging. Ave’s behavior is being influenced by

Answer 106

Negative reinforcement

Question 107

16. Of the following, which is essential for operant conditioning to occur?

Answer 107

a behavioral consequence

Question 108

17. To stop his wife's constant requests, Chris takes out the garbage. This makes him more likely to take out the garbage in the future. Chris' behavior is being controlled by which of the following types of reinforcement?

Answer 108

negative

Question 109

When Bram exhibits inappropriate behavior, his parents use time-outs, during which he has to sit at a plain desk without toys. This approach to decreasing inappropriate behavior utilizes the concept of

Answer 109

negative punishment

Question 110

19. Taking a painkiller to relieve a toothache is behavior learned through which of the following processes?

Answer 110

negative reinforcement

Question 111

20. A four-year-old child frequently pulled on the dog's tail to gain attention. To reduce this undesirable behavior, the parent took away one hour of television viewing every time the child pulled the dog's tail. Within one week, the undesirable behavior was significantly reduced. The above scenario illustrates

Answer 111

negative punishment

Question 112

Synesthesia is a phenomenon that has been estimated to occur in only a few people in a million. Because of its rarity, researchers are likely to choose which research method to study it?

Answer 112

case study

Question 113

in order to yield information that is generalizable to the population from which is drawn, a sample must be

Answer 113

representative of the population

Question 114

Ethical principles developed by the American Psychological Association help to ensure that human participants in psychological research

Answer 114

are protected from physical and psychological harm

Question 115

A person will most likely develop aphasia as a result of damage to which of the following parts of the brain

Answer 115

wercicke's area

Question 116

While attending a concert, Anish finds that he can clearly recognize the melody coming from the lead violin above all the other instruments playing in the orchestra, even though the other instruments may be louder. Gestalt psychologists would explain Anish's ability using the principle of

Answer 116

figure-ground

Question 117

Which of the following is the correct path a neural impulse will follow through the different layers of the retina

Answer 117

Rods and cones, bipolar cells, ganglion cells, optic nerve