Chapter three practice test

Which of the following r-squared coefficients would indicate the weakest relationship and thus be close to complete randomness?

+0.01

In making a large pot of chili for a family reunion, you find that you have to add 1 onion to your pot of chili that already has 5 onions mixed in it to notice a difference. According to Weber's Law, how many onions would you have to add to notice a difference if you are making twice as much chili with 10 onions?

2 onions

The lowest level of stimulation that a person can consciously detect 50% of the time the stimulation is present is called

Absolute threshold

Which neurotransmitter stimulates muscle cells to contract but slows contractions in the heart?

Acetylcholine (ACh)

The venom of a black widow spider acts like an _____ by mimicking the effects of acetylcholine (ACh)

Agonist

If you were to develop a rare condition in which you were not able to remember to be afraid of certain situations, animals, or events, which part of the brain would most likely be damaged?

Amygdala (the most ancient part of the brain, evolutionarily speaking)

Colleen stares at a fixed spot in her bedroom using only one eye. After a while, what might happen to her vision?

Any object that slowly crosses her visual field may at one point disappear

A famous golfer advertises a new golf bracelet that helps minimize fatigue while playing. If Bethany decides to order the bracelet because she believes that such a well-known personality should know if it works or not, she has made an error in which of the following?

Authority or expertise does not make the claims of the authority or expert true.

Involuntary muscles are controlled by the _____ nervous system

Autonomic

Which part of the neuron carries messages to the other cells?

Axon

Wesley has learned that if he cries with his mother in public, she will often get him a new toy or a piece of candy so as to quiet him. Which of the following perspectives explains Wesley's behavior?

Behavioral

Which early perspective tried to return to a focus on scientific inquiry by ignoring the study of consciousness?

Behaviorism

Which perspective offers the best explanation for schizophrenia?

Biopsychological

Alexis and Theresa are synchronized swimmer for their college swim team. They often work long hours to ensure the movements in their routines are perfectly timed. What part of their brains must Alexis and Theresa rely most upon?

Cerebellum

If your roommate has a problem paying attention, it may be due to damage to this part of the limbic system

Cingulate cortex

Dr. Colton identifies himself with the largest subfield of psychology. What kind of psychologist is he?

Clinical

Which of the following is largely determined by the length of a light wave?

Color

Aside from the lens, damage to the _____ can affect the eye's ability to focus light

Cornea

Which part of the brain can sometimes be referred to as the "rind" or outer covering?

Cortex (the newest part of the brain, evolutionarily speaking)

A researcher asks an assistant to conduct a study on her behalf. She specifically tells her assistant only to share the results anonymously and not include the names of the students along with their scores. Such an experiment would be considred a

Double-blind experiment

Dr. Calvin needs just one more participants to complete her experiment. Lisa, a student of Dr. Calvin, has almost completed the experiment when she announces she wants to quit because the experiment is boring. What options does Dr. Calvin?

Dr. Calvin must let Lisa go and find another participant.

Which psychologist dared to ignore the whole consciousness issue and return to a study of scientific inquiry by focusing only on observable behavior?

John Watson

Jaime's grandfather recently suffered a stroke and has had difficulty with language production ever since. Most likely, he has experienced damage to the _____ area of the brain

Left frontal

What monocular depth cue can best explain why railroad tracks appear to come together in the distance?

Linear perspective

Who was the first woman to complete the coursework for a doctorate at Harvard University? (She did NOT receive her degree)

Mary Whiton Calkins

Which of the following insulates and protects a neuron's axon, as well as helps to speed along electrical impulses?

Myelin sheath

A researcher finds that her subjects increased the number of hours they spent exercising, the overall weight of her subjects decreased. This would be an example of a _____ correlation

Negative

When a neuron's resting potential is occurring, the neuron is _____ charged on the inside

Negatively

What is the process whereby the structure and function of brain cells change in response to trauma, damage, or even learning?

Neuroplasticity

In which of the following lobes of the cortex would you find the primary visual cortex?

Occipital

Which of the following best explains afterimages?

Opponent-process theory

Which technique of studying the brain involves injecting the patient with radioactive glucose?

PET scan

As you take notes, your heart beats at a normal rate. Your breathing is normal an your stomach slowly digests your earlier meal. What division of the peripheral nervous system is currently in action?

Parasympathetic

The ability to detect changes in temperature, pressure, and body position is due in part to the functions of the _____ lobe

Parietal

Which step in the scientific method is derived from the goals of description?

Perceiving a question

Robert has had difficulty sleeping for the past 6 months and his body seemingly no longer differentiates between night and day. His doctor believes the problem lies with Robert's endocrine system. What gland will Robert's physician focus on?

Pineal gland

Which gland is known to influence all other glands within the endocrine system?

Pituitary gland

Micah has recently been diagnosed with a psychological disorder that is best addressed initially with medication. He would likely benefit the most by first seeing a _____

Psychiatrist

Which perspective would a researcher be taking if she were studying a client's early childhood experiences and his resulting development of self?

Psychodynamic

Which of the following professionals in psychology has no medical training but still has a doctoral degree?

Psychologist

What are the three primary colors as proposed by the trichromatic theory?

Red, green, blue

Maria often sleeps soundly and rarely awakens to any outside noise. However, the cries of Maria's baby can awaken her immediately. What part of the brain is responsible for this reaction?

Reticular formation

Which brain structure allows us to pay attention to certain stimuli while ignoring others?

Reticular formation

Which part of the brain tends to process information globally?

Right hemisphere

Although the brain works largely as a whole, which of the following is not a correct pairing of hemisphere and function?

Right; control of right-handed motor functions

_____ involves the detection of physical stimuli from our environment and is made possible by the activation of specific receptor cells

Sensation

You are drinking a strong cup of coffee that is particularly bitter. After a while, the coffee doesn't taste as strong as it did when you first tasted it. What has happened?

Sensory adaptation

If Dr. Byers is using an eclectic approach in her clinical treatment of children, what is it that she is doing?

She is using a combination of perspectives to treat different clients

In a _____ study, the participants do not know if they are part of the control group of the experimental group. Only the experimenter knows who is in each group

Single-blind

Which perspective best explains the bystander effect whereby individuals will be less likely to help someone in need because of the presence of others close by?

Sociocultural

Which of the following would be active if you had just had an automobile accident?

Sympathetic division

Brianne wants to find an explanation for the behavior of her lab rats in her study. Which steps in the scientific method is she currently focusing on?

Testing a hypothesis

A researcher wants to study the effects of texting on driving. Students in Group A drive a car in a computer game and see how many virtual accidents they have. Students in Group B are asked to drive the same virtual car but they must respond to and send at least three texts. The number of virtual accidents is measured for each group. What is the independent variable?

Texting

Which brain structure relays incoming sensory information?

Thalamus

Your psychology professor refers to this as the great relay station of the brain.

Thalamus

If Dr. Swasey is like most psychologists, where does she probably work?

University/college

Jessica has suffered a severe blow to the back of her head when she was thrown from her horse. Subsequently, her occipital lobe has been injured. Which of her senses has the highest chance of being affected?

Vision

What is the biggest reason why we use animals in research?

We can do things to animals that we can't do to people.

Felicia is recovering from a brain injury. She is able to speak fluently but often uses incorrect words in a sentence. In one instance at a friend's birthday party, she said "I would like something to drink. Can I have some battery?" Felicia's problem is known as

Wernicke's aphasia

You have a dream in which you wake up to find that people around you are using words that make no sense. What's more, your friends don't seem to understand you when you speak. At one point in your dream, your mom tells you that you almost forgot your tree limb today. When you give her a puzzled look, she holds up your lunchbox and repeats "You know, your tree limb." Your predicament in your dream is most likely which of the following disorders?

Wernicke's aphasia

Which of the following is an example of observer bias?

You develop an opinion of what you expect to see an experiment.

The main advantage of a survey is that

a large amount of data can be gathered

The neurons of the sensory pathway contain

afferent neurons

Heroin mimics the actions of endorphins, inhibiting pain signals and creating a "high" feeling. Heroin is an example of an

agonist

The famous study of Phineas Gage, who survived when a metal rod pierced his skull, is an example of a

case study

In the structure of the neuron, the _____ receives the information from other cells

dendrite

Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis focused on

early childhood experiences

A psychologist is interested in finding out why married couples seemingly being to look like each other after several years of marriage. This psychologist is most interested in the goal of

explanation

Dr. Baker designs an experiment for studying labs rats' reaction to energy drinks in relation to problem solving. Dr. Baker is most interested in the goal of

explanation

Which of the following techniques analyzes blood oxygen levels to look at the functioning of the brain?

fMRI

In farsightedness, also known as _____, the focal point is _____ the retina

hyperopia; behind

When a neuron is in the resting potential state, the neuron is negatively charged on the _____ and positively charged on the _____

inside; outside

In the definition of psychology, mental processes mean

internal, covert processes

Yvonne's ability to reach for and pick up her book is largely due to the functions of the _____ pathway of the _____ nervous system

motor; somatic

Oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells generate a fatty substance known as

myelin

Bailey is a subject in a study on memory and problem solving. The researcher is applying magnetic pulses to her brain through copper wire coils positioned directly above her scalp. Bailey's study would best be described as a

noninvasive stimulation technique

In the definition of psychology, the term behavior means

overt actions and reactions

The Müller-Lyer illusion occurs more frequently in

people living in Western culture

Jason's uncle claimed to have seen a black panther in the trees beside the highway although no one else saw it. Knowing that his uncle has been looking for a black panther for years, Jason attributes his uncle's "sighting" to

perceptual set

Results of the study by Cheryan et al. (2009) suggest that changes must occur to the perception of the computer science field. This illustrates the goal of...

prediction

By using ____, researchers can maximize the likelihood of a representative sample

random selection from a larger group

In the scientific method, the final step is

reporting your results

When opening a door, the actual image on your retina changes dramatically but you still perceive the door as a rectangle. This is an example of

shape constancy

Neurotransmitters must pass from an axon terminal to the next dendrite by crossing a fluid-filled space called the

synaptic gap

In the "dumb jock" stereotype threat experiment, what was the independent variable?

the degree of stereotype threat

In an experiment to examine the effects of sleep deprivation on completion of a puzzle, one group is allowed to sleep eight hours while another group is made the stay awake. In this experiment, the control group is

the group that gets to sleep

Double-blind studies control for

the placebo effect and the experimenter effect

If you touch a hot stove, your spinal cord can prompt you to withdraw your hand without hand without having the send the message all the way to your brain. This is due to what scientists call

the reflex arc

The greatest advantage to use a case study is that

there is a tremendous amount of detail that can be gathered

The first time Megan had to install a ceiling fan in her new home, it took a long time. But later when she helped install a ceiling fan in her best friend's home, she completed the job very quickly. Her improved speed and skill can partially be attributed to

top down processing

Which of the following is associated with pain relief?

Endorphins

Which of the following perspectives focuses on the biological bases of universal mental characteristics?

Evolutionary

Hunters who wear camouflage so that they can blend in with their surroundings are relying on which principle of perception?

Figure-ground relationships

Who is considered to be the father of African American psychology?

Francis Cecil Sumner

Which of the following is NOT a function of glial cells?

Generating action potentials

After being in class for a while, _____ is a likely explanation for not hearing the sound of the lights buzzing above you until someone says something about it

Habituation

Which part of the brain is involved in the creation of memories and is often linked to Alzheimers disease?

Hippocampus

Which perspective is often referred to as the "third force" in psychology and focuses on a person's personal freedom of choice in determining their behavior?

Humanism

What is the first guideline for doing research with human subjects?

The rights and well-being of the participants must come first

In the stereotypes and athletes study, who was the control group?

Those students who completed the survey prior to the intelligence test