Gen psych test 1
In drug studies, using a double-blind experiment design ensures that
The experimenter cannot make subtle gestures signaling who is receiving a drug and who is not
According to the all-or-nothing principle, which of the following would happen if the size of the electrical charge in a neural impulse was twice the size needed for the electrical impulse?
The intensity of the impulse would not be affected
In the context of correlational research, if there is no relationship between two variables, what is the correlation coefficient?
0.00
In the nervous system, which of the following is true of neurons and the neurotransmitters they secrete?
At any given time, a neuron is receiving a mixture of messages from the neurotransmitters
The somatosensory cortex in the human brain processes information about
Body sensations
Which of the following is a similarity between the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine?
Both are involved in the learning process
Derek, an Internet activist, committed suicide. Investigators explored Derek's past interactions on Wordbook, a famous social networking site, to discover any information that might reveal the reasons behind his suicide. In this scenario, the research method used by the investigators is most likely a(n)
Case study
In the context of the divisions of the nervous system, the brain is categorized within the _____ nervous system
Central
Donny suffered a stroke a few years ago. For many months, he was unable to coordinate his movements, making it impossible for him to even stand up. Since then, he has been walking in a jerky, uncoordinated manner. In this scenario, Donny's symptoms after the stroke are most likely due to the damage to his
Cerebellum
In an experimental study, a properly designed hypothesis will test a theory by predicting the
Changes in the dependent variable in response to changes in the independent variable
In a drug study, giving individuals in the control group a placebo pill allows researchers to determine whether
Changes in the experimental group are due to the active drug agent
In experimental research, _____ are factors that systematically and undesirably influence the dependent variable
Confounds
When psychological researchers use the correlational method to study variables, the degree of relation between two variables is expressed as a numerical value known as
Correlational coefficient
A key aspect of the process of testing hypothesis is
Data analysis
Professor Bobson conducts a study that requires his participants to fill a questionnaire with two options: "ethical" or "unethical." This leads most of his subjects to choose the ethical option. The professor's choice marking his options as ethical or unethical is the study's
Demand characteristic
In the context of experimental research, random assignment of participants is important in order to ensure that
Groups have equal and balanced composition
Which of the following is a significance of the brain lesioning process?
It gives a sense of the functions of the damaged brain regions
Which of the following is true of the neurotransmitter serotonin?
It is involved in the regulation of mood and attention
Which of the following statements is true of the usage of median in statistics?
It is the score that falls exactly in the middle of the distribution of scores after they have been arranged from highest to lowest
Which of the following is true about the autonomic nervous system?
It monitors processes such as breathing and digestion
A _____ design is a special kind of systematic observation, used by correlational researchers, that involves obtaining measures of the variables of interest in multiple waves over time
Longitudinal
In descriptive statistics, the _____ is determined by adding up participants' scores and dividing by the number of scores
Mean
_____ is a statistical procedure that summarizes a large body of evidence from the research literature on a particular topic, allowing the researcher to assess the strength of the relationship between the variables
Meta-analysis
Justin, a psychologist, wants to study the behavior of call center employees when they attend a call. Which of the following research settings would be most effective for this study?
Naturalistic observation
Chris makes an observation that the longer a classroom lecture, the lower the attentiveness of students in the class. In the context of correlational research, the length of the lecture and level of attentiveness are said to have a
Negative correlation
Saundra says that whenever she drinks coffee in the evenings it interferes with her ability to fall asleep. The more coffee she drinks before sleeping, the less sleep she gets. In the context of correlational research, Saundra is describing a _____ between caffeine intake and sleep
Negative correlation
Chemical substances that are stored in very tiny sacs within the terminal buttons and are involved in transmitting information across a synaptic gap to the next neuron are known as
Neurotransmitters
If Professor Jung wants to be able to draw cause and effect conclusions from her research, which of the following is the most crucial aspect of her experimental design?
Random assignment
The annual earnings of five employees of Concard Inc. are $19,000, $19,000, $23,000, $24,000, and $450,000. The mode of these five earnings is
$19,000
Five students had the following scores on a psychological test: 10, 10, 15, 25, and 40. The mean of these five scores is
20
Which of the following statements is true about using a case study as a method of descriptive research in psychology?
A case study's subject is unique, with a personal history that no one else shares
In the context of the neural impulse, which of the following is the status of the charges on each side of the cell membrane during the stage of resting potential?
A negative charge on the inside of the cell membrane and a positive charge on the outside
In correlational research, the "third variable problem" refers to a circumstance in which
A variable that has not been measured accounts for the relationship between two other variables
In the context of specialized cell structure, which of the following scenarios acts as the closest analogy to the function of the myelin sheath in the brain?
Amber is waxing her surfboard so that it will move easily through water
In descriptive statistics, range is a measure of
Dispersion that is the difference between the highest and lowest scores
In a _____, neither the participants nor the experimenter administering the treatment are aware of which participants belong to the experimental group and which are part of the control group
Double-blind experiment
In which of the following cases is Dr. Williams establishing an operational definition?
Dr. Williams states that his subjects' manual dexterity can be assessed by the number of assigned manual tasks they are able to complete
The difference between glutamate and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) is that glutamate
Excites neurons to fire, whereas GABA inhibits neurons from firing
Ginny was in a car accident in which her amygdala was severely damaged. Which of the following is a likely consequence of this damage?
Ginny will try to eat the plate on which her sandwich is placed
_____ are the organs or tissues in the body that create chemicals that control many bodily functions
Glands
The two types of cells in the nervous system are neurons and
Glial cells
Jessica investigates the relationship between caffeine intake and performance on a class test for high school students. Before her sample of students takes an exam, she notes the number of cups of coffee they consumed two hours before the test. She obtains their scores after the test is over. She then calculates the correlation coefficient between the two variables and finds it to be +0.82. Which of the following conclusions should Jessica draw from this value?
Higher caffeine consumption is related to higher exam scores
Nathan is suffering from amnesia, an illness that prevents the retention of new memories. In the context of the organization of the brain, which area of Nathan's brain is most likely responsible for the amnesia?
Hippocampus
_____ are chemical messengers that are produced by the endocrine glands and carried by the bloodstream to all parts of the body
Hormones
Joshua designs a research study to investigate the relationship between two variables: the size of a person's head and IQ level. He measures each variable without manipulating either of the variables and finds that IQ is higher for subjects with bigger heads. In the context of correlational research, what can Joshua conclude?
IQ and head size are positively correlated
In the context of experimental research, the logic of random assignment is that
If participants in an experiment are assigned to each group only by chance, the potential differences between the groups will cancel out over the long run
Albert, a student researcher, varies the amount of food given to rats in an experiment to measure the effect on their learning behavior. In Albert's study, the amount of food given is the _____ variable
Independent
Courtney, a young woman with an anxiety disorder, volunteers to participate in a psychological study so that she can earn $100. She knows that the study will require her to reflect upon her childhood but she does not know that this experiment is unsuitable for individuals with anxiety. Courtney's symptoms act up during the experiment and she restarts her therapy. In Courtney's case, the American Psychological Association (APA) ethics guideline that has most likely been violated is
Informed consent
Which of the following statements is true of the event-contingent responding method?
It asks participants to complete a report each time they engage in a particular behavior
Professor Rodman, a social psychologist, studied the relationship between the severity of injuries in automobile accidents and the use of seat belts. He obtained a correlation coefficient of -0.72. In the context of correlational research, which of the following conclusions will the professor most likely arrive at?
People who wear seat belts sustain less serious injuries in an accident
As a part of a medical research study, a researcher exposes two groups of participants to either an actual painkiller or a sugar pill. The participants feel their pain being eliminated even with the sugar pill. In this case, the sugar pill is known as the
Placebo
Lolita, a nine-year-old girl, met with an accident that led to a head injury. She was able to recover from this injury in a few months. Which of the following characteristics of the nervous system most likely played a predominant role in her recovery?
Plasticity
Stand-up comedians who improvise constantly while on stage are demonstrating their ability to change according to the environment. Which of the following characteristics of the nervous system is most likely playing a predominant role in their adaptability?
Plasticity
When psychologists conduct a study, the group of participants chosen for the study is referred to as the
Sample
Kenny has been diagnosed with Parkinson disease and has been prescribed medication to manage some of his symptoms. The medication elevates the levels of dopamine in his system. If the levels of dopamine in his system become excessive, Kenny might start to exhibit symptoms associated with
Schizophrenia
In inferential statistics, _____ means that the differences observed between two groups are large enough that it is highly unlikely that those differences are merely due to chance
Statistical significance
Experimental data state that the painkiller Tafta takes at least 30 minutes to start having an effect on pain symptoms. However, most people report that their headaches begin to fade within just 10 minutes of taking Tafta. Which of the following is the best explanation for this finding?
Subjects are experiencing placebo effects
In the context of psychological research methods, a _____ presents a standard set of questions, or items, to obtain people's self-reported attitudes or beliefs about a particular topic
Survey
Mila, a school principal, wants to know her students' opinions about the food served in the school's cafeteria. To obtain her students' opinions, she devises a set of questions that she asks all her students to answer. In this case, Mila is using a _____ to obtain the opinions of her students
Survey
If a person needs to run away from a dangerous situation, the _____ nervous system sends blood to the person's extremities to prepare him or her for taking off
Sympathetic
In psychological research, a correlational study is used to determine
The link between variables
Dr. Kingston, a psychologist, is examining how a student's reading speed is differently affected by two variables: being tutored by a teacher's assistant and being tutored by a computer-based reading program. In this experiment, which of the following is the dependent variable?
The student's reading speed
A history class of 50 students has agreed to be the subject of a research study. Half of the class has been asked to study for the next history test while listening to classical music. The remaining half has been asked to study in a completely silent environment. The test scores of the two groups will be compared at the end of the experiment. In this experiment, which of the following is the dependent variable?
The test scores of both groups at the end of the experiment
Which of the following statements is true of stressors?
They are events that threaten individuals and tax their coping abilities
Which of the following statements is true of surveys?
They are useful when information from many people is required
Which of the following is a potential problem of using correlational studies in psychological research?
They do not enable researchers to establish a causal connection between variables
Which of the following statements is true of quasi-experimental designs?
They do not randomly assign participants to conditions
Which of the following statements is true of research samples?
They must be representative of the population to which the investigator wants to generalize his or her results
In the context of the pathways in the nervous system, afferent nerves carry information
To the brain and spinal cord via sensory receptors
Dr. Matthews has submitted a proposal to the institutional review board (IRB) of a university. At this university, she intends to conduct research on the socialization patterns of students from foreign countries. In the context of ethics guidelines, the IRB at the university will decide
Whether her study meets ethical guidelines before it is initiated
Julie hears the news about a bus accident on television. She believes her son was on the same bus and is overcome by anxiety which is primarily caused by her _____ nervous system. When her son phones and informs her that he was not on the bus, Julie is relieved and begins to relax. This response is primarily caused by her _____ nervous system
sympathetic; parasympathetic