Psychology Final Study Guide
people with highly responsive amygdala
are more likely than others to report emotionally unpleasant experiences
the primary somatosensory cortex is located in the ( ) lobe a. occipital b. frontal c. temporal d. parietal
parietal
Which of the following is a desirable feature of a scientific theory A. The theory is falsifiable. B. The theory makes complex assumptions. C. The theory simply restates the facts it is supposed to explain D. The theory is based on false correlations.
A. The theory is falsifiable.
A psychologist evaluates 60 people at the start of therapy and again at the end of 8 weeks of therapy. She reports that 55 of the 60 are "improved," and concludes that the therapy was effective. One flaw in this study is that it lacks A. a control group. B. descriptive statistics. C. a dependent variable. D. an independent variable.
A. a control group.
Wilhelm Wundt is famous for A. establishing the first laboratory for psychological research. B. being the first person to receive a Ph.D. in psychology in the United States. C. being the first woman psychologist. D. being the first patient successfully treated by a psychotherapist.
A. establishing the first laboratory for psychological research.
In one study, the experimental group is subjected to loud, unpredictable noises to see whether or not those noises will affect performance on a memory task. What will the control group do? A. perform the memory task without noises B. nothing at all C. listen to the noises but perform no task D. control the noises that the experimental group has to listen to
A. perform the memory task without noises
Why do investigators sometimes repeat an experiment that other researchers have already completed? A. to check whether the results are replicable B. To try to eliminate the independent variables. C. to increase the demand characteristics of the experiment D. to check whether the explanation is parsimonious
A. to check whether the results are replicable
In many psychological experiments the experimenter will take elaborate steps to conceal the purpose of the experiment from the participants. The purpose of concealing this information is A. to eliminate demand characteristics. B. to eliminate illusory correlations. C. to save time. D. to make the study more ethical.
A. to eliminate demand characteristics.
Which of the following is necessary for vision? A. Energy comes into your eyes. B. You send energy out of your eyes. C. Energy first goes out of your eyes and then comes back in. D. Energy goes into and out of your eyes at the same time.
A. Energy comes into your eyes.
What is the difference between extinction and forgetting? A. Extinction depends on specific experiences; forgetting depends on the passage of time. B. Extinction takes place in classical conditioning: forgetting takes place in operant conditioning. C. Extinction is more lasting. D. Extinction takes place more slowly.
A. Extinction depends on specific experiences; forgetting depends on the passage of time.
The patient H.M. suffered severe anterograde amnesia as a result of damage to which part of his brain? A. Hippocampus B. corpus callosum C. Cerebellum D. Fornix
A. Hippocampus
Which of the following is true about the use of hypnosis for the control of pain? A. Hypnosis reduces the emotional aspect of pain. B. Hypnosis blocks all aspects of the pain message from reaching the brain. C. Hypnosis is ineffective in altering the perception of pain. D. Hypnosis relieves pain only if combined with pain-killing medications.
A. Hypnosis reduces the emotional aspect of pain.
Workers show the highest level of productivity when they set which type of goal? A. a specific, challenging goal B. "Do your best." C. no goal at all D. a specific, easy goal
A. a specific, challenging goal
Investigators distinguish among stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 of sleep by observing A. brain waves. B. sleep position. C. eye movements. D. dream content.
A. brain waves.
The people born in the 1970s have different interests and attitudes than the people born in the 1950s ever did. This is due to a difference in A. cohorts. B. assimilation C. syntax. D. role diffusion.
A. cohorts.
Students are told that "2-4-6" is one example of a rule; they are asked to determine what the rule is. Many students assume the rule is "three consecutive even numbers" and fail to check whether 1-3-5 is also an example of the rule, or even 1-10-11. What mistake in reasoning have they made? A. confirmation bias B. failure to consider base-rate information C. reliance on representativeness heuristic D. reliance on availability heuristic
A. confirmation bias
Raven's Progressive Matrices represent one attempt to construct a A. culture-reduced IQ test. B. test of intelligence for nonhuman animals. C. test that measures both intelligence and personality. D. test of IQ for infants.
A. culture-reduced IQ test.
Morphine reduces pain by stimulating synapses in the brain that normally respond to A. endorphin. B. substance P. C. acetylcholine. D. serotonin.
A. endorphin.
Memory for specific life events such as graduating from high school, or getting married, is known as A. episodic memory. B. implicit memory. C. semantic memory. D. procedural memory.
A. episodic memory.
Which type of psychologist tries to explain why a behavior may have been useful to our ancestors? A. evolutionary psychologist B. cognitive psychologist C. social psychologist D. human factors specialist
A. evolutionary psychologist
Research indicates that the most common emotion in dreams of adults is? A. fear or apprehension. B. happiness or contentment. C. frustration, especially sexual frustration. D. curiosity about whether the dream is in color.
A. fear or apprehension.
When Spearman described the "g" factor in intelligence, what did the "g" stand for? A. general B. group C. genetic D. gifted
A. general
A person who has suffered damage to the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex would probably experience impairment of A. hearing. B. control of fine movements. C. vision. D. body perception (such as touch).
A. hearing.
The nature-nurture issue is the question of the relationship between A. heredity and environment. B. conscious and unconscious. C. free will and determinism. D. mind and brain.
A. heredity and environment.
A motivation to engage in an act for its own sake is called? A. intrinsic motivation. B. homeostasis. C. drive enhancement. D. extrinsic motivation.
A. intrinsic motivation.
If a test has high content validity, then A. its questions fairly represent the material the test is supposed to cover. B. the reliability of the scores is low. C. all groups who take the test get about the same average score. D. scores on the test are useful for predicting some other behavior.
A. its questions fairly represent the material the test is supposed to cover.
Which part of the eye changes its shape to enable us to focus first on a distant object and then on a nearby object? A. lens B. cornea C. pupil D. retina
A. lens
What are "descriptive statistics"? A. mathematical summaries of results B. books about how to evaluate data C. predictions of future results D. rules about how to conduct research
A. mathematical summaries of results
One type of evidence supporting the James-Lange theory of emotions is that A. molding someone's face into a smile or frown enhances the relevant emotion. B. people with pure autonomic failure experience stronger than normal emotions. C. emotional expressions vary sharply from one culture to another. D. young children have the same facial expressions of emotion as adults.
A. molding someone's face into a smile or frown enhances the relevant emotion.
Descriptions of the frequencies at which particular scores in an IQ test occur are called A. norms. B. regressions. C. cliffs. D. correlations.
A. norms.
The excessive accumulation of body fat is called A. obesity. B. gluttony. C. bulimia. D. anorexia.
A. obesity.
The primary area of the cortex for visual processing is on the __________ lobe. A. occipital B. frontal C. parietal D. temporal
A. occipital
One way to expand the amount of material one can store in short-term memory is to A. organize the material into chunks. B. pause a few minutes between learning the material and testing memory. C. think only about the sound of the words and not their meaning. D. make sure you have more retroactive interference than proactive interference.
A. organize the material into chunks.
One of the functions of the vestibular system is to detect the A. position of the head B. direction and distance of sounds. C. pressure on the skin. D. chemicals in the air.
A. position of the head
People with which of the following disorders have trouble breathing while they are asleep? A. sleep apnea B. periodic limb movement disorder C. hypersomnia D. narcolepsy
A. sleep apnea
Which part of the autonomic nervous system, if any, prepares the body for "fight or flight"? A. sympathetic nervous system B. neither the sympathetic nor the parasympathetic nervous system C. parasympathetic nervous system D. both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems equally
A. sympathetic nervous system
In the human brain, most of the axons from the optic nerve go to the A. thalamus. B. hypothalamus. C. corpus callosum. D. cerebellum.
A. thalamus.
At the beginning of an experiment on classical conditioning, A. the UCS elicits a UCR automatically. B. the CS and the UCS are the same. C. the animal cannot make a UCR. D. he CS elicits a CR automatically.
A. the UCS elicits a UCR automatically.
The main difference between classical conditioning and operant conditioning is that in operant conditioning A. the animal's behavior controls the outcomes (including reinforcers). B. much simpler responses are required. C. the animal is given punishments instead of rewards. D. every response is reinforced, not just some of them.
A. the animal's behavior controls the outcomes (including reinforcers).
Because it is easier to think of words that start with "k" than words that have "k" as the third letter, most people assume that our language has more words starting with "k" than words with "k" in the third position. That kind of reasoning is an example of A. the availability heuristic. B. cognitive maps. C. categorization by levels. D. the Stroop effect.
A. the availability heuristic.
Which of the following is an example of motivation as described in drive reduction theory? A. the desire to remove a painful splinter B. the enjoyment of painting or other creative activity C. an interest in trying unfamiliar foods just for variety D. the desire to ride a roller coaster
A. the desire to remove a painful splinter
In the information-processing model, one difference between short-term memory and long-term memory is that A. you forget many short-term memories almost as soon as your attention is distracted; long-term memories can be available at any time. B. you can store an almost unlimited amount of information in short-term memory but your long-term memory has a limited capacity. C. your short-term memories pertain mostly to meanings, while your long-term memories pertain mostly to sounds. D. you need reminders or retrieval cues to find information stored in short-term memory; you need no such help for long-term memory.
A. you forget many short-term memories almost as soon as your attention is distracted; long-term memories can be available at any time.
According to the activation-synthesis theory, dreaming is A. your brain's effort to make sense of spontaneous sensory activity. B. your brain's attempt to prevent or decrease brain activity. C. a time of memory consolidation and removal. D. a manifestation of a person's unconscious thought and motives.
A. your brain's effort to make sense of spontaneous sensory activity.
Wundt's research focused mainly on the question A. "Are the mind and body separate?" B. "What are the basic components of mental experience?" C. "Do early childhood experiences shape personality?" D. "How do consequences shape behavior?"
B. "What are the basic components of mental experience?"
A correlation coefficient is a mathematical value that ranges between A. 0 and 100. B. -1 and +1. C. 0 and infinity. D. 0 and 1.
B. -1 and +1.
If a child clings tightly to the mother and cries furiously when she leaves, which attachment style does the child show? A. Disorganized B. Anxious C. Securely attached D. Avoidant
B. Anxious
What did Alfred Kinsey discover? A. Human sexual practices are similar in all parts of the world. B. Human sexual behavior varies more than most people realize. C. Abnormal sexual preferences are based on an inherited predisposition. D. Sexual activity does not change in frequency as most people grow older.
B. Human sexual behavior varies more than most people realize.
What does it mean if you wake up and find yourself temporarily unable to move? A. You had an extremely frightening dream just before awakening. B. Part of your brain is awake and another part is asleep. C. You are starting to develop a muscle disorder. D. You are starting to develop a psychological disorder.
B. Part of your brain is awake and another part is asleep.
Why would it be unlikely for anyone to engage in sleepwalking during REM sleep? A. Heart rate and breathing rate are too low and too steady. B. The muscles are too relaxed. C. The slightest disturbance awakens a person in REM sleep. D. Brain activity is too low to control balance.
B. The muscles are too relaxed.
Studies find that people who exercise regularly tend to have a more cheerful outlook on life. What conclusion, if any, can we draw from these data? A. Exercise improves mood. B. We can draw none of these conclusions. C. Cheerfulness increases one's urge to be active. D. People who are young and healthy tend to be cheerful and active.
B. We can draw none of these conclusions.
Edna suffers a stroke and is left with a condition characterized by difficulty recalling the names of objects and impaired comprehension of language. This condition is known as ____ aphasia. A. Pinker's B. Wernicke's C. Broca's D. Chomsky's
B. Wernicke's
What is a mnemonic device? A. a machine that measures brain waves B. a method for improving memorization C. a machine that tests memory D. a method for increasing speed of reading
B. a method for improving memorization
A heuristic is A. a mechanical procedure for testing all possible solutions to a problem. B. a rule of thumb to simplify a problem. C. a person who is not quite an expert in some field. D. a puzzle or problem that has no solution.
B. a rule of thumb to simplify a problem.
Of the following, which one is NOT positively correlated with job satisfaction? A. a happy personality B. being young C. high ability to perform the job D. perceiving the pay scale as fair
B. being young
Your sympathetic nervous system has just been activated. What are you most likely to do? A. increase your salivation and digestion rate B. breathe harder and perspire C. slow your breathing and heart rate D. fall asleep
B. breathe harder and perspire
IQ tests were originally devised to help identify A. prisoners who were ready for release. B. children who belonged in special classes. C. applicants who should be chosen for particular jobs. D. mental patients who were likely to improve.
B. children who belonged in special classes.
Ivan Pavlov was a pioneer in the study of A. operant conditioning. B. classical conditioning. C. behavior modification. D. social-learning theory.
B. classical conditioning.
According to Masters and Johnson, the stage of sexual arousal in which a man's penis first becomes erect and a woman's vagina first becomes lubricated is the __________ stage. A. plateau B. excitement C. orgasm D. resolution
B. excitement
People suffering from narcolepsy: A. walk and talk in their sleep. B. get sleepy in the middle of the day. C. find it difficult to breathe while sleeping. D. find it difficult to wake up in the morning.
B. get sleepy in the middle of the day.
Language is easily learned by humans because the human brain A. is far bigger and more complex than any other brain. B. has areas that are specialized for language. C. can learn a series of simple words easier than the complex sounds of whales or dolphins. D. processes sound energy at an earlier age than it processes visual energy.
B. has areas that are specialized for language.
Circadian rhythms are those that: A. last about a month. B. last about a day. C. are influenced by the phase of the moon. D. inhibit all neural activity.
B. last about a day.
Unlike young people, most people over the age of sixty-five are A. evening people. B. morning people. C. equally alert at all times. D. no longer alert at any time of day.
B. morning people.
The Stroop effect occurs because A. it is very difficult to see the colors of ink. B. people are so used to reading words that they cannot suppress the habit. C. people's thoughts are related to their categories. D. people do not take the frequency of things in the population into account.
B. people are so used to reading words that they cannot suppress the habit.
One of the problems of selective attrition refers to the fact that certain kinds of people may be more likely than others to A. talk to other people during an experiment. B. quit before the research study is finished. C. respond to demand characteristics. D. volunteer to be participants in a research study
B. quit before the research study is finished.
Which of the following is an example of episodic memory? A. remembering how to ride a bicycle B. remembering what happened your first day of elementary school C. remembering the name of your elementary school D. remembering how to shoot a basketball
B. remembering what happened your first day of elementary school
Which of the following structures is NOT part of the ear? A. basilar membrane B. rods C. hair cells D. cochlea
B. rods
At the apex of Maslow's hierarchy is the need for A. drive to succeed. B. self-actualization. C. will to meaning. D. will to power.
B. self-actualization.
The greatest difficulty with Freud's theory of dreams is that A. contrary to Freud's view, most dreams are pleasant. B. the accuracy of the therapist's interpretations cannot be tested. C. he confused which was the latent content and which was the manifest content. D. he believed dreams could only occur in non-REM sleep.
B. the accuracy of the therapist's interpretations cannot be tested.
People are most likely to be overconfident in the accuracy of their predictions when predicting A. events that are virtually certain to occur. B. their own accomplishments. C. the accomplishments of other people. D. changes in the weather.
B. their own accomplishments.
A professor gives unannounced quizzes at unpredictable times. Therefore students must study equally every night. Which type of schedule of reinforcement is this? A. fixed ratio B. variable interval C. fixed interval D. variable ratio
B. variable interval
A survey team asks questions of a group of people who have been carefully selected to be sure that they include the same percentages of male and female; old and young; and black, white, Asian, and Hispanic as the population as a whole. This group of people constitute a A. longitudinal sample. B. random sample. C. representative sample. D. convenience sample.
C. representative sample.
A psychologist who applies psychological principles to help athletes train and compete is a/an A. biopsychologist B. clinical psychologist C. sports psychologist. D. health psychologist.
C. sports psychologist.
In a typical neuron, during the resting potential the inside of the axon has an electrical charge of around A. 0 mV. B. +100 mV. C. -70 mV. D. +50 mV.
C. -70 mV.
What percentage of people would we expect to score more than two standard deviations above the mean on an IQ test? A. 20-25% B. 98% C. 50% D. 2%
D. 2%
Which of the following is an advantage of bilingualism? A. Bilingual people master both languages faster than most people master one. B. Bilingual people almost never have difficulty thinking of the correct word. C. Bilingual people improve their ability to control attention. D. Bilingual people are less likely than average to develop anxiety disorders.
C. Bilingual people improve their ability to control attention.
What evidence suggests a cultural influence on children's choices of toys to play with? A. In many cultures, boys play mostly with dolls and girls play mostly with toy trucks. B. On average, boys' toys and girls' toys are about equally expensive. C. Children who watch boys play with a toy in a TV ad assume it is a boys' toy. D. Male monkeys tend to play with balls and trucks, and girl monkeys play with dolls.
C. Children who watch boys play with a toy in a TV ad assume it is a boys' toy
What effect, if any, does exercise have on stress? A. Exercise makes stress worse by increasing activity in the sympathetic nervous system while exercising. B. Exercise makes stress worse because people who exercise regularly respond more strongly to stressful events, even when not exercising. C. Exercise reduces stress by working off excess energy and promoting relaxation. D. Exercise has not been shown to have any effect on stress.
C. Exercise reduces stress by working off excess energy and promoting relaxation.
How does the guilty-knowledge test differ from the more usual lie-detector test? A. In the guilty-knowledge test, the accused person is given the questions in written form instead of having an interrogator read them aloud. B. The guilty-knowledge test measures EEG as well as autonomic responses. C. In the guilty-knowledge test, innocent people should be no more nervous about the crime-related questions than about other questions. D. The guilty-knowledge test measures EEG as well as autonomic responses.
C. In the guilty-knowledge test, innocent people should be no more nervous about the crime-related questions than about other questions.
In which way is emotional pain (such as feeling rejected) similar to physical pain? A. It activates the same sensory areas of the brain that physical pain does. B. It is similar ONLY in the fact that we use the same word for it. C. It activates the same emotional areas of the brain that physical pain does. D. It stimulates the same receptors.
C. It activates the same emotional areas of the brain that physical pain does.
Which of the following is the strongest evidence supporting the belief that differences among people in their IQ scores are related in part to differences in heredity? A. Children adopted by high-IQ parents generally develop higher IQ scores than do children adopted by low-IQ parents. B. There is a high positive correlation between the IQ of children and the IQs of their parents. C. There is a high correlation in IQ between identical twins who have been adopted by different parents and reared in different environments. D. Children generally have approximately the same IQ score at age 8 that they will have in adulthood.
C. There is a high correlation in IQ between identical twins who have been adopted by different parents and reared in different environments.
What is true of people with a more reactive than average amygdala? A. They form social judgments rapidly but modify them slowly. B. They engage in many impulsive and risky behaviors, especially under peer influence. C. They report many unpleasant experiences and they react strongly to stress. D. They are easily distracted while they are trying to concentrate on a task.
C. They report many unpleasant experiences and they react strongly to stress.
What is a lucid dream? A. a dream from which the person awakens in fear B. a dream that accurately predicts the future C. a case when the dreamer is aware of having a dream D. a dream that occurs repeatedly, night after night
C. a case when the dreamer is aware of having a dream
In order to measure happiness, most researchers use A. PET scans, to look for evidence of activity in the amygdala. B. the Positive Psychology Index. C. a measure of subjective well-being. D. behavioral observations of smiling.
C. a measure of subjective well-being.
What does a researcher examine in a longitudinal design? A. different people (of different ages) at the same time B. people from different countries or different cultures C. a single group of people at different times D. different species of animals
C. a single group of people at different times
In response to prolonged stress, higher amounts of cortisol are released from the __________. A. amygdala B. thalamus C. adrenal glands D. cingulated
C. adrenal glands
If a psychologist wanted to determine whether Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences is correct, as opposed to Spearman's theory of the "g" factor, what type of information would the psychologist probably collect? A. means and standard deviations for IQ scores of people in different parts of the world B. information about the stability of individuals' IQ scores over a period of years C. correlations between people's performances on many unrelated types of intelligent abilities D. comparisons of the IQs of identical twins reared together and identical twins reared in separate environments
C. correlations between people's performances on many unrelated types of intelligent abilities
Which of the following words has exactly one morpheme? A. don't B. cats C. dog D. cannot
C. dog
Two-day-old infants typically would spend the most time looking at a A. solid white picture. B. narrow diagonally striped pattern. C. drawing of a human face. D. solid red picture.
C. drawing of a human face.
A psychologist offers people three pairs of shoes and investigates whether their choices are predictable. The results are likely to be relevant to which of these issues? A. the mind-brain problem B. the nature-nurture issue C. free will versus determinism D. the ethics of behavior modification
C. free will versus determinism
Gestalt psychologists specialized in studying A. the physiological role of feature detectors in vision. B. the elementary components of experience. C. how we perceive a complex pattern as a whole. D. interactions between visual and auditory experiences.
C. how we perceive a complex pattern as a whole.
What do we call the process of looking within yourself to describe sensations and experiences? A. insightfulness B. intensification C. introspection D. extrapolation
C. introspection
An advantage of Raven's Progressive Matrices is that it A. directly measures innate ability. B. has higher reliability and validity than other IQ tests. C. is fairer to people who do not speak English. D. provides separate scores for a number of specialized abilities.
C. is fairer to people who do not speak English.
A psychologist studies 21 children on their first day of school, and examines the same children again on the last day. This is a __________ research design. A. cross-sequential B. double-blind C. longitudinal D. cross-sectional
C. longitudinal
One significant problem with eyewitness testimony is that A. most juries do not trust eyewitness testimony as much as they should B. short-term memory fades almost completely during the interval between the event and the trial. C. people's memory sometimes fills in information that has been suggested to them, even though it did not happen. D. the depth-of-processing principle is in conflict with the encoding specificity principle.
C. people's memory sometimes fills in information that has been suggested to them, even though it did not happen.
The term "sexual orientation" refers to a person's A. tendency to identify himself as a man or herself as a woman. B. degree of interest in sexual stimulation. C. preference for male or female sexual partners. D. pattern of predominantly male or female hormones
C. preference for male or female sexual partners.
One advantage of the Wechsler intelligence tests, such as the WAIS-III and WISC-IV, is that they A. are equally fair to people from different cultures and languages. B. are given to large groups at one time, with machine scoring C. provide separate scores representing a number of separate abilities. D. allow people to work at their own pace, with no time limits.
C. provide separate scores representing a number of separate abilities.
People with which of the following disorders have trouble breathing while they are asleep? A. hypersomnia B. periodic limb movement disorder C. sleep apnea D. narcolepsy
C. sleep apnea
In human development, what determines whether the external genitals appear male or female? A. the chromosomes alone B. the amount of estradiol and other estrogens C. the amount of testosterone and other androgens D. the ratio of testosterone to estradiol
C. the amount of testosterone and other androgens
Suppose your alarm made a slight clicking sound just before the alarm goes off. Even though you didn't wake up to the clicking sound initially, now you do, due to classical conditioning. In this example, the conditioned stimulus is A. waking up to the clicking. B. the alarm. C. the clicking. D. waking up to your alarm.
C. the clicking.
Some psychologists study positive psychology, which is the study of A. why those people who have more social contacts have a buffer against distress. B. positive correlations such as those between height and age. C. the features that enrich life, such as hope, creativity, and responsibility. D. how our actions can influence the behavior and emotions of others.
C. the features that enrich life, such as hope, creativity, and responsibility.
A motivation is regarded as homeostatic if A. the individual develops the drive as a result of learning. B. it is at or near the highest level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs C. the individual maintains some variable around a constant value. D. it occurs only on rare occasions.
C. the individual maintains some variable around a constant value.
Pavlov repeatedly paired a buzzer with the presentation of food and measured salivation to each. In this experiment the food was the A. conditioned stimulus. B. unconditioned response. C. unconditioned stimulus. D. conditioned response.
C. unconditioned stimulus.
Adolescence can be described as a period of "storm and stress," marked by moodiness, conflict with parents, and risky behaviors. Research suggests that this pattern A. holds consistently for boys and girls across different cultures. B. is actually only true for boys. C. varies among individuals, families, and cultures. D. is actually only true for girls
C. varies among individuals, families, and cultures.
Arousal of the sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for A. continuation of whatever it is already doing. B. relaxation. C. vigorous activity. D. digestive activities
C. vigorous activity.
Harriet has just taken a new IQ test. She answered 88 questions correctly. However, this test has not yet been standardized. Therefore, A. we can be sure that her score is neither reliable nor valid. B. her IQ score is 88. C. we do not know how her score compares to that of other people. D. we know that her IQ is below average, but we do not know how much below average.
C. we do not know how her score compares to that of other people.
What do psychologists and philosophers mean by the term mind-body question? A. "Is the mind aware of anything that goes on in the body?" B. "Do you mind what I do with your body?" C. "Which is stronger, the mind or the body?" D. "Is the mind separate from or identical with the physical brain?"
D. "Is the mind separate from or identical with the physical brain?"
The discipline of psychology started in A. 1890, when James published The Principles of Psychology. B. 1900, when Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams. C. in 2012, when professor Stein taught psychology at Rutgers. D. 1879, when Wundt started the first research laboratory.
D. 1879, when Wundt started the first research laboratory.
Which of the following could be an operational definition of "curiosity"? A. discomfort provoked by recognizing that one does not understand something B. a desire to gain knowledge for its own sake C. the mental activity experienced by a child in the presence of brightly colored objects D. the number of unassigned books that someone reads during a month
D. the number of unassigned books that someone reads during a month
Under what circumstances do we see spontaneous recovery of a learned response? A. An individual is reinforced for responding to one stimulus but not to another. B. A distracting stimulus increases a weakly learned response. C. The subject is exposed many times to the CS alone. D. After a response is extinguished, the subject is given a delay and then tested again.
D. After a response is extinguished, the subject is given a delay and then tested again.
An investigator flashes one or more letters on a screen and asks the viewer to look at the whole set and then say the first letter (the one on the left). After which of the following displays will it be easiest to give the correct answer? A. D B. DH C. DKH D. DARK
D. DARK
Psychologists have proposed which of the following as an alternative to the idea of six basic emotions? A. People have an infinite variety of basic emotions. B. People have only one emotional state, which varies in intensity. C. Each human culture invents its own emotional states. D. Emotions vary along two or more dimensions, such as pleasure to misery.
D. Emotions vary along two or more dimensions, such as pleasure to misery.
If you remember the events of moving into your current home, what type of memory is that? A. Implicit B. Semantic C. short-term D. Episodic
D. Episodic
Which of the following theories holds that intelligence includes unrelated (or poorly correlated) abilities such as language, music, logic, body movement, and social sensitivity? A. Cattell's distinction between fluid and crystallized intelligence B. Spearman's concept of a "g" factor C. Binet's theory of intelligence D. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences
D. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences
hich of the following theories holds that intelligence includes unrelated (or poorly correlated) abilities such as language, music, logic, body movement, and social sensitivity? A. Binet's theory of intelligence B. Cattell's distinction between fluid and crystallized intelligence C. Spearman's concept of a "g" factor D. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences
D. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences
Which of the following demonstrates a set point in body weight? A. People eat more when food tastes good and less when it tastes bad. B. Most people are hungrier during the day than they are at night. C. After certain kinds of brain damage, individuals gain weight. D. Most people maintain a nearly steady body weight over a long time.
D. Most people maintain a nearly steady body weight over a long time.
How does a voluntary smile typically differ from a full, spontaneous, Duchenne smile? A. Only voluntary smiles include a parting of the lips to reveal the teeth. B. Voluntary smiles have more of an upward curve. C. The Duchenne smile involves clenched teeth; the voluntary smile has a relaxed jaw. D. Only Duchenne smiles include contractions of the muscles around the eyes.
D. Only Duchenne smiles include contractions of the muscles around the eyes.
People read a list of words including PENDULUM. Later they are shown something like __E__D__L__M and they try to fill in the missing letters. Most get the correct answer (which is PENDULUM). What is unusual about this method of testing memory? A. People who can recite the list of words perfectly often fail to show any memory by this fill-in-the-blanks test. B. People actually show a stronger memory on this test the longer they wait after originally reading the list. C. People often fill in the blanks incorrectly and then insist that the incorrect words were actually on the original list. D. People frequently show signs of memory according to this test although they are not able to recall the words on the list
D. People frequently show signs of memory according to this test although they are not able to recall the words on the list
Which of the following was an attempt to devise an IQ test that makes minimal use of language and is more fair to people with various cultural and language backgrounds? A. Wechsler test B. MMPI C. Stanford-Binet test D. Raven's Progressive Matrices
D. Raven's Progressive Matrices
How can one extinguish a classically conditioned response? A. Repeatedly present the unconditioned stimulus by itself. B. Wait a long time without more training. C. Stop providing positive reinforcements. D. Repeatedly present the conditioned stimulus by itself.
D. Repeatedly present the conditioned stimulus by itself.
Suppose astronauts are on a flight to another planet. The temperature and lighting of the spacecraft remain constant at all times. When will the astronauts become sleepy? A. about once every 48-72 hours B. briefly, every hour or two C. on an irregular, unpredictable basis D. about once every 24-25 hours
D. about once every 24-25 hours
According to Erik Erikson, the identity crisis (the question "Who am I?") is of greatest concern to people of what age? A. preschool children B. older adults C. toddlers D. adolescents
D. adolescents
To determine whether or not a child has reached the stage of formal operations, a psychologist might test whether the child can A. speak in complete sentences. B. understand that objects maintain certain properties despite changes in their shape. C. understand that an object continues to exist even when it is out of sight. D. answer hypothetical and abstract questions.
D. answer hypothetical and abstract questions.
According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you satisfy your lower needs A. while satisfying your higher needs. B. after moving on to your higher needs. C. after moving on to your middle needs. D. before moving on to your higher needs.
D. before moving on to your higher needs.
In which of these does a person have the LEAST amount of brain activity and responsiveness? A. coma B. vegetative state C. minimally conscious state D. brain death
D. brain death
What is the name of the set of fibers that connect the left hemisphere of the brain to the right hemisphere? A. limbic system B. hippocampus C. sympathetic nervous system D. corpus callosum
D. corpus callosum
During a period of prolonged stress, A. heart rate and respiration rate show a gradual decrease. B. appetite and weight increase steadily. C. physiological variables such as epinephrine levels and heart rate don't show an increase. D. cortisol levels remain at a high level.
D. cortisol levels remain at a high level.
Someone with an IQ score of 130 is in the 98th percentile. This means he or she A. answered 130 questions correctly. B. answered 98% of the questions correctly. C. answered 98 questions correctly. D. did better than 98% of the people his or her age who took the test.
D. did better than 98% of the people his or her age who took the test.
After a subject has developed a classically conditioned response, an investigator begins presenting the conditioned stimulus by itself. Which of the following is likely to occur? A. stimulus generalization B. spontaneous recovery C. acquisition D. extinction
D. extinction
Which of the following does NOT happen under hypnosis? A. increased responsiveness to suggestions of what to do after hypnosis B. increased relaxation C. reduced reaction to painful stimuli D. greater than normal strength
D. greater than normal strength
An area of the brain that is especially important in determining when to start and stop eating is the A. hippocampus. B. cerebellum. C. medulla. D. hypothalamus.
D. hypothalamus.
Which of the following characterizes someone in a coma? A. brief periods of purposeful activity B. low brain activity except for brief responses to painful stimulation C. no brain activity at all D. low brain activity with no response to any stimulation
D. low brain activity with no response to any stimulation
Homeostasis refers to: A. a kind of sexual energy B. engaging in an act for its own sake, without any external reward C. sensation-seeking D. maintenance of an optimum level of biological conditions
D. maintenance of an optimum level of biological conditions
Dark adaptation involves A. increased sensitivity to touch and other nonvisual senses. B. the use of additional cones for visual processing. C. increased after images. D. regeneration of molecules
D. regeneration of molecules
The term "working memory" has been adopted by many researchers to replace the more traditional term. A. long-term memory. B. sensory memory. C. broken memory. D. short-term memory.
D. short-term memory.
Sue accidentally puts her hand too close to a hot burner on the stove, and by reflex she pulls her hand away before it is badly burned. What part of the body controls such a reflex? A. Thalamus B. Cerebellum C. cerebral cortex D. spinal cord
D. spinal cord
The term "gender identity" refers to a person's A. preference for male or female sexual partners. B. degree of interest in sexual stimulation. C. pattern of predominantly male or female hormones. D. tendency to identify himself as a man or herself as a woman.
D. tendency to identify himself as a man or herself as a woman.
People note the moment when they decide to flex their wrist, and they report it later. Researchers record the time of the movement, the time of the reported decision, and the time when activity began to increase in the premotor cortex of the person's brain. Which comes FIRST? A. the time of the reported conscious decision B. all three start at the same time C. the movement D. the increase in brain activity
D. the increase in brain activity
When a normal, healthy person falls asleep, REM sleep is least likely when A. the major postural muscles are relaxed. B. the person has been asleep more than 8 hours. C. the eyes are moving. D. the person has been asleep less than an hour.
D. the person has been asleep less than an hour.
When does a psychologist who is administering the Stanford-Binet end the test for an 8-year-old child? A. when the child misses his or her first item B. when the test reaches the items designated as "age 8" C. when all of the items have been presented D. when the child begins to consistently miss items
D. when the child begins to consistently miss items
researches have studied pairs of twins who were reading separate homes as children and then reunited as adults. Researchers examined their hobbies, habits, and preferences and found that a. dizygotic twins were physically more similar, but they did not have similar preferences b. dizygotic twins are more similar than monozygotic twins c. monozygotic twins are more similar than dizygotic twins d. neither type of twin pair was more similar than the other
c. monozygotic twins are more similar than dizygotic twins
What is a neurotransmitter? a. an ionized chemical bound to the nucleus of a cell b. a drug that produces hallucinations c. a machine that measures brainwaves d. a chemical that travels from one neuron to another
d. a chemical that travels from one neuron to another
What happens at a synapse? a. increase production of myelin b. something very sinful c. storage of nutrients for later use d.release of a chemical that affects another cell
d. release of a chemical that affects another cell
From around 1920 to 1960 research in psychology focused primarily on the study of a. the meaning of dreams b. the structure of the mind. c. unconscious processes. d. behavior.
d.behavior
the numerous short, widely branching branching fibers of a neuron that receive input from other neurons are known as a. somas b. axons c. dendrites d. glia
dendrites
one difference between the occipital, parietal, and temporal lobes that we are sure of is that they are responsible for a. different aspects of personality b.different sensory systems c. control of the muscles in different parts of the body d. different types of motivation
different sensory systems
