Psychology Midterm

Psychology's history as a science began in a. 1905 in Paris, France. b. 1895 in Vienna, Austria. c. 1848 at Harvard University. d. 1879 in Leipzig, Germany.

1879 in Leipzig, Germany.

One thing that cocaine, "highway hypnosis," high fever, and meditation all have in common is that they produce a. hypnagogic images. b. relaxation. c. ASCs. d. euphoria.

ASCs.

Regarding the treatment of alcoholism, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Cocaine Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous use a similar spiritual "12-step" program like AA. b. After detoxification, the second step is usually individual behavior therapy using aversion techniques. c. Detoxification frequently produces all the symptoms of drug withdrawal and can be extremely painful. d. There is a strong tendency for abusive drinkers to deny they have a problem.

After detoxification, the second step is usually individual behavior therapy using aversion techniques.

Regarding mindfulness and meditation, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. In general, mindfulness is associated with self-knowledge and well-being. b. Being mindful makes it easier to quit smoking. c. Being mindful involves being laid-back, carefree, and sleepwalking through life. d. Cancer patients who are taught mindfulness meditation have lower levels of distress.

Being mindful involves being laid-back, carefree, and sleepwalking through life.

Regarding the brain, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. The brain regulates its own behavior and creates the "mind" and the magic of consciousness. b. Brain circuitry cannot be significantly changed by outside experiences. c. The brain is a vast information-processing system, keeping track of the external world and responding to current needs. d. Incoming information scatters all over the brain and converges again as it goes out through the spinal cord, to muscles and glands.

Brain circuitry cannot be significantly changed by outside experiences.

Greg is participating in a sleep lab experiment. Electrodes are affixed to his scalp to measure the beta, alpha, theta, and delta waves Greg exhibits as he goes through the various stages of sleep. What technique is being utilized? a. CT scan b. EEG c. MRI d. PET scan

EEG

The technique that uses a magnetic field to develop an image of the brain is called the a. EEG. b. MRI scan. c. ESB. d. ablation technique.

MRI scan.

Which of the following theorists is associated with Gestalt psychology? a. Ivan Pavlov b. John Watson c. Max Wertheimer d. B.F. Skinner

Max Wertheimer

According to research, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Sitting quietly and "resting" can be as effective as meditation and mild sensory deprivation for some people. b. Mindfulness involves being "spaced out" or having occasional moments of reduced awareness in order to reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. c. If a person finds it difficult to ignore upsetting thoughts, then concentrative meditation would be a good way to promote relaxation. d. Stress reduction occurs when people set aside time daily to engage in positive daydreaming or leisure reading.

Mindfulness involves being "spaced out" or having occasional moments of reduced awareness in order to reduce anxiety and promote relaxation.

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic ethical guidelines for psychological researchers? a. Minimize the placebo effect. b. Provide results and interpretations to participants. c. Use deception only when absolutely necessary. d. Maintain confidentiality.

Minimize the placebo effect.

Regarding NREM sleep, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. NREM sleep is dream free about 90 percent of the time. b. NREM sleep occurs during stages 1, 2, 3, and 4. c. Dreamless slow-wave NREM sleep increases after physical exertion. d. NREM is deepest late in the night during the last stage-4 periods.

NREM is deepest late in the night during the last stage-4 periods.

A friend tells you that he conducted a scientific experiment this summer in which he talked to ten plants and measured their growth. He found that these plants grew faster and taller than any plants he had ever grown. From your friend's research, can we conclude that talking to plants is the cause of their fast growth? a. No, because the placebo effect was not considered. b. No, because there was no control group. c. Yes, because the scientific data was collected. d. Yes, because a positive correlation would found between talking and plant growth.

No, because there was no control group.

Concerning eyewitness testimony, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Personal objectivity requires frequent reality testing to maintain. b. Our everyday perceptions are rarely as inaccurate or distorted as those of an emotional eyewitness to a crime. c. An eyewitness's perception and memory for an event may be affected by his or her attitudes and expectations. d. More than 300 people who were convicted of murder, rape, and other crimes in the United States based on eyewitness testimony have been exonerated by DNA testing.

Our everyday perceptions are rarely as inaccurate or distorted as those of an emotional eyewitness to a crime.

By placing positron detectors around the head and sending data to a computer, it is possible to create a moving, color picture of changes in brain activity using a(n) a. MRI. b. CT scan. c. PET scan. d. ESB recording.

PET scan.

According to the research on nicotine, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Young children are especially vulnerable to secondhand smoke. b. The "cold turkey" approach to quitting smoking is considered the most effective approach in producing permanent nonsmokers. c. Users of smokeless tobacco run a higher risk of oral cancer. d. Secondary smoke causes about 3,500 lung cancer deaths and as many as 70,000 heart disease deaths each year in the United States alone.

The "cold turkey" approach to quitting smoking is considered the most effective approach in producing permanent nonsmokers.

The sleep attacks and paralysis of individuals with narcolepsy appear to occur when a. a person is experiencing microsleeps. b. REM sleep intrudes into the waking state. c. NREM stage 4 sleep intrudes into the waking state. d. a person is experiencing hypnopompic hallucinations.

Rem sleep intrudes into the waking state

A doctor activates the surface of a patient's brain by touching it with a small electrified wire and the patient tells the doctor what effect the stimulation had. Regarding this procedure, which of the following statements is TRUE? a. The doctor is performing an ablation. b. The doctor is using an EEG to "turn on" brain structures. c. This procedure is impossible because patients cannot be awake during brain procedures. d. The doctor is using an electrode to "turn on" brain structures.

The doctor is using an electrode to "turn on" brain structures.

Regarding sleepwalkers, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Awakening a sleepwalker does no harm, but it is not necessary. b. The sleepwalker usually has a blank face and shuffles his or her feet. c. Sleepwalkers have been known to play a musical instrument, drive a car, or cook while asleep. d. The sleepwalker's eyes are usually closed.

The sleepwalker's eyes are usually closed.

Regarding the use of examples, anecdotes, single cases, and testimonials in advertising, which of the following statements is TRUE? a. They are all potentially deceptive because individual cases tell us nothing about what is true in general. b. They are all invalid due to the Barnum effect. c. They should be viewed as valid indicators of the authenticity of the product or service. d. They all create a courtesy bias within the customer.

They are all invalid due to the Barnum effect.

What do Buddhists engaging in meditation practices, Navaho elders drinking peyote tea, and New Zealand Maori priests performing nightlong rituals to communicate with the mythical period the Aborigines call "Dreamtime" all have in common? a. They are used as a rite of passage for the young men in each culture. b. They are all used to induce a relaxation response. c. They are all considered illegal practices in most Western cultures. d. They are all meant to cleanse the mind and body and bring about altered awareness and personal revelation.

They are all meant to cleanse the mind and body and bring about altered awareness and personal revelation.

Regarding how to moderate one's social drinking, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. It is best to limit the drinking of alcohol primarily to the first hour of a social event or party. b. To pace one's drinking, it is best to drink alcohol on an empty stomach and then eat later in the evening. c. To pace one's drinking, one should make every other drink or more a nonalcoholic beverage. d. Research has shown that college students are likely to overestimate how much their fellow students are drinking at a party.

To pace one's drinking, it is best to drink alcohol on an empty stomach and then eat later in the evening.

The presence of a drug tolerance and withdrawal symptoms is indicative of a. a physical dependence. b. polydrug abuse. c. an emotional dependence. d. a psychological dependence.

a physical dependence.

When asked to point to the picture of "what we drive," the stroke patient points to the picture of the apple rather than the car, illustrating that the stroke damaged a. Broca's area. b. the somatosensory cortex. c. the corpus callosum. d. Wernicke's area.

Wernicke's area.

Which of the following is most closely associated with surgical removal of parts of the brain? a. clinical studies b. ablation c. MRI scan d. electroencephalography

ablation

Kelly is writing a paper on conformity for her psychology class. In order to find the research articles she needs for the paper, the first step for her would be to get an overview of each of the articles that come up in her search. She should first read which part of each article? a. method b. abstract c. discussion review d. introduction

abstract

According to your textbook, the drugs that are classified as addictive sedative-hypnotics include which of the following? a. nicotine b. LSD c. marijuana d. alcohol

alcohol

When a person is drunk, worries and "second thoughts" that would normally restrain behavior are banished from the drinker's mind. Thus, many behaviors become more extreme when a person is drunk due to this condition known as binge drinking. alcohol myopia. divergent thinking. alcohol psychosis.

alcohol myopia.

According to your textbook, a physical dependence occurs with which of the following drugs? a. all of these b. alcohol c. nicotine d. cocaine

all of these

You have agreed to be hypnotized. You can expect the hypnotist to encourage you to do all of the following EXCEPT a. relax and feel tired. b. accept suggestions easily. c. alternate tensing and releasing of your muscles. d. use vivid imagination.

alternate tensing and releasing of your muscles.

Amobarbital, pentobarbital, secobarbital, and tuinal are examples of a. barbiturates. b. stimulants. c. amphetamines. d. hallucinogens.

barbiturates.

When American and Japanese participants were shown drawings of everyday scenes, such as a farm, and were later shown slightly changed versions of the same scene, the Americans participants tended to a. be better at detecting changes in the figure of the scene. b. find fewer overall changes. c. be better at finding alterations in the background of the scene. d. find significantly more of the changes.

be better at detecting changes in the figure of the scene.

Which school of thought in psychology emphasizes the study of overt, observable behavior? a. functionalism b. behaviorism c. structuralism d. Gestalt psychology

behaviorism

Which school of thought in psychology is known for developing the proper use of reward, punishment, and conditioning to change problems? a. Gestalt psychology b. humanistic psychology c. behaviorism d. psychoanalysis

behaviorism

Jessie is a psychologist who specializes in how a person's biological processes, brain, and nervous system are related to behavior. Jessie would be referred to as a a. biopsychologist. b. cranial behaviorist. c. neurogenic psychologist. d. physiological behaviorist.

biopsychologist.

At age 33, Kate Adamson had a stroke that resulted in a locked-in syndrome, in which one moment she was fine and the next totally paralyzed and barely able to breathe. The stroke had damaged which part of Kate Adamson's brain? a. hippocampus b. amygdala c. thalamus d. brainstem

brainstem

The side effects of anabolic steroids include a. increased testicle size in men. b. a woman's voice having a higher pitch. c. breast enlargement in men. d. a woman's hair becoming thicker, longer, and curlier.

breast enlargement in men.

Insomnia, irritability, loss of appetite, chills, racing heart, and elevated body temperature are all signs of a. valium addiction. b. caffeinism. c. cocaine withdrawal. d. GHB use.

caffeinism.

Both the hereditary as well as environmental influences on the development of schizophrenia in the Genain quadruplets were documented using which research method? a. experimental method b. case study c. correlational study d. survey method

case study

Taylor is using a technique in which she focuses her attention on a specific object or word to block out distractions and enhance her well-being. This technique is called a. mindfulness meditation. b. concentrative meditation. c. imagery rehearsal. d. lucid dreaming.

concentrative meditation.

Giving placebos in drug experiments is necessary to a. counteract the side effects of the drug. b. counteract the random assignment of subjects. c. control for the effects of suggestion and expectation. d. control for drug abuse.

control for the effects of suggestion and expectation.

In which type of study are two factors measured and then a statistical technique used to find the degree of relationship between the two factors? a. correlational study b. naturalistic observation c. survey method d. case study method

correlational study

Which of the following hormones regulates the salt balance in the body, helps the body adjust to stress, and serves as a secondary source of sex hormones? a. adrenaline b. corticoids c. thyroxin d. melatonin

corticoids

Whenever you have a tooth filled, you either pinch yourself or dig a fingernail into your knuckle while the dentist is working. In order to control pain, you are using a. sensory adaptation. b. sensory conflict. c. systematic desensitization. d. counterirritation.

counterirritation.

Visual agnosia may sometimes be helped by a. hypnosis. b. additional visual cues, such as color, size, and shape. c. cues of touch. d. waiting long enough to think through an answer.

cues of touch.

Most of us tend to look at a tree and classify it into the perceptual category of "trees in general" without really appreciating the miracle standing before us. When we take the time to stop and pay attention to "this miracle" that we previously ignored, then we are exhibiting a. inductive reasoning. b. deductive reasoning. c. dishabituation. d. habituation.

dishabituation.

Using a test she developed, Dr. Candel is able to distinguish among the students' different learning styles, that is, whether they are vision learners, auditory learners, tactile learners, etc. Dr. Candel is most likely a(n) __________ psychologist. a. developmental b. educational c. comparative d. social

educational

Which system is considered a parallel communication system to the nervous system in the body with its secretions passing directly into the bloodstream or lymph system? a. somatosensory b. reticular activating c. limbic d. endocrine

endocrine

Tina is taking part in an experiment, and is assigned to the group that receives the independent variable. Tina is in the __________ group. a. control b. independent d. experimental d. dependent

experimental

The small cup-shaped area in the middle of the retina that contains only cones is the a. cornea. b. blind spot. c. lens. d. fovea.

fovea.

Mescaline and psilocybin are classified as a. hallucinogens. b. stimulants. c. tranquilizers. d. sedatives.

hallucinogens.

You are about to undergo a painful medical procedure.Which of the following would NOT be likely to reduce your pain? a. using counterirritation b. having the painful parts of the procedure occur without any warning c. listening to music through headphones d. having the doctor explain everything that will happen

having the painful parts of the procedure occur without any warning

Several areas of the limbic system act as reward, or "pleasure," pathways with many overlapping with the areas that control thirst, sex, and hunger in the a. hypothalamus. b. cerebellum. c. hippocampus. d. reticular formation.

hypothalamus.

Physical properties of an object, such as length, position, motion, curvature, or direction, are consistently misjudged in a. illusions. b. hallucinations. c. sensory habituations. d. physiological nystagmus.

illusions.

Failure to perceive a stimulus that is in plain view but not the focus of attention is known as a. inattentional blindness. b. adaptation level. c. subliminal stimuli. d. habituation.

inattentional blindness.

When Kierra is having a dispute with her friends or family members, she tries to take the other person's perspective and ask herself, "How does this look to her or him?" By doing this, Kierra is trying to a. enhance her perceptual accuracy through the creation of perceptual sets. b. interrupt her tendency to engage in unconscious transference. c. increase her awareness of how motives and emotions influence her perceptions. d. enhance her perceptual accuracy through the use of habituation.

increase her awareness of how motives and emotions influence her perceptions.

To become a better "eyewitness" to life, you should do all of the following EXCEPT a. seek out-of-the-ordinary experiences. b. engage in reality testing. c. increase your perceptual sets. d. pay attention to other people and your surroundings.

increase your perceptual sets.

When a psychologist uses scientific observation, these observations must a. be conducted using animals rather than humans. b. involve logic and commonsense reasoning. c. be carefully planned and be able to be confirmed by more than one observer. d. involve all of these.

involve logic and commonsense reasoning.

An advertisement promising to "unlock your hidden potential in just two hours!" should be suspect because a. the experience is not repeatable. b. correlation does not mean causation. c. it is based on single cases and testimonials. d. it is an oversimplification.

it is an oversimplification.

Psychology became a science in 1879 when psychologists began to a. use machines to record the behaviors of organisms. b. make observations, perform experiments, and seek information. c. understand the relationship between humans and animals. d. avoid deductive thinking.

make observations, perform experiments, and seek information.

Which of the following is a mental exercise that focuses attention, interrupts the flow of thoughts and worries, and reduces physical tension and anxiety? a. hypnopompic imagery. b. meditation. c. sensory adaptation. d. lucid dreaming.

meditation.

While meditating, Bernard tries to achieve a total non-judgmental awareness of the world. Bernard is using __________ meditation. a. concentrative b. latent content c. mindfulness d. dissociative

mindfulness

Creative people habituate a. more rapidly than average. b. to unfamiliar stimuli. c. more often during creative production. d. more slowly than average.

more slowly than average.

Apparent motion can be influenced by an observer's point of fixation so that at middle distances, objects closer than the point of fixation appear to a. move backward. b. disappear. c. move forward. d. remain stationary.

move backward.

Research conducted by Chua, Boland, and Nisbett found that American participants tended to focus on the figure within a scene, while the Chinese participants focused on the background. They concluded that Americans tend to have a a. narrow focus of attention. b. broader focus of attention. c. longer attention span. d. shorter attention span.

narrow focus of attention.

Which of the following are not direct tests of the brain, but are subtle outward behavioral signs of nervous system dysfunction that have been used to diagnose problems ranging from childhood learning disorders to psychosis? a. brain embolisms b. confabulations c. neurological soft signs d. neural inductions

neurological soft signs

Jacob suspects he may have had a stroke because he is having some difficulty in controlling his right hand and feels numbness on the right side of his face. This behavioral evidence of possible brain damage is called a. neurogenesis. b. spatial neglect. c. virilism. d. neurological soft signs.

neurological soft signs.

Naturalistic observation, correlational studies, the clinical method, and the survey method are considered __________ methods. a. nonexperimental b. placebo bias c. experimental d. nonscientific

nonexperimental

Which aspect of the activated receptor tells the brain how strong an odor is? a. number b. size c. shape d. location

number

A college student has volunteered to tutor students in a first-grade classroom. She hopes to gain a realistic picture of the everyday behavior of these students. However, every time she enters the classroom, the students all stop what they are doing and run up to her begging her to tutor them next. This college student will probably never get a realistic picture of a typical first grader's school day because of the a. observer effect. b. observer bias. c. anthropomorphic error. d. self-fulfilling prophecy.

observer effect.

Juanita had a stroke and is in the hospital. When her family members visit her in the hospital, Juanita is unable to recognize any of their faces until she hears their voices. Juanita most likely has damage to the association areas of the a. limbic system. b. occipital and frontal lobes. c. reticular activating system. d. temporal and parietal lobes.

occipital and frontal lobes.

The primary somatosensory area is located in the __________ lobes. a. parietal b. temporal c. occipital d. frontal

parietal

Which of the following involves the process of extracting perceptual features from stimulus patterns? a. sensory analysis. b. perceptual gating. c. perceptual localization. d. sensory adaptation.

perceptual gating.

Braxton and Shelia are curious about the relationship between obesity and hours spent watching television. They obtained data on rates of obesity and reported hours watching television over a four-year period. When they graphed the rate of obesity in the sample and the hours of television watched, they found that obesity and watching television have a positive relationship. The more hours the sample reported watching television, the higher the rate of obesity. Therefore, knowing how much television a population watches now allows us to a. recommend less television time for weight loss. b. prevent obesity. c. predict the rate of obesity. d. explain why obesity occurs.

predict the rate of obesity.

A variable, such as the personality of a participant, that might affect the outcome of an experiment would be controlled by a. assuming the effects of the variable are negligible. b. random assignment of participants. c. repeating the experiment several times until the results are consistent. d. manipulating the dependent variables simultaneously.

random assignment of participants.

Neurotransmitters bind to which of the following located on dendrites and cell bodies? a. myelin sheaths b. receptor sites c. neurilemmas d. synaptic vesicles

receptor sites

A psychologist working in which psychological specialty might explore how a person is able to recognize someone's voice over the telephone by interpreting pitch? a. comparative b. personality c. learning d. sensation and perception

sensation and perception

Fallon has been diagnosed with a major depression. She is most likely deficient in which neurotransmitter? a. GABA b. glutamate c. serotonin d. acetylcholine

serotonin

The surgical procedure of cutting the corpus callosum is done in cases of a. communication problems. b. split personality. c. injury or stroke. d. severe epilepsy.

severe epilepsy.

You observe two cars of identical make and model. Although one roars away and its image on your retina is now smaller, you still perceive the cars as identical. This illustrates __________ constancy. a. angular b. size c. form d. concept

size

Nat is a middle-aged man who stops breathing in his sleep, awakens slightly to gulp in air, then goes back to sleep. This cycle is repeated throughout the night. Nat is suffering from a. narcolepsy. b. somnambulism. c. sleep apnea. d. REM behavior disorder.

sleep apnea.

LaMonte had trouble concentrating in class today. His roommate noticed that LaMonte's hands are trembling; his speech is slurred; and he is having trouble even naming common objects. LaMonte is most likely suffering from a. somnambulism. b. lucid dreaming. c. narcolepsy. d. sleep loss.

sleep loss.

The cell body of a neuron is also called the a. myelin. b. axon. c. dendrite. d. soma.

soma.

When a part of the body is very sensitive to touch or pain, this body part will be associated with a larger area on which part of the cortex? a. amygdala b. thalamus c. primary temporal area d. somatosensory area

somatosensory area

The rhythmic movement of air molecules produces a. gustation. b. kinesthetic sensation. c. electromagnetic waves. d. sound waves.

sound waves.

Jordan has developed a noticeable tremor and is experiencing dizziness and muscular weakness. Her doctor tells her that she has a crippling disease that will eventual progress to the point that she will have difficulty standing, walking, or feeding herself. Jordan most likely has spinocerebellar degeneration. degenerative agnosia. progressive virilism. motor aphasia.

spinocerebellar degeneration.

The brainstem, midbrain, and parts of the forebrain are referred to as the a. gray matter. b. cerebral cortex. c. subcortex. d. reticular formation.

subcortex.

The town of Indianola, Mississippi wants to know what the community thinks about building a high-tech movie theatre. Increased taxes will be used to pay for the new theatre. Therefore, elected officials are mailing out questionnaires to determine public opinion about the theatre and the use of increased taxes to pay for it. Which type of research method are they using? a. case studies b. correlation c. experiment d. survey

survey

Which of the following is NOT a part of a neuron? a. axon terminal b. synapse c. soma d. axon

synapse

To be conscious means a. that one is awake. b. that one is aware. c. that one is not intoxicated. d. that one is completely alert.

that one is aware.

Which theory assumes that dream content reflects one's unconscious internal conflicts, motives, and desires? a. the neurocognitive dream theory b. the memory consolidation theory c. the activation-synthesis hypothesis d. the psychodynamic dream theory

the psychodynamic dream theory

Conlon and his colleagues conducted an experiment and found that goal-focused individuals lost more weight than did either achievement-focused or no-focus control individuals.These researchers also found that goal-focused individuals were more committed to reaching their goal weights. They interpreted their results as consistent with the findings of other studies on motivation and relevant to the design of health intervention programs. At this point in their research, Conlon and his associates are a. theory building. b. operationally defining terms. c. hypothesis testing. d. proposing a hypothesis.

theory building.

The underlying mechanism for perceptual expectancies is a. the organization of perception by beginning with low-level features. b. top-down processing. c. bottom-up processing. d. a misleading perception that distorts or misjudges a stimulus.

top-down processing.

Which theory of color vision explains that each of the cones in the retina contains a different type of iodopsin that breaks down when struck by light, triggers action potentials, and sends neural messages to the brain? a. stage primary theory. b. trichromatic theory. c. opponent-process theory. d. three-opponent theory.

trichromatic theory.

According to the authors of your textbook, which of the following would be considered a GOOD study strategy? a. massed practice b. using mnemonics c. group study sessions d. recopying lecture notes

using mnemonics

In keeping an observational record, which of the following methods tends to be the most objective? a. rating scale used by a single observer b. video recording c. at least three intersubjective observers d. behavioral assessment by a single observer

video recording

The pain carried by small nerve fibers are slower, nagging, aching, widespread, and extremely unpleasant. This is the body's __________system. a. reminding b. vestibular c. kinesthetic d. warning

warning

Ambiguous stimuli demonstrate that a. we passively record the events and stimuli around us. b. we are very quick to undergo sensory adaptation. c. sensory gating prevents us from experiencing sensory overload in everyday situations. d. we actively construct meaningful perceptions.

we actively construct meaningful perceptions.

The opponent process theory of color vision explains a. what happens in the optic pathways and brain after the information leaves the eye. b. how the stereocilia are stimulated and produce visual sensations. c.how the iodopsin breaks down and triggers action potentials. d. what happens in the retina.

what happens in the optic pathways and brain after the information leaves the eye.

Marta has recently divorced her husband of 15 years after he moved out to be with his much younger girlfriend. During the past two weeks, Marta has dreamed that she was a young princess being pursued by many suitors. According to Freud's psychodynamic theory, Marta's dream would be considered a. wish fulfillment. b. a synthesis of random neurological activations. c. an expression of her ideal self. d. a striving for self-actualization.

wish fulfillment.

In order to detect the electrical activity of a single neuron, a scientist would most likely use ​a. ESB. ​b. PET. ​c. a microelectrode. ​d. fMRI.

​a microelectrode.