AP PSYCH UNIT 1,2,3 COMP TEST
Which of the following correlation coefficients expresses the weakest degree of relationships between two variables
-0.12
If scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) are normally distributed, with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, what percentage of scores will fall between 85 and 115?
68
Psychologist Michael Gazzaniga asked split-brain patients to stare at a dot as he flashed HE·ART on a screen. HE appeared in the left visual field, ART in the right. When asked, patients said they saw
ART
Sleep researchers who are interested in brain wave activity are likely to use which kind of brain scan
EEG
Who believed that bumps on the skull reveal mental abilities and character traits?
Franz Gall
An undersupply of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter known as ________ is linked to seizures.
GABA
Psychologist Michael Gazzaniga asked split-brain patients to stare at a dot as he flashed HE·ART on a screen. HE appeared in the left visual field, ART in the right. When asked, patients said they saw
HE
Who would have been most likely to ignore mental processes and to define psychology as "the scientific study of observable behavior"?
John B Watson
Which philosopher is most well known for theorizing that the mind at birth is tabula rasa or a "blank slate"?
John Locke
Why is replication important to science
Repeated research with similar results increases confidence in the reliability of the original findings.
Who would be most likely to emphasize the role of the unconscious in affecting behavior?
Sigmund Freud
Which brain area is primarily involved with understanding and producing meaningful speech?
Wernickes Area
George was worried about his bakery's new cupcakes after two customers disliked them on the first day, but when he surveyed his customers over the next week, more than 90% of the customers said they loved them. By giving too much weight to those two customers before the survey, George almost committed an error known as
a sampling bias
epinephrine and norepinephrine are released by the
adrenal glands
Some opiate drugs have molecular structures so similar to endorphins that they mimic endorphin's euphoric effects in the brain, making these opiate drugs which kind of molecule?
agonists
The brain of patients with Parkinson's disease have little dopamine. Drugs used to treat such patients bind to dopamine receptors, thereby stimulating those receptors. These drugs would be considered
agonists
To demonstrate that brain stimulation can make a rat violently aggressive, a neuroscientist should electrically stimulate the rat's
amygdala
Increasing excitatory signals above the threshold for neural activation will not affect the intensity of an action potential. This indicates that a neuron's reaction is
an all or nothing response
In a test of the effects of sleep deprivation on problem-solving skills, research participants are allowed to sleep either 4 or 8 hours on each of three consecutive nights. This research is an example of
an experiment
The belief that weather conditions signal the onset of arthritis pain best illustrates
an illusory correlation
Someone who has difficulty speaking after a stroke is suffering from which of the following?
aphasia
After he suffered a stroke, Mr. Santore's physical coordination skills and responsiveness to sensory stimulation quickly returned to normal. Unfortunately, however, he began to experience unusual difficulty figuring out how to find his way to various locations in his neighborhood. It is most likely that Mr. Santore suffered damage to his
association areas
The most extensive regions of the cerebral cortex, which enable learning and memory, are called
association areas
The process of anticipating that you will be punished for misbehaving takes place within the
association areas
Contemporary psychology is best defined as the scientific study of
behavior and mental processes
Mrs. Thompson believed that her son has become an excellent student because she consistently uses praise and affection to stimulate his learning efforts. Her belief best illustrates a _____ perspective
behavioral
Mr Lopez believes that severe depression results primarily from an imbalanced diet and abnormal brain chemistry. Mr. Lopez favors a _____ perspective on depression.
biological
Professor Reed attempts to assess the relative contributions of heredity and home environment on children's susceptibility to depression. Her research best illustrates the concerns of the ________ perspective.
biopsychosocial
Which approach is most directly concerned with assessing the relative impact of both nature and nurture on our psychological traits?
biopsychosocial
The biological perspective in psychology would be most likely to emphasize that behavior is influenced by
blood chemistry
If a blind person uses one finger to read Braille, the brain area dedicated to that finger expands as the sense of touch invades the visual cortex. This is an example of
brain plasticity
We are usually least consciously aware of the processes and functions of which brain structure?
brain stem
In which brain structure are nerves from the left side of the brain routed to the right side of the body?
brainstem
In 1848, Phineas Gage, a railroad construction foreman, survived when an explosion drove an iron rod through his head damaging the functioning of the frontal lobes. This instance provided evidence that the frontal lobe plays a role in personality and behavior. Researchers have continued to study Gage's brain to better understand this link. Which researchers method is being used?
case study
To understand the unusual behavior of an adult client, a clinical psychologist carefully investigates the client's current life situation and his physical, social-cultural, and educational history. Which research method has the psychologist used?
case study
Researchers use experiments rather than other research methods in order to distinguish between
causes and effects
The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brain stem is called the
cerebellum
Dr. Roberts hypothesized that students in a classroom seating 30 would get higher course grades than students seated in an auditorium seating 300. In this example,
classroom size has been operationally defined
Which professional specialty focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of people with psychological disorders?
clinical psychology
A concern with the reasoning processes that contribute to effective problem solving is most characteristic of the ________ perspective.
cognitive
Dr. Karima conducts basic research on the relative effectiveness of massed practice and spaced practice on a persons ability to remember info. Dr. Karima is most likely a ____ psychologist
cognitive
Dr. MacPherson believes that the way students organize and think about the information in their textbooks will strongly influence their ability to later remember and use what they have studied. Dr. MacPherson's ideas most directly exemplify the ________ perspective.
cognitive
Which perspective is most concerned with how many individuals interpret their experiences?
cognitive
In an experiment designed to study the effectiveness of a new drug, research participants who receive a placebo are participating in the ________ condition.
control
A researcher who deceives participants about the goals of the research needs to fully inform them of the true nature of the study later, according to which ethical principle of human experimentation?
debriefing
In transmitting sensory info to the brain, an electrical signal travels from the ___ of a single neuron
dendrite to the cell body to the axon
Chromosomes are composed of
deoxyribonucleic acid
Dr. Santaniello conducts basic research on how children's moral thinking changes as they grow older. It is most likely that Dr. Santaniello is a(n) ________ psychologist.
developmental
A correlation coefficient is a measure of the
direction and strength of the relationship between two variables
The ovaries in females and the testes in males are part of the
endocrine system
Neurosurgeons have severed the corpus callosum in human patients in order to reduce
epileptic seizures
If a professor accused you of cheating on a test, your adrenal glands would probably release ________ into your bloodstream.
epinephrine
Professor Crisman believes that most women prefer tall and physically strong partners because this preference enhanced the survival of our ancestors' genes. This viewpoint best illustrates the ________ perspective.
evolutionary
Which perspective highlights the reproductive advantages of inherited psychological traits?
evolutionary
To exercise maximum control over the factors they are interested in studying, researchers engage in
experimentation
In creating more effective treatments for pain, researchers would use which of the following techniques for identifying regions of the brain that handle pain?
fMRI
According to evolutionary psychologists, behaviors that promote reproductive success are likely to be
genetically predisposed
Twin studies suggest that Alzheimer's disease is influenced by
heredity
Professor Smith told one class that drinking alcohol has been found to increase sexual desire. He informed another class that drinking alcohol has been found to reduce sexual appetite. The fact that neither class was surprised by the information they received best illustrates the power of
hindsight bias
Critics of evolutionary psychology are most likely to suggest that it underestimates the
impact of cultural expectations on human sexual behavior
An adaptation is an inherited physical or behavioral characteristic that
increases an organisms chance for survival
Natural selection acts on
individuals
Dr. Ochoa develops tests to accurately identify the most qualified job applicants in a large manufacturing firm. Which psychological specialty does Dr. Ochoa's work best represent?
industrial-organizational psychology
Neural networks refer to
interconnected clusters of neurons in the central nervous system
Information travels from the spinal cord to the brain via
interneurons
Behaviorists dismissed the value of
introspection
Research participants were asked to monitor and report their own immediate sensory reactions to differently colored objects. This research involved a technique known as
introspection
Which of the following innovations differentiated wilhelm wundts research the most from any psychologist before him
laboratory research
Severing a cat's reticular formation from higher brain regions causes the cat to
lapse into a coma
The localization of a function such as speech production to the right or left side of the brain is called
laterization
Compared with identical twins, fraternal twins are
less likely to be the same sex and less likely to be similar in extraversion
In its early years, psychology focused on the study of ________, but from the 1920s into the 1960s, American psychologists emphasized the study of ________.
mental life, observable behavior
DNA is a complex
molecule
Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that men are ____ likely than women to prefer mates with a fertile-looking appearance and ___ likely than women to prefer mates with wealth and social status
more; less
An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements is called the
motor cortex
To trigger a person's hand to make a fist, Jose stimulated the individual's
motor cortex
The biopsychosocial approach provides an understanding of social-cultural influences integrated within the larger framework of ______
multiple levels of analysis
The slowdown of neural communication in multiple sclerosis involves a degeneration of the
myelin sheath
The speed at which a neural impulse travels is increased when the axon is encased by a(n)
myelin sheath
The reproductive advantage enjoyed by organisms best suited to a particular environment is known as
natural selection
Professor Ober carefully observes and records the behaviors of children in their classrooms in order to track the development of their social and intellectual skills. Professor Ober is most clearly engaged in
naturalistic observation
Which statement best reflects current psychologists understanding of the relationship between nature and nurture
nature via nurture
Arguments as to whether psychological differences between men and women result from biological or social influences most clearly involve a debate over the issue of
nature vs nurture
If psychologists discovered that wealthy people are less satisfied with their marriages than poor people are, this would indicate that wealth and marital satisfaction are
negatively correlated
Dendrites are branching extensions of
neurons
In the hypothesis "Students who study a list of terms in the morning, just after waking up, will recall more terms than students who study the list just before falling asleep," what is the dependent variable?
number of terms remembered
In the context of debates regarding the origins of knowledge, Aristotle is to ________ as Plato is to ________.
nurture; nature
The behavioral perspective is most likely to emphasize the importance of
observable responses
The process of replication is most likely to be facilitated by
operational definitions
When provided with the unscrambled solution to anagrams, people underestimate the difficulty of solving the anagrams by themselves. This best illustrates
overconfidence
Stimulated digestion is to inhibited digestion as the ________ nervous system is to the ________ nervous system.
parasympathetic; sympathetic
The King James Version of the Bible was completed when William Shakespeare was 46 years old. In Psalm 46 of this translation, the forty-sixth word is "shake", and the forty-sixth word from the end is "spear". Before concluding that the biblical translators were trying to be humorous with these specific word placements, you would be best advised to recognize the danger of
perceiving order in coincidental events
The master gland of the endocrine system is the
pituitary gland
In a study of the effects of alcohol consumption, some participants drank a nonalcoholic beverage that actually smelled and tasted like alcohol. This nonalcoholic drink was a
placebo
When Stoyka was a child, a brain disease required the surgical removal of her left cerebral hemisphere. Stoyka is now a successful high school student who lives a normal life. Her success best illustrates the importance of
plasticity
In order to learn about the political attitudes of all students enrolled at Arizona State University, Professor Marlow randomly selected 800 of these students to complete a questionnaire. In this instance, all the students enrolled at Arizona State University are considered to be a(n)
population
The complete set of cases from which samples may be drawn is called a(n)
population
Deaf people who use sign language typically
process language in their left cerebral hemisphere.
One function of glial cells is to
provide nutrients to interneurons
The specialist most likely to have a medical degree is a(n)
psychiatrist
To assess the effect of televised violence on aggression, researchers plan to expose one group of children to violent movie scenes and another group to nonviolent scenes. To reduce the chance that the children in one group have more aggressive personalities than those in the other group, the researchers should make use of
random assignment
Which procedure helps to ensure that the participants in a survey are representative of a larger population?
random sampling
Reuptake refers to the
reabsorption of excess neurotransmitter molecules by a sending neuron
A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus is called a(n)
reflex
According to evolutionary psychologists, our predisposition to overconsume fatty junk foods illustrates that we are biologically prepared to behave in ways that promoted the ________ of our ancestors.
reproductive success
Evolutionary psychologists emphasize that environmentally adaptive behaviors are those that have promoted
reproductive success
Evolutionary psychologists emphasize the environmentally adaptive behaviors are those that have promoted
reproductive success
The selective permeability of a neural membrane creates a(n)
resting potential
A picture of a cat is briefly flashed in the left visual field and a picture of a moose is briefly flashed in the right visual field of a split-brain patient. The individual will be able to use her
right hand to indicate that she saw a moose
To graphically represent the correlation between two variables, researchers often construct a
scatterplot
The parietal lobes are to ______ as the occipital lobes are to _____
sensing touch; seeing
As you are reading this question, the cells in your eyes are firing in response to the light coming from this paper. Which type of neuron is carrying this message to the brain?
sensory
The genome is the complete
set of genetic material in an organism's chromosomes
Dr. Mills conducts research on why individuals conform to the behaviors and opinions of others. Which specialty area does his research best represent?
social psychology
Dr. Kozak has concluded that the unusually low incidence of alcohol dependence among citizens of a small African country can be attributed to strong fundamentalist religious influences in that region. This belief best illustrates a(n) ________ perspective.
social-cultural
A researcher interested in investigating the attitudes or opinions of a large sample of people is most likely to use which research method
survey
Random sampling is to ___ as random assignment is to _____
surveys; experiments
Males in their ________ are most likely to be sexually attracted to women who are several years older rather than several years younger than themselves.
teens
A hypothesis is a
testable prediction that gives direction to research
Both the researchers and the participants in a memory study are ignorant about which participants have actually received a potentially memory-enhancing drug and which have received a placebo. This investigation involves the use of
the double-blind procedure
Researchers use dichotic listening tasks to investigate right-left differences in an intact brain. In this task a different verbal stimulus is presented simultaneously to each ear. Findings suggest that participants more quickly recall information heard by the right ear. This suggests that
the left hemisphere is dominant in language processing
Which research method would be most appropriate for investigating the relationship between the religious beliefs of Americans and their attitudes toward abortion?
the survey
In the hypothesis "Students who study a list of terms in the morning, just after waking up, will recall more terms than students who study the list just before falling asleep," what is the independent variable?
time of day
To estimate trait heritability, researchers are most likely to make use of
twin studies
A picture of a dog is briefly flashed in the left visual field of a split brain patient. At the same time a picture of a boy is flashed in the right visual field. In identifying what else she saw, the patient would be most likely to
verbally report that she saw a boy
Redelmeier and Tversky (1996) followed 18 patients with arthritis for 18 months. Patients were asked to record their pain and joint tenderness, while researchers documented changes in the weather. Nearly all patients believed that their condition was associated with weather changes, when the actual correlation was near zero. These participants need to be reminded that
we are likely to recall instances that confirm our beliefs
Surveys indicate that people are much less likely to support "welfare" than "aid to the needy." These somewhat paradoxical survey results best illustrate the importance of
wording effects