MSU Thompson Psych 101 Exam 1

After a masculinity threat, men will place higher bets during a gambling game. This is an example of a Question options: A. theory. B. hypothesis. C. fun fact about life. D. None of the answers above are correct.

B. hypothesis.

From the 1920s into the 1960s, this school of psychology viewed psychology as an objective science that studies observable human activity without reference to mental processes. Question options: Structuralism Behaviorism Gestalt Psychoanalysis

Behaviorism

B.F. Skinner

Behaviorist that developed the theory of operant conditioning by training pigeons and rats -modern behaviorism's most important and controversial figure

Why shouldn't we rely upon our common sense to answer empirical questions? Question options: A. Our common sense is always wrong. B. Because it would mean not relying on the hindsight bias. C. Common sense supports any statement and its opposite (i.e., it's often contradictory). D. All of the above are reasons why we shouldn't rely on our common sense.

C. Common sense supports any statement and its opposite (i.e., it's often contradictory).

Critical thinking involves: Question options: A. Using your own opinion as a basis for agreement or disagreement. B. After just learning about a new "fact" you outright reject it. C. Considering other perspectives on a claim that is made. D. None of the above are correct answers.

C. Considering other perspectives on a claim that is made.

Some smokers will be given Nicorette for one week; they will be compared with other smokers not given any Nicorette. If random assignment was used Question options: A. the average number of cigarettes a day each participant smoked before the study began should be roughly equal across each condition. B. you wouldn't be able to establish causality. C. it wouldn't be a true experiment. D. Both B and C are correct answers.

A. the average number of cigarettes a day each participant smoked before the study began should be roughly equal across each condition.

Serendipity

Act of discovering something while looking for something else entirely - an accidental discovery.

Sigmund Freud

Austrian physician whose work focused on the unconscious causes of behavior and personality formation; founded psychoanalysis.

Potential research participants are told enough about an upcoming study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate. This illustrates the practice of seeking Question options: A. a representative sample. B. a debriefing C. an informed consent. D. All of the above are correct answers.

C. an informed consent.

Dr. Bad conducted 100 experiments to see if drinking large amounts of alcohol made people smarter. Only 5 experiments were statistically significant. Dr. Bad decided to only publish the significant results. This is an example of: Question options: Multiple Comparisons. File Drawer Problem. P-Hacking.

File Drawer Problem.

William James

First American Psychologist; began teaching 1875 founder of functionalism; studied how humans use perception to function in our environment

The _______ lobe is concerned with executive functioning (good vs. bad behavior). Question options: Occipital Temporal Parietal Frontal

Frontal

An independent variable _______ while a dependent variable ______. Question options: A. is a measured variable ; is a manipulated variable B. is a controlled variable ; eliminates rival explanations C. is a manipulated variable ; is a measured variable D. None of the answers above are correct.

C. is a manipulated variable ; is a measured variable

The earliest tools of discovery in the study of the brain were: Question options: Clinical observations of brain injuries X-Rays Lesions and Transections Psychic readings

Clinical observations of brain injuries

Genes are always active/expressed. Question options: True False

False

Research or empirical questions are those that can be answered through: Question options: Common sense Objective observations Phoning a friend None of the above are correct answers.

Objective observations

Contemporary psychology is best defined as the science of Question options: conscious and unconscious mental activity. observable responses to the environment. behavior and mental processes. maladaptive and adaptive behaviors.

behavior and mental processes.

A segment of DNA that provides the code for creating protein molecules is called a(n) Question options: environmental factor. gene. chromosome. genome.

gene

The limbic system structure that is involved in the acquisition of memories is the Question options: hippocampus. thalamus. hypothalamus. amygdala.

hippocampus

The ____________ is responsible for heartbeat and breathing. Question options: reticular formation thalamus cerebellum medulla

medulla

The neurons that carry outgoing information from the brain and spinal cord to the body's tissues are the Question options: sensory neurons. inter neurons. glial cells. iconic neurons. motor neurons.

motor neurons.

Thousands of students were fitted with belt-worn tape recorders for up to four days so that researchers could sample their daily activities and then describe those activities. The researchers employed which research design? Question options: the survey the experiment naturalistic observation the case study

naturalistic observation

If psychologists discovered that people with more money are less satisfied with their marriages than people with less money are, this would indicate that wealth and marital satisfaction are Question options: causally related. independent variables. negatively correlated. positively correlated.

negatively correlated.

When a neural impulse reaches the terminal of an axon, it triggers the release of Question options: dendrites into the synaptic gap. neurotransmitters into the myelin sheath. hormones into the synaptic gap. neurotransmitters into the synaptic gap.

neurotransmitters into the synaptic gap.

Gestalt Psychology

opposed to structuralism - the whole is different from the sum of its parts

In stressful situations, the sympathetic nervous system _________ your blood pressure and ___________ the pupils of the eyes. Question options: lowers ; contracts lowers ; dilates raises ; dilates raises ; contracts

raises ; dilates

Medications used to treat depression often act upon _______, slowing down its reuptake into terminal buttons thereby increasing brain levels of this neurotransmitter. Question options: GABA serotonin plumbus dopamine

serotonin

A brain tumor caused extensive damage to Pierce's hypothalamus. It is most likely that he may suffer a loss of Question options: sexual motivation. visual perception. muscular coordination. language comprehension.

sexual motivation.

Research looking at the amazing psychological similarities of separated identical twins gives insight into the role genes play in terms of personality. However, we need to show caution because even two strangers are likely to share many coincidental similarities. This is an example of: Question options: evolutionary psychology. the spectacular explanation fallacy. how the environment influences personality.

the spectacular explanation fallacy.

Mental processes

the thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly

Dendrites transmit messages ___________ the cell body and axons transmit messages ___________ the cell body. Question options: toward; away from away from; toward toward; toward away from; away from

toward; away from

Some smokers will be given Nicorette for one week; they will be compared with other smokers not given any Nicorette. The independent variable in this experiment is Question options: how many cigarettes each participant smoked during the week before the experiment began. how many cigarettes each participant smoked the week after the experiment ended. There is not an independent variable. whether or not participants are given Nicorette.

whether or not participants are given Nicorette.

Common Sense

•describes what has happened after the fact more easily than it predicts what will happen before the fact. This is called the hindsight bias.

Naturalistic observation

•recording behavior in its natural environments, and describing it in detail.

Descriptive methods

•research that determines the basic dimensions of a phenomenon (defining what it is, how often it occurs, and so on). Cannot prove what causes the phenomenon, but can reveal important information about people's behavior and attitudes.

Behaviorism

-led by John Watson - psychology was redefined as the scientific study of observable behavior (how behaviors are learned and modified)

Psychoanalysis

led by Sigmund Freud - focused on the etiology, development, and treatment of abnormal behavior

Case study

•an in depth investigation of a single (or very few) subject(s)/participant(s).

Survey

•an investigation of many cases in less depth by asking people to report opinions and behaviors. •A technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes, opinions or behaviors of people usually done by questioning a representative sample of people—one that accurately portrays the population of interest.

Research Ethics: IRB Requirements

(1) Obtain informed consent (2) Protect them from harm (3) Maintain confidentiality (4) Debrief

The Replication Crisis

-An unbelievable study -A problematic case of fraud

Null hypothesis

-Generally: A hypothesis that there is no effect or no difference -Can be contrasted with an alternative hypothesis (the hypothesis of interest) that there really is an effect

Control Variable (constants)/(CV)

-Held constant during an experiment •Time of day, temperature, time of last meal, knowledge of subject

Understanding statistical signifigance

-Most common criterion for determining whether a scientific finding should be accepted -Interpretation of statistical significant is frequently misunderstood -Critical for understanding how to evaluate scientific claims -Critical for understanding why scientific findings sometimes turn out wrong •Significance testing tests whether it is likely that we obtained the results by chance, if we assume that the null hypothesis is true -The significance level is the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis, given that it were true; and the p-value of a result is the probability of obtaining a result at least as extreme, given that the null hypothesis were true. -Convention is to set the significance level at .05, meaning that we reject the null hypothesis if the p-value is lower than .05. -This also means that there is a 5% chance of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is in fact true. -Statistically significant is not synonymous with important -The p-value cannot be interpreted as the likelihood that the null hypothesis is true -The p-value cannot be interpreted as the likelihood that a study will replicate •File Drawer Problem - Non-significant results never see the light of day •Multiple Comparisons - Lots of DVs used in study and only significant results reported •P-Hacking - The act of changing your analyses based on how those changes affect the p-value that you obtain.

What is Psychology?

-You might think of psychology as the study of mental disorders, such as major depression. And psychologists do indeed study psychological disorders. -Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes -As a science, psychology uses systematic methods to observe human behavior and draw conclusions. The goals are to describe, predict, and explain behavior

When was the first recorded psychological experiment?

7th century B.C.

Why does correlation not equal causation? Question options: A. You do not know the direction of the effect. B. It could be due to chance. C. There could be a third variable that is responsible for the relationship. D. All of the above are reasons why correlation does not equal causation.

D. All of the above are reasons why correlation does not equal causation.

Structuralism

Developed by Wundt and one of his collaborators focus on identifying the structures of the human mind, and their method of study was introspection.

How Do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions?

Generate a Research Question • Research or empirical questions are those that can be answered through objective observations. -We have to be able to answer the question with data. Establish Operational Definitions

_______ keep neurons running smoothly. Question options: Inter neurons Motor neurons Iconic neurons Sensory neurons Glial cells

Glial cells

First psychological hypothesis

If children had no opportunity to learn a language from people around them, they would spontaneously speak the inborn language of the most ancient people (Egyptians).

Who recorded the first psychological experiment and what was it about?

Psamtik I, King of Egypt, wanted to prove that Egyptians were the most ancient race on Earth.

When working with non-human research subjects we should use The 3 R's, which consist of: Question options: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction Recognition, Respect, and Reduction Build a Relationship, around R.E.S.P.E.C.T, and Romance

Replacement, Refinement, and Reduction

You are in charge of hiring a cruise-ship social director and you want to pick someone who is very outgoing. Unfortunately, you only have information about the siblings of the potential candidates. Given what we know about the genetic transmission of outgoingness (a personality trait), which of the following candidates would you choose? Question options: The candidate whose fraternal twin is outgoing. The candidate whose older sibling is outgoing. The candidate whose identical twin is outgoing. Genes do not influence personality traits.

The candidate whose identical twin is outgoing.

Functionalism

The key question in psychology is not so much what the mind is (that is, its structures) as what it is for (its purposes or functions in the individual's adaptation to the environment). •The nature of the mind, The stream of thought, The self, Will, The unconscious, Emotion It focused on how mental activities helped an organism fit into its environment. more interested in the operation of the whole mind rather than of its individual parts

Hindsight bias

The tendency for people to exaggerate how much they could have predicted an outcome after knowing that it occurred

Dr. Bad decides to change their norms and be a better scientist. Which of the following would be a way for them to be better? Question options: Use open science practices (e.g., make all their materials and datasets available). Change their analyses based on how those changes impact their p-value to become significant. Use multiple comparisons and report the DVs that are significant.

Use open science practices (e.g., make all their materials and datasets available).

German scientist who was the first person to be referred to as a psychologist

Wilhelm Wundt

Garrett suggests that because people are especially attracted to those who are good-looking, handsome men will be more successful than average-looking men in getting a job. Garrett's prediction regarding employment success is an example of Question options: a theory. a case study. the hindsight bias. a hypothesis.

a hypothesis.

Hypothesis

a testable prediction implied by a theory

Theory

a well-developed set of ideas that propose an explanation for observed phenomena

The Medical School wants to study the common notion that vigorous exercise when performed three times a week will cause weight loss to occur in most people. They have chosen to equate vigorous exercise with 20 minutes of sustained elevated heart rate due to physical exertion. This clarification of the meaning of "vigorous exercise" is known as Question options: random assignment. an operational variable. a dependent variable. an independent variable.

an operational variable.

Random Assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between the groups that could affect the dependent variable (e.g., body size, want to be "a real man"). •It means that each participant has an equal chance of being in any particular condition. -Conditions are independent of the participant. -Reduces the likelihood that an experiment's results will be due to preexisting differences between groups. -Random assignment is necessary to establish causality in a true experiment.

John Watson

behaviorism; emphasis on external behaviors of people and their reactions on a given situation; famous for Little Albert study in which baby was taught to fear a white rat

Even if the musician Stevie Wonder (who is blind) had his vision restored by a miracle surgery, he probably would not get his eyesight back because Question options: normal pruning of the visual brain cells occurred. brain cells normally devoted to vision died or were diverted to other uses. Visual deprivation has no effect on brain development. brain development ends in childhood.

brain cells normally devoted to vision died or were diverted to other uses.

Which of the following brain imaging techniques should you use to see the speed of specific brain activity? functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) electroencephalogram (EEG) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) polygraph (lie detector machine)

electroencephalogram (EEG)

Behavior

everything we do that can be directly observed

After being startled awake in the middle of the night, it turns out the noise the person heard was the closet rod breaking from the weight of their winter coats. Knowing that, they begin to calm down and their heart stops racing, which means their _____________ has been activated. Question options: sympathetic nervous system central nervous system parasympathetic nervous system adrenal system

parasympathetic nervous system

A researcher wants to see if quitting smoking (or not) has an effect on aggression. In one group, the researcher allows the cigarette smokers and the cigar smokers to smoke as much as they want. In another group, the researcher does not allow the cigarette smokers and the cigar smokers to smoke at all.After two weeks, the researcher measures aggression in both groups, and finds that smoking is related to higher levels of aggression. In the above experiment, the IV is ______ and the DV is ________. Question options: type of smoker ; aggression type of smoker ; smoking smoking ; aggression aggression ; smoking

smoking ; aggression

Whenever you turn the pages of a book, use your pen to take notes, or raise your hand, you know that this is possible due to your Question options: autonomic nervous system. sympathetic nervous system. somatic nervous system. parasympathetic nervous system.

somatic nervous system.

Axons are to _____ as dendrites are to ______. Question options: action potential ; neurons stop signs ; traffic signals speaking ; hearing primary reinforcement ; secondary reinforcement

speaking ; hearing

Which school of psychology attempted to identify the basic elements of the mind? Question options: psychoanalysis behaviorism functionalism structuralism

structuralism

Why is psychological research important?

•Allows psychologists to generate and develop knowledge •Allows us to critically evaluate the claims of others based on their evidence •Informs and guides decisions

Problems with common sense

•Common sense can be contradictory -There is a "commonsensical" explanation for nearly any conclusion and for its opposite •We may differ in what seems commonsensical to us; no way to resolve differences between individuals •Common sense is often based on private, careless observation, or upon wholly non-empirical bases (e.g., folklore, parental teaching, stereotypes, etc.) •Some students of psychology only credit unexpected findings as "scientific"; seeing the rest as "just common sense" •However, our common sense can be and is often valid •Just because science tells us something "everybody knows", doesn't diminish the validity or possible utility of that knowledge •Often it is only in hindsight that "everybody knows"

Correlation research problem

•Correlation does not imply causation! -A correlation between X and Y does not imply a cause and effect relationship between X and Y. -Correlation is not sufficient to establish causality. •In order to arrive at causality we must conduct an experiment.

Deception & Debriefing

•Deception - Purposely misleading participants. -Full disclosure can influence participant behavior and confound results -Deception can ensure validity -Benefits should always be balanced with risks •Deception should pose minimal risk •Example: The Asch paradigm required deception but the activity was low-risk •Debriefing is required in research using deception.

How do we develop research/empirical questions?

•Everyday observations of behavior - One source of research questions in psychology is simply observing the world around you and asking questions about why people think and behave as they do. •The need to solve a practical problem •The need to understand the worst acts of humanity •Programs of research - Studies are typically interrelated and lead to numerous follow-up studies -Purpose is to EXTEND and/or REPLICATE previous findings

Non-human animal subjects

•Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) -Made up of several faculty members from the university and an outside member from the community •Guidelines -Justify the study when potential for harm exists -Ensure proper care for animals during and after the study •IACUC.ORG

Animal care

•Laboratory Technicians -Assure daily care for the animals (water, food, cage changes) •Veterinarians -On-call for health problems •Euthanasia procedures

Correlational methods

•Measure the variables as they already exist in nature. •A relationship is established by finding the degree to which two variables covary (vary together).

Experimental methods

•Purpose is to explore cause and effect by manipulating one or more factors, while holding other factors constant.

The 3 Rs

•Replacement - use alternatives to animal research when possible •Refinement - minimize or eliminate animal distress •Reduction - employ designs or procedures that require fewest number of animals possible

Experimental methods

•Sometimes it's not possible to conduct an experiment. For example, it isn't possible to assign a child to a specific race for the purpose of an experiment. •Other times, it's unethical to conduct an experiment. For example, it would be unethical to assign people to be exposed to polluted air or non-polluted air for the purpose of seeing whether pollution has a negative effect on mental functioning. •Therefore, psychologists would need to use correlational methods for these type of questions.

informed consent

•Study information/what to expect •Potential risks •Right to withdraw •Confidentiality agreement •Be as transparent as possible •Participants under 18 years must have legal guardian consent

Operational definition

•Turn a conceptual variable into a variable that can be measured or manipulated. Connect unobservable traits, experiences, or qualities into things that can be observed and measured.

Independent Variable (IV)

•Variable that is manipulated by experimenter. •The factor of interest to the experimenter, the one that is being studied to see if it will influence behavior. •In a Quasi-experiment, called the grouping variable (GV).

Dependent Variable (DV)

•Variable that is measured/observed/recorded by the experimenter. •DV "depends upon" the independent variable. •In other words, this is your outcome variable.

Why does correlation not imply causation?

•X could cause Y •Y could cause X •The correlation could be spurious -A third unseen variable is actually responsible for the relationship •The correlation could be a chance occurrence

Scatterplots

•a graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two variables. The slope of the points suggests the direction of the relationship, while the amount of scatter suggests the strength of the relationship.

Conceptual variable

•a hypothetical factor/construct that is not observed directly. Rather, its existence is inferred from certain observations and assumed to follow from certain situations (e.g., shyness, sleep quality, intelligence)

Phrenology

•a popular but wrongheaded theory (1800s) that claimed that bumps on the skull could reveal mental abilities and character traits as specific as the desire to have children.

Correlational coefficient

•a statistical index (-1 to +1) of the relationship between two variables