PSY 201 Exam #1 Practice Questions

Zhenghan notices a strong correlation between whether a person is a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior in college and the number of credit hours that a student has registered for. As students' years in college increase, they tend to register for fewer credit hours. Based on this information, the correlation coefficient between years in college and number of credit hours is closest to

-.70

Professor Miller is computing the statistics of his students' exam grades. He has 11 students, and they earned the following grades: 48, 65, 65, 66, 72, 79, 83, 83, 83, 91, 94. Professor Miller finds that the mode of the exam is __________ and the median of the exam is __________.

83; 79

The text describes studies in the "hot hand," an athletes winning streak. According to the textbook, "a meta-analysis of 22 published articles on this phenomenon found no evidence that the hot hand exists" What does this mean?

A researcher ran an analysis 22 peer-review studies on the hot hand and concluded that there is no scientific evidence that the hot hand exists

For his thesis, Alex surveyed college students and found a correlation between self-confidence and grade point average. Why did his adviser correct Alex when he attempted to conclude that good grades raise confidence levels?

Alex's data shows an association but does not determine a causal relationship between confidence levels and grade point average

what accurately describes the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine

An lack of dopamine leads to disturbances in motor functioning

Language production largely takes place in which region of the left frontal cortex

Broca's area

What is true about gene expression

Even if you are born with a dominant gene, environmental factors mar influence whether the trait is expressed

Which school of thought in psychology suggest that the whole of personal experience is different from the sum of its parts

Gestalt psychology

Dr. Tucker is a developmental psychologist. What is an example of a research questions is she LEAST likely to pursue?

How do brain chemicals influence sexual behavior in young adults

Dr. Grodner is conducting an experiment on age-related changes in memory. He is comparing how well retirees and high school students perform on a memory task. In order to conveniently schedule research participants, he has the older adults come to the lab during the day, since they are retired. The students come to the lab in the evening, after they are finished with school and other activities. What is the problematic confound in this study?

If memory turns out to vary by time of day, it is problematic that the retirees participate in the study in the morning and the high school students at night

Eugenia wants to conduct an experiment, but before she can begin, she needs to get approval from the __________ at her university.

Institutional review board

Jenny has been a New York City taxi driver for 30 years. Mel is an ordinary driver in a small town. Based on Maguire and colleagues' 2003 research, if you compared the hippocampi of the two women, what would you expect to find?

Jenny's hippocampus would be larger than Mel's

For her honors thesis, Kim wants to investigate whether font color affects how readers remember written descriptions of objects and places. Because the participants' behavior could be influenced if they know the study's goals, Kim decides to mislead them about the study. How can she deceive participants and still conduct her research in an ethical manner?

Kim must inform the participants of the study's true goals after the study is completed. She must also explain why deception was necessary

Sarah is conducting research on the function of part of the brain. For each participant she first gets a detailed image of the brain's structure using a(n) __________. Based on the image, she locates the area she is interested in, and then she uses a strong magnet to temporarily interrupt brain activity in the area by using a(n) __________.

MRI; TMS

You see a newspaper headline that claims eating pizza is deadly. However, when you read the original scientific article cited in the news, you notice that investigators only found a correlation between pizza consumption and death over a 10-year period. Given what you know about correlation, how would you explain this relationship?

Pizza consumption and death are related somehow, but a correlational study cannot reveal any kind of causal relationship

what is an example to interpersonal behavior researchers, who work at the social level of analysis

Tawny's boyfriend does not treat her very well, but every time she tries to break up with him, he successfully persuades her to give him another chance

Psychologists know that the brain rewires itself throughout life. Which of the following is true about how this occurs?

The "rewiring" is really a change in the strength of existing connections, rather than the elimination of some or the growth of others

What is an example of good scientific theory

The earth was created approximately 4.5 billion years ago

Janna and Sarah are identical twins who were raised apart. Lisa and Shirley are non-biological adopted siblings who were raised in the same home. Which set of sisters would you expect to be more similar in personality traits

This question cannot be answered without knowing how agreeable or open the people who raised these siblings are

Timothy was born without testes. With respect to hormone production and sexual behavior, which of the following is the most likely outcome?

Timothy will lack testosterone, and he will have a decreased ability to achieve an erection

How does Gestalt theory differ from functionalism?

While both schools recognize individual thoughts and experiences as analyzable units, only the Gestalt theorists believe that the whole of personal experience is more than a collection of these components

Stanley likes to have a beer or two each day when he gets home from work. Given that his father and grandfather both struggled with alcoholism, should Stanley be concerned about his own drinking?

Yes, Stanley is predisposed to alcoholism, and if he is raised in an environment that encourages drinking, he may become an alcoholic

Elaine conducts a psychology honors project to test the hypothesis that having greater social support is associated with greater academic success. She asks everyone living in her dormitory to fill out a questionnaire. Elaine should be aware that her data may not be representative of all college students because her research was based on

a convenience sample

Magdalena grew up in a region of California often stricken by drought. When she moved to rainy Seattle, her roommate was surprised that Magdalena took 5-minute showers, brushed her teeth while in the shower, and complained when her roommate dumped out unused water from her teakettle or water glass. Magdalena's water-saving behaviors were

a cultural adaptation

Beliefs, values, norms, rules, and customs that people learn from those who share a language or environment comprise

a culture

What is a literature review?

a summary of the scientific literature related to your theory

Richard is researching the biological underpinnings of the advertising notion that "sex sells." To investigate, Richard will have men and women view video advertisements that are highly erotic while an fMRI monitors their subcortical brain activity. Which of the following predictions best reflects the likely results of the study?

amygdala

What does empirical research entail

an approach to gaining knowledge about behavior and mental processes by observation and measurement only

After suffering a bad fall while rock climbing, Charisa experienced profound alterations in her ability to plan and produce movement. Which brain structure did Charisa's injuries most likely affect

basal ganglia

what does it mean to say "culture provides adaptive solutions?"

behaviors considered "normal" in a culture today became "norms" because they solved problems in the past

The text describes research on criminal behavior, child abuse and the gene that causes low levels of enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO). Low levels of MAO have been linked to aggressive behavior. These researchers found that among abused boys, those with the gene causing low MAO levels were far more likely to have committed a violent crime by the age 26 than those with the gene causing high MAO levels. This study is evident that

biological factors impact behavior and not all behavior can be attributed to environmental factors

Ralph loves his birthday, but he tends to eat too much throughout the day. At the _________ level, there may be hormonal reasons for why Ralph is prone to overeating. At the _________ level, it is hard for Ralph to turn down second helpings when his friends keep buying him meals.

biological; social

After her car accident, Sheila had to be placed on a respirator because she could no longer breathe on her own. Sheila's injuries were most likely located in the part of the brain known as the

brain stem

Which region of the brain regulates basic bodily functions

brain stem

Dr. Smith is conducting research on the abilities of a man who experiences visual sensations while hearing sounds. Which data collection method should she use?

case study

What are the two most basic divisions of the human nervous system

central and peripheral

which phenomenon is difficult for behaviorism to explain

chimps seem to have an innate tendency to fish for insects using twigs without being taught how to do it

Ila is 80, but she is mentally and physically active. She sometimes forgets where she puts her keys, but is better at crosswords than anyone else in her family. What kind of psychologist researches how older adults like Ila maintain their mental abilities

cognitive psychologists

psychologists from which school of thought are concerned with functions that behaviorism cannot explain, such as intelligence and problem solving

cognitive psychology

Professor Jacobs conducts a lot of research. He always makes sure that his study records are stored in a locked cabinet inside of a locked office. Only he and his lab manager have both keys. Which ethical issue(s) is/are addressed by these protective measures?

confidentiality

John strongly opposes vaccinating children because he believes that it increases the risk of autism. John has read the published apology written by the scientist who falsified the data that originally showed a link but dismisses it. Instead, he focuses on the fact that during the same period vaccinations increased, autism diagnoses increased. Which of the following is guiding John's decision making?

confirmation bias

Manuel is sure that all dogs are vicious and will bite him if given the opportunity. When out walking with his wife, he is always sure to point out the dogs that seem angry or aggressive. But his wife notices that he conveniently misses the dogs who seem calm and friendly. What does this tendency reflect?

confirmation bias

Your mother dislikes the fact that you spend your free time playing video games. She points to a newspaper article that says violence is correlated with video game use. Which of these is a scientifically effective counterargument for your mother?

correlations do not imply causation, so the correlation describes in the article does not serve as evidence that playing video games will make you more violent

Raj is interested in how religious beliefs influence political engagement. Which level of analysis best fits Raj's research questions?

cultural

What is true about the function of dendrites and axons

dendrites detect information from neighboring neurons whereas eons transmit information

What are the four goals of psychology?

description, explanation, prediction, control

Ting has formed a theory that playing video games improves visual attention. If Ting wants to test this theory, what does he need to do next?

develop a testable hypotheses

What can influence your phenotype but is not something that you can inherit genetically from your parents

diet

You breed a brown mouse with a white mouse. If four out of their five offspring are brown, you would guess that the gene for brown is ___ and the gene for white is ___

dominant; recessive

To get out of bed in the morning, which of the following neurotransmitters must be released from terminal buttons due to their control of motor functions

dopamine

Chris believes that although the mind and body are linked, they have separate, distinct functions. Her view reflects Rene Descartes's view of what?

dualism

Psychologists are scientists who study behavior and mental processes through observation and measurement. What is this approach to understanding psychology called

empiricism

When researchers repeat a study done by another scientist and find the same results they are

engaging in replication

While hiking in the mountains in Alaska, Pete encountered a giant grizzly bear. He immediately felt his heart rate increase, his breathing become rapid, and sweat drip down his back. These events were most likely due to effects of the neurotransmitter called

epinephrine

Dr. Shin is researching the hypothesis that when people with schizophrenia stop taking a particular medication they experience more disturbed thoughts. Dr. Shin tests her hypothesis by placing each schizophrenic patient in one of two groups. The people who stop taking the drug are in the __________ group, and the people who continue taking the drug are in the __________ group.

experimental; control

Which psychological school of thought sought to understand how the operations of the mind help people adapt to environmental demands

functionalism

Psychologists such as William James believed that the mind is too complex to be broken into smaller parts largely because it is changing constantly. William James' beliefs became known as which school of psychology

functionalist

Juan is a teacher who wants to see how similar his students' test scores are to one another. In analyzing his students' grades, Juan discovers that 50 percent of his students' grades lie over 1 standard deviation from the mean. Assuming that a C is average, in plain English, Juan's finding indicates that

half of Juan's students scored either really poorly or really well

Zhara has suffered damage to her forebrain and now has great difficulty forming new memories. Which subcortical structure of the forebrain has most likely been damaged?

hippocampus

Jessie suffered damage to her brain and has difficulty forming new memories. Jessie's injury was most likely to the __________, which is a structure located in the brain region called the __________.

hippocampus; forebrain

social psychologists focus their studies on

how people are affected by others

Jordan is walking across campus and hears a noise. When she looks up, she sees a runaway truck heading straight for her. Immediately, the ___ in her nervous system sends a signal to the ___ in her endocrine system to release hormone and prepare her to move out of the trucks way

hypothalamus; pituitary gland

Sean is interested in how climate influences exercise habits. He believes that, on average, people who live in cold climates exercise less than those in warm climates because they cannot exercise outdoors. To investigate his __________ Sean uses the average yearly temperature as a(n) __________ of climate.

hypothesis; variable

a professor studies attention and memory. Which level of analysis does their research target

individual

Kerrie is an undergraduate who is thinking about majoring in psychology. She also works part-time, and she is very interested in how her company builds morale and helps motivate her coworkers. What subfield of psychology might Kerrie want to examine more closely?

industrial/organizational psychology

If a researcher wants to know whether the results she obtained in her study reflect significant difference or were due to chance, she should use

inferential statistics

Peter is conducting a survey asking how often students use the Internet and the average number of hours they sleep. He finds a negative correlation between the two. According to your text, Peter can conclude that when students go online frequently, it

is related to students sleeping less

what is the importance of the Human Connectome Project of 2010

it began mapping out how different regions of the brain are connected and work together

Researchers working on the Human Genome Project are trying to map the basic human genetic code. How is this advancing the field of psychology?

it is helping psychologists understand the extent to which specific genes affect our behavior, thoughts, and feelings, and consider methods involving genetic manipulation in treating conditions like mental illness and dementia

What is an example of something false about ethical research

it is unethical to observe people in public without their knowledge

Hansel wants to know how much soda he typically drinks per day. Last week, he recorded the following numbers: 3, 3, 4, 3, 22, 3, 3. Hansel should avoid using the __________ as a measure of central tendency of his typical soda consumption, because this measure will be heavily skewed by the day in which he drank 22 cups.

mean

What is an example of something that is likely the effect of acetylcholine antagonists

memory deficits

Dr. Xiong thinks that people who drive red cars often violate the rules of the road. He sets up a hidden camera at a four-way stop sign to see which cars fail to make complete stops. Dr. Xiong is using the __________ method of research.

naturalistic observation

Your family recently adopted a dog from an animal shelter. Initially, the dog seemed nervous and territorial, but after a few weeks she became affectionate and calm. Which of the following must play some role in the dog's behavior?

nurture

Sammy is doing research that involves placing objects in the visual fields of visually impaired elderly men. He wants to discover what specific neurons fire in response to the features of the objects. The study requires electrodes to be implanted in the men's brains. In which part of the brain would you suggest Sammy place the electrodes?

occipital

Vanna administers a survey about people's romantic relationships. The highest possible score is 20 points. If her participants obtain a score of 15 or higher, she classifies them as "in love." Achieving a score of 15 or above is Vanna's __________ for "in love."

operational definition

after completing a very stressful midterm exam, Sherri needed to relax. As she lay on her bed, she felt her breathing slow down and her heart rate decrease. Which division of Sherri's autonomic nervous system was likely in retaining control of her organs

parasympathetic

What is a source a scientist would use when researching a possible link between cell phone use and driving

peer-reviewed articles that are written by scientists and printed in publications recognized by the scientific community

Marwan has been shy his whole life, and he is not sure what underlies this trait. Which subfield of psychology might hold some answers for Marwan?

personality psychology

Norman was in a car accident, and now all of his hormones are malfunctioning. Norman probably damaged his

pituitary gland

Seven-year-old Samantha suffered trauma to the language centers in the left hemisphere of her brain as a result of a bicycle accident. Although she did have some language deficits after the trauma, she eventually was able to recover much of what she had lost because of new growth in unaffected areas of the brain made up for the damage. Samantha's recovery is an example of which property or quality of the brain

plasticity

The probability of an action potential being propagated from neuron to neuron is increased when the ___ neuron's signal is ___

postsynaptic; excitatory

After suffering trauma to his brain, Jack experienced profound alterations in his personality. Prior to his accident, he was a prudent, responsible employee, but following the accident, he became childlike in mental capacity, impulsive, and unable to control his emotions. Jack's injuries were most likely located in which area of his brain

prefrontal cortex

Good theories

produce a variety of testable hypotheses.

which psychological school of thought arose from Freud's attempts to understand connections between psychological and physical problems?

psychoanalytic theory

the scientific study of our mental activity and behavior is called

psychology

When people are aware that they are being observed, they might change their behavior. This phenomenon is known as

reactivity

Michaela is very stressed out and decides to get a massage. In order to fully experience the stress-relieving benefits of touch, the tree functions of her nervous system must be intact. That is her nervous system has to be able to first ___, then ___, and finally ___ sensory information

receive; integrate; transmit

Dr. Binet thinks that children from France are more intelligent than children from England. He gives children from each country the same test and finds that the children from France get higher scores. He repeats the experiment several times and finds the same result; therefore his experiment is __________. However, since the test was in French and the English children only speak English, his experiment did not have __________.

reliable; internal validity

Professor Newton is planning a research study with human participants, who will have to wear a head-mounted eye-tracking device during data collection. While the device is not painful or dangerous, it can be a bit uncomfortable, and some participants may get a headache from wearing the device. In order to conduct the study ethically, Professor Newton must ensure that which of the following is favorable?

risk/benefit ratio

Ellie and Samantha are monozygotic twins who were raised in different families and have never met. What trait could one expect them to have in common?

scores on IQ tests, likelihood to start fights, career achievement

Dr. Tucker incorporates principles from behaviorism into her therapy practice when she thinks it may be effective in helping her patients. Which of the following is an example of how Dr. Tucker might use her knowledge of behaviorism to help people with psychological problems?

she teaches patients how to use relaxation techniques when facing feared situations

When Debbie twisted her ankle while running, which nervous system transmitted information from specialized receptors in her ankle joint to her brain?

somatic

When Elaine accidentally touched the hot stove, she immediately pulled her hand away without even thinking about it. This seemingly automatic movement could not have been possible without the effective operation of the nervous system

somatic

To feel pain, there must be sufficient ___ of a neuron to create ___, which is the first step in neural communication

stimulation; action potential

Jordan studies consciousness by training himself to objectively report on his own sensations, which is similar to how the __________ school investigated psychology.

structuralist

In the cycle of the scientific method, descriptive statistics helps you

summarize the basic pattern of the data you collected

On the first day of class, Professor Wilson asked her students to go around the room and introduce themselves. When it was Jaron's turn to speak, he began to perspire, and his heart started racing. His hands became cold and clammy, and his respiration rapid and shallow. Which division of Jaron's atomic nervous system was activated in this experience?

sympathetic

While on spring break in Acapulco, May decided to do some cliff diving. As she stood at the edge of a 50-foot cliff, her heart raced, her respiration increased, and she sweated profusely. Which of the following divisions of May's autonomic nervous system had been activated by this experience?

sympathetic

Psychological science is based on critical thinking. This means that psychological scientists

systematically question and evaluate information before they accept it

Charles Darwin and William James both understood the importance of

the adaptive purpose of specific traits and characteristics

In order to test whether caffeine intake affects the number of hours a person sleeps, Sophie recruited 120 subjects and randomly assigned them into one of three groups 1. no caffeine 2. 30 mg of caffeine 3. 50 mg of caffeine. She then asked the subjects to report on how many hours they slept each night. Sophie's independent variable is ___ and her dependent variable is ___

the amount of caffeine intake; hours of sleep

What is evolutionary theory's primary contribution to psychology

the idea that the brain's functions result from adaptation

Natural selection is

the mechanism of evolution that passes along adaptive changes and eliminates non adaptive changes

Doug believes that the "mind" is really just a result of the workings of our brain. Renee believes that each person has a mind that is separate from the body. Their different opinions reflect

the mind/body problem

A mother thinks that putting her baby in a stimulating environment will help it develop strong cognitive skills while the father thinks that the baby's intelligence will probably be based on how smart him and the mother are. What is this a sign of?

the nature/nurture debate

Judith is conducting an experiment on mood and problem solving. She plans to have study participants read either a funny story or a sad story before taking a math test. What is the dependent variable in Judith's study?

the number of math problems participants correctly solve

Antony conducts a correlational study and finds that students who work more hours in part-time jobs have higher grades. What Antony doesn't know is that both of these phenomena are caused by students' motivation levels. This is an example of

the third variable problem

George is looking for a research project. In doing so, he could formulate and draw on a theory because

theories lead to testable hypotheses

What is true about dizygotic twins

they are no more alike, genetically speaking, than non-twin siblings

What question did Freud reach when attempting to understand the connection between psychological and physical problems

to a large extent, behavior is directed by a mental processes that operate on an unconscious level

A bee stung Franco on the wrist while he was gardening, resulting in a sharp pain. In order to cause him to experience the pain in his wrist, Franco's neurons had to ___, ___, and ___ action potentials

transmit; receive; integrate

Which of the following is not a question that a person engaged in critical thinking would ask?

what are the social repercussions of holding this belief

the fMRI has enabled neuropsychological researchers to conclude from

while many tasks require multiple parts of the brain, some tasks and thought processes us only specific areas of the brain

Your roommate tells you that he is planning to conduct an observational study for his senior thesis. Which of the following questions would you ask to demonstrate that you understand how observational studies are designed?

will your research take place in the lab or in the natural environment

What is an example of something that is not true about the differences between men's and women's brains

women's brains are less bilateralized for language than men's brains

You are conducting an experiment to test whether exercise improves self control in children. Hold of the children will jump rope for 5 minutes before being left alone in a room with a bowl of candy. The other half of the children will color for 5 minutes before being left alone in a room with a bowl of candy. You plan to measure how long it takes for each child to begin eating the candy, as well as how much candy each child consumes. Which statement about your research is true

your dependent variable has two operational definitions