Psych midterm

All of the following are components of a neuron EXCEPT the dendrite axon synapse cell body soma

synapse

Mental set is a type of subgoal setting. tendency to rely on problem solving strategies that worked in the past. form of the backwards-thinking heuristic. rule of thumb in problem solving. type of means-end heuristic.

tendency to rely on problem solving strategies that worked in the past

Which lobe processes information related to touch and body movement? occipital reticulartal temporal frontal parietal

parietal

________ reinforcers have innate reinforcing qualities. classical operant primary secondary

primary

Humans have _____ chromosomes. 23 pairs of 30,000 to 40,000 more than 3 billion 23 2

23 pairs of

Which of the following best describes a synapse? - A bundle of axons from different neurons that transmit nerve impulses - Body organs or structures that produce secretions - A tiny gap separating one neuron from another through which messages are carried - Rootlike structures that receive neural impulses from other neurons - The tubelike part of a neuron that carries messages to other neurons

A tiny gap separating one neuron from another through which messages are carried

Which of the following statements about algorithms is false? - Algorithms are a problem-solving strategy. - Algorithms are not used frequently in our everyday lives. - Algorithms and Heuristics are different. - Algorithms involve a step-by-step problem-solving formula.

Algorithms are not used frequently in our everyday lives

What is the main idea of operant conditioning? - One can learn new behaviors by observing others. - Fear is a conditioned response. - Behavior is motivated by the consequences we receive for the behavior: reinforcements and punishments. - Learning can occur when a conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Behavior is motivated by the consequences we receive for the behavior: reinforcements and punishments

Which pattern best describes what happens once classical conditioning occurs? UR elicits the US. NS leads to no response. CS elicits the CR. NS + US leads to UR. US + CS leads to UR.

CS elicits the CR.

Which subfield represents the largest group of psychologists? School Clinical Counseling Industrial/organizational Research

Clinical

________ (IRB) reviews research that is conducted using human participants. Institutional Review Board Institutional Review Bureau Institutional Research Bureau Institutional Research Board

Institutional Review Board

Dr. Spires talks with some students before psychology class begins. Spires says, "I believe that mental experience is best understood as a whole, rather than in terms of its parts." Her students recognize that Spires opinion describes which school of thought? Gestalt Psychodynamic Structuralism Humanism Functionalism

Gestalt

According to Albert Bandura, ________. - Learning is the result of reinforcing desired behavior at fixed intervals. - Fear is a conditioned response. - Organisms cannot learn if they do not receive immediate reinforcement. - Learning can occur by watching others and modeling what they do or say.

Learning can occur by watching others and modeling what they do or say

What is the most common doctoral degree awarded in the field of psychology? M.A. Ed.D. Psy.D. Ph.D. B.A.

Ph.D.

Which nerve carries visual information from the retina to the brain? photoreceptor linear cornea optic

optic

In a neuron, the _____ is sending a message and the ______ is receiving a message. soma; synapse dendrite; axon terminal button; soma axon; dendrite terminal button; synapse

axon; dendrite

Psychology is best described as a science that studies - the role of personal experience in explaining behavior - behavior and mental processes - observable behavior only - mental processes only - how we control our behavior

behavior and mental processes

Which of the following is the best definition of concept? - a system of communication composed of symbols and following particular rules - a mental category used to group objects according to shared features - a rule of thumb for solving problems or making judgments - a mental picture or representation of an object or event - a comparison between two things based on similar features

a mental category used to group objects according to shared features

A heuristic is - a step-by-step process for solving a problem. the most common type of logical concept. - a sudden realization of the correct solution to a problem. - a mental shortcut for solving a problem. - a standard used to compare an individual's performance on a test with the performance of others.

a mental shortcut for solving a problem

To achieve classical conditioning, you should pair - an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned response. - a conditioned stimulus with a conditioned response. - a conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus. - a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus. - a neutral stimulus with a conditioned response.

a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus

Most psychologists define learning as - any change in behavior due to maturation. - a relatively permanent change in behavior due to natural development. - a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience. - any change in behavior due to experience. - any change in behavior.

a relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience

In Watson's research with Little Albert, what was the CS? a spanking the Santa Claus mask an electric shock a white rat a loud sound

a white rat

The smallest amount of a stimulus that a person can reliably detect is called difference threshold. perceptual constancy. absolute threshold. just-noticeable difference. Weber's constant.

absolute threshold

Classical conditioning is best described as learning by observation. insight. trial-and-error. association. stimulus-response.

association

Which part of a neuron may range in size from a few thousandths of an inch to several feet long? axon synapse myelin There are no parts of a neuron that are this size. soma

axon

Watson and Skinner were ______ that believed that our behavior was shaped by our environment through rewards and punishments. behaviorists cognitive psychologist humanistic psychologists personality psychologists neo freudians

behaviorists

Your psychology professor argues that dreams represent an attempt by the cerebral cortex to make sense of the random discharges of electrical activity that occur during REM sleep. What perspective best describes your professor's comments? humanistic biopsychological sociocultural cognitive psychodynamic

biopsychological

Chemical senses include both taste and smell. touch only. smell only. both touch and taste. taste only.

both taste and smell

The brain and the spinal cord make up the central nervous system. peripheral nervous system. somatic nervous system. nervous system. autonomic nervous system.

central nervous system

Comparing the two types of concepts, logical is to ______ as natural is to ______. negative; positive clear; fuzzy positive; negative subordinate; superordinate

clear; fuzzy

Divergent thinking is - making decisions based on how easily information comes to mind. - relying on previous successful strategies to solve a new problem. - narrowing down a range of alternatives to converge on the one correct answer to a problem. - maintaining an initial hypothesis despite contradictory evidence. - conceiving of new ways of viewing situations and new uses for familiar objects.

conceiving of new ways of viewing situations and new uses for familiar objects

A(n) ________ is a variable that affects both variables of interest and may falsely give the impression of a cause-and-effect relationship. dependent variable confounding variable independent variable control variable

confounding variable

Not all aspects of cognition are ________. essential features of human consciousness exceptionally complex essential features of adult consciousness consciously experienced

consciously experienced

All but which of the following are subfields in psychology? sport psychology developmental biopsychology forensic psychology consumer

consumer

________intelligence is marked by inventing or imagining a solution to a problem or situation. crystallized creative analytic practical

creative

Which part of a neuron could best be described as a docking station? myelin sheath dendrite soma synapse axon

dendrite

The ________ variable measures effects of the independent variable. confounding dependent experimental independent

dependent

Cognitive psychologists are likely to study all but which of the following topics? development across the life span problem solving thinking language information processing

development across the life span

Ivan Pavlov's initial research work was in the study of conditioning of pigeons. digestive processes in dogs. latent learning with rats. learning by association with rabbits. observational learning with children.

digestive processes in dogs

Which type of problem-solving takes place "all of a sudden" through understanding the relationships between various parts of the problem rather than trial and error? algorithms decay representative heuristic concept formation insight

insight

What did John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner demonstrate with their studies of Little Albert? emotion can be a conditioned response boys display fear differently from girls boys display more fear than girls fear cannot be a conditioned response

emotion can be a conditioned response

Following _____, a conditioned response may reappear. This process is known as ______. generalization; spontaneous recovery discrimination; spontaneous recovery generalization; extinction discrimination; extinction extinction; spontaneous recovery

extinction; spontaneous recovery

In the process of perception, the brain - produces experiences of vision, hearing, and so on. - transforms sensory signals into sensations. - converts external stimulation into neural signals. - senses the presence of objects in the world. - forms meaningful impressions by piecing together sensory information.

forms meaningful impressions by piecing together sensory information

The optic nerve consists of the axons of the _____ cells and exits the eye in the _____. ganglion; blind spot optic; blind spot ganglion; fovea bipolar; fovea bipolar; blind spot

ganglion; blind spot

In human hearing, the auditory receptors are _____. follicles hair cells air molecules blood cells

hair cells

In what order do the ossicles vibrate during hearing? hammer, anvil, stirrup stirrup, anvil, hammer hammer, stirrup, anvil anvil, hammer, stirrup stirrup, hammer, anvil

hammer, anvil, stirrup

Niaz's car breaks down, and he is convinced that it was a predictable event even though there was no way of knowing it would happen. This exemplifies ________. anchoring bias hindsight bias availability heuristic representational bias

hindsight bias

What is described by the concept of perception? - the change in stimulus detection as a function of current mental state - how sensory information is interpreted and consciously experienced - what happens when sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor - how interpretation of sensations is influenced by available knowledge, experiences, and thoughts

how sensory information is interpreted and consciously experienced

________ is a perspective within psychology that emphasizes the potential for good that is innate to all humans. structuralism gestalt humanism behaviorism

humanism

Which aspect of the scientific method occurs first? experiment observation hypothesis data collection

hypothesis

The ________ is controlled by the experimenter. confounding variable variability independent variable dependent variable

independent variable

Scientists who study cognition are searching for ways to understand how we ________, organize, and utilize our conscious cognitive experiences without being aware of all of the unconscious work that our brains are doing. intensify integrate innovate infiltrate

integrate

What is the most common type of neuron found in your nervous system? somatic afferent motor interneuron sensory

interneuron

Which part of the eye gives a person her/his eye color? retina fovea pupil cornea iris

iris

Which term describes the perception of the body's movement through space? kinesthesia neurasthenia dimensionality nociception

kinesthesia

Wernicke's area is associated with _____, whereas Broca's area is associated with _____. language production; language comprehension language comprehension; language production speech aphasia; visual aphasia left-handedness; right-handedness hemispheric specialization; lateralization

language comprehension; language production

Depolarization occurs when the neuron becomes - more negative due to outflow of sodium ions. - less negative due to outflow of sodium ions. - more negative due to influx of potassium. - more negative due to influx of sodium ions. - less negative due to influx of sodium ions.

less negative due to influx of sodium ions

In the human eye, rods are to _____ as cones are to _____. color; light monochromat; dichromat light; color dichromat; monochromat retina; pupil

light; color

Longer wavelengths will have ________ frequencies, and shorter wavelengths will have ________ frequencies. higher; lower shorter; longer lower; higher longer; shorter

lower; higher

What is the number one occupation employing graduates with a BA in psychology? human resources marketing social work mid- and top-level management

mid- and top-level management

The fundamental building block of the nervous system is the ________. pituitary gland neuron nerve brain spinal cord

neuron

In neural communication, ______ is to key as ______ is to lock. synapse; soma neuron; glial cell neurotransmitter; receptor site axon; dendrite action potential; resting potential

neurotransmitter; receptor site

Chemical messengers that transport nerve impulses from one nerve cell to another are called hormones. interneurons. synapses. neurotransmitters. glials.

neurotransmitters

Learning that occurs while watching others and then imitating, or modeling, what they do or say is called ________ learning. observational vicarious latent Pavlovian

observational

In operant conditioning, what describes adding something to decrease the likelihood of behavior? recovery extinction acquisition punishment

punishment

Which type of psychologist might administer an intelligence test to your 12-year-old child to determine if he or she should be in special education classes? school personality clinical forensic counseling

school

The process by which we receive, transform, and process stimuli is perception. telepathy. habituation. sensation. psychophysics.

sensation

The process of sensation enables us to _________, where the process of perception enables us _________. - transform sensory signals into sensations; convert external stimulation into neural signals - form meaningful representations of sensory information; experience the rich tapestry of colors and sounds - sense the world around us; make sense of the world around us - make sense of the world around us; sense the world around us - convert external stimulation into neural signals; transforms sensory signals into sensations

sense the world around us; make sense of the world around us

Through classical conditioning, Alyce has developed a fear of mice. She also shows a fear response to gerbils and hamsters. Alyce is demonstrating spontaneous recovery. extinction. reconditioning. stimulus discrimination. stimulus generalization.

stimulus generalization.

Functional fixedness is - the inability to see how familiar objects can be used in new ways. - a type of multiple intelligence. - the tendency to rely on strategies that have been successful in the past. - a type of means-end heuristic. - a form of backward-thinking heuristic.

the inability to see how familiar objects can be used in new ways

According to the text, thinking is defined as cognitive representation of information. mental awareness and processing. the mental representation and manipulation of information. ability to learn and profit from experience. private mental processes allowing us to interact with the world.

the mental representation and manipulation of information

The two subdivisions of the autonomic nervous system are the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system. the somatic nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. the sympathetic and the somatic nervous systems. the involuntary and the voluntary nervous systems. the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.

the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems

Which cognitive bias best describes our tendency to judge people based on first impressions? divergent thinking trial & error the means-end heuristic the availability heuristic the representativeness heuristic

the representativeness heuristic

In addition to sweet, salty, sour, and bitter, what other taste buds do we have? monosodium glutamate umami vegetable meat

umami

A reflexive reaction triggered by a stimulus is a(n) neutral response. unconditioned stimulus. unconditioned response. operant response. conditioned response.

unconditioned response