Psych Prologue Study Guide

Beverly is observing how children react to being pushed by other children while playing in the schoolyard. Which psychological perspective is she likely applying to her research?

Behaviorism

________ psychologists study the connection between the brain and the mind.

Biological

In the following definition of psychology: the science of behavior and mental processes—what is the key word?

Science

Professor James is studying how mice navigate a new maze. His research study is most consistent with the ________ perspective.

behavioral

Dr. Rogers conducts research on the relationship between brain chemistry and intellectual functioning. Which psychological specialty does Dr. Rogers' research best represent?

biological psychology

The young science of psychology developed from the more established fields of philosophy and

biology

We live in a family that resides in a community that is part of a larger society. This demonstrates that we are

biopsychosocial systems

By suggesting that nurture works on what nature provides, psychologists highlight the fact that we are biologically endowed with

brain plasticity

Dr. McAllister is studying anger as it relates to violent criminal offenders. He is particularly interested in how environmental circumstances relate to feelings of anger among these offenders, as well as how feelings of anger affect thought processes. He is working from a(n) _______ perspective.

cognitive

Professor Warburton is interested in memory processes and how retrieval of information is influenced by current schema activation. He is working from the _______ perspective.

cognitive

Which psychological perspective is most likely to be concerned with identifying the powers and the limits of human reasoning?

cognitive

The branch of psychology that can be considered a marriage between the science of the mind and the science of the brain is called

cognitive neuroscience

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity that underlies mental activity is

cognitive neuroscience.

Memory processes are to the _______ perspective as cultures are to the _______ perspective.

cognitive; social-cultural

Rather than seeking to change people to fit their environment, _______ work to create social and physical environments that are healthy for all.

community psychologists

Martin Seligman calls for a positive psychology that focuses on such topics as

compassion

The biopsychosocial approach incorporates different levels of analysis, which

complement one another

Natural selection refers to the principle that variations in _______ that contribute to reproduction and survival will most likely be passed on to succeeding generations.

inherited traits

Behaviorists dismissed the value of

introspection

Which of the following is NOT a suggestion provided in the text for how to live a happier life?

set short term goals

Dr. Vescio conducts research on why individuals conform to the behaviors and opinions of others. Which specialty area does his research best represent?

social psychology

Dr. Gormley is studying how family expectations affect people's behavior. She is examining the _______ influence on behavior and mental processes, according to the biopsychosocial perspective.

social-cultural

Which perspective in psychology would focus on the extent to which different parenting styles are encouraged among various ethnic groups?

social-cultural

The risk of being color deficient is greater for men than for women. This best illustrates an important

gender difference

Humanistic psychologists focused attention on the importance of people's

growth potential

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow promoted a historically significant approach known as

humanistic psychology

Which psychologists are MOST likely to be involved in applied research?

industrial-organizational psychologists

Which psychologist was the first woman to officially earn a doctorate degree and was the author of the influential book, The Animal Mind?

Margaret Floy Washburn

Professor Andres is examining brain circuits that may cause people to be red in the face when angry. Which perspective is she using?

neuroscience

Between 1997 and 2019, more than _______ percent of the elected presidents of the Association for Psychological Science were women.

50

The English naturalist whose thinking about species variation led to evolutionary psychology was

Charles Darwin

Patricia recently read an online article about the meaning of horoscopes, which explained how the locations of the stars at one's birth determines one's personality and life course. Patricia is not convinced that this information is accurate and so she is quite skeptical. She has concluded that the assumptions and conclusions of this article are faulty, that the writer is biased and lacks credibility, and that the evidence to support this claim does not justify a cause-effect conclusion. Patricia has engaged in

Critical thinking

Who was a student of William James and the first female president of the American Psychological Association?

Mary Whiton Calkins

Professor Tebbeb believes that young children are frequently able to make morally correct decisions because humans are endowed with an inborn knowledge of basic ethical principles. The professor's belief is most consistent with the views of

Plato

Which of the following people is most likely to earn a doctorate degree in psychology today?

Samantha, who is from the United States

Who developed the first psychological laboratory?

Wilhelm Wundt

Professor Thomas uses scientific procedures to test whether watching violent movies increases the frequency of emotionally upsetting dreams among participants. This best illustrates

an empirical approach

Studies conducted for the sake of building psychology's base of knowledge are most clearly examples of

basic research

Smiling is to feeling as _______ is to ________.

behavior and mental process

Psychology is currently best defined as the science of

behavior and mental processes

Janice is concerned about pollution and its effects on the planet. She has read several news articles, paying careful attention to the content in the articles and the sources of the information. She has also reviewed information that seems contrary to her view. She is involved in

critical thinking

Questioning whether conclusions are warranted by the existing evidence best illustrates

critical thinking

Dr. Stembridge conducts research on how children's reasoning power changes as they grow older. It is most likely that Dr. Stembridge is a(n) ________ psychologist.

developmental

Stephanie suffers from severe depression and is undergoing a treatment in which electric shocks are delivered to her brain. What type of therapy is she receiving?

electroconvulsive therapy

Critical thinking most clearly involves

evaluating evidence

Jeremy is interested in how anger facilitated the survival of our ancestor's genes. He is studying anger based on which perspective?

evolutionary

The survival of organisms best suited to a particular environment is known as

natural selection

Efforts to learn whether children's personalities are more heavily influenced by their biology or by their home environment are most directly relevant to the debate regarding

nature and nurture

Innate ability is to learned skill as _______ is to ________

nature and nurture

Discovering and promoting human strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive is the major focus of

positive psychology

Clinical psychologists specialize in

providing therapy to troubled people

The scientific attitude requires an open-minded humility because it involves a willingness to

recognize the errors in our own ideas