Unit 4
The inverted U-shaped function which describes the relationship between arousal and performance is known as the
Yerkes-Dodson Law
In developing a test of intellectual ability for Parisian school children, Binet and Simon assumed that
a bright child would perform like a normal child of an older age
Intrinsic motivation refers to
a desire to perform a behavior for its own sake
Extrinsic motivation refers to
a desire to perform a behavior in order to obtain promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment
Professor Smith explains that city dwellers' need for physical safety must be met before they will be motivated to form close friendships with fellow citizens. Professor Smith is providing an example of
a hierarchy of motives/needs
"I'd really like to leave here and go somewhere else," is an example of
a holophrase
On the basis of Maslow's hierarchy of needs one would be LEAST likely to predict that
a prisoner might choose to die rather than betray his country
Motivation is defined
a process that energizes and directs behavior toward a goal
Highly creative people tend to display all of the following except
a serious, focused attitude
A holophrase may be defined as
a single word used to express a complex idea
Eve tells her friend, "I didn't think my presentation in front of the class was any big thing, but when I felt my heart pounding and my palms sweating, I realized that I was scared." Eve is supporting
the James-Lange theory
An "external" eater is an individual
whose eating is triggered more by the presence of food stimuli than by internal factors
Syntax is concerned with the _____ of a language.
word order
The theory of emotion which says that our perception of the situation tells us what emotion we're experiencing, and our perception of our bodily reaction tells us the intensity of the emotion is the _____ theory.
cognitive label
The two types of concepts which are easier to learn are _____ and _____ concepts
concrete; natural
Since much of human drinking behavior is influenced not simply by biological need, but also by incentive and social factors, compared to other animals, humans tend to drink
considerably more than most animals
The first sounds the infant produces other than crying are simply vowel sounds known as
cooing
In an emergency situation, increasing levels of emotional arousal are likely to be accompanied by
dilation of the pupils to let in more light
The most basic or lowest level need in Maslow's hierarchy of human motives includes the need for
food and drink
According to Maslow, our need for _____ must be met before we are prompted to satisfy our need for _____.
food; love
A concept which is learned indirectly from hearing/reading a definition/description is a(n) _____ concept
formal
The types of concepts which are defined by how the concepts are learned (definition/description versus reinforcement/punishment/extinction) are _____ and _____ concepts
formal; natural
A characteristic which may prevent us from seeing the possibility of using a coin as a screwdriver in an emergency is
functional fixedness
The first person to ever construct a tire swing had to first overcome
functional fixedness
The tendency to see knives as only cutting instruments, a paper clip as only for holding papers together, and a glass as only a container for liquids to be consumed is known as
functional fixedness
The tendency to see objects as serving only one standard purpose is known as
functional fixedness
The second step in effective problem-solving is known as
generating possible solutions
A child says "the cat goed away" instead of "the cat went away." He/she is overgeneralizing, not realizing that the rules of _____ have many exceptions.
grammar
Positive and negative environmental stimuli that motivate behavior are called
incentives
According to the cognitive label theory of emotion, injecting an individual with epinephrine (adrenalin) should result in
increased intensity of whatever emotion was caused by the perception of the situation
In generating hypotheses for research, we generally start from specific cases and try to develop a general underlying principle, the process of _____ reasoning
inductive
The relationship between intelligence and creativity is that
intelligence sets limits on creativity
The skyrocketing salaries of NBA basketball players are most likely to reduce the athletes'
intrinsic motivation
For the original version of the Stanford Binet, IQ was defined as
mental age divided by chronological age and multiplied by 100
A general approach to solving related problems is called
mental set
If I have flashed a long sequence of stimuli on a screen one at a time for you to identify and all of the stimuli have been two-digit numbers, if I flash up "lb" you may well reply "16" due to
mental set
The tendency to always approach similar problems in the same way is called
mental set
Adam is an amateur golfer who has a high need for achievement. Research suggests that Adam most likely prefers playing golf on courses that for him are
moderately difficult
People who are high in need for achievement (nAch) prefer _____ tasks; people who are high in fear of failure (FoF) prefer _____ tasks.
moderately difficult; very easy or very difficult
The smallest meaningful unit of spoken language is the
morpheme
Research on sex hormones and animal sexual behavior indicates that
most female mammals are sexually receptive only at the time of ovulation
A process that energizes and directs behavior toward a goal is known as
motivation
Dr. Smith studies needs and drives, internal factors which provide the energy and direction of behavior. Dr. Smith is studying
motivation
A(n) _____ conflict is when we have to choose between/among two or more goals, both of which have both desirable and undesirable characteristics.
multiple approach-avoidance
At this point in your life, there's a good chance that you've still not definitely decided on a career. When choosing among a number of possible careers, all of which have their particular plusses and minuses, you are facing a(n) _____ conflict
multiple approach-avoidance
Toward the end of the babbling phase, children
narrow their phoneme production to only those which they hear being spoken
For the concept of "types of concepts," all of the following are negative instances EXCEPT
natural
Adam, a pre-med college junior, studies 10 hours a day because he wants to become the best surgeon he can possibly be. His goal and behavior most clearly suggest that he has a high
need for achievement
Abraham Maslow is perhaps best known for his
need hierarchy
A chimpanzee is a(n) _____ instance of the concept "reptile."
negative
An object or event which is not an example of a concept is called a(n)
negative instance
For the concept of "major league baseball teams," Lions, Eagles, Hawks, and Cavaliers are all
negative instances
For the concept of "herbs," all of the following are positive instances EXCEPT
nutmeg
The James-Lange theory of emotion states that the stimulus which actually triggers the experience of an emotion is
our body's reaction (increased heart rate, etc.)
A child forms the plural of "woman" by saying "womans." This is an example of
overgeneralization of the rules of grammar
Different emotions tend to be very similar in their
patterns of autonomic arousal
The characteristics of spoken language which help us determine the meaning of language are known as
pragmatics
Tasks which call for great skill and accuracy (such as taking this test) tend to be performed best when arousal levels are
relatively low
Adam completed the Computer Programming Aptitude Test when he applied for a position with Acme Electronics. Six months later, he took the same test when he applied for a position with another company. The fact that his scores were almost identical on the test demonstrate that the test has high
reliability
If a test yields consistent results every time it is used, it has a high degree of
reliability
Psychologists assess the correlation between scores obtained on two halves of a single test in order to measure the _____ of the test
reliability
Consistency is to accuracy as _____ is to _____
reliability; validity
Cooing is first seen in the child at about _____ of age.
six weeks
When humans are together in groups of two or more, we almost always have something to drink, even when we do not need fluid. Thus there are definitely _____ factors involved in drinking behavior
social
There is wide agreement that at least part of observed racial/ethnic differences in intelligence are due to
test bias
Children appear to first really understand and use some words as symbols at about _____ months of age.
12
Children first begin to babble at about _____ months of age
6
Four-year-old Eve performs on an intelligence test at a level characteristic of an average 6-year-old. Eve's mental age is
6
About _____ percent of WAIS III scores fall between 85 and 115
68
A 12-year-old who responded to the original Stanford Binet with the proficiency typical of an average 9-year-old was said to have an IQ of
75
Eve has a mental age of 10 and an IQ of 125 as measured by the Stanford Binet. Eve's chronological age is
8
Twelve-year-old Adam has an IQ of 75 on the original version of the Stanford Binet. His mental age is
9
Research on racial differences in intelligence indicates that
African-Americans have averaged about 15 points lower than White Americans on intelligence tests
According to the _____ theory of emotion, perception of the external situation simultaneously triggers changes in bodily conditions and the experience of the emotion
Cannon-Bard
The _____ theory of emotion says that even if there were no changes in heart rate, blood pressure, etc. and/or you could not detect these changes, you would still be able to experience emotions
Cannon-Bard theory
Which of the following is true of babbling?
Children around the world babble all the phonemes which humans are capable of producing
The classic experiments on prepared learning were performed by
John Garcia
Lewis Terman's widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test was the
Stanford-Binet
Homosexuality is due to
There is no agreement among scientists on this issue
The "W" in "WAIS" and "WISC" stands for
Wechsler
A concept which refers to a class or group of things or situations which are not physical (love, freedom, angels, etc.) is a(n) _____ concept
abstract
Language is a system of communication which uses
abstract symbols arranged in a particular order
The types of concepts which are defined by whether they refer to physical or non-physical things/situations are _____ and _____ concepts
abstract; concrete
At the age of 14, Eve plays tennis for nearly 3 hours every day, because she wants to become the best player she can possibly be. Her goal and behavior most clearly suggest that he has a high level of
achievement motivation (nAch)
According to Maslow, our need for _____ must be met before we are prompted to satisfy our need for _____.
adequate clothing; self-esteem
WAIS is to WISC as _____ is to _____.
adult; child
If we work at learning to avoid displaying our emotions through facial expressions and/or body language, we may well find that we
also begin to feel the emotions less intensely
Anorexia nervosa is typically characterized by
an inappropriate fear of becoming obese
Eve has just gotten her driver's license. She is in heavy traffic on the freeway when suddenly it begins to rain very hard. If we were able to monitor Eve, we would most likely see
an increase in her blood sugar level
About eight months ago, 14-year-old Eve went on a drastic weight loss diet that caused her to drop from 110 to 80 pounds. Although she is now dangerously underweight and undernourished, she continues to think she looks fat. Her frustrated father recently forced her to eat a peanut butter sandwich, but Eve immediately went to the bathroom and threw it all up. Eve most clearly suffers from
anorexia nervosa
While when we think of images we generally think of visual images, images may also be
any sensory perception
A(n) _____ conflict is when one is forced to choose between two possible goals, both of which are desirable
approach-approach
Eve has decided that she can afford to take a night off from studying. She decides that she can either go to a movie or go to a local club, both activities which she really enjoys. Eve is facing a(n) _____ conflict.
approach-approach
The easiest type of conflict to resolve is the _____ conflict.
approach-approach
A(n) _____ conflict is when the same goal has both desirable and undesirable characteristics
approach-avoidance
In the _____ conflict, there is only a single goal, and our choice is whether or not to attempt to achieve that single goal
approach-avoidance
It is August and the temperature is above 90 with high humidity. Your lawn needs mowing. You'd really like to have your lawn looking good, but you really don't want to mow it in this heat and humidity. You are facing a(n) _____ conflict
approach-avoidance
The degree to which your brain (and often body as well) is active and conscious is known as
arousal
The Yerkes-Dodson Law describes the basic relationship between _____ and _____.
arousal; performance
The part of the brain which controls arousal is the
autonomic nervous system
When comparing approach and avoidance gradients, we see that
avoidance gradients are steeper
Adam receives an "F" as his midterm grade in history. His choices are to either fail the course, or really get to work for the rest of the semester—neither of which are things he wants to do. Adam is facing a(n) _____ conflict.
avoidance-avoidance
The only type of conflict in which the subject is likely to simply leave the situation if possible without making a choice is the _____ conflict
avoidance-avoidance
What Garcia found with the experimental group in his experiments on prepared learning is known as the Garcia effect, taste aversion, or sometimes
bait shyness
Performance is generally _____ when arousal is _____.
best; moderate
From the point of view of the species, sex is a _____ need.
biological
According to the Cannon-Bard theory, the sympathetic nervous system is to the cerebral cortex as _____ is to _____.
bodily arousal; experience of emotion
In conflict situations, approach and avoidance gradients
both are stronger closer to the goal
Adam, accused of cheating on an exam, has agreed to take a lie detector test. The machine used in this test is most likely to measure his
breathing rate
Twenty-two-year-old Eve is slightly overweight and loves to eat, particularly snack foods and rich desserts. Fearful of becoming overweight, she frequently takes a laxative after eating too much. Eve most clearly suffers from
bulimia nervosa
The _____ theory of emotion would predict that during and immediately after a strenuous game, athletes are likely to experience emotions with greater intensity than would be the case at other times, such as while having a meal
cognitive label
As part of a research project, Dr. Smith destroys part of the lateral hypothalamus of a laboratory rat. This operation is most likely to
cause the animal to starve, even when food is present
When psychologists mention conflict in the context of motivation, they are referring to
choosing between/among two or more goals
A more technical term for the process of thinking is
cognition
Eve was emotionally aroused by a TV documentary about police brutality which made her very angry. She became extremely frightened when she heard a car backfire outside the window; and when she received a phone call from her boyfriend, she experienced unusually intense romantic feelings. Eve's emotional reactivity to the car and to her boyfriend is best explained by the _____ theory of emotion
cognitive label
Some people contend that their most intense sexual arousal occurs when the sexual arousal occurs during or right after a fight with their partner. Thus would tend to support the ________ theory of emotion
cognitive label
The _____ theory of emotion states that our experience of emotion results from our perception both of the situation and also of our body's reaction to the situation
cognitive label
The physiological changes taking place when we are in emergency situations are likely to include decreases in
digestive activity
Ice hockey players are required to wear helmets. Sydney Crosby is an ice hockey player. Therefore, Sidney Crosby wears a helmet. This is an example of _____ reasoning
deductive
In actually conducting research, we start with the general principle (hypothesis) and check to see if this is generally true of specific groups of subjects, the process of _____ reasoning
deductive
The type of reasoning in which specific conclusions are drawn from general principles (or a combination of general principles and specific instances) is known as _____ reasoning
deductive
The actual meaning of a sentence is the _____ structure of the sentence
deep
Which of the following events would most likely cause an animal to eat voraciously and become obese?
destruction of its ventromedial hypothalamus
Inhibition of hunger is to overeating as _____ is to _____.
destruction of the lateral hypothalamus; destruction of the ventromedial hypothalamus
If you are monitoring someone, and you notice a significant increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and the size of the pupil of the eye, you can feel pretty certain that the person is experiencing
emotion
An incentive is a(n)
environmental stimulus that motivates behavior
An adrenal hormone that triggers the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system in times of emergency is
epinephrine
During emergency situations, the adrenal glands trigger the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system by releasing _____ into the bloodstream
epinephrine
Sexual desire in most female animals is high at other times and low at others, due to the changes in hormone levels known as the _____ cycle
estrous
Changes in female sexual desire due to hormones are the _____ cycle, while changes in her body's readiness for the fertilization of an ovum are the _____ cycle.
estrous; menstrual
After we have understood the problem and come up with a set of possible solutions, the third step in effective problem-solving is
evaluating possible solutions
Although Adam has just eaten a huge steak dinner, he is unable to resist eating the cheesecake placed in front of him. Adam's eating a piece of cheesecake on a full stomach suggests that he is a(n)
external
Highly creative people tend to display all of the following except
fear of failure
An Atlanta Braves baseball cap was found at the scene of a crime, most likely dropped by the criminal, but this fact has not been reported by the press. If a suspect is taking a polygraph and is asked if he owns an Atlanta Braves baseball cap, the examiner is using the
guilty knowledge test
The polygraph generally measures changes in _____ that accompany emotion
heart rate
The body's tendency to maintain a constant internal state is known as
homeostasis
Hunger controls are located within the
hypothalamus
Binet and Simon designed a test of intellectual abilities in order to
identify children likely to have difficulty learning in school
Mental representations of sensory perceptions (sights, sounds, smells, etc.) are called
images
Compared to the way we work with real objects, research has shown that we work with visual images
in very similar ways
Even if we've recently had a full meal, if we walk by a bakery, the delicious smells may get us to go inside and buy and eat some cookies. This is because eating behavior is affected by _____ factors as well as biological factors.
incentive
In both eating and drinking behavior, humans often overindulge simply because the available food and drink are so attractive/flavorful. This is a(n) _____ factor in eating and drinking behavior
incentive
On some college football teams, players are rewarded for outstanding performance with gold stars (or other emblems) on their helmets. This practice best illustrates the use of
incentives
Because Adam was curious about human behavior, he enrolled in an introductory psychology course. Eve registered because she heard it was an easy course that would boost her grade point average. In this instance, while Eve's behavior was a reflection of _________.
intrinsic motivation; extrinsic motivation
Which of the following is clearly NOT an example of an incentive?
lack of bodily fluids
In humans, one of the major examples of prepared learning is
language
Electrical stimulation of the _____ causes an animal to _____.
lateral hypothalamus; start eating
In which of the following occupations does IQ score correlate highly with success in the occupation?
law
For a hungry person, the consumption of food serves to
maintain homeostasis
Perspiring and blood vessel constriction serve to
maintain homeostasis
The fourth and final step in effective problem-solving is
making a decision
Semantics is concerned with the _____ of a language
meaning of words
A test has a high degree of validity if it
measures or predicts what it is supposed to measure or predict
The process of the maturation and release of an ovum, the preparation of the uterus for possible pregnancy, etc. are known known as the _____ cycle
menstrual
The "a" in "bad" and the "a" in "Dave" are different
phoemes
The "ee" in "feed," the "ea" in "read" (present tense), and the "I" in "liter" are the same
phoneme
The individual sounds which make up spoken language are called
phonemes
Adam's intrinsic motivation to play baseball in college is most likely to be reduced when his attention is focused on
playing well enough to secure an athletic scholarship
A major department store has been having major problems with expensive items disappearing from their shelves, and they suspect that the cause may be employee theft. They may ask their employees to take a(n) _____ test in an attempt to determine if they are telling the truth about their actions
polygraph
The device commonly referred to as a "lie detector" is more technically known as a(n)
polygraph
A chimpanzee is a(n) _____ instance of the concept "animal."
positive
Stress (volume) and inflection (rising or falling pitch) are the two main forms of _____, the characteristics of spoken language which help to clarify the meaning
pragmatics
The "gray area" which is a combination of innate behavior and learned behavior is
prepared learning
In his experiments on prepared learning, John Garcia used _____ as experimental subjects
rats
The French government commissioned Binet to develop an intelligence test that would
reduce the need to rely on teachers' subjectively biased judgments of students' learning potential
If we have learned a task extremely well, we are likely to perform it best when our arousal level is
relatively high
Adam runs the 100-yard dash on his school track team and is also on the school debate team. It would likely be best if his arousal level were _____ for a track meet and _____ for a debate
relatively high; relatively low
Adam, an all-star shortstop, will play in an important baseball game for his school tomorrow. If he is playing his normal position, we would like his arousal level to be _____, but if he will be playing first base, a relatively unfamiliar position, we would prefer that his arousal level be _____.
relatively high; relatively low
Eve is playing the piano for a school assembly this morning, a piece which she has played well before large audiences several times before. This afternoon after school, she has her very first important job interview. For best performance, her arousal level should be _____ for the assembly and _____ for the interview.
relatively high; relatively low
From the point of view of the individual, sex is a _____ need
secondary
Maslow's highest level of human needs is
self-actualization
The word "battery" can refer to a device for storing energy (e.g., Duracell), a group of things (such as a battery of guns), or the act of beating on someone (as in assault and battery). These multiple definitions are part of the _____ of English.
semantics
When a person's test performance can be compared with that of a representative, pretested group, the test is
standardized
Dr. Smith has designed a test to measure knowledge of American history. In order to interpret scores on it, she is presently administering the test to a representative sample of all Americans. Dr. Smith is clearly in the process of
standardizing the test
Arousal of hunger is to inhibition of hunger as _____ is to _____.
stimulation of the lateral hypothalamus; stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamus
Astronauts are generally in very good physical condition, with resting heart rates and blood pressures which are very low. At the moment of liftoff, however, their heart rates and blood pressures tend to be very high. These changes are caused by the _____ division of the autonomic nervous system.
sympathetic
While you are at home alone studying late at night, you suddenly hear the crash of breaking glass from the direction of your front door. If we were monitoring your bodily conditions, we would almost certainly see increases in your heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, blood sugar level, and the size of the pupils of your eyes. These changes are caused by the _____ should read division of autonomic nervous system.
sympathetic
According to the Cannon-Bard theory, bodily arousal results from activation of the _____, while the experienced emotion results from simultaneous activation of the _____.
sympathetic nervous system; cortex
A German person learning English may say "The dog the cat chased" instead of "The dog chased the cat." This is because the _____ of German is different from that of English
syntax
A child says "red ball," not "ball red" to indicate a particular object. This shows that he/she knows something about
syntax
In standard English sentences, the word order is generally subject verb object (The dog chased the cat.). This is the _____ of English
syntax
When a car pulls into the driveway, a child says "car come," not "come car," thus indicating that he/she has learned something about the _____ of English
syntax
Which of the following tasks would call for the lowest arousal level in order to get maximum performance?
taking a math test
What Garcia found with the experimental group in his experiments on prepared learning is known as the Garcia effect, or more descriptively, _____ aversion
taste
Communication in which brief expressions carry larger meanings is called _____ speech
telegraphic
"Give cookie baby," meaning "Give one of those cookies to the baby," is an example of
telegraphic speech
A child saying ""baby go byebye"" is an example of
telegraphic speech
The theory of emotion which says that when we see what looks like a person with a gun lurking in the shadows, our feeling of fear actually stems from our perception of our body's changes in blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, etc. is
the James-Lange theory
Which theory suggests that the experience of emotion results from the perception of our own bodily responses to an environmental event?
the James-Lange theory
Which of the following is NOT a biological factor used by the hypothalamus to cause us to start or stop eating?
the attractiveness of food
In 1994, the the controversial view that Whites were genetically superior to African-Americans intellectually was revived by the publication of _____ by Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray
the bell curve
Binet used the term mental age to refer to
the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance
Arousal is
the degree to which the brain is active and conscious
The hypothalamus urges animals to drink due to information it receives about
the fluid content of its own cells
Research has shown that external eaters are especially likely to be influenced by
the time of day
We can reduce sympathetic arousal and thus the intensity of experienced emotion through the use of
tranquilizers
When faced with a problem-solving situation, the process of trying to make sure that we consider all relevant factors which may affect our choice is known as
understanding the problem
An electronics school administrator is trying to construct an admissions test that will accurately indicate how well applicants will perform in his school. The administrator is most obviously concerned that the test is
valid
After learning about her low score on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Eve complained, "I don't believe that test is a measure of intelligence at all." Eve's statement is equivalent to saying that the WAIS lacks
validity
Your psychology professor has announced that the next test will assess your understanding of sensation and perception. When you receive the test, however, you find that very few questions actually relate to these topics. In this instance, you would be most concerned about the _____ of the test.
validity
Destruction of the _____ causes an animal to _____.
ventromedial hypothalamus; overeat
Traditional intelligence tests are primarily limited to mathematical and _____ abilities.
verbal
In the text, Dr. Coble says he likes to define intelligence as
what is measured by intelligence tests
