Unit lll Practice Test (Ap Psychology)

Your friend is taking her first psychology class. She comes to you saying, "I don't understand why we are studying the brain; I thought this was psychology class." Because of your background in psychology, your best response should be

"Everything psychological is biological"

How do evolutionary psychologists explain why pregnant women from cultures across the world tend to avoid bitter, strongly flavored foods?

Bitter tastes can be an indication of foods toxic toward a developing baby, so this preference developed through natural selection.

Which type of psychologist most directly investigates the links betwen biological activity and our thinking and behaviors?

Biological psychologist

Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that women prefer monogamy and men promiscuity in ensuring the survival of their genetic material. However, monogamous relationships can also be explained using an evolutionary perspective. This best illustrates which of the following criticisms of evolutionary psychology?

Evolutionary psychology works backward to propose an explanation; thus, any behavior can be explained.

Psychologist Michael Gazzaniga asked split-brain patients to stare at a dot as he flashed HE·ART on a screen. HE appeared in the left visual field, ART in the right. When asked to point to the word with their left hand, patients pointed to

HE

Opiate drugs occupy the same receptor sites as

dopamine

Which cognitive neuroscience term reflects the idea that "much of our everyday thinking, feeling, and acting operates outside our conscious awareness"?

dual processing

Identical twins originate from the fertilization of

a single egg cell by a single sperm cell

A brief electrical charge that travels down the axon of a neuron is called the

action potential

The depolarization of a neural membrane can create a(n)

action potential

Depending on environmental conditions, specific genes can be either

active or inactive

epinephrine and norepinephrine are released by the

adrenal glands

Some opiate drugs have molecular structures so similar to endorphins that they mimic endorphin's euphoric effects in the brain, making these opiate drugs which kind of molecule?

agonists

Which neural center in the limbic system plays a central role in emotions such as aggression and fear?

amygdala

Increasing excitatory signals above the threshold for neural activation will not affect the intensity of an action potential. This indicates that a neuron's reaction is

an all-or-none response

The information carried in a gene is expressed as

a protein

Nerve cells in the brain receive life-supporting nutrients and insulating myelin from

glial cells

Evolutionary psychologists would be most likely to attribute gender differences in attitudes toward sex to the fact that men have ____________ than do women.

greater reproductive potential

Twin studies suggest that Alzheimer's disease is influenced by

heredity

Gender differences in heritable personality traits cannot necessarily be attributed to male-fomale genetic differences because

heritable traits can be influenced by social environments.

Which of the following is the component of the limbic system that plays an essential role in the processing of new memories?

hippocampus

The locialization of a function such as speech production to the right or left side of the brain is called

lateralization

In 1891, Paul Broca studied a stroke patient he called "Tan." He was called this because as a result of brain damage it was the only word he could pronounce> Based on Broca's early work, which of the following brain regions is involved in speech production?

left frontal lobe

Someone trying to add a long series of three digit numbers is probably experiencing increased brain waves and blood flow to which brain structure?

left hemisphere

Surgical destruction of brain tissue is called a(n)

lesion

Compared with identical twins, fraternal twins are

less likely to be the same sex and less likely to be similar in extraversion.

The unique personalities of children evoke predictable responses from their caregivers. This best illustrates the _____________ of nature and nurture.

interaction

Neural networks refer to

interconnected clusters of neurons in the central nervous system

Information travels from the spinal cord to the brain via

interneurons

The peripheral nervous system is to sensory neurons as the central nervous system is to

interneurons

An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements is called the

motor cortex

A random error in gene replication is known as a

mutation

Evolutionary psychology studies the evolution of behavior and the mind using principles of a. humanistic psychology.

natural selection

If a genetic predisposition to fear darkness contributes to reproductive success, that trait will likely be passed on to subsequent generations. This best illustrates

natural selection

Chromosomes are located within human

cells

The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem is called the

cerebellum

The benefits of brain plasticity are most clearly demonstrated in

children who have had a cerebral hemisphere surgically removed

What is the interdisciplinary study of how brain activity is linked with our mental processes called?

cognitive neuroscience

Which kind of psychological researcher would be most interested in the research question, "Do people who lose most of their cerebral cortex in an accident still exhibit signs of consciousness?"

cognitive neuroscientist

Split-brain patients have had their ________ surgically cut.

corpus callosum

The ability to simultaneously copy different figures with the right and left hand is most characteristic of those whose __________ has been cut

corpus callosum

The body's speedy, electrochemical information system is called the

nervous system

A football quarterback can simultaneously make calculations of receiver distances, player movements, and gravitational forces. This best illustrates the activity of multiple

neural networks

Recent brain research contradicts previously held beliefs, indicating that new neurons are actually formed in the brain. What is this process called?

neurogenesis

Addictive drug cravings are likely to be associated with reward centers in the

nucleus accumbens

The somatic nervous system is a component of the __________ nervous system

peripheral

Motor neurons are an important part of the

peripheral nervous system

Damage to the left cerebral hemisphere is most likely to reduce people's ability to

speak fluently

The knee-jerk reflex is controlled by interneurons in the

spinal cord

While you are hiking in the mountains. a ratiosnake slithers across your trail. Which of the following triggers the "light or fight response, increasing your heart rate and blood pressure, as you run away?

sympathetic nervous system

Psychoactive drugs interfere with normal neural transmission. Where does this interference take place?

synapse

The spatial junctions where impulses are chemically transmitted from one neuron to another are called

synapses

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that travel across the

synaptic gap

Your ability to experience physical sensations is most likely to be disrupted by damage to your

thalamus

Mandy came home late. As she reached to turn on the kitchen light, her hand brushed against something unexpected. Her adrenal glands, as a part of the "fight-or-flight" response, released epinephrine and norepinephrine, which increased her heart rate and blood pressure. Even after she realized it was just the curtain, her excited feelings lingered. This example illustrates

the endocrine messages tend to outlast the effects of neural messages

Epigenetics refers to the

the study of how the environment triggers genetic expression.

The sensory cortex is most critical for our sense of

touch

Fraternal twins originate from the fertilization of

two egg cells by two sperm cells

A behavior geneticist would be most interested in studying hereditary influences on

personality traits

Which endocrine gland regulates body growth?

pituitary

After Terry lost a finger in an industrial accident, the area of his sensory cortex devoted to receiving input from that finger gradually became very responsive to sensory input from his adjacent fingers. This best illustrates

plasticity

When Melea was a child, a brain disease required the surgical removal of her left cerebral hemisphere. Melea is now a successful high school student who lives a normal life. Her success best illustrates the importance of

plasticity

Resting potential is to action potential as __________ is to __________

polarization; depolarization

Adoptive parents are most likely to influence the ___________ of their adopted children.

political attitudes

Which of the following structures in the brainstem helps coordinate movements and lies above the medulla

pons

The parietal lobes are to ___________ as the occipital lobes are to ____________

sensing touch: seeing

Who believed that bumps on the skull reveal mental abilities and character traits?

Franz Gall

A human sperm cell contains

23 chromosomes

Two plants are grown under the same environmental conditions, including the same soil conditions and the same amount of light and water, but one grows to 2 feet tall and the other is 1 foot tall. In this case, the heritability would be closest to

95 percent

Our lips are more sensitive than our knees to sensations of touch due to which of the following?

A larger area of the sensory cortex is associated with our lips

Sleep researchers who are interested in brain wave activity are likely to use which kind of brain scan?

EEG

An undersupply of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter known as ________ is linked to seizures

GABA

According to opinion polls, how do scientists and nonscientists react differently to the idea of evolution?

There is widespread consensus among scientists that evolution is scientific fact, but half of U.S. adults do not believe in evolution.

When asked to describe a picture that showed two boys stealing cookies behind a woman's back, a patient replied, "Mother is away her working her work to get her better, but when she's looking the two boys looking the other part." Which brain region has most likely been damaged?

Wernickle's area

A person with schizophrenia may have an overactive dopamine system. Drugs used to treat this disorder prevent the action of dopamine by keeping it from binding to its receptors. These drugs are

antagonists

Molecules that are similar enough to a neurotransmitter to bind to its receptor sites on a dendrite and block that neurotransmitter's effects are called what?

antagonists

The cortical regions that are not directly involved in sensory or motor functions are known as

association areas

Neurotransmitters are released from vesicles located on knoblike terminals at the end of the

axon

Assessing the relative effects of nature and nurture on individual differences in personality would be of most direct interest to

behavior geneticists

Which psychological perspective most directly addresses questions about the relative influences of nature and nurture?

biopsychosocial perspective

A person whose hand had been amputated actually felt sensations on his nonexistent fingers when his face was stroked. This best illustrates the consequences of

brain plasticity

If a blind person uses one finger to read Braille, the brain area dedicated to that finger expands as the sense of touch invades the visual cortex. This is an example of

brain plasticity

In which brain structure are nerves from the left side of the brain routed to the right side of the body?

brainstem

We are usually least consciously aware of the processes and functions of which brain structure?

brainstem

In transmitting sensory information to the brain, an electrical signal travels from the single neuron

dendrites to the cell body to the axon

Chromosomes are composed of

deoxyribonucleic acid

A brain lesion refers to ________ of brain tissue.

destruction

Hormones are the chemical messengers of the

endocrine system

Jose has just played a long, bruising football game but feels litile fatigue or discomfort. His lack of pain is most likely caused by the release of

endorphins

Neurosurgeons have severed the corpus callosum in human patients in order to reduce

epileptic seizures

Professor Assad suggested that a cautious attitude toward sexual encounters has proven to be more reproductively advantageous to women than to men because the birth process is time-consuming. This suggestion best illustrates the logic of a(n) ________________ theory of sexual behavior.

evolutionary

To identify which specific brain areas are the most active during a particular mental task, researchers would be most likely to make use of a(n)

fMRI

In a recent car accident, Tamiko sustained damage to his right cerebral hemisphere. This injury is most likely to reduce Tamiko's ability to

facially express emotions

A segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a specific protein is called a

gene

Twin studies suggest that a strong influence on emotional instability comes from

genetic predispositions

According to evolutionary psychologists, behaviors that promote reproductive success are likely to be

genetically predisposed

The complete set of genetic instructions in an organism's chromosomes is called the

genome

The secretions of the pituitary gland are most directly regulated by the

hypothalamus

Thinking about sex (in your brains cerebral cortex) can stimulate a region of the limbic system to secrete hormones. These hormones trigger the pituitary gland to influence hormones released by other glands in the body. Which brain region influences the endocrine system?

hypothalamus

Our adaptive flexibility in responding to different environments contributes to our fitness, which refers to

our ability to survive and reproduce

Stimulated digestion is to inhibited digestion as the _____________ nervous system is to the ___________

parasympathetic and sympathetic

While relaxing in a lawn chai enjoying a cool drink, which of the following triggers the "rest and-digest" response, as your heart rate slows and digestion begins?

parasympathetic nervous system

Natural selection acts on

populations

Deaf people who use sign language typically

process language in their left cerebral hemisphere.

Evolutionary psychologists are most likely to be criticized for

providing hindsight explanations for human behaviors

According to evolutionary psychologists, our predisposition to overconsume fatty junk foods illustrates that we are biologically prepared to behave in ways that promoted the _____________ of our ancestors.

reproductive success

Evolutionary psychologists are most likely to emphasize that human adaptiveness to a variety of different environments has contributed to human

reproductive success

The selective permeability of a neural membrane creates a(n)

resting potential

Which region of your brainstem plays a role in arousing you to a state of alertness when someone nearby mentions your name?

reticular formation

A failure to recognize that one's arm or leg is part of one's self is most likely to be associated with damage to the

right hemisphere

Someone tying to figure out an optical illusion is probably experiencing increased brain waves and blood flow to which brain structure?

right hemisphere

Dmitry Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut successfully domesticated wild foxes by means of

selective mating