Exam Review #1

According to the all-or-nothing principle, which of the following would happen if the size of theelectrical charge in a neural impulse was twice the size needed for the electrical impulse?

The intensity of the impulse would not be affected.

The somatosensory cortex in the human brain processes information about

body sensations.

In the context of correlational research, if there is no relationship between two variables, what is thecorrelation coefficient?

0.00

In the nervous system, which of the following is true of neurons and the neurotransmitters theysecrete?

At any given time, a neuron is receiving a mixture of messages from the neurotransmitters.

Which of the following is a similarity between the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine?

Both are involved in the learning process.

Which of the following is a significance of the brain lesioning process?

It gives a sense of the functions of the damaged brain regions.

Which of the following is true of the neurotransmitter serotonin?

It is involved in the regulation of mood and attention.

Which of the following statements is true of the usage of median in statistics?

It is the score that falls exactly in the middle of the distribution of scores after they have beenarranged from highest to lowest.

Which of the following is true about the autonomic nervous system?

It monitors processes such as breathing and digestion.

In descriptive statistics, the _____ is determined by adding up participants' scores and dividing by thenumber of scores.

Mean

_____ is a statistical procedure that summarizes a large body of evidence from the research literatureon a particular topic, allowing the researcher to assess the strength of the relationship between thevariables.

Meta-analysis

The annual earnings of five employees of Concard Inc. are $19,000, $19,000, $23,000, $24,000, and$450,000. The mode of these five earnings is

$19,000.

Derek, an Internet activist, committed suicide. Investigators explored Derek's past interactions onWordbook, a famous social networking site, to discover any information that might reveal the reasonsbehind his suicide. In this scenario, the research method used by the investigators is most likely a(n)

case study.

In the context of the divisions of the nervous system, the brain is categorized within the _____ nervoussystem.

central

Justin, a psychologist, wants to study the behavior of call center employees when they attend a call.Which of the following research settings would be most effective for this study?

naturalistic observation

As a part of a medical research study, a researcher exposes two groups of participants to either anactual painkiller or a sugar pill. The participants feel their pain being eliminated even with the sugar pill.In this case, the sugar pill is known as the

placebo.

Lolita, a nine-year-old girl, met with an accident that led to a head injury. She was able to recover fromthis injury in a few months. Which of the following characteristics of the nervous system most likelyplayed a predominant role in her recovery?

plasticity

Stand-up comedians who improvise constantly while on stage are demonstrating their ability to changeaccording to the environment. Which of the following characteristics of the nervous system is mostlikely playing a predominant role in their adaptability?

plasticity

Donny suffered a stroke a few years ago. For many months, he was unable to coordinate hismovements, making it impossible for him to even stand up. Since then, he has been walking in a jerky,uncoordinated manner. In this scenario, Donny's symptoms after the stroke are most likely due to thedamage to his

cerebellum.

In an experimental study, a properly designed hypothesis will test a theory by predicting the

changes in the dependent variable in response to changes in the independent variable.

In a drug study, giving individuals in the control group a placebo pill allows researchers to determinewhether

changes in the experimental group are due to the active drug agent.

In experimental research, _____ are factors that systematically and undesirably influence thedependent variable.

confounds

When psychological researchers use the correlational method to study variables, the degree of relationbetween two variables is expressed as a numerical value known as

correlational coefficient.

A key aspect of the process of testing hypothesis is

data analysis.

Professor Bobson conducts a study that requires his participants to fill a questionnaire with two options:"ethical" or "unethical." This leads most of his subjects to choose the ethical option. The professor'schoice marking his options as ethical or unethical is the study's

demand characteristic.

If Professor Jung wants to be able to draw cause and effect conclusions from her research, which ofthe following is the most crucial aspect of her experimental design?

random assignment

The two types of cells in the nervous system are neurons and

glial cells.

In the context of experimental research, random assignment of participants is important in order toensure that

groups have equal and balanced composition.

Nathan is suffering from amnesia, an illness that prevents the retention of new memories. In the contextof the organization of the brain, which area of Nathan's brain is most likely responsible for the amnesia?

hippocampus

A _____ design is a special kind of systematic observation, used by correlational researchers, thatinvolves obtaining measures of the variables of interest in multiple waves over time.

longitudinal

When psychologists conduct a study, the group of participants chosen for the study is referred to as the

sample.

Kenny has been diagnosed with Parkinson disease and has been prescribed medication to managesome of his symptoms. The medication elevates the levels of dopamine in his system. If the levels ofdopamine in his system become excessive, Kenny might start to exhibit symptoms associated with

schizophrenia.

In the context of specialized cell structure, which of the following scenarios acts as the closest analogyto the function of the myelin sheath in the brain?

Amber is waxing her surfboard so that it will move easily through water.

Five students had the following scores on a psychological test: 10, 10, 15, 25, and 40. The mean ofthese five scores is

20.

Which of the following statements is true about using a case study as a method of descriptive researchin psychology?

A case study's subject is unique, with a personal history that no one else shares.

In which of the following cases is Dr. Williams establishing an operational definition?

Dr. Williams states that his subjects' manual dexterity can be assessed by the number ofassigned manual tasks they are able to complete.

Ginny was in a car accident in which her amygdala was severely damaged. Which of the following is alikely consequence of this damage?

Ginny will try to eat the plate on which her sandwich is placed.

_____ are the organs or tissues in the body that create chemicals that control many bodily functions.

Glands

Jessica investigates the relationship between caffeine intake and performance on a class test for highschool students. Before her sample of students takes an exam, she notes the number of cups of coffeethey consumed two hours before the test. She obtains their scores after the test is over. She thencalculates the correlation coefficient between the two variables and finds it to be +0.82. Which of thefollowing conclusions should Jessica draw from this value?

Higher caffeine consumption is related to higher exam scores.

_____ are chemical messengers that are produced by the endocrine glands and carried by thebloodstream to all parts of the body.

Hormones

Joshua designs a research study to investigate the relationship between two variables: the size of aperson's head and IQ level. He measures each variable without manipulating either of the variables andfinds that IQ is higher for subjects with bigger heads. In the context of correlational research, what canJoshua conclude?

IQ and head size are positively correlated.

Which of the following statements is true of the event-contingent responding method?

It asks participants to complete a report each time they engage in a particular behavior.

Professor Rodman, a social psychologist, studied the relationship between the severity of injuries inautomobile accidents and the use of seat belts. He obtained a correlation coefficient of -0.72. In thecontext of correlational research, which of the following conclusions will the professor most likely arriveat?

People who wear seat belts sustain less serious injuries in an accident.

Experimental data state that the painkiller Tafta takes at least 30 minutes to start having an effect onpain symptoms. However, most people report that their headaches begin to fade within just 10 minutesof taking Tafta. Which of the following is the best explanation for this finding?

Subjects are experiencing placebo effects.

Which of the following statements is true of surveys?

They are useful when information from many people is required.

Which of the following is a potential problem of using correlational studies in psychological research?

They do not enable researchers to establish a causal connection between variables.

Which of the following statements is true of quasi-experimental designs?

They do not randomly assign participants to conditions.

Which of the following statements is true of research samples?

They must be representative of the population to which the investigator wants to generalizehis or her results.

In the context of the neural impulse, which of the following is the status of the charges on each side ofthe cell membrane during the stage of resting potential?

a negative charge on the inside of the cell membrane and a positive charge on the outside

In correlational research, the "third variable problem" refers to a circumstance in which

a variable that has not been measured accounts for the relationship between two othervariables.

In descriptive statistics, range is a measure of

dispersion that is the difference between the highest and lowest scores.

In a _____, neither the participants nor the experimenter administering the treatment are aware ofwhich participants belong to the experimental group and which are part of the control group.

double-blind experiment

The difference between glutamate and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) is that glutamate

excites neurons to fire, whereas GABA inhibits neurons from firing.

In the context of experimental research, the logic of random assignment is that

if participants in an experiment are assigned to each group only by chance, the potentialdifferences between the groups will cancel out over the long run.

Albert, a student researcher, varies the amount of food given to rats in an experiment to measure theeffect on their learning behavior. In Albert's study, the amount of food given is the _____ variable.

independent

Courtney, a young woman with an anxiety disorder, volunteers to participate in a psychological study sothat she can earn $100. She knows that the study will require her to reflect upon her childhood but shedoes not know that this experiment is unsuitable for individuals with anxiety. Courtney's symptoms actup during the experiment and she restarts her therapy. In Courtney's case, the American PsychologicalAssociation (APA) ethics guideline that has most likely been violated is

informed consent.

Saundra says that whenever she drinks coffee in the evenings it interferes with her ability to fall asleep.The more coffee she drinks before sleeping, the less sleep she gets. In the context of correlationalresearch, Saundra is describing a _____ between caffeine intake and sleep.

negative correlation

Chris makes an observation that the longer a classroom lecture, the lower the attentiveness of studentsin the class. In the context of correlational research, the length of the lecture and level of attentivenessare said to have a

negative correlation.

Chemical substances that are stored in very tiny sacs within the terminal buttons and are involved intransmitting information across a synaptic gap to the next neuron are known as

neurotransmitters.

In inferential statistics, _____ means that the differences observed between two groups are largeenough that it is highly unlikely that those differences are merely due to chance.

statistical significance

In the context of psychological research methods, a _____ presents a standard set of questions, oritems, to obtain people's self-reported attitudes or beliefs about a particular topic.

survey

Mila, a school principal, wants to know her students' opinions about the food served in the school'scafeteria. To obtain her students' opinions, she devises a set of questions that she asks all her studentsto answer. In this case, Mila is using a _____ to obtain the opinions of her students.

survey

If a person needs to run away from a dangerous situation, the _____ nervous system sends blood tothe person's extremities to prepare him or her for taking off.

sympathetic

Julie hears the news about a bus accident on television. She believes her son was on the same busand is overcome by anxiety which is primarily caused by her _____ nervous system. When her sonphones and informs her that he was not on the bus, Julie is relieved and begins to relax. This responseis primarily caused by her _____ nervous system.

sympathetic; parasympathetic

In drug studies, using a double-blind experiment design ensures that

the experimenter cannot make subtle gestures signaling who is receiving a drug and who isnot.

In psychological research, a correlational study is used to determine

the link between variables.

Dr. Kingston, a psychologist, is examining how a student's reading speed is differently affected by twovariables: being tutored by a teacher's assistant and being tutored by a computer-based readingprogram. In this experiment, which of the following is the dependent variable?

the student's reading speed

A history class of 50 students has agreed to be the subject of a research study. Half of the class hasbeen asked to study for the next history test while listening to classical music. The remaining half hasbeen asked to study in a completely silent environment. The test scores of the two groups will becompared at the end of the experiment. In this experiment, which of the following is the dependentvariable?

the test scores of both groups at the end of the experiment

Which of the following statements is true of stressors?

they are events that threaten individuals and tax their coping abilities.

In the context of the pathways in the nervous system, afferent nerves carry information

to the brain and spinal cord via sensory receptors.

Dr. Matthews has submitted a proposal to the institutional review board (IRB) of a university. At thisuniversity, she intends to conduct research on the socialization patterns of students from foreigncountries. In the context of ethics guidelines, the IRB at the university will decide

whether her study meets ethical guidelines before it is initiated.