General Psychology Final Exam Review

Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the case study of Phineas Gage's accident, which led to brain injury?

Injury to the brain causes changes in behavior, and specific brain areas are linked to particular behaviors.

Which option is the most valid criticism of Watson and Rayner's work with "little Albert"?

It would be unethical by today's research standards.

What is the main idea of social learning theory?

One can learn new behaviors by observing others.

What is the main idea of the behavioral perspective on personality?

Personality is significantly shaped by the reinforcements and consequences outside of the organism.

Which theorist is credited with proposing the psychosexual stages of development?

Sigmund Freud

Which theory of dreams suggested that they do not, in fact, have any meaning at all but rather are simply the brain's attempt to make sense of random neural firing that occurs while we sleep?

The activation-synthesis model

Which theorist promoted the idea that development is fundamentally affected by one's culture as well as their interactions with their own environment?

Vygotsky

What is a social role?

a pattern of behavior that is expected of a person in a given setting or group

A(n) ________ is the electrical signal that typically moves from the neuron's cell body down the axon to the axon terminals.

action potential

The need for ________ might explain why we "friend" people on social media websites, join clubs or hobby groups, and spend time with others when we might otherwise feel like being by ourselves.

affiliation

________ disorders are characterized by excessive, persistent fear and worry that is accompanied by disturbances in behaviors.

anxiety

Classical and operant conditioning are forms of ________ learning.

associative

Egon can't pay attention in class. He is easily distracted, won't sit still, and displays poor impulse control. The school counselor suggested that his parents take him to a doctor to have him assessed for ________.

attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

According to the textbook, which of these events would have the highest likelihood of causing posttraumatic stress disorder?

being assaulted and robbed of your cash and credit cards

Penelope studies how the structure and function of the nervous system is related to behavior. She is a ________.

biopsychologist

Which part of the brain is most involved in creating implicit memories?

cerebellum

Lamont cares for his aging father, who suffers from dementia. This is an example of a(n) ________ stressor.

chronic

Most people are awake during the day and asleep at night because their ________ cycles are aligned with the outside world.

circadian

Ashya wants to focus on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior. What area of psychology should she work in?

clinical psychology

Noticing that you have difficulty concentrating during and after periods of prolonged stress exemplifies how stress can have a negative ________ impact.

cognitive

Ali is aware of his feelings, emotions, and thoughts. He is also aware of his surroundings, the warmth of the sun, and the sound of nearby traffic. Ali is in a state of ________.

consciousness

Alcohol is considered a ________ because it tends to suppress central nervous system activity.

depressant

Lucy wants to study changes in physical attributes, cognitive skills, moral reasoning, and social behavior across the lifespan. Lucy should specialize in ________ psychology.

developmental

What is the main idea of drive theory?

deviations from homeostasis create physiological needs that then push us to behave

________ is the kind of stress that exceeds the optimal level, is no longer a positive force, and becomes excessive and debilitating.

distress

Amarah has an exam in a week, so she schedules 30 to 60 minutes each night to review her course material. She does this rather than waiting until the night before the exam so that she can avoid a "cram session." Amarah's approach to studying is called ________ practice.

distributed

What did John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner demonstrate with their studies of Little Albert?

emotion can be a conditioned response

The field of social psychology studies topics at the intrapersonal level. These topics include ________.

emotions and attitudes, the self, and social cognition

Which of the following research designs will allow cause-and-effect conclusions?

experimental

If you suggest that smiling can make someone feel happier, then you believe in the ________.

facial feedback hypothesis

What is the confirmation bias?

focusing on information that confirms your existing beliefs

A flat tire in the morning, realizing that you forgot to get your homework done, and getting into an argument with a buddy are all examples of ________.

hassles

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 ________.

hindsight bias

Oona wants to conduct research on personnel management, workplace environment, and what type of environment results in high levels of employee productivity and efficiency. Oona should conduct research in the area of ________ psychology.

industrial-organizational

What is episodic memory?

information about events we have personally experienced

After age 65, most people are attempting to assess their lives and make sense of life and the meaning of their contributions. Within the psychosocial model of development, what is the primary developmental task of this stage?

integrity vs. despair

One example of ________ is the differences between hemispheres in the areas underlying language function.

lateralization

What do psychologists call a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience?

learning

In classical conditioning, the association that is learned is between a ________.

neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus

A negative correlation means ________.

one variable decreases as the other increases

A(n) ________ is a description of how the researchers will measure the variables of interest.

operational definition

According to the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory of emotion, emotions consist of two factors: ________.

physiological and cognitive

Harlow is eight years old. She sees Dr. Gardener every Friday at 11:00 a.m. Their sessions involve Dr. Gardener watching Harlow interact with stuffed animals and other toys. What kind of psychotherapeutic orientation does this exemplify?

play therapy

Heather and Mike share the household chores as equally as possible. They take turns with the cooking and driving their son to daycare. Both of them work outside the home, and each of them takes responsibility for child care one night a week to give the other one a break. We can say that their relationship has a high level of ________.

reciprocity

In order to remember his lines for the play, Guy repeats his lines over and over again. This process is called ________.

rehearsal

The ability of a research study or psychological instrument to consistently produce a given result is called ________.

reliability

Umberto is a one year old, and his mother is sensitive and responsive to his needs. He is distressed when his mother leaves him, and he is happy to see her when she returns. What kind of attachment is this?

secure

According to Abraham Maslow, the highest need is ________.

self-actualization

Advice, guidance, encouragement, acceptance, emotional comfort, and tangible assistance are all different forms of ________.

social support

Which of the following is not a way you can use what you know about memory to help you remember the names of all 50 states?

stay up the night before your exam to maximize the amount of time you have to study

Cocaine is considered a ________ drug because it tends to increase overall levels of neural activity.

stimulant

You are a big fan of your grandmother's chocolate chip cookies. Just the smell of them causes you to feel hungry. One night she is making chocolate chip oatmeal almond cookies, a variation of her usual recipe. You smell the baking cookies and even though it is different than her usual cookie scent, you still suddenly feel hungry for a treat. This demonstrates the classical conditioning principle of ________.

stimulus generalization

Behaviorism focuses on making psychology an objective science by ________.

studying overt behavior and deemphasizing the importance of unobservable mental processes

The space between two neurons is called the ________.

synapse

The ________ of a neuron contain ________ that house neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers of the nervous system.

terminal buttons; synaptic vesicles

Research shows that people who smoke cigarettes are more likely to get lung cancer than those who do not smoke. This research alone demonstrates that ________.

there is a relationship between smoking and lung cancer

What principle underlies cognitive-behavioral therapy?

thoughts affect actions

Your ears receive sound waves and convert this energy into neural messages that travel to your brain and are processed as sounds. This is an example of ________.

transduction

A(an) ________ begins as a one-cell structure that is created when a sperm and egg merge.

zygote