Psych - Ch. 4 Nature & Nurture - Prep: Learning Curve

Approximately what percent of genes are shared by all human beings? _____.

99.9%

If a child loses vision, his or her brain will respond by using the area previously devoted to vision for other abilities. This is an example of _____.

brain plasticity

In the brain, the massive loss of unused neural connections is known as:

pruning.

Humans share 24 percent of their DNA with a grape; 38 percent with a roundworm; 73 percent with a zebra fish; and 85 percent with a cow. These statistics state a comparison of various organisms' _____.

genome

Ashley, a 20-year-old college student, was adopted as an infant. Her biological parents come from a low socio-economic background and had scored in the lower range of an intelligence test. How is she likely to be faring now?

higher intelligence than her biological parents

Luther was born with one kidney. This variation in an inherited trait is caused by:

mutation.

In emphasizing that the effects of heredity on behaviour depend on a person's home environment, psychologists are highlighting the importance of:

nature-nurture interactions.

According to the latest research on temperament, which is the most likely outcome for a highly reactive and impulsive toddler?

He or she will continue to be highly reactive and conflict prone into adulthood.

Because of cataracts, a neighbour was deprived of visual experiences during early childhood. Last year, her vision was restored by surgery but she is having difficulty in dealing with the visual world. This is probably because:

brain cells normally devoted to vision died or were diverted to other uses.

Because humans live in the technology age, they are able to harness _____ so that they benefit from the preservation of innovation.

brain plasticity

If a child practices the piano every day for 30 minutes, 10 years later that child's brain will have a larger area of the brain devoted to fine motor control of the fingers than a child who never played. This is an example of _____.

brain plasticity

Although he is more than a year old, Mason wakes up frequently during the night and is hard to soothe back to sleep. In general, he cries easily, is a fussy eater, and rarely naps. Mason's temperament would most likely be categorized as:

difficult.

Blaine, an upper-middle-class, white high school student from a good home, compares his intelligence quotient (IQ) score to that of his best friend, Reese, who comes from an identical background. There is a 15-point difference in IQ scores. Based on what researchers have determined about the varying contributions of environment and heredity to intelligence, one can assume that the difference in the boys' scores is _____.

due more to heredity than environment

Regarding status and power in modern society, brute strength is generally becoming:

irrelevant.

Evolutionary psychologists attribute gender differences in sexuality to the fact that women have:

lower reproductive potential than do men.

Research discussed in the text on sexual attitudes and behaviour provides evidence that:

men have more permissive sexual attitudes than women, including greater acceptance of casual sex.

Is there more variation between or within human populations?

more variation within

Compared to fraternal twins, identical twins are _____ similar in risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and _____ similar in risk of divorce.

more; more

Martha's child was born with an extra chromosome resulting in Down syndrome. This is an example of:

mutation.

John and Joe, identical twins reared together, both complete the NEO, a personality test based on the Big Five theory of personality. How alike are they likely to be on the trait "openness to experience?"

no more alike than siblings

Humans live in a technological society. Is this an optimal environment for humans?

no—much of it works against natural inclinations and needs

Which of the following is a cultural influence on individual development? - prenatal environment - peer influences - beliefs, feelings, and expectations - responses evoked from temperament

peer influences

Pamela is a 15-year-old white teen who lives in the suburbs. She is likely to have her _____ influence her clothing selection and her _____ influence her college choice.

peers; parents

Jackie was exposed to excess testosterone during prenatal development. As a young girl, Jackie may:

prefer car and gun toys to role-playing toys.

The variation in adult height in different human populations, based on the level of nutrition in the population's diet, is an example of genes' ability to _____.

self-regulate

Charlotte Mezvinsky, Chelsea Clinton's baby daughter, is likely to become an extremely successful businesswoman or politician. This is because _____. - she is being raised in a privileged environment - she has Clinton genes - her family will teach her many skills for success - she will benefit both from shared genes and a supportive environment

she will benefit both from shared genes and a supportive environment

Sondra and Sonny are fraternal twins who were separated as one-year-olds. How alike are they likely to be in personality and cognitive abilities?

similar to siblings raised apart

Sharon is researching play style differences between boys and girls during outdoor recess. She notices that the girls spend more time _____ while the boys spend more time participating in rough-and-tumble play.

talking

Which of the following is the term used by psychologists to describe an infant's inborn predisposition to behave and react in a particular way?

temperament

John Locke thought that humans begin life as blank slates. Research has revealed that:

the brain has some pre-determined wirings and is influenced by environment

Steven Pinker's work in evolutionary psychology is part of a larger scientific era, known as _____.

the second Darwinian revolution

In all corners of the globe, if a researcher asks an adult if it is acceptable to refuse to help a person with a contagious illness in order to avoid contracting that disease, people will say no. This consistent response is an example of a _____.

universal moral grammar

The human genome consists of approximately _____ genes.

23,000

Given findings from recent adoption studies, which of the following scenarios is the MOST likely? - A biological brother and sister reared together will be similarly outgoing and agreeable. - An adopted brother and sister reared together will share the same political and religious beliefs. - An adopted brother and sister reared together will be similarly outgoing and agreeable. - A biological brother and sister reared apart will share the same political and religious beliefs.

A biological brother and sister reared apart will share the same political and religious beliefs.

Alberto, Vivienne, and Stephanie were raised from birth by the Smiths. Alberto and Vivienne were adopted and are biologically unrelated. Stephanie is the Smiths' biological daughter. How alike are Alberto, Vivienne, and Stephanie likely to be in personality?

They are as unalike as three random strangers.

Shane, an 11-year-old boy, has autism. His fraternal twin brother, Topher, is at higher risk for having autism than would be the case if Topher were just a sibling. Why is that so?

They shared a prenatal environment.

Karen is a research assistant at the psychology lab and is surprised to find that the mice cortices she is studying are thinner and lighter than normal. What might have happened?

They were raised in deprived environments.

If a researcher were to compare stories of identical twins' similarities with those of same-sex sibling pairs who are emotionally close, what would they be likely to find?

both twins and same-sex siblings have many things in common

Most scientists accept _____.

the theory of evolution

Shifting national boundaries in the Middle East in the past century are an illustration of the way in which cultures _____ and _____.

vary; compete for resources

Which of the following pairings can be most easily explained by evolutionary psychology? - A young man marries a fertile woman who has two children by a previous partner. - A young man marries a wealthy middle-aged widow. - A young woman marries her high school sweetheart. - A young woman marries a successful middle-aged man.

A young woman marries a successful middle-aged man.

Dr. Spencer was discussing the evolutionary perspective with an introductory psychology class last week. She is generally not very supportive of the theory that men and women have innately different mating preferences. Which of the following might be a reason for her objection to the evolutionary viewpoint? - The evolutionary perspective begins with an effect and works backward to an explanation. - The evolutionary perspective seems to absolve people from taking ethical responsibility for their sexual behavior. - The evolutionary perspective underestimates cultural expectations and socialization. - All of the above are criticisms of the evolutionary perspective on mating.

All of the above are criticisms of the evolutionary perspective on mating.

The tendency to emphasize the impact of parents' child-rearing practices on children's personality has been most characteristic of:

Freudian psychologists.

According to researchers studying epigenetics, the most powerful potential for _____ is to predict risk so that steps can be taken to prevent problems before they happen.

DNA

Christy's 17-year-old nephew seems to take a lot of risks compared to his sister. He drives faster than she does, smokes cigarettes, and has several casual sexual partners. How would an evolutionary psychologist explain the difference between her niece and nephew?

Females are supposedly attracted to males who appear healthy and bold, which encourages males to behave this way.

Lin, who is Chinese, is a twin. Pierre, who is French, is also a twin. Statistically, which twin is likely to be identical, rather than fraternal?

Lin

Imagine a study in which an attractive woman approaches a man in a bar and begins a casual conversation with him. In general, what will observers of this interaction think?

Many men watching this scenario will perceive the woman's friendliness as sexual interest.

According to an evolutionary psychologist, why might a pregnant woman experience morning sickness?

Nausea might predispose her to avoid certain foods which may harm her developing baby.

What is the supposedly stunning finding referred to in the text that was implied from studies of hundreds of adoptive families?

People who grow up together, biologically related or not, do not resemble one another in personality.

Cameron's sister's fiancé has an identical twin brother who has been divorced three times. What research information would be MOST applicable to his situation?

Research has shown that behavioural tendencies such as divorce can be attributable to genetic factors.

Which of the following is NOT a component of Darwin's concept of natural selection? - Individuals that survive have the chance to pass on their genes. - The best individuals survive. - Individuals best suited for the environment as it exists at that time, survive. - Populations change over time due to selection pressure.

The best individuals survive.

A local high school is running an experiment with a colony of infant rats. Half of the infant rats are isolated in barren cages and the other half live together in an enriched environment with lots of rat toys and exercise equipment. What would the expected outcome be at the end of the school year?

The rats in the enriched environment will have significantly larger cerebral cortices.

What do scientists think might have happened had the energy of the Big Bang been a little weaker?

The universe would have collapsed on itself.

Anna was adopted at birth and thinks that she benefitted a great deal from being adopted, rather than being raised by her birth mother. She noted that her adoptive parents, typical of most adoptive parents, were able to give her many things but NOT:_____

a genetic advantage.

Interactions between the environment and heredity can result in differences in personality. Which of the following infants has genetically influenced traits (heredity) that might evoke responses in their caregivers (environment) which ultimately can influence personality characteristics? - an anxious, inhibited infant - an easygoing, emotionally stable infant - an emotionally reactive infant - an infant who was born prematurely

an infant who was born prematurely

Which of the following is NOT true about men in general as compared to women? - are choosier about sexual partners - think about sex more often - masturbate more often - view pornography

are choosier about sexual partners

Though a mom begs and pleads, she has no success in coaxing her preschooler to eat broccoli. She might try to use peer influence by:

asking his daycare centre to serve broccoli and seat him with classmates who like to eat it.

Steven Pinker, a world-renowned evolutionary psychologist, states that many human traits are due to evolutionary heritage. Which trait is NOT one thought to be due primarily to natural selection? - emotions - reasoning - attention span - drives

attention span

Ilana's married friend Gwen is quite upset. She asks her why she, rather than her husband, is always the one who cooks, cleans, and takes care of the children the majority of the time. Ilana tells her all of the following EXCEPT that: - employed women have more time to devote to taking care of the children. - 90 percent of the time, the mother stays home with the children when they are sick. - employed American men spend at least an hour less on unpaid housework. - in the United States, gender roles still assign these tasks to women.

employed women have more time to devote to taking care of the children.

If it were necessary to determine the identity of an alleged perpetrator of a crime when a suspect is an identical twin, scientists would need to analyze the twins' _____.

epigenome

People with autism have a tendency to be aloof, so that they keep a distance from others that feels emotionally manageable to them. Others, in turn, are likely to maintain that interpersonal distance. In this case, aloofness is a(n) _____ trait.

evocative

Sam's sister has an independent study proposal due next week, and she has asked for help deciding on a topic. She is interested in studying what makes humans so similar to each other. On which subfield of psychology would he recommend she focus?

evolutionary psychology

Using the principles of natural selection, _____ attempts to study how behaviour and the mind have evolved.

evolutionary psychology

According to the principle of natural selection, if a large number of dogs were released into the wild and no longer cared for by humans, which dogs would survive?

the most able to meet their basic needs

Recent research on babies has shown that babies prefer honest people over dishonest ones. This research is consistent with other findings showing that children globally have _____.

the same basic morality

Mary-Kate and Ashley, the Olson twins, are widely believed to be identical. However, they are actually fraternal twins. If researchers were to study them _____ would make it more difficult for researchers to distinguish environmental and genetic influences on the sisters' development.

the unusual amount of time they spend together (shared environment)

Research on temperament has shown that personality traits associated with each temperament type may be exhibited as late as:

young adulthood.