Psych - Practice Midterm Questions

A researcher asks .a young child what she did yesterday. The child replies, "I goed to the park." This is best described as an example of a. overregularization of grammar rules b. contradictory morphemes c. the deep structure of language d. incorrect pragmatics e. semantic error

a.

An example of an episodic memory is the memory of a. one's high school graduation b. the capital of a state c. What the musical note C sounds like d. how to type e. a mood that is triggered by the experience of a particular scent

a.

Classical conditioning is most efficient when the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) a. immediately follows the conditioned stimulus (CS) b. follows the conditioned stimulus (CS) by a few minutes c. immediately precedes the conditioned stimulus (CS) d. precedes the conditioned stimulus (CS) by a few minutes e. is presented at the same time as the conditioned stimulus (CS)

a.

Stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system most frequently results in which of the following? a. Acceleration of heart and breathing rates and dilation of pupils b. Stimulation of tearing, salivation, and peristalsis c. Calming of the body d. Contraction of the muscles of the hands and feet e. Raising the perceptual threshold of olfactory and gustatory receptors

a.

The ability of the human visual system to barely detect a. candle flame at a distance of about 30 miles on a clear, dark night is an example of a. An absolute threshold b. a difference threshold c. a just noticeable difference d. Weber's law e. Fechner's law

a.

Which of the following best describes the representativeness heuristic? a. An estimate of the likelihood of an event based on how well it matches a typical example b. An estimate of the likelihood of an event based on how easily it can be recalled c. Biased decision making based on the way a question is framed d. The tendency to believe something after it has been discredited e. The tendency to use an initial value as a reference point in making new estimates

a.

Which of the following is true about rods and cones? a. Rods facilitate black and white vision and cones facilitate color vision b. Both rods and cones are most concentrated at the blind spot c. Rods and cones are distributed evenly throughout the retina d. Both rods and cones are most concentrated at the periphery of the retina e. Rods are more useful than than cones for perception in well-lit areas

a.

Which of the following is true of individuals who experience severe withdrawal symptoms when they abruptly stop using a drug that they have been taking for a long time? a. They are physically dependent on the drug b. They are tolerant of the withdrawal effects c. They are in a state of reverse intolerance d. They are experiencing disinhibition e. They are demonstrating projective identification

a.

Which of the following, which is the best example of divergent thinking in problem-solving? a. Devising as many solutions as possible b. Ending the solution process with functional fixedness c. Arriving at a single, plausible solution d. Developing a personal analogy e. Brainstorming within a category of associated solutions

a.

A person closes a window to shut out traffic noise. The reduction in noise leads the person to close the window every day. This is an example of a. positive reinforcement b. negative reinforcement c. punishment d. omission training e. an appetitive stimulus

b.

A person who is fearful of rattlesnakes but not garden snakes is exhibiting a. response learning b. discrimination c. insight learning d. extinction e. generalization

b.

According to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which of the following needs must first be met before belongingness and love become important? I. Safety needs II. Esteem needs III. Self-actualization needs IV. Physiological needs a. I only b. I and IV only c. I, II and IV d. I, III and IV e. II, III, and IV

b.

After constant exposure to a stimulus, our nerve cells fire less frequently. This can be explained by which of the following? a. Weber's law b. Sensory Adaptation c. Signal detection d. Absolute threshold sensitivity e. The phi phenomenon

b.

Noam Chomsky hypothesized that humans learn language through a. conditioning and reinforcement b. an innate language acquisition device c. general cognitive development d. interpersonal communication e. trial-and-error

b.

The school psychologist observes Johnny in class, noting the number or times he disrupts the class on a particular day. The school psychologist then instructs the teacher to ignore Johnny when he misbehaves and to praise him when he is good. This method of handling Johnny is an example of which of the following psychological approaches? a. Cognitive b. Behavioral c. Humanistic d. Psychoanalytic e. Biological

b.

A bundle of nerve fibers that interconnects the two brain hemispheres is the a. Association areas b. Thalamus c. Corpus callosum d. Sylvian fissure e. Optic chiasm

c.

A researcher conducts an experiment to test the claim that new drug Y is more effective than standard drug X in inhibiting arousal. The researcher randomly assigns participants to receive drug Y or drug X and subsequently measures arousal. In this experiment, participants receiving drug Y constitute the a. dependent variable b. confounding variable c. experimental group d. control group e. placebo group

c.

Which of the following is a measure of central tendency that is most influenced by extreme scores? a. Median b. Standard Deviation c. Mean d. Analysis of Variance e. Mode

c.

Which of the following is the phase of Hans Selye's general adaptation syndrome wherein individuals are most vulnerable to illness, collapse, and even death? a. Appraisal b. Alarm c. Exhaustion d. Denial e. Resistance

c.

A child has learned that her grandparents ignore rather than reward her tantrums. Which of the following operant principles are the grandparents using to control the child's behavior? a. Positive reinforcement b. Negative reinforcement c. Delayed reinforcement d. Extinction e. Stimulus substitution

d.

A young couple was having a picnic outdoors when a sudden rainstorm approached. They became soaked, because they did not think of using their plastic tablecloth for protection from the rain. This oversight best illustrates a. ill-structured problems b. insight c. divergent thinking d. functional fixedness e. incubation

d.

Computer-generated color images of the brain that provide information about glucose metabolism are produced by which of the following techniques? a. EEG b. EMG c. MIU d. PET e. CAT

d.

Dr. Lewis decided to study the television viewing habits of her students and therefore demanded that they compare and return a survey regarding their viewing habits. Which of the following ethical principles was clearly violated in this study? a. The right to have a copy of the results b. The right to have a copy of the survey c. The right to be protected from unnecessary risk or har, d. The right to refuse to participate in the study e. The right to be informed of deception

d.

In a normal distribution, approximately what percent of the scores occur within one standard deviation above and below the mean? a. 5% b. 16% c. 33% d. 68% e. 97%

d.

Long-term potentiation is best described as the a. interference effect of old memories on the formation of new memories b. disruptive influence of recent memories on the recall of old memories c. tendency of people to recall experiences that are consistent with their current mood d. increased efficiency of synaptic transmission between certain neurons following learning e. (F) superior ability of older adults to recall events from their childhood

d.

The Schachter-Singer theory of emotion includes a component not discussed in the James-Lange theory. What is this component? a. Stimulus situation b. Arousal c. Facial feedback d. Cognitive labeling e. Subjective emotion

d.

The news of a plane crash causes a couple to cancel their plane reservation and drive 1,000 miles in their car instead, even though they know that fatal automobile accidents are much more common than airplane accidents. The couple's decision mainly involves a. confirmation bias b. overconfidence effect c. belief bias d. availability heuristic e. the representativeness heuristic

d.

Which gland of the endocrine system controls the activity of other glands? a. Pancreas b. Thyroid c. Adrenal d. Pituitary e. Pineal

d.

Which of the following correlation coefficients most likely represents the relationship between length of sleep deprivation and level of alertness? a. 1.35 b. 0.85 c. 0.01 d. -0.4 e. -1.25

d.

Which of the following lends the most support to the view that early explorers undertook their explorations to gain wealth and fame? a. Arousal theorists b. Drive-reduction theorists c. Humanistic theorists d. Incentive theorists e. Sociobiological theorists

d.

A moviegoer who cannot identify the name of a film star remembers the name when a friend reviews a list of stars. This incident illustrates which two concepts in human memory? a. Rehearsal and chunking b. The primacy effect and the recency effect c. Constructive and reconstructive memory d. The sensory register and short-term memory e. Recall and recognition

e.

A reappearance, after a rest period, of an extinguished conditioned response is called a. acquisition b. generalization c. extincton d. discrimination e. spontaneous recovery

e.

In neuron's, neurotransmitter are released at the a. axons b. cell bodies c. dendrites d. receptor sites e. synaptic vesicles

e.

Which classic study forms the basis for social (observational) learning? a. Ivan Pavlov . . salivating dogs b. B. F. Skinner . . key-pecking pigeons c. John Garcia . . nauseous rats d. John Watson . . Little Albert e. Albert Bandura . . Bobo doll

e.