Straighterline Intro to Psychology Exam 1
________ is defined as a special kind of systematic observation, used by correlational researchers, that involves obtaining measures of the variables of interest in multiple waves over time.
A longitudinal design
Which of the following statements related to the scientific method is FALSE?
A theory can generate only one hypothesis
What can you do to become a better consumer of psychology in everyday life?
Avoid overgeneralizing based on little information.
Which of the following statements about critical thinking is FALSE?
Critical thinking increases the likelihood that conclusions will be based on unreliable personal beliefs, opinions, and motions.
________ is a complex molecule in the cell's chromosomes that carries genetic information.
DNA
In the context of psychological research methods, which of the following scenarios is an example of the survey method?
Dr. Frank asks people how many hours of television they watch per week.
Which of the following is true of sensory receptors?
Each sensory receptor can only respond to one type of stimulus.
________ are neurons in the brain's visual system that respond to particular features of a stimulus.
Feature detectors
In the context of the auditory system, identify a true statement about the volley principle.
It addresses the limitations of the frequency theory of hearing.
________ is the perceptual experience of the frequency of a sound.
Pitch
According to Peterson and others (2011), participants in research studies tend to answer questions in a way that will make them look good rather than in a way that communicates what they truly think or feel. This is a potential problem with
Surveys
Structures in the cerebral cortex that are involved in hearing, language processing, and memory are called
Temporal lobe
In the context of brain tissue implants, what is unique about stem cells?
They can develop into most types of human cells.
Michael, a famous musician, is designing a new apartment that will serve as both his residence and his recording studio. Since the music studio shares a wall with his bedroom, Michael wants to be sure that the recording studio is soundproof. This means that Michael wants to be sure that any sound from the studio is well under his ________ while he is in his bedroom.
absolute threshold
The smallest intensity of a stimulus that you can detect 50 percent of the time is known as the
absolute threshold
You are studying in your room, and your neighbor is listening to the news on television at a loud volume in the adjacent room. When you gently request your neighbor to turn the volume down until you cannot hear it, you are asking your neighbor to make the volume less than your
absolute threshold
The ________ is sometimes referred to as the "master gland" because almost all of its hormones direct the activity of target glands elsewhere.
anterior pituitary gland
The function of the ________ is to take messages to and from the body's internal organs, monitoring such processes as breathing, heart rate, and digestion.
autonomic nervous system
Neuroscience studies are based on the ________ approaches to psychology.
biological
Michelle, a researcher, conducts a study to investigate how people's hands sweat during stressful interviews. In this scenario, Michelle is most likely following the ________ to psychology.
biological approach
In the context of descriptive research methods in psychology, ________ are performed mainly by clinical psychologists when, for either practical or ethical reasons, the unique aspects of an individual's life cannot be duplicated and tested in other individuals.
case studies
Which of the following types of energy reception is most activated when a person is tasting food that is extremely salty
chemoreception
In the human cell, threadlike structures that come in 23 pairs, one member of each pair originating from each parent, and that contain DNA are called
chromosomes
When the axons of healthy neurons adjacent to damaged cells grow new branches, ________ has occurred.
collateral sprouting
Andrea, a psychologist, conducts a study to determine the effect of students' ages on their college grades. She divides a class into two groups: Below Age and Above Age. Members of the Below Age group are less than 18 years of age, whereas members of the Above Age group are 18 years of age or above. In this scenario, which of the following illustrates the dependent variable?
college grades
In correlations research, third variables are also known as
confounds
Which of the following terms refers to a binocular cue to depth and distance in which the muscle movements in an individual's two eyes provide information about how deep and/or far away something is?
convergance
Aaron wants to study the association between sleep deprivation and the number of hours spent on a computer every day. He is not keen to establish causation, but would like to determine whether and how the increase or decrease in one variable is related to the increase or decrease in the other variable. Which of the following research methods is likely to be most effective for Aaron's study?
correlational research
The goal of ________ research is to determine the basic dimensions of a phenomenon.
descriptive
Information from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles is sent through ________, thus enabling the body to move.
efferent nerves
The ________ involves gaining knowledge by observing events, collecting data, and reasoning logically.
empirical method
Which of the following research methods allow(s) researchers to determine causality?
experimental studies
________ refers to the degree to which an experimental design really reflects the real-world issues it is supposed to address.
external validity
When a neuron sends an action potential, it is commonly said to be
firing
In the context of the neural impulse, the membrane that encases the axon is called semipermeable because
fluids can sometimes flow into and out of it
Which of the following is the second step in the scientific method?
formulating hypotheses and predictions
Which of the following essential body functions are under the control of the autonomic nervous system?
functions of heart rate, breathing, and digestion
A(n) ________ is a person's genetic heritage, his or her actual genetic material.
genotype
An experimenter studies the relationship between caffeine and reaction time. She designs her experiment with four groups. Group one receives 100 mg of caffeine each in their cups of coffee; group two receives 200 mg of caffeine each in their cups of coffee; group three receives 300 mg of caffeine each in their cups of coffee; and group four receives no coffee. Twenty minutes later, participants from all the groups are given a reaction-time test. In this experiment, which group is the control group?
group 4
The chemical messengers produced by the endocrine glands are known as
hormones
Abe and Carl are psychologists who believe that people have free will and can make choices based on higher human values. Abe and Carl's views reflect the ________ approach to psychology.
humanistic
The ________ approach emphasizes a person's positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose one's destiny.
humanistic
In the context of experimental research, the logic of random assignment is
if only chance determines which participants are assigned to each group in an experiment, the potential differences on other characteristics will cancel out over the long run.
________ refers to the degree to which changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of the independent variable.
internal validity
Which of the following pairs are correctly matched?
low levels of dopamine—Parkinson disease
Genes Select one:
manufacture the proteins that are necessary for maintaining life.
________ involves the manipulation of genes using technology to determine their effect on behavior.
molecular genetics
Emma, a psychologist, wants to study the relationship that exists among college girls who stay in hostels. She disguises herself as a college student and shares a dorm with some girls for a month. During her stay, she observes their various behaviors and makes notes when the girls are fast asleep. Which of the following is best exemplified in this scenario?
naturalistic observation
The ________ is defined as a dual-purpose gland under the stomach that performs both digestive and endocrine functions.
pancreas
Researchers usually should submit their findings to a journal for review by their colleagues, who make a decision about whether to publish the paper, depending on its scientific merit. This process is known as
peer review
The ________ gland is defined as a pea-sized gland just beneath the hypothalamus that controls growth and regulates other glands.
pituitary
During a therapy session, Mrs. Brown's therapist, Donald, asks Mrs. Brown about her dreams because he believes that they are a key to her unconscious mind. In this scenario, Donald is most likely using the ________ approach to psychology.
psychodynamic
Which approach to psychology emphasizes unconscious thought?
psychodynamic approach
The multilayered light-sensitive surface in the eye that records electromagnetic energy and converts it to neural impulses for processing in the brain is known as the
retina
Professor Stenson is examining the effects of color on patients' anxiety levels. She randomly assigns patients to either a room painted white or a room painted black, and then she records their blood pressure. In this case, the independent variable is the
room color
A researcher conducts an experiment to test the effects of playing violent video games on aggression. Which of the following could be the dependent variable in this example?
scores on an aggressive behavior survey
________ is a genetic method in which organisms are chosen for reproduction based on how much of a particular trait they display.
selective breeding
The left hemisphere of the brain plays an important role in managing or regulating
speech and grammar
The somatic nervous system consists of motor nerves, whose function is to
tell the muscles what to do
Gregory is an excellent basketball player. He is always able to gauge the distance between himself and the basket correctly, and he never misses a shot. To help him use this spatial location skill, which of the following regions of the cerebral cortex should function the most efficiently?
the parietal lobe
The ________ connects the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body.
the peripheral nervous system
Which of the following situations occurs when participants' expectations, rather than the experimental treatment, produce an experimental outcome?
the placebo effect
Which of the following is an example of behavior?
two people holding hands in a park
________ plays an important role in the production of speech, whereas ________ plays an important role in the comprehension of language.
Broca's area; Wernicke's area
________ and ________ are secreted by the adrenal glands.
Epinephrine; norepinephrine
The final step in the scientific method of psychology is
Evaluating conclusions
The ________ approach to psychology relies on concepts such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors.
Evolutionary
Steven was in a serious automobile accident that caused a severe injury to his hippocampus. What type of problem is Steven likely to experience as a result of this brain injury?
He will probably be unable to retain any new conscious memories.
In the context of neurotransmitters, which of the following best describes the effect of norepinephrine stimulation?
It helps control levels of alertness
Which of the following is a criticism of the evolutionary approach to psychology?
It inaccurately explains why men and women have different social roles
Which of the following statements best defines critical thinking in psychology?
It is the process of reflecting deeply, asking questions, and evaluating evidence.
In the context of the neural impulse, which of the following is true about the depolarization of neuron membranes?
It occurs when there is a decrease in the charge difference between the fluids inside and outside of the neuron.
When conducting an experiment on time management, Jamie assigns everyone who arrives before noon to the experimental group and everyone who arrives after noon to the control group. In the context of experimental research methods, what is wrong with Jamie's experiment?
Jamie has not used random assignment
________ provide ways by which correlational researchers may attempt to demonstrate causal relations among variables, even though the causal relationship may still be somewhat unclear.
Longitudinal designs
In the context of the visual system, which of the following scenarios best illustrates the functionality of rods in the retina?
Marcus is trying to find his seat in the dark in a movie theater.
Sara, a researcher, and her team conduct a study to examine the effect of WakeMe, an energy drink, on the intelligence quotient (IQ) levels of people in a small district of Casadia. The people of Casadia are randomly divided into two equal groups. Members of one group, Group WM, are made to drink WakeMe and then take the IQ test. Members of the other group, Group NoWM, are made to drink plain water packaged in WakeMe bottles and then take the IQ test. In this scenario, who among the following exemplifies the control group?
Members of NoWM
________ are the thoughts, feelings, and motives that each of us experiences privately but that cannot be observed directly.
Mental processes
Which of the following statements is true of the central nervous system (CNS)?
More than 99 percent of all nerve cells are located in the CNS.
________ provide an objective description of how variables are going to be measured and observed in a particular study.
Operational definitions
________ is a term used by scientists to describe the influences of multiple genes on behavior.
Polygenic inheritance
________ refers to researchers' assignment of participants to groups by chance, to reduce the likelihood that an experiment's results will be due to preexisting differences between groups.
Random assignment
In the context of ethics guidelines in psychological research, identify a true statement about deception.
Researchers who employ deception in their studies must be able to justify lying to participants.
Normally, when a neuron is not transmitting information and a slight negative charge is present on the inside of the cell membrane, the neuron is said to be
Resting
According to the science of psychology, a behavior is a(n)
an action that can be directly observed
Drugs used to treat schizophrenia interfere with the activity of dopamine. Such a drug is an example of a(n)
antagonist
Inmates at a correctional facility take part in an experiment on social development. Once the experiment is over, the correctional officer goes home and tells his roommates about the results of the study and about the inmates who did not perform well. In this scenario, which ethical guideline of psychological research has been violated by the correctional officer?
confidentiality
The function of sensory nerves of the somatic nervous system is to
convey information from the skin and muscles to the CNS about conditions such as pain and temperature.
After a research study has been completed, the researchers should inform the participants of its purpose and the methods they used. This is in accordance with the principle of
debriefing
Which of the following is one of the issues addressed by the ethics guidelines developed by the American Psychological Association?
debriefing
Olivia, a research student, wants to determine the effect of alcoholism on domestic violence as part of her thesis paper. She realizes that informing the participants of her study about its exact nature will affect the results. The participants are likely to feel ashamed of openly discussing such sensitive issues. In this scenario, which of the following would be the best approach for Olivia?
debriefing her participants after the study's completion
The ________ is the most important part of the retina and is a tiny area in the center of the retina at which vision is at its best.
fovea
In an experiment, the ________ is conceptualized as the "potential cause" and the ________ is conceptualized as the "resulting effect."
independent variable; dependent variable
In experimental research, the ________ is a manipulated experimental factor, and the ________ is the outcome.
independent variable; dependent variable
Independent variables are
manipulated by researchers
The somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system are components of the
peripheral nervous system
Maya burns her fingers while cooking dinner. Which of the following divisions of the nervous system will be primarily responsible for the pain she feels?
the somatic nervous system
A(n) ________ is a broad idea or set of closely related ideas that attempts to explain observations and to make predictions about future observations.
theory
In the context of ethical guidelines in psychological research, when data are confidential, it is possible
to link a participant's identity to his or her data.
Emma has recently started to suffer from migraine headaches and seizures. She also suffers from anxiety and depression. In the context of neurochemical messengers, which of the following conditions is most likely to be the cause for her symptoms?
too much glutamate
