Unit 1 Exam Practice Questions (Intro to Psychology)

there is neural activity in many areas of our brain when we are fearful or act aggressively

Although the amygdala plays a major role in aggression and fear, we cannot attribute all fearful and aggressive behavior to the amygdala because

circadian rhythm

Amber most enjoys partying with friends in the late evening. Her mother, however, prefers to socialize in the morning when she feels most energetic. This difference between Amber and her mother is best explained by the fact that age and experience tend to alter our

neuroplasticity

Among Deaf people, a temporal lobe area normally dedicated to hearing may begin to process signals from the visual system used to see and interpret signs, for example. This best illustrates the impact of

placebo

An inactive substance that may be administered instead of a drug to see if it produces any of the same effects as the drug is called a

biological psychology

Dr. Costellese conducts research on the role of the nervous system in learning and memory. Which psychological specialty does Dr. Costellese's research best represent?

social psychology

Dr. Osorio conducts research on why individuals obey orders from an authoritative person. Which specialty area does his research best represent?

counseling psychologist

Dr. Tebbeb helps children with friendship problems by assisting them in understanding their interests and skills. Dr. Tebbeb is most likely a

debriefing

Dr. Zuniga has just completed a research study, and so she is now explaining to the participants the true purpose of the study and any deceptions that were used. Her explanations are referred to as

REM sleep than in N1 sleep.

During the course of a full night's sleep, young adults are most likely to spend more time in

neurotransmitters

Endorphins are

inattentional blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere is called

pons

Harry often struggles with coordinating his gross motor movements. Researchers have determined that the ________ is responsible for this function.

false news

Misinformation that is given intentionally can be called

Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes

Montel is defining psychology for his parents who want to learn about his studies. Which definition of psychology is most accurate?

glands

Motor neurons transmit signals to

neurotransmitters

Neuron-produced chemicals that carry messages to other neurons or to muscles and glands are called

selective attention

Our inability to consciously process all the sensory information available to us at any single point in time best illustrates the need for

overconfidence

Our tendency to believe we know more than we do best illustrates

experimental group

Participants who are exposed to the treatment being tested in an experiment are said to be assigned to the

right cerebral hemisphere

People who have partial paralysis as a result of damage to the ________will sometimes maintain that they can still move a paralyzed limb.

cognitive

Professor Naundorf is studying how memory works in problem solving. This research topic is consistent with the ________ perspective.

anxiety

Psychological research indicates that regular aerobic exercise is an effective way to minimize

differences; differences

Random assignment minimizes ________ between experimental and control groups. Random sampling minimizes ________ between a sample and a population.

random sampling

Representative Jeffers was cheered by large and friendly crowds at all his rallies. As a result, he became unrealistically sure that he would be reelected. In this instance, the representative needs to be alerted to the value of

just before it moves

Scientists can predict a monkey's arm motion ________ by repeatedly measuring motor cortex activity preceding specific arm movements.

peripheral nervous system

Sensory neurons are located in the

generalizing from vivid cases

Sixteen-year-old Marc would like to learn to drive, but his parents won't let him. When he asks why, they remind him about two family members who were involved in collisions with younger drivers. "Teenagers are always getting into accidents," his father tells him. Marc's parents' reasoning best illustrates the danger of

increased; increased

Sleep loss can result in a(n) ________ risk of depression and a(n) ________ risk of gaining weight.

much of our thinking, feeling, and acting operates outside conscious awareness

Sometimes our unconscious biases do not match our conscious beliefs. This illustrates that

basic research

Studies conducted for the sake of building psychology's base of knowledge are most clearly examples of

correlation does not prove causation

Suppose that people who see a lot of violent movies are also particularly likely to behave aggressively. This relationship would NOT necessarily indicate that watching violence influences aggressive behavior because

among children, better reading ability is associated with lower body weight

Suppose the correlation between children's body weight and their reading ability is -1.00. This would mean that

survey a large representative sample of the population of women

Suppose you want to find out which candidate women will vote for in an upcoming national election. To be sure the sample you survey is representative of the population of women, you should

beta waves; alpha waves; delta waves

The ________ of an alert, waking state and the regular ________ of an awake, relaxed state differ from the slower, larger ________ of deep N3 sleep.

may not represent what is generally true

The biggest danger of relying on case-study evidence is that it

many levels of analysis

The biopsychosocial approach provides an understanding of social-cultural influences within the larger framework of

neurotransmitters

The chemical messengers released into the spatial junctions between neurons are called

suprachiasmatic nucleus

The circadian rhythm is influenced by light-sensitive retinal proteins that trigger signals to the

people encode, process, store, and retrieve information

The cognitive perspective in psychology focuses on how

transmits information between the cerebral hemispheres

The corpus callosum is a wide band of axon fibers that

natural selection

The distinctive feature of the psychodynamic perspective is its emphasis on

glands and fat tissue that secrete hormones

The endocrine system consists of the

delta waves

The large slow brain waves associated with deep sleep are called

pons

The part of the brainstem that helps to control sleep is called the

somatic nervous system

The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the movements of your mouth and jaws as you eat is called the

directs other endocrine glands to release their hormones

The pituitary gland is referred to as the "master gland" because it

dual processing

The simultaneous processing of information at both conscious and unconscious levels is called

touch

The somatosensory cortex is most critical for our sense of

the bloodstream

The speedy nervous system zips messages by way of neurotransmitters. Endocrine messages, however, are delivered more slowly because hormones travel through

behaviorism

The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies observable human activity without reference to mental processes is known as

circadian arousal

Thinking and memory improve as we approach our daily peak in

the case study

To better understand how patients recover from a traumatic brain injury after an automobile accident, Dr. Thomas carefully observes and questions Michael, who experienced a traumatic brain injury in an automobile accident over a year ago. Which research method is Dr. Thomas implementing?

humanistic psychology

Dr. Calash's therapeutic approach focuses on his clients' growth potential and the environments that nurture or limit personal growth. Dr. Calash's area of specialization is

limbic system

A neural system located mostly in the forebrain below the cerebral hemispheres is known as the

social-cultural

Memory processes are to the ________ perspective as cultures are to the ________ perspective.

lateralization

A person's ability to reason is controlled by the left rather than the right hemisphere of the brain. This best illustrates

reflex

A simple, automatic, inborn response to a sensory stimulus is called a(n)

consider

According to the text, you can use psychology in three ways: think, ________, and improve.

dual processing

Accurately hitting a baseball a split second before we consciously recognize that the ball has reached our bat best illustrates our capacity for

neurotransmitters and schizophrenia

A biological psychologist would be most interested in conducting research on the relationship between

curiosity

A desire to use data to evaluate predictions is related to

the availability of powerful examples

Anastasia is asking her parents if she can attend a particular concert the following week. Her parents will not give her permission to attend because they are afraid that a mass shooting could occur. When Anastasia asked why her parents would make such a statement, her parents reply that mass shootings are always in the news. This demonstrates how ________ can lead to the acceptance of misinformation.

somatic

As you are sitting in the library reading a book, a friend approaches you from behind, places her hand on your shoulder, and says "Hi." Which part of your nervous system transfers this information to your brain and then gives you instructions to turn your head?

behavioral

Bettina believes that her son has become a good student because he is frequently praised for his learning efforts. Her belief best illustrates a ________ perspective.

50

Between 1997 and 2021, more than ________ percent of the elected presidents of the Association for Psychological Science were women.

REM sleep

Brain regions that were active as people learned to identify the difference between objects were especially likely to be active again later as they experienced

motor cortex

By applying mild electrical stimulation to parts of an animal's cortex, Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Hitzig triggered body movements. They discovered what is now called the

two-track processing

By managing life-sustaining functions outside our awareness, the brainstem frees newer brain regions to enable our conscious thinking. This best illustrates the value of

interneurons

Central nervous system neurons that process information between sensory inputs and motor outputs are called

brainstem

Conscious information processing is LEAST likely to be required for the automatic physical survival functions regulated by the

vary together

Correlation is a measure of the extent to which two factors

prediction

Correlational research is most useful for purposes of

common underlying principles

Depression and suicide are more common in North America today than they were a century ago. But in both periods, pessimistic thinking and feelings of loneliness correspond to a heightened risk of depression and suicide. This best illustrates that ________ play a role in depression and suicide in varied settings.

left hemisphere; right hemisphere

Diego is working calculus problems, and Carmen is reading about artists in the Renaissance. Based on their current activities, it is likely that Diego's ________ is active, and Carmen's ________ is active.

levels of analysis

Different accounts of the same behavior that together give us a more complete understanding represent different

melatonin

Humans placed under unnatural constant illumination have more difficulty sleeping thanks to decreased production of

information-processing theory

Ilfan has a problem remembering what he has learned during his French class if he has been deprived of both slow-wave and REM sleep the night after the class. Which theory best accounts for Ilfan's experience?

mental processes

In its earliest years, psychology focused on the study of

midbrain

In vertebrates, the ________ controls some movement and transmits information that enables seeing and hearing.

thalamus

Information from higher brain regions is transmitted to the medulla and cerebellum through the

GABA, serotonin

Insomnia is to ________ as depression is to ________.

cortical responses that help us resist temptation decrease

It is difficult to resist food temptations when sleep deprived because the

Bassem

Ivan is discussing self-driving cars with Bassem. Ivan is convinced that self-driving cars are more dangerous. Bassem believes that self-driving cars are less dangerous but is open to the possibility that he could be wrong. Who would be most likely to engage in critical thinking?

neural networks

Jessica, a goalie on the soccer team, can simultaneously make calculations of receiver distances, player movements, and the force of her own arm movements needed to effectively prevent a kicked ball passing her by. This best illustrates the activity of multiple

visual action track

Liam is playing baseball and catches a pop fly that was hit in his direction. His ability to do so is related to his

overconfidence

Lilja was sure that she would not want to go to a university far from home. However, when she was accepted by a school thousands of miles from her home, she quickly agreed to enroll. Lilja's experience best illustrates

radio waves

Magnetic resonance imaging uses magnetic fields and ________ to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue.

developing emotional traits that promote thriving

Martin Seligman calls for a positive psychology that focuses on such topics as

cognitive development

Mary is 60 years old and dreamed last night about playing with her grandchildren. Samantha is 6 years old and dreamed last night about going to the circus. Their differences in dream content supports which theory of dreaming?

functionalism

Which early school of thought in psychology was influenced by Darwin?

Freudian psychology

Which major force in psychology emphasized unconscious sexual conflicts?

morphine

Which of the following is an opioid that elevates mood and eases pain?

Samantha, who is from the United States

Which of the following people is most likely to earn a doctorate degree in psychology today?

sending text messages

Which of the following poses the greatest risk of an accident while driving?

industrial-organizational psychologists

Which psychologists are most likely to be involved in applied research?

structuralism

Which school of thought in psychology focused on the structure of the human mind?

N2

Which sleep stage lasts about 20 minutes and includes bursts of rapid, rhythmic brain-wave activity?

repetition

Why might so many people believe the commonly accepted idea that roaches could survive a nuclear bomb?

mental processes

Wilhelm Wundt performed experiments to study

Glial cells

________ is a sheath of fatty tissue that play(s) an important role in learning.