Unit lll Practice Test (Ap Psychology)
Your friend is taking her first psychology class. She comes to you saying, "I don't understand why we are studying the brain; I thought this was psychology class." Because of your background in psychology, your best response should be
"Everything psychological is biological"
How do evolutionary psychologists explain why pregnant women from cultures across the world tend to avoid bitter, strongly flavored foods?
Bitter tastes can be an indication of foods toxic toward a developing baby, so this preference developed through natural selection.
Which type of psychologist most directly investigates the links betwen biological activity and our thinking and behaviors?
Biological psychologist
Evolutionary psychologists have suggested that women prefer monogamy and men promiscuity in ensuring the survival of their genetic material. However, monogamous relationships can also be explained using an evolutionary perspective. This best illustrates which of the following criticisms of evolutionary psychology?
Evolutionary psychology works backward to propose an explanation; thus, any behavior can be explained.
Psychologist Michael Gazzaniga asked split-brain patients to stare at a dot as he flashed HE·ART on a screen. HE appeared in the left visual field, ART in the right. When asked to point to the word with their left hand, patients pointed to
HE
Opiate drugs occupy the same receptor sites as
dopamine
Which cognitive neuroscience term reflects the idea that "much of our everyday thinking, feeling, and acting operates outside our conscious awareness"?
dual processing
Identical twins originate from the fertilization of
a single egg cell by a single sperm cell
A brief electrical charge that travels down the axon of a neuron is called the
action potential
The depolarization of a neural membrane can create a(n)
action potential
Depending on environmental conditions, specific genes can be either
active or inactive
epinephrine and norepinephrine are released by the
adrenal glands
Some opiate drugs have molecular structures so similar to endorphins that they mimic endorphin's euphoric effects in the brain, making these opiate drugs which kind of molecule?
agonists
Which neural center in the limbic system plays a central role in emotions such as aggression and fear?
amygdala
Increasing excitatory signals above the threshold for neural activation will not affect the intensity of an action potential. This indicates that a neuron's reaction is
an all-or-none response
The information carried in a gene is expressed as
a protein
Nerve cells in the brain receive life-supporting nutrients and insulating myelin from
glial cells
Evolutionary psychologists would be most likely to attribute gender differences in attitudes toward sex to the fact that men have ____________ than do women.
greater reproductive potential
Twin studies suggest that Alzheimer's disease is influenced by
heredity
Gender differences in heritable personality traits cannot necessarily be attributed to male-fomale genetic differences because
heritable traits can be influenced by social environments.
Which of the following is the component of the limbic system that plays an essential role in the processing of new memories?
hippocampus
The locialization of a function such as speech production to the right or left side of the brain is called
lateralization
In 1891, Paul Broca studied a stroke patient he called "Tan." He was called this because as a result of brain damage it was the only word he could pronounce> Based on Broca's early work, which of the following brain regions is involved in speech production?
left frontal lobe
Someone trying to add a long series of three digit numbers is probably experiencing increased brain waves and blood flow to which brain structure?
left hemisphere
Surgical destruction of brain tissue is called a(n)
lesion
Compared with identical twins, fraternal twins are
less likely to be the same sex and less likely to be similar in extraversion.
The unique personalities of children evoke predictable responses from their caregivers. This best illustrates the _____________ of nature and nurture.
interaction
Neural networks refer to
interconnected clusters of neurons in the central nervous system
Information travels from the spinal cord to the brain via
interneurons
The peripheral nervous system is to sensory neurons as the central nervous system is to
interneurons
An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements is called the
motor cortex
A random error in gene replication is known as a
mutation
Evolutionary psychology studies the evolution of behavior and the mind using principles of a. humanistic psychology.
natural selection
If a genetic predisposition to fear darkness contributes to reproductive success, that trait will likely be passed on to subsequent generations. This best illustrates
natural selection
Chromosomes are located within human
cells
The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem is called the
cerebellum
The benefits of brain plasticity are most clearly demonstrated in
children who have had a cerebral hemisphere surgically removed
What is the interdisciplinary study of how brain activity is linked with our mental processes called?
cognitive neuroscience
Which kind of psychological researcher would be most interested in the research question, "Do people who lose most of their cerebral cortex in an accident still exhibit signs of consciousness?"
cognitive neuroscientist
Split-brain patients have had their ________ surgically cut.
corpus callosum
The ability to simultaneously copy different figures with the right and left hand is most characteristic of those whose __________ has been cut
corpus callosum
The body's speedy, electrochemical information system is called the
nervous system
A football quarterback can simultaneously make calculations of receiver distances, player movements, and gravitational forces. This best illustrates the activity of multiple
neural networks
Recent brain research contradicts previously held beliefs, indicating that new neurons are actually formed in the brain. What is this process called?
neurogenesis
Addictive drug cravings are likely to be associated with reward centers in the
nucleus accumbens
The somatic nervous system is a component of the __________ nervous system
peripheral
Motor neurons are an important part of the
peripheral nervous system
Damage to the left cerebral hemisphere is most likely to reduce people's ability to
speak fluently
The knee-jerk reflex is controlled by interneurons in the
spinal cord
While you are hiking in the mountains. a ratiosnake slithers across your trail. Which of the following triggers the "light or fight response, increasing your heart rate and blood pressure, as you run away?
sympathetic nervous system
Psychoactive drugs interfere with normal neural transmission. Where does this interference take place?
synapse
The spatial junctions where impulses are chemically transmitted from one neuron to another are called
synapses
Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that travel across the
synaptic gap
Your ability to experience physical sensations is most likely to be disrupted by damage to your
thalamus
Mandy came home late. As she reached to turn on the kitchen light, her hand brushed against something unexpected. Her adrenal glands, as a part of the "fight-or-flight" response, released epinephrine and norepinephrine, which increased her heart rate and blood pressure. Even after she realized it was just the curtain, her excited feelings lingered. This example illustrates
the endocrine messages tend to outlast the effects of neural messages
Epigenetics refers to the
the study of how the environment triggers genetic expression.
The sensory cortex is most critical for our sense of
touch
Fraternal twins originate from the fertilization of
two egg cells by two sperm cells
A behavior geneticist would be most interested in studying hereditary influences on
personality traits
Which endocrine gland regulates body growth?
pituitary
After Terry lost a finger in an industrial accident, the area of his sensory cortex devoted to receiving input from that finger gradually became very responsive to sensory input from his adjacent fingers. This best illustrates
plasticity
When Melea was a child, a brain disease required the surgical removal of her left cerebral hemisphere. Melea is now a successful high school student who lives a normal life. Her success best illustrates the importance of
plasticity
Resting potential is to action potential as __________ is to __________
polarization; depolarization
Adoptive parents are most likely to influence the ___________ of their adopted children.
political attitudes
Which of the following structures in the brainstem helps coordinate movements and lies above the medulla
pons
The parietal lobes are to ___________ as the occipital lobes are to ____________
sensing touch: seeing
Who believed that bumps on the skull reveal mental abilities and character traits?
Franz Gall
A human sperm cell contains
23 chromosomes
Two plants are grown under the same environmental conditions, including the same soil conditions and the same amount of light and water, but one grows to 2 feet tall and the other is 1 foot tall. In this case, the heritability would be closest to
95 percent
Our lips are more sensitive than our knees to sensations of touch due to which of the following?
A larger area of the sensory cortex is associated with our lips
Sleep researchers who are interested in brain wave activity are likely to use which kind of brain scan?
EEG
An undersupply of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter known as ________ is linked to seizures
GABA
According to opinion polls, how do scientists and nonscientists react differently to the idea of evolution?
There is widespread consensus among scientists that evolution is scientific fact, but half of U.S. adults do not believe in evolution.
When asked to describe a picture that showed two boys stealing cookies behind a woman's back, a patient replied, "Mother is away her working her work to get her better, but when she's looking the two boys looking the other part." Which brain region has most likely been damaged?
Wernickle's area
A person with schizophrenia may have an overactive dopamine system. Drugs used to treat this disorder prevent the action of dopamine by keeping it from binding to its receptors. These drugs are
antagonists
Molecules that are similar enough to a neurotransmitter to bind to its receptor sites on a dendrite and block that neurotransmitter's effects are called what?
antagonists
The cortical regions that are not directly involved in sensory or motor functions are known as
association areas
Neurotransmitters are released from vesicles located on knoblike terminals at the end of the
axon
Assessing the relative effects of nature and nurture on individual differences in personality would be of most direct interest to
behavior geneticists
Which psychological perspective most directly addresses questions about the relative influences of nature and nurture?
biopsychosocial perspective
A person whose hand had been amputated actually felt sensations on his nonexistent fingers when his face was stroked. This best illustrates the consequences of
brain plasticity
If a blind person uses one finger to read Braille, the brain area dedicated to that finger expands as the sense of touch invades the visual cortex. This is an example of
brain plasticity
In which brain structure are nerves from the left side of the brain routed to the right side of the body?
brainstem
We are usually least consciously aware of the processes and functions of which brain structure?
brainstem
In transmitting sensory information to the brain, an electrical signal travels from the single neuron
dendrites to the cell body to the axon
Chromosomes are composed of
deoxyribonucleic acid
A brain lesion refers to ________ of brain tissue.
destruction
Hormones are the chemical messengers of the
endocrine system
Jose has just played a long, bruising football game but feels litile fatigue or discomfort. His lack of pain is most likely caused by the release of
endorphins
Neurosurgeons have severed the corpus callosum in human patients in order to reduce
epileptic seizures
Professor Assad suggested that a cautious attitude toward sexual encounters has proven to be more reproductively advantageous to women than to men because the birth process is time-consuming. This suggestion best illustrates the logic of a(n) ________________ theory of sexual behavior.
evolutionary
To identify which specific brain areas are the most active during a particular mental task, researchers would be most likely to make use of a(n)
fMRI
In a recent car accident, Tamiko sustained damage to his right cerebral hemisphere. This injury is most likely to reduce Tamiko's ability to
facially express emotions
A segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a specific protein is called a
gene
Twin studies suggest that a strong influence on emotional instability comes from
genetic predispositions
According to evolutionary psychologists, behaviors that promote reproductive success are likely to be
genetically predisposed
The complete set of genetic instructions in an organism's chromosomes is called the
genome
The secretions of the pituitary gland are most directly regulated by the
hypothalamus
Thinking about sex (in your brains cerebral cortex) can stimulate a region of the limbic system to secrete hormones. These hormones trigger the pituitary gland to influence hormones released by other glands in the body. Which brain region influences the endocrine system?
hypothalamus
Our adaptive flexibility in responding to different environments contributes to our fitness, which refers to
our ability to survive and reproduce
Stimulated digestion is to inhibited digestion as the _____________ nervous system is to the ___________
parasympathetic and sympathetic
While relaxing in a lawn chai enjoying a cool drink, which of the following triggers the "rest and-digest" response, as your heart rate slows and digestion begins?
parasympathetic nervous system
Natural selection acts on
populations
Deaf people who use sign language typically
process language in their left cerebral hemisphere.
Evolutionary psychologists are most likely to be criticized for
providing hindsight explanations for human behaviors
According to evolutionary psychologists, our predisposition to overconsume fatty junk foods illustrates that we are biologically prepared to behave in ways that promoted the _____________ of our ancestors.
reproductive success
Evolutionary psychologists are most likely to emphasize that human adaptiveness to a variety of different environments has contributed to human
reproductive success
The selective permeability of a neural membrane creates a(n)
resting potential
Which region of your brainstem plays a role in arousing you to a state of alertness when someone nearby mentions your name?
reticular formation
A failure to recognize that one's arm or leg is part of one's self is most likely to be associated with damage to the
right hemisphere
Someone tying to figure out an optical illusion is probably experiencing increased brain waves and blood flow to which brain structure?
right hemisphere
Dmitry Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut successfully domesticated wild foxes by means of
selective mating