Psych 111 Practice Questions

Who highlighted the importance of observational learning?

Bandura

The perception of the letter "t" as two intersecting lines rather than as four nonintersecting lines illustrates the principle of

continuity

The inability to remember how Lincoln's head appears on a penny is most likely due to a failure in

encoding

Heroin use decreases ________ and vigorous exercise increases _________.

The body's natural production of endorphins

Unlike in men, a high sex drive in women is likely to be associated with an increased same-sex attraction as well as an increased opposite-sex attraction. This best illustrates women's greater

erotic plasticity

Research reports of repression and recovered memories indicate that

extremely stressful life experiences are especially likely to be well remembered

Which of the following body parts is associated with the greatest amount of brain tissue in the motor cortex?

face

The perception of an object as distinct from its surroundings is called

figureground perception

Joshua vividly recalls his feelings and what he was doing at the exact moment when he heard of his grandfather's unexpected death. This best illustrates

flashbulb memory

The cochlea is a

fluid-filled tube in which sound waves trigger nerve impulses

People's moral judgments are most likely to seem unrestrained by normal emotions if they have suffered damage to their

frontal cortex

After getting a slight burn from the spark of a flickering campfire, Julie became afraid of getting close to lighted gas stoves. This best illustrates the adaptive value of

generalization

In one experiment, professional actors played the role of either normal-weight or overweight job applicants. Research participants' willingness to hire the applicants revealed

greater discrimination against overweight women than against overweight men.

As a jackhammer operator who has experienced prolonged exposure to high-amplitude drilling, Alex is beginning to lose his hearing. It is most likely that this hearing loss results from damage to

hair cells

When children grow up and leave home, mothers most frequently report feeling...

happy

Professor Smith told one class that drinking alcohol has been found to increase sexual desire. He informed another class that drinking alcohol has been found to reduce sexual appetite. The fact that neither class was surprised by the information they received best illustrates the power of

hindsight bias

Research on the physiological basis of hunger has indicated that.

hunger continues in humans whose cancerous stomachs have been removed.

Positive reinforcers ________ the rate of operant responding, and negative reinforcers ________ the rate of operant responding.

increase; increase

Since 1977, the percentage of Americans who agree that sexual orientation is biologically disposed has ________. Those who agree that sexual orientation is biologically disposed express ________ accepting attitudes toward homosexual people than those who disagree

increased; more

In an experimental study of the effects of anxiety on self-esteem, anxiety would be the ________ variable

independent

Which theory has been accused of simply naming rather than explaining behaviors?

instinct

The monocular depth cue in which an object blocking another object is perceived as closer is

interposition

Erikson would have suggested that adolescents can most effectively develop a sense of identity by

investigating the personal suitability of various occupational and social roles

An action potential is generated by the movement of

ions

Children are especially likely to behave aggressively after viewing TV violence in which an attractive person commits

justified violence that causes no visible pain or harm

Horace, the youngest child of a high school athletic director, was able to roll over at 3 months, crawl at 6 months, and walk at 12 months. This ordered sequence of motor development was largely due to

maturation

When Mr. Adams calculated his students' algebra test scores, he noticed that two students had extremely low scores. Which measure of central tendency is affected most by the scores of these two students?

mean

Which of the following are most clearly activated both by picking up a spoon and by simply watching another person pick up a spoon?

mirror neurons

The speed at which a neural impulse travels is increased when the axon is encased by a

myelin sheath

If psychologists discovered that wealthy people are less satisfied with their marriages than poor people are, this would indicate that wealth and marital satisfaction are

negatively correlated

In a written report of their research, psychologists specify exactly how anxiety is assessed, thus providing their readers with a(n)

operational definition

After his last drinking spree, Fakim hid a half-empty liquor bottle. He couldn't remember where he hid it until he started drinking again. Fakim's pattern of recall best illustrates

statedependent memory

Seven members of a boys' club reported the following individual earnings from their sale of cookies: $2, $9, $8, $10, $4, $9, and $7. In this distribution of individual earnings

the median is greater than the mean and less than the mode

Many of the experimental participants who were asked how fast two cars in a filmed traffic accident were going when they smashed into each other subsequently recalled seeing broken glass at the scene of the accident. This experiment best illustrated

the misinformation effect

Which of the following poses the greatest threat to the credibility of children's recollections of sexual abuse?

the misinformation effect

The sequentially flashing Christmas tree lights appeared to generate pulsating waves of motion. This best illustrates

the phi phenomenon

Place theory suggests that

the pitch we hear is related to the place where the cochlea's basilar membrane is stimulated.

Approximately what percentage of the cases represented by the normal curve fall between -1 and +1 standard deviations from the mean?

68

An undersupply of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter known as ________ is linked to seizures

GABA

Shortly after hearing a list of items, people tend to recall the last items in the list especially quickly and accurately. This best illustrates

a recency effect

Nageeb thought all nurses were young females until a middle-aged male nurse took care of him. Nageeb's altered conception of a "nurse" illustrates the process of

accommodation

Transferring messages from a motor neuron to a leg muscle requires the neurotransmitter known as

acetylcholine

Researchers condition a flatworm to contract its body to a light by repeatedly pairing the light with electric shock. The stage in which the flatworm's contraction response to light is established and gradually strengthened is called

acquisition

According to Maslow, our need for ________ must be met before we are preoccupied with satisfying our need for ________.

adequate clothing; self-esteem

One of the most consistently damaging teratogens is

alcohol

Brain scans of people viewing erotic material reveal a more active ________ in men than in women.

amygdala

The first stage of the sexual response cycle is

an excitement stage

Human sperm cells ________ than egg cells

are smaller

The McDougals use harsh discipline on their children and demand unquestioning obedience. Psychologists are likely to characterize the McDougals as ________ parents

authoritarian

Positive punishment is the introduction of a(n) ________ stimulus following a behavior and negative punishment is the withdrawal of a(n) ________ stimulus following a behavior.

aversive; pleasant

Sherry easily remembers the telephone reservation number for Holiday Inns by using the mnemonic 1-800-HOLIDAY. She is using a memory aid known as

chunking

Pets who learn that the sound of an electric can opener signals the arrival of their food illustrate

classical conditioning

Nikki has learned to expect the sound of thunder whenever she sees a flash of lightning. This suggests that associative learning involves

cognitive processes

A child's learned fear at the sight of a hypodermic needle is a

conditioned response

Which receptor cells most directly enable us to distinguish different wavelengths of light?

cones

To study the potential effects of social interaction on problem solving, some research participants were instructed to solve problems working together; other participants were told to solve problems working alone. Those who worked alone were assigned to the ________ group

control

Even though smoking marijuana would reduce the pain associated with her chronic medical condition, Juanita believes it would be morally wrong because it is prohibited by the laws of her state. Kohlberg would suggest that Juanita demonstrates a(n) _______ morality.

conventional

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

correlation does not prove causation

When you question whether anecdotal evidence can be generalized to all people, you are applying

critical thinking

The key attitudes of scientific inquiry are

curiosity, skepticism and humility

Among employed women, the task of raising children is especially likely to be associated with ________ marital satisfaction. The departure of mature children from the home is typically associated with ________ marital satisfaction

decreasing; increasing

In transmitting sensory information to the brain, an electrical signal travels from the ________ of a single neuron

dendrites to the cell body to the axon

Adolescence is typically a time of

diminishing parental influence and growing peer influence

People become obsessed with water when thirsty and obsessed with food when hungry. This illustrates that activated motives

dominate consciousness.

Schizophrenia is most closely linked with excess receptor activity for the neurotransmitter

dopamine

A statistically significant difference between two sample groups is NOT likely to be

due to chance variation within and between the sample groups

Megan was certain that she would never live far away from her family. However, when offered a better job in another state, she decided to move. Megan's experience best illustrates

overconfidence

When researchers added a few drops of vinegar to a brand-name beer, the beer tasters disliked it only if they had been told they were drinking vinegar-laced beer. This best illustrates the impact of

perceptual set

The person most likely to suggest that the shape of a person's skull indicates the extent to which that individual is argumentative and aggressive would be a

phrenologist

The visual cortex is activated when blind people read Braille. This best illustrates

plasticity

Boys who mature at an early age tend to be more

popular and self-assured

Correlational studies show that prolonged viewing of televised violence ________ increased rates of violent behavior

predicts

The ratio of males to females first begins declining during

prenatal development

The body structures that enable reproduction are the

primary sex characteristics

Hearing the word "rabbit" may lead people to spell the spoken word "hair" as "h-a-r-e." This best illustrates the outcome of a process known as

priming

Alex learned to babysit and care for young children effectively by observing the many ways his mother carefully nurtured his own younger siblings. This best illustrates the value of observational learning for promoting

prosocial behavior

To assess the impact of test difficulty on persistence of effort, researchers plan to give one group of children relatively easy tests and another group more difficult tests. To reduce the chance that the children in one group are more intelligent than those in the other group, the researchers should make use of

random assignment

Governor Donovan was greeted by large, enthusiastic crowds at all of his political rallies. As a result, he became overconfident about his chances of re-election. In this instance, the governor needs to be alerted to the value of

random sampling

On which of the following tasks is a 20-year-old most likely to outperform a 70-year-old?

recalling previously presented nonsense syllables

Which region of your brainstem plays a role in arousing you to a state of alertness when someone nearby mentions your name?

reticular formation

Judy is embarrassed because she momentarily fails to remember a good friend's name. Judy's poor memory most likely results from a failure in

retrieval

Forming many associations between new course material and what you already know is an effective way to build a network of

retrieval cues

After learning the combination for his new locker at school, Milton is unable to remember the combination for his year-old bicycle lock. Milton is experiencing the effects of

retroactive interference

After listening to your high-volume car stereo for 15 minutes, you fail to realize how loudly the music is blasting. This best illustrates

sensory adaptation

Perception is the process by which

sensory input is organized and interpreted

A drink's strawberry odor enhances our perception of its sweetness. This best illustrates

sensory interaction

A brain tumor caused extensive damage to Mr. Thorndike's hypothalamus. It is most likely that he may suffer a loss of

sexual motivation

Five-year-old Trevor is emotionally disturbed and refuses to communicate with anyone. To get him to speak, his teacher initially gives him candy for any utterance, then only for a clearly spoken word, and finally only for a complete sentence. The teacher is using the method of

shaping

Your consciously activated but limited-capacity memory is called ________ memory

short-term

Which of the following senses is best described as a chemical sense?

smell

As a child, Andre dreamed that he was chased and attacked by a ferocious dog. Many years later, he mistakenly recalled that this had actually happened to him. Andre's false recollection best illustrates

source amnesia

The auditory hallucinations experienced by people with schizophrenia are most closely linked with the activation of areas in their

temporal lobes

B. F. Skinner's work elaborated what E. L. Thorndike had called

the law of effect

Students who restudy course material at the end of a semester to pass a comprehensive final are especially likely to demonstrate long-term retention of the course material. This best illustrates the value of

the spacing effect

Research on older people has shown that

they become increasingly prone to car accidents

Many sexually active American adolescents fail to avoid pregnancy because

they have mistaken ideas about effective birth control methods

The sensory cortex is most critical for our sense of

touch

Purchasing state lottery tickets is reinforced with monetary winnings on a ________ schedule

variable-ratio

According to the YoungHelmholtz theory, when both redsensitive and greensensitive cones are stimulated simultaneously, a person should see

yellow

When most people stare first at a blue circle and then shift their eyes to a white surface, the afterimage of the circle appears

yellow