Psychology Exam 1 Multiple Choice

3 major parts of the neuron

1.) dendrite 2.) cell body 3.) axon terminal

A psychologist intends to measure creativity in children as part of a research study. However, you think his instrument is actually how smart children are, rather than how creative they are. In other words, you think the researcher's tests are not a.) valid b.) predictive c.) reliable d.) ethical

A

An experimenter assigned students to three classrooms with different music playing in each room. Then he tested their ability to memorize poetry. What is the independent variable? a.) the type of music b.) the motivation of students c.) the difficulty of the poetry d.) the student's success in memorizing poetry

A

Individuals who develop a tolerance to prescription pain medication may switch to a cheaper and more intense drug with similar, but stronger, effects at brain synapses - intense pleasure and relief of pain. The highly addictive drug is a.) heroin b.) Valium c.) methylphenidate d.) Prozac

A

John Watson, Ivan Pavlov, and BF Skinner would have agreed that psychology is the study of: a.) behavior b.) the mind c.) conscious experience d.) mental processes

A

Neurons that receive signals only from other neurons and release neurotransmitters only to other neurons are: a.) interneurons b.) sensory neurons c.) motor neurons d.) mirror neurons

A

Police officers use a field sobriety test requiring good coordination, because one of the first areas of the brain to be affected by alcohol is the a.) cerebellum b.) amygdala c.) hypothalamus d.) hippocampus

A

Random sampling of a population is most likely to a.) produce a representative sample b.) give the researcher a very large sample c.) increase the likelihood of finding significant differences between two different groups d.) increase the chances of the study being published

A

Which modern psychological perspective focuses on how people reason, remember, understand language, and solve problems? a.) the cognitive perspective b.) the learning perspective c.) the sociocultural perspective d.) the psychodynamic perspective

A

Which of the following neurotransmitters seems to play a major role in motivation, sleep, appetite, and mood? a.) serotonin b.) dopamine c.) acetylcholine d.) norepinephrine

A

Your friend is cutting back on her coffee intake. She is experiencing headaches, fatigue, and irritability as a result of a.) withdrawal b.) nicotine addiction c.) caffeine intolerance d.) a placebo effect

A

"If an athlete imagines having a good performance, then that athlete is more likely to be successful in an event." This statement is a description of a.) Determinism b.) a hypothesis c.) a theory d.) a correlation

B

A brief change in the electric voltage of a neuron in response to stimulation is called: a.) an inhibitory b.) an action potential c.) neurogenesis d.) neurotransmission

B

In a psychology experiment, subjects listen to a variety of tones presented at different frequencies and then reflect on the experience, describing what they heard as precisely as possible. These individuals would have been using the process called a.) behaviorism b.) introspection c.) hypnosis d.) Gestalt Therapy

B

One of the main areas of focus for psychologists from the psychodynamic perspective is the importance of: a.) free will b.) early childhood conflicts and trauma c.) the proper balance of neurotransmitters in the brain d.) appropriate role models during childhood

B

Prolonged use of _____________ may lead to physical deterioration, paranoia, and brain damage. a.) ecstasy b.) methamphetamine c.) LSD d.) marijuana

B

The careful examination of what people or animals do in their normal environments is called a.) intrusive observation b.) naturalistic observation c.) double-blind study d.) a case history

B

The followers of ____________ argue that there is a close relationship between animal behavior and human behavior. a.) Jean Jacques Rousseau b.) Charles Darwin c.) John Locke d.) Rene Descartes

B

The term "significant at the .05 level" means that a.) the student will get an A on her senior thesis b.) the results are likely to occur by chance less than 5% of the time c.) the means of the two groups differed by at least 5 percentage points d.) the results are important

B

True or false: Humans use only 10 percent of their brains a.) false, because humans use 50% of their brains at any given time b.) false - humans use all of their brains c.) True d.) No one yet knows the answer to this question

B

Which of the following regions in the brain contains the somatosensory cortex, which receives information about pressure, pain, touch, and temperature from all over the body? a.) temporal lobes b.) parietal lobes c.) frontal lobes d.) occipital lobes

B

Which statement about neurotransmitters is accurate? a.) Neurotransmitters are briefly absorbed into the cell body of the postsynaptic neuron b.) Neurotransmitters bind to receptors on the membrane of the postsynaptic neuron c.) Neurotransmitters can only be released about once per second d.) Most neurotransmitters have the same shape

B

Why is it dangerous to drink alcohol and drive a car? a.) as a hallucinogen, alcohol causes visual input/information to be distorted b.) as a depressant, alcohol slows down reaction time and impairs judgement c.) as a stimulant, alcohol makes it hard to remain calm and maintain focus attention d.) alcohol affects the amygdala, and is likely to make drivers irritable and less willing to obey the rules of the road

B

A prominent part of the reward pathway of the brain is the _______, located at the base of the frontal lobe. a.) locus coeruleus b.) suprachiastmatic nucleus c.) nucleus accumbens d.) reticular formation

C

Depressants drugs typically act on the _______ neurotransmitter system. a.) dopamine b.) serotonin c.) GABA d.) glutamate

C

Endorphins a.) eliminate pain when a painful stimulation is prolonged b.) contribute to relationships by promoting attachment and trust c.) make pain bearable so that it doesn't interfere with action d.) regulate a "biological clock" in the brain

C

Investigators are most likely to use the case history method when they study a.) the effects of a drug on behavior b.) the frequency of certain attitudes in a large population c.) a rare behavior or an unusual person d.) two or more independent variables

C

One purpose of the ______________ is to speed up the conduction of neural impulses. a.) dendrites b.) axon terminal c.) myelin sheath d.) synaptic vesicle

C

Psychologists are referred to as scientists because: a.) they work with complicated computers b.) they rely upon sophisticated brain-imaging machines c.) they base their work on scientific attitudes and procedures d.) psychology is related to human biology which is an important part of science

C

Psychologists sometimes prefer to make observations in a laboratory setting rather than a naturalistic setting because: a.) traveling from place to place making observations is costly b.) subjects take their participation seriously in a professional environment c.) researchers have more control over the research study d.) laboratory observation results tend to be more accurate and hence can be generalized

C

Psychology is the study of a.) mental illness b.) the brain c.) behavior and mental processes d.) observable behavior in humans and animals

C

The year 1879 might be thought of as the beginning of psychology as a science because that is the year: a.) Margaret Floy Washburn wrote "The Animal Mind" b.) G. Stanley Hall established the first clinic for handicapped children c.) Wilhelm Wundt developed and opened the first psychology laboratory d.) Sigmund Freud discovered the role of the unconscious mind in determining behavior

C

What is the advantage of the experimental method as opposed to the correlational studies? a.) an experiment is better suited to studies of unusual individuals b.) an experiment can consist of as little as one observation of a single individual c.) an experiment can demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships d.) an experiment is easier to do and poses fewer ethical problems

C

Which of the following is true? a.) Injured or damaged neurons in the central nervous system can never regenerate b.) No new neurons are produced in the nervous system after infancy c.) Recent research suggests that stem cells in the brain may be able to generate new neurons throughout life d.) The spinal cord, but not the brain, can produce new neurons after childhood

C

While Maura is walking on the road, a bicyclist swerves towards her. Her heart race and swear breaks out as she jumps out of harm's way. Soon, Maura's heart rate begins to decrease. This calming reaction is due to the action of Maura's: a.) lymphatic system b.) endocrine system c.) parasympathetic nervous system d.) sympathetic nervous system

C

A control group in an experiment a.) is used to prevent experimenter bias b.) is not necessary if random assignment to groups is used c.) is also called a placebo group d.) does not receive the experimental treatment

D

Ideally, in an experiment situation, the independent variable: a.) is a placebo b.) cannot be measured c.) is held constant d.) is manipulated

D

Raymond has Parkinson's Disease, which means that: a.) he suffers from frequent conclusive episodes b.) his brain's production of endorphins c.) he suffers from severe depression d.) his brain is unable to produce normal amounts of dopamine

D

Scientific investigation has revealed that the Mozart Effect is a.) a question that cannot be answered through science b.) dependent on the age and gender of the child c.) supported by findings from numerous studies d.) not substantiated through research

D

Some psychoactive drugs work as ______, meaning that they artificially stimulate receptors in a neurotransmitter system. Others work as ______, meaning that they block activity at particular receptors. a.) agonists; neuromodulators b.) neuromodulators; neuropeptides c.) stimulants; opiods d.) agonists; antagonists

D

The primary active substance in marijuana, THC, binds to ______ receptors. a.) GABA b.) dopamine c.) acetylcholine d.) cannabinoid

D

What is a quantitative, statistical measure of how different test scores are from each other in a group of students? a.) correlation coefficient b.) frequency distribution c.) mean d.) standard deviation

D

Which of the following is primarily a function of the right hemisphere? a.) linguistic skills b.) analytical skills c.) understanding technical material d.) recognizing faces

D

With the help of correlational studies, scientists have determined that people who are chronically depressed are more likely than non-depressed people to develop cancer. Which of the following can be derived from the study? a.) chronic depression causes cancer b.) early, undetected cancer causes depression c.) depressed people tend to smoke, causing cancer d.) chronic depression and cancer are related to one another

D

______________ wanted to know how specific behaviors and mental processes help a person or animal adapt to the environment, so they looked for underlying causes and practical consequences of these behaviors and processes. a.) Rationalists b.) Structuralists c.) Fundamentalists d.) Functionalists

D