final exam - intro psych

Which of the following represents a weak positive correlation?

+0.2

Which correlation coefficient best represents a moderate relationship showing fewer anxiety symptoms in people who report higher life satisfaction?

-0.5

When was psychology accepted as an academic discipline?

1800s

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ________ of U.S. adults experienced mental illness in 2012.

19%

Why do so many people believe there is a link between autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine?

A prestigious medical journal published a paper, which was later retracted, that identified a link.

Choose the correct statement: A. A psychiatrist has a Ph.D. and a psychologist has a Psy.D. B. A psychiatrist has an M.D. and a psychologist has an M.A. C. A psychiatrist has an M.D. and a psychologist has a Ph.D. D. A psychiatrist has an M.D. and a psychologist has either a Ph.D. or Psy.D.

A psychiatrist has an M.D. and a psychologist has either a Ph.D. or Psy.D.

Which of the following statements about encoding is incorrect? A. Encoding involves a single set of neurotransmitters located in the prefrontal cortex. B. Encoding involves the input of information into the memory system. C. Encoding is an information processing system. D. Encoding is the set of processes used to decode, store, and retrieve information.

A. Encoding involves a single set of neurotransmitters located in the prefrontal cortex.

Which of the following is false about sensation? A. Sensation refers to the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced. B. We have a sensory system that provides information about balance, called the vestibular sense. C. We have more than five senses. D. When sensory information is detected by a sensory receptor, sensation has occurred.

A. Sensation refers to the way sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced.

Which of the following higher-level processes is not a function of the cerebral cortex? A. breathing B. emotion C. memory D. reasoning

A. breathing

Henry is juror number four in a murder trial. He believes the accused is guilty, but when the jurors vote it becomes clear he is the only one that thinks this way. Henry votes not guilty along with the other jurors despite what he sees as evidence clearly indicating guilt. This is an example of the ________ effect.

Asch

Which of the following strategies would effectively prevent groupthink from occurring? A. avoiding the development of any contingency plans B. having the group leader make his position known before discussion begins C. seeking outside opinions on group decisions D. voting publicly in front of group members

C. seeking outside opinions on group decisions

Which of the following statements about eyewitness testimony is correct? A. Eyewitness testimony is always reliable. B. Eyewitness testimony is never reliable. C. Eyewitness testimony is reliable for events that do not involve crime. D. Eyewitness testimony is vulnerable to the power of suggestion.

D. Eyewitness testimony is vulnerable to the power of suggestion.

Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the case study of Phineas Gage's accident, which led to brain injury? A. Frontal lobe injury causes people to be incapable of controlling their emotional impulses. B. Injury to the brain causes changes in behavior, but specific brain areas are not linked to specific behaviors. C. Injury to the frontal lobe does not affect behavior. D. Injury to the brain causes changes in behavior, and specific brain areas are linked to particular behaviors.

D. Injury to the brain causes changes in behavior, and specific brain areas are linked to particular behaviors.

Rosemary had a stroke about a year ago and now she cannot understand what people are saying to her. This is embarrassing for her, so she responds using vague language and tries to make it appear as though she understands. Which area of Rosemary's brain was likely damaged by the stroke? A. Broca's area B. occipital cortex C. prefrontal cortex D. Wernicke's area

D. Wernicke's area

Which of the following is an example of a variable interval reinforcement schedule? A. Julie knows she will get a trampoline if she accumulates enough allowance money B. Nikita takes her dog for a walk every day at 8 a.m. C. Viviane plays scratch-off lottery tickets D. Winona checks her cellphone at random times throughout the day instead of every time she hears the voicemail notification

D. Winona checks her cellphone at random times throughout the day instead of every time she hears the voicemail notification

What should be changed to make the following sentence true? In order for a memory to go into storage, it has to pass through three distinct stages: transitional memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. A. change the word "memory" to the word "neurotransmitter" B. change the word "short-term" to the word "episodic" C. change the word "storage" to the word "engram" D. change the word "transitional" to the word "sensory"

D. change the word "transitional" to the word "sensory"

Which of the following experiments involves the use of operant conditioning? A. blindfolding someone and timing him to see how long it takes him to estimate the size of a room B. determining how long it takes someone to learn how to fish if he is only allowed to watch other people fishing C. pairing a puff of air to the eye with seeing the color red in order to find out how many repetitions it will take for someone to blink when he sees the color red D. rewarding a child for finishing his oatmeal mush and counting how many times the child needs to be rewarded before he finishes his oatmeal voluntarily

D. rewarding a child for finishing his oatmeal mush and counting how many times the child needs to be rewarded before he finishes his oatmeal voluntarily

Which of the following is an example of a mnemonic device? A. dividing your telephone number into groups of numbers to remember it easier B. drinking coffee when you study for your math exam, then drinking coffee at your exam to reproduce the mental state you had when you studied C. using a biofeedback machine to track your alpha waves during an exam D. using the acronym "HOMES" to remember the names of the five Great Lakes

D. using the acronym "HOMES" to remember the names of the five Great Lakes

Which classification system is used by most mental health professionals in the United States of America?

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Who led the reform efforts for mental health care in the United States?

Dorothea Dix

Which of the following exemplifies the empirical method?

Dr. Sarkeesian observes and records how watching cartoons influences heart rates.

What does research show regarding race and ethnic differences in those who receive mental health services?

Ethnic minorities tend to utilize mental health services less frequently than White, middle-class Americans.

How is an explicit memory different from an implicit memory?

Explicit memories are memories we consciously try to remember and recall, while implicit memories are those that are not part of our consciousness.

Which of the following exemplifies a symptom of autism spectrum disorder? A. Gemma exhibits deficits in social interaction by not initiating conversations with other children, and she turns her head away when spoken to. B. Gemma is quick to anger and is incapable of dealing with a situation in which she is not the center of attention. C. Gemma is submissive and physically clings to the people around her. D. Gemma is very impulsive—as soon as an idea enters her head she acts upon it.

Gemma exhibits deficits in social interaction by not initiating conversations with other children, and she turns her head away when spoken to.

What is the main point of the textbook discussion of Milgram's obedience study?

Groups will obey authority to the point of potentially causing serious harm to another person.

________, an anthropologist, contributed to our understanding of chimpanzee behavior in the wild, using naturalistic observation.

Jane Goodall

Apollonia was diagnosed with major depressive disorder five years ago. She knows her mother took medicine to combat depression and she worries her daughter will experience depression too. Why?

Mood disorders have been shown to have a strong genetic and biological basis.

What does research suggest about the comparative effectiveness of psychotherapeutic techniques?

No studies have found one psychotherapeutic approach more effective than another.

Which of the following is an example of a diathesis-stress model? A. Ozzie has a genetic predisposition towards depression, but he did not experience depression until his mother and father died. B. Ozzie treats his depression by exposing himself to a series of stressors so he can learn coping skills. C. Ozzie treats his manic episodes by using medication to induce depression. D. Ozzie's doctor does not believe that mental illness has a biological basis.

Ozzie has a genetic predisposition towards depression, but he did not experience depression until his mother and father died.

What did a 2006 special report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) suggest about the amount of mental illness in the criminal justice system?

People with mental illnesses are overrepresented in probation and parole populations.

Which statement about social psychology is most accurate?

People's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by social situations

Suppose a female basketball player takes part in an experiment in which she wears glasses that shift her visual field to the right. If she puts on the glasses and starts shooting baskets, then what will happen?

She will gradually compensate and begin to make baskets after a period of adjustment.

What should be changed to make the following sentence true? Asch conducted his prison experiment to demonstrate that social roles have a great deal of influence on individual behavior.

The word "Asch" should be replaced by "Zimbardo."

Why are olfaction (smell) and gustation (taste) called chemical senses?

They have sensory receptors that respond to molecules in the food we eat or in the air we breathe.

True or False: Psychology has not true overriding theory that brings the discipline together under one umbrella.

True

Who was the first person referred to as a psychologist?

Wilhelm Wundt

The minimum amount of a stimulation that is required to detect a given stimulus is called the _______________ threshold.

absolute

In the initial period of learning, ________ describes when an organism learns to connect a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

acquisition

Sariah enters a room with several chirping crickets in it. Upon first entering the room, Sariah can hear the chirping; however, as she begins to talk to her friends, she is no longer aware of the chirping even though it is still there. The fact that Sariah no longer perceives the chirping sound demonstrates sensory ________.

adaptation

Lovell is noticeably fidgety and jittery. He can't sit still; he paces, wrings his hands, and pulls at his clothing constantly. Lovell suffers from psychomotor________.

agitation

Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft are examples of ________.

antidepressants

From an early age, Kwaku got into trouble constantly. He continually violates the rights of others and he often lies, fights, and has problems with the law. Generally, he is impulsive and fails to think ahead. He is frequently deceitful and manipulative in order to get the things he wants, and he never regrets his misdeeds or considers the feelings of those he has harmed. Which of the following diagnoses accounts for Kwaku's personality?

antisocial personality disorder

Dr. Griffiths diagnosed Manuel with major depressive disorder because he ________.

appears tearful others and spend weeks at a time feeling sad, empty, and hopeless

Classical and operant conditioning are forms of ________ learning.

associative

_______ can increase the risk of obesity and diabetes as well as elevate cholesterol levels; it can also cause constipation, dry mouth, blurred vision, drowsiness, and dizziness.

atypical antipsychotics

A particular electrical signal being transmitted to a neuron is sufficient to generate an action potential. If the magnitude of the incoming electrical signal is doubled, the action potential will ________.

be twice as strong

Which kind of therapy involves a therapeutic orientation that employs principles of learning to help clients change undesirable behaviors?

behavior

Renzo's therapist helps him learn to overcome his fear of dogs through several stages of relaxation techniques. What kind of psychotherapeutic orientation does this exemplify?

behavior therapy

Behavior is a product of both the situation and the person. Which of the following is an example of a situation that might influence behavior?

being in a crowd of bystanders when you witness someone fainting

________ is a neurotransmitter with roles in pleasure and pain modulation.

beta - endorphin

The possible range for a correlation coefficient is ________.

between -1 and +1

The brain contains ________ of interconnected neurons and glia.

billions

Dr. Bronson treats anxiety disorders with Xanax, which exemplifies ________ therapy.

biomedical

Penelope studies how the structure and function of the nervous system is related to behavior. She is a ________.

biopsychologist

The visible spectrum refers to the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that we ________.

can see

Dr. Mattar is interested in knowing more about brain injury to the occipital cortex, and he studies patients individually in order to gain in-depth knowledge about their behaviors. These studies would best be described as ________.

case studies

The two major divisions of the nervous system are the ________ and ________.

central; peripheral nervous systems

The ________ receives messages from muscles, tendons, joints, and structures in our ear to control balance, coordination, movement, and motor skills.

cerebellum

What should be changed to make the following sentence true? "For centuries, psychological disorders were viewed from a natural perspective: attributed to a force beyond scientific understanding."

change the word "natural" to the word "supernatural"

Elena finds it very difficult to remember a long string of numbers, so she tries to memorize three numbers at a time. Later, she is able to repeat the numbers correctly because she grouped the numbers into more manageable groups of three. This is an example of ________.

chunking

Ashya wants to focus on the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders and other problematic patterns of behavior. What area of psychology should she work in?

clinical psychologist

Don knows that drinking too much liquor is a costly habit that is bad for his health, but he continues to drink large amounts of liquor. He also thinks he is a smart person that makes good choices. Don feels some psychological discomfort from this contradiction, which is also called ________.

cognitive dissonance

Rafael is in therapy, and one of his goals is to overcome his pessimistic attitude. His therapist helps him eliminate thought patterns that lead to distress. For example, he helps Rafael learn to not overgeneralize his likelihood of failing his sociology class based on doing poorly on his first exam. What kind of psychotherapeutic orientation does this exemplify?

cognitive therapy

A psychological disorder is a ________.

condition characterized by abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors

Grace whistles while tickling Khaleel with a feather. Eventually, Khaleel starts to squirm and giggle every time Grace whistles, even when he is not being tickled. In this example, squirming and giggling is a(n) ________.

conditioned response

Petra walks into a brightly lit Psychology lab to participate in an experiment involving the ability to perceive the colors of the rainbow. Which photoreceptors will be most useful during this experiment?

cones

The Milgram experiment required the participation of a(n) ________ to play the part of the person being shocked because the experiment would be invalidated if the participant realized the electric shock treatment was faked.

confederate

Which term refers to the fact that the therapist cannot disclose private communications to any third party unless mandated or permitted by law to do so?

confidentiality

Sandra strongly believes that attending daycare is detrimental to children's development so she decides to write her psychology term paper on this topic. She does a literature search and finds several sources supporting her opinion, but she finds that the majority of research indicates that children attending daycare experience healthy development. She writes a paper using the sources that find negative associations with daycare attendance. This is an example of ________.

confirmation bias

Harrison et al. are conducting a study assessing the ability of depressed versus non-depressed participants to remember negative emotions in a short story about a family whose car breaks down. They plan to ask participants to read the story and then make a list of the emotions expressed in the story. Before beginning the study, they make a list of negative emotions (e.g., sadness and anger) that they will record from the participants' responses. In this example, negative emotions are the ________.

dependant variable

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are drugs commonly prescribed for ________.

depression

Because you know that parallel lines converge as their distance from you increases, you are interpreting:

depth and perception

Ethics need to be considered when ________ scientific research.

designing, conducting, and reviewing

Exhibiting a personality that ________ is a common characteristic of all personality disorders.

differs markedly from the expectations of one's culture

Suppose you are walking down a street. A woman has fallen down, but because there are so many people around it does not occur to you that you should help. You just assume someone else is about to help her and keep walking. This is an example of ________.

diffusion of responsibility

Donna exhibits two separate personalities, each well-defined and distinct from one another, so Dr. Paulson diagnosed Donna with ________ disorder.

dissociative learning

The act of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness is known as ________.

encoding

Lisa puts five quarters into the parking meter every time she goes downtown. However, when asked, Lisa cannot say if the head on a quarter is facing left or right. This may be an example of ________, because Lisa never paid attention to the picture in the first place.

encoding failure

Which of the following research designs will allow cause-and-effect conclusions?

experimental

Molly attempts to condition her puppy to greet her when she enters the house. She repeatedly pairs her entry to the house with a treat for the puppy. The puppy eventually acquires this ability, and Molly realizes how irritating it is for the puppy to run up to her every time she enters the house. She attempts to make the puppy stop, and eventually the puppy no longer feels motivated to greet her when she enters the house. The puppy no longer greeting her when she enters the house is an example of ________.

extinction

Which of the following is the decrease in the conditioned response when the unconditioned stimulus is no longer presented with the conditioned stimulus? A. acquisition B. extinction C. recovery D. reflex

extinction

For many in the baby-boom generation, the Kennedy assassination represents a ________, an exceptionally clear recollection of an important event.

flashbulb memory

Kara gets an F on her social psychology exam. Then she goes home and gets into an argument with her roommate, Lee. Lee assumes Kara is yelling at him because she likes to bully him, not because she had a bad day. Lee is making a ________.

fundamental attribute error

Miguel worries excessively about things beyond his control, and his worries often interfere with his life. He avoids driving because he worries about car accidents. He calls his parents twice a day because he worries they are dead. He checks his credit card statement three times a day because he worries about identity theft. Miguel probably suffers from ________.

generalized anxiety disorder

Wendy's mother has blue eyes and her father has brown eyes. The allele for brown eye color is dominant (B) to the allele for blue eye color (b), but Wendy has blue eyes. Therefore, Wendy's ________ must be ________ and her father's must be Bb.

genotype; bb

Imagine a dog is walking toward you. As the dog gets closer to you, the image on your retina:

gets bigger

Which treatment modality involves 5-10 people with the same issue or concern meeting together with a trained clinician?

group therapy

What is the goal of humanistic therapy?

helping people become more self-aware and accepting of themselves

What is described by the concept of perception?

how interpretation of sensations is influenced by available knowledge, experiences, and thoughts

Which aspect of the scientific method occurs first?

hypothesis

Jasmin belongs to the chess club on her campus. She prefers to associate with other members of the chess club while avoiding people that do not belong to this group. Jasmin has a(n) ________ bias.

in- group

If a stimulus plus a response results in a satisfying outcome, the probability of that response occurring again ________.

increases

Spurling et al. investigated the effects of two vocabulary learning strategies on word retention two weeks later. In this example, learning strategy is the ________ variable and word retention is the ________ variable.

independant; dependant

Which type of social influence involves conformity to a group norm prompted by the belief that the group is competent and has the correct information?

informational

During the therapist's first meeting with the client, called ________, the therapist gathers specific information to address the client's immediate needs.

intake

Which term describes the perception of the body's movement through space?

kinesthia

What do psychologists call a relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge that results from experience?

learning

Janice is in the middle of a distinct period of an abnormally and persistently elevated mood. In the last week she has cleaned her house from top to bottom (breaking windows and dishes in the process), bought a new car that she can't afford, and dug up most of her yard in case she might want a garden next year. Janice is experiencing ________.

mania

Hyperpolarization means that the ________.

membrane potential becomes slightly more positive than the resting potential

What is the set of processes used to encode, store, and retrieve information over different periods of time?

memory

Donald has an overinflated and unjustified sense of self-importance. He is preoccupied with fantasies of success and believes that he is entitled to special treatment from others. Which of the following diagnoses accounts for Donald's personality?

narcissistic personality disorder

Dave's boss told him that he doesn't have to attend the company picnic (which everybody dislikes) if Dave meets his sales quota this month. Dave's boss is using ________.

negative punishment

In classical conditioning, the association that is learned is between a ________.

neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus

Suppose you hate reality shows, but you pretend to like them in order to fit in, feel good, and be accepted by your friends, who all love reality television. This is an example of ________ social influence.

normative

Dymesha watches her older sister do headstands. Dymesha falls over when she attempts to do a headstand herself. She watches her older sister more carefully, and she notices that her sister leans backward slightly to complete her headstand. Dymesha is then able to do headstands herself. Which type of learning is this?

observational

People with ________ disorders experience thoughts and urges that are intrusive and unwanted and/or the need to engage in repetitive behaviors or mental acts.

obsessive - compulsive

Which nerve carries visual information from the retina to the brain?

optic

Harlow is eight years old. She sees Dr. Gardener every Friday at 11:00 a.m. Their sessions involve Dr. Gardener watching Harlow interact with stuffed animals and other toys. What kind of psychotherapeutic orientation does this exemplify?

play therapy

Which of the following is not a risk factor for suicide?

popular music that promotes suicide

In medieval times, abnormal behaviors were viewed as a sign that a person was ________.

possessed by demons

Cordelia, an active duty marine, served in Afghanistan. While she was on patrol with her friend, an IED went off, killing her friend and injuring her. In the two months since her friend died, Cordelia has been jumpy, irritable, avoids talking about her friend, and once every few days experiences a flashback to the explosion. Cordelia is experiencing a ________ disorder.

posttraumatic stress

Which of the following does not belong with the sense of touch: A. Pain B. Pressure C. Umami D. Temperature

pressure

You perceive these lines: ||||| ||||| as two groups of five, rather than as 10 separate lines due to the Gestalt principle of:

proximity

If I want to see a professional who will give me medication for my psychological disorder, who should I see?

psychiatrist

In operant conditioning, what describes adding something to decrease the likelihood of behavior?

punishment

When you take a multiple-choice test, you are relying on ________, a means of retrieving information out of your long-term memory storage system that helps you choose the correct answer.

recognition

In order to remember his lines for the play, Guy repeats his lines over and over again. This process is called ________.

rehearsal

What do obsessive-compulsive disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, and hoarding disorder have in common?

repetitive thoughts and urges, as well as an uncontrollable need to engage in repetitive behavior and mental acts

Which psychological disorder is characterized by major disturbances in thought, perception, and behavior?

schizophrenia

What kind of memory involves storage of brief events, such as sights, sounds, and tastes?

sensory

Electroconvulsive therapy is effective in alleviating symptoms for people with ________.

severe depression who have not responded to traditional drug therapy

Travis is part of a group playing tug-of-war. He knows that his team is stronger, so he doesn't try as hard as he could. Travis is engaged in ________.

social loafing

What is the main point of the Stanford prison experiment?

social roles are powerful determinants of human behavior

The use of ________ can result in decreased appetite, difficulty sleeping, stomachache, and headache.

stimulants

If a slamming door is a conditioned stimulus, then being able to distinguish between the sound of a slamming door and the sound of a heavy item being dropped would represent ________.

stimulus discrimination

Dozens of people witness a purse snatching. One of the eyewitnesses loudly yells "the man with the blue shirt did it." Later, when questioned by police, several other eyewitnesses remember the purse snatcher wearing a blue shirt, even though the purse snatcher was a woman in flowered dress. This is an example of ________: the effects of misinformation from external sources that leads to the creation of false memories.

suggestibility

The ________ nervous system is responsible for responses such as pupil dilation, increased heart rate, and increased respiration.

sympathetic

The space between two neurons is called the ________.

synapse

Dimitri and Rita eat some donuts for breakfast and then spend the morning at an amusement park. After a few hours of riding the Super Looper Double Twist Dimitri feels nauseous and regurgitates the donuts. Rita is fine, but Dimitri has developed a ________, and the next time they stop for donuts, Dimitri immediately feels ill.

taste aversion

The ________ of a neuron contain ________ that house neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers of the nervous system.

terminal buttons; synaptic vesicles

Psychology is a social science discipline. Psychologists scientifically study ________.

the mind and behavior

True or False: Sensory adaptation helps us push unchanging sensory material to the background therefore freeing up our senses for stimuli that is changing.

true

True or False: The blind spot is the point on the retina where the optic nerve leaves the brain.

true

What is procedural memory?

type of implicit memory that stores information about how to do things

Dr. Duncan is a therapist who works with men accused of domestic violence. Although it is difficult, she does her best to be non-judgmental during therapy sessions. Which aspect of client-centered therapy is this?

unconditional positive regard

Harold catches fish throughout the day at unpredictable intervals. Which reinforcement schedule is this?

variable interval

Remembering ________ is a good example of episodic memory.

your first day of school