PSY 100 Exam 1
Nicholas is working for a psychology professor as a research assistant. To prepare for his work, he is studying up on the changing voltage of a neuron during the communication process. He notes that the value of the threshold potential is:
-55mV
The voltage inside a cell in its resting state is about:
-70 mV.
Professor Summer is calculating the correlation coefficient for the data she collected in her study. Which finding would indicate that there is no correlation or a weak correlation between the variables she was studying?
0.03
Dr. Galib is interested in the number of uplifts, or positive experiences people have each day. Today Dr. Galib collected survey data from five subjects. The number of uplifts reported by the five subjects were 2, 2, 7, 9, 10. What is the median?
7
How does magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) produce more detailed information about the brain than computerized axial tomography (CAT)?
A computer analyzes the brain's response to the field that passes through the brain.
What is one major difference between the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system?
Activities supervised by the somatic nervous system are voluntary, whereas processes under the control of the autonomic nervous system tend to be involuntary.
_____ are substances that increase the normal activity of the neurotransmitter.
Agonists
Which is an example of the critical question: What are the study's findings?
Are there limitations cited?
If height and body weight are correlated, which is true?
By knowing a person's height, it is possible to make an educated prediction about their weight.
_____ typically involve(s) collecting a vast amount of data on one particular person or group, often from multiple sources of information.
Case studies
_____ are a group of naturally produced opioids.
Endorphins
Dr. Wang studies the impact of confinement on health. He has noticed an interesting pattern in his assessments of participants who have volunteered to be confined to a small lab space. What is the next step for how Dr. Wang will use this pattern?
Explain the relationship between the pattern and the phenomenon.
_____ is a neurotransmitter that plays a central role in learning and memory.
Glutamate
Researchers studying sensation and perception are building on groundwork laid by _____, who is considered one of the founders of physiological psychology.
Gustav Fechner
_____ is a surgery that removes nearly half of the brain.
Hemispherectomy
Hiro sticks his hand in a junk drawer to search for a battery. He pricks his fingertip on a sharp tack and pulls his hand back before he realizes what happened. What was the first thing that happened when Hiro pricked his finger?
Hiro's sensory neurons carried a signal from his hand to his spinal cord.
Elan is on a subway car all alone. The train stops suddenly, and the lights go out. Elan starts breathing harder, and his heart rate increases. What has happened?
His endocrine system is releasing stress hormones.
_____ are chemicals released into the bloodstream.
Hormones
Khadija's friend is curious about Aristotle and asks Khadiji to summarize Aristotle's philosophy. How should Khadiji summarize Aristotle's philosophy?
Humans know reality through perceptions, and they learn through sensory experiences.
Which statement about the human nervous system is true?
It conveys messages throughout the body using electrical and chemical processes.
Which statement characterizes the somatic nervous system?
It gathers information from sensory receptors and controls the skeletal muscles responsible for voluntary movement.
How does myelin speed the transmission of neural messages?
It insulates the axon.
Which statement describes Wernicke's area?
It is a region of the cortex that plays a critical role in language comprehension.
Which statement describes a dependent variable?
It is a response measured to determine the effect of the researcher's manipulation.
Which statement describes descriptive research?
It is a type of investigation psychologists conduct when they need to describe or explore a phenomenon.
Which statement describes the dependent variable?
It is the characteristic or response the researcher is trying to measure or observe.
Which statement about Broca's area is true?
It plays a critical role in language production.
Which statement about the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is true?
It provides the communication pathway between the central nervous system and the rest of the body.
_____ refers to the fact that each cerebral hemisphere processes certain types of information and excels in certain activities.
Lateralization
Which person is calculating the standard deviation?
Marija, who calculates the average distance the data points are from their mean
_____ receive information from the central nervous system and send this information to the muscles.
Motor nerves
Which statement reflects Plato's philosophy?
Nature plays an important role in the human capacity for cognition.
_____ communicate with each other via chemicals called neurotransmitters.
Neurons
_____ that are not reabsorbed drift out of the synaptic gap through diffusion.
Neurotransmitters
How does hindsight bias influence impressions of psychology?
Outcomes may seem logical in retrospect, making a person believe that the results of a psychological study are obvious and predictable.
_____ indicate the percentage of values occurring above and below a certain point in a data set.
Percentiles
_____ uses a radioactive tracer to detect active areas of the brain.
Positron emission tomography
Why is the inside of a neuron negatively charged when it is not active?
Protein ions inside the cell are restricted from going through the membrane due to selective permeability.
Which activity relies heavily on the right hemisphere?
Sullivan recognizes his friend Brenda upon seeing her face.
Which statement about the organization and function of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is true?
The PNS carries information to the central nervous system.
What was Fechner's reasoning for how the mind and body connect?
The mind is also experimented on when studying the physical ability to sense stimuli.
Which statement is NOT a characteristic of neurotransmitters?
They "skip" over segments of myelin, hopping from one node of Ranvier to the next.
What do microglia, astrocytes, and Schwann cells have in common?
They are glial cells.
Which statement accurately describes neurons?
They are specialized cells that communicate through electrical and chemical signals.
Which statement describes interneurons?
They connect sensory and motor neurons.
How do agonists affect the functioning of the nervous system?
They increase the normal activity of neurotransmitters.
How do serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) boost the effects of serotonin?
They work to prevent the reabsorption of serotonin in the reuptake process.
What is the last step leading to neurotransmitters being released into the synaptic gap?
Vesicles on the axon terminal receive the signal to unload their contents.
Which analogy is appropriate for the spinal cord?
a bridge
Professor Novikov is conducting a study on emotional reactions. Some of her participants are deceived, because they do not realize that the person sitting next to them is working for the researcher. However, when participants are finished with the study, Professor Novikov meets with them to discuss the study and the deception used. This is an example of:
a debriefing.
Xiu is interested in finding out if there is a pattern to the types of foods students select at the cafeteria. To answer this research question, Xiu sits in the cafeteria without disturbing the other students or the environment. This type of descriptive research is called:
a naturalistic observation.
Which variable would be considered a confounding variable?
a variable the researchers did not introduce into the study but that changes in sync with the independent variable
The _____ is a spike in voltage that passes through the axon of a neuron as the charge inside the cell becomes more positive than the charge outside the cell.
action potential
How does caffeine make one feel physically energized?
activating the fight-or-flight response
Action potentials are _____, because they either happen or they don't.
all-or-none
Emilio reads about a study that says perceptions of climate change risks can be influenced by visualization of climate change's effects on one's personal life. He wants to use this technique to convince his relatives to take climate change seriously. This is an example of:
applying findings about a phenomenon.
The _____ nervous system is working behind the scenes regulating involuntary activity, such as pumping of the heart.
autonomic
Dr. Pearson studies the human nervous system. She has a diagram on her wall that shows the branch of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary processes within the body, such as contractions in the digestive tract and activity of glands. Dr. Peterson's diagram is of the:
autonomic nervous system.
Psychology is the scientific study of:
behavior and mental processes
Eva is considering which classes she should take next semester. She knows she wants to learn more about how the brain and other systems influence human behavior. Which kind of class should she take?
biological psychology
The field concerned with understanding how the brain and other biological systems influence human behavior is called:
biological psychology.
Niels is trying to imagine what the human nervous system looks like. He knows that the body has neurons that run up and down the spine and branch throughout the body. These neurons provide the connection between the:
brain and body.
How does the sympathetic nervous system prepare the body for action?
by increasing heart rate and respiration and slowing digestion and other bodily functions
An accurate statement about motor neurons is that they:
carry information from the central nervous system to produce movement in various parts of the body, such as muscles and glands.
The _____ of a typical neuron contains structures that nourish the cell and a nucleus containing DNA.
cell body
The largest and most conspicuous part of the brain is the:
cerebrum.
Which example represents the somatic nervous system in action?
change in walking speed to catch up with a friend
In addition to falling for popular psychological myths, many students assume that psychology is simply:
common sense.
Professor Fù has completed the data collection stage of her study. She is entering the data into an online spreadsheet. As she does this, Professor Fù removes identifying information about participants from the data. The file has a password and is stored on a secure internal server. Professor Fù is meeting the requirement of:
confidentiality.
A type of extraneous variable that changes in sync with the independent variable, making it difficult to determine which one is causing changes in the dependent variable, is called a:
confounding variable.
The left and right sides of the cerebrum communicate and work together to process information through the:
corpus callosum.
When faced with imminent danger, the endocrine system is hard at work, releasing stress hormones such as:
cortisol.
Esther is labeling the different parts of a neuron on a diagram. Next to the tiny branchlike fibers that extend from the cell body, Esther writes:
dendrites
The branching _____ receive messages from neighboring neurons.
dendrites
In a study of the effects of nutrition on school performance, test scores would likely be a(n):
dependent variable
Through the processes of reuptake and _____, the synaptic gap is cleared in preparation for the release of a new batch of chemical messengers.
diffusion
Yvette is working on a group presentation for class and is trying to figure out how she should explain the movement of positive and negative ions into and out of cells. She decides to draw a cluster of ions moving away from each other. Which process would this help to illustrate?
diffusion
The neurotransmitter _____ is known to play a role in drug addiction.
dopamine
Hemispherectomies have proved to be effective for:
eliminating and reducing seizures.
The _____ is a communication system that uses glands rather than neurons to convey messages.
endocrine system
When faced with imminent danger, the _____ is hard at work, releasing stress hormones.
endocrine system
Hormones are secreted into the bloodstream by glands stationed around the body, and these glands collectively belong to the:
endocrine system.
Jaden thinks that intelligence in humans is a trait that has been shaped by natural selection over time. He subscribes to the _____ perspective in psychology.
evolutionary
Haji and Asha are _____, which means they share approximately 50% of their genes.
fraternal twins
A representative sample is key to allowing researchers to _____ their findings.
generalize
George has to study several hundred pages of his psychology textbook for the final exam. He decides to go over the text with a pen to emphasize important information and main ideas. George is using which study strategy?
highlighting
The endocrine system is a communication system that uses glands to convey messages by releasing _____ into the bloodstream.
hormones
Sachini says, "We, as humans, are continually growing and striving to better ourselves. It's in our power to make our lives what we want." Sachini is expressing the _____ perspective of psychology
humanistic
Controlled by the _____, the pituitary gland influences all other glands.
hypothalamus
Dr. Luna is studying the effects of different amounts of caffeine on cognitive performance. In this study, the amount of caffeine each subject receives is the:
independent variable.
Zara is planning to conduct a study for her psychology class, which will include an experimental and a control group. The members of the experimental group will be treated differently from those in the control group. The difference in treatment is referred to as the:
independent variable.
Before collecting data, researchers must obtain _____ from participants.
informed consent
Meghan is a researcher who is examining the specialized cells that reside exclusively in the brain and spinal cord. What is she researching?
interneurons
Wernicke's area is the brain's headquarters for:
language comprehension.
Which adjective is appropriate when describing the cerebrum?
large
Johann learns about the concept of nurture and tries to come up with an example of an influencing factor. Johann could use the:
learning that occurs in school.
Gillian sustained a brain injury and afterward was unable to read novels. This symptom suggests that the brain injury occurred in the:
left hemisphere.
Harrison's physician ordered an imaging test to examine the structure of his brain. The physician said, "This has superior detail to a CAT scan." What type of imaging test was ordered for Harrison?
magnetic resonance imaging
The pituitary gland is known as the:
master gland.
Once neurotransmitters migrate across a synaptic gap and latch onto the dendrite's receptor sites, the _____ has been conveyed.
message
A _____ is a statistical approach that allows researchers to combine the findings of different studies and draw general conclusions.
meta-analysis
Through the lens of _____, researchers explore the relative weight of heredity and environment in relation to behaviors, personality, and characteristics.
nature and nurture
Alejandro is learning about descriptive research. His instructor stated in class that studying time and the amount of time spent engaging in leisure activities are associated. In particular, as studying time goes up, the amount of time spent in fun activities goes down. This is an example of a _____ correlation.
negative
Lana has always been fascinated by the complexity of thoughts and feelings that humans are capable of. This semester, she is taking a psychology course on the brain and nervous system, and she now knows that these complex abilities are due to the web of connections among:
nerve cells.
Coby is preparing for class today. They will be discussing the peripheral nervous system, and he is supposed to describe _____ to his classmates. He will tell them that they are the primary mechanism for communication of information by the peripheral nervous system.
nerves
Dr. Wallace is describing the peripheral nervous system to the class. She describes one component as bundled electrical cables carrying signals from place to place. She is describing:
nerves
The human communication network that conveys messages throughout the body using electrical and chemical processes is called the:
nervous system.
The supporting infrastructure for the brain to carry out its directives and relay essential information includes:
neurons branching throughout the body providing a connection between brain and body.
After a car accident, a third of Johanna's brain tissue was destroyed. She is still able to talk, think, and feel emotions, although she has some paralysis and loss of sensation on the right side of her body. These effects are due to loss or damage to Johanna's:
neurons.
Reuptake is the process by which _____ can be reabsorbed by the sending axon terminal.
neurotransmitters
Abigail is listening to a lecture in class. She hand-writes what she hears into her notebook, paraphrasing as necessary. What study strategy is Abigail using?
note-taking
Dr. Lindsey studies the use of therapy dogs in hospital settings. She wants to explore whether these dogs improve the moods of patients. She needs to develop a(n) _____ for moods, so that she can have a precise description and manner of measurement for this variable.
operational definition
Krystal is interested in cooperative behavior in young children. For her study, she describes young children as children between the ages of three and seven. This is her:
operational definition.
Dr. Prasad has a lab meeting with her research assistants. They are planning a study, and now that they have chosen the variables they are going to examine, they must create:
operational definitions.
Too little acetylcholine causes:
paralysis.
Lydia's heart starts to race and her breathing increases when she hears a loud sound outside. She realizes quickly that there is nothing to worry about. Her body is brought back to noncrisis mode by her _____ nervous system.
parasympathetic
The _____ secretes melatonin to control sleep-wake cycles.
pineal gland
The _____ promotes growth through the secretion of hormones.
pituitary gland
Jeanne has drawn a diagram that shows the segments of an axon, with small green dots flooding in from the outside of the neuron when each axon segment fires. What do these dots represent?
positive sodium ions
Dr. Poirier is researching the effects of music on productivity. Based on her observations and existing research, she reports that playing music will increase productivity of warehouse workers who pack outgoing shipments. This reflects which main goal of psychology?
predict
Professor Hechavarria studies the immunological health of people who live and work in submarines. One of his findings is that cramped quarters can affect mood and memory. He also states that the same would be true for those working in mines for extended periods. His ability to _____ the experience of mine workers is one of the main goals of psychology.
predict
Professor Lagorio studies perceptions on climate change. He has observed that when 93 college students visualized personal consequences resulting from climate change, they were more likely to behave in a more environmentally friendly manner. He believes that if other populations perform similar visualization exercises, the same change in perception would result. Professor Lagorio is performing which main goal of psychology?
predict
A researcher is performing a study that involves gathering narrative descriptions from participants. This researcher is performing _____ research.
qualitative
Dr. Bahn is performing a study that involves gathering narrative descriptions from participants. Dr. Bahn is not taking measurements, but from the description it can be concluded that she is performing _____ research.
qualitative
Dr. Ruiz is performing a study that involves collecting measurable data that she will summarize and analyze with statistical methods. Based on this description, all that can be concluded is that Dr. Ruiz is performing _____ research.
quantitative
Dr. Svoboda is conducting a study examining how poverty affects children's social development. She assigns children who grew up in low socioeconomic households to one group and children who grew up in moderate-to-high socioeconomic households to another group. Participants in both groups are of similar ages and include a similar mix of boys and girls. This design would be classified as:
quasi-experimental.
Researchers use _____ to ensure that the likelihood of placement in a given group is identical for every participant in a study.
random assignment
The thyroid gland regulates the _____ by secreting thyroxin.
rate of metabolism
Professor Nguyen is thinking about using an experimental design to study the impact of mood on reading comprehension. She is going to use two different groups: One will be manipulated to be in a happy mood; the other group will be the control group. Professor Nguyen will then measure the participants' understanding of a short text using a reading comprehension score. What is the dependent variable in this study?
reading comprehension scores
Which is a function of the pituitary gland?
regulate the function of other endocrine glands
Yusuf is researching American attitudes toward bans on supersized soda. He lives in Minneapolis but realizes that he probably needs a _____ to generalize his findings to the larger population.
representative sample
How are neurotransmitters that do not connect with receptor sites reabsorbed by the sending axon terminal?
reuptake
The goal of the _____ is to provide empirical evidence, or data from systematic observations or experiments.
scientific method
A neural impulse travels _____ than a message sent via hormones.
significantly faster
One theme discussed in psychology is the gender theme. This includes evaluation of:
social roles.
The _____ perspective emphasizes the importance of social and cultural factors.
sociocultural
Dr. Reid is conducting research related to how the peripheral nervous system gathers information from sensory receptors and controls the skeletal muscles responsible for voluntary movement. What branch of the peripheral nervous system is the focus of Dr. Reid's research?
somatic nervous system
Alicia is describing the branch of the peripheral nervous system that includes sensory nerves and motor nerves. She is describing the:
somatic nervous system.
Kitane is talking to a classmate about the peripheral nervous system. She says she thinks of it as a trunk of a large tree that splits off into two branches. The _____ nervous system is the branch that includes the sensory and motor nerves, whereas the _____ nervous system controls involuntary processes within the body.
somatic; autonomic
A primary function of the myelin sheath is:
speeding communication of neurons
The _____ is the bundle of neurons that connects the brain with the body's muscles, glands, and organs
spinal cord
Professor Walsh says to her class, "You can think of this as a highway of neurons that shuttle information back and forth between the brain and the peripheral nervous system." Professor Walsh is describing the:
spinal cord.
Outlining is typically an ineffective studying technique when:
students have no experience with outlining.
Combat soldiers commonly face imminent danger. During these situations, their _____ would have responded almost instantaneously, triggering the release of neurotransmitters that cause increases in heart rate, breathing rate, and metabolism.
sympathetic nervous system
Flannery is just about to give a speech to her class on the fight-or-flight response. The irony is that she is pretty anxious about talking in front of the class, so her breathing has increased and her heart is racing. Flannery is going to use herself as an example of someone whose _____ is triggering this fight-or-flight response.
sympathetic nervous system
Brice was at home, in bed, when she heard a loud sound outside her window. Her heart rate and breathing increased immediately. These physical changes were brought on by Brice's:
sympathetic nervous system.
Neurotransmitters are unloaded into the _____ and their effects can be almost instantaneous.
synaptic gap
Reuptake and diffusion are critical processes in clearing neurotransmitters from which location(s) in preparation for the transmission of a new signal?
synaptic gap
People are less likely to assist someone in distress when there are many other people around. This is called:
the bystander effect.
Javier is giving a presentation about nerves in the peripheral nervous system. He wants to use an everyday example to illustrate how they work. Which example should he use?
the cables connecting his TV, cable box, and surround sound system
Which part of a typical neuron contains a nucleus and structures that nourish it?
the cell body
Dr. Gallagher is working with a large data set and wants to calculate the range. What does Dr. Gallagher need to determine in order to calculate this?
the largest and smallest values
Imani is learning about the history of psychology and early techniques for studying the brain. She realizes that although there are more modern ways for exploring the activity of the brain, the work of Gall and Flourens did make important contributions relating to:
the localization of function.
While putting a pizza in the oven, Remy accidentally touches the hot oven rack. Before fully processing what has happened, Remy yanks his hand out of the oven. What does this scenario represent?
the reflex arc
Porscha loves to play the matching game with her nephew. She will lay out a bunch of photographs of faces and ask him to pick out the matching faces. Which part of her nephew's brain is important for his ability to recognize these faces?
the right hemisphere
With _____, researchers often ask a large group of participants to respond to statements by using a scale that indicates the degree to which they agree or disagree, or the degree to which they have had an experience.
the survey method
A student is preparing for an upcoming test or quiz. Rereading as a study technique will be ineffective if:
the test requires inferences and knowledge integration.
Aristotle believed that knowledge results from experiences, thus paving the way for scientists to study the world through:
their observations.
Hulin is learning about the correlational method. He knows that a relationship exists between course grades and amount of study. He is wondering, however, what impact attendance in class might have. In this case, attendance may be a(n) _____variable.
third
Why would someone have an electroencephalogram (EEG) performed?
to detect electrical activity in the outer layer of the brain
The function of the axon terminals is to:
transmit messages to other neurons.
The action potential results in _____ in the axon terminal unloading neurotransmitters into the synapse.
vesicles
In which situation does the sympathetic nervous system respond almost instantaneously?
when faced with imminent danger
Professor Sitzes has just finished a long study on confinement of individuals in submarines. One of the main goals of psychology is to describe what is observed, and Professor Sitzes will do this by:
writing a scientific article.
