Psych Midterm
Difficulty in typing smoothly on a keyboard would most likely result from damage to the
cerebellum
According to research on motivation, employers are most likely to ensure high performance and job satisfaction from their workers if the employers
redesign jobs to increase workers' responsibility and flexibility
Melvin, a server at a restaurant, is in the middle of a lunch rush. He is completing orders, serving customers, and seating new guests. He has adapted to this level of stress and coping. Which term identifies a stage in Hans Selye's general adaptation syndrome that Melvin is currently experiencing?
resistance
Research shows that women who are referred by a physician to participate in a study of eating disorders have more severe problems than women who volunteer on their own to participate in the study. If research on eating disorders regularly involves only women referred by physicians, the results of the studies might be limited because of the presence of
sampling bias
Students from a journalism class ask only their friends to participate in a school newspaper survey and neglect to ask the rest of the student body. The journalism students' data may not be generalizable due to
sampling bias
The correlation between two measures obtained on a group of individuals is graphically represented as a
scatterplot
Standard deviation is a measure of how much
scores in a group differ from the mean of that group
Which of the following would a social learning theorist be most likely to propose as a cause for a fear of flying?
A person observed someone else's fear of flying
Which of the following is the strongest correlation? A) -.90 B) -.23 C) .40 D) .67 E) .72
A) -.90
Which of the following are not part of a neuron? A) Synapses B) Dendrites C) Somas D) Axons E) Axon terminals
A) Synapses
Research on a critical period during the acquisition of second languages indicates that which of the following statements is true? A) The older an individual is, the more difficulty he or she will have with a second language pronunciation B) Children have a more difficult time than adults understanding the grammar of the second language C) Articulation of difficult sounds in the second language is easier for adults than for children
A) The older an individual is, the more difficulty he or she will have with a second language pronunciation
Which of the following assertions is best supported by empirical evidence? A)The two cerebral hemispheres are specialized to process different types of cognitive tasks B) Schools should be reformed to better teach skills that are processed in the right hemisphere C) Human brains are fully formed at birth
A)The two cerebral hemispheres are specialized to process different types of cognitive tasks
A certain drug reduces the activity of the central nervous system, including the hippocampus and cerebellum. It affects several neurotransmitter, most notably gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Which of the following is most likely the drug in question?
Alcohol
A test has a mean of 80 with a standard deviation of 4. Which of the following scores is within one standard deviation of the mean? A) 75 B) 77 C) 86 D) 90 E) 99
B) 77
Which of the following brain structures is most associated with the emotion of fear? A) Cerebral cortex B) Amygdala C) Medulla D) Reticular formation
B) Amygdala
Which of the following findings about emotions is well supported by research? A) There are several universal emotions B) Anger is a cognitive state with no psychological correlates C) The polygraph is highly effective at detecting lies
B) Anger is a cognitive state with no psychological correlates
Which of following statements is most consistent with Benjamin Whorf's concept of linguistic determinism? A) The languages of nearly all cultures contain the same basic sounds and root meanings B) Language shapes the way an individual thinks and interprets experiences C) The human nervous system is predisposed to the acquisition and use of language
B) Language shapes the way an individual thinks and interprets experiences
Which of the following statements about the perception of taste is true? A) Infants are not able to perceive tests differences until they are at least twelve months old B) Older adults frequently experience decreases in the sense of smell that make it more difficult to perceive the flavor of food C) The five primary taste qualities are spicy, sour, salty, bitter, and sweet
B) Older adults frequently experience decreases in the sense of smell that make it more difficult to perceive the flavor of food
Laura arrives at a park that is located very close to a factory that produces cookies. She immediately notices the strong odor of chocolate chip cookies, but after a while she no longer detects the smell of the cookies. This can best be explained by which of the following? A) Accommodation B) Sensory adaptation C) Weber's law
B) Sensory adaptation
Based only on the variable described for each of the following pairs of individuals, which individuals are most likely to show different facial expressions when experiencing the same emotion? A) Two individuals who are from different nations B) Two individuals who are from different cultures that have different displays rules for the emotion C) An individual who is blind and an individual who can see
B) Two individuals who are from different cultures that have different displays rules for the emotion
In high school, it did not seem to make a difference how much Clive studied Spanish; he always earned poor grades. Now that Clive is in college, he is required to take Spanish again. According to the concept of learned helplessness, which of the following statements can be most expected from Clive as he starts the new Spanish class? A) "Spanish is a difficult subject that I am very poor at." B) "I sure hope that my Spanish professor is better than my high school Spanish teacher." C) "Why study? There isn't anything I can do to improve my Spanish skills." D) "If I spend more time studying, I'm sure I will do better than in high school."
C) "Why study? There isn't anything I can do to improve my Spanish skills."
To study differences in the cognitive processing of younger and older adults, Genevieve assessed a group of 30 year olds and a group of 60 year olds using the same cognitive task. She found no significant difference in cognitive processing between the two groups. Which of the following is a true statement that best explains her findings? A) Researchers have not documented changes in cognitive ability over the human life span B) Genevieve's participants were most likely women, who do not decline cognitively as they age C) Genevieve's task involved semantic memory, which does not typically show decline
C) Genevieve's task involved semantic memory, which does not typically show decline
Which of the following statements concerning sleep is valid? A) There are no valid physiological indicators of sleep. B) Longer dreams usually occur during the first sleep cycle. C) Individuals do not typically act out their dreams. D) Sigmund Freud developed his theory of dreaming by waking individuals from REM sleep
C) Individuals do not typically act out their dreams.
Which of the following supports the opponent-process theory of color vision? A) Color constancy B) Feature detection C) Subtractive color mixing D) Afterimages E) Parallel processing
D) Afterimages
Which of the following is true regarding visual information processing? A)Feature detectors in the Reina process information before rods and cones B)Feature detectors process information before bipolar cells C) Rods transduce wavelength and cones transduce light intensity D) Bipolar cells relay information to ganglion cells that form the optic nerve
D) Bipolar cells relay information to ganglion cells that form the optic nerve
Which of the following is reduced during a fight-or-flight reaction? A) Adrenaline level B) Glucose level C) Heart rate D) Digestion
D) Digestion
Which of the following best describes the response of members of the American Psychological Association to ethical issues in research? A) They have just begun to address such issues B) They disclaim ethical concerns regarding research C) They have developed codes of ethics for research with human participants only D) They have developed codes of ethics for research with both human participants and animal subjects
D) They have developed codes of ethics for research with both human participants and animal subjects
According to research by Fergus I. M. Craik and Endel Tulving on levels of processing, which of the following would most improve the ability to recall the word "umbrella"?
Deciding whether an umbrella would be useful to pack for a trip
The theorist who conducted pioneering research on latent learning and cognitive maps was
Edward Tolman
Which of the following brain structures has the strongest influence on hunger and satiety?
Hypothalamus
According to Benjamin Whorf's linguistic relativity hypothesis, what is the relationship between language and cognition?
Language shapes a culture's concepts and thought processes
Incentive theories of motivation explain the desire of people to achieve goals in terms of
External stimuli that have the capacity to affect behavior
A rat always completes a maze successfully but is only rewarded every third trial. The rat is being rewarded using which reinforcement schedule?
Fixed-ratio
Latisha noticed that in the early evening she begins to have difficulty seeing the vibrant colors in her artwork. What best explains her difficulty?
Her cones cannot detect color well in dim light
Which is the correct chronological order of the following perspectives of psychology, from past to present? I-Behaviorism II-Psychoanalysis III-Structuralism IV-Humanism
III, II, I, IV Structuralism, Psychoanalysis, Behaviorism, Humanism
Hillary glances at a graph and then turns her head away less than a second later. When she tried to immediately remember what she saw, which type of memory does Hillary use?
Iconic
Which field of psychology is most appropriate to analyze the efficiency of businesses in their hiring, basic training, and management leadership skills training?
Industrial/Organizational
In the early years of psychology, a research participant might have been asked to observe carefully and systematically his conscious experiences. What method would the participant be using?
Introspection
which of the following psychologists would have been likely to say, "I do not care about the unconscious or hidden motives-I want to study behavior directly"?
John Watson
A young child says, "Where did you goed?" Which of the following psychologists would most likely argue that the child is overregulizing a logical grammatical rule?
Noam Chomsky
In elementary school, Lisa learn to speak some Japanese in addition to English. As a sophomore in high school, Lisa took a class in Chinese, she found that some of the new vocabulary was difficult to learn because her earlier Japanese vocabulary was competing with the new Chinese words. This situation best illustrates
Proactive interference
A healthy, seventy year old editor of a print magazine is likely to experience the greatest decline in which cognitive tasks?
Quickly learning the process of editing and publishing an Internet based magazine
An individuals' recall tends to be better for information that is personally relevant primarily due to which phenomena?
Self reference effect
When Rosa has a cold, she cannot taste the flavor of her pizza. Which psychological term describes Rosa's inability to taste?
Sensory interaction
Mary is introduced to three new people at a party. Later, however, she cannot remember the names of any of her new acquaintances, even though she remembers what she ate, her old friends who were there, the address of the host. What may account for Mary's inability to remember these individuals' names?
She never encoded the names into long term memory
Joel's pupils become dilated, his digestion is reduced, and his skin becomes cold. Which system is controlling his bodily changes?
Sympathetic
George was involved in an accident and experienced head trauma. Although his eyes were functioning normally, he was unable to see. Which area of the brain was most likely affected by the accident?
The occipital lobe
A person will most likely develop aphasia as a result of damage to what part of the brain?
Wernicke's area
After sustaining a traumatic injury, Russ is having difficulty comprehending the meaning of words. Which part of his brain has most likely been damaged?
Wernicke's area
Amanda experienced discomfort in class. She put on a sweater when she realized her discomfort was caused by cold. Her behavior was motivated by
a drive
When a child behaves well for an entire day, the child earns a star. After acquiring fifteen stars, the child is allowed to pick a prize from a toy chest. The start is best described as
a secondary reinforcer
A person accidentally touches a hand to a hot stove and quickly pulls the hand away, even before sensory information about the hot stove reaches the brain. The person's reaction is most directly enabled by
a spinal reflex
Sally says that her dream about going to a circus is just her brain attempting to make sense of random simulation form the brain stem. Sally's explanation is consistent with which of the following theories of dreaming?
activation synthesis
A certain drug reduces the activity of the central nervous system, including the hippocampus and cerebellum. It affects several neurotransmitters, most notably gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Which is most like the drug in question?
alcohol
Kathy is learning how to cook. She follows every direction of each recipe step by step to make sure her food tastes good. What problem solving approach that Kathy is using?
algorithm
A research design involves two randomly assigned groups of participants. One group receives a one-time treatment, and the other does not. Later, the two groups are compared to see whether the treatment had an effect. Psychologists call this kind of research
an experiment
A psychologist designed a study to test the effects of cell phone us on driving safety. Participants were randomly assigned either to drive an automobile simulator while talking to a friend on a cell phone or to drive a simulator without talking on a phone. In the study, cell phone use can be described as
an independent variable
In Ivan Pavlov's classical conditioning paradigm, the dog salivated in response to the food at the outset of the experiment because the food was
an unconditioned stimulus
Chuck asked Jane out on a date and he offered her two possible options- to see a movie or to go ice skating. Jane felt a bit stressed about making the decision because she liked both activities. Which conflict is Jane experiencing?
approach-approach
Jim decides to seek treatment for his alcoholism that involves taking a medication that causes nausea when paired with alcohol. What type of treatment has Jim chosen?
behavioral
John B. Watson is best known as the founder of
behaviorism
A psychotherapist who believes that deviant behavior can be traced either to genetic anomalies or to problem in the physical structure of the brain most likely subscribes to which view of abnormailtiy
biomedical
Maria was never afraid of spiders until a spider bit her when she was eight. Today, even the sight of a plastic spider upsets her. Which learning process best explains Maria's fear of spiders?
classical conditioning
Which of the following psychoactive drugs increases nervous system activity? A) Cocaine B) Alcohol C) Morphine D) A barbiturate E) Heroin
cocaine
Carl Jung believed in a storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from a person's ancestral past. Which psychological term refers to that storehouse?
collective unconscious
According to Wilhelm Wundt, the focus of scientific psychology should be the study of
conscious experience
Genie was a girl who endured abusive and neglectful conditions and was deprived of language exposure until she was rescued at age 13. Despite remediation, Genie was unable to learn to speak fluently. Historically, this case study was used to demonstrate the effects of
critical periods
Shaniqua is a forth grader who loves to read whenever she has free time. To encourage Shaniqua to continue to read, her parents would best be advised to
do nothing additional
After school, George and his friends complain of intense hunger. They go to George's home and immediately open his refrigerator to look for a snack. Which theory of motivation best explains their behavior?
drive reduction
Homeostasis is most closely related with which motivation theory?
drive-reduction theory
The limbic system is most closely associated with
emotions
In a research study, informed consent is a concern of
ethics
A psychologist designed a study to test the effects of cell phone us on driving safety. Participants were randomly assigned either to drive an automobile simulator while talking to a friend on a cell phone or to drive a simulator without talking on a phone. Which type of research does the scenario describe?
experimental
The "Little Albert" study demonstrated that
fear can be conditioned in humans
For every twenty cell phones that Tom sells, he will get a $50 bonus. The bonuses are an example of which of the following types of reinforcement schedules?
fixed ratio
The psychological experience of pitch is related to a sound wave's
frequency
Gabby uses a coin to tighten a screw on a faucet handle. This action shows that Gabby has overcome
functional fixedness
Serena is in a hotel room with a cake that needs slicing, but she does not have a knife. She goes to the bathroom and comes back with a long strand of dental floss, which she uses to cut the cake. Serena has overcome which barrier to problem solving?
functional fixedness
Infants are repeatedly shown an object dropping onto a platform. Eventually, the infants spend less time looking at the object, and their heart rates and respirations decrease. This is an example of
habituation
The pituitary gland is controlled by the
hypothalamus
Mary participants in an exercise program because she experiences an increase in energy and feelings of well-being at the end of each exercise session. The best explanation for Mary's perseverance in the program is that exercise
increases her level of endorphins
A dog bit Sam when he was a small child and now Sam believes all dogs bite. Which type of reasoning is Sam using to come to this conclusion?
inductive
Humanistic psychologists believe that the drive toward self-actualization is
innate
Dylan has difficulty solving a psychics problem in class. The next day, he suddenly thinks of a solution to the problem as he is watching a friend play the guitar. The thought process Dylan experienced is an example of
insight learning
Rosemary wants to make the track team because she enjoys running. Her reason for wanting to make the track team is an example of
intrinsic motivation
Which of the following is a strength of naturalistic observation?
it minimizes artificiality, which can be a problem in laboratory studies
A study can be regarded as scientific only if
its conclusions can be verified or refuted by subsequent studies
Kelly, a first-year student at a local university, is surprised at how easily she can locate the building and classroom for each of her classes on the first day of school. Kelly attributes her success to the campus tour she took the previous spring. Which of the following concepts best supports Kelly's belief?
latent learning
When Sophie reads her history assignments, she goes over them very carefully and tries to memorize each fact. Emma, on the other hand, studies by trying to relate the new information to things she has experienced been told about by others, or seen in movies and on television. Emma's performance on history tests will probably be better than Sophie's due to differences in
levels of processing
Ana injured her eye in an accident and has to wear a patch over the eye while it heals. Which cue would she best be able to use to make judgements about the distance objects are from her?
linear perspective
To stop his uncle's constant requests, Jimmy takes out the garbage in the future. Jimmy's behavior is being controlled by which type of reinforcement?
negative
Suzie screamed at her little brother, and her mother yelled, "We do not yell in this house!" Suzie continues to yell at her brother despite her mother reprimanding her. Suzie's behavior is best explained by
observational learning
People who live in environments with buildings with square corners and right angles are more susceptible to Muller-Lyer illusion than are people who live in environments without such angles and corners. The difference in perception between the two groups of people reveals that
people develop perceptual hypotheses based on experiences in their lives
Barnet is a somewhat distractible second-grade student who thinks schoolwork a bit boring. After a couple of minutes of working silently, Barnet often starts to misbehave until his teacher, Mrs.Skinner, calls his name and scolds him. However, he enjoys this attention from her and continues to misbehave. With respect to Barnet's misbehavior, Ms.Skinners attention serves as
positive reinforcement
Memories of well learned skills, such as riding a bike, are classified as
procedural
The notion that human behavior is greatly influenced by unconscious thoughts and desires is most consistent with which psychological approach?
psychodynamic
which procedure is intended to control for preexisting differences between the groups of participants in an experiment?
random assignment
Raul wants to teach his daughter Sonia to tie her shoes. First he praises her when she manipulates her shoelaces in any way. Then he praises her when she makes a simple knot. Once she does that consistently, he praises her only when she makes the knot and loop. He continues the pattern until she can do all the steps required to tie her shoes. Raul's actions are an example of which technique?
shaping
The first time four-year-old Savannah attempted to make her bed, her father praised her for covering the pillow with a blanket. After a few times, her father began praising Savannah for covering the pillow and tucking in the corners of the sheet. Finally, Savannah's father praised her when she covered the pillow, tucked in the corners of the sheet, and smoothed the blanket. The process described in this scenario is known as
shaping
Tyler ate a cheeseburger from a fast food restaurant for dinner, and he was awake all night feeling sick. Now, just thinking about eating any fast food makes him feel nauseous and he is certain that he will never want to eat it again. Tyler's aversion to fast food can be best explained by
stimulus generalization
Researches paired rats' drinking of saccharin sweetened water with injections of a drug that weakened the immune system. After repeated pairings, sweetened water triggered the rats' immune systems to break down. What was the conditioned stimulus in the study?
sweetened water
The results of a correlational study involving student volunteers in a psychology laboratory might not apply to the general population because
the sample is not randomly chosen and therefore may not be a representative sample
In classical conditioning, stimulus generalization occurs when an organism responds
to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus
The original dopamine hypothesis refers to the view that schizophrenia is at least partially caused by
too much dopamine in the brain
