Psych Midterm Review

Which of the following should Vince do if he wants to improve his psychology exam scores?

Study early in the evening, then go to bed and get a good night's sleep.

Marla is addicted to a drug that suppresses appetite, produces euphoria, and reduces fatigue. Marla is likely addicted to a(n):

amphetamine

In his research on the limbic system, Professor Caste electrically stimulates the ____________ of cats and then measures their rage and fear reactions.

amygdala

Jorge, who is terrified of snakes, is walking down the street when he sees a stick that looks somewhat like a snake. He immediately becomes fearful, despite knowing that what he sees is only a stick. An area of the brain called the _____ is responsible for Jorge's fear reaction.

amygdala

You invite a group of people to your home for a wine-tasting event, but you have not figured out how they will get home afterward. According to research, you should be concerned about this because:

as their blood-alcohol level rises, people's concerns about drinking and driving decrease.

Zack was at the park with his father and excitedly pointed to a squirrel and exclaimed, "Kitty, kitty." His father pointed out that this was a squirrel, not a kitty. Zack's labeling of the animal best illustrates the process of:

assimilation

If you have a frightening experience immediately after hearing a strange sound, your fear may be aroused when you hear that sound again. This best illustrates:

associative learning

Elizabeth has been told that her basilar membrane is damaged. This is most likely to affect her:

audition

James was bitten by a dog when he was 5 years old. To this day, he will not pet a dog, but he will pet cats. This reaction best illustrates:

discrimination

Ever since she was 3 weeks old, Emily has been a contented baby who has slept and eaten well and adapted easily to new experiences. A developmental psychologist would probably describe Emily's temperament as:

easy

Your sister has a 3-month-old baby girl who is always cheerful, relaxed, and predictable in terms of sleeping and eating. The baby's temperament is most likely that of a(n):

easy baby

Marla is 25 years old. Which stage of development is she currently in?

either emerging adulthood or early adulthood, depending on her level of independence

Your cousin lost her pregnancy during her eighth week. During what stage of prenatal development did she have the miscarriage?

embryo

If Dr. Carpentier is interested in measuring both the structure and function of the brain, which of the following techniques would you recommend he use?

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

A year after surviving a car accident, Angie responds with terror at the sound of balloons popping. This reaction best illustrates:

generalization

Marlee is a toddler who has learned to fear moving cars. She has also become afraid of moving motorcycles. This is an example of:

generalization

George must avoid foods high in MSG, since an oversupply of the neurotransmitter ______ can overstimulate the brain, inducing seizures or migraines.

glutamate

Harry is now in his mid-50s, so he can expect to experience a:

gradual decrease in testosterone.

Dr. Daniel is conducting a study in which she is destroying tiny clusters of tissue in a rat's brain to see what type of function and behavior is affected. The technique she uses is called:

lesioning

Aja is worried that as her husband approaches his 40th birthday he will become depressed and unhappy with his life, and that he will begin to seek out adventure and younger women to help compensate for these feelings. Studies indicate that very few men (or women) go through this sort of:

midlife crisis

Kole works at hammering a nail with his toy hammer as his father hammers deck boards into place. Kole's behavior is a clear example of:

modeling

Samantha has been prescribed medication to keep her awake so she is less likely to fall asleep behind the wheel of her car. She most likely suffers from:

narcolepsy

Professor Carter observes and records the behavior of grocery shoppers as they select items to purchase. Which type of research is Professor Carter employing?

naturalistic observation

Professor Frank has asked students to create a study to examine the behavior of coyotes in a nearby nature preserve. If they are only interested in observing and recording behavior, and not exploring cause and effect for those behaviors, which method would they choose?

naturalistic observation

Dr. Schmidt believes that alcohol use disorder is influenced both by biological and cultural factors. This finding is most relevant to the issue of:

nature vs nurture

When Amber's daughter refused to brush her teeth and threw her toys across the room, Amber gave her a 5-minute time-out. This is an example of:

negative punishment

Bradley regularly buckles his seatbelt simply because it turns off the car's irritating warning buzzer. This best illustrates the value of:

negative reinforcement.

Chris received a blow to the back of his head. He is now having severe difficulties with his vision because the injury he sustained was to the _____ lobe.

occipital

Adelle is worried because her work environment is very loud, and she knows that prolonged exposure to sounds above ________ decibels can produce hearing loss.

85

John is using his phone to browse social media before going to sleep. He is not alone as almost _____ percent of Americans report using a light-emitting electronic device within an hour before going to sleep.

90

As Frank was leaving the hip-hop concert, he was unable to hear his friend next to him who was talking in a normal conversational tone of ________ decibels, since the show was well over 130 decibels.

60

Which of the following is an example of a psychologically induced altered state of consciousness?

Deirdre has just entered a state of hypnosis with the aid of a psychologist.

Your grandmother is in her early 80s, and she is starting to seem frail to you. Based on what you know about general abilities of the elderly, which of the following are you likely to notice about her abilities?

Her hearing, distance perception, and sense of smell are diminishing.

Your room is still fairly dark when you wake up early one morning. You look over at your shirt hanging on a hook. You know it's your red shirt because you hung it up there before you went to bed, but in the dark you can't see its color. It looks dark gray to you. Why is that?

In the dim light, the cones in your eyes are ineffectual.

If you were trying to describe the function of the somatic nervous system to a middle-school child, which of the following analogies might you use?

It functions like a remote control that controls the movements of a robotic arm.

Brenda has been asked to give a brief lecture on neurons and the action potential to a group of high school students. Which of the following would she likely use as a model to describe the chemistry-to-electricity process of the action potential?

It is similar to the way batteries generate electricity.

Which of the following individuals is in the late adulthood stage of development?

Juanita, who is 70 years old

Professor Boyd believes that children in every culture can distinguish between costs and benefits because humans have an inborn understanding of economics. This belief is most consistent with the views of:

Plato

Your 3-year-old niece has just started in preschool and her teachers are reporting that she is extremely emotionally reactive and impulsive. What do you think she will be like as a young adult?

Research findings suggest she will be somewhat impulsive and conflict-prone.

Your aunt just realized that she conceived a child about 7 days ago. She rushes to find a book on pregnancy so that she can learn more about what is happening. Which of the following does the book say occurs around the seventh day of pregnancy?

The cells of the zygote begin to differentiate.

Carla is babysitting her 2-year-old nephew for the first time. While her back is turned just for a moment, he touches the pan she just took out of the oven. He pulls his finger away quickly, and a few moments later begins to scream. Why is his screaming delayed (in comparison to his response of pulling away his finger)?

The finger-withdrawal reflex involves only the spinal cord, but it takes more time for the information about the pain to reach the brain.

You have had a cold for five days, and your nose is so stuffy you cannot smell anything. When you have your coffee, it seems like it has no taste. What is the most likely reason for this?

To savor a taste, you need to breathe the aroma through your nose.

Which of the following is an example of an altered state of consciousness that occurs spontaneously?

Yu is daydreaming about her upcoming trip to Europe.

Professor Garcia decides to conduct a survey with her class about whether the amount of break time is adequate for the 3-hour course. For the survey, Professor Garcia takes all 40 student names and assigns each a number, in order to have 20 students equally likely to be chosen by a computer program. The survey will be both a representative and:

a random sample

Mark is a 25-year-old who has decided to ask his doctor about whether his rate of sperm cell production is within normal range. He knows at puberty it was supposed to be at a rate of:

about 1000 sperm per second.

After Natalia learned that penguins cannot fly, she had to modify her existing concept of birds. This best illustrates the process of:

accomodation

Sam is a firefighter and immediately wakes in the middle of the night at the sound of an alarm. It is likely that his ______________ have released epinephrine and norepinephrine in response.

adrenal glands

Chandra's father demands total obedience from his children. When he speaks, he expects his children to listen. There is no discussion and no arguing. He has zero tolerance for breaking the rules he has set forth. Chandra's father has which type of parenting style?

authoritarian

Nembutal, Seconal, and Amytal are sometimes prescribed to induce sleep and reduce anxiety. They belong to which class of medications?

barbiturates

Your professor directs a clinic for children and adolescents that specializes in shaping conduct through rewards and consequences. Which of the following branches of psychology does this clinic support?

behaviorism

You are participating in a local psychology experiment. The research assistant asks you to hold two pencils in front of you and touch the eraser tips together. She then asks you to do this with one eye closed. You find this terribly difficult, which demonstrates the importance of:

binocular cues

After having a stroke, Juanita reports having lost the ability to see, and brain scans show damage to her brain's visual cortex. However, when asked which direction a stick is pointing, she is able to accurately "guess" whether the stick is vertical or horizontal. This phenomenon is called:

blindsight

While shopping at the local supermarket, Joanne notices the "reduced for quick sale" table, which has discontinued items as well as dented cans. She buys some of the discontinued items but avoided the dented cans because she knows that improperly canned food can form:

botulin

Dr. McDougal decides to publish a paper based on a patient who presented her with a complicated case of depression and anxiety. Her hope is to share universal principles with the psychology community. This is an example of a(n):

case study

After she suffered a brain injury, Marla had difficulty walking in a smooth, coordinated manner. It is likely that she suffered damage to her:

cerebellum

Whenever Jamison opens his refrigerator to get something to eat, he also gives his dog some food. Now, when Jamison opens the refrigerator door his dog begins to drool. This best illustrates:

classical conditioning.

You are a building contractor surveying the progress on a home that you are constructing. From one angle, it appears that the home is completely framed. However, when you move to the right, you see the gaps. The first angle illustrates the principle of:

closure.

Sven was rushed to the emergency room because he went into convulsions and suffered cardiac arrest after trying:

cocaine

After repeatedly drinking alcohol spiked with a nauseating drug, Dwayne, who has alcohol use disorder, fails to develop an aversion to alcohol because he blames his nausea on the drug, not the alcoholic drink. This illustrates the importance of ________ in classical conditioning.

cognitive processes

At his visit to the optometrist, Lance had failed to distinguish painted numbers within the designs shown to him. Lance most likely has:

color-deficient vision.

Zack repeatedly hears a tone just before having a puff of air directed into his eye. Blinking in response to a tone presented without a puff of air is a(n):

conditioned response (CR).

When you sleep, as when you are awake, you process most information outside your _____ awareness.

conscious

While Jamie is reading her textbook, she is aware of her thoughts, sensations, memories, and physical location. Collectively, this awareness is referred to as:

consciousness

Five-year-old Lance complained to his mom that the pizza was not big enough. When she cut the pizza into smaller slices, Lance was happy because he now thought that there was more pizza. Lance lacks the concept of:

conservation

Thirteen-year-old Frank is telling his mother that she should not drive too fast and should make a complete stop at the light in order to avoid getting a ticket. Kohlberg would suggest that this illustrates _____________ morality.

conventional

Dr. Sauer is a neurosurgeon who works with patients who have major epileptic seizures. What part of the brain might Dr. Sauer sever to help reduce his patients' seizures?

corpus callosum

Your 9-month-old niece is just learning to crawl. Your brother has agreed to have her participate in an experiment that incorporates a visual cliff. What is most likely being studied in this experiment?

depth perception

Annett works the night shift at a local factory. What is she likely to experience that may result in chronic fatigue, stomach problems, and heart disease?

desynchronization

Although he is more than a year old, Erik wakes up frequently during the night and is hard to soothe back to sleep. In general, he cries easily, is a fussy eater, and rarely naps at the same time every day. Erik's temperament would most likely be categorized as:

difficult

Chris is 20 years old and still very much dependent on his parents. They are paying for his college tuition as well as his living expenses, and he spends school holidays at home with them. He is in the phase of life known as:

emerging adulthood

David checks the clock more frequently as the time for his regularly scheduled lunch break approaches. David's clock-checking behavior is reinforced on a ________ schedule.

fixed-interval

You received a great money-saving credit card offer in the mail, complete with a rewards program. After you read on further, however, you find that the one dollar spent for every mile earned may not be such a great offer after all, since getting a $500 airline ticket only happens after you first acquire 25,000 miles (spending $25,000 to do so). This is a ________ schedule.

fixed-ratio

Jennifer is studying the way cats learn to associate the sound of a can opener with food. In order to create the association in the cats, what is the minimum amount of time that should occur between using the can opener and presenting the food?

half a second or so

After Carla tried a new drug with her friends, she saw very strange colors and heard strange sounds around her. She and her friends were most likely taking:

hallucinogens

A friend has asked you to explain how hormones influence our interest in certain behaviors. Which of the following topics would be one you would NOT address?

hearing

Ami has just begun teaching a class and is trying to memorize the names of her students. Her ability to store the names to memory will rely on the work of her:

hippocampus

Janet begins seeing a therapist to cope with a number of stressful life events. Her therapist does not focus on her childhood or on any learned behaviors, but instead emphasizes the importance of her need for love and acceptance. Which is most likely the school of thought that the therapist follows?

humanistic psychology

Professor Jamison is a scientist who maintains an awareness of her own vulnerability to error and openness to surprises and new perspectives. She is exemplifying which scientific attitude?

humility

You go to bed at your regular time, and as you begin to drift slowly off to sleep, you jerk up suddenly because you feel like you are falling down the stairs. This is best explained by a:

hypnagogic sensation

Dr. Branson is a researcher at a large pharmaceutical company that has a new medication that targets specific neurotransmitters known to be involved in schizophrenia. Dr. Branson believes that this new medication may be useful for treating some forms of the disorder. This belief is a(n):

hypothesis

Theresa works for a large pharmaceutical company that is planning a study of a new drug, and she is in the beginning stages of writing the research protocol. The company predicts that this new drug will lower symptoms of anxiety. This prediction is a(n):

hypothesis

Chris is trying to cut back on his consumption of caffeinated beverages. When he does cut back, he will experience all of the following EXCEPT:

increased energy

At the beginning of a research study, Allen is given information that explains what he will be asked to do during the experiment. Obtaining his approval in this step of the study is called:

informed consent

Brenda resents the burden and constraints of caring for her infant daughter, and she frequently ignores her daughter's cries for attention. As a consequence, her daughter is most likely to display signs of:

insecure attachment

Thomas recognized that his son was closer to him than his daughter because his son partially obstructed his view of his daughter. Thomas' perception was most clearly influenced by a distance cue known as:

interposition.

Tre, who is working on a series of landscape paintings, wants to create a realistic depiction of the English countryside. To turn the flat surface of the canvas into a three-dimensional painting, he would use techniques like:

linear perspective

Dr. Juan is conducting a study of military veterans from the Vietnam and Gulf wars, in which he plans to evaluate them every year for 10 years to find out if those with PTSD have a more pronounced decline in mental abilities and overall memory over the 10 years. This is a(n) _____________ study.

longitudinal

Professor Schmidt is conducting a study that requires participants to sit underneath a head coil while they complete specific activities. The head coil measures a brain's magnetic fields that are involved in the task completion. Which technique is he using?

magnetoencephalography (MEG)

Terry is worried that she will become addicted to the drug she has been taking to relieve her pain. She is most likely taking a(n):

opiate

Lee's recent blood test results indicate that his blood sugar is way off, and he learns that this may have to do with an abnormality of the _________ in his endocrine system.

pancreas

Without fail, when you are talking to your best friend about something important, she continues to check her phone and watch for people she knows. Nevertheless, she seems able to listen attentively and respond appropriately to what you are saying. This type of behavior is evidence of:

parallel processing

After Jamie is startled awake in the middle of the night by a loud noise, she soon realizes that the noise she heard was the closet rod breaking from the weight of her winter coats. Once she knows that, she begins to calm down and her heart stops racing. Clearly her _____________ has now been activated.

parasympathetic nervous system

J. B. was diagnosed with an imbalance in the regulation of calcium in his blood. This imbalance was likely due to an abnormality in his:

parathyroids

Brian sees an apple on his desk. The sight of the apple reminds him of the times he spent picking apples from his grandmother's apple trees as a child. The experiences Brian had with apples has affected his ________________ of the apple.

perception

Stan has volunteered to participate in an experiment studying vision in which he will wear a pair of glasses that invert his vision. Because of _____________, after about a week, he is even able to perform his usual activities like riding a bike or reading a book.

perceptual adaptation

Even though it is completely dark outside, you still perceive your car as fire-engine red, rather than the actual color of burgundy, due to lighting. This is an example of:

perceptual constancy

After hearing that Bruce had served a prison sentence, Janet began to perceive his genuinely friendly behavior as insincere and manipulative. This best illustrates the impact of:

perceptual set.

Once Isaiah learned of abuse in Sara's past, he began to perceive her cautious behavior around men as more self-protective than as rude. This best illustrates the impact of:

perceptual set.

Jenny is in her seventies, and she is in remarkably good health. If she were to worry about getting sick, she should probably worry most about:

pneumonia

Ivy has been working nights and weekends to get a project completed at work. She is successful, and a couple of weeks later when she comes into work her boss presents her with a bonus check. This bonus encourages her to work more nights and weekends. Her new behavior best illustrates the value of:

positive reinforcement

You go to a psychic who says she can read tarot cards and tell you about your life ahead. You want to know when you will get married, so you hope this psychic has the ability of:

precognition

Seventy-six-year-old Charles has an optimistic outlook on life, plays golf several times a week, and teaches English to non-English speaking people. Charles's example demonstrates the role that _____ factors play in helping older people live longer and flourish.

psychological

If you gently wake someone whose eyes are moving under their eyelids, there is about an 80 percent chance that person will:

report they were in the midst of a dream

If Professor Thomas electrically stimulates the ______________ in a sleeping animal, the animal will immediately wake up and be alert.

reticular formation

While playing "Ring Around the Rosie" with your little cousins, you are spinning around and around. When you stop, you still feel as though you are still spinning because your ________________ haven't returned to their neutral state.

semicircular canals and kinesthetic receptors

If you walk into a room that smells strongly of cigarette smoke, you will notice it right away. After a few minutes, though, you will no longer notice the smell. This best illustrates:

sensory adaptation

When you arrived at the gym Tuesday morning, you noticed a musty odor in the locker room showers. When you had finished changing, you did not notice the smell. This is probably the result of:

sensory adaptation

You are watching your favorite television program when a commercial for a new medication comes on. It states that the medication can alleviate depression: "Since depression is a chemical imbalance, new Effexor extended release can help with mood, sleep, arousal, and alertness by working on the two key neurotransmitters involved in depression." These two neurotransmitters are:

seratonin and norepinepherine

Although Suan has no genital sensations, he is capable of an erection if his genitals are stimulated. Suan's situation is most indicative of a(n):

severed spinal cord

Today, who among the following is most likely to earn a doctorate degree in psychology in the United States, Canada, and Europe?

shelly (female)

After a conversation with your friend, he begins to walk away. The farther away from you he gets, the smaller he appears to be. You know that your friend isn't actually shrinking as he moves away from you because of the process known as:

size constancy

Carla is 32 years old and unmarried, and she is worried that she will not be married early enough to have children. Carla is feeling pressure from her culture's established:

social clock

Professor J is interested in whether the presence of peers will influence cheating behavior. Professor J's research would focus on which of the following levels of analysis?

social-cultural influences

Juan knows that turning the pages of a book, using his pen to take notes, or raising his hand are all possible due to his:

somatic nervous system

Abigail is paralyzed below the waist following an accident. Though she does not respond to erotic images, she does experience an increase in vaginal lubrication in response to genital stimulation. Abigail has most clearly suffered damage to her:

spinal cord

When Abigail had leukemia as a child she had to undergo numerous bouts of chemotherapy and came to associate the waiting room with nausea. Now 35 years old, she took her mother to the same hospital for breast cancer treatment. Once again, she became nauseous while in the waiting room. Her nausea best illustrates:

spontaneous recovery

Long after her conditioned fear of dogs had been extinguished, Michelle experienced an unexpected surge of nervousness when she first met her cousin's new cocker spaniel. Her unexpected nervousness best illustrates:

spontaneous recovery.

Stan's wife wakes him from a peaceful slumber to tell him that she heard a noise. As he slowly gets up to investigate, his heart begins to race, his mouth gets dry, and he begins to sweat. Clearly, Stan's _____________ has been activated.

sympathetic nervous system

Clarrisa, who has suffered from epilepsy all her life, takes Trileptal to control her seizures. Recently she became pregnant with her first child. She then checked on her medication and found that no adequate studies have been performed on the effect of the medication on pregnant women. She asked her doctor whether Trileptal was a(n):

teratogen

Your neighbor is five months pregnant and is still smoking about a pack of cigarettes a day. Perhaps she is unaware that nicotine is a(n) _________ for the fetus.

teratogen

Professor Ming is conducting a study for which it is critical that the findings be representative of the population of interest. Which research method runs the greatest risk that its findings may be unrepresentative of what is generally true?

the case study

When Jennifer had leukemia as a child she had to undergo numerous bouts of chemotherapy. The chemotherapy always made her nauseous. As she went through a year of treatment, the waiting room started to make her nauseous. The waiting room became:

the conditioned stimulus (CS).

Jane's teacher knows that behaviors that are followed by positive consequences are more likely to be repeated, so she gives her students a sticker every time they turn in their homework. This example best illustrates:

the law of effect.

Vince really enjoys eating ice cream. The joy he receives from eating it comes from the dopamine reward center in which area of the brain (the area is located in front of the hypothalamus)?

the nucleus accumbens

You open your eyes in the morning and see flowers by your bedside. At that point, your eyes are receiving light energy, which they change into neural messages for the brain to process. This conversion of one form of energy into another is called:

transduction

Your roommate asks, "Why are you studying so much?" You reply, "Because we could have a pop quiz any time during class, so I have to study constantly!" Your study habits are the result of your ________________ quiz schedule.

variable-interval

Tim finds it extremely difficult to pull himself away from the blackjack table. He keeps thinking he will break even because the next hand will surely be his winning one. This is a ________ schedule.

variable-ratio

You stayed up way too late last night and your eyes are tired. You close and rub them, but as you rub you notice a white light. This is because:

your retinal cells are extremely responsive, and the pressure from your hand triggers them.