Psychology Chapter 1

Positive psychology uniquely focuses on the promotion of positive

emotions; character traits; institutions

Critical thinking most clearly involves

evaluating evidence

The nature-nurture issue refers to the debate over the relative contributions that _________ make the development of psychological traits.

genes and experience

Professor Stauffer conducts basic research on the psychological, biological, and behavioral factors that contribute to heart disease. She is most likely a

health psychologist

A researcher gives half the members of a group a true psychological finding and the other half in opposite result. Both groups believe the given finding is common sense. This is an easy way to demonstrate the impact of

hindsight bias

Developing testable predictions before conducting research is most directly useful for restraining of thinking error known as

hindsight bias

Mike Crampton's stockbroker informed him that he suffered substantial investment losses. When Mike told his wife, she angrily responded, "I could've told you that your investment plan would fail! "Her comment best illustrates

hindsight bias

In contrast to explicit, conscious reasoning, an effortless and immediate automatic judgment is best described as a(n)

intuition

Norman meets briefly with job applications in relies on his gut level first impressions and deciding whether to offer them a job. Norman's employment decisions are most clearly guided by

intuition

The tendency to perceive order in random events often leads to overestimating the value of

intuition

By suggesting that nurture works on what nature provides, psychologist highlight the fact that we are biologically graced with a capacity for

learning and adaption

Different accounts of the same behavior that together give us a more complete understanding represent different

levels of analysis

The biopsychosocial approach provides an understanding of social-cultural influences within the larger frame work of

many levels of analysis

Which prospective studies the relative contributions of our genes and our environment to our individual differences?

behavior genetics

Inherited ability is to learned skill as __________ is to __________?

behavior; mental processes

Akira believes that her son has become a good student because he is often praised for his learning efforts. Her belief best illustrates a ________ perspective.

behavioral

In its earliest years psychology focused on the study of

mental processes

Differences between the genders

no longer exist in contemporary Western societies

Beginning in the 1920s, American psychologist such as John B. Watson emphasize the study of

observable behavior

A theory is an explanation using principles the ________ observations in ________ behaviors or events.

organize; predict

Megan was certain that she would never live far away from her family. However, when offered a job in another state, she decided to move. Megan's experience best illustrates

overconfidence

Our tendency to believe we know more than we do best illustrates

overconfidence

Which of the following is most likely to inhibit critical thinking

overconfidence

Which perspective most clearly focuses on how we learn observable responses?

behavioral

Observing and recording people's behavior as they are being conditioned is a central interest of

behaviorism

The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies observable human activity without reference to mental processes is known as

behaviorism

Dr. Robinson conducts research on the relationship brain chemistry and intellectual functioning. Which psychological specialty does Dr. Robinson's research best represent?

biological psychology

For no apparent reason, Adam has recently begun to feel so tense and anxious that he frequently stays home from work. It would be best for Adam to contact a ___________ psychologist.

clinical

Dr. Caleigh conducts research on the relationship between adults' language skills and their capacity to solve mathematical problems. Dr. Caleigh is most likely a _________ psychologist.

cognitive

Which perspective is most concerned with how individuals interpret their experiences?

cognitive

Which psychological perspective is most likely to be concerned with identifying the powers and the limits of human reasoning?

cognitive

The Scientific study of mental activities associated with perceiving, processing, and remembering information is most central to

cognitive psychology

Rather then seeking to change people to fit their environments, __________ work to create social and physical environments that are healthy for all.

community psychologists

Martin Seligman calls for a positive psychology that focuses on such topics as

compassion

The birth of psychology is often attributed to Wilhelm Wundt because he pioneered the investigation of mental processes by

conducting the first psychological experiment

Reasoning That does not blindly except available arguments and conclusions best illustrates

critical thinking

When you question the claim that hip gnosis helps people to recall memories more accurately, you are most clearly demonstrating

critical thinking

Parents handing down to their children the custom of showing respect for authority best illustrates the importance of

culture

The enduring traditions, attitudes, ideas, and behaviors shared by a large group of people form their

culture

Studying people of all races and cultures is most helpful for

detecting human similarities and differences

Dr. Santaniello conducts research on how children's moral thinking changes as they grow older. It is most likely that Dr. Santaniello is a(n) ________ psychologist.

developmental

Accurately grasping a bowl of split second before we consciously recognize the balls size best illustrates our capacity for

dual processing

Although we may be unaware of our gender prejudices, they often influenced the way we consciously perceive men and women. This best illustrates

dual processing

Our Visual perception track enables us to recognize objects while or visual action track enables us to manipulate objects. This best illustrates

dual processing

The processing of information at the same time at both conscious and unconscious levels is called

dual processing

The cognitive perspective in psychology focuses on how

people encode, process, store, and retrieve information

Dr. Roberts studies how best to assess individual differences in traits such as impulsiveness and sociability. Which specialty area does her research best represent?

personality psychology

Which term refers to the traits and behaviors that are expected from men and from women in a given culture?

sexual replication

Dr. Wilson believes that one reason for teenagers delinquent behavior is the pressure of belonging to a street gang. Her account best illustrates a _________ perspective.

social-cultural

Which Perspective in psychology is most likely to focus on how behavior and thinking very across situations and cultures?

social-cultural

Which Perspective would focus on the extent to which different parenting styles are encouraged among various ethnic groups?

social-cultural

The distinctive feature of the psychodynamic perspective is it's emphasis on

unconscious conflicts

Who was the American Philosopher who shared his love of psychology in his 1890 textbook?

William James

Janna has low self-esteem because she is often teased for being overweight. Appreciating the complexity of Janna's difficulties most clearly requires

a biopsychosocial approach

Studies conducted for the sake of building psychologies base of knowledge are most clearly examples of

basic research

Smiling is to feeling as ________ is to ________.

behavior and mental process

Contemporary psychology is best defined as the science of

behavior and mental processes

One of the last century's most influential observers of children was the Swiss biologist

Jean Piaget

Dr. Vazquez helps people to make career choices by assisting them in identifying their strengths and interests. Dr. Vazquez is most likely a

counseling psychologist

A questioning attitude regarding psychologists assumptions and hidden values best illustrates

critical thinking

Melinda was worried that the wording of the questions in a life satisfaction survey may have encouraged respondents to express on usually positive levels of well-being. Melinda's concern best illustrates

critical thinking

Which perspective highlights the reproductive advantages of inherited psychological traits?

evolutionary

The hindsight bias refers to people's tendency to

exaggerate their ability to have foreseen the outcome

Professor Smith told one class that drinking alcohol has been found to increase sexual desire. He informed another class the drinking alcohol has found to reduce sexual appetite. The fact that neither class was surprised by the information they received best illustrates the power of

hindsight bias

The perception that psychological research findings merely verify our commonsense understanding is most clearly encouraged by

hindsight bias

several weeks after a political election, voters often exaggerate their ability to have predicted the election outcome. This best illustrates

hindsight bias

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow promoted a historically significant approach known as

humanistic psychology

Dr. Lipka focuses on ways to improve employee job satisfaction and productivity. Dr. Lipka is most likely a(n) ________ psychologist.

industrial-organizational

Which psychologists are most likely to be involved in applied research?

industrial-organizational psychologists

Efforts to discover whether the intelligence of children is more heavily influenced by their biology or their home environments are most directly relevant to the debate regarding

nature and nurture

Lissette wonders whether personality differences between her friends who recently moved from Nigeria and those who moved from Thailand result primarily from biological or from cultural influences. In this instance, Lissette is primarily concerned with the relative contributions of

nature and nurture

Professor Lopez believes that severe depression results primarily from an imbalanced diet and abnormal brain chemistry. Professor Lopez favors a ___________ perspective on depression.

neuroscience

Which Perspective would help us to understand the impact of strokes and brain diseases on memory?

neuroscience

Research on human flourishing is the major focus of

positive psychology

humanistic psychologists focused attention on the importance of people's

potential for healthy growth

The explanatory power of a scientific theory is most closely linked to its capacity to generate testable

predictions

Clinical psychologist specialize in

providing therapy to troubled people

The specialist most likely to have a medical degree is a

psychiatrist

Six of the children and Mr. Myers class were born on exactly the same day. This strikes him as astonishing an unlikely. In this instant he should be reminded that

random sequences of events often don't look random

Professor Shalet believes that parents and children have similar levels of intelligence largely because they share common genes. His idea is best described as a(n)

theory

Cognitive neuroscience studies relationships between

thought processes and brain functions