Psychology Final Quiz Bank

Which of the following correlations between self-esteem and body weight would enable you to most accurately predict body weight from knowledge of level of self-esteem?

+0.60

Which of the following correlation coefficients expresses the weakest degree of relationship between two variables?

-0.99

Botulin poisoning from improperly canned food causes paralysis by blocking the release of

acetylcholine.

Sherry easily remembers the telephone reservation number for Holiday Inn by using the mnemonic 1-800-HOLIDAY. She is using a memory aid known as

chunking.

Amphetamines ________ appetite and ________ self-confidence.

decrease; increase

Habituation refers to the

decreasing responsiveness to a stimulus to which one is repeatedly exposed.

Sensation is to ________ as perception is to ________.

detection; interpretation

Children who release unexpressed anger toward their parents by kicking the family pet illustrate the defense mechanism of

displacement

Generating multiple possible answers to a problem illustrates

divergent thinking

Freud believed that ________ are the "royal road to the unconscious."

dreams

Physical abilities such as muscular strength, reaction time, sensory keenness, and cardiac output reach their peak during

early adulthood

Academic aptitude test scores are MOST likely to predict accurately the academic success of ________ students.

elementary school

An important aspect of social intelligence is called

emotional intelligence

The ability to delay immediate pleasures in pursuit of long-range rewards is most clearly a characteristic of

emotional intelligience

Group therapy is typically more effective than individual therapy for

enabling people to discover that others have problems similar to their own.

Online social networking tends to ________ self-disclosure and Facebook profiles appear to be closer to people's ________.

encourage; actual personalities than to their ideal personalities

José has just played a long, bruising football game but feels little fatigue or discomfort. His lack of pain is most likely caused by the release of

endorphins

Girls are most likely to outperform boys in a

grammar test

In one experiment, professional actors played the role of either normal-weight or overweight job applicants. Research participants' willingness to hire the applicants revealed

greater discrimination against overweight women than against overweight men.

Psychoactive drugs influence neurotransmission by stimulating, mimicking, or ________ the activity of neurotransmitters.

inhibiting

A recurring difficulty in falling or staying asleep is called

insomnia

Central nervous system neurons that process information between sensory inputs and motor outputs are called

interneurons.

If a stranger looks like someone who previously harmed or threatened us in some way, we may-without consciously recalling the earlier experience-react warily. This illustrates that our reactions to others may be influenced by

intuition

If rats are allowed to wander through a complicated maze, they will subsequently run the maze with few errors when a food reward is placed at the end. Their good performance demonstrates

latent learning.

Which perspective emphasizes the role of classical conditioning in the onset of anxiety disorders?

learning perspective

When people's images on a video monitor are widened to make them look fatter, observers perceive them as

less sincere and less friendly.

A neural system at the border of the brainstem and the cerebral hemispheres is known as the

limbic system.

Elmer, the owner of an auto service station, suddenly began smashing the front fenders and hoods of two customers' cars. When asked why, he excitedly explained that he was transforming the cars into "real racing machines." When an employee tried to restrain him, he shouted that everybody was fired and quickly began breaking the car windows. Elmer is exhibiting symptoms of

mania.

A mnemonic is a

memory aid.

The misinformation effect best illustrates the dynamics of

memory construction.

To determine whether a child's intellectual development was fast or slow, Binet and Simon assessed the child's

mental age

For the original version of the Stanford-Binet, IQ was defined as

mental age divided by chronological age and multiplied by 100.

An algorithm is a

methodical step-by-step procedure for solving problems.

People have been most likely to describe themselves as a "sandwich generation" during their

middle adulthood

People's moment-to-moment positive moods tend to be highest near the ________ hours of their waking day and their moment-to-moment negative moods tend to be highest near the ________ hours of their waking day.

middle; later

From the 1920s into the 1960s, American psychologists emphasized the study of

observable behavior.

Cecil is preoccupied with thoughts of jumping out the window of his tenth-floor apartment. To reduce his anxiety, he frequently counts his heartbeats aloud. Cecil would most likely be diagnosed as experiencing

obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Babies are born with several reflexes for getting food. One of these is to

open the mouth in search of a nipple when touched on the cheek

Praising socially withdrawn children when they make eye contact with others and ignoring them after a temper tantrum best illustrates an application of

operant conditioning.

The approach that has helped children with autism learn to function successfully in school involves

operant conditioning.

After receiving very bad news, people ________ the duration of their negative emotions.

overestimate

Dating partners who fall in love tend to ________ how much they liked each other when they first met. Dating partners who break-up tend to ________ how much they liked each other when they first met.

overestimate; underestimate

Insulin, a hormone that influences appetite, is secreted by the

pancreas

Social-cognitive psychologists suggest that the best way to predict a political candidate's performance effectiveness after election is to assess that individual's

past performance in situations involving similar responsibilities.

Elderly nursing home residents tend to decline faster and die sooner than they would otherwise if they lack

perceived control.

The MMPI is an example of a(n)

personality inventory

After losing his left hand in an accident, Jack continued to experience pain in his nonexistent hand. His experience illustrates

phantom limb sensations.

By professional training, Freud was a

physician

The master gland of the endocrine system is the

pituitary gland.

In a study of the effects of drinking alcohol, some participants drank a nonalcoholic beverage that actually smelled and tasted like alcohol. This nonalcoholic drink was a

placebo.

The rhythmic bursts of brain activity that occur during NREM-2 sleep are called

sleep spindles.

The age at which people are expected to leave home, get a job, and marry has changed dramatically in Wallonia over the past 50 years. Developmentalists would say that the country's ________ has been altered.

social clock

Twenty-five-year-old Alexandra has an intellectual disability and can neither read nor write. However, after hearing lengthy, unfamiliar, and complex musical selections just once, she can reproduce them precisely on the piano. It is likely that Alexandra is

someone with savant syndrome

After Miguel's recent automobile accident, doctors detected damage to his cerebral cortex in Broca's area. It is likely that Miguel will have difficulty

speaking fluently

Lee was momentarily terrified as a passing automobile nearly sideswiped his car. When one of his passengers joked that he almost had a two-color car, Lee laughed uncontrollably. Lee's emotional volatility best illustrates the

spillover effect

As the size of a representative sample increases, the ________ of that sample is most likely to decrease.

standard deviation

When researcher Karen Wynn showed 5-month-old infants a numerically impossible outcome, the infants

stared longer at the outcome

After his last drinking spree, Fakim hid a half-empty liquor bottle. He couldn't remember where he hid it until he started drinking again. Fakim's pattern of recall best illustrates

state-dependent memory.

Associating carrots with a mental image of a bun, milk with a mental image of a shoe, and paper towels with a mental image of a tree best illustrates

the peg-word system.

In Pavlov's experiments on the salivary conditioning of dogs, the US was

the presentation of food in the dog's mouth.

Masters and Johnson identified orgasm as the ________ phase of the sexual response cycle.

third.

A need to take larger and larger doses of sleeping pills to avoid insomnia indicates

tolerance

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes are called

top-down processing.

Which major force in psychology emphasized unconscious thought processes?

Freudian psychology

Cassandra's mother told her, "You know you are in love when your heart beats fast and you experience that unique trembling feeling inside." This remark best illustrates the ________ theory of emotion.

James-Lange

Daily pressures compounded by racism and prejudice take a toll on many African-Americans in the form of

The ability to delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards illustrates

Those with an avoidant personality disorder are most likely to display

a fear of social rejection.

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective is called

a fixation

As he attempted to spell the word receive, Tim reminded himself "i before e except after c." Tim's self-reminder best illustrates the use of

a heuristic

According to drive-reduction theory, a need refers to

a physiological state that usually triggers motivational arousal.

Compulsive craving for and use of a drug is an indication of

addiction

The pupil is the

adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which light enters.

Anxiety about being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult is indicative of

agoraphobia.

Neural stimulation that exceeds a threshold triggers

an action potential.

Which of the following brain areas became especially active when a research participant lied about holding a five of clubs?

anterior cingulate cortex

After having brain surgery to stop severe seizures, Henry Molaison could recall events he experienced prior to the surgery but was unable to form new conscious memories. Molaison's memory difficulty most clearly illustrates

anterograde amnesia.

Which of the following disorders is more common among men than women?

antisocial personality disorder

A failure to practice important motor skills can result in a loss of agility because unused neural connections

are pruned

The guilty knowledge test is typically used to

assess a suspect's responses to details of a crime.

After he suffered a stroke, Mr. Santore's physical coordination skills and responsiveness to sensory stimulation quickly returned to normal. Unfortunately, however, he could no longer figure out how to find his way around his neighborhood. It is most likely that Mr. Santore suffered damage to his

association areas.

Many researchers believe that adult styles of romantic love correspond with childhood patterns of

attachment

Larry has difficulty organizing his daily schedule of work responsibilities. He often makes careless mistakes or fails to complete his work because he is easily distracted. Larry's behavior is most characteristic of

attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

To help Claire quit smoking, a therapist delivers an electric shock to her arm each time she smokes a cigarette. The therapist is using

aversive conditioning.

Which perspective studies the relative contributions of our genes and our environment on our individual differences?

behavior genetics

Receptor cells for kinesthesis are located in the

bones, ears, tendons, and joints.

Berdine has developed cataracts in both eyes, preventing her from being able to identify even her mother's face. Berdine most clearly suffers a deficiency in

bottom-up processing.

In the study led by Elizabeth Loftus, two groups of observers were asked how fast two cars had been going in a filmed traffic accident. Observers who heard the vividly descriptive word "smashed" in relation to the accident later recalled

broken glass at the scene of the accident.

Researchers use experiments rather than other research methods in order to isolate

causes from effects.

Melanie's therapist suggests that when she feels anxious, she should attribute her arousal to her highly reactive nervous system and shift her attention to playing a game with her 5-year-old son. This suggestion best illustrates

cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Boys are most likely to outperform girls in a

computerized video game competition.

When we use the word automobile to refer to a category of transport vehicles, we are using this word as a(n)

concept

In classical conditioning therapies, maladaptive symptoms are usually considered to be

conditioned responses.

Scientists are trained to carefully observe and record any research outcomes that are inconsistent with their hypotheses. This practice most directly serves to reduce

confirmation bias

Displaying data in a scatterplot can help us see the extent to which two variables are

correlated.

Narcolepsy is a disorder in which a person

experiences uncontrollable attacks of overwhelming sleepiness.

A major depressive disorder is most likely to be characterized by

feelings of personal worthlessness.

he Eysencks believed that extraversion and emotionality are

genetically influenced

The surface of the basilar membrane is lined with

hair cells.

Dopamine overactivity appears to be most clearly related to

hallucinations

Positive and negative environmental stimuli that motivate behavior are called

incentives

Any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response is called a(n)

negative reinforcer.

Which theory suggests that dreams are mental responses to random bursts of neural stimulation?Which theory suggests that dreams are mental responses to random bursts of neural stimulation?

neural activation theory

A psychologist working from the biological perspective would be most interested in conducting research on the relationship between

neurotransmitters and depression.

Discovering and promoting human strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive is the major focus of

positive psychology.

Administering an aversive stimulus following an operant response is

positive punishment.

Every Saturday morning, Arnold quickly washes the family's breakfast dishes so that his father will allow him to wash his car. In this instance, washing the car is a(n)

positive reinforcer.

Unlike psychodynamic therapists, humanistic therapists tend to focus on the ________ more than the ________.

present; past

People are likely to take less time to recognize a woman as a nurse than a man as a nurse because a woman more closely resembles their nurse

prototype

In the process of classifying objects, people are especially likely to make use of

prototypes

Helping people gain insight into the unconscious origins of their disorder is a central aim of

psychoanalysis.

To accurately isolate cause and effect, experimenters should use

random assignment.

Melissa is unconsciously fearful that her husband is a better cook than she. Recently, she refused his offer to prepare dinner because, said she, "You could better spend the time playing with our kids." Melissa's comment best illustrates

rationalization

Rats that received electric shocks were unlikely to develop ulcers if the

rats could control the termination of the shocks.

After learning the combination for his new locker at school, Milton is unable to remember the combination for his year-old bicycle lock. Milton is experiencing the effects of

retroactive interference.

Drivers are slower to detect traffic signals if they are talking on a cell phone. This best illustrates the impact of

selective attention.

In the long run, people who practice self-regulation through physical exercise and time-managed study programs experience an increase in

self control

Adventurous people who relish the pursuit of novel and intense experiences are said to be

sensation-seekers

The principles of continuity and closure best illustrate that

sensations are organized into meaningful patterns.

When Tommy's mother hides his favorite toy under a blanket, he acts as though it no longer exists and makes no attempt to retrieve it. Tommy is clearly near the beginning of Piaget's ________ stage.

sensorimotor

Damage to the oval window is most likely to result in

sensorineural hearing loss.

The tendency to recall the first and last items in a list better than the middle items is known as the ________ effect.

serial position

When 16-year-old Hafez received a large inheritance from his grandfather, he was tempted to purchase an expensive new car. He decided, instead, to deposit all the money into a savings account for his college education. Hafez shows signs of a

strong ego

An animal trainer is teaching a miniature poodle to balance on a ball. Initially, he gives the poodle a treat for approaching the ball, then only for placing its front paws on the ball, and finally only for climbing on the ball. The trainer is using the method of

successive approximations.

Studies suggest that criminal behavior is most likely to be deterred by

swiftly delivered punishment.

Humanistic therapists are likely to teach clients to

take more responsibility for their own feelings and actions.

Wernicke's area is typically located in the left ________ lobe.

temporal

Instead of calculating an intelligence quotient, most current intelligence tests represent the test-taker's performance relative to

the average performance of others the same age as the test-taker.

Homeostasis, which is the goal of drive reduction, is defined as

the body's tendency to maintain a constant internal state.

The fovea refers to

the central focal point in the retina.

David Rosenhan and his fellow researchers were admitted as patients into various hospitals after they falsely complained of auditory hallucinations. After hospital clinicians analyzed these patients' quite normal life histories

the clinicians identified patient life history dynamics contributing to a psychological disorder.

According to Piaget, egocentrism refers to

the difficulty perceiving things from another person's point of view.

Which research method provides the best way of assessing whether cigarette smoking boosts mental alertness?

the experiment

A therapist tells a patient who is afraid of elevators that his rapid breathing while on an elevator is not due to fear but is a natural consequence of too little oxygen in a small, enclosed space. With this new interpretation of his arousal, the patient no longer dreads elevators. The reduction in the patient's fear is best understood in terms of the

two-factor theory

Carl Rogers referred to a caring, nonjudgmental attitude as

unconditional positive regard.

A partial reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response that occurs after an unpredictable period of time is a ________ schedule.

variable-interval

A partial schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses is a ________ schedule.

variable-ratio

Asking women for dates is most likely to be reinforced on a ________ schedule.

variable-ratio

Work is most likely to satisfy the higher-level needs in Maslow's hierarchy for those who

view their work as a calling.

Forty-year-old Lance insists that he never dreams. Research suggests that he probably

would report a vivid dream if he were awakened during REM sleep.