Psychology Test 1
The majority of human beings have _____ chromosomes in each cell of their body.
23 pairs of
_____ describes a hypothetical account of how and why a phenomenon occurs.
A theory
Which famous psychologist created a stir when they claimed that free will is an illusion?
B. F. Skinner
John Watson's brand of psychology focused on the study of _____.
Behavior
extraordinary ability of the brain to modify its own chemistry, structure and function following changes within the body or in the external environment
Brain Plasticity
complex movements
Cerebellum
Contains: Frontal, Occipital, Parietal and Temporal Lobes
Cerebral Cortex
How does cognitive neuroscience differ from cognitive psychology?
Cognitive neuroscience attempts to link thinking to brain activity, while cognitive psychology focuses more on thinking
_____ is the scientific study of mental processes, including perception, thought, memory, and reasoning.
Cognitive psychology
_____ refers to the fact that each hemisphere in the brain controls the functions of the opposite side of the body.
Contralateral control
Receiving and sending information from one side of the body to the opposite side of the brain
Crossing over
"Depression is expressed differently across cultures and ethnic groups and that is therefore an important factor to consider during diagnosis and treatment!" Which school of thought would most likely agree with this statement?
Cultural Psychology
Higher mental processes, contains: Cerebral cortex, Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Limbic system
Forebrain
Controls Planning, decision making, memory, personality
Frontal Lobe
Emotions are complex in nature. Some philosophers have argued that emotions have evolved to help species adapt to their environment. This view of emotions is BEST illustrated by what approach?
Functionalism
Dr. Veet studied human perception through the use of visual illusions. It is MOST likely that Dr. Veet subscribed to which approach of psychology?
Gestalt Psychology
Jenny thinks she knows what Professor Black's study is about, so she responds in a way that she thinks will help him to support his hypothesis. How can Professor Black maximize the validity of his observations of Jenny's behavior?
He can keep Jenny and the person observing her behavior blind about the purpose of his study.
Life Support, Contains: Medulla and Pons, Reticular formation, Cerebellum
Hindbrain
Which area of psychology focuses on helping people to realize their full potential
Humanistic psychology
What is psychology?
It is the scientific study of the mind and behavior.
Controls: language and complex motor skills (sequential motor tasks)
Left Hemisphere
_____ was the first woman elected as APA president, who unfortunately faced significant sex discrimination that was common at the time.
Mary Calkins
Carlos, a graduate student in psychology, is recording the number of wrong turns that rats make in trying to navigate a maze. He observes five rats and finds that they make 2, 3, 3, 6, and 1 errors, respectively. Carlos calculates the mean, median, and mode for the number of errors. Which sequence below gives the correct mean, median, and mode for Carlos's data?
Mean = 3, Median = 3, Mode = 3
reflexes, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure
Medulla and Pons
Research has shown that, when certain groups of animals observe another engaging in a particular behavior, some of the same neurons also become active in the observer animal. This is due to the action of what type of neuron?
Mirror
Controls Vision
Occipital Lobe
In Freud's psychoanalytic theory, what is the MOST important influence on our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors?
Our unconscious
Processing sensations of touch, temperature, pain
Parietal Lobe
Auditory processing, speech, language comprehension
Temporal Lobe
_____ refers to the time following an action potential during which a new action potential cannot be initiated.
Refractory period
A rat is being trained to learn its way through a complex maze. When the rat successfully makes its way through the maze, it receives water and food. What psychological principle does this example illustrate?
Reinforcement
sleep, arousal
Reticular formation
Controls: Spatial abilities (eg. recognizing rotated figures) and music perception
Right Hemisphere
Suzanne has been having difficulty falling asleep and waking up in the morning. She has also noticed that her appetite has changed and that she has become somewhat more aggressive. What neurotransmitter is MOST likely involved in Suzanne's symptoms?
Serotonin
James's grandmother was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. James wanted to do some research so that he could help his grandmother better understand this disease. Through his research, James found that Alzheimer's involves the deterioration of what neurotransmitter?
acetylcholine
What is referred to as an all-or-nothing event?
action potentials
L-Dopa is a drug given to individuals with Parkinson's disease. This drug helps with the symptoms of the disease because it is a(n) _____ for dopamine.
agonist
As part of the limbic system, the _____ attaches significance to previously neutral events that are associated with fear, punishment, or reward.
amygdala
Dr. Billings studies brain-wave patterns that occur when people are dreaming. He attaches a device to the outside of people's skulls to measure electrical activity in the brain. What type of device is he using?
an EEG
The majority of PhDs in psychology are awarded in _____ psychology.
clinical
Wilhelm Wundt's brand of psychology focused on the study of _____
consciousness
Jenny thinks she knows what Professor Black's study is about, so she responds in a way that she thinks will help him to support his hypothesis. It is likely that there are some _____ that are influencing Jenny's behavior.
demand characteristics
Which sequence is the CORRECT one for information traveling within a single neuron?
dendrites, cell body, axon
The famous case study of Phineas Gage helped us to understand the role that the _____ play(s) in controlling one's emotions and making decisions.
frontal lobes
How would you describe a correlation coefficient of r = − 1.10?
impossible
When an experiment is _____, we can draw accurate inferences about the causal relationship between an independent and dependent variable.
internally valid
Which is NOT a requirement of the ethical code governing psychological research?
monetary compensation
What concept does the statement, "Depression is defined as significant scores on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)," BEST illustrate?
operational definition
The idea that all knowledge is attained through experience was referred to as _____ by the Greek philosopher Aristotle
philosophical empiricism
The brain is remarkably adaptive and the functions of areas that are damaged may be taken over by other areas of the brain. What is the term for this phenomenon?
plasticity
If we want to know how a group of 100 three-year-olds will perform on a computerized memory task and select 20 of the three-year-olds to actually do the task, then the group of 100 refers to our _____ and the group of 20 refers to our _____.
population; sample
In order for a neuron to respond to a particular neurotransmitter, it must possess a(n) _____ for that neurochemical.
receptor
Janell holds her hand close to a fire. Her _____ neurons allow her to feel the heat, while her _____ neurons allow her to move her hand away from the fire.
sensory; motor
In a study examining the effects of stress (stress group vs. no-stress group) on memory performance, _____ is the independent variable and _____ is the dependent variable.
stress vs. no stress; memory performance
You are driving down an unfamiliar road at night and an animal darts out in front of your car. You quickly slam on the brakes and avoid hitting the animal. Your ability to respond quickly to this situation was MOST likely promoted by your:
sympathetic nervous system.
Which components make up the major parts of the peripheral nervous system?
the autonomic and somatic nervous systems
What term can be used to describe the "no stress" group in a study examining the effects of stress (stress group vs. no-stress group) on memory performance?
the control group
Which major area of the brain deals with information coming in from and going out through the spinal cord?
the hindbrain
Which part of the brain will form FIRST in prenatal development?
the hindbrain
Diseases such as multiple sclerosis usually involve a deterioration of what part of a neuron?
the myelin sheath
When researchers find that increased viewing of television soap operas is associated with increased sexual behavior, they cannot conclude that the TV viewing caused the sexual activity because some other factor, such as lack of parental supervision, might be responsible for both behaviors. This problem is known as the _____ problem.
third-variable
If an observation is _____, then we can draw accurate inferences from it.
valid
A property whose value can change over individuals or over time is a:
variable.
The occipital lobe is to _____ as the parietal lobe is to _____.
vision; touch