AP psych MC practice

In vision, transduction occurs within the - optic nerve. - visual cortex. - retina. - lens. - cornea.

retina

Which of the following is used to reduce the effects of confounding variables in experiments? - Descriptive statistics. - Inferential statistics. - Meta-analysis. - An algorithm. - Random assignment.

Random assignment.

The change in the curvature of the lens that enables the eye to focus on objects at various distances is called - accommodation. - adaptation. - conduction. - convergence. - consonance.

accommodation.

Curare blocks action at acetylcholine synapses and causes paralysis. This drug is an example of an - antagonist. - agonist. - inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP). - excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP). - excitatory neurotransmitter.

antagonist.

In developmental psychology, one advantage of cross-sectional over longitudinal studies is that cross- sectional research - controls for cognitive ability. - controls for gender. - controls for cultural influences - involves subjects of the same age - requires comparatively little time.

requires comparatively little time.

The Gestalt principle that refers to an individual's tendency to perceive an incomplete figure as whole is called - figure-ground. - motion parallax. - closure. - proximity. - shape constancy.

closure.

The tendency of most people to identify a three-sided figure as a triangle, even when one of its sides is incomplete, is the result of a perceptual process known as - closure. - proximity. - similarity. - feature analysis. - shape constancy.

closure.

The area of the brain stem that is important in controlling breathing is the - suprachiasmatic nucleus. - cerebellum. - limbic system. - medulla. - hippocampus.

medulla

In the dark, an object is more clearly seen when viewed in peripheral vision than when viewed directly. This phenomenon occurs because the rods located in the retina are - more sensitive in the dark than cones and are not found in the fovea. - less sensitive in the dark than cones and are not found in the fovea. - as sensitive in the dark as cones and are not found in the fovea. - more numerous than cones are in the fovea. - as numerous as cones are all over the retina.

more sensitive in the dark than cones and are not found in the fovea.

Climbing an irregular set of stairs is more difficult for an individual who wears a patch over one eye primarily because - some depth perception is lost. - half of the visual field is missing. - the ability to perceive interposition is lost. - the patch disrupts the functioning of the vestibular system. - the patch alters the ability of the open eye to compensate.

some depth perception is lost.

The ability to see a cube in the diagram above is best explained by WOTF? - The resting potential of neurons in the optic nerve. - Gestalt principles of closure and continuity. - The inverted and reversed image that a visual stimulus produces on the retina. - The opponent process theory of vision. - The trichromatic theory of vision.

Gestalt principles of closure and continuity.

The claim that a whole is different from the sum of its parts is central to which of the following schools of thought? - Connectionism - Functionalism - Gestalt psychology - Structuralism - Behaviorism

Gestalt psychology

Damage to which of the following best explains conduction deafness? - Basilar membrane - Hammar, anvil, and stirrup - Auditory nerve - Temporal lobe - Central sulcus

Hammar, anvil, and stirrup

Damage to the occipital lobe would most likely affect a person's - balance. - ability to develop plans. - vision. - fine motor movements. - language processing.

vision.

Damage to a small part of the occipital lobe would most likely result in a - speech deficit. - visual deficit. - motor deficit. - hearing loss. - slower heart rate.

visual deficit.

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? - 75 - 77 - 86 - 90 - 99

77

Activation of the parasympathetic nervous system results in which of the following? - An increase in pupil dilation. - An increase in respiratory rate. - A decrease in digestion. - A decrease in salivation. - A decrease in heart rate.

A decrease in heart rate.

Damage to the cerebellum would most likely result in which of the following problems? - Aphasia. - Increased aggression. - A loss of vision. - A loss of motor coordination. - A change in personality.

A loss of motor coordination.

Research finds that, in general, the higher an incoming college student scores on a given test, the higher the student's college grade point average (GPA). Which of the following best describes this relationship? - A bimodal distribution. - A normal distribution. - A skewed distribution. - A positive correlation. - A negative correlation.

A positive correlation.

Damage to which of the following brain structures may cause the inability to detect the emotional significance of facial expressions, especially those demonstrating fear? - Hippocampus - Thalamus - Cerebellum - Hypothalamus - Amygdala

Amygdala

A double-blind control is essential for which of the following? - Assessment of a treatment designed to reduce schizophrenic symptoms. - A study comparing the IQ test scores of children from different educational systems. - A study of relationships among family members. - An experiment to determine the effect of a food reward on the bar-pressing rate of a rat. - A survey of drug use among teenagers.

Assessment of a treatment designed to reduce schizophrenic symptoms.

Brain damage that leaves a person capable of understanding speech but with an impaired ability to produce speech most likely indicates injury to which of the following? - The basal ganglia - Wernicke's area - The substantia nigra - Broca's area - The inferior colliculi

Broca's area

Caffeine and nicotine are in the same class as which of the following drugs? - Marijuana - Valium - Cocaine - Alcohol - Peyote

Cocaine

Which of the following allows the examination of living brain tissue visually without performing surgery? - Computerized axial tomography. - Stereo examination. - Retrograde degeneration. - Biofeedback. - Ablation.

Computerized axial tomography.

In an experiment, which of the following variables refers to the outcome that is measured by the experimenter? - Independent. - Dependent. - Control. - Random. - Stimulus.

Dependent.

In terms of the effect on the central nervous system, alcohol is most accurately classified as which of the following types of drug? - Depressant - Narcotic - Psychoactive - Stimulant - Hallucinogen

Depressant

A person with damage to Broca's area would most likely demonstrate which of the following symptoms? - Forgetfulness. - Hearing difficulties. - Difficulty controlling balance and coordination. - Difficulty controlling emotions. - Difficulty with speech production.

Difficulty with speech production.

Which of the following is true of the frequency distributions shown in the graphs above? (Hint: This is an exercise in standard deviation.) - Distribution A has more variation than distributions B or C. - Distribution B and distribution C have the same variation. - Distribution B has more variation than distributions A or C. - The standard deviation of distribution A is infinite. - The standard deviation of distribution B is zero.

Distribution B has more variation than distributions A or C.

Cocaine blocks the reuptake of which neurotransmitter? - Epinephrine - Endorphins - Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) - Substance P - Dopamine

Dopamine

Which of the following research approaches would be best for testing the hypothesis that the presence of certain odors causes people to gamble more? - Experimental - Observational - Correlational - Survey - Case study

Experimental

Leadership, job satisfaction, and employee motivation are all studied in which of the following psychological disciplines? - Human factors psychology. - Industrial-organizational psychology. - Community psychology. - Counseling psychology. - Experimental psychology.

Industrial-organizational psychology.

In a normal distribution, which of the following statements is true about the area that falls between one standard deviation above and one standard deviation below the mean? - It contains the bottom 50% of the distribution. - It contains the middle 50% of the distribution. - It contains the bottom 68% of the distribution. - It contains the middle 68% of the distribution. - It is the same as the square of the average deviation.

It contains the middle 68% of the distribution.

According to the ethical guidelines set by the American Psychological Association (APA), which of the following is true of psychological research in which animals are used as subjects? - It must not involve the use of surgical procedures. - It is no longer permitted by the APA without special authorization. - It should conform to all APA ethical guidelines for animal research. - It must be limited to investigations that use correlational procedures. - It may not be conducted by psychologists who do not have a license.

It should conform to all APA ethical guidelines for animal research.

Ana injured her eye in an accident and has to wear a patch over the eye while it heals. Which of the following cues would she best be able to use to make judgments about the distance objects are from her? - Convergence - Binocular disparity - Linear perspective - Similarity - Closure

Linear perspective

In their discussions of the process of development, the advocates of nature in the nature-nurture controversy emphasize which of the following? - Socialization - Cognition - Maturation - Experience - Information processing

Maturation

WOTF best describes the graph? - Histogram. - Frequency polygon. - Normal distribution. - Positively skewed distribution. - Negatively skewed distribution.

Negatively skewed distribution.

Feature detectors are neurons that are turned on or off by specific features of visual stimuli like edges and movement. Where in the visual system are these feature detectors located? - Occipital cortex - Retina - Optic chiasm - Lens - Cornea

Occipital cortex

Gestalt psychology is concerned primarily with understanding which of the following? - Learning - Motivation - Development - Sensation - Perception

Perception

Which of the following provides information regarding brain function by monitoring the brain at work through metabolism of glucose? - Computed tomography (CT) - Electrooculography (EOG) - Electroencephalography (EEG) - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - Positron emission tomography (PET)

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Which of the following is required for a psychological experiment? - More than one independent variable. - Sophisticated equipment. - Highly generalizable results. - Precise operational definitions. - A longitudinal design.

Precise operational definitions.

Of the following topics, which would a cognitive psychologist be most likely to study? - Conformity behavior of college students. - Genetic determinants of behavior. - Problem-solving strategies in chess. - Personnel selection problems. - Maturational processes in adolescent development.

Problem-solving strategies in chess.

Which of the following is the correct sequence of the neural chain of events set in motion by an environmental stimulus? - Receptors, afferent neurons, interneurons, efferent neurons, effectors. - Receptors, efferent neurons, interneurons, afferent neurons, effectors. - Interneurons, effectors, receptors, afferent neurons, efferent neurons. - Effectors, interneurons, receptors, afferent neurons, efferent neurons. - Effectors, receptors, afferent neurons, efferent neurons, interneurons.

Receptors, afferent neurons, interneurons, efferent neurons, effectors.

All of the following are American Psychological Association ethical guidelines for researchers EXCEPT: - Research may not involve deception. - Participation must be voluntary. - Participants must be informed of potential risks. - Participants must be offered alternative activities if research participation is a course requirement. - Participants' right to privacy must be protected.

Research may not involve deception.

Significant damage to which of the following parts of the brain will most likely cause a person to fall into a deep coma from which the person will be unable to awaken? - Hypothalamus. - Frontal lobe. - Reticular formation. - Amygdala - Thalamus

Reticular formation.

WOTF is the correct path a neural impulse will follow through the different layers of the retina? - Ganglion cells, bipolar cells, rods and cones, optic nerve - Bipolar cells, ganglion cells, rods and cones, optic nerve - Optic nerve, ganglion cells, bipolar cells, rods and cones - Rods and cones, ganglion cells, bipolar cells, optic nerve - Rods and cones, bipolar cells, ganglion cells, optic nerve

Rods and cones, bipolar cells, ganglion cells, optic nerve

Jason is attending a parade that features the local high school band. Jason's friend Brent plays the trombone in the band. It is difficult for Jason to hear Brent play at the parade. Which of the following would best allow Jason to hear Brent's trombone? - Sensory adaptation. - Selective attention. - Perceptual constancy. - Weber's law. - Functional fixedness.

Selective attention.

During the night, Alicia stops breathing repeatedly, frequently gasps for air, and snores loudly at regular intervals. Alicia is most likely suffering from which of the following conditions? - Sleep apnea. - Narcolepsy - Insomnia - Night terrors - The REM rebound effect

Sleep apnea.

What is the primary function of the brain region indicated by the arrow? - Memory formation - Sleeping, waking, and dreaming - Problem solving - Regulation of body temperature - Emotional responses

Sleeping, waking, and dreaming

Which of the following studies has had the most profound impact on ethical issues in psychological research? - Stanley Milgram's study of obedience. - Solomon Asch's study of conformity. - Daryl Bern's study of self-perception. - William McGuire's study of self-concept. - Leon Festinger's study of cognitive dissonance.

Stanley Milgram's study of obedience

Which of the following best describes the response of members of the American Psychological Association to ethical issues in research? - They have just begun to address such issues. - They disclaim ethical concerns regarding research. - They have developed codes of ethics for research with human participants only. - They have developed codes of ethics for research with animal subjects only. - They have developed codes of ethics for research with both human participants and animal subjects.

They have developed codes of ethics for research with both human participants and animal subjects.

A researcher randomly assigned boys and girls to each of two groups. One group watched a violent television program while the other group watched a nonviolent program. The children were then observed during a period of free play, and the incidence of aggressive behavior was recorded for each group. What is the independent variable in this study? - Incidence of aggressive behavior. - Type of television program viewed. - Sex of the children. - Number of groups. - Duration of free play.

Type of television program viewed.

A person will most likely develop aphasia as a result of damage to which of the following parts of the brain? - Occipital lobe. - Wernicke's area. - Auditory cortex - Parietal lobe. - Basal ganglia

Wernicke's area.

A person displays a set of rare behaviors that psychologists had not known about previously, because nobody had ever shown them before. The best strategy to investigate the nature of those behaviors is - an experiment. - a survey. - a case study. - cross-sectional research. - correlational research.

a case study.

The biological clock that operates in human beings to adjust their functioning to night-and-day periodicity is referred to as - spontaneous neural activity. - the biofeedback monitor. - a fixed-interval schedule. - a circadian rhythm. - active consciousness.

a circadian rhythm.

A research group conducted a study investigating the connection between self-reported number of hours slept in a given week and scores on a happiness measure. Based on the scatterplot above, the group can report that there is - no relationship between amount of self-reported sleep and happiness. - a positive correlation. - a negative correlation. - a perfect, negative relationship between amount of self-reported sleep and happiness. - a perfect, positive relationship between amount of self-reported sleep and happiness.

a positive correlation.

An individual who drinks alcohol daily finds it necessary to drink increasing amounts to achieve the state of well-being attained in the past. This individual is showing - withdrawal symptoms. - alcohol-induced psychosis. - state-dependent learning - alcohol tolerance. - delirium tremens.

alcohol tolerance.

One-year-old Marcus turns away in disgust if a bitter substance is placed on his tongue. The reason for such a reaction is most likely - an inborn distaste for bitter that protects us from potential poisons in the environment. - an inherited familial characteristic. - an example of imitation of behavior modeled by other family members. - a classically conditioned taste aversion response. - a common but temporary aversion to bitter tastes produced by cold viruses.

an inborn distaste for bitter that protects us from potential poisons in the environment.

A basic assumption underlying the evolutionary approach to sexual attraction is that men seek potential mates who - display financial resources. - have high social status. - appear fertile. - are taller than average. - are highly educated.

appear fertile.

Ethical principles developed by the American Psychological Association help ensure that human participants in psychological research - get paid for their time and trouble. - have not participated in similar research in the past - are protected from physical and psychological harm. - understand the hypotheses of the researcher before they take part. - keep the purposes of the research project confidential.

are protected from physical and psychological harm.

A polygraph machine is often called a "lie detector," although it does not detect lies. Instead, it responds to changes in - cognitive states. - autonomic arousal. - parasympathetic functioning. - motivational level. - neurotransmitter level.

autonomic arousal.

An individual with damage to Wernicke's area is most likely to have difficulty - identifying an object held in the hand but not seen. - planning what to wear to a party. - remembering the name of a person in a photograph. - comprehending a spoken request for information. - distinguishing between red and green.

comprehending a spoken request for information.

People who are color blind most likely have deficiencies in their - rods. - cones. - lens. - optic nerve. - occipital lobe.

cones

According to Wilhelm Wundt, the focus of scientific psychology should be the study of - observable behavior. - conscious experience. - unconscious motivation. - physiology and behavior. - evolved psychological mechanisms.

conscious experience.

Eleanor Gibson and her colleagues have used the visual cliff to measure an infant's ability to perceive - patterns. - depth. - size constancy. - shape constancy. - different hues.

depth

A person is asked to listen to a series of tones presented in pairs, and asked to say whether the tones in each pair are the same or different in pitch. In this situation the experimenter is most likely measuring the individual's - sound localization ability. - dichotic listening ability. - difference threshold. - echoic memory. - attention span.

difference threshold.

Of the following, a behavioral psychologist is most likely to study the - perceived locus of control of adults who experience panic attacks. - formation of emotional attachments to significant others. - defense mechanisms used by depressed adults and children in stressful situations. - genetic basis for schizophrenic disorders. - effects of token economies on establishing social skills among children with emotional disturbances.

effects of token economies on establishing social skills among children with emotional disturbances.

Cognitive theorists emphasize the - powerful unconscious impulses that motivate behavior. - formation and modification of schemas. - impact of rewards and punishments. - individual's desire to become self-actualized. - social norms that determine expected behavior.

formation and modification of schemas.

An important difference between humanistic and psychoanalytic approaches is that humanistic psychologists believe in the importance of - learning. - free will. - determination. - biological instincts. - unconscious processes.

free will

If Carmelita stares at a red spot for one minute and then shifts her gaze to a white piece of paper, she is likely to experience an afterimage that is - green. - red. - blue. - violet. - black.

green

The brain scans of people with amnesia are most likely to show damage to the - hippocampus. - hypothalamus. - medulla. - reticular formation. - cerebellum.

hippocampus

When people consume large amounts of alcohol, they are often unable to recall what they did and said while they were drinking. This occurs because alcohol interferes with the brain's ability to form new memories in the - reticular formation - occipital lobe - parietal lobe. - thalamus. - hippocampus.

hippocampus.

A survey shows that children who have encyclopedias in their homes earn better grades in school than children whose homes lack encyclopedias. The researcher concludes that having encyclopedias at home improves grades. This conclusion is erroneous primarily because the researcher has incorrectly - failed to allow for experimenter bias. - identified the independent variable. - identified the dependent variable. - inferred correlation from causation - inferred causation from correlation.

inferred causation from correlation.

It can be assumed that an individual described as a 'supertaster' - is a man. - represents a majority of the United States population. - has a low density of taste buds on the tongue. - is very sensitive to hot peppers. - learned to be a 'supertaster' from others.

is very sensitive to hot peppers.

A basic assumption underlying short-term memory is that it is - limited in capacity. - unlimited in capacity. - long-lasting. - not under conscious control. - resistant to decay.

limited in capacity.

David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel's research on responses of the brain to visual stimuli showed that - patterns are recognized exclusively by template matching. - many cortical cells respond most strongly to specific visual information. - pattern recognition occurs in the lateral geniculate nucleus. - the retinal image must be upside down to be recognized. - pattern recognition is better in normal-sighted individuals than in nearsighted or farsighted individuals.

many cortical cells respond most strongly to specific visual information.

Dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine are all - hormones excreted by the endocrine glands. - secretions of the exocrine glands. - drugs used in the therapeutic treatment of memory disorders. - enzymes involved with the degradation of interneuron signals. - neurotransmitters that excite or inhibit a neural signal across a synapse.

neurotransmitters that excite or inhibit a neural signal across a synapse.

A disadvantage of longitudinal studies is that - differences observed among participants of different ages are usually due to differences in the environment in which they were reared. - participants who drop out during the course of the study may be different in important ways from ones who do not drop out. - unfamiliarity with testing situations can put older participants at a disadvantage. - personality traits do not remain constant across the life span. - men and women confront different developmental crises in the course of their lives because of their different social roles.

participants who drop out during the course of the study may be different in important ways from ones who do not drop out.

In studying the behavior of five year olds in free play situations, a cognitive psychologist would be most interested in the children's - problem-solving strategies. - toy preferences. - degree of cooperative behavior. - prosocial play activities. - choice of playmates.

problem-solving strategies.

The first area of psychology to be studied as a science is known as - psychoanalysis. - phrenology. - classical conditioning. - mesmerism. - psychophysics.

psychophysics.

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. - placebo effects. - social desirability. - dependent variables. - nonrandom assignment.

sampling bias

An individual's ability to focus on a particular conversation in a noisy and crowded room is called - auditory localization. - dichotic listening - deep processing. - divided attention. - selective attention.

selective attention.

Balance is influenced by the - cochlea. - basilar membrane. - eardrum. - auditory nerve. - semicircular canals.

semicircular canals.

Ben was enjoying a walk in the woods on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. As he went around a curve, he noticed a bear walking toward him. Immediately his pupils dilated, he began to perspire, and his heart accelerated. These changes are most closely related to the function of the - angular gyrus. - hippocampus. - parasympathetic nervous system. - sympathetic nervous system. - ventricular system

sympathetic nervous system.

Cognitive psychologists are most likely to study - the acquisition of knowledge, planning, and problem solving. - how infants move from basic trust to autonomy. - the conflicts of the conscious and the unconscious. - the relationship of cephalocaudal and proximodistal development. - how attribution processes vary across cultures

the acquisition of knowledge, planning, and problem solving.

Luz, a math major, sees the drawing above as a Venn diagram. Her brother, an art major, sees it as two circles. The differences in perception is an example of - synesthesia. - stereotyping. - stimulus variables. - top-down processing. - feature detection.

top-down processing.