AP Psychology Units 1-5 Frequently Missed Questions

Studies of marijuana's effects indicate that

regular users may achieve a high with less of the drug than occasional users

Renny knew the red tulip was closer to her than the yellow tulip because the red one cast a larger retinal image than the yellow one. This illustrates the importance of the distance cue known as

relative size

Which measure of memory did Hermann Ebbinghaus use to assess the impact of rehearsal on retention?

relearning

Storage is to encoding as ________ is to ________.

retention; acquisition

In vision, transduction occurs within the

retina

A 3-D movie enhances our sense of depth perception by simulating the effects of

retinal disparity

Which measure of variation is most affected by extreme scores?

range

Mathematics achievement scores from a group of tenth graders are shown below. The distribution is normal with a standard deviation of 10. Approximately what percentage of students scored between 50 and 80? (The mean is 70)

82%

The inheritance of behavioral characteristics was emphasized by

Charles Darwin

The release of stored serotonin and the eventual damage of serotonin-producing neurons is most closely associated with the long-term use of:

Ecstasy

The theorist who conducted pioneering research on latent learning and cognitive maps was:

Edward Tolman

Who attempted to assess intellectual strengths by measuring muscular power, sensory acuity, and body proportions?

Francis Galton

The pitch of a sound is analogous to which of the following features of light?

Hue

Which of the following theories most accurately explains pitch perception? I. Opponent process II. Frequency III. Place

II and III only

What is the correct chronological order of the following perspectives of psychology, from past to present? I. Behaviorism II. Psychoanalysis III. Structuralism IV. Humanism

III,II,I,IV

Which of the following is a statistical approach concerned with forming conclusions about the effect of the independent variable on variations in the dependent variable? Descriptive, correlational, inferential, factor analysis, qualitative

Inferential

Wolves that were tempted into eating sheep carcasses laced with poison develop an aversion to sheep meat. Which of the following provided the initial evidence leading to this practice?

John Garcia's studies on the importance of biological predispositions in conditioning

The psychologist who disagreed with Spearman about the nature of intelligence, identifying seven clusters of primary mental abilities rather than one general intelligence factor, was

L.L. Thurstone

Which of the following statements is most consistent with Benjamin Whorf's concept of linguistic determinism?

Language shapes the way an individual thinks and interprets experiences.

Which of the following is a binocular cue for depth perception? Linear perspective, texture gradient, interposition, retinal disparity, motion parallax

Retinal disparity

Which part of the brain represented below is indicated by A? (A indicates a thin slice in the upper middle of the brain)

Somatosensory cortex

What describes evidence for the brain's dual-processing ability?

The brainstem keeps our heart beating while the cerebral cortex maintains awareness of the outside world.

Which of the following is a partial reinforcement schedule that is most resistant to extinction? Noncontingent, shaping, variable ratio, fixed ratio, fixed interval

Variable ratio

The principle that two stimuli must differ by a constant proportion for their difference to be perceived is known as

Weber's law

Telegraphic speech is

a grammatically correct two-word utterance.

Noam Chomsky has emphasized that the acquisition of language by children is facilitated by

an inborn readiness to learn grammatical rules

After having a stroke resulting from a blockage of blood to the medial temporal lobe, Gerald could not remember new information, such as the books he had just read, new songs he had just heard, or the faces of new people he had just met. Gerald was experiencing

anterograde amnesia

Evolutionary psychologists are most likely to be criticized for

providing hindsight explanations for human behaviors.

The results of early research on biofeedback were surprising because they indicated that people could learn to control bodily functions regulated by the

autonomic nervous system

A single, memorable case of welfare fraud has a greater impact on estimates of the frequency of welfare abuse than do statistics showing that this case is actually the exception to the rule. This illustrates that judgments are influenced by the

availability heuristic

Contemporary psychology is best defined as the scientific study of

behavior and mental processes

Garcia and Koelling's studies of taste aversion in rats demonstrated that classical conditioning is constrained by

biological predispositions

Certain stroke victims report seeing nothing when shown a series of sticks, yet they are able to correctly report whether the sticks are vertical or horizontal. This best illustrates

blindsight

Ms. Shields, a recent stroke victim, cannot consciously perceive the large book on the coffee table in front of her. Yet, when urged to identify the book, she correctly reads aloud the printed title on the book cover. Her response best illustrates

blindsight

While mapping the motor cortex, researchers Foerster and Penfield found that

body areas requiring the greatest control occupied the greatest amount of cortical space.

The basilar membrane is located in the

cochlea

Operant response rates remain highest when individuals anticipate that their behavior will actually lead to further reinforcement. This best illustrates the importance of ________ in operant conditioning.

cognitive processes

A dog's salivation at the sight of a food dish is a(n)

conditioned response

Schizophrenia is most closely linked with excess receptor activity for the neurotransmitter

dopamine

A segment of DNA capable of synthesizing a specific protein is called a

gene

Mr. Bown uses her knowledge of a person's cognitive processes to design computer programs that are easier to use. Mr. Bown is most likely a(n) _____ psychologist.

human factors

The brain structure that provides a major link between the nervous system and the endocrine system is the

hypothalamus

Professor Kohler observed chimpanzees discover a novel way to reach a banana hung out of their reach. This scenario is most likely an example of which type of learning?

insight learning

Researchers trained pigs to pick up large wooden "dollars" and deposit them in a piggy bank. Instead of picking up the wooden discs, the pigs would drop them, push them with their snouts, and then pick them up to put them in the piggy bank. This behavior best illustrates

instinctive drift

Neural networks refer to

interconnected clusters of neurons in the central nervous system.

Receptor cells for kinesthesis are located in the

joints, tendons, bones, and ear

Josef, a high school student, tells his therapist that he has had a recurring dream in which he hunts and kills a ferocious tiger. The therapist explains that the dream reflects Josef's unresolved feelings of hostility toward his father. According to Freud, the therapist is revealing the possible ________ content of Josef's dream.

latent

The localization of a function such as speech production to the right or left side of the brain is called

lateralization

John B. Watson emphasized that

learning should be explained without any reference to mental processes

The emotional tone of our dreams is especially likely to be influenced by activation of the ________ during REM sleep.

limbic system

In the hypothesis "Students who study a list of terms in the morning, just after waking up, will recall more terms than students who study the list just before falling asleep," what is the dependent variable?

number of terms remembered

Interposition is a cue for depth perception in which closer objects

obstruct our view of distant objects

Aptitude tests are specifically designed to

predict ability to learn a new skill

A cochlear implant would be most helpful for those who suffer

sensorineural hearing loss

When a professional golfer continued to struggle with her swing, she consulted Dr. Ozak, who helped her learn new strategies to help her improve her performance. Dr. Ozak is a(n) _______ psychologist.

sports

The axons of ganglion cells converge to form

the optic nerve

The heritability of intelligence refers to

the percentage of variation in intelligence within a group that is attributable to genetic factors.

Our experiences, assumptions, and expectations may give us a perceptual set that influences what we perceive. This is an example of

top-down processing

In describing what he calls the seven sins of memory, Daniel Schacter suggests that storage decay contributes to

transience

A small-town radio disc jockey frequently announces how much money is currently in a jackpot. Every day several randomly selected residents are called and asked to identify the amount, and thereby win it. Those who keep track of the jackpot amount are most likely to be reinforced on a ________ schedule.

variable-interval

Purchasing state lottery tickets is reinforced with monetary winnings on a ________ schedule.

variable-ratio

Damage to the fovea would have the greatest effect on

visual acuity

Brightness is to intensity as hue is to

wavelength

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.