CHAPTER 1 STUDY GUIDE
As you and your roommate watch a news report about a big fight that broke out at a local club, he turns to you and says "I'm not surprised. It's a full moon, after all. People always go crazy around the full moon." As a student of psychology, your response should be: - "Is it a full moon tonight? No wonder I was feeling so weird!" - When you look at police records, the actual data do not really support that idea." - "Well, people tend to be more accident-prone around the full moon, but the crime rate doesn't really go up." - "I don't think the moon has anything to do with this. It's too cloudy. You can't even see the moon tonight."
"Well, people tend to be more accident-prone around the full moon, but the crime rate doesn't really go up."
Your uncle tells you about an interesting magazine article explaining that humans use only 10 percent of their brains. As a student of psychology, your response should be: - "In fact, most neuroscientists would say the figure is close to 5 percent." - "I know! Isn't that just astonishing?" - "Well, research actually shows that almost all of the brain is continually active." - "The data aren't conclusive on that yet, but most psychologists would agree with you."
"Well, research actually shows that almost all of the brain is continually active."
The foundations of psychology are most closely related to which of the following disciplines? - chemistry - philosophy - political science - astrology
Philosophy
Why did women make few contributions to psychology in the first part of the 20th century? - Hysteria was prevalent during this time, which made women unsuitable as practicing psychologists - Most women of the time went into medicine and law rather than psychology - Women simply had little interest in higher education during this time - Widespread sexism limited women's participation in science
Widespread sexism limited women's participation in science
Gestalt psychologists such as Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Köhler - insist that only readily measured, observable behaviors are worthy of study - believe that behaviors have an adaptive function that helps humans survive - argue that the overall experience of human perception is greater than the sum of its parts - claim that emotions and consciousness should be kept outside the realm of psychology as a science
argue that the overall experience of human perception is greater than the sum of its parts
The hallmarks of psychology as a science are - careful experimentation and the application of critical thinking - adherence to conventional morality and deductive reasoning - reliance on authority and cautious measurement of data - the use of informal data and the belief perseverance in all research
careful experimentation and the application of critical thinking
Psychological research has proven that many long-held, popular beliefs about psychology are untrue. Psychology as a science has been able to accomplish this by emphasizing - reliance on authority - critical thinking - consciousness - belief perseverance
critical thinking
You are trying to overcome your fear of snakes. Inspired by the work of Mary Cover Jones, your therapist first shows you some pictures of snakes. Then she tells you that there is a small snake in a cage in the next room. She asks you to observe the live snake from a distance, and continues this process until your fear is conquered. Your therapist is using the technique called - acceptance theory - extinction - desensitization - Gestalt theory
desensitization
For a behaviorist, the goal of psychology is to - help troubled individuals restore their mental health - determine how various experiences result in different behaviors - understand the practical functions of mental processes - pay close attention to what one is experiencing at any given moment
determine how various experiences result in different behaviors
A behaviorist would be LEAST concerned with - functional relationships - observable behavior - events that occurred in the past - events that are occurring now
events that occurred in the past
Parents who agree with John Locke's notion of "tabula rasa" would most likely - reject the notion that they need to "teach" their children, since all knowledge is innate - view their children as their intellectual equals - expose their children to a rich variety of sensory experiences - believe that their children will develop adequately with little parental support
expose their children to a rich variety of sensory experiences
Psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Phipps Clark found that doll tests - demonstrated that observational learning can promote aggressive as well as nurturing behavior in children - showed that most people are willing to obey authority figures, even if those orders conflict with their own personal values - confirmed that behavior can be modified based on a system of positive or negative reinforcements - exposed internalized racism in African-American children, particularly among children attending segregated schools
exposed internalized racism in African-American children, particularly among children attending segregated schools
Cognitive psychology - focuses exclusively on externally visible behavior and ignores internal mental processes - attempts to explain reality in a way that does not rely on our fallible senses - focuses on how people think, remember, store, and use information - studies the nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord and all of their connection to the body
focuses on how people think, remember, store, and use information
Psychologists now believe that subliminal advertising - is effective only on young people - succeeds because the messages register unconciously - has a weak effect on consumers, if any at all. - is a powerful influence on consumers that should be regulated by government
has a weak effect on consumers, if any at all.
According to René Descartes, the very fact that he is thinking proves that - he cannot be deceived by his senses - knowledge relies on our senses alone - he exists - the brain is nothing like a machine
he exists
A ____________ is most likely to study the brain activities that underlie human behavior - functionalist - neuroscientist - behaviorist - structuralist
neuroscientist
Scientific investigation has revealed that the "Mozart Effect" is - not substantiated through research - dependent on the gender of the child - a question that cannot be answered through science - supported by findings from numerous studies
not substantiated through research
The study of how physical events, such as lights and sounds, affect our senses is called - dualism - empiricism functionalism - psychophysics
psychophysics
In Plato's cave allegory, a prisoner was temporarily unchained and allowed to see the fire at the mouth of the cave. When he returned to the chains, the other prisoners - refused to believe him - marveled at his great knowledge - immediately accepted his insight - began to reconsider their own views
refused to believe him
In a behaviorist approach to treatment for a patient with .a fear of rats, the patient is - repeatedly exposed to stimuli that are gradually more and more like rats - urged to talk about this fear to determine why he feels this way - asked to observe other people who are handling rats in a calm, relaxed manner - given medication to help reduce his anxiety
repeatedly exposed to stimuli that are gradually more and more like rats
The discipline of psychology can most accurately be defined as the study of - mental processes - behavior - the mind and behavior - the anatomy of the brain
the mind and behavior
Which of the following is an empirical statement? - the social construction of gender in modern society imposes penalties on both men and women - the temperature right now is higher than it was 24 hours ago - the 1927 New York Yankees are the greatest baseball team of all time - women are naturally better parents than men; it is just part of their nature
the temperature right now is higher than it was 24 hours ago
Which of the following would be evidence against the social brain hypothesis? - students working in a group are better able to grasp a subject than students working individually - a quiet co-worker prefers to eat lunch at his desk every day instead of socializing with others in the company cafeteria - your sister is clearly able to engage in meaningful social interactions with all of her 500 friends on Tumblr - you regularly strike up friendly conversations with the cashiers at your local grocery store
your sister is clearly able to engage in meaningful social interactions with all of her 500 friends on Tumblr
