psy101 midterm

Dr. Simpson found a +.50 correlation between ice cream cone sales and violent crimes in a community. Which of the following represents the best interpretation of this result? a. A third variable, such as heat, may account for the association between ice cream sales and violent crime. b. Ice cream causes people to become more violent and aggressive. c. Violent people like ice cream more than nonviolent people. d. Ice cream consumption is not related to violent crime.

A third variable, such as heat, may account for the association between ice cream sales and violent crime.

Which of the following statements is true of meditation? A) In meditation, a meditator is mindfully present to his or her thoughts and feelings but is not consumed by them. B) Meditation is an altered state of consciousness in which a meditator is unusually receptive to suggestions. C) It symbolizes unconscious wishes and uncovers a meditator's hidden desires. D) It symbolizes a reservoir of unacceptable wishes, feelings, and thoughts that are beyond a meditator's conscious awareness.

a. In meditation, a meditator is mindfully present to his or her thoughts and feelings but is not consumed by them.

In the context of perception, ________ refers to the minimum amount of stimulus energy that a person can detect. A) absolute threshold B) difference threshold C) just noticeable difference D) just noticeable threshold

a. absolute threshold

Cones: A) are the receptor cells in the retina that allow for color perception. B) are the receptors in the cornea that are insensitive to light. C) function best at night or under low illumination conditions. D) are concentrated in the blind spot.

a. are the receptor cells in the retina that allow for color perception

Psychologists who adopt a(n) ________ approach examine behavior and mental processes by focusing on the body, especially the brain and nervous system. a. Biological b. behavioral c. psychodynamic d. evolutionary

a. biological

Lightning is associated with thunder and regularly precedes it. Thus, when we see lightning, we often anticipate that we will hear thunder soon afterward. This is an example of A) classical conditioning. B) observational learning. C) operant conditioning. D) stimulus experience.

a. classical conditioning

Lauren is at the airport waiting to board her flight. She initiates a friendly conversation with another passenger. Despite the noise at the airport and multiple announcements being made at the same time, Lauren is able to focus on the passenger's voice. This scenario best demonstrates the A) cocktail-party effect. B) Stroop effect. C) volley principle. D) sound shadow.

a. cocktail-party effect

________ is an individual's awareness of external events and internal sensations under a condition of arousal. A) Consciousness B) Imagination C) Somnolence D) Laterality

a. consciousness

Which of the following attitudes are central to the scientific approach to psychology? a. critical thinking, curiosity, skepticism, and objectivity b. critical thinking, curiosity, skepticism, and subjectivity c. critical thinking, curiosity, political correctness, and objectivity d. critical thinking, curiosity, political correctness, and subjectivity

a. critical thinking, curiosity, skepticism, and objectivity

Insomnia is a disorder involving A) difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, or waking up too early. B) sudden uncontrollable seizures. C) periodic attacks of uncontrollable sleepiness. D) the temporary cessation of breathing during sleep.

a. difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, or waking up too early

Which of the following statements is true according to activation-synthesis theory? A) Dreams result from the brain's attempts to find logic in random brain activity that occurs during sleep. B) Dreaming occurs when the thalamus synthesizes neural signals generated from activity in the lower part of the brain. C) It proposes that one can understand dreaming by applying the same cognitive concepts used in studying the waking mind. D) It rests on the idea that dreams are essentially subconscious cognitive processing.

a. dreams result from the brain's attempts to find logic in random brain activity that occurs during sleep

The tendency of animals to revert to intuitive behavior that interferes with learning is called A) instinctive drift. B) instinctive learning. C) preparedness. D) conceptualization.

a. instinctive drift

Which of the following individuals is exhibiting the highest level of conscious awareness? A) Maria, who is working out an algebra problem on a piece of paper B) Keiko, who is daydreaming about her upcoming vacation this weekend C) Jackson, who is hypnotized in his therapist's office D) Benjamin, who is asleep

a. maria, who is working out an algebra problem on a piece of paper

Lukas is anesthetized before a surgery. In the context of the levels of awareness, which of the following levels best illustrates Lukas's state? A) no awareness B) higher-level consciousness C) altered state of consciousness D) lower-level consciousness

a. no awareness

The adage "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" best reflects which of the following types of learning? A) observational learning B) classical conditioning C) operant conditioning D) latent learning

a. observational learning

J. B. Watson and B. F. Skinner believed that : a. psychology should focus on an organism's visible interactions with the environment—that is, behaviors. b. consciousness should always be investigated through the process of individual introspection. c. psychology should study both outwardly observed behaviors and inborn mental motivations. d. psychological methods could be developed to study the process of human cognition.

a. psychology should focus on an organism's visible interactions with the environment—that is, behaviors.

The process by which a stimulus or an event following a particular behavior increases the probability that the behavior will happen again is called A) reinforcement. B) extinction. C) generalization. D) specialization.

a. reinforcement

A(n) ________ reinforcer acquires its positive value through an organism's experience. A) secondary B) primary C) tertiary D) intermediary

a. secondary

The factor that differentiates top-down processing from bottom-up processing is that, top-down processing A) starts with cognitive processing in the brain. B) begins with the external world. C) means taking in information and trying to make sense of it. D) cannot happen in the absence of a stimulus.

a. starts with cognitive processing in the brain

Sensory nerve endings under the skin that respond to changes in temperature at or near the skin and provide input to keep the body's temperature at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit are called A) thermoreceptors. B) feature detectors. C) monocular cues. D) the kinesthetic senses.

a. thermoreceptors

In Pavlov's experiment, the dog automatically salivated to food because food is a(n) A) unconditioned stimulus (US). B) conditioned stimulus (CS). C) unconditioned response (UR). D) conditioned response (CR).

a. unconditioned stimulus (US)

Organisms learn the association between a behavior and a consequence in A) classical conditioning. B) operant conditioning. C) latent learning. D) discovery learning

b. operant conditioning

If we see a German shepherd standing 30 feet away from us, we recognize that it is just as big as it was when it was much closer to us. This is primarily due to A) shape constancy. B) size constancy. C) proximity. D) figure-ground.

b. size constancy

Juan, a 27-year-old, is a marketing manager. He often complains of tiredness and lethargy. However, his medical reports do not suggest any deficiency or illness. His wife, Emma, is a nurse. She asks him to take a pill every night. The pill is actually a simple candy. After 15 days, Juan says that he feels much better and energetic. This scenario best exemplifies A) aversive conditioning B) the placebo effect C) spontaneous recovery. D) positive reinforcement.

b. the placebo effect

Santiago, a student, is introduced to smoking cigarettes by his friends. After smoking a cigarette for the first time, he experiences an immense high of nicotine. However, after two months of smoking, he is able to experience the same high only after smoking six cigarettes. Which of the following best explains Santiago's need to smoke an increased number of cigarettes to get the same effect? A) withdrawal B) tolerance C) revocation D) dopamine dependence

b. tolerance

________ is a theory of learning that focuses solely on observable actions and responses. A) Humanism B) Psychoanalysis C) Behaviorism D) Endosymbiosis

c. behaviorism

Neurotransmitters are: a. protein molecules found on dendrites. b. white, fatty substances that serve to insulate axons. c. chemical messengers that carry information from neuron to neuron. d. protein molecules found on somas. e. small, sphere shaped containers that fuse with the cell membrane.

c. chemical messengers that carry info from neuron to neuron

The _______ is a brain-scanning technique that uses a rotating, computerized X-ray tube to produce cross-sectional images of the structures of the brain. a. EEG (the electroencephalogram) b. deep brain stimulation c. CT scan (computer axial tomography) d. microelectrode e. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

c. ct scan (computer axial tomography)

Jose's friend has an injury to her cerebellum. This injury will likely result in an impairment of which of the following? a. breathing b. comprehending speech c. jogging d. creating speech e. watching TV

c. jogging

The phrase ________ refers to individuals' understanding that they and others think, feel, perceive, and have private experiences. A) theory of awareness B) theory of mechanism C) theory of mind D) theory of activation-synthesis

c. theory of mind

Mark's ability to distinguish between a trumpet and a trombone and his mother's voice from his sister's voice is most likely due to the ________ of these stimuli. A decibels B) amplitude C) timbre D) pitch

c. timbre

According to ________ psychologists, your brain houses a "mind" whose mental processes allow you to remember, make decisions, plan, set goals, and be creative. a. cognitive b. psychodynamic c. humanistic d. evolutionary

cognitive

The biological cycle that regulates people's pattern of sleep is called a A) dormant rhythm. B) myoclonic event. C) non-REM sequence. D) circadian rhythm

d. circadian rhythm

Of the following choices, which best completes this statement? The ________ take(s) in information, which is then sent to the ________ and finally to the ________ where it travels down the length of the neuron. a. soma; axon; dendrites b. axon; dendrites; soma c. ell body; axon; dendrite d. dendrites; cell body; axon e. dendrites; synapse; axon

d. dendrites, cell body, axon

________ in classical conditioning is the tendency of a new stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a response that is similar to the conditioned response. A) Latent learning B) Discrimination C) Spontaneous recovery D) Generalization

d. generalization

Which of the following types of energy reception is most activated when a person is watching a silent movie? A) thermoreception B) chemoreception C) mechanoreception D) photoreception

d. photoreception

As you walk barefoot in the park, your nose conveys to your brain the smell of the freshly cut grass; your skin sends information about the feel of the gentle breeze; and your ears transmit the sound of children laughing on the playground to your auditory cortex. This process of detecting stimuli in the environment is called A) cognition. B) selective attention. C) sensory adaptation. D) sensation.

d. sensation

The ________ approach to psychology relies on concepts such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining specific human behaviors. a. evolutionary b. psychodynamic c. humanistic d. behavioral

evolutionary

_____________________ is an individual's genetic heritage; his or her actual genetic material. a. phenotype b. The action potential c. genotype d. The pituitary gland e. The all or nothing principle

genotype

The ________ approach emphasizes a person's positive qualities, the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to choose one's destiny. a. humanistic b. psychodynamic c. evolutionary d. behavioral

humanistic

Which of the following brain structures is involved in regulating hunger, thirst, temperature, and sexual behavior? a. amygdala b. cerebellum c. thalamus d. pons e. hypothalamus

hypothalamus

Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves a deterioration of the ________. a. synaptic cleft b. axon c. myelin sheath d. dendrites e. neurotransmitters

myelin sheath

A brain's special capacity for change and adaptability is known as ___________. a. endocrine secretions b. pain tolerance c. plasticity d. reticular formation e. reticular formation

plasticity

Which approach to psychology emphasizes unconscious thought? a. psychodynamic approach b. sociocultural approach c. behavioral approach d. evolutionary approach

psychodynamic approach

_______ is the primary neurotransmitter involved in mood, sleep, appetite, impulsivity, and aggression. a. Serotonin b. Acetylcholine c. Glutamate d. Norepinephrine e. GABA

serotonin

If a psychologist studies about the behavioral differences between people from different religions, he or she is most likely following the ________ approach to psychology. a. sociocultural b. psychodynamic c. humanistic d. cognitive

sociocultural

The ________ nervous system prepares our bodies for action whereas the ________ nervous system helps our bodies return to a normal state. a. parasympathetic; sympathetic b. sympathetic; parasympathetic c. central; peripheral d. peripheral; central e. somatic; autonomic

sympathetic; parasympathetic

Dr. Steinguard wants to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between stress and memory. Which of the following research methods should he use? a. the experimental method b. correlational studies c. the survey method d. naturalistic observation

the experimental method