PSY200 Mid Term

In the context of perceptual organization, which of the following statements is true?

When figure-ground relationships are ambiguous, or capable of being interpreted in various ways, our perceptions tend to be unstable and shift back and forth.

_____ specialize in basic processes such as the nervous system, sensation and perception, learning and memory, thought, motivation, and emotion.

Experimental psychologists

__________is best defined as a sudden variation in an inheritable characteristic, as distinguished from a variation that results from generations of gradual selection.

Mutation

Nightmares, like most pleasant dreams, are products of _____.

rapid eye movement sleep

In the context of operant conditioning,__________is the act of following a response with a stimulus that increases the frequency of the response.

reinforcement

Hailey is taking dance lessons. Each time she makes a progressive move, her dance instructor commends her. In this scenario, Hailey's instructor is training her by _____.

shaping

People with__________stop breathing periodically, up to several hundred times per night.

sleep apnea

Frightening, dreamlike experiences that occur during the deepest stage of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep are known as__________.

sleep terrors

In the context of sources of prejudice, when people view those who belong to their own groups more favorably than those who do not, they are involved in _____.

social categorization

If the__________is damaged, a person can form visual memories but not verbal memories.

thalamus

__________are rapid, low-amplitude brain waves that have been linked to feelings of relaxation.

Alpha waves

__________are different from clinical psychologists in that their clients typically have adjustment problems, such as trouble making academic or vocational decisions or making friends in college, but not serious psychological disorders.

Counseling psychologists

Which of the following statements is true of depth perception?

Distant objects stimulate smaller areas on the retina than nearby ones.

__________is the inability to recall events that occur prior to the age of three or so.

Infantile amnesia

Which of the following best defines the term latent learning?

It is learning that is hidden or concealed.

Which of the following statements is true about explicit memory?

It is the memory of things that are clearly stated or explained.

Which of the following is true about the serial-position effect?

It is the tendency to recall more accurately the first and last items on a list

Which of the following statements is true in the context of the effects of violent video games?

Moderating variables such as social connectedness figure into the effects of media violence.

Which of the following statements is true of prospective memory?

Moods and attitudes affect prospective memory.

Which of the following statements is true of insomnia?

Older adults are more likely than younger adults to have insomnia.

__________are nonsense syllables presented in pairs in experiments that measure recall.

Paired associates

__________are particularly concerned with issues such as anxiety, aggression, and gender roles.

Personality psychologists

Which of the following represents an interaction of one's nature and nurture?

Phenotype

_________is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Psychology

_____ is the type or stage of memory that can hold information for up to a minute or so after the trace of the stimulus decays.

Short-term memory

Which of the following is true of stereotyping?

Stereotypes about physically attractive people are positive.

____________ is activated through receptor neurons on tastebuds.

Taste

Jeff observed a quick succession of cars moving together on the road. His first thought was that they were all a part of a convoy of some sort. Which law of perceptual organization best explains Jeff's assumption?

The law of common fate

Identify a true statement about forensic psychologists.

They deal with legal matters and evaluate eyewitness testimonies.

Which of the following is a defining characteristic of biologically oriented psychologists?

They study the role of heredity in behavior and mental processes such as psychological disorders, criminal behavior, and thinking.

Which of the following is a goal of psychology?

To explain behavior and mental processes

Which of the following senses is dominant in human beings?

Vision

In the context of hypnotic suggestibility, suggestible people:

are prone to fantasy.

On a(n)__________level, prejudice is linked to expectations that members of the target group will behave poorly, say, in the workplace, or engage in criminal behavior or terrorism.

cognitive

Secondary reinforcers are also called _____ because they acquire their value through being associated with established reinforcers.

conditioned reinforcers

Brandon had a fear of dogs. To extinguish this fear, his mother baked him his favorite cake and gradually brought a dog closer to him while he ate the cake. In this scenario, Brandon's mother used__________to cure his fear.

counterconditioning

In the context of processes of memory, the first stage of information processing

encodes stimuli so that one can place them in memory.

Albert was once awoken from his sleep by a white rat that fell on him. Following this incident, he began fearing all furry white objects including white fur coats and white stuffed animals. In this scenario, Albert's fear of all furry white objects is due to _____.

generalization

Erik works as a counselor. He strongly believes in an individual's capacity for self-fulfillment, self-awareness, and decision making. He follows the principle that people are responsible for choosing their conduct. Erik's beliefs best exemplify the _____ perspective.

humanistic-existential

A(n) _____ primarily focuses on the relationships between people and work.

industrial psychologist

Prejudices act as cognitive filters through which people view the social world. People tend to think of people as "familiar" or "foreign," or "good" or "bad." Their feelings and reactions toward others may be biased by these perceptions. This source of prejudice is referred to as _____.

information processing

David is a sixty-year-old man. He suffers from joint pains and often falls sick. As a result, he finds it difficult to sleep. He, however, tries hard to go to sleep, which creates autonomic activity and muscle tension. In this scenario, David is most likely suffering from__________.

insomnia

According to evolutionary psychologists, men prefer physical allure in their partner because:

it provides reproductive advantages

According to cognitive theorists, _____ is the process by which organisms make relatively permanent changes in the way they represent the environment because of experience.

learning

In the terminology of observational learning, a person who engages in a response that is imitated is a__________.

model

Heredity defines one's _____, which is based on biological structures and processes.

nature

During rapid eye movement (REM) sleep,__________tend to inhibit activity.

neurotransmitters

The first four sleep stages are considered__________.

non-rapid eye movement sleep

Discrimination refers to behavior that results from__________.

prejudice