Psych Test Homework

The American psychologist who developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), the most widely used intelligence scale, was:

David Wechsler

Which statement BEST describes the sequence of events that are involved when a neuron communicates?

Dendrites receive the stimulus and pass it to the cell body, and then along the axon to the axon terminals and the synapse.

In the context of the research that has been conducted on false memories of events, which statement is ACCURATE?

False memories can be created for events that never happened

Which statement is the MOST accurate characterization of sensory memory?

It has a large capacity for information and a brief duration.

_____, by means of careful experimentation, demonstrated that taste aversions in animals are learned.

John Garcia

Molly is writing a paper on the history of behaviorism. She will MOST likely include work by which group?

Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner

Which of these is an ACCURATE statement about flashbulb memories?

People perceive these memories as more vivid and accurate than their ordinary memories

What trend has been revealed in the past several years about dual-career families?

Women take primary responsibility for child care and interrupt their careers to fulfill that responsibility

Because one of a monkey's natural predators is a snake, if a snake is introduced into a monkey's cage and the monkey does not exhibit any fear, it is POSSIBLE that the monkey has experienced damage to or loss of its:

amygdala

Sean grew almost five inches between the ages of 15 and 16. He is MOST specifically experiencing:

an adolescent growth spurt

Seventeen-year-old Thomas went through a period of conflict over issues relating to his identity, but now he feels comfortable with the choices and commitment he has made. Thomas has achieved what Erik Erikson would call:

an integrated identity

Sternberg's theory, also known as the triarchic theory of intelligence, describes three forms of intelligence, which are:

analytic, creative, and practical

Which of the following is an accurate statement about those who are nearer to the natural age of death and dying?

attitudes toward death in old age show the same diversity as in other areas of adult development

The parenting style in which parents set clear standards for their children's behavior but are also responsive to the children's needs and wishes is called the:

authoritative style

Louis is conducting a study on whether sensory deprivation enhances creativity. After conducting the study, Louis realizes that the vast majority of the study participants are female. In this study, gender has now been revealed as a(n):

confounding variable

Randy and Alex are having problems in their relationship and want to get some insight and perspective to improve the quality of their relationship. Which psychologist focuses on these types of issues?

counselor

As described by Robert Sternberg, the form of intelligence that involves the ability to deal with novel situations by drawing on existing skills and knowledge is called _____ intelligence.

creative

According to Erik Erikson, the feeling of _____ experienced by an older adult is often the result of regret or bitterness about past mistakes, missed opportunities, or bad decisions.

despair

The _____ is the partly conscious, rational component of personality that regulates thoughts and behavior and is most in touch with the demands of the external world.

ego

Jacqueline conceived six weeks ago. At this point, the human organism she is carrying is called a(n) _____; at the third month, it will be called a(n) _____.

embryo, fetus

The results of objective observation, measurement, and experimentation are called:

empirical evidence

According to the principle of _____, successful retrieval from long-term memory is most likely to occur when the conditions of information retrieval are similar to the conditions of information encoding.

encoding specificity

If Charles Darwin were alive today, which psychological perspective would he MOST likely embrace to explain psychological processes?

evolutionary perspective

The _____ is the tendency to remember uncommon events that seem to confirm our beliefs and to forget events that disconfirm our beliefs.

fallacy of positive instances

Six-year-old Bruce's performance on an intelligence test is at a level characteristic of an average four-year-old. Bruce's mental age is MOST likely:

four

Education-entertainment programs are designed to:

fulfill optimal conditions for observational learning to occur

A person's ability to create an infinite number of new and different phrases and sentences shows the _____ feature of language.

generative

In Erik Erikson's stage theory, the primary psychosocial task of middle adulthood, in which the person contributes to future generations through children, career, and other meaningful activity, is called:

generativity

Some of the benefits of practicing transcendental meditation are that it can reduce:

high blood pressure

Dr. Kell is publishing an article on people's motivations to grow psychologically and the importance of choice and self-direction in striving to reach one's potential. She MOST likely operates under the perspective of _____ psychology.

humanistic

The memory phenomenon known as _____ involves a person's increasing confidence that an event occurred if the event was vividly imagined.

imagination inflation

Initially, Dr. Shim could not make sense of her patient's unusual symptoms or arrive at a clear diagnosis. However, while taking a walk during her lunch break, Dr. Shim suddenly realized what diagnosis made sense of all the symptoms. That, in turn, enabled her to order the appropriate lab tests. In this instance, Dr. Shim is MOST likely using _____ to diagnose her patient's illness.

insight

This leads Malia to mistakenly use Latin words when she tries to write and speak Italian, and use Italian words when she tries to write Latin phrases. What does this exemplify?

interference theory

Which statement describes what DNA does in the body

it encodes genetic instructions, the chemical basis of heredity

Which statement accurately describes the endocrine system?

it secretes hormones into the bloodstream

According to the textbook, which of the following is NOT an obstacle to thinking logically about pseudoscience?

lack of confirmation bias

The notion that specific psychological or cognitive functions are processed primarily on one side of the brain is known as

lateralization of function

Eventually, he could remember the password by simply thinking of the "clue." Now he no longer needs the sticky note. This is an example of a(n) _____ behavior.

learned

The wellness program at your local community center is focusing this week on people struggling with depression. Given what you have learned in your studies of Martin Seligman's work on _____, you recognize that depression is often connected to the idea that adverse events are inescapable and uncontrollable

learned helplessness

When Samara was an infant, she was usually calm, uninhibited, and sociable. She typically showed interest rather than fear when exposed to new people, novel experiences, and unfamiliar objects. Samara is BEST categorized as a(n) _____ infant.

low-reactive

It is important to formulate operational definitions for study variables because it:

makes it possible to objectively measure change.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, which group has had one of the sharpest declines in prevalence?

married couples with children

The brain area perhaps MOST crucial to life functions such as breathing, heart rate, and digestion is the:

medulla

The gradual, physical process of converting new long-term memories into stable, enduring long-term memory codes is also known as:

memory consolidation

Which term is used to describe a mental representation of an object or event that is not physically present?

mental image

One of the common obstacles to problem solving, known as _____, involves continuing to solve problems with solutions that have worked in the past.

mental set

The_____ explains hypnotic effects as being due to the splitting of consciousness into two simultaneous streams of mental activity, with only one of them available to the hypnotized subject's consciousness.

neodissociation theory

According to the In Focus box, "Hooking Up on Campus," a survey of more than 24,000 college students found that a third of students reported:

never hooking up

The measured declines in general intellectual abilities that occur between the ages of 60 and 70:

often occur simply because older people may lack practice or experience with the kinds of tasks typically used in current mental ability tests

The category of sleep disorders known as _____ involve undesirable physical arousal, behaviors, or events during sleep or sleep transitions.

parasomnias

The somatic and autonomic parts of the nervous system are related to the _____ nervous system

peripheral

An individual's unique and relatively consistent patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving are referred to as his or her:

personality

In Dr. Ruffino's work as a psychotherapist, she attempts to articulate similarities and differences in how people think, feel, and behave. Dr. Ruffino's theoretical style MOST likely conforms to which theory?

personality

Marigold notices that two of her siblings have blonde hair, compared to her own red hair. In this case, Marigold is observing:

phenotypes

The _____ acts as a filter in pregnant women, preventing the mother's blood from interacting with the developing embryo.

placenta

The id is ruled by the _____, which is the relentless drive toward immediate satisfaction of instinctual urges.

pleasure principle

While under hypnosis, Rick is told that the letter M does not exist in the alphabet. After he comes out of his hypnotic trance, he is asked to recite the alphabet, and when he does, he skips the letter M. This example illustrates:

posthypnotic suggestion

The type of intelligence that involves the ability to adapt to the environment, and often reflects what is commonly described as "street smarts," is called _____ intelligence by Sternberg.

practical

The movements of different body parts are represented in a band of tissue on the frontal lobe called the _____ cortex.

primary motor

Because you know that you have a doctor's appointment next week, you keep reminding yourself to not forget. This type of remembering to do something in the future is also called _____ memory.

prospective

In people who are physically addicted to alcohol, withdrawal from alcohol causes __________ in the brain.

rebound hyperexcitability

The occurrence of a stimulus or event following a response that increases the likelihood of that response being repeated is known as a:

reinforcement

The ability of a test to produce consistent results when administered on repeated occasions is a measure of _____, while its ability to measure what it is intended to measure is its _____.

reliability, validity

As a result of the research conducted by Robert Rescorla and his colleagues, the modern understanding of how learning occurs in classical conditioning differs from that developed by Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson in its emphasis on the role of the conditioned stimulus in _____ the unconditioned stimulus.

reliably predicting

In a typical test situation with a split-brain patient, a picture of an apple is briefly presented to the right of the center point. If the patient is asked to name the object, the patient will:

report that an apple was seen

Hector was deeply hurt when his fiancé broke off their engagement and left him for another man eight years ago. Although he was deeply hurt when the event occurred, Hector now only vaguely remembers his fiancé. Hector's unconscious forgetting of his fiancé is an ego defense mechanism called:

repression

Compared with research designs that artificially manipulate situations, a benefit of naturalistic observation studies is that:

results can be generalized to the greater population with more confidence.

Eric Kandel has identified the specific neurons involved in a given memory by using a _____ in his research.

sea snail

_____ include(s) changes in height, weight, and body shape during puberty.

secondary sex characteristics

Zygotes can be described as

single-celled organisms

People may experience _____ when they have forgotten the true source of a memory

source confusion

To help her do this, she uses earplugs and an eye mask when she goes to bed. If she does NOT "trick" her body into thinking it is night, then the sunlight will reset her:

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

The tiny pouches in axon terminals that contain neurotransmitters are called:

synaptic vesicles

Psychologist John Garcia is known for:

taste aversions in animals

For a person who suffers from insomnia, which drink should he or she monitor intake of?

tea

_____ posits that greater life satisfaction is found among those who maintain the same level of activity with age as when they were younger.

the activity theory of aging

Humanistic psychology focuses on:

the inherent goodness of people, human potential, self-actualization, the self-concept, and healthy personality development

Marla enjoys reading in her spare time and is an avid tennis player. In general, she is orderly, neat, quiet, and shy. Given this description, most people would think that she is a librarian rather than a real estate agent. This tendency to classify Marla as a librarian illustrates the influence of:

the representativeness heuristic

Which of the following is an accurate description of permissive-indulgent parents?

they are responsive, warm, and accepting of their children but impose few rules and rarely punish

What do we call the manipulations of mental representations of information in order to draw inferences and conclusions?

thinking

Which perspective on personality emphasizes the description and measurement of specific personality differences among individuals?

trait

As a result of damage to his Wernicke's area, Larry is unable to _____, but he is still able to _____.

understand speech, speak

The unpredictable nature of _____ produces high, steady rates of responding, but with few pauses between reinforcers.

variable-ratio schedules

Which part of working memory helps you use your long-term memory of your house?

visuospatial sketchpad

A key difference between functionalism and structuralism was that functionalists believed that consciousness:

was continually evolving and changing

Which phrase describes how long the embryonic period extends?

week 3 to week 8

_____ is defined as the ability to focus on only one aspect of a situation and ignore other important aspects.

Centration

The operant conditioning model was developed by:

B. F. Skinner

The actualizing tendency and the self-concept are to _____ as reciprocal determinism and self-efficacy are to _____.

Carl Rogers, Albert Bandura

A student of Edward Titchener, _____, was the first American woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychology

Margaret Floy Washburn

According to the In Focus box, what is a likely explanation of déjà vu experiences for most people?

Most instances of déjà vu are caused by source amnesia or inattentional blindness.

The branch of psychology that studies the relationship between behavior and bodily processes and systems is known as:

biological psychology

The scientific study of the biological bases of behavior and mental processes is known as:

biological psychology

Albert Bandura's classic "Bobo doll experiment" revealed that behaviors:

can be acquired simply by observing someone else perform those behaviors

As cognitive psychologists use the term, a concept is a

category

The brain and spinal cord make up the _____ nervous system

central

The basic learning process that repeatedly pairs a neutral stimulus with a response-producing stimulus is called:

classical conditioning

Derek is about to graduate from college and is entering a graduate program that focuses on the study of the behavior of nonhuman animals. Derek's graduate program is in _____ psychology

comparative

Rose has been afraid to ride a motorcycle ever since she was in a serious accident. Now, the mere sight of a motorcycle causes her heart to race and she begins to sweat. According to classical conditioning, the motorcycle is now a(n) _____, and the heart racing and body sweating is the _____.

conditioned stimulus, conditioned response

Baby Kate has learned that every time she cries, her mother picks her up. Although only six months old, Kate has already successfully applied a basic learning principle known as _____ with her mother.

conditioning