Psychology 101 Final Study Guide
"Anything that cannot be observed and measured directly is not worth studying." Which psychologists are most likely to agree with this statement? (a. Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson b. John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner c. William James and Wilhelm Wundt d. Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg)
John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner
Chris does not like it when his infant son, Jacob, cries. Chris finds that if he makes goofy faces while Jacob is crying, Jacob will stop. Which learning principle best explains why Chris is more likely to make goofy faces in the future to make Jacob stop crying? (a. Positive reinforcement b. Classical conditioning c. Negative reinforcement d. Stimulus generalization)
Negative reinforcement
In Dr. Turgrove's experiment, he includes a control group that receives a placebo. This type of research design is meant to control which confound? (a. Participants' expectations b. Experimenter bias c. Sampling bias d. Independent variable)
Participant's expectations
Which of the following is not a main component of information processing that the nervous system performs? (a. Processing b. Output c. Assimilation d. Input)
Assimilation
Which of the following is not a component of an attitude? (a. Cognitive b. Biological c. Affective d. Behavioral)
Biological
Dr. Redford has long been interested in dissociative identity disorder. For the past three years, the only participant in his research has been his client, Sybil. He has studied her case intensively. What research method is Dr. Redford using? (a. Case study b. Naturalistic observation c. Survey d. Experimental)
Case study
Jamie is alert when he sees Max prepare to serve the volleyball over the net. Jamie knows that Max is a skilled server who can drop the ball where he wants, regardless of the speed and loft he puts behind the ball. Knowing this, we can expect Jamie's reaction time to position himself for a return will be slower, mostly due to what factor? (a. Expectancy b. Stimulus-response compatibility c. Complexity d. Confirmation bias)
Complexity
Which of the following is not considered to be an anxiety disorder? (a. Panic disorder b. Dissociative disorder c. Phobia d. Obsessive-compulsive disorder)
Dissociative disorder
Devin has been having trouble initiating movements lately and has also developed a tremor in his hands. He is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and put on medication. To help alleviate Devin's symptoms directly, the drugs would need to increase the effects of which of the following? (a. GABA b. Acetylcholine c. Serotonin d. Dopamine)
Dopamine
When you listen to your favorite music, what is the order in which the sound approaches and enters your nervous system and is interpreted by your brain? (a. Ear, thalamus, auditory association cortex, primary auditory cortex b. Ear, thalamus, primary auditory cortex, auditory association cortex c. Ear, primary auditory cortex, auditory association cortex, thalamus d. Ear, auditory association cortex, primary auditory cortex, thalamus)
Ear, thalamus, primary auditory cortex, auditory association cortex
Alcohol slows down the speed with which messages travel through the nervous system. This is best explained by the fact that alcohol increases the amount of __________ in the brain. (a. GABA b. acetylcholine c. glutamate d. norepinephrine)
GABA
The group of psychologists who focused on the whole of consciousness rather than its component parts were the (a. structuralists. b. Gestalt psychologists. c. behaviorists. d. functionalists.)
Gestalt psychologists.
After learning about personality in school, Becky came home and told her sister, Darlene, that she was introverted because her brain is relatively insensitive to rewards but highly sensitive to punishment. Darlene does not seem impressed by her sister's knowledge of __________ theory of personality. (a. the five-factor b. the object relations c. Eysenck's biological trait d. Gray's reinforcement sensitivity)
Gray's reinforcement sensitivity
Barbara believes that Barney is ridiculous and does nothing to educate children. When she sees children watching Barney on TV she feels angry and switches the channel. What is the affective component of Barbara's attitude toward Barney? (a. Her belief that Barney does not educate children b. Her belief that Barney is ridiculous c. Her switching of the channel d. Her anger at seeing children watching Barney)
Her anger at seeing children watch Barney
According to the encoding specificity principle, which of the following would be the best retrieval cue for the sentence, "The dog ate the bone?" (a. Hungry animal b. You have heard it before c. Contains five words d. It's a sentence)
Hungry animal
Leasha is trying to decide whether to use an illegal online song-sharing service. She thinks, "If I download songs from the Internet, the police could track me down and put me in jail. Since I really don't want to go to jail, I'm not going to use the service." According to Kohlberg, at which level of moral reasoning is Leasha? (a. Preconventional b. Conventional c. Postconventional d. Nonconventional)
Preconventional
Which nervous system is involved in allowing you to shoot a basketball, smell freshly baked bread, and push the keys on a piano? (a. Sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system b. Parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system c. Both branches of the autonomic nervous system d. Somatic nervous system)
Somatic nervous system
A researcher had one group of children go trick-or-treating wearing masks and a second group of children go trick-or-treating without masks. The researcher found that the children who wore masks took more candy than the children who were not wearing masks. What was the control group in this study? (a. The group who wore masks b. The group who did not wear masks c. Trick-or-treating d. The amount of candy taken)
The group who did not wear masks
A neurotransmitter is released into a synapse, but it has no effect on a neighboring neuron. Which of the following best accounts for the unresponsiveness of the neighboring neuron? (a. The neighboring neuron does not contain any neurotransmitters of its own. b. The neighboring neuron's vesicles are defective. c. The neighboring neuron has an outer membrane. d. The neighboring neuron's receptors do not accept this type of neurotransmitter.)
The neighboring neuron's receptors do not accept this type of neurotransmitter.
After looking up a friend's new number in the phone book, Franklin discovers that the pay phone is being monopolized by someone. Assuming that Franklin is not rehearsing the number, what is the longest period of time that he can wait without forgetting the number entirely? (a. One second b. Ten seconds c. Twenty seconds d. Two minutes)
Twenty seconds
Lori, a person with whom you are not friends, volunteers at the local hospital. You assume that she is volunteering so that she will look good on her college applications. However, when your best friend adamantly refuses to volunteer his time, you assume it is because he is so busy with all of the other activities in his life. Which of the following attributional errors does this situation illustrate? (a. Actor-observer effect b. Ultimate attribution error c. Unrealistic optimism d. Fundamental attribution error)
Ultimate attribution error
Russell's mom wants him to study for two hours each night, so she gives him treats during the evening. Sometimes she gives him the treats after ten minutes, sometimes after thirty minutes. On the average, Russell is given a treat every twenty minutes. Which reinforcement schedule is Russell's mom utilizing? (a. Fixed-ratio b. Variable-ratio c. Fixed-interval d. Variable-interval)
Variable-interval
Just before the glee club performance at Regionals, Finn Hudson receives damage to his association cortex during a football game. At glee club practice, he sings "The baby is a fortitude. Ice is calling." Finn must have received damage to his (a. Wernicke's area. b. Broca's area. c. thalamus. d. hypothalamus.)
Wernicke's area.
The modern age of psychology began when (a. Sigmund Freud first uttered the phrase, "Tell me about your dreams." b. B. F. Skinner used shaping to teach birds to play ping pong. c. Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology research laboratory at the University of Leipzig. d. Ivan Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate at the tone of a bell.)
Wilhelm Wundt established the first psychology research laboratory at the University of Leipzig.
Little Tara is having lots of fun exploring her aunt's home while her mom and aunt are talking. She crawls into other rooms for brief periods and then makes her way back to her mom. Tara may climb into her mom's lap for a while, but it isn't long until she is off exploring some other room. Tara is exhibiting (a. infant hyperactivity. b. an insecure attachment. c. a secure attachment. d. sensorimotor play.)
a secure attachment.
Simeon has met only one person from Canada in his whole life, and that person was arrogant and shrewd. Simeon now thinks that all people from Canada are arrogant and shrewd. This phenomenon is best described as (a. prejudice. b. discrimination. c. ingroup/outgroup phenomenon. d. a stereotype.)
a stereotype.
Vendela believes she did poorly on her driver's exam because she was too busy with other responsibilities to practice enough. However, she believes the other low scorers did poorly because they are bad drivers. Vendela's reasoning demonstrates the (a. actor-observer effect. b. ultimate attribution error. c. self-serving bias. d. consensus bias.)
actor-observer effect.
Alexia is content to stay in her house because she becomes nervous and afraid when she ventures too far from home. Alexia is probably suffering from (a. agoraphobia. b. a specific phobia. c. xenophobia. d. panic disorder.)
agoraphobia.
The psychological dimensions of sound, loudness, and pitch are determined by the physical dimensions of sound waves, __________, and __________, respectively. (a. frequency; timbre b. amplitude; frequency c. decibels; hue d. amplitude; timbre)
amplitude; frequency
After an accident, Stella was left with brain damage. Now Stella has trouble judging the emotions of others, even when she can see their facial expressions. Stella has most likely damaged her (a. cerebellum. b. amygdala. c. hypothalamus. d. thalamus.)
amygdala.
Leslie visits her garden to discover her tomatoes and beans have been eaten by an animal. Certain it's a deer, she constructs a fence around the garden. A week later, the vegetables have been eaten again, so she installs an even taller fence. Leslie has not considered that an animal may be burrowing into her garden, likely because (a. she has ascribed too much utility to her initial solution. b. an availability heuristic has blocked her from considering another hypothesis. c. she did not apply logic before problem-solving. d. her original proposition was based on a false premise.)
an availability heuristic has blocked her from considering another hypothesis.
Eddie and Elaine both failed their first psychology quiz. Eddie decided that the questions weren't fair, whereas Elaine responded by working much harder. According to Rotter's expectancy theory, Eddie is probably __________ and Elaine is probably __________. (a. an internal; an external b. an external; an internal c. a reactor; a reciprocator d. a reciprocator; a reactor)
an external; an internal
Janine is a neat freak. She can't stand it when anything is out of order. She is also reluctant to lend anything to her friends. According to Freud, Janine is suffering from a fixation at the __________ stage of development. (a. latency b. phallic c. genital d. anal)
anal
Rudy has been a troublemaker from a very young age. At the age of nine, he was arrested for vandalism. At the age of thirteen, he forced the family cat to eat a lit firecracker. Now that Rudy is an adult, he has become a serial killer. Rudy is especially dangerous because people generally like him when they first meet him. Rudy most likely has a(n) __________ personality disorder. (a. antisocial b. narcissistic c. avoidant d. schizotypal)
antisocial
While at the dentist office, Judith leaves her infant son Patrick for a few minutes with the nurse while she uses the restroom. Upon her return, Patrick does not pay any attention to Judith. Based on this interaction, one could surmise that Patrick has developed a(n) __________ attachment style. (a. secure b. avoidant c. disorganized d. ambivalent)
avoidant
A neuron cell body reaches threshold and depolarizes. The depolarization propagates down the length of the __________, is chemically transmitted across the __________, and directly affects the electrical potential in the __________ of the successive neuron. (a. axon; synapse; dendrites b. dendrites; synapse; axon c. myelin; synapse; dendrites d. dendrites; receptor; axon)
axon; synapse; dendrites
Tim is telling his parents about his classes this semester. He tries to explain what his Introductory Psychology class is all about. Tim can best describe psychology as the study of (a. disorders and therapies. b. behavior and mental processes. c. motivation and emotion. d. rats in mazes.)
behavior and mental processes.
Dr. Dare works with children who are truant from school. When students attend class, she gives them tokens to be redeemed for candy at the end of the day. Dr. Dare is using the __________ approach. (a. psychodynamic b. behavioral c. cognitive d. humanistic)
behavioral
Dr. Jamison is conducting a study examining the emotional and behavioral changes that occur during puberty. Dr. Jamison is especially interested in how these changes are associated with changes in hormones. The sub field of psychology Dr. Jamison seems to be interested in is __________ psychology. (a. clinical b. personality c. biological d. social)
biological
While daydreaming, Felix was staring at a yellow school bus. When he then looked at a white wall he saw the color __________. This is best explained by the __________ theory. (a. red; trichromatic b. red; opponent-process c. blue; trichromatic d. blue; opponent-process)
blue; opponent-process
Dr. Wozniak is examining a cell from the nervous system of an animal. He notices that at one end of the cell body is a long, fibrous strand of tissue. He immediately recognizes this as an axon that is responsible for (a. carrying signals away from the cell body. b. receiving signals from other cells and carrying them toward the cell body. c. determining the speed at which an action potential will travel. d. determining whether the cell inhibits or excites neighboring neurons.)
carrying signals away from the cell body.
Jim and Bob both have negative attitudes toward review sessions. Jim's instructor explains that review sessions can help to focus study efforts. Jim thinks carefully about this explanation and then changes his attitude using the __________ route to attitude change. Bob's instructor also tells him that review sessions are useful. Bob doesn't think much about the explanation, but he is impressed by his instructor's confidence and thinks that she is very intelligent so he changes his attitude using the __________ route to attitude change. (a. peripheral; central b. central; peripheral c. peripheral; peripheral d. central; central)
central; peripheral
Latoria is horseback riding when she falls and hits her head. After the accident, she has difficulty performing finely coordinated movements. Latoria has most likely damaged her (a. medulla oblongata. b. reticular formation. c. cerebellum. d. locus coeruleus.)
cerebellum.
Marcie found that remembering her ATM card number and pin number was much easier when she grouped the twelve numbers into sets of threes instead of trying to remember twelve separate numbers. What technique is Marcie using to extend her short-term memory capacity? (a. Mnemonic strategies b. Stringing c. Chunking d. Method of loci)
chunking
When Ken kisses Barbie, his heart races. For a month, Barbie snapped her fingers just before she kissed him. She stopped snapping her fingers, but now whenever Ken hears someone snapping their fingers, his heart begins to race. This is an example of __________ conditioning, and finger snapping is the __________. (a. classical; conditioned stimulus b. operant; conditioned stimulus c. classical; primary reinforcer d. operant; primary reinforcer)
classical; conditioned stimulus
Transduction of auditory information takes place in the (a. fovea. b. pinna. c. cochlea. d. malleus.)
cochlea.
Kelvin says that he thinks that smoking is wrong. One time, he takes a drag of his roommate's cigarette. Later, Kelvin feels uncomfortable because his behavior violated his attitude, so he decides that he doesn't think smoking is so wrong after all. Kelvin's change of belief can best be explained by the __________ theory. (a. social comparison b. incongruence c. cognitive dissonance d. social identity)
cognitive dissonance
Rachel can sort objects by size or color and can solve simple addition and subtraction problems. However, she cannot think logically about abstract ideas such as freedom and justice. Rachel is most likely in Piaget's __________ stage of cognitive development. (a. sensorimotor b. preoperational c. concrete operational d. formal operational)
concrete operational
Hannah knows her patient has muscle pain and suspects a strained muscle. She then asks the patient only about symptoms associated with a strained muscle and not about symptoms associated with other conditions involving muscle pain. Hannah is exhibiting (a. analogous thinking. b. functional fixedness. c. confirmation bias. d. the anchoring heuristic.)
confirmation bias.
Elijah takes his friend George to his favorite restaurant that George has never been to. Later that evening, Elijah asks George to recall everything that was in the restaurant. George mistakenly "remembers" seeing things like salt and pepper shakers on the tables and a cash register in the lobby. George's answer can best be explained by (a. tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. b. feeling-of-knowing experience. c. constructive memory. d. encoding specificity.)
constructive memory.
Liberty and Scott have decided that they want to spend the rest of their lives together and plan to get married in June. They have a strong emotional attachment to one another and find each other physically, as well as psychologically, attractive. They have been dating for eight years and are best friends. According to Sternberg's theory, they probably experience __________ love. (a. companionate b. consummate c. compassionate d. romantic)
consummate
Adam is teaching a new class with a diverse collection of students. To reduce potential prejudice in the classroom, he attempts to get the students working together in groups. If negative attitudes toward different categories of students within the classroom decrease, this approach would be support for the __________ hypothesis. (a. contact b. cognitive c. concept d. construct)
contact
Psychologists in which of the following sub fields would be most interested in researching changes in human behavioral, emotional, and mental processes over time? (a. Social psychology b. Personality psychology c. Cognitive psychology d. Developmental psychology)
developmental psychology
Bruce is usually a quiet, well-mannered man. On some occasions, however, Bruce acts like a completely different person; he becomes very angry and violent and responds only to the name Hulk. Bruce has no recollection of these recurrent episodes. Bruce probably suffers from (a. a fugue reaction. b. dissociative amnesia. c. dissociative identity disorder. d. schizophrenia.)
dissociative identity disorder.
The three basic processes of memory are (a. recognition, storage, and retrieval. b. encoding, storage, and forgetting. c. encoding, storage, and retrieval. d. encoding, storage, and maintenance.)
encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Twenty-year-old Elton inherited a predisposition to depression and was brought up by a manic-depressive mother. Until now, Elton has avoided depression, but according to the diathesis-stress model, he may develop depression if he (a. fails to undergo psychotherapy. b. encounters very stressful events. c. fails to recognize his genuine feelings about himself. d. develops serious diathesis.)
encounters very stressful events.
Ed participated in a psychology experiment in which he turned pegs on a board for one hour. Although the task was very boring, the experimenter said, "I will pay you $1 if you tell the next participant that this experiment is the most exciting experiment that you have ever been in." Julie also participated in the same experiment; however, the experimenter offered to pay her $20 to lie to the next participant. According to cognitive dissonance theory, Ed will later report that experiment was __________, and Julie will report that it was __________. (a. boring; exciting b. exciting; boring c. exciting; exciting d. boring; boring)
exciting; boring
Complete the following personal ad: Seeking an outgoing individual who enjoys social activities. Must also be adventurous and willing to try anything. In other words, must be high in __________ and high in __________. (a. neuroticism; extraversion b. openness to experience; conscientiousness c. extraversion; openness to experience d. conscientiousness; neuroticism)
extraversion; openness to experience
Rolo is dissatisfied with his life because his career is going nowhere and he is struggling to avoid bankruptcy. If Rolo had a growth orientation, he would (a. change his behavior. b. analyze his thought patterns in a systematic way to determine why he is not more successful. c. focus more on the positive aspects of his life, such as his happy marriage. d. enter therapy to help him succeed in business.)
focus more on the positive aspects of life, such as his happy marriage.
To see a very faint star at night, look slightly away from it because this will (a. focus the star's light on the fovea. b. speed up the process of dark adaptation. c. increase the number of rods in the eyes. d. focus the star's light on rods outside the fovea.)
focus the star's light on rods outside the fovea.
According to psychodynamic principles, a little boy who continuously and mistakenly calls his teacher "Mom" probably (a. has been influenced by the Thanatos instinct of sex and pleasure. b. has not successfully completed the oral and anal stages of development. c. is making an age-appropriate developmental mistake. d. has some unconscious conflicts concerning his mother.)
has some unconscious conflicts concerning his mother.
Sujee's photoreceptors contain only two types of photopigments. This means that Sujee (a. has normal color vision. b. is blind to all color. c. has trouble seeing some, but not all, colors. d. will have only two types of ganglion cells.)
has trouble seeing some, but not all colors.
A psychologist who believes in the learned helplessness view of depression wants to create a treatment program for his clients. The major focus of this treatment will probably be on (a. helping the clients gain control over their lives. b. helping the clients focus on the bright side of a situation. c. teaching the clients not to blame themselves when things go wrong. d. reducing the clients' search for sympathy and attention.)
helping the clients gain control over their lives.
Dr. Bialeschki believes that each person has an innate tendency toward growth and self-fulfillment. He believes that dysfunctions in personality result from dysfunctions in the perception of reality. Dr. Bialeschki takes a __________ approach to personality. (a. cognitive behavioral b. humanistic psychology c. psychodynamic d. trait)
humanistic psychology
Lark has been diagnosed with bipolar II disorder. She experiences times of major depression and periods of regular mood. Other times, Lark has bouts of energetic optimism and elation, known as (a. somatization. b. catatonia. c. hypomania. d. generalized anxiety.)
hypomania.
The prediction that "bright colors will make people happier" is called a(n) (a. hypothesis. b. law. c. theory. d. explanation.)
hypothesis.
Dr. Jiminez investigated the influence of snacking on the onset of sleep in preschool children. One group of preschoolers ate a candy bar prior to bedtime, and the other group ate nothing. Time until the onset of sleep was recorded for each child. In this experiment, eating or not eating the snack is the __________ variable, and the time until the onset of sleep is the __________ variable. (a. independent; dependent b. dependent; independent c. experimental; control d. control; experimental)
independent; dependent
The tasks of a(n) __________ psychologist include improving supervisors' leadership skills, creating maximum-efficiency work groups, and suggesting other research-based programs designed to increase efficiency. (a. industrial and organizational b. clinical c. experimental d. developmental)
industrial and organizational
As you read this question, your sensory registers are converting light energy into neural activity, your short-term memory is holding the first part of the question, and your long-term memory is helping you recognize and understand the words. This best supports the __________ model of memory. (a. transfer-appropriate processing b. parallel distributed processing c. information-processing d. levels-of-processing)
information-processing
Your roommate Perry is often cranky. One night you overhear Perry yelling at someone on his cell phone. You conclude that Perry is being his irritable self again and feel bad for the person he's talking to. You have made a(n) __________ attribution for Perry's behavior. (a. unified b. differentiated c. external d. internal)
internal
Tim loves Sarah and asks her to marry him. He is disappointed when she says she needs time to think about whether she wants to make a lifelong commitment to him. According to Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, Sarah is struggling with (a. trust vs. mistrust. b. integrity vs. despair. c. intimacy vs. isolation. d. generativity vs. stagnation)
intimacy v. isolation
Ogun is at a football game. He watches a receiver fumble an easy pass. If Ogun is making the fundamental attribution error, he is most likely to remark that the player (a. was affected by the lights. b. does not receive enough money. c. was distracted by some fan. d. is not a good receiver.)
is not a good receiver.
Herbert, the rat, is put in a cage that is chilly. He operates in the environment by moving around the cage and bar-pressing. He discovers that moving around and bar-pressing have no impact on the temperature of the cage or anything else. Soon, Herbert stops moving around the cage at all, and when the temperature could be controlled through bar-pressing, he doesn't figure it out. Herbert is experiencing (a. learned helplessness. b. stimulus discrimination. c. punishment. d. negative reinforcement.)
learned helplessness.
Even though Brooke has never met any supermodels, she has developed a prejudice against them through listening to her friends' insults and jokes about models' intelligence and through reading unfavorable portrayals of them in magazines. Brooke's case would best support a __________ theory of prejudice formation. (a. motivational b. biological c. learning d. dissonance)
learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge due to experience is known as (a. maturation. b. instinct. c. learning. d. consciousness.)
learning.
The right hemisphere gets information from the __________ side of the body and has better __________ abilities than the left hemisphere. (a. left; logical b. right; language c. left; spatial d. right; artistic)
left; spatial
Dolly is conducting a study in which she asks basketball players from several colleges to recall their win-loss outcomes of certain games in the past season. She found that some players incorrectly remember game outcomes, even when they were considered important games. This examples highlights that (a. recall is susceptible to interference from short-term memory. b. the feeling-of-knowing phenomenon also affects long-term retrieval. c. long-term memories are subject to major errors and distortion. d. only flashbulb memories tend to retain their accuracy in long-term memory.)
long-term memories are subject to major errors and distortion.
Jamie's sleep patterns have been erratic over the course of the past few months, and she lacks the energy to do anything except lay on her couch. Jamie also feels completely hopeless, and she wonders if life is worth living anymore. Jamie is most likely suffering from (a. major depression. b. dysthymic disorder. c. mania. d. cyclothymic disorder.)
major depression.
When Julia and Lyle were dating, their friends thought to themselves, "It will never last. Although he's not bad looking, she is much too beautiful for him." Their friends' statement suggests that Julia and Lyle's relationship violated the (a. contact hypothesis. b. proximity cues. c. matching hypothesis. d. mere-exposure effect.)
matching hypothesis
In the data set 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, the number 5 is most correctly described as the (a. mean. b. mode. c. median. d. mean and median.)
mean and median.
Ginny, a junior in high school, has been sexually active for about a year. Amber is also a junior in high school but is not sexually active. Ginny is __________ likely than Amber to have __________. (a. more; smoked b. more; conventional values c. less; an STD d. less; smoked)
more; smoked
Cinderella is excited about meeting a potential husband at the ball. Her ideal suitor would have some of the following attributes: tall, dark, handsome, rich, and good taste in glass slippers. At the ball, she hooks up with Prince Charming, who has all of these features. Cinderella's set of characteristic features for her potential husband is called a __________ concept, and Prince Charming is a __________. (a. formal; prototype b. formal; schema c. natural; schema d. natural; prototype)
natural; prototype
In presidential election campaigns, many television ads focus on the "negatives" of an opponent. Campaign managers are obviously aware that when people are forming impressions, (a. they tend to give others the benefit of the doubt. b. self-serving biases are often influential. c. negative information tends to be more important than positive information. d. they tend to believe what they see and hear on television over what they read in newspapers and hear on the radio.)
negative information tends to be more important than positive information.
During an episode of the TV show Seinfeld, one of the characters was identified as "The Close Talker," meaning that he stood too close to people when he spoke to them. This person's behavior would most likely be judged abnormal on the basis of the __________ criterion for abnormality. (a. dysfunction b. personal suffering c. norm violation d. impracticality)
norm violation
When Imelda was young she used to be fascinated by shoe commercials on TV. She was particularly impressed by how happy people seemed to be when buying shoes. As an adult, Imelda goes shopping for shoes every chance she gets. This is an example of (a. operant conditioning. b. classical conditioning. c. spontaneous conditioning. d. observational learning.)
observational learning.
Lyndsay finds herself often thinking about the possibility of getting an infection from germs in her dorm room, and so she constantly is washing her hands to the point where her skin is red and sore. Lyndsay may be suffering from __________ disorder, and her persistent thoughts are known as __________. (a. panic; compulsions b. obsessive-compulsive; obsessions c. obsessive-compulsive; compulsions d. panic; obsessions)
obsessive-compulsive; obsessions
Todd is trying to impress Tara. He knows that she is a fan of Jane Austen, so Todd reads Emma, a Jane Austen book, and then talks with Tara about the book, surprising her with his knowledge. As a result of the conversation, Tara agrees to go out with Todd on a date. Todd reads other Jane Austen books after this experience. This is an example of __________ conditioning. (a. classical b. operant c. avoidance d. escape)
operant
Dr. Zumbahlen is conducting a research study in which she is interested in the effects of aerobic activity on weight loss. Aerobic activity is defined by thirty minutes of exercise on the treadmill three times a week. This specific way of defining aerobic activity is referred to as a(n) __________ definition. (a. experimental b. construct c. operational d. empirical)
operational
Christian is hungry, so his mother fixes him a snack of carrots. Christian complains, "I don't have enough, Mommy. I'm really hungry!" His mother takes the five carrots and cuts them in half. Christian is happy and eats the ten pieces. According to Piaget, Christian is in the __________ stage of cognitive development since he does not yet display __________. (a. sensorimotor; object permanence b. concrete operations; conservation c. formal operations; animism d. preoperational; conservation)
peoperational; conservation
Trina's parents gave her complete freedom while she was growing up, rarely disciplining her. Her parents' parenting style would most likely be called __________, and Trina was likely __________ as a young girl. (a. authoritarian; distrustful b. authoritative; friendly c. permissive; dependent d. permissive; self-reliant)
permissive; dependent
Little Rashidat gets out of his bed and tries to get into his parents' bed so he can snuggle with Mommy. Yesterday he threw a tantrum because Mommy would not let him shower with her. He has also been acting fearful toward his father. According to psychodynamic theory, little Rashidat is going through the __________ stage. (a. oral b. anal c. phallic d. genital)
phallic
Oscar likes to run at night. Even though it is dark, Oscar can see because his eyes have specialized cells that convert the low levels of light energy into neural activity. These cells are known as (a. corneas. b. foveas. c. photoreceptors. d. papillae.
photoreceptors.
In doing research on auditory processing, you find a relationship between the location on the basilar membrane that a sound wave has its biggest peak and the detection of pitch. This supports the __________ theory of hearing. (a. frequency-matching b. volley c. place d. opponent-process)
place
Victoria wants to teach her pet zebra, Spot, to bray (a sound similar to that made by a mule) whenever Spot hears the song "Paparazzi." She already knows that Spot will bray when she pulls his tail. She also took introductory psychology, so she knows that the most effective way to condition Spot would be to (a. pull Spot's tail and then play "Paparazzi." b. play "Paparazzi" first and after it finishes pull Spot's tail. c. play "Paparazzi" first and while it is still playing pull Spot's tail. d. start to play "Paparazzi" and pull Spot's tail at the exact same moment.)
play "Paparazzi" first and while it is still playing pull Spot's tail.
Veronica's research focuses on optimism and the factors that lead to living a balanced and happy lifestyle. Veronica has dedicated her research to the study of ___________ psychology. (a. dialectical b. convergent c. positive d. abnormal)
positive
Linda recently met Paulo, a new tenant living in her apartment building. She confides in you that she loves Paulo because Brazilian men are great athletes and lovers. Linda's attitude reflects her (a. ultimate attribution error. b. prejudice. c. discrimination. d. fundamental attribution error.)
prejudice.
Attribution theory is principally concerned with the (a. influence of the presence of others on performance. b. process of explaining the causes of people's behavior. c. process of forming impressions of others. d. comparison of ourselves with those around us.)
process of explaining the causes of people's behaviors.
Nduta is developing a new test to assess individuals' personalities. She asks people to draw a picture of their families, and then she interprets the drawing to reflect aspects of the individual's personality. Nduta's test is a(n) __________ personality measure. (a. nonprojective b. projective c. five-factor d. reliable)
projective
Serena is praised for every art project she brings home from school. Once this kind of continuous reinforcement is discontinued, we can predict that Serena's reinforced behavior will extinguish (a. gradually. b. intermittently. c. rapidly. d. slowly.)
rapidly.
While watching a Food Network marathon, you learn from Rachel Ray that papillae are groups of __________ that play an important role in taste perception. (a. receptors b. accessory structures c. feature detectors d. C-fibers)
receptors.
Lois and Peter want to teach Brian, their dog, to fetch the newspaper. Lois wants to encourage Brian's behavior when he brings in the newspaper. Peter wants to discourage Brian's behavior when he brings in a stick instead. Lois will most likely use __________, and Peter will most likely use __________. (a. operant conditioning; classical conditioning b. positive reinforcers; negative reinforcers c. punishment; penalty d. reinforcers; punishment)
reinforcers; punishment
Marney is studying the relationship between the rate of teen pregnancies in U.S. high school students and the availability of contraceptives. She selects a sample composed of teens from a local high school. Marney's sample may not be generalizable because it is not (a. double-blind. b. biased. c. representative. d. dependent.)
representative.
You hear that one of the Velazquez children is an outstanding Little League player and immediately conclude it's their one son, rather than any of their four daughters. You reached your quite possibly erroneous conclusion as the result of the (a. confirmation bias. b. anchoring heuristic. c. representativeness heuristic. d. multi-attribute hypothesis.)
representativeness heuristic.
When you go over to visit your friend's new baby, your friend exclaims, "Watch this! Every time I touch his cheek, he turns his mouth towards my finger!" Because you've taken psychology, you know that this phenomenon is called the __________ reflex. (a. rooting b. grasping c. sucking d. complementary)
rooting
Ben has been set up on a blind date. He knows his date works as a counselor, so when they meet, he pays special attention to how she talks to him, her body language, and her tone of voice. He's concerned she will interact with him as if he is a patient. Ben's reaction demonstrates the power that __________ have on our perception of others. (a. mere-exposures b. schemas c. attribution errors d. illusory correlations)
schemas
When Bach talks, his words are meaningless. He giggles for no reason and makes ritualistic movements while hallucinating. He is most likely suffering from (a. multiple personality disorder. b. a fugue reaction. c. bipolar disorder. d. schizophrenia.)
schizophrenia.
Lashonna has gone to Benny's for breakfast many times. She knows that when you walk in you should wait to be seated, and that once you are seated the server will bring you menus and later come back to take your order. Lashonna has a(n) __________ that helps her know what she should do when she goes to eat at Benny's. (a. schema b. mental model c. script d. image)
script
Jeremy says that he is very smart and athletic. This is his __________. However, he thinks that these traits are useless, so he doesn't value himself. This is his __________. (a. defined personality; implicit personality b. self-concept; self-esteem c. implicit personality; defined personality d. self-esteem; self-concept)
self-concept; self-esteem
Regina believes she did well in her psychology class because she is smart but blames her poor performance in chemistry on her "incompetent instructor." Regina's reasoning demonstrates the (a. self-serving bias. b. consensus bias. c. actor-observer effect. d. ultimate attribution error.)
self-serving bias.
Seven-year-old Ben is riding his bike to the park to meet some friends. He stops at a stop sign and signals his intention to turn left into the park. Ben's memory of the laws of the road is an example of __________ memory, whereas his ability to ride the bike shows __________ memory. (a. episodic; semantic b. semantic; episodic c. episodic; procedural d. semantic; procedural)
semantic; procedural
Shaina started crying because she thought that her brother disappeared, when in fact he just put on his Halloween mask. Piaget would say that Shaina is in the __________ stage and has not yet achieved __________. (a. sensorimotor; object permanence b. sensorimotor; conservation c. preoperational; object permanence d. preoperational; conservation)
sensorimotor; object permanence
Liora opens her textbook and begins to read. As her eyes scan the page, each word remains in her __________ memory for only one second, just long enough for the next phase of memory to take over. (a. episodic b. working c. sensory d. short-term)
sensory
You give your friend instructions about what to buy for a party by quickly rattling off fifteen unrelated grocery store items. Then to check whether your friend got all the information, you ask him to repeat the grocery list back to you. You should expect that your friend will recall about __________ items. (a. two b. fifteen c. four d. seven)
seven
Chun-Sun is going to kindergarten and is very shy. She acts very inhibited and does not play much with the other kids. After a couple of weeks she begins to play with other kids. Based on what we know about temperament, she most likely was a(n) __________ baby when she was younger. (a. easy b. slow-to-warm-up c. difficult d. ambivalent)
slow-to-warm-up
Gloria is a psychologist who studies the influence of other people on the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Gloria is most likely a __________ psychologist. (a. developmental b. biological c. quantitative d. social)
social
If the myelin sheathing on neurons is absent or removed in a given individual, he or she will exhibit difficulties in speaking, vision, and balance because without myelin the (a. quantity of neurotransmitters released into synapses will be reduced. b. quantity of neurotransmitters released into synapses will be increased. c. speed of neural conduction along critical paths will be too fast. d. speed of neural conduction along critical paths will be too slow.)
speed of neural conduction along critical paths will be too slow.
Missa, your psychology instructor, places a basketball net upon her head. She says, "See how when I pull this part of the net, all of the links in the net closest to this point are being pulled farther along. And this part of the net isn't even moving." Missa's demonstration highlights how __________ works within a __________. (a. spreading activation; multiple memory system model b. spreading activation; semantic network c. encoding specificity; multiple memory system model d. encoding specificity; semantic network)
spreading activation; semantic network
Five-year-old Sandrine jumps and cringes every time she hears thunder. Soon she cringes when she sees lightning because she knows that thunder will follow. One day when she is at her first fireworks show, she cringes when she sees the flash of light from the first fireworks in the sky. Sandrine is displaying (a. reconditioning. b. spontaneous recovery. c. stimulus generalization. d. stimulus discrimination.)
stimulus generalization
In cartoons, when a character faces a moral dilemma, an angel often appears over one shoulder and a devil appears over the other shoulder, with both giving advice. According to Freud, the angel is similar to the __________, whereas the devil is similar to the __________. (a. superego; id b. ego; id c. id; ego d. ego; superego)
superego; id
First impressions of people are difficult to change due to (a. mental models. b. algorithms. c. the anchoring heuristic. d. the availability heuristic.)
the anchoring heuristic.
Many people believe that there are more deaths in the United States each year due to tornadoes than deaths due to asthma, even though asthma kills more people. This mistaken belief is due in part to the reports of tornadoes being more vivid. This is an example of how our judgments are affected by (a. the availability heuristic. b. the representativeness heuristic. c. the confirmation bias. d. loss aversion.)
the availability heuristic.
While playing a video game, you guide your character through a make-believe world, avoiding some objects and picking up others, while responding to various events. This extremely rapid process of description, elaboration, decision, planning, and action illustrates (a. an artificial concept. b. mental chronometry. c. a mental model. d. the circle of thought.)
the circle of thought.
Your friend claims that altruism, cooperation, aggression, and other social behaviors increase the chances of human survival and are genetically encoded and passed on from generation to generation. Your friend is supporting (a. psychoneuroimmunology. b. psychobiology. c. sociopsychology. d. the evolutionary approach.)
the evolutionary approach.
Demetrius buys his cookies from Cookie Center because for every ten cookies he buys, he gets two free. Demetrius's behavior is an example of (a. the law of effect. b. classical conditioning. c. the principle of generalization. d. systematic desensitization.)
the law of effect.
Kelly is a graduate student who is studying relationships. After interviewing over 100 dating couples, she noticed that a large number of these couples actually grew up together in the same neighborhood. This is not surprising to you because of your understanding of (a. balanced relationships. b. imbalanced relationships. c. the mere-exposure effect. d. self-serving biases.)
the mere-exposure effect.
Biff has discovered a correlation of -0.83 between the amount of time his fraternity brothers spend working out in the gym and the number of dates they have during the semester. Based on this information, Biff should conclude that (a. the more the men work out, the more dates they have. b. the more the men work out, the fewer dates they have. c. working out causes an increase in dates. d. working out causes a decrease in dates.)
the more the men work out, the fewer dates they have.
Developmental psychology is best defined as the study of (a. children's thought processes and moral reasoning. b. the physical changes that occur in the womb and during the childhood years. c. the social, cognitive, and physical changes that occur over the course of the life span. d. the influence of genes on the behavior of infants, children, adolescents, and adults.)
the social, cognitive, and physical changes that occur over the course of the life span.
According to Rotter's expectancy theory, a person's decision to engage in a behavior is determined by what the person expects to happen following the behavior and by (a. what cognitive person variables apply to the situation. b. the conditions of worth the individual has created. c. the value the person places on the outcome. d. the relatively stable traits the individual possesses.)
the value the person places on the outcome.
Cally is taking her psychology final exam. She is concerned that the students sitting around her can cheat by hearing her thoughts. "Everything I think is available for everyone to hear," she explains. Cally is most likely describing __________, which is a symptom of __________. (a. thought insertion; schizophrenia b. thought insertion; bipolar disorder c. thought broadcasting; schizophrenia d. thought broadcasting; bipolar disorder)
thought-broadcasting; schizophrenia
While walking outside, you notice the sun shining. Your ability to see the sunshine is related to visual processing of the light in your brain. The process by which physical energy (the sunshine) has been converted to neural activity in your brain is called (a. reticular formation. b. habituation. c. transduction. d. accommodation.)
transduction.
Gabriel is just beginning to speak in words. He says "Daddy!" and "Car." Gabriel is most likely __________ old. (a. twelve to fifteen months b. eighteen to twenty-four months c. two to three years d. three to five years)
twelve to fifteen months
On her first day of kindergarten, Ramona watches some third-graders practice arithmetic at recess. She thinks they are much smarter than she is and that she will never be able to pass third grade. Ramona's thinking demonstrates (a. downward social comparison. b. relative deprivation. c. upward social comparison. d. conditions of worth.)
upward social comparison.
Jason answered a series of vocabulary and reading comprehension questions on a web site. When he finished, the site gave him a rating of intelligence. "I don't think that test really measured intelligence," thought Jason. Jason is questioning the test's (a. consistency. b. validity. c. datum. d. reliability.)
validity.
To piece together images projected onto the retina, each ganglion cell collects sensory information for a specific group of photoreceptors. In this way, each ganglion cell is responsible for telling the brain (a. what is going on in its own specific visual receptive field. b. where edges are located, creating the process of lateral inhibition. c. in what proportion rods and cones need to be activated. d. what visual information "fills in" the blind spot on the retina.)
what is going on in its own specific visual receptive field.
Adam and Mike are playing chess. Adam sees that he can win by getting his queen to a particular space. Before he can accomplish that goal, he must get Mike to move the piece that is occupying that space. He sees that he can force Mike to move the piece if he makes a particular move now, which he does. Adam is __________ to solve this problem. (a. working backward b. using heuristics c. using incubation d. making analogies)
working backward
