Psychology LearningCurve: Chapter 4

Your professor, an evolutionary psychologist, suggests that the increasing problem of obesity in the United States might be attributable to our _____ predisposition to love the taste of sweets and fats. Although these foods were difficult for our ancestors to find, they helped them to survive famines. Now, these foods are easily available and Americans are eating too much of them.

inherited

The average genetic difference between two groups is _____ than the difference between two individuals within those groups.

less

You have a limited budget for your research, so you need to focus on a small sample of individuals who are most likely to develop alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder. Given what is known about gender differences, you should focus on a sample made up of a group of _____.

men

Shelton was born with one kidney. This variation in an inherited trait is caused by a(n) _____.

mutation

Six-year-old Alex likes to fix things with his dad around the house. He grabs his toy tools and sometimes even picks up a real screwdriver to try and help dad fix whatever is broken. This is best explained by: evolutionary psychology. social learning theory. behavior genetics. gender schema theory.

social learning theory.

Which of the following BEST describes the complex relationship between nature and nurture in the influence of human behavior? two hands clapping synchronized swimming night and day positive and negative

two hands clapping

Peter and Paul are identical twins reared apart by different families. However, they both have many similarities such as being postal workers, avid book readers, woodworkers, and each has two children, both males. Critics of Thomas Bouchard's work on separated identical twins would say that these similarities: are no different than if two strangers spent hours comparing their lives. tell us nothing about the human condition. are strikingly wonderful considering the complexity of the world. give false hope to adopted children.

are no different than if two strangers spent hours comparing their lives.

Parents and peers have complementary influences on children; but peers have a more important influence on: attitudes toward responsibility. cooperation and social success at school. attitudes toward and interaction with school authorities. educational goals.

cooperation and social success at school.

Betsy is celebrating Christmas at her boyfriend's home. His family has a meal consisting primarily of fish on Christmas Eve to bring good luck in the New Year. This is part of their _____.

culture

Of the following, who are likely to show greater genetic differences? a group of Swedes and a group of Koreans a group of Canadians and a group of Koreans Researchers cannot find any genetic differences in people or populations. two individuals from the same small village in Denmark

two individuals from the same small village in Denmark

A female has a(n) _____ combination in the 23rd pair of chromosomes.

xx

Shara is genetically female, but was exposed to excess testosterone during prenatal development. As a young girl, she was often described as a "tomboy." She would dress and play in a way more typical of boys than girls. What is the MOST LIKELY reason for this? Though most people treated her like a girl, she rejected typical female gender roles. She thought she was a boy. Her gender schema caused her to act more like a boy. Her exposure to excess testosterone caused her to act more like a boy.

Her exposure to excess testosterone caused her to act more like a boy.

According to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, what was the ultimate result of Isaac Newton's explanation for how rainbows occur? It led John Keats to a greater appreciation of the rainbow. It led to even deeper mysteries. It led to Galileo's view of the Earth as revolving around the sun. It ruined the mystery of the rainbow's beauty.

It led to even deeper mysteries.

The development of the brain continues past childhood. For example, if a monkey pushes a lever with its finger several thousand times a day, the _____ that controls the finger changes as a result of the experience.

brain tissue

Genes are the biochemical units of heredity that make up the _____.

chromosomes

Two individuals are most likely to be similar in personality if they are:

identical twins raised together

Compared to American culture in 1960, American culture in 2012 exhibited all of the following EXCEPT: increased juvenile violent crime. increased divorce. increased teen suicide. increased average personal sleep time.

increased average personal sleep time.

After the world championships, the winner of the diving competition, discussed how hard she had worked and the dedication and sacrifices she made to reach her goal to be a gold medal winner. From this interview, you can ascertain that she is from a(n) _____ culture.

individualist

Self-reliance is to _____ cultures as group goals are to collectivist cultures.

individualist

According to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, _____ is "arguably the most momentous idea ever to occur to a human mind."

natural selection

Though you beg and plead, you have no success in coaxing your preschooler to eat broccoli. You might try to use peer influence by asking his daycare center to serve broccoli and seat him with _____ who like to eat it.

peers

Which of the following is a biological influence on individual development? cultural gender norms responses evoked by temperament gene-environment interaction prenatal environment

prenatal environment

The following are _____ influences on individual development: beliefs, responses evoked by our own temperament or gender, and gene-environment interaction.

psychological

Your 3-year-old niece has just started preschool and her teachers are reporting that she is extremely emotionally reactive. She will likely be _____ as a young adult.

reactive

Ants that become less sensitive to the repellants that are sprayed on them and are able to survive and _____ are an example of natural selection.

reproduce

Nine-year-old Jared has one very good friend. The two boys spend a great deal of time playing one-on-one basketball, and often can be heard talking to each other about a wide range of personal topics. Compared to other boys his age, Jared is: somewhat unusual, because most boys his age typically play in large groups and do not engage in intimate discussion. not unusual, because most boys his age often play with one friend. not unusual, because most boys his age often do not play competitively. somewhat unusual, because most boys his age typically play with girls in small groups.

somewhat unusual, because most boys his age typically play in large groups and do not engage in intimate discussion.

Regarding natural selection, what is the driving force behind a population's change in characteristics?

survival

According to an evolutionary psychologist, today's humans prefer the taste of sweets and fat because they best prepared humans to _____ in times of famine.

survive

Jenny has agreed to babysit for a family that has a six-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl. According to research, Jenny can anticipate that the girl will spend more time _____ to Jenny while the boy will spend more time in physical play.

talking

You are in charge of hiring a cruise-ship social director and you want to pick someone who is very outgoing. Unfortunately, you only have information about the siblings of the potential candidates. Given what is known about the genetic transmission of outgoingness, which of the following candidates would you choose? the candidate whose identical twin is outgoing the candidate whose older sister is outgoing any candidate, because genes do not influence extraversion the candidate whose fraternal twin is outgoing

the candidate whose identical twin is outgoing

Compared to men, women are about _____ times more likely to have for eating disorders.

10

Which of the following best illustrates the interaction between genes and experience? A child genetically predisposed towards aggressiveness is raised in an abusive environment but eventually becomes less aggressive in adulthood. A child genetically predisposed towards aggressiveness is raised in a strict but nurturing environment but still remains aggressive in adulthood. A child genetically predisposed to be attractive in a particular culture receives more nurturance and develops a warm personality in adulthood. A child genetically predisposed to be shy is encouraged to interact socially throughout childhood but never overcomes the tendency to be reserved.

A child genetically predisposed to be attractive in a particular culture receives more nurturance and develops a warm personality in adulthood.

Interactions between the environment and heredity can result in differences in personality. Which of the following infants has genetically influenced traits (heredity) that might evoke responses in their caregivers (environment), which ultimately can influence personality characteristics? All of these infant traits can influence their care-giving environment and personality development. an easygoing, emotionally stable infant an anxious, inhibited infant an emotionally reactive infant

All of these infant traits can influence their care-giving environment and personality development.

Given findings from recent adoption studies, which of the following scenarios is the MOST likely? A biological brother and sister reared apart will share the same political and religious beliefs. An adopted brother and sister reared together will be similarly outgoing and agreeable. An adopted brother and sister reared together will share the same political and religious beliefs. A biological brother and sister reared together will be similarly outgoing and agreeable.

An adopted brother and sister reared together will share the same political and religious beliefs.

In a study on aggression, a group of university students were given an experimental task intended to be purposely frustrating. Then, the participants were given a task that forced them to administer (fake) electric shocks to another participant. Given what is known about gender differences and aggression, who do you think administered more painful electric shocks? Men administered more painful electric shocks. Women administered more painful electric shocks. Men and women administered equally painful electric shocks. Men refused to administer electric shocks.

Men administered more painful electric shocks.

Your sister's fiance has an identical twin brother who has been divorced three times. What research information would be most applicable to her situation? There is no difference between identical and fraternal twins in terms of divorce. Research has shown that divorce risks are about 50 percent attributable to genetic factors. Research suggests that identical twins have shorter attention spans than do fraternal twins. There is no evidence that divorce has anything to do with genetic factors.

Research has shown that divorce risks are about 50 percent attributable to genetic factors.

Your married friend Gwen is quite upset. She asks you why she, rather than her husband, is always the one who cooks, cleans, and takes care of the children the majority of the time. You tell her all of the following EXCEPT that: employed women have more time to devote to taking care of the children. employed American men spend at least an hour less on unpaid housework. 90 percent of the time, the mother stays home with the children when they are sick. in the United States, gender roles still assign these tasks to women.

employed women have more time to devote to taking care of the children.

Dr. Simon is an evolutionary psychologist working on a research grant about the impact of _____ in everyday society.

evolution

Your professor suggests that the increasing problem of obesity in the United States might be attributable to our inherited predisposition to love the taste of sweets and fats. Although these foods were difficult for our ancestors to find, they helped them to survive famines. Now, these foods are easily available and Americans are eating too much of them. What field does this theory belong to?

evolutionary psychology

When studying diseases with potential genetic influences, scientists are most likely to FIRST examine _____.

family history

My sister and I developed from a single fertilized egg. Am I male or female? I am _____.

female

The tendency to emphasize the impact of parents' child-rearing practices on children's personality has been most characteristic of _____ psychologists.

freudian

In psychology, _____ is defined as the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female.

gender

Brad has noticed that the girls he has gone out with still expect him to pay for dinner even though they may have asked him out in the first place. These expectations are called: gender schemas. gender typing. gender roles. gender identities.

gender roles.

Because 14-year-old George believes that crying is a feminine trait, he has difficulty admitting that a movie makes him tearful. His experience best illustrates dynamics highlighted by: gender schema theory. evolutionary psychology. behavior genetics. social learning theory.

gender schema theory

All of the following are biological influences on individual development EXCEPT: sex-related hormones. prenatal environment. gene-environment interactions. individual genetic variations.

gene-environment interactions

According to Alice Eagly and Wendy Wood, cultures with gender inequality where men are providers and women are "homemakers" are more likely to have _____ gender differences in mate preferences than are cultures with gender equality.

greater

According to the latest research on the human genome, genetic diversity is actually _____ among individual members of a specific population than the averages between two different ethnic group populations.

greater

When Mandy was born, her parents worried about her lack of eye contact, her unwillingness to cuddle like other babies, and her withdrawn behavior. However, her parents were patient and slowly introduced Mandy to new situations and new people while always giving affectionate support. By the time Mandy was 2 years old, she blossomed into an outgoing, social, friendly child. This example serves as evidence of the importance of: a purely biological predisposition for behavior and personality. the interaction between genes and the environment. how learning is the sole cause of personality and behavior. the interaction between certain constellations of genes is responsible for personality.

the interaction between genes and the environment.

The amount of genetic _____ between members of different population groups is about 5 percent of total human genetic variation.

variation

Research on temperament has shown that personality traits associated with each temperament type may be exhibited as late as:

young adulthood