Psychology Quiz 1
positive correlation
A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.
Cerebellum
A large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills.
myelin sheath
A layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the impulse hops from one node to the next.
linear perspective
A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the more parallel lines converge, the greater their perceived distance.
gene
A segment of DNA on a chromosome that codes for a specific trait
Yasmin has an interview lined up for her dream job as a real estate agent. What advice would you give to help her succeed in the interview, based on what you know about research on successful interviewing? A)Focus on improving her skills at interacting well with others, since interviewers tend to look favorably upon applicants who are easy to talk to. B)Try to get as many related experiences as possible, since interviewers will only take the most qualified applicants. C)Try to diversify her areas of study, since a well-rounded applicant will be looked upon more favorably. D)Take as many classes about real estate as possible, since the best candidate will have the most knowledge.
A) Focus on improving her skills at interacting well with others, since interviewers tend to look favorably upon applicants who are easy to talk to.
Allele
An alternative form of a gene.
Genotype
An organism's genetic makeup, or allele combinations.
Barry states that psychology is the study of the mind. Candace states that psychology is the science of behavior. How might you evaluate these two statements?
Both statements are partially correct.
terminal branches
Branched endings of an axon that transmit messages to other neurons
Dendrites
Branchlike parts of a neuron that are specialized to receive information.
basal ganglia function
Direct input from frontal lobe, facilitates motor movements, inhibits unneeded movements Spatial-temporal aspects of speech Damage: unusual body postures, dysarthria, change in body tone, involuntary uncontrolled movements interfere with voluntary speech, walk or other movements (dyskinesias)
left brain hemisphere
Dominant for spoken and written language; reasoning; analysis
cell body
Largest part of a typical neuron; contains the nucleus and much of the cytoplasm
Suppose you stare at an illustration of the American flag for a while and then glance at a blank white page. Why do the red stripes look green when you glance at the blank page?
Opponent-process cells activated by red light become fatigued.
social psychologists
Psychologists who study how people influence one another's behavior and mental processes, individually and in groups AND the influence of context on human behavior
Amygdala function
Responsible for the response and memory of emotions, especially fear
Meta-analysis research
The process of statistically analyzing data from previously published research studies
The idea that the more money you make the happier you will be is said to be false. Yet you may have believed this to be true before reading this information. Why is this likely to be the case?
We have intuitive beliefs and rely on these beliefs to help us navigate the world.
developmental psychology
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
A researcher argues that the number of violent TV shows that a child watches is positively correlated with the aggressiveness of the child's play because the discipline style of the parents causes both TV viewing and aggressive play. The researcher believes that parental discipline style is which of the following?
a common-causal variable
relative size
a monocular cue for perceiving depth; the smaller retinal image is farther away
clinical psychologist
a psychologist who diagnoses and treats people with emotional disturbances
participant bias
a tendency for research participants to respond in a certain way because they know they are being observed, or they believe they know what the researcher wants
common-causal variable
a variable that is not part of the research hypothesis but that causes both the predictor and the outcome variable and thus produces the observed correlation between them
To test someone's hearing, an audiologist plays a variety of tones to identify the faintest tone that someone can hear with 50 percent accuracy. This kind of test assesses a person's ________ threshold.
absolute
experimenter expectancy bias
actual change in the behavior of the people or nonhuman animals being observed that is due to the expectations of the observer
Structuralism
an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
In comparison to cones, rods:
are more sensitive to light
Fidelma is undertaking survey research. Which of the following is she probably doing?
asking a sample of students a series of questions about their sexual attitudes and behaviors
What do personality psychologists study?
aspects of behavior that are relatively stable over time
central nervous system
brain and spinal cord
falsifiable
capable of being disproved
right brain hemisphere
controls left side of body, functions primary as artistic and creative side, function in areas (art awareness, crativity, imagination, intuition, insight, holistic(alternative) thoughts, music awarness, 3D forms left hand controls)
motor cortex function
controls voluntary movements
contralateral control
each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body
In Dr. Suarez' social psychology lab, Dr. Thomas' research assistants are more likely to unconsciously reinforce aggressive behavior among children who view a violent video film than among children viewing a nonviolent film. Dr. Suarez' research is susceptible to.
experimenter expectancy bias
internal validity
extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences from a study
external validity
extent to which we can generalize findings to real-world settings
If a popular media outlet tells readers they should change their diets based on the results of a new study conducted on mice, they have overestimated the study's ________ validity.
external
Randy is really hoping to see Lady Gaga after the concert. He sees a person who looks like her and exclaims "Hey, Lady Gaga!" But really, it's just a fan and not Lady Gaga. In signal detection terms, Randy's response reflects a __________.
false alarm
Compare your forearm, hand, and fingers to a neuron where the action potential moves toward your shoulder. In such an analogy, the dendrites would be your:
fingers
Stormy remembers a really difficult breakup in her life. Which part of the brain is most likely helping with her ability to remember this emotional event?
hippocampus
Psychodynamic
how behavior springs from unconscious drives and conflicts
cognitive
how we encode, process, store, and retrieve information
Pizza! Beer! Sex! Our motivation or drive for such things is based in part on the activity of the brain region known as the ________.
hypothalamus
Interposition
if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer
correct rejection
if the signal is not presented and the participant does not detect it
Professors Chase and Sanborn are conducting an experiment on the effects of caffeine on memory. Participants are randomly assigned to a caffeine or a no-caffeine group and their recall of items on a word list is later assessed. Which pair correctly identifies a variable in this experiment?
independent variable; caffeine
A group of clinicians is interested in testing which kinds of therapies are most effective for people with social phobia. To do so, they have clients complete different forms of therapy and assess their symptoms over the course of the study. In this example, the kind of therapy is a(n) ________ variable and clients' symptoms of social phobia are a(n) ________ variable.
independent; dependent
Which of the following best describes the "everyday research" that we all perform when we try to understand thoughts and behavior?
it can lead us to believe that we know the causes of things when we really do no
Hippocampus function
learning and memory
In a beginning drawing class, your instructor suggests that an illusion of depth may be created in a two-dimensional picture by including parallel lines that converge at a vanishing point. Your instructor is referring to a monocular depth cue known as:
linear perspective
The amygdala is to emotion as the hippocampus is to:
memory
A monkey makes an involuntary gesture when a portion of its brain is electrically stimulated. The area of the brain that was most likely stimulated is the:
motor cortex
Archer has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which means he has a hard time controlling his movements. These symptoms result from impaired transmission of electrical signals. Which part of a neuron is damaged in Archer?
myelin sheath
sensory neurons
neurons that carry incoming information from the sensory receptors to the brain and spinal cord
Interneurons
neurons within the brain and spinal cord that communicate internally and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
naturalistic observation
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
Proprioception
our ability to sense the positions of our body parts
Phenotype
physical appearance
A researcher hypothesizes that people who spend more time sleeping each night will perform better on cognitive tasks administered first thing in the morning. Based on the information provided, the predicted correlation between time slept and task performance is best described as...
positive
Each alternative below identifies a potential relationship between two variables. Which alternative most likely misidentifies the Type: of relationship between the two variables it names? positive - job satisfaction and absenteeism negative -- alcohol use and GPA negative - physical fitness and body-mass index positive -- self-esteem and academic achievement
positive - job satisfaction and absenteeism
cognitive psychologists
psychologists who study the way people think, remember, and mentally organize information
retina function
receive light that the lens has focused, convert the light into neural signals, and send these signals on to the brain for visual recognition, contains the photoreceptor cells
external invalidity
refers to the possibility that conclusions drawn from experimental results may not be generalizable to the "real" world
sensory cortex function
registers and processes body touch and movement sensations
Thalamus function
relay station for sensory impulses, pain
Replication
repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances
Cones
retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations.
Rods
retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond
Left-handers appear to excel in abilities associated with the _______ hemisphere in the brain, illustrating the principle of ________ control.
right; contralateral
Adelaide notices a flicker of motion out of the corner of her eye as she hurries down a dim alley late at night. Sydney deciphers a complex wiring diagram under the bright glare of her desk lamp. Adelaide's vision is driven mainly by her _________. Sydney is mainly using her ________.
rods; cones
Why do we adapt after prolonged exposure to a constant stimulus?
so that we detect potentially important changes in what's going on
Dr. Anderson studies how we change our behavior to match that of other people. Dr. Anderson is best described as a _____ psychologist.
social
Sariah decides to throw her ring away and pulls her arm back to begin the throwing motion. Which nervous system is most likely active?
somatic
Glenn sees certain shapes in his mind when he listens to music. For instance, horns and trumpets sound triangular to him. Glenn's example illustrates _________.
synesthesia
Which of the following defines plasticity?
the brain can adapt to the effects of experience or damage
outcome variable
the dependent variable in a correlational study that is being predicted by the predictor variable
sympathetic nervous system
the division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations
parasympathetic nervous system
the division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, conserving its energy
somatic nervous system
the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles
face validity
the extent to which a test item appears to fit the particular trait it is measuring
Trevor is scratching his head, trying desperately to solve a verbal analogy as part of a standardized entrance examination; Sienna, meanwhile, is giving an oral presentation in a political science class. Which of the following statements best describes the relative activity of the brain's two hemispheres in these two students?
the left hemisphere is more active than the right for both these students.
absolute threshold
the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time
autonomic nervous system
the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.
Synethesia
the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body.
false alarm
the subject perceived a signal when none was present
opponent process theory of color vision
the theory that receptor cells for color are linked in pairs, working in opposition to each other
Behaviorism
the view that psychology should be an objective science that studies behavior without reference to mental processes
Roast beef with a rich brown gravy is often described as a 'savory' dish. The basic taste prominent in such a dish is _____________.
umami
occipital lobe function
vision
hypothalamus function
water, balance/bp/temp regulation/hunger/thirst/sex.
Professors Chase and Sanborn are conducting an experiment on the effects of caffeine on memory. Participants are randomly assigned to a caffeine or a no-caffeine group and their recall of items on a word list is later assessed. Which pair below correctly names and identifies the variables in this experiment?
word recall-dependent variable; caffeine-independent variable
