Intro to Psych Final

Unlock all answers in this set

Unlock answers
question
The controversy over the relative contributions of genes and experience on psychological traits is known as the
answer
Nature vs. Nurture
question
The first woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychology later wrote an influential book The Animal Mind. Her name was
answer
Margaret Floy Washburn
question
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with mental activities such as perception, memory, and language is called
answer
Cognitive Neuroscience
question
Cognitive neuroscience studies relationships between
answer
Thought processes and brain functions
question
Efforts to discover whether the intelligence of children is more heavily influenced by their biology or by their home environments are most directly relevant to the debate regarding
answer
Nature vs. Nature
question
Who was the American philosopher-psychologist who authored a textbook in 1890 for the emerging discipline of psychology?
answer
William James
question
The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies observable human activity without reference to mental processes is known as
answer
Behaviorism
question
Functionalism was a school of psychology that focused attention on the
answer
Adaptive value of conscious thoughts and emotions
question
From the 1920s into the 1960s, American psychologists emphasized the study of
answer
Observable behavior
question
Which psychological perspective is most likely to examine how group membership influences individual attitudes and behaviors?
answer
Neuroscience
question
Dr. Winkle conducts basic research on the systematic changes in intelligence associated with aging. It is most likely that Dr. Winkle is a(n) ________ psychologist.
answer
Developmental
question
To balance historic psychology's focus on human problems and negative emotions, Martin Seligman called for the development of
answer
Positive Psychology
question
Which branch of psychology is most likely to study how social institutions affect the well-being of individuals and groups?
answer
Community Psychology
question
Which of the following methods is most helpful for clarifying cause-effect relationships?
answer
The experiment
question
Replication of a research study is most likely to be facilitated by
answer
Operational definitions
question
Correlation is a measure of the extent to which two factors
answer
Vary together
question
University of Texas students were fitted with belt-worn tape recorders for up to four days so that researchers could sample their daily activities. The researchers employed a scientific method known as
answer
Naturalistic observation
question
When you question whether anecdotal evidence can be generalized to all people, you are applying
answer
Critical thinking
question
Surveys indicate that people are less likely to support "welfare" than "aid to the needy." These somewhat paradoxical survey results best illustrate the importance of
answer
Wording effects
question
Formulating testable hypotheses before conducting research is most directly useful for restraining a thinking error known as
answer
Hindsight bias
question
Which research method provides the best way of assessing whether cigarette smoking boosts mental alertness?
answer
The experiment
question
Three key attitudes of scientific inquiry are
answer
Curiosity, skepticism, and humility
question
Approximately 95 percent of the cases represented by the normal curve fall within ________ standard deviation(s) from the mean.
answer
2
question
The average price for different brands of toothpaste could be visually displayed in a
answer
Bar graph
question
Studying people of all races and cultures is most helpful for
answer
Discerning human similarities and differences
question
If psychologists discovered that poor people are more satisfied with their marriages than wealthy people are, this would indicate that wealth and marital satisfaction are
answer
Positively correlated
question
Professor Ober carefully observes and records the behaviors of children in their classrooms in order to track the development of their social and intellectual skills. Professor Ober is most clearly engaged in
answer
Naturalistic observation
question
A focus on the links between brain activity and behavior is most characteristic of psychologists who work from a ________ perspective.
answer
Biological
question
Which part of your brain receives information that you are moving your legs?
answer
Sensory cortex
question
Dendrites are branching extensions of
answer
Neurons
question
The speed at which a neural impulse travels is increased when the axon is encased by a(n)
answer
Myelin sheath
question
The cerebral cortex is the covering layer of the
answer
Cerebrum
question
After Kato's serious motorcycle accident, doctors detected damage to his cerebellum. Kato is most likely to have difficulty
answer
Playing his guitar
question
By restraining the use of his left hand, doctors helped Bruce to use and improve the coordination skills of his right hand. The doctors employed a technique known as
answer
Constraint-induced therapy
question
Using a brain-computer interface, some paralyzed people may be able to move a robotic limb simply by thinking about moving it. This best illustrates
answer
Cognitive neural prosthetics
question
José has just played a long, bruising football game but feels little fatigue or discomfort. His lack of pain is most likely caused by the release of
answer
Endorphins
question
With regard to the process of neural transmission, a refractory period refers to a time interval in which
answer
Positively charged ions are pumped back outside a neural membrane
question
The reticular formation is located in the
answer
Brainstem
question
To demonstrate that brain stimulation can make a rat violently aggressive, a neuroscientist should electrically stimulate the rat's
answer
Amygdala
question
The person most likely to suggest that the shape of a person's skull indicates the extent to which that individual is argumentative and aggressive would be a
answer
Phrenologist
question
You come home one night to find a burglar in your house. Your heart starts racing and you begin to perspire. These physical reactions are triggered by the
answer
Sympathetic nervous system
question
Chemical substances that alter perceptions and moods are called ________ drugs.
answer
Pychoactive
question
Traffic accident rates have been found to ________ after the spring change to daylight savings time and to ________ after the fall change back to standard time.
answer
Increase, decrease
question
The human sleep cycle repeats itself about every
answer
90 minutes
question
Physical pain and intense cravings indicate
answer
Physical dependence
question
A periodic, natural, reversible loss of consciousness that involves distinct stages is known as
answer
Sleep
question
Which of the following is bad advice for a person trying to overcome insomnia?
answer
Drink a glass of wine 15 minutes before bedtime
question
A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it is known as
answer
Blindsight
question
Evidence suggests that we consolidate our memories of recent life events through
answer
REM sleep
question
Professor Smith emphasizes that gender similarities and differences are products of a continuous interplay among genetically predisposed traits, culturally shaped roles, and personally constructed expectations and assumptions. The professor's emphasis best illustrates
answer
A biopsychosocial approach
question
Evolutionary psychologists would be most likely to predict that
answer
Children are more likely to be valued by their biological fathers than by their stepfathers
question
Evolutionary psychology studies the evolution of behavior and the mind using principles of
answer
Natural selection
question
DNA is a complex
answer
Molecule
question
Evolutionary psychologists are most likely to emphasize that human adaptiveness to a variety of different environments has contributed to human
answer
Reproductive success
question
Migdalia insists on wearing very feminine-looking outfits because she wants to be treated like a woman. This best illustrates the impact of
answer
Gender typing
question
One form of a gene that regulates the neurotransmitter serotonin contributes to the development of
answer
A fearful temperament
question
Since 1960, Americans have experienced a(n)
answer
Increase in the incidence of depression and an increase in work hours
question
Behaviors expected of those who occupy a particular social position define a
answer
Role
question
Men in their ________ are most likely to be sexually attracted to women who are several years older rather than several years younger than themselves.
answer
Teens
question
Assessing possible links between specific chromosome segments and alcohol dependence would be of greatest interest to a(n)
answer
Molecular geneticist
question
A willingness to switch jobs and move from one part of the country to another best illustrates one of the consequences of
answer
Individualism
question
Cross-cultural research on human development indicates that
answer
Person-to-person differences within cultural groups are larger than differences between groups
question
Marlys is a sensitive, responsive parent who consistently satisfies the needs of Sara, her infant daughter. According to Erikson, Sara is likely to
answer
Form a lifelong attitude of trust toward the world
question
Piaget emphasized how the child's mind grows through interaction with the physical environment. Vygotsky emphasized how the child's mind grows through
answer
Social mentoring
question
During the last few years, 75-year-old Mrs. Yamaguchi has gradually become so mentally disoriented that she can't find her way around her own house and often fails to recognize her husband. It is most likely that Mrs. Yamaguchi is suffering the effects of
answer
Alzheimer's disease
question
The fact that many happy and well-adjusted adults were once rebellious and unhappy as adolescents is most relevant to the issue of
answer
Stability and change
question
The best predictor of a couple's marital satisfaction is the
answer
Ratio of positive to negative interactions with each other
question
Carol is distressed because post-childbirth complications prevented her from being in close physical contact with her child during its first few hours of life. Carol should be told that
answer
Human infants do not have well-defined critical periods for the formation of a mother-infant attachment
question
In teen calls to hotline counseling services, the most discussed topic is
answer
Peer relationships
question
When asked to recall the one or two most important events over the last half century, older adults tend to name events that occurred when they were between ________ years of age.
answer
10 and 30
question
Research on older people has shown that
answer
They become increasingly prone to car accidents
question
According to Erikson, achieving a sense of identity is the special task of the
answer
Adolescent
question
Puberty is most closely related to the onset of
answer
Menarche
question
During the time following the death of a loved one
answer
Those who express the strongest grief immediately do not purge their grief more quickly
question
In one 15-year period, more Americans died on the two days after Christmas than on the two days before Christmas. It has been suggested that this illustrates
answer
A death-deferral phenomenon
question
Cognition refers to
answer
The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
question
According to Piaget, imagining an action and mentally reversing it would be an example of a
answer
Mental operation
question
Infants accustomed to a puppet jumping three times on stage show surprise if the puppet jumps only twice. This suggests that Piaget
answer
Underestimated the cognitive capacities of infants
question
Providing children with a safe haven in times of stress contributes most directly to
answer
Secure attachment
question
Researchers have discovered that the midlife transition between early and middle adulthood is characterized by unusually high levels of
answer
None of these feelings or events
question
According to Erikson, trust is to infancy as identity is to
answer
Adolescence
question
Research indicates that the high school girls who have the most affectionate relationships with their mothers also tend to
answer
Have the most intimate relationships with girlfriends
question
According to Piaget, egocentrism refers to
answer
The difficulty perceiving things from another person's point of view
question
When adults of varying ages were tested for their memory of a recently learned list of 24 words, the older adults demonstrated
answer
A decline in recall but not in recognition
question
When put in a foul-smelling rather than a pleasant-smelling room, people expressed harsher judgments of immoral acts such as lying. This best illustrates the importance of
answer
Embodied cognition
question
According to place theory, the perception of
answer
High-pitched sounds is associated with large vibrations of the basilar membrane closest to the oval window
question
A subliminal message is one that is presented
answer
Below one's absolute threshold for awareness
question
Our sense of taste was once thought to involve only the following four sensations
answer
Bitter, sweet, sour, salty
question
Psychologists are currently debating whether our physical capacity for mentally simulating the observed behavior of others is due to specialized
answer
Mirror neurons
question
Shaping is a(n) ________ procedure.
answer
Operant conditioning
question
An organism learns associations between events it does not control during the process of
answer
Classical conditioning
question
Animals tend to revert from newly learned habits to their biologically predisposed behaviors. This is an example of
answer
Instinctive drift
question
Toddlers taught to fear speeding cars may also begin to fear speeding trucks and motorcycles. This best illustrates
answer
Generalization
question
An executive in a computer software firm works with his office door closed. At the same time every hour he opens the door to see what his employees are doing. The employees have learned to work especially hard during the five minutes before and while the door is open. Their work pattern is typical of responses that are reinforced on a ________ schedule.
answer
Fixed-interval
question
Myron quit gambling after he lost over a thousand dollars betting on horse races. This best illustrates the effects of
answer
Punishment
question
Mason, a stockbroker, runs two miles every day after work because it reduces his level of stress. Mason's running habit is maintained by a ________ reinforcer.
answer
Negative
question
Psychologists define learning as the process of
answer
Acquiring new information or relatively enduring behaviors
question
Extinction occurs when a ________ is no longer paired with a ________.
answer
CS; US
question
Asking women for dates is most likely to be reinforced on a ________ schedule.
answer
Variable-ratio
question
A response is learned most rapidly and is most resistant to extinction if it is acquired under conditions of
answer
Continuous reinforcement followed by partial reinforcement
question
A learned association between two stimuli is central to
answer
Classical conditioning
question
After learning to fear a white rat, Little Albert responded with fear to the sight of a rabbit. This best illustrates the process of
answer
Generalization
question
The reappearance, after a time lapse, of an extinguished CR is called
answer
Spontaneous recovery
question
Learning that some responses, but not others, will be reinforced is called
answer
Discrimination
question
People should avoid back-to-back study times for learning Spanish and French vocabulary in order to minimize
answer
Interference
question
An iconic memory is a ________ memory.
answer
Sensory
question
The use of mnemonics such as the peg-word system illustrates
answer
Effortful processing
question
Stress hormones provoke the ________ to initiate a memory trace in the frontal lobes and basal ganglia.
answer
Amygdala
question
Memory of your familiar old e-mail password may block the recall of your new password. This illustrates
answer
Retroactive interference
question
Removing a rat's hippocampus 48 hours after it learns the location of some tasty food does not prevent it from forming a long-term memory of where the food is located. This best illustrates the importance of
answer
Memory consolidation
question
Memories are primed by
answer
Retrieval cues
question
Storage is to encoding as ________ is to ________.
answer
Retention; acquisition
question
A lack of conscious memories of your first three years of life best illustrates
answer
Infantile amnesia
question
Joshua vividly recalls his feelings and what he was doing at the exact moment when he heard of his grandfather's unexpected death. This best illustrates ________ memory.
answer
Flashbulb
question
Encoding that requires attention and conscious awareness is called
answer
Effortful processing
question
Our inability to remember information presented in the seconds just before we fall asleep is most likely due to
answer
Encoding failure
question
By consciously rehearsing facts you need to learn in many separate study sessions occurring throughout the semester, you are most clearly taking advantage of
answer
The spacing effect
question
Which measure of memory is used on a test that requires matching glossary terms with their correct definitions?
answer
Recognition
question
Dean overestimates the proportion of family chores for which he takes sole responsibility because it's easier for him to recall what he has done than to recall what other family members have done. This best illustrates the impact of
answer
The availability heuristic
question
To combine words into grammatically sensible sentences, we need to apply proper rules of
answer
Syntax
question
The word "cats" contains ________ phoneme(s) and ________ morpheme(s).
answer
4; 2
question
The overconfidence phenomenon refers to the tendency to
answer
Underestimate the extent to which our beliefs and judgments are inaccurate
question
An impairment of language is known as
answer
Aphasia
question
Wernicke's area is typically located in the left ________ lobe.
answer
Temporal
question
Noam Chomsky suggested that all human languages share a(n)
answer
Universal grammar
question
After spending two hours trying to solve an engineering problem, Amira finally gave up. As she was trying to fall asleep that night, a solution to the problem popped into her head. Amira's experience best illustrates
answer
Insight
question
A test of your capacity to learn to be an automobile mechanic would be considered a(n) ________ test.
answer
Aptitude
question
Brain scans indicate that smart people
answer
Require less energy to solve problems than the average person
question
For the original version of the Stanford-Binet, IQ was defined as
answer
Mental age divided by chronological age and multiplied by 100
question
Girls are most likely to outperform boys in a
answer
Grammar test
question
Howard Gardner identified a total of ________ intelligences.
answer
8
question
The same people are tested and retested over a period of years in a(n)
answer
Longitudinal study
question
The distribution of intelligence test scores in the general population forms a bell-shaped pattern. This pattern is called a
answer
Normal curve
question
Spearman's g factor refers to
answer
A general intelligence that underlies successful performance on a wide variety of tasks
question
Five-year-old Benjy has an IQ of 120 on the original version of the Stanford-Binet. His mental age is
answer
6
question
The ability to delay immediate pleasures in pursuit of long-range rewards is most clearly a characteristic of
answer
Emotional intelligence
question
Binet and Simon designed a test of intellectual abilities in order to
answer
Identify children likely to have difficulty learning in regular school classes
question
According to the ________, you would be able to experience emotion even without sympathetic nervous system arousal.
answer
Cannon-Bard theory
question
According to the two-factor theory, the two basic components of emotions are ________ and ________.
answer
cognitive label; physical arousal
question
Research on the accuracy of lie detector tests suggests that they
answer
Are more likely to declare the innocent guilty than to declare the guilty innocent
question
A deep neural center activated when people smell some disgusting food or when they feel moral disgust in response to a perceived injustice is called the
answer
Insula
question
The tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding feelings such as fear or happiness is called
answer
The facial feedback effect
question
A polygraph examination of a suspected murderer included an assessment of his reaction to a detailed description of the victim's clothing and death wounds—details that would be known only to a person at the scene of the crime. The investigators were using the
answer
Guilty knowledge test
question
A loss of perceived control tends to result in
answer
Reduced immune responses
question
Friedman and Rosenman referred to competitive, hard-driving, impatient, and easily angered individuals as ________ personalities.
answer
Type A
question
The adaptation-level phenomenon refers to the
answer
Tendency for standards of judgement to be heavily influenced by previous experiences
question
Two-thirds of Americans responding to surveys taken in the three weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks reported
answer
Sleeping difficulties
question
Depression increases the risk of death, especially death from
answer
Coronary Heart Disease
question
Social support helps to promote cardiovascular health by
answer
Lowering blood pressure
question
No matter how long and hard Lerae studies, she always feels she hasn't studied as much as she should have. A Freudian psychologist would suggest that Lerae shows signs of a
answer
Strong superego
question
The defense mechanism in which self-justifying explanations replace the real, unconscious reasons for actions is
answer
Rationalization
question
If we are nervous about our personal appearance after adopting a new hairstyle, we are likely to ________ the extent to which others notice our nervousness and we are likely to ________ the extent to which they notice our new hairstyle.
answer
Overestimate; overestimate
question
Projective tests are most closely associated with ________ theories.
answer
Psychodynamic
question
Unlike country, pop, and religious music lovers, those who prefer classical, jazz, blues, and folk music tend to score high on the Big Five trait dimension known as
answer
Openness
question
A person whose self-esteem is momentarily threatened is especially likely to
answer
Criticize others
question
After experiencing inescapable brutalities as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, Mr. Sternberg became apathetic, stopped eating, and gave up all efforts to physically survive the ordeal. Mr. Sternberg's reaction most clearly illustrates
answer
Learned helplessness
question
According to Freud, an adult who exhibits biting sarcasm and an exaggerated denial of his or her dependence on others shows signs of a(n)
answer
Fixation
question
Dr. Zytowics wants to assess the extent to which a client is suffering from depression, social withdrawal, and other symptoms of an emotional disorder. Which personality inventory would be most helpful for this purpose?
answer
MMPI
question
Factor analysis has been used to identify the most basic
answer
Personality traits
question
Those with an internal locus of control act ________ independently and feel ________ depressed than those with an external locus of control.
answer
more; less
question
Maslow's description of self-actualized individuals was said to reflect his own personal values because he
answer
Selectively studied people with qualities he admired
question
A psychotherapist instructs Dane to relax, close his eyes, and state aloud whatever thoughts come to mind no matter how trivial or absurd. The therapist is using a technique known as
answer
Free association
question
The ability to delay short-term gratification for greater long-term rewards illustrates
answer
Self-control
question
The fact that human aggression varies widely from culture to culture most strongly suggests that it is NOT
answer
Unlearned instinct
question
Animals that have successfully fought to get food or mates become increasingly ferocious. This best illustrates that aggression is influenced by
answer
Reinforcement
question
In contrast to watching violence on television, participating in violent video games involves
answer
Role playing aggression
question
Participants in the Milgram obedience studies were ordered to
answer
Deliver electric shocks to a learner for giving the wrong answers
question
Svetlana, a 20-year-old undergraduate, is beautiful. Research suggests that she is likely to ________ than less attractive women.
answer
Be perceived as more socially skilled
question
Vanna is tempted to shoplift a gold necklace even though she has negative feelings about shoplifting. Vanna is LEAST likely to steal the merchandise if
answer
She easily recalls her negative feelings about shoplifting
question
Which of the following is true of non-Western cultures, as compared with Western cultures? They have
answer
Lower divorce rates and consider passionate love as less important for marriage
question
Jason was fouled by an unfamiliar opponent during a basketball game at a neighborhood park. His consumption of alcohol prior to the game is most likely to lead him to interpret the foul as
answer
A provocation
question
Solomon Asch reported that individuals conformed to a group's judgment of the lengths of lines
answer
Even when the group judgement was clearly incorrect
question
Three keys to an enduring compassionate love include
answer
Equity, self-disclosure, and positive support
question
Which branch of psychology is most directly concerned with the study of how people think about influence, and relate to one another?
answer
Social psychology
question
At a conscious level, Aaron doesn't think he's prejudiced. Yet he automatically feels uncomfortable in situations where he has to interact with people of different races from his own. Aaron's experience best illustrates the distinction between
answer
Explicit and implicit attitudes
question
Two classmates ask you to spend a couple of hours helping them prepare for a chemistry test. According to social exchange theory, you would be most likely to help them if
answer
You know you would feel terribly guilty for refusing their request
question
In 1942, German reserve police officers obeyed orders to kill some 1500 Jews in the village of Jozefow, Poland. This incident illustrated that people are most likely to be destructively obedient when
answer
They perceive their orders to come from legitimate authority figures
question
Deindividuation refers to
answer
A loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group situations that fosters arousal and anonymity
question
When 12-year-old Jamilah saw an old man lying on the sidewalk, he prepared to offer help. But when he noticed several adults walk past the man, he concluded that the man did not need any help. His reaction most clearly illustrates one of the dynamics involved in
answer
The bystander effect
question
According to the scapegoat theory, prejudice is likely to result from
answer
Frustration
question
The fundamental attribution error refers to our tendency to underestimate the impact of ________ and to overestimate the impact of ________ in explaining the behavior of others.
answer
Situational influences; personal dispositions
question
A person attacked by a fierce dog develops a fear of all dogs. This best illustrates
answer
Stimulus generalization
question
Anxiety is considered disordered if it is
answer
Persistent and distressing
question
Alexis is socially withdrawn and has few close friends. This behavior is most likely to be diagnosed as a symptom of psychological disorder if it is
answer
Preventing her from functioning effectively
question
Twenty-two-year-old Tawana is slightly overweight and loves to eat, particularly snack foods and rich desserts. Fearful of becoming overweight, she frequently takes a laxative following episodes of binge eating. Tawana most clearly suffers from
answer
Bulimia nervosa
question
Some psychological disorders occur primarily in one culture. However, ________ occurs worldwide.
answer
Schizophrenia
question
Kaylee is so afraid of spiders and insects that she avoids most outdoor activities and even refuses to go to the basement of her own house alone. Kaylee appears to suffer from
answer
Phobia
question
Antisocial personality disorder is most likely to be characterized by
answer
A lack of guilt feelings
question
Danes born in densely populated areas have been found to be at increased risk for
answer
Schizophrenia
question
Melissa is fearful of men and refuses to go out on dates. Her therapist suggests that she is fearful because she was sexually abused by her father when she was young. The therapist's suggestion most clearly reflects a ________ perspective.
answer
Learning
question
Ongoing patterns of behavior that are different from those of most other people in your culture are best characterized as
answer
Deviant
question
It has been suggested that compulsive acts typically exaggerate behaviors that contributed to the survival of the human species. This idea best illustrates the ________ perspective.
answer
Biological
question
Rats that received unpredictable electric shocks in a laboratory experiment subsequently became apprehensive when returned to that same laboratory setting. This best illustrates that anxiety disorders may result from
answer
Classical conditioning
question
Among schizophrenia patients, the fluid-filled areas of the brain are
answer
Abnormally large and the thalamus is abnormally small
question
Some people are more vulnerable to PTSD because they have a sensitive ________, which floods the body with stress hormones.
answer
Limbic system
question
In which type of disorder is a person's speech likely to be so full of unrelated words and phrases that it could be characterized as a "word salad"?
answer
Schizophrenia
question
Researchers have found that matching Asian-American clients with counselors who share their cultural values facilitates
answer
The therapeutic alliance
question
Psychoanalytic techniques are designed primarily to help patients
answer
Become aware of their repressed conflicts and impulses
question
Principles derived from psychologists' understanding of classical conditioning have most directly influenced the development of
answer
Psychodynamic theories
question
Dr. Jackson reinforces depressed patients for their participation in pleasant activities and trains them to take increasingly more credit for the rewards they gain from engaging in those activities. Dr. Jackson's treatment approach best illustrates
answer
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New