PSY 201 – Flashcard

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To track the development of children's social skills, Prof Ober carefully monitors and records their classroom behaviors. Prof Ober engaged in
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naturalistic observation
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Which perspective is most concerned with how individuals interpret their experiences?
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cognitive
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Prof Ambra was skeptical about the accuracy of recently reported research on sleep deprivation. Which process would best enable her to assess the reliability of these findings?
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replication
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The neuroscience perspective in psychology would be most likely to influence that behavior is influenced by
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blood and neurotransmitter chemistry
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Maya wants to find out how students reacted to a proposed tuition hike at her school. She sends a questionnaire to every fifteenth person in the school's alphabetical listing of all currently enrolled students. Maya uses the technique of
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random sampling
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Random sampling minimizes _____ between experimental and control groups. Random sampling minimizes _____ between a sample and a population.
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differences; differences
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Six of the children in Mr. Myers' class were born on the same day. This strikes him as astonishing and improbable. In this instance, he should be reminded that
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sampling extreme cases leads to false generalizations
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Efforts to discover whether the intelligence of children is more heavily influenced by their genes or by their home environments are most directly related to the debate regarding the issue of
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nature and nurture
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Three key elements of the scientific attitude are
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curiosity, skepticism, and humility
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A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment is called a
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confounding variable
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Researchers are studying how social interaction affects problem solving. Some participants are instructed to solve problems working together; others are told to solve problems working alone. Those who worked alone were assigned to the _____ group.
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control
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Little Hans' extreme fear of horses was observed as a part of a(n)
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case study
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Being randomly assigned to the experimental group in a research project involves being assigned
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to that group by chance
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Which perspective in psychology is most likely to focus on how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures?
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social-cultural
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Suppose that those who watch a lot of TV violence are also likely to behave aggressively. This relationship would NOT necessarily mean that watching violence influences aggressive behavior because
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correlation does not prove causation
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To determine whether the strength of people's self-esteem is related to their income levels, researchers would most likely make use of
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correlational research
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Dr. Wong investigates the relationship between brain chemistry and intelligence. Dr. Wong is working in which psychological field?
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biological psychology
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The specialist most likely to have a medical degree is
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psychiatrist
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The cognitive perspective in psychology focuses on how
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people encode, process, store, and retrieve information
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By suggesting that nurture works on what nature provides, psychologists highlight the fact that we are biologically endowed with a capacity for
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learning and adaptation
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Hypnagogic sensations are most closely associated with _______ sleep
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NREM-1
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Sleep deprivation _______ the production of body fat by _______ levels of the stress hormone cortisol
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stimulates; increasing
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Shelley has not had enough sleep in the past week. She is at an increased risk of having a driving accident because her lack of sleep diminishes her
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attentional focus
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After he suffered a stroke, Mr. Santore's motor skills, vision, and hearing quickly returned to normal. Sadly, he began to have trouble figuring out how to find his way to neighborhood stores. He probably suffered damage to his
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association areas
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Consciousness is defined as
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our awareness of ourselves and our environment
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Which part of the limbic system plays an essential role in the processing of new memories?
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hippocampus
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The reticular formation is located in the
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brainstem
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Our inability to consciously process all the sensory information available to us at any single moment best illustrates the need for
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selective attention
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Particularly among men, sleep apnea is linked with
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obesity
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Bed-wetting is most likely to occur at the end of ______ sleep
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NREM-3
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Dr. Wolski does research on the possible relationship between neurotransmitter levels and moods. He is a specialist in
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biological psychology
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Mr. Oates always sleep restlessly, snorting and gasping for air throughout the night. It is most likely that he suffers from
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sleep apnea
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Which region of your brainstem plays a role in arousing you to a state of alertness when, for example, somebody nearby mentions your name
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reticular formation
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Julie consistently fails to get as much sleep as she needs. This is likely to place her at increased risk of
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obesity
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Without simulation from sounds, a temporal lobe area normally dedicated to hearing may begin to process visual signals. This best illustrates
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plasticity
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Messages are transmitted from your spinal cord to your heart muscle by the
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autonomic nervous system
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An undersupply of seratonin is most closely linked to
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depression
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Neural activity that promotes recall of earlier experiences is most closely associated with
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slow-wave sleep
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Dreams often involve sudden emotional reactions and surprising changes in scene. This best serves to support the theory that dreams
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are triggered by random bursts of neural activity
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Severing a cat's reticular formation from higher brain regions causes the cat to
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lapse into a coma
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Alcohol may cause fetal damage by leaving chemical marks on DNA that switch genes abnormally on or off. This best illustrates
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an epigenetic effect
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Cameron counted a total of eight blocks stacked in a single pile of blocks. When the pile was knocked over and the blocks scattered in front of him, he knew that there were still eight blocks. This indicates that Cameron had reached the _____ stage of development.
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concrete operational
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Object permeance is the understanding that
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things continue to exist even when they are not percieved
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According to Erikson, adolescence is to identity as late adulthood is to
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integrity
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The terminal decline phenomenon involves a decrease in mental ability that accompanies the approach of
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death
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When adults of varying ages were tested for their memory of a recently learned list of 24 words, the older adults demonstrated
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a decline in recall but not in recognition
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People typically experience an increasing sense of self confidence and self-esteem
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from the teens to midlife
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Sixty-five year olds should drive cars with _____ windshields because with age the eye's lens becomes ______ cloudy
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untinted; more
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In late adulthood, Mr. Klondike has become increasingly likely to make socially impolite remarks about other people's appearance or mannerisms. His blunt comments are most likely to indicate late life shrinkage of the ______ lobes.
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frontal
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During the course of successful prenatal development, a human organism begins as a(n)
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zygote and finally develops into a fetus
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DNA is a
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molecule
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Erikson suggested that adolescents who simply take on their parents' values of conform to their parents' expectations have failed to work on
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refining their sense of identity
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A critical period is a period when
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exposure to certain experiences is needed for proper brain development
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Older adults are NOT increasingly susceptible to
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common cold viruses
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Adolescents are most likely to be influenced by their parents with respect to ______, and they are most likely to be influenced by their peers with respect to ______.
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career aspirations; clothing preferences
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Learning to delay gratification promotes
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impulse control
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In general, children raised in the same family have different personalities. This most clearly implies that we should be cautious about attributing personality to
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parental influences
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Maturation refers to
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biological growth processes that influence development
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In service-learning programs where teens have tutored children or assisted older adults, the teens have experienced
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an increased willingness to serve
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Regis thinks it's wrong to drive over the speed limit simply because he might get punished for doing so. He is demonstrating Kohlberg's ______ stage of morality
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preconventional
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Those who defend evolutionary psychology against criticism are most likely to suggest that evolutionary principles
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generate testable predictions
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The term spermarche refers to the
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first ejaculation
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Those who prefer to express a blend of traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine physiological characteristics demonstrate
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androgyny
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Many sexually active American adolescents fail to avoid pregnancy because
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they are uncomfortable discussing contraception with their sexual partner
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In one survey, 72% of sexually active 12 to 17 year old American girls said
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they regretted having sex
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In their marital relationship, Sylvia enjoys extended face-to-face conversations while her husband enjoys working side-by-side on extended projects. Their unique activity preferences best illustrate a difference in
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gender linked social connectedness norms
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The reproductive advantage enjoyed by organisms best suited to a particular environment is known as
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natural selection
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Behaviors expected of those who occupy a particular social position define a
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role
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One early influence or prenatal testosterone is on the organism's
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brain development
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Research suggests that the fraternal birth-order effect may be a result of
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maternal immune system responses
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A man who consistently reaches a sexual climax before he or his sexual partner wishes is experiencing
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premature ejaculation
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People whose gender identity feels mismatched with their birth sex are
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transgender
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A woman who experiences distress due to a persistent inability to reach a sexual climax during prolonged sexual intercourse is most likely suffering from
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female orgasmic disorder
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Women are more likely than men to
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tend and befriend as a way to cope with stress
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In one famous case, an infant boy was raised as a girl following a botched circumcision. During adolescence, the child _______ boys and _______ the assigned female identity
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wanted no part of kissing; did not accept
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During the resolution stage of the sexual response cycle, people are most likely to experience a rapid decrease in arousal if
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they have just experienced orgasm
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When juries form, leadership tends to go to ______. When worker salaries are paid, those in traditionally ______ occupations receive more.
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men; male
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Gay men are _____ likely to have been smothered by maternal love than heterosexual men. Boys growing up in a father-absent home are ____ likely to be gay than boys growing up with their father present in the home.
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no more; no more
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The first stage of the sexual response cycle is
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an excitement stage
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If pregnant sheep are injected with _____ during a critical period of fetal development, their female offspring will show homosexual behavior.
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testosterone
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Using rewards to bribe people to engage in an activity they already enjoy is most likely to inhibit
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intrinsic motivation
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The correlation between religious involvement and life expectancy best illustrates the health value of
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the faith factor
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In explaining juvenile delinquency, B.F. Skinner would most likely have emphasized
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faulty behavioral consequences
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A loss of an encoded memory as a result of a gradual fading of the physical memory trace best illustrates
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storage decay
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Insulin, a hormone that influences appetite, is secreted by the
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pancreas
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In the 1920s, Walter Cannon discovered that emotion-arousing incidents trigger an outpouring of _____ from the adrenal glands
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stress hormones
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Rosana believes that she will succeed in business if she works hard and carefully manages her time. Her belief most clearly illustrates
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an internal locus of control
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The occurance of spontaneous recovery suggests that during extinction
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the CR is supressed
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Judy found that her party guests ate less from a very large plate of cupcakes that were cut in half rather than whole. This best illustrates the importance of
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serving size
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Info about where, when, and how often you ate a meal in the last couple of days is likely to be
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automatically processed
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Certain behaviors are more easily learned by some species of animals than by others. This best illustrates the importance of
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biological constraints
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Men and women watched film clips that were sad, happy, or frightening. Measures taken during their viewing of films showed that men and women differed the most in their
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facial expressions of emotion
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Children are especially likely to behave aggressively after viewing TV violence in which an attractive person commits
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justified violence that causes no visible pain or harm
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People have been found to suffer fewer health problems following the death of their spouse by suicide or car accident if they
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express their grief to close friends
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A type of learning in which behavior is diminished if followed by a punisher is called
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operant conditioning
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In stressful situations, feelings of pain are dulled by
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sympathetic nervous system
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For a person deprived of water, the satisfaction that follows drinking a thirst-quenching beverage best illustrates
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drive-reduction theory
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Compared with European American students, Asian American students express slightly more _____ regarding their future performance which may help explain their impressive academic achievements
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pessimism
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Isaac has been physically inactive and obese for as long as he can remember. He is now determined to lose excess weight with a reduced calorie diet. He is likely to have difficulty losing weight while dieting because
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it takes fewer calories to maintain fat tissue than muscle tissue
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After watching a happy film, patients happy emotion persisted even though they could not consciously recall the film. These patients had suffered damage to the
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hippocampus
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In an analysis of 755,000 divorces in 11 different countries divorce was associated with a reduction in
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life expectancy
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Basal metabolic rate is the body's resting rate of
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energy output and use
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The basal ganglia helps students form implicit memories of
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motor skills
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When encouraged to eat their fill of m&ms people ate more when given a large rather than a small serving scoop. This most clearly reflects the importance of
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serving size
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Mason, a stock broker, runs two miles everyday after work because it reduces his level of stress. Mason's running habit is maintained by a _____ reinforcer.
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negative
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Because Mr. H praises students only for very good answers to his questions, his students have stopped participating in class. Mr. H needs to understand the value of
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shaping
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Jedd wants his roommate, Dante, to help him study for a physics test. Dante is most likely to want to help after he has
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received an A on his psych test
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Our inability to remember information presented in the seconds just before we fall asleep is most likely due to
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encoding failure
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The inability to recall which numbers on a phone are not accompanied by letters is most likely due to
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encoding failure
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Some information in our fleeting ______ is encoded into short term memory
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sensory memory
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After having brain surgery to stop severe seizures Henry could recall events experienced prior to the surgery but was unable to form new conscious memories. Henry's memory difficulty most clearly illustrates
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amnesia
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Which measure of memory is used on a test that requires matching glossary terms with their correct definitions?
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recognition
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Mirror neurons are believed by some scientists to provide a biological basis for
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observational learning
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Explicit memories are
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memories of facts and personal events that can be consciously retrieved
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Rannilt was joyful after learning that she had been accepted by the medical school of her choice. After a few weeks, however, she was only mildly excited when she thought about her admission to the medical school. This change in her feelings can best be explained in terms of
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the adaptation-level phenomenon
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When Adam observed his sister being scolded after she hit another child, Adam also discontinued hitting other children. This illustrates the impact of
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vicarious punishment
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Victims of a famine will often eat unappetizing and nutritionally poor foods simply to relieve their constant hunger. Their behavior is explained by the
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drive-reduction theory
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The spillover effect is best explained in terms of
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the two-factor theory
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To get you to increase the frequency of your daily exercise, operant behavior specialists are most likely to recommend that you
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specify your exercise goals and inform some of your close friends of your goals
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Which neural center in the limbic system helps process explicit memories for storage?
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hippocampus
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Those who suppress their negative emotions in order to avoid social disapproval are at increased risk for a nonfatal heart attack. These individuals have been characterized as _______ personalities.
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Type D
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B.F. Skinner's work elaborated what E.L. Thorndike had called
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the law of effect
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You would be most likely to use operant conditioning to teach a dog to
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retrieve sticks and balls
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Sophia hopes to minimize her stress levels, thinking it would help her to avoid ovarian cancer, which claimed the life of her grandmother. Sophia would be best advised to remember that
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stress does not create cancer
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Those who find a redeeming purpose in their suffering and a reason to live are said to have a(n)
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sense of meaning
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One possible explanation for the longer life expectancy of religiously active people is that
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the receive more social support
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Five-year-old Trevor refuses to communicate with anyone. To get him to speak, his teacher first gives him candy for any sound, then only for a clearly spoken word, and finally only for a complete sentence. The teacher is using the method of
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shaping
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Orexin is a _____ hormone secreted by the _____.
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appetite-arousing; hypothalamus
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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
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guilty knowledge test
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Three perspectives that psychologists have used to explain motivation include an emphasis on arousal, a hierarchy of motives, and
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drive reduction
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After long-term potentiation has occured
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sending neurons release their neurotransmitters more easily
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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.
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fixed-interval
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Almost all residents in the town of Roxbury attend weekly religious services, whereas almost all residents in the nearby town rarely do so. Compared with the residents of that town, the residents of Roxbury are more likely to
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have a physically healthy lifestyle
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Psychologists are currently debating on whether our physical capacity for mentally stimulating the observed behavior of others is due to specialized
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mirror neurons
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Associating carrots with a mental image of a bun, milk with a shoe, and paper towels with a tree best illustrates
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the peg-word system
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We experience hunger when the level of
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glucose in our blood is low
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Remembering how to solve a puzzle without any conscious recollection that you can do so best illustrates ______ memory.
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implicit
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The tendency to eat more food when eating with others illustrates a phenomenon called
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social facilitation
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Myron quit gambling after he lost over a thousand dollars betting on horse races. This best illustrates the effects of
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punishment
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Which of the following most effectively weakens the influence of genetic risk factors for obesity?
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aerobic exercise
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The introduction of a pleasant stimulant is to _____ as the withdraw of a pleasant stimulus is to_____.
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reinforcement; punishment
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The infectious agent that triggers AIDS is called
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HIV
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Which of the following best explains why, for those who are not poor, more money buys little more than a temporary surge of happiness?
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the adaptation-level phenomenon
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Our ability to learn by watching the behavior of others best illustrates
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observational learning
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The idea that an emotion-arousing stimulus is simultaneously routed to the cortex and to the sympathetic nervous system is central to the
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Cannon-Bard theory
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When people are asked to recall a list of words they had earlier memorized, they often replace some of the words on the original list with similar but more familiar words. This best illustrates the effects of
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encoding meaning
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You are most likely to automatically encode information about
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the sequence of your day's events
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Sigmund Freud emphasized that the forgetting of painful experiences is caused by a process that involves
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repression
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According to Alan Baddeley, we consciously process incoming auditory and visual-spatial information in our _____ memory.
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working
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Carroll Izard has argues that ______ involves a combination of some of the 10 basic emotions she identified.
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pride
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The perception that our fate is determined by chance reflects
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an external locus of control
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The role of learning in motivation is most obvious from the influence of
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incentives
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The process of encoding refers to
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getting information into memory
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To explain why, when we have unlimited access to various tasty foods, we tend to overeat and gain weight, some researchers use the term _____ to indicate a person's base weight level.
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setting point
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Helpful and constructive actions best illustrate
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prosocial behavior
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Faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned is called
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source amnesia
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Experimental participants did not show strong differences in brain activation whether watching a sad or neutral movie if they
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had been trained in mindfulness meditation
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