Psychology 100 - Flashcards

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The scientific study of mental processes and behaviour

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Psychology

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To study conscious experience and its structure

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Structuralism

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Early Advocates for Structuralism

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Edward Titchner and Wilhelm Wundt

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Early Advocates for Behaviourism

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John Watson and B.F. Skinner

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To study observable behaviour and explain behaviour through learning principles

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Behaviourism

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To study how the mind works in allowing an organism to adapt to the environment

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Functionalism

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Advocates of Functionalism

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William James

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To explain the personality and behaviour. To develop techniques to treat mental disorders.

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Psychoanalysis

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To practice as a psychologist in Australia there is a legal requirement that you:

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are registered with the national psychology board

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Which statement describes the major difference between the way psychologists and psychiatrists treat mental disorders?

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Psychiatrists can prescribe medication

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If you kept a journal of your conscious experience including sensations, images, feelings, and thoughts you would be engaging in what early psychology researchers like Wundt and Titchener called:

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Introspection

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The argument over whether human behaviour is learned or biologically rooted is called

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The nature-nurture debate

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What is the main difference between a behaviour and a mental process

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A behaviour can be observed, but a mental process can only be inferred

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Before the 19th century, "psychology" was most similar to which of the following disciplines?

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Philosophy

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Which individual is often credited with establishing the first psychological laboratory, thus establishing psychology as an experimental science?

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Wilhelm Wundt

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Suppose you were one of the early graduate students in the newly developed field of psychology. Your mentor is interested in discovering the answers to questions like, "Why is the ability to forget helpful?", "How do emotions assist us in social situations?", and "Why is self-presentation a useful technique for gaining social rewards?" Your mentor's approach is most consistent with the ________ perspective.

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functionalist

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Uncovering the general laws of learning that explain all behaviours, especially observable behaviours, is the goal of which perspective?

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Behaviorism

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The key to understanding human behaviour, according to Sigmund Freud, was to focus on ________ and the ________ level of the human mind.

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internal psychological processes; unconscious

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All types of psychology involve the use of

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scientific methods.

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The cognitive perspective's use of the computer as a model for the mind is based on the idea that

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thinking is a form of information processing

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Hannah believes that each individual person has a unique perspective and experience and that people can consciously choose their goals to make their lives as rewarding and fulfilling as possible. If she were to become interested in psychology, it is likely that she would be drawn to the __________ perspective.

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Humanistic

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What is the correct sequence of parts of a neuron that the impulse travels during neural conduction.

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dendrites, cell body, axon, axon terminal

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The ________ speeds up the passage of electrical messages by acting as an insulator of the neuronal signal.

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myelin sheath

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During an action potential, the electrical charge inside the neuron is ______ the electrical charge outside the neuron.

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positive compared to

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Which of the following statements is true?

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Action potentials are always the same strength.

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The main excitatory neurotransmitter in the nervous system that plays a role in the relay of sensory information and learning is

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glutamate.

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____________neurotransmitters make it more likely that a neuron will send its message to other neurons, whereas _____________ neurotransmitters make it less likely that a neuron will send its message.

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Excitatory; inhibitory

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The axon is:

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a long extension from the cell body

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The purpose of the dendrite is to:

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receive information from adjacent cells

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Connections between neurons occur at

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synapses

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The membrane of a neuron at rest is:

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polarised. The inside of the cell membrane has a negative electrical charge while the fluid outside the cell membrane has a positive electrical charge.

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Excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials are

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cumulative

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Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that affects:

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a chemical released by neurons (nerve cells) to send signals to other nerve cells. The brain includes several distinct pathways, one of which plays a major role in reward-motivated behavior.

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Alzheimer's disease has been linked to which neurotransmitter?

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Acetylcholine

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What are the nodes of Ranvier?

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Small spaces in the myelin shea

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People with excessive levels of dopmaine may experience:

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schizophrenia

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The endocrine system consists of glands that:

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secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream

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The sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system:

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operate in reciprocal fashion to achieve proper functional behaviours under their control

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The somatosensory cortex occupies the:

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parietal lobe

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A lesion in the ___________________ could result in extreme over- or under-eating.

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hypothalamus

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The chief role of the thalamus is to....

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receive signals from the sensory receptors, process them and transmit the signals to appropriate areas of the sensory cortex.

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The staggering and slurred speech of an intoxicated person is related to an altered functioning of the ________.

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cerebellum

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The medulla oblongata controls:

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respiration

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The two cerebral hemispheres are connected by the:

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corpus collosum

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The Midbrain has a key role in

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smooth movements of the head and eyes.

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Which of the following areas of the brain is NOT part of the cerebral cortex?

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Corpus callosum

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Feature detectors in the primary visual cortex respond

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only when stimulation in their receptive field matches a particular pattern

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When Stewart wakes up at night and has to walk from his bedroom to the bathroom in the dark, he is most directly aided in this process by his

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rods.

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The trichromatic and opponent process theories of color vision are not in conflict because each corresponds to __________.

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a different stage of visual processing

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__________ involves the detection of energy by sense organs, whereas __________ involves interpretating sensory inputs.

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Sensation; perception

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Cole was distressed to learn that he had a blind spot. In fact, he learned that everyone has a blind spot. Cole's inability to notice his own blind spot is most likely the result of which perceptual process?

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Filling-in

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The conversion of external energy into something that the nervous system can understand is known as

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transduction

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The colour of light is what psychologists call

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hue.

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The intensity of the reflected light that reaches our eyes is known as

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brightness.

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Our visual sensory receptor cells are located in the

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retina.

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The three psychological characteristics of sound are:

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pitch, loudness and timbre

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The main cues for sound localisation are

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differences in loudness and time of arrival of the sound at each ear

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Olfaction aids in

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smell

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The hair cells located in the _________ function as biological transducers for sound energy.

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Cochlea

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In the sense of smell, transduction occurs in the ________________.

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olfactory epithelium

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The process of selecting one sensory channel and ignoring or minimising others is called

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selective attention.

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Cognitions and cognitive structures such as expectations and beliefs can have a _____________ influence on perception.

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top-down

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What psychological school first identified that visual perception occurs in terms of whole objects rather than individual component parts?

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Gestalt

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Human perception of high-pitched tones is best explained by ________ theory.

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place

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The fact that our beliefs and expectations often influence our sensory experiences is known a

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top-down processing

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The tendency to interpret an object as always being the same physical dimensions, regardless of its distance from the viewer, is known as __________.

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size constancy

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Carol is at the football game and watching the half-time show. Which Gestalt principle best explains her ability to "recognize" her school's letters as the band members spell them out on the field?

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Similarity

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Our sleep-wake cycle follows a(n) __________rhythm.

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circadian

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Circadian rhythms are largely controlled by the __________.

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hypothalamus

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During what stage of sleep are we most likely to experience a vivid dream?

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REM sleep

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The human sleep cycle goes through several stages a night and repeats itself approximately every

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90 minutes

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Professor Black believes that dreams are essentially the cortex trying to interpret the random neural signals from the midbrain. It is most likely that Dr Black is a _________ researcher.

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biologically oriented

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The difference between insomnia and narcolepsy is

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insomnia causes people to have difficulty falling asleep when they want to, while narcolepsy causes people to fall asleep when they do not want to.

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James believes that all dreams are deeply symbolic of wishes and fears that people have and keeps a diary of his dreams so that he can think about what they might really mean. James' view of dreams is most consistent with which approach?

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The psychodynamic view

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Audience members at hypnosis demonstrations are often amazed by seemingly extraordinary events. They seem to have failed to realise that the persons who are on stage demonstrating the power of hypnosis were selected for their

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suggestibility.

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You meet a psychologist who says she views hypnosis from the social-cognitive perspective. Which of the following is the best description of what her view of hypnosis would be

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People play the role of a hypnotised person; hypnosis is not an altered state of consciousness.

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What theory of hypnosis would be best able to account for research findings that suggest that an individual can be consciously telling a researcher that placing one's hand in ice-cold water isn't painful while unconsciously tapping a button that indicates they are experiencing pain?

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Dissociation theory

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"I don't know what is wrong with me," says Lucy. "It used to take just a couple of drinks to get me 'going,' but now it takes four or five." What is Lucy exhibiting?

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Tolerance

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Which of the following drugs is categorised as a depressant?

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Alcohol

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Which class of psychoactive drugs works by increasing activity within the nervous system

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Stimulants

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Personality psychology involves the:

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typical ways of thinking, feeling and behaving

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Freud's structural model, to counterbalance the "untamed passions" of the ______, the ______ acts as a conscience and source of ideals.

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id, superego

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What is the correct order for Freud's psychosexual stages?

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oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital

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A young boy who turns his feelings of competition with his father or brother into a desire to excel in competitive sports or succeed in business when he is older, may be employing:

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sublimation

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Carl Rogers proposed that the primary motivation of humans is:

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self-actualisation

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______ are emotional, cognitive and behavioural tendencies that constitute underlying personality dimensions on which individuals vary:

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Traits

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Which of the following is NOT one of the "big five" factors identified by Costa and McCrae?

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self-actualisation

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Garner is imaginative, unconventional, curious, and artistic; Brandy is conventional, down-to-earth, and has limited interests. According to the Five-Factor model of personality, it is likely that Garner will score high on _____ and Brandy will score low on the same trait.

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openness

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Bessie is gentle, compliant, trusting, and helpful; Obadiah is outgoing, warm, fun-loving, and assertive. According to the Five-Factor model, it is likely that Bessie scores high on _____, and Obadiah scores high on _____.

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agreeableness; extraversion

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The reason that projective tests use ambiguous stimuli is:

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to assess unconscious patterns of thought

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Finlay has been given a card with an ambiguous scene containing two people, and is asked to tell a story about what led up to the scene, what is happening now, and how the story will end. It is MOST likely that Finlay's doctor is trying to assess Finlay's _____, using the_____:

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hidden fears and wishes; Thematic Apperception Test

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The limitations of cognitive-social approaches to personality is/are

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assumes that changes in the environment will automatically lead to changes in the person, when this may not always be true.

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Raymond Cattell used factor analysis to reduce Allport and Odbert's list of 18,000 words. He argued that there are ______ basic personality traits.

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sixteen

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_____________ refers to a challenge to a person's capacity to adapt to inner and outer demands.

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Stress

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The phase of the general adaptation syndrome in which the organism is able to cope with the stressor, but the ability to deal with other stressors is reduced, is known as:

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The resistance phase

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Some of the substances involved in the response of the sympatho-adreno-medullary (SAM) system include

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Adrenalin and noradrenalin

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Which of these statements is true?

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In some areas, such as work-related injuries, daily hassles can actually be more important than major stressors.

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Mentally preparing for the worst and eating to reduce tension are examples of:

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Emotion-focussed coping

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Stress is more likely to adversely impact people's lives if they

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lack adequate social support

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I just found out that we are getting yet another minimal raise. I try to put a better spin on the lousy news. This is an example of which coping strategy?

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emotion focused

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During times of stress, the functioning of the immune system can be increased by

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social support

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Which stage of the general adaptation syndrome might explain why college students tend to experience a higher rate of absenteeism from class around midterm and final exam time each semester?

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Exhuastion

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The three important cells of the immune system are

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B cells, natural killer cells, T cell

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The theory that emotion is tied to the responses of the peripheral nervous system and that emotions are interpreted by the central nervous system is referred to as:

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The James-Lange theory is sometimes called the peripheral theory of emotion because it sees the origins of emotion in the peripheral nervous system.

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The area(s) of the brain associated with affect is/are the:

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hypothalamus, limbic system, and cortex

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Emotion regulation is associated with:

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Reframing the meaning of an event typically happens before the event occurs (i.e., putting the event into perspective so it is less upsetting). Suppression occurs after the fact (i.e., trying not to feel or show emotion to others). Moods, which are relatively extended emotional states, are also subject to reframing and suppression.

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Emotional state has been shown to affect the encoding and retrieval of information. Which is an actual finding that supports that notion?

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Positive mood tends to facilitate memory more generally, independent of its emotional quality. Negative moods also affect encoding and retrieval, but the mechanics are much more complex: negative mood at retrieval facilitates recall of negative words, because they are associatively linked in memory by the feeling common to both of them.

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The main difference between the evolutionary and cognitive perspectives of emotion is:

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past events versus internal events

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Emotions and moods are closely linked to sport through:

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influencing performance outcomes

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The __________ theory argues that emotion-inducing stimuli simultaneously elicit both an emotional experience and bodily responses.

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Cannon-Bard

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The idea that emotion is associated with physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation is tied to the _____ of emotion.

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Schachter-Singer theory

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For the past few days, Patrick has been feeling generally listless and uninterested in things he normally is interested in. Psychologists would term his experience of listlessness his current:

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mood

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Your best friend just won the lottery. Even though you may experience envy, you also cannot help feeling excited along with him because you are both grinning from ear to ear. This reaction supports the ______ regarding the origin and intensification of emotion.

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facial feedback hypothesis

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Nathan turns up his nose and looks disgusted at the plate of tripe that Sam's family is eating with obvious relish. The emotion Nathan is experiencing is thought by psychologists to be:

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universal in humans

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Emotion regulation is associated with:

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Reframe the meaning of an event before it happens, if possible

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Alex engages in very rigid and structured behaviour. He is preoccupied with cleanliness. He washes his hands more than twenty times per day and brings protective gloves to work with him. He would probably be diagnosed as suffering from a

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obsessive-compulsive disorder

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Which of the following is NOT a compulsion?

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uncontrollable thoughts about someone

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Jo was sitting knitting when all of a sudden she felt she was "going crazy." Her heart beat faster, and she began to perspire and shake. She was most likely experiencing a

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panic attack

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Leon's mother did not like going to the supermarket. Whenever she went, she usually would ask Leon to take her home within 5 minutes. On one occasion, Leon wanted to stay to buy his girlfriend a present so he steadfastly refused to take his mother home until he bought the gift. After about 5 more minutes, his mother reported feeling a smothering and choking sensation, as though she was trapped and could not get enough air. Her symptoms were most likely the result of a

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phobic disorder

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The DSM-5 is split into three sections. The third section is based on:

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unclassified mental disorders

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A patient suffering from schizophrenia insists that there be no paintings or pictures on the wall that involve people. He believes that the people in the pictures make faces at him and he finds it distressing. He is suffering from:

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delusions

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Jimmy goes through periods of deep depression followed by periods in which he is euphoric and unrealistically optimistic. He is probably suffering from

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bipolar disorder

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A particularly important psychological variable which may play a role in the onset and course of schizophrenia is:

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expressed emotion

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Which of the following is NOT one of the three questions a psychodynamic psychologist asks in order to create a set of hypotheses about a patient's personality structure and meaning of his/her symptoms?

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What physiological factors may be impacting on the patient's condition?

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A clinical practitioner seeks to explain the behaviour of a child who behaves aggressively at school, primarily in terms of that child's family dynamic. The practitioner is likely to be employing

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a systems approach

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Personality disorders are:

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chronic and dysfunctional ways of living that substantially inhibit the capacity to love and to work

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You are a psychologist who is evaluating the behaviour of a new client. The client tells you that he does not like to wear clothing and that he walks around nude most of the time. In addition, he tells you that he lives in a society in which clothing is required and nudity is seen as abnormal. Which of the following is NOT a criterion by which you evaluate your client's behaviour as abnormal?

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Subjective distress

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Treatments that classical conditioning principles to change behaviour

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Behaviour Therapy

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treatments that use operant conditioning methods to change behaviour

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Behaviour Modification

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learning based treatment methods that help clients change the way they think, as well as the way they behave

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Cognitive behaviour therapy

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a behavioural treatment for anxiety in which clients visualise a graduated series of anxiety-provoking stimuli while remaining relaxed

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Systematic desensitisation therapy

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a treatment designed to identify and change self defeating thoughts that lead to anxiety and other symptoms of disorder

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Rational-emotive behaviour therapy

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A treatment in which therapist helps clients notice and change negative thoughts associated with anxiety and depression

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Cognitive therapy

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Animal studies by John Cade led to the discovery that treatment with lithium salts might have a calming effect in patients suffering from:

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mania

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In cognitive-behavioural therapy, the focus is on ____________________.

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the individual's present behaviour

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The person's particular viewpoint of the world, their phenomenology, is best captured by which therapy?

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humanistic

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Cognitive therapies target the things individuals say to themselves and the assumptions they make, or what Aaron Beck calls ______________.

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cognitive distortions

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One of the earliest and still most widely used cognitive-behavioral techniques is _________________, in which the patient confronts a phobic stimulus gradually while in a state that anxiety is controlled.

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systematic desensitisation

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The goal of _________ is, typically, to help members cope with a specific problem rather than explore individual psychodynamics or make major changes in personality.

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group therapy

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The main contemporary forms of psychodynamic treatments are classical psychoanalysis, which ______________, and psychodynamic psychotherapy, which ___________________.

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is very intensive and long-term..... relies on similar principles but is short-term

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Flooding and other forms of exposure therapy allow one's fear to be

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extinguished.

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The principle aim of systematic desensitisation is to

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extinguish irrational fear

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Which of the following is an example of the exposure technique known as flooding?

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Paul, who is afraid of dogs, spends the day at a kennel playing with over 100 dogs until he no longer feels frightened.

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