question

Mysterians

answer

believe that certain questions regarding human nature are unanswerable

question

Meehl's maxim

answer

Behavior is difficult to predict

question

Multicollinearity

answer

overlap among different causes of behavior

question

reciprocal determinism

answer

People affect each other

question

paradox of reflexivity

answer

The brain didn't evolve to understand itself

question

multiply determined

answer

caused by many factors.

question

Problem of reactivity

answer

People in psychological experiments usually know they're being studied

question

individual differences

answer

People differ from each other;thinking, emotion, behavior

question

Emic

answer

(insider)

question

etic

answer

(outsider)

question

introspection

answer

method by which trained observers carefully reflect and report on their mental experiences

question

paranormal

answer

events, like extrasensory perception, that fall outside the boundaries of traditional science

question

Psychology distanced itself from spiritualism by forging a new field:

answer

the psychology of human error and self-deception

question

scientist practitioner gap

answer

divide between psychologists who believe that clinical practice should primarily be a science versus those who believe that clinical practice should be an art

question

Structuralism

answer

aimed to identify the basic elements of psychological experience;Map' the elements of consciousness (sensations, images, feelings) using introspection

question

Two problems of structuralism

answer

1.Findings lacked reliability 2.Imageless thought

question

Functionalism

answer

aimed to understand the adaptive purposes of psychological characteristics (thoughts, feelings, behaviors);Founded by William James

question

Behaviorism

answer

focuses on uncovering the general laws of learning by looking outside the organism to rewards and punishments delivered by the environment;Founded by John B. Watson

question

Black box

answer

their view of the mind: an unknown entity which we need not understand in order to explain behavior

question

Cognitivism

answer

proposes that our thinking (cognition) affects our behavior in powerful ways

question

Psychoanalysis

answer

focuses on internal psychological processes (impulses, thoughts, memories) of which we're unaware;Maintains that our everyday lives are filled with symbols, which psychoanalysts must decode

question

problem of psychoanalysis

answer

unconscious processes are difficult to verify

question

who invented psychoanalysis

answer

sigmund freud

question

Critical Multiplism

answer

approach of using many different methods in concert (surveys, laboratory experiments, real-world observation, etc.)

question

basic research

answer

research examining how the mind works

question

applied research

answer

research examining how we can use basic research to solve real-world problems (e.g., yellow fire trucks, third brake light, sequential police lineups, etc.)

question

Clinical

answer

assessment, diagnosis, causes and treatment of mental disorders

question

Counseling

answer

work with normal people experiencing temporary or self-contained problems (e.g., marital or occupational difficulties)

question

School

answer

assess schoolchildren's psychological problems and develop intervention programs

question

Developmental

answer

study why and how people change over time

question

Experimental

answer

use sophisticated research methods to study memory, language, and thinking of humans

question

Biopsychologists

answer

examine the physiological basis of behavior in animals and humans

question

Forensic

answer

assess, diagnose, and assist with rehabilitation and treatment of prison inmates

question

Industrial-organizational

answer

work in businesses to assist in employee selection and evaluation, examining the effects of working conditions on employee behavior, designing equipment to maximize performance and minimize accidents, etc.

question

Evolutionary psychology

answer

applies Darwin's theory of natural selection to human and animal behavior

question

Nature - Nurture

answer

research conducted by behavior geneticists and others suggests that most psychological traits are substantially influenced by genes

question

Free Will - Determinism

answer

Free Will - Determinism: to what extent are our behaviors freely selected rather than caused by factors outside of our control?

question

Compatibilism

answer

ree will and determinism aren't mutually exclusive

question

Mind - Body Debate:

answer

Are our behaviors due entirely to the actions of our nervous system or are they also due to the action of another entity, like a soul?

question

Mind-body monists

answer

include scientific psychologists, assert that the mind is the brain and nervous system in action

question

Mind-body dualists

answer

the mind is more than the brain and nervous system

question

Popular psychology industry

answer

the sprawling network of everyday sources of information about human behavior

question

Naïve Realism

answer

The belief that we see the world precisely as it is

question

Self-help

answer

about 3,500 self-help books are published each yearThe quality of the information can be good, misleading, or even dangerous

question

Quick fixes and miracle cures

answer

there are hundreds for increasing intelligence, memory, depression, and even for enhancing our sex lives

question

Science

answer

is an approach to evidence, a toolbox of skills used to prevent us from fooling ourselves

question

Communalism

answer

willingness to share our findings with others

question

Disinterestedness

answer

attempt to be objective when evaluating evidence

question

Confirmation bias

answer

tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypothesis and neglect or distort contradicting evidence

question

Belief perseverance

answer

tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them

question

Pathological skepticism

answer

tendency to dismiss any claims that contradict one's beliefs

question

Disconfirmation bias

answer

tendency to seek out evidence inconsistent with a hypothesis we don't believe, and neglect information consistent with it

question

Oberg's dictum

answer

premise that we should keep our minds open, but not so open that we believe virtually everything

question

Role of authority

answer

we should be unwilling to accept claims on the basis of authority alone

question

Critical thinking

answer

set of skills for evaluating all claims in an open-minded and careful fashion

question

Extraordinary claims

answer

require extraordinary evidence

question

Falsifiability

answer

for a claim to be meaningful, it must be capable of being disproved

question

Occam's Razor

answer

simplest explanation for a given set of data is the best one

question

Replicability

answer

findings must be duplicated, ideally by independent investigators

question

Ruling out rival hypotheses

answer

need to consider alternative hypotheses

question

. Correlation Is Not Causation

answer

Correlation-causation fallacy, • Third variable problem

question

Pseudoscience

answer

set of claims that seems scientific but isn't - lacks safeguards against confirmation bias and belief perseverance;Astrology, out-of-body experiences, polygraph testing, recovered memories,

question

Metaphysical claims

answer

are unfalsifiable (e.g., God, the soul, or the afterlife: not necessarily wrong, but untestable)

question

Seven Deadly Sins of Pseudoscience

answer

1. Ad hoc immunizing hypothesis 2. Lack of self-correction 3. Exaggerated claims4. Overreliance on anecdotes5. Evasion of peer review 6. Absence of connectivity7. Psychobabble

question

rational experimentation

answer

thinking that relies on careful reasoning and objective analysis

question

experimental thinking

answer

thinking that depends on intuitive judgement and emotional reactions

question

Transcendental temptation

answer

desire to alleviate our anxiety by embracing the supernatural

question

Need for wonder

answer

fulfills our intrinsic fascination with the nature of our existence

question

Scientific illiteracy

answer

half of Americans don't know it takes a year for the earth to revolve around the sun; about two-thirds believe humans and dinosaurs coexisted

question

Making sense out of nonsense

answer

our brains are preprogrammed to make order out of disorder

question

Brain as interpreter

answer

making sense of the world, but going beyond the information it receives

question

Pareidolia

answer

tendency to perceive meaningful images in meaningless visual stimuli (e.g., face on Mars)

question

Apophenia

answer

tendency to perceive meaningful connections among unrelated phenomena (coincidence)

question

The Hot Hand

answer

in basketball, once you've made 3 or 4 shots, you're "on a roll," (but no evidence for it)

question

Emotional reasoning fallacy

answer

error of using our emotions to evaluate the validity of the claim

question

Bandwagon fallacy

answer

assuming a claim is correct because many people believe it

question

Either-or fallacy

answer

framing a question as though we can answer it one of two extreme ways

question

Not me fallacy

answer

believing we're immune from thinking errors that afflict others

question

Opportunity cost

answer

we may forfeit other effective treatments due to cost or time of ineffective efforts

question

Animal deaths

answer

related to questionable treatments (e.g., the Black Rhinoceros and Chinese green-haired turtle)

question

Facilitated communication

answer

was a "revolutionary" treatment for autism (extraordinary claims)

question

Biklen (1990) thought that autism

answer

was primarily a motor disorder

question

prefrontal lobotomy

answer

surgical procedure that severs fibers connecting the frontal lobes of the brain from the underlying thalamus

question

who won the nobel prize for prefrontal lobotomy

answer

Egaz Moniz

question

Heuristics

answer

mental shortcuts or rules of thumb

question

Representativeness

answer

"like goes with like"

question

Base rate

answer

how common a characteristic or behavior is in the general population

question

Availability

answer

"off the top of my head";Estimating the likelihood of an occurrence based on the ease with which it comes to our minds

question

Hindsight bias

answer

("I knew it all along") - tendency to overestimate how well we could have successfully forecasted known outcomes (e.g., "I knew they were the perfect couple")

question

Overconfidence

answer

tendency to overestimate our ability to make correct predictions

question

external validity

answer

extent to which we can generalize our findings to the real world

question

internal validity

answer

extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences

question

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

answer

external factors; conscious

question

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

answer

Wilhelm Wundt

question

According to the authors, psychology is a method for

answer

gaining deeper insight into how and why people think and act a certain way.

question

People often experience difficulty in understanding and explaining their own actions because

answer

the brain did not evolve to understand itself.

question

The lasting contribution of the psychological school of thought known as structuralism is

answer

the importance it placed on systematic observation in studying consciousness.

question

With its concern on the adaptive functions provided by the various psychological systems, evolutionary psychology is most like what early psychological school of thought?

answer

Functionalism

question

You are listening in on a discussion among a group of psychology majors. One major says that field will only move forward if we use objective methods for understanding the principles that guide human actions. This statement is most consistent with

answer

behaviorism.

question

When students begin to read through their introductory psychology textbook, they are often surprised to learn that

answer

many of their beliefs about the causes of thoughts and behaviors are incorrect.

question

Psychologists are most frequently found working

answer

at universities and 4-year colleges.

question

Which of the following ideas is the most compelling evidence against the idea of free will?

answer

People often lack direct access to the causes of their behavior.

question

What psychological school of thought was most concerned with the influence of external factors on an organism's or a person's actions?

answer

Behaviorism

question

Ryan is a therapist who believes that all therapeutic interventions must be based on data supporting their effectiveness and efficacy. However, Jennifer believes that a therapist should focus more on his or her own experience and intuition than toward evaluating research and statistical evidence. This highlights the ________ in psychology today.

answer

scientist-practitioner gap

question

Psychology was once similar to which of the following disciplines?

answer

Philosophy

question

f you were to do a presentation on "Psychology's Great Debates" you would be very unlikely to make which of the following points?

answer

Research indicates that most people possess a remarkable insight into the underlying cause(s) of their behavior.

question

What American psychologist was one of the first to concern himself with understanding why people often uncritically accepted paranormal claims?

answer

Joseph Jastrow

question

Descartes believed that the existence of only one ________ provided supportive evidence for his belief of mind-body dualism.

answer

pineal gland

question

A classmate tells you the following, "It's not how a teacher answers your question that matters but how you interpret his or her attempt at answering your question that leaves you satisfied or unsatisfied with his or her answer." This statement fits most closely with ideas from the school of thought known as

answer

cognitivism

question

If a Dr. Hill wanted to know whether Cindi will keep her appointment to meet with him later this afternoon, he would be best advised to consider

answer

whether she has kept previous appointments to meet with him.

question

What early psychologist was most concerned with developing answers to questions about our conscious mental experience?

answer

Wilhelm Wundt

question

While most psychologists would classify themselves as ________ much of their research is discussed by journalists as if the psychologists were ________.

answer

mind-body monists; mind-body dualists

question

The lasting contribution of the psychological school of thought known as structuralism is

answer

the importance it placed on systematic observation in studying consciousness.

question

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

answer

functionalist

question

What early American psychologist yearned to create a periodic table of the elements of consciousness?

answer

Edward Titchener

question

Brandon is an industrial-organizational psychologist who has been hired by a large hotel chain to determine why their turnover rate is so high for their maids. This is an example of ________ research.

answer

applied

question

Which of the following ideas is the most compelling evidence against the idea of free will?

answer

People often lack direct access to the causes of their behavior.

question

Nico is meeting with his academic adviser. He wishes to pursue a career where he'll work to diagnose and treat mental disorders. Nico aspires to be a(n)

answer

clinical psychologist.

question

Imagine that you were a psychology professor lecturing on the nature-nurture debate in 1920. You would have likely emphasized the importance of ________. Now imagine that you are a psychology professor lecturing on the same topic today. You would be likely to emphasize the importance of ________.

answer

urture; the interaction of nature and nurture

question

The flight-or-fight response is mobilized by the

answer

sympathetic nervous system.

question

Raoul recently suffered a blow to the top right side of his head. Now when he performs his morning routine he only brushes the right side of his teeth, shaves his right side of the face and combs the right part of his hair. Raoul may be suffering from

answer

contralateral neglect.

question

Evidence against the 10 percent myth (we only use 10% of our brains) comes from

answer

neuroimaging studies, which fail to find any consistently silent areas.

question

All neurons contain

answer

dendrites, cell body, and axon

question

A ________ is a complex arrangement consisting of a gap between the specialized patches of membrane located on the sending and receiving neuron.

answer

synapse

question

Which of the following statements is true?

answer

Few if any complex psychological functions are likely to be confined to a single brain area

question

Monkey Shines, Herman's pet monkey, started to behave like patients with brain damage. He demonstrated a lack of empathy or concern for others. This behavior, seen in patients with brain damage, is known as

answer

acquired sociopathy.

question

Phineas Gage tragically had a tamping iron propelled through his head. Both left and right sides of the prefrontal cortex were severely damaged. As a result of the accident, Phineas Gage

answer

suffered a change in personality.

question

________ is the creation of new cells in the adult brain.

answer

Neurogenesis

question

Which of the following is NOT true about neurotransmitters?

answer

Neurotransmitters can bind to any receptor site.

question

The ________ regulates and maintains constant internal bodily states by overseeing the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems.

answer

hypothalamus

question

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

answer

Graded potentials always become action potentials.

question

Long-term potentiation refers to

answer

synapses that show stronger and prolonged excitatory responses

question

arkinson's diseaseis a disorder of movement, in which cells degenerate in the

answer

substantia nigra of the midbrain.

question

he location that uniquely recognizes a neurotransmitter is called a(n)

answer

receptor site

question

According to ________ theory, memories are initially stored at multiple sites. Over time, storage strengthens at some sites, but weakens at others.

answer

multiple trace

question

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

answer

glutamate

question

As Joe walks to his car late at night, he hears footsteps behind him. Feeling afraid, Joe grips his keys and quickens his pace. It is likely that Joe's ________ has been activated

answer

amygdala

question

Neurons that send messages to other neurons are called

answer

interneurons.

question

Unlike ________, ________ are usually very thin at their site of origin near the cell body, because this narrowness creates a trigger zone, a site that's easy to activate.

answer

dendrites; axons

question

One theory of infantile autism suggests that ________ may be the cause of the disorder.

answer

inadequate pruning

question

Sophia is brown-haired, blue-eyed, and dark-skinned. It is likely that Sophia

answer

has both dominant and recessive genes.

question

Isabella is putting mustard on her hot dog. She realizes she has put too much and sucks up some of it back into the squeeze bottle. This process is similar to

answer

reuptake.

question

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

answer

myelin sheath

question

Darwin hypothesized that populations of organisms, rather than individuals, change by selective breeding with other organisms possessing some apparent advantage. This is known as

answer

natural selection.

question

The ________ receive information from other neurons and have long extensions

answer

dendrites

question

A functional MRI (fMRI) measures

answer

hanges in the brain's activity levels.

question

Hideki has had difficulty sleeping. His doctor wishes to examine his sleep patterns to determine the cause of Hideki's sleep problems. The doctor will most like perform a(n)

answer

EEG.

question

Owantu let out an ear-piercing scream when he became frightened. He was unable to stimulate those neurons for a brief time after their firing because of the

answer

absolute refractory period.

question

A technique that permits scientists to pinpoint the location of specific brain areas using coordinates is called

answer

the stereotaxic method.

question

All of the following were (are) methods for mapping the brain EXCEPT

answer

fRNA.

question

EEGs are an old method that

answer

is used to study brain activity in schizophrenics.

question

The following studies determine how much genetics contributes to the expression of that trait or disorder EXCEPT

answer

doption studies where adoption agencies frequently place children in homes similar to those of the biological parents.

question

The ________ is the central region of the neuron that manufactures new cell components.

answer

cell body

question

The importance of Penfield's research and others like it lead to the hypothesis that

answer

nerves might use electrical activity to send information.

question

Factors that influence neural regeneration after spinal cord injury include all of the following EXCEPT

answer

ong-term potentiation.

question

When a cognitive function relies on one cerebral hemisphere more than the other, this phenomenon is known as

answer

lateralization.

question

Your friend, Sheila, says she is definitely a right-brained person because she excels in her language and art classes but performs miserably in her math classes. You tell her

answer

there is no scientific evidence for this type of hemispheric asymmetry for complex tasks, and actually the two hemispheres function together.

question

One theory of infantile autism suggests that ________ may be the cause of the disorder.

answer

inadequate pruning

question

The importance of Penfield's research and others like it lead to the hypothesis that

answer

nerves might use electrical activity to send information.

question

he pathways emanating from the RAS activate the cortex by increasing the

answer

signal-to-noise ratio.

question

Evidence against the 10 percent myth (we only use 10% of our brains) comes from

answer

neuroimaging studies, which fail to find any consistently silent areas.

question

The importance of Penfield's research and others like it lead to the hypothesis that

answer

erves might use electrical activity to send information.

question

Rodney wanted to "have his head examined" to determine certain aspects of his personality. To do this he had to go to a

answer

phrenologist.

question

The voltage of -70 mv is known as the neuron's

answer

resting potential

question

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

answer

All of the answers are correct

question

A functional MRI (fMRI) measures

answer

changes in the brain's activity levels.

question

What is the danger of relying too much on neuroimaging tests?

answer

We run the risk of assigning narrowly defined functions to brain regions, rather than remembering that most functions are distributed.

question

Owantu let out an ear-piercing scream when he became frightened. He was unable to stimulate those neurons for a brief time after their firing because of the

answer

absolute refractory period

question

The brain contains approximately

answer

100 billion neurons

question

Cerebral Cortex -

answer

outermost covering,

question

Motor cortex

answer

sends signals to muscles

question

Prefrontal cortex

answer

executive functions

question

Parietal Lobe

answer

perception of space, object shape and orientation, actions of others, numbers;ntegrates vision, touch, motor information

question

Somatosensory cortex

answer

pressure, temperature, pain

question

Temporal Lobe

answer

hearing, language comprehension, autobiographical memories

question

Basal Ganglia

answer

control of voluntary movement; reward related movement

question

Basal Forebrain

answer

activates cortex, attentional functions

question

Midbrain

answer

substantia nigra, superior and inferior colliculi

question

Reticular Activating System (RAS

answer

regulates cortical arousal

question

Hindbrain

answer

between the spinal cord and midbrain

question

Somatic Nervous System

answer

carries messages from the CNS to muscles

question

Limbic system

answer

emotional center of the brain

question

Hypothalamus

answer

maintains internal bodily states by overseeing the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems

question

Amygdala

answer

excitement, arousal, fear, social signals related to emotion

question

Cingulate Cortex

answer

active during emotional expression; knowledge of socially appropriate behavior;regulates autonomic nervous system

question

Hippocampus

answer

spatial memory

question

Sympathetic division

answer

active during emotional arousal; activates fight-or-flight responses

question

Parasympathetic division

answer

active during rest and digestion

question

Pituitary gland -

answer

"master gland" controls other bodily glands and is under control of the hypothalamus

question

Adrenal glands

answer

release adrenaline and cortisol during physical and psychological stress

question

Cell body

answer

makes proteins, replenishes molecules vital to cell function

question

Dendrites

answer

receiving portion of neuron

question

Synapse

answer

presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes separated by a synaptic cleft

question

Axon

answer

sending portion of neuron

question

Axon terminal

answer

end of axon which contains synaptic vesicles with neurotransmitters

question

Glia

answer

support cells of the nervous system;Form myelin sheath covering of axons;Form blood-brain barrier to protect the brain;Respond to injury;Remove debris

question

Resting Potential

answer

electrical charge difference (-70mV) across the neural membrane when the neuron has no active inputs from other cells

question

Graded Potentials

answer

postsynaptic potentials, excitatory or inhibitory, depending on which charged particles flow into/out of the cell

question

Action Potentials

answer

electric impulse that travels down the axon, followed by absolute refractory period

question

Phrenology

answer

early method (1800s) of linking mind and brain

question

Cases of brain damage

answer

studying brain function following damage

question

Localization of function

answer

researchers' attempts to identify the function of each individual brain area

question

lateralization

answer

many cognitive functions rely on one hemisphere more than the other

question

Brain evolution

answer

increases in brain size, relative to body size, over time

question

Behavioral genetics

answer

field which examines the roles of nature and nurture in the origins of traits (e.g., intelligence)

question

Heritability

answer

extent to which genes contribute to differences in a trait among individuals (not within a single person)

question

Neural plasticity

answer

the nervous system's ability to change

question

Stem Cells:

answer

cells that have potential to become a variety of specialized cells

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