Psyc 2010

exam 1

Neurotransmitters are released from the

axon

Illana feels her heart pound and hair stand up watching a scary movie trailer. This is due to which division of the nervous system?

sympathetic nervous system

The change in a neuron's charge from negative to positive is associated with

sodium ions flowing into the neuron

The inside of a resting neuron is more negative than its surroundings primarily because of the presence of ____ inside the neuron.

proteins

Receptors for neurotransmitters are found within a neuron's

dendrites

The message that travels through a neuron is ______, while the message between neurons is ______.

electrical; chemical

The typical 'resting potential' of a neuron is

negative

The structure that connects the two hemispheres of the brain is the

corupus callosum

A patient has difficulty with balance and coordinated movement due to a brain tumor. Which area is most likely affected?

cerebellum

Aspects of our personality may be the result of activity in which lobes?

frontal lobes

Which lobes contain the somatosensory cortex, responsible for the perception of touch?

parietal

Which lobes play a critical role in hearing?

temporal

Which brain structure is primarily involved in emotional processing?

amygdala

Gestalt Psychology arose primarily as a challenge to which approach to studying the mind

Structuralism

Which method of study involves careful reflection on one’s own mental processes?

introspection

Sandra believes that the psychological research should focus only on that which is observable, rather than on internal, unobservable, mental events,Sandra would best be described as a

behaviorist

According to ______ complete psychological phenomena can best be understood by trying to identify the basic elements that make them up

structuralism

One of Frued’s signature influences on the history of clinical psychology was his emphasis on

the unconscious mind

Modern psychologists would reject which of the following statements?

the mind is fundamentally distinct from the brain

Refers to the view that the mind and brain are seperate entities

dualism

What position do most modern psychologists take on the nature/nuture debate?

Most psychological characteristics are the result of both nature and nuture

Dr. Varma is a psychologist who is particularly interested in how a person’s behavior is shaped by the presence of other people. She most likley identifies as a

social psychologist

The rise of ______ corresponded with the rise of computer technology

cognitive psychology

Gestalt psychologists pointed to the phenomenon of ______ as evidence against structuralism

apparent motion

Which of the following, pioneered by Wilhelm Wundt, continues to be a common measure in psychological research

reaction time

Which of the following is NOT a criticism of introspection as a method?

All of these are criticisms of introspection

Behaviorism had particular success in understanding

learning

Are Frued’s views of the human mind generally accepted by modern psychologists?

no

The goal of descriptive study is to

gather data or observations about a given subject

The story of Clive Wearing is a good example of a case study because:

Researchers studied him and gained valuable information about memory that could be used to formulate hypotheses and generate future research.

Which of the following is an example of reactivity?

 

Students came to more classes when they knew attendance would be taken.

Which of the following questions addresses the internal validity of an experiment?

 

Can changes in the dependent variable be explained only by manipulation of the independent variable?

Confounding variables are:

 

Unwanted variables that can affect the measurements we are interested in

Why are control groups important in experiments?

 

To allow for a comparison with the experimental group

A correlation coefficient equal to +0.8 between scores on a written driver’s license test and performance on a practical driving test means that:

 

Written test performance is associated with increased performance on a practical test

Students attending a class are asked to listen to a lecture under three different levels of illumination while researchers record signs of attention. What is the independent variable in this study?

 

level of illumination

Experimental research is the only type of research that enables researchers to make conclusions about:

 

Cause and effect

In what type of sampling do all members of a population have an equal chance of being selected?

 

random sampling

Which of the following is NOT a measure of central tendency?

 

standard deviation

Standard deviation measures

 

how much scores in a set tend to differ from the mean

A researcher who concludes that a result is unlikely to occur due to chance has demonstrated

 

statistical significance

Which of the following is the mathematical average of a set of scores?

 

mean

The group at a university that ensures that human subjects research complies with ethical requirements is the

 

Institutional Review Board

Which of the following most clearly illustrates the "nature" position on personality development?

Extraversion is the result of one's genetic make-up

Which of the following is NOT a typical criticism of introspection?

Introspection changes the nature of a person's experience

The goal of psychology is to break down complex phenomena into basic elements.

Structuralism

The whole is more than the sum of its parts

Gestalt psychology

Human behavior is driven by unconscious mental processes

Psychodynamic approach

Psychology should focus on observable behaviors only

Behaviorism

Psychology should focus on conscious mental processes (thoughts)

Cognitive psychology

What is the relationship between theories and hypotheses?

Hypotheses are predictions derived from theories

The Hawthorne effect is an example of

Reactivity

Which of the following is an example of a negative correlation?

As I get older, the number of childhood friends whose names I remember gets smaller

To test the effect of amount of caffeine on reaction time, a research has participants come to the lab in the morning and consume a drink that contains either 0, 50, or 100 mg of caffeine. She then has them detect stimuli that are presented on a computer screen, and records their reaction time (how long it takes them to detect the stimuli). In this example, the INDEPENDENT variable is:

Amount of caffeine consumed

To test the effect of amount of caffeine on reaction time, a research has participants come to the lab in the morning and consume a drink that contains either 0, 50, or 100 mg of caffeine. She then has them detect stimuli that are presented on a computer screen, and records their reaction time (how long it takes them to detect the stimuli). In this example, the DEPENDENT variable is:

Reaction time

____________ ensures that all members of a population are equally likely to be selected to participate in an experiment.

random sampling

The extent to which a dependent variable measures the psychological property it is intended to measure.

Construct validity

The extent to which change in the dependent variable is due to the independent variable and not to some other factor.

Internal validity

The extent to which a result obtained from a sample can be generalized to the population.

External validity

When a neuron is at rest,

it has a net negative charge

Order of action potential

The neuron is stimulated (e.g. by another neuron).

Sodium channels open and sodium ions flow into the neuron.

Potassium channels open and potassium ions flow out of the neuron.

The sodium-potassium pump forces sodium and potassium ions across the cell membrane.

Which technique for studying the brain involves directly measuring the brain's electrical activity?

EEG

In somatosensory cortex, the amount of cortex devoted to processing information from a particular part of the body is related to

how sensitive that part of the body is

Increases in heart rate in response to a threatening stimulus is a result of the ___________ in the _____________.

sympathetic response; autonomic nervous system

Processing of emotional information

Amygdala

Formation of new memories

Hippocampus

Allows interaction between left and right hemispheres

Corpus callosum

Processing information about touch

Somatosensory cortex

Primary visual processing area

Occipital lobes

Coordination of movement across muscles

Cerebellum

Sensory relay area

Thalamus

Regulation of internal body systems

Hypothalamus

Primary auditory area

Temporal lobes

Involved in basic survival functions

Brain stem

psychology

the study of mental activity and behavior

Mind

mental activity (thought, emotion, memory)

Behavior

observable actions

brain

source of mental activity and behavior

Nature

psychological characteristics are innate

Nuture

psychological characteristics are acquired

View of most psychologists over nature vs nuture

characteristics are shaped by both nature and nuture

Mind/Body problem

are mind and body separate and distinct? or does the mind simply arise from activity within the body?

Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans believe

mind resides within the body

Dualism

Rene Descartes

functions behaviors are controlled by the body; rational thought is by mind (separate)

experimental psychology;

Wilhelm Wundt; reaction time to study mental events

Wilhelm Wundt

first psychology lab in Leipzig Germany

Structuralism

Wundt, Titchener

success of chemistry

Understand complex phenomenon by breaking into essential elements

Central method for structuralism

introspection

Introspection

trained observers reflect on and report their conscious experiences of a stimulus or event

(taste of chocolate and that experience)

Limits of Introspection

different experiences’

different languages

mental processes without awareness

cant use in young children or non-human animals

Gestalt Psychology

reaction to structuralism

“whole is different than the sum of its parts”

apparent motion is an example of what

gestalt psychology

The whole is different than the sum of its parts

understanding the essential elements that make up a phenomenon is not the same as understanding the phenomenon

Major movements of psych in 20th century

psychodynamic/psychoanalytic approach

behaviorism

cognitive psychology

social psychology

psychodynamic/psychoanalytic approach

Sigmund Frued

Power of unconscious mind

Considerable mental processing that occurs below the level of awareness

Primal and often sexual (conflict)

Subconscious processing

mental processing that occurs below level of awareness

Repressed memories

unconscious mind

Psychoanalysis

method for bringing the contents of the unconscious mind into the conscious mind

Methods of psychodynamic and psychoanalytic

dream analysis, free association

Frued’s Legacy

Popularized psychology (best known figure)

specific views about the mind and the source of psychological disorders are NOT well supported, don’t have much influence

mental processes occur below level of conscious awareness is well accepted