PSYCH 1010 Exam 2 Flashcards

A psychologist believes that childhood trauma influences adult personality. Which psychological perspective does this align with?

Psychodynamic perspective

A teacher rewards students with extra credit when they complete homework. Which psychological approach is being used?

Behavioral perspective

A researcher is studying how brain damage affects memory loss. Which perspective would best fit this study?

Neuroscience perspective

A company hires a psychologist to improve employee motivation and performance. Which type of psychologist would be best suited for this?

Industrial-organizational psychologist

A psychologist studies how peer pressure influences teenagers’ decision-making. Which perspective does this align with?

Social-cultural perspective

A child is learning to walk. A psychologist using the evolutionary perspective would say this behavior is due to what?

Natural selection and inherited survival advantages

A therapist helps a client reach their full potential by focusing on self-growth. Which psychological approach does this represent?

Humanistic perspective

A researcher observes how identical twins raised in different environments develop differently. Which field of psychology is this?

Behavioral genetics

Which two early schools of psychology focused on introspection?

Structuralism and Functionalism

Which psychological approach would study how perception and memory influence learning?

Cognitive psychology

A researcher observes children in a playground without interfering. What research method is being used?

Naturalistic observation

A psychologist wants to study the long-term effects of smartphone use on teenagers. What is the best research method?

Longitudinal study

A study finds a strong correlation between social media use and depression. Can the researcher conclude that social media causes depression? Why or why not?

No, correlation does not equal causation.

A researcher gives one group of students caffeine before an exam and another group a placebo. What is the independent variable?

Caffeine intake

A company tests a new training program and randomly assigns employees to two groups. What method is being used?

Experiment with random assignment

A study finds that students who study in short bursts remember more than those who cram. What research method might have been used?

Experimental research

What ethical principle requires researchers to explain a study’s purpose after it has concluded?

Debriefing

A researcher manipulates a variable to observe its effect on another. What kind of research is this?

Experimental research

A study on aggression finds that violent video games lead to more aggressive thoughts. What is the dependent variable?

Aggressive thoughts

Why is a double-blind study important in drug research?

Prevents bias from both participants and researchers.

A researcher finds that students who eat breakfast perform better on exams. Why is it important to consider other factors before concluding that breakfast improves grades?

There may be confounding variables (e.g., sleep, socioeconomic status).

A study finds that people who meditate daily score higher on memory tests, but the p-value is 0.08. What does this mean?

The result is not statistically significant (p > 0.05).

A company reports that its employee productivity increased by 50%, but the sample size was only 5 people. Why is this misleading?

A small sample size reduces reliability and generalizability.

A researcher finds that the median income in a city is $40,000, but the mean is $60,000. What does this suggest?

The data is skewed by a few high-income earners.

What does it mean if a dataset has a high standard deviation?

Scores are spread out and vary significantly from the mean.

If a psychologist wants to study the effects of music on concentration, why is random assignment important?

It reduces bias and ensures that differences in groups are not due to pre-existing factors.

A newspaper headline states, "Eating chocolate improves intelligence!" What should a critical thinker ask before believing this claim?

Was the study experimental or correlational?

A graph exaggerates small differences in salary by using a distorted y-axis. What type of statistical manipulation is this?

Misleading data visualization.

Why is it important to distinguish between statistical significance and practical significance?

A result can be statistically significant but have little real-world impact.

A study finds that the more coffee people drink, the more alert they feel. What kind of correlation is this?

Positive correlation

A patient suffers from memory loss after a stroke. Which brain structure was most likely affected?

Hippocampus

A gymnast loses her sense of balance after an injury. Which brain structure was likely damaged?

Cerebellum

After an accident, a person’s personality drastically changes, and they struggle with impulse control. What part of the brain was likely damaged?

Frontal lobe.

A split-brain patient is shown an image in their left visual field. Why can't they verbally name the object?

The right hemisphere processes the image but lacks language capability.

35. A person with Parkinson’s disease experiences tremors due to a lack of which neurotransmitter?

Dopamine

A person touches a hot stove and immediately pulls their hand away before feeling pain. What explains this response?

The spinal cord initiates a reflex before the brain processes the pain.

runner experiences a "runner’s high" after a long workout. Which neurotransmitter is responsible?

Endorphins

A scientist wants to measure which parts of the brain are active while a person solves a puzzle. What brain imaging technique should be used?

fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging).

Which nervous system division is responsible for activating the fight-or-flight response?

Sympathetic nervous system

A person with severe epilepsy undergoes surgery to cut the corpus callosum. What effect will this have?

It will reduce communication between the brain’s hemispheres

A researcher wants to measure electrical activity in the brain while a person sleeps. Which brain imaging technique should they use?

EEG (Electroencephalogram).

Which brain structure is responsible for regulating hunger and thirst?

Hypothalamus

A person has difficulty speaking after a stroke but can understand speech. What part of the brain is likely damaged?

Broca’s area.

A child suffers brain damage, but over time, another part of the brain takes over lost functions. What explains this?

Neuroplasticity

A scientist wants to examine brain activity when a person experiences fear. Which imaging method would be best?

fMRI or PET scan.

A person with a damaged amygdala is unable to process emotions, particularly fear. Why?

The amygdala is responsible for processing emotions.

What does the endocrine system use to send messages throughout the body?

Hormones

Which gland, often called the “master gland,” regulates other endocrine glands?

Pituitary gland.

A study shows that people with more activity in the left frontal lobe tend to be happier. What does this suggest about brain lateralization?

Different emotions are processed in different hemispheres.

A person who has experienced a traumatic event has a heightened stress response. Which hormone is likely being overproduced?

Cortisol

A person experiences difficulty regulating emotions after a brain injury. Which brain structure is most likely damaged?

Amygdala

After a stroke, a person struggles to remember new information but can recall past events. Which brain structure was likely affected?

Hippocampus

A patient experiences difficulty breathing and an irregular heartbeat after a brain injury. Which brain structure is likely damaged?

Medulla

A person is in a coma due to brain damage. Which structure is responsible for arousal and wakefulness?

Reticular formation.

A child has difficulty coordinating movements and maintaining balance. Which part of the brain is likely affected?

Cerebellum

56. Which brain lobe is primarily responsible for processing sensory information such as touch and body position?

Parietal lobe.

Which brain lobe is involved in hearing and speech processing?

Temporal lobe.

A person can see objects but struggles to identify them. What part of the brain is damaged?

Occipital lobe

59. A patient has difficulty producing speech but understands language. What area is affected?

• Broca’s area.

A patient cannot understand spoken words but can still speak fluently. What area is affected?

Wernicke’s area.

Which part of the nervous system controls voluntary muscle movement?

Somatic nervous system.

Which part of the autonomic nervous system is responsible for calming the body after stress?

Parasympathetic nervous system.

What neurotransmitter is primarily responsible for muscle movement and memory?

Acetylcholine

Which neurotransmitter is associated with mood regulation and depression?

Serotonin

Which neurotransmitter is linked to the brain’s reward system and is affected in Parkinson’s disease?

Dopamine

Which neurotransmitter inhibits neural activity and is involved in anxiety disorders?

GABA

Which brain system produces hormones and regulates bodily functions such as growth and metabolism?

Endocrine system.

Which part of the endocrine system regulates metabolism?

Thyroid gland.

Which hormones are released during stress to prepare the body for action?

• Adrenaline and cortisol.

Why is the pituitary gland called the "master gland"?

It controls other endocrine glands and regulates growth.

A person is able to drive to work while thinking about an upcoming meeting. What type of processing allows this?

Dual processing (conscious and unconscious).

Which phenomenon explains why a person fails to notice a gorilla in a video when focusing on something else?

Inattentional blindness.

Which term describes the brain’s ability to filter out irrelevant stimuli while focusing on a specific conversation?

The cocktail party effect.

A person changes their outfit, but their friend doesn’t notice. What is this an example of?

Change blindness.

Why do we sometimes misremember details of an event even though we are confident about our memory?

• Memory is reconstructed, not a perfect recording.

A person suffering from blindsight has damage to which part of the brain?

Visual cortex.

What is the sleep-wake cycle regulated by?

Circadian rhythm

Why is multitasking inefficient for complex tasks?

The brain cannot fully focus on multiple demanding tasks at once.

79. Why do people experience jet lag after traveling across time zones?

Disruption of the circadian rhythm.

A person continues to check their phone every few minutes out of habit. What psychological principle explains this?

Operant conditioning (reinforcement).

Which sleep stage is associated with vivid dreaming?

REM sleep.

A person suddenly falls into REM sleep during normal daily activities. What sleep disorder do they have?

Narcolepsy

Which sleep disorder involves temporary cessations of breathing during sleep

Sleep apnea.

84. What is the difference between night terrors and nightmares?

Night terrors occur in deep sleep (NREM-3); nightmares occur in REM sleep

What happens to REM sleep duration as the night progresses?

It increases with each sleep cycle.

What is the function of melatonin in sleep regulation?

It helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

According to Freud, what is the difference between manifest and latent content in dreams?

• Manifest content is the dream’s storyline; latent content is the hidden meaning.

What is the activation-synthesis theory of dreaming?

Dreams result from the brain’s attempt to make sense of random neural activity.

Why do we experience muscle paralysis during REM sleep?

To prevent us from acting out dreams.

A person stays up all night studying and feels tired the next day. Which brain functions are most affected by sleep deprivation?

Memory, concentration, and decision-making.

Which type of drug slows neural activity and body functions?

Depressants

Which class of drugs includes alcohol, barbiturates, and opioids?

Depressants

Which type of drug speeds up body functions and increases alertness?

Stimulants

Which drug is classified as both a stimulant and a hallucinogen?

Ecstasy (MDMA).

Which neurotransmitter is primarily affected by cocaine use?

Dopamine

What is the primary risk of long-term opioid use?

Physical dependence and addiction.

Physical dependence and addiction.

LSD

What is the most widely used psychoactive drug in the world?

Caffeine

What is the difference between physical dependence and psychological dependence on a drug?

Physical dependence causes withdrawal symptoms; psychological dependence is craving.

Why do people build tolerance to certain drugs over time?

The body adapts, requiring larger doses for the same effect.