Psych 101 Application Based

1. A student argues that intelligence is largely inherited and present at birth. This view aligns with which philosophical foundation?

Nativism

2. A researcher believes that all knowledge comes from sensory experience and observation. This is the core tenet of:

Empiricism

3. René Descartes’ view that the mind and body are two distinct, interacting substances is known as:

Dualism

4. If a psychologist states, “Mental activities result from physical and biological brain processes,” they are endorsing:

Materialism

5. A philosopher argues that our perceptions are direct, faithful copies of the external world produced by sensory receptors. This is:

Realism

6. The view that perceptions are the brain’s best interpretation of sensory information, rather than direct copies, is called:

Idealism

7. Wilhelm Wundt’s method of having participants report their conscious experiences in response to stimuli is known as:

Introspection

8. Structuralism focused on:

Analyzing the mind by breaking down conscious experience into basic components.

9. Functionalism, associated with William James, emphasized:

Understanding adaptive functions and evolutionary purposes of mental processes.

10. Psychology is best defined as:

The scientific study of mind and behavior.

11. In a study, participants change their behavior simply because they know they are being watched. This phenomenon is:

Reactivity

12. A participant in an experiment guesses the researcher’s hypothesis and acts in a way that confirms it. This is an example of:

Demand characteristics

13. A researcher finds that as study time increases, exam scores also increase. This relationship is a:

Positive correlation

14. A study finds that as temperature rises, ice cream sales increase, but crime rates also increase. The third variable problem suggests that:

An unmeasured third variable (e.g., season/summer) may be causing both.

15. Defining “aggression” in a study as “the number of times a participant presses a button to deliver a shock” is an example of:

An operational definition

16. If a test measures what it claims to measure, it has high:

Validity

17. A researcher administers a depression scale to the same group of people one week apart and gets similar results. This indicates high:

Reliability

18. An experiment’s ability to establish a causal relationship without confounding variables is called:

Internal validity

19. The extent to which an experiment’s findings can be generalized to real-world settings is:

External validity

20. A graph showing the number of times each score occurs in a dataset is a:

Frequency distribution

21. The mathematical average of a set of measurements is the:

Mean

22. The middle value in an ordered set of measurements is the:

Median

23. The most frequently occurring value in a dataset is the:

Mode

24. To establish causality, a researcher must use an:

Experiment

25. In an experiment, the variable manipulated by the researcher is the:

Independent variable

26. The variable measured to see if it changes in response to manipulation is the:

Dependent variable

27. The complete collection of potential participants for a study is the:

Population

28. A subset drawn from a population for study is a:

Sample

29. Ensuring every member of a population has an equal chance of being included in a study is:

Random sampling

30. Placing participants into experimental or control groups by chance is:

Random assignment

31. Concluding that a treatment works when it actually does not is a:

Type I error

32. Concluding that a treatment does not work when it actually does is a:

Type II error

33. A measure of how two variables vary together and predict each other is:

Correlation

34. When one variable increases as the other decreases, this is a:

Negative correlation

35. The ability of a measurement tool to detect absence of differences or changes in a property is:

Reliability

36. A neuron is best described as:

An information-processing cell communicating via electrical/chemical signals.

37. The fatty insulating layer around axons that speeds transmission is:

Myelin

38. The electrical signal conducted along an axon to the synapse is the:

Action potential

39. The gap between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrites/cell body of another is the:

Synapse

40. Chemical messengers that transmit signals across the synapse are:

Neurotransmitters

41. The neuron sending a signal by releasing neurotransmitters is the:

Presynaptic neuron

42. The neuron receiving a signal via neurotransmitter binding is the:

Postsynaptic neuron

43. When excess neurotransmitters are reabsorbed into the presynaptic neuron, this is:

Reuptake deactivation

44. When neurotransmitters are broken down in the synaptic cleft by enzymes, this is:

Enzyme deactivation

45. Dopamine is primarily associated with:

Motor behavior, motivation, pleasure, and emotional arousal.

46. Serotonin is primarily involved in regulating:

Sleep, mood, eating, and aggression.

47. GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter because it:

Prevents firing of the postsynaptic neuron.

48. Acetylcholine is primarily involved in:

Voluntary motor control, memory, and learning.

49. Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter because it:

Enhances transmission of signals.

50. The Central Nervous System (CNS) consists of:

The brain and spinal cord.

51. The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) connects the CNS to:

Body organs and muscles.

52. The part of the PNS that prepares the body for action or threat is the:

Sympathetic nervous system

53. The part of the PNS that returns the body to a resting state is the:

Parasympathetic nervous system

54. A rapid, involuntary motor response without brain processing is a:

Spinal reflex

55. The part of the brain that coordinates spinal cord info and controls basic life functions is the:

Hindbrain

56. The midbrain is involved in:

Orientation, movement, and sensory integration.

57. The forebrain controls:

Complex cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor functions.

58. The structure that relays and filters sensory info to the cortex is the:

Thalamus

59. The structure that regulates temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior is the:

Hypothalamus

60. The structure that creates and integrates new memories is the:

Hippocampus

61. The structure involved in emotional processes, especially fear, is the:

Amygdala

62. The somatosensory cortex is responsible for:

Processing tactile sensory input.

63. The motor cortex is responsible for:

Initiating voluntary muscle movements.

64. The frontal lobe is involved in:

Movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgment.

65. The parietal lobe is involved in:

Tactile and spatial processing.

66. The temporal lobe is involved in:

Hearing and language comprehension.

67. The occipital lobe is responsible for:

Visual processing.

68. Mirror neurons fire during:

Action performance and observation.

69. Monozygotic twins are also known as:

Identical twins.

70. Dizygotic twins are also known as:

Fraternal twins.

71. Monozygotic twins share what percentage of their genes?

100%

72. Dizygotic twins share what percentage of their genes?

~50%

73. Dendrites are responsible for:

Receiving chemical signals.

74. The soma is:

The cell body that integrates inputs.

75. The axon conducts action potentials:

Away from the soma.

76. The stimulation of sense organs by environmental energy is:

Sensation

77. The mental organization and interpretation of sensory signals is:

Perception

78. The conversion of physical energy into neural signals is:

Transduction

79. The minimal intensity needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time is the:

Absolute threshold

80. The minimal detectable change in a stimulus is the:

Just noticeable difference

81. Correctly detecting a present stimulus in Signal Detection Theory is a:

Hit

82. Failing to detect a present stimulus in Signal Detection Theory is a:

Miss

83. Reporting a stimulus is present when it is absent in Signal Detection Theory is a:

False alarm

84. Accurately reporting a stimulus is absent in Signal Detection Theory is a:

Correct rejection

85. Rods are photoreceptors active in:

Low light (night vision).

86. Cones are photoreceptors responsible for:

Color and fine detail in daylight.

87. The retina location with no photoreceptors is the:

Blind spot

88. Trichromatic Color Theory states that color perception comes from:

Three cone types (S, M, L).

89. Opponent-Process Theory states that color vision is enabled by:

Opposing retinal processes.

90. Gestalt principles suggest that we:

Group sensory elements into wholes.

91. Monocular depth cues provide depth info from:

One eye.

92. Binocular depth cues provide depth info from:

Both eyes.

93. The fluid-filled tube in the inner ear with auditory receptors is the:

Cochlea

94. The basilar membrane:

Moves with cochlear fluid vibrations.

95. Sound waves are characterized by frequency and:

Amplitude.

96. Frequency is measured in:

Hertz (Hz).

97. Amplitude (sound) is measured in:

Decibels (dB).

98. Complexity of sound determines:

Timbre.

99. Taste buds contain:

Taste receptor cells.

100. Sweet taste detects:

Sugars.