psyc 100 google ai

The principle that actions are produced by many factors rather than a single cause is known as _.

Multiple determinism

How does reciprocal determinism explain social interaction?

Individuals mutually influence each other's behaviors, such as an extravert making others more outgoing.

The tendency to believe that we see the world exactly as it is, without acknowledging the influence of our own beliefs, is termed _.

Naive realism

Distinguish between confirmation bias and belief perseverance.

Confirmation bias involves seeking supporting evidence, while belief perseverance involves clinging to a belief despite contradictory evidence.

What characterizes a metaphysical claim in the context of scientific inquiry?

An assertion about the world that is inherently untestable.

A set of claims that appears scientific but lacks self-correction and relies heavily on anecdotes is called _.

Pseudoscience

Define 'ad hoc immunizing hypotheses' and their role in pseudoscience.

They are loopholes used to protect a theory from being falsified by explaining away contradictory evidence.

According to Terror Management Theory, why do humans adopt cultural worldviews like astrology or reincarnation?

To cope with the terror resulting from the awareness of their own inevitable death.

Term: Patternicity

Definition: The tendency to perceive meaningful patterns in meaningless stimuli.

Distinguish between reliability and validity in psychological testing.

Reliability refers to the consistency of measurement, whereas validity refers to the accuracy or truthfulness of the measurement.

Logical Fallacy: The claim that a belief is valid because it has existed for a long time.

Argument from antiquity

What is the 'not me' fallacy in critical thinking?

The erroneous belief that we are immune from the errors in thinking that affect others.

The scientific principle stating that the simplest explanation for a phenomenon is often the best is _.

Occam’s razor

Define 'falsifiability' as a requirement for scientific theories.

The capacity for a claim or theory to be disproven through empirical testing.

The phenomenon where the observed effect size of a finding diminishes over time when studies are repeated is the _.

Decline effect

Which psychological perspective, founded by Edward Titchener, aimed to create a 'map' of consciousness using introspection?

Structuralism

How does functionalism differ from structuralism regarding the study of consciousness?

Structuralism focuses on basic structures of experience, while functionalism examines the adaptive purposes of psychological characteristics.

The perspective asserting that the mind is a 'black box' and psychologists should focus only on observable inputs and outputs is _.

Behaviorism

Which psychological school of thought emphasizes internal psychological processes of which we are unaware, such as repressed impulses?

Psychoanalysis

What is the primary focus of Cognitive Neuroscience?

The relationship between brain functioning and thinking/mental processes.

Contrast the roles of Clinical and Counseling psychologists.

Clinical psychologists focus on serious mental disorders, while counseling psychologists help with temporary or self-contained life problems.

How does Evolutionary Psychology define 'fitness'?

The extent to which a specific trait increases an organism's ability to survive and pass on genes.

Which experimental procedure involves severing the fibers connecting the frontal lobes to the thalamus?

Prefrontal lobotomy

In Daniel Kahneman’s dual-process model, describe 'System 1' thinking.

An intuitive, fast, and effortless mode of thinking used for routine decisions.

The extent to which research findings can be generalized to real-world settings is known as _.

External validity

Why do naturalistic observation designs typically have low internal validity?

They lack control over variables, making it difficult to draw definitive cause-and-effect inferences.

In research, a(n) _ provides a demonstration that a given psychological phenomenon can occur in a specific case.

Existence proof

The tendency of participants to distort their responses to appear more psychologically disturbed than they are is called _.

Malingering

A correlation coefficient of $-1.0$ indicates a _ relationship.

Perfect negative

What differentiates random selection from random assignment?

Random selection determines who is in the study; random assignment determines which group (control vs. experimental) participants are placed in.

A variable other than the independent variable that differs between the experimental and control groups is a _.

Confounding variable

Define 'operational definition' in the context of psychological research.

A specific, working definition of how a researcher will measure a particular variable.

The phenomenon where participants experience harm from the mere expectation of harm is the _.

Nocebo effect

What is the 'Rosenthal effect' (experimenter expectancy effect)?

When a researcher's hypotheses unintentionally bias the study's outcome through their behavior toward participants.

Under what two conditions is deception ethically permissible in psychological research?

When it is essential to the study and the scientific knowledge gained outweighs the costs.

How do extreme scores (outliers) affect the mean compared to the median?

The mean is highly sensitive to outliers, while the median remains relatively unaffected.

A result is considered 'statistically significant' if the probability that it occurred by chance is less than _.

$0.05$ (or $5\%$)

In the media, 'sharpening' refers to the tendency to _ the central claim of a study.

Exaggerate

Describe the function of the Myelin Sheath provided by Oligodendrocytes.

It acts as insulation for the neuron's signal, increasing the speed of transmission.

What is the 'resting potential' of a typical neuron?

Approximately $-60$ mV

The period following an action potential during which another impulse cannot be triggered is the _.

Absolute refractory period

How do neurotransmitter 'antagonists' work?

They bind to receptor sites and decrease activity by blocking the neurotransmitter from exerting its effect.

The brain's ability to change over time through the growth of new dendrites or the death of unused neurons is called _.

Plasticity

Which part of the brain is the primary site for motor function, language, and executive planning?

Frontal Lobe

Damage to _ Area typically results in difficulty producing speech, though comprehension may remain intact.

Broca’s

The _ lobe is specialized for processing auditory information and language memory.

Temporal

Which subcortical structure acts as the 'gateway' or relay station for sensory information to the cerebral cortex?

Thalamus

The Limbic System structure responsible for processing fear, excitement, and arousal is the _.

Amygdala

What role does the Reticular Activating System (RAS) play in consciousness?

It regulates arousal and alertness; damage to this area can result in a coma.

Contrast the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic nervous systems.

The Sympathetic system triggers 'fight or flight' (arousal), while the Parasympathetic system triggers 'rest and digest' (calming).

Which hormone, released by the pituitary gland, is associated with trust and romantic bonding?

Oxytocin

Describe the function of 'Cortisol' released by the adrenal glands.

It is a stress hormone that helps the body respond to emotional or physical threats.

Brain Mapping: Which technique uses magnetic fields to visualize brain activity via changes in blood oxygen levels?

fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

The only brain imaging technique that allows researchers to make causal inferences by enhancing or interrupting brain function is _.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

The _ of a trait is the extent to which genes contribute to differences in that trait among individuals within a group.

Heritability

How does 'epigenetics' differ from traditional genetics?

It studies how environmental influences can change how genes are expressed without changing the DNA sequence itself.

The process by which the nervous system converts external physical energy into electrical signals in neurons is called _.

Transduction

According to Weber’s Law, what determines the Just Noticeable Difference (JND)?

A constant proportional relationship between the JND and the original stimulus intensity.

The _ effect occurs when visual information and auditory information conflict, resulting in a distorted perception of sound.

McGurk

Define 'Inattentional Blindness'.

The failure to detect stimuli in plain sight when one's attention is focused elsewhere.

What is the function of the Iris?

The colored part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil and the amount of light entering.

Distinguish between Rods and Cones in the retina.

Rods detect low light and motion; Cones detect color and fine detail (acuity).

The theory that we perceive colors in terms of three pairs of opponent cells (e.g., red/green) is the _ theory.

Opponent process

The ability of blind people with cortex damage to make correct guesses about objects' locations is known as _.

Blindsight

In audition, the complexity or quality of a sound that distinguishes different instruments is called _.

Timbre

Which inner ear structure converts vibrations into neural activity using hair cells?

Cochlea

The _ model suggests that pain signals can be blocked by neural mechanisms in the spinal cord.

Gate control

Define 'Proprioception'.

The sense of body position and the ability to tell what our limbs are doing without looking.

Contrast Bottom-up and Top-down processing.

Bottom-up builds a whole from parts (sensory driven); Top-down uses beliefs/expectations to interpret stimuli (conceptually driven).

Gestalt Principle: The tendency to fill in partial visual information to perceive a whole object is _.

Closure

What is the 'Phi Phenomenon'?

The illusory perception of movement produced by the successive flashing of still images.

Monocular Depth Cue: Parallel lines appear to converge as they move farther away, meeting at a _.

Vanishing point (Linear perspective)

Which stage of sleep is characterized by 'sleep spindles' and makes up about $65\%$ of total sleep?

Stage 2

Define 'REM Rebound'.

The increase in the amount and intensity of REM sleep following a period of sleep deprivation.

Describe the symptoms of Narcolepsy.

Rapid, unexpected onset of sleep, often accompanied by cataplexy (loss of muscle tone).

In Freud’s Dream Protection Theory, distinguish between 'Manifest' and 'Latent' content.

Manifest content is the actual imagery of the dream; Latent content is the hidden, symbolic meaning (wish fulfillment).

The theory that dreams are the forebrain’s attempt to make sense of random neural firing from the pons is the _ theory.

Activation-synthesis

Contrast the Sociocognitive and Dissociation theories of hypnosis.

Sociocognitive theory attributes effects to expectations and social roles; Dissociation theory suggests a separation of personality/consciousness.

Drug Class: Substances that depress the CNS, such as alcohol or barbiturates, are categorized as _.

Depressants (Sedative-hypnotics)

The process of responding more strongly to a stimulus over time (e.g., an annoying whisper) is called _.

Sensitization

In Classical Conditioning, what is the 'Conditioned Response' (CR)?

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus that has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

The reduction and eventual disappearance of a Conditioned Response when the Conditioned Stimulus is repeatedly presented alone is _.

Extinction

Conditioning a fear of white rats in 'Little Albert' demonstrated which psychological phenomenon?

Stimulus generalization

How does Operant Conditioning differ from Classical Conditioning regarding behavior?

Classical conditioning involves automatic/elicited responses; Operant conditioning involves voluntary/emitted behaviors.

Thorndike’s Law of Effect states that _.

Behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, while behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely.

Distinguish between Positive Reinforcement and Negative Reinforcement.

Positive reinforcement adds a pleasant stimulus to increase behavior; Negative reinforcement removes an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior.

Which schedule of reinforcement provides a reward after an unpredictable number of responses and is highly resistant to extinction?

Variable Ratio (VR)

The process of reinforcing successive approximations of a target behavior is called _.

Shaping

Edward Tolman’s rats learning a maze without immediate reinforcement provided evidence for _.

Latent learning

What is 'Conditioned Taste Aversion' and how does it violate standard conditioning rules?

It is a powerful avoidance of a food after one bad experience, occurring even with a long delay between stimulus and response.

The concept that we are evolutionarily predisposed to fear certain stimuli (like snakes) more easily than others is called _.

Preparedness

Distinguish between Retroactive and Proactive interference.

Retroactive: new info hinders old info; Proactive: old info hinders new info.

The strategy of organizing information into meaningful groupings to expand short-term memory capacity is _.

Chunking

In the Levels of Processing model, which type of processing leads to the best long-term retention?

Semantic (meaning-based) processing

Contrast Explicit and Implicit memory.

Explicit memories are consciously recalled (facts/events); Implicit memories are recalled without conscious effort (skills/habits).

Mnemonic: The method of _ involves using mental imagery of familiar locations to recall a list of items.

Loci

Define 'Schema' and its potential downside for memory.

A mental frame of reference; it helps organize information but can lead us to 'remember' things that never happened if they fit the frame.

What is the 'Misinformation Effect'?

When providing misleading information after an event leads to the creation of fictitious or distorted memories.

The heuristic used when judging the probability of an event based on its superficial similarity to a prototype is _.

Representativeness

Explain the 'Hindsight Bias'.

The tendency to overestimate our ability to have predicted an outcome after it has already occurred.