PSYCH 10: Midterm

Week 0: What is Psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes/experience.

Week 0: What phenomenon did Norman Triplett set out to investigate in his early social psychology studies?

How a person's performance on a task changes when other people are present.

Week 0: How does Zajonc's Drive Theory of Social Facilitation explain why a novice basketball player shoots free throws poorly in front of an audience?

Free-throw shooting is a complex task for a novice, so heightened arousal activates incorrect dominant responses (performance is impaired).

Week 0: What was the dependent variable measured in Zajonc's cockroach study?

How quickly the cockroach reached the dark room (the goal).

Week 0: What initial real-world observation inspired Norman Triplett's study on social facilitation?

Bicycle racers usually made better times in group competition than when racing alone.

Week 0: In Zajonc's Drive Theory of Social Facilitation, what type of response does heightened arousal automatically initiate?

A dominant response

Week 0: In Zajonc's cockroach experiment, how did the presence of an audience affect speed in a simple maze?

Cockroaches reached the goal faster when other cockroaches were watching than when alone.

Week 0: In Zajonc's cockroach experiment, how did the presence of an audience affect speed in a complex maze?

Cockroaches reached the goal slower when other cockroaches were watching than when alone.

Week 0: Under Zajonc's Drive Theory of Social Facilitation, under what task condition does social arousal impair performance?

When the dominant response triggered by arousal is incorrect for the present situation (complex task).

Week 0: Under Zajonc's Drive Theory of Social Facilitation, under what task condition does social arousal enhance performance

When the dominant response triggered by arousal is correct for the present situation (complex task).

Week 0: What non-human organism did Robert Zajonc use to empirically test his Drive Theory of Social Facilitation?

Cockroaches.

Week 0: How did Robert Zajonc extend Norman Triplett's Drive Theory of Social Facilitation?

Zajonc noted that the presence of others does not always improve performance and can impair it when tasks are complex.

Week 0: According to Zajonc's Drive Theory of Social Facilitation, what physiological/psychological state is produced by the presence of others?

Heightened arousal.

Week 0: How does Zajonc's Drive Theory of Social Facilitation explain why a professional basketball player shoots free throws well in front of an audience?

Free-throw shooting is a simple task for a professional, so heightened arousal activates the correct dominant response.

Week 0: What is the name of Robert Zajonc's formal theory explaining social facilitation effects?

Drive Theory of Social Facilitation

Week 0: According to Robert Zajonc, how does being watched by others affect performance on difficult tasks?

It interferes with performance, causing individuals to perform worse.

Week 0: What were the two independent variables manipulated in Zajonc's social facilitation study on cockroaches?

Maze complexity (simple vs. complex) and presence of others (audience watching vs. alone)

Week 0: What are the primary factors that contribute to interpersonal attraction?

Proximity Effect (including mere exposure), Similarity Effect, Physical Attractiveness, and other factors.

Week 0: In facial attractiveness research, how was Face B constructed from Face A?

Face B was created as a perfectly symmetrical mirror image using one half of Face A.

Week 0: How did participant ratings of Face B (mirror-image) compare to Face A (natural face)?

People rated Face B as significantly more attractive due to its high degree of symmetry.

Week 0: What was the procedure for target participants in the 'Scent of Symmetry' study?

Men and women wore the same T-shirt to bed for three consecutive nights without perfumed products.

Week 0: What behavioral outcome was uniquely observed in men with high facial symmetry?

Men high in symmetry were observed to cheat on their romantic partners more frequently.

Week 0: From an evolutionary perspective, what does facial symmetry signal?

Good health and genetic quality

Week 0: Does the effect of male symmetry on female orgasm frequency depend on romantic bonding?

No, the effect occurs regardless of romantic attachment or the sexual experience of the male partner.

Week 0: Which group of women was most attracted to the scent of symmetrical men's shirts?

Women who were ovulating (at their most fertile phase of the menstrual cycle).

Week 0: What relationship was found between male symmetry and female sexual climax?

Women experience more orgasms during intercourse with male partners who possess high facial symmetry.

Week 0: Prior to 2020, medical face masks reduced perceived attractiveness because people in Japan linked them with _____.

illness and disease.

Week 0: Prior to 2020, how did observers judge the overall health of masked individuals?

Masked individuals were perceived as less healthy and unattractive compared to unmasked individuals.

Week 0: How did COVID-19 alter the automatic cognitive evaluation of seeing someone wear a medical mask?

People shifted from thinking 'that person is diseased' to viewing mask-wearing as a reassuring, positive trait.

Week 0: How did the perception of blue medical face masks change during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in the UK?

Wearing a blue medical mask increased the perceived physical attractiveness of the wearer.

Week 0: What explanation accounts for the Sanitary Mask Effect shift during COVID-19?

Heightened vulnerability made medical masks feel reassuring, causing positive emotions toward the wearer.

Week 0: In the 2020 UK pandemic study, which mask condition was rated as most attractive by women?

Images of men wearing blue medical masks.

Week 0: Who is recognized as the father of psychology for applying the scientific method to psychological processes?

Wilhelm Wundt

Week 0: In what year was the first psychology textbook published by Wilhelm Wundt?

1874

Week 0: What is Introspection?

The experimental method developed by Wilhelm Wundt that involves examining one's own thoughts and mental activities.

Week 0: According to structuralism, what are the three basic components of conscious experience?

Physical sensations, feelings, and images.

Week 0: What is the primary goal of the structuralist school of thought in psychology?

To analyze complex conscious experiences by breaking them down into their simplest basic components.

Week 0: Which early psychological school would ask questions such as 'How bright is this light, what color is it, and how does it make you feel

Structuralism

Week 0: Who led Structuralism?

Edward B. Titchener

Week 0: Who led Functionalism?

William James

Week 0: Which founder established the psychodynamic approach to psychology??

Sigmund Freud

Week 0: Who led Behaviorism?

John B. Watson and Skinner

Week 0: Who led Humanistic Psychology?

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow

Week 0: Who led the Cognitive Revolution?

Noam Chomsky

Week 0: Who led Gestalt Psychology?

Max Wertheimer

Week 0: Who led Evolutionary Psychology?

Inspired by Charles Darwin and Functionalists (William James)

Week 0: Who led Social Psychology

Kurt Lewin

Week 0: Cognitive Psychology

The scientific study of how mental operations—such as thoughts, memory, language, and problem solving—are processed in the mind.

Week 0: Which early school of psychology directly inspired the modern discipline of evolutionary psychology?

Structuralism (Led by William James)

Week 0: How did humanistic psychology's view of human choice contrast with behaviorist view?

Humanistic psychology emphasized free will and deliberate choice, whereas behaviorism viewed actions as determined by external stimuli.

Week 0: What are the aspects examined by evolutionary psychology?

Their behaviors, mental processes, evolutionary origins, their adaptive values, and the current purposes they serve.

Week 0: Which husband-and-wife research team conducted landmark social psychology studies on the psychological effects of prejudice and discrimination using dolls?

Mamie and Kenneth Clark

Week 0: Prior to the 20th century, how was psychology primarily defined?

The study of mental processes.

Week 0: What is the Unconscious Mind?

The part of the mind operating outside of awareness but influences conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Week 0: What was the core subject of study favored by behaviorists?

Observable behavior, explicitly excluding unobservable inner mental workings.

Week 0: How does psychoanalysis attempt to treat psychological disorders?

By bringing repressed unconscious thoughts and feelings into conscious awareness.

Week 0: Who was the first woman to earn a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in psychology?

Margaret Floy Washburn

Week 0: What is Humanistic Psychology?

An approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potential, free will, and choices of human beings.

Week 0: Hearing a full musical melody rather than isolated individual notes illustrates the principle of which school of psychology?

Gestalt School of Thought

Week 0: Which three interdisciplinary fields emerged in the 1950s to support the Cognitive Revolution?

Linguistics, neuroscience, and computer science.

Week 0: Why did humanistic therapists refer to individuals seeking therapy as 'clients' rather than 'patients'?

To establish an equal footing between therapist and individual.

Week 0: In what year did Sigmund Freud publish 'The Interpretation of Dreams'?

1900

Week 0: How were the findings of Mamie and Kenneth Clark's doll experiment applied in legal history?

Cited in the U.S. Supreme Court as evidence that racial segregation generates feelings of inferiority in Black children.

Week 0: What is Gestalt Psychology?

A psychological approach focusing on how people perceive sensory inputs as wholes

Week 0: Which two major perspectives in psychology did humanistic psychology directly rebel against?

Freudian psychodynamic theory and Behaviorism.

Week 0: What is Cultural Psychology?

The branch of psychology focusing on cultural differences in behavior and mental experiences, and how culture shapes behaviors and psychological processes

Week 0: What is the primary focus of functionalism?

Understanding how behaviors and mental processes help organisms adapt to their environment.

Week 0: Which prominent linguist argued that psychology must include mental functioning to fully explain human behavior, influencing the Cognitive Revolution?

Noam Chomsky

Week 0: What technological advancement has significantly boosted recent research in biological psychology?

Brain-imaging techniques

Week 0: The study of conformity and persuasion falls under which subfield of psychology?

Social Psychology

Week 0: Which pioneer authored an authoritative text on animal behavior, cementing her legacy in early experimental psychology?

Margaret Floy Washburn

Week 0: What is Psychoanalysis?

A therapeutic approach that brings unconscious material into conscious awareness to understand and treat psychological disorders.

Week 0: What is Biological Psychology (Psychobiology)?

The branch of psychology that examines the relationships between biological structures (such as the brain) and behavior/mental processes.

Week 0: What key finding emerged from Mamie and Kenneth Clark's doll studies with Black children?

Black children showed a preference for playing with white dolls.

Week 0: Which school of psychological thought rebelled against defining psychology as the study of internal mental processes in the early 20th century?

Behaviorism

Week 0: What is Social Psychology?

The scientific study of how individuals think about, influence, and relate to one another in social contexts.

Week 0: When did the Cognitive Revolution emerge as a direct rebellion against behaviorism?

Late 1960s

Week 0: Asking 'What is the purpose of self-esteem?' aligns best with which early school of psychology

Functionalism

Week 0: Name four key topics investigated by social psychologists.

Conformity, persuasion, prejudice, and culture (or helping, love).

Perspectives	Causes of Behavior & Mental Experiences
A. Biological	1. _____ Evolved millions of years ago to adapt and survive in an environment.
B. Psychodynamic	2. _____ Learning, rewards, and punishments.
C. Behaviorist	3. _____ Social influence and cultural norms.
D. Cognitive	4. _____ Genes, the brain, and hormones.
E. Evolutionary	5. _____ The way people think and solve problems.
F. Socio-Cultural	6. _____ Childhood past experiences, unconscious motivations, and conflicts.

Match the letters of the Psychological Perspectives on the left with the correct Causes of Behavior & Mental Experiences on the righ

• 1. E (Evolutionary)

• 2. C (Behaviorist)

• 3. F (Socio-Cultural)

• 4. A (Biological)

• 5. D (Cognitive)

• 6. B (Psychodynamic)

Week 1: What characterizes a positive correlation between two variables?

Both variables move in the same direction—either both increase or both decrease together.

Week 1: Which applied field of psychology is primarily concerned with understanding and treating mental illness?

Clinical Psychology

Week 1: What is a paradigm shift?

A scientific revolution where old dominant ideas/theories are overthrown by a new paradigm.

Week 1: How do empirical findings that support a hypothesis impact the overarching theory?

Confidence in the theory increases.

Week 1: What is a main advantage and a main disadvantage of self-administered survey questionnaires?

Advantage: Cheap and easy to run while promoting honesty through anonymity.

Disadvantage: Nonresponse bias can be a major issue.

Week 1: What is a major limitation of archival research?

The researcher cannot control data quality or accuracy and can only study people for whom records exist.

Week 1: What is archival research?

The analysis of existing data that was previously collected for non-research or alternative purposes (e.g., police reports, public records)

Week 1: Why is personal experience an unreliable sole source for learning accurate facts about the world?

Human memory is faulty, personal experiences are subject to cognitive biases, and single experiences may not be typical.

Week 1: What is the first step in conducting a scientific investigation?

Formulating a testable hypothesis.

Week 1: What is a major advantage of the case study research method?

It provides detailed information, especially when studying rare conditions or limited participant availability.

Week 1: What indicates a zero correlation between two variables?

There is no predictable linear relationship between changes in one variable and changes in the other.

Week 1: In scientific research, what is a variable?

Any property or characteristic that can take on different values across individuals or over time.

Week 1: What field of applied psychology focuses on instructional techniques and educational diagnoses?

Educational Psychology

Week 1: What is a scientific hypothesis?

A specific, testable prediction about research findings derived from a theory or prior research.

Week 1: In retail observational studies, what is the 'butt-brush effect'?

The phenomenon where female shoppers stop browsing or leave an area if another person accidentally bumps against them from behind.

Week 1: What is an operational definition in research?

A statement describing exactly how variables in a hypothesis will be measured or manipulated.

Week 1: According to Thomas Kuhn, what is a scientific paradigm?

A philosophical view of reality that dictates what should be studied, how it should be studied, and how theories are constructed.

Week 1: What is the scientific assumption of empiricism?

The practice of understanding the world through systematic observation.

Week 1: What are two major disadvantages of case studies?

Findings are difficult to generalize to other people, and causal conclusions cannot be drawn.

Week 1: What is the final step in a scientific investigation?

Reporting the findings.