Psych Final Exam Questions

Which theorists explain personality through concepts, such as learning, imitation, and reinforcement?

behaviorists

Humanism involves the view that

humans are creative beings capable of free choice

If a personality test measures what it claims to measure, we say that the test is

valid

Which of the following statements pertains to character as opposed to personality?

“Eddie is a good guy. He’s honest and dependable.”

Sigmund Freud’s theory would be classified as a__________ theory.

psychodynamic

Because you fed your dog table scraps while sitting at the kitchen table, your dog began to jump up and beg for scraps whenever you were eating dinner at the kitchen table. Lately, your dog has also begun to jump up and beg for scraps whenever you sit at any table or desk in the house. Your dog is exhibiting

operant stimulus generalization.

The feelings of fear that occur during a conditioned emotional response are produced by a part of the limbic system called the

amygdala.

You have a mental picture of how your city is organized so that you can easily take an alternate route if there is a traffic jam. Psychologists call this a(n)

cognitive map.

Any event that follows a response and decreases the likelihood of the response occurring again is referred to as

punishment

Learning is best defined as

a relatively permanent change in behavior due to past experience.

What are the two main types of conditioning?

classical conditioning and operant conditioning.

In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus is repeatedly paired with another stimulus that naturally elicits a reflex response. This neutral stimulus will become known as the

conditioned stimulus.

Mood disorders characterized by alternating periods of mania and depression are known as _______ disorders.

bipolar and related

What are personality disorders?

They refer to long-standing, inflexible ways of behaving that create a variety of problems.

Which one of the following statements is a feature of antisocial personality disorder?

The individual lacks a conscience

What is a manic episode?

It is a period of abnormally excessive energy, agitated behavior, and elation

What should one do if someone hints that he or she is thinking about suicide?

Offer caring and support, and help the person make an appointment with a psychologist

If an individual constantly seeks attention by dramatizing his emotions and actions, he would most likely be diagnosed with a _______ personality disorder.

histrionic

People who are preoccupied daily with distressing, repetitive thoughts and urges to perform certain rituals are said to have _______ disorder.

obsessive-compulsive

What is agoraphobia?

Excessive, irrational fear of being in public places

When does postpartum depression begin?

It begins within three months following childbirth

Legally, insanity is best established by testimony from which of the following?

Psychologists and psychiatrists

Which of the following is the study of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders?

Psychopathology

The two most basic states of sleep are

REM and NREM sleep

A sleep disturbance in which one awakens several times during the night and has difficulty returning to sleep is

insomnia

How many people out of ten can actually be hypnotized?

eight

The ____ is the highest functioning and largest brain area found in humans.

cerebrum

One thing that cocaine, sensory overload, high fever, and meditation all have in common is that they produce

ASCs

Which of the following personality disorders describes a person who has an exaggerated sense of self-importance, who needs constant admiration, and often fantasizes about power, wealth, brilliance, or beauty?

narcissistic

The most common way to alter human consciousness is

to administer a psychoactive drug

Which of the following is/are examples of neurotransmitters?

norepinephrine, acetylcholine, histamine (all of these)

____ is achieved by watching and imitating the actions of another person or by noting the consequences of the person's actions.

observational learning

The primary characteristic of psychotic behavior is

a loss of contact with shared views of reality

According to Freud, the id is governed by the

pleasure principle

Since their principal characteristic is their mind-altering quality, LSD, mescaline, and marijuana are classified as

hallucinogens

People go both “up” and “down” emotionally in

bipolar disorders

Psychology is BEST defined as the

scientific study of the behavior and mental processes

Operant conditioning is to Skinner as classical conditioning is to

Pavlov

A substance capable of altering attention, judgment, perception, and emotions

is classified as a psychoactive drug

Which of the following is the correct ordering of Freud’s psychosexual stages and the latency period?

oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital

The "father of psychology" and founder of the first psychological laboratory was

Wilhelm Wundt

Neurons “talk” to each other chemically when which of the following are released?

neurotransmitters

When a person is in a state of clear, organized alertness and perceives times, places, and events as real, meaningful, and familiar, she or he is said to be

in waking consciousness

A shy, reserved person whose attention is focused inward is referred to as a(n)

introvert

Thousands of fatal drug overdoses occur each year due to drug interactions of legally or illegally obtained drugs. This pattern of abuse is called

polydrug abuse

From 1886 to 1906, Coca-Cola contained small amounts of

cocaine

Which of the following is NOT a part of a neuron?

synapse

Which of the following coefficients of correlation indicates the STRONGEST relationship between two sets of variables?

-0.98

An obsession is an unwanted ____, while a compulsion is an unwanted ____.

thought; behavior

Which of the following is NOT one of the three mental structures that Freud stated composed one’s personality?

ideal self

The cerebral cortex is divided into two  

hemispheres

The brain consists of approximately 100 billion nerve cells called

neurons

Cocaine triggers an increase in which neurotransmitter, which causies a drug “high” in the reward system? 

dopamine

The two cerebral hemispheres are connected by a band of fibers called

the corpus callous

Which dream theorist believed that dreams are based on wish fulfillment with these unconscious desires and conflicts being disguised as dream symbols?

Sigmund Freud

A person who has trouble getting to sleep is said to suffer from

insomnia

In psychology, the term ____ is defined as an individual's unique and relatively stable patterns of thinking, feeling, behaving, and expressing feelings.

personality

Which of the following occur(s) during REM sleep?

nightmares

When a preschool girl competes with her mother for her father’s affection, Freud said that the little girl was experiencing

the Electra conflict

____ is a psychosis characterized by delusions, hallucination, apathy, and a "split" between thought and emotion.

Schizophrenia

Addictive drugs stimulate a brain region called the nucleus accumbens which results in intensified feelings of pleasure as the neurotransmitter __________ is released.

dopamine

Remembering them and writing them down, looking for messages they contain, and becoming acquainted with your own symbol system are all part of understanding

understanding one’s dreams

A psychiatrist who believes that the behaviors of his patients result from hidden, or unconscious, thoughts, needs, and emotions is using the _________ model.

psychodynamic

Calvin has been on a "pleasure binge" for the last three days. He has cleaned out his bank account spending the money on anything that gains his attention. He would be described as loud, elated, and hyperactive. A week ago he was feeling like a failure and was withdrawn and unhappy. Calvin would most likely be diagnosed with:

bipolar disorder

People who have personality traits that increase their chance of suffering a heart attack are considered __________ personalities

Type A

Operant conditioning involves which of the following?

reinforcement

The process of fully developing personal potentials is referred to as

self-actualization

The part of the nervous system that is known as the “fight or flight” system because it arouses the body to meet emergencies and respond to emotional events is the __________branch.

sympathetic nervous system

The consistency of who you are, have been, and will become, as well as to your special blend of talents, values, hopes, loves, hates, and habits that makes you a unique person is referred to as your

personality

The process of fully developing personal potentials is referred to as

self-actualization

Which theory of personality was developed by Sigmund Freud?

psychoanalytic

False beliefs that are held even when the facts contradict them are called

delusions

A person with a ____ personality disorder would have an extremely unstable self-image, would be moody, extremely sensitive to any hint of criticism or rejection by others, and unable to form stable relationships.

borderline

Which of the following does psychology consider a covert behavior?

dreaming

Which of the following describes a double-blind study?

Neither the observer nor the subjects know which subjects received which treatment.

Scientific observations are intersubjective, meaning that:

more than one observer can confirm them.

Which of the following best illustrates principles of critical thinking?

The decision to take a certain type of medicine based on extensive reading in pharmacology journals and based on numerous conversations with a range of doctors

What is random assignment?

The use of chance to place subjects in experimental and control groups

Which of the following defines psychology?

The scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Which of the following names the two groups created in a simple scientific experiment?

Experimental and control

Which neurons become active when you throw a baseball and when you watch someone throw a baseball on television?

mirror neurons

A split-brain operation produces what?

in essence, two brains in one body

Which of the following is an example of a neurotransmitter?

serotonin

Which of the following happens during an action potential?

ion channels penetrate the axon membrane

Nerves are large bundles of neuron fibers known as what?

axons

The network linking the spinal cord with the body and sense organs is called the _______.

somatic nervous system

Which of the following is a term usually applied to the side of a person’s brain that produces language?

dominant hemisphere

Someone reports that he was floating in a tank in absolute darkness. What did the person most likely engage in?

A sensory-deprivation exercise

Which best describes withdrawal symptoms?

The physical illness and discomfort that follows removal of a drug

Which of the following is an example of a drug that decreases activity in the body and nervous system?

valium

Who coined the term hypnosis?

James Braid

Which of the following is an altered state of consciousness that is characterized by focused attention, deep relaxation, and an increased openness to suggestion?

Hypnotic state

Anhedonia is a common effect of cocaine withdrawal and is defined as:

an inability to feel pleasure.

Which of the following is an example of a hallucinogen?

marijuana

The drug MDMA is chemically similar to:

amphetamines

Consciousness is defined by psychologists as:

an organism’s awareness of its external environment and internal mental processes.

Which of the following is a mental exercise based on attending to a single object or thought?

Concentrative meditation