Psych 201

Lectures 1-5, Exam 1

What best reflects the goal of psychology as a science?

Using biological, cognitive, and social research to understand behavior

Riley was watching the movie “Scream” and throughout the movie tried to figure out who the killer was. When she finally figured out who it was, she swore she saw it coming. Riley is experiencing…?

Hindsight Bias

Blake grew up being told by his parents that seeing a squirrel in a tree meant that rain was coming the next day. Blake knew the forecast was calling for rain, so he looked to see if there were any squirrels in the trees. He did see a squirrel, and it did rain the next day, so Blake decided this saying must be true. What was Blake experiencing?

Confirmation Bias

Which domain of psychology focuses on how our genes and the environment we grew up in influence our psychology?

Behavioral Genetics

What best describes the main goal of structuralism in early psychology?

To identify basic elements of the mind through introspection

Sam bites her nails and says she only does it because it helps her calm down when she’s stressed. What part of her nail biting would a functionalist care about?

What the nail biting does for her and why it helps calm her down.

A researcher wants to study how “love” affects a couples interactions. To measure this, she asks couples to fill out a questionnaire rating their marital satisfaction. In this study, the researcher is using this questionnaire as _______of love.

An operational definition

Jaden is arguing with a stranger online about why cats are scientifically better than dogs. She finds more articles saying that dogs are objectively better, but ignores that, and sends along only articles that support her argument. The online stranger notices and says that it’s unfair. The online stranger counters Jaden’s claim by saying that she has ______?

Confirmation bias

According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, this need must be met before moving on to others.

Physiological

Which factor most directly contributed to the shift from behaviorism to the cognitive revolution in psychology?

Behaviorism’s inability to adequately explain internal mental processes such as how flexible our language is.

Many people who get PhD’s in psychology and are women or people of color often still get…

Paid, published, and promoted less.

Why is the heavy reliance on WEIRD (western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) participants considered a limitation in psychological research?

Findings based on WEIRD samples may not generalize to non-WEIRD populations.

Which statement best reflects the role of hypotheses and falsifiability within the scientific method?

For a hypothesis to be scientific, it must be testable and capable of being falsified

A researcher wants to study stress levels in college students but decides not to tell them the true purpose of the study until afterward. Which ethical principle requires the researcher to explain the deception once the study ends?

Debriefing

In an experiment, two participants were each provided a pill to help with their headache. Participant A received a sugar pill, while participant B received tylenol. Both participants were told that that they were given tylenol and that their headaches would go away in 30 minutes. At the end of the 30 minutes, both reported that their headaches were gone. This phenomenon is the…

placebo effect

What is NOT a main type of research design?

Cognitive

Which research design involves changing variables to see their effects on other variables?

Experimental design

What is the best example of naturalistic observation in psychology?

Observing children’s behavior on the playground without interfering

A psychologist wants to study alcohol use among college students and promises participants that their data will never be shared with anyone outside of the research team. This psychologist is promising…?

Confidentiality

A psychologist is investigating whether caffeine increases people’s focus. She assigns participants randomly to either drink regular coffee or decaffeinated coffee and then measures how much information they recall after drinking the coffee. This is an example of a _____ research design.

Experimental

A woman in a study receives a sugar pill labeled as a “fast acting sleep enhancer”. Even though the pill has no active ingredients, she falls asleep faster because she believes it helps. This is an example of…

Placebo effect

A college student is studying friendliness toward the unhoused population by observing how bystanders react to unhoused people in the wild. This is an example of…

Naturalistic observation

A researcher wants to see if drinking Celsius energy drinks makes people run faster. She conducts a study and randomly puts half the people in an energy drink group and the other half in a no energy drink group to compare running times. What kind of research method is she using?

Experimental study

What is an accurate definition for an independent variable?

The variable that gets manipulated

Tony decides he wants to do research to determine what changes students want to see on campus. If he sends out an email asking students questions about it, what method is he using?

Surveys

A university provided a study to measure the hours of social media usage in youth over a six-month period. What is the dependent variable?

Social media usage.

You give your friend a normal drink and after drinking it, you tell them that it causes stomach and liver problems. Your friend later experiences stomach problems. This is an example of…

Nocebo effect

As someone increases their oral intake of sweets and sugar, their dental health will decrease. What kind of correlation does this represent?

Negative correlation

Dr. Smith has a patient who suffers from multiple illnesses, physical and mental. Dr. Smith goes into the hallway, full of patients, and immediately begins telling her coworkers about the patient she just saw. She then goes and publicly posts about that same patient, including the patient’s name. What ethical principle is broken?

Confidentiality

What is the main purpose of using a double blind study rather than a single blind study?

To reduce bias from both participants and researchers

Which research technique is used to evenly distribute participant characteristics (such as intelligence, motivation, or prior experience) across experimental and control groups in order to reduce confounding variables?

Random assignment

A researcher investigates whether the number of hours studied affects exam scores. What is the independent variable in this study?

Number of hours studied

A teacher notices that as the number of hours students spent studying decreases, their exam scores also decrease. What type of correlation does this scenario illustrate?

Positive correlation

What does the Medella regulate in the brain?

Breathing and heartbeat

After a minor stroke, a patient slowly regains the ability to speak because nearby brain regions take over the damaged area’s function. This improvement is best explained by:

Neuroplasticity

Ivan is experiencing loss of muscular control. His doctor tells him that there is degeneration of his myelin sheath, and that the communication to his muscles is slowing down. What would be the proper diagnosis?

Multiple Sclerosis

What best describes how an action potential is transmitted from one neuron to another?

Neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal of the first neuron, cross the synapse, and bind to receptors on the next neuron, triggering a new action potential

Cody has been struggling with quick changes in his emotions, and has struggled with certain movements. What is the most likely neurotransmitter involved in Cody’s situation?

Dopamine

What acts as the brainstem’s relay station between the cerebellum and cerebral cortex?

Pons

A patient who is affected by Parkinson’s Disease likely has an undersupply of what neurotransmitter?

Dopamine

After Luke’s head injury from football, he sometimes struggles to understand what people are saying, and even to speak himself. What lobe of the brain is affected?

Temporal

A lady in the hospital was hit on the left side of her temporal lobe. Now she is unable to speak or understand what others say. This is an example of…

Aphasia

After a car accident, Maria experiences difficulty planning her day and controlling her impulses. Her family reports that her personality has changed a lot. Which lobe of her brain is most likely affected?

Frontal

Which brain lobe is impacted: Carly hit her head falling down the stairs. She now has a hard time distinguishing shapes, colors, and her depth perception is off.

Occipital

If a neuron fires the same action potential every time, how does the nervous system determine differences in stimulus intensity?

By increasing the frequency of action potentials and recruiting more neurons.

You are studying for a test and trying to memorize the content that you were lectured on. Which part of the brain is responsible for your learning and memory?

Hippocampus

David recently suffered a stroke and now objects on his left don’t grab his attention. His family notes that he only eats food on the left side of his plate and has been bumping into things on his left side. What is this an example of?

Spatial neglect

Sarah takes an Uber and notices her driver is driving without using the GPS, which must mean he has great spatial navigation and memory. According to a recent study she read about taxi drivers, the part of his brain called the _____ must be bigger than others.

Hippocampus

Marissa wrecked her bicycle and damaged a part of her brain. When doctors were trying to assess which part of her brain may have been affected, they asked her to copy a drawing of a flower. Marissa only drew the right half of the flower and ignored the left half. Which lobe of her brain did she damage?

Parietal lobe

Which of the following best describes the main purpose of the thalamus?

Acts as the brain’s relay station, directing sensory information to the appropriate cortex.

What does it mean that the brain is “contralaterally organized”?

The left hemisphere controls the right side, the right hemisphere controls the left side.

What is the primary role of the corpus callosum?

Connects the two hemispheres so they can communicate

What is a major function of the hypothalamus?

Regulating basic drives like hunger, thirst, and s3xual behavior (knowt is censoring me)

What is not true about attention?

Our attention will always pick up everything around us

Students watch a video of people wearing brown and gray clothes, and are told to pay close attention to the people in gray. At the end, they are told to look at the brown shirts and just then realize that someone in a brown bear costume has walked out onto the scene without them noticing.The teacher said this was called inattention bias. What is the definition?

Failure to notice that a new stimuli has appeared.

Emily went to her local Panera Bread to study for her upcoming exam. Despite the loud environment surrounding her, Emily was able to tune it out to study while waiting for her food. However, when her name was called, her attention immediately snapped to the server calling her name. What is this phenomenon called?

Cocktail party effect

Billy suffered damage to the right parietal lobe in an accident. Now he does not notice objects on the left side of space. This is known as…?

Spatial neglect

A soccer player becomes so absorbed in his soccer match that he feels fully focused, performs exceptionally well, and loses track of time. This state is most likely…

Flow

After a car accident, Jordan is brought to the hospital. He does not open his eyes, does not respond to commands or stimulation, and shows no signs of a sleep cycle. Which state of consciousness best fits this description of Jordan?

Coma

A patient is in the hospital after brain surgery and is starting to come to. She can respond to basic commands and knows she is at the hospital, but slips in and out of awareness. What state of consciousness is the patient in?

Minimally conscious state

While watching a Broadway production, two of the actors accidentally switch wigs during their quick change; however, no one in the audience seemed to notice. This is an example of…?

Change Blindness

In Wegner’s White Bear experiment, participants were instructed to not think about a white bear for 5 minutes and then allowed to think about it in the second 5 minutes. Researchers found that the experimental group thought about the white bear more frequently than the control group, who could think about it freely. This effect illustrates…

Thought suppression rebound

What defines a state of complete immersion and focus on an activity, leading to enhanced performance and satisfaction?

Flow

Frank was in a car accident and was admitted to the hospital. He has symptoms of being drowsy, unresponsive, but can mouth words and reacts to pain. What disorder of consciousness is this?

Minimally conscious state

While playing football, Drake got hit in the head and lost consciousness. At the hospital he shows no signs of awareness or responses to stimuli. However, he has a normal sleep cycle, and his eyes open and close (has periods of sleep and awake). What is his state of consciousness?

Unresponsive wakefulness syndrome

For a coma patient, which statement is false?

The patient may open and close their eyes.

Blindsight proves evidence that which of the following is true?

People with damage to the visual cortex can still respond to visual stimuli without awareness

The cocktail party effect demonstrates that attention is…

Selective, but still sensitive to personally meaningful information

Dr. Adrien Owens’ tennis imagery task revealed that some patients diagnosed with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome…

Show brain activity consistent with conscious awareness

What theory about why we dream is NOT supported by scientific evidence?

Dreams reflect unconscious wish fulfillment

What does nature and nurture focus on?

Whether human behavior is influenced more by the environment or more by genetics

When John watches how his friends parent their child, he sees how they acknowledge their child’s actions, whether good or bad, but also how they hardly punish her when she acts out or give basic rules that she must follow. What type of parenting are John’s friends displaying?

Permissive parenting

Jacob and Phil got into an argument. After a while, they both accept that they have different opinions. Understanding that they have different opinions is an example of what?

Theory of mind

What scenario would not be an example of the influence of nurture?

One of your parents pass a genetic disorder onto you

Steve cannot understand that others have their own beliefs and desires that are separate from his own. What is Steve lacking?

Theory of Mind

A toddler becomes upset when their father leaves the room. Once the father returns, the toddler calms quickly and greets the father. According to attachment theory, this child likely has what attachment style?

Secure

Rose brings her young daughter, Lenore, over to her grandparents house, so they can see her. They are all sitting in the living room playing with toys when Rose suddenly attempts to get up to go to the restroom. Lenore begins to panic, crying and clinging to her mother, not wanting her to leave. Rose eventually leaves, but even when she returns, Lenore is still upset. What attachment style is this an example of?

Insecure attachment

In what stage of life do changes in vision occur, with eyes taking more time to adjust to changing light levels, alongside a small, gradual net loss in brain cells?

Late adulthood

While raising your child, you demand a lot from them in that you have high expectations and clear standards, but you are also very responsive to the child. In result, your child has high self-esteem and self-reliance. What parenting style was most likely used?

Authoritative

When parenting their children, a set of parents pay very little attention to their children and don’t ask anything from them. What style of parenting is this?

Negligent

A researcher studies identical twins and finds that, although they share the same DNA, one twin develops a stress related disorder after experiencing trauma, while the other does not. The researcher concludes that environmental factors caused changes in which genes are active without altering DNA sequences. What is this an example of?

Epigenetics

A mom leaves her baby in a room alone. The baby does not pay attention to the mother leaving or returning. What type of attachment does the baby most likely present?

Avoidant

Once born, a baby will naturally cling to their mother. This is an example of ______.

Attachment

14-year-old Ava ia freaking out because she thinks everyone at school noticed her tiny pimple, even though nobody cared. What is this thinking an example of?

Egocentrism

Ella sees her friend upset because she lost her toy. Ella understands that her friend is sad even though she is not sad herself. This is an example of ____.

Theory of mind

A four year old child notices his mother placing a ball in a box. He then proceeds to move the ball underneath her bed when she’s not looking. When the boy is asked where his mother would look for the ball, he correctly says she would look in the box. Based off this, the child has developed what?

Theory of mind

Temperament refers to:

Biologically driven patterns of emotional and behavioral reactivity

Studies of rats in enriched and impoverished environments show that…

Stimulating environments lead to more developed brains

Harlow’s studies with cloth and wire surrogate mothers show that attachment is primarily based on:

Physical comfort and security

Ongoing development of the frontal lobes during adolescence helps explain why teenagers often:

Show. increased sensation seeking and weaker impulse control

According to Kohlberg, moral development involves:

Progression through stages that shift from focusing on avoiding punishment and social concerns to a focus on fundamental ethical principles

Research on happiness and self-esteem across the lifespan generally shows that they:

Increase as people age

The interactions between genetics and environment means that:

Genetic predispositions can be influenced by experiences

Twin studies are especially useful to psychologists because they help researchers…

Determine whether traits are learned or biologically inherited

If a child in an adoption study is more like their adoptive parents compared to their biological parents on a certain trait, that is evidence of a:

Stronger impact on environmental factors than genetic factors on that trait

Which finding best supports the idea that humans are born with tendencies that support their survival and social interaction?

Newborns display reflexes such as sucking and grabbing and preferentially attend to face-like configurations

Which statement best describes how emerging into adulthood has changed over time?

It has increased as social and economic factors have delayed traditional adult roles

What are teratogens?

Harmful agents that can disrupt prenatal development