Psychology Exam 1

Years later, Priya can still remember her first day of college, including the classroom she entered, the professor who greeted her, and how nervous she felt. This is an example of ______ memory.

Episodic

After learning a new route to work, David's brain undergoes physical changes that represent the newly stored information. These changes may be referred to as a ______.

Memory Trace

What is the term used to refer to the physical or biological trace thought to represent a memory in the brain?

Engram

Sarah meets someone at a party and is introduced to several people. The next morning, she cannot remember one person's name because she was distracted and never properly processed the information. This is an example of ______.

Encoding Failure

Which of the following terms refers to information that helps a person access a stored memory?

Retrieval Cue

You recently changed your phone number. When someone asks for your new number, you accidentally give them your old number instead. Why?

I am currently experiencing proactive interference of that memory.

A broad explanation that organizes observations and can be used to make predictions is called a/an ______.

Theory

A scientific theory has ______ when its explanations do not contradict one another or other well-supported theories.

Consistency

A researcher develops a broad explanation for why people behave differently when placed in different social situations. This explanation is supported by previous research and is used to generate predictions for future studies. This type of explanation is called a ______.

Theory

Part of the reason horoscopes are considered ______ is that their predictions are often so broad and vague that there is no clear way to test whether they are wrong.

They are considered pseudoscience.

After participating in a psychology experiment, participants are informed about the true purpose of the study, including any information that was withheld or misrepresented during the experiment. This process is known as ______.

Debriefing

A researcher explains to participants that their personal information will not be shared with anyone outside of the research team and that their individual responses will not be identified in any published results. This practice reflects the ethical consideration of ______.

Confidentiality

What other variable in the infant study did the researchers miss?

Randomness

A student receives the results from a statistical test and is told that the findings were “not likely caused by chance or random occurrence.” What does this indicate about the results?

They have statistical significance.

In an experiment, a variable that systematically differs between the experimental groups and could provide an alternative explanation for the results is called a(n) ______ variable.

Dependent

Which kind of research examines differences between naturally occurring groups when participants cannot be randomly assigned to the groups?

Quasi-experimental research

Two college students conducted a study to determine whether flicking the top of a can before opening it reduces the likelihood that the can will explode. They obtain a p-value of .03. Which of the following is the most accurate interpretation of this result?

If there were no true effect of flicking the can, there would be a 3% probability of obtaining a result this extreme or more extreme.

A researcher wants to study whether a new medication reduces anxiety. However, the researcher defines “anxiety” only as “acting nervous” without specifying which behaviors would qualify as nervous behavior. The research has been compromised by ______.

Under operational definitions

A person suddenly hears a loud crash outside their house and immediately feels their heart begin to race. Which portion of the autonomic nervous system is most likely activated?

Sympathetic

Dr. Ramirez is conducting a study comparing the behaviors of identical twins and fraternal twins to determine how much genetic factors contribute to differences in their behavior. What kind of study is Dr. Ramirez conducting?

A twin study

Jordan and Marcus are both interested in dating Elena. Elena decides that she will choose which of the two she would prefer to date based on their appearance, personality, and other desirable characteristics. Elena's behavior is an example of ______ selection.

Intersexual

Which field of study examines how genetic factors and environmental influences contribute to differences in behavior among individuals?

Behavioral genetics

A neuron releases neurotransmitters from its terminal, and these chemicals travel across a tiny space before reaching receptors on the next neuron. This tiny space is called the ______.

Synaptic gap

In natural selection, individuals with heritable traits that allow them to leave more offspring than other individuals have greater ______ success.

Reproductive

The ability to hold information in the mind for a brief time and work with it.

Working Memory

Your storehouse for more or less permanent knowledge.

Semantic Memory

The ability to remember episodes of your life.

Episodic Memory

The kind of memory that people in a group share.

Collective Memory

The initial experience of perceiving and learning events.

Encoding

Taking information from one form and converting in a way that makes sense.

Recoding

The change in nervous system that represents our experience.

Memory Trace (engram)

The neural changes that occur over time to create the memory trace of an experience.

Consolidation

The time between when you learn something and get tested on it.

Retention Interval

The effectiveness of retrieval cues.

Encoding Specificity Principle

Generation of studied information.

Production tests

Selection of studied informtation from aggregated information.

Recognition tests

An approach to inquiry that is tied to an actual measurement and observation.

Science

A logical idea that can be tested.

Hypothesis

Careful examination of the real world.

Observation

Conclusions drawn from closely related phenomena or multiple observations.

Theory

A branch of science dealing with mental processes and behavior of individuals and groups.

Psychological science

Application of scientific knowledge to practical problems or situations.

Applies science

Group of people from population.

Sample

Make generalizations of full population using sample.

Inductive Reasoning

Match between scientific theories and what we absorb in the real world.

Accuracy

An example of this term would be apples being different colors but all the same fruit.

Consistency

Being concerned with the ability to explain why a number of observations/phenomenon.

Scope

What is the simplest answer? However, doesn’t always apply if a more complex one does a better job at explaining what is naturally occurring in the world.

Simplicity

Going beyond what current data is available.

Fruitfulness

Something has to be able to be found as false.

Falsifiable

A scientific study where you change one factor on purpose to see how it affects another factor under controlled conditions.

Experimental research

r = .75, r = -.50, r = .20

Correlaltion coefficent

A method of gathering information from a group of people by asking questions to understand opinions. Can be used to capture beliefs, how depressed a person may be, etc.

Surveys

A study that tests a cause-and-effect relationship by comparing groups, but does not use random assignments.

Quasi-Experimental Design

A research method where researchers watch and test the same exact people or group over a long period of time.

LongitudalA studies

A false idea or belief that a large group of people accept as true.

Mass misconception

A summary of all the possible values a variable can take and how often each value happens.

Distribution of the variable

A method where every single member of a larger group has an equal and fair chance of being chosen for a smaller study group.

Random sample

A plus-or-minus percentage that shows how much a survey or poll result might differ from the actual truth of the whole population.

Margin of error

A single value that summarizes a whole set of data by finding its center or most typical point.

Statistical Tendency

An experimental technique where researchers are purely chance procedures to place study participants into different groups.

Random assignment

The early biological process where a simple flat layer of cells in an embryo folds into a tube and grows into the complex structures of the brain.

Development of Embryonic Brain

The tree-like, branching extensions of a nerve cell (neuron) that receive electrical and chemical messages from other neurons.

Dendrites

Stores and protects genetic material.

Nucleus

The central part of the neuron that houses the nucleus and keeps the cell alive.

Soma

The regular microscopic gaps in the myeline sheath. They allow electrical nerve signals to “jump” quickly from one gap to the next.

Nodes of Ranvier

A quick, temporary burst of electrical activity that travels down a cell membrane.

Action Potential

A speed boost.

Myelin Sheath

The tail of the neuron.

Axon

The small gap between neurons.

Synapse

Responsible for touch and taste.

Parietal lobe

Responsible for sound and smell.

Temporal lobe

Responsible for vision, tracking motion, and recognizing faces.

Occipital lobe

Responsible for speech, problem solving, planning, and organization.

Frontal lobe

Responsible for relaxation.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Responsible for stress.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Measures the brain’s electrical activity in real time using small sensors placed on the scalp. It is great for tracking fast changes and diagnosing epilepsy or sleep disorders.

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Uses X-rays from multiple angles to create quick, flat cross-section pictures of the brain. It is best for fast emergencies like detecting bleeding or skull fractures.

Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT)

Uses powerful magnets and radio waves to build a highly detailed 3D picture of brain structure. It shows soft tissues very clearly without using radiation.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Uses a radioactive tracer (usually injected sugar) to measure chemical activity and metabolism in the brain. It helps spot diseases like Alzheimers or cancer. Invasive.

Positron Emission Topography (PET)

Uses a standard MRI machine to track blood flow and oxygen levels, showing which parts of the brain are working during specific tasks. Non invasive.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

Change over time driven by successful reproduction via natural selection.

Evolution

The process of adjusting your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to fit new information, cope with changing environments, or overcome life challenges.

Adaptation

Mechanisms that helped ancestors handle forces of nature.

Survival adaptations

Sexual selection theory.

Mate competition

The evolution of characteristics not because of survival advantage, but because of mating advantage.

Sexual selection

Members of the same sex compete with each other, and the winners gain mating access to the opposite sex.

Intrasexual competition

Members of one sex prefer certain qualities in mates.

Intersexual competition

Mechanisms of the mind that evolved to solve specific problems of survival or reproduction.

Psychological adaptations

Humans have evolved a menu of mating strategies, which are selected based on culture, social context, partial influence, and personal mate value.

Sexual strategies theory

Whenever making a judgement in the face of uncertainty, selection will create cognitive biases that function to minimize costly errors.

Error management theory

Emperical science of how genes and environments work together.

Behavioral genetics

The study of how genes and environment together influence complex behavioral traits that vary on a continuous scale, such as intelligence, personality, and mental health risks.

Quantitive genetics

Twins who develop from two separate eggs fertilized by two separate sperm during the same pregnancy.

Dizygotic twins

Develop from a single fertilized egg that splits into two separate embryos.

Monozygotic twins

The degree of biological and DNA similarity shared between family members, which helps researchers understand how inherited traits influence behavior, personality, and mental health.

Genetic relation

The tendency of the brain to group together or be attracted to things, people, or ideas that share common traits like shape, color, values, or backgrounds.

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