PSY 100 Exam #2 Study Guide
Exam #2 Study Guide Overview
Exam #2 will consist of 50 multiple-choice questions and cover content from modules 11-19.
Note: This document serves as a study aid; the quiz will include material discussed in class, lecture slides, and the textbook. Questions could cover content not explicitly listed in this guide.
Practice questions and answers are included at the end.
Modules 11-12: Development: Prenatal, Newborn, Infancy, and Childhood
Stages of Prenatal Development
There are 3 stages:
Germinal Stage
Embryonic Stage
Fetal Stage
These stages are not the same as trimesters.
Teratogen
Definition: A teratogen is any substance that can cause developmental malformations in a fetus.
Common teratogens include:
Alcohol
Nicotine
Certain infections (e.g., rubella)
Environmental pollutants (e.g., lead)
Critical Period
Definition: A critical period is a specific timeframe during development when the presence or absence of certain stimuli has a profound effect on development.
Object Permanence
Definition: Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be observed. This concept typically develops around 8 to 12 months of age.
Fine vs. Gross Motor Skills
Fine motor skills involve small muscle movements (e.g., grasping, manipulating small objects).
Gross motor skills involve larger muscle groups (e.g., crawling, walking).
Schema
Definition: A schema is a cognitive framework that helps organize and interpret information.
Assimilation vs. Accommodation:
Assimilation: Incorporating new experiences into existing schemas without changing them.
Accommodation: Changing existing schemas to incorporate new information.
Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor Stage
Preoperational Stage
Concrete Operational Stage
Formal Operational Stage
Attachment
Secure Base: A figure that provides a sense of safety for a child, allowing them to explore the world.
Studying Attachment: Typically studied using the Strange Situation procedure.
Types of Attachment Styles:
Secure Attachment: Child feels safe and can explore.
Insecure Avoidant: Child avoids closeness and does not seek comfort upon reunion.
Insecure Resistant: Child is clingy and dependent but is resistant to comfort during reunion.
Temperament
Innate Temperament: Many researchers believe temperament is biologically based.
Three Categories of Temperament:
Easy: Adaptable and positive mood.
Difficult: Irregular in habits and negative mood.
Slow-to-Warm-Up: Inactive but can slowly adapt with a consistent environment.
Four Parenting Styles
Authoritative: High control and high warmth.
Authoritarian: High control and low warmth.
Permissive: Low control and high warmth.
Uninvolved: Low control and low warmth.
Modules 13-14: Development: Adolescence and Adulthood
Adolescence
Begins with the onset of puberty, typically around ages 10-12.
Kohlberg’s Theory of Morality:
Stages of moral development determined through responses to moral dilemmas; emphasizes reasoning behind moral decisions.
Emerging Adulthood
Defined as the transitional phase from adolescence to adulthood, generally occurring from 18 to the mid-20s.
Not universally present in all cultures, as cultural expectations vary.
Five Stages of Grief (Elisabeth Kübler-Ross)
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
Modules 15-16: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality
Definitions:
Sex: Biological differences including reproductive systems and secondary sexual characteristics.
Gender: Socially constructed roles and behaviors typically associated with being male or female.
Gender Identity: Personal sense of one's own gender.
Gender Expression: External manifestation of gender, expressed through clothing, behavior, etc.
Sexuality: Broad term including sexual orientation, desires, and preferences.
Sexual Orientation: Pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to others.
Primary vs. Secondary Sex Characteristics
Primary: Directly related to reproduction (e.g., ovaries, testes).
Secondary: Not directly involved in reproduction but distinguish male from female (e.g., breast development, body hair).
Androgyny
Definition: A blend of both masculine and feminine traits in personality or behavior.
Gender Typing
Definition: The process by which a child becomes aware of their gender and thus behaves accordingly by adopting gender-specific roles.
Kinsey Scale
A scale that measures sexual orientation on a continuum, ranging from heterosexual to homosexual.
Module 17: Sensation and Perception
Sensation vs. Perception
Sensation: The process of detecting physical energy from the environment (e.g., sights, sounds).
Perception: The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information.
Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Processing
Top-Down: Interpretation of sensory input guided by prior knowledge, experience, and expectations.
Bottom-Up: Processing begins with the sensory input itself and builds perceptions from this.
Absolute vs. Difference Threshold
Absolute Threshold: The minimum intensity of a stimulus that can be detected 50% of the time.
Difference Threshold: The minimum difference between two stimuli that can be detected 50% of the time (also known as just noticeable difference or JND).
Sensory Adaptation
Definition: Diminished sensitivity to a stimulus as a consequence of constant exposure to that stimulus.
Perceptual Set
Definition: A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another based on expectations.
Module 18: Vision
Light Characteristics
Wavelength: Determines the color of light (hue).
Amplitude: Determines the intensity or brightness of light.
Parts of the Eye
Rods: Responsible for vision in low light; located mainly in the peripheral regions of the retina.
Cones: Responsible for color vision and detail; concentrated in the fovea (central part of the retina).
Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory vs. Opponent Processing Theory
Trichromatic Theory: Suggests that color perception is based on three primary colors: red, green, and blue.
Opponent Process Theory: Posits that color perception is controlled by the activity of two opponent systems: a blue-yellow mechanism and a red-green mechanism.
Visual Information Processing
Steps include:
Light enters the eye.
Projects onto the retina.
Photoreceptors (rods and cones) transform light into neural signals.
Signals are processed through several layers of neurons.
Information sent to the brain.
For detailed sequences, refer to figure 18.11 in the textbook.
Monocular vs. Binocular Cues
Monocular Cues: Depth cues that require only one eye (e.g., texture gradient, interposition).
Binocular Cues: Depth cues that depend on the use of both eyes (e.g., retinal disparity).
Visual Cliff
Definition: An apparatus used to study depth perception in infants. It tests whether infants can perceive depth through their actions.
Gestalt Psychology
Figure and Ground Principle: Distinguishes between the object (figure) and its background (ground).
Principles of Grouping:
Proximity: Objects close to each other are grouped together.
Similarity: Similar objects are grouped together.
Closure: The mind fills in gaps to create a complete, whole object.
Module 19: Nonvisual Senses
Hearing
Processes include: sound waves entering the ear, vibrating the tympanic membrane, which then moves the ossicles, leading to stimulation of the cochlea and hair cells.
The ear consists of three parts:
Outer Ear: Pinna and auditory canal.
Middle Ear: Ossicles (hammer, anvil, stirrup).
Inner Ear: Cochlea, semicircular canals.
Conductive vs. Sensorineural Hearing Loss:
Conductive loss occurs when sounds cannot efficiently travel through the outer and middle ear.
Sensorineural loss occurs due to damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve.
Hearing Aid vs. Cochlear Implant:
Hearing aids amplify sound, while cochlear implants convert sounds into electrical signals directly stimulating the auditory nerve.
Four Skin Senses
Pressure
Temperature
Pain
Itch
Phantom Limb Sensations
Definition: Sensations (including pain) perceived from an amputated limb.
Smell
Relies on olfactory receptor cells to detect airborne molecules.
Taste
Five Tastes:
Sweet (indicates energy sources)
Salty (indicates sodium essential for physiological processes)
Sour (indicates acidity)
Bitter (potential toxins)
Umami (savory, indicates protein)
Refer to table 19.1 in the textbook for detailed classification.
Kinesthesia Sense
Definition: The sense that provides information about the movement and position of the body parts.
Vestibular Sense
Definition: Sense relating to balance and spatial orientation.
Receptors: Located in the semicircular canals and vestibular sacs of the inner ear.
Brain Connection: Nerve signals are sent to the cerebellum and other parts of the brain associated with balance and coordination.
Exam #2 Practice Questions
When the ossicles move, they press into the , which is located in the inner ear, causing the fluid inside to move and stimulate hair cells embedded in the basilar membrane.
a. Pinna
b. Cochlea
c. Stapes
d. Tympanic membrane
20-month-old Jeremy has a schema for horses. When he goes to the zoo and sees a zebra for the first time, he calls it a horse because it matches his schema for horse: it is big, has 4 legs, and neighs. This exemplifies:
a. Adaptation
b. Accommodation
c. Assimilation
d. Egocentrism
A parent with a(n) __ parenting style has low demandingness and control but high responsiveness and warmth.
a. Authoritative
b. Authoritarian
c. Permissive
d. Uninvolved
_ is biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male, female, and intersex.
a. Sex
b. Gender
c. Androgyny
d. Sexuality
The taste indicates sodium essential to physiological processes.
a. Sweet
b. Salty
c. Umami
d. Bitter
True or false: taste is a chemical sense.
a. True
b. False
Juan does not use his father as a secure base. When his father leaves, he is not upset. When his father returns, he is not happy. He is typically neutral towards his father’s absence and presence. What attachment style does Juan have?
a. Secure
b. Insecure avoidant
c. Insecure resistant
d. Uninvolved
Which of the following is not one of the three categories of temperament?
a. Easy
b. Slow-to-warm-up
c. Difficult
d. Permissive
The _ principle of Gestalt psychology states that we perceive continuous, smooth flowing lines rather than jagged, broken lines.
a. Proximity
b. Figure and ground
c. Closure
d. Continuity
_ processing refers to taking sensory information and then assembling and integrating it.
a. Bottom-up
b. Top-down
c. Sensory adaptation
d. Selective
Practice Questions Answers
b
c
c
a
b
a
b
d
d
a