Psychology: Understanding Behavior and Mental Processes, Exams of Psychology

Download Psychology: Understanding Behavior and Mental Processes and more Exams Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! PSY 120 Final Exam Study Guide Questions with 100% Verified Answers. Psychology is best defined as the scientific study of - Correct answer The behavior of individuals and their mental processes The subject matter of psychology largely consists of - Correct answer Observable behavior of humans and other species of animals The first task in psychology is to make accurate observations about behavior. This means that psychologists must first ______ behavior. - Correct answer Describe Different explanations of behavior are usually judged by how - Correct answer Well they can make accurate and comprehensive predictions Two students are discussing their teacher's inability to remember student names. One attributes the inability to a poor memory, but the other believes it is due to a lack of motivation. Researchers would judge which of the two explanations is best by - Correct answer Determining how well each explanation predicts behavior in new situations Western psychology traces its origin to - Correct answer Classical Greek philosophy In 1908, Herman Ebbinghaus wrote that "psychology has a long past, but only a short history." Which statement best captures the idea that Ebiinghaus was expressing? - Correct answer Questions about human nature have existed for a long time, but only recently have the methods necessary to answer have been developed In 1879, in Leipzig, Germany - Correct answer The first formal laboratory devoted to experimental psychology was founded It would be accurate to state that William James was interested in the ____ of the mind, and Edward Titchener was interested in the ___ of the mind - Correct answer Functions; Contents Psychologists who tae the behaviorist approach seek to - Correct answer Understand how environmental stimuli control behavior A psychologist believes that instincts, drives, and conflicts act as one fuel for behavior; when tension has been reduced sufficiently, behavior stops. This view is most consistent with that of the ____ perspective. - Correct answer Psychodynamic The humanistic perspective in psychology gives greater weight and importance to - Correct answer The capacity of humans to make choices According to the humanistic perspective, the main task for humans is to - Correct answer Strive for positive development The central emphasis of the cognitive approach is on - Correct answer Human thought and knowledge The ____ perspective looks for the causes of behavior in the functioning of genes, the brain, the nervous system, and the endocrine system - Correct answer Biological Organisms that are better suited to their environments are more likely to pass on their genes, the brain, the nervous system, and the endocrine system - Correct answer Charles Darwin's theory of evolution Eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia, do not seem to be as common in third- world countries as they are in technologically advanced countries. Focusing on reasons for the difference in the incidence of these illnesses around the world is most directly within the province of the ___ perspective - Correct answer Sociocultural A classmate comes to you because he is concerned that his best friend is experiencing personal problems. You should suggest to your classmate that his friend may benefit by talking to a (n) ____ psychologist - Correct answer Counseling "If an athlete imagines having a good performance, then that athlete is more likely to be successful in an event." This statement is a description of - Correct answer A hypothesis A psychologist has generated a hypothesis. Now, - Correct answer Research is needed to verify the if-then link There is a joke among scientist about a researcher who tells others that he belongs to a secret scientific society, where no one but the researcher will ever know about the studies members are doing. This joke is humorous because it violates the principal of - Correct answer Public Verifiability An observer bias is - Correct answer An error due to personal motives and expectations Which of the following is most likely to be an assumption of individuals conducting psychological research? - Correct answer Behavior follows discoverable, lawful patterns If a researcher defines variables or conditions in terms of the specific procedures used to determine their presence, he or she is using a(n) ____ definition - Correct answer Operational When carrying out an experiment, the factor that the researcher manipulates is known as the ____ variable; the researcher measures the ____ variable - Correct answer Independent; Dependent You are about to take your first test in an introductory to psychology class. Much to your surprise, the instructor hands you a test that contains ten analytical geometry problems. You would probably be able to argue that the test is not - Correct answer Valid Are researchers obligated to respect the rights of research participants? If so, how is this ensured? - Correct answer Yes, special committees oversee every research proposal At the end of a research study, participants must be provided with as much information about the study as possible and any emotional or psychological problems must be addressed. This process is formally known as - Correct answer Debriefing Nature is to nature as heredity is to - Correct answer Environment According to the theory of natural selection, - Correct answer Organisms that are well adapted to their environment will produce more offspring In evolutionary terms, an individual's success is measured by the - Correct answer Number of offspring an individual produces As you enter a crowded room, you catch a glimpse of your friend's dark hair and slime frame. What you are noticing most directly are aspects of your friend's - Correct answer Phenotype In the vocabulary of evolutionary theory, you have inherited _____ from your parents. - Correct answer A genotype While surfing the web, you stop at an anthropology website. There, you learn that natural selection favored two major adaptations in the evolution of the human species; - Correct answer Bipedalism and Encephalization Gregory Mendel is best known for his research on - Correct answer Garden peas In the human male, the sex chromosomes normally consist of a(n) _____ pair; in the human female they consist of a(n) _____ pair - Correct answer XY;XX Which cell part and description is matched correctly? - Correct answer Soma; contains the nucleus and cytoplasm that sustains its life The children in a classroom are playing the role of different parts of a neuron and arranging themselves in the order that information follows as it passes along the neuron. Beginning with incoming signals, the correct order is - Correct answer Dendrites, Soma, Axon, Terminal buttons At one end of the neuron are swollen, bulblike structures called _____, which make it possible for the neuron to stimulate nearby glands, muscles, or other neurons - Correct answer Terminal buttons The primary function of ____ is to carry messages away from the central nervous system towards the muscles and glands - Correct answer Motor neurons In loose terms, the "decision" as to whether a neuron will produce a response or not depends upon the - Correct answer Excitatory and inhibitory inputs it receives In the context of the action potential, all of the following are consequences of the all-or- none law EXCEPT that - Correct answer The size of the action potential varies as a function of the intensity of stimulation On the neuron, neurotransmitters are stored in - Correct answer Synaptic vesicles The image of a key fitting into a keyhole is most useful in understanding how - Correct answer Neurotransmitters bind to receptor molecules You come across a magazine article on endorphins. It doesn't surprise you that it is subtitled "the keys to paradise," because - Correct answer Of their pleasure-pain controlling properties Broca's area in the brain is most closely associated with - Correct answer Language The ___ shows where different types of activity are occurring in the brain and involves the use of a safe radioactive substance that is given to participants - Correct answer PET Scan Which technique uses special radio receivers to detect information from resonating atoms in order to assess brain activity - Correct answer MRI The nervous system is subdivided into two major divisions. What are they? - Correct answer Central and Peripheral All the neurons of the brain and spinal cord make up the _____ nervous system - Correct answer Central You remember as a child seeing an insect buzzing on a flower and trying to catch the insect. You may also remember the pain and your hand automatically jerking away. Although you didn't know it at the time, your reflexive withdrawal was controlled by your - Correct answer Spinal cord One way to conceptualize the relationship among the elements of the nervous system is to use a hierarchal organization. Using this kind of scheme, the - Correct answer Peripheral nervous system can be divided into the somatic and autonomic nervous systems In the middle of the night, you hear two loud thumps outside your bedroom door. Your _____ nervous system increases your heart rate and sends blood away from internal organs to your muscles, preparing you for "fight or flight." When you learn it is just your roommate coming in late, your _____ nervous system slows down your heart rate and calms you down. - Correct answer Sympathetic;Parasympathetic In the brain, the _____ and its surface layer, the _____, integrates sensory information, coordinates your movements, and facilitates abstract thinking and reasoning. - Correct answer Cerebrum;Cerebral Cortex All of the following are located in the brain stem EXCEPT the - Correct answer Hypothalamus The limbic system includes the - Correct answer hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala Involvement of the brain is not necessary for a person to - Correct answer Pull his or her hand from a hot stove The cerebrum is divided into two almost symmetrical halves, called the ____, which are connected by a mass of fibers called the _____ - Correct answer Cerebral hemispheres; Corpus callosum All you know about someone is that she is a "split-brain" patient. You can conclude that she - Correct answer Has had her corpus callous severed In the brain, the ____ serves as a relay station between the endocrine system and the central nervous system - Correct answer Hypothalamus A friend has decided she would like to participate in a psychophysics study, but when she goes to the bulletin board that lists experiments, she can't figure out which research title probably relates to psychophysics. She asks for your help. Can you select the appropriate study for her? - Correct answer The effect of light intensity on the experience of brightness A man has trouble hearing and is being tested for a hearing aid. He is presented with tones of various intensities and is asked to indicate whenever he detects a sound. The procedure is most similar to that used by researchers who are studying - Correct answer Absolute thresholds Eve had forgotten that she had put on earrings until Adam said that he liked them. Eve's lack of awareness was probably due to - Correct answer Sensory adaptation