Chapter 1

Question 1

Psychology

Answer 1

the scientific study of mind and behavior; an attempt to use scientific methods to address fundamental questions about the mind and behavior that people wonder about

Question 2

Mind

Answer 2

the private inner experience of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings

Question 3

Behavior

Answer 3

observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals, the things we do in the world by ourselves or with others

Question 4

What are the bases of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings, or our subjective sense of self?

Answer 4

The brain

Question 5

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

Answer 5

MRI that allows scientists to scan a brain to determine which parts are active when a person reads a word, sees a face, learns a new skill, or remembers a personal experience

Question 6

How does the mind usually allow us to function effectively in the world?

Answer 6

Psychological processes are adaptive, promoting the welfare and reproduction of organisms that engage in those processes

Question 7

What does PERCEPTION allow us to do?

Answer 7

Allows for recognizing our families, seeing predators before they see us, and avoiding stumbling into oncoming traffic

Question 8

What does LANGUAGE allow us to do?

Answer 8

Allows us to organize our thoughts and communicate them to others, enabling us to form social groups and cooperate

Question 9

What does MEMORY allow us to do?

Answer 9

Allows us to avoid repeatedly solving the same problems and to keep in mind what we are doing and why

Question 10

What do EMOTIONS allow us to do?

Answer 10

Allows us to react quickly to events that have life/death significance, and enable us to form strong social bonds

Question 11

Name and explain the two types of psychologists.

Answer 11

1. Structuralists: try to analyze the mind by breaking it down into its basic components
2. Functionalists: focus on how mental abilities allow people to adapt to their environments

Question 12

Nativism

Answer 12

the philosophical view that certain kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn

Question 13

Philosophical empiricism

Answer 13

the view that all knowledge is acquired through experience

Question 14

Phrenology

Answer 14

a now defunct theory that specific mental abilities and characteristics, ranging from memory to the capacity of happiness, are localized in specific regions

Question 15

Physiology

Answer 15

the study of the function of biological processes

Question 16

Stimulus

Answer 16

Sensory input from the environment

Question 17

Response

Answer 17

an action/physiological change elicited by a stimulus

Question 18

Reaction time

Answer 18

amount of time taken to respond to a specific stimulus

Question 19

Consciousness

Answer 19

a person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind

Question 20

Structuralism

Answer 20

the analysis of basic elements that constitute the mind; involves breaking down consciousness into elemental sensations and feelings

Question 21

Introspection

Answer 21

the subjective observation of one’s own experience

Question 22

Functionalism

Answer 22

the study of the purpose mental processes serve in enabling people to adapt to their environment

Question 23

Natural Selection

Answer 23

theory that the feature of an organism that help it survive and reproduce are more likely than other features to be passed on to subsequent generations

Question 24

Hysteria

Answer 24

a temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of emotionally upsetting experiences

when put in a trance via hypnosis, the symptoms people had of this disease went away.

Question 25

Unconscious

Answer 25

the part of the mind that operates outside of conscious awareness but influences conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions

Question 26

Psychoanalytic theory

Answer 26

an approach that emphasizes the importance of unconscious mental processes in shaping feelings, thoughts, and behavior

Question 27

Psychoanalysis

Answer 27

a therapeutic approach formed by Freud that focuses on bringing unconscious material into conscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders

Question 28

Human psychology

Answer 28

an approach to understanding human nature that emphasizes the positive potentials of human beings; offers a more optimistic view of the human condition than Freud

Question 29

Behaviorism

Answer 29

an approach that advocates that psychologists restrict themselves to the scientific study of objectively observable behavior

Question 30

Principle of reinforcement

Answer 30

states that the consequences of a behavior determines whether it will be more or less likely to occur again

Question 31

Illusions

Answer 31

errors of perception, memory, or judgement in which subjective experience differs from objective reality

Question 32

Gestalt psychology

Answer 32

a psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts

Question 33

Cognitive psychology

Answer 33

the scientific study of mental processes, including perception, thought, memory, and reasoning

Question 34

Behavioral neuroscience

Answer 34

an approach to psychology that links psychological processes to activities in the nervous system and other bodily processes

Question 35

What does brain scanning allow us to do?

Answer 35

allows us to observe the brain in action and to see which parts are involved in which operations

Question 36

Cognitive neuroscience

Answer 36

the field of study that attempts to understand the links between cognitive processes and brain activity

Question 37

Evolutionary psychology

Answer 37

a psychological approach that explains mind and behavior in terms of the adaptive value of abilities that are preserved over time by natural selection

Question 38

Social psychology

Answer 38

the study of the causes and consequences of sociality

Question 39

Give an example of social psychology.

Answer 39

People work out more efficiently when in a group than individually

Question 40

Cultural psychology

Answer 40

the study of how cultures reflect and shape the psychological processes of their members

Question 41

What are the two principles that govern human behavior? Explain what they are.

Answer 41

1. Absolutism: holds that culture makes little to no difference for most psychological phenomena 2. Relativism: holds that psychological phenomena are likely to vary across cultures and should be viewed only in the context of a specific culture

Question 42

In the 1800s, French biologist Marie Jean Pierre Flourens and surgeon Paula Broca conducted research that demonstrated a connection between a. animals and humans b. the mind and the brain c. brain size and mental ability d. skull indentations and psychological attributes

Answer 42

b. the mind and the brain

Question 43

What was the subject of the famous experiment conducted by Hermann von Helmholtz? a. reaction time b. childhood learning c. phrenology d. functions of specific brain areas

Answer 43

a. reaction time

Question 44

Wilhelm Wundt is credited with a. coining the phrase "philosophical empiricism" b. setting the terms for the nature-nurture debate c. the founding of psychology as a scientific discipline d. conducting the first psychological experiment

Answer 44

c. the founding of psychology as a scientific discipline

Question 45

Wundt and his students sought to analyze the basic elements that constitute the mind, an approach called a. consciousness b. introspection c. structuralism d. objectivity

Answer 45

c. structuralism

Question 46

William James and ____ helped establish functionalism as a major school of psychological thought in North America. a. G. Stanley Hall b. René Descartes c. Franz Joseph Fall d. Edward Titchener

Answer 46

a. G. Stanley Hall

Question 47

The functional approach to psychology was inspired by a. Darwin's "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection" b. James's "The Principles of Psychology" c. Wundt's "Principles of Physiological Psychology" d. Titchener's "An Outline of Psychology"

Answer 47

a. Darwin's "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection"

Question 48

To understand human behavior, French physicians Jean-Martin Charcot and Pierre Janet studied people a. who appeared to be completely healthy b. with psychological disorders c. with damage in particular areas of the brain d. who had suffered permanent loss of cognitive and motor function

Answer 48

b. with psychological disorders

Question 49

Building on the work of Charcot and Janet, Sigmund Freud developed a. psychoanalytic theory b. the theory of hysteria c. humanistic psychology d. physiological psychology

Answer 49

a. psychoanalytic theory

Question 50

The psychological theory that emphasizes the positive potential of human beings is known as a. structuralism b. psychoanalytic theory c. humanistic psychology d. functionalism

Answer 50

c. humanistic psychology

Question 51

Behaviorism involves the study of a. observable actions and responses b. the potential for human growth c. unconscious influences and childhood experiences d. human behavior and memory

Answer 51

a. observable actions and responses

Question 52

The experiments of Ivan Pavlov and John Watson centered on a. perception and behavior b. stimulus and response c. reward and punishment d. conscious and unconscious behavior

Answer 52

b. stimulus and response

Question 53

Who developed the concept of reinforcement? a. B.F. Skinner b. Ivan Pavlov c. John Watson d. Margaret Floy Washburn

Answer 53

a. B.F. Skinner

Question 54

The study of mental processes such as perception and memory is called a. behavioral determinism b. Gestalt psychology c. social psychology d. cognitive psychology

Answer 54

d. cognitive psychology

Question 55

During World War II, cognitive psychologists discovered that many of the errors pilots make are the results of a. computer errors in processing detailed information b. limited human cognitive capacity to handle incoming information c. pilot inattention to incoming information d. lack of behavioral training

Answer 55

b. limited human cognitive capacity to handle incoming information

Question 56

The use of scanning techniques to observe the brain in action and to see which parts are involved in which operations helped the development of a. evolutionary psychology b. cognitive neuroscience c. cultural psychology d. cognitive accounts of language formation

Answer 56

b. cognitive neuroscience

Question 57

Central to evolutionary psychology is the _____ function that minds and brains serve. a. emotional b. adaptive c. cultural d. physiological

Answer 57

b. adaptive

Question 58

Social psychology differs most from other psychological approaches in its emphasis on a. human interaction b. behavioral processes c. the individual d. laboratory experimentation

Answer 58

a. human interaction

Question 59

Cultural psychology emphasizes that a. all psychological processes are influenced to some extent by culture b. psychological processes are the same across all human beings, regardless of culture c. culture shapes some, but not all psychological phenomena d. insights gained from studying individuals from one culture will only rarely generalize to individuals from other cultures, who have different social identities and rituals

Answer 59

c. culture shapes some, but not all psychological phenomena

Question 60

Mary Calkins a. studied with Wilhelm Wundt in the first psychology laboratory b. did research on the self-image of African American children c. was present at the first meeting of the APA d. became the first woman president of the APA

Answer 60

d. became the first woman president of the APA

Question 61

Kenneth Clark a. did research that influenced the Supreme Court decision to ban segregation in public schools b. was one of the founders of the APA c. was a student of William James d. did research that focused on the education of African American youth

Answer 61

a. did research that influenced the Supreme Court decision to ban segregation in public schools