Exam 1

Question 1

Modern psychology is most accurately defined as the science of:

Answer 1

behavior and mental processes

Question 2

Efforts to discover whether the intelligence of children is more heavily influenced by their genetics or by their home environments are most directly relevant to the debate regarding:

Answer 2

nature and nurture

Question 3

Professor Crisman believes that most women prefer tall and physically strong partners because this preference promoted the survival of our ancestors’ genes. This viewpoint best illustrates the __________ perspective

Answer 3

evolutionary

Question 4

Psychological differences between the genders are:

Answer 4

far outweighed by gender similarities

Question 5

Any factor, such as life satisfaction, that can vary in its quality or quantity is called a:

Answer 5

variable

Question 6

Which research method asses how well one variable predicts another without specifying a cause and effect relationship between the variables?

Answer 6

the correlational method

Question 7

In a psychological experiment, the experimental factor that is manipulated by the investigator is called the ________ variable

Answer 7

independent

Question 8

Research participants are randomly assigned to different groups in an experiment in order to:

Answer 8

reduce the likelihood of any preexisting differences between groups of participants

Question 9

In which type of research would an investigator manipulate one factor to observe its effect on some behavior on mental process?

Answer 9

experimentation

Question 10

Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the strongest relationship between the two variables?

Answer 10

-0.8

Question 11

The function of dendrites is to:

Answer 11

receive incoming signals from other neurons

Question 12

The speed at which a nerual impulse travels is increased when the axon is encased by a(n):

Answer 12

myelin sheath

Question 13

Endorphins are:

Answer 13

neurotransmitters

Question 14

The central nervous system consists of:

Answer 14

the brain and the spinal cord

Question 15

You come home one night to find a burglar in your house. Your heart starts racing and you begin to perspire. These physical reactions are triggered by the:

Answer 15

sympathetic nervous system

Question 16

An accelerated heartbeat is to a slowed heartbeat as the _____ nervous system is to the _____ nervous system

Answer 16

sympathetic; parasympathetic

Question 17

The part of the brain stem that controls heartbeat and breathing is called the:

Answer 17

medulla

Question 18

Which of the following sub-cortial structures plays an essential role in the processing of new memories?

Answer 18

hippocampus

Question 19

Which lobes of the brain receive the input that enables you to feel someone scratching your back?

Answer 19

parietal

Question 20

The surgical removal of a large tumor from Dane’s occipital lobe resulted in extensive loss of brain tissue. Dane is most likely to suffer from some loss of:

Answer 20

visual perception

Question 21

Every non-genetic influence, from prenatal nutrition to the people and things around us, is an aspect of our:

Answer 21

environment

Question 22

Identical twins originate from the fertilization of:

Answer 22

a single cell by a single sperm cell

Question 23

According to adoptive studies, the home environment has a greater influence on a children’s _____ than on their _____

Answer 23

religious beliefs, personality traits

Question 24

By what age do most children pass false belief tasks, suggesting that they have an understanding of “Theory of Mind”?

Answer 24

5 years old

Question 25

Which psychologist was most influential in shaping our understanding of cognitive development?

Answer 25

Jean Piaget

Question 26

According to Piaget, accommodation refers too

Answer 26

changing current schemas to make sense of new experiences

Question 27

Many researchers believe that adult styles of romantic love correspond with childhood patterns of

Answer 27

attachment

Question 28

According to Piaget, a child can represent things with words and images but cannot reason with logic during the _____ stage

Answer 28

preoperational stage

Question 29

Four-year-old Jennifer mistakenly believes that her mother would like to receive a toy doll as a Christmas present. This best illustrates Piaget’s concept of

Answer 29

ethnocentrism

Question 30

In Erikson’s stages the primary task during adolescence is:

Answer 30

forging an identity

Question 31

Even though smoking marijuana would reduce the pain associated with her chronic medical condition, Juanita believes it would be morally wrong because it is prohibited by the laws of her state. Kohlberg would suggest that Juanita demonstrates a(n) _____ morality

Answer 31

conventional

Question 32

Parents who are demanding yet sensitively responsive to their children are said to be

Answer 32

permissive