Final Exam

Question 1

Correlation

Answer 1

existence of a consistent, systematic relationship between two events, measures, or variables
-does not demonstrate causation

Question 2

Independent Variable

Answer 2

condition(s) altered by the experimenter; experimenter sets their size, amount, or value

Question 3

Dependent Variable

Answer 3

demonstrates the results of the experiment; the variable that is used to measure a change

Question 4

Double-blind experiment

Answer 4

the subjects AND the experimenters have no idea whether the subjects are in the control or experimental groups

Question 5

Hypothesis

Answer 5

a testable prediction, often promoted by a theory, to enable us to accept, reject, or revise a theory

Question 6

Central Nervous System

Answer 6

the brain and spinal cord; interconnected neurons form networks in the brain
(Nervous system: consists of all the nerve cells; body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system)

Question 7

Cerebellum

Answer 7

“little brain” attached to the rear of the brain stem; helps coordinate voluntary movements and balance

Question 8

Neuron

Answer 8

basic unit of the brain and the rest of the nervous system

Question 9

Reticular Formation

Answer 9

nervous network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal

Question 10

NREM Sleep

Answer 10

not REM sleep; stages 1-4

Question 11

REM Sleep

Answer 11

After reaching the deepest sleep stage(4), the sleep cycle starts moving backward towards stage 1.
Although still asleep, the brain engages in low-amplitude, fast and regular beta waves (15-40cps) much like awake-aroused state

Question 12

Microsleep

Answer 12

brief shift in brain-wave patterns similar to those of sleep

Question 13

Altered-state of Consciousness

Answer 13

awareness that is distinctly different in quality or pattern from waking consciousness

Question 14

Psychological Dependence

Answer 14

Drug dependence based on psychological or emotional needs

Question 15

Piaget’s stages of Stages of Cognitive Development

Answer 15

Jean Piaget: Concrete Operational Stage
• Concrete Operational Stage (7-11Years): Children become able to use concepts of time, space, volume, and number BUT in ways that remain simplified and concrete, not abstract.
• Conservation: Mass, weight, and volume remain unchanged when the shape or appearance of objects changes.
Jean Piaget: Formal Operations
• Formal Operations Stage (11 Years and Up): Thinking now includes abstract, theoretical, and hypothetical ideas.
• Abstract Ideas: Child is able to understand difficult abstract concepts such as love and prejudice.
• Hypothetical Possibilities: Hypothetical or “what if” thinking is present for the first time.

Question 16

Object Permanence

Answer 16

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Question 17

Erickson’s stages of development

Answer 17

Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Dilemmas
• Stage One: Trust versus Mistrust (Birth-1): Children are completely dependent on others
• Stage Two: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (1-3): Doing things for themselves vs. overprotective parents.
• Stage Three: Initiative versus Guilt (3-5): Encourage and support the child in their interests vs. criticizing
• Stage Four: Industry versus Inferiority (6-12): Praised for productive activities
• Stage Five (Adolescence): Identity versus Role Confusion: Adolescents; “Who am I?”
• Stage Six (Young adulthood): Intimacy versus Isolation: Able care about others vs. feeling alone
• Stage Seven (Middle adulthood): Generativity versus Stagnation: Guiding next generation
• Stage Eight (Late adulthood): Integrity versus Despair: Self-respect vs. regret

Question 18

Classical Conditioning

Answer 18

(a.k.a. Pavlovian conditioning)

– Association between 2 previously unrelated stimuli

Question 19

Operant Conditioning

Answer 19

(a.k.a. instrumental conditioning)

– Association between acts and their consequences

Question 20

Digit-span Test

Answer 20

Test of attention and short-term memory; string of numbers is recalled forward or backward
– Typically part of intelligence tests

Question 21

Repression

Answer 21

Unconsciously pushing painful, embarrassing or threatening memories out of awareness/consciousness

Question 22

Flashbulb memories

Answer 22

• Memories created during times of personal tragedy, accident, or other emotionally significant events that are especially vivid
• Most often formed when an event is surprising, important, or emotional.
• Includes both positive and negative events
• Great confidence is placed in them even though they may be inaccurate

Question 23

Concept Formation

Answer 23

Process of classifying world into meaningful categories

Question 24

Semantics

Answer 24

Study of meanings in language

Question 25

Intelligence

Answer 25

the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use our knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Question 26

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Answer 26

f a task is simple, it is best for arousal to be high; if it is complex, lower levels of arousal provide for the best performance

Question 27

Circadian rhythms

Answer 27

Cyclical changes in bodily functions and arousal levels that vary on a 24-hour schedule

Question 28

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Answer 28

1. self-actualization needs: need to live up to one’s fullest and unique potential
2. esteem needs: need for self-esteem, achievement, competence, and independence; need for recognition and respect from others
3. belongingness and love needs:
   need to love and be loved, to be accepted; need to avoid loneliness and alienation
4. safety needs:
   need to feel that the world is organized and predictable; need to feel safe, secure, and stable
5. physiological needs: need to satisfy hunger and thirst

Question 29

Stress

Answer 29

any circumstance (real or perceived) that threatens a person’s well-being.

Question 30

Type A personalities

Answer 30

a term used for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people.

Question 31

Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

Answer 31

Rates the impact of various life events on the likelihood of contracting illness
• Not a foolproof method of rating stress

Question 32

Personality Traits

Answer 32

durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations

Question 33

Psychoanalytic theory

Answer 33

Freudian theory of personality that emphasizes unconscious forces and conflicts

Question 34

Defense Mechanisms
(all eight)

Answer 34

1. Repression banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from
   consciousness
2. Regression leads an individual faced with anxiety to retreat to a more infantile
   psychosexual stage.
3. Reaction Formation causes the ego to
   unconsciously switch unacceptable impulses into their opposites.
4. Projection leads people to disguise their own threatening impulses by attributing them to
   others.
5. Rationalization offers self-justifying explanations in place of the real, more
   threatening, unconscious reasons for one’s actions.
6. Displacement shifts sexual or aggressive impulses toward a more acceptable or less
   threatening object or person, redirecting anger toward a safer outlet
7. Denial blocking external events from
   awareness. If a situation is too much to handle, the person refuses to experience it.
8. Sublimation the transforming of a socially unacceptable behavior, whether it be sex, anger, or fear, into a socially acceptable and
   productive form.

Question 35

Projective Test

Answer 35

Rorschach Inkblot Test
• The most widely used projective test uses a set of 10 inkblots and was designed by Hermann Rorschach.
• It seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
Developed by Henry Murray, the TAT is a projective test in which people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes.