final exam practice test cards

Question 1

Which of the following is the best definition of the term scientific method as it is used in the field of psychology?

Answer 1

A.testing a hypothesis about mental processes and behavior by collecting and analyzing data

Question 2

Susan wants to learn more about children’s aggressive behavior. She decides to watch children interact on a park
playground and count the number of aggressive acts that occur over a one-hour period. Which research method is
Susan using?

Answer 2

C. naturalistic observation method

Question 3

A psychologist who wants to compile detailed information about individuals with brain injuries should probably use
the _____________ method to study them.

Answer 3

B.case study method

Question 4

Dr. Smith conducted a survey of his students’ political beliefs. He later published the results and claimed that they
applied to all college students in the United States. What’s wrong with Dr. Smith’s conclusion?

Answer 4

C. The students in his PSYC 2301 class may not be a representative sample of all college students in the United States.

Question 5

In an experiment, the variable that the researcher manipulates is called the ______________ variable.

Answer 5

D.independent

Question 6

What was the independent variable?

Answer 6

A.the type of food

Question 7

What was the dependent variable?

Answer 7

C.the dogs’ weight at the end of the study

Question 8

Which group of dogs was the experimental group?

Answer 8

C. The dogs who ate organic food

Question 9

Why did the veterinarian randomly assign the dogs to groups?

Answer 9

C. to minimize differences between the two groups that might affect their weights

Question 10

In a follow-up study, the veterinarian asked dog owners what type of food they fed their pets. She grouped the dogs’
weights according to the types of foods their owners said they ate. She found that dogs who ate canned food weighed
about 10% more than those who ate dry food.

The follow-up study used the ____________ method

Answer 10

B. correlational

Question 11

Can the veterinarian conclude that canned food causes obesity in dogs?

Answer 11

B. no, because the type of study she did can’t be used to identify cause-effect relationships

Question 12

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

Answer 12

C. +.30

Question 13

The ______________ perspective emphasizes reasoning, thinking, and memory processes.

Answer 13

C. cognitive

Question 14

The junction where neurons communicate with one another is called the ____________.

Answer 14

D. synapse

Question 15

What is an action potential?

Answer 15

B. a change in a neuron’s electrical charge

Question 16

A neurotransmitter is

Answer 16

A. a chemical that influences whether an impulse is passed on from one neuron to another

Question 17

Which of these structures is in the brain stem?

Answer 17

D.the medulla and pons.

Question 18

The hypothalamus

Answer 18

B. regulates your sex drive, body temperature, hunger, and thirst.

Question 19

Which structure is responsible for the storage of long-term memories?

Answer 19

D.hippocampus

Question 20

What is the name of the structure that connects the two halves of the cerebral cortex?

Answer 20

A. corpus callosum

Question 21

______________ skills are associated with the left cerebral hemisphere.

Answer 21

B. language

Question 22

Alicia is trying to decide on a topic for a research paper. Which part of the brain is she using?

Answer 22

D.the cerebral cortex

Question 23

The diagnostic instrument that shows electrical activity in the brain is the

Answer 23

D.EEG

Question 24

Which of these causes you to have a startle response when you hear a sudden loud noise?

Answer 24

C. peripheral nervous system

Question 25

In most cases, children recover from brain injuries more rapidly than adults do. One reason for this difference is that children’s brains have more ________________ than adults’ brains do.

Answer 25

A.plasticity.

Question 26

What are axons?

Answer 26

B. fibers of varying lengths that extend from a neuron’s cell body and transmit messages to other neurons

Question 27

Which of the following are part of the endocrine system?

Answer 27

A.glands that secrete hormones

Question 28

Classical conditioning occurs when

Answer 28

A. a neutral stimulus acquires the ability to elicit a response as a result of being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces the response

Question 29

In one of Pavlov's conditioning experiments, the dog learned to salivate in response to only one specific musical tone. What was happening?

Answer 29

A.discrimination

Question 30

Reinforcing step-by-step improvements in behavior until the desired response is obtained is called

Answer 30

B.shaping

Question 31

Whenever Lucy misses a call from her boyfriend, she sends him a text message. Her boyfriend used to call her back when he missed her calls, but he has started texting her instead. What type of learning has changed Lucy’s boyfriend’s behavior?

Answer 31

B. observational

Question 32

Reinforcement is any consequence that

Answer 32

C. increases behavior.

Question 33

In order to be effective, punishment must

Answer 33

B. be applied soon after the behavior.

Question 34

According to Bandura’s observational learning theory, which of the following is a model?

Answer 34

D. all of the above

Question 35

Which of the following sequences is likely to result in classical conditioning?

Answer 35

A.Neutral stimulus followed by unconditioned stimulus.

Question 36

Ms. Radziwill uses the principles of operant conditioning to encourage her students to finish their work on time. Ms. Radziwill is using

Answer 36

D. behavior modification.

Question 37

Albert Bandura demonstrated that children learn aggressive behavior from models in a study in which a(n) ___________________ was used.

Answer 37

B. inflated clown doll called “Bobo”

Question 38

The three memory processes proposed by information-processing theory are

Answer 38

C. encoding, storage, and retrieval

Question 39

According to the information processing approach, information proceeds through the memory system in which order?

Answer 39

A. sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory

Question 40

Ludwig is getting ready to take a psychology test. As he studies, information is being processed by his _______________ memory.

Answer 40

B. working

Question 41

Which of the following is stored in your semantic memory?

Answer 41

B. the name of the capital of Hawaii

Question 42

Professor Jones often gives short pop quizzes. The questions on the quizzes are fill-in-the-blank. Which type of memory do such questions measure?

Answer 42

A. recall

Question 43

Interference theory proposes that forgetting due to interference can occur in

Answer 43

D. any of the three memory systems—sensory, short-term, or long-term

Question 44

Repression is a type of _______________ forgetting.

Answer 44

A. motivated

Question 45

Research on reconstructive memory suggests that memories are

Answer 45

B. pieced together with both accurate and inaccurate parts.

Question 46

According to the principles of memory function, which of these students is most likely to be able to remember the information s/he needs while taking an exam?

Answer 46

B. Lina, who prepares for an exam by studying one to two hours a day over a three-week period

Question 47

Which of the following is the final stage of prenatal development?

Answer 47

A. fetal

Question 48

What is a zygote?

Answer 48

B. a single-celled organism that results when an egg is fertilized

Question 49

Fetal alcohol syndrome is associated with

Answer 49

B. physical and mental abnormalities

Question 50

The emotional connection that develops between an infant and his/her caregiver is called

Answer 50

D. attachment

Question 51

Research suggests that gender role stereotypes and related ideas about gender are probably

Answer 51

B. learned from parents, peers, books, movies, and other sources in the environment.

Question 52

A small child is labeled as "insecurely attached" by Ainsworth's Strange Situation Test. How is this child likely to behave and be perceived when she grows older?

Answer 52

C. more isolated and lonely with poorer social skills.

Question 53

The preoperational stage is the _____________ stage of Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

Answer 53

B. second

Question 54

According to Piaget, the ability to understand that objects continue to exist even if they can’t be seen develops during the

Answer 54

A. sensorimotor stage.

Question 55

Piaget proposed that the capacity for ________________ develops during the formal operational stage.

Answer 55

B. hypothetical reasoning.

Question 56

A seven-year-old boy is learning to read. According to Erikson, learning to read will help him achieve a positive outcome of the ______________ psychosocial stage.

Answer 56

A. industry versus inferiority

Question 57

According to research on Baumrind’s parenting styles, a parent whose children are likely to be confident and have good social skills is one who is:

Answer 57

A. authoritative.

Question 58

Which of the following influences moral decisions at Kohlberg's preconventional level of moral development?

Answer 58

C. concrete rewards and punishments

Question 59

Which statement is true about the influence of heredity on Alzheimer's disease?

Answer 59

B. Heredity probably contributes to the disease.

Question 60

Piaget argued that cognitive development involves

Answer 60

C. a series of stages through which all children pass.

Question 61

According to Piaget, children learn to use language proficiently during the ___________ stage.

Answer 61

B. preoperational

Question 62

According to Erikson, one of the central questions of middle adulthood is __________________.

Answer 62

B. "How can I help future generations?"

Question 63

During the resistance stage of the general adaptation syndrome, _____.

Answer 63

D. the body fights the stressor

Question 64

Which of the following is a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder?

Answer 64

B. flashbacks

Question 65

Floyd has recently lost his job. Which of the following is an emotion-focused method of coping that might help him reduce the adverse effects of stress?

Answer 65

B. meditating

Question 66

A characteristic that may be present in individuals who lack the ability to bounce back from stress is

Answer 66

C. the belief that they have little or no control over what happens to them

Question 67

The ___________________ is based on the assumption that varying levels of stress are associated with negative and positive life events.

Answer 67

B. Social Readjustment Rating Scale

Question 68

Researchers in the field of psychoneuroimmunology

Answer 68

A. study the effects of psychological factors on the body's resistance to disease.

Question 69

One reason for the connection between stress and illness is that stress

Answer 69

B. causes the body to release hormones like corticosteroids that affect the immune system.

Question 70

According to Freud, which of the following resides at the level of the preconscious?

Answer 70

B. memories that are easily accessible

Question 71

The principle by which the ego operates is called the _____ principle.

Answer 71

A. reality

Question 72

Myra lost her job and said to herself, “I needed to get out of that job anyway. Now I can find something better.” Myra is using the defense mechanism of _____________.

Answer 72

B. rationalization

Question 73

According to Freud, personality develops in a series of

Answer 73

B. psychosexual stages

Question 74

Personality is strongly influenced by role models and behavioral consequences according to _____.

Answer 74

C. learning theorists

Question 75

Which group of personality theorists view humans as innately good?

Answer 75

C. humanistic

Question 76

Twin studies are important in the study of the _________________ of personality.

Answer 76

C. behavioral genetics

Question 77

You took a personality test, and the results indicated that you are very outgoing. On which of these approaches to personality is the test probably based?

Answer 77

C. five-factor or Big Five (trait) theory

Question 78

Gray took a personality test that included over one hundred objective questions about his preferences and behaviors. The test was probably a(n)

Answer 78

A. self-report inventory

Question 79

Which type of test asks people to respond to vague, ambiguous stimuli?

Answer 79

D. projective

Question 80

According to Albert Bandura's social learning (social cognitive) theory of personality, a person who believes that s/he can accomplish goals has ________________.

Answer 80

B. self-efficacy

Question 81

Kevin found a wallet under a desk in his psychology classroom that contained fifty dollars in cash and several credit cards. According to Freud, what part of his personality will urge him to keep the cash but turn in the wallet?

Answer 81

B. ego

Question 82

Barbie experienced shortness of breath when she thought about the prospect of failing her psychology test. She feared she was having a heart attack and asked her roommate to take her to the emergency room. Barbie was probably experiencing a(n) __________________.

Answer 82

B. panic attack

Question 83

Even though Beth has over a hundred decorative china teacups, she cannot stop herself from buying more of them at yard sales and flea markets. This pattern resembles the disorder known as:

Answer 83

C. obsessive compulsive disorder.

Question 84

Which of the following disorders is sometimes called “split personality”?

Answer 84

B. dissociative identity disorder

Question 85

Hallucinations, delusions, loosely associated thoughts, and disordered speech are ________________ symptoms of schizophrenia.

Answer 85

A. positive

Question 86

Inappropriate affect and lack of attention to personal hygiene are _______________ symptoms of schizophrenia.

Answer 86

D. negative

Question 87

Which of these is a symptom of bipolar disorder?

Answer 87

A.extreme mood swings

Question 88

Extreme, inflexible maladaptive traits are characteristic of

Answer 88

C. personality disorders.

Question 89

Which of these is a risk factor for suicide?

Answer 89

B. having a close family member who committed suicide

Question 90

Lucille is the treasurer of the high school football team’s parent organization. From time to time, she submits false receipts in order to divert the group’s funds to her personal bank account. She justifies this behavior as “getting paid for all of the work it takes to do this job.” Lucille may have

Answer 90

B. antisocial personality disorder.

Question 91

Schizophrenia is probably caused by

Answer 91

C. combined effects of heredity and experience.

Question 92

A counselor works with prison inmates. She has found that many of them have symptoms of antisocial personality disorder. In other words, they could be described as

Answer 92

C. selfish and lacking the capacity to feel guilt and remorse.

Question 93

Which of these is more common among females than males?

Answer 93

A. major depressive disorder

Question 94

To be classified as “abnormal,” a behavior must be

Answer 94

A. maladaptive

Question 95

Definitions, symptoms, and diagnoses for psychological disorders are found in the

Answer 95

A. DSM-5.

Question 96

Which of these disorders is characterized by feelings of deep despair that interfere with an individual’s occupational, educational, and social functioning?

Answer 96

B.major depressive disorder

Question 97

A _______________ is a mental health professional with a medical degree.

Answer 97

D. psychiatrist

Question 98

A cognitive therapist is most likely to do which of the following?

Answer 98

B. help a client change negative thoughts about situations that make him anxious.

Question 99

A behavioral therapist is most likely to do which of the following?

Answer 99

C. ask a client to view films of other people who are relaxed in anxiety-provoking situations.

Question 100

Self-actualization refers to

Answer 100

C. achieving one’s full potential.