Psyc/soc Flashcards
Biopsychosocial approach
Use of multiple levels of analysis, bio med PLUS social factors and psychological factors
Social construction
A social construct is something that exists not in objective reality, but as a result of human interaction. Social creations of shared meanings of health and illness.
Symbolic interactionism
focuses on small scale interaction btw individuals in small groups. (relationship btw patient and physician, 1:1)
**Small scale - individuals
Functionalism
factions of society work together to maintain stability. Society is a system of different components all working together to function.
Conflict Theory
Views society as competing groups that act according to their own self interest, rather than for the greater interest of society equilibrium.
Only theory that focuses on social disruption rather than social equilibrium.
A sociological researcher who is interested in how different societal institutions work to maintain consistence and stability would most likely adopt which perspectives?
- Conflict theory
- Social constructionism
- Symbolic interactionism
- Functionalism
Functionalism
Which of the following perspectives would be most relevant to the study of how interpretations of natural phenomena come to be widely shared and perceived as scientific truth?
- Conflict theory
- Social constructionism
- Symbolic interactionism
- Functionalism
Social constructionism
Suppose that two ppl glare at each other on the street while passing, both interpret as a continuation of an earlier disagreement. This incident is most consistent with which sociological perspective?
- Conflict theory
- Social constructionism
- Symbolic interactionism
- Functionalism
Symbolic interactionism
One researcher takes a biopsychosocial approach and the other takes a sociological approach and collaborate on the study of cause of obesity. How would their approaches differ?
The BPS would examine causal factors in different realms of personal functioning.
The sociological would focus on addressing large scale social inequalities that contribute to obesity
One researcher takes a biopsychosocial approach and the other takes a bio med approach and disagree about the treatment of a patient who presents with a psychological disorder. Why does the bio med approach disagree with BPS approach.
The biomedical model would reduce the patients symptoms to biological underpinnings such as neurotransmitter imbalance.
How would a social constructionist and a symbolic interactionist differ in their examination of the development of knowledge about a specific pathological condition?
A social constructionist would focus on how the understanding of the condition comes to be shared as a society reality of the condition.
A symbolic interactionist would focus on individual interactions that establish shared interpretations of the condition.
Culture
beliefs, assumption, objects, behaviors, processes that make up a shared way of life. people share culture but still have individual difference.
Material culture
objects involved in a certain way of life. Things, toys, tea cups, nuts, bolts, stethoscope, throat swabs.
Non material culture
Not physical.
Shared ideas, knowledge, assumptions, values, beliefs that unify a group of people.
Symbolic culture
Meaning in the mind. every one in the culture knows what thumb up, or wave, or write symbol, or hitler sign.
Social institutions
Hierarchical systems that bring order to interpersonal interactions, structuring society. Ex: Government and economy Education Religion Family Health or Medicine
Demographic
understanding the makeup of a group by classifying people into different categories : age, gender, race, ect
Identity
depends on how you categorize yourself as belonging or not belonging to these various demographic categories
Demographic transition
change in demographics over time. Ex: the decrease in birth and death rates as a society becomes industrialized
Mortality
death rate within a population, also affects population size
Social movement
group of people who share an ideology and work together towards a specific set of goals.
Urbanization
increase in proportion of people living in specified urban areas
Globalization
increasing amount of interaction and integration on the international scale through exchange of products, service, ideas and information.
Spatial inequality
unequal access to resources and variable quality of life within a population or geographical distribution
Environmental justice
equal treatment for all people regardless of race, gender, or other social grouping with regard to prevention and relief from environmental and health hazards. Help for people who were affected by Hurricane in New Orleans vs. Hurricane in NY
Absolute poverty
lack of essential resources, food, shelter, clothing, hygiene
Relative poverty
social inequality, in which people are relatively poor in compared to others members in society in which they live
Culture capital
the set of non monetary social factors that contribute to social mobility, how ppl “fit in” or “stick out”.
Ex: law firm interviews two candidates, takes them to play tennis and out to fancy bar.
1 grew up playing tennis and has a wine cellar.
The other played foot ball and drinks beer socially.
The first candidate will fit in best and most likely get job.
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov dogs. Where a test subject develops a response to a previously neutral stimulus by associating the stimulus with another stimulus that already elicited that response.
Unconditional response/stimuli
Dog with food will produce salivation innately, no learning needed.
Neutral response
stimuli that elicits no response
Altruism
behaviors that are disadvantageous to the individual acting, but confer benefits to other members of social group.
If someone saves someone else drowning, not good for the individual but they sacrifice to save another.
Inclusive fitness
overall fitness (an individuals level of success at passing on its genes
Game theory
the use of mathematical models to represent complex decision making actions between organisms can be modeled as a multiplayer game in which each player carriers out competitive or cooperative strategies that maximize evolutionary success.
The success of an individual depends not only on his or her own strategy but also on the strategy and decisions of other “players”
Deindividualization
people lose awareness of their individuality and instead immerse themselves in the mood of the crowd. “mob mentality” , sport fans
Which of the following is NOT generally thought of as a feature of behavior:
- It occurs in response to both internal and external stimuli
- It is partially biologically influenced
- It involves an emotional component
- It is influenced by neural connections
It involves an emotional component
Which of the following does NOT necessarily constitute social behavior?
- Nonverbal communication
- Mating behavior
- Learning behavior
- Aggressive behavior
Learning behavior
Suppose that a women notices a stranger drowning in a lake while walking in park and dives into the water placing herself in danger to save the person, this situation demonstrates:
- Altruism
- Inclusive fitness
- Game theory
- Self interest
Altruism
Game theory would NOT be well suited to which of the following situations?
- Deciding the optimal bidding strategy at an auction
- Choosing the ideal car purchase given a matrix of advantages and disadvantages for each
- Determining foreign poly decisions
- Selecting the best play to run in a football game
- car
Several friends are on a road trip and the driver starts to play country music. everyone agrees they like country, even tho they really don’t . This is a situation of:
- Diffusion of responsibility
- Group polarization
- Group dynamics
- Groupthink
Groupthink
An acting troupe preforms better in front of a crowd than during rehearsals. this is most likely due to:
- the dramaturgical approach
- peer pressure
- deindividualizaiton
- social facilitation
social facilitation
Which of the following situations best exemplifies social loafing?
A. An employee working on a team project fails to contribute, believing that other team members will pick up the slack
B. A depressed individual cannot find the energy to socially interact with others
C. A person loses her sense of individuality when part of the crowd, performing actions that she otherwise would not have
A. An employee working on a team project fails to contribute, believing that other team members will pick up the slack
First aid providers are taught to specifically instruct one person to call 911, rather than issuing a request to the crowd as a whole. Which phenomenon does this procedure combat? A. Group dynamics B. Group polarizaiton C. Social facilitation D. Bystander effect
D. Bystander effect
Conformity
tendency of individuals to change their attitudes, opinions and behaviors to aline with group norm.
Obedience
describes behavior changes made in response to a command by an authority figure
Stigma
a negative social label that changes a persons social identity by classifying the labeled person as abnormal or tainted in some respect.
Assimilation
the process by which an individual or group becomes part of a new culture. like immigrant learning language, gaining knowledge about social roles and rules of the newly adopted culture
Ethnocentrism
is the belief that ones group of central importance and includes the tendency to judge the practices of other groups by ones own cultural standards.
Ex: Dr might judge a Jehovah witnesses for refusing life saving blood transfusion.
Cultural relativism
the practice of trying to understand a culture on its own terms and to judge a culture by its own standard.
Ex: Dr try to understand why Jehovah refuses blood and try to explore other options
In Group vs. Out Group
In group - group with which an individual shares identity and toward which she feels loyalty.
Out group - with which she does not identify and toward which she may feel competition or hostility.
Can lead to Bias where individual favors in group and devalues out group.
Schemas
are organizing patterns of thought that are used to categorize and interpret information, thus shaping individual attitudes and perspectives
Stereotype threat
refers to the anxiety and resulting impaired performance that a person may experience when confronted with a negative stereotype about a group to which he belongs or when he feels his performance may confirm a negative stereotype about his group
Prejudice vs discrimination
Prejudice is based in ideas and attitudes
Discrimination describes actions and behaviors - Ex: racial profiling
A stimulus that increases a behavior is a ________; a stimulus that decreases a behavior is a __________.
Reinforcement
Punishment
A stimulus that is added is called a ________ reinforcement or _________ punishment. A stimulus that is removed is called a ______ reinforcement or ______ punishment
+, + positive
-,- negative
The mentality of in - group verses out- group underlies: ____, _____, ______
prejudice,
bias
discrimination
Which of the following does NOT necessarily constitute an agent of socialization?
- The media that one consumes
- Ones religion
- The school that one attends
- The works of an infuential philosopher
4.
A blacksmith apprentice notices that all other blacksmith apprentices wear their aprons untied, so she decides to leave her own apron untied. Which of the following phenomena does this situation best describe?
- Conformity
- Obedience
- Compliance
- Assimilation
1.
Which of the following scenarios best exemplifies institutional discrimination?
- A bouncer denies entry into the club only to red hair ppl
- A talk radio host slanders organizations that disagree with her
- Standardized college admission test are biased towards test takers from certain cultures
- police more likely to give black person ticket than hispanic person guilty of same violation.
3.
A European tourist, upon learning about the cultural practices of native americans, expresses the belief that allowing adolescents to smoke tobacco in tribal ceremonies is dangerous and that the native americans are irresponsible parents. This situation demonstrates which of the following 2 ?
- Ethnocentrism
- Culture relativism
- Prejudice
Ethnocentrism and Prejudice
Suppose a person is a member of a fraternity. Members share housing an participate in social activities including expressions of pride in their fraternity. the fraternity is LEAST likely to be considered:
- an in group
- a subculutre
- an agent of socializaiton
- a social group
LEAST - subculture
Suppose there is a sterotype that ppl with hazel eyes are less skilled athletes. Which of the following is the most likely outcome in a test of athletic ability in high school gym class?
- Hazel eye students would perform worse than students with other eye colors?
- Hazel eye students would perform better than other students
- Hazel eye students would perform worse than students with other eye colors ONLY when reminded of this stereotype
- Hazel eye students would perform better than other students ONLY when reminded of the stereotype
3.
A former college athlete who currently works in advertising demonstrates a preference for hiring athletic ppl, This could be construed as:
- Bias
- Prejudice
- Stereotyping
- Nepotism
Bias
Which of the following scenerios is most consistent with the concept of a self fulfilling prophecy?
- A motivational speaker instructing her audience to recite “I am happy”
- A number of ppl are concerned that there will be a stock market crash, so they cash out their stocks, in doing so they cause the market to crash
- A lawyer presumes that her client is guilty so she does not advocate as passionately on her clients behalf as she would if she thought her client was innocent
- A mother is angry with her son, causing her son to become angry with her in return
B. stock market
Personality
the most fundamental collection of lasting characteristics that makes a person unique
Trait theory
Quantifiable comparison between individuals. Behavior will deviate occasionally but according to trait theorist: peoples actions will align with their traits a majority of the time. Prediction about behavior
What is the BIG 5 model
5 broad personality traits: OCEAN Openness to experience Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism - if high = high level of emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, high risk of mental illness, esp depression
Biological theory of personality
Focuses on biological contributions to certain traits. Believes a persons genome contributes to personality, personality traits are hereditary vs. environmental.
*Genetic shapes personality
Psychoanalytic theory
pioneered by Sigmund Freud
Proposes that a universal personality structure that contributes both to behavior and to difference between ppl.
It contrasts trait theory and biological theory
This theory: personality is determined by the flow of psychic energy btw three systems that reside in different levels of consciousness:
- The ID
- The EGO
- The SuperEGO
Describe the three systems of Freuds Psychoanalytic theory : ID, SuperEgo, Ego
- ID - most primitive part, seeks instant gratification with no consideration for morality or social norms
- Superego - develops later in life, shaped by society rules, moral behavior, learned primarily through interactions with caregivers.
- Ego - part of personality that is forced to direct behavior in a way that balances the demands of the ID and the Superego, forces delay of gratification
What is the most important feature of Psychoanalytic theory
the assumption that crucial personality processes take place outside of conscious awareness.
*** THINK SUBCONSCIOUS MENTAL LIFE
Behaviorist theory
states that personality is constructed by a series of learning experiences that occur through interactions btw the individual and their environment.
- Environment shapes personality
- Believes personality IS behavior
Social cognitive theory
like behaviorist theory, focuses on learning experiences and observable behaviors. It differs in that it considers that contribution of an individuals mental life and personal choices.
Explores how thought and emotion can affect both the learning process and the experiences and surroundings that people choose for themselves.
* Includes the process of Observational learning (learning from watching others)
What is reciprocal causation?
a key concept of Social cognitive theory.
states that behavior, personal factors and environment continually interact and influences each other.
Humanistic theory
ppl continually seek experiences that make them better, more fulfilled individuals, conscious decisions
How does humanistic and social cognitive theories differ from other theories?
individuals shape themselves based on views of ones self
Identity
a persons view of who they are in terms of both internal factors, personality traits, social, external factors like group membership.
* Has personal and social components
How does identity differ from personality
identity places a larger emphasis on the individuals own perception of self.
Self concept vs. Social identity
Self concept = more of the personal and internal aspects of identity.
Social identity = centered around group membership
In general, personality can be thought of as:
- the internal mental life of an individual
- the characteristics that make a person different from others and may be predictive of behaviors
- the behaviors and attributes that develop over a lifetime without the influence of the genome.
- the characteristics that make a person different from others and may be predictive of behaviors
The purpose of a twin study is usually for:
- compare monozygotic and dizygotic twins to their non twin siblins
- randomly assign twins to certain environmental conditions to separate the effect of genetics and environment
- determine the degree to which genetic inheritance influences a trait
- determine the degree to which genetic inheritance influences a trait
Which of the following claims would most likely be made by a proponent of the behaviorist theory of personality?
- By selecting certain behaviors and life experiences, individuals can shape their own personality development
- Personality development occurs through a continual interaction between genetics and behaviors
- Similar to how people learn certain behaviors based on environmental consequences, personality development occurs as people become more likely to carry out certain behaviors based on input from the environment
- Similar to how people learn certain behaviors based on environmental consequences, personality development occurs as people become more likely to carry out certain behaviors based on input from the environment
According to the situational approach to personality:
- rather than being fixed characteristics, personality traits vary according to the situation
- personality is best understood as the tendency to respond to certain situational interpretations in certain ways.
- an individuals response to a given situation cannot be perdicted
- personality is best understood as the tendency to respond to certain situational interpretations in certain ways.
Suppose that a researcher is interested in studying personality from the psychoanalytic perspective. She would most likely ask participants to:
- participate in role playing activities that involve choosing between impulse gratification and societally appropriate behaviors
- complete questionnaires about how they would behave in morally complex situations
- describe their personal experiences with the conflict between following their own desires and following the “rules” for how to behave in public
- participate in role playing activities that involve choosing between impulse gratification and societally appropriate behaviors
Sexual orientation and gender can be best described as examples of which of the following?
- Social categorizations imposed by researchers
- Identity categories that have personal and group meaning but can also be used for demographic research
- Individual characteristics that are not influenced by social factors
- Identity categories that have personal and group meaning but can also be used for demographic research
Suppose that a young child watches her older sibling prepare for school in the morning and then invents a game in which she pretends to be getting ready for school. This scenario provides an example of the influence of which of the following on identity formation?
- Individual
- Group
- Culture
- Personality
- Individual
Suppose that a researcher carries out a study in which he asks participants about an instance during which they failed to accomplish a goal, how this experiences influenced their perception of their ability to meet future goals and how their overall perception of self was affected. This study is investigating the effect of:
- Self esteem on self efficacy
- Self efficacy on self esteem
- Self efficacy on self concept
- Self efficacy on self concept
Which of the following is an influence on identity formation that is similar to Freud’s theory of how the superego develops?
- self efficacy
- socialization
- peer pressure
- looking glass self
- socialization
What are the 5 Freuds stages of development?
Oral 1 nursing, ect Anal 2 potty training Phillic 3-6 gender and sexual identification Latent 7-12 social development Genital 12+ mature sexuality
“fixation”
How is Erik Erikson theory different than Freuds?
He re envisioned physcosexual stages with psychosocial ones.
Psychosocial stages involve interaction btw self and society experience across life span
What are Eriksons developmental stages? (8)
- trust vs mistrust
- Autonomy vs shame, doubt
- innitive vs guilt
- industry vs inferiority
- identity vs role confusion
- intimacy vs isolation
- generatively vs stagnation
- integrity vs despair
What does Lev Vygotsky theory focus on?
recognizing the involvement of social and cultural factors in development.
Current development level
Zone of proximal development (skills can be accomplished with help)
Beyond current potential
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development:
Children progress through a predictable sequence of stages of moral reasoning.
Level 1: Preconventional Morality
Stage 1 : Punishment
Stage 2 : Reward
Level 2: Conventional Morality
Stage 3 : Social disapproval
Stage 4 : Rule following
Level 3: Postconventional Morality
Stage 5 : Social contract
Stage 6 : Universal ethicsWhat is Kohlberg’s famous example/ classic example?
weather you should steal expensive drug from pharmacist to save dying spouse, when you are being denied and cannot afford it.
Attribution theory:
dispositional attribution vs. situational attribution
&
fundamental attribution error
Theory: ppl use this theory to explain the observed actions/behaviors of others, is a major source of ideas about how we understand people in social interactions.
Dispositional attribution: assigning the cause to an inherent quality or desire (persons character)
Situational attribution: environmental forces were in control.
Fundamental attribution error: tendency to automatically favor dispositional attributions over situational ones when judging other ppl.
What is the self serving bias?
tendency to attribute ones success to internal factors while attributing ones failures to environmental factors.
Vygotskys theory of development is best described as a theory of how children:
A) learn to follow social norms in accordance with their in-groups
B) achieve each potential developmental level of identity formation
C)master stages of social learning sequentially
D) learn new abilities and social roles with the guidance of others
D) learn new abilities and social roles with the guidance of others
Which of the following accurately describes a major difference between the theories of development proposed by Freud and Erikson?
A) Freud posits distinct stages of development, while Erikson’s theory involves continuous development
B) Freud focuses on early life, while Erikson examines the entire lifespan
C) Freud emphasizes only internal psychological factors while Erikson posits that only social influences are significant
B) Freud focuses on early life, while Erikson examines the entire lifespan
A child is presented with a hypothetical moral dilemma in which a person must decide whether or not to lie in order to get something that she wants. The child says that the person should not lie bc her friend would be angry with her if they found out. This child is most likely in which of Kohlberg's level of moral reasoning? A)Preconventional B)Conventional C)Post conventional D)Super conventional
Conventional
Suppose that a person expresses a clear set of personal values that she has developed over the course of exploring different value systems, including beliefs that are different from those of her parents. She is most likely to be in which developmental stages?
A) Identity moratorium and the pre conventional level of moral reasoning
B)Identity achievement and the pre conventional level of moral reasoning
C)Identity achievement and the prostconventional level of moral reasoning
C)Identity achievement and the prostconventional level of moral reasoning
The field of attribution theory focuses on the study of:
A) how ppl subconsciously develop beliefs about the factors that motivate actions by others
B)how each individual develops unique identity attributes
C)how ppl consciously and unconsciously form ideas about the causal factors behind the behaviors of others
C)how ppl consciously and unconsciously form ideas about the causal factors behind the behaviors of others
An individual who believes which of the following is committing the fundamental attribution error? A)A class mate who didi well on the test must have done so bc she received tutoring B) A classmate who did poor on test must have personal problem that prevented her from studying C)A classmate from another culture who did poor on test must be bc cultural bias to test D) A classmate who did poor on test must have done so bc she is not intelligent
D) A classmate who did poor on test must have done so bc she is not intelligent
In an experimental setup designed to elicit either situational or dispositional attributions for others behaviors, the experimenter varied whether or not participants' social identities were made salient and evaluated the effect of their attributions. Which of the following is the independent variable in this experiment? A) Perceptions of self B) Perceptions of the environment C) Perceptions of the self serving bias D) Perceptions of culture
A) Perceptions of self
Know the % of psychological disorders among Americans age 18+ Anxiety Mood disorders Personality disorders Schizophrenia
Anxiety - 18%
Mood disorders - 9.5%
Personality disorders - 9%
Schizophrenia - 1%
Anxiety disorders are LEAST characterized by which of the following traits?
A) the experience of unwanted fear
B) Worries about ones present circumstances
C)A physical manifestation of excessive sympathetic nervous system activation
D)The frequent experience of excessive responses to stress
B) Worries about ones present circumstances
Which of the following is NOT considered to be a mood disorder? A) Major depressive disorder B)Schizophrenia C)Bipolar disorder D)Postpartum depression
B)Schizophrenia
Somatic symptom and related disorders are best defined as:
A)psychiatric conditions defined by the psychological response to bodily symptoms
B)mental illnesses that produce physical ailments
C)disorders treated by clinicians that do not specialize in psychiatric care
D)mental disorders presenting in situations that pose physical challenges
A)psychiatric conditions defined by the psychological response to bodily symptoms
Which of the following is NOT true of depression?
A)It is considered a mood disorder
B) It is associated with physical sx
C) It is associated with altered neural functioning
D)It is a heritable recessive phenotype
D)It is a heritable recessive phenotype
Which of the following statements regarding depression most likely misconstrues correlation as causation?
A) One can have many depression - predisposing alleles without expressing depression
B)A family hx of depression predisposes one to exhibit depression
C) Altered neural activation along the HPA axis is responsible for depressive sx
D)Those with depression are more likely to to have altered monoamine functionality
C) Altered neural activation along the HPA axis is responsible for depressive sx
Which of the following is NOT considered a negative symptom? A) lack of motivation B) feeling out of touch with others C) hallucinations D) Having little emotion
C) hallucinations
Which of the following are psychiatric conditions that are defined by their tendency to endure temporally and across different situations? A) psychological disorders B) personality disorders C) dissociative disorders D) somatoform disorders
B) personality disorders
Cognition vs perception
cognition - refers to a wide range of internal mental activities, such as analyzing information, generating ideas, and problem solving
perception - refers to the organization and identification of sensory inputs, cognition refers to higher level processes like language and logical reasoning
What is the function of each lobe? Frontal Parietal Temporal Occipital
Frontal - motor control, decision making, long term memory
Parietal - somatosensory cortex
Temporal - auditory and olfactory information
Occipital - visual information
Why is Jean Piaget significant?
theory of nature vs nurture
What were Piagets 4 stages of development?
- Sensorimotor (birth - 2) object permanence - children learn to separate themselves from objects
- Preoperational (2-7) children use language, maintain egocentric (self centered) worlds
- Concrete Operational (7-11) develop inductive reasoning , they understand the idea of conservation (the concept that a quantity remains the same despite changes in its shape or container)
- Formal Operational (11+) can think logically and abstract. develop deductive reasoning skills - the ability to apply general concepts in specific situations
Language theories:
Learning theory
Nativists theory
Interactionist theory
Learning - emphasizes environmental factors
Nativists - describes language as part of human nature
Interactionist - middle ground, emphasizes interplay btw biology and environmental factors in language development
Most language processing is done in the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex.
What is Broca’s area?
What is Wernicke’s area?
Broca’s - located in the frontal lobe is speech production. damage = brocas aphasia, expressive aphasia
Wernickes - temporal lobe and contributes to primarily the understanding of language. Damage - can hear and repeat back words but cannot understand the words meaning . Wernickes aphasia or receptive aphasia
Engaging in conversation can be considered to involve which of the following? A) Cognition only B) Perception only C) Both cognition and perception D) Neither cognition nor perception
C) Both cognition and perception
Which of the following best represents the sequential activation of brain regions involved as a student views a piece of artwork, formulates and opinion then delivers an oral presentation about this opinion:
A) Occipital lobe, frontal lobe, frontal lobe
B)Occipital lobe, frontal lobe, temporal lobe
C) Parietal lobe, occipital lobe, frontal lobe
A
A child playing in the sink empties a short, wide glass of water into a tall, think glass of equal volume. Questioning revealed that the child believed the tall glass contained more water. This indicates that she has not yet reached which of Piaget's stages? A) Sensorimotor B) Preoperational C) Concrete operational D) Logical operational
C) Concrete operational
Suppose a scientist states that a child's brain develops in a way that facilitates social reinforcement of language skills. This assertion most closely represents which theory of language development? A) The learning theory B) The cognitive theory C) The nativist theory D) The interactionist theory
D) The interactionist theory
Which of the following LEAST demonstrates a way in which language affects cognition?
A) A new language is developed that only contains gender neutral pronous
B) Speakers of a language with a highly developed vocabulary for blue colors have enhanced recall of the particular shade of various blue colored objects
C) A vocabulary for a new field of ethics makes ethical constructs easier to understand
A
A stroke patient presents with the inability to produce and understand speech, but can produce and process other auditory cues. The patient most likely has lesions in which of the follow regions?
A) Broca’s area only
B) Wernickes area only
C) Both Brocas area and Wernickes area
D) Neither Brocsas are nor Wernickes area
C
Which of the following best describes a serial information processing model of cognition?
A) A child simultaneously hears a dinner bell and recognizes that it is dinner time, decides to walk home, then walks home
B) A child hears a dinner bell, recognizes that the bell signifies that dinner is to be served, then walks home
C)A child hears a dinner bell and then walks home
D) A child thinks of cereal and then walks home
B
General intelligence factor (g) can be divided into two types of intelligence:
Fluid intelligence
Crystallized intelligence
What is the difference?
General intelligence - every individual has a set level of intelligence that applies to all of their intellectual pursuits and determines performance on various types of intelligence tests, regardless of the specific subscales
Fluid intelligence - the ability to think logically without the needs for previously learned knowledge (detecting visual patterns, peaks in adulthood and then declines)
Crystallized - ability to think logically using specific, previously learned knowledge (facts, vocab, which remain stable thoughout adulthood)
What is Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence?
argues in direct opposition to the notion of G. states everyone has a variety of intelligence that are used in combo to solve problems and perform tasks. Each individual has a different level of intelligence for each domain.
What is Sternbergs Triarchic Theory of intellegence?
states that thought processes, experiences and cultural environment interact to yield a person’s intelligence.
analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, practical intelligence
Heuristics
Representativeness Heuristics
enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves
RH is used to make educated guess about the probability of an event or characteristic based on prior knowledge
Emotion can be divided into what three components?
- Cognitive: Emotion includes a personal assessment of the significance of a particular situation, subjective appraisal
- Physiological : Emotion are often associated with activation of the autonomic nervous system. Ex: heart racing, sweaty palms may be a manifestation of fear or anxiety
- Behavioral : Emotion can lead to urges to act in a certain way and thereby lead to actions. if provoked in an argument, for example one may feel the behavior urge to retaliate physically.
Emotion involves entire nervous system. However the two most significant players in the in the physiology of emotion are:
limbic system and autonomic nervous system
Within the limbic system (which connects the hypothalamus with structures in the temporal lobe) the _____ is chiefly responsable for the emotional reaction of fear and anger.
amygdala
Which cortex is involved in conscious regulation of emotional states and critical in temperament and decision making?
prefrontal
James Lange theory of emotion
is physiologically based. it states that an external stimulus elicits a physiological response and that emotional experience depends on the recognition and interpretation of this physical reaction.
Cannon Bard theory of emotion
posits that emotional “feeling’ and physiological reactions to stimuli are experienced simultaneously.
Schacter Singer theory of emotion
is a cognitive theory, also known as “two factor theory of emotion”
How do the three theories of emotion differ?
Image you come across a bear while hiking in woods:
James Lange - you would like “since im trembling, i must be afraid”
Cannon Bard - “ I am afraid and I am beginning to tremble”
Schacter Singer - “ I am trembling and I am also near a bear (that is , I am in a threatening situations) so my trembling must be caused by fear, I am afraid”
Which of the following is true regarding standard IQ tests?
A) IQ scores are predictive of later career success
B) IQ scores consistent across cultural divisions
C) IQ tests demonstrate test retest reliability
C
Which of the following does NOT accurately describe a way in which traditional IQ tests are inconsistent with the theory of multiple intelligences?
A) Traditional IQ tests do not assess a range of abilities
B) Traditional IQ tests are used to diagnose global learning disabilities
C) Performance on traditional IQ test predicts performance on a variety of intelligence tests
D) Traditional IQ tests correlate with academic performance
A
Which of the following best exemplifies algorithmic problem solving?
A) Comparing a problem to one solved previously
B) Using logical deduction to find the most efficient means of solving a problem
C) Following a set list of steps to solve a problem
D) Problem solving using perception rather than logic
C
A contestant on a game show is presented with three doors (A, B, C ). A large cash prize can be found behind only one of these doors, and the contestant must guess which door contains the prize. Contestant selects door A. The host reveals that there is only a 20% chance that the prize is behind door A. But the contestant does not change their guess. This describes which situation best? A) Belief perseverance B) Conformation bias C) oversonfidence D) self serving bias
A
All of the following have been shown to influence a child's cognitive development EXCEPT: A) mothers health during pregnancy B) fathers health during pregnancy C) social environment D) language spoken at the home
B
Which of the following is not considered to be one of the 3 major components of emotion? A) cognitive B) neural C) physiological D) behavioral
B
A referee at a soccer game notices that another referee makes multiple incorrect calls and loudly criticizes the referee for being incompetent. When it is pointed out to the critical ref that she herself have made multiple incorrect calls, she blames each on poor visibility. This situation best exemplifies which of the following principles?
- Causation bias
- The fundamental attribution error
- self serving bias
A) 1 only
B) 2 only
C) 2 and 3
D) 1, 2, &3
C
An experiment was performed on two groups of rats. In the experimental group, shocks were administered periodically but unpredictibly over the course of 60 hours. The control group recieved no shock at the same time span. The experimental group most likely had increased activation to which of the following regions? A) Amygdala B) Prefrontal cortex C) Hippocampus D) Ventral tegmental area
A
Which of the following descriptions best aligns with the Cannon-Bard theory of emotion?
A) Someone with a fear of spiders sees a spider, feels her heart racing then recognizes that she is feeling fearful.
B)A viewer of a horror film simultaneously experiences a pounding heartbeat and a feeling of fear.
C) A student with a fear of public speaking thinks about a public speaking event, becomes anxious, and then experiences physical discomfort.
B
Drive reduction theory of emotion
focuses on internal factors in motivation, it posits that people are motivated to take action in order to lessen the state of arousal caused by physiological need.
Ex: hunger, thirst, sex drive
Incentive theory of emotion
people are motivated by external rewards. It highlights psychological feeling of pleasure that comes with receiving an incentive.
motivated to go to work bc your enjoy receiving a paycheck
Intrinsically motivated vs Extrinsically motivated
Intrinsically : pursue a career that you are passionate about
Extrinsically : if you base your career choice on salary potential
Cognitive theory of emotion
suggests that people behave based on their expectations. aka ppl behave in a way that they predict will yield the most favorable outcome.
Further categorizes into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Need based theories
propose that ppl are motivated by the desire to fulfill unmet needs. Maslow’s hierachy of needs
Attitudes are favorable or unfavorable organization beliefs and feeling about ppl, objects or situations.
What are the 3 major components of attitude?
ABC
Affective component : emotion
Behavioral : act, behave
Cognitive : beliefs, knowledge
What is the Foot in the Door Phenomenon?
based on the premise that ppl are much more likely to agree to a large request if they first agree to a smaller one (persuasion, brain washing)
Cognitive Dissonance theory
Cognitive dissonance refers to the conflict btw inconsistency btw internal attitudes and external factors
Theory: ppl have desire to avoid internal discomfort assoc with mismatch btw attitudes and behaviors. to resolve, ppl either change attitude or behavior.
Ex: smoking.
Attitude - smoking is bad, i should not smoke
Behavior -smoking
Elaboration likelihood model takes an information processing approach to persuasion, describing interaction btw and argument and relevant psychological factors of the person who recieves the argument.
What are the 2 routes to attitude formation and change?
Central route - thinks deeply about argument, interested, logic, credibility of source
Peripheral route - does not think deeply into argument, not passionate, unwilling to understand fully
Ex: political debate
central - pay close attention to make a good choice
peripheral - pay attention to superficial factors, like their look, their voice in order to make decision
Social cognitive theory approach to behavioral changes
from a social learning perspective, proposes that behavior and attitude change through a system of reciprocal causation - in which personal factors, behavior and environmental factors all influence each other.
What is the Five stages of change model that uses concepts of attitude and behavior change in a clinical setting to help ppl overcome addiction.
- pre contemplation - no desire to change
- contemplation - initial awareness their is problem
- preparation - shifting attitude to get ready for change
- action - actual modification of behavior and environtment
- maintenance - prevention of relapse
What are the two appraisal view of stress
- Primary appraisal : evaluating situation for potential threats. if threat is present, then secondary apprasial
- Secondary appraisal : Assessing personal ability to cope with the threat.
Someone who is chronically stressed is most likely to have elevated levels of which hormone?
Cortisol - which is produced by adrenals
Which of the following phenomena best demonstrates how attitudes can effect a change in behavior? A) social cognitive theory B) cognitive siddonance C) central route processing D) peripheral route processing
B
Which of the following is NOT a target characteristic that can influence attitude change?
A) Knowledge base
B) Age
C) Willingness to engage with the argument
D) Credibility of the speaker
D
A camper recognizes that she is in the path of a deadly snake, realizes that their is no possibility of getting to a hospital in time if she is bitten, and begins to panic, this best describes: A) cognitive appraisal B) fight or flight C) a cataclysmic event D) elaboration of likelihood model
A
Social - cognitive theory describes:
A) changes in social behavior driven by thought processes
B) changes in attitudes driven by observations of the actions of others.
C)behavior change driven by social learning in addition to internal and external drives
D) behavior change driven by social learning in the absence of internal and external drives
C
An employee first asks the IT specialist to help move a piece of equipment a couple of feet over. The next day, the employee asks the IT specialist to spend a significant amount of time resolving a complex technical issue and the IT worker agrees to do it. This scenario can be best described as: A) foot in the door phenomenon B) the door in the face technique C) compliance D) role playing
A
Which of the following is not considered to be a major component of attitude?
A) A persons feelings or emotions about an object, person or event
B) The influence that attitudes have on behavior
C) Beliefs or knowledge about a specific object of interest
D) Synthesis of pre-concieved information and presented information regarding an object, person or event.
D
A parent attempts to motivate a child to eat veggies by stressing how good it will feel for her to know that she will grow up to be strong and healthy. Which theory of motivation is consistent with this strategy? A) Drive reduction theory B)Incentive theory C) A cognitive theory D) A need based theory
C
When talking about sensation, what does absolute threshold mean?
the lowest intensity of a stimulus that can be sensed.
Define sensation vs. perception
Sensation : conversion of physical stimuli into electrical signals that are transferred through nervous system by neurons
Perception: use of sensory info and pre existing knowledge to create a functional representation of the world
Difference threshold (aka noticeable difference)
describes the smallest difference that is sufficient for a change in stimuli to be noticed
What is Weber’s Law?
the change required to meet the difference threshold is a certain fraction of the original presented stimulus.
aka
actual amount of change required to reach the difference threshold differs according to the original stimulus.
Ex: bright room with lights turned up a little more may not be noticeable but a dim lit room with lights turned up slightly may be more noticeable.
1/10 weight example
Signal detection theory
focuses on how an organism differentiates important or meaningful stimuli (signals) from those that are not of interest (noise) in an environment where the distinction is ambiguous. The ability to detect meaningful stimuli in the midst of vast amounts of sensory information increases an organisms chances for survival
Selective attention vs. Divided attention
Selective: focus of attention on one particular stimulus or task at the exclusion of other stimuli. is an either/ or process.
Divided: splits perceptual resources between multiple stimuli or behaviors. is a both/ and process.
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that manifests itself though complex behavioral and emotional abnormalities. Although no single cause has been identified for schizophrenia, heredity is generally thought to be involved, especially since the disease is almost twice as common in males. Which of the following most likely explains the link between schizophrenia and genetic inheritance?
A) The products of several Y linked alleles interact with each other and lead to the attributes of schizophrenia
B) Childhood experience may lead to schizophrenia in individuals with an inherited X linked recessive allele for a neurotransmitter transporter.
C) Homozygous expression of a recessive X linked synaptic scaffolding protein allele causes schizophrenia
D) Homozygous expression of a dominant X linked synaptic scaffolding protein allele causes schizophrenai
B
Which of the following is NOT an example of behavioral evolution?
A) An allele that causes lethal embryonic defects is eliminated from a gene pool.
B) Highly successful courtship behaviors become widespread among members of a bird population over many generations.
C) An allele for a dopamine receptor that contributes to empathetic behavior becomes less prevalent in a gene pool.
D) Genetic variants leading to behavior that is adaptive to an organism’s environmental conditions are selectively preserved.
A
The conversion of physical stimuli into patterns of actions potentials is known as: A) olfaction B) perception C) sensation D)sensitivity
C
Which of the following is most responsible for setting an absolute sensory threshold? A) A bipolar cell in the retina B) A hair cell in the cochlea C) A neuron in the primary visual cortex D) A neuron in the auditory cortex
B
A group of researchers performed an experiment to determine the difference threshold for noise frequency in mice that had been fear conditioned using the experimental noise. After analyzing the results, they calculated a Weber fraction of 1/8, making the fear conditioned mice twice as sensitive to frequency changes as the control mice. If the experiment began with a device playing the noise eight times every second (8Hz), what frequency change would be required for the control mice to be able to detect the change? A) 1 Hz B) 2 Hz C) 4 Hz D) 7Hz
B) 2 Hz
1/8 - means that the stimuli had to change by at least one eighth of its original value for the change to be detected.
Also important to note that the control mice are only half as sensitive to changes as the conditioned mice. In other words, the control mice will need twice as large a stimulus change in order for the change in order for the change to be perceived, and their Weber fraction should be twice as large: 1/4
If the starting frequency is 8x per sec (8Hz), the control mice should need a change of 25% * 8 Hz, or 2Hz in order for perception to occur
Which of the following is true, according to signal detection theory?
A) An individual with high sensitivity has a hit rate roughly equal to the false alarm rate.
B) A false alarm occurs when an individual fails to differentiate a signal from noise
C) Individuals with the same sensitivity to a signal can be more or less adept at identifying the signal
D) Signal detection is determined solely by physical parameters like absolute threshold
C
Research has shown that when video and audio recordings of a person speaking are temporally aligned, observers are better able to remember both visual and auditory information about the recordings. By contrast, misaligned recordings cause a severe decline in the ability to remember either visual or auditory information, depending on the individual. The latter finding is an example of: A) sensation B) an absolute threshold C) selective attention D) divided attention
C
All of the following are examples of difference thresholds EXCEPT:
- the minimum intensity needed to perceive a sound
- the minimum acceleration needed to perceive a change in velocity
- the minimum amount of an odorant necessary to trigger firing of olfactory chemoreceptors
A) 1 only
B) 1 and 2 only
C) 1 and 3 only
D) 1, 2, and 3
C
Bottom up vs. top down processing
Bottom up : construction of perceptions from individual pieces of information provided by sensory processing,
Top down: brings the influence of prior knowledge into play to make perception more efficient
Gestalt principle
our perception of the surroundings as being made up of distinct, stable objects occurs
Principles:
nearness, similarity, common region, closure, continuity, figure and ground
Two types of visual processing:
1) parallel processing
2) feature detection
- parallel processing : involves multiple pieces of information about a stimulus being processed at the same time
- feature detection: sequential processing
What are the 4 stages of sleep?
1 - light sleep - alpha waves
2 - burst of brain wave activity that indicate a full transition into sleep
3 - sleep - delta waves, much longer than alpha waves, deep sleep
4 - deepest sleep - almost entirely delta waves
REM ( rapid eye movement) sleep
vs.
Non REM
REM - high brain activity during stage 1. Not the first stage 1 of the night, but the rest, at this point the brain is re-living massive amount of stimuli experienced throughout the day. dreaming, body immobolized.
NREM - largest portion of sleep - brain activity much lower, no dreaming
Perception is best described as:
A) the process by which sensory information and prior knowledge are integrated to form a representation of the environment
B) the process by which sensory receptors “translate” physical stimuli into electrical information
C) the lowest stimulus intensity that can be detected by a sensory organ
D) the goal orientated focus of attention on a particular stimulus
A
One consequence of selective attention is that some stimuli must be ignored in favor of others, This process is example of: A) bottom up processing B) sensitivity C) sensation D) top down processing
D
Which of the following would most likely NOT be grouped according to Gestalt principles?
A) 3 unique shapes painted in the same region of a canvas
B) 3 unique shapes pained in separate regions of a canvas
C)3 similar shapes painted in the same region of a canvas
D) 3 similar shapes pained in separate regions of a canvas
B
Which of the following could be most reasonably expected of an individual’s performance on a depth discrimination task that involves identifying the closer of two objects at various distances?
A) Performance should be worst when both objects are near the individual
B) Performance should be worst when both objects are far from the individual
C) Performance depends only on the distance btw two objects, regardless of their distance from the individual
D) Performance should be best when both objects are far from the individual
B
By treating neurons with excessive levels of some neurotransmitters, scientists are able to induce cell death and ablate specific regions of the brain. This provides a convenient but crude method of controlling certain brain functions during experiments. If a researcher was interested in generating mice incapable of identifying specific shapes in their visual fields, where would he most likely deposit excess dopamine? A) The retina B) The optic chiasm C) The lateral geniculate nucleus D) Layer 1 of the visual cortex
D
Feature detection is best described as which of the following?
A) Sequential processing of information from parallel pathways
B) Parallel processing of information from sequential pathways
C) Sequential processing of information from sequential pathways
D) Parallel processing of information from parallel pathways
A
Which of the following best describes the relationship between consciousness and attention?
A) Consciousness and attention are separate processes that act independantly
B) Attention ensures that all sensory information is available for conscious perception
C) Consciousness controls which information becomes available for analysis through attention
D) Attention controls the flow of information that becomes available for conscious perception.
D
Which of the following would most likely be found in the blood of a sleep deprived individual? A) high levels of melatonin B) low levels of melatonin C) Abnml high levels of depressants D) Abnml low levels of stimulant
A
Korsakoff’s syndrome
similar to Alzheimers disease in how it presents as a deficit in the ability to recall recent events while older memories are relatively unaffected. Caused by nutritional deficiency rather than age related neurodegeneration. Vit B deficient which is d/t ETOH
Alzheimers disease
associated with again but is not considered part of normal age related cognitive change, and has a charateristic pattern of neurodegeneration.
Parkinsons disease
a neurodegenerative disease, like Alzheimers but the associated brain damage is restriced to specific area rather than being widely distributed. Deterioration occurs with in the Substantia Nigra located in the midbrain, leads to impaired motor abilities .
Retroactive interference
vs
Proactive interference
Retroactive interference - newly learned material that prevents successful retrieval or related older memories.
Proactive - opposite. when previous held knowledge prevents successful retrieval of more newly learned information.
With enough repetition, even difficult physical tasks such as performing complex surgeries or musical compositions can become easily replicable. Which of the following best explains the relative case with which well practiced individuals can complete these tasks? A) Declarative memory B) Working memory C) Procedural memory D) Sensory encoding
C
If a scientist was interested in studying brain abnormalities in individuals with unusually high capacities for working memory , which of the following regions of the brain would she be most likely to study? A) Sympathetic ganglia B) Auditory cortex C) Hypothalamus D) Visual cortex
B
A person who memorizes large segments of speeches by repeating them out loud many times is practicing which memory encoding techniques? A) Hypnosis B) Feature recognition C) Chunking D) Rehearsal
D
Which of the following differentiates long term memory from other forms of declarative memory?
A) Long term memory is less durable and persists outside of conscious awareness
B) Long term memory is less durable and persists only within conscious awareness
C) Long term memory is more durable and persists outside of conscious awareness
D) Long term memory is more durable and persists only within conscious awareness
C
Gabapentin is a drug capable of blocking new synapse formation. Which type of memory would be LEAST affected in a patient treated with gabapentin A) Working memory B) Sensory memory C) Long term memory D) Procedural memory
B
New memories are constantly being formed, in part through long term potentiation. The opposing process of long term depression also constantly affects memory formation. Which of the following is most likely FALSE concerning long term depression?
A) Long term depression can be important for forgetting unused memories
B) Long term depression increases the likelihood that presynaptic input will trigger a postsynaptic action potential
C) Entire networks of synapses can be affected by long term depression
D) The hippocampus is an especially active site for long term depresion
B
If a student wants to maximize her recall of material for a test, which of the following study techniques should she employ?
A) Studying in the same room every day
B) Studying in a new location every day
C) Studying by answering practice test questions in the same format as those seen on the test
D) Studying with a new group of classmates every day
C
Highly similar memories can cause which of the following?
- Retroactive interference
- Spreading activation
- Proactive interference
A) 2 only
B) 1 and 3 only
C) 2 and 3 only
D) 1,2 and 3
D
