psych exam 2

Question 1

Sensory receptors

Answer 1

sensory nerve endings that respond to stimuli

Question 2

Sensory adaptation

Answer 2

reduced sensitivity in response to constant stimulation

Question 3

Rods

Answer 3

retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray, and are sensitive to movement

Question 4

The eye’s sensory receptors are called…

Answer 4

rods and cones

Question 5

Cones

Answer 5

detect fine detail and give rise to color sensations

Question 6

Which two senses are chemical senses?

Answer 6

Taste & smell

Question 7

Vestibular sense

Answer 7

our sense of balance and body movement/position

Question 8

Learning

Answer 8

the process of acquiring through experience, new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Question 9

Classical conditioning

Answer 9

a type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

Question 10

Reinforcement

Answer 10

aimed at increasing behavior

Question 11

Punishment

Answer 11

aimed at decreasing behaviors

Question 12

Give an example of positive reinforcement.

Answer 12

Giving a dog a treat for doing a trick

Question 13

Observational learning

Answer 13

learning by observing others

Question 14

Modeling

Answer 14

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Question 15

Implicit memory

Answer 15

retention of learned skills, procedures, or classically conditioned associations, without conscious awareness

Question 16

Explicit memory

Answer 16

retention of facts and personal events you can consciously retrieve

Question 17

Spacing effect

Answer 17

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through mass study or practice

Question 18

Recall

Answer 18

memory demonstrated by retrieving information learned earlier (fill in the blank)

Question 19

Episodic memory

Answer 19

explicit memory of personally experienced events

Question 19

Semantic memory

Answer 19

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge

Question 20

Recognition

Answer 20

memory demonstrated by identifying items previously learned (multiple choice)

Question 21

Serial position effect

Answer 21

our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

Question 22

Why is it important to be able to forget information?

Answer 22

–Forgetting unimportant information helps us remember what matters most
–Forgetting bad memories is also good for our mental health and well-being

Question 23

Metacognition

Answer 23

cognition about our cognition; thinking about thinking; keeping track of and
evaluating our mental processes

Question 24

Convergent thinking

Answer 24

narrowing the available solutions to determine the single best solution to a problem

Question 25

Divergent thinking

Answer 25

expanding the number of possible solutions to a problem; creative thinking that branches out in different directions

Question 26

What are the stages of infant speech?

Answer 26

Babbling, one-word, two-word, telegraphic

Question 27

Achievement test

Answer 27

a test designed to assess what a person has learned (ex: the final exam)

Question 28

Aptitude test

Answer 28

a test designed to predict a person’s future performance (ex: SAT)

Question 29

Intrinsic motivation

Answer 29

the desire to perform a behavior well for its own sake

Question 30

Extrinsic motivation

Answer 30

the desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment

Question 31

James-Lange theory

Answer 31

physiological sensations precede feelings of emotion

Question 32

Cannon-Bard theory

Answer 32

physiological sensations and feelings of emotion occur simultaneously

Question 33

Why do we need emotions?

Answer 33

–They give us information
–They help us to communicate
–They motivate us and prepare us to take action

Question 34

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Answer 34

bottom to top: physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, self-actualization