Quizes

Question 1

In considering a human characteristic, we could say that the ________ provides the options and the ________ determines which option is taken.

gene; genome
genome; environment
chromosome; genome
environment; genome

Answer 1

genome; environment

Question 2

A gene is a segment of ______ that is involved in producing ______.

DNA; proteins
RNA; cells
RNA; proteins
DNA; cells

Answer 2

DNA; proteins

Question 3

Sherri has 23 chromosome pairs. How common is this in terms of human genotype?

atypical but not abnormal
highly atypical and usually fatal
typical
atypical

Answer 3

typical

Question 4

Beatrice’s mother and father both carry a dominant gene for brown eyes and a recessive gene for blue eyes. The probability that Beatrice’s eyes are brown is:

.25.
.75.
1.00.
.50.

Answer 4

.75.

Question 5

Phenotype refers to the:

probability of a gene being expressed.
genetic information carried by a cell.
results of a genetic mutation.
physical or behavioral characteristics
actually expressed.

Answer 5

physical or behavioral characteristics actually expressed.

Question 6

Which of the following is a source of evidence that human skin color is genetically more complex than flower color in Mendel’s experiments?

Mammals and plants follow completely different genetic principles.
Humans are more complicated than plants.
Humans do not have dominant genes.
Humans have a large range of skin tones.

Answer 6

Humans have a large range of skin tones.

Question 7

In considering the relative contributions of genes and environment, most scientists would agree that:

genes and environment interact to determine behavior.
social context has little effect on behavior.
environment plays the more important role in shaping behavior.
only genes shape behavior.

Answer 7

genes and environment interact to determine behavior.

Question 8

Adoption studies are an important tool of behavioral genetics because they:

allow us to examine the effects of nonrelated mothering.
show that environment overwhelms the effect of genes.
allow us to look at the contributions of environment and genetics on behavior.
are so rare.

Answer 8

allow us to look at the contributions of environment and genetics on behavior.

Question 9

In general, siblings of different ages raised together have:

different genes and different environments.
the same genes but different environments.
the same environment but different genes.
the same genes and same environments.

Answer 9

different genes and different environments.

Question 10

Heritability refers to:

the degree to which genes control a characteristic.

an estimate of how much of the variation in a characteristic is due to known genetic variation.

the degree to which shared environments account for a shared characteristic among siblings.

the degree to which a mother’s characteristics are passed on versus a father’s characteristics.

Answer 10

an estimate of how much of the variation in a characteristic is due to known genetic variation.

Question 11

What does the brain have to do with psychology?

All options are correct.
The brain is responsible for all our thinking.
The brain allows all of our behavior.
The brain lets us feel all our emotions

Answer 11

All options are correct.

Question 12

Luck is a quarterback on a football team. He throws the ball into the air and the wide receiver catches it and scores a touchdown. In the neuron, which physical part plays a role similar to that of the wide receiver in football?

dendrite
synapse
myelin
axon

Answer 12

dendrite

dendrite -> receive information from other neurons

Question 13

Mary is a scientist investigating neurons. She knows that during the transmission phase, when a postsynaptic neuron experiences enough stimulation it will

receive inhibitory neurotransmitters.
fire an action potential.
stay in a resting state.
receive excitatory neurotransmitters

Answer 13

fire an action potential.

Question 14

Dante’s life is in danger because he has damage to a part of his hindbrain that regulates breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate. Dante most likely has damage to his _____.

cerebellum
amygdala
brain stem
substantia nigra

Answer 14

brain stem

An extension of the spinal cord; it houses structures that control functions associated with survival, such as heart rate, breathing, swallowing, vomiting, urination, and orgasm.

Question 15

Lupe is at a party with her friends late on Saturday night and is experiencing a lot of thoughts and feelings. Which of the following messages would NOT come from Lupe’s hypothalamus?

“I want to have sex!”
“I am so happy!”
“I need to go to sleep!”
“I feel hungry!”

Answer 15

“I am so happy!”

hypothalamus -> A brain structure that is involved in the regulation of bodily functions, including body temperature, body rhythms, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels; it also influences our basic motivated behaviors.

Question 16

After a surgery goes terribly wrong, Chris is not able to form new memories. Chris most likely has damage to a structure in his forebrain called the ______.

basal ganglia
thalamus
hippocampus
cerebellum

Answer 16

hippocampus

Hippocampus is a complex brain structure embedded deep into temporal lobe. It has a major role in learning and memory.

Question 17

Stephen was born with a hearing deficit, but there is nothing wrong with his ears. The doctors conclude that there must be damage to Stephen’s ______ lobes.

occipital
temporal
frontal
parietal

Answer 17

temporal

The temporal lobe is one of the four major lobes of the cortex. It is primarily responsible for interpreting sounds from the ears and plays a significant role in recognizing and using language. The temporal lobe also helps with object recognition and interacts with other structures to create new and long term memories

Question 18

Virginia feels a mosquito land on her left arm. She uses her right hand to brush the mosquito away. The feel of the mosquito is processed by her ______ cortex and the action by her hand is processed by her ______ cortex.

right motor; left somatosensory
left somatosensory; right motor
left motor; right somatosensory
right somatosensory; left motor

Answer 18

right somatosensory; left motor

the right primary somatosensory cortex -> processes sensory information from the left side of the body and vice versa

the left motor -> controls muscles on the right side

Question 19

Standing in line outside the movie theater, John heard music coming out of someone’s iPod. Because he liked the music, he began to move to the beat. John’s ability to move his body to dance is due to the function of his _____ nervous system.

sympathetic
somatic
autonomic
parasympathetic

Answer 19

somatic

The somatic nervous system -> component of the peripheral nervous system associated with the voluntary control of the body movements via the use of skeletal muscles.

Question 19

While walking in the woods, Amy sees a bear. The sympathetic branch of her autonomic nervous system activates.

The most likely result is that she
remains calm and tries to conserve her body’s energy.

stops receiving information from her sensory systems.

behaves instinctively so her spinal cord takes control of running away.

begins to sweat and her heartbeat quickens.

Answer 19

begins to sweat and her heartbeat quickens.

The sympathetic branch -> responding to dangerous or stressful situations. In these situations, your sympathetic nervous system activates to speed up your heart rate, deliver more blood to areas of your body that need more oxygen or other responses to help your get out of danger.

Question 20

A doctor takes Felipe’s blood pressure and it is very high. The doctor says, “You could not have known this without taking a blood pressure test, because you can’t have awareness of your blood pressure.” Felipe’s doctor is saying that _____.

we are unconscious of our blood pressure
we are conscious of our blood pressure
we must be in an altered state of consciousness to be aware of our blood pressure
our blood pressure affects us through subliminal perception

Answer 20

we are unconscious of our blood pressure

Question 21

Which of the following is most likely to result from flashing a Coke bottle on a movie theater screen too briefly for a viewer to notice?

The viewer may recognize related words (e.g., soda) more quickly on an immediate test.
There is going to be no effect, because the viewer is unaware of the event.
There will be faster recognition of related words only if the viewer is in an altered state.
With repeated exposure, the viewer will drink more Coke.

Answer 21

The viewer may recognize related words (e.g., soda) more quickly on an immediate test.

Question 22

Freddie listens to a song that when played backward appears to encourage the listener to worship the devil. What effect will subliminal perception of this back-masked message have on Freddie?

Freddie will worship the devil whether or not he has done so before.
Besides worshiping the devil, Freddie will probably feel compelled to use drugs.
There will be no effect of the message.
Freddie will worship the devil only if he has done so before.

Answer 22

There will be no effect of the message.

Question 23

The cocktail party phenomenon refers to

the ability to simultaneously attend to multiple conversations
the ability to simultaneously ignore all conversations
the ability to attend to one conversation and ignore the others
the ability to visually attend to one person and listen to anothe

Answer 23

the ability to attend to one conversation and ignore the others

Question 24

Dillon has a newborn baby and spends a lot of the night awake with her so he is sleep-deprived. At work Dillon was drowsy when sitting at his desk and his eyes started rolling and his arm twitched. Dillon’s experience is best explained by ______.

narcolepsy
stage 1 sleep
stage 3 sleep
REM behavior disorder

Answer 24

stage 1 sleep

Question 25

When driving on a road at night, it might occur that a driver stares into oncoming moving headlights. When that happens it might occur that the stationary taillights of the car immediately in front of him temporarily disappear. This phenomenon is know as

motion-induced blindness
change blindness
inattentional blindness
subliminal perception

Answer 25

motion-induced blindness

Motion-induced blindness (MIB) is a phenomenon characterized by “visual disappearance” in which relatively small but salient visual objects may disappear from one’s awareness intermittently for several seconds when embedded within a moving pattern.

Question 26

Gina drank too much alcohol last night. This made her feel relaxed and sociable because alcohol is a(an) _____.

depressant
opiate
hallucinogen
stimulant

Answer 26

depressant

Question 27

Dr. Franklin has developed a new drug that makes the user feel very excited, active, and happy. It is also very addictive. Based on these drug properties his new drug most likely is a ______ and acts on the neurotransmitter ______.

stimulant; serotonin
depressant; dopamine
depressant; serotonin
stimulant; dopamine

Answer 27

stimulant; dopamine

Stimulants -> increase your heart rate and brain function which ultimately increase focus and energy.
Dopamine -> a type of neurotransmitter and hormone. It plays a role in many important body functions, including movement, memory and pleasurable reward and motivation.

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT a theory about sleep?

Facilitation of learning theory
Restorative theory
Global Workspace theory
Circadian rhythm theory

Answer 28

Global Workspace theory

Question 29

Your friend is taking an over-the-counter medication. He claims that it is not a psychoactive drug, but you claim it is. What characteristic of the drug would most likely support your argument?

The drug is legal.
The drug is available over the counter.
The drug is nonprescription.
The drug activates the brain’s neurotransmitter receptors.

Answer 29

The drug activates the brain’s neurotransmitter receptors.

psychoactive drugs, or psychotropic substances, contain four groups. These include stimulants, depressants, opioids, and hallucinogens.

They alter brain functions and act on the brain by altering the neurotransmitter availability at the synapse or by interacting with the neurotransmitter receptor itself.

Question 30

Cyra likes listening to music before going to sleep, but she gets in trouble if she plays her music after 10 pm. Cyra knows that if her parents can’t hear the music, she will not get into trouble. But, even though the music is playing very softly, her parents can detect the music 75 percent of the time. The point at which Cyra has the volume set is ______.

allowing her parents to show correct rejection
showing her parents’ sensory adaptation
revealing her parents’ difference threshold
above her parents’ absolute threshold

Answer 30

above her parents’ absolute threshold

absolute threshold -> the minimum intensity of stimulation necessary to detect a sensation half the time

Question 31

Brian doesn’t mind if he misses a call from his parents. But when he is expecting a call from his date, he is sure to check his phone if there is even the slightest feeling of it vibrating. Signal detection theory can explain this based on Brian having a different ______ for calls from his date than from his parents.

signal sensitivity
response bias
absolute threshold
difference threshold

Answer 31

response bias

Signal detection theory describes how an observer makes decisions about weak, uncertain, or ambiguous events or signals.

Response bias -> a general term for a wide range of tendencies for participants to respond inaccurately or falsely to questions.
Response bias can be induced or caused by numerous factors, all relating to the idea that human subjects do not respond passively to stimuli, but rather actively integrate multiple sources of information to generate a response in a given situation

Question 32

Brad damaged some of the sensory receptors in his visual system. Which of the following was damaged?

Cones
Lens
Ganglions
Cornea

Answer 32

Cones

The photoreceptor cells of the retina are the rods and cones. The rods are responsible for the night vision and side vision. The rods are more in number than cones and much more sensitive to light. The cones are responsible for the detailed, colored and sharp vision that is central.

Question 33

You are watching Dancing with the Stars. Two contestants—one tall, thin male and one short, heavy female—are holding each other close and waltzing together. Which of the following grouping principles is likely to help you perceptually group the two dancers together?

proximity
continuity
similarity
illusory contours

Answer 33

proximity

The Gestalt law of proximity states that “objects or shapes that are close to one another appear to form groups”. Even if the shapes, sizes, and objects are radically different, they will appear as a group if they are close.

Question 34

We typically perceive the properties of a ____ stimulus even though it differs from the ____ stimulus which basically represents the pattern of light energy that ____.

proximal; distal; falls onto our receptors
distal; proximal; is emitted by the stimulus
proximal; distal; is emitted by the stimulus
distal; proximal; falls onto our receptors

Answer 34

distal; proximal; falls onto our receptors

The distal stimulus is the actual physical stimulus, the physically objective dimensions of the viewed object. The proximal stimulus, in the case of vision, is the very image that falls on the retina.

Question 35

Read the following paragraph.

“Accdornig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.”

The fact that you could read this paragraph is most likely due to ______.

continuity
bottom-up processes
occlusion
top-down processes

Answer 35

top-down processes

Bottom-up and top-down processing are two different ways of making sense of stimuli. In bottom-up processing, we allow the stimulus itself to shape our perception, without any preconceived ideas. In top-down processing, we use our background knowledge and expectations to interpret what we see

Question 36

The physical properties of a stimulus are translated into neural impulses in a process called:

coarse coding.
transduction.
sensation.
perception.

Answer 36

transduction.

Question 37

or which of the following pairs would it be easiest to discern a difference in weight?

a 1-pound bag of sugar and a 2-pound bag of sugar
a 5-pound free weight and a 5.5-pound free weight
a 20-pound child and a 22-pound child
a 2-liter bottle of water and a 2.1-liter bottle of water

Answer 37

a 1-pound bag of sugar and a 2-pound bag of sugar

Question 38

Rachel was in an auto accident and now has a form of object agnosia. She has perfectly accurate 20/20 vision, but she cannot recognize the differences between animals when she sees them. For example, she cannot tell the difference between a giraffe and a zebra. Joel has a degenerative illness that has affected his retinae but is otherwise normal in all of his mental functioning. Which of the following statements is most accurate?

Rachel has an impaired absolute threshold, but Joel has an impaired difference threshold.

Rachel has impaired perception, while Joel has impaired sensation.

Rachel has an impaired difference threshold, but Joel has an impaired absolute threshold.

Rachel has impaired sensation, while Joel has impaired perception.

Answer 38

Rachel has impaired perception, while Joel has impaired sensation.

object agnosia -> A deficit in object recognition despite intact intelligence is termed object agnosia.

Question 39

The optic nerve projects from the retina through a neural pathway that progresses to the ________ , which is located in the ________ lobe.

lateral geniculate nucleus; parietal
primary visual cortex; parietal
primary visual cortex; occipital
lateral geniculate nucleus; occipital

Answer 39

primary visual cortex; occipital

The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe

Question 40

A candidate for governor of New York State once mailed trash-scented campaign flyersLinks to an external site. to discourage people from backing Democrats. He was most likely trying to use ___________ to influence voting.

operant conditioning
learned helplessness
classical conditioning
observational learning

Answer 40

classical conditioning

Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or respondent conditioning) is learning through association

Question 41

The tag on the back of Michael’s shirt is very itchy. He keeps scratching his back and pulling at the tag, but it continues to bother him. Michael is most likely experiencing

habituation.
sensitization.
associative learning
learning by watching.

Answer 41

sensitization.

sensitization -> An increase in behavioral response after exposure to a stimulus

Question 42

Libby lives near Schiphol and is repeatedly exposed to airplane noise. Even though the noise level is quite high, she does no longer react to it and seems to barely notice it. Libby is most likely experiencing

sensitization.
associative learning.
learning by watching.
habituation.

Answer 42

habituation.

habituation -> the diminishing of an innate response to a frequently repeated stimulus.

Question 43

Lisa is a kindergarten teacher who wants her students to cooperate with each other. So, when the students help each other, Lisa praises them. The students soon help each other more, as a result of

positive punishment.
negative reinforcement.
negative punishment.
positive reinforcement.

Answer 43

positive reinforcement.

positive reinforcement -> the process of encouraging or establishing a pattern of behaviour by offering reward when the behaviour is exhibited.

Question 44

Jill gets mad when her roommate, Brenda, uses Jill’s stuff. Lately, when Jill catches Brenda using her stuff, Jill will play very loudly a song that Brenda hates. Now, Brenda is using Jill’s stuff much less, due to the effect of

negative reinforcement.
positive reinforcement.
negative punishment.
positive punishment.

Answer 44

positive punishment.

Positive punishment involves adding an aversive stimulus after an unwanted behavior to discourage a person from repeating the behavior

Question 45

After the 15th of the month, Alicia looks at her bank account and is always excited to see her paycheck deposited. Alicia receives her paycheck on a __________ schedule.

fixed ratio
variable interval
fixed interval
variable ratio

Answer 45

fixed interval

Question 46

Timmy is trying to get a toy that comes in some boxes of breakfast cereal. He keeps opening boxes of cereal, knowing that if he opens enough boxes, he will eventually find a toy. Timmy is being reinforced on a __________ schedule.

fixed ratio
variable ratio
fixed interval
variable interval

Answer 46

variable ratio

Question 47

Every time your dog comes when you have called him, you give him a dog treat. This treat represents

positive reinforcement
a conditioned stimulus
a conditioned response
negative reinforcement

Answer 47

positive reinforcement

positive reinforcement -> the process of encouraging or establishing a pattern of behaviour by offering reward when the behaviour is exhibited.

Question 48

When, after extensive extinction trials, the presentation of the conditioned stimulus briefly produces a conditioned response, this process is known as:

classical conditioning.
second-order conditioning.
spontaneous recovery.
extinction reversal.

Answer 48

spontaneous recovery.

Question 49

Bandura’s study of children’s play habits with the “Bobo” doll provided evidence that:

meme-based learning can be transmitted observationally.

learning is dependent on consequences.

aggressive behavior can be learned through observation.

intracranial self-stimulation can activate reward circuits.

Answer 49

aggressive behavior can be learned through observation.

Bandura and his colleagues believed that the Bobo doll experiment demonstrates how specific behaviors can be learned through observation and imitation. According to Bandura, the violent behavior of the adult models toward the dolls led children to believe that such actions were acceptable.

Question 50

Joanne sees a clinical psychologist, Dr. Kelso, once a week. During these sessions she lies on a couch with Dr. Kelso behind her. Dr. Kelso often asks about her dreams and tries to help her understand how they might reveal unconscious needs and conflicts. Joanne is most likely receiving _______ therapy.

behavior
psychodynamic
humanistic
cognitive

Answer 50

psychodynamic

psychodynamic -> focuses on the internal, unconscious mental forces that individuals are largely unaware of, but drive emotions and actions. Unconscious psychological activities include underlying desires and anxieties that are present deep within the mind yet influence personality and behavior.

Question 51

Dr. Archana is a psychotherapist who believes the goal of therapy is to help her clients understand themselves so they can grow. Based on this you know that Dr. Archana mostly engages in

social skills training.
client-centered therapy
psychoanalysis.
rational-emotive therapy

Answer 51

client-centered therapy

Question 52

You are a nurse in a psychiatric hospital. You see on one patient’s chart that the psychiatrist recommended electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment of her psychological disorder. Based on this you know that the patient has most likely been diagnosed with

anxiety disorder.
antisocial personality disorder.
major depressive disorder.
obsessive compulsive disorder.

Answer 52

major depressive disorder.

electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) -> a medical treatment most commonly used in patients with severe major depression or bipolar disorder that has not responded to other treatments

Question 53

Claire has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. She wants to see a health care professional who can prescribe a psychotropic medication for relief of the symptoms related to schizophrenia. Claire should most likely seek treatment from a

psychiatrist.
psychiatric social worker.
counseling psychologist.
clinical psychologist.

Answer 53

psychiatrist.

a psychiatrist is a medical doctor and can prescribe medication. While psychologists typically hold doctorate degrees, they do not attend medical school and are not medical doctors.

Question 54

Amy hates public speaking. Unfortunately, she has to take a speech class in high school. To help her deal with this problem, her doctor prescribes Xanax to temporarily reduce her worries before she makes a speech to the class. Based on this, Xanax is probably a(an) _______ drug.

antipsychotic
mood stabilizer
anti-anxiety
stimulant

Answer 54

anti-anxiety

Question 55

Sabrina is telling her therapist about her phobia of flying. Dr. Benoit responds: “I can help you, step-by-step, to extinguish it by imagining what you fear and teaching you to relax. Then you will be able to fly on a plane.” Sabrina realizes that Dr. Benoit is using the treatment technique called

cognitive restructuring.
systematic desensitization.
exposure and response prevention.
free association.free association.

Answer 55

systematic desensitization.

Question 56

Anti-anxiety drugs ____ addictive and operate on the major ____ neurotransmitter in the brain.

are not; excitatory
are; inhibitory
are; excitatory
are not; inhibitory

Answer 56

are; inhibitory

enhance the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA—primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that makes you feel calm

Question 57

If Prozac did not increase the activity of ________, it would not be effective in treating depression.

Acetylcholine
Glutamate
Serotonin
GABA

Answer 57

Serotonin

Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant.

Question 58

Antipsychotic drugs:

are most helpful for treating the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

affect behavior but do little to affect cognition.

reduce the occurrence of delusions and hallucinations.

have some minor and reversible side effects.

Answer 58

reduce the occurrence of delusions and hallucinations.

Question 59

An evidence-based approach to psychological treatment would lead one to favor ________ for a wide variety of psychological disorders.

primal scream therapy
psychoanalysis
deep brain stimulation
cognitive-behavioral therapy

Answer 59

cognitive-behavioral therapy