Test 1

Question 1

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Answer 1

psychology

Question 2

What are the goals of psychology?

Answer 2

to describe, predict, explain, and control or influence

Question 3

Who was Wilhelm Wundt? With what school of Psychology was he associated?

Answer 3

Wilhelm Wundt is credited as being the founder of psychology as an experimental science. He opened the first psychology research laboratory at the University of Leipzig. He used scientific methods to study fundamental psychological processes, such as mental reaction times in response to visual or auditory stimuli.

Question 4

Who was the founder of psychoanalysis?

Answer 4

Sigmund Freud founded psychoanalysis, which emphasized the role of unconscious conflicts in determining behavior and personality.

Question 5

Behaviorism rejected consciousness and focused on what?

Answer 5

Behaviorism rejected the emphasis on consciousness promoted by structuralism and functionalism.

Question 6

What did humanistic psychology emphasize?

Answer 6

Humanistic psychology emphasized the importance of self-determination, creativity, and human potential. Carl Rodgers and Abraham Maslow were advocates of humanistic psychology.

Question 7

the study of the nervous system, especially the brain

Answer 7

neuroscience

Question 8

refers to the time during the 1960s when psychology experienced a return to the study of how mental processes influence behavior

Answer 8

cognitive revolution

Question 9

Cognitive psychology focuses on_____?

Answer 9

This movement represented a break from traditional behaviorism and focused once again on the important role of mental processes in how people process and remember information, develop language, and think.

Question 10

a tentative statement that describes the relationship between two or more variables; it is often stated as a specific prediction that can be empirically tested

Answer 10

hypothesis

Question 11

defines the variable in very specific terms as to how it will be measured, manipulated, or changed

Answer 11

operational definition

Question 12

a tentative explanation that tries to account for diverse findings on the same topic; integrates and summarizes numerous research findings and observations on a particular topic

Answer 12

theory

Question 13

includes research strategies for observing and describing behavior, including identifying the factors that seem to be associated with a particular phenomenon; it answers the who, what, where, and when kinds of questions about behavior

Answer 13

descriptive research

Question 14

an intensive, in-depth investigation of an individual, a family, or some other social unit

Answer 14

case study

Question 15

very closely parallels, or matches, the larger group on relevant characteristics, such as age, sex, race, marital status, and educational level

Answer 15

representative sample

Question 16

a numerical indicator of the strength of the relationship between two factors; it always falls between the range from -1.00 to +1.00

Answer 16

correlation coefficient

Question 17

Two parts of a correlation coefficient:

Answer 17

the number and the sign; the number indicates the strength of the relationship, and the sign indicates the direction of the relationship between the two variables

Question 18

the factor that is deliberately varied

Answer 18

independent variable

Question 19

a type of study in which both participants and the researchers interacting with them are blind, or unaware of the treatment or condition to which the participants have been assigned

Answer 19

double-blind study

Question 20

The ethical requirement of informed consent means what?

Answer 20

The psychologist must inform the participants of the purpose of the research, including significant factors that might influence a person’s willingness to participate in the study, such as potential risks, discomfort, or unpleasant emotional experiences. The psychologist must also explain that participants are free to decline to participate or to withdraw from the research at any time.

Question 21

What are neurons, and what are the three basic types?

Answer 21

Neurons are cells that are highly specialized to receive and transmit information from one part of the body to another. Three basic types of neurons are sensory neurons, motor neurons, and interneurons.

Question 22

convey information about the environment, such as light or sound, from specialized receptor cells in the sense organs to the brain

Answer 22

sensory neurons

Question 23

communicate information to the muscles and glands of the body

Answer 23

motor neurons

Question 24

communicate information between neurons

Answer 24

interneurons

Question 25

What forms the myelin sheath?

Answer 25

Oligodendrocytes in the brain and Schwann cells in the rest of the nervous system form the myelin sheath.

Question 26

a white fatty covering that is wrapped around the axons of some, but not all, neurons

Answer 26

myelin sheath

Question 27

A disease that involves the degeneration of patches of the myelin sheath. This degeneration causes the transmission of neural messages to be slowed or interrupted, resulting in disturbances in sensation and movement. This disease is characterized by muscle weakness, loss of coordination, and speech and visual disturbances.

Answer 27

Multiple sclerosis

Question 28

a single, elongated tube that extends from the cell body in most neurons

Answer 28

axon

Question 29

What is the axon’s function?

Answer 29

carry information from the neuron to other cells in the body

Question 30

What happens when a neuron is polarized?

Answer 30

Each neuron requires a minimum level of stimulation from other neurons or sensory receptors to activate it. This minimum level of stimulation is called the neuron’s stimulus threshold. While waiting for sufficient stimulation to activate it, the neuron is said to be polarized. This means that there is a difference in the electrical charge between the inside and the outside of the axon. The axon’s interior is more negatively charged than the fluid surrounding the axon.

Question 31

What is the all-or-none law?

Answer 31

The all-or-none law is the principle that once the action potential is started, it is self-sustaining and continues to the end of the axon. There is no such thing as a partial action potential. Either the neuron is sufficiently stimulated and an action potential occurs, or the neuron is not sufficiently stimulated and an action potential does not occur.

Question 32

How are action potentials different in myelinated and unmyelinated neurons?

Answer 32

Myelinated neurons communicate faster than unmyelinated neurons.

Question 33

the tiny, fluid-filled space only five-millionths of an inch wide between the axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite of the adjoining neuron

Answer 33

synaptic gap

Question 34

What does the action potential stimulate the release of?

Answer 34

The action potential triggers the release of neurotransmitters by synaptic vesicles. The synaptic vesicles hold the neurotransmitters which are special chemical messengers.

Question 35

Acetylcholine

Answer 35

Primary roles are learning, memory, and muscle contraction / Associated Disorder is Alzheimer’s disease

Question 36

Dopamine

Answer 36

Primary roles are movement, thought processes, and rewarding sensations / Associated disorders are Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and drug addiction

Question 37

A drug or other chemical that binds to a receptor. These drugs are chemically similar to a specific neurotransmitter and produce the same effect.

Answer 37

agonist

Question 38

These block the effect of neurotransmitters. A drug may fit into receptor sites and prevent neurotransmitters from acting.

Answer 38

antagonist

Question 39

the capacity to selectively focus senses and awareness on particular stimuli or aspects of the environment

Answer 39

attention

Question 40

refers to a biological or psychological process that systematically varies over the course of each day

Answer 40

Circadian rhythm

Question 41

REM stands for _____?

Answer 41

rapid-eye-movement sleep

Question 42

often called active sleep or paradoxical sleep because it is associated with heightened body and brain activity during which dreaming consistently occurs

Answer 42

REM sleep

Question 43

vivid sensory phenomena that occur during the onset of sleep

Answer 43

hypnagogic hallucinations

Question 44

During REM sleep, paralysis of the voluntary muscles, which keeps you from acting out your dreams. This paralysis of REM sleep carries over to the waking state for up to ten minutes.

Answer 44

sleep paralysis

Question 45

When does sleep paralysis occur?

Answer 45

REM sleep

Question 46

When does sleepwalking typically occur?

Answer 46

Sleepwalking, or somnambulism, is a sleep disturbance characterized by an episode of walking or performing other actions during stage 3 of stage 4 NREM sleep.

Question 47

sleep disorders involving disruptions in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep

Answer 47

dyssmonias

Question 48

sleep disorders involving undesirable physical arousal, behaviors, or events during sleep or sleep transitions

Answer 48

parasomnias

Question 49

Alcohol is classified as a _____?

Answer 49

depressant, which inhibits the central nervous system activity and are addictive