Research Practices
What is the research term that determines whether the results of a study are not due to chance?
a. standard deviation
b. statistical significance
c. skewed distribution
d. positive correlation
b. statistical significance
Neurotransmitters are released from vesicles located on knoblike terminals at the end of the
a. dendrites.
b. cell body.
c. axon.
d. myelin sheath.
c. axon.
Three hours after going to sleep, Shoshanna's heart rate increases, her breathing becomes more rapid, and her eyes move rapidly under her closed lids. Research suggests that Shoshanna is
a. dreaming.
b. entering the third stage of sleep.
c. ready to sleepwalk.
d. exhibiting a sleep spindle.
a. dreaming.
The influence of bodily sensations, gestures, and other states on cognitive preferences and judgments is known as
a. synesthesia.
b. embodied cognition.
c. perceptual set.
d. parallel processing.
b. embodied cognition.
With her eyes closed and her nose plugged, Varsha was unable to taste the difference between an onion and a pear. Her experience best illustrates the importance of
a. sensory interaction.
b. sensory transduction.
c. sensory adaptation.
d. accommodation.
a. sensory interaction.
When we see certain outcomes as obvious based on what has occurred, we may be experiencing
a. empiricism.
b. critical thinking.
c. hindsight bias.
d. overconfidence.
c. hindsight bias.
Neurosurgeons have severed the corpus callosum in human patients in order to reduce
a. aphasia.
b. epileptic seizures.
c. depression.
d. neural plasticity.
b. epileptic seizures.
Alpha waves are associated with
a. REM sleep.
b. N1 sleep.
c. N2 sleep.
d. relaxed but awake state.
d. relaxed but awake state.
Bottom-up processing involves analysis that begins with the
a. optic nerve.
b. sensory receptors.
c. cerebral cortex.
d. feature detectors.
b. sensory receptors.
Split-brain patients have had their ________ surgically cut.
a. hippocampus
b. limbic system
c. corpus callosum
d. sensory cortex
c. corpus callosum
When a fluctuating behavior returns to normal, what is probably at work?
a. statistical significance
b. randomly sampling
c. generalizing from extreme examples
d. regression toward the mean
d. regression toward the mean
The association areas are located in the
a. spinal cord.
b. brainstem.
c. thalamus.
d. cerebral cortex.
d. cerebral cortex.
Sleep apnea is a disorder involving
a. the cessation of breathing during sleep.
b. periodic uncontrollable attacks of overwhelming sleepiness.
c. hypnagogic sensations of falling or floating weightlessly.
d. the excessive use of sleeping pills or other sleep-inducing drugs.
a. the cessation of breathing during sleep.
When you are expecting an incoming text message, you are much more likely to notice it the second it arrives. This best illustrates
a. priming.
b. signal detection theory.
c. difference thresholds.
d. absolute thresholds.
d. absolute thresholds.
As you look at an apple, its reflected light travels to the eye. The rods and cones absorb the light and help transmit the information to the brain. This process best illustrates
a. sensation.
b. top-down processing.
c. perception.
d. selective attention.
a. sensation.
Professional psychological associations require researchers to
a. study animals only in their natural environment.
b. obtain informed consent before using any animals as subjects in research.
c. test only dependent, not independent, variables on animals.
d. minimize infection, illness, and pain in animal subjects.
d. minimize infection, illness, and pain in animal subjects.
Which of the following are located exclusively within the brain and spinal cord?
a. sensory neurons
b. motor neurons
c. myelin sheath
d. interneurons
b. motor neurons
Nembutal, Seconal, and Amytal, drugs prescribed to reduce insomnia, are
a. barbiturates.
b. amphetamines.
c. opiates.
d. mild hallucinogens.
a. barbiturates.
Which theory best explains the occurrence of afterimages?
a. trichromatic
b. opponent-process
c. place
d. frequency
b. opponent-process
According to Emily's grandfather, Adolf Hitler's obvious emotional instability made it clear from the beginning days of his international conflicts that Germany would inevitably lose World War II. The grandfather's claim best illustrates
a. the hindsight bias.
b. illusory correlation.
c. overconfidence.
d. an illusion of control.
c. overconfidence.
To determine whether the strength of people's self-esteem is related to their income levels, researchers would most likely make use of
a. case studies.
b. correlational research.
c. experimentation.
d. naturalistic observation
b. correlational research.
An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements is called the
a. midbrain.
b. somatic nervous system.
c. motor cortex.
d. cerebellum.
c. motor cortex.
The hypnagogic sensations of falling or floating are most likely to occur during which sleep stage?
a. N1 sleep
b. N2 sleep
c. N3 sleep
d. REM
a. N1 sleep
Which of the following is the correct sequence of structures that sound waves pass through on the way to the auditory nerve?
a. cochlea, hammer, anvil, stirrup, eardrum
b. hammer, eardrum, basilar membrane, cochlea
c. eardrum, hammer, anvil, stirrup, cochlea
d. inner ear, middle ear, cochlea, eardrum
c. eardrum, hammer, anvil, stirrup, cochlea
Which of the following senses is best described as a chemical sense?
a. touch
b. kinesthesis
c. audition
d. smell
d. smell