Psych Final Review

Intro to Psych

100

“The scientific study of human behavior and mental processes” is the definition of what term?

1. Psychology

200

Which psychological approach emphasizes observable behavior and was reflected in Pavlov’s dog experiments?

1. Behaviorism

300

Which of the following is an example of basic science: (A) Helping an individual through rehab, (B) Researching causes of addiction using experiments, (C) A teacher applying educational psychology findings, (D) A counselor scheduling classes?

1. B — Researching causes and effects via experimentation (basic science)

400

Who is considered the founder of psychoanalysis and focused on the unconscious mind?

1. Sigmund Freud

500

Gestalt Psychology is based off the idea that...............

the sum is greater than the parts

Biopsychology

100

Which part of the neuron receives messages from other neurons?

1. Dendrites

200

The brain’s sensory control center that directs messages to sensory receiving areas is called what?

1. Thalamus

300

Which lobe is primarily responsible for executive functioning: planning, problem solving, and impulse control?

1. Frontal lobe

400

Which neurotransmitter is most associated with mood, sleep, and appetite regulation?

1. Serotonin

500

Name the band of fibers that connects the two cerebral hemispheres and explain its primary role in one sentence.

1. Corpus callosum — transfers information between left and right hemispheres

Child Development

100

Which psychologist described four stages of cognitive development in children?

1. Jean Piaget

200

What is the term for fitting new experiences into existing schemas?

1. Assimilation

300

Define egocentrism as Piaget used the term.

1. The inability of young children to take another person’s perspective; they assume others see, feel, and think as they do.

400

What did Harry Harlow’s monkey experiments demonstrate about attachment: food vs. comfort?

1. Monkeys preferred contact comfort (the cloth surrogate) over the wire surrogate that provided food.

500

Explain object permanence and give one example of how an infant demonstrates it.

1. Object permanence: understanding that objects continue to exist when out of sight; e.g., a baby searches for a hidden toy.

Adolescent Development

100

 Which researcher argued that adolescence can be an enjoyable time and varies by culture?

1. Margaret Mead

200

Teenagers tend to engage in risky behavior because of underdeveloped _______ and an oversupply of _______.

1. Frontal lobes; dopamine

300

What is “asynchrony” in adolescent development?

1. Asynchrony: uneven growth or maturation of bodily parts during puberty

400

Name two principal developmental tasks for teens according to Havighurst (pick any two) and briefly explain one.

1. Examples: (a) Developing social skills — learning peer interactions; (b) Emotional independence — separating identity from family

500

Compare G. Stanley Hall’s view of adolescence with Margaret Mead’s view.

Hall: adolescence as storm-and-stress, biologically driven; Mead: adolescence shaped by culture and can be less turbulent depending on social structure

Memory

100

What are the three stages of the learning and memory process (brief terms)?

1. Encoding, storage, retrieval

200

Which type of memory holds information briefly while working with it (e.g., doing mental math)?

1. Working memory (short-term memory)

300

Which long-term memory type stores general knowledge and facts (meanings of words)?

1. Semantic memory

400

Explain the difference between semantic encoding and acoustic encoding, with an example of each.

1. Semantic encoding — encoding meaning (e.g., learning the definition of "photosynthesis"); Acoustic encoding — encoding sounds (e.g., remembering the tune of a poem).

500

List Schacter’s seven common memory errors (just list them). Then pick one error and give a classroom example that illustrates it.

1. Schacter’s seven memory errors (list): transience, absent‑mindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, persistence.
   • Example explained (sample): Suggestibility — leading questions can create false memories; e.g., a student later "remembers" seeing an event they only heard about because peers described it as if they experienced it.