Biology
Which part of the neuron is primarily responsible for receiving incoming signals from sense receptors or other neurons?
A. The Axon
B. The Soma
C. The Dendrites
D. The Terminal Buttons
C. The Dendrites
The dendrites are branched fibers extending outward from the cell body. Their basic job is to receive stimulation from sense receptors or other neurons. The soma integrates the information, the axon conducts the information, and the terminal buttons transmit the message to the next neuron.
Which photoreceptors are densely packed in the fovea and are responsible for color vision and sharp detail? A) Rods
B) Bipolar cells
C) Cones
D) Ganglion cells
C. Cones
Cones are specialized for bright, color-filled environments and are densely packed in the fovea, which is the area of sharpest vision. In contrast, rods operate best in near darkness and do not produce color sensations.
While watching a video of students passing a basketball, you fail to notice a person dressed as a gorilla walking through the scene because you are focused on counting passes. This phenomenon is known as:
A) Selective storage
B) Inattentional blindness
C) Preconscious memory
D) The restrictive function
B) Inattentional blindness
Inattentional blindness occurs when people fail to perceive visible objects because their attention is focused elsewhere. The "gorilla" experiment is a classic demonstration of how unattended information falls outside conscious awareness.
In Pavlov’s classical conditioning experiments, the bell eventually elicited salivation because it predicted the arrival of food. What term describes the bell in this phase of the experiment?
A) Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)
B) Unconditioned Response (UCR)
C) Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
D) Conditioned Response (CR)
C) Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
In Pavlov's experiments, the neutral stimulus (the bell/tone) was paired with the unconditioned stimulus (food). After repeated pairings, the neutral stimulus acquired the power to elicit behavior, becoming the conditioned stimulus (CS). The response it elicits (salivation) is then called the conditioned response (CR).
A student is trying to memorize a long string of numbers: 177618121941. Instead of trying to remember every digit individually, she groups them into three historical dates (1776, 1812, 1941). This strategy is known as:
A. The method of loci
B. Chunking
C. The serial position effect
D. Maintenance rehearsal
B. Chunking
Chunking is the process of reconfiguring items by grouping them based on similarity or some other organizing principle. By seeing the digits as years, the student reduces the number of units she needs to hold in short-term memory from 12 separate digits to 3 meaningful "chunks".
A researcher is studying the genetic basis of "risk-taking" behavior. She observes that Monozygotic (MZ) twins are significantly more similar in their risk-taking levels than Dizygotic (DZ) twins. What does this suggest about the trait?
A. The trait has a heritability estimate near 0.
B. The trait is determined solely by the environment.
C. The trait is largely influenced by genetics.
D. The trait is polygenic and recessive.
C. The trait is largely influenced by genetics.
Heritability is a measure from 0 to 1. Researchers use twin studies to compare MZ twins (who share almost 100% of their genetic material) with DZ twins (who share roughly 50%). If MZ twins are more alike on a trait than DZ twins, it suggests the attribute is largely a product of genetic influences.
Which concept explains why you might notice if you add a half-pound of clothes to a 25-pound suitcase, but would not notice the addition of a half-pound to a 50-pound suitcase?
A) Absolute threshold
B) Weber’s law
C) Signal detection theory
D) Sensory adaptation
B. Weber's law
Weber’s law asserts that the just noticeable difference (JND) between stimuli is a constant fraction of the intensity of the standard stimulus. This means that the more intense or heavy the original stimulus (the suitcase), the larger the increment must be for you to notice a difference.
A person who is highly hypnotizable is most likely to score high on which personality trait?
A) Gullibility
B) Absorption
C) Extraversion
D) Conformity
B) Absorption
Research shows that hypnotizability is not correlated with being gullible or conformist. Instead, the highest positive correlation is with "absorption," which is the predisposition to become highly involved in imaginative or sensory experiences.
A person takes aspirin to eliminate a headache. Because the aspirin successfully removes the pain, the person is likely to take aspirin again in the future. This is an example of:
A) Positive Reinforcement
B) Negative Reinforcement
C) Positive Punishment
D) Negative Punishment
B) Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior (taking aspirin) is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus (the headache), which increases the probability of that behavior occurring again. It is distinct from punishment because the behavior increases rather than decreases.
Which principle suggests that memory is most efficient when the context of retrieval (where you are when remembering) matches the context of encoding (where you were when you learned it)?
A. Encoding specificity
B. Temporal distinctiveness
C. The testing effect
D. Transfer-appropriate processing
A. Encoding specificity
Encoding specificity is the principle that retrieval is enhanced if the cues available at recall are consistent with those present at the time of encoding. Research shows that memories emerge most efficiently when the external context (like a room) or internal state (like mood) matches between learning and testing.
After a frightening encounter with a growling dog, your heart rate begins to slow down, and your breathing returns to normal. Which division of the nervous system is responsible for calming your body?
A. The Sympathetic Division
B. The Somatic Nervous System
C. The Parasympathetic Division
D. The Central Nervous System
C. The Parasympathetic Division
The autonomic nervous system is divided into two parts. The sympathetic division governs emergency responses ("fight-or-flight"), while the parasympathetic division monitors the routine operation of the body and calms the individual down after danger is over (slowing heartbeat and relaxing breathing).
If a friend says a sentence at a loud party and a cough obscures part of a word, you might still "hear" the complete word because your brain fills in the missing sound based on context. This is an example of:
A) Bottom-up processing
B) Top-down processing
C) Transduction
D) Dark adaptation
B. Top-down processing
Top-down processing involves using expectations, context, and memory to interpret sensory information. This specific phenomenon is called phonemic restoration, where top-down processes fill in missing phonemes based on the surrounding context.
What is the physiological definition of drug tolerance? A) A psychological craving for a drug in the absence of physical pain.
B) The condition where a drug mimics natural neurotransmitters like endorphins.
C) A situation where continued use requires greater dosages to achieve the same effect.
D) The painful symptoms experienced when a drug is removed from the body.
C) A situation where continued use requires greater dosages to achieve the same effect.
Tolerance occurs because the body adapts to the repeated presence of a drug, requiring the user to take increasingly larger doses to get the same result.
A slot machine at a casino is programmed to pay out a jackpot after an average number of plays, but the player never knows exactly when the next payout will occur. Which schedule of reinforcement is this?
A) Fixed-Ratio (FR)
B) Variable-Ratio (VR)
C) Fixed-Interval (FI)
D) Variable-Interval (VI)
B) Variable-Ratio (VR)
In a variable-ratio schedule, the reinforcer is delivered after a variable number of responses whose average is predetermined. This schedule generates high rates of responding and is resistant to extinction because the player gambles that the reward will come after the next response.
A patient known as Nick A. suffered a brain injury that left his procedural memory intact (he could mix ingredients for a recipe) but destroyed his declarative memory (he forgot what the ingredients were). Which specific type of amnesia describes his inability to form new explicit memories after the injury?
A. Retrograde amnesia
B. Flashbulb amnesia
C. Anterograde amnesia
D. Dissociative amnesia
C. Anterograde amnesia
Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form explicit memories for events that occur after the time of physical damage to the brain. Nick A. could not form new memories for events immediately after they happened, although he retained skills (procedural memory).
Distinguish between a genotype and a phenotype, using the example of Darwin’s finches.
A genotype is the genetic structure an organism inherits from its parents at conception. A phenotype is the observable characteristic (appearance and behavior) resulting from the interaction between the genotype and the environment.
In the case of the finches, a bird might inherit a genotype that codes for a specific beak structure. However, the phenotype (the actual small or large beak) interacts with the environment (such as the availability of small or large seeds) to determine if the bird survives and reproduces,.
Explain the difference between the distal stimulus and the proximal stimulus.
The distal stimulus is the actual physical object appearing in the world (distant from the observer). The proximal stimulus is the optical image that the object produces on the retina (proximate or near to the observer).
Perception involves determining what the distal stimulus is by using the information provided by the proximal stimulus. For example, a rectangular picture frame on a wall (distal stimulus) might produce a trapezoidal shape on your retina (proximal stimulus) depending on the angle from which you view it.
Explain the difference between "manifest content" and "latent content" in Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams.
According to Freud, the manifest content is the surface-level story of the dream—the acceptable version that the dreamer remembers. The latent content represents the hidden, underlying meaning, which usually consists of socially or personally unacceptable unconscious wishes. Freud believed the "dream work" process disguises the latent content into the manifest content to bypass the internal censor.
In Pavlov’s classical conditioning research, what is "spontaneous recovery," and what does this phenomenon suggest about the nature of extinction?
• Definition: Spontaneous recovery is the sudden reappearance of a conditioned response (CR) after a rest period or "time-out" following extinction, even without any new exposure to the unconditioned stimulus (UCS).
• Implication: This phenomenon suggests that extinction does not erase or "wipe out" the original learning. Instead, extinction only weakens the performance of the behavior. The original association is retained ("saved") by the organism but is inhibited.
What is the difference between episodic and semantic memory?
Both are types of declarative memory (memory for facts/events).
• Episodic memory preserves specific events you have personally experienced (e.g., your first kiss or a specific birthday). To retrieve these, you need cues regarding the time and content of the event.
• Semantic memory refers to generic, categorical memories, such as the meaning of words or facts (e.g., the capital of France). These memories are available without reference to the specific time or context in which you originally learned them.
Explain the mechanism of "synaptic transmission." How does information cross from one neuron to another?
Synaptic transmission is the relaying of information across the synaptic gap (the cleft between neurons). It begins when an action potential reaches the terminal button, causing synaptic vesicles to rupture and release chemicals called neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters disperse across the gap and attach to receptor molecules on the postsynaptic membrane.
Crucially, this process relies on a "lock and key" fit: the shape of the neurotransmitter must match the shape of the receptor molecule to attach and stimulate the next neuron.
According to the gate-control theory, how can the experience of pain be modulated or blocked?
The gate-control theory proposes that cells in the spinal cord act as neurological "gates" that can interrupt and block pain signals from reaching the brain.
These gates can be closed by competing stimulation from the skin, such as rubbing a bumped shin, which sends inhibitory messages to the spinal cord. Additionally, messages descending from the brain, based on psychological factors or distraction, can also close the gates to block pain signals.
Identify three different functions of consciousness that help humans adapt to their environment.
1. Restrictive function: Consciousness reduces the flow of stimulus input, allowing us to tune out irrelevant information and focus on immediate goals.
2. Selective storage: It allows us to categorize information as relevant or irrelevant, committing only necessary information to memory for future use.
3. Planning function: It enables us to consider alternatives, suppress strong desires when necessary, and plan actions based on past knowledge and future expectations.
Define "observational learning" and identifying the four processes required for a model’s behavior to be influential, according to Bandura.
• Definition: Observational learning is the process of learning new responses by watching the behavior of another person (a model) and the consequences of that behavior,.
• Four Processes:
1. Attention: The observer must pay attention to the model.
2. Retention: The observer must store a memory of the behavior.
3. Reproduction: The observer must have the physical or mental ability to reproduce the action.
4. Motivation: The observer must have a reason to reproduce the behavior, often based on whether the model was reinforced.
Explain the difference between proactive interference and retroactive interference using the example of changing your phone number.
Proactive interference occurs when information acquired in the past makes it difficult to acquire new information. In the context of a phone number, this would happen when you first switch to a new number, but your memory of the old number keeps popping up, making it hard to learn the new one.
Retroactive interference occurs when the acquisition of new information makes it harder to remember older information. After you have successfully memorized and used your new number for a while, you may find that you can no longer recall your old number, even though you used it for years.