Evolution & Heritability
An evolutionary psychologist would explain that humans desire social interaction, social acceptance, and social affiliation due to a need for which of the following?
A. achievement
B. behavioral change
C. survival
D. self-actualization
C. survival
Darrin is watching a horror movie. When the evil main character makes a surprise appearance, Darrin jumps out of his seat, his heart rate accelerates, and he screams.
Which of the following pathways most directly contributes to his ability to calm down after this startle response?
A. The reflex arc
B. The somatic nervous system
C. The sympathetic nervous system
D. The parasympathetic nervous system
D. The parasympathetic nervous system
Information is relayed to the spinal cord or the brain by which of the following?
A. sensory neurons
B. dopamine neurons
C. refractory neurons
D. motor neurons
A. sensory neurons
A person will most likely develop aphasia as a result of damage to which of the following parts of the brain?
A. Occipital lobe
B. Wernicke’s area
C. Auditory cortex
D. Parietal lobe
B. Wernicke’s area
Which of the following terms refers to the brain’s ability to physically change over time in reaction to experiences?
A. Hemispheric lateralization
B. Neuroplasticity
C. Assimilation
D. Accommodation
B. Neuroplasticity
The argument over the relative contributions of heredity and environment in the development of various behaviors and personality traits is known as which of the following controversies?
A. Continuous versus discrete
B. Nature versus nurture
C. Active versus passive
D. Critical period versus sensitive period
B. Nature versus nurture
The autonomic nervous system is most directly involved in
A. driving a car
B. sensing painful stimuli
C. digesting food
D. experiencing pain
C. digesting food
Ollie takes a medication that prevents the neurotransmitter serotonin from being reabsorbed into the neuron after it fires. Which of the following is the correct term for this process?
A. depolarization
B. lateral inhibition
C. reuptake
D. synaptic transmission
C. reuptake
Ted is hiking along a mountain trail when he sees a large snake slithering across the path ahead of him.
Question
Which of the following brain structures is most closely associated with Ted’s fear response?
A. Medulla
B. Occipital lobe
C. Hippocampus
D. Amygdala
D. Amygdala
A research team lesioned the lateral hypothalamus of a rat and then monitored the rat’s activity when it recovered from the surgery. Their hypothesis is likely to be that the rat would do which of the following?
A. Experience impaired short-term memory in learning a maze
B. Form extreme fear responses to nonthreatening stimuli
C. Show reduced eating behavior
D. Display increased sociability toward other rats
C. Show reduced eating behavior
Which scenario best exemplifies the theory of natural selection?
A. Aaron has larger muscles than Earl because Aaron lifts weights and Earl does not.
B. A natural disaster wipes out all of the living creatures on a particular island.
C. An ape learns how to use a new tool by observing another ape use that tool.
D. A mutation in a species of lizards that allows them to better blend into their surroundings leads to greater survival and more offspring possessing this mutation in a later generation.
D. A mutation in a species of lizards that allows them to better blend into their surroundings leads to greater survival and more offspring possessing this mutation in a later generation.
The division of the nervous system that most directly allows voluntary muscle movement is the
A. midbrain
B. sympathetic
C. parasympathetic
D. somatic
D. somatic
Betty was just diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Which of the following effects is she most likely to experience?
A. The neurons in her body will not be able to reach threshold, leading to fatigue.
B. Depolarization in her neurons will not occur, causing sensory impairment.
C. Neurotransmitters will remain in the synapse for an extended period, causing memory loss.
D. Neural messages will travel slowly down the axon, leading to motor impairment.
D. Neural messages will travel slowly down the axon, leading to motor impairment.
The occipital lobes contain
A. the primary visual cortex
B. the prefrontal cortex
C. the somatosensory cortex
D. sensory and motor connections to other brain regions
A. the primary visual cortex
When people consume large amounts of alcohol, they are often unable to recall what they did and said while they were drinking. This occurs because alcohol interferes with the brain’s ability to form new memories in the....
A. reticular formation
B. parietal lobe
C. thalamus
D. hippocampus
D. hippocampus
Of the following, an evolutionary psychologist will most likely investigate the
A. age of children when they speak their first words
B. speed of an action potential
C. reason why many people have an innate fear of the dark
D. factors that make a person feel accepted by others
C. reason why many people have an innate fear of the dark
Activation of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system results in
A. an increase in salivation
B. an increase in digestion
C. an increase in respiratory rate
D. a decrease in heart rate
C. an increase in respiratory rate
Curare blocks action at acetylcholine synapses and causes paralysis. This drug is an example of an
A. antagonist
B. agonist
C. inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)
D. excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP)
A. antagonist
The area of the brain stem that is important in controlling breathing is the
A. cerebellum
B. limbic system
C. medulla
D. hippocampus
C. medulla
Markum reads online articles to assess the advantages and disadvantages of several universities and uses this information to decide where to attend. Which of the following brain regions is Markum primarily using as he decides which university to attend?
A. The temporal lobe
B. The parasympathetic nervous system
C. The medulla
D. The frontal lobe
D. The frontal lobe
Ruth and Debbie are identical twins who were raised by the same family. Vince and Frankie are identical twins who were separated at birth and raised by different families. According to research on the heritability of personality traits, Ruth's and Debbie's personalities are statistically
A. more likely to be similar to one another than are Vince’s and Frankie’s personalities
B. likely to be as similar and dissimilar to one another as are Vince’s and Frankie’s personalities
C. more likely to be dissimilar to one another than are Vince’s and Frankie’s personalities
D. less likely to match on the personality dimensions of agreeableness and extraversion than are Vince and Frankie but not on other personality dimensions
B. likely to be as similar and dissimilar to one another as are Vince’s and Frankie’s personalities
The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for helping
A. David become aware of his thirst while running a marathon
B. Jonas get ready to fight or flee when seeing a bear
C. Anthony calm down after watching a scary movie
D. Jamika pull her hand back when she touches a hot stove
B. Jonas get ready to fight or flee when seeing a bear
Johanna, a high school senior, starts experiencing disruptions in her movement when she cannot contract certain muscles. Which of the following neurotransmitters is most likely involved in this disruption of the muscle contraction?
A. Acetylcholine
B. GABA
C. Serotonin
D. Endorphins
A. Acetylcholine
Sam has shown some marked changes in the way he is able to communicate after having a stroke. He knows what he wants to say, but his speech is slow and labored. Sam’s grammar is also quite poor. The part of Sam’s brain that most likely sustained damage is
A. the primary somatosensory cortex
B. the primary motor cortex
C. Broca’s area
D. Wernicke’s area
C. Broca’s area
Cale was injured in a car accident and sustained damage to the cerebellum. Which of the following would Cale anticipate to be disrupted by this injury?
A. forming explicit and spatial memories
B. judgment, higher-order cognition, and personality
C. sensory processing and relaying
D. motor learning
D. motor learning