Social Psychology &scientific foundations of psychology
Claire has had several car accidents that she blames on other drivers. When her boyfriend has an accident, she quickly blames his carelessness behind the wheel. Claire’s difference in blame is due to:
a. peripheral route persuasion
b. cognitive dissonance
c. the fundamental attribution error
d. the foot-in-the-door phenomenon
e. central route persuasion
c. fundamental attribution error
The tendency for observers, when analyzing others' behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition.
A student notices that she feels sleepy at night and alert during the day, even without an alarm clock. This pattern best reflects:
a. Sleep cycles
b. REM rebound
c. Ultradian rhythm
d. Circadian rhythm
e. Sleep debt
d. Circadian rhythm
The biological clocks, regular bodily rhythms (for example, of temperature and wakefulness) that occur on a 24-hour cycle.
Maria is looking at her favorite singer on stage. Even though she only glances quickly, she instantly recognizes his face, the shape of his eyes, and his smile all at once. Which process is allowing Maria to perceive all these features simultaneously?
a. Selective attention
b. Accommodation
c. Parallel processing
d. Blindsight
e. Psychokinesis
c. parallel processing
The processing of several aspects of a problem simultaneously.
The brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.
A cat in Thorndike’s puzzle box repeatedly presses a lever to open the door because doing so lets it escape and get food. Which principle explains why the cat’s behavior becomes more frequent?
a. Operant conditioning
b. Shaping
c. Respondent behavior
d. Law of effect
d. Law of effect
Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely
Sophia scores very well on her vocabulary and general knowledge tests because of years of schooling and life experience. Her performance best reflects which type of intelligence?
a. Fluid intelligence
b. Crystallized intelligence
c. Creative intelligence
d. Practical intelligence
e. Analytical intelligence
b. crystallized intelligence
Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase
with age.
After a student council election, a friend says he “knew it all along” and could have predicted the winner. Which psychological concept does this illustrate?
a. Overconfidence bias
b. Critical thinking
c. Hindsight bias
d. Random assignment
e. Fundamental attribution error
c. hindsight bias
The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would
have foreseen it. (AKA - "I knew it all along phenomenon.")
When a neuron fires, electrical impulses travel away from the cell body toward other neurons. Which structure is responsible for carrying this signal?
a. Dendrite
b. Synapse
c. Myelin sheath
d. Cell body
e. Axon
e. axon
The neuron extension that passes messages through its branches
to other neurons or to muscles or glands.
While walking through a dimly lit alley, Leo notices shapes moving in the shadows but cannot distinguish colors. Which type of photoreceptor is most responsible for his ability to detect motion in the dark?
a. Cones
b. Bipolar cells
c. Rods
d. Ganglion cells
e. Feature detectors
c. rods
Retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for
peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don't respond
A baby flinches when a loud noise plays right after a flash of light. The loud noise automatically triggers the flinch before any learning has occurred. In classical conditioning terms, what is the loud noise?
a. Conditioned stimulus
b. Conditioned response
c. Neutral stimulus
d. Reinforcer
e. Unconditioned stimulus
e. unconditioned stimulus
in classical conditioning, a stimulus that - naturally and automatically - triggers an unconditioned response
Anna studies for her history test by trying to remember the meaning of key terms and facts she learned in class. What type of memory is she using?
a. Implicit memory
b. Procedural memory
c. Sensory memory
d. Episodic memory
e. Semantic memory
e. semantic memory
explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems
During a psychology study, a researcher watches children interact on a playground without interfering in their behavior. Which research method is being used?
a. Survey method
b. Case study
c. Laboratory experiment
d. Naturalistic observation
e. Correlational study
d. naturalistic observation
Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations
without trying to manipulate and control the situation.
After drinking alcohol, a person has difficulty maintaining balance and coordinating movements. Which brain structure is most likely affected?
a. Thalamus
b. Medulla
c. Amygdala
d. Cerebellum
e. Hypothalamus
d. Cerebellum
The "little brain" at the rear of the brainstem; its functions include
processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory.
A musician is tuning a piano. She can identify the location along the cochlea where high-pitched notes produce the strongest response. This ability is best explained by which theory of hearing?
a. Frequency theory
b. Volley principle
c. Gate-control theory
d. Opponent-process theory
e. Place theory
e. place theory
In hearing, the theory that links the pitch we hear with the place
where the cochlear membrane is stimulated
Lucas studies piano every day because he genuinely enjoys learning new pieces, not because he gets praise or money. Which type of motivation is guiding his behavior?
a. Extrinsic motivation
b. Operant conditioning
c. Reinforcement
d. Drive reduction
e. Intrinsic motivation
e. intrinsic motivation
a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake
After seeing the word “yellow,” a person more quickly recognizes the word “banana” in a later task than unrelated words. This effect demonstrates:
a. Encoding failure
b. Serial position effect
c. Priming
d. Chunking
e. Mnemonic processing
c. Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in
memory
A student laughs at a joke she does not find funny because everyone else in the group is laughing and she wants to fit in. Which concept best explains her behavior?
a. Informational social influence
b. Chameleon effect
c. Group polarization
d. Normative social influence
e. Mere exposure effect
d. Normative social influence
Influence resulting from a person's desire to gain approval or avoid disapproval.
A medication increases the activity of a neurotransmitter by binding to its receptor and mimicking its effects. This medication is best classified as a(n):
a. Antagonist
b. Agonist
c. Depressant
d. Reuptake inhibitor
e. Inhibitor
b. Agonist
a molecule that increases a neurotransmitter's action
While trying to balance on a surfboard, Javier feels his head tilt forward and senses his body leaning to one side. Even with his eyes closed, he can adjust his stance to stay upright. Which sense is he primarily relying on?
a. Kinesthetic sense
b. Proprioception
c. Auditory sense
d. Tactile sense
e. Vestibular sense
e. vestibular sense
the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of
balance
A rat learns the layout of a maze simply by exploring it, without any food rewards. Later, when food is placed at the end of the maze, the rat quickly finds the correct path. This behavior shows that the rat had formed a:
a. Trial-and-error strategy
b. Insight
c. Stimulus generalization
d. Cognitive map
e. Shaping
d. cognitive map
a mental representation of the layout of one's environment
A young boy with limited overall intelligence can play complex piano pieces perfectly after hearing them only once. This exceptional ability, despite other cognitive limitations, is known as:
a. Genius
b. Multiple intelligences
c. Emotional intelligence
d. Fluid intelligence
e. Savant syndrome
e. savant syndrome
A condition in which a person is otherwise limited in mental ability
has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.
A researcher finds a strong relationship between students’ sleep hours and test scores. Later, she realizes that the stress level affected both variables. Stress level is best described as a:
a. Random variable
b. Placebo effect
c. Independent variable
d. Dependent variable
e. Confounding variable
e. Confounding variable
a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an
effect in an experiment.
During a sleep study, a participant’s EEG shows large, slow brain waves while the participant is in deep sleep. Which sleep stage is this?
a. NREM stage 3
b. REM sleep
c. NREM stage 2
d. Awake but relaxed
e. NREM stage 1
a. NREM stage 3
the large, slow brain wave associated with the deep sleep of
NREM-3
During an experiment, participants are exposed to a faint light on their retinas. The light is converted into neural signals, which the brain interprets as visual information. This process is an example of how the sensory system transforms physical stimuli into neural activity.
a. Sensory adaptation
b. Transduction
c. Feature detection
d. Perceptual set
e. Selective attention
b. transduction
Conversion of one form of energy into another. In sensation, the
transforming of stimulus energies, such as sights, sounds, and
smells into neural impulses that our brains can interpret
Paola has been conditioned to fear a red light because it was paired with a loud noise. If the light is repeatedly presented without the noise, she gradually stops being afraid. This change in behavior illustrates:
a. Generalization
b. Discrimination
c. Acquisition
d. Spontaneous recovery
e. Extinction
e. extinction
The diminishing of a conditioned response occurs in classical
conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow
a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.
A standardized test is given to students to measure what they have learned over the course of the school year in math and reading. This type of test is best described as a(n):
a. Aptitude test
b. Intelligence test
c. Achievement test
d. Creativity test
e. Diagnostic test
c. achievement test
a test designed to test what a person has learned.