Research Methods
Which of the following perspectives suggests that depression is due to the unconscious conflicts and hostile feelings that originate in early childhood?
(A) Behavioral
(B) Psychodynamic
(C) Cognitive
(D) Sociocultural
(B) Psychodynamic
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
Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and a wide variety of other chemical agents that alter perceptions and moods are called
(A) stimulants.
(B) narcotic agents.
(C) psychoactive drugs.
(D) hallucinogens.
(C) psychoactive drugs.
The coiled, fluid-filled tube in which sound waves trigger nerve impulses is called the
(A) eardrum.
(B) auditory canal.
(C) semicircular canal.
(D) cochlea
(D) cochlea
Deandra creates a detailed mental image of the spatial layout of the biology lab where she will take her final exams. The mental image of the spatial layout is called which of the following?
(A) Algorithm
(B) Mental set
(C) Cognitive map
(D) Insight
(C) Cognitive map
Dr. Feliz is interested in investigating the effectiveness of a new drug for the treatment of anxiety disorders. Ethical guidelines require that prior to starting the study he needs to do which of the following?
(A) Have participants give informed consent
(B) Set up an exam room for participants
(C) Write a paper proving the effect of the drug
(D) Debrief participants on the purpose of the study
(A) Have participants give informed consent
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
Sensory experiences that occur without a sensory stimulus are called
(A) night terrors.
(B) neuroadaptations.
(C) dissociations.
(D) hallucinations
(D) hallucinations
The psychological experience of pitch is related to a sound wave’s
(A) frequency
(B) amplitude
(C) complexity
(D) loudness
(A) frequency
After each bar press, a laboratory rat receives electric stimulation to its brain. The rate of bar pressing increases. This is an example of
(A) positive reinforcement
(B) negative reinforcement
(C) negative punishment
(D) positive punishment
(A) positive reinforcement
Which of the following would indicate the strongest correlation between the variables of gratitude and narcissistic personality disorder?
(A) –.90
(B) –.23
(C) .40
(D) .72
(A) –.90
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 neuron
(A) sensory neurons
When a person is suffering from severe pain, the type of drug that will best help alleviate that pain is
(A) an opiate
(B) an amphetamine
(C) a depressant
(D) a stimulant
(A) an opiate
Ana is instructed by her doctor to wear a patch over one eye while an infection heals. While wearing the patch, Ana
will lose her ability to use which of the following depth perception cues?
(A) Relative size
(B) Interposition
(C) Linear perspective
(D) Retinal disparity
(D) Retinal disparity
As Susie left for work, she said “goodbye” to her husband and slammed the door. The loud sound of the door made her husband flinch. After many mornings of hearing “goodbye” followed by a door slam, her husband flinches when he hears her say “goodbye.” In this scenario, hearing the word “goodbye” is the
(A) unconditioned stimulus
(B) conditioned stimulus
(C) conditioned response
(D) unconditioned response
(B) conditioned stimulus
A person displays behaviors of a psychological disorder that psychologists in the United States have not seen before. The best strategy to investigate the nature of those behaviors is to conduct which of the following?
(A) an experiment
(B) a case study
(C) cross-sectional research
(D) correlational research
(B) a case study
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
When light strikes the retina, it signals the suprachiasmatic nucleus to alter ________ production by the pineal gland.
(A) melatonin
(B) serotonin
(C) acetylcholine
(D) dopamine
(A) melatonin
Bob is concerned because his children have been eating too much of an expensive breakfast cereal, so he brings home a less expensive version that looks and tastes exactly the same to him. His children immediately notice that the new cereal is less sweet. Which of the following concepts best explains the conflicting perceptions of Bob and his children?
(A) Perceptual adaptation
(B) Sensory adaptation
(C) Difference threshold
(D) Signal-detection theory
(C) Difference threshold
Dylan has difficulty solving a physics problem in class. The next day, he suddenly thinks of a solution to the problem as he is watching a friend play the guitar. The thought process that Dylan experienced is an example of
(A) spontaneous recovery
(B) social learning
(C) latent learning
(D) insight learning
(D) insight learning
Researchers gathered information on the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in children under the age of six years from a randomly selected sample from a large nation. One type of data collected involved parents reporting about special health care needs of their children such as whether they had emotional, behavioral, or developmental delays. Children with no or low ACEs were less likely to experience developmental difficulties.
Which of the following research methodologies was used in this study?
(A) Experimental
(B) Meta-analysis
(C) Naturalistic observation
(D) Correlational
(D) Correlational
Shao Mae takes medication to relieve depression. The medication increases her neural activity. However, immediately after firing, a neuron is incapable of responding to stimulation for a short time. Which of the following describes the brief time period when the neuron is unable to fire?
(A) the action potential
(B) the threshold difference
(C) the refractory period
(D) depolarization
(C) the refractory period
Freud called the remembered story line of a dream its ________ content.
(A) manifest
(B) latent
(C) dissociated
(D) paradoxical
(A) manifest
Hyrum is at a concert when a flute player hits a very high note at the end of a song. Which of the following best explains why the pitch of the note sounds so high?
(A) It has a long wavelength and high frequency.
(B) It has a short wavelength and high frequency.
(C) It has a long wavelength and low frequency.
(D) It has a large amplitude
(B) It has a short wavelength and high frequency.
Which of the following is an example of operant conditioning?
(A) Michelle learns how to play basketball by observing and imitating her older brother playing basketball.
(B) After playing golf for more than ten years, Phil no longer needs to think consciously about which golf club to use on different parts of the course.
(C) When he was twelve years old, Craig ate a hot dog and got extremely sick. As an adult, he still feels nauseous at the sight of a hot dog.
(D) When Katy receives poor grades on her report card, her father takes away her cell phone. Then Katy’s grades start to improve.
(D) When Katy receives poor grades on her report card, her father takes away her cell phone. Then Katy’s grades start to improve.