Exam 2-Gen Psych Jeopardy

Brain States and Consciousness

200

A student studies late at night under bright artificial light and then struggles to fall asleep.Which brain region is sensitive to light?

1. Hippocampus  

2. Frontal lobe 

3. Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) 

4. Basal ganglia 

Janvi Mehta, 2025

Explanation:

c)

• Suprachiasmatic nucleus, present in the hypothalamus, which is sensitive to light directs the pineal gland to release melatonin. 

• Hippocampus helps with memory formation, so not relevant here. 

• Frontal lobe is responsible for planning, thinking, intelligence. So it is not relevant here. 

• Basal ganglia is also not relevant here since it is involved in motor control. 

300

Austin is sleeping but is awakened by a sudden involuntary jerk. Which stage of the sleep cycle is he in?

1. N3

2. N2 

3. N1

4. REM 

Janvi Mehta, 2025

c)

Explanation:

• In N1 stage of sleep cycle, the person is in light sleep and this stage is often characterised by hypnic jerks or hypnagogic hallucinations. (Key word: sudden and involuntary jerk)

• In N2 stage of the sleep cycle, the brain activity slows down along with reductions in heart rate and muscle tension 

• In  N3 stage of the sleep cycle, the brain activity further slows down, it is difficult to wake a person up and growth hormones are released 

• REM ( rapid eye movement) is the stage where the brain waves would resemble wakefulness know as paradoxical sleep. In this stage you would experience dreams or sometimes sleep paralysis.  

400

Sakamoto-san dreams of discovering an infinite fish glitch. According to the activation synthesis theory, his dream stems from what?

1. a need for brain stimulation

2. random brain activity

3. his unconscious desire for fish

4. his dinner from last night, which consisted of fish

Jun Gesteland, 2025

a)This is the preserving neural pathways theory of dreams

b)random brain activity during sleep -cprrect

c) his unconscious desire for fish

This is Freudian theory of dreams

d) his dinner from last night, which consisted of fish

This is the information processing theory of dreams, which states that dreams form from memories of events

Developing Through the Lifespan

100

Hermione is trying to teach Ron how to cast a spell, the “Wingardium Leviosa”. When Hermione is saying it with him, he nails the pronunciation. But when she’s not leading him, he pronounces it wrong and isn’t able to cast the spell. What concept does Ron’s level of ability illustrate, and what action is Hermione engaging in when she helps Ron cast the spell? 

a) scaffolding and zone of proximal development 

b)zone of proximal development and scaffolding 

c)theory of cognitive development and scaffolding 

d)scaffolding and theory of cognitive development 

Julia Baima, 2025

b)

200

According to Harlow, what is most important factor for infant attachment?

a. Food

b. Soft contact

c. Cloth

d. Genetics

Credit:Jun Gesteland (2025)

According to Harlow, what is most important
factor for infant attachment?

a. Food
In Harlow’s study, the monkeys went to the soft-cloth mother (no food)
instead of the food-providing wire mother.

b. Soft contact
In Harlow’s study, the monkeys went to the soft-cloth mother (no food)
instead of the food-providing wire mother.

c. Cloth
This is specific to the monkey study. Soft contact (i.e. skin) is more applicable to humans.

d. Genetics

This is irrelevant to Harlow’s study.

300

Anna, a 19-year-old who is popular and has many friends, believes she will always have a large social circle because it's part of her personality. However, her mother tells her that as she gets older, she won't have as many friends and should focus on her closest ones.

What is the most likely reason for her mother’s advice?

a) As people get older, the zones of proximal development get smaller.

b) As people get older, they tend to have more surface-level relationships.

c) As people get older, they usually have a smaller group of close friends with strong bonds.

d) As people get older, their social skills tend to decline.

Julia Baima (2025)

c) Socioemotinal selectivity theory

400

Lily is 2 years old, and she loves horses. One day, she sees a unicorn on a kids TV program. She identifies the horse-like features, points and says “pretty horse”. Her mom says she’s wrong, and that is a unicorn, horses don’t have horns. Now, whenever she sees a picture of a unicorn, she can differentiate it from a horse.

What were the two processes that occurred in the little girl’s mind, according to Piaget?

a)assimilation, then accommodation 

b)accomodation, then assimilation

1. 
   

Julia Baima (2025)

a)

500

When Ethan’s mom asks him to wash his plate, he does so to avoid losing TV time at the end of the day. When his oldest sibling, Layla, is asked to wash her plate, she does so because she believes it’s important to help her family with chores. When his brother George is asked to wash his plate, he does so because he believes following his parents' rules is the right thing to do.

According to Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, what stage is each child in, respectively?

a) preconventional, conventional, postconventional 

b) conventional, preconventional, postconventional

c) preconventional, postconventional, conventional

d) postconventional, preconventional, conventional

Julia Baima (2025)

c)

Set of principles and personal beliefs -> postconventional 

Punishment -> preconventional 

Law and order -> conventional

Ask yourself: they’re making this moral decision mainly based on what?

Developing Through the Lifespan

100

Regina’s mom, Mrs. George wants to be the “cool mom”. She never says no to Regina and praises all of her actions, even if they are morally questionable. 

According to Baumrind’s parenting styles, Mrs. George is:

a)authoritarian 

b)uninvolved 

c)permissive 

d)authoritative 

Julia Baima, 2025

c)

200

A child is told that there are pennies inside a box with a “green crayons” label. If they have not developed the theory of mind, how would they answer the question,
“What would another child think is inside the box?”

a. Green crayons

b. Nothing

c. Band-Aids

d. Cat

e. Pennies

Jun Gesteland (2025)

Green crayons

The theory of mind is understanding others’ perspectives. Another child who does not know about the pennies would assume there are green crayons inside the box because of the label.

b. Nothing
The box is labeled “green crayons,” so a child would naturally think there are green crayons inside.

c. Band-Aids
Band-Aids are not mentioned.

d. Cat
=^..^=

e. Pennies
A child who cannot understand others perspectives would assume everyone sees the world the same way as they do.

300

Sarah is a child with a secure attachment style, what characteristic will she show?

1. Avoid their caregiver upon return after separation 

2. Be distressed when their caregiver leaves but comforted upon return 

3. Be indifferent to their caregiver’s departure and return 

4. Show intense distress even after the caregiver returns 

Janvi Mehta (2025)

 B is the right answer as it is the characteristic of secure attachment.

- Option A describes an Insecure avoidant attachment style as the child does not react to the arrival of the caregiver.

- Option c describes an avoidant attachment style

- Option D describes an insecure-anxious/ambivalent attachment style 

400

Jade believes her dolls need to eat with her to stay healthy. Which characteristic and stage of Piaget’s Cognitive Theory does this represent?

1. Egocentric, Preoperational 

2. Object Permanence, Sensorimotor  

3. Animistic Thinking, Preoperational 

4. Conservation, Concrete Operational 

Janvi Mehta (2025)

Explanation!

-Option C is right as Animistic thinking is when children believe inanimate objects, like dolls, have thoughts and emotions. This is a characteristic of the preoperational stage.

- Option A refers to the inability to take another person's perspective

- Option B is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight, which is not relevant in this case.

- Option D Conservation is the understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape or appearance, which occurs in the concrete operational stage, not preoperational.

500

Reed lacks purpose and feels like life is meaningless. They are experiencing the ___ aspect of the _______ stage.

1. generativity;     generativity vs. stagnation

2. stagnation;         generativity vs. stagnation

3. ego integrity;     integrity vs. despair

4. despair;         integrity vs. despair

Jun Gesteland, 2025

1. generativity; generativity vs. stagnation

Midlife; Generativity is generating things to contribute to future generations.

2. stagnation; generativity vs. stagnation- correct

Midlife; Stagnation is lacking purpose and seeing life as meaningless. Think, “stagnant,” which means, “no activity.”

3. ego integrity; integrity vs. despair

Late life; ego integrity is, upon reflection, feeling like one’s life had coherence & purpose.

4. despair; integrity vs. despair

Late life; despair in this context means regret. Reed is not regretting anything.

Sensation and Perception

100

During a foggy night, a lifeguard at the beach is scanning for distress signals. Suddenly, he thinks he sees someone waving for help, but when he investigates, no one is there. This is an example of:

1. Miss

2. Hit 

3. False Alarm 

4. Correct rejection

Janvi Mehta (2025)

Explanation!

- Option C is the right answer as a false alarm occurs when a signal is detected even though it is not actually present.

- Option A happens when a real signal is present, but it is not detected. In this case, there was no real signal.

- Option B happens when a real signal is present and is correctly detected.

-  Option D  happens when there is no signal, and the person correctly recognizes that no signal is present.

200

A doctor reviews a patient’s bloodwork and notices an unusual result but decides it’s probably not serious and sends the patient home. Months later, the patient is hospitalized with a serious illness, and the doctor deeply regrets their decision.

What type of error did the doctor make, and what is the doctor most likely to do in the future?

He displayed a ____. In the future, the doctor is most likely to display___.. Fill in the blanks:

1. Miss; false alarm

2. Miss; correct rejection 

3. False alarm; miss

4. Correct rejection; false alarm

Julia Baima (2025)

a) Key word: Overcompensate 

Overcompensation -> Response bias

300

The tendency to see the circles forming a diamond shape is an example of what grouping principle?

a. Proximity

b. Similarity

c. Continuity

d. Closure

Jun Gesteland (2025)

The tendency to see the circles forming a diamond shape
is an example of what grouping principle?

a. Proximity

Incorrect because all shapes are spread out evenly.

b. Similarity

The circles, which are exact replicas of each other, create the illusion
of the diamond because of the contrast with the triangles. 

c. Continuity

Nothing in the image suggests the presence of a continuous line/shape. 

d. Closure

Closure is seeing an incomplete figure as complete, which
is not applicable here. This would be an example of closure:

400

Mio sees one block of circles in image 1 and three columns of circles in image 2 because of what grouping principle?

1. Continuity

2. Similarity

3. Proximity

4. Closure

Jun Gesteland, 2025

1. Continuity

There is no continuous line/shape that is cut off.

2. Similarity

All of the stimuli (circles)are the same, so similarity is not why your brain groups the dots into 3 columns in image 2

3. Proximity

The gaps make your brain separate the dots into columns. 

4.   Closure

Closure is when we perceive incomplete figures as complete. There is no incomplete figure in image 1 or 2.

Classical Conditioning

100

In Pavlov's experiments, the tone/bell is the:

1. conditioned response
2. conditioned stimulus
3. unconditioned response
4. unconditioned stimulus

Claude AI, 2025

2.

200

Every time you visit your grandmother, she bakes cookies, and the smell makes you feel happy. Now, just arriving at her house makes you feel happy. The unconditioned response in this scenario is:

1. arriving at grandmother's house
2. feeling happy to the smell of cookies
3. the smell of cookies
4. feeling happy when arriving at the house

Claude AI, 2025

1.

300

In Pavlov's experiment, the dogs' salivation following the tone is_

and the dogs' salivation follwoing the the food is _

conditioned response, unconditioned response