genetics
Two identical twins are separated at birth. Twin A grows up in a supportive, low-stress household. Twin B grows up in a chaotic, high-stress environment with neglect. Both twins have the same version of the 5-HTTLPR gene (the stress-sensitive version). By age 25, Twin B has been diagnosed with severe depression while Twin A shows no signs of depression. Is this an example of epigenetics or gene × environment interaction? Why?
gene x environment because both twins have the same gene, and we're not talking about biological level changes. They have the same gene, but their outcomes were different BECAUSE OF the environment.
You're reading a text message from your friend that says "I cnt blve hw mch wrk I hve tdy." You understand it perfectly even though many letters are missing. Which type of processing are you primarily using?
a. top down processing
b. retroactive interference
c. bottom up processing
d. perceptual broadening
top-down processing. You're using your previous experience with language, texting, and common phrases to fill in the missing letters. You start with the big picture (understanding your friend is complaining about work) and use that context to interpret the incomplete details (the abbreviated words).
Sarah studies for her Spanish exam by reading her vocabulary list over and over, 20 times in one sitting. The next day, she can barely remember any words. Her friend Miguel studies the same list by: creating a story that uses all the words, thinking about times he's used those words in conversation, and relating them to similar words he knows in English. Miguel remembers almost everything. Why does Miguel's strategy work better? Name TWO specific memory concepts that explain this.
1. elaborative rehearsal
2. long term potentiation and/or spreading model of activation and/or reconsolidation
A 4-year-old says "I goed to the park yesterday and we seed three ducks!" Their parent gently corrects them: "You mean you WENT to the park and SAW three ducks." Why does the child make these mistakes, and what does this reveal about how children learn language?
overgeneralization
reveals learning through statistical learning
What areas of the brain are associated with memory encoding and procedural memory? (respectively)
a. cerebellum and amygdala
b. hippocampus and amygdala
c. hippocampus and cerebellum
d. pre frontal cortex and hippocampus
Hippocampus and Cerebellum
In the mice Disney World study, all the mice initially learned the maze. Then all mice had their memories chemically impaired. Only the mice with toys and companions regained their memories. A student says: "This proves that a fun environment gives mice better genes for memory." What is wrong with this interpretation? Explain what actually happened at the molecular level.
The student is wrong because it did not "give them" genes. It changed how the genes were turned on/of through changes in how tight the DNA is wrapped. --> The genes were always there, but the environment turned them back on/loosened the DNA
You're at a basketball game sitting in the top row of the stadium. The players on the court look tiny - much smaller than the people sitting next to you. Yet your brain doesn't think the players are actually the size of toddlers. Which depth cue explains why you perceive them as normal-sized adults who are just far away?
a. occlusion
b. relative size
c. familiar size
d. position relative to horizon
familiar size
You're trying to learn your new gym locker combination (15-28-41), but you keep accidentally entering your old locker combination from last semester (15-31-48) instead. Name the type of interference occurring AND explain why these two combinations are particularly susceptible to this problem.
proactive interference-susceptible because they are so similar (start with 15 and end with 4_)
In the Strange Situation, a baby cries intensely when mom leaves. When mom returns, the baby reaches for her but then pushes her away, continuing to cry and unable to be comforted. The baby seems angry at mom but also desperately wants her. What attachment style is this, and what does this behavior suggest about the mother's historical caregiving patterns?
insecure ambivalent - mom was unreliable, but sometimes there
A researcher is trying to study college students and pets. She goes into a college dorm and counts how many students own pets. She concludes that 20% of the residents owned pets. What type of study design is this and why?
a. descriptive
b. correlational
c. experimental
descriptive
Two groups of human children are studied. All children carry a "risk version" of the MAOA gene (associated with aggression when combined with maltreatment). Group A experienced severe childhood abuse. Group B experienced no abuse. In adolescence, Group A shows high levels of antisocial behavior. Group B shows normal levels of antisocial behavior, similar to teens without the risk gene. Does the MAOA gene cause antisocial behavior? Explain using gene × environment interaction.
No, the gene itself does not cause antisocial behavior. It is the interaction between the gene and the environment. That is why Group B did not show antisocial behaviors even though they had the gene.
While holding a pencil close to his face and alternating closing one eye, Kyle notices the pencil seems to jump back and forth against the background. Which depth perception cue explains this?
a. convergence
b. binocular disparity
c. occlusion
d. relative size
binocular disparity
A jazz musician suffers brain damage and can no longer consciously remember learning any new songs - if you teach him a song, he'll say he's never heard it before. Yet, if you play the first few notes, his fingers automatically start playing the rest of the song correctly. Which area of the brain is damaged, and which is intact? What types of memory do these represent?
hippocampus (explicit memory) is damaged, cerebellum (procedural memory) is intact
Researchers are studying infant perception. At 6 months, babies can equally distinguish between monkey faces (telling different monkeys apart) and human faces. At 12 months, the same babies are excellent at distinguishing human faces but can no longer tell monkey faces apart. What TWO brain processes explain this developmental change?
perceptual narrowing and pruning (no longer telling monkeys apart)
A researcher finds that those who report getting more sleep do better on exams. What type of study design is this and why?
a. descriptive
b. correlational
c. experimental
correlational
Scientists study two groups of genetically identical rats. All rats experience a stressful shock at 2 weeks of age. Immediately after the shock, Group A rats are placed with caring mother rats who lick and groom them extensively. Group B rats are placed with mother rats who provide minimal licking and grooming. When the rats reach adulthood, researchers examine their stress hormone levels and find Group A has lower stress responses than Group B. When they examine the rats' DNA sequences, they find the sequences are still 100% identical between groups. However, when they look at gene expression, they find that stress-related genes are less active (more tightly wound DNA) in Group A and more active (loosely wound DNA) in Group B. Is this an example of gene × environment interaction, epigenetics, or both?
epigenetics ONLY because it is not about how their genes+environment determine their susceptibility, but how the environment turned a gene on/off
You're looking at a wooden desk. When you look at the area right in front of you, you can see every tiny scratch, the individual wood grains, and subtle variations in color. When you look at a desk across the room, it appears as a uniform brown surface with no visible texture. You know both desks have the same texture. Which monocular depth cue is your brain using?
a. familiar size
b. occlusion
c. texture gradient
d. linear perspective
texture gradient
Jelyiah is telling her friends about a birthday party she had when she was 2 years old. She says she remembers the type of cake she had and the presents she got. Her friends argue that she couldn't have remembered something that vividly from when she was 2. Jelyiah realizes she recently wanted a home video of her birthday party and looked at photos. What memory process might explain why Jelyiah feels like she truly remembers being at the birthday party?
a. suggestibility
b. memory bias
c. misattribution
d. encoding failure
misattribution
A child developmental psychologist notices that a 2-year-old's brain is significantly larger than it was at birth, even though brain scans show the child actually has FEWER synapses now than they did at 12 months old. The child's parents are worried - shouldn't more synapses be better? How would you explain to them what's happening and why it's actually healthy?
myelination=growth of brain (adding padding/insulating the pathways)
fewer synapses = pruning after burst; getting rid of unnecessary information (perceptual narrowing) and making room for new, more specific information (perceptual broadening)
A study is done with UD college students–one group was assigned 8 hours of reading per week, and the other group was assigned 1 hour of reading. The study found that those who read 8 hours per week reported more positive mood symptoms than the 1 hour group. The researcher wants to put this out to the public, and aim it towards adult individuals ages 18-99. What validity is being threatened and why?
a. external
b. internal
c. construct
external validity
What is the key difference between gene x environment and epigenetics?
Gene x environment means you start with set genes, and the environment determines how they affect your outcomes (a stressful childhood has a worse outcome for those with high ___ gene than those with a low ___ gene).
Genes + environment = outcome
Epigenetics is how there is a biological change due to your environment. (Something INSIDE YOUR BODY is changing, and it can even be passed down) It turns genes on and off.
Environment → biologically DNA/gene alterations= outcome
A patient comes to a neurologist complaining of a strange problem: "When I look at my wife's face, I see all the parts - I can see she has two eyes, a nose, a mouth, brown hair - but I don't recognize her as my wife. I know it's her because of her voice and where we are, but her face looks like a stranger's face to me. This happens with everyone - my kids, my friends, everyone looks unfamiliar even though I can describe their facial features." What condition does this patient have and which specific brain area is likely damaged?
prosopagnosia-temporal lobe (fusiform face area)
A patient has damage to their hippocampus but their amygdala is intact. A researcher repeatedly shows them pictures of spiders paired with a loud, startling noise. After many pairings, the patient shows a fear response (increased heart rate, sweating) when seeing spider pictures, even without the noise. However, when asked "Have you ever seen these spider pictures before?" the patient says "No, I've never seen these." What is happening?
Classical fear conditioning (fear learning=amygdala)
explicit memory doesn't work
Baby Emma is 8 months old and being raised in an English-speaking household. Her parents show her videos in Mandarin for 30 minutes every day, hoping she'll learn to distinguish Mandarin sounds. At 12 months, Emma is tested and cannot distinguish between Mandarin sounds that don't exist in English. Why didn't the video lessons work? What critical element was missing?
missing joint attention and human interaction
A study is being conducted to conclude whether binge drinking negatively affects exam grades. The researchers decide to measure the amount of drinking done by the participants by asking them to estimate the number of drinks they've had in the past year. What type of validity does this threaten and why?
a. internal
b. external
c. construct
construct