Research Methods!
The steps to determine causation are:
a) Experimental Design, Manipulate Independent Variable, Random Assignment
b) Dependent Variable, A sample, Placebo
c) We just need a sample and a control group
a) Experimental Design, Manipulate Independent Variable, Random Assignment
You need to see how big a patient's frontal lobe is, what machine would I use?
a) MRI
b) fMRI
a) MRI
You are looking at a light, what does the wavelength tell us about that light?
a) Hue: wide= red; narrow= violet
b) Brightness: narrow= red; wide= violet
c) Hue: Tall= bright; Short= dark
a) Hue: wide= red; narrow= violet
The process by which we spotlight certain information is:
a) spot attention
b) selective attention
c) divided attention
b) selective attention
If I am easily waking up to my alarm clock, what stage of sleep am I most likely in?
a) Stage 3 and 4
b) Stage 1 and 2
c) REM sleep
b) Stage 1 and 2
The best type of reinforcement is fixed interval
a) true
b) false
b) false
Correct answer is: Variable Ratio
You were analyzing data for your study and ended up with a p-value of 0.7, is this significant or not?
a) Yes, it is significant
b) No, it is not significant
a) Yes, it is significant
A study finds a correlation between teenagers who get enough sleep and higher scores on math tests. Does this mean getting enough sleep causes higher math scores?
a) Yes, because correlation always implies causation.
b) No, correlation only shows a relationship, not cause and effect.
c) Maybe, it depends on the specific teenagers involved.
d) It's impossible to say for sure without further research.
d) It's impossible to say for sure without further research.
In a neuron, the part responsible for receiving signals from other neurons is the:
a) Soma (cell body)
b) Axon
c) Myelin sheath
d) Dendrite
d) Dendrite
____ are the receptors for light and ____ are the receptors for color:
a) Cones; Rods
b) Rods; Cones
b) Rods; Cones
What is a type of inattentional blindness where we are
“blind” to changes unfolding before our eyes
a) Unfolding blindness
b) Change blindness
c) Attention blindness
b) Change blindness
Psychomotor vigilance test: A task that is sensitive to sleep deprivation
a) true
b) false
a) true
Maya is afraid of stairs, what type of therapy may help Maya to get over this phobia of stairs?
a) Generalization
b) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
c) Exposure Therapy
Exposure Therapy
Angie reports she is often thinking about what she's doing and constantly thinks about the past and future. Angie is most likely:
a) practicing mindfulness
b) meditating
c) mind wandering
c) mind wandering
In a research study examining the effects of music tempo on study performance, the music tempo is the:
a) Dependent variable because it depends on the participants' study performance.
b) Independent variable because it is manipulated by the researcher to see its effect.
c) Confounding variable because it might influence both music tempo and study performance.
d) Control variable because it is held constant throughout the experiment.
b) Independent variable because it is manipulated by the researcher to see its effect.
Why can you close your eyes and still touch your nose with your finger?
a) The frontal lobe controls precise movements.
b) The occipital lobe helps you see your finger.
c) The parietal lobe helps you feel your finger on your nose.
d) The temporal lobe allows you to hear your finger touching your nose.
c) The parietal lobe helps you feel your finger on your nose.
A change in auditory perception induced by
incongruent visual information is called the:
a) Vision Effect
b) Bryan Effect
c) McGurk Effect
c) McGurk Effect
You are presenting a poster at a larger conference. We look in the crowd and see a smiling face. This makes you feel confident about your poster. You see someone with a mad face you are less confident about your poster. What can we infer from this?
a) spotlight can make you feel better
b) spotlight can change your experience of the world
c) spotlight does not help experience the world
b) spotlight can change your experience of the world
Barry reports that throughout the day he collapses and falls asleep. He notes he can't control these sleep attacks. What is Barry most likely suffering from?
a) Insomnia
b) Narcolepsy
c) Sleep Apnea
b) Narcolepsy
A dog initially shows no fear of loud noises. During a thunderstorm, the dog hears a loud clap of thunder that naturally scares him. At the same time, a bright flashing light occurs. This pairing of the loud noise and flashing light happens repeatedly over several storms. Eventually, the dog starts showing signs of fear just when he sees the flashing light, even without the thunder.
This scenario is an example of:
a) Operant conditioning
b) Classical conditioning
c) Social learning theory
d) Observational learning
b) Classical conditioning
You're studying for a big exam and feeling overwhelmed. Your heart starts racing, your breathing quickens, and you feel a surge of anxiety. Which part of your brain is most likely responsible for this immediate emotional response?
a) Hippocampus: This area is crucial for memory formation, not initial emotional processing.
b) Amygdala: This structure plays a key role in processing emotions like fear and anxiety.
c) Thalamus: The thalamus acts as a relay center, sending signals to other brain regions but doesn't directly generate emotions.
d) Hypothalamus: The hypothalamus regulates basic physiological functions like heart rate and breathing, but the amygdala is more specialized for emotions.
b) Amygdala: This structure plays a key role in processing emotions like fear and anxiety.
A researcher conducts a study on the effectiveness of a new anti-anxiety medication in a controlled lab setting. The participants are all healthy college students. This is most likely a threat to:
a) Internal validity because the researcher might be biased in favor of the medication.
b) External validity because the results might not generalize to people with severe anxiety or other populations.
c) Construct validity because the medication might not actually reduce anxiety.
d) Statistical validity because the data analysis methods might be flawed.
b) External validity because the results might not generalize to people with severe anxiety or other populations.
You take a bite of your favorite dessert. The sweetness you taste travels a specific pathway in your brain. Which part of the brain acts as a relay station, sending taste information to the appropriate cortical area for processing?
a) Olfactory bulb (processes smell directly)
b) Thalamus (relays most sensory information)
c) Gustatory cortex (where taste is ultimately processed)
d) Hypothalamus (regulates basic drives like hunger)
b) Thalamus (relays most sensory information)
You are walking down the street and see a ripe banana on a fruit stand. The pathway that allows you to recognize the banana as a fruit and remember its yellow color is most likely the:
a) Dorsal pathway ("where" and what motions)
b) Ventral pathway ("the what")
b) Ventral pathway ("the what")
When the teacher was presenting, you were so focused on the teacher that you didn't see the dog walk by the stage. This is due to what?
a) day blindness
b) color blindness
c) intattentional blindness
c) intattentional blindness
London finds herself paying closer attention to the present moment in a nonjudgmental way. This is known as:
a) mindfulness
b) mind wandering
c) focus mind effect
a) mindfulness
A researcher conditions a rat to fear a loud buzzer (conditioned stimulus, CS) by pairing it with a mild electric shock (unconditioned stimulus, US). After several pairings, the rat shows fear (conditioned response, CR) when the buzzer sounds. The researcher then introduces a high-pitched tone that the rat has never encountered before. The rat also displays signs of fear in response to the tone. This is most likely an example of:
a) Extinction: The fear response is weakening due to a lack of reinforcement.
b) Spontaneous recovery: The fear response reappears after a period of extinction.
c) Stimulus generalization: The fear response is being elicited by a similar but novel stimulus.
d) Operant conditioning: The rat is learning to avoid the loud noise.
c) Stimulus generalization: The fear response is being elicited by a similar but novel stimulus.
Which is the correct steps of a Neuron:
a) 1 Neurotransmitter = released by the sending neuron. 2. Cross the synapse 3. Some get taken up by the receiving neuron 4. The ones that don’t get taken up go away
b) 1. Cross the synapse 2. Neurotransmitters = released by the sending neuron 3. The ones that don’t get taken up go away 4. Some get taken up by the receiving neuron
c) 1 Neurotransmitter = released by the sending neuron. 2. Cross the synapse 3. The ones that don’t get taken up go away 4. Some get taken up by the receiving neuron
a) 1 Neurotransmitter = released by the sending neuron. 2. Cross the synapse 3. Some get taken up by the receiving neuron 4. The ones that don’t get taken up go away
You are designing a research study on the effectiveness of a new anti-anxiety medication. In your study design, you include the experimental group that receives the new medication and a control group that receives:
a) Another medication known to treat anxiety
b) A high dose of a stimulant
c) A sugar pill with no active ingredients
d) No treatment at all
c) A sugar pill with no active ingredients
Imagine you are clapping your hands. Which part of your brain is responsible for coordinating this action, which requires communication between the left and right hemispheres?
a) Frontal lobe (involved in planning movements)
b) Corpus callosum (connects the hemispheres)
c) Cerebellum (controls balance and coordination)
d) Both b) and c)
d) Both b) and c)
You stare at a bright red circle on a white background for 30 seconds, then look at a blank white wall. You see a greenish afterimage. What does this phenomenon best illustrate?
a) Sensory adaptation: Your eyes become less sensitive to red after prolonged exposure.
b) Opponent-process theory: Staring at red fatigues the "red" processing cells, leading to a perception of the opponent color (green).
c) Color constancy: Your brain adjusts the perceived color to compensate for the background.
d) Change blindness: You fail to notice the disappearance of the red circle.
b) Opponent-process theory: Staring at red fatigues the "red" processing cells, leading to a perception of the opponent color (green).
This effect refers to the ability of the human brain to focus its auditory attention on a particular sound source while filtering out background noise:
a) selective noise
b) cocktail party effect
c) noise party effect
b) cocktail party effect
Which activity helps improve our attentional control?
a) Sleeping
b) Meditation
c) Breathing
b) Meditation
A young child is learning to tie their shoes. The parent praises the child enthusiastically (positive reinforcement) every time they successfully complete a step in the shoelace tying process. This use of praise is most likely intended to:
a) Punish the child for making mistakes while tying their shoes.
b) Increase the likelihood that the child will continue practicing and mastering shoelace tying.
c) Decrease the frequency of the child's attempts at tying their shoes.
d) Teach the child the specific order of steps for tying their shoes.
b) Increase the likelihood that the child will continue practicing and mastering shoelace tying.
Classical Conditioning: Imagine you're a pet owner who recently adopted a new puppy. You want to train your puppy to associate its leash with going for walks, a favorite activity for most dogs.
Please write down what the:
1. Unconditioned Stimulus (US)
2. Unconditioned Response (UCR)
3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS)
4. Conditioned Response (CR)
1. Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Going for a walk (a naturally enjoyable activity for most dogs).
2. Unconditioned Response (UCR): Excitement, tail wagging, barking (natural responses to a pleasant experience like a walk).
3. Conditioned Stimulus (CS): The leash (a neutral stimulus before training).
4. Conditioned Response (CR): Excitement, tail wagging, barking (learned responses that come to be associated with the leash because it predicts the walk).