Heredity & Environment
The debate over whether behavior is determined more by genetics or environment is known as:
A) Behaviorism
B) Nature vs. Nurture
C) Genetic Predisposition
D) Evolutionary Psychology
B) Nature vs. Nurture
The cerebral cortex is most directly involved in:
A) Coordinating reflexive movements
B) Controlling hormone secretion
C) Regulating basic life functions
D) Processing higher-order cognition like reasoning and planning
D) Processing higher-order cognition like reasoning and planning
The medulla is critical for:
A) Basic survival functions like breathing and heart rate
B) Coordinating fine motor skills
C) Integrating sensory information
D) Long-term memory storage
A) Basic survival functions like breathing and heart rate
During neural communication, an action potential is best described as:
A) The resting voltage of a neuron
B) A brief electrical impulse that travels along the axon
C) A neurotransmitter reabsorbed into the axon terminal
D) The chemical exchange between neurons
B) A brief electrical impulse that travels along the axon
Oxytocin is often called the “bonding hormone” because it:
A) Increases alertness and heart rate
B) Promotes trust and attachment
C) Increases sensory sensitivity
D) Regulates body temperature
B) Promotes trust and attachment
Dopamine is most closely associated with:
A) Pain suppression and mood stabilization
B) Reward, pleasure, and movement regulation
C) Memory formation and long-term learning
D) Inhibiting the fight-or-flight response
B) Reward, pleasure, and movement regulation
Twin studies are especially valuable to psychologists because they help isolate:
A) The effects of shared family environments
B) The impact of early childhood experiences on attachment
C) The influence of genetic and environmental factors on behavior
D) How socioeconomic status influences intelligence
C) The influence of genetic and environmental factors on behavior
Damage to the frontal lobes would most likely affect a person’s ability to:
A) Understand spoken words
B) Coordinate muscle movements
C) Make sound judgments and plan ahead
D) Recognize familiar faces
C) Make sound judgments and plan ahead
The reticular activating system (RAS) helps regulate:
A) Emotional attachment
B) Levels of alertness and arousal
C) Hormone release
D) Complex thought
B) Levels of alertness and arousal
According to the all-or-nothing principle, a neuron:
A) Fires only when stimulus intensity exceeds threshold
B) Fires proportionally to the strength of the stimulus
C) Gradually increases its firing rate as stimulation continues
D) Sends signals of varying strengths depending on the neurotransmitter
A) Fires only when stimulus intensity exceeds threshold
The hormone melatonin is released by the pineal gland to:
A) Regulate alertness
B) Control the sleep-wake cycle
C) Stimulate hunger
D) Manage emotional responses
B) Control the sleep-wake cycle
Serotonin helps regulate:
A) Appetite, mood, and sleep
B) Fine motor control and reflexes
C) Fight-or-flight response
D) Reward-seeking behavior
A) Appetite, mood, and sleep
Heredity is best defined as:
A) The process of adapting to one’s surroundings
B) The transmission of biological traits from parents to offspring
C) The environmental influences that shape personality
D) A learned behavioral tendency
B) The transmission of biological traits from parents to offspring
The motor cortex, located in the frontal lobe, is responsible for:
A) Sending messages that initiate voluntary movements
B) Processing sensory input from the skin
C) Coordinating emotional expression
D) Balancing hormones involved in movement
A) Sending messages that initiate voluntary movements
The cerebellum is most involved in:
A) Coordinating movement and maintaining balance
B) Processing emotional memories
C) Managing sleep cycles
D) Regulating body temperature
A) Coordinating movement and maintaining balance
Damage to the myelin sheath can slow or block neural transmission, leading to symptoms of:
A) Parkinson’s disease
B) Alzheimer’s disease
C) Epilepsy
D) Multiple sclerosis (MS)
D) Multiple sclerosis (MS)
The temporal lobes play a major role in:
A) Understanding spoken language and processing sound
B) Controlling voluntary movement
C) Managing hunger and thirst
D) Interpreting spatial information
A) Understanding spoken language and processing sound
Endorphins are neurotransmitters that primarily:
A) Increase alertness
B) Relieve pain and enhance pleasure
C) Trigger muscle contraction
D) Stimulate appetite and digestion
B) Relieve pain and enhance pleasure
A genetic predisposition suggests that:
A) A specific outcome is inevitable based on genes
B) The trait results from random mutation
C) When environment fully overrides biology
D) Genes create a likelihood for a trait that environment can influence
D) Genes create a likelihood for a trait that environment can influence
The parietal lobes enable us to:
A) Hear and interpret sounds
B) Integrate sensory information for touch and spatial awareness
C) Regulate emotional responses
D) Form new long-term memories
B) Integrate sensory information for touch and spatial awareness
The limbic system is primarily responsible for:
A) Logical reasoning
B) Emotional experience and memory formation
C) Voluntary muscle movement
D) Visual processing
B) Emotional experience and memory formation
The neurotransmitter GABA primarily functions to:
A) Stimulate neural firing and increase alertness
B) Amplify the effects of serotonin
C) Enhance motor coordination
D) Inhibit excessive neural activity and promote relaxation
D) Inhibit excessive neural activity and promote relaxation
The pituitary gland is called the “master gland” because it:
A) Controls voluntary muscles
B) Coordinates communication between the hemispheres
C) Regulates other glands through hormone release
D) Filters incoming sensory signals
C) Regulates other glands through hormone release
Substance P plays an important role in:
A) Regulating sleep-wake cycles
B) Transmitting pain signals
C) Inhibiting neural activity
D) Memory consolidation
B) Transmitting pain signals
The evolutionary perspective in psychology emphasizes how behavior and mental processes:
A) Are learned through observation and imitation
B) Help individuals survive and reproduce
C) Depend on reinforcement and punishment
D) Result from unconscious conflicts
B) Help individuals survive and reproduce
The somatosensory cortex would be most active when you:
A) Listen to music
B) Solve a math problem
C) Feel the texture of sandpaper
D) Recall a vivid dream
C) Feel the texture of sandpaper
The brain’s reward center involves dopamine pathways that:
A) Suppress appetite and regulate sleep
B) Reinforce behaviors that promote survival and pleasure
C) Reduce the transmission of pain signals
D) Increase stress hormone production
B) Reinforce behaviors that promote survival and pleasure
The threshold of a neuron refers to:
A) The maximum amount of neurotransmitter a neuron can store
B) The minimum level of stimulation needed to trigger an action potential
C) The voltage difference maintained during resting potential
D) The point at which the neuron enters the refractory period
B) The minimum level of stimulation needed to trigger an action potential
The hippocampus is crucial for:
A) Integrating emotional reactions
B) Regulating hunger and thirst
C) Consolidating short-term into long-term memories
D) Producing serotonin
C) Consolidating short-term into long-term memories
Acetylcholine (ACh) is critical for:
A) Muscle movement and memory
B) Pain suppression and alertness
C) Mood regulation and hunger
D) Processing sound and speech
A) Muscle movement and memory
When a trait is described as having high heritability, it means that:
A) Differences in that trait are largely influenced by genes rather than environment
B) The trait is completely caused by genetics
C) Everyone with the same genes will show the same behavior
D) Environment plays a greater role than heredity
A) Differences in that trait are largely influenced by genes rather than environment
The occipital lobes are primarily responsible for processing:
A) Sound and speech
B) Vision and visual recognition
C) Balance and coordination
D) Pain and temperature
B) Vision and visual recognition
The thalamus serves mainly to:
A) Direct sensory information to the appropriate cortical areas
B) Control motor coordination and balance
C) Produce hormones regulating hunger
D) Manage voluntary muscle movement
A) Direct sensory information to the appropriate cortical areas
The refractory period is the brief time when:
A) A neuron cannot fire another action potential
B) Neurotransmitters are released into the synapse
C) The neuron is storing up neurotransmitters for release
D) Excitatory signals exceed inhibitory signals
A) A neuron cannot fire another action potential
The amygdala helps process:
A) Balance and coordination
B) Emotions such as fear and aggression
C) Speech comprehension
D) Sleep regulation
B) Emotions such as fear and aggression
Glutamate is an example of an:
A) Inhibitory neurotransmitter that reduces anxiety
B) Excitatory neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory
C) Hormone released by the adrenal glands
D) Chemical that blocks receptor sites
B) Excitatory neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory
Adoption studies help psychologists understand the influence of nature and nurture by:
A) Observing how parenting styles change over time
B) Studying identical twins raised together versus apart
C) Measuring genetic similarity between siblings raised in the same home
D) Comparing adopted children’s traits to both their biological and adoptive parents
D) Comparing adopted children’s traits to both their biological and adoptive parents
The corpus callosum is essential for:
A) Coordinating movement between limbs
B) Regulating body temperature
C) Maintaining the brain’s circadian rhythm
D) Enabling communication between the brain’s hemispheres
D) Enabling communication between the brain’s hemispheres
The hypothalamus regulates:
A) Emotional interpretation of fear
B) Sensory processing and balance
C) Basic drives like hunger, thirst, and body temperature
D) Formation of long-term memories
C) Basic drives like hunger, thirst, and body temperature
During reuptake, neurotransmitters:
A) Bind to receptor sites on the postsynaptic neuron
B) Are destroyed by enzymes in the synapse
C) Are reabsorbed into the presynaptic neuron for reuse
D) Convert electrical signals to chemical energy
C) Are reabsorbed into the presynaptic neuron for reuse
Ghrelin has the opposite effect of leptin because it:
A) Decreases food intake
B) Stimulates hunger and food-seeking behavior
C) Regulates sleep cycles
D) Increases metabolic rate
B) Stimulates hunger and food-seeking behavior
The inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA is important because it:
A) Increases neural excitation and muscle activity
B) Promotes hormone release from the pituitary
C) Enhances the effects of dopamine
D) Counteracts anxiety by reducing excessive brain activity
D) Counteracts anxiety by reducing excessive brain activity