Psychology Midterm Review
1. _______ is often the basis for the hypothesis in a research study that utilizes the scientific
method.
2. Who is considered the "father" of psychology?
3. _______ set up the first formal psychological lab at the University of Leipzig in Germany
and used ________ as the primary research method.
4. Edward Titchener was an advocate of ________ while William James was an advocate of
_______.
5. One main difference between behaviorism, psychoanalytic theory, and humanistic theory
is that
6. _______ examines adaptive behavior changes that humans make to face environmental
pressures whereas ________ examines the connection between physiological processes
and behaviors to explain differences among individuals.
7. A case study is a(n) ________ in which ________ is/are studied in depth, over a long
period of time.
8. What two pieces of information can be gathered from looking at the correlation
coefficient?
9. Why is the experimental method considered the gold standard in research?
10. _______ helps to avoid selection bias whereas ________ helps to avoid a biased sample.
Chapter 2
1. Information that a football is heading directly toward your face is transmitted via
________ neurons while the ability of your arms and hands rising up to prevent you from
taking the hit is due to your ________ neurons.
2. Once neurotransmitters are released into the synapse, which of the following IS NOT an
accurate option?
3. Which of the following is FALSE?
4. Which of the following is FALSE regarding the peripheral nervous system?
5. Andrea was pulled over by the police for swerving in and out of her lane as she was
driving. She was instructed to get out of her car and answer some questions. Then she
was told to walk in a straight line for about ten steps. Finally, she was instructed to touch
her finger to the tip of her nose. These tasks are a quick assessment of the functioning of
Andrea's _______, which is temporarily impaired by consuming too much alcohol.
6. A receptionist's job is to take incoming phone calls and send them to the appropriate
employees so customers' questions can be answered accordingly. Receptionists also
welcome visitors and ensure they speak to whomever they came to visit. Which of the
following brain structures would have a job similar to that of a receptionist?
7. The limbic system includes which two brain structures?
8. Which of the following structures is NOT located within the cerebrum?
9. Which of the following statements is true regarding right and left hemisphere
functioning?
10. Visual processing is to the ________ lobes as auditory processing is to the ________
lobes.
Chapter 3
1. _______ is a process in which information is taken in through the senses; ________ is a
process in which the brain organizes and understands information.
2. The ________ is reached when you are able to notice that a particular stimulus is actually
present.
3. The negative afterimage example provides support for the ________ theory of color
vision.
4. The ________ allows us to know where our arms are in relation to our legs; the
________ gives us information regarding movement we are experiencing in addition to
where our body is in space.
5. We are faced with many sensations throughout the day. The process of sorting through
sensations and selecting some of them for further processing is referred to as
6. Ross was playing with his daughter Elizabeth on the swing set. As he pushed her swing,
their dog began barking at a rabbit in the yard. As Ross focused his attention on the dog,
he did not notice the swing was coming his way. As a result, he was nearly knocked over.
Ross experienced
7. MaryLynn is enjoying a get-together at her friend Heather's house. There are many
people in the room and many different conversations going on. MaryLynn observes the
discussions going on but was immediately drawn to a conversation that mentioned her
name. She then began to pay attention to that conversation and ignored the other
discussions going on around her. MaryLynn has just experienced
8. When processing information, choosing to start with the pieces first and then look for
patterns refers to ________ whereas looking for the big picture and then breaking it down
into manageable components is referred to as _______.
9. Which of the following would a gestalt psychologist likely be most interested in?
10. In terms of perceptual organization, we understand that the ________ happens when a
stimulus stands out from its environment; if we understand that objects belong with
others because they appear to form a continuous pattern such as a line or wave, we are
utilizing the ________ principle of perceptual organization.
Chapter 4
1. Which of the following individuals is NOT experiencing an altered state of
consciousness?
2. The _______, also called the biological clock, consists of a pair of tiny structures in the
brain's hypothalamus that controls the timing of the circadian rhythms.
3. When referring to the circadian rhythm, which of the following reflects the correct order
of processing?
4. Which theory suggests that we sleep to rest our bodies and minds and rejuvenate
ourselves for the next day?
5. Which of the following is NOT considered a parasomnia?
6. The manner in which 3-year-old Darin woke up in the middle of the night terrified his
Dad. He was sitting straight up, his eyes were wide open, his arms were swinging and
flailing about, and he was emitting a piercing scream. Darin's Dad couldn't seem to calm
Darin down no matter what he did or said. He also tried to wake Darin, but that did not
prove an easy task. After a few minutes of the screaming and flailing, Darin lay back
down and fell fast asleep. Which of the following did Darin likely experience?
7. The theory of dreaming that includes symbolism, along with both the manifest and latent
content is referred to as the _______.
8. Kylie meditates regularly. Which of the following is NOT supported by research on
meditation as one of the benefits?
9. Morphine and heroin act in a similar way to ________ and are useful in ____
10. _______ such as cocaine and amphetamines copy the effect of ________ thereby
activating the sympathetic nervous system.
Chapter 5
1. The ______ is a learned reaction to a particular object or event.
2. Pat feels fear whenever she sees snow. Not too long ago, she got into a car accident on a
snowy road. Identify the two components paired in the learning phase of this classical
conditioning example
3. What was learned in the case of Little Albert?
4. Kenyatta developed the flu on Tuesday night, which included intense stomach cramps
and vomiting. She did not know at that point she had the flu and attributed the stomach
cramps and vomiting to the cheeseburger she ate Tuesday evening. For some reason now,
Kenyatta feels ill just thinking about cheeseburgers and avoids them all together.
Kenyatta appears to have developed
5. Loretta takes two Tylenol to get rid of her aching headache. She can easily recall how
well it worked the last few times. This demonstrates the concept of ___
6. Carla is paid for every ten necklaces she makes. This is an example of the _____
schedule of reinforcement.
7. Which of the following is FALSE regarding punishment?
8. Byron has high blood pressure. His physician attaches sensors to his skin to measure his
blood pressure, and shows him the results on a computer screen. The computer plays
classical music, but the music fades when his blood pressure goes up. Over several weeks
listening to the computer play music, Byron finds that the music fades less and less--his
blood pressure is going down. What is the name for this type of treatment?
9. Tanya has been working on a statistics problem for a while now and cannot seem to
figure it out. She decides to straighten up her apartment and then come back to the
question. When she sits down to look at the problem again, she immediately knows the
correct solution. Tanya has just experienced
10. Wong is a 5-year-old boy who lives at home with his mom and dad. He has witnessed
several incidents of domestic violence between them and has started hitting other kids at
school. Based on the information presented, which theory of learning best accounts for
Wong's aggressive behavior?
Chapter 6
1. Based on the information-processing theory, _______ would be an accurate example of
hardware whereas _______ would be an accurate example of software
2. According to the model of memory proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin, the components
of memory are
3. Which of the following occurs when someone's short-term memory is filled to capacity?
4. _______ is a memory strategy that involves an individual repeating something over and
over whereas ________ is a memory strategy that involves connecting new information
to something already stored in memory.
5. Declarative memory includes
6. Conditioned responses you have learned by association are located in your ________
memory; knowing how to ride a bike, though you cannot actively recall learning it, is
located within your ________ memory.
7. Multiple choice exams are to ________ as essay exams are to _______.
8. Adam studies his psychology using note cards. He writes questions on the front of the
card and the answers on the back of the card. After he has a stack of note cards
completed, he studies them one by one, over and over again. Based on memory research,
which of the following statements should NOT be made to Adam to help him maximize
his studying?
9. Kumo always studies at night in her bedroom. When she is taking an exam and cannot
remember a particular answer, she often imagines herself in her bedroom. Sometimes that
technique helps her to remember the material she studied. Which of the following is
Kumo using to assist her memory?
10. _______ occurs when a person remembers the major portions of an event and then fills in
the gaps with what he/she generally believes to be true.
Chapter 7
1. A(n) ________ refers to the most likely or most commonly thought of example of an
item or object in a concept whereas a(n) ________ is an example of a concept that a
person has based on personal experiences
2. Sun tok needs a new car but she can only afford to spend a total of $17,000. While
searching for a new car on the dealer's website, she first limited the search so only cars
that cost $17,000 or less would appear. After that, she was really concerned with having
four doors to accommodate her two children, so she again limited the search to only
return cars that had four doors. Sun tok is demonstrating which decision making strategy?
3. _______ occurs when a person sees only the original use of an object, which can
ultimately interfere with problem solving.
4. _______ refers to the meaning of things like words, phrases, and sentences
5. The g factor measures ________ whereas the s factor measures _______.
6. Sternberg's ________ intelligence refers to the mental abilities most closely correlated
with high scores in today's standardized intelligence tests.
7. _______ refers to a test's consistency of scores.
8. When a test is given and the score is used for the purpose of predicting how well the test
taker will do in a particular situation, that test is referred to as _______.
9. All of the following support the argument that intelligence is inherited EXCEPT
10. Trevor is trying to solve an open-ended physics problem. First, he first gathers all of the
necessary information before he tackles the problem. Once that part is complete, he tries
to come up with different ways to solve the problem. After about forty-five minutes of
working on the problem and coming up empty-handed, he decided to go for a nice long
walk with his dog. About 20 minutes later, just as he approached his apartment, he got an
idea of how he might solve the problem. He ran inside and applied his idea to the
problem. Finally, the physics problem was solved. In which part of the scenario did
Trevor experience incubation?
Quiz course overview
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Which is NOT one of the four main categories used to calculate your final grade?
How is attendance recorded?
How many tests will be taken in the classroom?
When are quizzes made available on Blackboard?
Which of the following is NOT available on the class wiki?
Brian says science is mostly opinion, because scientists often disagree, and theories can
be changed
7. Emily hears a report on the news about the suicide rate increasing among black men, but
she disagrees on the grounds that all the people she's ever known to kill themselves have
been white
8. A nonprofit group asking for more STEM classes (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) in American classrooms doesn't include psychology as a science.
9. When the subject of psychology is brought up, Martin says he wishes it had more facts
instead of just theories.
10. When King Olaf hears that the city with the most plague also has the most doctors, he
accuses the doctors of spreading the plague
ANSWERS
Chapter 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A theory
Wilhelm Wundt
Wundt, introspection
Structuralism, functionalism
of the three, humanistic theory purports that individuals have voluntary influence over
their own behavior
6. Evolutionary psychology; biological psychology
7. descriptive research method; one or a few individuals
8. The direction and the strength of the relationship between the two variables
9. It allows researchers to infer cause and effect.
10. _______ helps to avoid selection bias whereas ________ helps to avoid a biased sample
Chapter 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Sensory, efferent
The neurotransmitters will adhere to each other and form new synapses
Epinephrine plays the primary role in controlling anxiety
It is devised of the brain and spinal cord.
Cerebellum
Thalamus
hippocampus and amygdala
substantia nigra
Each hemisphere does have some specialized function; however, the hemispheres are in
constant contact when a person has an intact corpus callosum.
10. Occipital, temporal
Chapter 3
1. George, who is texting while driving his daughter to school
2. suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
3. retina, optic nerve, suprachiasmatic nucleus, melatonin
4. the restorative theory of sleep
5. narcolepsy
6. Sleep terror
7. Freudian interpretation of dreams
8. fewer bouts with the influenza virus
9. endorphins; pain management
10. Stimulants; epinephrine
Chapter 5
1. Conditioned response
2. The snow and the fear
3. Fear can be learned via classical conditioning, and that fear can also be generalized.
4. A taste aversion
5. Negative punishment
6. Fixed- ratio
7. While punishment is an option in changing behaviors, it is usually ineffective
8. Biofeedback
9. Insight
10. Social-learning theory
Chapter 6
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
the hippocampus; a learned memory strategy
sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Displacement can occur at that point.
Maintenance rehearsal; elaborative rehearsal
semantic memory and episodic memory.
implicit; nondeclarative
recognition; recall
"Adam, this is not such a great study technique. You'll be better off just reading over
your notes."
9. the context effect
10. Reconstruction
Chapter 7
1.
2.
3.
4.
prototype; exemplar
Elimination by aspects
Functional fixedness
Semantics
5. overall intelligence; particular intellectual abilities
6. componential
7. Reliability
8. an aptitude test
9. and her adopted sister, Janna, have a nearly identical IQ score
10. When he went to walk his dog
Quiz Course Overview
1. Attendance
2. Sign your name on a sheet of paper when you arrive.
3. 2
4. After the first applicable lecture.
5. A list of class members.
6. Science runs on careful criticism.
7. You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.
8. Psychology is a "fuzzy" science, but it's still a science
9. There's power in precise terms.
10. Correlation is not causation.