Big Quiz #1 Study Guide
Study each of the terms and concepts below. Make sure you feel familiar with how to apply each concept
on a deeper level (see examples at end of study guide)
Unit 1. Introduction to Psychology & Research Methods
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What is psychology? When did it begin?
What were some early ideas in psychology (structuralism, functionalism)?
Critical thinking & Pseudoscience
Biopsychosocial model
a. What is it?
b. Name all 7 perspectives
c. Describe in detail at least 3 perspectives in this model
Basic vs. Applied research
Variable & Operational definitions
Hypotheses & research questions
Research ethics. What are some steps psychologists take to ensure research is ethical?
Research methods:
a. Descriptive
b. Correlational
i. Distinguish between positive and negative correlations
ii. What does a correlation look like when there’s no relationship?
iii. Distinguish between a correlation that is strong (e.g. .90) vs. weak (e.g. .20).
c. Experimental
Research Ethics
a. What are some steps psychologists take to ensure research is ethical?
b. What are the 3 areas of ethical concern in psychological research?
Unit 2: Neuroscience
1. Nature vs. Nurture debate
2. What is a neuron (nerve cell)? Label and distinguish between each part of a neuron including:
a. Action potential
b. Dendrites
c. Cell body/soma
d. Axon
e. Myelin sheath
f. Terminal button
3. Distinguish between Sensory and motor neuron
4. Reflexes/reflex arc
5. Distinguish between Hormones vs. neurotransmitters
a. What is the endocrine system?
6. Distinguish different characteristics of the nervous system including:
a. Central
i. Brain + spinal cord
b. Peripheral
i. Somatic vs Autonomic
c. Autonomic
i. Sympathetic vs. parasympathetic
7. Brain lobes – what does each do?
a. Frontal
b. Temporal
c. Occipital
d. Parietal
e. What is the corpus callosum?
f. What is an association area?
Unit 3. Social Psychology
1. What is social psychology?
Social Cognition
2. Attribution
a. Fundamental attribution Error
b. Saliency bias
c. Self-serving Bias
d. Actor-observer effect
e. How might culture influence our attributions?
3. Attitude: ABCs of attitudes
a. Cognitive dissonance
4. Prejudice: Distinguish between: Prejudice, Stereotypes, Discrimination. Additionally:
a. What are 3 major sources of prejudice and discrimination? (hint: slide 40)
b. Describe what mental shortcuts are
i. Distinguish between: ingroup favoritism and the outgroup homogeneity effect
c. Describe what Implicit biases are
d. What is 1 way to begin overcoming prejudice and discrimination OTHER than cognitive
dissonance?
Social influence
5. Conformity (Ex. Elevator experiment)
a. Reasons we conform
i. Distinguish between normative social influence, informational social influence,
reference groups
6. Obedience (Ex. Milgram)
a. What did the Milgram study teach us about obedience?
i. Describe 1 of the Milgram follow-up studies. What did this show us about
obedience?
b. Describe 2 things that your text discusses that increase or decrease obedience (e.g. the
foot-in-the-door technique)
7. Group Processes (Ex. Stanford Prison experiment)
a. Deindividuation
b. Group polarization
Groupthink
c. Stanford Prison experiment (Zimbardo)
Social Relations
1. Aggression
a. Distinguish between Biological vs. psychosocial factors and give examples
b. What are 2 ways we can reduce aggression? (hint: slide 22)
i. Does catharsis work?
ii. Define incompatible responses
c. Is aggression found in all cultures?
2. Interpersonal Attraction
a. 3 key factors
b. Matching hypothesis
c. Describe some of the universal things that cultures across the world find attractive
3. Altruism (We will cover this Wednesday)
a. Describe and distinguish between each of the 3 models of helping
b. Kin selection & Reciprocal altruism
c. Negative state relief model vs. arousal cost-reward model
Overarching concepts to consider from Units 1-3:
1. How do social factors and biological/neuroscientific factors influence our thoughts and
behavior?
2. How do influences like gender or culture influence certain thoughts, attitudes, or behaviors in
social psychology, neuroscience, and research methods?
Example Big Quiz Multiple Choice Questions (Applied learning)
1. Dr. Sallee wants to investigate whether meditation, defined as at least 5 minutes of breathwork,
reduces stress. She believes that people who meditate will be less stressed than people who do
not meditate. In this example ______ is an operational definition for _____, which is a variable.
a. Meditation; stress
b. 5 minutes of breathwork; meditation
c. Stress; 5 minutes of breathwork
d. Meditation; The investigation
2. Louise is so disillusioned by the actions of politicians from both political parties that she takes
action herself and votes for an independent candidate in the next election. Her decision to vote
for a new type of candidate is an example of which component of Louise’s attitude about
politicians?
a. Affective
b. Cognitive
c. Behavioral
d. Emotional
3. Oof. Your friend, Aviv, just had neurosurgery in his ____ lobe. Though he’s expected to recover
in a few weeks, the doctors cautioned that he might have trouble hearing, processing auditory
information, and comprehending language appropriately at first.
a. Occipital
b. Parietal
c. Temporal
d. Frontal
Example Big Quiz Short Answer (Applied learning):
1. Ruth doesn’t think people who dye their hair should be taken seriously. Thinking about the ABCs
of attitudes, what might be an example of an A, B, and C in Ruth’s case? You can use your
imagination to come up with each example.
a. Be sure to demonstrate in your answer an understanding of what A stands for, what B
stands for, and what C stands for.
2. Who would Ruth consider the outgroup in this case?
a. The ingroup?
b. Considering the outgroup homogeneity effect, what would Ruth be likely to think if she
ran into 3 people with dyed hair at the supermarket?
3. Sadly, Ruth was recently injured in a car accident. Specifically, she suffered irreversible damage
in her occipital lobe and to various parts of her sympathetic nervous system.
a. Given this injury, what issues is Ruth likely to be facing?
b. How might these issues influence Ruth’s attitude about people with dyed hair?