Introduction to Psychology
Exam 1 Study Session
Which Psychologist suggested that psychological capacities and
traits were located in particular parts of the brain?
a.) Paul Broca
b.) William James
c.) René Descartes
d.) Franz Gall
Answer: D.) Franz Gall
Franz Gall developed phrenology, which suggests that different
capacities and traits are located on different parts of the brain. The
more predominant these characteristics/traits are in a person, the
larger the corresponding bumps on the skull.
Empiricists believe that knowledge develops over time and that
children start out with nothing but their basic reflexes.
a.) TRUE
b.) FALSE
Correct Answer: A.) TRUE
Empiricists, such as Piaget, believe that children start out
with a “tabula rosa” or blank slate. It is from this blank slate
at birth that we acquire knowledge from our environment,
empiricists support the nurture side of the nature vs nurture
debate.
_________ believe that mental processes are
maladaptive and that most of the mind is beyond
introspective access.
a.) Structuralists
b.) Behaviorists
c.) Psychoanalysts
d.) Functionalists
Correct Answer: C, Psychoanalysts
Freud developed Psychoanalytic theory, which emphasizes the
importance of unconscious mental processes in shaping
feelings, thoughts and behaviors.
Errors of perception, memory, or judgment in which subjective
experience differs from objective reality is known as:
a.) An illusion
b.) Consciousness
c.) Unconsciousness
d.) Hysteria
Correct Answer: A.) An illusion
Example of an illusion is the Mueller-Lyer Line Illusion where
the two lines appear to be different sizes although they are
the exact same length.
The branch of Psychology that studies the causes and
consequences of interpersonal behavior is:
a.) Social Psychology
b.) Developmental Psychology
c.) Cultural Psychology
d.) Evolutionary Psychology
Correct Answer: A.) Social Psychology
Philosophers that believe all knowledge is gained through
experience are known as:
a.) Nativists
b.) Structuralists
c.) Empiricists
D.) Functionalists
Correct Answer: C.) Empiricists
Empiricism was originally a Greek school of medicine that
stressed the importance of observation, and now generally
used to describe any attempt to acquire knowledge by
observing objects or events.
An operational definition is a description of an abstract
property in terms of a salient condition that cannot be
measured.
A.) True
B.) False
Correct Answer: B.) False
Operational definition is a description of an abstract
property in terms of a CONCRETE condition that CAN be
measured.
________ is the tendency for an operational definition
and a property to have a clear conceptual relation;
________ is the tendency for an operational definition to
be related to other operational definitions.
A.) Predictive Validity; Reliability
B.) Construct Validity; Predictive Reliability
C.) Construct Validity; Reliability
D.) Predictive Validity; Construct Validity
Correct Answer: B.) Construct Validity; Predictive Validity
Construct Validity is the tendency for an operational
definition and a property to have a clear conceptual
relation.
Predictive Validity is the tendency for an operational
definition to be related to other operational definitions.
The idea that as sample size increases, the attributes of
the sample more closely reflect the attributes of the
population from which the sample was drawn is known as:
A.) The Law of Samples
B.) The Law of Numbers
C.) The Law of Increasing Sample Sizes
D.) The Law of Large Numbers
Correct Answer: D.) The Law of Large Numbers states that as
sample size increases, the attributes of the sample more
closely reflect the attributes of the population from which the
sample was drawn.
A Normal Distribution is a frequency distribution in which most
measurements are concentrated around the ____ and fall off
toward the tails, and the two sides of the distribution are
symmetrical.
A.) Range
B.) Mean
C.) Median
D.) Mode
Correct Answer: B.) Mean
The mean is the average of the measurements in a
frequency distribution.
A researcher gathers knowledge about a group of people
by observing them in their natural environments, what
technique is this researcher using:
A.) Naturalistic Observation
B.) Systematic Observation
C.) Unobtrusive Observation
D.) Normative Observation
Correct Answer: A.) Naturalistic Observation
A researcher who hides the true purpose of an
observation from the participants is using:
A.) A double-blind procedure
B.) A fairy tale procedure
C.) A single blind procedure
D.) A duping mechanism
Correct Answer: C.) A single blind procedure
A single blind procedure is an observation whose true
purpose is hidden from the participant, a double blind
procedure is where the true purpose is hidden from
the researcher and the participant.
If a student’s grade increases with higher class attendance,
this is an example of what type of correlation?
A.Positive correlation
B.Negative correlation
C.No relationship between grade and class attendance is
present
A. Positive correlation
A positive correlation between two variable occurs
when both variable either increase or decrease together
(variable A increases, variable B increases OR variable A
decreases, variable B decrease)
If two variables are correlated, then that means that
they are causally related.
TRUE OR FALSE?
FALSE
There are three possible reasons for correlation.
Variable X can cause Variable Y; Variable Y can
cause Variable X; Variable Z can cause both X and Y.
*Third Variable Problem
When designing an experiment, manipulation is
required. What part of the experiment must be
manipulated?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Dependent variable
Independent variable
Nothing is manipulated
Both A & B
B. Independent variable
The independent variable is manipulated because it
is under the control of the experimenter(s). The
dependent variable is measured.
Which of the following is NOT a measure of central
tendency?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Mean
Median
Mode
All of the above ARE measures of central
tendency
D. All of the above ARE measures of central tendency
Mode is the most frequent, mean is the average,
and median is the middle…all of which describe
central tendency
Which type of validity allows you to draw inferences
about causal relations?
A. External
B. Internal
B. Internal
Internal validity allows for accurate conclusions
about causal relations. External validity is having the
independent and dependent variables defined in a
natural way.
An experimenter wants to investigate eating disorders
in ALL college females across the United States, but
only females at one college are used for the
investigation. What is the population?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Female college students at the one college
All college student
All female college students
None of the above
C. All female college students
The behavior of interest is eating disorders in all
female college students. The female college
students are the POPULATION. Since, it is very
difficult to study the entire population of female
college students, the experimenter uses female
students on one college campus, the SAMPLE.
Scientist use _______ to generalize findings to
_______.
A.
B.
C.
D.
populations, samples
subjects, samples
samples, populations
None of the above
C. samples, populations
Population
Sample
Approximately how many neurotransmitters have been
identified?
A.
B.
C.
D.
25
100
300
1,000
B. 100
Neurotransmitters: chemical forms of communication.
Examples: dopamine, serotonin, endorphins,
norephinephrine, GABA, acetylocholine, gultamate
Cocaine is an example of a drug that is a dopamine,
serotonin, and norephinephrine agonist. This means that
cocaine _______ the function of those
neurotransmitters.
A.blocks/reduces
B.stops
C.does not effect
D.increases/enhances
D. increases/enhances
Agonists are drugs that increase the action of a
neurotransmitter. Antagonists are drugs that block the
function of a neurotransmitter.
B
C
A
In the image, what part of the neuron does “A”
represent?
A.Cell body
B.Axon
C.Dendrite
D.Myelin sheath
D. Myelin sheath
The myelin sheath is an insulating layer of fatty
material that aids in neuronal communication.
In the image, what letter represents the dendrites of the
neuron?
A.A
B.B
C.C
B. B
Dendrites receive information from other neurons and
relay it to the cell body.
The nervous system is made up of 2 main divisions, the
peripheral and the central nervous systems. The
peripheral is then divided into two more parts. What are
the parts and their functions?
A. Autonomic-self-regulated actions of internal organs
and glands; somatic-controls voluntary movements of
skeletal muscles
B. Autonomic-controls voluntary movements of skeletal
muscles; somatic-self-regulated actions of internal
organs and glands
C. Sympathetic-arousing; parasympathetic-calming
D. Sympathetic-calming; parasympathetic-arousing
A. Autonomic-self-regulated action of internal organs
and glands; somatic-controls voluntary movements
of skeletal muscles
The autonomic system is then broken down into the
sympathetic (arousing) and parasympathetic
(calming).
Which type of neuron connects other neurons?
A.Sensory neurons
B.Motor neurons
C.Mirror neurons
D.Interneurons
D. Interneurons
Sensory neurons receive information from the external
world.
Motor neurons carry signals from the spinal cord to the
muscles.
Mirror neurons are active when an animal performs a
behavior AND when another animal is watching the
performance of that behavior.
Interneurons connect sensory neurons, motor neurons,
and other interneurons.
Which of the following is responsible for regulating body
temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behavior?
A.Thalamus
B.Hypothalamus
C.Hippocampus
D.Amygdala
B. Hypothalamus
The thalamus relays and filters information from the senses
and transmits the information to the cerebral cortex.
The hypothalamus regulates body temperature, hunger,
thirst, and sexual behavior.
The hippocampus is critical for creating new memories and
integrating them into a network of knowledge so that they
can be stored.
The amygdala plays a central role in emotional processes.
The _______ connects the right and left hemispheres of the
brain.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Medula
Occipital lobe
Corpus callosum
Frontal lobe
C. Corpus callosum
The corpus callosum is the thick band of nerve fibers that
allows the two hemispheres to communicate.
In extreme cases, the corpus callosum may be severed to
prevent the spread of seizures that begin in one hemisphere
and travel across the corpus callosum to the other
hempisphere.