AP PSYCHOLOGY
FALL 2013 – MIDTERM
STUDY GUIDE
Prologue
1. In order to evaluate various accounts of human behavior, contemporary psychologists
rely most heavily on the process of_________________________________.
2. Unlike Socrates, Aristotle emphasized that knowledge is a product of
_________________________________.
3. Dr. Karima conducts basic research on the relative effectiveness of massed practice and
spaced practice on a person's ability to remember information. Dr. Karima is most likely
a ________ psychologist.
4. A concern with the reasoning processes that contribute to effective problem solving is
most characteristic of the ________ perspective.
5. Mark believes that people are genetically predisposed to dislike bitter-tasting foods
because this has enhanced human survival. His belief best illustrates the ________
perspective.
6. Dr. Santaniello conducts basic research on how children's moral thinking changes as
they grow older. It is most likely that Dr. Santaniello is a(n) ________ psychologist.
7. Which philosopher would have been most enthusiastic about modern empiricism?
8. Edward Titchener is to ________ as William James is to ________.
9. Which perspective most clearly focuses on how we learn observable responses?
10. Dr. Caleigh conducts basic research on the relationship between adults' language skills
and their capacity to solve mathematical problems. Dr. Caleigh is most likely a(n)
________ psychologist.
Chapter 1
11. Operational definitions are most likely to facilitate ____________.
12. Understand how correlations between annual income and education level enable you to
predict annual income on the basis of level of education.
13. In a drug treatment study, participants given a pill containing no actual drug are
receiving a _______________.
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14. In any distribution of scores, an equal number of scores are both greater than and less
than the _____________.
15. What does postmodernism emphasize about human knowledge?
16. A sample average can be used to estimate a population average with greater precision if
the sample is ______________.
17. Psychologists study animals because _____________________________.
18. The most accurate way of assessing the impact of breast-milk feedings on the
intellectual development of children is by means of ____________. (What type of
research?)
19. Understand how correlation coefficients express the degree of relationship between two
variables.
20. Understand how correlation coefficients express the degree of relationship between two
variables.
Chapter 2
21. The concentration of glucose in active regions of the brain underlies the usefulness of
a(n) ____________________.
22. After a skydiving accident, Laurie was unable to make sense of other people's speech. It
is likely that her cortex was damaged in ______________________.
23. A brain lesion refers to ________ of brain tissue.
24. The percentage of left-handers is dramatically lower among ___________ than
__________ people. (Which age groups?)
25. A drug that inhibits the release of a particular neurotransmitter into the synaptic gap is
called a(n) _____________.
26. A doughnut-shaped cluster of neural structures at the border of the brainstem and the
cerebral hemispheres is known as the __________________.
27. To fully appreciate the interaction of neural activity, mental processes, and the
functioning of human communities it is most necessary to recognize that people are
__________________.
28. Endorphins are __________________.
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29. The sequence of brain regions from the evolutionarily oldest to newest is
__________________. (Put in order the following: limbic system, cerebral cortex,
brainstem).
30. According to Roger Sperry, a recognition that the mind cannot be fully explained by the
activity of nerve cells is important for appreciating our human capacity for
__________________.
Chapter 3
31. An evolutionary psychologist would be likely to suggest that human preferences for
sweet-tasting foods __________________.
32. Our selective exposure to those life experiences that are best suited to our unique
temperaments best illustrates the interaction of __________________.
33. Innovation and creativity are most likely to be appreciated in a culture characterized by
__________________.
34. Research on brain development suggests that repeated learning experiences seem to
__________________.
35. Compared to children raised in Westernized cultures, children in many Asian cultures
grow up with a strong sense of __________________.
36. Mr. Eskenazi frowns when his son cries but hugs his daughter when she cries. Mr.
Eskenazi's contribution to the gender-typing of his children would most likely be
highlighted by __________________.
37. For children from impoverished environments, stimulating educational experiences
during early childhood are most likely to __________________.
38. Girls typically play in ________ groups than do boys and, during their teens, girls spend
________ time with friends than do boys.
39. As people progress through adulthood, women become __________________. (dealing
with assertiveness and empathy)
40. Environmental influences on personality traits are most clearly highlighted by
comparing __________________. (Think about types of twin studies)
Chapter 5
41. The adjustable opening in the center of the eye is the __________________.
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42. Psychophysics is best defined as the study of relationships between
__________________.
43. One neural pathway detects differences in the loudness of a sound received by each of
our ears while another neural pathway simultaneously detects differences in the arrival
time of a sound to each of our ears. This best illustrates __________________.
44. Phantom limb sensations best illustrate that pain can be experienced in the absence of
__________________.
45. The impact of vision on the sense of touch is best illustrated by __________________.
(What type of illusion?)
46. Which process allows more light to reach the periphery of the retina?
__________________. (dealing with lens, cones, pupils, or feature detectors?)
47. Henry can easily read distant road signs, but words on a page appear blurred to him.
Henry probably has __________________. (size of eyeballs)
48. Taste receptors are located __________________.
49. For some people, hearing certain sounds may activate color-sensitive regions of the
cortex so as to trigger a sensation of color. This phenomenon is
called__________________.
50. Of the four distinct skin senses, specialized receptor cells have been identified for the
sense of __________________.
Chapter 6
51. The tendency to see complete letters on a neon sign, even though some of the bulbs are
out, illustrates the principle of__________________.
52. Which of the distance cues most likely contributes to the perception that the height of
the St. Louis Gateway Arch is greater than its width? __________________.
53. The principles of continuity and closure best illustrate the importance of
__________________.
54. Depth perception that uses information transmitted to only one eye depends on
__________________.
55. Texture gradient provides a cue for perceiving the ________ of objects.
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56. Although the mountains were over 30 miles away, the morning sky was so clear that
Showana thought they were only half the distance. This best illustrates the importance
of __________________.
57. As the airplane descended for a landing, the pilot saw several beautiful islands that
appeared to float in a vast expanse of blue ocean water. In this instance, the ocean is a
__________________.
58. The phi phenomenon refers to __________________.
59. Jody's horse looks just as black in the brilliant sunlight as it does in the dim light of the
stable. This illustrates what is known as __________________.
60. Stereotypes are mental conceptions that can strongly influence the way we interpret the
behaviors of individuals belonging to specific racial or ethnic groups. A stereotype is
most similar to a __________________.
Chapter 7
61. Brain regions that are active as rats learn to navigate a maze show similar activity
patterns again as the rats later experience __________________.
62. In Hilgard's studies of hypnosis, a person's hypnotized self usually indicated
__________________.
63. The large, slow brain waves associated with deep sleep are called
__________________.
64. What is a stimulant drug known as “speed” whose aftereffects may include seizures and
periods of disorientation? __________________.
65. The three main categories of psychoactive drugs are the depressants, the stimulants, and
the __________________.
66. The best indication that dreaming serves a necessary biological function is provided by
the fact that __________________.
67. The brain waves associated with REM sleep are most similar to those of
__________________.
68. Mrs. Roberts, who suffers from AIDS, has been given an ordinarily illegal drug at the
university hospital. Considering her specific medical condition, it is likely that she has
received __________________.
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69. Just prior to awakening Chinua from a hypnotic state, the therapist told him that during
the next few days he would feel nauseous whenever he reached for a cigarette. Chinua's
therapist was attempting to make use of __________________.
70. Jordanna has decided to go to bed early. Although her eyes are closed and she's very
relaxed, she has not yet fallen asleep. An EEG is most likely to indicate the presence of
__________________.
Chapter 8
71. Some of Pavlov's dogs learned to salivate to the sound of one particular tone and not to
other tones. This illustrates the process of __________________.
73. The reappearance, after a time lapse, of an extinguished CR is called
__________________.
74. Long after being bitten by a stray dog, Alonzo found that his fear of dogs seemed to
have disappeared. To his surprise, however, when he was recently confronted by a stray
dog, he experienced a sudden twinge of anxiety. This sudden anxiety best illustrates
__________________.
75. After recovering from a serious motorcycle accident, Gina was afraid to ride a
motorcycle but not a bicycle. Gina's pattern of fear best illustrates
__________________.
76. What are examples of conditioned reinforcers? __________________________.
77. In order to quickly teach a dog to roll over on command, you would be best advised to
use __________________________. (What type of reinforcers?)
78. Learning associations between one's own behavior and resulting events is to ________
as learning associations between events one doesn't control is to ________.
79. Jeremy wears his baseball cap backward because he noticed his older brother does so.
This illustrates the importance of __________________________.
80. In order to assess whether Mrs. Webster had Alzheimer's disease, researchers
conditioned her to blink in response to a sound that signaled the delivery of a puff of air
directed toward her face. In this application of classical conditioning, the sound was a
__________________________.
Chapter 9
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81. On the telephone, Dominic rattles off a list of 10 grocery items for Kyoko to bring home
from the store. Immediately after hearing the list, Kyoko attempts to write down the
items. She is most likely to forget the items __________________________.
82. Ebbinghaus' retention curve best illustrates the value of
__________________________.
83. Donald Thompson, an Australian psychologist, was an initial suspect in a rape case. The
rape victim confused her memories of Thompson and the actual rapist because she had
seen Thompson's image on TV shortly before she was attacked. The victim's false
recollection best illustrates __________________________.
84. When Hailey told her roommate about the chemistry exam she had just completed, she
knowingly exaggerated its difficulty. Subsequently, her memory of the exam was that it
was as difficult as she had reported it to be. This best illustrates
__________________________.
85. Mentally re-creating the mood that accompanied your original learning of course
material is an effective way to activate __________________________.
86. Hearing the word “rabbit” may lead people to spell the spoken word “hair” as “h-a-r-e.”
This best illustrates the outcome of a process known as
__________________________.
87. The fact that our preconceived ideas contribute to our ability to process new information
best illustrates the importance of __________________________.
88. Retroactive interference involves the disruption of __________________________.
89. Memories are primed by __________________________.
90. Sea slugs, mice, and fruit flies have displayed enhanced memories following enhanced
production of the protein __________________________.
Chapter 10
91. In trying to solve a potentially complicated problem quickly, we are most likely to rely
on __________________________.
92. Business managers are more likely to track the career achievements of those they once
hired than the accomplishments of those they once rejected. This best illustrates
__________________________.
93. Research on the language capabilities of apes indicates that they cannot
__________________________.
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94. Myra has such low self-esteem that she typically expects critical comments about her
appearance and behavior. Myra's behavior best illustrates the dangers of
__________________________.
95. The tendency to estimate that the letter “k” appears more often as the first letter of
words than as the third letter best illustrates our use of __________________________.
96. Mistakenly concluding that the forgetful acts of an elderly person must be indicative of
Alzheimer's disease best illustrates the impact of __________________________.
97. A televised image of a starving child had a greater impact on Mr. White's perception of
the extensiveness of world hunger than did a statistical chart summarizing the
tremendous scope of the problem. This suggests that his assessment of the world hunger
problem is influenced by __________________________.
98. Psychologists are most likely to question whether chimps have the capacity to
__________________________. (Do they understand other chimps?)
99. The tendency for our preexisting opinions to distort our sense of whether a particular
conclusion is logically valid is called __________________________.
100. The indelible memories of the 9/11 terrorist tragedy unduly inflated many people's
estimates of the risks associated with air travel. This best illustrates the importance of
__________________________.
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