Houston Community College

General Psychology, 2301

Exam 1

1)Psychology is formally defined as

1. 1. the study of the human brain.
   2. the subjective study of human behavior.
   3. the scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
   4. the exclusive study of abnormal behavior.

2. Positive psychology is a branch of psychology that emphasizes
   1. all sides of human experience.
   2. human strengths.
   3. the unconscious experiences of people.
   4. psychological problems.

3. In the         view of psychology, an individual’s mental processes are in control of behavior through memories, perceptions, images, and thinking.
   1. sociocultural
   2. cognitive
   3. behavioral
   4. biological

4. The          approach to psychology emphasizes unconscious thought, the conflict between biological drives and society’s demands, and early childhood family experiences.
   1. evolutionary
   2. behavioral
   3. psychodynamic
   4. cognitive

5. The          to psychology focuses on ideas such as adaptation, reproduction, and natural selection as the basis for explaining scientific human behaviors.
   1. evolutionary approach
   2. psychodynamic approach
   3. cognitive approach
   4. structuralism approach

6. Which of the following statements accurately differentiates between psychiatrists and clinical psychologists?
   1. Psychiatrists need to have at least one year of internship in a mental health facility to practice psychology, whereas clinical psychologists are only required to do graduate work to practice psychology.
   2. Psychiatrists have medical degrees, whereas clinical psychologists have doctoral degrees.
   3. Psychiatrists are not licensed to practice therapy, whereas clinical psychologists are licensed to practice therapy.
   4. Psychiatrists follow the psychodynamic approach to solve sociocultural issues, whereas clinical psychologists follow the biological approach to study evolutionary psychology.

7. The first step of the scientific method in psychology involves
   1. observing some phenomenon in the world.
   2. formulating hypotheses and predictions.
   3. testing through empirical research.

1. 4. evaluating the theory based on the conclusions drawn.

8. In the context of psychology’s scientific method, a(n)              is an educated guess that derives logically from a theory.
   1. operational definition
   2. fact
   3. hypothesis
   4. variable

9. In the context of psychological research methods, a presents a standard set of questions, or items, to obtain people’s self-reported attitudes or beliefs about a particular topic.
   1. variable
   2. placebo
   3. hypothesis
   4. survey

10. A           is an in-depth look at a single individual.
    1. case study
    2. survey
    3. correlational study
    4. meta-analysis

11. Correlational Research
    1. cause and effect between variables.
    2. the link between variables.
    3. the nature of dependent and independent variables.
    4. a measure of central tendency.

12. When psychological researchers use the correlational method to study variables, the degree of relation between two variables is expressed as a numerical value known as
    1. correlative conjunction.
    2. error variance.
    3. correlational coefficient.
    4. correlative code.

13. A psychological study indicates a strong positive correlation between two variables. This means that
    1. as one variable increases, the other decreases.
    2. the correlation coefficient is 0.00.
    3. one variable causes the other variable to occur.
    4. as one variable increases, the other also increases.

14. Chris makes an observation that the longer a classroom lecture, the lower the attentiveness of students in the class. In the context of correlational research, the length of the lecture and level of attentiveness are said to have a
    1. positive correlation.
    2. negative correlation.
    3. lack of correlation.
    4. cause and effect relation.

15. In the context of a correlational study, what does the positive or negative sign of a correlation coefficient indicate?

 A. cause of the relationship

B. strength of the relationship

 C. number of data points

D. direction of the relationship

16. Which of the following correlation coefficients is indicative of the strongest relationship between two variables? A. +0.65

B. 0.00

C. –0.87

D. –0.24

17. In the context of psychological research methods,  research is conducted to determine whether a causal relationship exists between two variables.
    1. descriptive
    2. correlational
    3. experimental
    4. observational

18. Researchers’ assignment of participants to groups by chance in order to reduce the likelihood that an experiment’s results will be due to preexisting differences between groups is known as             assignment.
    1. correlative
    2. meta-analytical
    3. random
    4. replicative

19. In an experimental study, a(n)          is a manipulated experimental factor that the experimenter changes to see what its effects are.
    1. third variable
    2. correlation coefficient
    3. dependent variable
    4. independent variable

20. Albert, a student researcher, varies the amount of food given to rats in an experiment to measure the effect on their learning behavior. In Albert’s study, the amount of food given is the    variable.
    1. dependent
    2. experimental
    3. independent
    4. third problem

21. Dr. Kingston, a psychologist, is examining how a student’s reading speed is differently affected by two variables: being tutored by a teacher’s assistant and being tutored by a computer-based reading program. In this experiment, which of the following is the dependent variable?
    1. the student’s reading speed
    2. the teacher’s assistant
    3. the computer-based reading program
    4. the grade that the student belongs to

22. In an experimental research study, which of the following groups is an experimental group?
    1. the group that is subjected to the change that the independent variable represents
    2. the group that is not randomly assigned
    3. the group that is not subjected to the manipulated independent variable
    4. the group that is expected to have no response to the independent variable

23. The placebo effect in an experimental study refers to the
    1. difference between experimental and control groups.
    2. experimenter’s expectation that the experimental group will perform better.
    3. participants’ expectations producing an outcome.
    4. effect of the third variable on the independent variable.

24. In a drug study, a     is a harmless substance with no physiological effect that is given to participants in a control group so that they are treated identically to the experimental group except for the active agent.
    1. placebo
    2. confederate
    3. sample
    4. confound

25. In a          , neither the participants nor the experimenter administering the treatment are aware of which participants belong to the experimental group and which are part of the control group.
    1. double-blind experiment
    2. controlled experiment
    3. correlational study
    4. case study

26. When psychologists conduct a study, the group of participants chosen for the study is referred to as the
    1. sample.
    2. study group.
    3. population.
    4. social group.

27. Which of the following statements is true of research samples?
    1. They must be chosen by the control group of the experiment.
    2. They must be adaptive to the needs of the confederates used in research.
    3. They must include the entire group about which the investigator wants to draw conclusions.
    4. They must be representative of the population to which the investigator wants to generalize his or her results.

28. The entire group about which an investigator wants to draw conclusions is the
    1. confederate class.
    2. random sample.
    3. population.
    4. sample.

29. Justin, a psychologist, wants to study the behaviour of call centre employees when they attend a call. Which of the following research settings would be most effective for this study?
    1. experimental observation
    2. restricted design
    3. research laboratory
    4. naturalistic observation

30. Which of the following is an advantage of conducting psychological research in a laboratory?
    1. It is easy to conduct laboratory research without subjects knowing that they are being observed.
    2. A laboratory setting is close to the real world and therefore causes subjects to behave naturally.
    3. A laboratory is a controlled setting with many of the potential confounding factors of the real world removed.
    4. It is possible to study all aspects of the mind and behavior in a laboratory.

31. In the context of the divisions of the nervous system, the central nervous system consists of the

1. 1. brain and spinal cord.
   2. somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system.
   3. heart and lungs.
   4. parasympathetic nervous system and sympathetic nervous system.

32.            is the part of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body.
    1. Central nervous system
    2. Somatic nervous system
    3. Sympathetic nervous system
    4. Parasympathetic nervous system

33. Nine-year-old Anna learns ballet by watching her mother and imitating her mother’s movements. In the context of neurons, which of the following types of cells is most directly responsible for Anna’s method of learning?
    1. mirror neurons
    2. glial cells
    3. Schwann cells
    4. astrocytes

34. In the context of specialized cell structure, the primary function of dendrites is to
    1. keep the cell alive.
    2. insulate axons.
    3. secrete hormones.
    4. receive information.

35. Which of the following is a function of the axon in a nerve cell in the context of specialized cell structure?
    1. It manufactures substances required for growth and maintenance.
    2. It is responsible for converting acting potential to resting potential.
    3. It carries information away from the cell body toward other cells.
    4. It receives information and orients it toward the neuron’s cell body.

36. The term        refers to the stable, negative charge of an inactive neuron.
    1. depolarized potential
    2. resting potential
    3. action potential
    4. discharge potential

37. The term        describes the brief wave of positive electrical charge that sweeps down the axon of a neuron.
    1. resting potential
    2. action potential
    3. graded potential
    4. polarized potential

38. In the context of the neuron structure, the tiny space between two neurons is called the
    1. node of Ranvier.
    2. cell body.
    3. synapse/synaptic gap
    4. interneuron.

39. Chemicals that cross the synapse and influence whether the neural impulse is passed on to the next neuron are known as
    1. synaptic vesicles.
    2. glial cells.
    3. neurotransmitters.

1. 4. ions.

40. Which of the following is true of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine?

A. It is produced in excess in Alzheimer disease.

B. It is responsible for the degenerative disorder called multiple sclerosis (MS).

C. It is found only in the peripheral nervous system.

D. It is involved in muscle action, learning, and memory.

41. Depression is associated with low levels of the neurotransmitter
    1. acetylcholine.
    2. gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA).
    3. dopamine.
    4. norepinephrine.

42. Elizabeth feels her heart racing while she waits for her turn at a job interview. These physiological symptoms are most likely produced by her              nervous system.
    1. central
    2. somatic
    3. parasympathetic
    4. sympathetic

43. This type of brain imaging will give me information about the structure of the brain as well as brain activity:
    1. EEG
    2. MRI
    3. PET scan
    4. fMRI

44. Donny suffered a stroke a few years ago. For many months, he was unable to coordinate his movements, making it impossible for him to even stand up. Since then, he has been walking in a jerky, uncoordinated manner. In this scenario, Donny’s symptoms after the stroke are most likely due to the damage to his
    1. forebrain.
    2. cerebellum.
    3. medulla.
    4. midbrain.

45. In the context of the organization of the brain, damage to the hippocampus impairs
    1. autonomic functioning.
    2. motor activity.
    3. sexual functioning.
    4. memory formation.

46. In the context of the organization of the brain, one of the important functions of the hypothalamus is
    1. the maintenance of body temperature.
    2. the regulation of heart rate.
    3. the coordination of voluntary movements.
    4. the maintenance of physical balance.

47. In the context of the organization of the brain, thinking and planning are mediated by the   of the brain.
    1. hippocampus
    2. cerebral cortex
    3. amygdala
    4. somatosensory cortex