CORRECT
ANSWERS ARE INDICATED WITH ASTERISKS
Psychology 101 Exam 1 Practice
1. In an experimental study of the effects of sleep deprivation on memory, memory would be the:
a. control condition.
b. independent variable.
c. experimental condition.
*d. dependent variable.
2. Research participants are randomly assigned to different conditions in an experiment in order to:
a. reduce the likelihood that participants within any condition know each other.
b. increase the likelihood that research participants are representative of people in general.
*c. reduce the potentially confounding effects of subject variables.
d. all of the above.
3. In an experiment designed to study the effectiveness of a new drug, subjects who receive a placebo are participating in the ____ condition.
a. dependent variable
b. correlational
c. experimental
d. naturalistic observation
*e. control
4. A variable other than the independent variable that differentially affects the dependent variable is known as a ____ variable.
a. correlational
b. placebo
c. control
*d. confounding
5. Dr. Smith conducts a study to determine the relationship between intelligence and self-esteem. She finds that intelligence and self-esteem are in fact positively correlated. Based on this finding, Dr. Smith can:
*a. predict that someone who is low in intelligence is also likely to be low in self-esteem.
b. conclude that low intelligence causes low self-esteem.
c. conclude that both a and b are true.
d. conclude that neither a nor b is true.
6. A film shown in class described two experiments examining helping behavior. These experiments indicated that helping behavior:
a. was unlikely when intervention might be dangerous to the bystander.
b. was more likely when the number of bystanders was larger.
*c. was less likely when the number of bystanders was larger.
d. would occur only when the situation was unambiguously an emergency.
7. The primary function of dendrites is to:
a. release neurotransmitter molecules into the synaptic gap.
*b. receive incoming signals from other neurons.
c. integrate signals that are coming into the cell from other neurons.
d. transmit a signal to other neurons.
8. The myelin sheath helps to increase the ____ of neural impulses.
a. frequency
b. intensity
c. threshold
*d. speed
9. When Mr.
a. parasympathetic
*b. sympathetic
c. somatic
d. sensorimotor
10. An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity generated by the brain is called a(n):
a. CAT scan.
*b. EEG.
c. PET scan.
d. MRI.
11. A loss of muscle coordination and balance is most likely to result from damage to the:
a. reticular formation.
*b. cerebellum.
c. thalamus.
d. hypothalamus.
12. Which brain structure regulates hunger, thirst, and body temperature?
a. reticular formation
b. cerebellum
c. thalamus
*d. hypothalamus
13. Visual cortex is in the ___ lobe, somato-sensory cortex is in the ____ lobe, and motor cortex is in the ____ lobe.
a. occipital, temporal, frontal
b. temporal, occipital, parietal
c. occipital, parietal, temporal
*d. occipital, parietal, frontal
14. Phineas Gage underwent a dramatic personality change after a tamping iron inflicted damage to his ____ lobe.
*a. frontal
b. temporal
c. occipital
d. parietal
15. The superior colliculus is part of the:
a. hindbrain.
*b. midbrain.
c. forebrain.
d. limbic system.
16. A picture of a dog is briefly flashed in the right visual field and a picture of a cat is briefly flashed in the left visual field of a split-brain patient. This individual will be able to use his ____ hand to indicate he saw a ____.
a. right; cat
b. left; dog
*c. left; cat
d. right or left; dog
e. right or left; cat
17. Information processing within a neuron takes place via a(n) ____ mechanism; information transmission between neurons takes place via a(n) ____ mechanism
a. electrical; electrical
b. chemical; chemical
c. chemical; electrical
*d. electrical; chemical
18. In class, it was noted that amphetamines affect the ____ neurotransmitter system(s) by ____ .
a. serotonin; mimicking the effects of serotonin
*b. dopamine and epinephrine; stimulating the release of neurotrasmitter from axon terminals.
c. dopamine and epinephrine; mimicking the effects of dopamine and epinephrine.
d. serotonin; stimulating the release of neurotransmitter from axon terminals.
19. In the study by Rosenzweig discussed in class, genetically identical rats were reared either in an impoverished environment or in an enriched environment. The study indicated that:
a. environment did not influence brain development.
b. environment influenced the number of neurons in the brain.
*c. environment influenced the number of dendrites and synapses in the brain.
d. environment influenced every aspect of brain development.
20. Research by Andy Meltzoff (illustrated by the short film shown in class) indicates that infants as young as ____ of age are able to imitate some behaviors.
a. 10 months
b. 11 months
c. 3 months
*d. 14 days
e. 1 month
21. Research indicates that 3-week-old human infants can distinguish:
*a. their mother’s voice from that of a female stranger.
b. differences in light intensity bu not differences in shape.
c. their mother’s face from that of a female stranger.
d. none of the above.
22. According to Piaget, cognitive development begins with the ____ stage and ends with the ____ stage.
a. concrete operational; sensorimotor
*b. sensorimotor; formal operational
c. formal operational; concrete operational
d. preoperational; sensorimotor
e. sensorimotor; concrete operational
23. Mrs. Pearson cut Judy’s hot dog into eight pieces and Sylvia’s into six pieces. Sylvia cried because she felt she wasn’t getting as much hot dog as Judy. Piaget would say that Sylvia doesn’t understand the principle of:
a. object permanence.
b. object equivalence.
c. assimilation.
*d. conservation.
e. accommodation.
24. According to Piaget, the potential for mature moral reasoning develops in the
____ stage.
a. preoperational
b. sensorimotor
c. concrete operational
*d. formal operational
25. Interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas is called:
a. egocentrism.
*b. assimilation.
c. imprinting.
d. accommodation.
26. Piaget believed that infants develop a notion of object permanence after about ____ months of age. In contrast, the film shown in class describing an experiment in which infants looked at a toy car that seemed to pass through a solid object, indicated that infants develop a sense of object permanence by about ____ months of age.
a. 12; 6
b. 6; 12
*c. 8; 3
d. 3; 8
e. 6; 5
27. Studies of monkeys raised with artificial mothers suggest that mother-infant emotional bonds result primarily from mothers providing infants with:
a. adequate nourishment.
*b. body contact.
c. the opportunity to explore.
d. protection from harm.
e. self-esteem.
28. Three-year-old Maria has a history of being securely attached to her mother. It is most likely that Maria is:
a. unusually intelligent but also highly anxious.
b. easily frustrated and irritable when her mother is absent.
c. preoccupied with maintaining close physical contact with her mother.
*d. outgoing and successgul in her interactions with other children.
29. A student who does not cheat because he fears what his friends will think of him if he gets caught is in Kohlberg’s ____ stage.
a. preconventional
b. preoperational
*c. conventional
d. postconventional
30. Erikson suggested that the adolescent search for identity is followed by the development of:
a. competence.
*b. intimacy.
c. autonomy.
d. trust.
31. Which of the following terms refers to a person’s ability to reason abstractly?
*a. fluid intelligence
b. concrete operational intelligence
c. intelligence quotient
d. crystallized intelligence
32. According to the class lecture, which of the following symptoms is NOT typically associated with Alzheimer’s disease?
a. apathetic attitude
b. personality distortions
c. neural malformations
*d. obsessive-compulsive behaviors
33. Menopause is caused by a reduction in:
a. adrenaline.
*b. estrogen.
c. testosterone.
d. serotonin.