Psych 101A Final Exam Study Guide

Format: 50 Questions, Multiple Choice

Course Methods of Evaluation

Final Exam = 25% of the course
grade
Course Quizzes = 50% of grade
Exercises, Videos and Discussions =
25% of grade

In the definition of psychology, the term mental processes refers to .

a) internal, covert activities
b) outward behavior
c) overt actions and reactions
d) only animal behavior

A patient scheduled to have an operation called a bilateral anterior cingulotomy may have which
of the following diagnoses?
a) panic disorder
b) bipolar disorder
c) catatonic schizophrenia
d) antisocial personality disorder

The goals of psychology are to .

a) explore the conscious and unconscious functions of the human mind
b) understand, compare, and analyze human behavior
c) improve psychological well-being in all individuals from birth until death
d) describe, explain, predict, and control behavior

The question “How can it be changed?” refers to which of the following goals in psychology?
a) description
b) explanation
c) prediction
d) control

In 1879, in Leipzig, Germany, the first psychological laboratory was overseen by .

a) William James
b) William Tell
c) Wilhelm Wundt
d) Sigmund Freud
A person who has suffered a major stroke and is now experiencing severe personality problems
because of the damage would BEST be advised to see a .
a) psychiatrist
b) cognitive psychologist
c) psychiatric social worker
d) psychologist

Which of the following is CORRECT concerning random assignment?

a) In random assignment, each participant has an equal chance for each condition.
b) In random assignment, each participant is assigned alphabetically to each condition.
c) Random assignment can only be determined after an experiment is over.
d) The best formula for random assignment is birth dates.

What problem-solving strategies don’t guarantee solutions but make efficient use of time?
a) heuristics
b) algorithms
c) mnemonic devices
d) cognitive shortcuts

When Ann went to her doctor, he gave her a hearing test. During the test, the doctor presented
tones to Ann through earphones. The tones started at a low intensity and then became louder.
The doctor asked Ann to raise her hand whenever she started to hear a sound. The doctor was
testing Ann’s .
a) auditory convergence
b) absolute threshold
c) refractory threshold
d) difference threshold

What is one of the real-world uses of iconic storage?

a) It is where photographic memories are kept.
b) It is the process that covers up the disruption that would occur from microsaccades.
c) It increases depth of processing.
d) None of these are correct.

The levels-of-processing concept would suggest that which of the following questions would
lead to better memory of the word frog?
a) “Does it rhyme with blog ?”
b) “Is it in capital letters?”
c) “Is it written in cursive?”
d) “Would it be found in a pond?”

Which part of a neuron is attached to the soma and carries messages out to other cells?
a) soma
b) axon
c) dendrite
d) cell membrane

Endorphins are .
a) found where neurons meet skeletal muscles
b) less powerful than enkaphalins
c) pain-controlling chemicals
d) radically different in function from neurotransmitters

The hormone released by the pineal gland that reduces body temperature and prepares you for
sleep is .
a) melatonin
b) DHEA
c) parathormone
d) thyroxin

Activation of the receptors by stimuli is called .

a) perception
b) sensation
c) adaptation
d) habituation

When Freud referred to the sexual drive of babies and young children, to what was he really
referring?
a) the fact that sexual orientation is established from birth
b) the fact that children focus on their bodies to give them physical pleasure
c) the fact that children need to be taught about sexual morality from a very early age
d) the fact that children have genitals that distinguish them as male or female from birth
What are the hammer, anvil, and stirrup?
a) tiny bones located in the middle ear
b) types of cones on the retina
c) types of sound that most people can detect
d) words often used by audiologists in testing for hearing difficulties

Consciousness is the .
a) state of arousal involving facial and bodily changes
b) awareness of ourselves and the environment
c) memory of personally experienced events
d) intentional recollection of an item of information

The difference between insomnia and apnea is that .

a) apnea affects primarily the elderly, whereas insomnia is characteristic of children
b) insomnia is treatable but apnea is not
c) insomnia is characterized by sleeplessness, whereas apnea is characterized by breathing
difficulties
d) apnea is a precursor to narcolepsy, whereas insomnia is not

is any relatively permanent change in behavior brought about by experience or

practice.
a) Learning
b) Adaptation
c) Memory enhancement
d) Muscle memory

In Pavlov’s classic experiments, the repeated presentations of the metronome along with the food
formed the
step of the classical conditioning process.
a) acquisition
b) testing
c) extinction
d) spontaneous recovery
Trying to remember someone’s name whom you met long ago is an example of what type of
process?
a) storage
b) retrieval
c) encoding
d) decoding

Which of the following might be the most appropriate analogy for eidetic imagery?
a) a table
b) a modem
c) a rainbow
d) a photograph

Concepts are ideas that represent .

a) a class or category of objects, events, or activities
b) patterns of behavior
c) higher-order conditioning and secondary reinforcers
d) none of these

A psychological test that measures what we intend it to measure is said to be .

a) valid
b) normed
c) reliable
d) standardized

A psychologist spends her entire career studying how and why changes occur in people
throughout their lives.
This psychologist is most likely working in the field of .
a) abnormal psychology
b) gerontology
c) human development
d) maturational studies

A(n) is a section of DNA containing a sequence of amines.

a) compound
b) gene
c) chromosome
d) amine

Extrinsic motivation is defined as .

a) the pursuit of an activity for external reward
b) the pursuit of an activity for its own sake
c) the pursuit of an activity to relieve the state of tension caused by deprivation
d) the pursuit of an activity in order to increase one’s competence and skills

According to Abraham Maslow, developing one’s potential to its fullest extent results in
.
a) safety
b) self-esteem
c) belongingness
d) self-actualization

Which statement reflects the core idea of the facial feedback hypothesis?
a) Men do not express emotion via the face.
b) Facial features have no connection with emotion.
c) Information from facial muscles intensifies emotional experiences.
d) When one facial expression occurs, we quickly register its opposite on the face.

Sex organs and traits that develop at puberty and are not directly involved in reproduction are
known as sexual characteristics.
a) primary
b) secondary
c) pubescent
d) tertiary.

Compared to formal concepts learned in science and math, natural concepts tend to be .
a) easier to learn
b) very clear and well-defined
c) fuzzy with unclear boundaries
d) good fits with a rigid classification system

is a biological phenomenon, while is a psychological phenomenon.

a) Sex; gender
b) Gender role; gender stereotype
c) Gender; sex
d) Sex; sex role

AIDS CANNOT be transmitted through .

a) blood
b) vaginal fluid
c) tears
d) breast milk

is the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote health and well-being.
a) Acute stress
b) Eustress
c) Distress
d) Catastrophic stress

The controls the satisfaction of the id’s drives in a socially acceptable manner.
a) personal unconscious
b) ego
c) superego
d) persona

The control one has, the the degree of stress.

a) more; greater
b) less; greater
c) less; lower
d) Control has nothing to do with stress.

are habitual targets of displaced aggression.

a) Scapegoats
b) Internal conflicts
c) Relationships
d) Bullies

Mary just received a traffic ticket but decided it is not worth being upset about. Mary just made a
 .
a) primary appraisal
b) secondary appraisal
c) stress-related decision
d) hassle-related decision

The Type A behavior pattern is a significant predictor of .

a) mental illness
b) coronary heart disease
c) cancer
d) respiratory illnesses

Which of the following is a mental series of exercises meant to refocus attention and achieve a
trance-like state
of consciousness?
a) meditation
b) biofeedback
c) relaxation response
d) progressive relaxation

Individuals who choose to neither maintain contact with their original culture, nor join the
majority culture, are
considered .
a) separated
b) acculturated
c) integrated
d) marginalized

Which of the following is NOT a form of social influence?

a) conformity
b) compliance
c) obedience
d) altruism

The tendency of people to comply with a second, larger request after complying with a small
request is called
the technique.
a) lowball
b) door-in-the-face
c) foot-in-the-door
d) response cue

What is the function of myelin?

a) to serve as a structure for neurons
b) to monitor neural activity
c) to speed up the neural impulse
d) to produce neurotransmitters

What is a difference between obedience and conformity?

a) In obedience, there is a difference in status between the one who obeys and the one who
makes the
request.
b) Conformity requires strict adherence to the rules, whereas obedience does not.
c) Obedience is an indirect request, whereas conformity is a direct request.
d) In conformity, there is a perceived difference in status between the one who conforms and the
group.

A response, either positive or negative, toward a certain person, idea, object, or situation is called
.
a) bystander apathy
b) an attitude
c) groupthink
d) conformity

Which of the following is the correct definition of cognitive dissonance?

a) a state of tension that occurs when a person’s behavior does not correspond to the his or her
attitude
b) the tendency for members of a group to avoid taking responsibility for their actions because
they assume
that others will do so
c) the tendency for members of a close-knit group to think alike for the sake of harmony and to
suppress
disagreement
d) a belief that a statement is true just because the person has heard it repeated over and over
again

The theory of personality has its basis in the theories of learning, and focuses on
the effects of
environment on one’s personal characteristics and actions.
a) psychodynamic
b) humanistic
c) trait
d) behaviorist

What is Freud’s term for the primitive, biological side of personality?

a) id
b) ego
c) superego
d) preconscious

The psychodynamic model holds that abnormal behavior is the result of .

a) learning
b) repressed thoughts, memories, and concerns
c) biology
d) biochemical imbalances

Which of the following is an anxiety disorder?

a) bipolar disorder
b) conversion disorder
c) a phobia
d) schizophrenia

Which of the following is the term used to describe a sudden onset of extreme panic, with
various symptoms
including racing heart, rapid breathing, and sweating?
a) phobia
b) compulsion
c) panic attack
d) affective disorder
Intruding thoughts that occur again and again are called . Repetitive, ritualistic
behaviors are called
.
a) intrusions; impulses
b) obsessions; compulsions
c) impulses; intrusions
d) compulsions; obsessions

A person who suffers from bipolar disorder alternates between periods of .

a) anxiety and mania
b) depression and manic episodes
c) mania and schizophrenia
d) depression and schizophrenia

In psychology, instinct approaches to motivation have faded because they lacked the goal of
.
a) description
b) explanation
c) prediction
d) change

Disorders in which there is a break in conscious awareness, memory, the sense of identity, or
some combination are called .
a) paraphilias
b) anxiety disorders
c) somatoform disorders
d) dissociative disorders

Agonist is to antagonist as:

a) neuromodulator is to neurotransmitter.
b) reuptake is to receptor.
c) mimic is to block.
d) block is to mimic.

A person who is suffering from disordered thinking, bizarre behavior, and hallucinations, and
who is unable to
distinguish between fantasy and reality, is likely suffering from .
a) schizophrenia
b) bipolar disorder
c) a dissociative disorder
d) passive-aggressive personality

Eye-movement desensitization reprocessing is primarily used for treatment of .

a) schizophrenia
b) post-traumatic stress disorder
c) depression
d) bipolar disorder

According to this theory, sleep is a product of evolution.

a) restorative theory
b) adaptive theory
c) psychoanalytic theory
d) dream theory

Which technique removes a reinforcer to reduce the frequency of a behavior?

a) extinction
b) punishment
c) negative reinforcement
d) systematic desensitization

Which of the following is one of the criticisms of cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies?
a) They are too expensive.
b) Therapy typically lasts for several years.
c) They focus too much on the past.
d) They treat the symptom, not the cause of the problem.