Introductory Psychology (PSY 301, 3:30pm-5pm) – Test 1

Thursday, September 18, 2008

1.	Professor Saxton was skeptical about the accuracy of recently reported research on sleep deprivation. Which process would best enable her to assess the reliability of these findings?
	A)	naturalistic observation
	B)	replication
	C)	random sampling
	D)	the case study
	E)	hindsight bias
2.	Randy wants to study happiness in people by measuring the width of their smile in centimeters before and after thinking a happy thought. According to Randy’s experimental design, what is his operational definition of happiness?
	A)	that happy thoughts may induce happiness.
	B)	presence or lack of smile.
	C)	width of smile in centimeters.
	D)	happiness by definition cannot be operationally defined, so there is no operational definition in his study.
	E)	a centimeter ruler.
3.	In an effort to prevent participants in an experiment from trying to confirm the researchers' predictions, psychologists sometimes:
	A)	obtain written promises from participants to respond honestly.
	B)	treat information about individual participants confidentially.
	C)	tell the participants all about the true purpose of an experiment.
	D)	allow people to decide for themselves whether they want to participate in an experiment.
	E)	deceive participants about the true purpose of an experiment.
4.	Even though smoking marijuana would reduce the pain associated with her chronic medical condition, Juanita believes it would be morally wrong because it is prohibited by the laws of her state. Kohlberg would suggest that Juanita demonstrates a(n) _______ morality.
	A)	conventional
	B)	operational
	C)	preconventional
	D)	postconventional
	E)	concrete operational
5.	What is the main reason that experimental design is an important element in science?
	A)	It is easier to conduct than other methods.
	B)	It helps establish cause-and-effect relationships among variables.
	C)	It is the source of funding for researchers.
	D)	It proves the researcher’s hypothesis.
	E)	It is not an important element in science.
6.	A neurotransmitter is released from neuron A, which then stimulates a neighboring neuron, neuron B. Neuron B receives only a small amount of neurotransmitter from neuron A. What is most likely to happen to neuron B?
	A)	It will only partially fire.
	B)	It will only either fire or not fire.
	C)	It will implode or explode, depending on the amount of neurotransmitter.
	D)	It will send a chemical message “asking” for more neurotransmitter.
	E)	You’re the one that’s fired.
7.	A correlation between physical attractiveness and dating frequency of +0.60 would indicate that:
	A)	greater physical attractiveness causes increased dating frequency.
	B)	more frequent dating is associated with lower levels of physical attractiveness.
	C)	it is impossible to predict levels of physical attractiveness based on knowledge of dating frequency.
	D)	less frequent dating is associated with lower levels of physical attractiveness.
	E)	physical attractiveness is not at all related to dating frequency.
8.	Fourteen-year-old Wendy was asked, “What would happen if everyone in the world suddenly went blind?” She responded, “Those who had previously been blind would become leaders.” Wendy's answer indicates she is in the ________ stage of development.
	A)	concrete operational
	B)	postconventional
	C)	sensorimotor
	D)	preoperational
	E)	formal operational
9.	At summer camp, everyone takes part in a trust exercise in which you allow yourself to fall backwards while you are caught by your friends before you hit the ground. You notice that some people are far better able to let themselves topple backwards than others are. Based on what you learned in lecture, you hypothesize that the people who find the trust exercise easy:
	A)	Probably have damage to Broca’s area.
	B)	Have relatively high levels of oxytocin.
	C)	Are probably McCain voters.
	D)	Are probably Obama voters.
	E)	Are likely to be poor at telling lies.
10.	At the age of 22, Claire was less than 4 feet tall. Her short stature was probably influenced by the lack of a growth hormone produced by the:
	A)	pancreas.
	B)	thyroid.
	C)	adrenal gland.
	D)	cerebellum.
	E)	pituitary gland.
11.	Which of the following statements about the relationship between childbirth and “healthy” development of the child is TRUE?
	A)	Children held by their biological mother within 2 hours of birth have a healthier development.
	B)	Children held by both biological mother AND father within 2 hours of birth have a healthier development.
	C)	Children born through vaginal birth have a healthier development.
	D)	Children born through natural birth (without medication) have a healthier development.
	E)	Children are resilient and most childbirth factors are not predictive of healthy development.
12.	Oh no, a curare dart has struck you and the poison, which blocks acetylcholine receptors has spread all throughout your body! Then you fall on a piece of glass (it’s a really bad day). Which of these statements is true?
	A)	you won’t feel where the glass cut you, because all of your nerves are permanently blocked.
	B)	you’ll feel the glass, but not be able to move, because curare blocks the transmission of somatic nervous system signals from the brain to the muscles.
	C)	you’ll brush off the glass and go about your business, as curare only affects amphibians.
	D)	the curare will induce a large endorphin rush, which will render you temporarily unaware of the pain from the glass.
	E)	you’ll feel the glass, but you will be unable to move, as curare causes muscles to freeze.
13.	Hamad has just played a long, bruising football game but feels little fatigue or discomfort. His lack of pain is most likely caused by the release of:
	A)	glutamate.
	B)	dopamine.
	C)	acetylcholine.
	D)	endorphins.
	E)	medulla.
14.	Which is a major finding from the Minnesota Twins study?
	A)	The Minnesota Twins are the greatest baseball team.
	B)	Nature is a stronger predictor of behavior than nurture in cross-fostered, twin monkeys.
	C)	Identical twins have more in common than fraternal twins.
	D)	Identical twins, separated at born, have a shared feeling of emptiness.
	E)	Genetics have profound effects on behavior.
15.	You are given a large shot of adrenaline (or epinephrine). Then you eat two cookies. What will most likely happen?
	A)	Your body will digest the cookies faster than usual, giving you a quick source of energy.
	B)	The adrenaline will make you crave water more than usual to give you extra help digesting the cookies.
	C)	The cookies will remain in your stomach, mostly undigested, until the adrenaline wears off.
	D)	You will immediately feel very hungry and would eat many more cookies if the opportunity arose.
	E)	You will go to Las Vegas with a man who is presumably your lawyer.
16.	In a recent car accident, Kenny sustained damage to his right cerebral hemisphere. This injury is most likely to reduce Kenny's ability to:
	A)	facially express emotions.
	B)	solve arithmetic problems.
	C)	understand simple verbal requests.
	D)	correctly pronounce familiar words.
	E)	answer this question.
17.	A toddler tearfully yells at his mother when she returns from being out of the room for 5 minutes in Ainsworth’s Strange Situation. Which attachment style is this toddler likely exhibiting?
	A)	Securely attached.
	B)	Anxious attached.
	C)	Avoidant attached.
	D)	Totalitarian attached.
	E)	Aggressively attached.
18.	According to William James’s writings on stream of consciousness, which of these is NOT a statement he would have supported?
	A)	Although we are aware of the roots of many of our thoughts, some thoughts can appear completely randomly.
	B)	We can only be consciously aware of one thought or perception at a given instant.
	C)	Every word one writes in a stream-of-consciousness exercise has some kind of meaning to that person.
	D)	Thoughts are continuous and flow into each other: thought A may induce thought B, which could induce thought C, but thought A may not necessarily be related to thought B.
	E)	William James wrote Principles of Psychology.
19.	A person whose hand had been amputated actually felt sensations on his nonexistent fingers when his face was stroked. This best illustrates the consequences of:
	A)	tomography.
	B)	brain plasticity.
	C)	lateralization.
	D)	aphasia.
	E)	hindsight bias.
20.	A 70-year old man is hit in the head and it is discovered that many brain cells were damaged. Which of the following statements is true?
	A)	brain cells cannot grow back, therefore the 70-year old man has no chance of cell regeneration.
	B)	brain cells CAN grow back, but not past the ages of 40 to 50, therefore the 70-year old man has no chance of the cell regeneration.
	C)	the brain cells will all grow back, and within a few months, there will be no record of the injury.
	D)	if the man receives large amounts of radiation, there is a greater chance his brain cells will grow back.
	E)	it is possible that some of his brain cells may grow back.
21.	Base on lecture, what role do short alleles on the serotonin transport gene play on the relationship between traumatic events and suicidal thoughts?
	A)	Short alleles protect us from suicidal thoughts in the absence of traumatic events, but make us increasingly vulnerable to suicidal thoughts in the occurrence of traumatic events.
	B)	Short alleles protect us from suicidal thoughts in the absence and occurrence of traumatic events.
	C)	Short alleles make us vulnerable to suicidal thoughts in the absence and occurrence of traumatic events.
	D)	Short alleles make us vulnerable to suicidal thoughts in the first traumatic event, but we quickly desensitize and are protected from suicidal thoughts against repeated traumatic events.
	E)	Short alleles protect us from suicidal thoughts if the traumatic event is first-hand experienced, but not if the traumatic event is second-hand experienced.
22.	A laboratory cat could be made to twitch its whiskers by direct stimulation of the ________ lobes of its cerebral cortex.
	A)	temporal
	B)	occipital
	C)	frontal
	D)	parietal
	E)	cerebellar
23.	Brian stimulates the descending part of the reticular formation in a hungry man. What is most likely to happen?
	A)	the man will fall asleep.
	B)	the man will salivate.
	C)	the man will feel very active and awake.
	D)	the man will suddenly feel very full.
	E)	the man will feel more thirsty than hungry.
24.	Mr. X gets into an auto accident damaging his occipital lobe. What impact will the damage have on Mr. X’s visual processing?
	A)	Mr. X will not be able to process any visional information because he will be blind.
	B)	Mr. X will neglect all visional information on the left side, thus visional processing will only occur on the left hemisphere of the brain.
	C)	Mr. X will neglect all visional information on the right side, thus visional processing will only occur on the right hemisphere of the brain.
	D)	Mr. X will be able to process information at a basic level, but he will not be consciously aware of what it is he’s seeing.
	E)	Mr. X will be able to process visual information and recognize items (i.e. people, places, things) previously learned, but he will not be able to recognize any new items.
25.	Ten-year-old Bebe insists on wearing very feminine-looking clothes because she wants to appear ladylike. This best illustrates the impact of:
	A)	individualism.
	B)	personal space.
	C)	collectivism.
	D)	gender-typing.
	E)	natural selection.
26.	Dr. Emily has a patient who was in a car accident and injured his head. The patient now cannot see the color blue. Dr. Emily wants to study this patient, as this problem has not been documented before in scientific literature. The best way to gather data about this patient would be to:
	A)	conduct a case study using multiple assessment tools.
	B)	examine large numbers of people who can see the color blue extremely well.
	C)	there is no way to conduct an appropriate study, as there would only be one participant.
	D)	wait for the patient to pass away, then dissect the brainstem.
	E)	give the patient a questionnaire.
27.	A human continues to exhibit the palm-grasping reflex and foot arching reflex, two reflexes normally seen only in newborns, his entire life. What can we most likely assume about this human?
	A)	He was born with only one arm and one leg, so the other had to compensate by adapting this motor strategy.
	B)	He was born with massively damaged frontal lobes, so higher functions never masked these more primitive reflexes.
	C)	He was raised by parents who never taught him to stop grasping and arching his feet.
	D)	He was born blind and never saw that other humans did not exhibit these reflexes, so he continued to exhibit them his whole life.
	E)	His siblings all exhibited these reflexes as newborns, so he learned to perform them as well, and the habit stuck.
28.	An awareness that children's temperaments influence parents' child-rearing practices should stop us from:
	A)	emphasizing the interaction of nature and nurture.
	B)	assessing the stability of personality traits.
	C)	blaming parents for our own dysfunctional characteristics.
	D)	identifying cultural differences in child-rearing practices.
	E)	seeking a therapist.
29.	You significantly damage a monkey’s hypothalamus. Which of these actions would NOT be directly damaged as a result?
	A)	shivering when the temperature drops.
	B)	reaching for a cookie when hungry.
	C)	initiaing mating activities with an attractive monkey
	D)	raising blood pressure in response to a high pressure situation.
	E)	storing the memory of what the experimenter sounds like.
30.	You implant an electrode in an atheist’s temporal lobe. What of these choices is most likely to happen when you stimulate this electrode?