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Psychology 121 Final Exam: Missouri
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2026| Questions and Correct Answers
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The idea that human behavior is influenced by unconscious forces that are outside of a person's awareness (particularly sexual and aggressive forces) is advocated by which area of psychology: A. behaviorism B. structuralism C. humanism D. cognitive psychology E. psychoanalysis E. psychoanalysis Which of the following correlation coefficients expresses the strongest relationship between levels of stress and likelihood of cancer? A. -. B.. C.. D.. E.. E.. The only research method that can be used to draw a cause and effect relationship between two variables is: A. Correlation B. Case study C. Experiment D. Naturalistic observation E. Survey
C. Experiment A researcher examines the effects of type of class on learning. He randomly assigns students to either a blended class or a traditional class. At the end of the semester, he compared their performance on a measure of learning. Which of the following is the independent variable? A. The learning measure B. The type of class C. The control group D. The traditional class E. The blended class B. The type of class Often the easiest way for a person to cope with the unpleasant state associated with cognitive dissonance is to A. Change his or her attitudes B. Lie about his or her behaviors C. Engage in groupthink D. Continue the discrepant behavior A. Change his or her attitudes When people explain the behavior of others, there is a tendency to overestimate the role of personal factors and underestimate the role of the situation. This bias is called the A. Fundamental attribution error B. Central route to persuasion C. Peripheral route to persuasion D. Self-serving bias A. Fundamental attribution error Following his initial experiment, Stanley Milgram manipulated several factors in his study of obedience. Obedience levels dropped when A. The experimenter was replaced with an ordinary person B. He moved the study to the prestigious campus of Yale
C. Answering a question on a multiple choice test correctly Julie first learned French, then she learned Spanish. However, she finds that often times when she speaks French, Spanish words seem to creep in. This is an example of _______________.
A. retroactive interference B. proactive interference C. memory trace D. constructive processing E. levels of processing A. Retroactive interference The part of the neuron responsible for carrying the neural message from one end to the other is the: A. Soma B. Dendrite C. Axon D. Glial cells E. Myelin C. Axon The gap between neurons is called a(n) A. Synapse B. Receptor C. Threshold D. Axon terminal A. Synapse This section of the nervous system is responsible for calming the body after a stressful response: A. Sympathetic B. Central C. Parasympathetic D. Autonomic E. Sensory neurons C. Parasympathetic This area of the brain is responsible for higher mental functions, such as planning, personality, memory, and decision making: A. Temporal lobes B. Parietal lobes C. Frontal lobes
D. Occipital lobes E. Motor cortex C. Frontal lobes The smallest difference between two stimuli that is detectable 50 percent of the time is called: A. Absolute threshold B. Just noticeable difference C. Subliminal perception D. Habituation E. Sensory adaptation B. Just noticeable difference The __________ forms the rear multilayer part of the eye and its function is to transform patterns of light into images that the brain can use. A. Vitreous humor B. Retina C. Lens D. Pupil B. Retina The ___________________ theory proposes that the combination of red, blue, and green cones and rate at which they fire determines what color will be seen. A. opponent-process theory B. trichromatic theory C. light adaptation D. dark adaptation E. afterimage theory B. Trichromatic theory The part(s) of the eye that can only detect black and white and shades of gray is/are called: A. Cones B. Rods C. Vitreous humor D. Pupil E. Iris B. Rods In one of Pavlov's studies, he trained a dog to salivate in response to a buzzer by repeatedly sounding a buzzer before placing food in the dog's mouth. The buzzer became a(n) __________, and the
Billy's parents show him love and affection when he brings home a report card with straight As. When he does not receive straight As in school, his parents become distant and cold. It is likely that Billy is experiencing __________________. A. conditional positive regard B. unconditional positive regard C. self-actualization D. mismatch between real self and ideal self E. full functioning A. Conditional positive regard The personality test that is most concerned with assessing abnormalities in personality is called: A. Keirsey Temperament Sorter B. Myers-Briggs Inventory C. MMPI- 2 D. Big Five Personality Inventory E. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire C. MMPI- 2 Anxiety that seems to have no real source, consists of excessive worrying, and is associated with physical symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, irritability, and sleeping problems is called: A. Panic disorder B. Obsessive compulsive disorder C. Phobia D. Agoraphobia E. Generalized anxiety disorder E. Generalized anxiety disorder Which type of schizophrenia is associated with frequent hallucinations, inappropriate affect, and disorganization in speech? A. Catatonic B. Paranoid C. Disorganized D. Undifferentiated E. Residual
C. Disorganized Michelle is afraid of frogs because when she was a little girl, her friend Ellen threw frogs at her as a joke. Michelle learned to be afraid of frogs. Which model of abnormality offers the best explanation of Michelle's fear? A. cognitive B. behavioral C. sociocultural D. psychodynamic B. Behavioral A woman has a dream about horseback riding, and a psychoanalyst interprets this dream as her desire to have sexual intercourse. What does sexual intercourse represent in this context? A. Latent content B. Manifest content C. Free association D. Transference E. Resistance A. Latent content A man has a fear of heights. A therapist who uses the technique called "flooding" would A. Encourage him to think of other things. B. Take him to the top of a mountain. C. Present him with many relaxing stimuli at one time. D. Probe the origins of this fear in early childhood. B. Take him to the top of a mountain Sally learns to overcome her phobia of snakes by watching a second child overcome his phobia by being reinforced by a parent with a piece of candy each time he picked up the snake. This is an example of what behavioral technique? A. Modeling B. Participant modeling C. Token economy D. Extinction E. Contingency contract
a dispositional attribution "patricias recklessness has finally gotten her into trouble" fundamental attribution learning the meaning of the concept rather than just saying the words over and over levels-of-processing model memory is seen as a simultaneous process with the creation and storage of memories taking place across a series of networks parallel distributed processing model sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory are part of which model of memory? information processing model remember the old but forget the new proactive interference remembering the new but forgetting the old retroactive interference damage to the hippocampus lose the ability to store new facts retrograde amnesia loss of memory from the point of some injury or trauma backwards, or loss of memory for the past anterograde amnesia loss of memory from the point of injury or trauma forward, or the inability to form new long-term memories behavior overt actions and reactions who is considered to be the father of African American psychology? Francis Cecil Sumner Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis focused on early childhood experiences which scientist focused on observable behavior ignoring the issue of consciousness? John Watson
which perspective is often referred to as the "third force " is psychology and focuses on a person's freedom of choice in determining their behavior humanism which perspective best explains the bystander affect? socioculture bystander affect individuals will be less likely to help someone in need because of the presence of others close by using an eclectic approach in clinical treatment of children using a combination of perspectives to treat different clients the largest subfield of psychology clinical someone with a psychological disorder that is best addressed initially with medication should visit a psychiatrist which step in the scientific method is derived from the goal of description? perceiving a question case study study of one individual in great detail double-blind studies control for the placebo effect and the experimenter effect participants in a research study must do what before they begin? give informed consent before participating conditioned stimulus stimulus that becomes able to produce a learned response by being paired with the original unconditioned stimulus conditioned response learned response to a conditioned stimulus unconditioned response an involuntary response to a naturally occurring or unconditioned stimulus unconditioned stimulus
variable ratio schedule of reinforcement in which the number of responses is required for reinforcement is different for each trial or event fixed interval schedule of reinforcement in which the interval of time that must pass before reinforcement because possible is always the same variable interval schedule of reinforcement in which the interval of time that must pass before reinforcement becomes possible is different for each trial or event what is the relationship between negative reinforcement and punishment? negative reinforcement strengthens a response while punishment weakens a response instinctive drift learning skills though reinforcement but eventually reverting to genetically controlled patters of behavior insight learning "it just came to me" what does AMID stand for? attention, memory, imitation, desire normative social influence admitting to conforming to be like others where has groupthink been known to occur? presidential elections the best way to fix the uncomfortable feeling brought by cognitive dissonance changing behavior if a behavior is assumed to be caused by external characteristics this is known as a situational cause the "robbers cave" experiment showed the value of ____ in combating prejudice an equal status contact romantic love a form of love based on intimacy and passion but not yet committed to a long-term relationship
dendrite receives messages from other cells oligodendrocytes and schwas cells generate a fatty substance called myelin when resting a neuron is negatively charged on the ___ and positively charged on the ____ inside; outside which neurotransmitter stimulates muscle cells to contract but slowly in the heart? acetylcholine heroin is an example of a(n) agonist involuntary muscles are controlled by the ___ nervous system autonomic difficulty sleeping because the body can't tell the difference between night and day focuses on which gland pineal which glad is known to influence al the other glands within the endocrine system? pituitary gland in which of selye's stages is death a possible outcome exhaustion what part of the brain awakens a mother to the sound of her crying baby? reticular formation working long hours to ensure the movements in a routine are perfectly timed deal with which part of the brain cerebellum the great sensory relay station of the brain thalamus the part of the brain involved in the creation of memories and is often linked to Alzheimer's hippocampus suffering from a stroke and having difficulty with language production shows signs of damage to what
closing your eyes and being able to tell the car is moving is due to tiny hairs in the otolith organs turning around in circles and then stopping but still feeling the sensation of spinning is known as fluid still rotating in the semicircular canals knowing a plane flies very fast but looking at it seeming to go slowly is explained by what monocular depth cue? motion parallax the müller-lyer illusion is influenced greatly by one's culture top down processing have the picture of the puzzle (in hand or in head) bottom up processing have puzzle pieces but no picture persistence of vision example light trail with sparklers absolute threshold the minimum amount of stimulation a person needs to detect a stimulus 50% of the time what part of the brain is influential in determining when to sleep? hypothalamus people get more sleepy when the sun goes does because of the suprachiasmatic nucleus in REM sleep voluntary muscles are inhibited hypnogogic images are experienced in stage ___ of sleep N what is a characteristic of N it is the deepest level of sleep after a very demanding, mentally draining day which type of sleep is mostly required? REM sleep
somnamulism sleepwalking some infants experience a kind of sleep apnea that is due to an underdeveloped brain stem bizarre and unrealistic dreams are explained by what theory activation synthesis social-cognitive learning theorists theorists who emphasize the importance of both the influences of other peoples behavior and the influences of a persons own expectancies of learning not an effect of meditation reduction of the need for sleep most common depressant? alcohol negative reinforcers ___ the rate of operant responding and punishments ___ the rate of operant responding increase ; decrease operant conditioning learned, skinner describing your child's irritability or adaptability is not their personality but is actually their temperament works off the pleasure principle id perceived as the executive director of your personality ego 2 coworkers seemed to hate each other and now they are getting married reaction formation female inner masculine side that adds to their personality aniums this defense mechanism what is an important part of our personality development as we attempt to overcome feelings of inferiority
projective tests unconscious thoughts and feelings reaction formation going to the extreme opposite to support the opposite of what you feel (campaigning pro choice march when actually you are pro life) displacement take out anger on an easy target instead of actual angered (boss makes you mad yell at the intern) becoming a cannibal to keep yourself alive in the mountains which is justified because its the only way to stay alive is classified how situational context cultural relativity the need to consider the unique characteristics of the culture in which behavior takes place minimization the tendency to give little or no importance to one's success or positive events and traits dissociative amnesia typically psychological in origin which type of depression is the most common type of mood disorder major depressive disorder personality disorder disorders in which a person adopts a persistent rigid and maladaptive pattern of behavior that interferes with normal social interactions (manipulative) "time-out" is a form of extinction arbitrary interference stephens belief that his girlfriend is cheating on him because she said she had to work overnight rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) cognitive-behavioral therapy i which clients are directly challenged in their irrational beliefs and helped to restructure their thinking into more rational belief statements antipsychotic drugs block what neurotransmitter dopamine
biomedical therapy uses drugs psychoanalytic techniques are designed primarily to help patients what become aware of their repressed conflicts and impulses humanistic therapists are most likely to: emphasize the importance of self-awareness for psychological adjustment what class of drug has provided help to patients experiencing auditory hallucinations and paranoia? antipsychotic drug lithium has been found to be especially effective in the treatment of bipolar disorder Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil are SSRIs Psychology the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Observer Effect when people know they are being watched, they tend to not behave normally Observer Bias happens when the person doing the observing has a particular opinion about what he or she is going to see or expects to see. Sometimes that person only sees those actions that support that expectation and ignores actions that don't fit Representative Sample when a small number of people accurately reflect the members of an entire population. Courtesy Bias when people answer questions in a survey dishonestly, to avoid coming off undesirable or socially unacceptable Experiment the only research method that will allow researchers to determine the cause of a behavior Operational Definition defines the steps or procedures that the experimenter must use to control or measure the variables in the procedure.
