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Exam 1

Terms in this set (30)

Frederick is reading about the ways in which learning can be influenced by different factors. He comes to reasonable conclusions that are supported by the information he gathers. What is Frederick doing?
critical thinking
Which of the following is NOT one of the three key questions to ask when thinking critically?
What are the social repercussions of holding this belief?
Louisa is writing an essay that discusses the concept of dualism, which says that the mind and body are separate but connected parts of a person. Which philosopher's writings should Louisa pay special attention to?
Descartes
Jacob's father thinks Jacob was born to be a skilled ice skater just like his mother and older sister, but Jacob's mother thinks that his skills and interests come from growing up in a household full of skaters. What long-standing debate is at the heart of the disagreement between Jacob's parents?
the nature/nurture debate
Which psychological school of thought focused on how to study subjective perspectives as a unified whole?
Gestalt psychology
Which psychological school of thought arose from Freud's attempts to understand connections between psychology and physical problems?
psychoanalytic theory
Psychologists from which school of thought are concerned with functions that behaviorism cannot explain, such as intelligence and problem solving?
cognitive psychology
Experimental psychology first began in 1879, when ______ established the first psychological laboratory.
Wundt
Which of the following distinctions is held by Margaret Floy Washburn, the first graduate student of Edward Titchener?
She was the first woman to earn a PhD in psychology, a degree that was conferred by Cornell University
Kerrie is an undergraduate who is thinking about majoring in psychology. She also works part time, and she is very interested in how her company builds morale and helps motivate her coworkers. What subfield of psychology might Kerrie want to examine more closely?
organizational psychology
Which of the following statements about ethical research is FALSE?
It is unethical to observe people without their knowledge
Psychologists are scientists who study behavior and mental processes through observation and measurement. What is this approach to understanding psychology called?
Empiricism
Josiah has formed a theory that consumption of sugar makes it difficult for people to fall asleep within one hour. He has designed a study where his hypothesis is that the more sugar people eat, the longer it will take before they can go to sleep. What should Josiah do next?
test his hypothesis
Judith is conducting an experiment on mood and problem solving. She plans to have study participants read either a funny story or a sad story before taking a math test. What is the dependent variable in Judith's study?
the number of math problems participants correctly solve
You see a newspaper headline that claims that eating pizza is deadly. However, when you read the original scientific article cited in the news, you notice that investigators found a correlation between pizza consumption and death only over a 10-year period. Given what you know about correlation, how would you explain this relationship?
Pizza consumption and death are related somehow, but a correlational study is not able to reveal any kind of causal relationship.
During her first psychology class, Carolyn's teacher gives a definition of the field they will be studying. Which would be the best definition of psychology?
The study of mental activity and behavior, which are based on brain processes.
When Rita was deciding which type of cell phone to purchase, she tried to systematically compare prices, features, and quality before making a final decision. Which key term best describes Rita's approach to buying a new phone?
critical thinking
While writing an essay about an early pioneer of psychology, Temple notes that this researcher was interested in identifying the basic parts, or structure, of the conscious mind. Who was she most likely writing about?
Wilhelm Wundt
Sandy is pregnant, and every evening she plays classical music loud enough for the unborn baby to hear. She hopes that putting her baby in a stimulating environment will help him develop strong cognitive skills. Her husband thinks that playing the music is a waste of time, since the baby's intelligence will probably just be based on how smart he and Sandy are. What age-old issue is Sandy and her husband rehashing?
the nature/nurture debate
Which psychological school of thought sought to understand how the operations of the mind help people adapt to environmental demands?
Functionalism
Which phenomenon is difficult for behaviorism to explain?
Chimps learn to use twigs to fish for insects by watching other chimps.
The beliefs, values, rules, and customs that exist within a group of people who share a common language and environment and that are transmitted through learning from one generation to the next are referred to as
culture
This theory of psychology directly contradicted the basic assumptions of structuralism by suggesting that perception of objects is a personal experience rather than a subjective one.
Gestalt psychology
Ila is almost 80 years old, but she is mentally and physically active. Although she sometimes forgets where she put her keys, she is still better at crossword puzzles than anyone else in her family. The kind of psychologist who would research how older adults like Ila maintain their mental abilities as they age would be a ________ psychologist.
developmental
For her honors thesis, Kim wants to investigate whether font color affects how readers remember written descriptions of objects and places. Because the participants' behavior could be influenced if they know the study's goals, Kim decides to mislead them about the study. How can she deceive participants and still conduct her research in an ethical manner?
Kim must inform the participants of the study's true goals after the study is completed. She must also explain why deception was necessary.
Dexter is conducting research where he will get information about how children play by observing and measuring the amount of time they play in groups versus alone on a playground. Dexter is conducting __________ research.
descriptive
Ting has formed a theory that playing video games improves visual attention. If he wants to test this theory, what does he need to do next?
develop a specific hypothesis
Tatyana is conducting an experiment where she gives participants a cup of regular or decaffeinated coffee and then asks them to complete a word-search puzzle. She wants to know if the amount of caffeine in the coffee will affect the time it takes to complete the puzzle. What is the independent variable in this study?
amount of caffeine
Your mother dislikes the fact that you spend your free time playing video games. She points to a newspaper article that says violence is correlated with video game use. Which of these is a scientifically effective counterargument for your mother?
Correlations do not imply causation, so the article does not provide evidence that playing video games will make you more violent.
For his thesis, Alex surveyed college students and found a correlation between self-confidence and grade point average. Why did his adviser correct Alex when he attempted to conclude that good grades raise confidence levels?
Alex's data show an association, but they do not determine a causal relationship between confidence and grade point average.
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