PSYC 110 Week 4 Midterm exam

1. (TCOs 1, 2) Participants in research early in psychology’s history might have been asked to view a chair and describe its color, shape, texture, and other aspects of their conscious experience. These individuals would have been using a method called

2. (TCO 4) In a laboratory, smokers are asked to “drive” using a computerized driving simulator equipped with a stick shift and a gas pedal. The object is to maximize the distance covered by driving as fast as possible on a winding road while avoiding rear-end collisions. Some of the participants smoke a real cigarette immediately before climbing into the driver’s seat. Others smoke a fake cigarette without nicotine. You are interested in comparing how many collisions the two groups have. In this study, thedependent variable is _____.

3. (TCOs 2, 3) Phineas Gage tragically had a tamping iron propelled through his head. Both left and right sides of the prefrontal cortex were severely damaged. As a result of the accident, Phineas Gage

4. (TCOs 2, 3) A group of axons bundled together coated in myelin that travels together through the body is called a

5. (TCOs 2, 3) _____ synapses make it more likely that a neuron will send its message to other neurons, whereas _____ synapses make it less likely that a neuron will send its message.

6. (TCO 4) Which of the following phenomena is a function of the distribution of the rods and cones in the retina?

7. (TCO 4) If a person hears a tone of 300 Hz, three groups of neurons take turns sending the message to the brain—the first group for the first 100 Hz, the second group for the next 100 Hz, and a third for the next 100 Hz. This principle is known as the

8. (TCO 4) Perception is the

9. (TCO 5) Sid is taking part in research on the effects of sleep deprivation; he has been without sleep for 75 hours. Right now, researchers have asked him to sit in front of a computer screen and hit a button each time he sees the letter S on the screen. A few days ago, Sid was a whiz at this task; however, he is doing very poorly today. How are sleep researchers likely to explain Sid’s poor performance?

10. (TCO 5) A client tells his therapist about a dream of riding on a train with his boss. At the end of the journey, the boss gets off the train at a terminal. The content of this dream, as related by the client to the therapist, is what Freud called its _____.

11. (TCO 5) A client tells his therapist about a dream in which he drives his wife to the airport where she boards a plane. As the plane takes off, he is smiling. The therapist says the dream suggests a desire for a divorce. The therapist’s interpretation represents what Sigmund Freud called the dream’s ________.

12. (TCOs 7, 8) A child learns that whenever he eats all of his dinner, he gets a cookie for dessert. This type of learning is BEST explained by

13. (TCOs 7, 8) John has been working on a math problem late at night without success; he falls asleep. Upon awakening, John suddenly realizes how to answer the problem. This best illustrates which of the following?

1. (TCOs 7, 8) For observational learning to occur, each of the following must happen EXCEPT

2. (TCO 7) A display of 12 letters is flashed on a screen in front of you followed by a tone. You attempt to recall a portion of the display based on the specific tone you heard. What aspect of your memory is this experiment designed to assess?

3. (TCO 7) Rochelle remembered getting “B’s” in her English literature classes in college. But years

later, when she applied for a job and took out her transcript, she was shocked to find that she had actually gotten “C–” grades. She then started telling everyone she remembers being a pretty poor student.Her erratic memory of her mediocre performance is most likely due to

4. (TCO 7) Moishe can remember only the first two items and the last two items on the grocery list that his wife just read to him over the phone. The other five items in between are gone. This is an example of the

5. (TCO 8) Seventy percent of the students in a classroom are women and 30 percent are men. One student is described as ambitious, athletic, and assertive. Why are most people likely to think this description refers to a male student?

6. (TCO 8) Tim and Jim are identical twins who were raised apart. Ned and Ed are fraternal twins who were raised together. Which pair of twins will have more similar IQ scores, if either?

7. (TCO 9) Sam is known to be the fastest worker in the mail room. He has worked in the mail room for only a short time, but prides himself on being competent and a quick learner. He often gets positive comments from coworkers and his boss, which helps to motivate him and has a positive effect as he continues to challenge himself at work. As a result of his efficient style, he is also given more freedom than other workers, because his boss is impressed by his ability to sort and organize mail. Sam is likely to be _____ motivated as he continues to challenge and push himself to perform even better each day.

8. (TCO 9) Glenn believes he can learn from his mistakes and that study and perseverance will help him improve his intelligence. According to Dweck, what locus of control does Glenn have?

9. (TCO 9) You are walking in the forest and see a bear. According to the Cannon-Bard theory, what happens next?

10. (TCO 11) Carolyn took home some printer paper from the office. Later, she felt guilty for stealing it, so she brought some paper to work to replace what she took. Freud would suggest that Carolyn’s _____ was influencing her motives and behavior.

11. (TCO 11) What was the basis for Freud’s development of his theory of the Oedipus conflict?

12. (TCO 11) Travis is a participant in the X-Games every year, which features events that are high-flying and exhilarating to watch or participate in, but also very dangerous to the competitors. Because Travis is willing to take chances with his health to get the adrenaline rush from these sorts of events, Cost and McCrae would argue that he ranks high on which of the five factors?