Exam 1: An Introduction to Psychology

Organizing and making sense of behavioral observations is central to psychology's goal of:

Wundt began operating the first psychology lab in:

Psychologists have traditionally emphasized the positive aspects of human nature.

A researcher is testing the notion that viewing a popular children's show is associated with brief cognitive deficits. She selects a sample of 75 4-year-old boys. Each boy is randomly assigned to one of three groups. In Group A, the boys watch an 8-minute clip of a television show popular with children. In Group B, the boys watch 8 minutes of an educational show. In Group C, the boys draw and color for 8 minutes. Each boy takes part alone and is unaware that other children are participating. After the 8-minute session, a research assistant assesses each boy's performance on a cognitive task. The assistant was not present during the 8-minute session and does not know which group any of the boys is in. Identify the elements of this experiment corresponding to each of the following concepts: experimental group; control group; independent variable; dependent variable; placebo; control; and double-blind study.

Which psychologist helped pioneer the cognitive perspective?

MD is to PhD as _____ is to _____.

A characteristic that can take on different values is called a(n):

Describe the biopsychosocial perspective in psychology. Explain how the perspective integrates or synthesizes at least three other psychological perspectives.

In an industrial psychology experiment, one group of participants is exposed to confinement; another is not. All participants' performance on a manual dexterity task is then examined. Which set below contains equivalent items?

In _____ review, other psychologists examine an article submitted for publication and make recommendations regarding its acceptance, revision, or rejection.

Some of Sigmund's Freud's theories were built on a foundation of case study work.

Which choice correctly pairs a philosopher with the concept with which he is associated?

Identify and define the four goals of psychology. For each goal, use one or more concrete examples to illustrate how psychologists might pursue the goal in their research.

Experimental research is to correlational research as _____ is to _____.

Penny is a recovering drug addict. Her treatment program emphasizes the influence of stimuli and reinforcers in the environment-"people, places, and things"-on her use of her drug of choice. Her program reflects the _____ perspective in psychology.

Which of the following is NOT one of the goals of psychology?

Lassandra takes a sip of cola. "Sweet . . . cold, wet, tingly . . . slightly bitter," she reports. Lassandra is:

Whereas the philosopher _____ believed that humans possessed some innate knowledge, the philosopher _____ believed that all knowledge is derived from experience.

A researcher finds a correlation of -.45 between the amount of stress participants report having experienced recently and participants' scores on an index of physical health. What does this mean? Provide a one-sentence interpretation of this correlation coefficient. Provide three distinct cause-and-effect mechanisms that might explain this correlation.

Brenda says, "Psychology is the study of behavior." Chase responds, "No, psychologists study emotions." Which statement BEST evaluates these two remarks?