Exam 1: Introduction to the Science of Psychology

Imagine you are watching the news with four psychologists, each of whom takes a different approach to psychology (biological, behavioral, psychodynamic, cognitive). After the lead story ends, you ask, "What would make someone do something horrible and violent like that?" How would each psychologist respond to your question?

The wide influence of the behavioral approach began to fade by the late ________, as its lack of attention to mental processes began to draw criticism.

Dr. Jamison is conducting a study examining the emotional and behavioral changes that occur during puberty. Dr. Jamison is especially interested in how these changes are associated with changes in hormones and brain structures. The subfield of psychology Dr. Jamison seems to be interested in is __________ psychology.

Dr. Zumbahlen is conducting a research study in which she is interested in the effects of aerobic activity on weight loss. Aerobic activity is defined by thirty minutes of exercise on the treadmill three times a week. This specific way of defining aerobic activity is referred to as a(n)__________ definition.

Alexis is very excited because the data that she has gathered to support her Master's thesis have just been determined to be statistically significant. To have results that are statistically significant means

Nina wants to know whether there is a market for a brand new product, the Arctic Blast, which freezes all types of food within seconds. To find out what percentage of people and what types of people might be interested in such a product, Nina needs to use __________ as her method of research.

A psychologist blindfolds a subject and then places the subject's hand into a dish of water. The psychologist asks the subject to report whether his hand feels colder or warmer than before being placed in the water. Which of the following psychologists was most likely to have conducted this study?

As an undergraduate psychology major, Carl has developed a strong desire to study behavior and mental processes, in particular human performance. During an internship at a local business, Carl is intrigued with how a manager's interpersonal style can affect the workers' motivation. The field of __________ psychology would be most applicable to Carl's interests.

What does it mean to say that the results of a study are not statistically significant? The results

To understand why a problem child behaves as she does, Dr. Saldeen maps out the details of how rewards and punishments shape, maintain, and change the child's behavior. Dr. Saldeen is performing __________ of behavior.

Whether a person attributes success or failure to external forces (such as luck)or to personal efforts would be of most interest to a person who works in the area of ________ psychology.

Tom just read an article in the newspaper reporting new research on the link between genes and hostility. The researchers were most likely to have adopted the __________ approach in their research.

Dr. Guavita asked fifty smokers a series of questions about their childhoods and then collected blood samples from them. He found a high correlation between levels of the stress hormone cortisol and amount of reported childhood trauma. Dr. Guavita's research shows that childhood trauma

A person from a collectivist culture just found out that the group project he contributed to in his psychology class earned a final grade of A. What behavior will that person most likely perform after the win?

A person whose degree is in the area of quantitative psychology would probably spend quite a bit of their professional time

While conducting an experiment on alcohol tolerance, Dr. Guff solicits his participants at the door to Skam's (a local drinking and social establishment). When he publishes his findings (that people are extremely tolerant to the effects of alcohol), Dr. Guff's research is criticized because

Jarrod believes that introspection is the only way to obtain good data. In his research, he is trying to identify the basic components of consciousness. Jarrod's research most closely adheres to the tenets of the __________ school of psychology.

Your friend claims that altruism, cooperation, aggression, and other social behaviors increase the chances of human survival and are genetically encoded and passed on from generation to generation. Your friend is supporting

Giorgi wants to manipulate certain aspects of his study to understand the effect of those changes. Such manipulation is a foundational part of

Cognitive psychologists are primarily interested in