Deck 2: Origins of a Science of Mind

Question 1

Previous research on cerebral localization by Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Hitzig had found five areas of motor control, while research by David Ferrier in the same area found the following number:

A)15
B)32
C)7
D)20

Answer 1

15

Question 2

The term coined by Mueller to describe that each type of sensory nerve is specific to a particular sensory modality, such as vision or hearing, is

A)the doctrine of specific nerve energies.
B)the specification of nerve impulses.
C)the law of specific nerve energies.
D)the doctrine of independent nerve impulses.
E)none of the above

Answer 2

the doctrine of specific nerve energies.

Question 3

The efforts of Robert Whytt, William Cullen, Franz Joseph Gall, and others to contend that mental processes could be accounted for by bodily processes alone and that the brain and mind were not separate entities was strongly resisted because

A)the church had control over access to research facilities and equipment, and ideas deviating from the traditional Cartesian method were not tolerated.
B)the development of an empirically valid method to test such a theory had not yet been developed, and the idea was so foreign to people that it was disregarded.
C)many people thought that higher mental processes, such as will and intellect, were unique to humans and therefore required a more elaborate explanation.
D)to follow the beliefs of scientists, who by their nature deviated from the teachings of the church, often resulted in being shunned by family and friends.

Answer 3

many people thought that higher mental processes, such as will and intellect, were unique to humans and therefore required a more elaborate explanation.

Question 4

Phrenology was a method of determining mental abilities and traits by

A)examining facial characteristics, such as the shape of the nose.
B)examining body types.
C)having subjects fill out questionnaires.
D)reading the bumps on one's skull.

Question 5

Mind-body dualism refers to

A)John Locke's description of the inability of the mind and body to fully function without each other.
B)Descartes's belief that the soul is entirely distinct from the body.
C)The philosophy that the mind and the body work together to form a cohesive, well-functioning entity.
D)Franz Joseph Gall's argument that the mind and body are inseparable entities and should be empirically studied as one.

Question 6

A major philosophical debate in the 19th century was focused on the relationship between the brain and the mind.The philosopher and theory that were primarily associated with fueling this debate were

A)Descartes and his theory that all mental processing and functions of the body could be understood through naturalistic terms and there was no need to explain brain functions through divine influence.
B)Locke and his philosophy that all knowledge is gained directly through sense experience.
C)Locke and his philosophy that knowledge is innate.
D)Descartes and his theory that higher mental powers such as rationality were the result of divine influence while lower mental processing and functions of the body could be understood in naturalistic or mechanical terms.

Question 7

In the 17th century, Descartes used the technology of automata to explain how the human body functions; a century later, philosophers and scientists referred to the function of ____ to explain how organisms engaged in self-regulation.

A)steam engines
B)automobiles
C)ocean liners
D)aircraft

Question 8

Flourens's use of the experimental method had several outcomes.Most notably, it allowed for

A)the use of animals as an acceptable way to produce research.
B)the surgical method to be considered a valid technique for the psychological sciences.
C)an increased acceptance and respect given by the medical community.
D)investigations to be considered valid as long as they were experimental and based in a laboratory.

Question 9

Ferrier's book titled The Functions of the Brain was dedicated to Gall for what reason?

A)Gall had predicted, 50 years earlier, that someone would validate this work on brain localization.
B)Gall was Ferrier's mentor, and his encouragement had allowed Ferrier to produce such successful research.
C)Gall was conducting similar research at the same time as Ferrier, and the two were in fierce competition to produce the best research.
D)Ferrier's book was not dedicated to Gall.

Question 10

Gall referred to the brain as

A)the main center of life.
B)the organ of the mind.
C)the connection between human life and God.
D)the executive function.

Question 11

Which of the following psychologists is associated with the development of a color vision theory that best accounted for both the physical processes and the psychological experience?

A)Hermann von Helmholtz
B)Emil du Bois-Reymond
C)Christine Ladd-Franklin
D)Johannes Mueller

Question 12

Robert Whytt's 1751 publication On the Vital and Other Involuntary Motions of Animals suggests that the principle of sentience is the force behind an organism's response to stimuli.This was an important finding because

A)it allowed a third absolute category (stimulated motion) to be introduced into the mind-body debate.
B)it offered an alternative to Cartesian dualism.
C)the previous beliefs surrounding response-stimuli were not congruent with the zeitgeist of psychology and were quickly becoming irrelevant.
D)of none of the above

Question 13

Your textbook authors state that at least four strands of thought and practice were important for the emergence of Psychology by the end of the 19th century.These are

A)philosophy, medicine, evolutionary theory, and religion.
B)philosophy, physiognomy, Lamarckiansim, and religion.
C)philosophy, physiology, evolution by natural selection, and religion.
D)philosophy, physiology, evolution by natural selection, and creation of a psychological sensibility through everyday practices.

Question 14

Descartes understood the functions of the mechanics of the body through automata, which are

A)self-moving mechanical objects.
B)automatic and unconscious bodily responses.
C)replicas of human bodies with moving functions and removable parts.
D)mechanical replicas of the human mind.

Question 15

Although René Descartes was a philosopher, his philosophy was important for the development of psychology.His philosophy concerning the origin of knowledge stated

A)that there is no knowledge without truth.
B)that one can only believe those things that have no possibility of doubt.
C)that knowledge is discovered through sense experience.
D)that humans are born blank slates.
E)none of the above

Question 16

Gall's original term for what became phrenology was

A)organology.
B)bumpology.
C)cranioscopy.
D)neurology.

Question 17

Hermann von Helmholtz's trichromatic theory of color vision suggests that

A)every color that is perceived by humans is the result of a specific combination of up to three retinal receptors.
B)color vision results from stimulation of specific receptors on the retina.
C)the physiological process of color vision differs from that of monochromatic vision.
D)color vision results from stimulation of specific receptors on the cornea.

Question 18

Flourens sought to empirically demonstrate that there was no division of cerebral functioning.To do so, he

A)ran hundreds of experiments using pigeons and, when the results were inconclusive, claimed they were proof against localization.
B)ablated the brains of animals and observed their recovery.
C)had both left- and right-handed individuals complete a battery of identical tests and compared the findings.
D)cut the tissue connecting the two sides of the brain and observed behavior.

Question 19

Whytt's principle of sentience refers to

A)breaking down the functions of the body and mind into separate, absolute categories.
B)the theory that energy can never be created or destroyed.
C)an organism's response to stimuli involves the action of volition (a function of higher mental powers).
D)the theory that all living organisms are sentient.

Question 20

Locke's model of knowledge, called associationism, involves

A)the formation of complex ideas from combinations of simpler ideas.
B)the understanding of ideas through an examination of the process from which the ideas originated.
C)the conceptualization of mental processes through the mechanics of the body.
D)the concept of tabula rasa.

Question 21

The law of conservation of energy asserts that

A)organisms constantly store, or conserve, a certain amount of energy as a "backup."
B)energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed.
C)energy has the ability to be created, destroyed, or transformed.
D)humans differ from other organisms in the physiological process of energy conservation.

Question 22

One of Charles Darwin's major contributions to the field of psychology was

A)his research surrounding the measurement of nerve impulses in organisms.
B)his use of the theory of evolution to explain the differences among races.
C)his approach of studying man through the study of animals, a branch of psychology that later became known as comparative psychology.
D)his development of eugenics.

Question 23

One of the most controversial aspects of Darwin's work was

A)his belief in the inheritance of acquired characteristics.
B)that it was not based on careful observations.
C)that it allowed for no religious belief.
D)the principle of the continuity of life.

Question 24

George Romanes's writing about animals was considered highly

A)technical.
B)anthropomorphized.
C)unsentimental.
D)empirical.

Question 25

Darwin's uniformitarian hypothesis states that

A)the physical geography of the earth has gradually changed over a long period.
B)changes to the earth's geographical state were an act of a divine force.
C)all organisms within a specific geographical area, such as the Galapagos Islands, demonstrated traits from a common lineage.
D)the earth is much younger than previously suggested.