Deck 3: The Biological and Evolutionary Bases of Behavior

Question 1

A prisoner is violent and hostile, although he wasn't always this way. His therapist believes that the environment the prisoner was raised in brought about his aggressive tendencies. The therapist is espousing the view that behavior is primarily influenced by

A) nature.
B) biology.
C) nurture.
D) heredity.

Answer 1

nurture.

Question 2

Charles Darwin noted that among the finches on the various Galápagos Islands, the factor that differentiated those that survived from those that didn't was

A) the shape of their beaks.
B) the nesting sites they chose.
C) their speed and endurance in flying.
D) their ability to camouflage their eggs.

Answer 2

the shape of their beaks.

Question 3

According to the theory of natural selection,

A) organisms prefer natural environments to artificial habitats.
B) each organism has the ability to choose which of nature's laws it will follow.
C) organisms that are well adapted to their environment will produce more offspring.
D) organisms that are well adapted to their environment will produce fewer offspring.

Answer 3

organisms that are well adapted to their environment will produce more offspring.

Question 4

As you enter a crowded room, you catch a glimpse of your friend's dark hair and slim frame. What you are noticing most directly are aspects of your friend's

A) genotype.
B) phenotype.
C) adaptations.
D) selective advantage.

Question 5

While surfing the Web, you stop at an anthropology website. There, you learn that natural selection favored two major adaptations in the evolution of the human species:

A) fire and the wheel.
B) reading and writing.
C) language and emotion.
D) bipedalism and encephalization.

Question 6

Your genetics professor has asked you to simplify the process of natural selection into a sequence of steps. Which of the following will your professor agree is the correct sequence?

A) competition for resources, reproductive success, frequency of genotype increases, selection of fittest genotype, environmental pressure
B) reproductive success, competition for resources, frequency of genotype increases, environmental pressure, selection of fittest genotype
C) selection of fittest genotype, competition for resources, environmental pressure, reproductive success, frequency of that genotype increases
D) environmental pressure, competition for resources, selection of fittest genotype, reproductive success, frequency of genotype increases

Question 7

Gregor Mendel is best known for his research on

A) how human intelligence is inherited.
B) ethnic and racial differences.
C) identical and fraternal twins.
D) garden peas.

Question 8

Sex chromosomes

A) contain 23 pairs of genes.
B) are identical for males and females.
C) bring about the union of a sperm and an egg.
D) code the development of male or female physical characteristics.

Question 9

In the human male, the sex chromosomes normally consist of a(n) ________ pair; in the human female they consist of a(n) ________ pair.

A) XY; XX
B) XX; XX
C) YY; XX
D) XX; YY

Question 10

Heritability is measured on a scale of

A) -1.0 to +3.1.
B) 0 to 1.
C) 0 to 10.
D) 1 to 100.

Question 11

In a study by Vink et al. (2009) described in your textbook, which of the following behaviors yielded a "rather large" heritability estimate of about 0.62 for monozygotic (identical) twins?

A) preferring coffee over tea
B) preferring baseball over football
C) preferring to get dressed "pants first" over "shirt first"
D) preferring a partner with their own hair color over a partner with a different hair color

Question 12

Which cell part and description is matched correctly?

A) soma; contains the nucleus and cytoplasm that sustains its life
B) terminal button; extends outward from the cell body and receives incoming signals
C) dendrite; conducts information along its length, at the end of which can be found terminal buttons
D) axon; bulblike structure through which stimulation of nearby glands, muscles, or other neurons is made possible

Question 13

Imagine that you have gone to the garden to pick a rose. Unfortunately, when reaching for a flower, your thumb encounters a thorn and you jerk your hand away. What is the order in which information is communicated, from the time of the prick through withdrawal of your hand and realization of pain?

A) sensory neuron, brain, interneuron, motor neuron
B) sensory neuron, interneuron, motor neuron, brain
C) motor neuron, interneuron, brain, sensory neuron
D) brain, interneuron, sensory neuron, motor neuron

Question 14

While jotting down the numerous functions of glial cells being rattled off by your professor, you make an error: glial cells do NOT

A) prevent the formation of a myelin sheath around axons.
B) make up a blood-brain barrier around blood vessels in the brain.
C) help guide newborn neurons to appropriate locations in the brain.
D) take up excess neurotransmitters and other substances at the gaps between neurons.

Question 15

The myelin sheath, which is found around some types of axons,

A) has no known function.
B) is composed of glial cells.
C) decreases the speed of nerve signal conduction.
D) increases the likelihood that harmful substances will reach the brain.

Question 16

When the neuron is inactive, we say it is in a resting state. When it is in such a state,

A) we say the neuron is depolarized.
B) potassium is being actively pumped out of the cell.
C) it does not have the capacity to respond to stimulation.
D) the fluid inside the neuron is slightly negative electrically, relative to the fluid outside the neuron.

Question 17

You arrive at class late, and walk in during the part of the lecture describing how action potentials work. The professor says, "the channels that allow sodium to flow into the neuron have just closed and the channels that allow potassium to flow out have opened." You can conclude that the cell is

A) in its leaking state.
B) in the process of being depolarized and will soon fire.
C) in the process of returning to its original resting state.
D) not behaving as it normally would and might be damaged.

Question 18

In the context of the action potential, all of the following are consequences of the all-or-none law EXCEPT that

A) if the threshold is not reached, no action potential occurs.
B) the size of the action potential does not diminish along the length of the axon.
C) once started, the action potential needs no outside stimulation to keep going.
D) the size of the action potential varies as a function of the intensity of stimulation.

Question 19

During the absolute refractory period,

A) neurons can fire continuously.
B) no amount of further stimulation can induce another action potential to develop.
C) only the strongest stimulation will cause another action potential to be generated.
D) the neuron will fire to a stimulus that is slightly stronger than what is normally necessary.

Question 20

The image of a key fitting into a keyhole is most useful in understanding how

A) synaptic vesicles are opened by an action potential.
B) the end of one neuron fits snugly into another.
C) ion channels open and close.
D) neurotransmitters bind to receptor molecules.

Question 21

A mystery writer can't decide how the victim will meet his end. One possibility is to have him suffer botulism poisoning, but curare, a poison used by Amazon Indians, is also a possibility. In either case, the victim's death will involve the neurotransmitter

A) acetylcholine.
B) GABA.
C) dopamine.
D) norepinephrine.

Question 22

A patient has just received a prescription drug that will decrease her high level of anxiety. It is most likely that the drug she has received will increase the activity of the neurotransmitter

A) acetylcholine.
B) GABA.
C) nitric oxide.
D) dopamine.

Question 23

A student is interrupted while making notes for a test on neurotransmitter substances. When he returns to the task, he makes a mistake. Can you see the error?

A) norepinephrine - depression
B) dopamine - schizophrenia
C) dopamine - Parkinson's disease
D) norepinephrine - botulism

Question 24

Psychologists are especially interested in neurotransmitters that belong to the class of substances called catecholamines because research suggests that these substances play a major role in

A) long-term memory.
B) mood disturbances and schizophrenia.
C) drug addiction.
D) pain.

Question 25

A friend is taking a drug awareness class. One of the things he learns is that LSD, a hallucinogenic drug that produces bizarre sensory experiences, is believed to work because it

A) suppresses the effect of serotonin neurons.
B) increases the production of serotonin.
C) enhances the effect of serotonin, which is normally excitatory.
D) removes serotonin from the body.

Question 26

You come across a magazine article on endorphins. It doesn't surprise you that it is subtitled "the keys to paradise," because

A) they have the capacity to alter a person's mood state.
B) these substances can reduce the addictive properties of illegal drugs.
C) of their pleasure-pain controlling properties.
D) many of the new prescription medications will have endorphins as their primary component.

Question 27

A research participant is given a dose of the drug naloxone and then his arm is placed in a bucket of ice water, which is normally quite a painful experience. It is likely that the

A) participant will experience little or no pain.
B) participant will experience a placebo effect.
C) participant will undergo a painful experience.
D) participant's body will stop producing endorphins.

Question 28

Much of the research related to how our brains respond when we have to make decisions about trust has been focused on a hormone called oxytocin. Oxytocin

A) functions in our brains to enhance social bonds between animals.
B) is unlikely to have much of an impact on social behavior.
C) helps us to act on information that tells us that our trust has been broken.
D) influences brain activity no differently from a placebo.

Question 29

Historically speaking, the case of Phineas Gage, a railroad worker who was injured in 1848, is important because it provides evidence for a link between

A) verbal and motor behavior.
B) the brain and complex psychological processes.
C) near-death experiences and motivation.
D) intellectual faculties and equilibrium.

Question 30

Broca's area in the brain is most closely associated with

A) memory.
B) emotion.
C) language.
D) physical movement.

Question 31

The problem with relying on participants whose brains have been accidentally damaged in order to understand brain functioning is that

A) researchers have no control over the location or extent of the damage.
B) people with damaged brains no longer allow themselves to be studied by researchers.
C) the brain damage is never extensive enough and does not produce noticeable changes in behavior.
D) governmental agencies prohibit research with people who have suffered damage to their brains.

Question 32

You see a notice to recruit participants for an experiment that will use rTMS. If you participated in such a study, you should expect that

A) a series of words will be read to you rapidly through earphones.
B) reversible "lesions" will inactivate areas of your brain.
C) you will be expected to make decisions with others in a group.
D) you will be given a physical stress test and your oxygen levels will be monitored.

Question 33

In a study by Cappelletti et al. (2008) described by your authors, the different parts of the brain associated with producing spoken nouns and spoken verbs were examined. Which of the following techniques was used to temporarily lesion specific brain areas in this study?

A) fMRI
B) rTMS
C) EMG
D) SPECT

Question 34

A project director is committed to using a noninvasive technique to examine the functions of the brain. If she is true to her word, she will avoid the use of

A) lesioning techniques.
B) magnetic resonance imaging.
C) positron emission tomography.
D) functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Question 35

The ________ shows where different types of activity are occurring in the brain and involves the use of a safe radioactive substance that is given to participants.

A) MRI
B) fMRI
C) PET scan
D) electroencephalogram

Question 36

A researcher wants to be able to make precise claims about both the structure and the function of the brain. It will be best if she uses ________ to accomplish both goals.

A) a PET scan
B) EEG tracings
C) functional MRI
D) electrical stimulation

Question 37

You remember as a child seeing an insect buzzing on a flower and trying to catch the insect. You may also remember the pain and your hand automatically jerking away. Although you didn't know it at the time, your reflexive withdrawal was controlled by your

A) brain.
B) spinal cord.
C) frontal lobe.
D) autonomic nervous system.

Question 38

A first-time marathon runner is learning that running a marathon can be quite stimulating. The applause from the spectators, sights along the road, and the pain in her legs are all experiences brought to her central nervous system by her

A) CNS.
B) brain.
C) brain stem.
D) peripheral nervous system.

Question 39

You are typing a letter to your friend. Suddenly, an image of a car wreck pops up on your screen and you are startled by it. In this situation, the act of typing the letter is regulated by your ________, while your response of fear is regulated by your ________.

A) sympathetic division; parasympathetic division
B) parasympathetic division; sympathetic division
C) somatic nervous system; autonomic nervous system
D) autonomic nervous system; somatic nervous system

Question 40

Each fifth grader is supposed to play the role of a part of the body for the school play. One of the children says that she is responsible for respiration, digestion, and arousal. You can surmise that she must be playing the role of the

A) spinal cord.
B) somatic nervous system.
C) central nervous system.
D) autonomic nervous system.

Question 41

One way to conceptualize the relationship among the elements of the nervous system is to use a hierarchical organization. Using this kind of scheme, the

A) sympathetic and parasympathetic are divisions of the somatic nervous system.
B) peripheral nervous system can be divided into the somatic and autonomic nervous systems.
C) autonomic nervous system is composed of the peripheral and central nervous systems.
D) two divisions of the central nervous system are the somatic and autonomic nervous systems.

Question 42

Taking a shortcut through the park late one night, you catch a glimpse of movement in the shadows. Automatically, your ________ mobilizes your body into action and your ________ tells the muscles in your legs to run.

A) sympathetic nervous system; spinal cord
B) parasympathetic nervous system; brain
C) sympathetic nervous system; somatic nervous system
D) parasympathetic nervous system; somatic nervous system

Question 43

In the middle of the night, you hear two loud thumps outside your bedroom door. Your ________ nervous system increases your heart rate and sends blood away from internal organs to your muscles, preparing you for "fight or flight." When you learn it is just your roommate coming in late, your ________ nervous system slows down your heart rate and calms you down.

A) peripheral; somatic
B) somatic; peripheral
C) sympathetic; parasympathetic
D) parasympathetic; sympathetic

Question 44

You are working with a friend to develop flash cards to help your study of brain structures and their functions. Your friend remembers correctly that the ________ is involved primarily in autonomic processes such as heart rate and breathing, and you remember that the ________ is involved in motivation, emotion and memory processes.

A) cerebrum; cerebral cortex
B) brain stem; limbic system
C) limbic system; brain stem
D) cerebral cortex; brain stem

Question 45

In the brain, the ________ and its surface layer, the ________, integrates sensory information, coordinates your movements, and facilitates abstract thinking and reasoning.

A) cerebrum; cerebral cortex
B) cerebral cortex; cerebrum
C) cerebellum; cerebral cortex
D) cerebral cortex; cerebellum

Question 46

A child is having a tantrum. He tells his parents that he is going to hold his breath until he turns blue. Fortunately, the ________, which controls his breathing (along with the beating of his heart), won't let him do so.

A) pons
B) medulla
C) amygdala
D) hippocampus

Question 47

All of the following are located in the brain stem EXCEPT the

A) hypothalamus.
B) medulla.
C) reticular formation.
D) pons.

Question 48

While discussing the functions of the brain stem, the lecturer notices that many of his students appear to have fallen asleep. This reminds him of the ________, which arouses the cerebral cortex to attend to new stimulation and keeps the brain alert even during sleep.

A) pons
B) medulla
C) cerebellum
D) reticular formation

Question 49

As you read this question, the ________ is relaying information from the eyes to cortical areas for vision.

A) thalamus
B) cerebellum
C) hypothalamus
D) reticular formation

Question 50

Imagine that the size of structures within people's brains grow as skills are developed. If this were true, you can predict that the size of the ________ in a ballerina or gymnast would be larger than normal because of their ability to coordinate bodily movements, control posture, and maintain equilibrium.

A) thalamus
B) cerebellum
C) hippocampus
D) reticular formation

Question 51

The limbic system includes the

A) medulla, hippocampus, and pons.
B) hypothalamus, cerebrum, and cerebellum.
C) hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala.
D) reticular formation, amygdala, and thalamus.

Question 52

As you leave class, you hear the professor mention that the next class will deal with the largest of the limbic system structures and one that is also implicated in the acquisition of memories. The most likely topic for the next class will be the

A) hypothalamus and homeostasis.
B) importance of the amygdala.
C) characteristics of the hippocampus.
D) thalamus: the brain's relay station.

Question 53

A doctor on television is discussing the curious case of G.R., a patient who has suffered damage to his brain. G.R. believes that it is still 1970 and that the last Olympic games were held in Mexico in 1968, even though it is now the 21st century. Before the doctor divulges the part of the brain that is damaged in this individual, you predict that it is the

A) thalamus.
B) hypothalamus.
C) hippocampus.
D) medulla.

Question 54

Damage to parts of this area of the brain may have a calming effect on "mean-spirited" people and has recently been implicated in the acquisition and use of knowledge related to threat and danger. It is the

A) amygdala.
B) thalamus.
C) hippocampus.
D) hypothalamus.

Question 55

A woman is a hypochondriac. She is always reading medical journals and is constantly experiencing imagined symptoms of medical problems. Lately, she has been gaining a lot of weight, and feels that her internal physiological processes are out of balance. She is most likely to conclude that she has suffered brain damage to her

A) amygdala.
B) thalamus.
C) hypothalamus.
D) parietal lobe.

Question 56

In science class, a nine-year-old is learning about how thermostats work. The teacher tells her that the furnace goes on when the temperature gets too cold, and then goes off when the temperature reaches a certain level. The student doesn't know it, but this operation is similar to the concept of

A) evolution.
B) determinism.
C) homeostasis.
D) the action potential.

Question 57

A child is playing an educational game called Brain Power. He reads clues about a part of the brain that occupies two-thirds of its total mass and that regulates higher thinking and emotional functions. He should recognize this part to be the

A) cerebrum.
B) hypothalamus.
C) corpus callosum.
D) cerebral cortex.

Question 58

The cerebrum is divided into two almost symmetrical halves, called the ________, which are connected by a mass of fibers called the ________.

A) nuclei; nerve fibers
B) lobes; cerebral connector
C) cerebral cortices; equator
D) cerebral hemispheres; corpus callosum

Question 59

With respect to the lobes of the brain, the frontal lobe is involved in ________ and the occipital lobe is the final destination for ________.

A) motor control; visual information
B) pain sensations; auditory sensations
C) planning activities; touch sensations
D) touch sensations; cognitive activities

Question 60

A friend is having trouble locating the motor cortex, so you try to help her out. You should explain that the motor cortex is located

A) below the lateral fissure, in the temporal lobes.
B) above the lateral fissure, in the occipital lobes.
C) in front of the central sulcus, in the frontal lobes.
D) just behind the central sulcus, in the left and right parietal lobes.

Question 61

Imagine that you have been asked to give a short talk on the functioning of the auditory cortex. Make sure NOT to tell your audience that

A) the auditory cortex is located in the two temporal lobes.
B) the auditory cortex in each hemisphere receives information from both ears.
C) the auditory cortex of the left hemisphere receives information only from the right ear.
D) different areas of the auditory cortex are involved in language comprehension and production of language.

Question 62

You are looking at a drawing that represents the relationship between the motor cortex and different parts of the body. What strikes you is that

A) the shoulders are missing from the drawing.
B) only the areas related to the eyes, ears, and nose are larger than normal.
C) the feet are huge, compared to the rest of the body.
D) the areas related to the fingers, thumb, and the muscles that control speech are quite large.

Question 63

The majority of the cerebral cortex is involved in

A) language behavior.
B) processing sensory information.
C) commanding the muscles to action.
D) interpreting and integrating information.

Question 64

When Paul Broca carried out his autopsy on the patient known as "Tan," he discovered damage in the ________ hemisphere; other patients studied by Broca who showed similar disruption of their language abilities had damage on the ________ side of their brains.

A) left; left
B) left; right
C) right; left
D) right; right

Question 65

All you know about someone is that she is a "split-brain" patient. You can conclude that she

A) has had her corpus callosum severed.
B) will be unable to eat or walk unassisted.
C) will probably demonstrate multiple personalities.
D) has been born with the equivalent of half of a brain.

Question 66

A friend has been told by his girlfriend that his hormones are out of balance, so he decides to do a little research. He is compiling a list of all of the characteristics of hormones. Which of the following statements should you tell him to remove from his list? Hormones

A) help fight infections and disease.
B) serve as the basis for mood changes.
C) have general, rather than specific or targeted effects.
D) initiate, maintain, and stop development of primary and secondary sexual characteristics.

Question 67

The endocrine glands produce hormones that regulate various bodily functions. Which gland-function pair is mismatched?

A) thyroid; metabolism
B) parathyroid; glucose metabolism
C) anterior pituitary; reactions to stress
D) posterior pituitary; uterus contraction

Question 68

A classmate is working on her presentation on the endocrine system for class. You overhear her as she says, "This gland is often called the 'master gland' because it has an effect on the secretions of all the other endocrine glands." It sounds as though she is talking about the

A) adrenals.
B) pancreas.
C) pituitary.
D) hypothalamus.

Question 69

If we can apply Mark Rosenzweig's research on rats raised in impoverished or enriched environments to humans, then we would encourage humans to live in a(n)

A) environment that is deprived of unnecessary stimulation.
B) environment that is full of stimulation when children, but not when adults.
C) enriched environment even after childhood.
D) stressful environment in order to strengthen the functioning of the hippocampus.

Question 70

Interneurons are one type of neuron.

Question 71

Diagram a neuron, label its parts, and describe how it works. In your description, be sure to provide a brief explanation of the resting potential and the action potential. Then, explain how information flows from neuron to neuron. How does information transmission in the nervous system differ from the information transmission that takes place in the endocrine system?