Deck 12: A--Emotional Behaviors, Stress, and Health

Question 1

The parasympathetic nervous system consists of neurons whose axons extend from the medulla and the lower part of the spinal cord to neuron clusters near the organs.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

As a general rule, people are good at detecting when others are lying.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Elaine visualizes receiving an A on her next psychology test. Elizabeth visualizes herself going to the library, organizing her notes and reading the book. Elizabeth is more likely to be successful than Elaine.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

According to the research on happiness, unmarried people are happier than married people.

Question 5

Psychologists use physiological measurements, such as PET and fMRI scans, to determine which emotion a person is experiencing.

Question 6

People who have suffered damage to their amygdala cannot experience the emotion of fear.

Question 7

Research has demonstrated that speaking with a therapist as soon as possible after experiencing a trauma reduces the risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Question 8

Measuring emotional intelligence correctly has proved to be so difficult that contemporary psychologists have basically given up research in this area.

Question 9

The greatest difficulty facing the developers of tests of emotional intelligence is determining what the correct answers are.

Question 10

Giving social support to others tends to improve health outcomes even more than receiving social support.

Question 11

The National Academy of Sciences, after reviewing the research on polygraphs, concluded that polygraph tests should not be used for national security clearances.

Question 12

One of the strongest predictors of who will behave violently is mental illness: people with a history of mental illness are more likely to be violent.

Question 13

Most people who experience extremely traumatic events develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Question 14

Jorge sets a goal for his life: advancing the cause of peace and justice. Jose sets a goal for his life: to make money. According to the research on happiness, Jose is more likely to be happy than Jorge.

Question 15

People who commit acts of violence typically score low on measures of self-esteem.

Question 16

Women who displayed a Duchenne smile in their college yearbook photos were found to report feeling happy and competent decades after graduation.

Question 17

It appears that humans evolved the ability to cry because it reduces tension.

Question 18

If violence is defined to include slapping and pushing, etc., research on heterosexual couples finds that women commit more acts of violence against men than men commit against women.

Question 19

People are more likely to display facial expressions when they are with other people compared to when they are alone.

Question 20

A study asked heterosexual men to rate the attractiveness of swimsuit models. Some of the participants were led to believe the sound they were hearing while viewing the photos was the sound of their heartbeat. Men who believed they were hearing their own heartbeat rated the photos as more attractive.

Question 21

The ____________________ test records indications of sympathetic nervous system arousal, such as blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, and electrical conduction of the skin.

Question 22

Any stimulus that arouses emotion alters the activity of the ____________________, the section of the nervous system that controls the organs such as the heart and intestines.

Question 23

In response to prolonged stress, higher amounts of cortisol are released from the ____________________.

Question 24

You are going to show someone a picture that might arouse anger. The experience of anger will probably be greater if you mold the person's face into a ____________________ before showing the picture.

Question 25

Research focusing on recognition of emotional expression suggests that asking people to match facial expressions to a list of emotions in a matching task ____________________ people's accuracy. Asking people to identify emotions from a still photograph ____________________ their real-life emotion recognition abilities.

Question 26

Researchers measure changes in the startle reflex as an operational definition of ____________________.

Question 27

Researchers have linked violence to childhood maltreatment in combination with one form of the gene controlling the brain protein ____________________.

Question 28

The ____________________ theory of emotions claims that the autonomic nervous system leads to emotions.

Question 29

People with ____________________ have little physical response to any event and weak emotions.

Question 30

The ____________________ nervous system prepares you for a burst of vigorous activity, the ____________________ nervous system generally supports nonemergency functions.

Question 31

The ____________________ test, a modified version of the polygraph test, produces more accurate results by asking questions that should be threatening only to someone who knows the facts of a crime that have not been publicized.

Question 32

The full expression including the muscles around the eyes is called the ____________________.

Question 33

Psychologists sometimes speak of ____________________, the ability to perceive, imagine, and understand emotions and to use that information in making decisions.

Question 34

According to Barbara Fredrickson's ____________________ hypothesis of positive emotions, a happy mood increases your readiness to explore new ideas and opportunities.

Question 35

Phineas Gage showed little emotion after an iron bar damaged his ____________________.

Question 36

Activity of the ____________________ decreases heart rate and increases digestion.

Question 37

Based on ____________________ view of emotion, we can predict that drugs or injuries that prevent strong autonomic arousal will weaken emotional experiences.

Question 38

Emotions are generally associated with changes in the activity of the ____________________ nervous system.

Question 39

Brain-damaged patients who show a significant loss of emotional intelligence also show ____________________.

Question 40

____________________ psychology is the study of the features that enrich life, such as happiness, hope, creativity, courage, spirituality, and responsibility.

Question 41

Psychologists have debated whether or not humans have "basic emotions" and, if so, what constitutes a basic emotion? Describe the three criteria that psychologists generally consider an emotion must meet to be considered as a "basic emotion".

Question 42

Not all psychologists are convinced that anger, fear, and so forth are psychological "elements." For several reasons many question whether it makes sense to talk about basic emotions at all. Describe the three arguments presented in your text that do not support the concept of "basic emotions."

Question 43

While we typically think of emotions as an internal experience that is followed by a facial expression representing our emotion, many researchers have questioned whether this is in fact the case. Specifically, researchers have wondered if they could illicit an emotional response by molding a participant's posture and breathing pattern into a pattern typical of a given emotion. Describe what happened in the study illustrated in your text in which participants were made to frown or smile by holding pens in their lips.

Question 44

One attempt to use physiological measurement of an emotion for a practical purpose is the polygraph, or lie-detector test. Describe how a polygraph is supposed to work. Explain one limitation in the efficacy of the polygraph test and how polygraph users have attempted to address this limitation.

Question 45

Human beings are capable of ghastly acts of cruelty but also of nobility, heroism, and courageous opposition to violence. The struggle to understand violence is among the most important goals facing humanity in general and psychology in particular. Researchers are fairly certain that the combination of genetics and environment plays a role in predicting violence. Seven other factors that are associated with greater risk for violent behavior are presented in your text. List four of these seven risk factors.