PSY 101 - Exam 1 Study Guide Answers - Chapters 1 & 2 with complete solutions, Exams of Nursing

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PSY 101 - Exam 1 Study Guide Answers

- Chapters 1 & 2

Define "psychology" - correct answer ✔✔the scientific study of behavior and mental processes Identify and describe the four main goals of psychology - correct answer ✔✔1. Description: WHAT is their nature?

2. Explanation: WHY do they occur?
3. Prediction: WHEN will they occur?
4. Change: How can we CHANGE them? Define "critical thinking" - correct answer ✔✔the process of objectively evaluating, comparing, analyzing, and synthesizing information EX: A team of scientists working with great precision through a complex experiment in an effort to gather and analyze data. Describe the goal of Structuralism and the method used for this type of psychology - correct answer ✔✔Goal: to identify the basic building blocks, or "structures," of mental life though introspection and then to determine how these elements combine to form the whole of experience It used introspection. Describe the goal of Functionalism and the method used for this type of psychology - correct answer ✔✔Goal: to study the way the mind functions to enable humans and other animals to adapt to their environment. It included research on emotions and observable behaviors Identify the various perspectives guiding the field of psychology - correct answer ✔✔1. psychoanalytic

2. psychodynamic
3. behavioral
4. humanistic
5. cognitive
6. biological
7. evolutionary
8. sociocultural Describe the biopsychosocial model, including what explains behavior from this model - correct answer ✔✔It is an integrative, unifying theme of modern psychology that sees biological, psychological, and social processes as interacting influences List the steps to the scientific method - correct answer ✔✔1. question and literature review
9. testable hypothesis
10. research design
11. data collection and analysis
12. publication
13. theory development Contrast hypothesis and theories - correct answer ✔✔hypothesis: a tentative and testable explanation (or "educated guess") about the relationship between two or more variables; a testable prediction or question theory: an organized, interrelated set of concepts that explain a phenomenon or body of data Operational definition (be able to recognize an operational definition from an example of a psychological variable) - correct answer ✔✔a precise description of how the variables in a study will be observed, manipulated, and measured. EX: a better grade on my exams might be operationally defined as earning one letter grade higher than the letter grade on my previous exam

Describe the purpose of descriptive research. Name and describe the key types of descriptive research - correct answer ✔✔purpose: observe, collect, and record data (meets psychology's goal of description) Key Types:

1. naturalistic observation: the process of recording and observing a research participant's savior and mental processes in his or her natural setting, without interfering
2. survey: a research technique that questions a large sample of people to assess their behaviors and mental processes
3. case study: an in-depth study of a single research participant or a small group of individuals
4. archival research: a descriptive research approach that studies existing data to find answers to research questions Advantages and disadvantages of descriptive research - correct answer ✔✔advantages: minimizes artificiality, makes data collection easier, allows description of behavior and mental processes as they occur disadvantages: less control over variables, cannot identify cause and effect, potential biases Purpose of correlational research and advantages & disadvantages - correct answer ✔✔purpose: identify strength and direction of relationships, and assess how well one variable predicts another (meets psychology's goal of prediction) advantages: helps clarify relationships between variables that cannot be examine dub other methods and allows prediction disadvantages: less control over variables, cannot identify cause and effect, possible illusory correlation, potential biases

Describe the basic components of correlational research. Describe the statistic used to represent correlations, its possible range, and the meaning of different values. - correct answer ✔✔components: direction and strength statistic: correlation coefficient (a number from -1.00 to +1.00 that indicates the direction and strength of the relationship between two variables) Define "third-variable problem" - correct answer ✔✔a form of confounding in which a third factor leads to a mistaken perception of a causal relationship between two other variables Define "illusory correlation" - correct answer ✔✔the tendency to mistakenly see two statistically unrelated events as being correlated, when in reality no such association exists. Describe the basic components of experimental research. What are the advantages and disadvantages of experimental research? - correct answer ✔✔basic components: control group, experimental group, dependent variable, independent variable (manipulation and control of variables) advantages: allows researchers to have precise control over variables, and provides explanation of the cause of behavior and mental processes disadvantages: ethical concerns, practical limitations, artificiality of lab conditions, uncontrolled variables may confound results, and potential biases Define independent and dependent variables. Identify independent variables and dependent variables from examples - correct answer ✔✔independent variable: the variable that is manipulated to determine its causal effect on the dependent variable: also called the treatment variable dependent variable: the variable that is observed and measured for change; the factor that is affected by (or dependent on) the independent variable Define an experimental group and a control group. Identify experimental and control groups from an example - correct answer ✔✔experimental group: the group that is manipulated in an experiment

control group: the group that is not manipulated during an experiment Define sample bias, random assignment and confounding variables. Describe how these may act as safeguards in experiments. - correct answer ✔✔sample bias: a bias that may occur when research participants are unrepresentative of the anger population random assignment: a research technique that involves using chance to assign participants to experimental or control conditions, thus minimizing the possibility of biases or preexisting differences in the group confounding variable: an extraneous factor or variable that, if not controlled, could contaminate the results of an experiment They can prevent bias and error. Identify research and participant problems that may occur in experimental research, as well as possible solutions to these problems - correct answer ✔✔Problems: ethnocentrism, experimenter bias, participant bias Solutions: single-blind study, double-blind study, placebo Define what informed consent is in research and why it is important for psychological research - correct answer ✔✔informed consent: a participant's agreement to take part in a study after being told what to expect. it is important because the rights of humans need to be protected during an experiment, otherwise the experiment would be an unethical one. Define "behavioral genetics" - correct answer ✔✔the study of the relative effects of heredity and the environment on behavior and mental processes

Define "heritability." What methods are used to study heritability? - correct answer ✔✔heritability: a statistical formula that provides a percentage of variation in a population attributable to genetic factors rather than to differences in the environment Methods: personality traits, cognitive abilities, behavioral habits, sexual orientation, and psychological disorders. Describe the goal of evolutionary psychology. Define natural selection. - correct answer ✔✔Goal of evolutionary psychology: to study how many behavioral commonalities emerged and remain in human populations (natural selection) natural selection: the process by which heritable traits that increase an organisms chances of survival or reproduction are favored other less beneficial traits Define neuroplasticity, neurogenesis, and stem cells - correct answer ✔✔neuroplasticity: the brain's ability to reorganize and change its structure and function throughout the life span neurogenesis: the process by which new neurons are generated stem cells: immature (uncommitted) cells that have the potential to develop into almost any type of cell, depending on the chemical signals they receive Describe the difference between a neuron and a glial cell - correct answer ✔✔neuron: the basic building block (nerve cell) of the nervous system, responsible fo receiving, processing, and transmitting electrochemical information glial cell: the cells that provide structural, nutritional, and other support for neurons, as well as communication within the nervous system; also called the glia or neuroglia Identify the various structures of the neuron from a diagram. Describe the function of each structure - correct answer ✔✔cell body: the part of a neuron that contains the cell nucleus and other structures that help the neuron carry out its functions (also known as the soma)

axon: a long, tube-like structure that conveys impulses away from a neuron's cell body toward other neurons or to muscles or glands cell nucleus: contains genetic material (NOT TEXTBOOK DEFINITION) myelin sheath: the layer of fatty insulation wrapped around the axon of some neurons that increases the rate at which neural impulses travel along the axon dendrites: the branching fibers of neurons that receive neural impulses from other neurons and convey impulses toward the cell body terminal buttons: tiny bulblike structures at the end of dendrites, which contain neurotransmitters that carry the neuron's message into the synapse What direction of conduction occurs within a neuron (i.e., where is the starting point in a neuron and where is the finish point)? How does communication between two neurons occur? - correct answer ✔✔Starting point in a neuron: dendrites Finish point: terminal buttons

1. Sending a chemical signal
2. Receiving a chemical signal
3. Dealing with leftovers Identify the various structures associated with the synaptic cleft (synapse) from a diagram. Describe the function of each structure - correct answer ✔✔neurotransmitter: a chemical messenger released by neurons that travels across the synapse and allows neurons to communicate with one another receptors: receive signals that rigger an electrical signal by regulating the activity of ion channels vesicle: store various neurotransmitters that are released at the synapse

ion channels: establish a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by gating the flow of ions across the cell membrane, controlling the flow of ions across secretory and epithelial cells, and resulting cell volume Identify the stages of an action potential from a diagram that displays the internal charge of the neuron over time and describe each stage's process, including: - correct answer ✔✔1. resting potential: the polarized stage when an axon is not stimulated. At rest, the fluid inside the axon has more negatively charged ions than the fluid outside. This results from the selective permeability of the axon membrane and a series of mechanisms, called sodium-potassium pumps, which pull potassium ions in and pump sodium ions out of the axon. The inside of the axon has a charge of about -70 millivolts relative to the outside.

2. Action potential initiation: When an at rest axon membrane is stimulated by a sufficiently strong signal, it produces an action potential (or depolarization). This action potential begins when the first part of the axon opens its "gates" and positively charged sodium ions rush through. The additional sodium ions change the previously negative charge inside the axon to a positive charge-thus depolarizing the axon
3. spreading of action potential and repolarization: the initial depolarization (or action potential) of Step 2 produces a subsequent imbalance of ions in the adjacent axon membrane. This imbalance thus causes the action potential to spread to the next section. Meanwhile, gates in the axon membrane of the initially depolarized section open and potassium ions flow out, thus allowing the first section to repolarize and return to its resting potential hyperpolarization: is a change in a cell's membrane potential that makes it more negative. threshold: The membrane voltage that must be reached in an excitable cell What cellular mechanism maintains the resting potential within a neuron? - correct answer ✔✔sodium- potassium pump Describe how neurotransmitters initiate an action potential. Describe the difference betweenexcitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. - correct answer ✔✔Neurotransmitters travel across the synapse, or gap, to bind to receptor sites on the nearby receiving neurons. The neurotransmitters unlock tiny channels in the receiving neuron, and send excitatory (fire) or inhibitory (don't fire) messages.

Describe the all-or-none law for action potentials. - correct answer ✔✔States that if a neuron receives a combined signal that exceeds the minimum threshold, the neuron will be activated and "fire," thus transmitting an electrical impulse (action potential) that travels down the axon via a chemical and electrical process. Describe what makes up the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). - correct answer ✔✔CNS: Brain and spinal cord PNS: the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system Describe the functions affected by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. - correct answer ✔✔They affect the pupils, salivation, heart rate, respiration, digestion, sexual climbs, and sweating Identify the function and area of the brain (forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain) for each of the following anatomical structures: - correct answer ✔✔Medulla: responsible for vital automatic functions (e.g., respiration, heartbeat); found in hindbrain Hippocampus: limbic system structure; involved in memory; found in the forebrain pons: involved with respiration, movement, waking, sleeping, and dreaming; found in hindbrain amygdala: limbic system structure influencing emotions (especially aggression and fear); forebrain cerebellum: coordinates voluntary muscle movement, balance, and some perception and cognition; hindbrain thalamus: limbic system structure serving as brain's sensory switchboard; forebrain hypothalamus: limbic system structure responsible for regulating drives (hunger, thirst, sex, aggression); helps govern endocrine system; linked to emotion and reward; forebrain reticular formation: helps screen incoming sensory information and helps control arousal; midbrain

Identify the four lobes of the mammalian cortex in a diagram. Describe key functions in each of the four lobes of the cortex. - correct answer ✔✔Frontal lobes: the two lobes at the front of the brain that govern motor control, speech production, and higher functions, such as thinking, personality, emotion, and memory parietal lobes: the two lobes located at the top of the brain, in which bodily sensations are received and interpreted temporal lobes: the two lobes on each side of the brain above the ears that are involved in audition (hearing), language comprehension, memory, and some emotional control occipital lobes: the two lobes at the back of the brain that are primarily responsible fo vision and visual perception. Describe Sperry's research and the importance of the corpus callosum - correct answer ✔✔discovered that the corps callosum was important to perceiving a unified whole, and that consciousness is not a unitary phenomenon Describe the different functions of the right and left hemispheres - correct answer ✔✔Right: Nonverbal abilities, synthetic, controls and senses left side of body, left visual field Left: Most language functions, analytical, controls and senses right side of body, right visual field