Quiz Term
Modules 1–7
Question 1
Which of the following variables would most likely be a dependent variable?
A. Error Rate
B. Music Experience
C. Stimulus Color
D. Participant Age
Answer
A. Error Rate
This would be measured from some sort of task, and would be dependent on the participants’ performance.
Question 2
Which of the following variables is most likely to be involved in a manipulation?
A. Stimulus Presentation Order
B. Eye Color
C. Socioeconomic Status
D. Geographic Location
Answer
A. Stimulus Presentation Order
The researchers would likely vary this between participants to determine its effects.
Question 3
Which of the following scenarios best demonstrates the concept of a sexually selected trait?
A. A male bird develops bright, colorful plumage to attract mates, even though it increases his risk of predation.
B. A male chimpanzee aggressively defends his territory from other males, ensuring that his offspring are the sole heirs to the territory.
C. A woman forms close emotional bonds with her partner to ensure long-term support in raising offspring.
D. A female mammal chooses a mate based on his ability to provide food, ensuring that her offspring will have enough resources to survive.
Answer
A. A male bird develops bright, colorful plumage to attract mates, even though it increases his risk of predation.
While his plumage might decrease the bird’s chances of survival, it affords him a greater chance of attracting a mate. This negotiation between chances of survival and chances of reproduction describes the kernel of “sexual selection.”
Question 4
Three bird populations all evolved from a common ancestor, but each population lives in a separate environment from the others. Which of the following statements regarding the species’ beak shapes is likely the most accurate?
A. Their beaks would vary between species if each island’s environment contained different food.
B. Each beak shape would differ because of genetic mutations in each bird.
C. Each population should have a similar beak shape due to their common ancestry.
D. The beak shapes would be random regardless of common ancestry.
Answer
A. Their beaks would vary between species if each island’s environment contained different food.
While common ancestry was the starting point from which natural selection effected difference across each population, natural selection selected for traits that would help each population in their specific environments.
Question 5
What does the “all or nothing” principle refer to with the action potential?
A. There are no partial action potentials.
B. Refractory periods cannot be skipped.
C. Once a cell depolarizes past threshold, it will either fire (all) or not fire (nothing).
D. Repolarization cannot be stopped once it has started.
Answer
C. Once a cell depolarizes past threshold, it will either fire (all) or not fire (nothing).
Question 6
Tom is in a car accident and suffers a brain injury. With therapy, he regains the ability to walk. What best describes the brain’s plasticity during therapy?
A. Synaptic connections that were lost are reforming
B. Tom’s mindset about recovery is improved by serotonin
C. Neurons that died are replaced by new neurons
D. Excitatory neurotransmitters are recharging the brain
Answer
A. Synaptic connections that were lost are reforming
Synaptic connections, not neurons, can re-form due to neuroplasticity.
Question 7
While playing football, David is tackled and suffers a severe concussion that injures his parietal lobe. What function is most likely to be affected?
A. Seeing flags that referees throw
B. Tom’s positive team spirit
C. Regulating his breathing during drills
D. Throwing the football
Answer
D. Throwing the football
The motor cortex is in the parietal lobe. Injury to this area can cause difficulties executing movement.
Question 8
According to Piaget, at which age in infancy would we expect to see your baby niece bang blocks together?
A. 8–12 months
B. 4–8 months
C. 1–4 months
D. 12–18 months
Answer
B. 4–8 months
Question 9
When you walk into your sister’s house, your niece pretends to have her stuffed animal dog greet you at the door with a wagging tail and says, “She likes you.” What developmental characteristic is demonstrated by this behavior?
A. Symbolic Thinking
B. Animism
C. Abstract Reasoning
D. Preconceptual Thinking
Answer
B. Animism
This is giving intention and feeling to inanimate object.
Question 10
Your niece tells you about her day by saying, “I played ball. I runned with friends. I eated lunch.” According to the textbook, what language characteristic is primarily exhibited by her statements?
A. Past Tensing
B. Telegraphic Speech
C. Overregularization
D. Babbling
Answer
C. Overregularization
This is an example of the over application of the –ed grammar rule.
Question 11
Which of the following is true regarding an individual’s vision who has damaged their Optic Chiasm?
A. Images in the nasal area of both visual fields will reach the primary visual cortex.
B. Peripheral visual information will be able to go through the right and left optic tracts.
C. The temporal area of both visual fields will cross over to the other hemisphere.
D. Sensations in the entire right visual field will no longer be detected in the system.
Answer
A. Images in the nasal area of both visual fields will reach the primary visual cortex.
Question 12
Ellyott knew he lost the water gun fight after he felt a cold sensation of water hit his right arm. According to the textbook, how did he perceive the cold water on his arm?
A. Neural signals were sent straight from the brain to process the touch sensation.
B. Neural signals from spinal nerves transmitted the sensation to the brain.
C. Neural signals from cranial nerves were sent to the spinal cord then the brain.
D. Neural signals were sent from the arm to the brain to process the sensation.
Answer
B. Neural signals from spinal nerves transmitted the sensation to the brain.
Touches below the neck go to the spinal cord and then to the brain.
Question 13
When taking a picture in portrait mode, one person or object is in focus and shown in detail while everything else around it is blurred. Which of the following parts of the eye plays a similar role in human vision?
A. The pupil widens to focus on images in close distance.
B. The retina focuses on the light and color of a picture.
C. The iris adjusts to switch focus between objects.
D. The fovea provides acute focus on objects at its center.
Answer
D. The fovea provides acute focus on objects at its center.
The fovea is the centre of focus and is responsible for our sharpest vision.
Question 14
Which of the following correctly explains a pattern in the serial position curve?
A. The primacy effect occurs due to the limits of short-term memory
B. The recency effect occurs due to rehearsing the information
C. The primacy effect occurs due to retrieving the information from long-term memory
D. The recency effect occurs due to short-term memory
Answer
D. The recency effect occurs due to short-term memory
Recency effect occurs because those items will still be in short term memory unlike the middle items.
Question 15
Mike has started going to dance classes in order to later take Sarah dancing. At the first dance lesson, the teacher shows Mike where and how to step in a basic dance move. When Mike goes home, he begins practicing what he learned. He starts by looking at his feet and thinking about when his teacher told him to place his feet. Which of the following forms of memory storage describes Mike’s effort in recalling where to place his feet?
A. Episodic memory
B. Implicit memory
C. Classical conditioning
D. Procedural memory
Answer
A. Episodic memory
Mike is consciously trying to remember where the dance teacher told him where to place his feet.
Question 16
Bob sees his neighbor’s house caught on fire, and there is a crowd of people around it. Bob does not call the fire department; he assumes other neighbors have already called. What social psychology principle is this an example of?
A. Pluralistic Ignorance
B. Diffusion of Responsibility
C. Normative Influence
D. Collective Ignorance
Answer
B. Diffusion of Responsibility
Our decision for whether we should act on an emergency is influenced by whether we believe someone else in the group is more qualified.
Question 17
Sarah is trying to decide which song to add to her playlist. She listens to two songs: one she’s heard many times before, and another that is completely new to her. After listening to both, Sarah finds that she enjoys the song she’s heard before much more. What psychological phenomenon best explains Sarah’s preference for the familiar song?
A. The Halo Effect
B. Cognitive Dissonance
C. Confirmation Bias
D. Mere Exposure Effect
Answer
D. Mere Exposure Effect
The Mere Exposure Effect refers to the tendency to develop more positive feelings toward things that are familiar to us, which increases with repeated exposure. This explains Sarah’s preference for the song she’s heard before
Question 18
On a college campus, a student organization is planning a social event, but some members express reluctance to invite students from a particular group. Claiming that members of this group will “ruin the vibe” and “don’t belong,” students from this group are not invited despite meeting all the event’s criteria. According to the textbook, what psychological concept best explains the exclusion of these students from the event?
A. Discrimination
B. Groupthink
C. Prejudice
D. Cognitive Dissonance
Answer
A. Discrimination
Question 19
According to Covariation Theory, which of the following factors would lead you to attribute someone’s behavior to external, situational causes?
A. The behavior is exhibited by only one person in the same situation
B. The behavior is unpredictable across different situations
C. The behavior is shown frequently by the same person across all situations
D. The behavior does not appear in other contexts
Answer
D. The behavior does not appear in other contexts
Question 20
While watching his favorite show, Nicky notices subtle product placements of Coca-Cola. Over the next few weeks, he starts craving and eventually buys Coca-Cola. According to the textbook, what method of persuasion is at work here?
A. Peripheral
B. Systematic
C. Central
D. Heuristic
Answer
A. Peripheral
The peripheral route of persuasion relies on subtle cues.