Intro to Psychology Review

The "Scientific Method" consists of observing, hypothesizing, predicting, testing, modifying the hypothesis, and then re-testing that hypothesis.

Which of the following best defines "Parismony"?

"Falsifiability" is when you ensure you can test your hypothesis and you design the data so that it can:

What is the definition of "Converging evidence"?

Psychology = study of humans and human interactions. Biology = study of cells and cellular interactions. Chemistry = study of molecules and molecular interactions. Physics = study of particles, atoms and atomic interactions.

In Descartes' view the physical body and the mental mind belong in separate realms. The mental mind is able to...

Phineas Gage was an American railroad construction foreman who survived an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe. The following twelve years his friends witnessed his personality shift in radical ways. What did this prove to people of the time about the mind and the brain?

Which of the following are the "historical schools of psychology?"

What is "Correlational research"?

When it comes to "Correlation and causation" if all we have is correlation between two variables ("attending class leads to good grades"), what can we say for sure?

When it comes to "Correlation and causation", the "third variable problem" is that a correlation between two variables (e.g. "attending class" and "good grades") may be caused by a third variable (e.g. "students who are highly conscientious or hard-working might always attend every class and also study a lot for exams"). Therefore, conscientiousness independently causes attendance at class AND good grades, without attendance at class necessarily having any direct causal effect on grades.

The "independent variable" is ...

The "dependent variable" is...

Which of the following must the "independent variable" have in order to be able to vary it?

Manipulating the level of the independent variable should cause the dependent variable to remain relatively the same.

"Excitation" is when neurotransmitters open channels in the cell wall of a neuron that allow positively-charged Sodium ions (Na+) to enter the cell. Makes the neuron more likely to send on its own signal (action potential).

"Inhibition" is when neurotransmitters open channels in the cell wall of a neuron that allow negatively-charged Chloride ions (Cl-) to enter the cell and positively-charged Potassium ions (K+) to leave the cell. Makes the neuron less likely to send on its own signal (action potential).

"Nicotine" is which of the following?

"Caffeine" is which of the following?

Agonists are chemicals that work in the same way as one of the brain’s natural neurotransmitters (e.g. Nicotine works like Acetylcholine). Antagonists are chemicals that block or oppose the action of one of the brain’s natural neurotransmitters (e.g. Caffeine blocks the actions of Adenosine).

Which of the following four are the lobes of the brain?

If 'sensations' are "the raw input you receive, in terms of colours, and edges" then which of the following most accurately describes "Sensation'?

If 'perceptions' are "created both bottom-up and top-down" then which of the following most accurately describes "Perception'?

Which of the following is "Bottom-up processing"?

Which of the following is "Top-down processing"?

The 6 million "cones" are located mostly in the centre of your retina, and process colour and fine detail. The 120 million "rods" are located more around the edges of your retina, and because they are more sensitive to light, they are responsible for your ability to see at night (or in other low-light conditions).

In terms of "the sleep cycle" which of the following occurs?

Instrumental conditioning consists of learning that one event signals that certain behaviours will now result in the production of a second event (a reward or punishment). In this case, your behaviour is critical to the production of the second event (the reward or punishment).

In CC, you learn that certain events result in certain outcomes. In IC, you learn that your behaviour results in certain outcomes.

Behaviours are more likely to be repeated in future if they are reinforced, but a lot depends on when and how often those reinforcements are delivered.

Partial reinforcement schedules come in four varieties:

What is "Retroactive interference"?

In terms of memory cues, when old information 'wins' (old interferes with new information) this is called...

What is a "Memory schema"?

In a study by Brewer and Treyens (1981) participants were left alone in the experimenter's office. Thirty-five seconds later participants were moved to another room and tested how much of the office they recall. What happened?

When testing "eye-witness testimony" Loftus and Palmer (1974) showed undergraduates a video of two cars having an accident, then asked "about how fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?". The answer they got was "42mph". When they asked "about how fast were the cars going when they contacted each other" were they able to recall the same information?

While forgetting can be normal and even adaptive, it can also be caused by damage to the brain from injury or illness (organic amnesia).

What is "retrograde amnesia"?

What is "Anterograde amnesia"?

What kind of 'abilities' did "E.P.", an ill individual who was being studied and helped by psychologists, possess in terms of memory?

Which of the following is true of "anterograde amnesia"?

While much of the brain is likely involved in making memories, the "Hippocampus" likely plays a large role in forming and storing new memories. It is however extremely easy to damage the hippocampus, the implicit memories being lost forever with the damage.

What is the weak version of the "linguistic relativity hypothesis"?

What is the strong version of the "linguistic relativity hypothesis"?

Which of the following are arguments belonging to the "weak linguistic relativity hypothesis"?

The "weak linguistic relativity hypothesis" believes that in a totalitarian regime language is changed to make talking about revolution impossible. The idea is, if the population cannot talk about revolution then they cannot think about revolution.