Download Comprehensive Final Exam Review

Comprehensive Final Exam Review
General Psychology
Professor: Dan Lipscomb
Chapter 1 / Defining Psychology / History of Psychology / Theoretical Perspectives
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What is the modern definition of the term psychology?
What is the difference between a behavior and a mental process?
How are a psychologist and a psychiatrist different?
What degree does a psychologist hold? A psychiatrist?
What is the difference between a clinical psychologist and a counseling psychologist?
Review other career areas in psychology. What types of work do they do?
What was Wilhelm Wundt major contribution to the discipline of psychology?
In what year did Wundt make his great contribution?
For what was William James famous? What were his beliefs regarding psychology?
For what was John Watson famous? For what was Carl Rogers famous?
What three names are most closely associated with the behaviorist theoretical perspective?
What three names are most closely associated with the humanistic theoretical perspective?
What name is most closely associated with the psychoanalytic theoretical perspective?
Review the differences between the behaviorist, psychoanalytic & humanistic theoretical perspectives.
What three key terms best describe the scientific attitude adopted by modern psychologists?
Chapter 2 / Research Methods
1. What are the differences between the major research methods of case studies, observation, surveys,
correlational strategies, and formal experiments? For what types of research topics is each method
typically used?
2. What are the strengths and weaknesses (limitations) of the correlational and formal experimental methods?
3. What is the difference between the experimental and control groups in a formal experiment?
4. What is the difference between the independent and dependent variables in a formal experiment?
Chapter 3 / Biological Foundations of Behavior
1. How do neurons (individual nerve cells) communicate with each other in the process of sending information
throughout the nervous system? What is the order of how impulses are passed through a neuron?
2. What types of functions are the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, and
GABA most closely associated?
3. What disorders are believed to be linked to high/low levels of dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine,
norepinephrine, and GABA?
4. What brain functions tend to be centered in the left and right hemispheres of the cerebral cortex?
5. Review the functions of major brain parts and areas including the cerebral cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus,
cerebellum, pons, and medulla.
Chapter 4 / Sensation and Perception
1. What is the difference between sensations and perception?
2. How is it that two people can be in the presence of the same stimulus yet have drastically different
perceptions of the stimulus?
3. What are the major principles of visual perceptual organization?
Chapter 5 / Consciousness, Sleep and Dreams
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How do psychologists define the term consciousness?
What brain waves are associated with various states of consciousness?
What are the common cognitive and physiological characteristics of the sleep stages (1 – 4 & REM)?
In terms of sleep stages, how does a typical night of sleep unfold and progress?
Is there general agreement between psychologists regarding the nature of dreams?
Chapter 6 / Learning
How is learning defined? Are there changes in behavior that don’t involve what we call “learning?”
What are the key differences between classical and operant conditioning?
What are the four key elements of classical conditioning? Understand and note examples of each.
What is the difference between the four types of operant conditioning including positive reinforcement,
negative reinforcement, punishment and extinction? Understand and note examples of each. How does
each type of operant conditioning change the frequency of behavior (increase or decrease)?
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of disciplining a child with positive reinforcement or
punishment?
6. For what is Ivan Pavlov famous? For what is B.F. Skinner famous?
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Chapter 7 / Memory
1. What are the characteristics (function, duration, capacity) of sensory memory, short-term memory and longterm memory as defined in the classic three-stage memory theory?
2. Of all the long-term memory encoding processes, which seem to be the most powerful and effective?
Chapter 9 / Intelligence
1. How is intelligence defined?
2. What is the traditional view of intelligence and how does it differ from the more contemporary views of
theorists like Gardner and Sternberg?
3. When a psychological test is said to have validity, what does that mean? What does it mean when a test is
said to have reliability?
4. What are the most commonly used intelligence tests? For what age group is each designed?
5. Who created the first fairly reliable test of intelligence?
Chapter 10 / Motivation and Emotion
1. What is meant by the term motivation? How is motivation defined?
2. What are the five levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (in order from lowest to highest)?
3. What are the two terms used to define motives that are internal, or inside the person, as opposed to
motives that are outside the person, or environmental?
4. What are the generally agreed upon six universal emotions?
Chapter 13 / Social Psychology
1. What is the main idea behind the cognitive dissonance theory?
2. What is the difference between the social forces of conformity, obedience and compliance? What are
common compliance techniques?
3. What conditions and situational variables tend to facilitate helping behavior?
4. For what is Stanley Milgram most famous? For what is Philip Zimbardo most famous?
5. What is the main idea behind attribution theory? What are common attribution biases?
6. How are attitudes formed? How are they changed?
Chapter 12 / Personality Theory
1. What are the major influences that form and shape the human personality?
2. How did Freud characterize the human personality? Id, ego, superego? Conscious, preconscious,
unconscious? What are the five stages of psychosexual development according to Freud?
3. How did Carl Rogers characterize the human personality? What was the source of most human
maladjustment according to Rogers’ theory?
4. What is the difference between the two major types of personality tests including the objective tests and the
projective tests? What are examples of objective and projective tests?
5. For what is Alfred Adler most famous? For what is Carl Jung most famous?
Chapter 15 / Mental Disorders
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What are the two major definitions of abnormal behavior? Note examples of each.
What is the difference between persons described as psychotic and those described as neurotic?
What are the major diagnostic features of major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia?
What are the three primary subtypes of schizophrenia?
Review major types of personality disorders.
What are common myths about schizophrenia and mentally disordered persons in general?
Chapter 16 / Therapies
1. How is the relationship between and client and therapist different that most relationships?
2. What are the characteristic differences between psychoanalysis, person (client)-centered therapy, cognitive
therapy, and behavior therapy? What theorist names are associated with each?
3. What types of medications are used to treat the different types of mental disorders?