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Dr. Don S. Christensen
Psych 100
Shoreline Community College
Psychology
Exam 1
Potential Short Answer Questions
Introduction to Psychology & Thinking Critically about Psychological Science (Modules 1
& 2, Appendix A, & Lecture)
1. What person is generally recognized as “launching the first psychological laboratory?”
2. With what perspective was John B. Watson associated? What criticism did people associated
with this perspective make of the method of introspection?
3. What is a definition of psychology? (two were presented in lecture, one is in the text, any one
will do)
4. What is the “biggest and most persistent issue” that has consistently reappeared in the history
of psychology?
5. What three types of influences make up the biopsychosocial approach of psychology?
6. List and briefly describe the 8 major perspectives in psychology (an eighth perspective was
added in lecture).
7. What are the four basic goals of psychology (covered in lecture)?
8. What is the difference between basic and applied research?
9. What is hindsight understanding? Name and describe two potential problems associated with
using only hindsight to explain why events have occurred?
10. How does your text book author define “critical thinking?” (note: there are 4 parts to this
definition)
11. What are four common scientific attitudes (a fourth was added in lecture)?
12. What is a theory?
13. What is a hypothesis?
14. What is an operational definition and why are they important for good science? Give an
example of an operational definition.
15. To what does the term “replicate” refer and how does it relate to the confidence or trust we
have in particular research result?
16. What are the three different “description” methods used by psychologists to study behavior?
Briefly describe each of them. (NOTE: the answer to the first part of this question is not:
Description, Correlation, and Experimentation)
17. What is random sampling (also called random selection) and why do survey researchers use
it?
18. What is a correlation coefficient? How can you tell the strength and direction of a
correlation?
19. Is it appropriate to make cause-and-effect conclusions from correlational studies? Explain
why it is or why it is not and in your explanation, be sure to name and describe the two
“problems” that are relevant to this issue.
20. What is the placebo effect?
21. What is an experimenter expectancy effect?
22. What is the double-blind procedure? What two “effects” does this procedure allow
researchers to control?
23. In experiments, researchers typically use _____________ to ensure that differences between
participants are equally spread out across all experimental conditions.
24. What is an independent variable
25. What is a dependent variable?
Revised: 5/5/2017
Dr. Don S. Christensen
Psych 100
Shoreline Community College
Psychology
26. If the results from a study are said to be “statistically significant,” what does this mean? (See
the 7th & 8th pages of Appendix A)
Neuroscience and Behavior (Modules 3 & 4, & Lecture)
27. List and describe the general functions of the four major parts of the neuron.
28. The disease multiple sclerosis involves the degeneration of what?
29. What is the difference between a resting potential and an action potential?
30. An action potential is triggered within the neuron when the neuron’s _____________ is
exceeded.
31. The gap between two neurons is called the ____________ and communication between two
neurons is made possible by chemical messengers called _______________.
32. List 5 different neurotransmitters. For each one, list the primary functions and malfunctions
it is associated with (see Table 3.1). (NOTE: this question is NOT asking about the major
parts of a neuron)
33. Briefly describe what occurs during the process of reuptake.
34. What is an agonist?
35. What is an antagonist?
36. What two elements are contained in the Central Nervous System?
37. The ______________ system consists of several glands that are located throughout the body.
This system communicates information by secreting ___________ into the blood stream.
38. What are the respective general functions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous
systems?
39. According to lecture, what are the major structures of the hindbrain and midbrain and the
major functions associated with each? (Four structures were mentioned and these four
structures, along with a some additional brain structures, are discussed under the heading
“older brain structures” in the text)
40. What are five different types of neuroimaging techniques? For each one, specify the kind of
image that is generated (e.g., brain structure and/or brain activity).
41. Describe the functions associated with each of the following brain areas: hypothalamus,
thalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala. According to lecture, to what larger division of the
brain do all of these structures belong?
42. Name each of the four lobes of the cerebral cortex and describe the general functions
associated with each lobe.
43. Differentiate the functions of the motor cortex, the sensory cortex, and the association areas.
44. What is meant by the term “aphasia?”
45. __________ area is known to play a crucial role in speech production while __________ area
is involved in speech comprehension.
46. “Split brain patients” are individuals who have had their _____________ cut in order to
reduce the occurrence of seizures.
47. What is meant by the term “hemispheric specialization” (also sometimes called
“lateralization” or “lateralization of function”)? How is it illustrated in studies of split-brain
patients?
Revised: 5/5/2017