1
Q
What do developmental psychologists study?
A
Physiological and cognitive changes across the lifespan and how they’re affected by genetics, culture, circumstances, and experience.
2
Q
What are the three stages of prenatal development?
A
Zygote → Embryo → Fetus.
3
Q
What are teratogens?
A
Substances that can harm the developing fetus.
4
Q
What is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)?
A
A condition caused by maternal alcohol intake during pregnancy, leading to growth stunting, craniofacial anomalies, and cognitive disabilities.
5
Q
What is the role of the placenta?
A
It allows exchange of nourishment and waste between mother and fetus.
6
Q
What is epigenetics?
A
The study of how gene expression is turned on/off by experiences and environment.
7
Q
What is habituation in infants?
A
Decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated exposure.
8
Q
What is assimilation?
A
Integrating new experiences into existing schemas.
9
Q
What is accommodation?
A
Changing existing schemas to incorporate new information.
10
Q
What is object permanence?
A
Understanding that objects continue to exist even when not perceived.
11
Q
At what stage does object permanence develop?
A
During the sensorimotor stage (birth–2 years).
12
Q
What is theory of mind?
A
The ability to take another person’s perspective.
13
Q
What cognitive abilities develop in the concrete operational stage?
A
Conservation, reversibility, cause and effect, categorization, and serial ordering.
14
Q
What is conservation?
A
Understanding that changing the form of an object doesn’t change its quantity.
15
Q
What characterizes the formal operational stage?
A
Abstract reasoning, logical thinking, and the ability to plan for the future.
16
Q
What is attachment?
A
The strong emotional bond between an infant and primary caregiver.
17
Q
What is temperament?
A
Biologically based individual differences in behavior and emotional reactivity.
18
Q
What is adolescence?
A
The developmental period between puberty and adulthood.
19
Q
What triggers puberty?
A
Hormones from the pituitary gland stimulating production of testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone.
20
Q
What is emerging adulthood?
A
The period between the late teens and twenties, common in developed nations.
21
Q
What is egocentrism in adolescence?
A
The belief that one is special and unique, often accompanied by an “imaginary audience.”
22
Q
What defines identity development?
A
The formation of a stable sense of self and social identity.
23
Q
List the four parenting styles.
A
Authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, rejecting-neglecting.
24
Q
What is menopause?
A
The cessation of the menstrual cycle, typically around age 51 in the U.S.
25
What is the “social clock”?
The culturally preferred timing for major life events like marriage and parenthood.
26
What is late adulthood?
The stage beginning around age 65, often marked by continued activity and reflection.
27
What is crystallized intelligence?
Accumulated knowledge about the world that remains stable or increases with age.
28
What is fluid intelligence?
The ability to think abstractly and process information quickly; declines with age.
29
What is neurocognitive disorder?
A progressive disease involving significant cognitive decline that interferes with daily life.
30
What is Alzheimer’s disease?
The most common neurocognitive disorder, characterized by loss of memory, cognition, and physical functioning.
31
What is memory?
The ability to store and retrieve information over time.
32
What makes human memory unique?
It is selective, reconstructive, and drawn from many sources.
33
What is source misattribution?
Inability to distinguish an actual memory from information learned elsewhere.
34
What is confabulation?
Confusing imagined or heard events with real memories.
35
What is explicit memory?
Knowledge or experiences that can be consciously remembered.
36
What are the two types of explicit memory?
Semantic (facts) and episodic (personal experiences).
37
How is explicit memory measured?
Using recall, recognition, and relearning tests.
38
What is implicit memory?
Memory that influences behavior unconsciously.
39
What are examples of implicit memory?
Procedural memory, priming, and classical conditioning.
40
What is procedural memory?
Knowing how to perform tasks without conscious awareness.
41
What is priming?
When prior exposure to a stimulus influences later responses.
42
What are the three stages of memory?
Sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory.
43
What is iconic memory?
Visual sensory memory that lasts less than a second.
44
What is echoic memory?
Auditory sensory memory that lasts several seconds.
45
What is short-term memory (STM)?
Temporary storage lasting less than a minute, limited to 7–9 items.
46
What is working memory?
Active mental processes that manipulate and organize information in STM.
47
What is chunking?
Grouping information into meaningful units to expand STM capacity.
48
What is encoding?
The process of transforming experiences into memory.
49
What improves encoding?
Elaborative encoding and self-reference effect.
50
What did Hermann Ebbinghaus discover?
The forgetting curve, spacing effect, and benefits of overlearning.
51
What is the spacing effect?
Information is remembered better when learning is spaced out over time.
52
What is retrieval?
Reactivating stored information from memory.
53
What is the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon?
Knowing a word but being temporarily unable to recall it.
54
What is context-dependent learning?
Better recall when learning and retrieval occur in the same environment.
55
What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?
Strengthening of neural connections through repeated activation.
56
What are the main brain areas for memory?
Hippocampus, cerebellum, amygdala, and cortex.
57
What is anterograde amnesia?
Inability to form new memories after brain injury.
58
What is retrograde amnesia?
Loss of memories from before a brain injury.
59
What is confirmation bias?
Tendency to favor information that supports existing beliefs.
60
What is functional fixedness?
Inability to use an object in a new or unconventional way.
61
What is the misinformation effect?
Memory errors caused by misleading post-event information.
62
What did Loftus and Palmer’s study show?
The wording of questions can alter eyewitness memory.
63
What is overconfidence?
Being too sure of the accuracy of one’s memories or judgments.
64
What is a flashbulb memory?
A vivid, emotional memory that feels accurate but may not be.
65
What is counterfactual thinking?
Imagining alternative outcomes to events (“what might have been”).
66
What is consciousness?
An organism’s awareness of itself and its environment.
67
What is introspection?
A research method by Wundt focusing on personal conscious experiences.
68
What are biological rhythms?
Regular fluctuations in biological processes, such as sleep-wake cycles or body temperature.
69
What is chronotype?
An individual’s natural tendency to sleep at a certain time of day.
70
What is internal desynchronization?
When biological rhythms are out of phase due to changes like jet lag or shift work.
71
What are the stages of sleep?
N1 (light sleep), N2 (sleep spindles), N3 (deep sleep with delta waves), and REM (dream sleep).
72
How long is a typical sleep cycle?
About 90 minutes, alternating between REM and non-REM sleep.
73
What are short-term effects of sleep deprivation?
Slowed thinking, poor memory, reduced attention span, and mood changes.
74
What are long-term health effects of chronic sleep deprivation?
Increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and poor immune function.
75
What are dreams?
Successions of images, thoughts, and emotions that occur during sleep, often related to daily experiences.
76
What is Freud’s theory of dreaming?
Dreams serve as wish fulfillment of unconscious desires.
77
What is the activation-synthesis theory of dreaming?
Dreams are the brain’s interpretation of random neural activity.
78
What are psychoactive drugs?
Substances that alter consciousness, mood, and behavior by affecting neurotransmitters.
79
What do stimulants do?
Increase neural activity and energy by blocking reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.
80
What are examples of stimulants?
Caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, and amphetamines.
81
What do depressants do?
Slow down brain activity by increasing GABA and decreasing acetylcholine.
82
What are examples of depressants?
Alcohol and benzodiazepines.
83
What are opioids?
Drugs that relieve pain and cause euphoria, chemically similar to endorphins.
84
What are examples of opioids?
Heroin, oxycodone, codeine, and fentanyl.
85
What are hallucinogens?
Drugs that alter perception and thinking, mimicking serotonin and epinephrine.
86
What are examples of hallucinogens?
LSD and psilocybin (mushrooms).
87
What are cannabinoids?
Compounds from cannabis, including THC and CBD.
88
What is tolerance?
The need for increased amounts of a drug to achieve the same effect.
89
What is withdrawal?
Physical and psychological symptoms that occur when drug use is reduced or stopped.
90
What is hypnosis?
A state of focused attention and suggestibility, used for relaxation or behavior change.
91
What is meditation?
A practice focusing attention to increase relaxation, awareness, and well-being.
92
What is flow?
A state of complete absorption in an activity where time seems to disappear.
93
What is learning?
A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge due to experience.
94
What is behaviorism?
The study of observable behavior and the role of the environment.
95
What is classical conditioning?
Learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a stimulus that naturally produces a response.
96
What is an unconditioned stimulus (US)?
A stimulus that naturally triggers a response (e.g., food causing salivation).
97
What is an unconditioned response (UR)?
The natural response to an unconditioned stimulus (e.g., salivation).
98
What is a conditioned stimulus (CS)?
A previously neutral stimulus that, after conditioning, triggers a response.
99
What is a conditioned response (CR)?
The learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.
100
What is acquisition?
The process of pairing the CS and US to create a learned response.
101
What is extinction?
The weakening of a learned response when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US.
102
What is spontaneous recovery?
The reappearance of a conditioned response after a rest period.
103
What is generalization?
Responding similarly to stimuli resembling the conditioned stimulus.
104
What is discrimination?
Differentiating between similar stimuli and responding only to the CS.
105
What is operant conditioning?
Learning based on the consequences of behavior.
106
What is the law of effect?
Behaviors followed by positive outcomes are likely to be repeated; negative outcomes reduce behavior.
107
Who developed operant conditioning?
B.F. Skinner, expanding on Thorndike’s law of effect.
108
What is shaping?
Reinforcing successive approximations toward a desired behavior.
109
What is reinforcement?
Any outcome that strengthens a behavior.
110
What is punishment?
Any outcome that weakens a behavior.
111
What is the difference between positive and negative reinforcement?
Positive adds a pleasant stimulus; negative removes an unpleasant one.
112
What is continuous reinforcement?
Reinforcing a behavior every time it occurs.
113
What is partial reinforcement?
Reinforcing a behavior intermittently, making it more resistant to extinction.
114
What is a primary reinforcer?
Naturally rewarding stimulus (e.g., food, water).
115
What is a secondary reinforcer?
A learned reinforcer (e.g., money).
116
What is latent learning?
Learning that occurs without reinforcement and becomes apparent when needed.
117
What is insight learning?
Sudden realization of a problem’s solution without trial and error.
118
What is observational learning?
Learning by observing the behavior of others.
119
Who studied observational learning?
Albert Bandura (Bobo doll experiment).
120
What is general (g) intelligence?
A basic ability that underlies performance across intellectual tasks.
121
What is specific (s) intelligence?
Abilities in narrow domains, such as verbal or spatial skills.
122
What is fluid intelligence?
The ability to solve new problems and think abstractly; declines with age.
123
What is crystallized intelligence?
Accumulated knowledge and skills; tends to increase with age.
124
What is standardization in testing?
Administering tests to a large population to establish norms and average scores.
125
What is the Flynn effect?
The observed rise in IQ scores over generations worldwide.
126
What is the WAIS?
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the most used test for adult intelligence.
127
What are aptitude tests?
Tests measuring potential for success in specific activities (e.g., SAT, GRE).
128
What is stereotype threat?
Fear that one’s performance may confirm negative stereotypes about their group.
129
What is stereotype lift?
Improved performance due to exposure to positive stereotypes.
130
What is the parieto-frontal integration model?
Theory that intelligence depends on communication between parietal and frontal brain regions.
131
How much of intelligence is influenced by genetics?
About 50% of variability in intelligence is genetic.
132
What is emotional intelligence (EQ)?
The ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions.
133
What are the four components of EQ?
Perceiving, using, understanding, and managing emotions.
134
What is cultural intelligence (CQ)?
The ability to function effectively in culturally diverse situations.
135
What are the four components of CQ?
Metacognitive, cognitive, motivational, and behavioral.
136
What is language?
The ability to communicate through spoken, written, or signed words.
137
What are phonemes?
The smallest units of sound in language.
138
What are morphemes?
The smallest units of meaning in language.
139
What is syntax?
The set of grammatical rules for sentence structure.
140
What is Broca’s area responsible for?
Language production.
141
What is Wernicke’s area responsible for?
Language comprehension.
142
What is the critical period hypothesis?
The idea that language learning is easiest between infancy and puberty.
143
Can animals learn language?
Some can communicate using symbols, but only humans have true language.
144
Biological processes occurring on a cycle of approximately 24h are termed....
circadian rhythms
145
The pineal gland secretes melatonin. What affects melatonin's release?
The ambient light surrounding the individual
146
In sleep research, participant's brain waves are recorded while they sleep. This research normally makes use of which of ....
Electroencephalography (EEG)
147
The deepest level of sleep is....
Stage N3
148
As sleepers enter deeper sleep stages, their brain waves....
decrease in frequency
149
Dependence reflects the need to increase the dose of a drug to feel its effects. True or False?
False. (this would be tolerance, not dependency)
150
Meditation is associated with few, if any, changes in brain activity. True or False
False
151
Some psychoactive drugs are agonistes, which means....
they mimic the operation of a neurotransmitter
152
In explaining the effects of alcohol on aggression, the author highlights the role of attention and expectations. The author's explanation is therefore most consistent with what approach in psychology?
with the cognitive approach
153
Alcohol is one member of a broad class of drugs called depressants. True or False?
True
154
Which of the following sequences accurately reflects the order of development from conception to birth?
Zygote -> Embryo -> Fetus
155
A baby automatically turns their head in the direction of a touch on the cheek. What is the reflex called and what does it help the infant with?
rooting reflex: helps to locate food
156
The habituation technique for studying infant perception is based on the finding that infants will....
show a decline in responsiveness to repeated stimulation
157
In Piaget's theory, the mental models children use to interpret and guide their experiences are called.....
schemas
158
4 yo Darlene is exploring one day and Darlene finds a bottle of vitamins in the cabinet. They look just like the candies Darlene got for Halloween, so she eats them all. Darlene's error illustrates the process that Piaget termed.....
Assimilation
159
To stop baby Rudy from fussing for a sharp knife on the kitchen table, Rudy's father put the knife in a drawer. "Out of sight, out of mind", he said, and it worked. Rudy's father capitalized on Rudy's lack of....
Object permanence
160
At 12 months of age, James is classified as securely attached. Which of the following behaviors in the strange situation would be most consistent with this classification?
James is moderately distressed when mother leaves them alone and pleased when mother returns.
161
Which of the following are primary and secondary sexual characteristics? Breasts, Testes, Penis, Ovaries
Primary: Testes, Penis, Ovaries
Secondary: Breasts
162
Older adults generally outperform younger adults on tests of crystallized intelligence. True of False.
True
163
Menopause is related to a decrease in .... production
Estrogen and Progesterone
164
Psychologists use the term .... to refer to a relatively permanent change in knowledge or behaviors resulting from experience.
Learning
165
Pavlov's dogs learned to associate the appearance of a lab assistant with the taste of food. This suggests that classical conditioning involves an association between....
two stimuli
166
Holli loves dill pickles. Now the sight of a jar makes her mouth water. In the terminology of classical conditioning, the sight of the jar is now an .....
Conditioned Stimulus (CS).
(The CS and the CR are the results of conditioning!)
167
Often, a conditioned response (CR) may be elicited not only by the original CS, but by a similar one as well. this is known as stimulus....
Generaliziation
168
Which of the following scenarios is the best example of positive reinforcement?
Maria now buys a different brand of toilet paper to get more rolls for the same price.
Positive reinforcement adds something to encourage behavior, while negative reinforcement removes something.
169
Negative reinforcement....
leads to an increase in the probability of a behavior.
It is called “negative” not because it's bad, but because something unpleasant is taken away, making the outcome rewarding to the individual. In other words, negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior because it helps a person or animal escape or prevent discomfort.
170
As compared to behaviors reinforced on continuous schedules, behaviors reinforced intermittently are more, equal, or less resistant to extinction?
more
171
Sometimes when we call someone we are put on hold. We do not know how long it will be before our holding behavior is reinforced by the response of a person, and it doesn't matter what we do in the meantime. Holding is reinforced on a ..... schedule.
variable - interval
A variable-interval one means you'll only give or receive a reward after a random period of time
172
Bandura's Bobo doll experiment was conducted with.....
children
173
Which of the following reinforcers it not a a primary reinforcer? Food, money, or relief from pain?
Money
174
What describes explicit memory?
Knowledge for experiences that can be consciously remembered
175
Describe semantic memory?
Memory of facts and concepts about the world.
176
Cory knows that the capital of Uganda is Kampala. This is an example of what kind of memory?
semantic and explicit
(explicit memory = what we use when we're trying to intentionally recall something)
177
In a memory experiment, Dr. Aziz gives one group or participants a recognition test of a list of words they had seen earlier. Another group is asked to recall the words. What might you predict regarding the relative performance of the two groups on the memory test?
The recognition group should outperform the recall group
178
Which is true about iconic and echoic memory?
Iconic and echoic memory are types of sensory memory
179
As you work on a complex multiplication problem in your head, the numbers you are manipulating are your ..... memory, and the multiplication tables drawing from your .... memory.
working
long-term
180
Grouping pieces of information together to expand the effective capacity of short-term memory is termed ....
chunking
181
Why do we have trouble remembering the license plate number of a car that we just passed then minutes ago?
We probably never encoded the number in the first place
182
Confirmation bias the tendency to verify and confirm our existing memories rather than challenging them. True of False?
True
183
False memories can be implanted rather easily. True or False?
True
184
Psychologists define_______as the ability to learn, reason, and solve problems
Intelligence
185
Which of the following defines personnel selection
Using structured tests to select people who are likely to do well at a given job
186
If g exists, then one should find:
People should get similar scores on different components of an IQ test
187
What is most likely to draw on crystallized intelligence?
Answering trivia questions
188
A psychological test is said to be valid to the extent that it ________
measures what it's supposed to measure
189
A psychological test is said to be standardized to the extent that it _____
has been normed using a sample representative of those for whom the test has been designed
190
Based on the Flynn effect, how might the IQ of the average 18 yo today compare with that of their counterpart 60y ago?
The IQ score of the average 18 yo today is about 15 points higher than 60 years ago. (3 points per decade)
191
In written language, letters most closely represent _____ whereas sentences represent _____
phonemes, syntax
192
What is meant by notion of a critical period for language acquisition?
It's the time in one's childhood in which language must develop if it is to be fully learned
193
A stroke in Broca's area would primarily impair language production rather than language comprehension. True or False?
True
Psych 100
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