A researcher presents a tone at 1000 Hz and 60 dB to participants and asks them to detect when a second tone differs. According to Weber's Law, if the just noticeable difference (JND) for loudness at this intensity is 2 dB, what would the JND be if the baseline intensity were increased to 120 dB?
Psychology
Question · Medium
Weber's Law
FC6: Sensing the Environment
Flashcard
During an experiment, participants view a display where a small dot appears to move even though it is stationary. The room is dark and no reference points exist. Which perceptual phenomenon best explains this observation?
Question · Easy
Chapter 1: Biological Bases of Behavior & Nervous System
1.1 Nervous System Structure, Neurons & Synaptic Transmission
Study guide
Cheat sheet
A dog that previously learned to salivate at the sound of a bell now also salivates when it hears a buzzer that resembles the bell's pitch. The dog has never been conditioned with the buzzer. This response is BEST described as:
Signal Detection Theory
Passage: A study examined memory consolidation. Participants learned a list of 20 words, then were randomly assigned to sleep, stay awake, or stay awake but rest quietly for 8 hours. Recall was tested afterward. The sleep group recalled significantly more words than both other groups. Based on the results, which process MOST likely accounts for the sleep group's superior recall?
Which of the following memory tasks would MOST likely be impaired in a patient with bilateral hippocampal damage (similar to patient H.M.)?
Sensory Adaptation
Passage: Researchers conducted a study where participants were shown a list of 30 words presented one at a time. They were then asked to recall as many words as possible. A consistent finding was that participants recalled a disproportionately high number of words from the beginning and end of the list compared to the middle. The enhanced recall of words at the BEGINNING of the list is attributed to which memory phenomenon?
1.2 Neurotransmitters, Hormones & Endocrine System
A child watches an adult punching a Bobo doll aggressively and then, when placed alone with the doll, imitates the aggressive behavior. The child was never directly rewarded or punished for the behavior. This scenario BEST illustrates which learning theory?
Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down Processing
According to Freud's psychodynamic theory, a person who is deeply hostile toward a colleague but instead acts exceptionally kind to that colleague is using which defense mechanism?
The Big Five personality model (OCEAN) is considered more scientifically supported than older typological theories primarily because it:
Gestalt Principles of Perception
Passage: A longitudinal study followed 500 adults over 20 years, measuring their levels of life satisfaction and personality traits annually. Results showed that individuals high in neuroticism reported consistently lower life satisfaction across all time points, while those high in conscientiousness reported steadily increasing satisfaction over the same period. What research design feature provides the STRONGEST evidence that neuroticism causes low life satisfaction, rather than merely correlating with it?
1.3 Brain Organization & Functional Neuroanatomy
A patient in a sleep study spends more time than usual in REM sleep after several nights of sleep deprivation. This is BEST described as:
Selective Attention vs. Divided Attention
FC6: Making Sense of the Environment
According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a person who prioritizes job security and financial stability over developing close friendships is MOST likely focused on which level of needs?
According to the James-Lange theory of emotion, a person who encounters a bear in the woods first experiences which of the following?
Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development
Passage: Researchers studied participants' physiological responses to a stressor (public speaking). They measured salivary cortisol before, during, and 20 minutes after the speech. Results showed cortisol peaked during the speech and returned to baseline levels 20 minutes after. Which system is PRIMARILY responsible for the cortisol response observed during the speech?
1.4 Human Physiological Development: Prenatal, Motor & Adolescent Change
A person who reframes a stressful job loss as an opportunity for career growth is using which type of coping strategy?
Heuristics and Decision-Making Biases
Passage: Psychologists studied the cognitive processes of expert chess players versus novices. Expert players could reproduce a meaningful mid-game chess position from memory after only a 5-second exposure, while novices could not. However, when pieces were arranged randomly, experts and novices performed similarly. This finding is BEST explained by which cognitive concept?
A patient with schizophrenia experiences voices telling him that government agents are controlling his thoughts through satellite signals. This belief is BEST described as which type of symptom?
Circadian Rhythm & Sleep-Wake Cycle
According to the diathesis-stress model of psychopathology, a person with a genetic predisposition to depression will MOST likely develop the disorder when:
Chapter 2: Sensation & Sensory Processing
2.1 Sensory Receptors & Signal Transduction
A therapist uses systematic desensitization to treat a patient's phobia of spiders. The procedure involves training relaxation responses and then pairing relaxation with progressively more threatening spider stimuli. This technique is PRIMARILY based on which learning principle?
Memory Storage: Sensory, Working & Long-Term
In Erikson's psychosocial theory, a 70-year-old who reflects on their life with satisfaction and a sense of meaning is successfully resolving which developmental conflict?
Passage: A study on attitude change found that highly intelligent participants were LESS persuaded by a one-sided message delivered by a high-credibility source, while less intelligent participants showed the opposite pattern. This finding is MOST consistent with which model of attitude change?
Question · Hard
James-Lange vs. Cannon-Bard Theory of Emotion
FC6: Responding to the World
A person who smokes cigarettes experiences cognitive dissonance when reminded that smoking causes cancer. According to Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory, which strategy would REDUCE the dissonance without quitting smoking?
2.2 Vision: Structure, Photoreceptors & Visual Pathways
Which neurotransmitter is MOST associated with reward, motivation, and the reinforcing effects of addictive drugs in the mesolimbic pathway?
Biological Bases Of Behavior
Schachter-Singer Two-Factor Theory
Passage: A clinical trial investigated a new antidepressant. Participants were randomly assigned to drug or placebo. Assessors rating depression symptoms were blinded but participants were not told which condition they were in, yet they could guess correctly at rates above chance based on side effects. Which threat to internal validity is MOST relevant in this study?
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