PSY 550 FINAL EXAM ANSWERS
COMPREHENSIVE TEST 2026 STUDY GUIDE
SOLVED
◉ medulla. Answer: a section of the brain located in the brainstem
which is responsible for automatic functions like breathing, blood
pressure, circulation and heart functions, and digestion
◉ parasympathetic nervous system. Answer: part of the autonomic
nervous system that serves to slow the heart rate, increase intestinal
and glandular activity; restores natural function after a stressful
event
◉ sympathetic nervous system. Answer: part of the autonomic
nervous system that serves to accelerate the heart rate, constrict
blood vessels, and raise blood pressure; readies the body for a
stressful event
◉ pituitary. Answer: master gland of the endocrine system
◉ Broca's area. Answer: part of the brain that controls the ability to
produce language
,◉ Wernicke's area. Answer: part of the brain that controls the ability
to recognize and understand spoken language
◉ NREM sleep. Answer: decreases as the night goes on
◉ delta waves. Answer: long, slow waves that indicate the deepest
stage of sleep
◉ REM sleep. Answer: increases as the night goes on, dreams always
occur in this stage; a person awakened during REM would report
having a dream
◉ sleep apnea. Answer: sleep disorder in which the person's
muscles become so relaxed that the airways become blocked and the
person has trouble breathing and actually stops breathing
momentarily). These people tend to snore a lot.
◉ stimulants. Answer: drugs that arouse or excite the nervous
system and speed up bodily processes. Some types of stimulants
include nicotine, caffeine, and cocaine.
◉ depressants. Answer: drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and
opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow down body functions.
, ◉ hallucinogens. Answer: drugs that distort perceptions and
produce sensory images; these include marijuana and LSD
◉ manifest content. Answer: all the parts of the dream that we
remember (the actual content)
◉ latent content. Answer: the underlying, more hidden, but true
meaning of a dream, that Freud believed was censored by our
unconscious
◉ activation-synthesis theory. Answer: suggests that dreams are
mental responses to random bursts of neural stimulation
◉ tolerance. Answer: the brain's adaptation to a drug's chemistry,
requiring larger and larger doses to experience the same effect
◉ sleep deprivation. Answer: diminishes immunity to disease
◉ 7. Answer: Roughly the number of items we can store in our
short-term memory
◉ repression. Answer: keeping distressing thoughts and feelings
buried in the unconscious
COMPREHENSIVE TEST 2026 STUDY GUIDE
SOLVED
◉ medulla. Answer: a section of the brain located in the brainstem
which is responsible for automatic functions like breathing, blood
pressure, circulation and heart functions, and digestion
◉ parasympathetic nervous system. Answer: part of the autonomic
nervous system that serves to slow the heart rate, increase intestinal
and glandular activity; restores natural function after a stressful
event
◉ sympathetic nervous system. Answer: part of the autonomic
nervous system that serves to accelerate the heart rate, constrict
blood vessels, and raise blood pressure; readies the body for a
stressful event
◉ pituitary. Answer: master gland of the endocrine system
◉ Broca's area. Answer: part of the brain that controls the ability to
produce language
,◉ Wernicke's area. Answer: part of the brain that controls the ability
to recognize and understand spoken language
◉ NREM sleep. Answer: decreases as the night goes on
◉ delta waves. Answer: long, slow waves that indicate the deepest
stage of sleep
◉ REM sleep. Answer: increases as the night goes on, dreams always
occur in this stage; a person awakened during REM would report
having a dream
◉ sleep apnea. Answer: sleep disorder in which the person's
muscles become so relaxed that the airways become blocked and the
person has trouble breathing and actually stops breathing
momentarily). These people tend to snore a lot.
◉ stimulants. Answer: drugs that arouse or excite the nervous
system and speed up bodily processes. Some types of stimulants
include nicotine, caffeine, and cocaine.
◉ depressants. Answer: drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and
opiates) that reduce neural activity and slow down body functions.
, ◉ hallucinogens. Answer: drugs that distort perceptions and
produce sensory images; these include marijuana and LSD
◉ manifest content. Answer: all the parts of the dream that we
remember (the actual content)
◉ latent content. Answer: the underlying, more hidden, but true
meaning of a dream, that Freud believed was censored by our
unconscious
◉ activation-synthesis theory. Answer: suggests that dreams are
mental responses to random bursts of neural stimulation
◉ tolerance. Answer: the brain's adaptation to a drug's chemistry,
requiring larger and larger doses to experience the same effect
◉ sleep deprivation. Answer: diminishes immunity to disease
◉ 7. Answer: Roughly the number of items we can store in our
short-term memory
◉ repression. Answer: keeping distressing thoughts and feelings
buried in the unconscious
