PSYC101 / PSYC 101 Module 2 – General Psychology (2026/2027 Latest Update) | Verified Questions & Correct Answers | Grade A | Portage Learning

PSYC101 / PSYC 101 Module 2 – General Psychology (2026/2027 Latest Update) | Verified Questions & Correct Answers | Grade A | Portage Learning 2026 / 2027 Academic Year Q: Which part of the nervous system allows us to interact with the world? What are the two subdivisions that allow us to sense things and act on the world? Answer Central Nervous System allows us to interact with the world. Two subdivisions that allow us to sense things and act on the world include the sympathetic and the parasympathetic cord. Q: Identify the primary structural parts of a neuron and the functions they serve as described in the textbook and during lecture. Answer Information is received at the dendrites, is passed through the soma and along the axon, and is transmitted to the dendrites of other cells at mean points called synapses, where neurotransmitters are released from the terminal buttons. Glial cells provide various types of support for neurons (like nourishment, insulation, waste removal) and may contribute to signal transmission in the nervous system. Q: Explain how charged particles (e.g., Na+ ions) are differentially distributed inside and outside of the resting neuron. Answer Negative Resting Potential: When resting there is a relatively lower concentration of positive ions inside the cell. Q: What is a neurotransmitter? Generally speaking, how do neurotransmitters influence the internal potential of a post-synaptic neuron? Use the lock-and-key analogy in your description. Answer Neurotransmitter: a chemical released by neurons that bind to other neurons. Neurotransmitter is the key, while the neuron is the lock. Neurotransmitters influence the internal potential of a post-synaptic neuron by changing how ions flow across the membrane. Q: What is an action potential? Explain how it is initiated and results in the release of neurotransmitters. Answer Action potential: a sudden shift in the neurons electrical charge (more positive) that travels down the axon. The firing of an action potential allows the channels in the cell membrane that opened to let in sodium close up. Time is needed until it can open again, until then the neuron cannot fire. Q: Provide a list of behaviors that are associated with each of the following neurotransmitters: Serotonin, Norepinephrine, Dopamine, Acetylcholine, and Endorphins. Answer Serotonin: Sleep/wake, eating, aggression Norepinephrine: mood, arousal Dopamine: Voluntary movement, pleasurable emotion Acetylcholine: Muscles, memory, attention Endorphins: Pleasurable emotions, pain reduction (runner's high) Q: Match the following disorders to the appropriate neurotransmitter(s): Depression, Schizophrenia, Alzheimer's Disease, and Parkinson's Disease. Answer Depression: Norepinephrine Schizophrenia: Dopamine Alzheimer's Disease: Acetylcholine Parkinson's Disease: Dopamine Q: For the disorders listed above indicate whether the neurotransmitter level is too high or low. Additionally, provide examples of drugs that influence the levels of the neurotransmitters and indicate whether the drugs increase, decrease, or block neurotransmitter activity. Answer Depression: Norepinephrine:Cocaine and Amphetamines increase Schizophrenia: Dopamine: Antipsychotics increase, Cocaine and Amphetamines decrease Alzheimer's Disease: Acetylcholine: Nicotine increases lunar (botox treatments) Parkinson's Disease: Dopamine: Antipsychotics increase, Cocaine and Amphetamines decrease Q: Define the terms agonist and antagonist and provide examples of how they influence neurotransmitter activity. Answer Agonist: Mimics (causes) actions of neurotransmitter. Antagonist: Opposes (blocks) actions of neurotransmitter Q: What is phrenology? Why is it considered a pseudoscience? Answer A now abandoned study of the shape of skull as indicative of the strengths of different faculties. This pseudoscience is based on the false assumption that mental faculties are located in brain "organs" on the surface of the brain and can be detected by visible inspection of the skull. Q: As you anticipate getting up in front of the class, you begin to feel butterflies in your stomach and a pounding in your chest. Explain how the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system work together to influence how your body reacts to this situation. Answer The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary bodily functions. It connects nerves to the heart, blood vessels, glands, and smooth muscles. It is often referred to as the fight of flight response. The autonomic nervous system can be broken down into the sympathetic division, which mobilizes the body's resources in emergencies, and the parasympathetic, which conserves the body's resources in emergencies. In the scenario above, the pounding in your chest suggests your heart is responding to the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. Aparasympathetic response from your heart would slow your heart rate-not speed it up. The butterflies in your stomach are most likely digestions slowing down and blood being rerouted to other areas of your body. This is another example of a sympathetic response. As you begin your speech and overcome your nerves, you heart beat will slow down and the butterflies will dissipate. These are signs of the parasympathetic division because the body is relaxing and therefore conserving its resources. Q: List the three major divisions of the brain and their principle subdivisions as described in class. What behaviors are associated with the subdivisions listed above? Answer a) Hindbrain: medulla- Breathing and circulation Pons- Sleep and arousals Cerebellum- Coordinated movement and balance and fine tonging brain activity b) Midbrain: Arousal Sound localized c) Forebrain: Limble systems- emotion and memory Thalamus- relays incoming and outgoing information Hypothalamus- Regulation of basic needs (eating, temperature control) Cerebrum- Complex thought Q: There are four primary cortical lobes. What are they? Where are the located? What primary function is associated with each? Answer Temporal- Hearing Located below the lateral fissure Occipital- Vision Located at the back of the brain, behind the parietal lobe and temporal lobe Blindspot Parietal- Integrates information (ex: visual/body) Touch-Primary somatosensory cortex Located behind the central sulcus. Frontal- Movement-primary cortez Use information for planning/strategies Concerned with reasoning, planning, parts of speech and movement (motor cortex), emotions, and problem-solving Located in front of the central sulcus. Q: What is blindsight? Answer People who are blind demonstrate some response to visual stimuli. Q: How is the body represented on the Primary Motor and Primary Somatosensory cortices of the brain? Where are these segments of the brain located (i.e., which cortical lobe)? Answer Arranged in an orderly manner, inverted. The toes are represented at the top of the cerebral hemisphere, while the mouth is represented at the bottom of the hemisphere, closer to the lateral sulcus. These representations lie along a fold in the cortex called the central sulcus. The homunculus is split in half, with motor representation for each side of the body represented on the opposite side of the brain.[2] Some body parts may be controlled by partially overlapping regions of cortex. Primary motor located in the Frontal Lobe. Primary Somatosensory Cortex located in the Parietal Lobe. Q: The two hemispheres are connected by the..... Answer Central sulcus. Q: What are the two primary language areas in the brain that were discussed during class? Where are they located? Answer Broca's Area- Speech production/fluency Wernickes Area- Comprehension of language Q: Damage to a language area produces an aphasia, or loss of an ability to understand or express speech. Describe the behavior of someone suffering from each of the two primary aphasias we discussed in class. Answer Broca's Aphasia: Slow effortful speech Wernicke's Aphasia: "Word salad"/receptive transmits information between the brain and the peripheral nervous system? Answer Spinal Nerves Q: Describe the three methods used by researchers to investigate the effects of genetics and experience on behavior. Answer Family Studies: Researchers assess hereditary influence by examining blood relatives to see how much they resemble one another to a specific trait. Twin Studies: Researchers assess hereditary influence by comparing the resemblance of identical twins and fraternal twins with the respect to a trait Adoption Studies: asses hereditary influence by examining the resemblance between adopted children and both their biological and their adoptive parents Q: What kind of nerves carry sensory and motor messages in and out of the column that Q: Which of the following brain areas is responsible for movement, sense of self, and higher mental functions? Answer Frontal Lobes Q: Which of the following involves obtaining additional information to check perceptions? Answer Reality Testing Q: Which theory of dreaming, popularized by Freud, emphasizes internal conflicts, motives, and unconscious forces? Answer Psychodynamic dream theory Q: The awareness of one's internal thoughts and external surroundings. Answer How is consciousness defined in the field of psychology? Q: Psychophysics is the study of how the mind interprets the physical properties of _______. Answer Stimuli Q: People perceive objects or events that have no external reality in a/an _______. Answer Hallucination Q: Which one of the following is the name for a type of cell in the nervous system that transmits information? Answer Neuron Answer science builds on prior discoveries Q: What is the structure in the hindbrain involved in controlling coordination and balance called? Answer Cerebellum Q: Which of the following refers to the parts of the nervous system outside of the brain and spinal cord? Answer Peripheral Nervous System Q: science is described as a cumulative process. This means that Q: Personal experience is associated with __________whereas, scientific method is associated with ________________. Answer opinion; fact Q: miller is conducting research aimed at understanding how elderly people can best thrive when residing in an assisted-living home. she has several logical ideas that can be tested in her research. these ideas, which might be considered educated guesses, are called hypotheses An example of an operational definition of anxiety is a: Answer a score on an anxiety questionare Taylor walked into the psychology lab and was welcomed by the researcher. The first document given to him by the researcher described the research experiment and what it was to entail, which also required his signature. What was this ethical document? Answer informed consent What is one reason why scientific psychologists follow a specific set of guidelines to help them make decisions when doing research? Answer to ensure they protect research participants from potential harm _________ methods in psychological research are approaches to data-gathering that are tied to actual measurement and observation Answer empirical which of the following is an example of an empirical question that would be tested by using systematic observation Answer do native English-speaking Canadians take longer to learn chinese or to learn Spanish When we develop ________ (groups of closely related phenomena or observations) in science, we must do so in a way that can be tested. Otherwise, there is no way to prove (or disprove them) Answer theories The definition of psychology is generally considered to be the scientific study of behavior and mental processes Dr. Morabian is conducting research that was inspired by studies published 10 years before he got his doctorate. He reads those studies, thinks about how they can be improved, and designs research that will extend their findings. Dr. Morabian's work demonstrates that science is: cumulative The purpose of ethical guidelines in psychological research is to protect the rights of human and animal subjects Looking for the best ways to help people monitor and control their blood pressure through behavioral changes would be the concern of psychologists within which subfield? health the hypothesis in a research study is defined as the idea or prediction that can be tested confidentiality requires that access to collected data be limited to research staff The main focus of clinical psychology is on which aspect of human behavior? understanding and treating psychological disorders Meditation does which of the following to the body? (choose all that apply) * Changes plasticity of the brain * Lowers cortisol levels * Changes brain structures Match the drug with the neurotransmitter it mimics: * benzodiazepines: GABA * cocaine: Dopamine * LSD: Serotonin Which age group sleeps the longest? Infants When your body suddenly has an unexpected change in level of drug tolerance, this is called: Reverse tolerance While there are some substances that are classified as drugs in the US, there are also culturally accepted uses of such substances, such as peyote and ayahuasca, due to their use for ceremonial and healing purposes. True Match the drug with the appropriate classification: * Alcohol: Depressant + Nicotine: Stimulant * Heroin: Opioid * LSD: Hallucinogen Pavlov's study of classical conditioning using dogs showed that dogs could learn to salivate in response to a(n): Conditioned stimulus When behaviors are organized into many small steps during operant conditioning, this is referred to as: Shaping The pleasurable experience of enjoying a good meal with another person on a first date can cause you to also associate positive feelings toward that person due to: High-order conditioning The pleasurable experience of enjoying a good meal with another person on a first date can cause you to also associate positive feelings toward that person due to: Reinforcement Studies show that violent video games can have prosocial effects False Which of the following are examples of learning? (choose all that apply) * Operant conditioning * Classical conditioning