MYERS AP PSYCHOLOGY EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS
empiricism - Correct Answers -the view that (a) knowledge comes from experience via
the senses, and (b) science flourishes through observation and experiment.
structuralism - Correct Answers -an early school of psychology that used introspection
to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
functionalism - Correct Answers -a school of psychology that focused on how mental
and behavioral processes function - how they enable the organism to adapt, survive,
and flourish.
nature-nurture issue - Correct Answers -the longstanding controversy over the relative
contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological
traits and behaviors
basic research - Correct Answers -pure science that aims to increase the scientific
knowledge base
applied research - Correct Answers -scientific study that aims to solve practical
problems
clinical psychology - Correct Answers -a branch of psychology that studies, assesses,
and treats people with psychological disorders.
psychiatry - Correct Answers -a branch of medicine dealing with psychological
disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug)
treatments as well as psychological therapy
hindsight bias - Correct Answers -the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome,
that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)
psychology - Correct Answers -the science of behavior and mental processes
,critical thinking - Correct Answers -thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and
conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates
evidence, and assesses conclusions.
theory - Correct Answers -an explanation using an integrated set of principles that
organizes and predicts observations
hypothesis - Correct Answers -a testable prediction, often implied by a theory
operational definition - Correct Answers -a statement of the procedures (operations)
used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be
operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures
replication - Correct Answers -repeating the essence of a research study, usually with
different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to
other participants and circumstances
case study - Correct Answers -an observation technique in which one person is studied
in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
survey - Correct Answers -a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or
behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them
population - Correct Answers -all the cases in a group, from which samples may be
drawn for a study
random sample - Correct Answers -a sample that fairly represents a population because
each member has an equal chance of inclusion
naturalistic observation - Correct Answers -Observing and recording behavior in
naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.
correlation coefficient - Correct Answers -A statistical measure of the extent to which
two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other
illusory correlation - Correct Answers -the perception of a relationship where none exists
experiment - Correct Answers -a research method in which an investigator manipulates
one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or
mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the
experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.
placebo - Correct Answers -an inert substance or condition that may be administered
instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects
believed to characterize the active agent
,double-blind procedure - Correct Answers -an experimental procedure in which both the
research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the
research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug
evaluation studies.
placebo effect - Correct Answers -Any effect on behavior caused by a placebo
experimental condition - Correct Answers -the condition of an experiment that exposes
participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
control condition - Correct Answers -the condition of an experiment that contrasts with
the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the
treatment
random assignment - Correct Answers -Assigning participants to experimental and
control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those
assigned to the different groups.
independent variable - Correct Answers -The experimental factor that is manipulated;
the variable whose effect is being studied.
dependent variable - Correct Answers -The experimental factor - in psychology, the
behavior or mental process - that is being measured; the variable that may change in
response to manipulations of the independent variable
culture - Correct Answers -the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions
shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
SQ3R - Correct Answers -a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question,
Read, Rehearse, Review.
biological psychology - Correct Answers -a branch of psychology concerned with the
links between biology and behavior
neuron - Correct Answers -a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
dendrite - Correct Answers -the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive
messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
axon - Correct Answers -the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers,
through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
action potential - Correct Answers -a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that
travels down an axon. the action potential is generated by the movement of positively
charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon's membrane
, myelin sheath - Correct Answers -a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers
of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the
impulse hops from one node to the next
threshold - Correct Answers -the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
synapse - Correct Answers -the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron
and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is
called the synaptic gap or cleft.
neurotransmitters - Correct Answers -chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic
gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel
across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby
influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
endorphins - Correct Answers -"morphine within"--natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters
linked to pain control and to pleasure.
nervous system - Correct Answers -the body's speedy, electrochemical communication
system, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems
central nervous system - Correct Answers -The brain and spinal cord
peripheral nervous system - Correct Answers -the sensory and motor neurons that
connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
nerves - Correct Answers -neural "cables" containing many axons. These bundled
axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervous
system with muscles, glands, and sense organs
sensory neurons - Correct Answers -neurons that carry incoming information from the
sense receptors to the central nervous system.
interneurons - Correct Answers -Central nervous system neurons that internally
communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
motor neurons - Correct Answers -neurons that carry outgoing information from the
central nervous system to the muscles and glands
somatic nervous system - Correct Answers -the division of the peripheral nervous
system that controls the body's skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous
system
autonomic nervous system - Correct Answers -The part of the peripheral nervous
system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the
heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS
empiricism - Correct Answers -the view that (a) knowledge comes from experience via
the senses, and (b) science flourishes through observation and experiment.
structuralism - Correct Answers -an early school of psychology that used introspection
to explore the elemental structure of the human mind
functionalism - Correct Answers -a school of psychology that focused on how mental
and behavioral processes function - how they enable the organism to adapt, survive,
and flourish.
nature-nurture issue - Correct Answers -the longstanding controversy over the relative
contributions that genes and experience make to the development of psychological
traits and behaviors
basic research - Correct Answers -pure science that aims to increase the scientific
knowledge base
applied research - Correct Answers -scientific study that aims to solve practical
problems
clinical psychology - Correct Answers -a branch of psychology that studies, assesses,
and treats people with psychological disorders.
psychiatry - Correct Answers -a branch of medicine dealing with psychological
disorders; practiced by physicians who sometimes provide medical (for example, drug)
treatments as well as psychological therapy
hindsight bias - Correct Answers -the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome,
that one would have foreseen it. (Also known as the I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)
psychology - Correct Answers -the science of behavior and mental processes
,critical thinking - Correct Answers -thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and
conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates
evidence, and assesses conclusions.
theory - Correct Answers -an explanation using an integrated set of principles that
organizes and predicts observations
hypothesis - Correct Answers -a testable prediction, often implied by a theory
operational definition - Correct Answers -a statement of the procedures (operations)
used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be
operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures
replication - Correct Answers -repeating the essence of a research study, usually with
different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to
other participants and circumstances
case study - Correct Answers -an observation technique in which one person is studied
in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles
survey - Correct Answers -a technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or
behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them
population - Correct Answers -all the cases in a group, from which samples may be
drawn for a study
random sample - Correct Answers -a sample that fairly represents a population because
each member has an equal chance of inclusion
naturalistic observation - Correct Answers -Observing and recording behavior in
naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.
correlation coefficient - Correct Answers -A statistical measure of the extent to which
two factors vary together, and thus of how well either factor predicts the other
illusory correlation - Correct Answers -the perception of a relationship where none exists
experiment - Correct Answers -a research method in which an investigator manipulates
one or more factors (independent variables) to observe the effect on some behavior or
mental process (the dependent variable). By random assignment of participants, the
experimenter aims to control other relevant factors.
placebo - Correct Answers -an inert substance or condition that may be administered
instead of a presumed active agent, such as a drug, to see if it triggers the effects
believed to characterize the active agent
,double-blind procedure - Correct Answers -an experimental procedure in which both the
research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether the
research participants have received the treatment or a placebo. Commonly used in drug
evaluation studies.
placebo effect - Correct Answers -Any effect on behavior caused by a placebo
experimental condition - Correct Answers -the condition of an experiment that exposes
participants to the treatment, that is, to one version of the independent variable
control condition - Correct Answers -the condition of an experiment that contrasts with
the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the
treatment
random assignment - Correct Answers -Assigning participants to experimental and
control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those
assigned to the different groups.
independent variable - Correct Answers -The experimental factor that is manipulated;
the variable whose effect is being studied.
dependent variable - Correct Answers -The experimental factor - in psychology, the
behavior or mental process - that is being measured; the variable that may change in
response to manipulations of the independent variable
culture - Correct Answers -the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions
shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next
SQ3R - Correct Answers -a study method incorporating five steps: Survey, Question,
Read, Rehearse, Review.
biological psychology - Correct Answers -a branch of psychology concerned with the
links between biology and behavior
neuron - Correct Answers -a nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
dendrite - Correct Answers -the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive
messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
axon - Correct Answers -the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers,
through which messages pass to other neurons or to muscles or glands
action potential - Correct Answers -a neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that
travels down an axon. the action potential is generated by the movement of positively
charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon's membrane
, myelin sheath - Correct Answers -a layer of fatty tissue segmentally encasing the fibers
of many neurons; enables vastly greater transmission speed of neural impulses as the
impulse hops from one node to the next
threshold - Correct Answers -the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
synapse - Correct Answers -the junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron
and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron. The tiny gap at this junction is
called the synaptic gap or cleft.
neurotransmitters - Correct Answers -chemical messengers that traverse the synaptic
gaps between neurons. When released by the sending neuron, neurotransmitters travel
across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron, thereby
influencing whether that neuron will generate a neural impulse.
endorphins - Correct Answers -"morphine within"--natural, opiatelike neurotransmitters
linked to pain control and to pleasure.
nervous system - Correct Answers -the body's speedy, electrochemical communication
system, consisting of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems
central nervous system - Correct Answers -The brain and spinal cord
peripheral nervous system - Correct Answers -the sensory and motor neurons that
connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
nerves - Correct Answers -neural "cables" containing many axons. These bundled
axons, which are part of the peripheral nervous system, connect the central nervous
system with muscles, glands, and sense organs
sensory neurons - Correct Answers -neurons that carry incoming information from the
sense receptors to the central nervous system.
interneurons - Correct Answers -Central nervous system neurons that internally
communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
motor neurons - Correct Answers -neurons that carry outgoing information from the
central nervous system to the muscles and glands
somatic nervous system - Correct Answers -the division of the peripheral nervous
system that controls the body's skeletal muscles. Also called the skeletal nervous
system
autonomic nervous system - Correct Answers -The part of the peripheral nervous
system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs (such as the
heart). Its sympathetic division arouses; its parasympathetic division calms.
