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AP Psychology

Subjects : psychology, ap
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Wrinkled outer portion of brain; center for higher order brain functions such as thinking - planning - judgment; processes sensory information and directs movement






2. Freud's first stage of personality development - from birth to about age 2 - during which the instincts of infants are focused on the mouth as the primary pleasure center.






3. A white - fatty covering of the axon which speeds transmission of message






4. Shift in electrical charge in a tiny area of the neuron (temporary); transmits a long cell membranes leaving neuron and polarized state; needs higher than normal threshold of excitation to fire






5. The view that knowledge should be acquired through observation and often an experiment






6. An anxiety disorder characterized by persistent anxiety occurring on more days than not for at least 6 months - sometimes with increased activity of the autonomic nervous system - apprehension - excessive muscle tension - and difficulty in concentrat






7. Universal Emotions (based upon facial expressions); Study Basics: Constants across culture in the face and emotion






8. A schizophrenic disorder that is characterized by a mixture of symptoms and does not meet the diagnostic criteria of any one type.






9. 17th century English philosopher. Wrote that the mind was a 'blank slate' or 'tabula rasa'; that is - people are born without innate ideas. We are completely shaped by our environment .






10. Did work on short-term memory






11. Motivation theory - drive reduction; maintained that the goal of all motivated behavior is the reduction or alleviation of a drive state - mechanism through which reinforcement operates






12. Behavior targeted at individuals or groups and intended to hold them apart and treat them differently.






13. Discovered classical conditioning; trained dogs to salivate at the ringing of a bell






14. 'Wernicke's area'; discovered area of left temporal lobe that involved language understanding: person damaged in this area uses correct words but they do not make sense






15. Part of the limbic system; influences emotions such as aggression - fear - and self-protective behaviors






16. Inability to perceive a situation or event except in relation to oneself; also know as self-centeredness






17. A score indicating what percentage of the test population would obtain a lower score






18. Study of how traits are transmitted from one generation to the next






19. An internal aroused condition that directs an organism to satisfy a physiological need






20. Commonly occurring behavior can reinforce a less frequent behavior






21. The third phase of the sexual response cycle - during which autonomic nervous system activity reaches its peak and muscle contractions occur in spasms throughout the body - but especially in the genital area






22. Heuristic procedure in which a problem is broken down into smaller steps - each of which has a subgoal.






23. Observed group differences based on the era when people were born and grew up - exposing them to particular experiences that may affect the results of cross-sectional studies






24. Conflict that results from having to choose between two distasteful alternatives






25. Established an intelligence test especially for adults (WAIS); also WISC and WPPSI






26. Subfield concerned with the use of psychological ideas and principles to enhance health - prevent illness - diagnose and treat disease - and improve rehabilitation






27. A person's diminished ability to deal with demanding life events.






28. Areas of the retina that - when stimulated - produce a change in the firing of cells in the visual system.






29. Moral development; presented boys moral dilemmas and studied their responses and reasoning processes in making moral decisions. Most famous moral dilemma is 'Heinz' who has an ill wife and cannot afford the medication. Should he steal the medication






30. Freud's fourth stage of personality development - from about age 7 until puberty - during which sexual urges are inactive.






31. The percentage of scores at or below a certain score






32. The study of the lifelong - often age-related - processes of change in the physical - cognitive - moral - emotional - and social domains of functioning; such changes are rooted in biological mechanisms that are genetically controlled - as well as in






33. Typically a pill that is used as a control in the experiment; a sugar pill






34. The law that the neuron either fires at 100% or not at all






35. Study of the brain and nervous system; overlaps with psychobiology






36. The middle division of brain responsible for hearing and sight; location where pain is registered; includes temporal lobe - occipital lobe - and most of the parietal lobe






37. Performs initial encoding; provides brief storage; also called sensory register






38. A generalized feeling of fear and apprehension that may be related to a particular situation or object and is often accompanied by increased physiological arousal.






39. Sets of strategies - rather than strict rules - that act as guidelines for discovery-oriented problem solving.






40. The tendency to attribute other people's behavior to dispositional (internal) causes rather than situational (external) causes.






41. An operant conditioning procedure in which individuals who display appropriate behavior receive tokens that they can exchange for desirable items or activities.






42. The system of principles of reasoning used to reach valid conclusions or make inferences.






43. Conscious experience of emotion and physiological arousal occur at the same time






44. The first person to study memory scientifically and systematically; used nonsense syllables and recorded how many times he had to study a list to remember it well






45. The most primitive of the three functional divisions of the brain - consisting of the pons - medulla - reticular formation - and cerebellum






46. The space between two neurons where neurotransmitters are secreted by terminal buttons and received by dendrites






47. A discipline based on the premise that even day-to-day behaviors are determined by the process of natural selection - that social behaviors that contribute to the survival of a species are passed on via the genes from one generation to the next.






48. Synaptic gap or synaptic space; tiny gap between the terminal of one neuron and the dendrites of another neuron (almost never touch); location of the transfer of an impulse from one neuron to the next






49. According to Piaget - the process by which new ideas and experiences are absorbed and incorporated into existing mental structures and behaviors






50. Operant training system that uses secondary reinforcers (tokens) to increase appropriate behavior; learners can exchange tokens for desired rewards