Unit One Study Guide

This guide is intended to help guide you to the information that is likely to appear on the exam. While all
information on the exam will be covered here, not all information covered here will make it to the exam. If you can
comprehensively answer these questions you will find yourself well prepared for the exam.

Chapter One: Psychological Science (pgs. 1-44)

In addition to the vocabulary presented in the pages listed above (bold terms), and the bold terms listed in class,
students should be able to comprehensively answer the following:

1. What is science, what is its purpose, and why do we prefer it instead of intuition? (Lecture)
2. What are the five steps of the scientific method? (Pgs. 19-24)
3. What is a scientific theory? How can we distinguish a good theory from a bad one? Give two of your own
examples of a good theory and two examples of a bad theory, and explain your answer. (Pg. 20 &
Lecture)
4. What are empirical claims? How are they different from metaphysical or other untestable claims?
(Lecture)
5. What is pseudoscience? Give some examples. How can you discriminate it from true science? (Lecture)
6. Why should we be wary of pseudoscience? Is it actually harmful? (Lecture)
7. Summarize the following research designs: Naturalistic Observation, Case Study, Correlational, Quasi-
experimental, and Experimental designs. Try to come up with an example of each design type. (Pgs. 28-
40)
8. What conclusions, if any, can be drawn from case studies and naturalistic observations? How are they
useful? (Pgs. 28-30)
9. What types of claims can be made with each of the above designs? (Pgs. 28-40)
10. Why can causation NOT be inferred from correlational designs? (Pg. 31)
11. How is the strength and direction of correlations expressed? What is a positive correlation? What is a
negative correlation? (Pg. 33)
12. Why do experimental designs allow us to make causal claims? (Pgs. 35-40)
13. What is the relationship between a Population and a Sample? (Pg. 26)
14. Why is random sampling so important? What about random assignment? (Pg. 26)
15. Know the basics of the bell distribution and why it is an important concept to understand for psychology.
(Lecture)
16. What are the 5 APA ethical standards discussed in class and what do they mandate? (Lecture & Pgs. 41-
43)

Topic Two: The Biological Perspective (pgs. 49-87)

In addition to the vocabulary presented in the pages listed above (bold terms), and the bold terms listed in class,
students should be able to comprehensively answer the following:

1. How have brain injury cases increased our knowledge of brain function? (Lecture)
2. Who is Phineas Gage? (Lecture)
3. What are the main components of a neuron and how do they function? (Pgs. 53-54)
4. How do neurons communicate? What is an action potential? What are neurotransmitters? (Pgs. 57-59)
5. Know the four neurotransmitters discussed in class and their primary functions. (Lecture & Pg. 58)
6. How do drugs affect the brain? Give some common examples. (Lecture)
7. What are the 4 different ways of mapping the brain that I discussed in class? What are the strengths and
weaknesses of each? (Lecture)
8. Know the major components of the hindbrain, midbrain, & cortex. (Lecture & Pgs. 79-86)
9. What are the different lobes of the cerebral cortex? What is their function? (Pgs. 79-83)
10. Where is the Primary Visual Cortex located? Where is the Primary Auditory Cortex? (Pgs. 79-83)
11. What is the function of Brocas and Wernickes areas in the brain? What is aphasia? (Pg. 72)
12. How does the motor and sensory cortices work to control and sense from the body. (Pg. 82)
13. What are the specialized functions of the right and left hemisphere of the brain? (Pgs. 71-73)

Chapter Three: Sensation & Perception (pgs. 93-134)

In addition to the vocabulary presented in the pages listed above (bold terms), and the bold terms listed in class,
students should be able to comprehensively answer the following:

1. What is sensation & perception? How are they related? How are they different? (Pg. 94)
2. What is an absolute threshold? (Pgs. 96-97)
3. What is a subliminal stimulus? Can subliminal messages affect behavior? (Pgs. 99-100)
4. What are the major components of the eye? How does each of them work to produce a visual
experience? (Pgs. 101-105)
5. What are rods and cones? What are their unique functions? In lay terms, how do they work? (Pgs. 104-
107)
6. What are the two theories of color vision discussed in class and how do they work together to produce
the ability to see color? (Pgs. 107-109)
7. Why does colorblindness occur? (Pgs. 108-109)
8. How do we perceive depth, with one eye and with both? (Pgs. 130-131)
9. How does audition work? Be able to generally describe the path that sound waves take though the ear.
(Pgs. 110-115)
10. What are some of the culprits of hearing loss? What frequencies are lost first? Is hearing loss permanent?
(i.e. do hair cells grow back?) (Pg. 116)
11. What are the two TYPES of hearing loss and how are they different from one another? (Lecture)
12. Describe kinesthesis & the vestibular sense? (Pg. 126)
13. What is gate-control theory? What other ways to we deal with pain? (Pgs. 124-125)
14. What are the chemosenses and how do they combine to form the perception of flavor? (Pgs. 119-121)
15. What are the five basic taste sensations? What are the evolutionary benefits of each? (Pgs. 119-121)