GRE Psychology Subject Practice Test
Chunking - Correct Answers -organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often
occurs automatically
Clustering - Correct Answers -organizing items into related groups during recall from
long-term memory
Seriating - Correct Answers -Placing objects in a particular order, typically by size.
Central route of persuasion - Correct Answers -logic driven, occurs when interested
people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts
Peripheral route of persuasion - Correct Answers -appeals to emotions and indirect
cues, occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's
attractiveness
CT scan - Correct Answers -a series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles
and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice through the body
PET scan - Correct Answers -a visual display of brain activity that detects where a
radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task
unconditioned stimulus - Correct Answers -in classical conditioning, a stimulus that
unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.
unconditioned response - Correct Answers -In classical conditioning, the unlearned,
naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation
when food is in the mouth.
conditioned stimulus - Correct Answers -in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant
stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a
conditioned response
Deep structure - Correct Answers -the underlying meaning of a sentence (can have
multiple surface structures)
Surface structure - Correct Answers -in language, the sound and order of words (can
have multiple deep structures)
Korsakoff's Syndrome - Correct Answers -an alcohol related disorder marked by
extreme confusion, memory impairment, and other neurological symptoms
,Declarative memory - Correct Answers -Can be 1) semantic: general knowledge,
concepts, and facts about the world; 2) episodic: personal experiences and specific
events
Implicit memory - Correct Answers -Non-declarative and unconscious memory
Procedural memory - Correct Answers -a type of implicit memory that involves motor
skills and behavioral habits (driving a car)
Reference memory - Correct Answers -long-term retention of background information
necessary for successful use of incoming and recently acquired information (often
focuses on the "what" and the "where"
Endorphin - Correct Answers -chemical in the brain that plays a specialized role in pain
reduction
Norepinephrine - Correct Answers -helps control alertness and arousal
Acetylcholine - Correct Answers -A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory
and also triggers muscle contraction
Serotonin - Correct Answers -Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal
Dopamine - Correct Answers -influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion
Glutamte - Correct Answers -A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory
GABA - Correct Answers -An inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, calming the brain.
Adrenaline - Correct Answers -A hormone released into the bloodstream in response to
physical or mental stress
T cells - Correct Answers -Cells created in the thymus that produce substances that
attack infected cells in the body.
Piaget's sensorimotor stage - Correct Answers -0-2 years, early on they lack object
permanence (if an object is hidden they believe it no longer exists), around 8 months
they develop object permanence, learn through sensory experiences and motor actions.
Piaget's preoperational stage - Correct Answers -Ages 2 to 7
Gains in mental representation:
make-believe play
symbol-real-world relations
Limitations in thinking:
egocentrism
, lack of conservation
lack of hierarchical classification (believe that a skinny tall glass contains more liquid
than a short wide glass).
Piaget's concrete operational stage - Correct Answers -thought is more logical, flexible,
and organized than it was during early childhood, understand conservation
Piaget's formal operational stage - Correct Answers -reasoning logically about abstract
concepts and complex problems
Test-retest - Correct Answers -a method for determining the reliability of a test by
comparing a test taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions
Internal consistency - Correct Answers -when the facts presented within a single source
do not clash with each other
alternate forms reliability - Correct Answers -a procedure for testing the reliability of
responses to survey questions in which subjects' answers are compared after the
subjects have been asked slightly different versions of the questions or when randomly
selected halves of the sample have been administered slightly different versions of the
questions
split-half reliability - Correct Answers -A measure of reliability in which a test is split into
two parts and an individual's scores on both halves are compared.
inter-rater reliability - Correct Answers -measure of agreement among observers on how
they record and classify a particular event
Content validity - Correct Answers -the extent to which a test samples the behavior that
is of interest
construct validity - Correct Answers -the extent to which variables measure what they
are supposed to measure
Collectivism - Correct Answers -giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's
extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly
Individualism - Correct Answers -giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and
defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications
ethnocentrism - Correct Answers -Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic
group.
egocentrism - Correct Answers -the inability to see the world through anyone else's
eyes
Chunking - Correct Answers -organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often
occurs automatically
Clustering - Correct Answers -organizing items into related groups during recall from
long-term memory
Seriating - Correct Answers -Placing objects in a particular order, typically by size.
Central route of persuasion - Correct Answers -logic driven, occurs when interested
people focus on the arguments and respond with favorable thoughts
Peripheral route of persuasion - Correct Answers -appeals to emotions and indirect
cues, occurs when people are influenced by incidental cues, such as a speaker's
attractiveness
CT scan - Correct Answers -a series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles
and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice through the body
PET scan - Correct Answers -a visual display of brain activity that detects where a
radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task
unconditioned stimulus - Correct Answers -in classical conditioning, a stimulus that
unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.
unconditioned response - Correct Answers -In classical conditioning, the unlearned,
naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus (US), such as salivation
when food is in the mouth.
conditioned stimulus - Correct Answers -in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant
stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a
conditioned response
Deep structure - Correct Answers -the underlying meaning of a sentence (can have
multiple surface structures)
Surface structure - Correct Answers -in language, the sound and order of words (can
have multiple deep structures)
Korsakoff's Syndrome - Correct Answers -an alcohol related disorder marked by
extreme confusion, memory impairment, and other neurological symptoms
,Declarative memory - Correct Answers -Can be 1) semantic: general knowledge,
concepts, and facts about the world; 2) episodic: personal experiences and specific
events
Implicit memory - Correct Answers -Non-declarative and unconscious memory
Procedural memory - Correct Answers -a type of implicit memory that involves motor
skills and behavioral habits (driving a car)
Reference memory - Correct Answers -long-term retention of background information
necessary for successful use of incoming and recently acquired information (often
focuses on the "what" and the "where"
Endorphin - Correct Answers -chemical in the brain that plays a specialized role in pain
reduction
Norepinephrine - Correct Answers -helps control alertness and arousal
Acetylcholine - Correct Answers -A neurotransmitter that enables learning and memory
and also triggers muscle contraction
Serotonin - Correct Answers -Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal
Dopamine - Correct Answers -influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion
Glutamte - Correct Answers -A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory
GABA - Correct Answers -An inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, calming the brain.
Adrenaline - Correct Answers -A hormone released into the bloodstream in response to
physical or mental stress
T cells - Correct Answers -Cells created in the thymus that produce substances that
attack infected cells in the body.
Piaget's sensorimotor stage - Correct Answers -0-2 years, early on they lack object
permanence (if an object is hidden they believe it no longer exists), around 8 months
they develop object permanence, learn through sensory experiences and motor actions.
Piaget's preoperational stage - Correct Answers -Ages 2 to 7
Gains in mental representation:
make-believe play
symbol-real-world relations
Limitations in thinking:
egocentrism
, lack of conservation
lack of hierarchical classification (believe that a skinny tall glass contains more liquid
than a short wide glass).
Piaget's concrete operational stage - Correct Answers -thought is more logical, flexible,
and organized than it was during early childhood, understand conservation
Piaget's formal operational stage - Correct Answers -reasoning logically about abstract
concepts and complex problems
Test-retest - Correct Answers -a method for determining the reliability of a test by
comparing a test taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions
Internal consistency - Correct Answers -when the facts presented within a single source
do not clash with each other
alternate forms reliability - Correct Answers -a procedure for testing the reliability of
responses to survey questions in which subjects' answers are compared after the
subjects have been asked slightly different versions of the questions or when randomly
selected halves of the sample have been administered slightly different versions of the
questions
split-half reliability - Correct Answers -A measure of reliability in which a test is split into
two parts and an individual's scores on both halves are compared.
inter-rater reliability - Correct Answers -measure of agreement among observers on how
they record and classify a particular event
Content validity - Correct Answers -the extent to which a test samples the behavior that
is of interest
construct validity - Correct Answers -the extent to which variables measure what they
are supposed to measure
Collectivism - Correct Answers -giving priority to the goals of one's group (often one's
extended family or work group) and defining one's identity accordingly
Individualism - Correct Answers -giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and
defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications
ethnocentrism - Correct Answers -Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic
group.
egocentrism - Correct Answers -the inability to see the world through anyone else's
eyes
