PSYCH 100 Exam 1 Umass Amherst Questions With Verified Answers

Psychology - Answer the scientific study of behavior and mental processes Major goals for studying psychology - Answer describe and measure behavior explain and understand behavior predict and control behavior Behavior and mental proccesses - Answer affect, behavior, and congnition (only behavior can be observed and objectively measured) Eperiment - Answer a research procedure in which the psychologist manipulates one variable and measures the effect of that manipulation on the second variable. (only experiments establish casualty) Variable - Answer any characteristic of an object, event, or a person which can take two or more values Independent variable - Answer variable that is being manipulated in the experiment (ex. drug dosage, room temp) Dependent variable - Answer the variable that is being measured in the experiment. expected to change as result of indep. var. manipulation. depends on value of independent variable (ex. depression, agressiveness) A control (comparison) group - Answer group that receives a different value of the independent variable Random assignment to condition - Answer a procedure to which participants are assigned to experimental group or control group on the basis of chance (cancels out any other variables that could explain results) Variables that cannot be manipulated (instead studied how naturally occur) - Answer SES, number of children, smoking, depression, years of education, culture, age, relationship status Correlational research - Answer looking for relationships in measured variables Magnitude (what correlations have) - Answer the strength of the relationship between the two measured variables Direction (what correlations have) - Answer the direction of the realtionship. positive: both increase (attractiveness and popularity) negative: one increases, other decreases (weight and self esteem) Correlational research - Answer no random assignment, so cannot establish a cause and effect relationship. Neurons -structure - Answer electrochemical signals cell body dendrite (receiving) axon (sending) synapse Neuron function- action potential - Answer neuron is polarized ion exchange across cellular membrane neuron depolarizes release of neurotransmitter Neurotransmitters-excitatory - Answer make post synaptic neuron more likely to fire Neurotransmitter-inhibitory - Answer make post synaptic neuron less likely to fire Serotonin jobs - Answer sleep, eating, mood Dopamine - Answer parkinson's disease, schizophrenia Acetylcholine - Answer muscle contraction