PSY 2012 EXAM 2 STUDY QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE 2026

PSY 2012 EXAM 2 STUDY QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE 2026 A child is kicking and screaming with his eyes open wide. Which stage of sleep would you most expect him to be in? A) REM sleep B) Non-REM sleep C) Awake - Answers B) The child is having a night terror, which happen almost exclusively in non-REM sleep. - Typically Night terror = Stage 4 sleep Alex has been known to sleep walk ever since he was a young kid. One night, Alex drives to publix, comes home and cooks a pizza all while sleeping. What stage of sleep is Alex most likely in and do you believe that he is acting out his dream? A) Stage 1; Yes - he is acting out his dreams B) Stage 5/REM sleep; yes - he is acting out his dreams C) Stage 4; No - he is not acting out his dreams - Answers C) Sleep walkers are NOT acting out their dreams , bc sleepwalking almost always occurs during Non-REM sleep (especially stages 3 and 4). Which of the following are not proposed ideas of why we dream? A) Processing emotional memories. B) Integrating new experiences with established memories to make sense of and create a virtual reality model of the world. C) Learning new strategies and ways of doing things, like swinging golf club. D) stimulating threatening events so we can better cope with them in everyday life. E) Reorganizing and consolidating memories F) All of the above. - Answers F) All are proposed ideas in the book There are sharp disagreements among scientists about the role of the brain stem and REM sleep, and the role that development plays in dreaming. What are the 2 things that scientists generally agree on? A) serotonin turns on REM sleep B) Acetylcholine turns on REM sleep C) the forebrain plays an important role in dreams D) the hindbrain plays an important role in dreams E) B & C F) A & C G) B & D - Answers E) B & C are correct Freud distinguished between the details of the dream itself, which he called the __________, and its true, hidden meaning, which he called the __________. - Answers manifest content ; latent content Ex: A dream about getting a flat tire (manifest content) might signify anxiety about the loss of status at our job (latent content). In a study of mystical experiences, participants were given a hallucinogenic drug that is the active ingredient in the "mushroom." What is the most likely neurotransmitter affected when this drug is ingested? A) Acetylcholine B) Calcium-gated ion channels C) Serotonin D) Norepinephrine - Answers C) Serotonin receptors are affected LSD is an agonist for serotonin (mimics serotonin in the brain; Ex: hallucinations, schizophrenia) - Think: If your serotonin levels are off.. your brain will be "tonin" out Which of the following regarding hypnosis is false? A) Studies show that hypnosis enhances the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapies. B) Hypnosis is useful for treating pain, medical conditions, obesity, anxiety, and habit disorders. C) We can be certain that hypnosis produces great benefits that are fully attributed to hypnosis alone. - Answers C) There is no evidence that hypnosis is an effective treatment by itself, so we should be skeptical of "professional hypnotherapists." Which of the following is not a common MYTH of Hypnosis as discussed in the textbook? A) Hypnosis produces a trance state in which amazing things occur. B) Hypnotic phenomena are unique - scientists haven't yet identified any unique physiological states of markers of hypnosis. C) Hypnosis is a sleep-like state. D) Hypnotic people are unaware of their surroundings. E) Hypnotized people forget what happened during hypnosis. F) Hypnosis enhances memory G) Hypnosis produces excess epinephrine and endorphins. - Answers G) this is not a myth - this is completely false. The rest are all common myths the book mentions that are believed about hypnosis and they are not true. Hypnosis bypasses the ordinary sense of control we exert over our behaviors, then suggestions directly bring out responses with little or no sense of effort or conscious control. Which theory of hypnosis is this statement most aligned with? A) Sociocognitive theory B) Reassociation theory C) Dissociation theory D) Enhanced learning phenomena - Answers C) Dissociation theory - the idea is that during hypnosis our senses are "dissociated" allowing us to bypass our control on our behaviors. When not under hypnosis are senses are fully integrated. Alcohol affects brain centers involved in reward. Knowing this, what neurotransmitter is affected by alcohol use? A) Acetylcholine B) Dopamine C) Serotonin D) Norepinephrine - Answers B) Dopamine After being bitten by a large and aggressive Rottweiler last week, Cassie walks through central park with her boyfriend who stops to pet a black lab. Even though the lab looked considerably like the Rottweiler that bit her, Cassie wasn't afraid when she reached down to pet the lab. What phenomenon describes this scenario? A) Acquisition B) Renewal Effect C) Stimulus Discrimination D) Stimulus Generalization - Answers C) stimulus discrimination - Process by which organisms display a less pronounced conditioned response to conditioned stimuli that DIFFER from the original conditioned stimulus Many students at UF engage in the use of Study Edge for their core classes. During finals week, there are blue Study Edge packets on just about every desk in the library. A new tutoring company, called Tutoring Edge hopes to attract new clients by using orange colored packets, but unfortunately, their advertising attempts fail and students continue to use Study Edge. What phenomenon best explains this situation? A) Extinction B) Latent Inhibition C) Stimulus Discrimination D) Stimulus Generalization - Answers B) Latent inhibition refers to the fact that we've experienced a CS alone so many times, it is difficult to classically condition it to another stimulus. The students at UF have long made the association that Blue colored study edge packets (CS) lead to doing great in their classes (CR). It is almost in a sense "too late", their minds are made up and the orange colored packets will not be classically conditioned. A mother rushes into her 3 year olds room every time he kicks the wall and yells "Stop that!" If he then proceeds to kick the walls more often following the scolding, what is occurring? A) Positive punishment B) Negative punishment C) Positive reinforcement D) Negative reinforcement - Answers C) Positive reinforcement - it is when we administer a stimulus that strengthens the probability of a behavior. The yelling of the mother is the administered stimulus; it is reinforcement because the boys behavior is strengthened. (if his kicking were too decrease or stop after he was scolded then the mother's scolding would have been a punishment - weakening the probability of a response) A women with diabetes works hard to control her blood sugar through diet and exercise. As a result, her doctor allows her to discontinue use of insulin shots each day, which increases her attempts to eat healthily and exercise. A) Positive punishment B) Negative punishment C) Positive reinforcement D) Negative reinforcement - Answers D) Negative reinforcement - reinforcement bc her healthy behavior is strengthened/ increasing - negative bc a stimulus has been taken away (the insulin shots were diminished) A parole board releases a previously aggressive criminal from prison early for being a "model citizen" within the prison for the past 5 years. Following his release, he continues to behave in a law-abiding manner. A) Positive punishment B) Negative punishment C) Positive reinforcement D) Negative reinforcement - Answers D) Negative reinforcement -reinforcement bc his behavior is increased -negative bc the stimulus of the "prison" is being removed from the picture Ashley yells at her sister for taking her shoes without asking. Her sister apologizes and never takes her shoes again. A) Punishment B) Reinforcement - Answers A) - punishment bc decreasing her behavior of taking shoes Alex's baby will not be quiet, so he gives the baby a toy and the baby stops crying. A) Positive punishment B) Negative punishment C) Positive reinforcement D) Negative reinforcement - Answers A) Positive punishment -decreases behavior = punishment - adds toy / stimulus = positive Using food pallets to train hamsters to distinguish blonde humans vs brunette humans is an example of? A) Positive punishment B) Stimulus generalization C) Stimulus discrimination D) discriminative stimulus - Answers C) this is stimulus discrimination bc the hamsters learned to tell the difference bt two different types of stimuli. A worker in a bag factory might get paid every Friday for the work she has done as long as she has generated at least one bag during that 1 week interval. What kind of schedule of reinforcement is this? A) Fixed ratio B) Fixed interval C) Variable ratio D) Variable interval - Answers B) fixed interval - we provide reinforcement for producing the response at least once following a specified time interval. - so she produced at least one bag in the given time period. Tina the neurosurgeon receives a call at work saying that her son has been sent to the principal's office today for calling his teacher "fat" and repeatedly speaking out during class. Immediately Tina is worried that her son may have problems in his: A) Cerebellum B) Occipital lobe C) Pituitary Gland D) Pre-frontal cortex - Answers D) the Pre-frontal cortex is very important for self-control & the moderation of social behaviors. Damage to it can cause people to speak and act out of character. This type of damage occurred to Phones Gage when the rod struck through his pre-frontal cortex After feeling extreme anxiety and stress after her first semester of college, Katie felt that she needed anti-anxiety medication to help suppress the over active areas in her brain that kept her up each night and led to panic attacks. This medication will most likely have an effect on: A) Glutamate receptors B) GABA receptors C) Acetylcholine receptors D) Oxytocin receptors - Answers B) GABA receptors - GABA is the main INHIBITORY neurotransmitter in the nervous system. GABA dampens neural activity, thats why most anti-anxiety drugs bind to GABA receptors - they tend to suppress over active brain areas that lead to worry. The Kardashian family has a lot of whacky problems and doctors think that it could be a genetic problem resulting in the same diminished neurotransmitter in each family member. Kris has a problem with muscle cramping and decreased movement. Grandma Kim has been recently diagnosed with Alzheimers and is experiencing rapid memory loss. Little Kylie has a cigarette addiction in order to try stimulate this neurotransmitter. What is most likely the neurotransmitter the Kardashian family has problems with? A) Glutamate B) GABA C) Acetylcholine D) Oxytocin - Answers C) Acetylcholine - Neurons that are connected to muscle cells also release acetylcholine allowing the triggering of movement. - Alzheimers patients have neurons containing acetylcholine that are destroyed - leads to memory loss. Drugs to help memory loss work by boosting acetylcholine levels in the brain. - Nicotine stimulates Ach receptors. Also Note: Plays a role in Muscle contraction (PNS), and Cortical arousal (CNS). It plays a role in arousal, selective attention, sleep, and memory. After operating on a patient, a doctor prescribes medication to help diminish his patients pain. Unfortunately, his patient becomes addicted to this medication and his brain no longer produces healthy amounts of this neurotransmitter known to be: A) Oxytocin B) Vasopressin C) Endorphins D) Acetylcholine - Answers C) Endorphins - the brain produces its own opiate (endorphins) -Artificial endorphins like: Narcotics (Opium, Morphine, Codeine& heroin) are agonists for endorphin receptors - they "bind" and "take the pain away" The medication Isotretinoin, otherwise known as Acutane, has been called into question for the possibility of causing increased depression in adolescents. The drug company, however, refutes that Acutane does not diminish the levels of __________, the neurotransmitter that is associated with depression when levels are too low. A) Glutamate B) Serotonin C) Acetylcholine D) Norepinephrine - Answers B) Serotonin - plays roles in mood, temperature regulation, aggression, and sleep cycles. - Low serotonin levels are associated with a wide variety of emotional and behavioral disorders including depression, anxiety, suicidal behavior and obsessive-compulsive disorder. - Drugs that interact with Serotonin: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants are used to treat depression by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin. It basically lets it "hangout" longer in the synapse leading to less depression. Children with ADHD and drug addicts both take drugs that fall into the same drug family - Amphetamines & Methamphetamines. These drugs work by arousing the brain by increasing which of the following neurotransmitters? A) Glutamate B) Serotonin C) Acetylcholine D) Norepinephrine - Answers D) Norepinephrine - Brain arousal and other functions like mood, hunger, and sleep. Drugs that interact with NE: Amphetamine and methamphetamine increase NE --- So adderall & meth would increase the NE levels. After presumably doing great on his psychology exam, Alex decides to asks a girl out on a date and heads to Vegas to gamble for the weekend! What kind of neurotransmitter do we assume to be highly active in these situations? A) Glutamate B) Serotonin C) Dopamine D) Norepinephrine - Answers C) Dopamine - plays a critical role in the rewarding experiences that occur when we seek out or anticipate goals whether they be sex, a good meal, or gambling jackpot. After smoking marijuana, the active ingredient, THC travels through the blood stream to elicit a response by binding to ____________ receptors to produce euphoric sensations. A) Glutamate B) Acetylcholine C) Anandamide D) Norepinephrine - Answers C) Anandamide Drugs that interact with Anandamide: THC found in marijuana produces euphoria - Pain reduction and increase in appetite are effects of anandamide. Which is not one of the ways that the brain (and its neurons) can change throughout development: A) Growth B) Synaptogenesis C) Reuptake D) Pruning E) Myelination - Answers C) Reuptake refers to the recycling of neurotransmitters; it is not a developmental change. 1. Growth - of dendrites and axons 2. Synaptogenesis - formation of new synapses 3. Pruning - consisting of the death of certain neurons and the retraction of axons to remove connections that aren't useful 4. Myelination - the insulation of axons with a myelin sheath Rats are trained to swim to a hidden platform in milky water. By the time these rates become good at finding the platform, their axons relevant to the area of their brain that deals with spatial ability had expanded. What is this called? A) Structural morphism B) Structural plasticity C) Potentiation D) Myelination - Answers B) Structural plasticity - change in the shape of neurons is possibly critical for learning Note: Exposure to 'enriched' environments can also lead to structural changes /enhancements to dendrites - so a rat thats given a large cage with lots of toys and objects will develop more than a rat that has an empty cage Out of the 3 regions of the brain which one is most "primitive" in function and which one is associated with being allowing advanced intellectual abilities? (choose 2) A) Midbrain B) Hindbrain C) Forebrain (Cerebrum) - Answers B) Hindbrain - very basic, primitive part of our brain, we have this part of the brain in common with other animals ; Responsible for BASIC functions: heartbeat, survival, hunting, mating. We share this with the alligator and the lizard. & C) Forebrain (Cerebrum) - The upper part is the Cerebral Cortex - Wrinkled, top 2-4mm (1/10") of the brain (your thinking cap!). - Four lobes - reason that we are a lot smarter than alligators Which of the following is not a hindbrain structure? A) Medulla B) Reticular formation C)Brainstem D) Cerebellum E) All are structures of the hindbrain. - Answers E) All Match each of the following Limbic system structures with its correct function: 1) Amygdala 2) Hypothalamus 3) Hippocampus a) Important for spatial memory b) Linked to emotion (such as fear & anxiety) and aggression c) Regulates the body. Often thought as the reward center. - Answers The Limbic system and the Thalamus make up the "Midbrain" The limbic systems 3 structures (Amygdala, Hypothalamus, Hippocampus) 1) B 2) C 3) A Damage to the Hippocampus might result in: A) Increased sporadic behavior of limbs B) Uncontrollable outbursts C) Increased energy D) Memory loss - Answers D) - can be observed in 50 first dates; girl has damage to hippocampus and can't retain memories. - think: If you see a hippo on campus you're going to remember it = plays a role in memory Upon neural stimulation, a rat will cross a painful electrical grid so that he can press the "stimulation pedal" that will send a jolt of stimulation to this area in the brain. A) Amygdala B) Forebrain (Cerebrum) C) Hypothalamus D) Pons - Answers C) Hypothalamus = aside from its homeostasis roles; it is often regarded as "pleasure center of the brain" Match each of the following Forebrain (Cerebrum) structures with its correct functions: 1) Frontal lobe 2) Temporal lobe 3) Parietal lobe 4) Occipital lobe 5) Motor cortex 6) Sensory cortex A) Vision B) Perception, making sense of the world, arithmetic, spelling C) Sensations D) Movement E)Memory, understanding, language F) Executive functioning, thinking, planning, organizing and problem solving emotions and behavioral control, personality - Answers 1) F 2) E 3) B 4) A 5) D 6) C Which of the following is not a characteristic of the Temporal lobe of the Forebrain (Cerebrum)? A) Memory B) Understanding language C) Hearing D) Heart rate - Answers D) Experienced taxi drivers have excellent spatial memory - the memory of the physical layout of things and places in the environment, when we make a mental map of how to get from one place to another we are using what part of the brain? A) temporal lobe B) cerebellum C) pons D) cerebrum E) hippocampus - Answers E) hippocampus Technique that uses magnetic fields to visualize brain activity using changes in blood oxygen level A) MRI B) CT C) fMRI D) PET - Answers C) fMRI bc it uses changes in oxygen levels it is an INDIRECT indicator of neural activity - called "functional" bc its typically used to image brain ACTIVITY in response to specific tasks like solving math problems or looking at emotional faces Cons: highly sensitive to motion so if participant moves a lot data may not be accurate In a patient who acquires Alzheimer's Disease, in which of the following areas of the brain would you NOT expect to undergo loss of neurons and synapses? A) Temporal lobe B) Occipital lobe C) Parietal lobe D) Frontal lobe - Answers B) Occipital lobe - where vision occurs / is processed would not be affected in Alzheimers. You're actual vision won't be affected but how you "see" / perceive the world will be changed. - Temporal lobe : memory loss and language problems soon develop -Parietal lobe: patients will have a difficult time with perception/ making sense of the world - Frontal lobe: loss of executive functioning; patients may act out of character- personality, problem solving, emotions, and behavior can be altered. Which of the following structures is incorrectly matched with its location in the brain? A) Thalamus - Midbrain B) Frontal lobe - Forebrain (Cerebrum) C) Amygdala - Hindbrain D) Reticular formation - Hindbrain E) Brainstem - Hindbrain F) Motor cortex -Forebrain (Cerebrum) G) Cerebellum - Hindbrain - Answers C) Amygdala is part of the limbic system (along with the hypothalamus and hippocampus) which is located in the MIDBRAIN What type of neuron connects sensory nerves to motor nerves within the spinal chord without having to report back to the brain; allowing reflexes to occur? A)Motor neurons B) Interneurons C) Reflexive neurons D) Sensory neurons - Answers B) Interneurons