Psych 387 Exam 2 Study Guide Latest Updated
Exams will take place in the Digital Learning Commons and will mostly consist of multiple
choice questions, but may also include fill-in the blank, matching, and true/false questions.
Exams will cover material from lectures, class discussions, videos shown in class, and clicker
questions, as well as applications of this material.
Missed exam policy: If you miss an exam, I will replace the missing score with the percentage
score that you earn on the corresponding section of the final exam. If you miss an exam, you may
still take it (for practice and feedback) during office hours, but your score will not be recorded.
You can also choose to replace one exam with a second reaction paper.
There will be no individual exam make-ups or early-takes, regardless of the reason for your
absence.
Information to Review for the Exam
Exam 2 covers chapters 7-9, 11-12 of lecture, the videos, and clicker questions.
The Chapter headings below serve merely to group relevant information together—the
textbook is not required reading.
Chapter 7
● How did phrenologists believe brain and behavior were related?
o The mind is located in the brain
o Mental abilities are determined by innate faculties that are located in specific parts
of the brain
o The size of the brain = strength of faculty
o The shape and external characteristics of the skull reflect the brain beneath
o Examination of the head/skull allows a description of the individual’s personality
and abilities
o What is the current scientific understanding of those beliefs?
▪ Strengths:
● Bridge between the study of personality and biology
● We are not a blank slate
▪ Criticisms:
● Can’t infer causality
● Assumption that every human characteristic serves a survival
function– survival of the fittest
● Few suggestions for personality change
● What physiological measures are used to study personality?
o Electrodermal activity (EDA): skin conductance
o Cardiovascular activity
o Brain activity
● What are the implications of the case of Phineas Gage on our knowledge of the brain and
personality?
, o There is a connection between personality and the frontal lobes
o What is the historical relevance of Gage’s case?
▪ The frontal lobes are the central executive of the brain and they help guide
behaviors, plan and carry out behaviors, help us reason, help us make
decisions, and inhibits behaviors that are not appropriate
● What are the symptoms of Capgras syndrome?
o Damage to the frontal lobes
o Come to believe that your loved ones have been replaced
▪ This is because they suddenly do not feel an emotional connection to
another person
● What is Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis?
o Somatic components of your emotions mark things that are important
o Emotional components of your thoughts are necessary to make good decisions
▪ Cognitive and emotion are both needed for each to function fully and
make good decisions
o Damage prevents you from being able to “follow your gut”
● What is the role of the amygdala, anterior cingulate, and the frontal lobes?
o Amygdala– it picks up really fast and crude signals that could be seen as threats
▪ Links to perceptions and thoughts with emotional meaning
▪ Role in assesssing whether a stimulus is threatening or rewarding
▪ Relevant traits: anxiety, fearfulness, sociability, sexuality, optimism
▪ Relevant for motivation, but not necessarily with conscious understanding
o Anterior cingulate– emotional experiences and awareness
▪ Extraversion: more activity in response to positive emotion
▪ Neuroticism: more activity in response to the unexpected
▪ Overactitiy here is associated with neuroticism
o Frontal lobes
▪ The central executive of the brain and they help guide behaviors, plan and
carry out behaviors, help us reason, help us make decisions, and inhibits
behaviors that are not appropriate
● What are the implications of the case of Charles Whitman on our knowledge of the brain
(which parts, specifically) and personality?
o Charles Whitman
▪ Had a huge tumor– which may have caused the shooting
o Prefrontal leucotomy (by 1937)
▪ Egas Moniz won the Nobel Prize in 1949
o Prefrontal lobotomy
▪ Walter Freeman did not win a Nobel Prize…
Exams will take place in the Digital Learning Commons and will mostly consist of multiple
choice questions, but may also include fill-in the blank, matching, and true/false questions.
Exams will cover material from lectures, class discussions, videos shown in class, and clicker
questions, as well as applications of this material.
Missed exam policy: If you miss an exam, I will replace the missing score with the percentage
score that you earn on the corresponding section of the final exam. If you miss an exam, you may
still take it (for practice and feedback) during office hours, but your score will not be recorded.
You can also choose to replace one exam with a second reaction paper.
There will be no individual exam make-ups or early-takes, regardless of the reason for your
absence.
Information to Review for the Exam
Exam 2 covers chapters 7-9, 11-12 of lecture, the videos, and clicker questions.
The Chapter headings below serve merely to group relevant information together—the
textbook is not required reading.
Chapter 7
● How did phrenologists believe brain and behavior were related?
o The mind is located in the brain
o Mental abilities are determined by innate faculties that are located in specific parts
of the brain
o The size of the brain = strength of faculty
o The shape and external characteristics of the skull reflect the brain beneath
o Examination of the head/skull allows a description of the individual’s personality
and abilities
o What is the current scientific understanding of those beliefs?
▪ Strengths:
● Bridge between the study of personality and biology
● We are not a blank slate
▪ Criticisms:
● Can’t infer causality
● Assumption that every human characteristic serves a survival
function– survival of the fittest
● Few suggestions for personality change
● What physiological measures are used to study personality?
o Electrodermal activity (EDA): skin conductance
o Cardiovascular activity
o Brain activity
● What are the implications of the case of Phineas Gage on our knowledge of the brain and
personality?
, o There is a connection between personality and the frontal lobes
o What is the historical relevance of Gage’s case?
▪ The frontal lobes are the central executive of the brain and they help guide
behaviors, plan and carry out behaviors, help us reason, help us make
decisions, and inhibits behaviors that are not appropriate
● What are the symptoms of Capgras syndrome?
o Damage to the frontal lobes
o Come to believe that your loved ones have been replaced
▪ This is because they suddenly do not feel an emotional connection to
another person
● What is Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis?
o Somatic components of your emotions mark things that are important
o Emotional components of your thoughts are necessary to make good decisions
▪ Cognitive and emotion are both needed for each to function fully and
make good decisions
o Damage prevents you from being able to “follow your gut”
● What is the role of the amygdala, anterior cingulate, and the frontal lobes?
o Amygdala– it picks up really fast and crude signals that could be seen as threats
▪ Links to perceptions and thoughts with emotional meaning
▪ Role in assesssing whether a stimulus is threatening or rewarding
▪ Relevant traits: anxiety, fearfulness, sociability, sexuality, optimism
▪ Relevant for motivation, but not necessarily with conscious understanding
o Anterior cingulate– emotional experiences and awareness
▪ Extraversion: more activity in response to positive emotion
▪ Neuroticism: more activity in response to the unexpected
▪ Overactitiy here is associated with neuroticism
o Frontal lobes
▪ The central executive of the brain and they help guide behaviors, plan and
carry out behaviors, help us reason, help us make decisions, and inhibits
behaviors that are not appropriate
● What are the implications of the case of Charles Whitman on our knowledge of the brain
(which parts, specifically) and personality?
o Charles Whitman
▪ Had a huge tumor– which may have caused the shooting
o Prefrontal leucotomy (by 1937)
▪ Egas Moniz won the Nobel Prize in 1949
o Prefrontal lobotomy
▪ Walter Freeman did not win a Nobel Prize…
