Mostly Accurate Tested Relevant Coverage Areas
1. Biopsychology as a Neuroscience: Divisions and Converging Operations
2. Evolution, Genetics, and the Biology of Behaviour
3. Anatomy of the Nervous System: CNS, PNS, and Meninges
4. Neural Conduction and Synaptic Transmission
5. Research Methods in Biopsychology: Lesions, Stimulation, and Recording
6. Neuroanatomical Orientation and Sectioning Planes
7. Glial Cell Types and Functions
8. Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
9. Visual System Organization and Processing
10. Memory, Sleep, Lateralization, and Language Foundations
Queen’s University PSYC 271 Psychology Midterm Exam
1. Which subdivision of biopsychology is primarily concerned with the direct
manipulation of the nervous system in controlled experiments to study behaviour?
,A. Neuropsychology
B. Physiological psychology
C. Cognitive neuroscience
D. Comparative psychology
Answer: B
Physiological psychology directly manipulates the nervous system in controlled
experiments, often using animal subjects, to study neural mechanisms of behaviour.
Neuropsychology relies on case studies of human brain damage but cannot ethically
induce lesions for research.
Cognitive neuroscience uses functional neuroimaging to correlate brain activity with
cognition rather than direct manipulation.
Comparative psychology studies behaviour across species from an evolutionary and
genetic perspective.
2. A biopsychologist working for a pharmaceutical company to test whether a novel
compound reduces depressive-like behaviour in rodents is most likely engaged in
which type of research?
,A. Pure comparative psychology
B. Applied psychopharmacological research
C. Theoretical neuroanatomy
D. Cognitive neuroscientific research
Answer: B
Applied psychopharmacological research tests drug effects on neural activity and
behaviour with direct therapeutic intent.
Pure research aims to acquire knowledge without immediate practical application.
Comparative psychology focuses on evolutionary and cross-species comparisons
of behaviour.
Cognitive neuroscience typically examines human cognition via neuroimaging rather
than drug development in animal models.
3. Which statement best captures the principle of converging operations as applied in
biopsychological research?
, A. Using a single highly precise method to eliminate all sources of error in
measurement
B. Replicating the exact same experiment across multiple laboratories to confirm
reliability
C. Combining several different research approaches to compensate for the
weaknesses inherent in any single method
D. Replacing experimental manipulation with purely correlational designs to increase
ecological validity
Answer: C
Converging operations leverage the strengths of multiple methods (e.g., lesion,
imaging, behavioural testing) so that the weaknesses of one approach are offset by
others.
Single-method precision is the opposite of converging operations and is vulnerable
to method-specific artifacts.
Exact replication addresses reliability but does not involve methodological
convergence.
1. Biopsychology as a Neuroscience: Divisions and Converging Operations
2. Evolution, Genetics, and the Biology of Behaviour
3. Anatomy of the Nervous System: CNS, PNS, and Meninges
4. Neural Conduction and Synaptic Transmission
5. Research Methods in Biopsychology: Lesions, Stimulation, and Recording
6. Neuroanatomical Orientation and Sectioning Planes
7. Glial Cell Types and Functions
8. Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
9. Visual System Organization and Processing
10. Memory, Sleep, Lateralization, and Language Foundations
Queen’s University PSYC 271 Psychology Midterm Exam
1. Which subdivision of biopsychology is primarily concerned with the direct
manipulation of the nervous system in controlled experiments to study behaviour?
,A. Neuropsychology
B. Physiological psychology
C. Cognitive neuroscience
D. Comparative psychology
Answer: B
Physiological psychology directly manipulates the nervous system in controlled
experiments, often using animal subjects, to study neural mechanisms of behaviour.
Neuropsychology relies on case studies of human brain damage but cannot ethically
induce lesions for research.
Cognitive neuroscience uses functional neuroimaging to correlate brain activity with
cognition rather than direct manipulation.
Comparative psychology studies behaviour across species from an evolutionary and
genetic perspective.
2. A biopsychologist working for a pharmaceutical company to test whether a novel
compound reduces depressive-like behaviour in rodents is most likely engaged in
which type of research?
,A. Pure comparative psychology
B. Applied psychopharmacological research
C. Theoretical neuroanatomy
D. Cognitive neuroscientific research
Answer: B
Applied psychopharmacological research tests drug effects on neural activity and
behaviour with direct therapeutic intent.
Pure research aims to acquire knowledge without immediate practical application.
Comparative psychology focuses on evolutionary and cross-species comparisons
of behaviour.
Cognitive neuroscience typically examines human cognition via neuroimaging rather
than drug development in animal models.
3. Which statement best captures the principle of converging operations as applied in
biopsychological research?
, A. Using a single highly precise method to eliminate all sources of error in
measurement
B. Replicating the exact same experiment across multiple laboratories to confirm
reliability
C. Combining several different research approaches to compensate for the
weaknesses inherent in any single method
D. Replacing experimental manipulation with purely correlational designs to increase
ecological validity
Answer: C
Converging operations leverage the strengths of multiple methods (e.g., lesion,
imaging, behavioural testing) so that the weaknesses of one approach are offset by
others.
Single-method precision is the opposite of converging operations and is vulnerable
to method-specific artifacts.
Exact replication addresses reliability but does not involve methodological
convergence.
