Section 1-1: Psychology & Human Nature

1. How would you define the two subdisciplines of psychology in your own words?
2. In what ways do the two subdisciplines differ from each other?
3. In what ways are the two subdisciplines similar to each other?
4. What does it mean to say that the two subdisciplines complement one another?
5. How would you define empiricism in your own words?
6. What is an example from your own life of a time when you were being empirical when trying to answer a question?
7. How would you define skepticism in your own words?
8. What is an example from your own life of a time when you were being skeptical of a claim made by someone else?
9. Why should a skeptical empiricist never conclude that a claim has been proved to be true?
10. How does subjectivity limit our ability to be empirical when collecting evidence?
11. How would you define in your own words the "confirmation bias"?
12. How does the confirmation bias limit our ability to properly test whether a claim is (probably) true or not?
13. What would be an example of a subjective observation of an individual's
    (a) amount of intelligence,
    (b) amount of hunger,
    (c) degree of interest in a visual stimulus,
    (d) level of sexual desire.
14. What would be an example of an objective observation of an individual's
    (a) amount of intelligence,
    (b) amount of hunger,
    (c) degree of interest in a visual stimulus,
    (d) level of sexual desire.
15. In what way does the history of research on the number of human chromosomes illustrate the negative influence of subjectivity and of the confirmation bias?
16. In what way does the history of research on the number of human chromosomes illustrate the negative influence of the confirmation bias?
17. xxxxx?
18. xxxxxx?
19. xxxxx?
20. xxxxxx?
21. xxxxxx.
22. In the late-nineteenth century, which two disciplines had the biggest influence on the topics studied by experimental psychologists and the methods used to study them?
23. What were early experimental psychologists most interested in studying scientifically?
24. What is meant by the term "detachable soul" and what influence did this concept have on views of the mind?
25. How would you describe in your own words Rene Descartes' concept of mind-body dualism?
26. What led Descartes to conclude that animals have no free will?
27. How would you describe in your own words the doctrine of determinism?
28. What influence did Descartes' concept of mind-body dualism have on the development of scientific psychology?
29. What is the neurological approach to the study of the mind?
30. In the late-nineteenth century, what were two views about the nature of the mind-brain link among those adopting a neurological approach to the study of the mind?
31. How would you define the word "theory" in your own words?
32. In our everyday lives, we are always developing theories to explain the world around us. What is an example of a theory that you have developed to explain something in your everyday life (such as why people run red lights more often in Arizona than in other states)?
33. What is the brain-mind theory?
34. What is some evidence supporting the brain-mind theory?
35. What does it mean to state that the brain-mind theory views the human mind as a part of nature?
36. What is meant by the term "evolution"?
37. How did the work of evolutionary biologists such as Charles Darwin change the way in which we viewed the human mind?
38. What is meant by the term "mental continuity"?
39. How have studies of mental continuity demonstrated that human mental functions, such as language, may have evolved?

Section 1-2: Explaining Mind & Behavior

1. Why were the evaluation of theories compared to the evaluation of the guilt of defendants in a criminal court case?
2. Why can theories, like jury verdicts, only be accepted tentatively?
3. How would you define in your own words the concept of a "scientific theory"?
4. How do scientific theories differ from the kinds of theories we develop to explain everyday events?
5. How would you define a "general principle" in your own words?
6. What is an example of a general principle that you have developed to explain some set of events that occurs in your everyday life?
7. How would you define a "concept" in your own words?
8. Why do we develop concepts?
9. Why do theorists generally not attempt to "explain a phenomenon in all of its mind-numbing complexity"?
10. What are the three major functions of a scientific theory?
11. How do we test whether or not a theory is likely to be true?
12. What are the three possible outcomes from repeated testings of a theory?
13. How would you define "theoretical approach" in your own words?
14. What is the role of assumptions in theoretical approaches?
15. How are theories and theoretical approaches similar to one another?
16. How do theories and theoretical approaches differ from one another?
17. What makes a theoretical approach scientific?
18. What does it mean to say that different theoretical approaches have different views of human nature?
19. Can a researcher use more than one theoretical approach when developing and testing his or her theories? Why or why not?
20. How would you define the concept of multifactorial causation in your own words?
21. Which characteristics distinguish an animal with a personality from one without a personality?
22. What are the three major characteristics listed in the definition of personality presented above?
23. How would you define each of these characteristics in your own words?
24. Choose a particular trait important in your own personality (such as extraversion, conscientiousness, or being likable). With respect to this trait, what examples from your everyday life illustrate each of the major characteristics of personality?
25. What is integrated in personality?
26. How does the example of psychopathy demonstrate this integration?
27. Are all of our cognitions, emotions, and behaviors part of this integrated pattern? Why or why not?
28. In what way does DID illustrate a breakdown of the integration of personality?
29. How would you define the concept of "personal factors" in your own words?
30. What are some examples of personal factors in your own life?
31. What are the three main personal factors listed above that cause personality?
32. How would you define in your own words each of these personal factors?
33. What some examples of each of these personal factors in your own life?
34. How are motives similar to and different from traits?
35. How are motives similar to and different from schemas?
36. How are traits similar to and different from schemas?
37. What causes personality?

Section 1-3: Testing Theories

1. Which structures make up the CNS?
2. Which structures make up the PNS?
3. What are the two steps for testing a theory?
4. In your own words, please discuss why personal experience is not the best evidence to use to support a claim?
5. In what way do the mental processes underlying personal experiences introduce inaccuracies into our perceptions?
6. Is the following statement true? "Five people who observe the same events at the same time will have the same personal experience of the events." Why or why not?
7. What is a coincidence?
8. Why might we sometimes incorrectly conclude that a coincidental conjunction of events is not a coincidence? (In your answer, please describe in your own words the two cognitive biases mentioned in the text.)
9. Why should we expect highly improbable conjunctions of events to occur frequently?
10. How would you define, in your own words, a case study?
11. When are case studies most likely to be performed in psychology?
12. What is a strength of case studies?
13. How would you define "extraneous variable" in your own words?
14. What is an example of an extraneous variable not mentioned in the text?
15. How can case-study research be used to rule out the effects of extraneous variables?
16. What is a major weakness of case studies?
17. How would you define a "confound" in your own words?
18. What is an example of a confound not mentioned in the text?
19. What is the major goal of controlled research?
20. How are correlational studies similar to case studies?
21. How do correlational studies differ from case studies?
22. What is an example of a positive correlation not mentioned in the text?
23. What is an example of a negative correlation not mentioned in the text?
24. What is the major strength of correlational studies?
25. What are two limitations of correlational data that affect how we interpret correlations?
26. How would you define the directionality problem in your own words?
27. What is an example of the directionality problem not mentioned in the text?
28. How would you define the third-variable problem in your own words?
29. What is an example of the third-variable problem not mentioned in the text?
30. What is the major weakness of correlational studies?
31. How would you define a sufficient condition in your own words?
32. What is an example of a sufficient condition not mentioned in the text?
33. How would you define a necessary condition in your own words?
34. What is an example of a necessary conditioned not mentioned in the text?
35. When developing theories, are researchers trying to find necessary conditions? Are they trying to find sufficient conditions?
36. How do researchers define the word "cause"?
37. What is an example of a psychological cause that you have learned in this course?
38. How would you define the concept of "multifactorial causation" in your own words?
39. What is an example of multifactorial causation from your everyday experience?
40. How would you define a distal factor in your own words?
41. What is an example of a distal factor?
42. How would you define a proximal factor in your own words?
43. What is an example of a proximal factor?

Section 1-4: Altered States of Consciousness

1. How do the conscious and preconscious levels differ? How are they similar?
2. How do the conscious and unconscious levels differ? How are they similar?
3. How do the preconscious and unconscious levels differ? How are they similar?
4. How is the mental process of attention related to the three levels of awareness?
5. What is an example of the cocktail-party phenomenon from your own life? (Note: The example does not need to have happened at a party.)
6. How would you define in your own words the concept of "altered stat of consciousness"?
7. What are some examples of significant changes in the three types of functioning listed above when people are in the altered state of sleep associated with sleepwalking?
8. How are levels of awareness similar to altered states of consciousness?
9. How do levels of awareness differ from altered states of consciousness?
10. What are the two meanings of "unconscious" used in everyday life?
11. In what way are we defining "unconscious" in this course?
12. How would you define "subjective definition" in your own words?
13. What is an example of a subjectively defined concept from your everyday life?
14. How would you define in your own words the concept of "suggestion"?
15. What is an example from your everyday life of an experience you had with suggestion?
16. How can a suggestion influence what you perceive?
17. In what way are subjective definitions and suggestion associated?
18. What did the evidence for the existence of N-rays consist of?
19. What was the main problem with this evidence; and how did the notion of "subjective definitions" enter into this?
20. How was the evidence supporting the existence of N-rays shown to be inadequate?
21. Have N-rays been proved not to exist? Why or why not? (The answer to this question was not provided above. If you are unsure of how to answer it, ask in class.)
22. How would you define "objective definition" in your own words?
23. What is an example of an objectively defined concept from your everyday life?
24. What is an objective definition of "knowledge of the course material" other than the one mentioned above?
25. What characteristics might an objective definition of "bad eyesight " contain?
26. What are the advantages of using objective definitions in research?
27. What are the disadvantages of using objective definitions in research?
28. How can researchers reduce problems introduced by these disadvantages?
29. What is a testable psychological claim that you have learned in this course? What makes it a testable claim?
30. What is an untestable psychological claim that you have learned in this course? What makes it an untestable claim?
31. What are the two types of correlational study used to study the brain?
32. What is a neuron?
33. What is the EEG?
34. What are the major limitations of the EEG as a research tool?
35. What state of consciousness is a person in when he or she shows mostly:
    (a) beta waves?
    (b) alpha waves?
    (c) theta waves?
    (d) delta waves?
36. What did Aserinsky and Kleitman (1953) initially predict about changes in brain activity during sleep?
37. How did the observations made by Aserinsky and Kleitman (1953) show this prediction to be incorrect?
38. What are the two problems that limit what we can infer about cause-and-effect from the results of a correlational study?
39. The number of years of education is positively correlated with annual salary. What can you infer from this correlation?
40. What is the mean of the following set of IQ scores?
    95, 102, 99, 106, 93, 112, 105, 115, 80, 103,
    88, 98, 94, 110, 120, 97, 90, 101, 85, 107
41. What is the range of the set of IQ scores?
42. Did anyone in the group get the average IQ score for the group?
43. On average, young adults sleep an average of about eight hours per night. Given this finding, how much sleep should you get per night?
44. If you were trying to hire an accountant and had to decide between two equally qualified candidates, Tanya and Tony, whom should you hire given that males do better than females in math, on average?
45. On average, females have better verbal abilities than males. Who will get a lower grade in ENG 101: Peter or Patricia?
46. Research has shown that the following factors probably are causes of schizophrenia: genes, viral infections during fetal development, abnormal activity in the frontal lobes, damaged structures in the limbic system, birth complications, biological changes at puberty, abnormal activity in the temporal lobes, and stressful events that trigger the first psychotic episode. Amir has just developed symptoms of schizophrenia. What caused his schizophrenia?

Section 1-5: Sleeping & Dreaming

1. What is the best way to figure out how much sleep you need per night?
2. Why are means of the amount of sleep people get per night not useful for determining how much sleep you need per night?
3. About how much sleep do adults get per night?
4. Should a person who needs only 4 hours of sleep per night be worried? Why or why not?
5. How are hypnagogic and hypnopompic experiences similar?
6. How do hypnagogic and hypnopompic experiences differ?
7. How do we know when a person is in each of the following stages of sleep?
   (a) Stage 1
   (b) Stage 2
   (c) Stage 3
   (d) Stage 4
   (e) NREM
   (f) REM
8. In which NREM stages are people most likely to dream?
9. Is a person dreaming during a sleep terror? Why or why not?
10. Is a person dreaming while sleepwalking? Why or why not?
11. Is a person dreaming during a nightmare? Why or why not?
12. What distinguishes REM sleep from NREM sleep?
13. Who is most likely to sleepwalk?
14. Who is most likely to experience a sleep terror?
15. During which stage or stages are people least likely to realize that they were just sleeping when they awaken?
16. How would you define one cycle of sleep in your own words?
17. How many cycles of sleep would an adult go though if she slept a little over four hours during the night?
18. Are people more likely to have a nightmare during the first or the second half of the night?
19. Are people more likely to have a sleep terror during the first or the second half of the night?
20. Are people more likely to sleepwalk during the first or the second half of the night?
21. What happens to the amount of SW sleep as the night progresses?
22. What happens to the amount of NREM sleep as the night progresses? (Note: Before answering, please examine Figure 4.)
23. What happens to the amount of REM sleep as the night progresses?
24. What is "sleep-onset REM" and when is it most likely to occur?
25. Some people consistently use alcohol or sleeping pills to help them fall to sleep. Other than the possibility of addiction, why else may this not be a good idea?
26. What often happens when the large reduction of muscle tone characteristic of REM sleep does not occur?
27. What is a difference between afternoon naps and night-time sleeping in terms of the lengths of sleep stages?
28. What are the main characteristics of the two stages of sleep in newborns, and how do they compare to the stages of REM and NREM sleep in adults?
29. In what ways do the onset of sleep and the timing of the sleep cycle differ between newborns and adults?
30. By about what age do children develop the five distinct stages of sleep observed in adults?
31. When during the life span do nightmares, sleepwalking, and sleep terrors first develop; and when are they usually no longer a problem?
32. At about what age does the percentage of REM sleep per night reach the level seen in adults?
33. At about what age do we observe the first large decrease in the amount of SW sleep obtained per night?
34. Which stages of sleep show the largest changes in duration from early to late adulthood? (Note: Please describe these changes in your answer.)
35. What do progressive brain diseases sometimes do to the amount of REM sleep obtained per night?
36. How would you define a "dream" in your own words?
37. When would a series of images and thoughts occurring during sleep NOT be an example of a dream?
38. What is some evidence that animals other than humans dream during sleep?
39. What happens during REM sleep in cats if part of the brain structure called the "pons" is removed in them?
40. What is meant by the term "observation effect" and why is it of concern to researchers who study human and animal behavior?
41. What is Freud's concept of the "day residue" and what does it suggest about the meanings of dreams?
42. What are the main problems with using anecdotes to support scientific claims?
43. During which stages of sleep do we dream the most?
44. According to David Foulkes, why do we dream so frequently during these stages?
45. Where is the reticular activating system and what does it do?
46. Which brainstem structures are important parts of the reticular activating system?
47. What do you think would happen with respect to REM sleep if you completely destroyed the pons in a cat?
48. What would happen to your sleep if your brain produced too little serotonin?
49. What would happen to your sleep if your brain produced too little melatonin?
50. Distinguish between total sleep-deprivation and partial sleep-deprivation studies?
51. What happens to humans who are kept awake for several nights in a row?
52. What happens to humans who sleep per night is reduced for one week to several months?
53. What happens to rats who are kept awake for weeks in a row?
54. What are the major functions of sleep?
55. What is a selective sleep-deprivation study?
56. What is a REM-deprivation study?
57. What happens to people who are selectively deprived of REM sleep for several nights in a row?
58. What happens to REM-deprived subjects when they finally are allowed to sleep undisturbed?
59. What is the main claim of the activation-synthesis theory of REM sleep?
60. What are the most important difficulties for the activation-synthesis theory of REM sleep?
61. What is the main claim of the psychoanalytic theory of dreaming?
62. What are the most important difficulties for the psychoanalytic theory of dreaming?