Course Introduction
Biological Psychology
Exam Materials
Biological Psychology explores the intricate relationship between biological processes and behavior, focusing on how the brain, nervous system, hormones, and genetics influence thoughts, emotions, and actions. The course examines fundamental topics such as neural communication, brain structure and function, sensory systems, motivation, emotion, psychopharmacology, and the biological underpinnings of psychological disorders. Students will gain an understanding of current research methods and findings in the field, as well as an appreciation of how biological mechanisms interact with environmental factors to shape human behavior.
Recommended Textbook
Biological Psychology 13th Edition by James W. Kalat
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14 Chapters
1750 Verified Questions
1750 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Nerve Cells and Nerve Impulses
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125 Verified Questions
125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Professor Michaels is explaining to his students that, when the neuron is at rest, ______ is mostly responsible for the movement of potassium ions out of the cell.
A) potassium's electrical gradient
B) potassium's concentration gradient
C) the sodium-potassium pump
D) sodium's electrical gradient
Answer: B
Q2) What causes potassium ions to leave the axon just after the peak of the action potential?
A) A continuing concentration gradient and the opening of the potassium gates
B) An increase in the concentration gradient across the membrane
C) An increased tendency of the sodium-potassium pump to push potassium out
D) Binding of potassium ions to proteins that leave at this time
Answer: A
Q3) Neurons receive information and transmit it to other cells.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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3
Chapter 2: Synapses
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the difference between a hormone and a neurotransmitter?
Answer: Neurotransmitters are chemicals used by the nervous system that allow individual neurons to send messages. Hormones are secreted by the endocrine system and travel (usually via the bloodstream) to other parts of the body to exert their effects.
Q2) Riva is unable to eat eggs, milk, and peanuts. She might have altered levels of _____ as a result.
A) nitric oxide
B) dopamine
C) glutamate
D) acetylcholine
Answer: D
Q3) How are neurotransmitters removed from the synapse?
Answer: Some neurotransmitters like acetylcholine are broken down by enzymes into inactive components. Other neurotransmitters are taken back up through specialized membrane proteins called transporters. Finally, other neurotransmitters like the neuropeptides diffuse away from the synapse.
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4
Chapter 3: Anatomy and Research Methods
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Sample Questions
Q1) The cell bodies of sensory neurons that are in clusters of neurons outside the spinal cord are called ____.
A) sensory nuclei
B) sensory clusters
C) ventral root ganglia
D) dorsal root ganglia
Answer: D
Q2) Professor Tutson is lecturing about the peripheral nervous system. She tells her class that the parasympathetic system primarily uses ____ to communicate.
A) dopamine
B) serotonin
C) acetylcholine
D) norepinephrine
Answer: C
Q3) The choroid plexus reabsorbs the cerebrospinal fluid.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Genetics, Evolution, Development, and Plasticity
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124 Verified Questions
124 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Evolution improves the fitness of the population, which is evolutionarily defined as
A) the number of copies of one's genes that endure in later generations
B) survival of the individual
C) ability to adapt to a variety of environments
D) overall health and well-being
Q2) Breeding some animals selectively because they possess some desirable characteristic is called ____.
A) evolution
B) natural selection
C) artificial selection
D) artificial insemination
Q3) Chromosomes consist of large, double-stranded molecules of ____.
A) deoxyribonucleic acid
B) ribonucleic acid
C) autosomal genes
D) recombination genes
Q4) The most common cause of brain damage in children is closed head injury.
A)True
B)False
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Vision
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Sample Questions
Q1) The primary visual cortex is also known as the ____.
A) lateral geniculate nucleus
B) striate cortex
C) area V2
D) parvocellular area
Q2) Rods are to ____ as cones are to ____.
A) the periphery; the fovea
B) red; blue
C) vertebrates; invertebrates
D) reading text; reading road signs
Q3) Color and brightness constancy are best explained by the ____ theory of color vision.
A) trichromatic
B) opponent-process
C) retinex
D) constancy
Q4) Photopigments are stable in the dark.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the functional and anatomic differences between rods and cones.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Other Sensory Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) How do sound waves ultimately result in the production of receptor potentials?
A) The tectorial membrane squeezes the auditory nerve.
B) The basilar membrane releases neurotransmitters.
C) Hair cells in the cochlea vibrate, causing ion channels to open in their membrane.
D) The scala vestibuli has receptors that create action potentials.
Q2) Taste and smell axons converge onto many of the same cells in an area called the
A) frontal cortex
B) striate cortex
C) insular cortex
D) endopiriform cortex
Q3) Discuss one theory of why a person might experience synesthesia.
Q4) The taste nerves initially project to the ____.
A) nucleus of the tractus solitarius
B) cerebral cortex
C) hypothalamus
D) orbital prefrontal cortex
Q5) Describe how the auditory cortex parallels the visual cortex.
Q6) Explain the difference between middle-ear and inner-ear deafness.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Movement
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Sample Questions
Q1) A motor program is a ____.
A) mechanism that guides movement on the basis of sensory feedback
B) mechanism that produces an alternation between two movements
C) plan for training a brain-damaged person to walk
D) movement that, once triggered, continues automatically until its completion
Q2) The lateral tract cross over point is in the ____.
A) pyramids of the medulla
B) spinal cord
C) reticular formation
D) vestibular nucleus
Q3) The presymptomatic test for Huntington's disease enables one to predict not only who will get the disease but also ____.
A) the approximate age of onset
B) what other diseases the person will contract
C) which drugs will best alleviate the disease
D) which symptoms will become prominent first, and which ones later
Q4) Nu has been riding her bike for several miles. At this point, she is probably relying more on her fast-twitch muscles.
A)True
B)False
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Wakefulness and Sleep
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Sample Questions
Q1) Mammals have circadian rhythms ____.
A) only for their sleep/activity cycle
B) only for frequency of eating and drinking
C) for sleep and body temperature only
D) for a variety of activities, including sleep
Q2) After removing all sensory input to the brain, an animal would continue to have periods of sleep and wakefulness.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Charley is currently in Stage 4 sleep. The next stage he will enter will most likely be
A) stage 1
B) REM sleep
C) stage 3
D) paradoxical sleep
Q4) The risk of sleep apnea is increased among which group of people?
A) College students who are in finals week
B) Those who are addicted to tranquilizers
C) Men who are overweight
D) People who work on swing shifts
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Internal Regulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the different causes and mechanisms of osmotic thirst.
Q2) Marisa is sick and has a fever. Explain what a fever is and how this is good for Marisa.
Q3) Electrical stimulation of a rat's lateral hypothalamus would most likely result in
A) an increase in food seeking behaviors
B) a decrease in food seeking behaviors
C) a decrease in chewing and other reflexes associated with eating
D) damage to dopamine-containing axons passing through it
Q4) Which group would most likely benefit from taking leptin?
A) Anorexic patients
B) Normal obese people
C) Obese people with faulty leptin receptors
D) Obese people who fail to produce leptin
Q5) Professor Roesch is lecturing about myths and truths regarding food consumption. She tells her class that _____.
A) most people from Northern Europe can't digest milk.
B) giving children sugar will make them hyper.
C) a diet high in seafood might be beneficial for the brain.
D) Turkey has large amounts of tryptophan in it so it makes you sleepy.
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Chapter 10: Reproductive Behaviors
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Sample Questions
Q1) Refugio's wife just had a baby. Very likely, his level of testosterone has decreased and prolactin has increased.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Decreases in ____ levels generally decrease male sexual activity.
A) estrogen
B) oxytocin
C) testosterone
D) estradiol
Q3) Gender identity can be defined as ____.
A) the pattern of one's sex chromosomes
B) the sex one identifies with and calls oneself
C) sexual awareness present in almost all mammalian species
D) the set of activities presumed to be common for one sex or another in a society
Q4) Hormones are most essential to which aspect of mammalian parental behavior?
A) Care for newborns during the first few days
B) Continuation of care after the first few days
C) The parental care sometimes shown by males
D) All aspects equally
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Chapter 11: Emotional Behaviors
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Sample Questions
Q1) Briefly explain why Jamel can use alcohol as a way to self-medicate his anxiety?
Q2) What did researchers find in Antarctic research scientists who spent a 9-month period of social isolation in the cold and dark?
A) T-cell functioning increased by about 50 percent
B) T-cell functioning decreased by about half
C) Leukocytes stopped functioning
D) An outbreak of autoimmune diseases
Q3) Blood and urine levels of which chemicals are related to a history of violent suicide attempts?
A) High amount of serotonin turnover
B) Low amount of serotonin turnover
C) High levels of L-dopa
D) Low levels of L-dopa
Q4) Meda is able to recognize emotionally charged facial expressions from individuals in her own culture better than other cultures.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Bob has ventromedial prefrontal damage. How would he likely respond during the one-shot Dictator game and during the Trust game?
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Chapter 12: Learning, Memory, and Intelligence
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Sample Questions
Q1) A study with London taxi drivers found that answering ____ activated their hippocampus more than answering ____.
A) nonspatial questions; spatial questions
B) spatial questions; nonspatial questions
C) long questions; short questions
D) short questions; long questions
Q2) Which type of memory is MOST impaired by damage to the hippocampus?
A) Short-term memory
B) Implicit memory
C) Episodic memory
D) Procedural memory
Q3) Which action is most difficult to classify as classical or instrumental conditioning?
A) Pressing a lever to get food
B) Pressing a lever to escape shock
C) Salivating after a sound previously paired with food
D) Song learning by male birds
Q4) After LTP is established, NMDA receptors are not required to maintain it.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Cognitive Functions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Oscar is participating in a research study where he reports the color of the ink (eg., "blue") instead of reading the word written (eg., "red"). He is performing the _____ task and finds that he must not let his mind wander at all to get it right.
A) Stroop effect
B) dysphonetic dyslexia
C) dyseidetic dyslexia
D) change blindness
Q2) The left hemisphere is connected to skin receptors mainly on the ____ half of the body, and controls muscles mainly on the ____ side of the body.
A) left; right
B) left; left
C) right; left
D) right; right
Q3) Someone with Broca's aphasia has the greatest difficulty ____.
A) understanding spoken language
B) understanding written language
C) remembering the names of objects
D) speaking
Q4) Describe the role of the right hemisphere.
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Chapter 14: Psychological Disorders
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Sample Questions
Q1) As an addiction develops, many of its effects, especially the enjoyable effects, decrease, a phenomenon known as____.
A) tolerance
B) craving
C) withdrawal
D) abstinence
Q2) Electroconvulsive therapy was first introduced as a treatment for _____ although it didn't help. However, it did produce some relief for patients with _____.
A) bipolar disorder; autism
B) autism; depression
C) autism; schizophrenia
D) schizophrenia; depression
Q3) The symptoms of tardive dyskinesia are ____.
A) anterograde and retrograde amnesia
B) tremors and other involuntary movements
C) outbursts of unprovoked violent behavior
D) attacks of anxiety that prevent active behavior
Q4) Describe the experiments performed by James Olds and Peter Milner. What were they trying to do? What did they discover?
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