Psychology 101 Telecourse

Dr. Donald Bowers

Spring, 2004

 

Mid-term  Study Guide.

 

Concentrate on these theories, studies, and information and you will do well in the midterm exam.  In designing the mid-term I will focus on these questions.

 

Program 1.  Past, Present and Promise (Pg  1-17)

  1. What is the current definition of psychology
  2. Who  was Wilhelm Wundt?
  3. Identify current Psychological Perspectives

(Biological, Psychodynamic, behaviorist, Humanistic,  cognitive, evolutionary, Cultural)

 

Program 2.  Understanding research ( 18 to 46)

  1. What is the scientific method?
  2. What is an experiment?  (Identify the following concepts related to experimental research;  operational definitions,   independent variables, dependent variables)
  3. What is the placebo effect?
  4. What are some of the ethical considerations that a psychologist doing research should consider?
  5. What is a normal distribution?
  6. What is a mean and a median?
  7. What are inferential statistics?  What are they used for?

 

Program 3 and 4.  The behaving Brain and the Responsive Brain Pgs. 47-81

 

1.      What is evolution?

2.      Describe some  of the new techniques for studying the Brain’s function

(MRI, PET, EEG)

3.      What is the limbic system?  What are it main functions

4.      What is the Autonomic N.S.?   What does it control?   What is the function of the two parts of the Autonomic N.S.?  (parasympathetic N.S. and the Sympathetic N.S.)

5.      Describe the parts of the Neuron?  What is the function of the axon, dendrites and synapse?

6.      What are the main functions of the cerebral cortex?

7.      How do the two hemispheres differ in function?

8.      What are neurotransmitters?

 

Program 5.  The Developing Child  pg. 317-336

1.      What is developmental psychology?

2.      What is the nature-nurture controversy

3.      According to Piaget, what are the four stages of cognitive development?

4.      What did Piaget mean by “conservation,  and egocentricity”?

 

Program 6.  Language development  pg. 336-340

 

1.      What is overregularization of speech?

2.      How is the child innate “prepared” to learn language?

 

Program 7.  Sensation and Perception.   Pg. 82-151

            (focus on ch.  7 perception only)

1.      What is an illusion?

2.      What is selective perception?

3.      How do we judge depth in visual perception?

4.      What is figure and ground.

5.      What are perceptual constancies?

 

Program 8.  Learning  Pgs.   179-214

1.      What is learning?

2.      What is classical conditioning?  (identify CS, US, CR, UR)

3.      What is operant conditioning?  How is it different from classical conditioning?

4.      What is a positive reinforcement?  What is a negative reinforcement?  Give an example of each.

5.      What is the law of effect?

6.      Describe the schedules of reinforcement.

7.      What are positive and negative punishment?  Give an example of each.

 

Program 9.  Remembering and forgetting.  Pgs.  215-251.

 

1.      What did Ebbinghaus study?

2.      Describe some of the main characteristics of sensory, working (short-term) and long-term memory.

3.      What are rehearsal and chunking?

4.      What is reconstructive  memory?

5.      Distinguish between declarative and procedural memory.

 

Program 10. and program  11.  Cognitive processes and Judgment and decision making.  Pgs.  252-288.

1.      What do cognitive psychologists study?

2.      What is a heuristic?

3.      What is functional fixedness?

 

Program 12.  Motivation and Emotion.  Pgs. 362-405

1.      What do Polivy and Herman mean by restrained and unrestrained eaters.

2.      How does the brain know when the body needs food?

3.      Hw can psychological factors effect eating?

4.      According to evolutionary psychology why have sexual behaviors evolved?

5.      What are sexual scripts?

6.      Describe Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.

7.      Describe/explain the following three theories of emotion;  james-Lange, Cannon-bard and Cognitive appraisal theory.

8.      What is the Yerkes-Dodson law?

9.      How can culture effect the expression of emotion?

 

Program 13.  The Mind awake and asleep.  Pgs.  152-178

1.      What is consciousness?

2.      What are Circadian Rhythms?   Why are they important?

3.      What are the stages of sleep?

4.      How did Freud explain dreams?

5.      Describe some types of “altered states of consciousness”.