Part I: Sample Multiple Choice Questions

1. An experimenter is examining the effects of stress levels on exam performance

in students. In this study, people are placed into one of two stress groups (low
stress and high stress). It is later discovered that age is not equal between the
groups. The low stress group is mostly students under 20 while the high stress
group is mostly students over 23. Here, the age of the students would be
considered a(n):
a. Independentvariable
b. Dependentvariable
c. Confounding variable
d. B) + C)
e. Noneoftheabove

2. FromtheformalbirthofPsychologytothepresentday,wehaveseentheemergence
of numerous schools of thought. Which school of thought is generally regarded as the
last to emerge:

a. Psychophysics
b. Psychodynamics
c. Functionalism
d. Cognitive psychology
e. Structuralism

3. Andrew is trying to recall what happened tohimduringhislunchtenminutesago.This

type of memory is an example of:

a. Episodic memory
b. Semantic memory
c. Procedural memory
d. A and B
e. B and C

4. Nadiya is a retired musician who hasn’t played in years. One day she picks up the
guitar and decides to play it again. This type of activity involves:

a. Episodic memory
b. Semantic memory
c. Procedural memory
d. A and B
 e. B and C

5. Which of the following statements is ​TRUE​:

a. Episodic memories are all stored in the hippocampus for decades

b. Semantic memories are all stored in the hippocampus for decades
c. Procedural memories are all stored in the hippocampus for decades
d. Alloftheabove
e. None of the above

6. Which of the following brain regions is centrally involved in memory storage:

a. Orbitofrontal cortex
b. Insular cortex
c. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
d. Hypothalamus
e. None of the above

7. A psychological test for bias that never returns the same result is:

a. Reliable
b. Valid
c. A) + B)
d. None of the above
e. ---DO NOT SELECT THIS OPTION---

8. A bathroom scale that is consistently inaccurate by 20 pounds is:

a. Reliable
b. Valid
c. A) and B)
d. None of the above
e. ---DO NOT SELECT THIS OPTION---

9. In a clinical study investigating the efficacy and safety of therapeutic drugs, we would
expect that:

a. There is single-blinding only

b. There is double-blinding only
c. There is no blinding
d. None of the above
 e. ---DO NOT SELECT THIS OPTION---

10.Jennifer reads in an online blog that gluten can have negative consequences for
psychological well-being. She decides to test this theory on herself. Her plan is to go on
a gluten-free diet and then see if her mood improves. Over a 1 month period, she
successfully avoids gluten and records a diary entry every day. Jennifer’s operational
definition of positive mood is the use of positive emotional language (such as the words
‘happy’, ‘excited’, ‘giddy’) in her diary entries. Once the 1 month period is complete, an
objective Psychologist analyzes the language in Jennifer’s diaries. ThePsychologist
informs Jennifer that she uses positive emotional language much more frequently after
the treatment than she did before the treatment. Upon hearing this, Jennifer concludes
that cutting out gluten improves mood and recommends cutting out gluten to everyone.
However, this study should be viewed with caution because of:

A. Placebo/expectation effect
B. Researcher bias
C. low sample size
D. All of the above
E. None of the above

11.You are a statistician studying the salaries of lawyers at a law firm. There are n =
100 lawyers at the firm. A very small subgroup of these lawyers (n = 10) earns 50 000 -
60 000$. The vast majority of lawyers (n = 70) earn 90 000 - 100 000$. A third small
subgroup of lawyers (n = 20) earns 600 000 - 700 000$. Which measure of central
tendency would be most suitable in statistical analysis of this salary distribution:

A. Mean
B. Median
C. Mode
D. Standard Deviation
E. None of the above

12.The main excitatory transmitter in the brain is ______________ whereas the main
inhibitory transmitter in the brain is ______________:

A. Gamma-aminobutyric acid, glutamate

B. Glutamate, Gamma-aminobutyric acid
C. Acetylcholine, serotonin
D. Serotonin, acetylcholine
E. None of the above
13. In in ideal situation, which of the following techniques is most preferred for studying
activity during a rapid (quick) thought process:

A. fMRI
B. PET
C. EEG
D. All are equally preferred
E. -DO NOT SELECT-

14.In the simple synapse reviewed in class, neurons receive input in their
_____________ and send output via their _____________:

A. Cell body, Dendrites

B. Dendrites,Cellbody
C. Axon terminals, Dendrites
D. Dendrites, Axon terminals
E. Noneoftheabove

15.During a study on the effects of cannabis on math ability, the experimental group
performs their math test in a classroom while the control group is tested in a
gymnasium. In this study, the type of room could be considered a(n):

A. Independent variable
B. Dependent variable
C. Confounding variable
D. Outcome variable
E. None of the above

Part II: Sample Written Answer Questions

1. You are a scientist who is studying the effects of depression on stress

sensitivity in University students. Your hypothesis is that depressed students
show greater stress responses than do non-depressed students. How would you
design this study? Explain all the steps involved. Feel free to draw the
experimental design that you will use. (5 marks)
 1. Come up with a hypothesis

Hypothesis​: depressed students show greater stress response than do non-depressed

students

Independent Variable: ​Depression

Dependent Variable: ​University students, stress

2. Plan the Study (sufficient sample size, set ​p ​threshold)

3. Collect data (double or single binding)
4. Do analysis (e.g. T-test); compare ​p t​ o p

Experimental Design​:

2. How does the event-related potential (ERP) method work? When might we use
the ERP method? (5 marks)

We might use the ERP method when it comes to doing math problems or measuring
arousal

An EEG is a device that is capturing or measuring electrical activity in specific brain

regions. EEGs have good temporal resolution that allows us to study neural activity over
short time intervals.

ERP is a potential change in electrical signal to the brain that is associated with a
particular event. The ERP method works by using EEG equipment. The scalp of
electrodes records the EEG activity during a task that we have the participant do
hundreds of times. We then signal that neuron activity overtime. When the neurons get
active, channels open up and all the ions (Na+) flood in. This creates an electrical signal
which allows us to record the brain activity during the task each time. After we record
the signals received each time, we average it out. ERP is then created because there is
a potential change associated with a particular event.

3. You are a scientist looking to find evidence that a new drug can treat anxiety.
Describe the design you would use and comment on the thresholds you would
set for significance. (5 marks)

Independent Variable: ​drug groups

Dependent Variable: ​anxiety (because we are looking at the effects of the drug on
anxiety)

- Use ​double-blinding​ to prevent bias in research results

- ​neither the participants nor the experimenters know who is receiving a
particular treatment
- Particularly useful for preventing bias due to demand characteristics or the
placebo effect
- Use a ​T-Test​:
- to compare the two groups to determine if there is a significance
- Here we can measure anxiety scores between the two groups (control
group and experimental)
- Use ​between-subject design​ since we want to test a new drug
- Between-subject design​: in an experiment, researchers assign different
groups to the control or experimental condition (Lilienfeld et al., 2018, pg.
59)
- 2+ groups each given a different treatment
- Group 1​ given drug X
- Group 2​ given drug Y
- The ​threshold​ that would be set for significance would be below 0.01.
- The reason why is because “the lower the p value of a group comparison,
the more confident we can be that our group differences are real and not
due to chance” (Whissell, 2020)

4. What is an EPSP? Describe how an EPSP is generated. (5 marks)

Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential (EPSP):​ graded potential in a dendrite that is

caused by excitatory synaptic transmission (Lilienfeld et al., 2018)

How is it generated?

Cell A is signaling to Cell B. Cell A releases the transmitter onto Cell B. That transmitter
travels across the synapse and binds to the receptor on the other side (Cell B). The
transmitter in this case is usually glutamate. The transmitter then travels from Cell A,
across the synapse to Cell B and binds to the appropriate receptor on Cell B. The
receptor opens that channel and sodium (Na+) ions flood in. This is how neurons get
excited and begin the process of firing. To reiterate, the transmitter is released by one
cell (A) which binds to AMPA receptors on another cell (B). This then opens a channel
where Na+ ions enter the cell and causes an EPSP.
What is an ESPS?

An excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) is a graded potential in which acts as a

temporary depolarization of the neuron. It occurs when a neurotransmitter binds to its
appropriate receptor, thus causing the receptor to open and if positive ions are allowed
in then it is an EPSP.

How is it Generated?

5. Explain the following five schools of thought in Psychology: Structuralism,

Functionalism, Behaviorism, Psychodynamics and Cognitive Psychology. Use no
more than three sentences to explain each school. (5 marks)

- Structuralism
● ​The psychological school of structuralism was concerned with scientific efforts to
understand the basic foundations of everyday conscious experience. It uses
introspection or systematic observation to identify one’s own psychological
process. Focused on issues internal to the individual.

- Functionalism
o​ ​Goal is to understand the functions or adaptive purposes of our thoughts,
feelings and behaviours
- Behaviorism
o​ ​Goal is to uncover the general principles of learning that explain all behaviours;
focus is large on observable behaviour
- Psychodynamics
o​ ​School of psychology, founded by Sigmund Freud, that focuses on internal
psychological processes of which we’re unaware
- Cognitive Psychology
o​ ​School of psychology that proposes that thinking is central to understanding
behaviour

Structuralism:
Inspired by the method of introspection, this school of thought focuses on the elements
of consciousness, specifically sensations, images, and feelings. It played a key role in
identifying the differences between what we are seeing vs. what we are feeling. For
example, when subjects would describe how they would feel when they’d see the colour
blue.

Functionalism

This thought aims to understand how thoughts and behaviours serve adoptive purposes
that increased survival, asking “why” questions.

Behaviourism

A systemic approach to understanding the psychology of humans or animals through

studying their observable actions (behaviours) instead of thoughts and feelings. It
proposes that we can understand behaviours by looking externally to rewards and
punishments given by the environment.

Psychodynamics

The study of internal psychological processes such as unconscious thoughts and

feelings. Originated with Sigmund Freud, it argues that the main reasoning behind
behaviours aren’t due to external environments but are as a result from unconscious
drives.

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive Psychology studies mental processes and suggests that the way we think
impacts our behaviours in many significant ways. It includes the interpretation
organisms’ have on rewards and punishments in order to observe connections between
inputs and outputs.