Psychophysiology Flashcards
7 cards from real CPE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Psychophysiology flashcards as text
Which division of the autonomic nervous system is primarily responsible for the physiological responses measured during a polygraph examination?
Answer: Sympathetic nervous system
The sympathetic nervous system triggers the 'fight or flight' response, producing the cardiovascular, respiratory, and electrodermal changes detected by the polygraph.
The electrodermal activity (EDA) channel on a polygraph instrument measures changes in what physiological parameter?
Answer: Electrical conductance of the skin caused by sweat gland activity
EDA measures the skin's electrical conductance, which increases when eccrine sweat glands are activated by sympathetic nervous system arousal.
Which neurotransmitter is primarily released at the sympathetic nerve terminals that innervate the sweat glands involved in electrodermal responses?
Answer: Acetylcholine
Although sweat glands are innervated by sympathetic fibers, those fibers release acetylcholine (a cholinergic exception) rather than norepinephrine.
In polygraph psychophysiology, what is the term for the gradual diminishment of a physiological response to a repeated, non-threatening stimulus?
Answer: Habituation
Habituation is the decrease in response magnitude that occurs when a neutral stimulus is presented repeatedly without consequence.
Which brain structure is most closely associated with the emotional processing that drives the autonomic arousal detected during a polygraph examination?
Answer: Amygdala
The amygdala processes emotional stimuli and initiates autonomic arousal through its connections to the hypothalamus and brainstem, producing the responses measured by polygraph.
The pneumograph component of a polygraph measures which physiological parameter?
Answer: Thoracic and abdominal respiratory movement
Pneumograph tubes placed around the thorax and abdomen expand and contract with breathing, recording changes in respiratory rate, depth, and pattern.
Which concept in psychophysiology explains why a subject's physiological responses to relevant questions should be compared to responses to comparison questions rather than to absolute baseline values?
Answer: Law of initial values
The Law of Initial Values states that a person's response magnitude depends partly on their prestimulus level, making within-subject comparisons more valid than absolute measures.