Principles of Psychology Flashcards

Broca's area, critical for speech production, is located in which lobe of the brain?

Answer: Frontal lobe

Broca's area is in the left frontal lobe and damage to it causes Broca's aphasia, characterized by halting, effortful speech.

A therapist uses systematic desensitization to treat a client's phobia. This technique is rooted in which learning principle?

Answer: Classical conditioning

Systematic desensitization pairs relaxation (a conditioned response) with feared stimuli to gradually counter-condition the anxiety response.

Which statistical measure indicates the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables?

Answer: Correlation coefficient

The correlation coefficient (r) ranges from -1 to +1, indicating both the direction and magnitude of a linear relationship between variables.

According to Maslow's hierarchy, which need must typically be satisfied before a person focuses on belongingness needs?

Answer: Safety needs

Maslow's hierarchy places physiological and safety needs below belongingness; safety must be satisfied before social/belonging needs become primary motivators.

A child learns to fear dogs after being bitten. Later, the child also fears cats without being bitten. This best illustrates:

Answer: Stimulus generalization

Stimulus generalization occurs when a conditioned response transfers to stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimulus.

Which neurotransmitter is primarily associated with reward, motivation, and is implicated in drug addiction pathways?

Answer: Dopamine

Dopamine is released in the mesolimbic pathway (nucleus accumbens) during rewarding activities and is central to addiction reinforcement.

The concept of 'self-fulfilling prophecy' in psychology refers to:

Answer: Expectations that cause behaviors that confirm those expectations

A self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when an expectation influences behavior in ways that cause the expected outcome to come true.