Introductory Psychology Concepts Assessment

Grey matter refers to the cortex specifically because of its lack of myelin covering on the cells.

White matter in the brain refers to the inner parts covered in a fatty white sheath, not to food, color, or artistic terminology.

Sensation involves the initial process of detecting and encoding stimuli from the environment, while perception involves the further processing and interpretation of those sensations.

Weber's Law, Fechner's Law, and Stevens' Power Law are principles related to psychophysics and perception, not laws in physics like Newton's, Boyle's, or Ohm's Law.

Pitch corresponds to the frequency of the sound wave, loudness corresponds to the amplitude of the sound wave, and timbre corresponds to the complexity of the sound wave. The incorrect answers provide combinations of attributes that do not accurately correspond to the described psychological attributes.

Perceptual constancies play a crucial role in maintaining our accurate perception of objects despite changing external stimuli, especially in regards to depth perception. They are not simply visual illusions or limited to specific senses like color perception or low light environments.

Mental disorders go beyond typical fluctuations in mood or personality traits, and involve significant disruptions in thinking, feeling, or behavior that impair functioning.

The modern view of mental disorders acknowledges that they result from a complex interplay of predisposing factors and environmental stressors rather than being solely attributed to genetic factors, a single traumatic event, or personal weakness.

In order to be considered to have a mental disorder, the criteria must include that it cannot be voluntary, it must have an internal source (no environmental factors), and it must have a severe impact on the day to day life of the person. The incorrect answers provided do not align with these criteria.

Diagnosing someone can be done through evidence-based methods such as actuarial judgment and validated psychological measures, which are more reliable. On the other hand, clinical judgment relies on the subjective opinions of doctors, which may not always be as accurate.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects a person's ability to focus, control impulsive behaviors, and hyperactivity. The correct answer provides a brief description of the common symptoms associated with ADHD.

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that affects social interaction, communication, and behavior. It is not a mental health condition solely focused on repetitive behaviors, a learning disability related to reading and writing, or a rare genetic disorder limited to boys.

Theory of mind refers to the understanding that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives that are different from one's own. It is essential for social interactions and communication.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a common mental health condition characterized by excessive worrying. It is not rare and affects a significant portion of the population. The causes of GAD are multifaceted and not limited to lack of self-control or being related to depression. Traumatic events in childhood leading to hypervigilance is one of the contributing factors.

The Just Noticeable Difference (JND) refers to the minimum amount of difference between two stimuli that is required for an observer to perceive them as distinct. It is not the maximum or average difference, nor is it an irrelevant difference.

Signal Detection Theory is essential in understanding perception by emphasizing the need to differentiate the actual signal from background noise, which impacts our ability to detect and interpret stimuli accurately.

The correct answer explains how the dorsal and ventral streams of cortical processing in vision are responsible for perceiving location of objects and identifying objects with meaning, respectively. The first incorrect answer switches the functions of the dorsal and ventral pathways. The second incorrect answer introduces new functions not related to the question. The third incorrect answer confuses the functions of sensory and motor pathways with the dorsal and ventral streams of cortical processing in vision.

The correct answer is that the fusiform face area (FFA) is an area of the brain that is activated specifically by faces. It plays a key role in facial recognition and processing.

Lateral inhibition specifically refers to the process in the retina where adjacent receptors inhibit each other, leading to edge enhancement.

The perception of a visual object differs from the raw sensory image due to the complexities involved in processing the 2D image projected on the retina into a 3D perceptual experience by the brain. Additionally, the presence of a blind spot and the brain's tendency to fill in missing details contribute to the differences between the raw sensory image and perceived object.

The question revolves around different theories of perception such as structuralist, Gestalt, and constructivist accounts. Each of these theories provides a unique perspective on how perception occurs, ranging from the joining of elementary sensations to the recognition of patterns and wholes that go beyond individual parts.

Proactive interference occurs when old memories interfere with the retrieval of new memories, while retroactive interference happens when new memories interfere with the retrieval of old memories.

The correct explanation for encoding, storage, and retrieval in the context of memory is as follows: Encoding involves the process of recording experiences/thoughts/feelings, storage refers to the retention of this information over time, and retrieval allows you to access and bring forth stored memories.

Etiology refers to the causes or origins of a disorder, not the treatment, outcome, or prevention.

Perceptual disorders such as visual agnosia arise from damage to specific brain regions, particularly the ventral pathway involved in visual processing. Damage to the ventral pathway can lead to different types of visual agnosia, including form agnosia, visual object agnosia, and prosopagnosia, each affecting different aspects of visual recognition.

Context-Dependent Memory refers to the improved recall of specific episodes or information when the context present during encoding and retrieval of the memory matches. This means that external cues, such as the environment, can have a significant impact on memory retrieval.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a classification system used by mental health professionals to diagnose mental disorders. It is not a treatment guide, textbook for physical illnesses, or a historical document.

Anxiety is a state of fear that is often characterized by worry, uneasiness, and nervousness. It is not a feeling of extreme happiness and excitement, a mental disorder, or a physical illness caused by bacteria or viruses.