PSYC1002, Midterm 1 Study Guide, page 1
Introduction to the Study of Psychology PSYC1002
Midterm #1 Study Guide
NOTE: This is intended as a general guide to help focus your studying efforts. You are still responsible
for reading the assigned chapters and attending the lectures.
There will be questions on the midterms and the final exam that cover material from the textbook, and
from the lectures. Not everything in the textbook is in the lectures, and not everything in the lectures is in
the textbook (I discussed this in the Course Syllabus). However, there is some overlap between the
textbook and the lecture material – thus, it is tough to say exactly what percentage of the questions come
from either the textbook or the lectures. But generally, 40-50% of the questions are lecture questions and
50-60% of the questions are textbook questions.
Midterm #1 will cover the lectures and assigned readings for chapters 9 and 10.
General Tips:
 There will not be questions that test knowledge of dates.
 In general, I do not test knowledge of names. However, there are a few exceptions for people who
shaped our understanding of the discipline. For these (relatively few) big names, I will indicate them
in the study guide, and then you should be able to associate that name with their ideas (e.g., Sternberg,
James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter & Singer, etc.). In contrast, I also sometimes include the
names of the researchers who conducted a particular study (e.g., the study by Strack, Martin &
Stepper) – for these, you don’t need to know the names or the date (you just need to know the study) –
I am merely including the name/date as a memory cue to help you remember what study we’re talking
about – the question would be answerable even without the name/date information.
Lecture Material:
 All of it (but I will embed specifics below).
Chapter 9 (lecture material):
 What is Motive Psychology? What are motives, instincts, needs, drives?
 How do Motives, Instincts, Needs, and Drives work together to produce behaviour?
 Murray’s theory of needs – including his big three needs. What are these and how are they related to
behaviour?
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. How does this work?
 What is self-actualization?
 What are incentives? What happens when we delay incentives? How do we differ in our ability to
delay gratification?
 Motivation & Grades. The Wolters study.
 Eating Disorders. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. What do we know about eating
disorders? How do we diagnose Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa? What factors might play a
role in the development of eating disorders?
 What is emotion? What are the different components of emotion? How do states differ from traits?
 How is emotion related to arousal? What is happening in the nervous system during an emotion?
What is happening in the brain during an emotional experience?
 How are cognition and the physiological response connected to emotion? This includes the JamesLange Theory, the Cannon-Bard Theory, and Schachter & Singer’s Two-Factor Theory.
 How does behaviour influence emotion (non-verbal expressiveness)? The facial feedback hypothesis.
The Strack, Martin & Stepper study.
The course materials are the intellectual property of the author (Christopher Motz).
They are intended for personal use and may not be reproduced or redistributed without prior written consent of the author.
PSYC1002, Midterm 1 Study Guide, page 2
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What is the difference between Emotional Content and Emotional Style?
What are the theoretical approaches to understanding and classifying emotions? (positive & negative
emotions)
What is Affect Intensity?
How does emotion impact exam performance - The Giacobbi, Tuccitto & Frye study.
Love (Sternberg’s theory – know the components, and the types of love)
What is attraction? What is the need to belong? What are the factors that influence attraction?
Chapter 9 (text):
 What is Motivation? How is motivation understood and studied from different theoretical
approaches? (i.e., Drive Reduction, Incentive, Evolutionary)
 What is the need for affiliation? How does this manifest in our behaviour? How does this relate to
our fear of rejection?
 Motivation and Hunger. What do we know about the biology of hunger? Are there environmental
influences on hunger? (for example: environmental cues, learned behaviour)
 What is obesity? What factors might play a role in obesity? What does the research indicate?
 What drives sexual behaviour? (biology, cognitive factors, evolutionary factors, etc.)
 What is the human sexual response cycle, and how does this work?
 How do the genders differ in sexual patterns? And in mate preferences? How might human sexual
behaviour be used to explain mating patterns and parental investment? And what are the criticisms
and alternate explanations?
 Sexual Orientation – How might we understand sexual orientation? What does the research say about
potential causes?
 What is the need for achievement? How does this manifest in our motivational systems (attitudes,
behaviours)? How does this vary between individuals? How is this situationally determined?
 What are the different theoretical perspectives on Emotion? (including the common sense view,
James-Lange, Cannon-Bard, Schachter, and the evolutionary approach)
 What is emotion? What are the different components of emotion (cognitive, physiological,
behavioural)? How does culture impact the experience of emotion? How might we approach the
study of emotion?
o Cognitive: What is happening in our mind when we experience emotion?
o Biology: How can emotion be related to arousal? What might be happening in the brain? What is
going on in the body during an emotional experience?
o Behaviour: What are the connections between emotion and behaviour?
o Culture: How does emotion vary across cultures? Or how is emotion similar across cultures?
 What is emotion regulation? What are some strategies, and when might they be effective?
 You will not be tested on the Personal Application (page 389-392) and Critical Thinking material
(pages 393-394). (but the Happiness material is very interesting)
 You can ignore: Figure 9.2 (page 362), Figure 9.3 (page 363), Figure 9.4 (page 363), Figure 9.6 (page
366), Figure 9.8 (page 368), Figure 9.9 (page 369), Figure 9.10 (page 369), Figure 9.12 (page 372),
Figure 9.16 (page 378), Figure 9.19 (page 382), and Figure 9.22 (page 386).
Chapter 10 (lecture material):
 What is development? What are the important processes of development? What are the two
perspectives on the importance of early experiences?
 Physical development in childhood – development of the brain.
 Cognitive development – Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. What is happening at each of the
four stages of cognitive development?
The course materials are the intellectual property of the author (Christopher Motz).
They are intended for personal use and may not be reproduced or redistributed without prior written consent of the author.
PSYC1002, Midterm 1 Study Guide, page 3
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Is Piaget correct? Vygotsky and the Sociocultural response to Piaget’s Cognitive Theory.
How does our sense of morality develop (Kohlberg)?
Stage theories of development: What is Freud’s Psychosexual stages of development theory? And
what is Erikson’s Psychosocial stages of development theory? How are they similar/different?
Attachment – How do we attach to caregivers? What are the types of attachment? What does it mean
for the individual if they have a particular type of attachment? (Harlow, Bowlby, Ainsworth, Hazan &
Shaver)
What are the different types of temperament?
How does our sense of self, and our identity develop in adolescence? What are the types of identity
statuses?
Chapter 10 (text):
 What is development?
 What is happening during the process of prenatal development? What are the stages involved? How
might environmental influences impact development? And how are these related to later adult
health/disease?
 Childhood development – physical growth and changes, motor development, developmental trends,
norms, and accomplishments, the effects of culture.
 What is temperament and what are the different types of temperament? Embedded within this section
on temperament is information on how we conduct developmental research. What are some of the
ways that we conduct developmental research?
 Attachment – How do we attach to caregivers? What are the theories of attachment (Harlow, Bowlby,
Ainsworth)? What are the types of attachment? How might we observe/test a child’s attachment style?
What does it mean for the individual if they have a particular type of attachment?
 You can ignore the section on how attachment differs across cultures.
 The development of Personality. What are stage theories? What is Erickson’s stage theory of the
development (what are the stages)? How does this work?
 Cognitive development throughout the lifespan (Piaget). What are the stages of Piaget’s theory, how
do they work? What are the criticisms of this theory?
 What is involved in Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory? How does this theory describe and explain
cognitive development?
 Are cognitive abilities developed through nurture, or are they innate? What has this research shown us
about early cognitive abilities?
 Is there evidence for the theory that there are critical periods in development? How do these work?
What are these critical periods? What is the Theory of Mind, and how does it develop?
 Moral development (Kohlberg). How does this work? What are the stages? What are the limits, and
criticisms?
 What is adolescence? What is happening in terms of physical growth and change? How does the brain
develop? Does adolescence have to be a time of turmoil? What sorts of factors might lead to stress and
a vulnerability for suicide?
 The formation of Adolescent Identity. How does identity develop? What are the different identity
statuses?
 You will not need to know the section on Emerging Adulthood as a New Developmental Stage.
 Adulthood: How does our self/personality develop during adulthood (including Erickson’s stages)?
How do we manage transitions in adulthood, such as adjusting to marriage and parenthood?
 Aging and physiological changes – what are the physical, neural, and cognitive changes and the
psychological correlates/consequences?
 How do we deal with death & dying?
The course materials are the intellectual property of the author (Christopher Motz).
They are intended for personal use and may not be reproduced or redistributed without prior written consent of the author.
PSYC1002, Midterm 1 Study Guide, page 4
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The “Overview of Human Development” (pages 438-441) will be very helpful for your studying, but
there won’t be any test questions specifically about this overview.
Although they are both very interesting, you will not be tested on the “Personal Application” section
(pages 443-446), nor on the “Critical Thinking” section (pages 447-448).
You will not need to know Figure 10.1 (page 401), Figure 10.3 (page 406), Figure 10.6 (page 411),
Figure 10.13 (page 422), Figure 10.18 (page 428), Figure 10.19 (page 429), Figure 10.20 (page 430),
Figure 10.21 (page 431), 10.22 (page 432), Figure 10.23 (page 434), and Figure 10.24 (page 436).
The course materials are the intellectual property of the author (Christopher Motz).
They are intended for personal use and may not be reproduced or redistributed without prior written consent of the author.