Here are some practice questions similar to the multiple choice questions that will appear on your exams. To see the correct answer, scroll over the space after "answer:" (to highlight the letter). Good luck!
Chapter 1: What Is Psychology?
1.
Psychology can be defined as the study of:
A) mental illnesses and their treatments
B) the causes and consequences of unusual behavior
C) why people do the things they do
D) behavioral processes
answer: D
2 Research examining
how hormone levels affect behavior are most likely to be carried out by
psychologists taking a ______ perspective.
A) biological
B) physical
C) cognitive
D) humanistic
answer: A
3. A behavioral
psychologist is most influenced by which of the following psychological
perspectives?
A) biological
B) cognitive
C) learning
D) psychoanalytic
answer: C
4. Critical thinking means:
A) considering all points of view as equally valid
B) paying attention to the most important parts of each point of
view
C) making judgments based on objective evidence
D) always taking the most negative perspective
answer: C
5. Most licensed clinical psychologists have which of the
following degrees?
A) B.A.
B) J.D.
C) M.D.
D) Ph.D.
answer: D
Chapter 2: How Psychologists Do Research
1. A scientific finding is called reliable if it
A) can be observed outside the laboratory.
B) is supported by theory.
C) is replicable
D) can be tested.
answer: c
2. Case studies are of little value in
A) comparing the effectiveness of treatments.
B) describing unusual symptoms
C) suggesting possibilities for further study
D) proving exceptions to theories.
answer: a
3. Which of the following statements could be made based on data from a
correlational study?
A) Studying leads to good grades.
B) Good grades make people want to study more.
C) People who study more tend to have better grades.
D) People who are smart study more and get better grades.
answer: c
4. In an experimental design, the control group is the group that
A) has the disorder in question.
B) does not have the disorder in question.
C) receives the experimental treatment.
D) does not receive the experimental treatment.
answer: d
5. Statistical significance is important to determine:
A) whether the study is well designed
B) whether the results are due to chance
C) whether the results are important
D) whether the control group was adequate
answer: b
Chapter 4: The Brain: Source of Mind and Self
1.
A substance that has effects on the nervous system by blocking receptor
sites is called:
A) an agonist
B) an antagonist
C) a neurotransmitter
D) a hormone
answer:
b
2.
Transmission of messages across synapses is almost always by means of:
(a) inorganic charged ions, like sodium and potassium.
(b) organic molecules, like acetylcholine and dopamine.
(c) electrical impulses.
(d) intermittent physical contact of the relevant neurons.
answer:
b
3.
Which area of the cerebral cortex is most associated with sensory
functions?
(a) right
(b) left
(c) front
(d) back
answer:
a
4.
Other things being equal, in which of the following people or animals
would you expect to have the least production of endorphins?
(a) A person given a placebo.
(b) A rat subjected to cold stress.
(c) A horse given acupuncture before minor surgery.
(d) A person with congenital insensitivity to pain.
answer:
d
5.
After a bad car accident, Joe could no longer speak the way he used to.
His speech made sense, but was very fragmented; he left out many words
and had to work hard to pronounce the words he did say.
Joe most likely had damage in his:
(a) motor projection area
(b) Broca’s area
(c) sensory projection area
(d) Wernicke’s area.
answer: b
Chapter 10: Memory
1.
The “magic
number seven” refers to:
a) the number of mistakes
the average person makes in recalling a list of nonsense words
b) the amount of time it
takes to forget half the information in one’s immediate memory
c) the strategies we use in
problem-solving
d) the capacity of short-term memory
answer:
d
2.
In proactive inhibition:
(a) old learning interferes with new learning.
(b) new learning interferes with old learning.
(c) amnesia occurs for long-term memory.
(d) amnesia occurs for short-term memory
answer:
a
3.
Two groups of subjects watched a videotape of a convenience store
robbery. The first group was asked
if they saw the gun. The second
group was asked if they saw a gun. Which group is more likely to state they viewed an armed
robbery?
a) the first group
b) the second group
c) both groups are equally
likely
d) there is not enough
information to answer
answer: a
4. Which of the following describes a flashbulb memory?
a. personal memory of an event that is also represented by a different recording medium, such as flash photography.
b. a fleeting glimpse of a visual memory that is too short to see clearly but one has the feeling that all the details were there.
c. extremely detailed recall of an event that was highly emotional and/or personally involving
d. the lingering white trace one's eyes experience after being photographed with a flash camera
answer: c
5. _____________ affects our thoughts and actions even though we are not consciously aware of its influence.
a. implicit memory
b. flashbulb memory
c. extrinsic memory
d. recognition memory
answer: a
Chapter 3: Genes, Evolution and the Environment
1. New characteristics can result from all of the following EXCEPT _______
A) addition of new amino acids to the DNA molecule.
B) spontaneous genetic mutations.
C) recombination of genetic material.
D) crossover of genetic material between members of a chromosome pair.
answer: a
2. _______ is an estimate of the proportion of the total variance in a trait that is attributed to genetics.
A) Evolutionary psychology
B) The nature effect
C) Heritability
D) Nativism
answer: c
3. Genes are:
A)
B)
C)
D)
Chapter 12: Motivation
1. The motive to be with other people, make friends, cooperate and love is called what?
a. need for affiliation
b. human nature
c. compassion]
d. socialization
answer: a
2. In one of the oldest distinctions between different types of love, passionate love is one. What is the other?
a. common
b. intimate
c. dispassionate
d. companionate
answer: d
3. Which of the following statements best describes the psychological consensus, as described in your text, on the nature of the human sex motive?
a. Sex is a biological motive like hunger and thirst.
b. The need for sex is a primary drive.
c. Human sexuality appears to be a learned and culturally influenced experience.
d. Sexual behavior is genetically programmed in all animal species, including humans.
answer: c
4. Masters and Johnson conducted their research on which of the following populations?
a. Readily orgasmic volunteers
b. People with a wide range of ages
c. College students with a range of sexual experiences
d. Culturally diverse volunteers
answer: a
5. Which of the following terms represents a concept that includes the other three?
a. basal metabolic rate
b. number of fat cells
c. set point
d. caloric intake
answer: c
Chapter 6: Sensation and Perception
1.
The blind spot on the retina is where:
(a) there are only cones
(b) the optic nerve leaves the eye.
(c) there are only rods.
(d) both a and b
answer:
b
2.
We cannot see colors in very dim light because:
(a) the receptors for color are not sensitive to dim light.
(b) lateral inhibition is present.
(c) opponent processes cannot operate at low levels of light.
(d) all of the above
answer:
a
3.
As your friend drives away, the image of her car gets smaller and
smaller. Yet you do not think that
her car is really getting smaller. This best exemplifies:
(a) top-down processing.
(b) figure-ground perception.
(c) perceptual constancy.
(d) motion parallax.
answer:
c
4.
Two sound waves are equal in amplitude but vary in frequency.
The two sounds produced by these waves:
(a) will vary in loudness.
(b) will vary in decibel level.
(c) will vary in pitch.
(d) a and b
answer: d
5.
A 1,000-cycle-per-second tone is played to a subject. The frequency of
the tone is then slowly increased, and the subject is instructed to inform the
experimenter when the pitch of the tone changes. At 1,050 cps, the subject says
that the pitch of the tone is not the same as it was before. This experiment has
just determined that for a 1,000 cps tone, a change of 50 cps represents:
(a) the absolute threshold.
(b) the difference threshold.
(c) the magnitude of the sensation.
(d) the magnitude of the stimulus.
answer: b
Chapter 7: Learning
1.
A decline in the tendency to respond to stimuli that have become familiar
due to repeated exposure is called:
(a) acclimation
(b) assimilation
(c) discrimination
(d) habituation
answer:
d
2.
Discrimination learning is the opposite of:
A) spontaneous conditioning
B) backward conditioning
C) stimulus generalization
D) second-order conditioning
answer: c
3.
In Thorndike's
law of effect, what determines whether the response will be strengthened or
weakened is the:
(a) latency of the response.
(b) goal of the animal.
(c) consequences of the response.
(d) animal's noticing the connection between act and consequence.
answer:
c
4.
If a response
was acquired during partial reinforcement it will be _______ to extinguish than
if it had been acquired during continuous reinforcement.
(a) harder
(b) easier
(c) equally hard
(d) much easier
answer: a
5. In a token economy, the tokens are considered _______, in operant terms.
a. primary punishers
b. secondary punishers
c. primary reinforcers
d. secondary reinforcers
answer: d
Chapter 8: Behavior in Social and Cultural Context
1. Milgram's shock experiments, in which "teachers"
administered shock to "learners," was investigating
a. the effects of punishment on learning
b. the causes of and factors related to obedience
c. responses to uncontrollable shock
d. emotional reactions to administering shocks
answer: b -
2. A crowded theater is on fire. According to the panicky crowd
theories discussed in class, which of the following situations is MOST likely to
lead to panic-like behavior?
a. People in the theater experience intense fear
b. People in the theater believe that all escape routes
are fully blocked and they are locked in.
c. People in the theater believe that escape routes are
limited or are closing
d. People in the theater do not believe there is really
a fire.
answer: c
-
3. Which group was probably most interested in having the Zimbardo prison study continue for the full two weeks?
a. the experimenters
b. the "guards"
c. the "prisoners"
d. the volunteers' (subjects' ) parents
answer: b
4. In the Fundamental Attribution Error, we tend to
a. overestimate both dispositional and situational factors
b. underestimate both dispositional and situational factors
c. overestimate dispositional and underestimate situational factors
d. underestimate dispositional and overestimate situational factors
answer: c
5. Which approach to reducing prejudice did Sherif's Robber's Cave study illustrate?
a. Changing laws to require contact between groups in conflict
b. Compelling different groups to work together on a shared problem by dividing required resources among the groups.
c. Bringing groups together in a social setting to get acquainted.
d. Encouraging groups in conflict to "break the cycle of distrust"
answer: b
Chapter 9: Thinking and Intelligence
1. Which of the following is the best example of a subconscious process?
a. arguing with a cashier about a price
b. controlling the gas pedal as you drive
c. longing for a simpler life
d. voting for your favorite candidate last Tuesday
answer: b
2. One reason that people are generally more afraid to fly than to drive, despite the relative safety of flying, is
a. the availability heuristic
b. the representativeness heuristic
c. confirmation bias
d. hindsight bias
answer: a
3. Julie is unable to solve a new problem because she keeps using only strategies that have worked on older problems, and these solutions are no longer relevant. What is getting in Julie's way?
a. dialectical reasoning
b. availability heuristic
c. mental sets
d. hindsight bias
answer: c
4. Many people were worried about widespread calamity last New Year's Eve (because of the Y2K thing). Which of the following best indicates cognitive dissonance theory at work, given that the world didn't end?
a. Those who voiced the greatest concern rejoiced that their warnings were heeded, showing they were right.
b. Those who voiced the greatest concern were humiliated.
c. Those who didn't think about it one way or the other were very relieved things worked out.
d. Those who didn't think about it one way or the other still didn't care.
answer: a
5. What was the original reason for Binet's having developed his IQ test?
a. categorizing normal school children into ability groups
b. screening soldiers for ability to enlist
c. labeling the general population for levels of intelligence
d. identifying slow learners
answer: d
Essay:
Our problem-solving ability may be hampered by a number of obstacles. Discuss at least two such obstacles in detail, explaining how each interferes with problem-solving, and giving an example of each.
Example answer:
1. Mental sets: trying to solve new problems using solutions that have worked in the past, even if the new problem requires a different form of solution. Ex: see box on pg. 199 of your text.
2. Availability and representativeness heuristics: focusing on what more readily comes to mind (ah) or on what is stereotypical (rh) instead of on the actual facts, base rates, etc. Ex: in-class example of ignoring base rates to determine if a given person is a stockbroker or a hunter.
3. Confirmation bias: seeking out only information that confirms your hypothesis. Ex: designing a study to show that women drink diet soda and men don't, and only asking the women what kind of soda they drink.
Chapter 14: Development over the Lifespan
1. Harlow's monkey experiments supported whose theory of attachment?
A) Freud
B) Bowlby
C) Ainsworth
D) Watson
answer: B
2. When does the germinal stage of human development begin?
A) conception
B) during the third trimester
C) birth
D) puberty
answer: A
3. Which of the following would be an example of assimilation?
a. A child squishing a rubber ball to grasp
it the same way he grasps his bottle
b. A child changing his grip so he can grasp
the rubber ball without squishing it.
c. A child who learns to bounce the ball.
d. A child who reorganizes his thinking to
see balls and blocks as a larger group called objects.
answer: A
4. You are thinking of making three different airline reservations
for the same time, to be safe. You consider the following objections
to your plan:
1. it is against the unwritten rules of the
airlines
2. it will prevent other people from getting
to make their own needed reservations on the flights you won't take
3. if the airlines find out, you will be charged
a fine.
According to Kohlberg's scale of moral development, arrange these objections
from earliest to latest stage of reasoning:
a. 2,3,1
b. 3,2,1
c. 2,1,3
d. 3,1,2
answer: D
5. Which of the following best represents Erikson's views of development?
a. Once personal identity is established,
there can be only minor crises in psychological development.
b. Psychological development primarily consists
of unfolding human potential.
c. Psychological development depends upon
different social relationships at various life stages.
d. Adult personality reflects the resolution
of psychosexual conflicts in childhood
answer: C
Chapter 13: Theories of Personality
1.
The theorist who discussed cardinal, central, and secondary traits was:
A) Allport
B) Cattell
C) Eysenck
D) Freud
answer: A
2. People who describe themselves in terms of who their
families are and how they fit in with their communities display which cultural
style?
A) collectivist
B) humanist
C) individualist
D) familial
answer: A
3. Which of the following is most concerned with constraints of
reality constraints?
A) id.
B) ego.
C) superego.
D) all of the above
answer: B
4. The behavioral
perspective of personality includes all of the following ideas
EXCEPT
A) behavior is a function of its consequences.
B) behavior will decrease if it is punished.
C) behavior observed in an authority figure will be imitated.
D) behavior will increase if it is rewarded.
answer: C
5. The concept of being
loved or well thought of regardless of what one does is discussed in which
theory of personality?
A) biological
B) familial
C) humanistic
D) psychoanalytic
answer: C
Chapter 16: Psychological Disorders
1. Angie worries all the time, even about little things like getting her laundry done or being late for appointments. The most likely diagnosis for Angie is:
a. panic disorder
b. depression
c. obsessive-compulsive disorder
d. generalized anxiety disorder
answer: d
2. Bipolar disorder can be diagnosed if a person has:
a. depressive episodes only
b. manic episodes only
c. both depressive and manic episodes
d. B and C
answer: d
3.
Cultural diversity makes it difficult to define abnormal behavior as
simply behavior which