psych sample questions

In the context of biases and heuristics that affect an individual's decision-making strategies, _____ refers to the fact that people are reluctant to give up on a venture because of past investment. A. sunk cost fallacy B. endowment effect C. hindsight bias D. object permanence

sunk cost fallacy

In the context of memory retrieval, which of the following refers to better recall for items at the beginning of a list? A. the primacy effect B. the recency effect C. proactive interference D. retroactive interference

the primacy effect

The term _____ refers to experiencing one's psychological gender as being different from one's biological sex. A. gender bias B. heterosexuality C. hermaphroditism D. transgender

transgender

An egodystonic condition is characterized by: A. Poor or no insight B. Presence of hallucinations and delusions C. Preserved insight D. Insanity

Preserved insight

Solomon Asch set up an experimental situation in which participants were asked to identify which of three comparison lines was identical to a standard line. His research was designed to answer a straightforward question, namely: A. Would people obey an authority figure even if it meant hurting others? B. Would people intervene and help a person in trouble in the presence of others? C. Would people still conform to the group if the group opinion was clearly wrong? D. Would prejudice be reduced if members of different groups were brought into contact with each other?

Would people still conform to the group if the group opinion was clearly wrong?

Before Mark had even heard the details of how Allison's car accident had happened, he commented, "Allison is so absentminded, I'm sure it happened because she was probably talking on her cell phone and not paying attention." Mark's response illustrates an attributional pattern called: A. blaming the victim. B. the self-effacing bias. C. the rule of reciprocity. D. diffusion of responsibility.

blaming the victim

In the context of approaches to psychotherapy, _____ attempt to change an individual's feelings and behaviors by changing thoughts. A. humanistic psychotherapies B. cognitive therapies C. psychodynamic therapies D. behavior therapies

cognitive therapies

_____ refers to the social and psychological aspects of being male or female. A. Sexual orientation B. Gender C. Gender bias D. Secondary sex characteristic

gender

If Sammy scores nearly the same every time he takes a test, it can be concluded that the test is A. valid. B. highly reliable. C. standardized. D. normally distributed.

highly reliable

The social group to which a person belongs is called the _____, and the social group to which a person does not belong is called the _____. A. in-group; out-group B. prosocial group; altruistic group C. out-group; in-group D. conformist group; nonconformist group

in-group; out-group

Philip has been hospitalized for an episode of schizophrenia. He believes that secret agents are bombarding his brain with gamma rays, and he sometimes sees grotesque creatures climbing on the wall of his hospital room. Philip's symptoms are referred to as _____ symptoms of schizophrenia. A. atypical B. negative C. positive D. primary

positive

Roger witnesses a burglary. When he is questioned by the police, Roger provides description of the burglar based purely on physical features; mentioning his approximate build and height, but he is unable to recall specific details. Which of the following is most likely the highest level of processing that Roger has engaged in while encoding information about the burglar? A. intermediate B. intimate C. deep D. shallow

shallow

Olivia is a fashion designer. Olivia believes that her gender behavior is determined by the rewards she has seen women in her profession obtain for their consistent performance. She believes that by mimicking their behaviors she will also be rewarded. Olivia's beliefs are best explained by the A. biological approach to gender development. B. social cognitive theory of gender development. C. psychodynamic approach to gender development. D. evolutionary theory of gender development.

social cognitive theory of gender development