Psychology Quizzes Multiple Choice
You sister watches a video about how to rewire a lamp, then tries to rewire one herself. Her lamp doesn't work. She goes back over the steps and finds that she did not connect one of the socket wires. Which of Bandura's criteria for observational learning failed? a.) attention b.) memory c.) referencing d.) motivation
B
Which of the following is a prototype of "bird"? a.) feathers b.) beak c.) sparrow d.) ability to fly
C
Which type of neuron is most common in the brain? a.) interneuron b.) motor neuron c.) sensory neuron d.) sympathetic neuron
A
A police officer might use a roadside sobriety test to see if you've been drinking. Such a test is based on the fact that a.) one of the first areas of the brain to be influenced by alcohol's sedating effects is the cerebellum. b.) alcohol increases anxiety, which interferes with performance on the test. c.) it has been shown to be more valid than a breathalyzer in measuring mild to moderate impairment. d.) people who have been drinking find it hard to pass the test due to the hand tremors.
A
A straight-A student dreams that he arrives at school naked without his homework. His therapist suggests this reflects his fear of being exposed as imperfect. Being naked is the __________ content of the dream, while the fear of being imperfect is the ____________ content. a.) manifest; latent b.) subjective; neurotic c.) conscious; unconscious d.) rational; repressed
A
According to Freud, the ___________ operate(s) on the pleasure principle. a.) id b.) ego c.) superego d.) unconscious
A
According to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, a.) we cannot necessarily rely on our senses to learn the truth. b.) all of reality is simply an illusion. c.) objective reality can be perceived only through experience d.) animal behavior has nothing to teach us about human behavior.
A
Although very few people would admit to a belief that men make better hires than women, several experiments show that men are more likely to be hired than women with identical resumes. This is an example of a.) unconscious bias b.) poorly worded surveys c.) explicit sexism d.) negative skew
A
During action potential a.) the inside of a neuron's axon becomes positively charged than the outside. b.) potassium ions are finally allowed into the neuron. c.) gated sodium channels close. d.) the neuron seeks a balanced electrical charge.
A
Neurotransmitters influence the polarization of a neuron by a.) causing receptor channels to open, allowing positively charged sodium ions to flow into the neuron b.) crossing into the neuron, bringing their charge with them c.) causing neurons to expel sodium ions d.) blocking ion flow
A
Substances, like alcohol, that cause malformations in developing embryos are called a.) teratogens b.) depressants c.) hormones d.) amyloids
A
The "social brain hypothesis" states that we can keep track of about _______ people on an ongoing basis. a.) 150 b.) 50 c.) 15 d.) 500
A
The concept of inattentional blindness is best illustrated when you a.) are concentrating so hard on studying that you fail to notice your roommate leaving for class. b.) have slept through your alarm and missed your first class of the day. c.) love to watch movies over and over again to see all the subtitles you missed before. d.) have fallen asleep while studying because the textbook is too dull.
A
The fact that __________ are relatively ____________ to light explains why people have more difficulty seeing color in poorly lit places. a.) cones; insensitive b.) cones; sensitive c.) rods; insensitive d.) rods; sensitive
A
The general adaptation syndrome, as first described by Hans Selye, a.) connects stress and disease through a series of stages. b.) shows that stress is actually good for the body. c.) integrates psychiatry and psychology to help recovering alcoholics. d.) distinguishes between physical and mental stressors.
A
Though our brains are almost fully developed by the time we reach adolescence, enormous changes continue in the brain region called the ___________ lobe. a.) frontal b.) parietal c.) temporal d.) occipital
A
Which approach would be most appropriate for testing the hypothesis that taking practice tests improves learning more than studying alone does? a.) experimental research b.) correlational research c.) surveys of representative samples of students d.) case studies of high-achieving students
A
Which of the following is the best definition of intelligence? a.) The acquisition of knowledge as a result of experience. b.) The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. c.) Any physical event that affects a sensory cell. d.) The ability to acquire, retain, and apply knowledge.
A
Which of the following is the best example of sensation? a.) Your skin receptors detect the touch of a student walking by. b.) You recognize the sound of your friend's voice the cafe c.) You smile while listening to your favorite song. d.) You gasp when you realize that your forgot about today's exam.
A
Which of the following scenarios best illustrates size constancy? a.) As you approach a monument, you perceive that the monument remains the same size. b.) When riding in a car, close objects remain the same size but far away objects seem to shrink. c.) In your mind, you generally remain the same size throughout your life. d.) You often misjudge how tall people are when you see them on TV.
A
Which of the following shows Piaget's stages of development in the correct order? a.) sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational b.) preoperational, concrete operational, sensorimotor, formal operational c.) concrete operational, formal operational, preoperational, sensorimotor d.) formal operational, concrete operational, preoperational, sensorimotor
A
While studying the digestive process of dogs, __________ was the first person to describe learning as a acquired through classical conditioning. a.) Ivan Pavlov b.) John Watson c.) B.F. Skinner d.) Albert Bandura
A
You work three hours a day Monday to Friday and receive a paycheck every Friday afternoon. You are being paid on a ____________ reinforcement schedule. a.) fixed interval b.) fixed ratio c.) variable interval d.) variable ratio
A
A fertilized human egg cell is called a a.) neuron b.) zygote c.) placenta d.) synapse
B
A reinforcer is a consequence that ____________ a behavior. a.) extinguishes b.) strengthens c.) reverses d.) weakens
B
According to the activation synthesis hypothesis about dreaming, the content of dreams results from a.) unconscious thoughts and feelings. b.) your brain attempting to make meaning out of random bursts of neural activity. c.) whatever events you experienced just before bed. d.) a specific pattern of activity that emerges the same way from the brainstem every night.
B
If you were an artist drawing a cityscape, you would apply the linear perspective depth cue by a.) ensuring that the foreground buildings occlude background objects. b.) drawing the streets converging with the edges of buildings at the horizon. c.) making sure background objects are much larger than foreground objects. d.) preserving the actual shape of each object while drawing it.
B
In therapy, Freud asked patients to say the first thing that came into mind in response to a word or phrase. He believed this technique a.) increased patients' comfort, allowing them to share feelings more openly. b.) revealed feelings suppressed by defense mechanisms. c.) brought forth the latent content of the patients' daydreams. d.) revealed the patients' state of psychosexual development.
B
Preoperational children are often called "egocentric" because they a.) are not capable of understanding empathy towards others. b.) do not understand what others know and do not know. c.) prefer to play alone rather than with adults or other kids. d.) cannot yet understand the notion of sharing.
B
Random assignment to experimental and control conditions involves being assigned a.) to your condition based on your position on the normal distribution b.) to your condition by chance c.) in a way that guarantees no cognitive differences between groups d.) in a way that guarantees no personality differences between groups
B
Research has consistently found that people are most likely to suffer mental and physical illness if they lack a.) a college education b.) support of friends and family c.) money d.) meaningful work
B
SSRI's (such as Prozac or Zoloft) are used to treat depression. These drugs work by a.) a placebo effect. b.) slowing down the reuptake of serotonin at synapses c.) speeding up the rate at which signals are sent from one brain area to another. d.) increasing the amount of inhibitory neurotransmitters in brain cells.
B
The British philosopher John Locke believed that the mind of a newborn baby was a.) filled with basic ideas, emotions, and urges b.) a blank slate c.) naturally pure and good d.) similar to the mind of an adult chimpanzee
B
Which neurotransmitter plays an important role in signaling pleasure? a.) noreadrenaline b.) dopamine c.) glutamate d.) GABA
B
Which of the following best illustrates the concept of hindsight bias? a.) You have just been given inside information about a new company and decide to buy stock in a different company. b.) Even though you stated before a game that you thought your team would lose, after they win the game, you say that you knew that your team was going to win. c.) When trying to choose between two kinds of cars, you choose the kind that you have seen in a commercial on TV. d.) After buying an expensive item, you feel worse than before you bought it.
B
Which of the following numbers represents a statistically significant p-value? a.) -0.900 b.) 0.002 c.) 0.750 d.) 1.800
B
You want to earn a decent salary at a potential job. You know that there is room for negotiation, so you ask for a slightly higher hourly rate than you think the employers will accept. If the employer ends up giving you an hourly rate close to your initial asking rate, he/she has likely been influenced by the a.) Monty Hall problem b.) anchoring effect c.) framing effect d.) availability heurisitc
B
A woman with a disease that has damaged her dopamine receptors is most likely to experience a.) a racing heart. b.) increased pain c.) movement abnormalities d.) higher levels of neural activity
C
Children who watched an adult attack a doll were more likely to attack the doll later on. This is evidence for the importance of a.) operant conditioning b.) classical conditioning c.) observational learning d.) insight
C
Choose the correct order of Freud's stages of psychosexual development a.) oral, anal, latent, phallic, genital b.) anal, oral, latent, genital, phallic c.) oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital d.) phallic, oral, anal, genital, latent
C
For behaviorists, the goal of psychology is to a.) pay close attention to what one is experiencing at any given time. b.) understand that practical function of internal mental processes. c.) determine how various experiences result in different behaviors. d.) help troubled individuals restore their mental health.
C
Gina is very attached to her father, who is her primary caregiver. She is usually upset when he leaves her with her grandmother to go to work, but Gina is always happy when he returns in the evening. Gina is displaying a.) disorganized attachment b.) ambivalent attachment c.) secure attachment d.) avoidant attachment
C
Mrs. Jones tells her 4th graders that because their effort and behavior were so outstanding today, she is giving them a night with no homework. Mrs. Jones is using __________ with her class. a.) positive reinforcement b.) time out c.) negative reinforcement d.) classical conditioning
C
The cocktail party effect describes a phenomenon in which a.) you remember details of an event to which you are paying close attention. b.) it is more likely that you will hear your name called if you are not looking at the person calling it. c.) you can selectively attend to a particular conversation out of the many conversations taking place. d.) it is easier to hear the person you are talking to when it is quieter in the room.
C
The goal of psychology is to a.) develop ways to treat the mentally ill. b.) control human behavior. c.) explain human thought and behavior. d.) determine the causes of mental illness.
C
The retina is the a.) flexible material outside the eye. b.) transparent layer below the cornea that passes light through the eye, c.) surface at the back of the eye where the image is focused. d.) muscular portion of the eye that changes size to allow more or less light in.
C
To identify the most popular exhibits at a science museum, every day for 6 weeks visitors were asked to rate how much they enjoyed each exhibit. The data was analyzed to look at age and sex differences in exhibit preferences. This was an example of a.) naturalistic observation b.) case study research c) survey research d.) experimental research
C
To overcome anxiety about driving at night, a therapist suggests that you spend 20 minutes a day sitting quietly and focusing on the present moment. The therapist is having your practice which of the following? a.) isolation training b.) cognitive relaxation c.) mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy d.) behavior modification therapy
C
Which of the following statements best differentiates structuralism from functionalism? a.) Structuralism was interested in observable behavior only, while functionalism was more interested in mental processes. b.) Structuralism was more scientific, while functionalism was more philosophical. c.) Structuralism asked what happens when an organism does something, while functionalism asked how and why. d.) Structuralism was interested in practical consequences of behavior, while functionalism was interested in describing experience in its most basic terms.
C
Which term refers to the branchlike extensions of the neuron that receive signals from other neurons? a.) axons b.) glia c.) dendrites d.) synapses
C
With which of the following statements would Howard Gardner and Roberr Sternberg both agree? a.) Though there are many types of intelligence, being "book smart" is by far the most important. b.) If a person is high in one component of intelligence, he or she will be high in all aspects of intelligence. c.) Traditional IQ tests do not assess all of the different components of intelligence. d.) There is little or no correlation between intelligence and academic success.
C
Your roommate wakes up and reports that she was dreaming about a large insect chasing her around your dorm room. She was likely in _________ sleep. a.) stage 2 b.) stage 3 c.) REM sleep d.) slow wave
C
A study that looked at hiring of male and female musicians who sat behind a screen when auditioning for an orchestra is an example of __________ research and revealed ____________ . a.) experimental; no change in hiring rates for women b.) experiment; an increase in hiring rates for women c.) descriptive; no change in hiring rates for women d.) descriptive; an increase in the hiring rates for women
D
A correlation of -0.08 between meditation and anxiety symptoms would indicate a.) meditation and anxiety symptoms are unrelated b.) meditation effectively reduces anxiety symptoms c.) anxious people are more likely to meditate d.) meditation predicts lower levels of anxiety
D
According to Mayo clinic's recommendations for stress relief, which of the following is most likely to alleviate stress during final exam periods? a.) Socializing instead of studying, because social connections can lead to stress reduction. b.) Eating comfort foods, such as tea, toast, hot cocoa, and mac and cheese. c.) Spending all of your time alone to keep your mind clear and focused. d.) Interrupting your studying for occasional short walk, stretching or meditation.
D
Giving a person a drug very similar in molecular shape to GABA would likely result in a.) increased sensitivity to pain b.) improved coordination c.) increased heart rate d.) decreased neural activity
D
In the 1950's, the leader of the behaviorist approach insisted that psychology must focus on how environmental events lead to changes in observable behavior. Who was this? a.) Sigmund Freud b.) William James c.) Margaret Washburn d.) B.F. Skinner
D
Suppression of the immune system often results from a.) proliferation of bacteria b.) parasympathetic activation c.) positive social interaction d.) prolonged periods of stress
D
Which neurotransmitter would you be most likely to find in the synaptic cleft between a motor neuron and a muscle? a.) GABA b.) Serotonin c.) Glutamate d.) Acetylcholine
D
Which of the following is most consistently correlated with IQ scores? a.) occupation b.) size of the brain c.) reproductive success d.) school performance
D
Which of the following would be an effective way to determine a just noticeable difference (JND)? a.) Piling 5lb bean bags on your friend's foot until he reaches his pain threshold. b.) Turning a radio on and off repeatedly until your roommate stops noticing it. c.) Lifting the lid from a pot of cooking stew and inhaling it deeply. d.) Reducing the intensity of a light beam against a wall until you can no longer detect it.
D
Which of the following would be most likely to argue that an individual regularly drinks to excess because she grew up in an environment where adults were heavy drinkers? a.) Structuralist b.) Cognitive Psychology c.) Gestalt Psychology d.) Behaviorist
D
Which statement best captures the concept of a sensitive period? a.) Children under age five are overly sensitive to criticism by their parents and should not be scolded. b.) A baby with a difficult temperament will grow up to be an impatient adult. c.) Events that take place early in life have little effect on development. d.) Some abilities, such as normal vision, will not develop if a child does not have proper sensory input early in life.
D
Who wrote "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals", which argues that all human behaviors had their beginnings in earlier ancestors? a.) Rene Descartes b.) Plato c.) John Locke d.) Charles Darwin
D
You accidentally break off the pull tab when attempting to open a can of soup. You are about to reach for another can when it occurs to you that you can use a regular can opener. You have just demonstrated a.) acquisition b.) shaping c.) the law of effect d.) insight
D
You hear of a student in your dorm who, while he was asleep, tried to attack his roommate. He is likely suffering from a.) narcolepsy b.) niche adaptation c.) fatal familial insomnia d.) REM behavior disorder
D
You took an online personality test based on the Big 5 approach. According to this perspective, all of the following are major personality traits EXCEPT a.) introversion b.) neuroticism c.) agreeableness d.) hostility
D
You would expect your pupil to be largest when you are a.) sitting on the beach on a sunny day. b.) staring at your computer screen during the day. c.) watching TV in a dimly lit room. d.) navigating through a dark forest at night.
D
