Question 1

Which of the following might affect an individual's view on issues in psychology?&#10;A) Socio-cultural context&#10;B) Political beliefs&#10;C) Sources of funding&#10;D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

All of the options listed can influence an individual's perspective on psychological issues. Socio-cultural context shapes beliefs and attitudes, political beliefs can bias one's interpretation of psychological phenomena, and sources of funding can influence the focus and outcomes of research, potentially affecting views on its implications.

Question 2

What term is used to describe the view that complex phenomena are best understood by investigating simpler parts?&#10;A) Associationism&#10;B) Reductionism&#10;C) Holism&#10;D) Materialism

Accepted Answer

Reductionism is the approach in science and philosophy that suggests complex phenomena can be understood by breaking them down into their simpler components.

Question 3

Which of the following is not recognized as a type of reductionism?&#10;A) Gestalt&#10;B) Physiological&#10;C) Biological&#10;D) Experimental

Accepted Answer

Gestalt psychology emphasizes the idea that the whole of anything is greater than its parts, which is contrary to reductionist approaches that break phenomena down into their simplest elements. Reductionism typically involves analyzing complex phenomena by reducing them to their simpler, more fundamental components, which is not aligned with Gestalt principles.

Question 4

Which of the following is not a source of explanation within physiological reductionism?&#10;A) Brain structure and operation&#10;B) Brain chemistry&#10;C) Muscle operation&#10;D) Genetics

Accepted Answer

Muscle operation is not typically considered a source of explanation within physiological reductionism, which focuses on explaining phenomena in terms of the operation of the brain, its chemistry, and genetics.

Question 5

Which of the following approaches to psychology does not adopt a biological reductionism perspective?&#10;A) Comparative psychology&#10;B) Behaviourism&#10;C) Psychodynamic&#10;D) Sociobiology

Accepted Answer

The psychodynamic approach focuses on unconscious processes and childhood experiences, rather than biological factors, making it less aligned with biological reductionism.

Question 6

What problem may arise in adopting experimental reductionism?&#10;A) It reduces internal validity.&#10;B) It reduces external validity.&#10;C) It reduces reliability.&#10;D) It introduces extraneous variables.

Accepted Answer

Experimental reductionism can reduce external validity because it simplifies complex phenomena into more manageable, isolated variables for study. This simplification can make it harder to generalize findings to real-world situations, as it may not capture the complexity of those situations.

Question 7

What metaphor forms the basis of machine reductionism?&#10;A) That the mind is like a computer.&#10;B) That humans are like robots.&#10;C) That humans are like other animals.&#10;D) That the mind is like an iceberg.

Accepted Answer

Machine reductionism is based on the metaphor that the mind operates like a computer, emphasizing computational and mechanistic processes in understanding mental functions.

Question 8

How can reductionism be characterized in terms of levels of explanation?&#10;A) As a less specific form of explanation.&#10;B) As a less scientific form of explanation.&#10;C) As an attempt to explain a given phenomenon in terms of a higher level of explanation.&#10;D) As an attempt to explain a given phenomenon in terms of a lower level of explanation.

Accepted Answer

Reductionism is characterized by the attempt to explain phenomena by breaking them down into their simplest or most basic parts, which is considered a lower level of explanation compared to the complexity of the phenomena being explained.

Question 9

Which of the following is not an advantage of reductionism?&#10;A) It is scientific.&#10;B) It is free of bias.&#10;C) It gives concise explanations.&#10;D) It leads to successful interventions.

Accepted Answer

Reductionism, while scientific and often leading to concise explanations and successful interventions, is not inherently free of bias. The approach simplifies complex phenomena into their constituent parts, but the selection of what to focus on can be influenced by the researcher's perspectives and assumptions.

Question 10

Why does science require a commitment to determinism?&#10;A) Because science is subjective.&#10;B) Because science is objective.&#10;C) Because scientific methods involve finding causes for effects.&#10;D) Because science emphasizes people's freedom to choose.

Accepted Answer

Science requires a commitment to determinism because it involves finding causes for effects, which is essential for understanding and predicting natural phenomena.

Question 11

Which of the following is not an accepted definition of free will?&#10;A) That we have a genuine choice of behaviour.&#10;B) That our behaviour is unconstrained.&#10;C) That our behaviour is voluntary.&#10;D) That our behaviour is unpredictable.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is not an...

Question 12

Which of the following approaches to psychology is not deterministic?&#10;A) Humanism&#10;B) Behaviourism&#10;C) Psychodynamic&#10;D) Evolutionary psychology

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following approaches to psychology...

Question 13

What does soft determinism claim?&#10;A) That different psychological phenomena differ in the extent to which they are determined.&#10;B) That we never have a choice in behaviour.&#10;C) That there is no causal explanation for behaviour.&#10;D) That all psychological phenomena are determined to the same extent.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What does soft determinism claim?&#10;A) That different...

Question 14

What is the main focus of the nature/nurture debate in psychology?&#10;A) Child development&#10;B) Gender difference research&#10;C) Race difference research&#10;D) Personality and intelligence

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the main focus of the...

Question 15

Which of the competing viewpoints of heredity and environment allows for the possibility of change?&#10;A) Neither&#10;B) Heredity&#10;C) Environment&#10;D) Both

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the competing viewpoints of heredity...

Question 16

How do heredity and environment relate to each other?&#10;A) They have separable, measurable effects.&#10;B) They interact with each other.&#10;C) Only one affects all of human psychology.&#10;D) Some phenomena are affected by one, and some are affected by the other.

Accepted Answer

The answer of How do heredity and environment relate to...

Question 17

What is the term for our genetic constitution?&#10;A) The allele&#10;B) The phenotye&#10;C) The genotype&#10;D) The genome

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the term for our genetic...

Question 18

Which environmental factors lead to physiological change?&#10;A) Stimulative factors&#10;B) Organic factors&#10;C) Broad factors&#10;D) Narrow factors

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which environmental factors lead to physiological change?&#10;A)...

Question 19

How do different characteristics on the genotype vary?&#10;A) In directness&#10;B) In the number of alleles&#10;C) In whether they contribute to the genotype&#10;D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

The answer of How do different characteristics on the genotype...

Question 20

What feature of the brain makes it difficult to predict the psychological phenotype from the genotype?&#10;A) It is very large.&#10;B) It has many different parts.&#10;C) It is very complex.&#10;D) It is self-organizing.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What feature of the brain makes it...

Deck 4: Issues and Debates in Psychology