Deck 1: Introduction to Psychology

Question 1

To say that a theory is tentative means that it

A) has the support of animal research but not human research.
B) has been proven in study after study.
C) is what we believe right now,but it could change.
D) has the support of human research but not animal research.

Answer 1

is what we believe right now,but it could change.

Question 2

Behaviors refer to actions that are ______ and mental processes refer to events that are ______.

A) public;private
B) legal;illegal
C) private;public
D) illegal;legal

Answer 2

public;private

Question 3

Why is psychology a science?

A) It attempts to separate the elements of the mind.
B) It uses rigorous methods of observation.
C) It has more than one research method.
D) It uses thought to achieve understanding.

Answer 3

It uses rigorous methods of observation.

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of a psychologist's attempt to predict behavior?

A) conducting an experiment to test a theory about teenage sexual behavior
B) determining whether a job applicant is likely to perform well on the job
C) implementing a curriculum shown to reduce high school dropout rates
D) surveying college students about their drinking habits

Question 5

The writings of Aristotle are important to psychology's origins because they were concerned with the nature of

A) light.
B) life.
C) evolution.
D) energy.

Question 6

Which of the following is a goal of psychology?

A) translate
B) manipulate
C) interpolate
D) understand

Question 7

What does psychology have in common with all other sciences?

A) It is based on Plato's methods.
B) It offers proof of theoretical truths.
C) It uses rigorous methods of observation.
D) It directly measures thought processes.

Question 8

A/n ______ is a tentative explanation of the facts,findings,and relationship in any of the sciences.

A) edict
B) theory
C) law
D) declaration

Question 9

When referring to the essence of life,Aristotle used the term ______ translated from the Greek,meaning mind.

A) ludus
B) psyche
C) venus
D) cheiras

Question 10

Which of the following best describes truth and theory?

A) It takes at least three consistent truths to comprise a theory.
B) Theories that are upheld for at least 20 years are considered truths.
C) Truths are tentative conclusions at best.
D) Theories are not absolute and they may be revised over time.

Question 11

Which goal of psychology are clinical psychologists attempting when giving recommendations to parole boards about which prisoners to release early?

A) prediction
B) description
C) influencing
D) understanding

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of a psychologist's attempt to understand behavior?

A) conducting an experiment to test a theory about teenage sexual behavior
B) determining whether a job applicant is likely to perform well on the job
C) implementing a curriculum shown to reduce high school dropout rates
D) surveying college students about their drinking habits

Question 13

Aristotle is important to psychology,because he believed that to achieve full understanding of anything we must

A) use Plato's philosophical methods.
B) use introspective techniques.
C) think and observe.
D) disregard outward behavior.

Question 14

In psychology,the words describe,predict,understand,and influence relate to

A) descriptive methods.
B) correlational methods.
C) areas of psychology.
D) the goals of psychology.

Question 15

Workers are surveyed about their years of experience and level of job satisfaction.The goal of psychology best illustrated by this survey is

A) description.
B) prediction.
C) understanding.
D) influencing.

Question 16

Industrial psychologists who design tests to screen new job candidates for various companies in order to hire workers who should perform best are attempting which goal?

A) prediction
B) description
C) influencing
D) understanding

Question 17

Which of the following is a key term in the definition of psychology?

A) behavior
B) habit
C) introspection
D) induction

Question 18

Strictly speaking,overt behaviors are actions that

A) are usually considered illegal.
B) happen when no one else is around.
C) you can directly observe.
D) you can infer from careful observation.

Question 19

The term "psyche" when translated from the Greek is most closely associated with the term

A) habit.
B) life.
C) study.
D) mind.

Question 20

A psychologist is developing a theoretical explanation about a behavior.To which goal of psychology are theoretical explanations important?

A) control
B) prediction
C) understanding
D) description

Question 21

Which structuralist is best known for the study of heat and cold?

A) J.Henry Alston
B) Wilhelm Wundt
C) Edward Titchener
D) Raymond Cattell

Question 22

What was the goal of introspection?

A) predict which individuals would develop either normal or abnormal personality traits
B) understand the interplay between the components of the id,ego,and superego
C) observe the contents of the mind as accurately and unemotionally as possible
D) determine the fundamental differences between classical conditioning and operant conditioning

Question 23

What was the main contribution of Hermann Ebbinghaus to psychology?

A) He demonstrated that mental elements were more important than the concept of Gestalt.
B) He established the first scientific laboratory for the study of conscious processes.
C) He emphasized that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
D) He demonstrated that carefully controlled experimentation can be conducted.

Question 24

The phi phenomenon was used by psychologists to argue that

A) the rate of decay of items from short-term memory is unrelated to encoding strategy.
B) basic elements of human consciousness can be discovered through the process of introspection.
C) perception has meaning only when it is seen as a whole,rather than as a collection of elements.
D) isolating the elements of experience can give a true understanding of behavior.

Question 25

Which school of psychology focused its studies on perception?

A) structuralism
B) functionalism
C) psychoanalysis
D) Gestalt psychology

Question 26

If an early psychologist believed that the study of psychology should focus on the purpose of the mind and not on its raw elements,that psychologist would most likely adhere to the school of thought known as

A) behaviorism.
B) psychoanalysis.
C) functionalism.
D) structuralism.

Question 27

If you are interested in the functionalist approach to psychology,you would be most interested in

A) how early childhood experiences helped to shape adult behavior.
B) the contingencies and relationships between stimuli and responses.
C) the parts of human consciousness and how they are organized.
D) how human consciousness works to help us exist and survive.

Question 28

Which approach to psychology would be apt to say "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?"

A) structuralist
B) Gestalt
C) functionalist
D) behaviorist

Question 29

J.Henry Alston was notable as an African American psychologist and for his studies of the sensations of heat and cold.J.Henry Alston was an early

A) humanist.
B) behaviorist.
C) structuralist.
D) functionalist.

Question 30

Who was the early pioneer in memory research that used himself as his only research subject?

A) Max Wertheimer
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Alfred Binet
D) Hermann Ebbinghaus

Question 31

The ______ psychologists preferred to study behavior as a collection of elements,while the ______ psychologists preferred to study behavior as a whole,in its entire context.

A) behaviorist;Gestalt
B) structural;functional
C) Gestalt;structural
D) functional;behaviorist

Question 32

Which school of psychology used the phi phenomenon to demonstrate its belief about human consciousness?

A) Gestalt psychology
B) cognitive psychology
C) functionalism
D) psychoanalysis

Question 33

In psychology,William James was highly influential in developing the school of thought known as

A) psychoanalysis.
B) Gestalt psychology.
C) structuralism.
D) functionalism.

Question 34

With which school of psychology are Wilhelm Wundt and his student,Edward Titchener,associated?

A) functionalism
B) structuralism
C) introspection
D) behaviorism

Question 35

Which question were structuralists primarily interested in investigating?

A) What are the purposes of mental activity?
B) What influences people to do the things they do?
C) What are the individual components of the mind?
D) What is the basis of forgetting?

Question 36

The launching of psychology as a separate field is usually credited to have occurred during the

A) 1500s.
B) 1800s.
C) 1900s.
D) 1700s.

Question 37

The beginning of psychology as a science began in the discipline of

A) philosophy.
B) physics.
C) chemistry.
D) biology.

Question 38

In which school of thought did researchers ask participants to report sensations they were experiencing?

A) behaviorism
B) functionalism
C) structuralism
D) cognitive

Question 39

Using William James' analogy,the study of a flowing stream is like ______ as the study of individual water molecules is like ______.

A) functionalism;structuralism
B) structuralism;behaviorism
C) behaviorism;Gestalt psychology
D) Gestalt psychology;functionalism

Question 40

If you were a psychologist who was labeled a structuralist,you would be interested in the _______ of the mind,using ______ as you primary research method.

A) function;experimentation
B) structure;experimentation
C) function;introspection
D) structure;introspection

Question 41

Followers of Albert Bandura's viewpoint would best be described as

A) contemporary psychoanalysts.
B) social learning theorists.
C) Gestalt psychologists.
D) neofunctionalists.

Question 42

Who participated in Hermann Ebbinghaus' studies of memory?

A) college students
B) only himself
C) faculty members
D) community leaders

Question 43

The broad term that encompasses procedures such as perceiving,believing,thinking,remembering,knowing,and making decisions is called

A) consciousness.
B) introspection.
C) cognition.
D) motivation.

Question 44

A researcher counts the number of times a rat stands on its hind legs after being placed in a new environment.Given what you know about the schools of psychology,which viewpoint best suits her research technique?

A) functionalism
B) behaviorism
C) Gestalt psychology
D) psychoanalysis

Question 45

You have learned a list of 20 nonsense syllables.You are tested at 20 minutes,1 hour,10 hours,and 24 hours.If you fit Hermann Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve you will

A) remember approximately the same number of syllables at 10 hours and 24 hours.
B) have perfect recall only when tested at 20 minutes and 1 hour.
C) forget the largest number of syllables between 1 hour and 10 hours.
D) not remember any of the syllables after 24 hours.

Question 46

How does contemporary psychoanalysis differ from the original form of psychoanalysis?

A) Contemporary psychoanalysts are no longer concerned with unconscious motives.
B) Contemporary psychoanalysts place greater importance on motives other than sexual or aggressive.
C) Contemporary psychoanalysis is a much more dominant force in psychology than the original form.
D) Contemporary psychoanalysis does not differ significantly from Sigmund Freud's approach.

Question 47

The term "conditioning" as used by Ivan Pavlov is another term for

A) instinct.
B) learning.
C) introspection.
D) maturation.

Question 48

Which of the following is a basic belief of social learning theory?

A) We learn the most important aspects of our behavior from each other.
B) At birth,our behavioral patterns and preferences are established by genetics.
C) Our experiences from ages 0-5 continually shape the decisions we make as adults.
D) It is more important to understand the function of the mind rather than its structure.

Question 49

Which early researcher studied memory by having his/her participants pair a number and a color together?

A) Mary Whiton Calkins
B) Hermann Ebbinghaus
C) William James
D) Edward Titchener

Question 50

In a memory study,you present a color that is presented alongside a number.These items are presented together,at the same time.Later you present the color,and ask the participant to recall (remember)the number.This is called a/n _____ task.

A) motor memory
B) paired associate
C) limen of consciousness
D) introspection

Question 51

Which person is most closely associated with the study of human behavior as it pertains to the unconscious mind?

A) Albert Bandura
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Margaret Floy Washburn
D) Ivan Pavlov

Question 52

Which school of psychology was founded and developed by Sigmund Freud?

A) behaviorism
B) humanism
C) psychoanalysis
D) Gestalt psychology

Question 53

Which contemporary viewpoint combines aspects of behaviorism with aspects from the cognitive perspective?

A) Skinner's behaviorism
B) psychoanalysis
C) humanistic psychology
D) social learning theory

Question 54

Which of the following statements is true regarding Sigmund Freud's theory of behavior?

A) Environmental factors influence our behavior much more than hereditary factors.
B) Unconscious sexual and aggressive motives greatly influence our behavior.
C) The best way to raise our children is to treat them like little adults.
D) Behavior can best be analyzed by breaking the mind into its structural elements.

Question 55

Who won a Nobel Prize for his work on digestion?

A) Ivan Pavlov
B) Sigmund Freud
C) Albert Bandura
D) William James

Question 56

The modern version of functionalism is known as

A) cognitive psychology.
B) neo-behaviorism.
C) neuropsychology.
D) applied genetics.

Question 57

Why did Hermann Ebbinghaus make up nonsense syllables for his memory studies?

A) By using nonsense syllables comprised of the initials of his friends,he thought his memory performance would be improved.
B) He really didn't have a specific reason for using nonsense syllables,but he thought it was a good idea.
C) Because if he used real words,his prior experience with those words might influence his memory.
D) Because he did not have copyright permission to use words in actual use,so he had to make up his own non-words.

Question 58

What do psychoanalytic and humanistic views have in common?

A) They believe self-concept is the most important human aspect.
B) They believe conscious processes are unimportant.
C) They view the unconscious mind as a source of human problems.
D) They have nothing but psychology in common.

Question 59

You have a friend who appears to be having frequent anxiety attacks.From what you know about the psychoanalytic school,what would a psychoanalyst say was at the heart of your friend's problem?

A) unconscious motives
B) conscious conflicts
C) Freudian slips
D) classical conditioning

Question 60

What differentiated Sigmund Freud from most of the other influential founders of psychology?

A) Freud was the only founder from a European country.
B) Freud was trained as a philosopher and teacher.
C) Freud was interested in the unconscious mind.
D) Freud was a physician and treated psychological problems.

Question 61

Cultural relativity suggests that we should view other cultures as ______ to our culture.

A) inferior
B) unrelated
C) superior
D) different

Question 62

You are told that Dr.Doe researches the behavior patterns of a group of French descendants who live near the mouth of the Mississippi River.Dr.Doe is most likely a

A) humanistic psychologist.
B) biological psychologist.
C) cognitive psychologist.
D) sociocultural psychologist.

Question 63

Sociocultural psychologists suggest that differences between cultural groups

A) need to be reduced so we can have better understanding of the individual.
B) are smaller than differences between individuals within a given group.
C) arise from biological differences associated with racial genetics.
D) are much greater than differences between individuals within the group.

Question 64

Who was the first to publish a description of the cells of the brain,now called neurons?

A) Charles Darwin
B) Santiago Ramón y Cajal
C) Albert Bandura
D) Margaret Floy Washburn

Question 65

One of the values promoted by sociocultural psychologists is the belief that

A) genetics is more powerful than we think.
B) social roles help people know how to relate to each other more effectively.
C) might makes right.
D) different is OK.

Question 66

The most important aspect of study to a humanist is

A) social learning.
B) conditioning.
C) self-concept
D) neuron functioning.

Question 67

The first intelligence test was developed to

A) provide France with a college entrance examination.
B) determine educational pathways for children.
C) test the memory abilities of U.S.workers.
D) diagnose mentally retarded criminals.

Question 68

If you are interested in understanding the structures of the brain that influence emotion,reasoning,speech,and other psychological processes,then you are interested in studying psychology from the ______ perspective.

A) cognitive
B) evolutionary
C) neuroscience
D) sociocultural

Question 69

The ______ perspective had its greatest influences from social anthropology.

A) sociocultural
B) neo-behavioristic
C) psychoanalytic
D) neuroscience

Question 70

Which of the following topics would be studied by a neuroscientist?

A) correlations between behavior and weather patterns
B) comparisons of scores on test of psychometrics
C) the role of hormones in the regulation of behavior
D) how the formation of gender identity differs between cultures

Question 71

Self-concept refers to the idea of

A) how we came into the world.
B) our view of what we are like.
C) how we conceptualize other people.
D) the relationship we have with our parents.

Question 72

Alfred Binet's work originated in ______ but has been translated for use in ______.

A) Germany;Russia
B) Russia;France
C) France;the United States
D) the United States;Germany

Question 73

Humanists believe that conscious processes are

A) important.
B) non-existent.
C) unimportant.
D) negative.

Question 74

The ______ perspective suggests that to understand someone,we must understand both their beliefs,attitudes,and skills learned from others as well as we must understand their culture,ethnic identity,and gender identity.

A) evolutionary
B) neuroscience
C) psychoanalytical
D) sociocultural

Question 75

According to Sigmund Freud,where do motives reside?

A) at the synaptic gap
B) in the conditioned reflex
C) in the unconscious mind
D) at the corpus callosum

Question 76

If you are studying psychometrics,you are studying the

A) measurement of mental functions.
B) development of mental functions.
C) measurement of physical characteristics.
D) development of physical characteristics.

Question 77

The basic foundation of the sociocultural approach is that our personalities,beliefs,attitudes,and skills are

A) imprinted at birth.
B) preprogrammed at conception.
C) innate from birth.
D) learned from others.

Question 78

Which psychologist founded France's first psychology laboratory and was a pioneer in intelligence testing?

A) Rene Descartes
B) Alfred Binet
C) Edward Titchener
D) Inez Prosser

Question 79

Psychologists who study the role of the brain in psychological processes use the

A) neuroscience perspective.
B) psychoanalytic approach.
C) humanistic viewpoint.
D) sociocultural viewpoint.

Question 80

A person can only be understood by studying the beliefs and the values of the community in which the person has lived.This statement best exemplifies the

A) behavioral approach.
B) sociocultural approach.
C) humanistic approach.
D) social learning approach.