Deck 1: Introduction to Psychology

Question 1

Implementing an educational program to curb teenage pregnancy fulfills the goal of:

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

Answer 1

influence.

Question 2

According to the definition of psychology,which of the following is NOT a mental process?

A) getting angry with your psychology instructor's grading policy
B) writing down the answer to a long division problem
C) wanting to kiss the person sitting next to you
D) deciding to ask your boss for a raise

Answer 2

writing down the answer to a long division problem

Question 3

The word "psyche" refers to:

A) the essence of life.
B) the study of life.
C) thinking.
D) feelings.

Answer 3

the essence of life.

Question 4

Psychologists use scientific methods to study:

A) behavior and mental processes.
B) behavioral disorders.
C) unconscious mental processes.
D) the meaning of dreams.

Question 5

Of the following,which is NOT one of the goals of psychology?

A) prediction
B) description
C) prevention
D) influence

Question 6

Theorizing about the causes of social phobia fulfills the goal of:

A) description.
B) understanding.
C) influence.
D) explanation.

Question 7

Forecasting the likelihood of adolescent chemical dependency following childhood sexual abuse fulfills the goal of:

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

Question 8

Psychology is defined as the science of:

A) human behavior.
B) learning and motivation.
C) feelings.
D) behavior and mental processes.

Question 9

According to the definition of psychology,which of the following is NOT a behavior?

A) asking for help on a test
B) helping a stranger in need
C) feeling nervous at a party
D) earning $10 for completing chores

Question 10

Because research has suggested that sleep deprivation improves some symptoms of depression,you begin to use sleep deprivation as an alternative treatment with your depressed clients.Which goal of psychology are you fulfilling?

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

Question 11

____________ is at the heart of the scientific method in all sciences.

A) Speculation
B) Observation
C) Experimentation
D) Reasoning

Question 12

The earliest origins of psychology come from:

A) biology.
B) psychiatry.
C) philosophy.
D) sociology.

Question 13

Behavior is ____________;mental processes are ____________.

A) private;personal
B) personal;observable
C) personal;private
D) observable;private

Question 14

According to the definition of psychology,which of the following is NOT a behavior?

A) smiling at a newborn baby
B) watching a flock of geese fly overhead
C) sleeping through a lecture
D) being overweight

Question 15

Whereas ____________ believed that one could fully understand anything simply by thinking about it,____________ believed that one must also observe the thing being studied.

A) Aristotle;Plato
B) Plato;Aristotle
C) Wundt;Aristotle
D) Plato;Wundt

Question 16

Which of the following encompasses the four goals of psychology?

A) speculate,analyze,hypothesize,explain
B) observe,analyze,experiment,explain
C) observe,describe,understand,prevent
D) describe,predict,understand,influence

Question 17

The field of psychology includes the study of:

A) most aspects of human behavior,but not mental processes.
B) most aspects of mental processes,but not human behavior.
C) some aspects of human behavior and mental processes.
D) all aspects of human behavior and mental processes.

Question 18

According to the definition of psychology,which of the following is a mental process?

A) swimming
B) remembering
C) walking
D) playing the piano

Question 19

Classifying patterns of abnormal behavior fulfills the goal of:

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

Question 20

What does the science of psychology share with all other sciences?

A) laboratory space
B) a common interest in human thought and behavior
C) an emphasis on careful,controlled observation
D) a belief in the power of suggestion

Question 21

The method of looking inward at the contents of one's conscious experience as accurately and unemotionally as possible is referred to as:

A) circumspection.
B) introspection.
C) introversion.
D) extroversion.

Question 22

Which of the following psychologists would have agreed that human behavior is the result of natural selection?

A) J.Henry Alston
B) Edward Titchener
C) William James
D) Hermann Ebbinghaus

Question 23

James criticized the structuralist approach,stating that it:

A) reduces mental activity into trivially small pieces.
B) fails to consider mental activity altogether.
C) implies that behaviors evolve as species evolve.
D) does not use systematic observation.

Question 24

According to William James,functionalism was a unique school of thought because of the focus on:

A) the structure of the mind,rather than the function of the mind.
B) the biology of the brain.
C) the subconscious experience.
D) human consciousness as it helps us survive as a species.

Question 25

A researcher blindfolds you and gently rubs a feather across your forearm.You report the following: "Billowy,soft,tickling." You are using a research method associated with

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

Question 26

In Gestalt psychology,the phi phenomenon demonstrated that:

A) forgetting is very rapid at first but proceeds slowly thereafter.
B) both warm and cold receptors are stimulated with intense heat.
C) intelligence is largely an inherited trait.
D) the whole is different from the sum of its parts.

Question 27

Which approach uses introspection as a method of investigation?

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

Question 28

You place a raisin on your tongue and report the following: "Rough,sweet,and grainy." You are using a method called

A) introspection.
B) exploration.
C) functionalism.
D) structuralism.

Question 29

Professor Greta is a psychologist who takes a functionalist approach.Which of the following topics would be LEAST interesting to her?

A) habits such as smoking
B) raw sensations experienced when one drinks coffee
C) beliefs about parenting
D) emotions experienced when one is in a new situation

Question 30

Gestalt psychologists pointed out that:

A) in order to understand the whole,you must study the basic elements.
B) you miss the big picture if you become preoccupied with the pieces.
C) measurement is the key to understanding.
D) human beings have evolved through the process of adaptation.

Question 31

Functionalism emerged from the work of:

A) Edward Titchener.
B) Hermann Ebbinghaus.
C) Max Wertheimer.
D) William James.

Question 32

The viewpoint known as structuralism maintains that:

A) in order to understand the whole,you must study the basic elements.
B) you miss the big picture if you become preoccupied with the pieces.
C) measurement is the key to understanding.
D) the processes of human consciousness serve survival functions.

Question 33

A gestalt is a:

A) basic component.
B) unified whole.
C) conditioned association.
D) purposeful behavior.

Question 34

J.Henry Alston was the first African American psychologist to be published in a journal of the American Psychological Association.This was an important contribution because:

A) the journal was in its first year of circulation.
B) the Supreme Court had recently ruled that such publications were considered "separate but equal."
C) this was J.Henry Alston's first major contribution to the academic community.
D) white males had typically dominated the field of psychology.

Question 35

When the skin is stimulated with intense heat,both the cold and warm receptors are stimulated.Which psychologist is credited with this discovery?

A) Max Wertheimer
B) J.Henry Alston
C) William James
D) Mary Whiton Calkins

Question 36

Functionalists are most interested in:

A) the basic elements of conscious experience.
B) memory.
C) the purpose of consciousness.
D) the mind as a unified whole.

Question 37

If two lights are presented in rapid sequence,we perceive movement.This perceptual process is referred to as the:

A) learning curve.
B) phi phenomenon.
C) paired associates method.
D) psychometric approach.

Question 38

Wundt and Titchener first identified a viewpoint known as "structuralism," which is primarily concerned with the basic elements of:

A) unconscious experience.
B) conscious experience.
C) introspective experience.
D) retrospective experience.

Question 39

A campus counseling center is interviewing college students to determine drinking habits during sporting events.This best fits with which goal of psychology?

A) describing
B) predicting
C) understanding
D) influencing

Question 40

Wilhelm Wundt is famous for:

A) establishing the first mental health clinic.
B) teaching the first psychology course at a U.S.college.
C) establishing the first psychology laboratory.
D) publishing an early influential psychology textbook.

Question 41

Of the following,Mary Whiton Calkins would have been most interested in people's memory of:

A) the colors in the rainbow.
B) nonsense syllables.
C) strings of numbers.
D) their friends' birthdates.

Question 42

The viewpoint that the most important aspects of human behavior develop by observing friends,family,and culture is referred to as:

A) humanistic psychology.
B) psychoanalytic perspective.
C) functionalism.
D) social learning theory.

Question 43

Ivan Pavlov first discovered conditioning when he:

A) found that intense heat is perceived when both the warm and cold receptors in the skin are stimulated.
B) realized that he could not remember nonsense syllables for extended periods of time.
C) recognized that his dogs salivated when they simply saw food being brought to them.
D) saw that people learn the most important aspects of their behavior from other people.

Question 44

Which statement is MOST relevant to Ebbinghaus' research?

A) It feels so good.
B) He who tries,gets.
C) The more,the merrier.
D) I can't remember.

Question 45

____________ is associated with the behavioral perspective.

A) Max Wertheimer
B) Margaret Floy Washburn
C) Abraham Maslow
D) J.Henry Alston

Question 46

Ivan Pavlov was a pioneer in the study of:

A) memory.
B) psychometrics.
C) introspection.
D) learning.

Question 47

Contemporary ____________ psychology can be thought of as a modern version of functionalism.

A) cognitive
B) psychoanalytic
C) Gestalt
D) social

Question 48

Ivan Pavlov would have been most interested in:

A) dogs' ability to remember the sight of their owners.
B) children's fear responses at the sight of a needle.
C) the feelings people experience when they are falling.
D) people's ability to learn from watching others do a task.

Question 49

J.B.Watson was MOST impressed by the scientific approach of:

A) Edward Titchener.
B) Ivan Pavlov.
C) William James.
D) Wilhelm Wundt.

Question 50

Dr.Vance tests young children's abilities to comprehend abstract metaphors.Dr.Vance is probably a:

A) psychoanalyst.
B) behaviorist.
C) cognitive psychologist.
D) humanistic psychologist.

Question 51

A cognitive psychologist studies:

A) unconscious motives.
B) the measurement of traits.
C) the impact of culture.
D) thinking.

Question 52

Which perspective is most closely associated with social learning theory?

A) cognitive psychology
B) neuroscience
C) behaviorism
D) humanistic psychology

Question 53

Ivan Pavlov studied ____________ before he identified the process of conditioning.

A) private mental processes
B) intelligence
C) memory
D) digestion

Question 54

What did Ebbinghaus conclude about memory?

A) Forgetting is slow at first and then proceeds rapidly thereafter.
B) Forgetting is rapid at first and then proceeds slowly thereafter.
C) Forgetting is rapid at first and then ceases.
D) Forgetting is constant and slow.

Question 55

Dr.Keppler studies how exposure to violence affects the aggressive behavior of young children.Dr.Keppler would most likely be described as a ____________ theorist.

A) psychoanalytic
B) behavioral
C) social learning
D) humanistic

Question 56

The "paired associates" method for studying memory was developed by:

A) Hermann Ebbinghaus.
B) Mary Whiton Calkins.
C) Alfred Binet.
D) Margaret Floy Washburn.

Question 57

Who did Ebbinghaus use as his experimental subject(s)?

A) his students
B) members of his nearby community
C) only himself
D) children between the ages of 8 and 12

Question 58

A ____________ psychologist specializes in the study of thought processes.

A) behavioral
B) humanistic
C) cognitive
D) sociocultural

Question 59

Behaviorists reformed earlier approaches to psychology by suggesting that psychology:

A) focus on observable behavior.
B) study unconscious processes through dreams.
C) use more rigorous methods of introspection.
D) study only memory and perception.

Question 60

Cognition refers to:

A) memory only.
B) thinking only.
C) perceiving only.
D) all intellectual processes.

Question 61

In terms of history,which psychological perspective came first?

A) humanistic psychology
B) cognitive psychology
C) psychoanalytic psychology
D) social learning theory

Question 62

For Sigmund Freud,____________ were the most important determinants of human behavior.

A) rewards and punishments
B) conscious thoughts
C) hereditary factors
D) unconscious motives

Question 63

A major tenet of the psychoanalytic perspective is the concept of:

A) the self-concept.
B) free will.
C) the unconscious mind.
D) human potential.

Question 64

A psychologist following the humanistic perspective would be most interested in how:

A) children learn about relationships by observing their parents' interactions.
B) believing that one is unattractive leads a person to interact little with the public.
C) drugs affect one's capability to accurately judge one's abilities.
D) the same behavior is interpreted differently by people living in different cultures.

Question 65

In treating the psychologically disturbed,Freud believed he could help people by:

A) uncovering and confronting hidden conflicts.
B) rewarding healthy behaviors and punishing unhealthy behaviors.
C) modeling appropriate behaviors.
D) helping them change their environment.

Question 66

A humanistic psychologist would be MOST interested in:

A) explaining behavior by breaking it down into its simplest parts.
B) conducting experiments to understand how the brain directs behavior.
C) explaining how unconscious motives influence behavior.
D) understanding how the unconscious mind can defeat efforts to make good decisions.

Question 67

Over the past 20 years,the influence of the strict behavioral approach on contemporary psychology ____________,and the influence of the social learning viewpoint ____________.

A) has increased;has declined
B) is strong;has increased
C) has declined;has also declined
D) has declined;is strong

Question 68

Alfred Binet's approach is known as:

A) psychometrics.
B) structuralism.
C) cognitive psychology.
D) Gestalt psychology.

Question 69

Which of the following perspectives is MOST involved with studying the effects of brain damage on behavior?

A) behavioral
B) sociocultural
C) neuroscientific
D) psychoanalytic

Question 70

In which school of psychology is "self-concept" a key element?

A) psychoanalytic
B) behavioral
C) cognitive
D) humanistic

Question 71

The ____________ approach is concerned with the relationship between the structures of the brain and psychological processes.

A) sociocultural
B) behavioral
C) neuroscientific
D) humanistic

Question 72

Humanists reject Freudian psychoanalysis because Freud:

A) did not use rigorous scientific methods.
B) was preoccupied with the sexual instinct.
C) believed that conscious processes were unimportant.
D) agreed with the tenets of social learning theorists.

Question 73

Which of the following perspectives is MOST concerned with genetic influences on behavior?

A) behavioral
B) neuroscientific
C) cognitive
D) humanistic

Question 74

Which perspective arose in the late 1950s and reached its peak popularity through the 1960s?

A) the behavioral perspective
B) the psychoanalytic perspective
C) the cognitive perspective
D) the humanistic perspective

Question 75

Alfred Binet studied:

A) classical conditioning.
B) intelligence.
C) memory.
D) dreams.

Question 76

Neurons were first identified by:

A) Sigmund Freud.
B) Santiago Ramon y Cajal.
C) Alfred Binet.
D) Hermann Ebbinghaus.

Question 77

Psychometrics focuses on:

A) understanding memory.
B) introspection.
C) measuring mental functions.
D) the importance of learning from experience.

Question 78

According to the humanistic approach,a person's behavior is determined by:

A) rewards and punishments.
B) cognitive processes such as memory and thinking.
C) unconscious instincts.
D) conscious decisions.

Question 79

Alfred Binet was hired by the French Ministry of Education to develop an instrument to measure:

A) memory.
B) intelligence.
C) visual acuity.
D) hearing.

Question 80

A psychologist is studying the effect of stroke in a particular area of the brain on reasoning ability.The psychologist MOST likely specializes in ____________ psychology.

A) social learning
B) neuroscientific
C) behavioral
D) humanistic