Question 1

Behaviourgenetics is the study of how evolution shaped modern human behaviour.

Accepted Answer

Behavior genetics is the field of study that examines the role of genetic and environmental influences on behaviors, not how evolution shaped modern human behavior.

Question 2

If a researcher is studying norms then that individual is most likely taking a humanistic perspective to studying psychology.

Accepted Answer

Studying norms is more closely associated with the sociocultural perspective, which focuses on how society and culture influence behavior, rather than the humanistic perspective, which emphasizes individual potential and personal growth.

Question 3

The cognitive psychological perspective views human beings as information processors who think, plan, and solve problems.

Accepted Answer

The cognitive psychological perspective indeed focuses on how people think, understand, and know about the world. It emphasizes mental processes such as perception, memory, and problem-solving, viewing humans as active participants in their learning process, akin to computers processing information.

Question 4

The behavioural psychological perspective is rooted in the work of structuralist Wilhelm Wundt.

Accepted Answer

The behavioral psychological perspective is actually rooted in the work of psychologists such as John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner, not Wilhelm Wundt, who is considered the father of experimental psychology and was a structuralist.

Question 5

One of the intellectual precursors to the cognitive revolution was the debate over how children acquire language.

Accepted Answer

The debate over how children acquire language, including the famous disagreement between Noam Chomsky and B.F. Skinner, was a significant precursor to the cognitive revolution. Chomsky's critique of Skinner's behaviorist approach to language acquisition highlighted the need for a new framework to understand mental processes, contributing to the emergence of cognitive psychology.

Question 6

Cognitive neuroscience involves the intersection of the cognitive perspective with the biological perspective by combining brain- imaging techniques while individuals engage in cognitive tasks.

Accepted Answer

Cognitive neuroscience indeed combines the cognitive perspective, focusing on mental processes, with the biological perspective, particularly through the use of brain-imaging techniques to observe brain activity during cognitive tasks.

Question 7

Collectivistic cultures place a strong emphasis on personal goals and accomplishments.

Accepted Answer

Collectivistic cultures prioritize the goals, needs, and views of the group over individual achievements or desires.

Question 8

A psychologist who emphasizes the importance of early childhood experiences and unconscious factors would likely be associated with the cognitive-behaviourism psychological perspective.

Accepted Answer

This description aligns more closely with the psychoanalytic perspective, which focuses on unconscious factors and early childhood experiences, rather than cognitive-behaviorism, which emphasizes the role of learned behaviors and thought processes.

Question 9

Research has shown that the most important psychological perspective for understanding human behaviour is the biological perspective.

Accepted Answer

There is no single psychological perspective that is considered the most important for understanding human behavior; rather, multiple perspectives (biological, cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, humanistic, evolutionary, and sociocultural) contribute valuable insights, and their relevance can vary depending on the specific aspect of human behavior being examined.

Question 10

A criticism of the sociobiology approach is that it places too much emphasis on cultural factors.

Accepted Answer

Sociobiology is criticized for placing too much emphasis on genetic and biological factors in explaining human behavior, rather than cultural factors.

Question 11

The dualism position assumes that the mind and body are one, while the monism position asserts that the mind is in fact separate from the body.

Accepted Answer

Dualism is the position that the mind and body are distinct and separate, while monism holds that they are one and the same or aspects of the same substance.

Question 12

Sigmund Freud first thought that his patients were creating fantasies about being sexually abused as children, but he later revised this view and stressed that he believed these reports to be real and accurate.

Accepted Answer

Freud initially believed his patients' reports of childhood sexual abuse were real, but later revised his theory to suggest these were fantasies stemming from repressed desires, known as the seduction theory.

Question 13

The thinking of functionalists like William James was strongly influenced by Darwin's evolutionary theory.

Accepted Answer

Functionalists, including William James, were influenced by Darwin's theory of evolution, as they focused on how mental processes serve adaptive purposes for an individual's interaction with their environment.

Question 14

Positive psychology movement was discussed in the context of the behavioural perspective.

Accepted Answer

The positive psychology movement is primarily associated with the humanistic perspective, focusing on well-being and optimal functioning, rather than the behavioral perspective, which emphasizes observable behaviors and their modification.

Question 15

One goal of psychology is being able to predict how animals or people will behave under specific circumstances.

Accepted Answer

Psychology aims to understand and predict behavior in humans and animals by studying mental processes, brain functions, and environmental factors.

Question 16

Psychoanalysis is the analysis of internal and primarily unconscious psychological forces.

Accepted Answer

Psychoanalysis, founded by Sigmund Freud, focuses on exploring unconscious motivations, conflicts, and past experiences to understand and treat psychological distress and disorders.

Question 17

The humanistic psychological perspective emphasizes free will and innate human tendencies towards growth.

Accepted Answer

The humanistic psychological perspective indeed emphasizes free will, self-actualization, and the innate human tendency towards growth and fulfillment, focusing on the individual's potential and stressing the importance of growth and self-improvement.

Question 18

One of the strengths of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory is that his concepts are relatively easy to assess and measure.

Accepted Answer

Many of Freud's concepts, such as the Oedipus complex and the unconscious mind, are abstract and lack empirical evidence, making them difficult to scientifically assess and measure.

Question 19

Structuralistswere concerned with breaking human consciousness down into its essential components, whereas Gestalt psychologists were interested in how the elements of experience are organized into wholes.

Accepted Answer

Structuralism aimed to understand the structure of the mind by breaking down mental processes into their simplest components, while Gestalt psychology focused on how people perceive and experience objects as whole patterns or configurations, emphasizing the whole of experience rather than its parts.

Question 20

The goal of basic research is simply to learn more about something, while applied research is typically done to solve some real world problems.

Accepted Answer

Basic research aims to increase our understanding of fundamental principles without a specific application in mind, whereas applied research is conducted to address practical problems and develop solutions.

Quiz 1: Psychology: the Science of Behaviour