Deck 1: The Science of Mind the Discipline of Psychology

Question 1

Which of the following questions best reflects the philosophical roots of psychology?

A) When is the brain a sensory organ?
B) How can we distinguish between nature and the supernatural?
C) What part of the experiment can we observe?
D) What is the origin of knowledge?

Answer 1

What is the origin of knowledge?

Question 2

The major precept of the British philosophical school of empiricism was that

A) the "mind" and the "body" are two separate and disconnected entities.
B) human beings are generally good and innately move in positive directions.
C) research is not valuable unless there are appropriate statistics to support the conclusions.
D) the mind is a "blank slate" at birth that gets filled with ideas gained by observing the world.

Answer 2

the mind is a "blank slate" at birth that gets filled with ideas gained by observing the world.

Question 3

Most philosophers, beginning with Aristotle, commonly believed that all knowledge is

A) gained through sensory experience.
B) innate or inborn.
C) built upon from simple schema present at birth.
D) acquired by integrating environmental cues with innate skills.

Answer 3

gained through sensory experience.

Question 4

In discussing what effect biological factors versus environmental factors have on an individual's behavior, the psychologist is trying to determine the balance between

A) spiritual and organic influences.
B) nature and nurture.
C) efficiency and effectiveness.
D) speculation and the scientific method.

Question 5

The word "psychology" is a combination of two Greek words: psyche (or psuche ), meaning "the soul," and logos , meaning

A) "the law of."
B) "the expression of."
C) "the study of."
D) "the representation of."

Question 6

It is difficult for others to confirm an individual's subjective introspections; therefore, this approach does not lend itself well to

A) psychoanalysis.
B) the scientific method.
C) case studies.
D) cognitive therapy.

Question 7

Which of the following best describes the British empiricists' view of language acquisition ?

A) Innate mechanisms control how infants acquire language.
B) Infants learn to process language based on their experiences.
C) Genetic background regulates the rate of language acquisition.
D) Nature rather than nurture determines infants' aptitude for acquiring language.

Question 8

Philosophers and psychologists have a shared interest in, among other things

A) helping others gain self-confidence.
B) anatomy of the nervous system.
C) the scientific method.
D) the existence of free will.

Question 9

Which of the following best describes the way in which psychological scientists view the mind?

A) The basis of rational thought
B) The hidden instinctual self
C) The embodiment of the soul
D) The activities of the brain

Question 10

The scientific study of behavior, mental processes, and brain functions is called

A) introspection.
B) psychology.
C) behaviorism.
D) functionalism.

Question 11

Kevin Boyack and his colleagues generated a map of sciences, similar to a map of friendship networks on social media, by using

A) the number of doctoral dissertations in each field.
B) the titles of journal articles.
C) reference lists in journal articles.
D) search terms related to psychology.

Question 12

New and innovative methods have allowed psychologists to observe brain activity and revisit questions of mental processes. What quality was introduced to psychological research through the use of these methods?

A) Objectivity
B) Subjectivity
C) Generalizability
D) Conclusiveness

Question 13

The mapping done by Boyack and colleagues shows that psychology is one of the major hub sciences that has strong connections to the

A) medical sciences, the social sciences, and education.
B) humanities, education, and the medical sciences.
C) social sciences, the medical sciences, and the humanities.
D) medical sciences, education, and philosophy.

Question 14

Rosa, a doctoral student in psychology, observes that one of her young study participants grimaces after taking a bite of broccoli. His facial expression is an example of

A) a psychosomatic response.
B) a behavior.
C) an integrated mental process.
D) introspection.

Question 15

A doctor notices that many soldiers returning from fighting in the trenches in World War I are highly anxious, fearful of loud noises, and having difficulty reconnecting with their families. He asks them to record personal observations of their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a journal. This process is called

A) extroversion.
B) transference.
C) objectivism.
D) introspection.

Question 16

During psychology class, the professor described several themes of people's dreams. The highest percentage of people report what dream theme?

A) Finding money
B) Being frozen with fright
C) Arriving too late
D) Being chased

Question 17

The foundation of American political thought was profoundly influenced by empiricist philosophers. Which of the following statements best summarizes those empiricists' influential beliefs?

A) People are born evil.
B) People are born equal.
C) Survival requires competition.
D) Knowledge is innate.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT a shared interest between philosophers and psychologists?

A) The relative balance of biological factors and environmental factors
B) The relationships between drug treatments and disorders
C) The relationships between self-interest and community welfare
D) The relationships between body and mind

Question 19

Dependent on introspection, early attempts at studying human mental processes were less than satisfactory because

A) introspection is difficult to confirm.
B) human understanding cannot be obtained from introspection.
C) they closely followed the scientific method.
D) mental processes cannot be understood through introspection.

Question 20

The two disciplines that provide the foundation for psychology are

A) biology and philosophy.
B) medicine and the social sciences.
C) anthropology and physics.
D) philosophy and the natural sciences.

Question 21

While writing a research paper that examined the theoretical view of Wilhelm Wundt, Jackson notes that Wundt felt that the mind constructs an overall perception

A) based on prior life experiences.
B) based on its relationship to evolutionary survival.
C) by perceiving complete forms within their context.
D) out of building blocks made up of separate sensations and emotional responses.

Question 22

Dr. Reyes, an archaeologist who studies the skulls of human beings who lived thousands of years ago finds that many such skulls had circular holes where part of the skull was missing. Dr. Reyes cites which of the following evidence as support for the conclusion that some of these patients survived this surgical procedure ?

A) Drawings and photographs of people who survived the procedure living with a reduction in their symptoms
B) Writings that were preserved from those who underwent and survived the procedure
C) The existence of cracks leading up to and surrounding the surgical skull hole
D) Growth of the skull bones after the procedure

Question 23

Hermann von Helmholtz's work on _____ provided further evidence that the mind had a physical basis.

A) dissection and human anatomy
B) the range of human hearing
C) the mind-body dichotomy
D) the speed of nerve conduction

Question 24

What new technology of the 17th century greatly advanced scientists' discoveries about the human mind and body?

A) The microscope
B) The electroencephalograph
C) The stethoscope
D) Anesthesia

Question 25

How did Helmholtz, an early figure in psychology, determine that a sensory experiment contributed to the idea that the mind could be studied scientifically ?

A) By documenting levels of social deprivation among orphans
B) By questioning children of various ages to show that the mind was a blank slate
C) By showing that signals from touching a toe look longer to reach the brain that signals from the thigh
D) By identifying the softest sound a person could hear

Question 26

The first official psychological experiment involved

A) observing the behavior of cats when escaping puzzle boxes.
B) measuring how quickly, after hearing a ball drop onto a platform, a person could respond by striking a telegraph key.
C) the salivation of dogs in anticipation of food in response to the arrival of the handler.
D) the use of a stroboscope to control the timing of the appearance of two black lines against a white background.

Question 27

Contrary to popular belief during his time, the types of discoveries like Hermann von Helmholtz's work on nerve conduction convinced scientists that

A) different brain regions work together to integrate information.
B) specific regions of the brain control specific behaviors.
C) nerve conduction is quick, and in all practicality, instantaneous.
D) the mind could be studied scientifically.

Question 28

Which of the following statements about a successful person best describes how contemporary psychology views the mind ?

A) Sam was just born smart, though no one else in his family seems to share his intelligence.
B) Sam, who never studies but gets good grades, must have gotten the "smart gene" from his mother.
C) Sam was sent to the best schools and thus became a highly intelligent individual.
D) Sam was alert and responsive as a baby, studied diligently in school, and was admitted to a top-ranked college.

Question 29

Which of the following best summarizes how the study of psychology moved away from the study of philosophy?

A) Psychology explores individual rather than global phenomena.
B) Psychology employs the scientific method.
C) Psychology is interested in the use of therapeutic techniques.
D) Psychology explores the roots of abnormal behaviors.

Question 30

In what way did ancient physicians contribute to contemporary psychology?

A) By helping develop the scientific method
B) By studying hormone imbalances
C) By developing diagnostic tools
D) By studying astrology

Question 31

Jake trips; he knocks his elbow against the edge of the door jamb while simultaneously stubbing his toe on a chair. Based on the work of von Helmholtz's, which of the following is likely to occur?

A) The intensity of the elbow pain is greater than that of the toe pain.
B) The intensity of pain for both the toe and elbow is equal.
C) He experiences the elbow pain before the toe pain.
D) He experiences the toe and elbow pain instantaneously.

Question 32

Titchener's approach to psychology paralleled which of the following trends of his day?

A) The development of graduate programs in mathematics
B) The movement for women's suffrage in American politics
C) The efforts in chemistry to break molecules into elements
D) The use of light in Impressionist art

Question 33

Wilhelm Wundt's student, Edward Titchener, developed an approach in which the mind is broken into the smallest elements of mental experience. What was this approach called?

A) Structuralism
B) Functionalism
C) Behaviorism
D) Humanism

Question 34

The argument that anyone can learn enough to grow up to be president has its basis in the philosophy of

A) behaviorism.
B) psychoanalysis.
C) dualism.
D) empiricism.

Question 35

LaKeita is randomly presenting sounds to Monica and Monica is responding "yes" when she hears the sound and "no" if she doesn't hear the sound. LaKeita states that the point at which Monica is correct 50% of the time means that the tone is within the range of human hearing. LaKeita's research is most similar to that of which early figure in psychology?

A) Fechner
B) Helmholtz
C) Freud
D) Wundt

Question 36

Brindel is a contemporary psychologist who has been examining the "nature versus nurture" question. Which of the following would she be most likely to conclude?

A) We are solely a product of our surroundings and environment.
B) The mind is a result of interactions between inborn characteristics and everyday experiences.
C) We are nothing more than the sum of our genes.
D) Psychology should not concern itself with this question; neither nature nor nurture can be effectively studied in a scientific manner.

Question 37

Ancient people might have used a technique of _____  for a variety of ailments including headaches, seizures, or psychological disorders.

A) talking therapy
B) partial smothering
C) drilling holes in the skull
D) dietary management

Question 38

The first true psychologist, _____, was a research assistant to Hermann von Helmholtz, conducted the first documented psychological experiment, and established a psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig.

A) Edward Titchener
B) Wilhelm Wundt
C) Max Wertheimer
D) Kurt Koffka

Question 39

Beginning in the 17th and 18th centuries, new technologies that included the light microscope first allowed scientists to discover which of these events?

A) A single nerve cell carries one type of information.
B) Nerve cells use electrical impulses to transmit signals.
C) The mind works in isolation from the rest of the body.
D) Chemical messengers facilitate communication in the brain.

Question 40

Which of the following describes Wundt's concept of mental chronometry?

A) Study participants focused on internal thoughts, which determined their competence while performing a task.
B) Perception of study participants was dependent on their ability to describe an object in detail.
C) Study participants' reaction time increased as tasks became more complex .
D) Reaction time of study participants resulted from individual competence, not the complexity of the task .

Question 41

Edward has a fear of being contaminated when shaking hands with others, touching doorknobs, and being in crowded public spaces, such as subway cars. He washes his hands roughly 100 times a day. His doctor has recently prescribed an antidepressant to increase Edward's level of serotonin. Which approach to psychological disorders does this exemplify?

A) The law of effect model
B) The medical model
C) The psychological model
D) The self-actualization model

Question 42

An approach to psychology that sees people as inherently good and motivated to learn and improve is called

A) behaviorism.
B) humanistic psychology.
C) Freudian psychology.
D) Gestalt psychology.

Question 43

Which of the following pairs of psychological approaches would be considered the "most opposite"?

A) Structuralism and Gestalt psychology
B) Behaviorism and cognitive-behaviorism
C) Functionalism and behaviorism
D) Cognitive and psychodynamic psychology

Question 44

William Jame's impact on contemporary psychology is evidenced by the fact that functionalism

A) was absorbed into mainstream psychology.
B) became a separate discipline.
C) bridged the gap between philosophy and psychology.
D) bridged the gap between structuralism and Gestalt psychology.

Question 45

The letter B and the number 13 might appear to be similar; in fact, the only real difference between them is the space between the left and right sides of each figure. Who would be most likely to describe this difference as being caused by the context of the letters or numbers that come before and after the image?

A) A functionalist
B) A Gestalt psychologist
C) A psychoanalytic psychologist
D) A cognitive psychologist

Question 46

Throughout his discussions of mental processes and behavior, William James particularly focused on the role of

A) environment.
B) evolution.
C) abandonment.
D) nurture.

Question 47

Between the 17th and 19th centuries, supernatural explanations for psychological disorders began to give way to two scientific approaches:

A) functionalism and behaviorism.
B) a cognitive model and a behavioral model.
C) a medical model and a psychological model.
D) psychodynamic theory and humanism.

Question 48

Which American psychologist proposed the functionalist approach, wrote Principles of Psychology, and dominated the field of psychology for 50 years after its publication ?

A) Sigmund Freud
B) B. F. Skinner
C) Abraham Maslow
D) William James

Question 49

Humanistic psychologists believed that

A) human behavior is on a continuum with animal behavior.
B) society acts to civilize humans who are otherwise innately selfish and aggressive.
C) people behave badly only when corrupted by society.
D) the true motivation for humans to be successful is to see others fail.

Question 50

The group of early 20th century German psychologists who founded Gestalt psychology included Kurt Koffka, Max Wertheimer, and

A) Wilhelm Wundt.
B) William James.
C) Wolfgang Köhler.
D) Ulric Neisser.

Question 51

The unconscious mind, the development of sexuality, dream analysis, psychological roots of abnormal behavior, personality, and therapy are psychological concepts attributed to

A) Abraham Maslow.
B) Carl Rogers.
C) Sigmund Freud.
D) Noam Chomsky.

Question 52

Functionalism emerged partly in response to the publication of

A) Great Expectations , by Charles Dickens.
B) The Prince and the Pauper , by Mark Twain.
C) The Origin of the Species , by Charles Darwin.
D) Far from the Madding Crowd , by Thomas Hardy.

Question 53

Which of the following statements about Freud's work is true?

A) His theories do not lend themselves to experimentation.
B) His patients were primarily working class men and therefore not representative of the broader population.
C) His theories were based exclusively on animal studies.
D) His psychoanalytic techniques are replicated in their original form today.

Question 54

The Gestalt psychologists believed that breaking a "whole" perception into its building blocks, as advocated by the structuralists, would result in the loss of

A) important psychological information.
B) fundamental intellect.
C) learned consciousness.
D) rational behaviors.

Question 55

Over the course of most of history, psychological disorders have been viewed as

A) being caused by malfunctions of the human body.
B) resulting from the actions of evil spirits or other external, magical forces.
C) induced by guilt stemming from condemned behaviors.
D) originating in childhood as a result of representing parenting.

Question 56

Acknowledging that an experience is different from the sum of its elements is reflective of

A) psychodynamic theory.
B) Gestalt psychology.
C) structuralism.
D) functionalism.

Question 57

Valerie recently lost her sister to suicide. She is having difficulty sleeping, feels hopeless about the future, and is easily startled or frightened. Her doctor recommends that she participate in a discussion group led by a social worker to connect with others who are going through a similar experience. Which approach to psychological disorders does this exemplify?

A) The psychological model
B) The behavioral model
C) The self-actualization model
D) The medical model

Question 58

Freud's psychodynamic theory and its applications to the treatment of psychological disorders dominated much of psychological thinking for the

A) first half of the 19th century.
B) second half of the 19th century.
C) first half of the 20th century.
D) second half of the 20th century.

Question 59

What approach to psychology views behavior as purposeful and contributing to survival?

A) Behaviorism
B) Functionalism
C) Humanism
D) Structuralism

Question 60

Which of the following proverbs best describes Gestalt theory?

A) A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
B) The more things change, the more they stay the same.
C) A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
D) The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Question 61

Which leading behaviorist proposed the law of effect?

A) B. F. Skinner
B) John B. Watson
C) Noam Chomsky
D) Edward Thorndike

Question 62

An approach to psychology that features the study and careful measurement of observable individuals' actions is called

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

Question 63

_____ was a behaviorist who first explored classical conditioning.

A) Edward Thorndike
B) B. F. Skinner
C) John B. Watson
D) Ivan Petrovich Pavlov

Question 64

_____ is a leading cognitive psychologist.

A) Carl Rogers
B) Jean Piaget
C) Ulric Neisser
D) Edward Thorndike

Question 65

By the 1930s, John B. Watson's understandings of behavior had sparked significant changes in which of the following activities?

A) Environmental conservation
B) Trade union management
C) Advertising
D) Education

Question 66

Which of the following most closely paraphrases Watson's views regarding human behavior?

A) Some children are born with artistic talent; others are not.
B) I can raise a child to be an artist if he or she has at least a small amount of talent and interest.
C) Few children actually have the skill and discipline required to become artists.
D) I can raise any child to be an artist, regardless of his or her tendencies.

Question 67

Which of the following statements reflects humanistic influence?

A) Capital punishment serves a protective role in a liberal society.
B) "I hear what you're saying."
C) Parental love should mirror the behavior of the child.
D) "Do as I say, not as I do."

Question 68

Which of the following refers to the private and internal mental processes-information processing, thinking, reasoning, and problem solving-that the behaviorists avoided studying?

A) Client-centered therapy
B) Self-actualization
C) Cognition
D) Study of the mind

Question 69

B. F. Skinner, a leading behaviorist who explored operant conditioning, believed that inner, private states such as thinking and feeling existed and

A) should be analyzed based on introspection.
B) viewed them as behaviors that followed the same rules as public behaviors.
C) viewed them as behaviors that should be attended to through psychodynamic therapy.
D) are a part of what makes a person inherently human and good.

Question 70

Watson changed the goal of psychology from Wundt's desire to understand consciousness to the

A) explication of the unconscious.
B) study of observable behavior.
C) understanding of cognition.
D) analysis of the whole beyond the parts.

Question 71

In Thorndike's experiment on trial-and-error learning, the cat would escape a puzzle box faster and faster on progressive trials. In other words, the cat

A) acquired faster nerve impulses on successive trials.
B) became more physically fit.
C) memorized the solution to the puzzle.
D) repeated effective behaviors and ended ineffective ones.

Question 72

In order to measure behavior carefully, many behaviorists restricted their research to studies using

A) animals.
B) children.
C) adults.
D) males.

Question 73

Skinner generalized his findings to complex human behaviors even though his subject pool was limited to

A) rats and pigeons.
B) children.
C) graduate students.
D) dogs and cats.

Question 74

Pavlov noted that the salivation of dogs in his experiments was significant because it

A) emphasized conscious thought.
B) demonstrated the ability to learn to anticipate future events as a survival advantage.
C) indicated that intelligence is innate.
D) demonstrated that the ability to smell food prior to its arrival is a highly developed sense.

Question 75

Which of the following examples best depicts Skinner's behaviorism ?

A) Dr. Monson provides humane living conditions for the mice in his research laboratory.
B) Doug needs to lose a few pounds and has a rule that if he eats a dessert, he must go for a 5-mile run.
C) Sandra is learning a new surgical procedure by observing several operations performed by other physicians.
D) Dylan is delaying vaccinations for his young son because of his concerns regarding autism.

Question 76

_____ was a leading humanistic thinker who asked questions about what made a person "good" as opposed to Freud's focus on what goes wrong with people.

A) Abraham Maslow
B) Alan Newell
C) Herbert Simon
D) Carl Rogers

Question 77

Which of the following best represents a cognitive psychologist's view of  childhood language learning?

A) Children acquire language in response to parental approval.
B) Children are born with distinct physical features that facilitate learning the language of their parents.
C) Children are born with innate mechanisms for learning language.
D) Children acquire language in response to being understood.

Question 78

With rise of such fields as linguistics and computer science in the 1950s, scientists began challenging behaviorists' disinterest in mental states and activity. This shift led to

A) psychodynamic theory.
B) client-centered therapy.
C) a new appreciation of humanism.
D) a cognitive revolution.

Question 79

Carl Rogers, a leading humanist, encouraged those receiving therapy to take an active role in the process, which reflects their equal standing with the therapist. This approach is known as

A) psychoanalysis.
B) cognitive therapy.
C) behavioral therapy.
D) client-centered therapy.

Question 80

Which of the following is least likely to be an example of classical conditioning?

A) A child hears a police siren for the first time and cries.
B) A whiff of perfume on a crowded subway triggers a memory of a prior love.
C) A dog sits when seeing or smelling a treat.
D) A former soldier cringes at the sound of an airplane overhead.