End of Semester - Review Quiz

Question 1

Which of the below is the best definition of psychology?

? Study of the mind.

? Study of behaviour.

? Scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.

? Scientific study of the mind.

Answer 1

Scientific study of behaviour and mental processes.

Question 2

What is the ‘fundamental problem’ of psychology?

? It is not as good as sociology.

? It can’t understand the mind.

? How to make inferences about behaviour we cannot directly observe.

? It’s psychology – that’s the problem!

Answer 2

How to make inferences about behaviour we cannot directly observe.

Yes, much interesting human behaviour is covert (internal mental processes) and we try to make valid and reliable inferences about these behaviours.

Question 3

Social psychology studies:

? how social interaction has evolved.

? people’s personalities.

? the influence that people have on each other.

? groups.

Answer 3

the influence that people have on each other.

social psychology is about social influence.

Question 4

The ___________________ perspective holds that anxiety stems from unconscious / intrapsychic conflicts over opposing forces (of ‘life’ and ‘death’).

Answer 4

Psychoanalytic

Question 5

“We are individuals who resist being categorized – each of us is unique; psychology must recognize the importance and goodness of each person’s individuality.” This quote is likely from a ________________________ theorist.

Answer 5

humanistic

Yes, we’re talking ‘goodness’ and ‘uniqueness’ and ‘individuality’ here.

Question 6

The pseudoscience that holds that you can tell a person’s personality and predict future behaviours (e.g. criminality) by the shape of his/her head is known as:

? Psychoanalytic theory.

? Astrology.

? Physiognomy.

? Phrenology.

Answer 6

Physiognomy.

Yes. A pseudoscience is likely to mould facts to shape its theories rather than the other way around (as science does).

Question 7

The amazing case of Phineas Gage illustrates:

? a hole in the head never did anyone any harm.

? that a hole in the head does do people harm.

? specialisation of brain-behaviour functions.

? that areas of the brain have equi-potentiality with respect to function.

Answer 7

specialisation of brain-behaviour functions.

this is what the cases of Phineas Gage, HM and aphasias demonstrated.

Question 8

What is meant when it is stated that the biological perspective is ‘reductionistic’?

? It reduces students to trembling jelly.

? The ‘large picture’ of human behaviour is the subject of study.

? Experimentally reducing the size of the brain has a dramatic effect on behaviour.

? Even complex human behaviour can be ‘reduced’ to ‘simple’ biological processes.

Answer 8

Even complex human behaviour can be ‘reduced’ to ‘simple’ biological processes.

Question 9

Which of statement below is true?

? Expressive aphasia is associated with Broca’s area.

? Receptive aphasia is associated with Wernicke’s area.

X No, it’s the other way around, isn’t it?

Answer 9

It’s the other way around.

Question 10

When you’re falling in lerv and the radio is ‘playing your song’, what is that warm, gushy feeling you experience?

? an Unconditioned Response (UCR)

? an Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

? a Conditioned Response (CR)

? a Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Answer 10

a Conditioned Response (CR)

Question 11

John Watson conditioned poor Little Albert to fear white rats by pairing a white rat with a loud noise. After he was conditioned, white rat was:

? an unconditioned stimulus.

? an unconditioned response.

? a conditioned stimulus.

? a conditioned response.

Answer 11

a conditioned stimulus.

Question 12

A parent gives a rampaging toddler a Kinder Surprise in the supermarket to make it go quiet. From the parent’s perspective, the chocolate treat is:

? positive reinforcement.

? punishment.

? negative reinforcement.

? b and c.

Answer 12

negative reinforcement.

Question 13

You want to train your dog, Mal, to tap dance so that he can star in a movie. What learning approach would you use?

? Premack’s Principle.

? Graded exposure.

? Shaping.

? A combination of physical punishment and ‘time-out’.

Answer 13

Shaping.

you would be rewarding successive approximations to the desired behaviour (tapping like Tap Dogs).

Question 14

Marta watches her Mum praise Jim, Marta’s older brother, for drying the dishes. Marta is a bit jealous and decides she will dry the dishes tomorrow. In the language of social learning theory she has just:

? learned by vicarious experience.

? experienced a powerful emotion.

? learned by direct experience.

? started to idolise Jim.

Answer 14

learned by vicarious experience.

Yes, social learning theory is about learning from observation. It helps that Jim was rewarded for the observed behaviour.

Question 15

A person with a ‘poor memory’ may have trouble:

? with acquisition or encoding information.

? storing information.

? retrieving information.

? all of the above.

Answer 15

all of the above.

Question 16

The tip of the tongue phenomenon is due to difficulty in ____________________ long term memory

? encoding to

? recognition in

? rehearsal in

? retrieval from

Answer 16

retrieval from

Question 17

Tying a piece of string around your finger to remind you to do something is an example of:

? a very dangerous practice that can lead to poor circulation and possible amputation of the digit.

? a mnemonic.

? a very dangerous practice that can lead to poor circulation and possible amputation of the digit.

? I can’t remember.

Answer 17

a mnemonic.

Question 18

When you started your degree perhaps you were confident of graduating because you are hardworking, at least as intelligent as the average student and otherwise a determined person. Such traits are aspects of your:

? Ideal self.

? Self-schema.

? Ego.

? Ought-self.

Answer 18

Self-schema.

these are your self cognitions.

Question 19

Having a reduced level of self-awareness:

? Can make a person feel good.

? Is a key component in deindividuation.

? Leads to an intensification of emotions.

? Is a consequence of success.

Answer 19

Is a key component in deindividuation.

Question 20

The term ‘self-handicapping’ refers to:

? seeking some cause other than yourself to account for an anticipated failure.

? consciously sabotaging yourself by not performing up to your potential.

? underperforming to gain sympathy and affection.

? ‘handicapping’ yourself by making things more difficult, like a race horse is handicapped by putting lead in the saddle.

Answer 20

seeking some cause other than yourself to account for an anticipated failure.

spreading excuses beforehand.

Question 21

When stereotypes are attributed to a particular group, the stereotype may induce members of that group to act in ways that confirm the stereotype. This is known as:

? discrimination.

? reverse discrimination.

? a self-fulfilling prophecy.

? the interdependent view of self.

Answer 21

a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Another appropriate answer would be ‘stereotype threat’.

Question 22

In a classic study of predicting discriminatory behaviour based on prejudiced attitudes LaPierre (1934) found that:

? generalised prejudice towards Chinese was matched by discrimination against LaPiere’s Chinese travel companions.

? the Chinese travel companions were often offered jobs in the kitchen.

? generalised prejudice towards Chinese was not matched by discrimination against LaPiere’s Chinese travel companions.

? Chinese couples wanting accommodation were favoured by Chinese managers, although LaPiere got good service as well.

Answer 22

Generalised prejudice towards Chinese was not matched by discrimination against LaPiere’s Chinese travel companions.

There was little of no discrimination even though surveys showed high levels of prejudice.

Question 23

Stereotyping and social isolation of the elderly is termed:

? disrespect.

? ageism.

? youthfulness.

? regressive discrimination.

Answer 23

ageism.

Question 24

Bart is sexually active but not in a long-term relationship. Will he practice safe sex? The theory of planned behaviour predicts yes if Bart:

? thinks the social norm among his peers favours safe sex.

? thinks using condoms in sexual encounters is a good idea.

? actually says that he will use a condom and feels that he will be able to do that in a sexual encounter.

? all of the above in combination.

Answer 24

all of the above in combination.

Question 25

Jill claims to be environmentally conscious. But does she act accordingly? The theory of planned behaviour predicts ‘yes’ if Jill:

? believes she will get to university by public transport instead of her car.

? is generally in favour of recycling and public transport.

? perceives that the social norm provided by her friends is supportive.

? all of the above in combination.

Answer 25

all of the above in combination.

Question 26

On hearing about a student who was hit by a car on a busy street close to the university campus, a lecturer’s immediate reaction was ‘Huh! Another one who hasn’t used the pedestrian crossing’. This is an example of:

? the fundamental attribution error.

? the false consensus effect.

? the bystander effect.

? power hierarchy.

Answer 26

the fundamental attribution error.

the fundamental attribution error is to over-emphasise ‘dispositional’ causes for behaviour and under-emphasise ‘situational’ causes (based on little information).

Question 27

As a Greenpeace member, Karl thinks a lot about saving the environment and feels very strongly about it. Julia is a bit more relaxed about the issue. Compared to her, Karl’s attitude:

? is a bigger worry to local policy makers.

? requires constant peer reinforcement.

? translates more often into action.

? needs to be verified more often.

Answer 27

translates more often into action.

the more strongly an attitude is held, the more likely it is to be turned into action.

Question 28

When people experience cognitive dissonance they may:

? either change the behaviour or the attitude.

? add new consonant behaviour.

? downplay the importance of consistent behaviour.

? all of the above.

Answer 28

all of the above.

Yes, this is the correct answer. But remember, you learn not only by getting the answer correct but also by using this as a prompt to learn about cognitive dissonance

Question 29

Stanley Milgram shocked us into understanding that:

? People will obey an authority to the extent of causing harm to another person.

? People are more likely to harm others if they can ‘diffuse’ responsibility.

? People who are anonymous are more likely to harm another when ordered.

? All of the above.

Answer 29

All of the above.

but you may be asked other questions about obedience in the exam.

Question 30

Asch’s group-pressure research showed that, even when a person knew that the others were wrong, most people:

? conformed all of the time.

? conformed some of the time.

? conformed when no one was taking notes.

? almost never conformed.

Answer 30

conformed some of the time.

The majority conformed some of the time (actually, the majority conformed ‘at least once’).

Question 31

Which of the following did NOT influence obedience in Milgram’s research?

? social proximity to the victim.

? immediacy of the authority.

? peer pressure.

? dispositional traits.

Answer 31

dispositional traits.

Milgram was not interested in personality traits, but the situations in which influence obedient behaviour.

Question 32

Findings in Milgram’s obedience to authority experiment:

? are still being replicated to this day.

? indicated differences between women and men.

? predicted fairly accurately by experts such as psychiatrists and psychologists.

? vastly different to what experts such as psychiatrists and psychologists predicted.

Answer 32

vastly different to what experts such as psychiatrists and psychologists predicted.

an interesting thing about the results of Milgram’s experiments - no one expected subjects to administer dangerous shocks.

Question 33

A person is more likely to conform to others when he/ she:

? has greater social rank than others in the group.

? is one of several dissenters rather than being the sole dissenter.

? must respond publicly rather than privately.

? responds to a task with a clear rather than an ambiguous answer.

Answer 33

must respond publicly rather than privately.

the person would be more likely to conform.

Question 34

An event that is unusual, unforeseen and involves danger to both people and property is:

? an experiment.

? an emergency.

? a surprise.

? a social blunder.

Answer 34

an emergency.

this is one of the factors in deciding when to respond to someone who needs help - the characteristics of an emergency.

Question 35

Altruistic behaviour refers to behaviour that:

? hurts the helper.

? cannot be classified as prosocial behaviour.

? involves a payoff for the helper.

? is intended to benefit the person helped rather than the helper.

Answer 35

is intended to benefit the person helped rather than the helper.

altruism requires some self-sacrifice and has no apparent reward (except feeling good that you have done the right thing).

Question 36

The term ‘internal attribution’ is also termed _________________ .

? dispositional inference.

? correspondent inference .

? situational inference.

? inference inference .

Answer 36

dispositional inference.

this is about ‘attribution theory’ and an ‘internal attribution’ is about a person’s ‘disposition’.

Question 37

Research on gender differences and aggression has confirmed that:

? there is no such difference in the amount of aggression.

? aggression in males is linked to the survival instinct.

? the degree of a gender difference varies according to the type of aggression.

? although males are more aggressive they hold less aggressive attitudes than females.

Answer 37

the degree of a gender difference varies according to the type of aggression.

distinction was made between ‘direct’ aggression (males) and ‘indirect’ or ‘circuitous’ aggression (females).

Question 38

You’ve been reading about the aggression, and find that a scapegoat refers to:

? an animal that is slaughtered as a sign of goodwill.

? a group member who must be sacrificed for the greater good.

? a target against whom one can legitimately aggress without fear.

? a virulent form of a catharsis.

Answer 38

a target against whom one can legitimately aggress without fear.

this is the example of having a really bad (frustrating) day and then coming home an kicking the dog (but I hope not!).

Question 39

Is it possible that some acts of aggression arise from: (a) a learned aggressive behaviour, (b) a person’s arousal from an earlier, unrelated source, and (c) a later misinterpretation of the cause of the arousal state? A model that argues this way is the:

? excitation-transfer model.

? vicarious learning model.

? frustration-aggression model.

? aptly named three-component model.

Answer 39

excitation-transfer model.

the tell-tale ‘arousal from an earlier, unrelated source’.

Question 40

According to Albert Bandura, an important influence on one’s tendency to be aggressive is:

? Hormonal factors.

? How much anger or frustration has built up inside.

? One’s hereditary predisposition to be aggressive.

? Observations of others’ behaviour.

Answer 40

Observations of others’ behaviour.

‘social learning theory

Question 41

According to Anderson (2003), playing violent games might have a more toxic effect than watching violent television because:

? The players are passive.

? Television appears more “real.”

? Players play the role of a violent character.

? Television violence is rewarded.

Answer 41

Players play the role of a violent character.

this is one of the reasons why there is more concern about violent video games.

Question 42

Research confirms that groups:

? Have little effect on violence.

? Can amplify aggressive tendencies.

? Can diffuse aggressive tendencies.

? Promote catharsis.

Answer 42

Can amplify aggressive tendencies.

groups can behave more aggressively.

Question 43

Jason instigates more and more fights with younger children on the school playground because it gains him the attention and respect of his friends. This most clearly suggests that his aggression is:

? The result of frustration.

? Instinctive.

? A learned response.

? The result of displacement.

Answer 43

A learned response.

it looks as though Jason has learned how to get the attention of his peers.

Question 44

Adolescents should, or should not, be allowed to play very violent video games. This argument brings into conflict two opposing social psychological views:

? the contact hypothesis and social evolutionary theory.

? social learning theory and the cathartic hypothesis.

? the inverted U-curve hypothesis and the J-curve.

? psychoanalytic theory and biological theory.

Answer 44

social learning theory and the cathartic hypothesis.

Yes, you should know this from your assignment on the effects of media violence. You should also know that research does not support the catharsis hypothesis.

Question 45

After experiencing prolonged isolation Admiral Byrd ,,,

? became highly creative.

? enjoyed the solitude.

? learned to detach from ‘trappings of normal civilisation’.

? displayed many symptoms of mental illness.

Answer 45

displayed many symptoms of mental illness.

isolation can affect our psychological well-being.

Question 46

Cara started liking Olga when a mutual friend told Cara that Olga liked her (Cara, not the mutual friend). This is an example of:

? balance theory of attraction.

? reciprocity principle.

? role that rumours play.

? complementarity hypothesis.

Answer 46

reciprocity principle.

we tend to like those who like us (or it is hard to like someone who doesn’t like us).

Question 47

The famous, touching lyric in the classic song, Do Wah Diddy which goes ‘I guess we were fallin’ in lu u u u urve’ refers, of course, to:

? Companionate love.

? Passionate love.

? Intimacy.

? Commitment.

Answer 47

Passionate love.

the falling-in-love type of love. But be sure to learn about the other types of love, too. (By the way, this is on old ’60s song by Manfred Mann - great name.)

Question 48

Which saying best captures the ‘need-complementarity hypothesis’?

? Birds of a feather flock together.

? Between a rock and a hard place.

? Flattery will get you no where.

? Opposites attract.

Answer 48

Opposites attract.

Question 49

Which form of loneliness is of most concern for a person’s psychological wellbeing?

? Chronic loneliness.

? Transient loneliness.

? Transitional loneliness.

? ‘Only the lonely’ loneliness.

Answer 49

Chronic loneliness.

Question 50

According to cross-cultural research, which dichotomy has most characterised the difference between “easterners” and “westerners” in the way the self is represented?

? Uncertainty avoidance - uncertainty tolerant.

? Masculinity -femininity.

? Individualism-collectivism.

? Logic-intuition

Answer 50

Individualism-collectivism.

Question 51

What is one general finding that can we conclude from research on gender differences in speech style?

? Speaking in a powerless way is confined to women.

? Non-traditional men use masculine speech styles.

? That there are fewer real differences than stereotypes lead us to believe.

? Men and women interact with the same goals in conversation.

Answer 51

That there are fewer real differences than stereotypes lead us to believe

Question 52

A meta-analysis of conformity studies across cultures showed:

? There were no differences in conformity across cultures.

? Conformity was lower among non-Western than Western samples.

? The amount of conformity varied across cultures.

? Asch’s conformity studies could not be used outside of the US of A.

Answer 52

The amount of conformity varied across cultures.

Question 53

On what do ‘emic’ analyses of behaviour focus?

? Universals.

? Generalisations of very limited cross-cultural validity.

? A single culture - i.e. specific behavioural expression within cultures.

? Cross-cultural differences.

Answer 53

A single culture - i.e. specific behavioural expression within cultures.

emic is about specific cultures.

Question 54

What was one conclusion drawn from the argument that spoken language is human-specific?

? There must be an innate component to acquiring spoken langugage.

? Humans did not evolve from apes after all.

? The development of language made bipedalism necessary.

? That humans are indeed the highest from of creation.

Answer 54

What was one conclusion drawn from the argument that spoken language is human-specific?

Yes, humans are ‘pre-wired’ to learn language - what Chomsky called a ‘universal grammar’.