Exam 3 Flashcards
A child says he doesn’t steal because it’s against the law. Based on this information, you can conclude that this child is in which of Kohlberg’s levels of moral development?
A. preconventional
B. conventional
C. transconventional
D. postconventional
B. conventional
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-LIF-Socioemotional Development – Moral Development-23 Answer B is correct. The second stage of Kohlberg’s conventional level is the law and order orientation stage. During this stage, judgments about the acceptability of a behavior depend on whether or not the behavior violates laws and rules that have been established by legitimate authorities.
Research has linked a chronically elevated level of the hormone __________ to a loss of neurons in the hippocampus and memory impairment.
A. glutamate
B. cortisol
C. thyroxine
D. insulin
B. cortisol
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-ORG-Satisfaction, Commitment, and Stress-24 Answer B is correct. A chronically elevated level of the stress hormone cortisol has been linked to a number of undesirable consequences. One consequence is impaired memory, which is due to its effects on the hippocampus.
To evaluate the effectiveness of a stress reduction technique for alleviating test anxiety, a psychologist administers a measure of test anxiety to Psychology 101 undergraduates, chooses the 50 students with the highest scores on the test, administers the intervention to the students, and then readministers the measure of test anxiety. The biggest threat to this study’s internal validity is:
A. differential selection
B. reactivity
C. statistical regression.
D. instrumentation
C. statistical regression.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-RMS-Research – Internal/External Validity-03 Answer C is correct. Whenever subjects are chosen for inclusion in a study because they have extreme scores on the pretest, their scores on the posttest are likely to “regress toward the mean” regardless of the effects of the independent variable. This is referred to as statistical regression, and it threatens a study’s internal validity whenever it’s not possible to ascertain to what extent a change in posttest scores is due to statistical regression or the effects of the independent variable.
An assumption of classical test theory is that measurement error:
A. is random.
B. is systematic.
C. is random and systematic.
D. cannot be estimated.
A. is random.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-TES-Item Analysis and Test Reliability-02 Answer A is correct. Classical test theory is based on the assumption that an examinee’s obtained test score is due to a combination of “truth” and measurement error, with truth referring to the “true” amount of the characteristic measured by the test that the examinee has and measurement error being random (unsystematic).
A scatterplot is constructed from the scores obtained by a sample of employees on a newly developed selection test (X) and a measure of job performance (Y). The scatterplot indicates that the variability of Y scores is about the same for all scores on X. Which of the following terms describes this situation?
A. homoscedasticity
B. heteroscedasticity
C. unrestricted range
D. restricted range
A. homoscedasticity
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-RMS-Correlation and Regression-07 Answer A is correct. The terms homoscedasticity and heteroscedasticity are used to describe the relationship between two variables in terms of the amount of variability in one variable for different values of the other variable. Homoscedasticity occurs when the variability of scores on one variable is about the same at different values of the other variable; heteroscedasticity occurs when the variability of scores on one variable differs at different values of the other variable. Homoscedasticity is one of the conditions that tends to increase the correlation coefficient. Also, when data are homoscedastic, the use of a regression equation to predict people’s scores on Y from their scores on X will produce the same accuracy of prediction for all scores on X.
Based on their research, Kagan and his colleagues (Kagan et al., 2007) concluded that __________ is a temperament characteristic that has a biological basis and is relatively stable over time.
A. behavioral inhibition
B. negative affectivity
C. adaptability
D. rhythmicity/regularity
A. behavioral inhibition
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-LIF-Socioemotional Development – Temperament and Personality-16 Answer A is correct. Kagan and his colleagues found that behavioral inhibition is relatively stable over time and concluded that it has biological roots but can be affected by certain environmental factors (e.g., parental overprotectiveness and insensitivity).
__________ is used to establish a complex behavior that consists of a sequence of components by establishing the components one at a time.
A. Chaining
B. Shaping
C. Differential reinforcement
D. The Premack principle
A. Chaining
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-LEA-Interventions Based on Operant Conditioning-11 Answer A is correct. Chaining is used to establish a complex behavior that consists of a sequence of responses that occur in a fixed order. In contrast, shaping is used to establish a behavior by reinforcing successive approximations to (not components of) the behavior.
The Kuder Occupational Interest Survey (KOIS) includes all of the following except:
A. Personal Styles Scales.
B. Occupational Scales.
C. College Major Scales.
D. Vocational Interest Estimates.
A. Personal Styles Scales.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-PAS-Interest Inventories-12 Answer A is correct. The KOIS includes Occupational Scales, College Major Scales, and Vocational Interest Estimates. The Strong Interest Inventory (SII) includes the Personal Styles Scales.
Driver and Brousseau’s career concept model distinguishes between four career concepts. These include all of the following except:
A. linear.
B. transitory.
C. circular.
D. expert.
C. circular.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-ORG-Career Choice and Development-14 Answer C is correct. The four career concepts identified by Driver and Brousseau’s (Brousseau, Driver, Eneroth, & Larsson, 1996) career concept model are linear, expert, spiral, and transitory.
Piaget found that some forms of conservation are understood before others and that the forms of conservation develop in a predictable sequence. He referred to this as:
A. transitivity.
B. irreversibility.
C. horizontal decalage.
D. transformational thought.
C. horizontal decalage.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-LIF-Cognitive Development-12 Answer C is correct. Piaget used the term horizontal decalage to describe the gradual acquisition of abilities within a stage (e.g., the gradual development of conservation skills within the concrete operational stage).
As described by Greenson (2016), the process of analysis in psychoanalysis involves:
A. denial, resistance, insight, and working through.
B. confrontation, clarification, interpretation, and working through.
C. clarification, confrontation, catharsis, and insight.
D. exploration, confrontation, interpretation, and awareness.
B. confrontation, clarification, interpretation, and working through.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-CLI-Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies-01 Answer B is correct. Greenson describes the process of analysis in psychoanalysis as involving confrontation, clarification, interpretation, and working through.
The research has found that, when people estimate the frequency of a particular event, they tend to give more weight to anecdotal information about that event than to statistical data. This is referred to as:
A. the gambler’s fallacy.
B. counterfactual thinking.
C. the illusory correlation.
D. the base rate fallacy.
D. the base rate fallacy.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-SOC-Social Cognition – Errors, Biases, and Heuristics-02 Answer D is correct: The base rate fallacy is the tendency to be influenced more by information about an individual case (e.g., anecdotal information about a single event) than by base rate data.
When evaluating the job performance of her supervisees, Mrs. Akeem tends to give all supervisees average ratings, regardless of their actual performance. Mrs. Akeem’s tendency illustrates which of the following?
A. similarity bias
B. contrast error
C. central tendency bias
D. halo error
C. central tendency bias
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-ORG-Job Analysis and Performance Assessment-03 Answer C is correct. The central tendency bias occurs when a rater uses the middle of the rating scale when rating all employees, regardless of their actual performance.
At a company party, you first meet a co-worker’s husband whose name is Bill. About twenty minutes later, you meet another co-worker’s husband whose name is Bob. Then, about an hour later, you encounter Bill at the buffet table and call him Bob. Which of the following explains your mistake?
A. retroactive interference
B. proactive interference
C. implicit memory
D. explicit memory
A. retroactive interference
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-LEA-Memory and Forgetting-14 Answer A is correct. Retroactive interference occurs when more recently acquired information (e.g., “Bob”) interferes with the ability to recall previously acquired information (e.g., “Bill”).
The foot-in-the-door technique is most useful for explaining which of the following?
A. why children belonging to hostile groups in Sherif’s Robber’s Cave study started to cooperate with each other
B. why children in the Lepper, Greene, and Nisbett study were no longer intrinsically motivated to color with felt-tip markers
C. why “teachers” in Milgram’s obedience to authority study complied with the experimenter’s order to increase the level of shock they delivered to the “learner”
D. why subjects in Asch’s conformity studies gave more accurate estimates when making estimates alone than in the group setting
C. why “teachers” in Milgram’s obedience to authority study complied with the experimenter’s order to increase the level of shock they delivered to the “learner”
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-SOC-Social Influence – Types of Influence-09 Answer C is correct. In his studies, Milgram followed a less objectionable request (delivering a lower level of shock) with a more objectionable request (delivering a slightly higher level of shock). In other words, ordering teachers (subjects) to gradually increase the level of shock they delivered to the learner is similar to use of the foot-in-the-door technique to gain people’s compliance with a large request by starting with a smaller request that most people would agree to.
All of the following drugs slow the cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer’s disease by increasing cholinergic activity except:
A. galantamine.
B. memantine.
C. rivastigmine.
D. donepezil.
B. memantine.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-PHY-Psychopharmacology – Other Psychoactive Drugs-24 Answer B is correct. All four drugs listed in the answers to this question are used to slow the progress of cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Galantamine (Razadyne), rivastigmine (Exelon), and donepezil (Aricept) do so by increasing cholinergic activity (i.e., by preventing the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine), while memantine (Namenda) reduces the negative effects of excessive levels of the neurotransmitter glutamate.
The human brain is about 25% of its adult size and weight at birth, but it grows quickly and is at least 75% of its adult size and weight by _____ of age.
A. six months
B. 12 months
C. 24 months
D. 36 months
C. 24 months
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-LIF-Physical Development-07 Answer C is correct. The brain increases in size quickly following birth due primarily to an increase in nerve fibers (dendrites and axons) and glial cells, which are responsible for the myelination of nerve fibers. It reaches at least 75% its adult size and weight by about 24 months of age.
A person experiencing tobacco withdrawal is likely to have all of the following symptoms except:
A. increased appetite.
B. anger or anxiety.
C. hypersomnia.
D. impaired concentration.
C. hypersomnia.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-PPA-Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders-25 Answer C is correct. Symptoms associated with tobacco withdrawal include irritability, anger or anxiety, impaired concentration, increased appetite, restlessness, depressed mood, and insomnia.
Research on infantile amnesia has consistently found that:
A. most children under two years of age are unable to form explicit memories.
B. most children under two years of age are unable to form autobiographical memories.
C. most older children and adults are unable to recall autobiographical events that occurred when they were less than three or four years of age.
D. most adults (but not older children) are unable to recall autobiographical events that occurred when they were less than three or four years of age.
C. most older children and adults are unable to recall autobiographical events that occurred when they were less than three or four years of age.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-LIF-Cognitive Development-14 Answer C is correct. Infantile amnesia is also known as childhood amnesia and refers to the inability of older children, adolescents, and adults to recall events they experienced prior to three or four years of age. See, e.g., H. Hayne and G. Simcock, Memory development in toddlers, in M. L. Courage and N. Cowan (Eds.), The development of memory in infancy and childhood (pp. 43-68), New York, Psychology Press, 2009.
The all-or-none law states that:
A. the greater the intensity of the initial stimulus, the less likely that a subsequent stimulus will generate a nerve impulse.
B. the intensity of a nerve impulse is directly proportional to the type and rate of stimulation.
C. the greater the stimulus intensity, the faster the rate of neural firing.
D. the intensity of a nerve impulse is independent of stimulus intensity as long as the intensity reaches a minimum level.
D. the intensity of a nerve impulse is independent of stimulus intensity as long as the intensity reaches a minimum level.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-PHY-Nervous System, Neurons, and Neurotransmitters-12 Answer D is correct. According to the all-or-none law, once stimulus intensity reaches a minimum threshold, a nerve impulse (action potential) occurs. In other words, the intensity of a nerve impulse does not vary; instead, a nerve impulse either occurs or doesn’t occur.
A test has a mean of 60 and standard deviation of 5, and test scores are normally distributed. Based on this information, you can conclude that about 95% of scores fall between scores of:
A. 55 and 65.
B. 50 and 70.
C. 45 and 75.
D. 40 and 80.
B. 50 and 70.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-RMS-Types of Variables and Data-02 Answer B is correct. In a normal distribution about 95% of scores fall between the scores that are plus and minus two standard deviations from the mean. This test has a mean of 60 and standard deviation of 5, so about 95% of scores fall between 60 plus and minus 10 (5 x 2), which is between 50 and 70.
A person taking which of the following drugs should avoid eating foods containing tyramine?
A. SSRI
B. MAOI
C. TCA
D. SNRI
B. MAOI
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-PHY-Psychopharmacology – Antipsychotics and Antidepressants-22 Answer B is correct. Ingesting foods containing tyramine (e.g., aged cheese and processed meat) while taking an MAOI can cause a life-threatening hypertensive crisis. Consequently, these foods must be avoided.
All of the single-subject designs share which of the following characteristics?
A. The independent variable is not withdrawn during the course of the study once it’s been applied.
B. The independent variable is applied to two or more baselines.
C. The dependent variable is measured multiple times during each phase.
D. The dependent variable is measured before and after the independent variable is applied.
C. The dependent variable is measured multiple times during each phase.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-RMS-Research – Internal/External Validity-05 Answer C is correct. All of the single-subject designs involve measuring the dependent variable multiple times at regular intervals during each baseline phase and each treatment phase. The other answers apply to some, but not all, of the single-subject designs.
According to Holland’s (1985) theory of career choice, the realistic personality type is most similar to which of the following types?
A. investigative and conventional
B. enterprising and conventional
C. social and investigative
D. social and enterprising
A. investigative and conventional
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-ORG-Career Choice and Development-12 Answer A is correct. Holland depicted his six personality and work environment types (“RIASEC”) arranged around a hexagon, with the types closest to each other in the hexagon being most similar and those farthest from each other being most dissimilar. Realistic is most similar to investigative and conventional and most dissimilar to social.
As described by Aaron Beck, ________ are triggered by an event or stimulus and elicit emotional and behavioral responses.
A. automatic thoughts
B. cognitive distortions
C. polarized thoughts
D. irrational beliefs
A. automatic thoughts
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-CLI-Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies-15 Answer A is correct. Automatic thoughts are spontaneous thoughts that “intercede between an event or stimulus and the individual’s emotional and behavioral reactions” (A. T. Beck and M. E. Weishaar, Cognitive therapy, in A. Freeman, K. M. Simon, L. E. Beutler, and H. Arkowitz (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of cognitive therapy, New York, Plenum, 1989, p. 254).
Regardless of the distribution of raw scores, when the raw scores are converted to percentile ranks, the resulting distribution will be:
A. normal.
B. rectangular.
C. leptokurtic.
D. platykurtic.
B. rectangular.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-TES-Test Score Interpretation-11 Answer B is correct. A percentile rank distribution is always rectangular (flat) because the same percent of scores fall at each percentile rank. In other words, when raw test scores are converted to percentile ranks, 1% of the scores will be converted to each percentile rank: The highest 1% of raw scores will be converted to a percentile rank of 100, the next highest 1% of raw scores will be converted to a percentile rank of 99, etc.
Dr. O’Leary, a neuropsychologist, administers a number of tests to new patients with traumatic brain injury to assist with differential diagnosis and treatment planning. She decides to also use her patients’ test data in a research study she will be conducting on the effects of traumatic brain injury on memory. In terms of ethical requirements, this is:
A. acceptable.
B. acceptable as long as she takes steps to protect the confidentiality of the data that will be used in her research study.
C. unacceptable unless she gets the patients’ consent to use their test information in the research study.
D. unacceptable under any circumstances.
C. unacceptable unless she gets the patients’ consent to use their test information in the research study.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 9 & 10-22 Answer C is correct. This answer is most consistent with the requirements of Standard 9.03(a) of the APA Ethics Code and Standard I.23 of the Canadian Code of Ethics, which require informed consents for assessment to include a description of the purpose of the assessment. Dr. O’Leary originally administered the tests for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment planning (and presumably obtained consent from her patients for that purpose) and she must also obtain consent to include their test data in her research study.
A solution-focused therapist uses scaling questions to help clients:
A. predict the consequences of their thoughts and behaviors.
B. identify when their problems were less intense or did not exist.
C. recognize the progress they’ve made toward achieving their goals.
D. make connections between past events and current behaviors.
C. recognize the progress they’ve made toward achieving their goals.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-CLI-Brief Therapies-09 Answer C is correct. Scaling questions are used by solution-focused therapists to help clients evaluate their current status or their progress toward achieving their goals.
Longitudinal research has found that the job satisfaction of individuals is:
A. stable over time only for those who stay in the same job.
B. stable over time only for those who stay in the same job or career.
C. stable over time and across jobs and careers.
D. unstable over time regardless of job or career stability.
C. stable over time and across jobs and careers.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-ORG-Satisfaction, Commitment, and Stress-23 Answer C is correct. The research has found that a person’s level of job satisfaction tends to be the same over time even when he/she changes jobs and careers (e.g., Staw, Bell, & Clausen, 1986).
Carl Rogers proposed that people may respond to anxiety caused by incongruence between self and experience by:
A. seeking personal power.
B. resorting to primary process thinking.
C. distorting or denying the experience.
D. striving for superiority.
C. distorting or denying the experience.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-CLI-Psychodynamic and Humanistic Therapies-04 Answer C is correct. According to Rogers, people often react defensively to incongruence by distorting or denying their experiences which, in turn, leads to psychological maladjustment.
Authors of research articles published in APA journals must retain their data for:
A. at least 3 years after the date of publication.
B. at least 5 years after the date of publication.
C. at least 10 years after the date of publication.
D. indefinitely.
B. at least 5 years after the date of publication.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 7 & 8-01 Answer B is correct. Publishing policies for APA journals include the statement that “APA expects authors to have their data available throughout the editorial review process and for at least 5 years after the date of publication” (APA Publishing Policies, August 2023, https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/resources/publishing-policies). (Note that data retention requirements vary for other journals and for different state laws, federal regulations, funding sources, and institutional policies.)
When providing psychotherapy to employees through their company’s employee assistance program (EAP), psychologists should let the employees know that:
A. they will not release any confidential information to the employees’ supervisors without the employees’ authorization to do so.
B. they can provide the employees’ supervisors with confidential information only if the supervisors referred them to the EAP.
C. the only information they can release to the employees’ supervisors without the employees’ authorization is that they’re receiving therapy through the EAP.
D. the only information they can release to the employees’ supervisors is information directly related to their work-related activities.
A. they will not release any confidential information to the employees’ supervisors without the employees’ authorization to do so.
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-ETH-APA Ethics Code Standards 3 & 4-09 Answer A is correct. Clients of EAPs have the same right to confidentiality as other therapy clients do, and they should be reassured that confidential information will not be shared with their supervisors or employers without their authorization.
Studies using functional neuroimaging techniques have found that which of the following areas of the brain is essential for prospective memory?
A. ascending reticular activating system
B. suprachiasmatic nucleus
C. prefrontal cortex
D. hippocampus
C. prefrontal cortex
EXPLANATION
EPPP-P3-PHY-Memory and Sleep-16 Answer C is correct. Prospective memory is memory for things that must be done in the future (e.g., remembering that you have to pick up a friend at the airport at 10 am next Saturday). Studies using functional neuroimaging techniques have found that activity in the prefrontal cortex increases when individuals perform prospective memory tasks. See, e.g., I. Mommenejad and J. D. Haynes, Human anterior prefrontal cortex encodes the “what” and “when” of future intentions, Neuroimage, 61(1), 139-148, 2012.
Which of the following best describes the requirements of the ethics codes of the American and Canadian Psychological Associations regarding sexual relationships with supervisees?
A. Sexual relationships with supervisees over whom psychologists have evaluative authority are prohibited.
B. Sexual relationships with supervisees may be acceptable under the “most unusual circumstances.”
C. Sexual relationships with current and former supervisees are prohibited under any circumstances.
D. Sexual relationships with current (but not former) supervisees are prohibited.
Which of the following best describes the requirements of the ethics codes of the American and Canadian Psychological Associations regarding sexual relationships with supervisees?
A. Sexual relationships with supervisees over whom psychologists have evaluative authority are prohibited.
B. Sexual relationships with supervisees may be acceptable under the “most unusual circumstances.”
C. Sexual relationships with current and former supervisees are prohibited under any circumstances.
D. Sexual relationships with current (but not former) supervisees are prohibited.
Hovland and Sears (1940) found that, as the market price for cotton decreased between 1882 and 1930 in the Deep South, the number of lynchings of African American men increased. This result is best predicted by which of the following?
A. deindividuation
B. the ultimate attribution error
C. social identity theory
D. scapegoat theory
Hovland and Sears (1940) found that, as the market price for cotton decreased between 1882 and 1930 in the Deep South, the number of lynchings of African American men increased. This result is best predicted by which of the following?
A. deindividuation
B. the ultimate attribution error
C. social identity theory
D. scapegoat theory
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach, which means that he focused more on:
A. extrinsic than intrinsic influences.
B. emotional than cognitive influences.
C. strengths than weaknesses.
D. the future than the past.
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach, which means that he focused more on:
A. extrinsic than intrinsic influences.
B. emotional than cognitive influences.
C. strengths than weaknesses.
D. the future than the past.
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach, which means that he focused more on:
A. extrinsic than intrinsic influences.
B. emotional than cognitive influences.
C. strengths than weaknesses.
D. the future than the past.
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach, which means that he focused more on:
A. extrinsic than intrinsic influences.
B. emotional than cognitive influences.
C. strengths than weaknesses.
D. the future than the past.
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach, which means that he focused more on:
A. extrinsic than intrinsic influences.
B. emotional than cognitive influences.
C. strengths than weaknesses.
D. the future than the past.
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach, which means that he focused more on:
A. extrinsic than intrinsic influences.
B. emotional than cognitive influences.
C. strengths than weaknesses.
D. the future than the past.
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach, which means that he focused more on:
A. extrinsic than intrinsic influences.
B. emotional than cognitive influences.
C. strengths than weaknesses.
D. the future than the past.
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach, which means that he focused more on:
A. extrinsic than intrinsic influences.
B. emotional than cognitive influences.
C. strengths than weaknesses.
D. the future than the past.
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach, which means that he focused more on:
A. extrinsic than intrinsic influences.
B. emotional than cognitive influences.
C. strengths than weaknesses.
D. the future than the past.
Alfred Adler adopted a teleological approach, which means that he focused more on:
A. extrinsic than intrinsic influences.
B. emotional than cognitive influences.
C. strengths than weaknesses.
D. the future than the past.