Psychology

Question 1

Which of the following is elicited by the conditioned stimulus in classic conditioning?
A. Unconditioned response
B. Shaping
C. Conditioned response
D. Operant conditioning
E. Observational learning

Answer 1

C. Conditioned response

Classic conditioning is the pairing of two stimuli. In Pavlov’s experiments, he initially used food as the unconditioned stimulus and rang a bell as the conditioned stimulus to elicit an unconditioned response of salivation from a dog. He then removed the unconditioned stimulus and presented the dog only with the conditioned stimulus (the bell). The dog continued to salivate. This is called the conditioned response.

Question 2

Which of the following is necessary for classic conditioning to occur?
A. The animal must be willing to learn.
B. Compliance is essential.
C. There should be resistance.
D. The subject must be a dog.
E. A temporal relationship between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli must exist.

Answer 2

E. A temporal relationship between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli must exist.

Classic conditioning has been noted in many animals. Willingness to learn, compliance, resistance, etc. are not important factors.

Question 3

Which of the following is true regarding classic conditioning?
A. The strength of conditioned stimulus is inversely proportional to the intensity of the unconditioned stimulus.
B. Extinction is the same as forgetting.
C. Spontaneous recovery occurs only after a short delay.
D. Thorndike is a key figure.
E. In forward conditioning, the conditioned stimulus always precedes the unconditioned stimulus.

Answer 3

E. In forward conditioning, the conditioned stimulus always precedes the unconditioned stimulus.

Pavlov did pioneering work in classic conditioning. In forward conditioning, the conditioned stimulus is presented before the unconditioned stimulus and remains on while the unconditioned stimulus is presented until the unconditioned response appears. The longer the interval between the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus, the poorer the learning. The strongest learning occurs when the delay is no longer than 0.5 seconds.
In backward conditioning, the conditioned stimulus is presented after the unconditioned stimulus.
The conditioned response ceases to occur in both classic and operant conditioning when the reinforcement ceases. The conditioned response can reappear spontaneously over time.
In forgetting, if the conditioned stimulus is repeatedly presented alone without the unconditioned stimulus, the conditioned response ceases to occur.
Thorndike proposed the law of effect, which states that an organism learns from experiences that are reinforced by reward.

Question 4

Which of the following is true regarding operant conditioning?
A. Positive reinforcers are inherently rewarding.
B. Negative reinforcers weaken a particular response.
C. It is associated with Skinner.
D. It is not the same as instrumental conditioning.
E. Extinction and spontaneous recovery do not occur.

Answer 4

C. It is associated with Skinner.

Operant conditioning is the method of behavior modification that B. F. Skinner developed by using rats as experimental subjects. Positive reinforcement causes a person or animal to repeat a behavior so that a pleasant stimulus will be repeated. Negative reinforcement causes a person or animal to behave so that an aversive stimulus is removed. Both positive and negative reinforcement strengthen behavior. Extinction and spontaneous recovery can occur in operant conditioning.

Question 5

What is the name of the process by which behavior leading to the removal of an aversive event strengthens the behavior?
A. Negative reinforcement
B. Punishment
C. Penalty
D. Habituation
E. Positive reinforcement

Answer 5

A. Negative reinforcement

Question 6

Which of the following is true regarding operant conditioning?
A. Punishment is the same as penalty.
B. Punishment is the same as negative reinforcement.
C. Toilet training is an example of backward chaining.
D. Punishment strengthens positive response.
E. Shaping is best used when the complete response desired is simple.

Answer 6

C. Toilet training is an example of backward chaining.

In shaping, successively closer approximations to the desired behavior are reinforced in order to achieve the desired behavior. In chaining, the behavior is broken into a sequence of steps and each step is learned separately. The entire chain of steps is then brought together until the complex behavior is performed in its entirety. This can be done either forward or backward. Backward chaining may be more effective because the reward associated with the final links in the chain may be used to reinforce the learning of successively earlier links in the chain.

Question 7

What form of learning did Pavlov study?
A. Law of effect
B. Observational learning
C. Operant conditioning
D. Classic conditioning
E. Learned hopelessness

Answer 7

D. Classic conditioning

Pavlov did the pioneering work in classic conditioning. Thorndike proposed the law of effect. Operant conditioning was demonstrated by Skinner. Bandura proposed the observational learning theory. Learned helplessness was proposed by Martin Seligman.

Question 8

What is the result of imprinting?
A. Children become the same as their parents.
B. Offspring become independent of the mother.
C. Proximity between mother and offspring is achieved.
D. It supports Piaget’s theory of development.
E. Newborn animals follow their mothers.

Answer 8

C. Proximity between mother and offspring is achieved.

In imprinting, the animal forms strong and lasting attachments in the early stages of its life. This attachment may be toward the mother, food, and surroundings. Imprinting is very resistant to extinction. The theory of social development was proposed by Konrad Lorenz.

Question 9

Which of the following terms denotes an increase in undesired behavior before extinction of the behavior?
A. Extinction burst
B. Chaining
C. Shaping
D. Reciprocal inhibition
E. Cueing

Answer 9

A. Extinction burst

The frequency of desired behavior may be increased with reward, and the frequency of undesired behavior may be reduced by punishment. This is reciprocal inhibition. A cue is an object or stimulus that elicits the conditioned behavior in operant conditioning.

Question 10

Who created the first modern intelligence test?
A. Piaget
B. Wechsler
C. Skinner
D. Seligman
E. Binet

Answer 10

E. Binet

The first modern intelligence test, the Binet-Simon test, was developed in France in 1904 and published in 1905; its name was changed to Stanford-Binet after the test was revised at Stanford University. Piaget proposed a model of cognitive development that suggested that infantile and childhood intellectual development involves interactions with the outside world. Weschler responded to limitations in the Stanford-Binet test by devising his own test, called the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scales (WAIS). Skinner was a behaviorist who worked on operant conditioning. Seligman proposed the concept of learned helplessness.

Question 11

At what age does the sensorimotor stage occur in Piaget's theory of cognitive development?
A. 0-2 years
B. 0-3 years
C. 2-7 years
D. 7-11 years
E. 6-9 years

Answer 11

A. 0-2 years

The sensorimotor stage is the first stage of cognitive development, occurring in the first two years of life according to Piaget, who identified four stages of cognitive development:

Question 12

What is the first sensory system to develop?
A. Hearing
B. Touch
C. Taste
D. Vision
E. Vestibular

Answer 12

B. Touch

Touch is the first sense to develop. Embryos just 5-6 weeks sense touch on the nose and lips. Touch sensitivity continues to develop from head to toes as the spinal cord myelinates and continues to develop until the child is 6 years old.

Question 13

By what age do infants begin to search for hidden objects?
A. 1 month
B. 3 months
C. 9 months
D. 3 years
E. 5 years

Answer 13

C. 9 months

Babies fail to search for hidden objects before 9 months. The baby has to possess a mental representation of the object to search for it.

Question 14

All of the following are stages of development postulated by Piaget except
A. Sensorimotor
B. Postconventional
C. Preoperational
D. Concrete operational
E. Formal operational

Answer 14

B. Postconventional

Postconventional is a stage of moral development proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg. The other terms denote the four stages of cognitive development according to the theory of Piaget.

Question 15

According to Franz Alexander, what is the central curative factor in analytic psychotherapy?
A. Intellectual insight
B. Corrective emotional experience
C. Abreaction
D. None of the above

Answer 15

B. Corrective emotional experience

Franz Alexander considered “corrective emotional experience” to be the central agent of change in any psychotherapeutic relationship. This involves a disconfirmation of previously held wrong assumptions and projections.

Question 16

According to Piaget, by what age do children start to solve logic-related problems?
A. 12 months
B. 2 years
C. 5 years
D. 7 years
E. 12 years

Answer 16

D. 7 years

Children start to solve logic-related problems at about 7 years of age. See Answer 12 for the list of stages of cognitive development according to Piaget.

Question 17

According to Piaget, in what stage is the concept of object permanence achieved?
A. Sensorimotor stage
B. Preoperational stage
C. Concrete operational stage
D. Formal operational stage
E. Adolescence

Answer 17

A. Sensorimotor stage

Object permanence is achieved at around 18 months of age.

Question 18

According to Piaget, up to what age are children egocentric?
A. 2 years
B. 4 years
C. 7 years
D. 10 years
E. 14 years

Answer 18

C. 7 years

Children are egocentric in the sensorimotor and preoperational stages. Egocentrism disappears in the concrete operational stage beginning at about age 7.

Question 19

Which of the following is tested by the question, “Are there more dogs or more animals?” that is used in Piaget's logic tasks?
A. Class inclusion
B. Transitive inference
C. Conservation
D. Spatial cognition
E. Separation

Answer 19

A. Class inclusion

According to Piaget, class inclusion is not understood by children until the age of 10.

Question 20

In infants, which of the following is the first to emerge?
A. Repetitive babbling
B. Reflexive babbling
C. Vocal play
D. “Mama”

Answer 20

B. Reflexive babbling

Reflexive babbling occurs by 3 to 4 months. This is followed by repetitive babbling by 8 months. Irrespective of the language the parents speak, by 1 year the baby is able to say “mama” and “dada,” along with one additional word. By 18 months, infants have a vocabulary of 2 to 50 words, which they use in one-word utterances. By 2 years, two-word or three-word utterances can be strung together with some understanding of grammar. By 3 years, the child can usually understand a request containing three parts.

Question 21

About how large is the vocabulary of a preschool child?
A. 1,000 words
B. 2,000 words
C. 4,000 words
D. 8,000 words
E. 14,000 words

Answer 21

C. 4,000 words

A preschool child has a vocabulary of about 4,000 words. A 1-year-old child learns approximately one new word a day, a 2-year-old child two words, and a 3-year-old child learns approximately three new words per day.

Question 22

Slow language development is associated with all of the following except
A. Intrauterine growth retardation
B. Large family size
C. Twins
D. Prolonged second-stage labor
E. Childhood maternal loss

Answer 22

D. Prolonged second-stage labor

Language development can be influenced by a variety of factors. All the factors listed in the question, along with physical abuse, deafness, poor communication at home, and large family size can retard language development. Language development is slightly quicker in girls than in boys. Being middle class is also associated with relatively faster language development. Bilingual home has no negative effect on this.

Question 23

In which stage of Kohlberg's theory of moral development does authority orientation develop?
A. Stage 1
B. Stage 2
C. Stage 4
D. Stage 5
E. Stage 6

Answer 23

C. Stage 4

Authority orientation develops in stage 4 of the six stages of development of moral judgment categorized into three levels proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg:

Question 24

In which stage of Kohlberg's theory of moral development are individuals most likely to focus on violation of laws and rules?
A. Stage 1
B. Stage 2
C. Stage 3
D. Stage 4
E. Stage 5

Answer 24

D. Stage 4

Individuals in stage 4 of moral development, authority orientation, focus on law and order

Question 25

According to Kohlberg's theory, which stage of morality may never be reached even in adulthood?
A. Punishment orientation
B. Authority orientation
C. Reward orientation
D. Social contract orientation
E. Good boy/good girl orientation

Answer 25

D. Social contract orientation

Some people never reach the level of postconventional morality (Level 3) even in adulthood. It requires individuals to have achieved the later stages of Piaget’s formal operational stage.

Question 26

Which of the following types of memory is impaired in amnesia?
A. Nondeclarative memory
B. Nonconscious memory
C. Declarative memory
D. Unconscious memory
E. Potentiation memory

Answer 26

C. Declarative memory

Declarative memory is impaired by amnesia. It is the aspect of memory that stores facts and figures and that pairs a stimulus and the correct response. Unconscious memory is a subsystem within long-term memory. It is the basis for skills acquired through repetition and practice (e.g., dance, playing the piano, driving a car).

Question 27

What is the final process in memory?
A. Rehearsal
B. Encoding
C. Storage
D. Retrieval
E. Attention

Answer 27

D. Retrieval

The three main processes of memory are encoding, storage, and retrieval. The first step, encoding, also called registration, is the process whereby information is received and assimilated. The information then goes to the next process, storage into long-term memory. Retrieval returns material from long-term memory to short-term memory and thereby reverses the process of encoding. Rehearsal is a strategy employed in order to increase the storage in the short-term memory systems. Attention is the process of selection of highly salient or relevant sensory input for action; it is divided into focused attention and divided attention.

Question 28

Which of the following is the classification of items to be remembered into meaningful groups?
A. Elaboration
B. Selection
C. Organization
D. Rehearsal
E. Priming

Answer 28

C. Organization

Question 29

What kind of memory is commonly referred to in daily use?
A. Explicit memory
B. Implicit memory
C. Iconic memory
D. Nondeclarative memory
E. Long-term memory

Answer 29

A. Explicit memory

Explicit memory is retrieved with an awareness of remembering. The person is able to cite the memories that he or she is recalling as being a memory of a particular event. Implicit memory is used without conscious retrieval effort. Iconic memory is the temporary persistence of visual impressions after the stimulus has been removed. Declarative/nondeclarative is a distinction of long-term memory based on content; declarative memory stores information that can be proclaimed or described, whereas information in nondeclarative memory is not easily stated. Long-term memory (LTM) is a permanent store with practically unlimited capacity.

Question 30

According to Holmes and Rahe, what is the most stressful event?
A. Moving home
B. Divorce
C. Christmas

E. Marriage

Answer 30

D. Death of spouse

The Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Scale measures stress by according “life crisis units” to stressful life events: death of a spouse (100 units), divorce (73 units), marriage (50 units), moving home (20 units), Christmas (12 units).

Question 31

Which of the following activities do girls aged 2 to 4 years usually prefer?
A. Kicking a ball
B. Playing with blocks
C. Dressing up
D. Playing with trucks
E. Rough and tumble play

Answer 31

C. Dressing up

At age 2 to 3, girls prefer dressing up and playing with dolls whereas boys prefer the other activities mentioned.

Question 32

Which of the following is exemplified by an infant banging objects together to make noise?
A. Pretend play
B. Attention-seeking behavior
C. Disruptive behavior
D. Sensorimotor play
E. Early game

Answer 32

D. Sensorimotor play

By 6 months of age, infants have developed simple but consistent action schemes through trial and error and much practice, which they use to make interesting things happen. For example, an infant will push a ball and make it roll in order to experience the sensation and pleasure of seeing the ball’s movement.
Between 2 and 5 years, as children develop the ability to represent experience symbolically, pretend play becomes a prominent activity. In this complex type of play, children carry out action plans, take on roles, and transform objects as they express their ideas and feelings about the social world.
Children become interested in formal games with peers by age 5 or younger. The main organizing element in game play consists of explicit rules that guide children’s group behavior.

Question 33

What is prosocial behavior?
A. Motivation to help others
B. Being concerned about others' distress
C. Actions that help society
D. Being very sociable

Answer 33

C. Actions that help society

Prosocial behaviors are voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals. Motivation to help others is altruism.

Question 34

According to Piaget, what governs young children's moral judgments?
A. Concern for others' feelings
B. Concerns for their own feelings
C. Respect for adults and adult rules
D. Intentions of others
E. Desire to please others

Answer 34

C. Respect for adults and adult rules

Young children’s moral judgments are determined by respect for adults and adult rules.

Question 35

What are digit-span tasks used to measure?
A. Speed of processing
B. Attention
C. Long-term memory
D. Short-term memory
E. Episodic memory

Answer 35

D. Short-term memory

Digit span is a common measure of short-term memory; it measures the number of digits a person can absorb and recall in correct serial order after hearing them or seeing them.

Question 36

Which of the following develops the most during adolescence?
A. Vocabulary
B. Digit span
C. Arithmetic
D. Comprehension
E. Information

Answer 36

A. Vocabulary

Question 37

Which of the following changes the most during puberty?
A. Emotion
B. Behavior
C. Appetite
D. TV viewing
E. Interaction with parents

Answer 37

E. Interaction with parents

Question 38

All of the following are true regarding the neurophysiology of memory except
A. Endorphins are involved in memory.
B. RNA is involved in memory transfer.
C. 5HT agonists impair cognition.
D. Bilateral damage to hippocampus can cause retrograde amnesia.
E. Basal forebrain lesions can result in memory deficit of the Korsakoff type.

Answer 38

D. Bilateral damage to hippocampus can cause retrograde amnesia.

The hippocampus is responsible for the conversion of short-term memory to long-term memory. Individuals with damaged hippocampus (Korsakoff syndrome) have anterograde amnesia because they are unable to process and learn new information. They are able to learn new skills but are incapable of remembering how they learned them.

Question 39

Which of the following names is matched correctly with the theory the person proposed?
A. Eysenck: striving for superiority
B. Adler: dimensional approach to personality
C. Freud: attachment theory
D. Jung: introversion and extroversion
E. Klein: grief

Answer 39

D. Jung: introversion and extroversion

Carl Jung introduced the notions of introvert and extrovert. Jung’s theory divides the psyche into three levels: the ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. He founded the school of analytic psychology.
Eysenck developed the personality inventory, a self-reported questionnaire to assess the personality dimensions of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism.
Adler emphasized the social factors in development of human personality. According to his theory, striving for power and superiority may reveal itself by its apparent opposite, a retreat into meditative weakness. He also played an important part in founding social and preventive psychiatry and in the development of day hospitals, therapeutic clubs, and group therapies.
Sigmund Freud did pioneering work on models of the mind, ego-defense mechanisms, and personality development.
Melanie Klein proposed two modes of functioning: the paranoid schizoid position and the depressive position.

Question 40

Which of the following is true?
A. Cannon-Bard theory describes transferred excitation.
B. Social referencing occurs only in brain-damaged patients.
C. According to Schachter and Singer, facial feedback drives emotional experience.
D. James-Lange theory emphasizes importance of physiologic responses.
E. Facial movements are controlled by the pyramidal system.

Answer 40

D. James-Lange theory emphasizes importance of physiologic responses.

The James-Lange theory views emotional response to a situation as the result of physiologic reactions. Cannon-Bard theory suggests that the autonomic nervous system responds in the same way to all emotional stimuli. The theory of emotion described by Schachter argues that emotional reaction is composed of initial peripheral physiologic changes and the interpretation of these changes. Social referencing is the means by which the normal child develops an understanding of both people and objects. It helps the child develop an understanding of emotional expressions.

Question 41

All of the following are true regarding aggression EXCEPT:
A. The amygdala and hippocampus are involved.
B. Immediate rewards can alter the frequency of aggression.
C. Aggressive behaviors are less likely in collective cultures.
D. Aggression is more likely following an expected failure than an unexpected one.
E. According to Freud, aggression is a biological urge.

Answer 41

D. Aggression is more likely following an expected failure than an unexpected one.

Aggression is more likely in unexpected failure than in expected failure. The amygdala and hippocampus are important parts of the limbic system, which is concerned with memory, behavior, and emotional expression. Stimulation of the amygdala produces aggression, while ablation produces placidity. Various theories of aggression exist, and operant conditioning clearly suggests that positive reinforcement can occur with aggression. That is, if goals are achieved by aggression, the behavior is likely to be repeated. According to Freud, the two basic drives that motivate all thoughts are sex and aggression (Eros and Thanatos).

Question 42

The likelihood of an accident victim receiving help is greatest if the number of bystanders witnessing the accident is
A. 1
B. 5
C. 15
D. 50
E. More than 100

Answer 42

A. 1

In bystander intervention, the presence of others is likely to deter an individual from intervening. When each individual knows that others are present, the burden of intervention does not fall solely on him or her and there is a diffusion of responsibility.

Question 43

Who proposed the concept of client-centered therapy?
A. Sigmund Freud
B. Carl Rogers
C. Festinger
D. Anna Freud
E. Donald Winnicott

Answer 43

B. Carl Rogers

Client-centered therapy was proposed by Carl Rogers, who saw people as rational, whole beings who know their feelings and reactions; the Q Sort technique was developed from this theory. Freud’s psychoanalytic approach divided personality into id, ego, and superego. Festinger proposed the concept of cognitive consistency and dissonance. Anna Freud continued to work on the principles of her father, Sigmund Freud, primarily with children. She published The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense. Donald Winicott, a pediatrician, suggested the concepts of good-enough mother, false self, and transitional objects.

Question 44

In which of the following are increased errors seen in the span of apprehension test?
A. Schizophrenia
B. Depression
C. Anxiety
D. Obsessive-compulsive disorder
E. Panic disorder

Answer 44

A. Schizophrenia

Question 45

In which of the following stages of sleep do newborns spend half of their time?
A. Stage 1
B. Stage 2
C. Stage 3
D. Stage 4
E. REM sleep

Answer 45

E. REM sleep

In neonates, the predominant sleep pattern is REM sleep, which occupies more than 50% of the sleep time. This gradually reduces until, by 5 to 6 years of age, the child is in REM sleep for about 25% of the sleep time. This proportion continues into adult life. In contrast, stages 3 and 4 of NREM sleep progressively shorten as the child grows older. They are gradually replaced by stages 1 and 2 of NREM sleep.

Question 46

What is the capacity of short-term memory?
A. 12 items
B. 4 items
C. 7 ± 2 items
D. 9 ± 2 items
E. 15 items

Answer 46

C. 7 ± 2 items

The capacity of short-term memory is 7 ± 2 items. This can be extended to some degree by chunking, which is a process where several items are grouped perceptually or cognitively into larger single units.

Question 47

A child has been negligent about doing his homework. His father tells him that, from then on, he will not be permitted to watch TV until he has finished his homework. What behavioral principle is being utilized by the parent?
A. Premack principle
B. Peter principle
C. Dilbert principle
D. None of the above

Answer 47

A. Premack principle

According to the Premack principle, a more probable behavior will reinforce less probable behaviors. This principle can be used for behavior modification. If a high-probability behavior (something the person desires or likes to do) is made contingent upon performance of a lower probability behavior (something the person finds less desirable), then the lower probability behavior will be more likely to occur.

Question 48

Which of the following is the dominant theme in adolescence according to Erikson?
A. Initiative vs. guilt
B. Identity vs. confusion
C. Integrity vs. despair
D. Autonomy vs. doubt
E. Intimacy vs. isolation

Answer 48

B. Identity vs. confusion