tough Qs with answers

Question 1

According leader-member exchange theory, what are qualities which a leader dtermines as important in thier subordinates?

Answer 1

Dansereau, Graen, and Haga’s (1975) leader-member exchange theory is based on the assumption that leader effectiveness and subordinate outcomes are determined by the nature of the interactions between the leader and the subordinate. It proposes that subordinates are treated as in-group or out-group members based on whether or not the leader perceives them as being competent, trustworthy, and willing to assume responsibility.

Question 2

In the context of test construction, “shrinkage” is associated with:
A. inter-rater reliability.
B. factor analysis.
C. incremental validity.
D. cross-validation.

Answer 2

Shrinkage is associated with cross-validation and refers to the fact that a validity coefficient is likely to be smaller than the original coefficient when the predictor(s) and criterion are administered to another (cross-validation) sample. Shrinkage occurs because the chance factors that contributed to the relationship between the predictor(s) and criterion in the original sample are not present in the cross-validation sample.

Question 3

Alma A., a 68-year-old retired real estate agent, is brought to therapy by her daughter who says that Alma has become forgetful, has difficulty concentrating, and seems depressed. The presence of which of the following would suggest that Alma’s symptoms are more likely due to a neurocognitive disorder than to pseudodementia (major depressive disorder)?
A. Alma’s daughter says her mother’s symptoms began soon after the family dog died.
B. Alma’s daughter says her mother’s symptoms are worse in the evening.
C. Alma often answers “I don’t know” in response to assessment questions.
D. Alma exaggerates her cognitive problems.

Answer 3

Major depressive disorder and neurocognitive disorder share some symptoms, but they also differ in important ways. The behaviors described in answers A, C, and D are more characteristic of pseudodementia than of a neurocognitive disorder. In contrast, worsening of symptoms in the evening (“sundowning”) is more characteristic of a neurocognitive disorder.

Question 4

The assessment of treatment fidelity focuses on which of the following?
A. efficacy and effectiveness
B. reliability and validity
C. differentiation, adherence, and competency
D. familiarity, confidence, and preparedness

Answer 4

Treatment fidelity refers to the degree to which a treatment is delivered as intended and is affected by the degree to which the therapist delivered only the target treatment and no other treatments (differentiation), the therapist’s adherence to the treatment protocol (adherence), and the therapist’s competence in delivering the treatment (competency). Consequently, these three factors are the primary targets of an evaluation of a treatment’s fidelity.

Question 5

When designing a training program, providing “identical elements” is most important for:
A. maximizing trainee motivation.
B. ensuring transfer of training.
C. setting realistic training goals.
D. retraining older workers.

Answer 5

According to the principle of identical elements, the more similar the training and performance situations are, the greater the transfer of training.

Question 6

An organizational psychologist would most likely be hired by a company to conduct a job evaluation for the purpose of:
A. establishing comparable worth.
B. determining the training needs of newly hired employees.
C. developing performance appraisal measures.
D. writing detailed job descriptions.

Answer 6

A job evaluation is conducted to facilitate decisions related to compensation. It’s often used to establish comparable worth, which is the principle that workers who perform jobs that require the same skills and responsibilities or that are of comparable value to the employer should be paid the same.

Question 7

For a practitioner of Beck’s cognitive behavior therapy, the automatic thoughts associated with depression reflect which of the following?
A. a lack of control over one’s emotions, behavior, and environment
B. should’s and must’s
C. negative views of oneself, the world, and the future
D. catastrophic interpretations of both negative and neutral events

Answer 7

Beck’s (1979) cognitive model of depression describes it as involving a negative cognitive triad that consists of negative views of oneself, the world, and the future.

Question 8

John Jr. just turned 14 and has started demanding to be allowed to make his own decisions and to have more privileges and independence from the family. In response, John’s parents continue to treat him like a child and have become more punitive in an attempt to keep things the way they were. The parents’ response to John’s demands illustrates which of the following?
A. positive feedback
B. negative feedback
C. reframing
D. restraining

Answer 8

Negative feedback serves to maintain the status quo (i.e., to keep things the way they were), while positive feedback promotes change. Reframing and restraining are paradoxical techniques used by therapists to alter behavior.

Question 9

Dr. Miller is hired by an insurance company to develop a performance appraisal measure for salespeople. She’s most likely to recommend that the company use a relative measure (as opposed to a Likert-type rating scale) because relative measures:
A. are more acceptable to both raters and rates.
B. allow the rater to focus on typical (rather than maximum) performance.
C. are less susceptible to some rater biases.

D. provide more useful information for employee feedback.

Answer 9

An advantage of relative job performance measures is that they reduce leniency, strictness, and central tendency rater biases.

Question 10

A problem with using percent agreement as a measure of inter-rater reliability is that it may:
A. underestimate reliability because it’s susceptible to rater biases.
B. overestimate reliability because it’s susceptible to rater biases.
C. underestimate reliability because it’s affected by chance agreement.
D. overestimate reliability because it’s affected by chance agreement.

Answer 10

A certain amount of chance agreement between two or more raters is possible, especially for behavior observation scales when the behavior occurs frequently. Percent agreement is easy to calculate but, because it’s affected by chance agreement, it may overestimate a measure’s inter-rater reliability.

Question 11

When lithium has not reduced the symptoms of mania for an individual who has received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, an alternative is:
A. disulfiram.
B. carbamazepine.
C. propranolol.

D. guanfacine.

Answer 11

Anticonvulsant drugs are often prescribed for individuals with bipolar disorder who have not responded to lithium or cannot tolerate its side effects. Carbamazepine is one of the anticonvulsant drugs that has been found useful for treating mania.

Question 12

Wolpe (1958) believed that counterconditioning was responsible for the effectiveness of his technique of systematic desensitization for eliminating an anxiety response to a particular stimulus. However, studies using the dismantling strategy found that its effects are actually due to:
A. extinction.
B. higher-order conditioning.
C. satiation.
D. stimulus discrimination.

Answer 12

Use of the dismantling strategy to identify the effects of the elements of an intervention involves comparing the elements by administering different elements to different groups of subjects. When this strategy was used to determine which elements of systematic desensitization accounted for its effectiveness, researchers found it was repeated exposure to the feared (conditioned) stimulus that eliminated the anxiety response and that pairing the feared stimulus with a stimulus that produced relaxation (counterconditioning) was unnecessary. In other words, the anxiety response was extinguished by repeatedly exposing the individual to the feared stimulus.

Question 13

As a favor to another psychology professor, Dr. Anand requires students in his Psychology 101 class to participate in the professor’s research project. In terms of the requirements of the APA Ethics Code and the Canadian Code of Ethics, Dr. Anand’s requirement is:
A. acceptable as long as Dr. Anand believes that participation in the study will benefit his students.
B. acceptable as long as students are told about this requirement during the first class meeting.
C. acceptable only if students are given the choice of participating in the study or completing an alternative assignment.
D. acceptable only if Dr. Anand is not involved in the research project.

Answer 13

This situation is addressed in Standard 8.04(b) of the APA Ethics Code and Standard I.36 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Standard 8.04(b) states that “when research participation is a course requirement or an opportunity for extra credit, the prospective participant is given the choice of equitable alternative activities.”

Question 14

The Oregon model of parent management training developed by Gerald Patterson and his colleagues (1982) was based on their research that found a link between high levels of aggressiveness in children and:
A. early attachment insecurity.
B. rejecting/neglecting parents.
C. coercive family interactions.
D. a disorganized home environment.

Answer 14

Patterson et al. found that aggression and other antisocial behaviors in children were related to coercive family interactions that become progressively more coercive over time, with parents using increasingly harsh punishments and children becoming more disruptive and aggressive.

Question 15

When an examinee’s scores on the L, F, and K scales of the MMPI-2 assume a V-shape with a low score on the F scale and high scores on the L and K scales, this suggests which of the following?
A. The examinee attempted to make a favorable impression.
B. The examinee attempted to fake a mental illness.
C. The examinee answered half of the items “true” and the other half “false.”
D. The examinee answered all of the items “true.”

Answer 15

The L, F, and K scales are three of the MMPI-2’s validity scales and the L-F-K profile indicates an attempt to “fake good” when it is V-shaped (low F scale score and high L and K scale scores) and an attempt to “fake bad” when it has an inverted-V shape (high F scale score and low L and K scale scores).

Question 17

Neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease and neurocognitive disorder with Lewy bodies (NCDLB) can be difficult to distinguish, especially in their early stages, but there are differences. Which of the following does NOT accurately describe a difference between the two disorders?
A. Motor disturbances are more prominent in early Alzheimer’s disease than in early NCDLB.
B. Memory loss is usually a more prominent early symptom of early Alzheimer’s disease than of early NCDLB.
C. Nonvisual hallucinations and systematized delusions are more common in early NCDLB than in early Alzheimer’s disease.
D. Orthostatic hypotension and other autonomic disturbances are more common in early NCDLB than in early Alzheimer’s disease.

Answer 17

Key differences between Alzheimer’s and dementia with Lewy bodies
1. Memory loss tends to be a more prominent symptom in early Alzheimer’s than in early DLB. However, advanced DLB may cause memory problems in addition to its more typical effects on judgment, planning and visual perception.
2. Movement symptoms are more likely to be an important cause of disability early in DLB than in Alzheimer’s. However, Alzheimer’s can cause problems with walking, balance and getting around as it progresses to moderate and severe stages.
3. Hallucinations and misidentification of familiar people are significantly more frequent in early-stage DLB than in Alzheimer’s.
REM sleep disorder is more common in early DLB than in Alzheimer’s.
4. Disruption of the autonomic nervous system — such as causing a blood pressure drop on standing, dizziness, falls and urinary incontinence — is much more common in early DLB than in Alzheimer’s.

Question 18

Moffitt’s (1993) “maturity gap” is most useful for understanding the etiology of which of the following disorders?
A. oppositional defiant disorder
B. late-onset attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
C. intermittent explosive disorder
D. adolescent-onset conduct disorder

Answer 18

T. Moffitt distinguished between two types of antisocial behavior in youth: Her life-course persistent type ASPD corresponds to the childhood-onset type of conduct disorder, while her adolescence-limited type corresponds to the adolescent-onset type ASPD. According to Moffitt, the life-course persistent type is the more serious disorder and is due to inherited or acquired neurobiological and neuropsychological factors, while the adolescence-limited type is due to a “maturity gap,” which is the gap between an adolescent’s biological and social maturity (Adolescence-limited and life-course persistent antisocial behavior: A taxonomy, Psychological Review, 100, 674-701, 1993).

Question 20

The Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20) can be used to estimate a test’s ____________ reliability when test items are scored dichotomously.

A. alternate forms
B. internal consistency
C. test-retest
D. inter-rater

Answer 20

KR-20 is a variation of coefficient alpha that can be used to evaluate a test’s internal consistency reliability when test items are scored dichotomously (e.g., as correct or incorrect).

Question 21

A problem with split-half reliability is that it essentially involves calculating a reliability coefficient for two forms of the test that are half as long as the original test, and shorter tests tend to be less reliable than longer ones. How can this be corrected?

Answer 21

A split-half reliability coefficient underestimates a test’s reliability and is usually corrected with the Spearman-Brown prophecy formula, which is used to determine the effects of lengthening or shortening a test on its reliability coefficient.

Question 22

A young man taking a conventional antipsychotic as a treatment for schizophrenia develops tardive dyskinesia. Of the following, which would be the best course of action in this situation?

A. increase the dose of the conventional antipsychotic

B. replace the conventional antipsychotic with an atypical antipsychotic

C. immediately discontinue the conventional antipsychotic

D. have the patient take a low dose of a dopamine antagonist

Answer 22

The atypical antipsychotics are less likely to cause tardive dyskinesia and, if a patient’s symptoms require continued treatment with an antipsychotic drug, switching to an atypical drug is an option. The actions described in the other answers would increase the symptoms of tardive dyskinesia. (Withdrawing the conventional antipsychotic is also an option but gradual withdrawal is preferred because symptoms may worsen if the drug is abruptly withdrawn.)

Question 23

Damage to Broca’s area produces:
A. nonfluent speech with intact comprehension.
B. fluent but nonsensical speech with intact comprehension.
C. nonfluent speech with severely impaired comprehension.
D. fluent but nonsensical speech with impaired comprehension.

Answer 23

Damage to Broca’s area causes Broca’s aphasia, which is also known as expressive aphasia. It’s characterized by nonfluent, labored speech with intact comprehension.

Question 24

Long-term potentiation (LTP) has been linked to:
A. REM sleep.
B. visual processing.
C. seizure disorders.
D. memory storage.

Answer 24

LTP refers to an increase in synaptic efficacy as the result of repetitive stimulation and is believed to play an important role in the formation and storage of new memories.

Question 25

In their discussion of the use of culture-specific techniques in psychotherapy, Sue and Zane (1987) emphasize the importance of “gift giving” during the initial therapy sessions when working with Asian American and other non-Western clients. As described by these investigators, gift giving includes:
A. establishing credibility by demonstrating expertise.
B. ensuring confidentiality.
C. instilling hope and providing reassurance.
D. introducing the topic of race or ethnicity.

Answer 25

gift giving involves ensuring that clients feel they have received immediate benefits from therapy and includes normalizing the client’s feelings and experiences, providing reassurance, instilling hope, teaching coping skills, and helping the client set goals for therapy. Note that Sue and Zane identify credibility as an important treatment issue when working with non-Western clients, but they describe it as a separate issue and not a factor that contributes to gift giving.

Question 26

Ella took Spanish classes in her last two years of high school but decided to learn French in college instead of continuing with Spanish. She found that, even after studying French for two semesters, whenever she tried to recall the French equivalent for an English word, she’d recall the Spanish word instead. Ella’s experience illustrates which of the following?
A. retroactive interference
B. proactive interference
C. the serial position effect
D. the recency effect

Answer 26

Proactive interference occurs when prior learning (e.g., Spanish) interferes with the ability to learn or recall new information (e.g., French).

Question 27

Restitution and positive practice are components of which of the following?
A. response cost
B. Premack principle
C. overcorrection
D. differential reinforcement

Answer 27

Overcorrection is used to reduce or eliminate an undesirable behavior and is classified as a type of positive punishment. It consists of two components: Restitution requires the individual to fix any negative consequences of the behavior (e.g., having a child clean up the food he threw on the floor while the family ate dinner). Positive practice involves practicing more appropriate behaviors (e.g., having the child scrape the uneaten food off the plates of other family members into the garbage can).

Question 29

A company’s current selection procedure for computer programmers consists of seven predictors that are used to predict the job performance score that a job applicant will receive six months after being hired. The owner of the company wants to reduce the costs and time required to make selection decisions. Which of the following would be most useful for determining the fewest number of predictors needed to make accurate predictions about applicants’ job performance scores?
A. linear regression analysis
B. discriminant function analysis
C. stepwise multiple regression
D. factor analysis

Answer 29

Multiple regression is used to predict a person’s score on a single criterion (e.g., job performance measure) using two or more predictors. Stepwise multiple regression is a type of multiple regression that’s used to identify the fewest number of predictors needed to make an accurate prediction.

Question 30

The brain continues to develop into late adolescence or early to mid-adulthood, with the __________ being the last area to fully develop.

A. basal ganglia

B. amygdala

C. somatosensory cortex

D. prefrontal cortex

Answer 30

The prefrontal cortex is responsible for impulse control, planning, decision-making, and other higher-order cognitive functions. It’s the last area of the brain to become fully functional and continues to develop into the early or mid-20s. See, e.g., B. M. Newman and P. R. Newman, Development through life: A psychosocial approach (13th ed.), Boston, MA, Cengage Learning, 2017.

Question 31

You receive a letter from a colleague requesting that you send her a copy of the record of Donald D., a former client of yours. The request is accompanied by an authorization to release information signed by Donald. Donald abruptly ended his sessions with you three months ago, at which time he owed you for his past four therapy sessions. You’ve sent two letters to Donald about his unpaid bill, but he has not responded. To be consistent with ethical requirements, you:

A. must forward the record to the colleague since Donald has signed an authorization allowing you to do so.

B. may refuse to forward the record to the colleague until you and Donald reach an agreement about how he will pay his outstanding fees.

C. may refuse to forward the record to the colleague for nonpayment of fees only if they are not needed for Donald’s emergency treatment.

D. may refuse to forward the record to the colleague for nonpayment of fees only if you explained this policy to Donald as part of the informed consent process when he began therapy.

Answer 31

Ethical requirements for this situation are provided in Standard 6.03 of the APA Ethics Code. It states that “psychologists may not withhold records under their control that are requested and needed for a client’s/patient’s emergency treatment solely because payment has not been received.” This answer is also consistent with the Preamble and Standards II.1 and II.2 of the Canadian Code of Ethics. Note, however, that withholding client records for nonpayment of fees in any situation may be illegal or inconsistent with institutional regulations

Question 32

____________ consists of three overlapping stages: conceptualization, skill acquisition and rehearsal, and application and follow-through.

A. Self-instructional training

B. Stress inoculation training

C. Problem-solving therapy

D. Motivational interviewing

Answer 32

Meichenbaum’s (2003) stress inoculation training is based on the assumption that acquiring effective strategies for coping with stress helps “inoculate” a person from experiencing high levels of stress in the future. It consists of the three stages listed in the question.

Question 33

The two main types of integrity tests that are used to assist with selection decisions are:

A. general and specific trait tests.

B. covert and behavior-based tests.

C. objective and subjective tests.

D. overt and personality-based tests.

Answer 33

Overt integrity tests ask directly about attitudes toward and previous history of dishonesty and theft, while personality-based integrity tests assess aspects of personality that have been linked to dishonesty, disciplinary problems, sabotage, and other counterproductive behaviors.

Question 34

According to Fiedler’s (1967) contingency theory, a low LPC leader is most effective in:

A. moderately favorable situations.

B. very unfavorable situations.

C. very favorable situations.

D. very unfavorable and very favorable situations.

Answer 34

According to Fiedler, low LPC leaders are most effective in very unfavorable and very favorable situations, while high LPC leaders are most effective in moderately favorable situations.

Question 35

An organizational psychologist is hired by the owner of Best Plumbing Supply to determine why so many of her employees seem to have low levels of job motivation and satisfaction. The owner says she recently gave employees salary increases and bonuses for outstanding performance, but this did not have a noticeable effect. Being familiar with ____________, the psychologist will most likely tell the owner that, to increase motivation and satisfaction, she should redesign the employees’ jobs so they provide opportunities for autonomy, responsibility, and advancement.

A. two-factor theory

B. equity theory

C. goal-setting theory

D. situational leadership theory

Answer 35

psychologist’s recommendation is most consistent with Herzberg’s (1966) two-factor theory which predicts (a) that hygiene factors (e.g., pay, benefits, and work conditions) cause dissatisfaction when they’re inadequate but do not contribute to satisfaction or motivation when they’re adequate and
(b) that motivator factors (e.g., opportunities for autonomy, responsibility, and advancement) do not cause dissatisfaction when they’re inadequate but contribute to satisfaction and motivation when they’re adequate.

Question 36

Herzberg developed _______________ as a method of designing jobs so they provide motivator factors.

Answer 36

job enrichment
Job enrichment can be applied to different types of jobs, but its effects depend on certain worker characteristics. For example, it tends to have the most positive outcomes for younger and well-educated workers and workers who have a high need for achievement.

Question 38

According to Prochaska and DiClemente’s (1983) transtheoretical model, people in the ____________ stage of change are aware of their problem behavior, are weighing the pros and cons of changing, and feel they’ll be ready to take the steps necessary to change the behavior within the next six months.

A. precontemplation

B. preparation

C. contemplation

D. determination

Answer 38

Prochaska and DiClemente’s transtheoretical model distinguishes between six stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. During the contemplation stage, people are aware of the costs and benefits of changing an undesirable behavior and may be somewhat ambivalent about doing so, but they’re seriously considering taking action to change within the next six months.

Question 39

Age-related changes in fluid intelligence have been linked to changes in processing speed and:

A. working memory.

B. sensory memory.

C. recent long-term memory.

D. prospective memory.

Answer 39

The research has consistently found moderate to high correlations between measures of processing speed, working memory, and fluid intelligence. There are several explanations for these correlations. One explanation is that age-related changes in processing speed cause changes in working memory that, in turn, cause changes in fluid intelligence. Another explanation is that age-related changes in processing speed and working memory have independent effects on fluid intelligence.

Question 40

When conducting a one-way ANOVA, an F-ratio is calculated by dividing the mean square between (MSB) by the mean square within (MSW). The mean square between provides an estimate of variability in dependent variable scores due to:

A. treatment effects only.

B. error only.

C. treatment effects plus error.

D. treatment effects minus error.

Answer 40

Correct answer
C. treatment effects plus error.

MSB is a measure of variability due to a combination of treatment effects plus error, while MSW is a measure of variability due to error only. When MSB is divided by MSW, this produces the F-ratio which provides an estimate of treatment effects.

Question 43

Mowrer’s (1960) two-factor theory of learning is most useful for understanding which of the following?

A. avoidance conditioning

B. escape conditioning

C. spontaneous recovery

D. operant extinction

Answer 43

Mowrer’s two-factor theory of learning proposes that some behaviors are the result of a combination of classical and operant conditioning. Avoidance conditioning is an example of two-factor learning because it combines classical conditioning and negative reinforcement (operant conditioning). For example, a rat may learn that it can escape (stop) an electric shock by pressing a bar, which is the negative reinforcement component. Then, if a flashing light signals that the shock is about to occur, the light becomes paired with the shock so that the light elicits anticipatory fear, which is the classical conditioning component. The rat then avoids the shock by pressing the bar as soon as the light starts flashing.

Question 44

A supervisor notices that an employee seems to be putting more time and effort into his work but this increase has not been accompanied by an increase in productivity. The employee’s behavior is most likely:

A. the result of a lack of control over the pace of her work.

B. an early sign of job burnout.

C. a consequence of chronic work-family conflict.

D. a symptom of “survivor syndrome.”

Answer 44

An early sign of burnout is an increase in the time and effort put into work without an increase in productivity. Other early signs include
1. reduced motivation,
2. increased irritability and negativity,
3. social withdrawal, and
4. somatic symptoms.

Question 45

You would use the Position Analysis Questionnaire to:

A. evaluate the effects of a training program.

B. identify the “position power” of managerial-level employees.

C. conduct a worker-oriented job analysis.

D. conduct an organizational analysis.

Answer 45

The Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) is a worker-oriented job analysis questionnaire that addresses six categories of work activity: information input, mental processes, work output, relationships with other people, job context, and other characteristics.

Question 46

An employer is concerned about the low motivation of many of her employees and decides to interview them to obtain information on how to alleviate this problem. Being familiar with Vroom’s (1964) expectancy theory, the employer will ask employees about all of the following except:

A. expectancy.

B. instrumentality.

C. commitment.

D. valence.

Answer 46

Knowing that expectancy theory is also known as VIE theory would have helped you identify the correct answer to this question: “V” refers to valence, “I” to instrumentality, and “E” to expectancy.

Question 47

Which of the following best describes ethical requirements with regard to pro bono services?

A. Because pro bono services are addressed in the General Principles, they’re encouraged by the Code.

B. Because pro bono services are addressed in the General Principles, they’re discouraged by the Code.

C. Because pro bono services are addressed in the Ethical Standards, they’re required by the Code.

D. Because pro bono services are addressed in the Ethical Standards, they’re prohibited by the Code.

Answer 47

The term “pro bono services” is not used in the APA Ethics Code or the Canadian Code of Ethics, but this answer is most consistent with the “spirit” of the Codes. Also, providing free or lost cost services is addressed in the General Principles of the APA Ethics Code, which provide aspirational (not enforceable) guidelines: General Principle B (Fidelity and Responsibility) states that “psychologists strive to contribute a portion of their professional time for little or no compensation or personal advantage.”

Question 48

Which of the following is an example of negative reinforcement?

A. A child continues to “act out” in class because of the attention he gets from the other children when he does so.

B. A teenager stops biting his nails at school because, whenever he does, his peers make fun of him.

C. A woman who knows sweets aren’t good for her continues to eat chocolate because chocolate reduces her anxiety.

D. A man stopped smoking after his therapist required him to donate $5.00 to a disliked political candidate every time he lit up a cigarette.

Answer 48

Negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior continues or increases because performing the behavior results in the termination or withdrawal of a stimulus. In the situation described in this answer, the woman eats chocolate because doing so stops her anxiety.

Question 49

The questions included in ____________ ask experienced job applicants to describe how they handled specific job-related situations in the past.

A. a situational interview

B. a behavioral interview

C. a case interview

D. an informational interview

Answer 49

Behavioral interviews are based on the assumption that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. When conducting a behavioral interview, the interviewer asks job applicants with previous job experience how they responded to specific job-related situations in the past.

Question 50

Following a presidential election, a person who voted for the winning candidate pays attention to news commentaries that support the new president’s actions but ignores commentaries that criticize him. This best illustrates which of the following?

A. self-serving bias

B. confirmation bias

C. illusory correlation

D. halo effect

Answer 50

The confirmation bias is the tendency to seek and pay attention to information that confirms our attitudes and beliefs and to ignore information that refutes them.

Question 51

Research using false-belief tasks has found that ToM develops when children are between_______________ of age (Wellman et al., 2001)

Answer 51

Research using false-belief tasks has found that ToM develops when children are between 3 and 5 years of age (Wellman et al., 2001)

Question 52

What is reverse developmental trend?

Answer 52

there is evidence that, in certain conditions, the testimony of young children is more accurate than the testimony of older children, adolescents, and adults and that this reverse developmental trend is due to age-related differences in knowledge: Increasing age is associated with greater knowledge, and greater knowledge increases the likelihood of generating spontaneous false memories from suggestive information (Brainerd, Reyna, & Ceci, 2008)

Question 53

A researcher wants to evaluate the effects of virtual reality exposure for treating the storm, height, and spider phobias of a 34-year-old woman. The best single-subject research design for evaluating this treatment is which of the following?

A. multiple baseline

B. reversal

C. discrete trials

D. time series

Answer 53

Of the three single-subject designs listed in the answers (multiple baseline, reversal, and discrete trials), the multiple baseline design would be the most appropriate because it would allow the researcher to determine if the treatment is effective for any of the woman’s phobias by sequentially applying the treatment to them. In addition, the multiple baseline design doesn’t require a treatment to be withdrawn once it’s been applied to a behavior. Consequently, if the treatment has a beneficial effect on any of the woman’s phobias, the researcher would not have to withdraw the treatment during the course of the study just for the sake of assessing its effects.

Question 54

The technique known as orgasmic reconditioning has been identified as an effective treatment for which of the following?

A. delayed ejaculation

B. female orgasmic disorder

C. premature ejaculation

D. paraphilic disorder

Answer 54

Orgasmic reconditioning, covert sensitization, and aversion treatment are behavioral interventions that are used to treat paraphilic disorders. Orgasmic reconditioning involves teaching the individual to become sexually aroused to more acceptable mental images and fantasies.

Question 55

Strength, accessibility, and specificity have been identified as factors that affect:

A. the extent to which a person can resist persuasion.

B. the likelihood that a person’s behaviors will alter his/her attitudes.

C. the amount of influence a person’s attitudes have on his/her behaviors.

D. the persuasiveness of an advertisement or other message.

Answer 55

Research has found that the strength of the relationship between a person’s attitudes and his/her behaviors is affected by several factors, including the strength, accessibility, and specificity of the attitudes. See e.g., C. A. Sanderson, Social psychology, Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley & Sons, 2010.

Question 56

Before using a selection test to estimate how well job applicants will do on a measure of job performance on their first few days of work, you would want to make sure the selection test has adequate:

A. concurrent validity.

B. predictive validity.

C. differential validity.

D. construct validity.

Answer 56

Evaluating a predictor’s criterion-related validity is important when scores on the predictor will be used to estimate scores on a criterion. There are two types of criterion-related validity: Concurrent validity is most important when predictor scores will be used to estimate current scores on the criterion. Predictive validity is most important when predictor scores will be used to estimate future scores on the criterion, which is the situation described in this question.