Deck 1: Psychology As a Science

Question 1

What method was used by structuralists to understand conscious experiences?

A) Experimentation
B) Perception
C) Introspection
D) Intuition

Answer 1

Introspection

Question 2

William James did not embrace the approach of identifying the mind's components.What was James's desire?

A) To scientifically study observable behavior
B) To understand how the mind affects what people feel
C) To understand how the mind organizes stimuli into coherent wholes
D) To understand how the mind affects what people do

Answer 2

To understand how the mind affects what people do

Question 3

Which approach to psychology studies how the unconscious mind shapes behavior?

A) Psychoanalysis
B) Behaviorism
C) Pragmatism
D) Introspection

Answer 3

Psychoanalysis

Question 4

Who is regarded as the first American psychologist to exert a guiding influence on psychology?

A) Sigmund Freud
B) William James
C) John Watson
D) Mary Calkins

Question 5

Edward Titchener renamed Wundt's model of consciousness as ____.

A) structuralism
B) functionalism
C) introspection
D) logical positivism

Question 6

What was William James' approach to psychology?

A) Lab studies
B) Clinical research
C) Case studies
D) Own ideas and eloquent writing

Question 7

Which approach to psychology dominated North America from 1920s through 1950s?

A) Existentialism
B) Behaviorism
C) Structuralism
D) Pragmatic examination

Question 8

According to John Watson,which of the following would be a proper study of psychology?

A) Dreams
B) Playing in the park
C) Imagery
D) Introspection

Question 9

The year is 1879,and you are on your way to Germany to study at the first institute for research in experimental psychology.Which professor do you hope to study with at the University of Leipzig?

A) Wilhelm Wundt
B) Carl Jung
C) Viktor Henri
D) Hugo Munsterberg

Question 10

The term psychology comes from the Greek words psyche,meaning ____,and logos,meaning ____.

A) mind;body
B) mind;study
C) character;body
D) character;study

Question 11

You and several of your colleagues were stuck in an elevator for several hours.Later,sitting around the conference table,each of you begin to describe in detail your feelings and fears about the ordeal.What technique are you most likely using?

A) Sensory adaptation
B) Introspection
C) Consciousness
D) Pragmatic examination

Question 12

Why was Freud's theory in sharp contrast to the theories of Wundt and James?

A) Freud's theory was based on the components of the conscious mind.
B) Freud's theory was based on observable behaviors.
C) Freud's theory was based on unconscious motives and sexual desires.
D) Freud's theory was based on the influence of biological determinants.

Question 13

You tell your friend that you are having recurring dreams about falling off a cliff.Your friends are most likely to suggest that you visit which of the following individuals to understand the meaning of this dream?

A) A psychoanalyst
B) A behaviorist
C) An evolutionist
D) A Gestaltist

Question 14

A psychologist who is mainly interested in a person's observable behavior,rather than the person's mental processes,is a ____.

A) psychoanalytic
B) behaviorist
C) structuralist
D) Gestaltist

Question 15

What is the theoretical goal of psychology according to early behaviorists?

A) Prediction and control of behavior
B) Analyzing the structure,content,and function of the mind
C) Identifying the complex components of the conscious mind
D) Defining the behavioral differences between man and animal responses

Question 16

____ is the scientific study of mental processes and behavior.

A) Psychiatry
B) Psychology
C) Psychobiology
D) Psycholinguistics

Question 17

Identify the method used by Sigmund Freud to develop his approach to psychology.

A) Observation
B) Clinical practice
C) Teaching
D) Survey research

Question 18

Who is identified by most historians as the "world's first psychologist"?

A) Sigmund Freud
B) William James
C) James Watson
D) Wilhelm Wundt

Question 19

Which approach to psychology studies how the conscious mind helps humans survive and successfully adapt to their environment?

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

Question 20

What is structuralism?

A) Theory that sought to identify the components of the conscious mind
B) Theory that sought to identify the structures of the brain
C) Theory that sought to identify the factors implicated in the unconscious mind
D) Theory that sought to identify the organization and mapping of the brain

Question 21

Robert Woodworth and Edward Thorndike were students of ____.

A) William Dement
B) William James
C) Sigmund Freud
D) Wilhelm Wundt

Question 22

Whose research provided the scientific justification for the U.S.Supreme Court to end the practice of racially segregated education in the 1954 Brown vs.Board of Education decision?

A) Edward and Helen Brown
B) Mamie and Kenneth Clark
C) Inez Prosser and Jean Piaget
D) Mary Calkins and Margaret Washburn

Question 23

Although significantly altered,which of the five early schools of psychology have survived as contemporary perspectives?

A) Psychoanalysis and behaviorism
B) Gestalt and psychoanalysis
C) Behaviorism and functionalism
D) Behaviorism and Gestalt

Question 24

Which psychological approach was questioned by John Watson?

A) The structure,content,and function of the mind are the proper focus of scientific inquiry.
B) Psychology should study observable behavior rather than hidden psychological processes.
C) Experimenting is the only way to study behavior.
D) All of the above

Question 25

Sigmund Freud was actually not a psychologist.In which of the following did he formally receive training?

A) Neurology
B) Psychiatry
C) Pharmacy
D) Radiology

Question 26

Mary Calkins is considered a pioneer in ____.

A) functionalism
B) motivation and drive theory
C) trial-and-error animal research
D) memory research

Question 27

Who was the first African American to be elected president of the American Psychological Association?

A) Gilbert Jones
B) William James
C) Robert Scott
D) Kenneth Clark

Question 28

____ contended that all knowledge should be expressed in terms that can be verified empirically or through direct observation.

A) Model of consciousness
B) Logical positivism
C) Psychoanalysis
D) Scientific inquiry

Question 29

Which of the following women established one of the first psychology labs in the U.S. ,pioneered research in short-term memory,and in 1905 became the first woman president of the American Psychological Association?

A) Margaret Washburn
B) Barbel Inhelder
C) Mamie Phipps Clark
D) Mary Calkins

Question 30

"All human behavior is determined by hidden or unconscious motives and desires that are sexual in nature." Who proposed this concept?

A) William Dement
B) Wilhelm Wundt
C) William James
D) Sigmund Freud

Question 31

Which was the philosophy that formed the basis for behaviorism?

A) Logical positivism
B) Model of consciousness
C) Psychoanalysis
D) Scientific inquiry

Question 32

Mary Calkins was a student of ____.

A) William James
B) William Dement
C) Sigmund Freud
D) Wilhelm Wundt

Question 33

During Freud's reign,sexual drives were emphasized to explain personality.Today,many psychoanalysts deemphasize sexual desires,and instead,focus on what area to explain personality?

A) Cultural experiences
B) Reward and punishment
C) The innate capacity for personal growth
D) Conscious choice

Question 34

What was John Watson's approach to psychology?

A) Functionalism
B) Behaviorism
C) Psychoanalysis
D) Clinical studies

Question 35

Who was the first African American to receive a Ph.D.in psychology?

A) Inez Prosser
B) Gilbert Jones
C) Mamie Phipps Clark
D) Kenneth Clark

Question 36

Which of the following was John Watson's assertion?

A) Psychology should study observable behavior rather than hidden psychological processes.
B) The structure,content,and function of the mind are the proper focus of scientific inquiry.
C) Experimenting would answer many questions in psychology.
D) Understanding the human body would help in understanding the human mind.

Question 37

Why was Mary Calkins not given her Ph.D.in psychology at Harvard when she defended her dissertation in 1895?

A) Unknown at the time,she had not completed all of her required course work.
B) Mary Calkins received her Ph.D.from Harvard in education,not psychology.
C) She wanted her Ph.D.from Harvard's sister college,Radcliffe.
D) Harvard did not grant degrees to women at that time.

Question 38

The year is 1895,and you have just defended your doctoral dissertation at Harvard.It was hailed as "the most brilliant examination for the Ph.D.that we have had at Harvard," but you were not awarded your Ph.D.Who are you?

A) Mary Calkins
B) Jean Piaget
C) Barbel Inhelder
D) Margaret Washburn

Question 39

On Monday you were praised for helping Mrs.Martin with her groceries,on Tuesday you were given $2 for helping Mr.Scott plant begonias,and on Wednesday you were given cookies for helping Mrs.Jones find her cat.Which of the following provides the best explanation for this behavior?

A) You abide by the "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" rule.
B) Freud's theory of pleasure versus pain
C) Adler's theory of adolescent helping behaviors
D) Skinner's theory that behaviors followed by positive consequences will be repeated

Question 40

From what country was Sigmund Freud?

A) Belgium
B) Germany
C) Austria
D) England

Question 41

As a graduate student,you assist a psychologist studying Alzheimer's disease by grafting rat brain fetus tissue into the brains of elderly rats to see if there is a change in the older rats.What type of psychologist are you most likely working with?

A) Experimental psychologist
B) Developmental psychologist
C) Cognitive psychologist
D) Neuroscientist

Question 42

The metaphor comparing the mind to the computer is attributed to what area of psychology?

A) Cognitive psychology
B) Gestalt psychology
C) Psychometric psychology
D) Humanistic psychology

Question 43

Which psychological perspective played a key role in insisting that psychologists precisely define and objectively measure the concepts they study?

A) Behaviorism
B) Psychoanalysis
C) Gestalt psychology
D) Humanistic psychology

Question 44

Which approach to psychology studies how the brain communicates with itself and other bodily organs?

A) Neuroscience perspective
B) Medical perspective
C) Comparative perspective
D) Developmental perspective

Question 45

What coincided with cognitive psychology,making a name for itself?

A) Advances in intelligence testing
B) The development of the computer
C) The successful separation of the brain hemispheres
D) Discovery of human DNA

Question 46

Which person is most closely associated with the evolutionary perspective?

A) Sigmund Freud
B) Charles Darwin
C) William James
D) John Watson

Question 47

Behaviorist John Watson once described the brain as "a black box forever mysterious." The discoveries in which psychological field helped in disproving this statement?

A) Clinical psychology
B) Gestalt psychology
C) Humanistic psychology
D) Cognitive psychology

Question 48

Professor Ping Hohman is a psychologist who attempts to understand behavior by studying how the mind organizes perceptions,processes information,and interprets experiences.Professor Hohman is a(n)____ psychologist.

A) cognitive
B) evolutionary
C) developmental
D) humanistic

Question 49

What is the process by which organisms with inherited traits best suited to the environment reproduce more successfully than less well adapted organisms over a number of generations?

A) Evolution
B) Survival of the fittest
C) Natural selection
D) Selective reproduction

Question 50

During the 1950s,many psychologists were dissatisfied with both the psychoanalytic and behavioristic views of human nature.Which force exerted its influence on psychology of that time?

A) The humanistic perspective
B) Cognitive psychology
C) The evolutionary perspective
D) The sociocultural perspective

Question 51

Which of the following is stressed in cognitive psychology?

A) Personal emotions such as love,hate,and fear
B) Stimulus-response measures
C) Introspection
D) Information processing

Question 52

Your roommate believes that psychology should focus on helping individuals better use their inborn capacity to personally grow and make choices.Which contemporary perspective shares your roommate's view?

A) Psychoanalytic perspective
B) Gestalt perspective
C) Sociocultural perspective
D) Humanistic perspective

Question 53

The word cognitive comes from the Latin word meaning what?

A) "To know"
B) "To study"
C) "To learn"
D) "To perceive"

Question 54

What perspective are you embracing if you feel you have an innate capacity for personal growth and can consciously make your own choices?

A) Cognitive psychology
B) Humanistic perspective
C) Sociocultural perspective
D) Naturalistic perspective

Question 55

Which psychological approach has been criticized as the least scientifically based of all contemporary perspectives?

A) Sociocultural
B) Cognitive
C) Humanistic
D) Evolutionary

Question 56

What psychological perspective is based on the principle of natural selection?

A) Sociocultural perspective
B) Cognitive psychology
C) Evolutionary perspective
D) Naturalistic perspective

Question 57

The ____ perspective is an approach to psychology that emphasizes human beings' innate capacity for personal growth and their ability to consciously make choices.

A) psychoanalytic
B) Gestalt
C) behaviorist
D) humanistic

Question 58

Which approach to psychology attempts to understand behavior and mental processes by examining the nervous system?

A) Experimental perspective
B) Evolutionary perspective
C) Neuroscience perspective
D) Cognitive psychology

Question 59

Which of the contemporary perspectives within psychology has promoted the scientific study of self-awareness,love,helping behaviors,and positive personality growth?

A) Sociocultural perspective
B) Cognitive psychology
C) Humanistic perspective
D) Psychoanalytic perspective

Question 60

As a scientist,you are continually uncovering phenomena that capture your attention and that are difficult to explain without reintroducing the concept of consciousness.What happens in the 1960s to help you?

A) The theoretical center of gravity in psychology shifted from behaviorism to cognitive psychology.
B) The theoretical center of gravity in psychology shifted from Freud's unconscious mind to Maslow's conscious mind.
C) The theoretical center of gravity in psychology shifted from behaviorism to humanism.
D) The theoretical center of gravity in psychology shifted from evolutionary to cognitive psychology.

Question 61

Why do some psychologists believe that the sociocultural and evolutionary perspectives are compatible?

A) Today's psychologists do not believe that these diverse perspectives are compatible.
B) Some psychologists argue that the culture of a people is based on their relationship with the environment and that evolution is the story of how we adapted to that environment.
C) Some psychologists believe that sociocultural and evolutionary forces have only recently begun to work together to shape behaviors,and they are now developing a single perspective that encompasses the two.
D) Both b and c

Question 62

What is the term we use to describe the genetic changes that occur in a species over generations due to natural selection?

A) Reproduction
B) Evolution
C) Probabilistic determinism
D) Gestaltism

Question 63

Which type of psychologists use existing psychological knowledge to solve and prevent problems?

A) Clinical psychologist
B) Comparative psychologist
C) Applied psychologist
D) Research psychologist

Question 64

Throughout existence,an individual's innate desire to pass their genes on to the next generation pushes him or her toward selfish,self-serving actions that can potentially threaten not only the individual,but the survival of the individual's group.By what process have we found a delicate balance between these tendencies?

A) Individualism
B) Collectivism
C) Cultural belief
D) Natural selection

Question 65

Based on cross-cultural studies,70 percent of the world's population lives in cultures with what type of orientation?

A) Collectivist
B) Individualist
C) Socialization
D) Industrialization

Question 66

You are the toughest,meanest male in your species and all the girls love you.Which phenomenon explains this?

A) Natural selection
B) Evolution
C) Cultural selection
D) Social acceptance

Question 67

"I live in a society that accepts my choice as being my own person,I generally do not need anyone to help me do what I want to do,and I am self-assured,unique,and quite diverse." What philosophy does my society most likely embrace?

A) Individualism
B) Egoism
C) Egocentricism
D) Self-actualization

Question 68

According to the text,what is the first research stage?

A) Developing a theory and hypothesis
B) Selecting a topic and reviewing past research
C) Selecting a scientific method and obtaining approval to conduct the study
D) Collecting and analyzing data,and then reporting the results

Question 69

Which branch of psychology studies behavior by examining physiological processes,especially those occurring in the brain?

A) Clinical psychology
B) Behaviorism
C) Experimental psychology
D) Psychobiology

Question 70

What are the differences between the evolutionary and sociocultural perspectives explanation of human behavior?

A) The former involves biological norms while the latter emphasizes societal norms.
B) The former involves inherited genes while the latter emphasizes the roles that social and cultural factors play.
C) The former involves selection of the fittest while the latter embraces society's collective involvement.
D) The former involves adapting to the environment while the latter involves adapting to the philosophies of a civilization.

Question 71

Which of the following psychologists do not most often work in mental health centers,schools,industries,governmental agencies,or private practice?

A) Counseling psychologists
B) Industrial-organizational psychologists
C) Social psychologists
D) Educational psychologists

Question 72

Your professor wants you to design a research project on motivation and learning that you will later "try out" on volunteers from other psychology courses.Since this is your professor's area of expertise,in what field of research psychology does he/ she most likely specialize?

A) Comparative psychology
B) Experimental psychology
C) Developmental psychology
D) Educational psychology

Question 73

The four stages of the research process are ____.

A) selecting a topic,breaking the topic down into its components,researching the most current literature on the topic,and reporting results
B) selecting a topic,collecting data,analyzing data,and reporting results
C) selecting a topic,collecting and analyzing data,developing a theory based on data collection and analysis,and reporting results
D) selecting a topic,formulating a hypothesis,selecting a scientific method,and collecting and analyzing data

Question 74

Which branch of psychology deals with similarities and differences in the physiology,behavior,and abilities of different species,including humans?

A) Comparative psychology
B) Cognitive psychology
C) Psychometry
D) Experimental neuropsychology

Question 75

Which of the following types of psychologists is most likely to study how people mature and change physically,cognitively,and socially throughout the life span?

A) Gerontology psychologists
B) Cognitive psychologists
C) Comparative psychologists
D) Developmental psychologists

Question 76

Name two traits that are often seen as impediments to proper self-growth in a collectivist society.

A) Uniqueness and individual differences
B) Agreeableness and dependence
C) Goodness and generosity
D) Conformity and obedience

Question 77

You are a professor at Harvard University.You teach and conduct research in your particular area of specialization,which studies how people are influenced by relatively stable internal traits.Which subject are you most likely to teach?

A) Psychology of social behaviors
B) Psychology of personality
C) Psychology of cognition
D) Psychology of learning and memory

Question 78

What is the primary goal of a research psychologist?

A) To study how people mature and change physically,mentally,and socially throughout their lifetime
B) To study behaviors by examining physiological processes,especially those in the brain
C) To conduct experimental research on the basic psychological processes,such as learning,motivation,sensation,and a multitude of others
D) To acquire psychological knowledge through scientific methods and to teach this knowledge to students

Question 79

What is the term used to describe a shared system of ideas about the characteristics of the world,and is made up of rules governing how people should think,feel,and act within that world?

A) Citizenship
B) Civilization
C) Culture
D) Society

Question 80

What is most central to the process of natural selection?

A) Inherited traits
B) Reproduction
C) Genetic changes
D) Environmental factors