Deck 1: The Science of Psychology

Question 1

Based on the textbook's definition of psychology, which statement best reflects the relationship between the mind and the brain?

A)The brain is the same thing as the mind.
B)The brain influences the mind.
C)The brain is unrelated to the mind.
D)The brain reflects the mind.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Psychological science is the study of

A)the mind.
B)the brain.
C)behavior.
D)All of the answer options are correct.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is the best definition of psychological science?

A)the study of the brain and its function
B)the study of the mind, the brain, and thought processes
C)the study of the mind, the brain, and behavior
D)the study of the mind, the psyche, and behavior

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to the text, amiable skepticism is an important element in a type of reasoning called

A)scholarly inquiry.
B)naysayerism.
C)analytic argumentation.
D)critical thinking.

Question 5

The relationship between the actions of neurons and a thought is an example of the connection between

A)the brain and the mind.
B)nature and nurture.
C)genes and the mind.
D)the brain and emotion.

Question 6

Critical thinking is best defined as thinking that

A)is systematic and reasonable.
B)is open-minded and creative.
C)criticizes others' opinions.
D)uses inferences but does not solve problems.

Question 7

Suppose you are asked to write a newspaper article on a controversial political topic and you want to make sure you are not influenced by the confirmation bias.Which of the following should you do in order to avoid this bias?

A)Focus mainly on evidence that you find on your favorite news Web site.
B)Place equal importance on evidence that supports and contradicts your own beliefs.
C)Focus mainly on evidence that supports your own beliefs, since it is the most accurate research.
D)Place equal importance on evidence you find online and in textbooks.

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of a psychologist who is studying the brain?

A)Dr.Fields, who studies the purchasing habits of impulsive individuals
B)Dr.Joe, who studies how neural activity changes as newborn babies develop
C)Dr.Perez, who studies how our feelings can influence our thought processes
D)Dr.Ladd, who studies the training activities of professional athletes

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of using BOTH critical thinking and scientific reasoning?

A)believing that sugar causes ADHD because you feel hyper after eating a candy bar
B)concluding that listening to Mozart improves learning in children after reading an article about this topic in a popular magazine
C)using a personal example to show how a psychological principle must be wrong
D)conducting research to investigate the effectiveness of left brain/right brain games in improving memory

Question 10

Which of the following is a characteristic of a good consumer of scientific research?

A)open to new ideas
B)carefully considers the facts
C)wary of scientific findings
D)All of the answer options are correct.

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of a psychologist who is studying the mind?

A)Dr.Chu, who studies how weather influences children's actions on the playground
B)Dr.Well, who studies neural activity during sleep cycles of elderly adults
C)Dr.Mann, who studies the accuracy of traumatic memories over time
D)Dr.East, who studies the facial expressions of relationship partners during a fight

Question 12

Which of the following is an important goal of your psychology textbook?

A)to teach you how to be a therapist by using methods of psychology
B)to provide you with an education about the methods of psychological science
C)to help you define normal versus abnormal behavior so you can recognize mental illness
D)to help you predict how people will interact in novel situations

Question 13

The difference between using critical thinking explanations and everyday explanations for psychological phenomena is that

A)critical thinking relies on evidence and scientific support for making conclusions.
B)everyday explanations rely on evidence and scientific support for making conclusions.
C)critical thinking relies on personal examples more than scientific evidence for making conclusions.
D)everyday explanations rely on personal examples and scientific evidence for making conclusions.

Question 14

Which of the following is an example of a psychologist who is studying behavior?

A)Dr.Wick, who studies how certain smells can trigger certain feelings
B)Dr.Woods, who studies patterns of neural activity related to drug use
C)Dr.Paul, who studies the thought processes involved in decision making
D)Dr.Hull, who studies the facial expressions of relationship partners during a fight

Question 15

Which of the following is one factor that contributes to the confirmation bias?

A)selective emotionality, which is the tendency to better remember information that is negative
B)selective emotionality, which is the tendency to better remember information that is positive
C)selective memory, which is the tendency to better remember information that supports our existing beliefs
D)selective memory, which is the tendency to better remember information that goes against our existing beliefs

Question 16

For much of its history, psychologists focused mostly on

A)the brain.
B)disorders.
C)behaviors.
D)the mind.

Question 17

Why is critical thinking important in evaluating psychological research?

A)Researchers deliberately lie about their research findings.
B)There could be significant limitations to the research findings.
C)Research findings are rarely influenced by political and personal agendas.
D)There is always a single clear explanation, and the researchers may not have found it.

Question 18

Allanah is a psychology major.Which of the following best describes what Allanah will learn about?

A)the structure and function of the brain
B)mental disorders and their treatments
C)feelings and other subjective states
D)the mind, the brain, and behavior

Question 19

Barry and Candace are disagreeing.Barry states that psychology is the study of the mind.Candace believes instead that psychology is the science of behavior.Given your knowledge of psychology, how would you resolve this argument?

A)Barry is correct.Psychology only studies the mind.
B)Candace is correct.Psychology only studies behavior.
C)Both are correct.Psychology studies both the mind and behavior.
D)Both are incorrect.Psychology only studies emotions.

Question 20

Taj is writing a paper on global warming.He only includes research findings that support his own beliefs about global warming because he thinks that all the contradictory findings must be the result of flawed research.This is an example of

A)misunderstanding or not using statistics.
B)hindsight bias.
C)seeing relationships that do not exist.
D)confirmation bias.

Question 21

Which of the following is a benefit of using heuristics and mental shortcuts?

A)They can lead to reasonably good decisions without too much effort.
B)They can lead to better decisions compared to effortful decision-making strategies.
C)They can lead to poor decisions but are very easy to use.
D)They can lead to poor decisions, but we outgrow them as we get older.

Question 22

Which of the following best explains why errors and biases occur in our thinking processes?

A)People are mentally lazy.
B)People generally ignore events that happen around them.
C)The human brain is highly efficient at finding patterns between things.
D)The human brain is highly efficient at processing multiple streams of information.

Question 23

According to your text, the nature/nurture debate originated during the time period of the

A)Chinese philosopher Confucius.
B)ancient Egyptians.
C)Greek philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle.
D)Renaissance philosopher René Descartes.

Question 24

The nature in the nature/nurture debate refers to factors affecting human psychological development.

A)either biological or behavioral
B)either behavioral or environmental
C)either biological or environmental
D)either formal or natural

Question 25

Which of the following is one of the major biases in thinking described in the text?

A)misunderstanding or not using statistics
B)seeing relationships that do not exist
C)judging a book by its cover
D)ignoring other people's perspectives

Question 26

Juan is in the market for a new toaster.Which of the following is an example of confirmation bias?

A)Juan reads reviews of his favorite brand of toaster on the company's Web site.
B)Juan reads reviews of all the toasters available on Amazon.com within his price range.
C)Juan buys a toaster based on its color, rather than functionality.
D)Juan buys a toaster, and then writes a positive review for it online.

Question 27

A recent survey found that 80 percent of high school students believed that they were above average on reading, writing, and math skills.Given that only 50 percent of any group can be above average on any dimension, this is an example of

A)hindsight bias.
B)difficulty recognizing weaknesses.
C)confirmation bias.
D)egocentric thinking.

Question 28

Which of the following is an example of the "seeing relationships that do not exist" bias in thinking described in the text?

A)Abby thinks she is an above-average dancer, an above-average singer, and an above-average student, even though everyone else thinks she is just average.
B)Tony underestimates the likelihood of bicycle accidents because he cannot easily recall one that happened recently.
C)Tim thinks that he must eat pizza right before class if he wants to do well on his exam.
D)Ziva's favorite basketball team loses a game; afterward, she explains that it was because they had so many injuries this season.

Question 29

A patient begins taking a new heart medication.On the day of the first dose, the patient comes in contact with a sick coworker.The patient calls his doctor the next day to complain of flu-like symptoms as a side effect of the new medication.This is an example of

A)taking mental shortcuts.
B)the hindsight bias.
C)seeing relationships that do not exist.
D)the confirmation bias.

Question 30

On his way to the basketball game, Tom says he cannot predict who will win.After his team wins the game, however, Tom says he knew they were going to win because their defense always plays well together.This is an example of

A)taking mental shortcuts.
B)the hindsight bias.
C)the self-serving bias.
D)the confirmation bias.

Question 31

Kaley has a big presentation at work.Afterward, her boss tells her she did a terrible job and immediately fires her.Given what you know about how people tend to process their own failures, how will Kaley explain this situation?

A)She did poorly on this presentation because she is stupid.
B)She did poorly on this presentation because the topic was confusing and her boss did not give her enough time to complete it.
C)She did well on this presentation because she is a good public speaker and she is smart.
D)She did well on this presentation because it was easy and her boss did most of the work.

Question 32

Psychology developed into a discipline in

A)ancient China.
B)nineteenth-century Europe.
C)Classical Greece.
D)colonial America, in the eighteenth century.

Question 33

According to the nature/nurture debate, the nature view states that individual psychological characteristics are a result of

A)education.
B)biological influences.
C)experiences.
D)culture.

Question 34

Which of the following is an example of the hindsight bias as described in the text?

A)Matt explains that he studied the wrong material after he received a bad grade on the test.
B)Meredith overestimates the likelihood of airplane accidents because she can easily recall one that happened recently.
C)Michael thinks that he must wear his lucky gym shorts in order to win the game.
D)John believes that a coin that has landed on heads three times in a row is more likely to be heads the next time it is flipped.

Question 35

Which of the following is a correct explanation for why the hindsight bias exists?

A)Once we know the outcome, we pretend we knew it was going to happen in order to make ourselves feel better.
B)Once we know the outcome, we reinterpret old evidence to make sense of that outcome.
C)Before we know the outcome, we ignore evidence that contradicts what we believe.
D)Before we know the outcome, we have too much evidence to consider to make an accurate prediction.

Question 36

According to the text, the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius emphasized which of the following psychological topics?

A)statistical reasoning
B)interpersonal relations
C)intelligence
D)mental illness

Question 37

When Brent wins his track race, he says he won because of his athletic skills and hard work.When Brent loses his next race, however, he says he lost because the track was slippery and he lost his balance.This is an example of

A)egocentric bias.
B)hindsight bias.
C)blaming internal forces for failures.
D)blaming external forces for failures.

Question 38

Which of the following is an example of the "taking mental shortcuts" bias in thinking described in the text?

A)Jack thinks he got an A on his essay because he is a great writer, but he thinks he got a D on his communications project because the instructions were too confusing.
B)Rose overestimates how often cruise ships sink because she can vividly remember the sinking of the Titanic.
C)Wade believes that he will be funnier on stage if he eats chicken nuggets before he performs.
D)Michael thinks that he must wear his lucky gym shorts in order to win the game.

Question 39

Yuko remarks that she is interested in child development and educational psychology.Based on your text's discussion, Yuko's interests echo the

A)emphases of Confucius.
B)writings of da Vinci.
C)thoughts of Greek scholars.
D)writings of early Muslim thinkers.

Question 40

Isaac is trying to decide how often shark attacks happen.He quickly remembers the many shows about shark attacks that he saw on television last week, so he decides that they must be common.Isaac's overestimation of the rate of shark attacks is an example of

A)the hindsight bias.
B)taking mental shortcuts.
C)the self-serving bias.
D)seeing patterns that do not exist.

Question 41

Suppose your friend is in a traumatic car accident and the doctors are worried that she may develop posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD).However, she seems to be coping well and is not showing any symptoms of PTSD.How would a strict nature-only theorist explain this situation?

A)Your friend inherited a genetic resilience against stressors that can lead to PTSD.
B)Your friend must have a good support network that prevented her from developing PTSD.
C)Your friend inherited a genetic predisposition to PTSD.
D)Your friend needs a better support network if she wants to avoid developing PTSD.

Question 42

For most of human history, Western scholars believed that the mind and body were separate and that humans were unique among the animals because humans

A)possessed a soul.
B)controlled other animals.
C)were mortal.
D)had a mind and body that interacted for a divine purpose.

Question 43

Lassandra takes a sip of cola."Sweet; cold, wet, tingly; slightly bitter," she reports.Lassandra is engaging in

A)functionalism.
B)free association.
C)psychoanalysis.
D)introspection.

Question 44

If you were asked to list all the thoughts and experiences you have while answering a test question, the technique used would be

A)inspection.
B)conscription.
C)abstraction.
D)introspection.

Question 45

The idea that the mind and body are separate but intertwined describes the viewpoint of

A)dualism.
B)structuralism.
C)introspection.
D)behaviorism.

Question 46

Dualism is the idea that

A)the mind and the brain are separate entities.
B)the mind and the brain are the same entity.
C)the mind and the brain are opposing forces.
D)there is no mind, just the brain.

Question 47

The early school of structuralism was introduced by

A)Edward Titchener.
B)William James.
C)Wilhelm Wundt.
D)Mary Whiton Calkins.

Question 48

Which of the following changes did John Stuart Mill advocate for the field of psychology?

A)to move from the study of the mind to the study of the body
B)to move from the study of the body to the study of the mind
C)to move from speculation to observation and experimentation
D)to move from experimentation and observation to speculation

Question 49

Who first proposed that psychology should be a science of observation and experimentation in order to discover the laws of the mind?

A)René Descartes
B)John Locke
C)John Stuart Mill
D)Hermann von Helmholtz

Question 50

Over history, people have viewed the mind as being located in which parts of the body?

A)brain, liver, and heart
B)brain, lungs, and heart
C)brain, pancreas, and liver
D)kidney, pancreas, and spleen

Question 51

Which early school of psychology used introspection to study subjective mental experiences?

A)functionalism
B)behavioralism
C)cognitive
D)structuralism

Question 52

Jordan studies consciousness by training himself to objectively report on his own sensations, which is similar to how the school investigated psychology.

A)structuralist
B)functionalist
C)psychodynamic
D)behaviorist

Question 53

Which of the following philosophers is most noted for promoting dualism as an explanation of the mind/body problem?

A)René Descartes
B)Leonardo da Vinci
C)Hippocrates
D)Sigmund Freud

Question 54

Dave walks into his dorm and finds his roommate Pete concentrating as he stares at an apple.When he questions what he is doing, Pete tells Dave he is trying to describe the apple's quality and intensity.Pete is using what technique?

A)stream of consciousness
B)functionalism
C)introspection
D)internal review

Question 55

In which city did Wilhelm Wundt open the first psychological laboratory?

A)Vienna, Austria
B)Leipzig, Germany
C)Oxford, England
D)Krakow, Poland

Question 56

With respect to the mind/body problem, which of the following alternatives best captures the view of dualism held by contemporary psychological scientists?

A)Most psychological scientists reject dualism.
B)Most psychological scientists accept dualism.
C)While many psychological scientists reject dualism, a growing minority promote a return to dualism.
D)While many psychological scientists accept dualism, a growing minority reject the view.

Question 57

With respect to the nature/nurture debate, psychological scientists now believe that

A)nature is the most important factor in understanding the mind, the brain, and behavior.
B)the mind, the brain, and behavior are largely a matter of nurture.
C)both nature and nurture are important in understanding the mind, the brain, and behavior.
D)the issue is largely irrelevant to understanding the mind, the brain, and behavior.

Question 58

Your friend hands you a teddy bear and asks you to describe your sensations and feelings connected to it.In this example, you are engaging in

A)psychoanalysis.
B)functionalism.
C)introspection.
D)free association.

Question 59

A little boy is running around a grocery store, screaming, yelling, and throwing cans.His parents cannot control him.A strict nurture-only theorist might say,

A)"His parents must have been really active when they were children."
B)"He cannot help that he was born wild."
C)"Even if he was born wild, his parents should now be able to control him."
D)"Boys evolve to act this way when they are young."

Question 60

A procedure in which an observer describes the simple elements of a mental experience in as much detail as possible is called

A)introspection.
B)internal perception.
C)introjection.
D)internal sensation.

Question 61

Will believes that most modern men prefer young and healthy female partners because this preference increases the likelihood of the survival of our genetic ancestors.Which psychological approach does Will believe in?

A)social
B)evolutionary
C)functionalist
D)cognitive

Question 62

With respect to the psychology of emotion, William James would be most interested in

A)the contribution of unconscious memories to one's emotional experience.
B)the basic nature of an emotional feeling or experience.
C)how emotions aid one's adaptation to the environment.
D)one's subjective interpretation of one's emotions.

Question 63

Paul researches how cooperation in humans increases our ability to survive and successfully raise children.Paul uses an) approach in his research.

A)structuralist
B)functionalist
C)evolutionary
D)cognitive

Question 64

Dr.Leleux asserts that psychologists should attempt to isolate the fundamental attributes of mental experience.Dr.Leleux appears most sympathetic to the school of thought in psychology.

A)structuralist
B)behaviorist
C)functionalist
D)Gestalt

Question 65

Which of the following psychologists is most closely associated with the Gestalt school of thought?

A)Sigmund Freud
B)B.F.Skinner
C)Wolfgang Köhler
D)William James

Question 66

A functionalist approach to classroom education might include

A)designing activities to help a child adapt to environmental demands.
B)breaking down complicated tasks into their basic underlying elements.
C)determining teaching methods based on a child's unconscious desires.
D)developing reward and punishment programs and token economies.

Question 67

Marty is an artist.He does not like when people talk about the separate parts of his pictures because he believes that looking at the complete picture is most important.Marty's opinion is similar to the approach.

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

Question 68

Gestalt psychology is LEAST relevant to our understanding of which of the following topics?

A)subjective experience
B)human personality
C)visual perception
D)cellular neuroscience

Question 69

Mary and Brian see a machine on the television program American Inventor.Mary wants to know what parts make up the machine, but Brian wants to know its purpose.Mary's approach is most similar to the school of psychology, while Brian's approach is most similar to the school of psychology.

A)structuralist; functionalist
B)functionalist; structuralist
C)Gestalt; psychoanalytic
D)psychoanalytic; Gestalt

Question 70

Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species had its strongest influence on the school of thought in psychology.

A)functionalist
B)humanistic
C)structuralist
D)psychoanalytic

Question 71

Which of the following psychologists is most closely associated with the school of structuralism?

A)Sigmund Freud
B)B.F.Skinner
C)Edward Titchener
D)William James

Question 72

According to the structuralists, the goal of psychology is to

A)uncover the unconscious determinants of behavior.
B)focus on observable behavior itself.
C)identify the elements of conscious experience.
D)identify the purposes of our behavior and mental processes.

Question 73

According to the concept of survival of the fittest,

A)random mutations are always adaptive.
B)only the biggest animals will survive.
C)organisms that are most adaptive to their environments are most likely to survive.
D)organisms that can spontaneously mutate their genes in response to the environment are most likely to survive.

Question 74

The fact that a variety of thoughts come to mind even as you are engaged in the activity of taking this exam exemplifies psychologist William James's concept of

A)sea of ideas.
B)ports of call.
C)river of thoughts.
D)stream of consciousness.

Question 75

The school of Gestalt

A)is based on the idea that the whole is different than the sum of its parts.
B)includes the role of environment on behavior.
C)examines how social situations influence behavior.
D)is based on scientifically researched forms of therapy.

Question 76

Gestalt psychology is best seen as a reaction against the approach.

A)functionalist
B)humanistic
C)psychoanalytic
D)structuralist

Question 77

Which of the following psychologists is most closely associated with the school of functionalism?

A)Sigmund Freud
B)B.F.Skinner
C)Wilhelm Wundt
D)William James

Question 78

Lucinda is afraid of dogs.Her psychologist, Dr.Lee, believes her fear is part of an adaptive response that has helped our species survive.Which psychological approach does Dr.Lee follow?

A)psychoanalysis
B)behaviorism
C)social
D)evolutionary

Question 79

The idea that the mind came into existence over the course of human evolution is the viewpoint of

A)structuralism.
B)functionalism.
C)behaviorism.
D)psychoanalysis.

Question 80

Structuralism has been criticized because it

A)did not include elements of the nature/nurture debate.
B)could not produce quantitative measurements of behavior.
C)focused on specific elements of the mind rather than on its overall usefulness.
D)did not take into account the way children process information.