Deck 1: Psychology: The Study of Mental Processes and Behavior

Question 1

Munchausen's syndrome involves:

A) a psychological illness in which people fabricate or induce illness in themselves
B) a psychological illness in which misinterpret bodily sensations and believe they are ill.
C) the psychological reaction to the end of a significant and emotionally intense relationship
D) the prolonged effects of alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse

Answer 1

a psychological illness in which people fabricate or induce illness in themselves

Question 2

Munchausen's syndrome is a psychological disorder that falls within the spectrum of:

A) psychosomatic disorders
B) factitious illness
C) neurological illness
D) stress disorder.

Answer 2

factitious illness

Question 3

A person who fabricates or induces illness in another person, such as their child, is believed to be suffering from:

A) a psychosomatic disorder
B) Munchausen's syndrome
C) Munchausen's syndrome by proxy
D) a chromosomal abnormality

Answer 3

Munchausen's syndrome by proxy

Question 4

The authors of your textbook state that the actual cause of Munchausen's syndrome is:

A) alcoholism
B) a chromosomal abnormality
C) physically and verbally abusive parents
D) unknown

Question 5

Erik Erikson argues that an understanding of an individual's behavior requires consideration of:

A) biological events
B) psychological experience
C) cultural and historical context
D) all of the above

Question 6

Psychology is the scientific study of:

A) mental processes and behavior
B) mental illness and psychological disorders
C) how people think
D) human behavior in natural contexts

Question 7

The scientific study of mental processes and behavior is known as

A) cognitive science
B) behavioral analysis
C) psychology
D) meaning and mechanisms

Question 8

According to the textbook, which one of the following is true?

A) biological processes establish all psychological processes
B) human action occurs in the context of a specific culture
C) psychological understanding requires understanding of both the biological and cultural forces
D) all of the above

Question 9

What was the purpose of the study that Jane Elliott, a third grade teacher in Iowa, carried out in her class?

A) She wanted to study the effect of eye color on class participation.
B) She was studying empathy in her students.
C) She wanted her students to experience the painful effects of segregation.
D) She wanted her students to learn about the genetic transmission of eye color.

Question 10

When Jane Elliott announced to her third grade class one day that blue-eyed people are better and that the blue-eyed students would receive special privileges, what happened as a result?

A) In the course of a single day the students turned nasty, vicious, and discriminatory towards non-blue-eyed children.
B) The students complained to their parents about this unfair treatment.
C) The whole class bonded together to resist their teacher's attempts to stigmatize some of them.
D) Jane Elliot was fired for behaving in such an unprofessional manner.

Question 11

When Jane Elliott conducted her study again, with a slightly different format, she found that:

A) blue-eyed children participated less than did brown-eyed children
B) performance on a spelling test went up for the superior eye color group and down for students in the inferior eye color group
C) performance on a spelling test went down for the superior eye color group and up for students in the inferior eye color group
D) the children did not behave in a discriminatory fashion

Question 12

Jane Elliott ran a study in her third grade class, in which she told students that they were superior to other students because of their eye color. The results of the study showed that

A) class participation and confidence in academics increased dramatically for the superior eye color group
B) students refused to believe that eye color would influence academic ability
C) performance on a spelling test went up for the superior eye color group and down for students in the inferior eye color group
D) there was no change, as students already believed that certain eye colors were superior

Question 13

Which of the following is not a result of Jane Elliott's study in which she told students that their eye color made them superior to other students?

A) students were more aggressive and accusing of other groups within a few minutes of being told that there were differences because of eye color
B) performance on academic tests were not influenced but leadership skills were much greater when students were in the superior eye color group
C) academic confidence was greater for the superior eye color group and lower for students in the inferior eye color group
D) students remembered years later that they felt strongly that they were better or worse as a result of eye color.

Question 14

The aim of biopsychology (also referred to as behavioral neuroscience) is to:

A) link soma and somette in order to understand how emotions manifest themselves behaviorally
B) investigate the physical basis of psychological phenomena such as motivation, emotion, and stress
C) understand the complex interactions of the nervous system
D) study how thoughts and feelings influence an individual's biological reactions

Question 15

Biopsychologists and behavioral neuroscientists attempt to

A) study how individuals learn to control their actions
B) study the way that unconscious motives guide behavior
C) understand how different areas of the brain are responsible for different behavioral outcomes
D) investigate the electrical and chemical processes in the nervous system that underlie mental events

Question 16

I am interested in how psychological phenomena such as motivation, emotions, and stress are based in physical phenomena. Most likely, I should become a:

A) cognitive psychologist
B) cross-cultural psychologist
C) behaviorist
D) biopsychologist

Question 17

A friend who is a diabetic and who also suffers from asthma strongly believes that human behavior is a function of one's biology. My friend should become a:

A) cognitive psychologist
B) cross-cultural psychologist
C) behaviorist
D) biopsychologist

Question 18

Phineas Gage was:

A) the founding father of biopsychology
B) the first individual to show conclusively that the body affects the mind
C) a foreman who had significant changes in his behavior due to an injury caused by an iron rod that went through his head
D) the first person to win the Nobel prize in biopsychology

Question 19

Phineas Gage is useful to psychology because he exemplifies:

A) how damage to a specific area of the brain can lead to predictable changes in behavior
B) the extent to which the mind can influence the operations of the body
C) how both mind and body interact
D) whether a person's mind and body can be influenced by one's cultural heritage

Question 20

Creating lesions in the brain (i.e., surgically removing parts of the brain) has been shown to:

A) slow down behavior
B) speed up behavior
C) create new behaviors
D) affect behavior in different ways depending on the location of the lesion

Question 21

Localization of function refers to

A) the extent to which people have different skills in different locations
B) the connection between brain activity and behavior
C) the tendency for people to emphasize different skills with different groups of people
D) the extent to which different parts of the brain control different aspects of functioning

Question 22

The idea that different parts of the brain control different aspects of functioning is referred to as:

A) brain specificity
B) cortical specificity
C) localization of function
D) phrenology

Question 23

The individual who discovered that lesions on the left side of the brain caused aphasia is:

A) Marc Dax
B) Paul Broca
C) Carl Wernicke
D) Phineas Gage

Question 24

Damage to the front section of the left hemisphere (Broca's area) will cause:

A) problems in language comprehension
B) problems in language production
C) partial vision loss
D) all of the above

Question 25

An individual who speaks fluently, apparently following the rules of grammar, but yet makes little sense is likely to be suffering from which one of the following?

A) a poor education
B) laryngeal dysfunction
C) damage to Broca's area
D) damage to Wernicke's area

Question 26

Damage to Wernicke's area typically causes:

A) problems in language comprehension
B) problems in language production
C) partial vision loss
D) inability to express emotions

Question 27

The authors of your textbook argue that current thinking is that:

A) behavior is dependent upon particular parts of the brain
B) behavior is due to the interaction of numerous parts of the brain
C) physiology is no longer useful in understanding why it is that people behave the way they do
D) biopsychology is the basis of all human behavior, excluding thinking

Question 28

Psychological anthropologists study people:

A) in their natural settings
B) as individuals
C) as homo erectus
D) only from their artifacts

Question 29

This past Saturday night, I went to a dance club and thought of how unusual people can be. I wondered what people from other societies do on a Saturday night. I figure the best way to find out is to go where they are and see what they do. This is an area of psychology referred to as:

A) psychological anthropology
B) cross-cultural psychology
C) societal psychology
D) comparative psychology

Question 30

The belief that psychological hypotheses should be tested in different cultures is typical of which one of the following?

A) biopsychology
B) cross-cultural psychology
C) behavioral neuroscience
D) perceptual psychology

Question 31

Lately, I have been wondering whether intelligence varies from one society to another. I think I want to further explore this area so I think I should become a:

A) psychological anthropologist
B) cross-cultural psychologist
C) societal theorist
D) comparative psychologist

Question 32

Psychology initially arose from:

A) religion
B) sociology
C) philosophy
D) physics

Question 33

Which of the following is true of the relationship between philosophy and psychology, according to the authors of your textbook?

A) psychology used research methods to questions that philosophers used logic to deduce
B) philosophy addresses very different questions from psychology
C) psychology and philosophy use the same basic experimental tools but psychology is more scientific in the phrasing of hypotheses
D) psychological arguments are drawn primarily from biology and physiology of the brain

Question 34

Which one of the following methods is used by philosophers?

A) logic and argumentation
B) statistical analysis
C) experimentation
D) all of the above are methods

Question 35

Who is often described as the ìfather of psychology?

A) Edward Titchner
B) Wilhelm Wundt
C) Sigmund Freud
D) William James

Question 36

The first laboratory in Psychology was founded in Leipzig, Germany, in 1879 by:

A) Sigmund Freud
B) Wilhelm Wundt
C) William James
D) RenÈ Descartes

Question 37

The preferred method of doing science, according to Wundt, was:

A) experimentation
B) reasoning
C) logic
D) introspection

Question 38

Wilhelm Wundt was most interested in

A) how childhood experiences influenced adult personality
B) how animals learned from their environment
C) which parts of the brain were most active in problem solving
D) the elementary units of human consciousness

Question 39

The process of looking inward and reporting on one's conscious experience is called:

A) structuralism
B) psychodynamic processing
C) functionalism
D) introspection

Question 40

I can't seem to figure out why I am stressed so much. I think about it and come to realize that it is due to a number of minor stressful events that have all occurred in the past few months. I have just used the method of:

A) introspection
B) reflection
C) empiricism
D) inclusive fitness

Question 41

I've been curious about the limits of my hearing ability. I sit still in my room, recording all the sounds I can hear and what I am thinking about during the task. I have just used the method of:

A) introspection
B) reflection
C) empiricism
D) inclusive fitness

Question 42

Structuralism was founded by:

A) Sigmund Freud
B) William James
C) Wilhelm Wundt
D) Edward Titchener

Question 43

The approach to psychology which involved devising a method for uncovering the basic elements of consciousness and the way they combine with each other into ideas was known as

A) structuralism
B) behaviorialism
C) functionalism
D) elementarism

Question 44

Which ONE of the following was NOT a school of thought dominating psychology in its early years?

A) structuralism
B) psychodynamic processing
C) functionalism
D) philosophical science

Question 45

Which school emphasized the role of psychological processes in helping individuals adapt to their environment?

A) structuralism
B) psychodynamic processing
C) functionalism
D) introspection

Question 46

The first psychology textbook, published in 1890, was written by:

A) Sigmund Freud
B) William James
C) Wilhelm Wundt
D) Edward Titchener

Question 47

In order to understand the way that learning responds to practice, a functionalist might:

A) have a subject relate how their mind changed over a series of trials
B) study learning in small children and adults
C) review the history of learning from a philosophical perspective
D) observe learning in different cultures

Question 48

What do Calkins, Prosser, and Washburn have in common?

A) They were all early functionalists.
B) These men were all opposed to allowing women to receive higher education.
C) They are all women who made significant contributions to the women's rights movement and to psychology.
D) They are all women who made significant contributions to psychoanalytic theory.

Question 49

Who was the first American woman to receive a doctorate in psychology?

A) Margaret Floy Washburn
B) Inez Prosser
C) Margaret Mead
D) Mary Whiton Calkins

Question 50

The first American woman to complete her doctoral training in psychology was not awarded a degree, despite outscoring her male peers on the doctoral qualifying exams. Her name was

A) Margaret Floy Washburn
B) Inez Prosser
C) Margaret Mead
D) Mary Whiton Calkins

Question 51

Who was the first African American woman to receive a doctorate in psychology?

A) Margaret Floy Washburn
B) Inez Prosser
C) Margaret Mead
D) Mary Whiton Calkins

Question 52

The first African American to receive a doctorate in psychology, often know as ìthe father of Black Psychologyì, was:

A) Henry James
B) Francis Cecil Summer
C) Thomas Kuhn
D) Mark Calkins

Question 53

According to Kuhn, science progresses by:

A) substituting new theoretical assumptions (paradigms) for old ones
B) repetition of classic experiments
C) retaining old paradigms
D) a gradual accumulation of facts

Question 54

Which of the following is a component of a paradigm?

A) It includes a set of theoretical assertions that provide a model of the object of study.
B) It includes a set of shared metaphors that compare the object under investigation to something else that is readily comprehended
C) It includes a set of methods that members of the scientific community agree will, if properly executed, produce valid and useful data
D) All of the above are components of a paradigm.

Question 55

Which of the following is NOT a component of a paradigm?

A) It includes a set of theoretical assertions that provide a model of the object of study.
B) It includes a set of shared metaphors that compare the object under investigation to something else that is readily comprehended
C) It includes a set of methods that members of the scientific community agree will, if properly executed, produce valid and useful data
D) It offers a complementary understanding of human behavior

Question 56

I think that psychologists have made a lot of bad decisions. I don't like the notion that the mind or brain is a computer. Computers are made of silicon and humans are not. I also think it is a bad idea to try and study behavior in the laboratory, since that environment is too controlled and thus too sterile. It is nothing like the real world. Psychologists should also abandon the idea of random sampling since it can't truly happen. I think studies should be specific to a small group. Forget external validity too. Not going to happen. Which Kuhnian term applies here?

A) perspective
B) paradigm
C) school of thought
D) structuralism

Question 57

According to Kuhn, which of the following lacks an accepted paradigm in the eyes of most members of the scientific community?

A) psychology and the social sciences
B) chemistry
C) physics
D) astronomy

Question 58

Kuhn argued that, instead of a paradigm, a young field of study, such as psychology, is likely to have:

A) a neutral methodology
B) schools of thought, perspectives
C) conflictual methodologies
D) a unifying theory of determinism

Question 59

If a field of study, such as psychology, does not have a broad system of assumptions agreed on by the community, but it has some shared metaphors, theoretical propositions and accepted methods of research, one might say that the field of study has a

A) conflict of interest
B) perspective to approach questions
C) phenomenological approach
D) lack of scientific reason

Question 60

There are thought to be three key premises upon which the psychodynamic perspective rests. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) people's actions are determined by the way thoughts, feelings, and wishes are connected in their minds
B) many mental events occur outside conscious awareness
C) behavior and thought are a product of one's culture
D) mental processes may conflict with one another

Question 61

Too often I find myself trying to understand why I stayed up late at night watching movies when I should have been working. It seems that my feelings and wishes are what are driving my behavior. This fits very well with which ONE of the following perspectives?

A) cognitive
B) psychodynamic
C) empiricism
D) biopsychology

Question 62

Freud came up with the notion that behavior is due to unconscious forces from:

A) the interpretation of the dreams of himself and others
B) the philosophical writings of William James
C) the experimental findings of Wundt and Titchener
D) patients of his whose symptoms had no physical basis

Question 63

The idea that psychological symptoms that were not consciously created or maintained, and had not physical basis must have an unconscious basis was essential for

A) separating psychology from philosophy
B) the psychodynamic approach to psychology
C) understanding why women were not capable of success
D) creating a shared paradigm for psychology

Question 64

The in-depth observation of a small number of people is referred to as:

A) a case study
B) the psychodynamic assumption
C) cultural anthropology
D) falsifiability criterion

Question 65

The idea that people reveal themselves in everything they do:

A) is the basis of a case study
B) is the psychodynamic assumption
C) is the definition of cultural anthropology
D) is called the falsifiability criterion

Question 66

Advancing science by proving theories wrong is referred to as:

A) a case study
B) the psychodynamic assumption
C) cultural anthropology
D) the falsifiability criterion

Question 67

If I think that conducting experiments, and not relying on clinical data, is the very best way to understand human behavior and to advance the field of psychology, which perspective should I NOT join?

A) psychodynamic
B) behaviorist
C) cognitive
D) biopsychology

Question 68

One of the reasons why the psychodynamic perspective has been criticized from a scientific perspective is that it has violated _____, the ability of a theory to be proven wrong.

A) the notion of inclusive fitness
B) rationality
C) reasoning
D) the falsifiability criterion

Question 69

One person shoots another person and his lawyer argues that God told him to do it. This theory of the shooter's behavior is a poor one and would not be accepted as a scientific explanation because it does not support:

A) inclusive fitness
B) logic
C) reasoning
D) the falsifiability criterion

Question 70

I have a theory that reading a person's aura will allow me to understand their state of mind. As nobody else can see auras the way that I do, it is not possible for anyone else to prove my theory wrong. My theory violates the

A) laws of reason
B) the psychodynamic assumption
C) structuralist approach
D) falsifiability criterion

Question 71

The behaviorist perspective:

A) focuses on the way objects and events in the environment come to control behavior through learning
B) anticipates that mental events will determine behavior
C) focuses on the relationship between development and family tendencies
D) all of the above

Question 72

The idea that environmental events will influence an individual's behavior is known as

A) the behavioral perspective
B) the psychodynamic perspective
C) the action-reaction hypothesis
D) the functionalist approach

Question 73

Who stated that if he were given 12 healthy infants at birth he could produce doctors or thieves by controlling their environment:

A) B. F. Skinner
B) Ivan Pavlov
C) John Locke
D) John Watson

Question 74

I strongly believe that my experiences have shaped and influenced my current actions. I should become a:

A) cognitive psychologist
B) cross-cultural psychologist
C) behaviorist
D) biopsychologist

Question 75

A friend of mine from Israel acts very differently than I do. He mentions how different people from the United States are compared to the people from his home, and how his experiences there have shaped the way he is just like my experiences here have shaped me. Which of the following perspectives supports these ideas?

A) cross-cultural psychology
B) behaviorism
C) psychological anthropology
D) all of the above

Question 76

To a behaviorist, mental events such as thoughts and emotions are

A) unnecessary to understand behavior
B) a central focus of study
C) non-existent - the mind is a black box with nothing inside
D) caused by early childhood experiences, and can be studied through introspection

Question 77

The notion that we are born a blank slate and that we are a function of our experiences is called:

A) tabula rasa
B) cartesian dualism
C) structuralism
D) fateism

Question 78

People used to say, ìAnyone can be president.ì This saying supports the notion that we are all born equal. If that is true and who we are depends on our experience, then we have support for the notion of:

A) tabula rasa
B) inclusive fitness
C) sociobiology
D) ethology

Question 79

Behaviorists are not comfortable with studying mental events such as thoughts or feelings because

A) they cannot be independently verified because they are not directly observable
B) they are unpredictable
C) they are complicated
D) they are available through introspection

Question 80

According to behaviorism, psychology:

A) should be based on introspection
B) is the science of behavior
C) requires the consideration of thoughts, particularly the memories of past experiences
D) needs to focus on unconscious rather than subconscious forces