Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

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 2

Which of the following accurately describes the goals of social neuroscience?

Accepted Answer

A) examining the influence of situational factors on human behavior 
B) examining the importance of interpersonal connection for quality of life 
C) understanding the neural mechanisms of learning and memory 
D) understanding the neural mechanisms of how people think about others

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

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 5

Damon thinks that it is impossible to study the experience of consciousness.Instead, he believes psychologists should focus only on the actions people take and why they take them.Damon believes in the approach to psychology.

Accepted Answer

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

Question 6

Duane studies the relationship between hormone levels and people's abilities to cope with stress.In which subfield of psychology does Duane conduct research?

Accepted Answer

A) evolutionary 
B) social 
C) biological 
D) developmental

Question 7

According to social psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger, why are people so often unaware of their weaknesses?

Accepted Answer

A) A lack of skill prevents people from producing and recognizing good results. 
B) People are fundamentally insecure and do not want to admit weakness in front of others. 
C) Confidence is rewarding and embarrassment is punishing. 
D) People tend to underestimate weakness and overestimate strength.

Question 8

Jane has a phobia of public speaking.To help her overcome her phobia, she decides to consult a psychologist.

Accepted Answer

A) personality 
B) clinical 
C) counseling 
D) social

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 10

Recall the text's discussion of the cognitive approach in psychology.During which decades did cognitive neuroscience become an influential field in cognitive psychology?

Accepted Answer

A) the 1940-1950s 
B) the 1960-1970s 
C) the 1980-1990s 
D) the 2000-2010s

Question 11

Dr.Chen studies several traits that distinguish one person from another.Dr.Doherty investigates how people grow and change during late adolescence and young adulthood.Dr.Chen is a psychologist and Dr.Doherty is a .

Accepted Answer

A) personality; personality psychologist, too 
B) personality; developmental psychologist 
C) developmental; personality psychologist 
D) developmental; developmental psychologist, too

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

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 13

Which level of analysis in psychology is correctly matched with an example?

Accepted Answer

A) Cultural level: At low doses, cocaine can improve performance on visual attention tasks, such as detecting specific stimuli appearing on a computer screen. 
B) Individual level: Cocaine abuse is associated with a history of violence and sexual abuse in the family. 
C) Biological level: Cocaine exerts its effects by prolonging the presence of specific chemicals at the junctions between nerve cells. 
D) Cultural level: Cocaine abuse is associated with high levels of the personality trait of neuroticism and with low levels of the trait of conscientiousness.

Question 14

A person who is a terrible cook and yet insists on cooking dinner for friends exemplifies

Accepted Answer

A) the confirmation bias. 
B) the social desirability bias. 
C) being unaware of one's weaknesses due to lack of skill. 
D) being overconfident due to mental shortcuts.

Question 15

Dr.Nick studies how people turn to religious faith to cope with difficult situations.Which approach is Dr.Nick using in his research?

Accepted Answer

A) cognitive 
B) positive 
C) personality 
D) clinical

Question 16

Who would be most likely to agree with the statement, "Psychologists should study that which is observable"?

Accepted Answer

A) a cognitive psychologist 
B) a behavioral psychologist 
C) a developmental psychologist 
D) an industrial/organizational psychologist

Question 17

Psychological science crosses which levels) of analysis?

Accepted Answer

A) biological 
B) social 
C) individual 
D) All of the answer options are correct.

Question 18

Which of the following statements best summarizes the role of culture in shaping behaviors?

Accepted Answer

A) Culture has a minor role that is far secondary to biology. 
B) Culture plays an important role in shaping our behaviors. 
C) Cultural experiences allow us to break down complex ideas. 
D) Culture affects only social behaviors and not the way we think.

Question 19

Suppose you catch your 12-year-old sister smoking.She says that she likes to smoke because her friends smoke.You tell her she does it because she is addicted.Which of the following terms correspond to these two stated levels of analysis for the smoking behavior?

Accepted Answer

A) cultural; psychological 
B) cultural; biological 
C) social; psychological 
D) social; biological

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

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

Exam 1: The Science of Psychology