1. Psychology is BEST described as the study of


A. group processes.

B. research techniques.

C. thought and awareness.

D. behavior and mental processes.


2. When he took an introductory psychology course, James learned that psychology is the study of


A. conscious experience.

B. unconscious experience.

C. states of consciousness.

D. behavior and mental processes.


3. Marta studies how people behave in group settings. What kind of psychologist is she?


A. developmental

B. comparative

C. clinical

D. social


4. Jane received a doctorate in psychology. She often becomes frustrated when people assume she treats behavioral disorders. However, Jane knows that these people do not realize that


A. there are many subfields of psychology.

B. most psychologists work for businesses.

C. doctoral-level psychologists only do research.

D. doctoral-level psychologists do not treat mental patients.


5. According to the textbook, more psychologists work in _____ than in any other employment setting.


A. private practice

B. academic institutions

C. government agencies

D. mental hospitals


6. If you were asked where clinical psychologists conduct their work, which would be the BEST answer?


A. "All clinicians work in private practice."

B. "Most clinicians work in academic settings."

C. "Very few clinicians work in hospitals."

D. "Clinicians work in a variety of settings."


7. A scientist who uses inference to try to understand an event may lack


A. introspection.

B. functionalism.

C. determinism.

D. objectivity.


8. Dr. Turrisi believes he can discover why people become alcoholics. What principle, important to the scientific approach, does his belief demonstrate?


A. empiricism

B. determinism

C. replication

D. intuition


9. Correlation coefficients range between


A. 1.00 and 100.

B. 0 and 10.

C. -1.00 and 1.00.

D. 50 and 100.


10. As a researcher, you want to know the effects of high, moderate, and low anxiety on test performance. The research technique that provides such information is


A. descriptive research.

B. experimentation.

C. the case study.

D. the correlational study.


11. What is the name of the process used to place subjects into experimental groups?


A. empirical assignment

B. variable assignment

C. objective assignment

D. random assignment


12. Molly, a journalism student, would like to interview a representative sample of seniors about their views on premarital sex. Of the following recommendations, which would most likely produce a representative sample?


A. finding and interviewing the most popular seniors

B. interviewing seniors who have children

C. interviewing seniors selected at random by computer

D. interviewing every other senior as they leave honors biology


13. Marcie, a three-year-old toddler, has been afraid of dogs for some time. Which of the following techniques would be most useful in understanding the child's fear?


A. field study

B. case study

C. naturalistic observation

D. experimental study


14. A correlation coefficient of zero has been calculated in determining the association between two variables. In this case what is the relationship between the variables?


A. there is no relationship

B. there is a strong relationship

C. there is a positive relationship

D. there is a negative relationship


15. If research subjects are properly assigned to experimental groups, then assignment to groups is based on


A. age of subject.

B. chance alone.

C. intelligence level.

D. year in school.


16. When an interaction takes place in a study, it means that the outcomes of one variable _______ the other variable.


A. are not correlated with

B. negate any effects of

C. depend on

D. are unrelated to


17. An interest in the purpose, adaptiveness, and utility of behavior is characteristic of


A. functionalism.

B. behaviorism.

C. structuralism.

D. cognitive psychology.


18. The school of thought that focuses on studying overt behavior and ignoring the workings of the inner mind is


A. structuralism.

B. cognition.

C. behaviorism.

D. psychoanalysis.


19. Watson and Skinner believed that psychology should focus upon


A. the inner working of the mind.

B. behaviors that are observable and measurable.

C. unconscious processes involved in dreaming.

D. the understanding of organizational behavior.


20. Jack believes people behave in certain ways because of genetic predispositions. Which modern perspective in psychology emphasizes Jack's belief?


A. humanistic

B. behavioral

C. sociocultural

D. biological


21. If the primary motivation of research is to seek solutions for society's urgent problems, then the research is considered


A. applied.

B. basic.

C. conceptual.

D. empirical.


22. The structural component of the neuron which receives information from other neurons is the


A. axon.

B. axon terminal.

C. synapse.

D. dendrite.


23. On a neuron, where would you find myelin and nodes of Ranvier?


A. axon

B. cell body

C. dendrite

D. axon terminal


24. Where would you locate the nucleus of a neuron?


A. synapse

B. cell body

C. axon terminal

D. dendrite


25. Which of the following BEST describes the route information takes as it passes through a neuron?


A. cell body, axon, dendrites

B. cell body, dendrites, axon

C. dendrites, cell body, axon

D. axon terminal, axon, cell body


26. When the difference between the charges on the outside and inside of the cell membrane averages -70 millivolts, what is the state of the neuron?


A. It is about to spike.

B. The membrane is responding to large amounts of an excitatory neurotransmitter.

C. The neuron is at its resting potential.

D. The axon is releasing inhibitory neurotransmitters.


27. Once a spike is triggered and begins traveling down the axon, it remains the same size the entire length of the axon. This is explained by


A. the presence of negative ions.

B. the all-or-none principle.

C. Weber's Law.

D. ionic diffusion.


28. In a lab experiment you are able to manipulate the permeability of a giant squid axon. What would you do to produce an action potential?


A. make the cell membrane permeable to negative ions

B. make the cell membrane impermeable to positive ions

C. make the axon membrane impermeable to all charged particles

D. make the axon membrane permeable to sodium ions


29. What is TRUE regarding the rate at which action potentials occur in a neuron?


A. the rate can vary

B. the rate is controlled by the all-or-none principle

C. the rate is constant

D. the rate is determined by the size of the initial spike


30. A single neuron receives input from many other neural cells. This input is summarized and integrated within the


A. axon hillock.

B. cell nucleus.

C. axon terminal.

D. myelin sheath.


31. Electrical signal is to chemical signal as _______ is to _______.


A. spike; action potential

B. action potential; spike

C. axonal conduction; synaptic transmission

D. synaptic transmission; axonal conduction


32. Which of the following is a test to determine whether a substance is a neurotransmitter?


A. check to see if the substance causes sodium channels to close

B. test whether the substance causes dendrites to spike

C. check to see if the substance is concentrated in the cell body

D. test whether the substance mimics the action of the presynaptic neuron


33. Magnetic resonance imaging is a technique that works by


A. measuring the glucose levels in the brain.

B. constructing three-dimensional images using X-rays.

C. recording the electrical activity of the brain waves.

D. using magnetic fields and radio waves to construct images.


34. Clayton requested that, in obtaining a detailed picture of his brain, his doctor use a technique that takes multiple X-rays. Clayton's doctor will MOST likely use what technique?


A. CAT scan

B. PET scan

C. MRI

D. EEG


35. Cells that provide the brain with structural support and filter out harmful substances are called


A. glial cells.

B. limbic cells.

C. myelinated neurons.

D. inhibitory neurons.


36. The CNS control center for breathing, heart rate, and digestion is found in the


A. spinal cord.

B. cerebral lobes.

C. thalamus.

D. medulla.


37. The central nervous system (CNS) is somehow related to the brain and spinal cord. What is the relationship?


A. CNS connects the brain and spinal cord to the peripheral nervous system.

B. CNS connects the brain to the spinal cord.

C. CNS separates the brain and the spinal cord.

D. CNS is the brain and the spinal cord.


38. John suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on the right side of his body. This indicates that the stroke damaged the


A. left side of the brain.

B. right side of the brain.

C. the lower spinal cord.

D. the upper spinal cord.


39. Which part of the peripheral nervous system monitors the status of internal organs and processes?


A. central

B. somatic

C. autonomic

D. motor


40. You are sitting at a traffic light; when it turns green, you take your foot off the brake and start to accelerate. The information about the nature of the light was conveyed to the brain by _______ neurons. The instruction to release the brakes and accelerate was conveyed to the muscles by _______ neurons.


A. afferent; efferent

B. efferent; afferent

C. parasympathetic; sympathetic

D. sympathetic; parasympathetic


41. Which gland is responsible for the production of several different hormones and is often referred to as the master gland?


A. adrenal gland

B. testes

C. pituitary gland

D. parathyroid gland


42. Which of the following glands significantly influences a person's mood, energy level, and stress-coping mechanisms?


A. exocrine

B. endocrine

C. adrenal

D. pituitary


43. Which of the following hormones is correctly paired with its function?


A. testosterone: sex hormone

B. estrogen: growth hormone

C. testosterone: releasing factor

D. estrogen: sympathetic hormone


44. Your awareness of what is going on in the world around you is called your


A. senescence.

B. evoked potential.

C. consciousness.

D. personality.


45. As a subject in a psychological study, Alan has been trained to provide a detailed description of his conscious experience as he focuses his attention on a flashing light. The technique being used in this study is


A. meditation.

B. introspection.

C. hidden observation.

D. mesmerism.


46. Sam uses a research approach that studies how people attend to, select, and integrate information. Which approach does Sam use?


A. clinical-output

B. waveform-decision

C. hidden observer

D. information-processing


47. When EEGs are recorded, recording electrodes are placed


A. in the brain.

B. on the scalp.

C. over closed eyelids.

D. on the back of the neck.


48. When demands on our attention are high, elevated EEG activity is seen in which brain lobe?


A. temporal

B. parietal

C. occipital

D. cerebellar


49. What is the relationship between EEGs and evoked potentials?


A. Evoked potentials are EEGs linked to a specific stimulus.

B. EEGs are evoked potentials linked to a specific stimulus.

C. EEGs and evoked potentials are exactly the same thing.

D. There is no relationship between EEGs and evoked potentials.


50. A circadian rhythm is a _______-hour rhythm that corresponds to the earth's _______.


A. 12; rotation

B. 12; gravity

C. 24; rotation

D. 24; gravity


51. As part of a class assignment, Debbie, a premed student, kept hourly records of her own blood pressure and body temperature over a thirty-day period. After graphing the data, it became clear that these readings changed in a predictable way on a daily basis. The reason for this regularity is that many physiological processes


A. are determined by subconscious expectations.

B. are governed by circadian rhythms.

C. are controlled by daily lunar cycles.

D. are correlated with daily lunar cycles.


52. Physiological processes such as heart rate and blood pressure fluctuate cyclically during a twenty-four-hour period. Biological rhythms like this are known as


A. alpha cycles.

B. circadian rhythms.

C. synchronies.

D. rotational rhythms.


53. Jason is going through puberty. Based on your knowledge of biological rhythms, you expect that he will show a preference for activity at what time of day?


A. early morning

B. late afternoon

C. late at night

D. late morning


54. When relaxed, a person's EEG is characterized by high amplitude waves that occur eight to twelve times per second. These waves are called


A. delta waves.

B. beta waves.

C. alpha waves.

D. spindle waves.


55. Which of the following sleep patterns best represents a typical night's sleep for a human?


A. increasingly deeper sleep throughout the sleep period

B. increasingly lighter sleep throughout the sleep period

C. four hours of deep sleep followed by cycles of REM and light sleep

D. repeating cycles of deeper sleep, dreaming, and lighter sleep


56. When alpha waves are detected on a person's EEG record, the person is most likely in which of the following states of consciousness?


A. very deep sleep

B. REM sleep

C. a high state of anxiety

D. relaxation


57. REM, as in REM sleep, stands for


A. repeatedly excited muscles.

B. rapid eye movement.

C. relaxed eye movement.

D. relaxed emotional movement.


58. Dreaming, frequent eye movements, and low muscle tone are characteristic of _______ sleep.


A. slow-wave sleep

B. stage 4

C. non-REM

D. REM


59. In her sleep laboratory, Dr. Zungi has instructed her lab assistants to wake subjects when they have exhibited rapid eye movements for more than thirty seconds. What does Dr. Zungi expect the subjects to report upon awakening?


A. hypnotic suggestions

B. dreams

C. delta-wave activity

D. feelings of extreme anxiety


60. Which psychological school of thought is MOST interested in the content of dreams?


A. psychoanalytic

B. humanistic

C. behavioral

D. cognitive


61. Sometimes people know they are dreaming, even while they are still asleep. This is called


A. lucid dreaming.

B. suggestibility.

C. sleep processing.

D. latent dreaming.


62. Compared to the waking hours, how active are neurons during REM sleep?


A. just as active

B. 30 percent less active

C. much more active

D. they are not active at all


63. Which theory of why we sleep would have little function in modern humans?


A. recuperation from stress

B. protection from predators

C. consolidation of memories

D. augments immune functioning


64. Although he thought he was using magnetism to treat his patients, _______ may have been the first person to use hypnosis.


A. Sigmund Freud

B. Wilhelm Wundt

C. Anton Mesmer

D. Ernest Hilgard


65. Which of the following is a characteristic of hypnosis?


A. attention is highly divided

B. a low level of suggestibility is desired

C. attention is highly focused

D. person adheres to logical situations only


66. If you believe that hypnosis is an example of divided consciousness, then you would agree with


A. Mesmer.

B. Hilgard.

C. Boa.

D. Freud.


67. Mary feels like laughing at the sight of a banana. She under- went hypnosis the day before and is amazed to learn that an instruction to laugh at bananas was given during hypnosis. The hypnotic technique used with Mary is called


A. hypnotic induction.

B. hypnotic regression.

C. posthypnotic suggestion.

D. psychoactive hypnosis.


68. While fifty-year-old John was under hypnosis, the hypnotist told him that he was really six years old. At that point John began talking and acting as if he were actually six. This phenomenon is an example of


A. posthypnotic suggestion.

B. age regression.

C. hypnotic induction.

D. hypnotic amnesia.


69. If someone exhibits an extraordinary level of suggestibility, the person would


A. make a good hypnotist.

B. make a good psychologist.

C. be easy to hypnotize.

D. be difficult to hypnotize.


70. The primary aim of those who use psychoactive drugs is


A. relief from addiction.

B. alteration of consciousness.

C. illegal profit-making.

D. avoidance of tolerance.


71. A person has a prescription to take a drug for six months. By the end of six months, the same dosage level has a smaller behavioral effect than it did at the beginning of the prescription. The person has developed


A. tolerance.

B. addiction.

C. withdrawal symptoms.

D. psychological dependence.


72. Psychoactive drugs categorized as depressants tend to


A. reduce activity in the nervous system.

B. stimulate the peripheral nervous system.

C. remove hallucinations and unpleasant emotional states.

D. increase slow-wave brain activity.


73. How does alcohol produce its behavioral effects?


A. it stimulates the pleasure centers in the brain

B. it activates the release of endorphins

C. it energizes the central nervous system

D. it inhibits brain activities


74. Sound vibrations enter the ear and are sent to the brain. This is an example of


A. integration.

B. accommodation.

C. sensation.

D. perception.


75. When incoming sensory signals are integrated and interpreted by the central nervous system, the process of _______ has occurred.


A. transmission

B. transduction

C. sensation

D. perception


76. When information about the environment is transmitted to the brain, what has occurred?


A. sensation

B. conduction

C. accommodation

D. adaptation


77. Mary smells an aroma and identifies it as turkey being roasted; she is relying upon the process of


A. accommodation.

B. perception.

C. precognition.

D. audition.


78. As a subject in an experiment, John was instructed to listen until he detected a sound. The experimenter recorded the point at which John reported hearing the sound. The experimenter established John's _______ for hearing.


A. absolute threshold

B. difference threshold

C. attention span

D. dichotic span


79. Betty found that the just noticeable difference (j.n.d.) for a ten-pound weight was one pound. Assuming Weber's Law allows perfect prediction, how much weight will be needed for a j.n.d. at fifty pounds?


A. twenty pounds

B. ten pounds

C. five pounds

D. one pound


80. Each sensory system has specialized cells that convert physical energy into neural signals. These cells are called


A. imagers.

B. transducers.

C. receptors.

D. refractors.


81. When scientists attempt to measure the absolute thresholds of human sensory systems, subjects often guess, saying that they detect the stimulus when it really is not present. The technique in which "false alarms" are used to circumvent this guessing tendency is known as


A. Weber's Law.

B. transduction.

C. perceptual constancy.

D. signal detection.


82. The transparent structure that protects the front of the eye is the


A. iris.

B. blind spot.

C. cornea.

D. pupil.


83. Where is the blind spot of the eye located?


A. in the center of the fovea

B. where the ganglion cells leave the retina

C. where the rods converge to form the cones

D. in the center of the sclera


84. The visual receptors that relay information about color and fine detail are the


A. ganglion cells.

B. cornea cells.

C. cones.

D. rods.


85. What is special about the area of the retina called the fovea?


A. it contains only ganglion cells

B. it contains only rods

C. it contains only cones

D. it contains only feature detectors


86. The opening in the center of the _______ is the _______.


A. retina; pupil

B. pupil; iris

C. iris; pupil

D. iris; retina


87. As John looks at the stars on a very dark night, he notices that the stars in his peripheral vision seem to be brighter than those in his central vision. This is because peripheral vision


A. depends on the rods.

B. depends on the cones.

C. depends on ganglion cells.

D. depends on accommodation.


88. A person born without rods would have which of the following sensory deficits?


A. poor peripheral vision

B. inability to detect temperature

C. impaired color vision

D. inability to detect sour taste


89. As John leaves bright daylight and enters a darkened room, his eyes will adjust and become increasingly sensitive. This process is called


A. dark adaptation.

B. stereoscopic vision.

C. convergence.

D. accommodation.


90. What three classes of cones were predicted by the trichromatic theory of color vision?


A. white, black, and gray

B. black, white, and red

C. red, green, and blue

D. blue, green, and yellow


91. The opponent process theory of color vision predicted that each receptor cell


A. was sensitive to three colors.

B. was sensitive to two colors

C. responded to an individual color.

D. responded to adjacent primary colors.


92. After looking at a colored block, Larry looked away and saw a green afterimage. The block that Larry had been looking at was MOST likely what color?


A. red

B. yellow

C. blue

D. green


93. Stereoscopic vision supplies cues that are vital in judging


A. color.

B. shape.

C. distance.

D. brightness.


94. A stimulus is moved around a subject's visual field. At the same time, a researcher is recording the firing rate of a cell along the visual pathway. The cell's firing rate changes only when the stimulus is placed in a certain portion of the visual field. This is called the sensory cell's


A. receptive field.

B. pattern range.

C. monocular field.

D. binocular range.


95. Which of the following is a binocular cue for depth?


A. experience

B. convergence

C. signaling of complex cells

D. Mach banding


96. Which part of the ear is mainly responsible for amplifying and transmitting sound waves?


A. inner ear

B. middle ear

C. outer ear

D. cochlea


97. Margie's doctor told her that her hair cells were damaged. Which of Margie's sensory systems was impaired?


A. olfaction

B. audition

C. touch

D. pain


98. Which structure connects the outer ear to the middle ear?


A. cochlea

B. eardrum

C. basilar membrane

D. auditory canal


99. What aspect of sound is measured in decibels?


A. wavelength

B. noise level

C. frequency

D. pitch


100. Which ear structure is the first to convert sound waves into physical vibrations?


A. stapes

B. basilar membrane

C. cochlea

D. ear drum


101. When shown an incomplete picture, people tend to fill in the gaps and perceive it as a complete form. This illustrates the perceptual principle of


A. similarity.

B. proximity.

C. closure.

D. good condition.


102. You are standing on the railroad tracks and a train is coming toward you. When the train is far away, the image is tiny; as it gets closer, the image becomes larger. The reason you conclude that the train is approaching you, and not actually growing bigger is


A. convergence.

B. disregard for the Ponzo illusion.

C. size constancy.

D. the figure-ground principle.


103. Similarity and proximity are perceptual principles that help us


A. organize complex auditory information.

B. organize complex visual information.

C. determine the size of an object.

D. determine how far away an object is.


104. We are constantly being bombarded by millions of stimuli. We are able to filter out most of this stimulation to only a fraction of the stimuli. The process by which this is accomplished is called


A. perceptual constancy.

B. perceptual set.

C. selective attention.

D. selective sensation.


105. Learning is referred to as a _______ change in behavior that occurs _______.


A. relatively permanent; with experience

B. relatively permanent; innately

C. absolutely permanent; with experience

D. absolutely permanent; innately


106. Your behavior is altered because you attended class. This is an example of


A. classical conditioning.

B. development.

C. learning.

D. motivation.


107. Evidence suggests that the MOST important factor in "learning to walk" is


A. prior experience.

B. maturation.

C. genetic inheritance.

D. operant conditioning.


108. How are learning and performance related?


A. Learning and performance are the same thing.

B. Learning only occurs through performance.

C. Performance and learning are unrelated.

D. Performance is a measure of learning.


109. In Pavlov's classic experiments, the unconditioned stimulus (UCS) was


A. the bell.

B. the food.

C. the salivation.

D. Pavlov himself.


110. An actress applied onion juice to a handkerchief and dabbed it under her eyes to help her cry in certain scenes. After several scenes she found she no longer needed the onion juice and only used the handkerchief to elicit tears. What was the unconditioned response in this example?


A. onion juice

B. handkerchief

C. dabbing

D. tears


111. Which of the following correctly describes the sequence of events in the classical conditioning paradigm?


A. a behavior is followed by a positive reinforcer

B. an unconditioned response is followed by an unconditioned stimulus

C. a stimulus is reinforced by a response

D. an unconditioned stimulus is preceded by a conditioned stimulus


112. Allison was stung by a wasp and had an allergic reaction. She is now afraid of all flying insects. Allison is exhibiting


A. stimulus discrimination.

B. stimulus generalization.

C. experimental neurosis.

D. learned helplessness.


113. Blake uses canned dog food. His dog runs into the kitchen expecting food every time someone uses the electric can opener. Which of the following would extinguish the dog's behavior?


A. pair the conditioned stimulus with the unconditioned stimulus

B. substitute the unconditioned response with an unconditioned stimulus

C. start feeding the dog bagged food

D. only feed the dog once a day


114. Which of the following sets of variables would MOST likely be associated with operant conditioning?


A. conditioned stimulus, conditioned response

B. insight, observation, imitation

C. modeling, involuntary behavior

D. stimulus, response, reinforcer


115. If you are using operant conditioning and you want to decrease the probability of a behavior, try


A. positive reinforcement.

B. negative reinforcement.

C. punishment.

D. counterconditioning.


116. Which of the following men developed many of the important principles of operant conditioning?


A. Albert Bandura

B. Ivan Pavlov

C. Sigmund Freud

D. B. F. Skinner


117. Any behavior that occurs on its own is called a(n)


A. respondent.

B. extinguished behavior.

C. shaped behavior.

D. operant.


118. Johnny receives a lot of attention whenever he throws a tantrum. Recently, his mother noticed he has been throwing more tantrums. Extinguishing his tantrum behavior would require


A. scolding Johnny whenever he had a tantrum.

B. withholding attention for undesirable behavior.

C. having a tantrum along with the child.

D. giving Johnny more attention during his tantrum.


119. In terms of what happens to the response, what is the relationship between positive and negative reinforcement?


A. neither has an effect on behavior

B. one strengthens behavior and the other weakens behavior

C. they both strengthen behavior

D. they both weaken behavior


120. How does partial reinforcement differ from continuous reinforcement?


A. Partial reinforcement does not occur on a fixed ratio schedule.

B. Partial reinforcement does not occur on a variable interval schedule.

C. Partial reinforcement is less resistant to extinction

D. Partial reinforcement is more resistant to extinction.


121. Mary is troubled by back pain due to muscle tension. Which of the following procedures would be most useful in helping Mary to ease or prevent muscle tension?


A. biofeedback

B. extinction training

C. programmed instruction

D. conditioned tolerance


122. When Jill becomes anxious, her heart rate increases. Through observing her heart rate on a monitor, Jill has learned to decrease her heart rate when she feels anxious. As a result, Jill also lowers her feelings of anxiety. The technique that Jill has learned to use is called


A. extinction.

B. observational learning.

C. biofeedback.

D. cognitive learning.


123. Even without being rewarded, Allie learned the solution to a unique problem. What kind of learning was MOST likely involved?


A. operant conditioning

B. insight learning

C. biofeedback training

D. classical conditioning


124. Which of the following is a key factor in observational learning?


A. CS-US interval

B. positive reinforcers

C. model imitation

D. superstitious behavior


125. When we avoid a specific taste after a previous unpleasant experience was associated with it, researchers call this phenomenon


A. a taste inversion.

B. operant conditioning.

C. a flavor aversion.

D. insight learning.



Answers to Questions

1 25 50 75 100
2 26 51 76 101
3 27 52 77 102
4 28 53 78 103
5 29 54 79 104
6 30 55 80 105
7 31 56 81 106
8 32 57 82 107
9 33 58 83 108
10 34 59 84 109
11 35 60 85 110
12 36 61 86 111
13 37 62 87 112
14 38 63 88 113
15 39 64 89 114
16 40 65 90 115
17 41 66 91 116
18 42 67 92 117
19 43 68 93 118
20 44 69 94 119
21 45 70 95 120
22 46 71 96 121
23 47 72 97 122
24 48 73 98 123
  49 74 99 124
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