Psychology Trivia Questions for Students — page 9

The president of a company brought in an outside consultant to disagree with him about an important decision to be discussed at a meeting of his top level executives in order to avoid

• Asocial loafing
• Bgroupthink
• Cthe bystander effect
• Dthe mere exposure effect

Which of the following scientists was among the first to study the relationship between reinforcement and learning?

• AB. F. Skinner
• BCarl Rogers
• CSigmund Freud
• DMary Ainsworth

Vance's therapist believes Vance is psychotic. From which of the following medications would he most likely believe Vance would benefit?

• ASSRIs
• Bneuroleptics
• CL-Dopa
• Dbenzodiazepines

Which of the following is the strongest piece of evidence for the idea that animals are capable of developing and using a sophisticated language?

• ASystems of communication have been documented in species from honeybees to dolphins.
• BPrimates quickly learn words that result in food rewards.
• CThe discovery of physical structures in animal brains are analogous to the language acquisition device in humans.
• DApes have been able to use the words they know to express novel concepts.

Which of the following best summarizes Carl Rogers' view of personality?

• APersonality traits such as inhibition, extroversion, and conscientiousness are constant over time.
• BIndividual personalities vary based on differences in traits, emotions, and thought processes.
• CPeople's personality traits are overwhelmingly positive and goal-directed.
• DPersonality is mainly formed by behavioral expectations.

What is the first step in any example of classical conditioning?

• AFollowing a response with a reinforcement or a punishment
• BReinforcing an organism for a behavior similar to the desired behavior
• CRewarding a behavior with an unconditioned stimulus, such as food
• DPairing an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus

Young Tina had never seen the space shuttle until her parents pointed out a picture of it ready to launch. When she next saw a picture of it flying, she had difficulty recognizing it. Which concept best explains this problem?

• Aautokinetic effect
• Bdishabituation
• Csummation
• Dshape constancy

Which of the following is caused by a teratogen?

• AKlinefelter's syndrome
• BTay-Sachs disease
• CTurner's syndrome
• DFetal alcohol syndrome

All of the following are conditions sanctioned by the APA regarding the use of deception in a study EXCEPT

• Athe research is of great importance and cannot be conducted without the use of deception
• Bparticipants are expected to find the procedures reasonable upon being informed of them
• Cparticipants must be allowed to withdraw from the experiment at any time
• Dthe research must be conducted as a double-blind study

Pascale is interested in the processing strategies children use to learn new information. Pascale would best be classified as what type of psychologist?

• Acognitive
• Bbehaviorist
• Cclinical
• Dsociocultural

What part of Phineas Gage's brain was damaged by his accident while laying the railroad track?

• Acorpus callosum
• Btemporal lobe
• Cmedulla oblongata
• Dprefrontal cortex

Endorphins are chemicals that

• Aincrease alertness and reduce drowsiness
• Belevate mood and reduce pain
• Clower or raise the threshold for the firing of neurons
• Dcannot cross the blood-brain barrier

Physiological reactions to surprise or shocks are most controlled by which of the following parts of the nervous system?

• Asomatic nervous system
• Bendocrine system
• Csympathetic nervous system
• Dserotonin system

The ability to solve a new computer game based on logical puzzles probably depends on which kind of intelligence?

• Aachievement intelligence
• Baptitude intelligence
• Ccrystallized intelligence
• Dfluid intelligence

Students diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are four to nine times more likely to be

• ACaucasian children than African American children
• Bfemales than males
• Cchildren than adults
• Dmales than females

Aaron Beck's negative triad of beliefs, which explains the cycle of depression by examining negative thoughts about self and the world, exemplifies what type of therapy?

• ACognitive
• BBehavioral
• CPsychoanalytic
• DHumanistic

Which of the following reinforcement schedules results in maintenance of behavior that is LEAST resistant to extinction?

• Avariable ratio
• Bfixed interval
• Cfixed ratio
• Dcontinuous

In the three-box information processing model, what is the first place memories are stored?

• Ashort-term memory
• Bsensory memory
• Ceidetic memory
• Dsemantic memory

Bessie could barely detect sweetness in a sip of water from a pitcher in which one quarter of a teaspoon of water was mixed into a half gallon of water. For taste, this is Bessie's

• Adifference threshold
• Bdistal stimulus
• Cabsolute threshold
• Dsubliminal stimulation

When a child is enrolled in elementary school, the parents are frequently involved in the child's education as partners, collaborators, and problem solvers. During middle and high school, the parents are more typically described as

• Aaudience
• Bcollaborators
• Csupporters
• Dpartners

Which of the following is not considered a primary facial expression?

• Adisgust
• Bsurprise
• Canger
• Dlove

The pastry chef ordinarily makes 15 apple turnovers in 15 minutes, but when culinary arts students are watching him, he makes 20 apple turnovers in 15 minutes. This exemplifies

• Afoot-in-the-door phenomenon
• Bsocial loafing
• Csocial facilitation
• Dthe bystander effect

To act consistently with the group's behavior, Etan changed what he was doing. This illustrates

• Aobedience to authority
• Bout-group homogeneity
• Cconformity
• Dstereotyping

The perceived volume of a tone is mainly determined by its

• Aamplitude
• Bfrequency
• Covertones
• Dtimbre

Which of the following are included in the peripheral nervous system?

• Acranial nerves, spinal nerves, autonomic ganglia
• Bbrain, spinal cord, cranial nerves
• Cspinal cord, spinal nerves, sense organs
• Dmedulla, pons, thalamus

The goal of projective personality tests, such as the Rorschach and Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), is to

• Aassess basic personality traits
• Bgain insight into potential biochemical abnormalities
• Cuncover unconscious thoughts and feelings
• Dassess cultural influences on personality

Tony got accepted to the college he wants to attend, is going to the prom with a girl he really admires, and was hired for the summer job he sought. He has high

• Aintroversion
• Bself-efficacy
• Cself-handicapping
• Dself-doubt

In Pavlov's conditioning of dogs, the point at which the dogs salivated at the sound of the tone without the food being present is referred to as

• Ageneralization
• Ban unconditioned stimulus
• Cacquisition
• Ddiscrimination

In time-out, a disruptive child who wants to stay with his or her class is removed from the classroom. This exemplifies

• Aomission training
• Bnegative reinforcement
• Cpositive punishment
• Dpositive reinforcement

Harlow's monkey experiment illustrated

• Athat primates can make and use tools.
• Bthe danger of separating babies from their natural parents.
• Cthat language is a uniquely human skill.
• Dthe importance of physical contact to development.

Which of the following is a strategy that the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) recommends as a best practice for improving school safety?

• ACommunicating to parents that the school environment is safe
• BExpelling a student immediately after a minor disciplinary infraction
• CCreating a school safety and response team
• DImplementing a strict student code of conduct, such as a zero-tolerance policy

Which is likely to increase as a normal, healthy individual ages from 25 to 75 years of age?

• Aability to reason speedily
• Bcrystallized intelligence
• Cvisual acuity
• Dfluid intelligence

A doctor examining a car crash victim in order to determine whether the crash caused structural damage to the brain would use what kind of brain scan?

• AEEG
• BfMRI
• CMRI
• DPET

Sigmund Freud was the founder of which of the following perspectives in psychology?

• ABiological
• BBehavioral
• CCognitive
• DPsychoanalytic

In the "cocktail party phenomenon," an individual can focus on one conversation and filter out all the surrounding stimuli. This is an example of

• Ajust noticeable difference
• Bselective attention
• Csensory adaptation
• Dcontinuity

Carlos could consistently differentiate the note middle C on the violin from middle C on the piano because of the difference in

• Aamplitude
• Btimbre
• Cfrequency
• Dprimary wavelength

In studying for the AP Psychology exam, good advice would be to

• Astore as much as possible in your short-term memory.
• Bread this book over and over as many times as you can.
• Cstudy from multiple sources.
• Drely heavily on the serial position effect.

Which of the following psychologists would most likely agree with the following statement: Behavior is a result of the combination of reinforcers and punishers?

• AWilhelm Wundt
• BWilliam James
• CCarl Rogers
• DB. F. Skinner

Which best represents the path of an impulse over a reflex arc?

• Areceptor, efferent neuron, interneuron, afferent neuron, affector
• Breceptor, afferent neuron, interneuron, efferent neuron, effector
• Csensory neuron, interneuron, afferent neuron, efferent neuron, effector
• Deffector, sensory neuron, afferent neuron, interneuron, receptor

Which of the following disorders responds best to cognitive behavioral therapy?

• Amajor depressive disorder
• Bdissociative identity disorder
• Cbipolar disorder
• Ddisorganized schizophrenia

According to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, the first reaction of a person faced with a terminal illness is

• Aanger
• Bbargaining
• Cdenial
• Dacceptance

A special diet can prevent the expression of the trait for

• ADown syndrome
• BTay-Sachs syndrome
• CHuntington's disease
• DPKU (phenylketonuria)

Lev Vygotsky's approach to the study of cognitive development was

• Abiological
• Bpsychodynamic
• Csociocultural
• Dbehavioral

The role of the outer ear is to

• Acollect and focus sounds from the air
• Bprotect the eardrum while it transduces sound
• Ctransduce sound waves to stimulate the ossicles
• Dconduct sound by exciting the cilia in the inner ear

Xavier is beginning his first year of college. He is eager to find a few other freshmen to "hang out" with. Psychologists would say that Xavier is motivated by a(n)

• Aattachment need
• Bfraternization need
• Caffiliation need
• Dassimilation need

What makes the psychoanalytic perspective different from the other psychological perspectives?

• APsychoanalysis relies on the scientific method.
• BThe research psychoanalysis is based on primarily involves people with psychological disorders.
• CPsychoanalysts focus on the unconscious mind.
• DThe process of psychoanalysis takes a long time and is focused on individuals, not groups.

According to Kohlberg, in order to reason at the postconventional level, people must

• Abe generous.
• Bhave had a successful resolution of the integrity versus despair stage.
• Cbelieve in God.
• Dbe able to take another person's perspective.

Although many studies regarding the effects of a particular herb on memory have been conducted, results of any one study have been inconclusive. An overall conclusion might be reached by performing

• Ameta-analysis
• Bcalculating the statistical significance of each study
• Crevising the data from one of the experiments
• Dcross-cultural analysis

En route to the brain, information from the two eyes' retinas crosses at the

• Alateral geniculate nucleus.
• Boptic nerve.
• Coptic chiasm.
• Dfovea.

Which term describes the phenomenon of like-minded groups taking more extreme positions than the individuals that comprise the group?

• Adeindividuation
• Bgroupthink
• Csocial facilitation
• Dgroup polarization