Psychology W1 Spring 2014 Final Examination

Transcription

Psychology W1
Spring 2014
Final Examination
Noncumulative Portion
1. A nativist in developmental psychology would argue which of the following about the cause of a
specific cognitive ability?
A. Childhood education matters most when examining the development of this ability.
B. Differences between cultures have shown the importance of necessity when developing this ability.
*C. Your genetics will allow for this ability to develop naturally.
D. Your home of origin has a large impact on whether or not you will develop this ability.
% correct: 49 % incorrect: 51
Nativists contend that many of our abilities are a result of inborn, predetermined mechanisms. Most of
today’s modern nativists tend to focus on genetics when discussing the topic of inheritance of different
features and abilities. Some nativists of our past have gone so far as to argue that things like language
and memories can be inherited from our parents—though no research has ever supported claims that
go this far.
2. What does a developmental psychology investigator examine in a cross-sectional design?
*A. different people (of different ages) at one point in time
B. a single group of people at several points in time
C. different species of animals
D. people from different countries or cultures
This question is merely a question about the definition of cross-sectional designs in developmental
psychology. In them, researchers compare a number of different age groups at the same time in order
to study a developmental topic. The advantage of these designs is that they can be done quickly
without concerns for attrition. The negative aspect of this design is that it don’t allow for researchers to
control for cohort effects.
3. A researcher that studies your outward display of temperament in an attempt to examine the
heritability of temperament is focusing on your _______ of that characteristic.
A. genotype
*B. phenotype
C. chronotype
D. genotype, phenotype, and chronotype
Someone’s genotype is their inherited genetic make-up. A person’s phenotype is their inherited
outwardly identifiable characteristics. Though phenotypes technically come from genes, when we’re
speaking merely of outward characteristics, were discussing phenotypes. The term chronotype is simply
a made-up term.
4. Children of the same parents that were not born at the same time (traditional siblings) have the same
amount of genetic overlap as
A. monozygotic twins.
*B. dizygotic twins.
C. adopted siblings.
D. biological cousins.
This was supposed to be an easy question. I’m really not sure what happened here. The book and
lecture discuss this topic. Namely, though dizygotic twins are born at roughly the same time, similar to
their monozygotic twin counterparts, because they develop from two different zygotes. Therefore, they
are just as genetically related to each other as traditional siblings.
5. Based on the formulas given in class, if the correlation between monozygotic twins of a trait is .8 and
the correlation of that trait for dizygotic twins is .4, what percentage of this trait can be attributes to
non-shared environments?
A. 0%
*B. 20%
C. 40%
D. 60%
The formula for calculating out non-shared environmental inheritance is simply 1 – the monozygotic
twin correlation. This would leave it at .20 or 20%. If the question asked about genetic variance, you
would have multiplied 2 * (.8-.4), which would have given you .8 or 80%. Coincidentally, these numbers
would suggest that the shared environment had 0 effect on this trait, since the formula for shared
environment is 1 - non-shared - genetic.
6. Frank Sulloway’s research on birth order and the big 5 was believed by Sulloway to show how
A. birth order does not matter for these personality traits.
*B. birth order might be more important than genes for the development of specific traits.
C. shared environments were more important than genetics in explaining traits.
D. genetic defects become more likely with each successive birth in a family.
Frank Sulloway championed, and for that matter still is championing, the idea that birth order has a
large impact on several aspects of who we become. His research on birth order has been linked to the
topics of personality, leadership, and social interaction, to name a few. The main goal in each approach
is to show how birth order can be a critical unshared environmental factor that impacts us in our lives.
7. Which of the following statements below has NOT been indicated by the research on birth order and
intelligence conducted by Zajonc and Marcus (1974)?
A. First borns often have the highest intelligence in a family
B. Children in smaller families often display higher intelligence in comparison to children in larger ones
C. Last borns in a family with more than one child often show large drops in intelligence in comparison
to their peers
*D. Families with single-parent households show less decline in intelligence per child born than families
with multiple parent households
The research of Zajonic and Marcus has shown that first-borns do (on average) have the highest
intelligence in the family. They also showed through their data that family size negatively correlates to
the average IQ of the family, and that the last born shows (on average) the lowest IQ in the family.
Answer D was also examine, but the exact opposite of this statement is true.
8. In biological terms, the sex of an individual is determined by
*A. their 23rd chromosome.
B. the diet of their mother before birth.
C. a set of genes that have yet to be determined.
D. exposures to different hormones during the first few weeks of development.
This is a pretty depressing output for this question. The correct answer A. Though the genetic
information causes hormones to trigger the development of sex organs, hormones do not determine
sex. Nor does exposure to anything in the environment during prenatal development. The 23rd
chromosome pair (typically XX or XY) determines the gender of the individual.
9. The organs that eventually develop into the male and female sex organs that are primarily responsible
for reproduction are called
A. the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.
B. the secondary sex organs.
C. the tropics.
*D. the gonads.
The gonads of males eventually develop into the testes. The gonads of females eventually develop into
the ovaries. Genes activate tropic hormones, which are sent down the body during prenatal
development. Once the hormones reach the gonads, they develop into testes or ovaries based on the
hormone content.
10. When someone defines themselves as transgendered, they are discussing their
A. sexuality.
B. exotic orientation.
*C. gender identity.
D. biological sex.
There are many different gender, sexuality, and sex terms that are out there to describe the spectrum of
different combinations of these categories that go beyond the stereotypical heterosexual male and
female groupings. When we use the term transgendered, we’re discussing how individuals identify their
gender. Answer D was a bad distractor for this question, since it is technically a part of how someone
would be defined as transgendered. That is, to identify as the opposite gender, you have to identify the
person’s sex. That being said, answer C was by far the best answer to this question.
11. Developmental studies have shown that children first display differentiation between individuals
based on their understanding of gender at roughly age ____.
A. 1
*B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
This was simply an identification question of a topic covered in lecture. Though children are often
treated very differently based on their gender at the moment of birth and beyond, children do not
appear to display a clear understanding of gender until about 2 years of age.
12. John Locke’s theory that children are equivalent to a “Tabula Rasa” is considered the framework for
the ___________ view of development.
A. nativism
*B. empiricism
C. continual
D. stage-based
Answers C and D were merely distractor terms that were made up for this question. Answer A, nativism,
is actually the antithesis of John Locke’s Tabula Rasa theory. Tabula rasa means blank slate. It implies
that we are born with nothing pre-programmed into us. Instead, we just become who we are through
experience and learning. This is the heart of the empiricism view of development.
13. An infant who hears a novel sound increases its sucking rate. After several presentations of the same
sound, the sucking rate declines. This decrease in response is called
*A. habituation.
B. sensitization.
C. reactivity.
D. reflexive attenuation.
This topic of sucking rates and habituation is a big one in developmental psychology. When researchers
first studied this phenomenon, they quickly realized the value of this discovery. It gives us the ability to
examine topics of attention, memory, and interest in children, long before infants are able to articulate
what they are thinking or experiencing. When a child’s sucking rate increases, it suggests that a child’s
interest in something has increased. When it slows, it indicates that the child has habituated to (grown
accustomed to or lost interest in) a stimulus.
14. In Piaget's terminology, what is it that sometimes gets assimilated and sometimes gets
accommodated?
A. the child
B. a cohort
*C. a schema
D. an identity
Jean Piaget was a pioneer in the field of cognitive development. He studied how children changed their
perceptions of the world and the rules that governed how it worked. A “schema” was the term that he
used to describe a child’s mindset and rules that he/she was using to understand a situation. When we
encounter conflicts in the environment (situations that don’t agree with our schemas), we either
assimilate or accommodation that information.
15. An investigator covers a toy and watches whether a child removes the cover to retrieve the toy.
Which concept is the investigator apparently testing?
A. conservation.
B. identity achievement.
C. assimilation.
*D. object permanence.
Object permanence is a concept that was explored by Jean Piaget. If we do not understand object
permanence, we believe that when we stop seeing or hearing a stimulus, it no longer continue to exist.
Piaget argued that we learn this concept by about 1 year of age. This concept is at the heart of the
example listed above.
16. What did Piaget mean by the term "egocentric"?
*A. seeing the world only from your own perspective
B. being selfish
C. having a well-defined, individually chosen identity
D. being withdrawn, shy, and inhibited
Though we often use the term egocentric nowadays to discuss someone that is being selfish or
egotistical, Piaget used the term to describe children that could not understand that their own
perspective, memory, or feelings were not the same as those of everyone else around them. An
example of egocentrism is when a young child asks her grandmother if she likes the look of her new
dress while talking with her over the phone. Piaget assumed that this mindset was overcome for most
of us by somewhere around 3 to 5 years of age.
17. What do children do in the formal-operations stage that they do not do in the concrete-operations
stage?
A. understand that an object maintains its weight and volume after a change in its shape
B. reach around a barrier to retrieve a hidden object
*C. develop a systematic strategy for solving a problem
D. distinguish between appearance and reality
This was a tough one. Children in the last stage of Piaget’s theory of development, the formal
operational stage, are learning to think more abstractly about situations. Concepts like conservation (A),
object permanence (B), and reality versus play (D), are all learned before both the concrete and formal
operational stages.
18. According to Piaget, a child who has mastered the principle of conservation but who has limitations
on abstract thought is in which stage of cognitive development?
A. preoperational
*B. concrete operations
C. sensorimotor
D. formal operations
Conservation learning is one of the final steps of the preoperational stage of development in Piaget’s
model of cognitive development. Abstract thought learning doesn’t develop until the beginning of the
formal operational stage. That would suggest that the child is in between these two stages, and is thus
in the concrete operational stage of cognitive development.
19. Trust vs. mistrust, intimacy vs. isolation, and generativity vs. stagnation are stages in
A. Freud's stages of psychosexual development.
*B. Erikson's stages of social and emotional development.
C. Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning.
D. Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Eric Erikson was one of the big figures in the field of personality and identity development. Having
worked with Sigmund Freud and building off of Jean Piaget’s theories, his research centered on
prominent identity questions that might dominate our lives during different ages. He assumed, much
like Freud did with his psychosexual stages of development theory, that past experiences—in this case
decisions about identity—play a large role in our personality related behaviors throughout our lives.
20. When researchers wanted to present the same stimulus (a word) so that it would be conscious on
some trials and unconscious on others, what is one method they used?
A. They sometimes hypnotized people and told them not to see the word.
B. They made the word larger and brighter on some trials than on others.
*C. They flashed the word briefly and sometimes followed it with a masking pattern.
D. They sometimes presented it to normal people and sometimes to people in a coma.
The only answer above that relates to the studying what is called subliminal perception is answer C. This
type of research allows us to create models that can explore our thresholds for different stimuli, as well
as examine the impact of stimuli, even when they are below our threshold of detecting them.
21. In an unchanging environment (such as a cave or a submarine), people become sleepy about once
every __________ hours.
A. 12-13
*B. 24-25
C. 28-29
D. 48-49
This was mentioned briefly in the textbook. I’m actually a bit surprised that so many people got this
correct, because it appears on second glance as an obscure question. The experiment that this question
is referring to is now known as the “cave experiment”. Michel Siffre, a French psychologist, attempted
to answer the question above, as well as others about our circadian rhythms, by spending 6 months in a
cave in Texas. From his experiment, and subsequent others, we found that most of us, when not
exposed to the sun, remain on a circadian clock that is near 24 hours, but is actually a bit closer to 25
hours.
22. In the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), subjects are asked to tell a story about a photograph. This
is done primarily to measure their ________.
A. explicit levels of motivation
*B. implicit levels of motivation
C. early childhood experiences
D. level of creativity
The TAT is a test not used that often today, but in the past, it was used a number of times to measure
different motivation levels and desires in individuals. The test requires individuals to look at pictures
and tell a fictional story about the characters in the pictures. The assumption of the test is that people
telling stories about the pictures implicitly inject their own desires and motives into the characters that
they see in the photographs. It has been used to measure motives like the need for achievement, need
for power, need for affiliation, and a handful of others.
23. During which stage of sleep is the brain most active?
A. stage 2
B. stage 3
C. stage 4
*D. REM
Though the brain is fairly active during stage 2 of sleep, the activity level of the brain during stage 2
pales in comparison to the amount of activity that we see during REM sleep. This is the stage where
dreams are most often reported during intermittent waking studies, and it is the one that many
psychologists have linked to the concept of memory consolidation during sleep.
24. Freud believed that dreams had two levels of meaning, the __________ content, which is the
content that appears on the surface, and the __________ content, which is hidden and only represented
symbolically.
*A. manifest...latent
B. latent...manifest
C. full...psychoanalytic
D. psychoanalytic...full
This was straight from the book. It discussed one of the many way that Sigmund Freud thought we
could examine his version of the unconscious—something very different from what we discussed in
lecture when looking at threshold detection. Freud believed that the information in our dreams (called
the manifest content), were symbols of the thoughts and desires of our mind at the unconscious level
(called the latent content).
25. Franz Anton Mesmer, the first practitioner of hypnosis, believed that the effects he produced were
due to
A. the power of suggestion.
*B. animal magnetism coming from his body.
C. telepathy.
D. suppression of activity in the cerebral cortex.
This was maybe a difficult question, simply because of research on hypnotism that followed the work of
Franz Anton Mesmer. Though most people now believe that people being hypnotized are being put into
this alternate state of consciousness through the power of suggestion—and I guess to an extent, some
suppression of activity in the cerebral cortex—Mesmer believed that his body was emitting magnetic
energy that moved the fluids in the brains of individuals and thus allowing them to be hypnotized. Or,
as Mesmer used to call it, “Mesmerized”.
26. Which of the following topics of implicit cognition were not discussed in the consciousness lecture?
A. learning
B. perception
C. emotion
*D. communication
Though we sometimes discuss implicit communication in our every-day conversations, the lecture on
implicit cognition focused on a collection of studies that examined how implicit learning worked,
threshold research on implicit perception, and even research on implicit emotion arousal and the effects
of this experience.
27. The DSM is a book that describes
A. ethical standards for psychological experiments.
B. the facilities and practices of the larger mental hospitals in the United States.
*C. accepted labels and classifications of psychological disorders.
D. the drugs that are used in psychiatry and their side effects.
The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM) is now in its fifth edition. In each
edition, the goal of the DSM has been the same. Clinicians created this manual in order to generate
labels and classifications of disorders for the variety of abnormal thoughts and behaviors that we see.
Though it has its flaws, many of which are mentioned in Dr Kihlstrom’s lecture and the textbook, many
believe that this manual has provided clinicians with a much needed tool to approach the field of clinical
psychology through a scientific lens.
28. Developmental disorders in clinical psychology are defined as such because
A. they take a long time to become prevalent in the individual.
B. they result from an early exposure to a stimulus during our developmental years.
*C. people who are diagnosed with them have presumably had them since birth.
D. culture is a large determinant of who develops these disorders.
This is more of a definition based question. The only answer above that matches the conceptual
definition of developmental disorders is answer C. Developmental disorders are disorders that have
presumably been present within the person since birth. These disorders are suggested to be inherent
within the individual, without environmental or mental factors being linked to the emergence of these
disorders.
29. According to the lecture, when assessing the appropriateness of a behavior by examining the
person’s surrounding culture (i.e. “Do all people in the United States do this?”), we are assessing
psychological deviance by looking at
A. statistical norms.
*B. social norms.
C. personal distress.
D. maladaptiveness.
Though this was a conceptually difficult question in the sense that students were asked to recall a
specific term paired with a concept only found in lecture, this was a fairly big topic in the lecture. It
spoke to the fact that many mental disorders are linked to displays of atypical thoughts or behaviors.
But, to define atypical, we need to determine what is typical within a culture that the person is a part of.
30. According to the lecture, someone who has a perception of reality that is grossly different from the
population would be defined as displaying
*A. psychosis.
B. neurosis.
C. a psychophysiological disorder.
D. a personality disorder.
This was a definition question, straight from one of the clinical psychology lectures. Neuroses are
defined as irrational emotional reactions to the environment. And though some people with
psychological and personality disorders have a perception of reality that is grossly different from the
population, this concept is exact definition of a psychosis.
31. According to the lecture, someone who abuses alcohol would be defined as displaying
*A. a behavioral disorder.
B. a somatoform disorder.
C. a dissociative disorder.
D. a psychophysiological disorder.
Alcohol abuse is defined as a behavioral disorder because the primary issue with this psychological
disorder is the atypical behaviors. There are a variety of different behavioral disorders, and the causes
for these disorders can come from a variety of different sources or combination of sources, but they are
defined as such because of the atypical behaviors that are at the heart of this disorder.
32. In successive publications of the DSM, we have seen the number of defined disorders
A. decline with each new publication of the manual.
*B. increase with each new publication of the manual.
C. stay relatively stable, though the diagnoses of individuals have risen.
D. decline with each new publication, though the diagnoses of individuals have risen.
With each publication of the DSM, psychologists associated with the manual have added more and more
disorders into the manual. These disorders are generated in part because of societal changes, and also
through updating knowledge and identifications within the psychological community. It might be
important to note that though rates of disorder definitions have risen overall with each edition, past
disorders that are either redefined, not seen as disorders, or not present in society can be removed from
the DSM.
33. Which of the following is a difficulty for therapists using DSM for diagnosis (think “borderline
personality disorder”)?
A. The DSM does not have specific symptoms for the clinician to use as anchors for diagnosis.
*B. Many people don’t fit neatly into one category.
C. The DSM does not distinguish among a large enough number of categories.
D. The DSM requires therapists to conduct long and expensive lab tests.
The inability to fit individuals neatly into a specific disorder listed in the DSM is a major issue with the
manual. This was discussed in both the book and lecture. It really speaks to the need to remind
ourselves that though we come up with terms for different commonly displayed atypical cognitions and
behaviors, diagnosing someone with a disorder is not usually as simple as just putting some puzzle
pieces together to definitively define their disorder.
34. Therapists who are dissatisfied with the DSM approach have suggested what alternative?
A. Abandon all diagnoses except for neurosis and psychosis.
B. Wait for the results of lab tests before giving anyone a diagnosis.
C. Let each therapist use his or her own criteria for each diagnosis.
*D. Rate people along several dimensions instead of giving them labels.
Unless you paid close attention to the clinical psychology lecture, this was a fairly difficult question.
Though there have been several alternatives presented to the DSM, the most popular alternative
suggests rating people on dimensions instead of putting them into categories. The reason for this
approach being popular is two-fold. For starters, it more accurately represents reality, where people
live on a continuum of symptoms instead of having a disorder or not. And secondly, this approach is
believed to take some of the stigma away from people that seek therapy or are diagnosed with a
disorder.
35. The most common, and highly successful, therapy for phobia relies on
A. understanding the unconscious motivations behind the fear.
B. explaining to the person why the fear is irrational.
C. punishing the person for any attempt to avoid the object.
*D. gradual exposure to the feared object.
The answer to this question is D. This approach is called systematic desensitization, or exposure
therapy. It has proven to be a very effective technique to help individuals with phobias. This particular
approach is typically classified as a behavioral approach to clinical therapy. Behavioral approaches have
proven to work well for many disorders, but it is not considered the gold standard for therapeutic
approaches, primarily because it doesn’t work very well for a variety of other disorders.
36. Most, if not all, highly addictive substances have one property in common:
A. they increase people's desire to be with other people.
B. they are soluble in water, but not in fats.
*C. they stimulate certain types of dopamine synapses in the brain.
D. the more times a person has taken them, the greater their effects.
This question was related to the substance abuse section in the textbook. Most addictive substances do
indeed increase dopamine production in the brain. This is believed to be a key element to the addictive
strength of these drugs because dopamine is a neurotransmitter that, when released in structures like
the amygdala, is linked to pleasure.
37. What is one thing that most antidepressant drugs have in common?
A. They prevent sodium ions from crossing the membrane of neurons.
B. They increase the rate at which oxygen enters the brain.
C. They alter the structure of DNA molecules.
*D. They alter the stimulation of certain types of synapses.
This was a surprisingly easy question according to the percentages. Indeed, all antidepressants attack
some aspect of the neurotransmitter communication between neurons. Some enhance
neurotransmitter production, others inhibit neurotransmitter reuptake, a few mimic a neurotransmitter,
and others do even more random things to effect the communication between neurons in the synapse.
But regardless of how they impact the neurons, they all are attacking disorders on the level of neurons.
38. Someone who alternates between episodes of depression and mania is said to have
*A. bipolar disorder.
B. schizophrenia.
C. unipolar disorder.
D. reactive depression.
This is the textbook definition of bipolar disorder. Though some individuals diagnosed with bipolar
disorder do only fluctuate between manic episodes and normal mood, anyone who fluctuates between
manic episodes and depressive episodes is defined as having bipolar disorder.
39. According to the neurodevelopmental hypothesis, which aspect of environment is especially
important in the development of schizophrenia?
*A. prenatal environment
B. exposure to parental conflict
C. exposure to sunlight during adolescence
D. exposure to ionizing radiation during adolescence
The neurodevelopmental hypothesis suggests that the disorder of schizophrenia comes from a genetic
predisposition for developing the disorder in combination with some type of early, either birth or
prenatal, environmental exposure. There are other theories about the cause of schizophrenia, but none
of the other answers are linked to the neurodevelopmental hypothesis—nor are they really linked to
any current popular theory about how schizophrenia develops.
40. Experimental psychopathology has found a strong link between the ability to smoothly track the
movement of an object with your eyes and the disorder of __________.
A. depression
B. agoraphobia
C. panic disorder
*D. schizophrenia
This was apparently a difficult question. Possibly because even though it was mentioned in Dr
Kihlstrom’s lecture that schizophrenia is linked to erratic eye tracking of a moving object, this inability to
track objects smoothly has also been linked to several other disorders. Most of them tend to be
biologically based disorders.
41. Flat affect is a type of “negative symptom” and is commonly seen in individuals that experience
_________.
A. depression
B. agoraphobia
C. panic disorder
*D. schizophrenia
Though the lack of emotions displayed in flat affect can occasionally be seen in a number of disorders,
when we define something as “flat affect” and especially when we define it a as a “negative symptom”,
we are discussing the disorder of schizophrenia. Negative symptoms are behaviors and cognitions that a
person with schizophrenia lacks.
42. The learned helplessness symptoms that Martin Seligman elicited in his dogs during his foot shocking
experiment has been theoretically linked to the development of _________ related symptoms.
*A. depression
B. anxiety
C. psychosis
D. developmental disorder
This topic of learned helplessness was actually discussed in both the behavioral and clinical lectures. In
Seligman’s research, he had dogs exposed to a room with a floor that was electrocuted. For some dogs,
they could avoid being shocked by going from one end of the room to another when an indicator light
appeared in the room. For other dogs, regardless of what they did when the light came on, they were
going to be shocked. He showed in his experiments that this early exposure to the unavoidable caused
the dogs in the second condition to not even try to avoid the shock in future experiments when all they
had to do was switch sides. He called this effect, learned helplessness. This idea of learned helplessness
has been linked to the concept of depression development.
43. The diathesis stress model of mental illnesses suggests that __________ is critical to the
development of a mental disorder for most individuals that develop a disorder.
A. an inherent predisposition
B. an atypical environmental event that triggers the development of a disorder
*C. a combination of an inherent predisposition and an environmental event
D. a buildup of stress throughout the lifetime
The diathesis stress model was the basis of an entire lecture in class. The model suggests that the
development of many disorders comes from a combination of inherent (usually genetic) factors and
environmental (usually stress) factors. It assumes that all individuals can potentially develop a number
of different mental disorders if they encounter enough stress. But, it also suggests that some have a
higher proclivity of developing disorders if they have a pre-disposition to do so.
44. Research on psychosomatic ulcers have shown that ________ are the primary cause of these ulcers.
A. bacterial infections
B. stress
*C. a combination of bacterial infections and stress
D. a biological predisposition and stress
This also came straight from the diathesis stress model lecture. In the lecture, Dr Kihlstrom discussed the
ongoing discussion about the source of ulcers. He discussed how historically, psychologists and
biologists had linked stress to the development of ulcers. Interestingly, after studying ulcers, many
biologists then came to conclude that ulcers were actually a byproduct of a bacterial infection, not
stress. Many in the scientific community used this discovery as proof that the link between health and
psychology was non-existent. In recent years, we’ve learned that stress can actually enhance the
potency of this bacteria. This discovery has revived the push for the stress diathesis model.
45. One distinctive feature of behavior therapy that sets it apart from psychoanalysis and personcentered (humanistic) therapy is that behavior therapists
A. emphasize the importance of unconscious thoughts.
B. expect therapy to continue indefinitely, sometimes even for a lifetime.
*C. set definite goals for their clients.
D. rely mostly on tranquilizers and other drugs.
Though many types of therapy involve goals and a step by step process, behaviorism is by far the most
regimented approach to therapy that we have. Behaviorists can address a variety of different clinical
disorders and mental issues through their approach. In both psychoanalysis and humanistic therapy,
therapists attempt to attack disorders and mental issues through very long-winding and elaborate
approaches that often times do not have a set path or direction of approach.
46. What type of therapist primarily concentrates their attention on helping people change their
thoughts; particularly their interpretation of events, and helping them abandon unrealistic goals?
*A. cognitive therapist
B. psychoanalyst
C. behavior therapist
D. pharmacotherapist
Therapy that attempts to attack disorders and mental issues through addressing thoughts,
interpretations, and goals is called cognitive therapy. Though behavioral therapy can be paired with
cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy on its own does not focus on thoughts and cognitions.
Psychoanalysts do attempt to help people with their thoughts and interpretations, but they do this by
attempting to address motives, the past, and the unconscious.
47. In person-centered therapy (the humanistic approach), the therapist provides
A. symbolic interpretation of dreams.
B. posthypnotic suggestions.
C. an individually tailored program of behavior modification.
*D. unconditional positive regard
The humanistic approach, championed by Carl Rogers, attempts to help individuals with different
disorders and mental issues by creating a welcoming environment that allows a person to explore who
they are and attempt to achieve what Rogers and other humanists called “self-actualization”. To do this,
humanists are supposed to present their clients with unconditional positive regard—a sense of positive
affinity, regardless of what the person says or does.
48. Research on psychotherapy supports which of these conclusions?
*A. Many types of evidence-based therapies are about equal in effectiveness.
B. Person-centered therapy is the most effective form of therapy.
C. Psychoanalysis is the most effective form of therapy.
D. Psychotherapy is almost totally ineffective.
Though the effectiveness of different psychotherapies does vary depending upon the disorder and
individual, it is true that most evidence-based therapies are about equal in effectiveness. That being
said, many therapists have begun to lean on the cognitive-behavioral approach because of its proven
efficacy across a variety of different mental issues and disorders.
49. Over the last half century, one trend in treatment of the mentally ill has been
A. decreased attention to cultural influences.
B. increased reliance on psychoanalysis.
*C. decreased long-term commitment to mental hospitals.
D. decreased use of drugs.
This was supposed to be a fairly easy question. That is because answers A, B, and D are actually the
exact opposite of recent trends in the field. We are becoming more attentive to culture and individual
differences when diagnosing and treating disorders and mental issues. We’ve also moved away from
psychoanalysis in recent years—though there are still many in the field that practice this approach. And
finally, our use of drugs to treat disorders and mental issues has dramatically increased in recent years.
50. In David Rosenhaun’s famous 1972 “pseudopatient study” he self-admitted himself to a mental
hospital in order to show
A. how easily one could get into those hospitals.
B. how cruelly people were being treated in those hospitals.
*C. how the label of being diagnosed with a disorder can be difficult to overcome.
D. how much medication people in mental hospitals were being given.
Rosenhaun’s research has been considered by many to be a great example of the need for caution in the
field of clinical psychology. In his study, after admitting himself to a mental hospital for hearing voices,
Rosenhaun then proceeded to act normally throughout his stay at the hospital. What he found was that
even though he didn’t display any abnormal symptoms while at the hospital after being admitted, he
was treated as abnormal and only released after a considerable time, even then being described as
having “symptoms in remission”. This spoke to the stigma and challenge to overcome a diagnosis for
those that develop disorders or are diagnosed with disorders.
Cumulative Portion
1. The first psychological lab was created in Germany by the psychologist
A. William James.
B. Sigmund Freud.
*C. Wilhelm Wundt.
D. Edward Titchner.
Though many historians would argue that Wilhelm Wundt would not be defined as the first psychologist
ever, it is undisputable that the first large lab designed to study basic psychological principles, in
particular the processes of sensation and other basic cognitive components, was created by Wilhelm
Wundt.
2. The reflex arc involves the communication between
*A. neurons.
B. regions of the brain.
C. glia cells.
D. red blood cells.
The reflex arc contains the sensory, inter, and motor neurons. Though our nervous system is more
complex than this most of the time, the reflex arc is used as a model to explain how our nervous system
processes and interacts with the outside environment. How such a large percentage of the class got this
wrong is a bit disturbing. Especially with so many students answering glia and red blood cells, two
answers that were considered distractors when the exam was create.
3. Compared to other species, human beings have an exceptionally large
A. occipital lobe.
B. parietal lobe.
*C. frontal lobe.
D. temporal lobe.
Though we have proportionally larger cerebral cortexes as a whole in comparison to almost all other
species, the one lobe that is exceptionally large in comparison to other species is the frontal lobe. This is
good, since the frontal lobe is associated with many higher level types of functioning (planning,
organization, emotion regulation, etc.).
4. The doctrine of modularity assumes that
A. bumps in the skull can reveal different skills and personality traits.
*B. different regions of the brain are associated with different mental functions.
C. mental activity cannot be reduced by merely looking at neural activity of the brain.
D. human experience extends beyond the sum of all of the stimuli in the environment.
Though the phrenological approach to studying the mind (answer A) sort of developed from the doctrine
of modularity, the definition of the doctrine of modularity is found in answer B. This is still a very
prominent theory in neuroscience, though we now know that there is much more interaction between
regions and pathways of activity during cognitive processes than we had originally assumed when this
doctrine became popular.
5. The sensory and motor homunculi represent the area found on the ______ of our _____________.
A. gyri; frontal and temporal lobes
B. sulci; parietal and temporal lobes
*C. gyri; frontal and parietal lobes
D. sulci; occipital and parietal lobes
Gyri are the bulges found on our cerebral cortex. Sulci are the ravines (folds) of our cerebral cortex. The
homunculi are found on gyri. In particular, the sensory homunculus lines the rostral region of the
temporal lobe, and the motor homunculus lines the caudal region of our frontal lobe.
6. Which of the following topics does NOT relate to details about the two hemispheres of our brain?
A. contralateral communication
B. hemisphere asymmetry
C. hemisphere specialization
*D. engram development
Contralateral communication is a topic addressing how our bodies communicate with opposite regions
of the brain. Hemisphere asymmetry relates to the imbalance of size and density of the two
hemispheres of our brain. Hemisphere specialization deals with the fact that particular cognitive
abilities are housed in particular hemispheres of the brain (for example, language is typically housed in
the left hemisphere). Engram development is a term that has nothing to do with hemispheres. The
engram is a term related to memory, the term “engram development” is made up.
7. Lisa is attempting to show how a teaching technique can improve student performance on a written
exam. In this study, the performance on the exam is called the
A. independent variable.
*B. dependent variable.
C. primary variable.
D. secondary variable.
In research where there is a manipulation of one variable to see how it impacts another, the variable
being manipulated is called the independent variable. The variable that we are assuming is being
impacted by this manipulation is called the dependent variable. This is because we believe that levels in
this dependent variable depend upon the levels of the first, independent, variable.
8. Which of the following is the simplest innate response to stimulation?
A. Instincts
B. Taxes
C. Learning
*D. Reflexes
Though all of these terms above relate to responses to stimuli, the simplest one from above is the reflex.
These are uncontrollable and automatic responses to stimuli that involve only a few muscle fibers or a
small cluster of them. The other terms are related to much more involve processes or systems that are
reacting to a stimulus or collection of stimuli.
9. In Ivan Pavlov’s work on classical conditioning, a dog’s salivation to the ringing of a bell was called
A. an unconditioned response.
*B. a conditioned response.
C. an unconditioned stimulus.
D. a conditioned stimulus.
Classical conditioning is a process of associative learning that revolves around paring a new, novel
stimulus with a stimulus that produces an automatic response without learning being needed. In
Pavlov’s experiment, dogs learned that the ringing of a bell signified the eventual presentation of food.
Since they automatically salivated to food (like we all do), they eventually learned to salivate to the bell.
We call the salivation to the bell the conditioned response in classical conditioning.
10. Extinction in classical conditioning occurs when
A. an unconditioned stimulus is presented alone.
*B. a conditioned stimulus is presented alone.
C. a behavior is punished.
D. a behavior stops being reinforced.
Extinction in classical conditioning involves the severing of the pairing between the conditioned and
unconditioned stimulus. For this to occur, the organism needs to learn that the conditioned stimulus is
no longer an indicator that the unconditioned stimulus will inevitably follow. To have this happen, the
conditioned stimulus would need to be presented alone, with no unconditioned stimulus to follow.
11. The type of learning that BF Skinner examined in his famous research with pigeons and rats in his
Skinner boxes was
A. classical conditioning.
*B. instrumental/operant conditioning.
C. reflex learning.
D. associative learning.
BF Sinner was the champion of the form of conditioning more popularly known as operant conditioning.
Others still call it instrumental conditioning at times. The other three answers are all terms used for Ivan
Pavlov’s version of classical conditioning.
12. Which animal is displaying the preparedness principle examined by Seligman, Rozin, and Kalat?
A. a dog that behaves aggressively when encountering danger
B. a dog that universally behaves kindly to all human beings
*C. a rat that learns to avoid a flavor of food after getting sick just one time
D. a cat that is eager to learn how to solve a puzzle box in order to gain food
The preparedness principle is a topic explored by behaviorists as the field progressed. It suggested that
even though learning can be explained through several models, the speed at which something is learned
can sometimes not be predicted well with the models. There were several reasons for this, but most
importantly, what behaviorists found was that there were species that tended to learn certain pairings
really easily, while struggling with others. This is now something we relate to genetic proclivities for
specific types of learning. The only answer above that relates to this concept is answer C.
13. Mineka et al. were able to show how vicarious learning can take place in Rhesus Monkeys by
exposing them to and then measuring
A. an ability to figure out a puzzle box.
B. an ability to escape a cage.
*C. a fear of snakes.
D. a new word in sign language.
The example discussed above was actually asking about the first research that showed how vicarious
learning can occur in other species. Mineka had young monkeys that had displayed no fear of snakes
watch other monkeys showing a strong fear reaction to either a) a snake, or b) something that they the
observing monkey could not see. After this exposure, the monkeys that saw the other monkey react to
the snake developed a fear of snakes. The monkeys that saw the other monkey’s fear reaction, but not
what they were reacting to, did not display this fear of snakes.
14. In Albert Bandura’s famous research study on modeling and the social learning theory, he had
children watch an adult model
*A. act aggressively toward a Bobo doll.
B. dance in a room alone.
C. avoid a specific piece of food during a meal.
D. display fear of an idol that was in a room.
This question is fairly similar to the one above. You just needed to know the research study that related
to the topic of social learning and modeling. In this particular case, Albert Bandura showed that children
can learn to behave aggressively (and often even embellish on aggressive acts) if they see an adult figure
act aggressively toward another object. In the case of Bandura’s experiment, the object of aggression
was a Bobo doll. This study was considered a “game-changer” by many people in the fields of social
psychology and personality psychology.
15. Receptor organs are used in the step of _______, which when combined with the other steps, allows
us to make sense of stimuli in the environment.
*A. sensation
B. perception
C. projection
D. integration
Receptor organs are found in a number of places. They are found on our skin, the back of our eyes, in
the cochlea of our ears, on our tongue, or in our noses. No matter where they are, they’re all used for
the process of sensation.
16. The doctrine of specific nerve energies suggests that our experience of our mental experience of
different sensations ultimately comes from
A. the proximal stimulus.
B. the sensory receptors.
*C. structures within the brain.
D. nerves in the spinal cord that lead from the body to the brain.
The doctrine of specific nerve energies relates to the doctrine of modularity. In the doctrine of
modularity, we assume that different regions of the brain relate to different mental functions. In the
doctrine of specific nerve energies, we examine how we experience sensations. This doctrine posits that
sensations are experienced in the mind through activity of different regions of the brain. The interesting
fact of the doctrine, is that it suggests that it’s not our nose that determines smell, it’s our brain.
17. Which of the following is NOT a component to the signal detection paradigm examined by
perceptual psychologists?
A. hits
B. misses
C. correct rejections
*D. correct acceptances
The signal detection paradigm relates to our ability to detect stimuli at or near a minimum threshold.
The only term above that is not a part of the breakdown of how signal detection works in different
environments is the term “correct acceptances”. This was sort of a recognition test on frequently
mentioned terms in this topic.
18. Which of the following visual processes CANNOT be explained through the ecological view of
perception?
A. the afterimage effect
B. binocular cues for perception of distance
C. monocular cues for perception of distance
*D. shape constancy
The ecological view of perception suggests that the perception of the stimuli in our environment can be
broken down merely a collection of the properties that the stimuli possess. Binocular cues and
monocular cues for depth perception are both collections of concepts used by perceptual psychologists
that directly support the ecological view of perception. The afterimage effect can be explained at the
cellular level, so even though it’s not necessarily something that supports the ecological view, it can be
explained with it. The concept of shape constancy is impossible for perceptual psychologists to explain
with just the ecological view.
19. Which of the following is not a monocular cue?
*A. retinal disparity
B. optic flow
C. relative size
D. shadowing
This was merely an identification question. Optic flow, relative size, and shadowing are all considered
monocular cues because you only need one eye to use these cues to determine size, distance, and depth
of objects. Retinal disparity is a visual cue that only works if you have two eyes. This is because the cue
works by having a person identify the different images that his/her two retinas are detecting in order
get an estimate of depth.
20. Which statements about Gestaltists is FALSE?
A. They are known for the statement “the whole is something else than the sum of its parts”
B. Their work focused on explaining the concept of perception
*C. Their research provided proof for the need for an ecological view on perception
D. Their research supports the use of top down processing
Gestaltists were very popular perceptual psychologists that pushed the constructivist view of
perception. Their theme was answer A, which is based on the assumption that perception is really a
combination of top down and bottom up processing. With that being the case, their theory opposes the
ecological view of perceptual psychology.
21. The first stage of memory that most psychologists agree exists is our
A. short term memory.
*B. sensory memory.
C. long-term memory.
D. primary memory.
Though sensory memory is still a somewhat controversial stage of memory as to how it works, most
psychologists a) believe that this stage of memory does exist, and b) it is most definitely the first stage of
memory. It is said to only last a fraction of a second, but also be infinite in capacity.
22. The concept of the term working memory is most closely linked to
*A. short term memory.
B. sensory memory.
C. long-term memory.
D. primary memory.
This is actually sad that 50% of the class got this question wrong. The lecture and textbook detailed how
short-term memory is often called working memory. This is because of the fact that short-term memory
involves our memory of information that we are working on at the time. The term was championed by a
big name in memory research, Alan Baddelley. He introduced other terms like the phonological loop
and visuospatial sketchpad to further explain how the complex process of short term memory works.
23. Your detailed memory of how to log into the website for this class is a part of your
A. episodic memory.
B. semantic memory.
*C. procedural memory.
D. declarative memory.
Though it could potentially be argued that you could use all 4 of the forms of memory listed above to log
into the class website, the one that most closely links memory to a step by step process like logging into
and interacting with different commonly visited portions of a website is procedural memory. Procedural
memory is memory of the step by step processes in commonly performed mental or physical activities.
24. Hermann Ebbinghaus, one of the first researchers to study memory and the importance of rehearsal,
spent most of his time studying his own memory of
A. word lists.
B. short stories.
C. pictures of different nature settings.
*D. nonsense syllables.
Hermann Ebbinghaus is considered by many psychologists to be a ground breaking figure in the field.
He was able to accomplish what many psychologists of his time thought was impossible. He was able to
quantifiably measure something that was and is very complex, memory. To do this, he spent many
years measuring his ability to learn and store a variety of lists of nonsense syllables—one syllable words
that were not supposed to have any special meaning. This was so he could examine memory at its most
basic form.
25. This exam question is an example of a __________ test of memory.
A. free recall
B. cued recall
*C. recognition
D. savings
The really low performance on this question was very disheartening. Though the lectures only briefly
mentioned the different ways to test memory, the book spoke on this topic extensively. Since the
correct answer is located within the list of potential answers above, and all someone would have to do
to answer this correctly is identify which answer is the correct one, we call this a recognition test.
26. “The War of the Ghosts” is a story that can be used as evidence for
A. memory as a narrative.
B. memory as reproduction.
*C. memory as reconstruction.
D. the storage process of memory.
The story of “the War of the Ghosts” is a very long winding and often confusing story. People that are
read this story and then asked to reproduce it, often struggle to assemble the story correctly and
remember the details of atypical pieces of information. The variations in the way that this story is
recalled, along with the variations in the way any story is recalled for that matter, suggest that memory
is not merely a recreation of exactly what is presented, but instead, an act of reconstruction that is
generated by the person attempting to recall information.
27. Which of the following examples was not discussed in class as being a problem for the classical
cognitive psychology view of “categories as proper sets?”
A. defining the concept of games
B. defining a tomato as a fruit or vegetable
C. typicality in group membership
*D. sorting geometrical figures
Answers A, B, and C all relate to examples of where categorization of concepts or terms can sometimes
be very difficult. All of these examples were discussed extensively in one of the lectures. The one
example above that is actually a great example of how groups can sometimes be very well organized
with clear cut distinctions between sets is answer D.
28. Which of the following is NOT one of the heuristics covered by Daniel Kahneman and Amon Tversky?
A. the representativeness heuristic
B. the availability heuristic
C. the anchoring and adjustment heuristic
*D. the proximal heuristic
This was probably a more challenging recognition question than we should have had on a final exam.
The three heuristics in A, B, and C all deal with different techniques that we use to judge the
appropriateness of an item in a group (A), the likelihood of an outcome (B), or the estimate of
something (C). The only one that was not discussed by Kahneman and Tversky was answer D—which
was a term made up by your instructor.
29. Lindsay is deciding which major she wants to pursue. She quickly decides to choose economics as
her major because it was the major listed on the page that she opened to in her student handbook. A
psychologist (or even economist) would describe this decision as
*A. a satisficing decision.
B. a maximizing decision.
C. an implicit decision.
D. a semantic decision.
Maximizers are decisions that we make after long consideration and a determination about which
option will get us the most out of the options presented to us. Satisficers are decisions that will
accomplish a goal, even if it isn’t the best decision. The benefits of satisficers are that they can allow the
decision maker to react quickly without having to invest a lot of energy into the decision making
process.
30. Which term(s) is/are not related to intelligence research?
A. the Flynn effect
B. Raven’s progressive matrices
C. crystallized and fluid
*D. the Stroop effect
The Flynn effect relates to the finding that IQ test performance has increased with a number of
successive generations. Raven’s progressive matrices is a version of an IQ test. Crystallized and fluid
intelligence are two types of intelligence. The Stroop effect deals with processing and automaticity. It
would be quite the stretch to say that this has much if anything to do with intelligence.
31. Which of the following do we have the LEAST of in the English language?
*A. phonemes
B. morphemes
C. words
D. phrases
Phonemes are the smallest units of language. They can be thought of as the different sounds that you
can make to speak a language. Though each language has their own collection of phonemes, there is no
language out there that has more words, morphemes, or phrases, than phonemes.
32. The circumplex approach, Papez’s Circuit, and James-Lange theory all address topics within the area
of
A. personality.
B. memory.
*C. emotion.
D. neuron communication.
The theories and models listed above all relate to the topic of emotions. Though they deal with
different topics in emotions (the circumplex approach looks at emotion categories, Papez’s Circuit looks
at neurological mechanisms associated with emotions, and the James-Lange theory deals with how we
experience emotions), they are all under the umbrella of emotions and none of the other terms listed
above.
33. In motivational research with Rhesus monkeys, Harry Harlow showed how all animals appear to have
a drive to pursue
A. some type of property.
B. dominance.
C. physiological needs.
*D. contact comfort.
This question really indicates a theme in the exam. If you’re a student in the class reading this, quit
creating flash card with terms as your only means of preparing for exams. This was a question that
related to a very big study in motivational psychology. It was discussed in detail in the book and
presentation. In Harry Harlow’s controversial research, because of how the monkeys were impacted by
the environments created, he showed that primates appear to have a strong motivational need for
some type of physical comfort.
34. Which of the following doctrines would be considered the most complete doctrine to explain the
relationship between people, the environment, and their behaviors?
A. the doctrine of traits
B. the doctrine of situationism
C. the doctrine of interactionism
*D. the doctrine of reciprocal determinism
Each of the doctrines above relate to some relationship between a person, their behaviors, and the
environment. However, in class, Dr Kihlstrom discussed how researchers have continually shown how
these areas all interact with each other. The doctrine that suggest that all three interact with each other
is called the doctrine of reciprocal determinism.
35. Many researchers studying traits have come to believe that a statistical approach called the factor
analysis has given us a very parsimonious route to finding ____ traits that can be universally used to
explain all individuals.
A. 3
*B. 5
C. 7
D. 9
The big 5 is a very popular concept in personality psychology these days. Derived from words in the
English dictionary and some fancy mathematical tools, it is believed by many to be the epitome of a
parsimonious way to describe individuals. The big 5 are extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism,
openness to experience, and conscientiousness.
36. If you would like to make yourself happy after this exam. Social psychologists like William James
would argue that you should probably
*A. smile, it will actually cheer you up a little.
B. make a very big frown face, it will get you to cheer up after you stop frowning.
C. look at someone that is sad, it will make you feel better about yourself.
D. cry, it encourages others to pay attention to you, which will naturally make you happy.
This question came directly from the emotions lecture. Dr Kihlstrom played a song from “The Sound of
Music” at the closing of this emotions lecture that spoke directly to this topic. It addressed research
that supported the old adage that physically expressing specific emotions can actually make us feel
those emotions. Maybe students who struggled with this question were simply struggling to locate the
area of psychology linked to this question.
37. Which statement about using personality traits to predict specific behaviors is TRUE?
A. Traits can predict negative behaviors very well, but not positive behaviors
B. When individuals are very high or low on traits, it can predict behaviors very well
*C. Personality traits are not very good predictors (a cap of r=.30) of social behaviors
D. Traits of individuals identified by their friends predict behaviors better than traits that individuals
identify in themselves
Three of the four answers above are unequivocally false. The only one that is true, which was discussed
in detail in the personality and behavior lecture, was that our day-to-day behaviors are only able to be
predicted to a small extent by the traits of individuals. Researchers looking at the big 5 and a variety of
behaviors have only been able to find a minimal link between any of the big 5 and any behavior. This
suggests the need for more than personality characteristics to explain our daily behaviors.
38. Solomon Asch was able to show the power of the situation when he convinced people to conform to
a group when
A. taking a multiple choice exam.
*B. judging the length of lines.
C. shocking a participant.
D. clapping for a speaker.
Again, if you are studying for future exams, use the percentage correct here as another great example of
why flash cards are insufficient when studying. Solomon Asch’s experiment asked individuals to judge
the length of lines while with a number of other participants. The catch to this experiment was that
even though there were several people that were reporting the length of line judgments, only one
person, the true participant, was actually judging the length of lines. The other participants were merely
following a script and giving several wrong answers along the way. The fact that many of the true
participants often went with the group when the group gave a wrong answer (approximately 40%),
showed how powerful a situation can be on our behavior.
39. Which of the following social factors has NOT been linked to increased perception of attraction?
*A. the mirror reversal of the image of a face
B. the mere exposure effect
C. the propinquity effect
D. similarity
Answers B, C, and D all relate to concepts that have been linked to increased attraction. They were all
covered in detail in the textbook. The one topic that was NOT linked to increased attraction, in fact it
has been linked to decreased attraction, is when people are shown a mirror reversal of a familiar
person’s face.
40. The Pygmalion effect explored by Rosenthal and Jacobson in 1968 revealed how __________ can
have a big impact on our social world.
*A. self-fulfilling prophecies
B. the ability to delay gratification
C. the fear of others
D. the clothes that we are dressed in as infants
The Pygmalion effect is considered by many to be a prime example of self-fulfilling prophecies. Selffulfilling prophecies are situation where our expectations impact our behaviors, which impact the
situation, which eventually allow our expectations to match the outcomes that we experience. In the
Pygmalion effect study, teachers were told that there were a collection of students in their classes that
were going to “bloom” in the upcoming year. These expectations that the teachers then generated
impacted their treatment of the students, which eventually caused many of the students that were just
randomly selected as “bloomers” to actually bloom within an academic year.
41. Researchers attempting to find the genetic components that cause some people to take interest in
competition, while causing others to avoid competition are assuming the _______ view of development.
A. empiricist
*B. nativist
C. interactionist
D. corollary
Nativism, though not necessarily proven to work for many concepts studied by developmental
psychologists, is an idea that we might have an innate predisposition for certain mental components
based on what we inherit biologically from our parents. Though nativism doesn’t work very well for
things like memory or language, it does seem to explain some individual differences that we see in fields
like personality or cognition.
42. Which of the following topics related to birth order were NOT discussed in the lecture on within
family differences?
A. personality factors
B. intelligence
C. achievers and rebels
*D. sexual orientation
We did indeed discuss research on answers A, B, and C in the lecture. In fact, Dr Kihlstrom went into
detail about all of these when discussing the interaction between the person and environment. The
only topic above that has not been linked to birth order is sexual orientation.
43. Trace is described by his peers as displaying “masculine” behaviors. This description of Trace being
“masculine” relates to his ____________ in gender research.
A. gender identity
*B. gender role
C. erotic orientation
D. biological sex
This was a test of terms in the gender lecture. Gender identity is the term used to explain a person’s
gender that he/she/one identifies with. Erotic orientation is the term used to explain a person’s sexual
interest. Biological sex is a term used to explain the genetic make-up of an individual. When looking at
behaviors, traits, concepts, and items linked to gender, we’re discussing gender roles. This is what the
question above was referencing.
44. Which of the following is the correct order of cognitive developmental stages in Piaget’s theory of
cognitive development?
A. Preoperational; operational; postoperational; concrete operational
B. Primary; secondary; tertiary; adult
*C. Sensorimotor; preoperational; concrete operational; formal operational
D. Sensorimotor; operational; secondary; postoperational
This was a pretty self-explanatory question. Jean Piaget, a pioneer in the area of cognitive development,
proposed that children when through 4 stages of cognitive development before thinking of the world
the same way that adults do. The correct order of these stages was found in answer C.
45. Projective tests like the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) are meant to get at people’s ________
levels of _______.
A. explicit; emotions
B. implicit; emotions
C. explicit; motivations
*D. implicit; motivations
The Thematic Apperception Test asks individuals to look at photographs and generate a fictitious story
to describe what is occurring in the photograph. This test is called an implicit test because it is
attempting to measure aspects of an individual by acquiring them through an indirect means. The TAT,
in particular, measures motivations of individuals by looking for common themes in the stories told by
the people taking the test.
46. Schizophrenia and other disorders that are linked to a psychological break from reality are defined as
________.
A. organic brain syndromes
*B. psychoses
C. neuroses
D. personality disorders
I’m not sure what happened in this question. Though answer A is appealing because it can be linked to
schizophrenia, it doesn’t have much to do with the question. Neuroses deal with emotional instability,
not something typically linked to schizophrenia. Personality disorders are very different than
schizophrenia. Psychoses are disorders that deal with psychological breaks from reality.
47. In the experimental psychopathology lecture, Professor Kihlstrom discussed research done on iconic
memory retrieval, facial expressions of emotion, attentional deficits, and eye tracking behavior in
individuals diagnosed with ________ to show how experimental tests might allow us to better detect
and understand certain disorders.
A. depression
B. generalized anxiety disorder
*C. schizophrenia
D. obsessive compulsive disorder
This was apparently a fairly easy question. As most people identified correctly, several studies have
been done in experimental psychopathology research to examine behaviors and mental processes that
have been linked to schizophrenia.
48. Which statement below best represents the diathesis and stress model of mental disorders?
A. most disorders emerge from experiences of environmental stress.
B. most disorders emerge because of biological predispositions.
C. some major disorders are biologically based, while minor disorders are stress based.
*D. most disorders emerge from a combination of environmental stress and biological predispositions.
Again, this was apparently a fairly easy question. Answer D is essentially the definition of the stress
diathesis model. It might be important to note that this model doesn’t explain the development of all
disorders and mental issues, it can be used to explain many issues.
49. Which of the following psychotherapeutic approaches is called by some researchers to be the “gold
standard for therapy” because it has been empirically shown to have the largest effect on individuals
seeking therapy (based on effect size measures)?
A. the humanistic approach
B. the psychodynamic approach
*C. the cognitive-behavioral approach
D. the behavioral approach
This was discussed in the lecture on different psychological approaches, but it might have not been
discussed in detail enough to qualify as a good question for this final exam—especially since it was not
mentioned in the book. That being said, the correct answer for this question was indeed C, the
cognitive-behavioral model. This approach is considered to be a very effective tool to combat several
disorders and mental issues, and is used as a means of comparison for a variety of different approaches
when testing their utility.
50. Which of the following topics have NOT been linked to the stigma that is associated with mental
illness?
A. the use of the terms illness or sickness
B. the notion that the mentally ill are responsible for their own afflictions
C. the use of diagnoses as labels
*D. the growing popularity of medication for mental issues
Answers A, B, and C have all been directly linked to increased sigma associated with mental illness.
Answer D, has actually been shown to decrease the stigma towards mental illnesses—though it has also
caused a litany of other concerns that are being raised by clinical psychologists. Professor Steve
Hinshaw at UC Berkeley is one of the champions of this cause if you are more interested in this topic.

Psychology W1 Spring 2014 Final Examination

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