Practice Exam Questions

The following questions should give you some idea of what to expect on the multiple choice exams. If you are unable to answer these questions even with the use of your notes, then this suggests that your notes are incomplete. Without complete notes, you will not do well on the actual exam.

Exam 1 questions are followed by exam 2, exam 3, and final exam questions.

Practice Exam 1

1. Research conducted by Klinger & Greenwald (1995) examined the effects of information presented to the (cognitive) 

unconscious on behavior.  Their findings suggest that the information:

      a.  does NOT influence our behavior.

      b.  influences virtually all our behavior.

      c.  can influence behavior, but only when our attention is focused on the information AND if the behavior occurs a few seconds 

        after the material is presented to the unconscious.

      d.  can influence behavior, but only if the behavior occurs a few seconds after the material is presented to the unconscious

2. If a scale yields a similar test score from one administration to the next, then this suggests adequate test-retest

      a.  validity.

      b.  demand characteristics.

      c.  experimenter expectancy effects.

      d.  reliability.

3. According to Freud, the psychosexual stage in which the child is unconsciously preoccupied with control is called

a. latency   

b. oral  

 c. phallic   

d. genital   

e. anal

4. The defense mechanism where one channels their anxiety in to a  higher productive goal is called?

a. denial                                                                   d. sublimation

b. catharsis                                                               e. rationalization

c. intellectualization

5. The approach to research involving a large number of participants, questionnaires, but no manipulation of variables is called:

      a.  survey.

      b.  case study.

      c.  experimental.

      d.  naturalistic observation

6. Which of the following is a confound in most studies involving birth order effects?

a. the number of years between the siblings

b. the socioeconomic status and education of the parents

c. the gender of the siblings

d. culture

e. all of the above.

7. Which of the following technique did Freud employ in order to gain access to what he called the unconscious?

a. free association

b. hypnosis

c. dream analysis

d. all of the above

e. none of the above

8.  The fact that well known evangelists such as Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker have preached against immoral acts while themselves engaging in immoral behavior would be an illustration of which of Freud's defense mechanisms?

a. projection

b. reaction formation

c. sublimation

d. denial

e. rationalization

1. Once we have developed a self-schema there is a  ________ that minimizes changes in us in the future.

                a.  self-confirming bias.

                b.  self-effacing bias.

                c.  masochistic bias.

                d.  narcissistic bias.

                e.  repetition bias.

2. The highest need on Maslow's Need Hierarchy is

                a. self-completion                                                       d. self-congruence

                b. self-actualization                                                    e. none of the above

                c. self-sufficiency

3. According to research by Harry Triandis on cross cultural conceptualizations of the self, people from collectivistic

    cultures have;

                a. fewer differences between their public and private selves

                b. more differences between their public and private selves

                c. more collections from which to draw upon

                d. more fun when in mixed company

4. The effect of punishment is to

a.  always decrease the probability of a response.

b.  always increase the probability of a response.

c.  sometimes decrease the probability of a response

d.  sometimes increase the probability of a response..

5. Learning theory (e.g., Skinner) would explain the occurrence of  "superstitious behavior" by suggesting that:

a. many people have trinkets but few really believe that they bring luck

b. most (but not all) people shouldn't believe in luck.

c. people (and even animals) can learn odd behaviors due to their  random association with valued outcomes (rewards)

d. humans have always been superstitious because we have an innate (biological) need for such beliefs

6. Which is the best schedule to initially establish learning?

a. variable interval                                                                   c. variable ratio

b. fixed interval                                                                        d. continuous

7. In Pavlov's experiments with the dogs the unconditioned and conditioned responses were:

a. the food being presented and the bell (after conditioning), respectively

b. the bell being rung and the food (after conditioning), respectively

c. the salivation and the salivation (after conditioning), respectively

d. the bell being rung and the salivation (after conditioning), respectively  

8. According to Rogers, anxiety and inner conflict is associated with;

a. ID conflicts

b. when we try to conform to the expectations of others

c. when we deviate too much from what others want us to be

d. all of the above

9. Maslow suggested that self-actualization is the goal of all personality development. This is similar to;\

a. having "peak experiences"

b. exposing your worst self to those closest to you

c. matching your actual and ideal self

d. bringing your best experiences to the attention of your spouse

10. According to research from a sociobiological perspective,  which of the following characteristics in potential male mates should be deemed as desirable by females.

a. being tall

b. having long hair

c. having good earning potential

d. having good moral development

e. none of the above

Practice Exam 3

1. Walter Mischel, another social learning theorist, suggested that ___________ plays an important role in learning.

a. self-regulation (goals)

b. encoding strategies

c. expectancies

d. competencies

e. all of the above

2.  According to Eysenck's model on the "need for stimulation"

     a.  biology plays a major role in personality.

     b.  environmental factors play a major role in personality.

     c.  the basis for individual differences is unknown.

     d.  personality is easily changeable and tends to vary according to one's personal constructs

3. Based on Humoral theory, an unemotional personality was referred to as;

a. sanguine

b. choleric

c. melancholic

d. phlegmatic

e. none of the above

4. Which of the following is not part of the Repetory Grid (Kelly, 1955) test?

                a.  similarity pole

                b.  contrast pole

                c.  person triads (comparing three people at a time)

                d.  self-congruence

5. The practice of assessing people's abilities and aptitudes by feeling the bumps on their heads (practiced by

       Franz Gall) is known as:

a. head feeling                                                                      d. cranial assessment

b. phrenology                                                                       e. none of the above

c. craniography

6.   External locus of control refers to when an individual;

               a. feels like an "outsider" when with others

                b. feels less in control of the people around him/her, but more control over the environment

                c. feels more in control of the people around him/her, but less control over the environment

                d. believes that they have little control over the events in their life

7. Research by Sokol and colleagues (1995) found that monochorionic (MC) twins were ________  than dichorionic (DC) 

      twins with regard to most personality measures.

a. less alike

b. more alike

c. equal qualitatively but different quantitatively

d. equal quantitatively but different qualitatively

8. The human genome project is;

a. a large study that looks at what genes are the cause of alcoholism

b. a large study that examines how genes change as our personalities develop

c. a large study examining how similar twins really are

d. a large study to identify each of the genes  in our chromosomes

Practice exam - Final

1. Research shows that concrete (molecular) goals tend to result in ____ but at the cost of ____.

a. optimism; physical health

b. physical health; optimism

c. meaningfulness; efficacy (mastery)

d. efficacy (mastery); meaningfulness

2. Paranoid personality disorder is more commonly diagnosed in:

a. females

b. males

c. young adults

d. the elderly

e. none of the above

3. According to our diagnostic system, there are five Axes on which to describe disorders. Which Axis defines the personality disorders?

a. Axis I                                                                                   c. Axis IV

b. Axis II                                                                                  d. Axis V

c. Axis III

4. . Which disorder is best characterized by the individual being in a close relationship at all times?

a. Histrionic PD

b. Borderline PD

c. Antisocial PD

d. Narcissistic PD

e. Dependent PD

5. When defining "abnormal" behavior, one of the criteria was "danger." This referred to:

a. the danger one posses to oneself as expressed through suicidal tendencies

b. the danger one posses to oneself expressed as the inability to care for oneself

c. the danger one posses to others through homicidal tendencies

d. all of the above

e. none of the above

6. "Moral insanity" was previously used to describe which of the following personality disorders?

a. Borderline PD

b. Avoidant PD

c. Schizotypal PD

d. Narcissistic PD

e. Antisocial PD