Sample Test 1: Introduction and History of Psychology

1. Which definition of psychology is most accurate? (SQ 1, 16)

a. the study of human behavior

b. the scientific study of human behavior and mental processes

c. the scientific student of mental processes and behavior

d. the objective and subjective analysis of the human experience

2. Dr. Wiley works for a large corporation. His job requires him to (a) apply techniques to efficiently train employees how to best do the work involved with their jobs, and (b) to maintain high morale. Which of the four goals of psychology does Dr. Wiley most emphasis? (SQ 2)

a. research on events

b. improving life and the world

c. prediction of events

d. explaining events

3. Psychology frequently studies both animals. Which of the following best explain why this is so. (SQ 1)

a. some subfields of psychology specialize in the study of animals.

b. the mental processes of animal gives insight to those of humans

c. animals can experimented on in ways that humans cannot

d. the factors that govern human behavior often also govern those of animals

4. Which of the following activities is an EDUCATIONAL psychologist not likely to work in? (SQ5)

a. doing individual therapy with behaviorally disordered students in public schools

b. doing laboratory research on learning with animals

c. doing laboratory research on learning with adult humans

d. studying the psychosocial variables associated with membership in juvenile gangs.

5. "Jane is a graduate of a college of education and works as a teacher. She literally hates her job and as a result, her interpersonal relationships and her job perforamance are suffering." Which type of psychologist would Jane be most likely to consult with? (SQ4)

a. clinical

b. counseling

c. school

d. psychiatric

6. Which type of psychologist would be most likely to prescribe drugs to severely distrubed patients? (SQ 9)

a. any psychologist who holds the PsyD; none with just the Ph.D.

b. clincial psychologists.

c. only psychiatrists can precribe drugs to treat severely disturbed patients

d. none of the above

7. Which TWO areas, combined, employ the greatest number psychologists? (SQ 6)

a. higher education and hospitals

b. hospitals and private practices

c. private practice and higher education

d. clinics and private practices

8. The three major roles of psychologists are teacher, scientist, and practitioner. Which of the following employment areas allows for all three roles to be most easily carried out? (SQ 6)

a. higher education

b. hospitals

c. private practice

d. clinics

9. Which type of terminal degree do psychologist who treat people typically obtain? (SQ 7)

a. Ph.D.

b. Psy.D.

c. Ed.D.

d. either a or b

10. Wundt is to structuralism as _________________ is to psychodynamics. (SQ 11)

a. Gall

b. Freud

c. Watson

d. James

11. The method requiring one to completely describe what they are consciously experiencing is ______________. (SQ 11 & 16)

a. structuralism

b. functionalism

c. introspection

d. psychoanalysis

12. Which of the early schools of psychology is most closely related to today's BIOLOGICAL paradigm/model/perspective? (SQ 11 & 12)

a. structuralism

b. functionalism

c. introspection

d. phrenology

13. Psychology's transition from a philosophical field to a scientific one is most associated wtih which of the following? (SQ 10, 11, & 12)

a. the establishment of Wundt's laboratory in 1879

b. the development of the functionalists school

c. the Greeks' attempt to formally define psychology as the study of the soul

d. Descartès emphasis on how the mind is related to voluntary behavior.

15. Which of today's psychological perspective would be most likely to view a computer as a metaphor for how people learn? (SQ 12 & 16)

a. biologic

b. psychodynamic

c. cognitive

d. behavioral

16. Which psychological perspective would be most likely to reject the idea of "free will?"

a. behavioral

b. psychodynamic

c. cognitive

d. both a & b

17. Which "attitude of science" most directly OPPOSES the idea of free will? (SQ 15)

a. parsimony

b. skepticism

c. determinism

d. empiricism

18. Which attitude of science should informed consumers follow when attempting to judge psychological services and goods available for purchase? (SQ 14 & 15)

a. parsimony

b. skepticism

c. determinism

d. empiricism

19. Which of the following attitudes of science is most directly related to the UNDERSTANDING goal of psychology? (SQ 2 & 15)

a. control

b. understanding

c. prediction

d. all of the above

20. Two different psychologists, one a humanist the other a cognitivist, observe the same event and they develop different explanations to account for the event. Both of the explanations are EQUALLY good. Which attitude of science would you use to help you decide which one you should use if you COULDN'T use both?

a. parsimony

b. skepticism

c. determinism

d. empiricism