The Discipline of Psycholog Part 1

Chapter One: The Science of Mind - The Discipline of Psychology MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Which of the following best describes the mind? a. The basis of rational thought c. The embodiment of the soul b. The hidden instinctual self d. The brain and its activities ANS: D 2. The scientific study of behavior and mental processes is called ____. a. introspection c. behaviorism b. psychology d. functionalism ANS: B 3. The word psychology is a combination of two Greek words: psyche (or psuche), meaning the soul, and logos, meaning the ____. a. law of c. study of b. expression of d. representation of ANS: C 4. Rosa, a doctoral student in psychology, observes that one of her young study participants grimaces after taking a bite of broccoli. His facial expression is an example of ____. a. a psychosomatic response c. an integrated mental process b. a behavior d. introspection ANS: B 5. Although the bulk of psychology focuses on human behavior, studying animal behavior has been an essential part of the discipline that allows for ____. a. making essential comparisons with humans b. understanding animal-human interactions c. understanding behavior from an evolutionary standpoint d. designing better psychoanalytical therapies ANS: A 6. A doctor notices that many soldiers returning from fighting in the trenches in World War I were highly anxious, fearful of loud noises, and having difficulty reconnecting with their families. He asks them to record personal observations of their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a journal. This process is called ____. a. extroversion c. objectivism b. transference d. introspection ANS: D 7. It is difficult for others to confirm an individual’s subjective introspections; therefore, this approach does not lend itself well to ____. a. psychoanalysis c. case studies b. the scientific method d. cognitive therapy ANS: B 8. Over the last 30 years, new methods have allowed psychologists to observe brain activity and revisit questions of mental processes. What element have these methods introduced to psychological research? a. objectivity c. generalizability b. subjectivity d. conclusiveness ANS: A 9. Kevin Boyack and his colleagues generated a map of the sciences, similar to a map of friendship networks on social media, by using ____. a. the number of doctoral dissertations in each field b. the titles of journal articles c. reference lists in journal articles d. search terms related to psychology ANS: C 10. The mapping done by Boyack and colleagues shows that psychology is one of the major hub sciences, with strong connections to ____. a. the medical sciences, the social sciences, and education b. the humanities, education, and the medical sciences c. the social sciences, the medical sciences, and the humanities d. the medical sciences, education, and philosophy ANS: A 11. Psychology as a hub science tells us that ____. a. psychological research is well-funded b. the general population is intrigued by the study of human behavior c. psychology is one of the oldest disciplines d. many disciplines require an in-depth understanding of people ANS: D 12. As a discipline, psychology dates back to ____. a. ancient Greece c. the Renaissance era b. the Roman Empire d. the 1870s ANS: B 13. The psychology family tree includes two major roots: ____. a. biology and philosophy c. anthropology and physics b. medicine and the social sciences d. philosophy and the physical sciences ANS: D 14. The discipline that systematically examines basic concepts, including the source of knowledge, is called ____. a. psychology c. science b. History d. philosophy ANS: D 15. Any science that studies nonliving matter, including physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geology, is called a(n) ____ science. a. natural c. applied b. physical d. earth ANS: B 16. Philosophers and psychologists have a shared interest in ____. a. helping others gain self-confidence c. the scientific method b. anatomy of the nervous system d. the origin of knowledge ANS: D 17. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato was one of the earliest thinkers to address the question, “What is the mind?” He viewed the mind as three parts that must be in balance: ____. a. id, ego, and superego c. reason, spirit, and appetite b. intellect, emotion, and instinct d. cognition, creativity, and sanity ANS: C 18. While attending the opening of her friend’s art exhibit, Lisbeth weighs the pros and cons of having a third glass of wine. In Plato’s version of the mind, this is the role of the ____. a. driver c. reins b. horse d. carriage ANS: A 19. Ancient Greek philosophers ____. a. were exclusively monists b. provided natural explanations for their observations c. were exclusively dualists d. relied on the supernatural to explain their observations ANS: B 20. The philosophies of monism and dualism address which of the following questions? a. Does the mind operate through innate processes or is it formed through experience? b. How does one study the processes of the mind? c. Does the mind work as the sum of its parts or as individual elements? d. What is the relationship between the body and mind? ANS: D 21. Which of the following titles suggests monism? a. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt b. Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen c. We All Are One, by Jimmy Cliff d. War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy ANS: C 22. Who was a vocal proponent of dualism? a. Aristotle b. René Descartes c. Baruch Spinoza d. Democritus ANS: B 23. Contemporary scientists studying the brain are ____. a. primarily dualists b. monists c. nearly evenly split between monism and dualism d. entirely dualists ANS: B 24. The relationship between behavior and biology is ____. a. unilateral: biology affects behavior b. unilateral: behavior affects biology c. reciprocal: biology affects behavior and vice versa d. mutually exclusive: biology and behavior function independently ANS: C 25. Most philosophers beginning with Aristotle commonly believed that all knowledge is ____. a. gained through sensory experience b. innate or inborn c. built upon from simple schema present at birth d. acquired by integrating environmental cues with innate skills ANS: A 26. Which of the following best describes the British empiricists’ view of the mind? a. Infants acquire language primarily by drawing from innate mechanisms. b. Infants learn to process language entirely based on their sensory experiences. c. Infants with similar genetic backgrounds will acquire language at similar rates. d. Infants are born with varying degrees of aptitude for acquiring language. ANS: B 27. Which of the following is one of the greatest contributions of empiricism? a. The idea that the brain is the essence of the mind. b. The idea that each person has a different capacity for learning. c. The idea that our brains are composed of interconnected “living units.” d. The idea that all men are created equal. ANS: D 28. Empiricism profoundly influenced the foundations of ____. a. sociology b. psychoanalysis c. philosophy d. science ANS: D 29. American political thought was profoundly influenced by ____. a. behaviorism b. psychoanalysis c. dualism d. empiricism ANS: D 30. Which of the following best describes how contemporary psychology views the mind? a. Sam was just born smart, though no one else in his family seems to share his intelligence b. Sam must have gotten the “smart gene” from his mother: he never studies but gets good grades. c. Sam was sent to the best schools and thus became a highly intelligent individual. d. Sam was alert and responsive as a baby, studied diligently in school, and was admitted to a top-ranked college. ANS: D 31. At what point did the discipline of psychology distinguish itself from the discipline of philosophy? a. When psychologists began to explore individual rather than global phenomenon b. When psychologists adopted the scientific method c. When psychologists became interested in providing therapeutic treatments d. When psychologists began to investigate abnormal behaviors ANS: B 32. In what way did ancient physicians contribute to contemporary psychology? a. By studying the nervous system and developing the scientific method b. By studying hormone imbalances and developing the scientific method c. By studying the nervous system and developing diagnostic tools d. By studying hormone imbalances and developing diagnostic tools ANS: A 33. As early as 500 B.C.E., Greek physicians began to ____. a. interpret the cardiovascular system as the locus of the mind b. prohibit bloodletting as a form of treatment c. systematically dissect human bodies d. drill holes in people’s skulls to cure seizures ANS: C 34. Which of the following was one of the findings of early Greek physicians regarding the brain? a. The brain controls the coordinated movement of the body. b. The brain is divided into four major lobes. c. The brain controls personality by secreting yellow bile. d. The brain is connected to the sense organs, such as the eyes. ANS: D 35. Greek physicians described a rudimentary theory of personality, stating that it is affected by the relative amounts of four different body fluids. A person with depression might be diagnosed as having an excess of ____. a. blood c. phlegm b. black bile d. yellow bile ANS: B 36. Beginning in the 17th and 18th centuries, with new technologies including the light microscope, scientists began to make a series of important new discoveries showing that ____. a. a single nerve cell carries one type of information b. nerve cells use electrical impulses to transmit signals c. the mind works in isolation from the rest of the body d. chemical messengers facilitate communication in the brain ANS: A 37. Hermann von Helmholtz’s work on ____ provided further evidence that the mind had a physical basis. a. dissection and human anatomy c. the mind/body dichotomy b. the range of human hearing d. the speed of nerve conduction ANS: D 38. Contrary to popular belief during his time, Hermann von Helmholtz’s work on nerve conduction showed that ____. a. different brain regions work together to integrate information b. specific regions of the brain control specific behaviors c. nerve conduction is quick and in all practicality, instantaneous d. behavior is not instantaneous ANS: D 39. Jake trips; he knocks his elbow against the edge of the door jamb while simultaneously stubbing his toe on a chair. Based on the work of von Helmholtz’s, which of the following is likely to occur? a. The intensity of the elbow pain is greater than that of the toe pain. b. The intensity of pain for both the toe and elbow is equal. c. He experiences the elbow pain before the toe pain. d. He experiences the toe and elbow pain instantaneously. ANS: C 40. The first experimental psychologist and proponent of the structuralist approach, along with his students, was ____. a. Edward Titchener c. Max Wertheimer b. Wilhelm Wundt d. Kurt Koffka ANS: B 41. The first official psychological experiment involved ____. a. observing the behavior of cats when escaping puzzle boxes b. measuring how quickly, after hearing a ball drop onto a platform, a person could respond by striking a telegraph key c. the salivation of dogs in anticipation of food in response to the arrival of the handler d. the use of a stroboscope to control the timing of the appearance of two black lines against a white background ANS: B 42. In Titchener’s view, the mind constructs an overall perception ____. a. based on prior life experiences b. based on its relationship to evolutionary survival c. by perceiving complete forms within their context d. out of building blocks made up of separate sensations and emotional responses ANS: D 43. Wundt’s student Edward Titchener developed an approach in which the mind is broken into the smallest elements of mental experience. What is this called? a. structuralism c. behaviorism b. functionalism d. humanism ANS: A 44. Titchener’s approach to psychology paralleled which of the following trends of his day? a. The development of graduate programs in mathematics b. The movement for women’s suffrage in American politics c. Efforts in chemistry to break molecules into elements d. The use of light in Impressionist art ANS: C 45. Which of the following describes Wundt’s use of introspection as an experimental technique? a. The participants in his study focused on internal thoughts and feelings about their competence while performing a task. b. The participants in his study drew from their internal thoughts and feelings as they described an object in detail. c. The participants in his study pressed a telegraph key as soon as they heard a ball drop onto a platform, indicating their internal state. d. The participants in his study used mental building block constructs to describe their perception of an object. ANS: C 46. Acknowledging that an experience is different than the sum of its elements is reflective of ____. a. psychodynamic theory b. Gestalt psychology ANS: B 47. The group of early 20th century German psychologists who founded Gestalt psychology included Kurt Koffka, Max Wertheimer, and ____. a. Wilhelm Wundt b. William James ANS: C 48. The Gestalt psychologists believed that breaking a “whole” perception into its building blocks, as advocated by the structuralists, would result in the loss of ____. a. important psychological information b. fundamental intellect ANS: A 49. Which of the following proverbs best describes Gestalt theory? a. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. b. The more things change, the more they stay the same. c. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. d. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. ANS: D 50. While largely known for their work in perception, the Gestalt psychologists also had wide-ranging interests in learning, memory, motivation, and ____. a. anatomy c. discrete mathematics b. group dynamics d. personality disorders ANS: B 51. The Gestalt movement traces its origin to a single experiment conducted by Max Wertheimer in 1912 that demonstrated the ____. a. apparent movement of stationary objects b. influence of introspection on behavior c. speed of nerve conduction d. salivation of dogs in anticipation of food ANS: A 52. In an experiment, Wertheimer flickered between two images on a wall. What did the participants in this study perceive? a. diffusion c. movement b. distortion d. contrast ANS: C 53. What is the approach to psychology that saw behavior as purposeful and contributing to survival? a. behaviorism c. humanism b. functionalism d. structuralism ANS: B 54. Functionalism emerged partly in response to the publication of ____. a. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens b. The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain c. The Origin of the Species, by Charles Darwin d. Far from the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy ANS: C 55. Who is the American psychologist who proposed the functionalist approach and whose textbook, Principles of Psychology, dominated the field of psychology for the fifty years after its publication? a. Sigmund Freud c. Abraham Maslow b. B.F. Skinner d. William James ANS: D 56. Throughout his discussions of mental processes and behavior, James emphasized the role of ____. a. environment c. abandonment b. evolution d. nurture ANS: B 57. William James’ impact on contemporary psychology is evidenced by the fact that functionalism ____. a. was absorbed into mainstream psychology b. became a separate discipline c. bridged the gap between philosophy and psychology d. bridged the gap between structuralism and Gestalt psychology ANS: A 58. An approach to psychology that features the study and careful measurement of observable behaviors is called ____. a. functionalism c. behaviorism b. structuralism d. humanism ANS: C 59. As part of their effort to measure behavior carefully, many behaviorists restricted their research to studies using ____. a. animals c. adults b. children d. males ANS: A 60. A leading behaviorist who first explored classical conditioning is ____. a. Edward Thorndike c. John B. Watson b. B.F. Skinner d. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov ANS: D 61. The salivation of dogs in Pavlov’s experiments was significant because it ____. a. emphasized conscious thought b. demonstrated the ability to learn to anticipate future events as a survival advantage c. indicated that intelligence is innate d. demonstrated that the ability to smell food prior to its arrival is a highly developed sense ANS: B 62. Which of the following is least likely to be an example of classical conditioning? a. A child hears a police siren for the first time and cries. b. A whiff of perfume on a crowded subway triggers a memory of a prior love. c. A dog sits upon sight or smell of a treat. d. A former soldier cringes at the sound of an airplane overhead. ANS: A 63. John B. Watson was ____. a. part of the cognitive revolution b. a leading humanist c. a leading behaviorist d. one of Freud’s disciples ANS: C 64. Which of the following most closely paraphrases Watson’s views regarding human behavior? a. Some children are born with artistic talent; others are not. b. I can raise a child to be an artist if he has at least a small amount of talent and interest. c. Very few children actually have the skill and discipline to become artists. d. I can raise any child to be an artist, regardless of her tendencies. ANS: D 65. Watson changed the goal of psychology from Wundt’s desire to understand consciousness to the ____. a. explication of the unconscious c. understanding of cognition b. prediction and control of behavior d. analysis of the whole beyond the parts ANS: B 66. Which leading behaviorist proposed the law of effect? a. B.F. Skinner c. Noam Chomsky b. John B. Watson d. Edward Thorndike ANS: D