HISTORY AND APPROACHES
DIFFICULTY LEVEL 1
1. Psychology can be defined as
(A) a treatment for mental illness
(B) a study to find abnormalities in the human brain
(C) the science of mental life
(D) the study of human behavior
(E) the science of behavior and the mental process
2. The first psychology lab created in Leipzig, Germany was opened by
(A) Wilhelm Wundt
(B) Carol Rogers
(C) Charles Darwin
(D) William James
(E) Mary Whiton Calkins
3. What was the name of the technique used by Wilhelm Wundt to examine the conscious
experiences?
(A) Introspection
(B) Functionalism
(C) Self examination
(D) Naturalistic observation
(E) Trephining
4. Clinical psychologists
(A) study teaching styles and the impact they have on learning
(B) work to diagnose and treat emotional and behavioral disorders
(C) apply the concepts of psychology to the legal system
(D) focus on the methods of acquiring and measuring psychological data
(E) are most interested in how environment impacts individual behavior
5. Which of the following professions requires a medical degree?
(A) Neuropsychologist
(B) Personality Psychologist
(C) Clinical Psychologist
(D) Psychiatrist
(E) Counseling Therapist
DIFFICULTY LEVEL 2
6. Which of the following psychological perspectives would focus on the interaction
between children on a playground?
(A) Psychoanalytical
(B) Behaviorist
(C) Cognitive
(D) Socio-cultural
(E) Gestalt
7. Examining the correlation rate between monozygotic twins and autism would be the
focus of
(A) Behaviorists
(B) Biopsychologists
(C) Structuralists
(D) Evolutionary psychologists
(E) Humanists
8. According to John B. Watson, behavior is most influenced by
(A) genetics
(B) biology
(C) motivation and emotion
(D) environment
(E) childhood
9. Which of the following is most likely to be studied by a cognitive psychologist?
(A) Interactions between only children and his/her parents
(B) Influence of observational learning
(C) The effectiveness of external motivation
(D) The study methods of students with high academic standing
(E) The social development of toddlers
10. One criticism of Sigmund Freud is that he
(A) placed too much emphasis on observable behavior
(B) did not use the scientific method in his studies
(C) did not believe in the unconscious mind
(D) only conducted research on females
(E) did not believe in the use of psychoactive drugs to treat mental disorders
11. Which of the following psychologists believes in a hierarchy of needs climaxing at selfactualization?
(A) Max Wertheimer
(B) Abraham Maslow
(C) Albert Bandura
(D) Carl Rogers
(E) Wilhelm Wundt
12. The role of adaptation and its impact on human emotion, motivation and behavior would
be the focus on which of the following psychological domains
(A) health
(B) personality
(C) evolutionary
(D) forensic
(E) engineering
13. Eclectic psychology
(A) combines the psychological perspectives together so that psychologists have a
complete understanding of the science
(B) focuses on the original schools of psychology
(C) studies the impact of nature on behavior
(D) has been disproven and therefore is no longer followed
(E) is based off the findings of Jung and Adler
DIFFICULTY LEVEL 3
14. Dr. Whitfield had been studying the effect of rewards in training mice to perform
relatively complex functions. To which of the following schools of psychology would Dr.
Whitfield be most closely related?
(A) Psychoanalytical
(B) Behaviorist
(C) Cognitive
(D) Socio-cultural
(E) Gestalt
15. Bryan is experiencing internal conflict and distress that stemmed from repressed
memories of his childhood. Which of the following psychologist would most agree with
this statement?
(A) Sigmund Freud
(B) John B. Watson
(C) Ivan Pavlov
(D) B.F. Skinner
(E) Wilhelm Wundt
16. Dr. Jimenez is a psychologist working with ABC Company to help restructure and
reorganize their employees to make their workforce more productive. Dr. Jimenez is
most likely a
(A) counseling psychologist
(B) engineering psychology
(C) psychometric psychologist
(D) industrial/ organizational psychologists
(E) social psychologist
ANSWERS - HISTORY AND APPROACHES
DIFFICULTY LEVEL 1
1.
ANSWER: E
Psychology is the science of behavior and the mental process. Psychological research, theories
and practice are all combined to help further our knowledge of the mind and our behavior, as
well as treating patients suffering from psychological disorders.
2.
ANSWER: A
Wilhelm Wundt opened the first psychology lab at the University of Leipzig, Germany to study
introspection.
3.
ANSWER: A
Introspection is the study of your conscious experience or being aware of your senses and your
surroundings. Wilhelm Wundt opened the first scientific lab to study introspection in gain
psychological data. The other terms do not have deal with the conscious experience.
4.
ANSWER: B
Clinical psychologists work with patients to diagnose and treat psychological disorders.
Cognitive psychologist would study the impact of teaching of learning. Forensic Psychology
applies the ideas of psychology to the law. Psychometricians measure and analysis
psychological data.
5.
ANSWER: D
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor that specializes in the treatment of psychological disorders.
They meet with patients and prescribe medicine to help treat mental disorders. All of the other
professions do not require a medical degree.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL 2
6.
ANSWER: D
Socio-cultural psychology focuses on how people interact with one another. Psychoanalytical
and cognitive psychologists focus more on the individual without there surroundings.
Behaviorists look at the role of environment in creating behavior. Gestalt main emphasis is
based on perception.
7.
ANSWER: B
Biopsychologists focus on the impact of genetic, hormones and neurotransmitters on
psychology. Monozygotic twins are genetically equal therefore they are able to see the direct
influence of genetics on autism rates. The other schools of psychology do not look at genetics
as a psychological factor.
8.
ANSWER: D
Watson was a behaviorist and believed that only observable behaviors should be studied and
that they are directly connected to our environment. Biopsychologists would be interested in
genetics and biology. Psychoanalytical psychologist would focus on the importance of childhood
in impacting behavior.
9.
ANSWER: D
Cognitive psychologists examine the mental processes of the brain such as memory, problem
solving, thinking and attention. Students study methods incorporate all aspect of the cognition.
None of the other answer choices focus on thought patterns.
10. ANSWER: B
Sigmund Freud was criticized for not using the scientific method and therefore his theories
have very little validity and predict ability. He places great emphasis on the unconscious mind
and is often condemned for being a male chauvinist. Behaviorists focus only on observable
actions.
11. ANSWER: B
Abraham Maslow is a humanist that created Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Basic biological
needs are at the base followed by safety needs, belongingness, esteem needs and topping out
at self-actualization or reaching human potential.
12. ANSWER: C
Evolutionary or Darwinian Psychology focuses on natural selection and adaptation and the
impact of the human mind. None of the other answer choices are concerned with adaptation.
13. ANSWER: A
Eclectic psychology is a combination of many theories and psychological perspectives. Each
theory focuses on one aspect of the human mind and/or behavior. While is it beneficial for each
perspective to research their own theory in practice these schools of psychology need to be
blended to create a comprehensive understanding of psychology.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL 3
14. ANSWER: B
Behaviorists study the impact of environment on observable behavior. Training mice using
rewards is an example of operant condition, which was originally preformed by behaviorists
Thorndike and B.F. Skinner. Psychoanalytical psychology focuses on childhood and unconscious
mind. Cognitive psychologists emphasize mental set and though patterns. Socio-culture
psychologists are concerned with the role society plays in altering behavior. Gestalt’s main
emphasis is based on perception.
15. ANSWER: A
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical psychology places emphasis on the unconscious mind, which
is the brains way of protecting our psyche from harmful information. He believes that while we
retain these memories they are hidden from our conscious mind but they still impact our
behavior sometimes causing internal struggle. None of the other psychologists practice the
psychoanalytical perspective.
16. ANSWER: D
Industrial/organizational psychologists work in collaboration with businesses to help create a
more efficient work environment. Counseling and social psychologists work with clients to help
cope with psychological issues. Engineering psychologists work on the production and design of
machines so that they are more compatible for human interaction. Psychometrics is involved in
measuring psychological data.