Multiple Choice
History of Modern Psych, 3e: Study Guide, Chapter 1
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1. Which of the following is the least important reason for studying history (in general, not just
psychology’s history)?
a. it enables us to understand the present better
b. knowing history is the only sure way to predict the future
c. it prevents us from thinking that things were always much better in the past
d. it helps us to understand human nature
2. Furumoto’s concept of “old” history is characterized by
a. internal history
b. naturalistic history
c. an emphasis on historical context
d. historicism
3. Someone taking a naturalistic approach to history would say that
a. without Descartes, the history of reflex action would be totally different
b. history changes because of the work of highly creative and forceful individuals
c. the importance of the zeitgeist has been overstated; people are more important
d. it isn’t all that surprising that Darwin and Wallace produced the same theory at the
same time
4.
When reading about Goddard and the immigrants, someone taking a presentist approach would
a. emphasize how Goddard and others were affected by the theory of evolution
b. try to understand the zeitgeist
c. concentrate on understanding the mental processes involved in scoring well on an IQ test
d. be critical of Goddard for failing to recognize the importance of an immigrant’s cultural
background
5.
Watsonian behaviorism and Freudian psychoanalysis are both examples of
a. multiples
b. eponyms
c. a naturalistic rather than a personalistic strategy
d. an external rather than an internal strategy
6.
It is generally true of history that
a. once a set of facts has been accurately described, there is no longer a need to
investigate further
b. historians themselves are influenced by the context of the time in which they are
writing
c. selection is easy, but interpretation is difficult
d. everything is relative—the historical truth about anything cannot be known
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Multiple Choice
History of Modern Psych, 3e: Study Guide, Chapter 1
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Answers
1. a. this might be the most important reason
b. CORRECT ANSWER – predicting the future is a notoriously hazardous business, even for
historians
c. as was illustrated by the quote from Boorstin’s Prison of the Present
d. in a certain sense, history is essentially the behavior of people over time
2. a.
b.
c.
d.
CORRECT ANSWER – new history takes external, contextual factors into account
old history is more personalistic than naturalistic
old history tends to ignore historical context
old history tends to be presentist rather than historicist
3. a. someone taking a personalistic approach would say this
b. someone taking a personalistic approach would say this also
c. a naturalistic approach emphasizes the zeitgeist
d. CORRECT ANSWER – this could be considered an example of a multiple
4. a.
b.
c.
d.
this is an example of trying to incorporate historical context
taking a presentist approach leads one to be relatively unconcerned about the zeitgeist
this sounds like someone looking at Goddard from the standpoint of internal history
CORRECT ANSWER – this is judging Goddard from the standpoint of what we know now
5. a.
b.
c.
d.
these are simultaneous discoveries
CORRECT ANSWER – historical movements named for prominent individuals
the opposite is true
the opposite is true
6. a. history is in continual need of re-evaluation
b. CORRECT ANSWER – and as historical context changes, new ways of examining history present
themselves
c. both create difficulties for historians
d. varying degrees of consensus about historical truth are possible, including a high degree of
certainty about certain things
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