MA In Psychology 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy, which need must generally be met before 'esteem needs' can be addressed?
- Self-actualization
- Love and belonging (Correct answer)
- Physiological needs
- Cognitive needs
Correct answer: Love and belonging
Maslow's hierarchy places love and belonging (social) needs one level below esteem needs; social connection must be satisfied first.
Question 2: The 'availability heuristic' causes people to judge the probability of an event based on:
- Statistical base rates
- How easily an example comes to mind (Correct answer)
- Expert consensus
- Logical syllogisms
Correct answer: How easily an example comes to mind
The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut where likelihood is estimated by how quickly relevant examples can be recalled from memory.
Question 3: In the biopsychosocial model of health, which of the following represents the 'social' component?
- Genetic predisposition to anxiety
- Neurotransmitter imbalance
- Socioeconomic status and social support (Correct answer)
- Cortisol stress response
Correct answer: Socioeconomic status and social support
The social component encompasses interpersonal relationships, cultural factors, and socioeconomic conditions that influence health.
Question 4: Which schedule of reinforcement produces the highest and most persistent rate of responding and is most resistant to extinction?
- Fixed-ratio
- Variable-ratio (Correct answer)
- Fixed-interval
- Variable-interval
Correct answer: Variable-ratio
Variable-ratio schedules deliver reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses, producing high, steady response rates and slow extinction.
Question 5: A researcher finds a correlation of r = –0.75 between stress levels and immune function. What does this indicate?
- As stress increases, immune function tends to increase
- There is no relationship between stress and immune function
- As stress increases, immune function tends to decrease (Correct answer)
- Stress causes immune dysfunction
Correct answer: As stress increases, immune function tends to decrease
A negative correlation of –0.75 indicates a strong inverse relationship: higher stress is associated with lower immune function.
Question 6: Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) was originally developed to treat which condition?
- Schizophrenia
- Borderline Personality Disorder (Correct answer)
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Bipolar I Disorder
Correct answer: Borderline Personality Disorder
Marsha Linehan developed DBT specifically for individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder, combining CBT with mindfulness and acceptance strategies.
Question 7: The 'actor-observer bias' in social psychology refers to the tendency to:
- Attribute others' behavior to the situation while attributing one's own to disposition
- Attribute our behavior to the situation while attributing others' to their disposition (Correct answer)
- Overestimate the influence of the crowd on individual behavior
- Underestimate our own contributions to group success
Correct answer: Attribute our behavior to the situation while attributing others' to their disposition
The actor-observer bias leads us to explain our own actions situationally but explain others' actions dispositionally.
MA In Psychology 4
According to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy, which need must generally be met before 'esteem needs' can be addressed?