MA In Psychology 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which brain structure plays a central role in the formation of new explicit (declarative) memories?
- Amygdala
- Cerebellum
- Hippocampus (Correct answer)
- Basal ganglia
Correct answer: Hippocampus
The hippocampus is critical for encoding new declarative memories; damage to it, as in patient H.M., causes anterograde amnesia.
Question 2: In psychophysics, the 'just noticeable difference' (JND) is best described as:
- The absolute minimum stimulus detectable 50% of the time
- The smallest change in stimulus intensity that can be reliably detected (Correct answer)
- The point at which a stimulus causes pain
- The threshold below which stimuli are processed unconsciously
Correct answer: The smallest change in stimulus intensity that can be reliably detected
The JND, or difference threshold, is the minimum change in a stimulus magnitude that a person can detect reliably.
Question 3: Which approach to therapy focuses on the client's subjective experience, personal growth, and the therapist providing unconditional positive regard?
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Psychoanalysis
- Person-Centered Therapy (Correct answer)
- Behavioral Activation
Correct answer: Person-Centered Therapy
Carl Rogers' Person-Centered Therapy emphasizes empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard as the core therapeutic conditions.
Question 4: Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments primarily demonstrated that:
- People with aggressive personalities are more likely to harm others
- Ordinary people can inflict harm on others when directed by an authority figure (Correct answer)
- Group pressure is more powerful than individual authority
- Physical proximity to the victim reduces obedience
Correct answer: Ordinary people can inflict harm on others when directed by an authority figure
Milgram showed that ordinary participants would administer what they believed were severe electric shocks when instructed by a legitimate authority.
Question 5: In Piaget's theory, 'accommodation' refers to:
- Fitting new information into existing schemas
- Changing existing schemas to incorporate new information (Correct answer)
- The process of reaching cognitive equilibrium
- Moving from concrete to formal operations
Correct answer: Changing existing schemas to incorporate new information
Accommodation involves modifying or creating new cognitive schemas when new information cannot be assimilated into existing ones.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes 'self-efficacy' as defined by Bandura?
- A person's overall self-esteem and sense of worth
- One's belief in their own capacity to execute specific behaviors successfully (Correct answer)
- The degree to which reinforcement controls behavior
- An individual's trait-based level of conscientiousness
Correct answer: One's belief in their own capacity to execute specific behaviors successfully
Self-efficacy is a person's confidence in their ability to perform a specific task or behavior in a given situation.
Question 7: In abnormal psychology, which symptom cluster distinguishes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from Acute Stress Disorder?
- Presence of flashbacks
- Avoidance of trauma-related stimuli
- Duration of symptoms lasting more than one month (Correct answer)
- Hyperarousal and sleep disturbance
Correct answer: Duration of symptoms lasting more than one month
PTSD requires symptoms to persist for more than one month; Acute Stress Disorder covers the initial three days to one month after trauma.
MA In Psychology 5
Which brain structure plays a central role in the formation of new explicit (declarative) memories?