Psychology Degree Principles of Psychology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which reinforcement schedule produces the highest and most steady 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 reinforce after an unpredictable number of responses, producing high, steady rates and strong resistance to extinction (e.g., slot machines).
Question 2: A patient experiences sudden inability to recall personal identity and past experiences following a traumatic event. This best illustrates:
- Anterograde amnesia
- Dissociative fugue
- Dissociative amnesia (Correct answer)
- Korsakoff syndrome
Correct answer: Dissociative amnesia
Dissociative amnesia involves sudden memory loss for personal information, typically triggered by psychological stress rather than neurological damage.
Question 3: In Piaget's theory, a child who insists that a tall, thin glass holds more water than a short, wide glass (with equal amounts) is demonstrating a lack of:
- Object permanence
- Conservation (Correct answer)
- Egocentrism
- Centration only
Correct answer: Conservation
Conservation is the understanding that quantity remains constant despite changes in shape or appearance, which children typically develop in the concrete operational stage.
Question 4: The peripheral nervous system's division responsible for controlling involuntary functions like heart rate, digestion, and glandular activity is the:
- Somatic nervous system
- Central nervous system
- Autonomic nervous system (Correct answer)
- Reticular activating system
Correct answer: Autonomic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary bodily functions and is subdivided into sympathetic and parasympathetic branches.
Question 5: Which research method allows researchers to determine cause-and-effect relationships between variables?
- Naturalistic observation
- Case study
- Correlation study
- Controlled experiment (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Controlled experiment
Only controlled experiments, which involve random assignment and manipulation of an independent variable, allow causal conclusions.
Question 6: The phenomenon where the presence of others improves performance on well-learned tasks but impairs performance on novel or complex tasks is called:
- Social loafing
- Deindividuation
- Social facilitation (Correct answer)
- Groupthink
Correct answer: Social facilitation
Social facilitation describes how arousal from others' presence enhances dominant (well-practiced) responses while hindering non-dominant (complex) responses.
Question 7: According to Freud's psychosexual theory, unresolved conflict during the oral stage may result in adult behaviors such as:
- Compulsive orderliness and stubbornness
- Excessive dependency or aggression involving the mouth (Correct answer)
- Difficulty with authority figures
- Sexual identity confusion
Correct answer: Excessive dependency or aggression involving the mouth
Freud linked oral stage fixation to adult behaviors like smoking, overeating, or excessive dependency, all centering on oral gratification.
Psychology Degree Principles of Psychology 2
Which reinforcement schedule produces the highest and most steady rate of responding and is most resistant to extinction?