Psychology Degree Psychology 101 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The confirmation bias is best described as the tendency to:
- Overestimate the accuracy of one's memories after an event
- Remember information that is consistent with our existing beliefs
- Seek, interpret, and recall information that confirms pre-existing beliefs (Correct answer)
- Attribute others' behavior to dispositional rather than situational factors
Correct answer: Seek, interpret, and recall information that confirms pre-existing beliefs
Confirmation bias involves actively favoring information that supports what we already believe and discounting contradictory evidence.
Question 2: Which psychologist conducted the famous 'Little Albert' experiment demonstrating that fear could be classically conditioned in humans?
- Ivan Pavlov
- B.F. Skinner
- John B. Watson (Correct answer)
- Edward Thorndike
Correct answer: John B. Watson
John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner conditioned infant Albert to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise.
Question 3: Which term describes the cognitive shortcut of judging the likelihood of an event based on how easily an example comes to mind?
- Representativeness heuristic
- Anchoring bias
- Availability heuristic (Correct answer)
- Framing effect
Correct answer: Availability heuristic
The availability heuristic leads people to overestimate the probability of vivid or memorable events.
Question 4: In Erikson's psychosocial theory, the central conflict of adolescence is:
- Initiative vs. guilt
- Industry vs. inferiority
- Identity vs. role confusion (Correct answer)
- Intimacy vs. isolation
Correct answer: Identity vs. role confusion
Erikson proposed that adolescents must resolve a crisis between forming a coherent personal identity and experiencing role confusion.
Question 5: Which neurotransmitter imbalance is most commonly associated with major depressive disorder according to the monoamine hypothesis?
- Excess dopamine
- Deficient GABA
- Deficient serotonin (Correct answer)
- Excess acetylcholine
Correct answer: Deficient serotonin
The monoamine hypothesis links depression to insufficient serotonin (and sometimes norepinephrine and dopamine) activity.
Question 6: Stanley Milgram's obedience experiments primarily demonstrated that:
- People with aggressive personalities are more dangerous
- Ordinary people can inflict harm when instructed by an authority figure (Correct answer)
- Conformity is stronger in small groups than large ones
- Punishment is more effective than reinforcement in changing behavior
Correct answer: Ordinary people can inflict harm when instructed by an authority figure
Milgram found that about 65% of participants administered what they believed were severe electric shocks when ordered by an experimenter.
Question 7: The term 'neuroplasticity' refers to:
- The brain's ability to change structure and function in response to experience (Correct answer)
- The hardwired genetic blueprint of the nervous system
- The flexibility of personality traits across the lifespan
- The capacity of neurons to repair damaged axons
Correct answer: The brain's ability to change structure and function in response to experience
Neuroplasticity is the brain's capacity to reorganize synaptic connections, grow new neurons, and adapt to learning, injury, or environmental changes.
Psychology Degree Psychology 101 4
The confirmation bias is best described as the tendency to: