Psychology Degree Psychology 101 5

Question 1

Which statistical measure describes the spread of scores around the mean by averaging the squared deviations?

Accepted Answer

Variance

Answer

Variance is the average of squared deviations from the mean; standard deviation is its square root.

Question 2

The concept of 'learned helplessness,' developed by Martin Seligman, describes:

Accepted Answer

Passive acceptance of negative outcomes after repeated uncontrollable failures

Answer

Seligman found that animals (and humans) exposed to unavoidable aversive events stop trying to escape even when escape becomes possible.

Question 3

Which part of the autonomic nervous system is responsible for the 'fight-or-flight' response?

Accepted Answer

Sympathetic division

Answer

The sympathetic division accelerates heart rate, dilates pupils, and prepares the body for emergency action.

Question 4

According to social learning theory, Albert Bandura's Bobo doll experiments showed that children learn aggressive behavior primarily through:

Accepted Answer

Observation and imitation of a model

Answer

Children who watched an adult model act aggressively toward the Bobo doll were significantly more likely to replicate that behavior.

Question 5

Which measure of central tendency is most resistant to the influence of extreme outliers?

Accepted Answer

Median

Answer

The median is determined by rank order, so a single extreme value cannot dramatically shift it the way it would the mean.

Psychology Degree Practice Test