Psychology Degree Psychology 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which brain structure is primarily responsible for processing and consolidating emotional memories, especially fear?
- Hippocampus
- Prefrontal cortex
- Amygdala (Correct answer)
- Cerebellum
Correct answer: Amygdala
The amygdala evaluates emotional significance of stimuli and is central to the formation of fear memories.
Question 2: In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which level must be satisfied before a person is motivated to seek esteem needs?
- Self-actualization
- Physiological needs
- Love and belonging (Correct answer)
- Safety needs
Correct answer: Love and belonging
Love and belonging (social needs) must be met before esteem needs become motivating, per Maslow's hierarchy.
Question 3: A therapist helps a patient identify and challenge irrational automatic thoughts. This technique is central to:
- Psychoanalysis
- Humanistic therapy
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (Correct answer)
- Gestalt therapy
Correct answer: Cognitive-behavioral therapy
CBT focuses on identifying distorted cognitions and replacing them with more rational, adaptive thoughts.
Question 4: The DSM-5 diagnostic criterion requiring that symptoms cause significant distress or impairment is called the:
- Etiology criterion
- Duration threshold
- Clinical significance criterion (Correct answer)
- Exclusion criterion
Correct answer: Clinical significance criterion
The clinical significance criterion ensures symptoms rise to the level of functional impairment before a diagnosis is made.
Question 5: Which concept refers to an individual's belief in their own ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish tasks?
- Locus of control
- Self-esteem
- Self-efficacy (Correct answer)
- Self-concept
Correct answer: Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy, introduced by Bandura, is the conviction that one can execute the behaviors required to produce specific outcomes.
Question 6: A child watches an adult aggressively beat a Bobo doll and later imitates that aggression. This best demonstrates:
- Operant conditioning
- Observational (social) learning (Correct answer)
- Classical conditioning
- Insight learning
Correct answer: Observational (social) learning
Bandura's Bobo doll experiment showed children learn behaviors by observing and imitating models.
Question 7: Which statistical concept represents the probability that a study's results occurred by chance, used to determine statistical significance?
- Effect size
- Standard deviation
- p-value (Correct answer)
- Confidence interval
Correct answer: p-value
The p-value indicates the probability of obtaining the observed results if the null hypothesis were true; typically p < .05 is significant.
Psychology Degree Psychology 4
Which brain structure is primarily responsible for processing and consolidating emotional memories, especially fear?