The Toughest Psychology Test: Can You Pass IT? Trivia Quiz

1. Which of the following is true about learning language?

Children learn to comprehend new words before they say them.

Children cannot learn to comprehend new words before they say them.

Deaf people cannot learn language.

Any chimpanzee can be taught to spell its name with its tail.

2. The drug that is a depressant is ___________.

LSD

Nicotine

Alcohol

Cocaine

3. In what way are the psychologists who study teratogens like homicide detectives?

Both groups often have to work backwards to identify the source of the problem.

Both groups study objects that are harmful to humans.

Both groups are employed by public companies rather than private companies.

Both groups smoke cigarettes and eat donuts.

4. The body’s first shield from foreign invaders is the ______.

Hair

Nervous system

Aura

Skin

5. The immune system can be fortified by:

Positive emotions

Social support

Close ties to the community

Both A and B

6. Babies can hear inside the womb by the ____________.

Fifth day

Fifth week

Fifth month

Fifth year

7. Which of the following is true concerning the nature-nurture debate?

Most researchers believe that genes and environment interact to influence behavior.

Most researchers believe that genes primarily influence behavior.

Most researchers believe that environment primarily influences behavior.

Most researchers believe that neither genes nor environment influence behavior.

8. Which class of psychoactive drugs works by increasing activity within the nervous system?

Depressants

Hallucinogens

Stimulants

9. Behavioral medicine and health psychology both ________________.

Emphasize the prevention of illness

Disregard the prevention of illness

Focus solely on the prevention of illness

10. Emotional distress about the aging process could be signs of a ___________.

Temper tantrum

Nervous breakdown

Midlife crisis

Psychotic episode

11. What is missing from the following sentence? Eggs the ham and green delicious are.

Morphemes

Syntax

Phonemes

Context

12. The human sleep cycle repeats itself approximately every:

60 minutes

90 minutes

120 minutes

4 hours

13. Extralinguistic information allows us to determine meaning by analyzing ___________.

Syntax

Context

Morphemes

Phonemes

14. The extent to which respondents can tell what the items are measuring is known as ________.

Face reliability

Face validity

Intrinsic validity

Intrinsic reliability

15. Which research method is most suitable for studying factors that influence behavioral change over time?

Cross-sectional

Longitudinal

Mixed method

Bisectional

16. The physical and psychological reaction that mobilizes people to either defend themselves or escape a dangerous situation is called _____________.

Stimulus-organism response

Sink-or-swim response

Fight-or-flight response

Playing-dead response

17. Which type of drug could also be labeled hallucinogens?

Depressants

Psychedelics

Narcotics

Stimulants

18. Which of the following factors impact an individuals ability to effectively deal with stress?

Hardiness, optimism, and spirituality

Hardiness, pessimism, and spirituality

Hardiness, optimism, and religion

Hardiness, pessimism, and religion

19. Henry is an optimist. As a result, he will probably:

Live longer

Have a better job

Exhibit hardiness

Do both A and C

20. Babies engage in intentional vocalizations that sound meaningful, but are not. This is referred to as ________.

Cooing

Burping

Babbling

Snoring

21. What structure serves as the social component of one’s personality?

Id

Ego

Superego

22. Which concept explains why four-year-old Jeremy thinks Mommy will definitely want the newest Power Ranger action figure for her birthday?

Narcissism

Catharsism

Egocentrism

Nepotism

23. Which lobes of the cerebral cortex are most active on tasks involving reasoning, planning, and judgment?

Parietal

Temporal

Occipital

Frontal

24. The study of how behavior changes over time is called _______________ psychology.

Chronological

Life-stage

Developmental

Incremental

25. Jean Piaget is best known for his pioneering work in the area of _________ development.

Behavioral

Psychosocial

Functional

Cognitive

26. The human circadian rhythm can be disrupted by:

Jet lag

Sleep deprivation

Working the late shift

All of the above

27. The main conflict of the anal stage comes from _________.

Toilet training

Excessive farting as a baby

Poo-smearing as a child

Bowel control during bathing

28. According to Freud, the ego is the ____________.

Source of base emotions

Decision maker

Judge of morality

29. A Freudian psychotherapist would assert that an alcoholic is a chain-smoker is stuck in what stage of development?

Oral

Anal

Phallic

Latency

30. In terms of conducting research, which of the following is a major disadvantage of the longitudinal design?

The organizational effort of testing so many different subjects.

The varying places where research must be conducted.

The time involved in completing the study.

The effect of destroying the subjects being tested.

31. The transitional time between childhood and adulthood is called ________.

Puberty

Young adulthood

Adolescence

Teenage years

32. Social support encompasses the social relations with ____________________

The immediate family

The extended family

People, groups, and the larger community.

Professional peers

33. The smallest units of speech that are meaningful are referred to as ________.

Morphemes

Phonemes

Context

Syntax

34. The MMPI and MMPI-2 are personality tests designed to detect _________________.

Extraordinary intelligence

Severe mental retardation

Homicidal behaviors

Symptoms of mental disorders

35. The phase, or learning period, when children are receptive to learning a new skill but aren’t yet successful at it is called the ____________________.

Zone of primary development

Zone of acquisition

Zone of actual development

Zone of proximal development

36. Of the following, which one has the strongest correlation with intelligence?

Ability to memorize

Amount of knowledge

Speed of information processing

Amount of information processing

37. Identical twins tend to have IQ correlations at 0.7, whereas fraternal twins tend to have IQ correlations of about 0.3. What do these correlations suggest?

Identical twins, nor fraternal twins, have similar IQ’s.

Identical twins have very similar IQ’s while fraternal twins do not.

Fraternal twins have very similar IQ’s while identical twins do not.

Identical twins and fraternal twins have very similar IQ’s.

38. The 1968 book Personality and Assessment was written by ______________.

Sir Francis Galton

Walter Mischel

Sigmund Freud

Jean Piaget

39. Dr. Dulaney wants to study how artificial light affects the growth of his plants. He selects ten different plants at various stages of growth and records their height. What type of study is Dr. Dulaney conducting?

Longitudinal

Cross-sectional

Mixed method

Bisectional

40. According to Piaget, equilibration involves the process of _________________.

Assimilation and accommodation

Assimilation and approximation

Apprehension and accommodation

Acquisition and accommodation

41. Why is it easier to form a secure attachment with an “easy” infant versus a “difficult” one?

Easy babies provide better feedback to their caregivers.

Difficult babies provide better feedback to their caregivers.

Easy babies are negative at first but quickly warm up.

Difficult babies are negative at first but quickly warm up.

42. The personality theory that said people were free to choose either adaptive or self-defeating patterns is known as ___________.

Eccentrism

Egotism

Humanism

Predestination

43. The human brain begins to develop after _______.

18 minutes

18 hours

18 days

18 weeks

44. What concept from Piaget’s theory may interfere with a child’s developing theory of mind?

Catharsism

Narcissism

Egocentrism

Nepotism

45. The Halls have a brand new baby. What is the most important thing they should do to create an attachment?

Read to the infant

Hold the infant

Play with the infant

Talk to the infant

46. Which theory of personality is most concerned with understanding people’s unconscious narratives?

Cognitive

Psychoanalytic

Behavioral

Structural

47. A statistical technique that analyzes the correlations among responses on personality inventories and other measures is called ____________.

Factor analysis

Personality analysis

Human analysis

Introspection

48. When attempting to understand developmental transitions that people face throughout their lifespan, which of the following research designs would be most informative?

Cross-sectional designs

Longitudinal designs

Mixed method designs

Bisectional designs

49. Tobacco is often used to enhance feelings of ____________.

Mania

Euphoria

Anxiety

Relaxation

50. Which of the following is a suggested treatment for insomnia?

Drink warm milk to try to get to sleep.

Consume caffeine if planning to stay up late.

Try to sleep only when tired.

Use an alarm clock to wake up in the morning.

51. If I am given 10 math problems, and I can and do solve the first 9 in the same way, I may struggle with the last problem if it requires a different method to solve it. This best illustrates the concept of _______.

Myopia

Stubbornness

Regression

Mental sets

52. Which researcher studied the effects of sensory abilities on intelligence?

Sir Francis Galton

Walter Mischel

Sigmund Freud

Jean Piaget

53. ____________ is linked with enhanced immune functioning.

Skepticism

Euphemism

Pessimism

Optimism

54. Which of the following is NOT one of the three keys to promoting a healthy lifestyle in all people?

Quitting smoking

Curbing alcohol consumption

Losing weight

Achieving a healthy weight

55. Foreign invaders to the body are also called ___________.

Teratogens

Viruses

Mutagens

Antigens

56. We spend the greatest amount of time engaged in what altered state of consciousness?

Sleeping

Dreaming

Awake

Confusion

57. The original purpose of the first intelligence test was to identify which children were __________.

Of exceptional intelligence to be specially trained for important careers

Most likely to develop anti-social behaviors

In need of special educational assistance

Exactly average so that all tests could be benchmarked from them

58. Psychologists believe that personality is largely the result of _______.

Multiple factors

Genetic influences

Culture of upbringing

Chance

59. Rationalization involves ________________________________.

Providing reasonable-sounding explanations for unreasonable behaviors or failures.

Providing fantastic-sounding explanations for unreasonable behaviors or failures.

Providing reasonable-sounding explanations for reasonable behaviors or successes.

Providing fantastic-sounding explanations for reasonable behaviors or successes.

60. According to Piaget, the process of absorbing new experience into current knowledge is called ____________.

Accommodation

Assimilation

Approximation

Acquisition

61. The inability to view the world from any perspective either than their own is called __________.

Narcissism

Catharsism

Egocentrism

Nepotism

62. Research suggests that stress-producing events _____________.

Are universal

Occur more frequently in wealthy countries

Occur less frequently in wealthy countries

Are culturally related

63. Language is a __________ of communication.

Simple system

Symbol system

Novel system

Antiquated form

64. What general category of drug is used in the controlling of pain?

General anesthetics

Opiate narcotics

Antidepressants

Hallucinogens

65. Behaviorists attempted to explain thinking in the narrow terms of ______________.

Stimulus and response

Introversion and extroversion

Acquisition and recall

Thinking and communication

66. General findings concerning gender differences and IQ scores reveal that compared to men, women tend to score higher on _________.

Spatial reasoning

Fractal patterning

Verbal tasks

Directional orientation

67. Research on stereotype threat suggests __________.

That you will do poorly in a test if you believe you will do poorly

Racial differences in IQ likely reflect societal disadvantages between groups

Is a fear that we may confirm a negative stereotype

All of the above

68. The correct order of Piaget’s stages is ____________________.

Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, formal operations (SPCF)

Preoperational, sensorimotor, concrete operations, formal operations (PSCF)

Sensorimotor, preoperational, formal operations, concrete operations(SPFC)

Preoperational, concrete operations, formal operations, sensorimotor (PCFS)

69. Marijuana is often referred to as a mild hallucinogenic drug and DIFFERS from other hallucinogens in that it may also:

Elicit mild sedative effects

Result in diminished fatigue with a sense of well-being

Create alterations in perception and mood

Bring about a strong rush of pleasure

70. Which motto would best fit the id?

I can’t do that because it’s against the rules.

I would like to do that, but I can wait for later.

If it feels good, then do it.

If she did it, I can too.

71. The heart, lungs, and brain begin to form during the __________ period of prenatal development.

Zygotal

Blastocystal

Embryonic

Fetal

72. Stranger anxiety is ____________.

Almost identical across cultures

Different across cultures

The same in North American cultures as in Asian cultures, only

The same in European cultures as in Asian cultures, only

73. The majority of children fall into one of these three temperament categories:

Easy, difficult, or slow to warm up.

Easy, difficult, or fast to warm up.

Easy, difficult, or slightly picky.

Easy, difficult, or picky.

74. Erikson’s first psychosocial crisis is _________________.

Hate versus love

Trust versus mistrust

Anxiety versus empathy

Self versus community

75. Research on crisis debriefing and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest that:

Crisis debriefing involves discussing and processing negative emotions, listing symptoms, and discouraging early discontinuation.

The risk of PTSD increases with crisis debriefing.

Both A and B are true.

None of the above are true.

76. A set of attitudes marked by a sense of control over events, commitment to life work, and courage and motivation to confront stressful events is ___________.

Endurance

Hardiness

Steadfastness

Dexterity

77. The most powerful natural stimulant is _________.

Alcohol

Cocaine

Nicotine

LSD

78. What type of medicine is represented by taking an aspirin a day along with your prescribed heart medication?

Alternative

Supplemental

Complementary

Excessive

79. Which order is correct in Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?

Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital (OAPLG)

Anal, oral, phallic, latency, genital (AOPLG)

Oral, anal, latency, phallic, genital (OALPG)

Oral, anal, latency, genital, phallic (OALGP)

80. Researchers view stress in the following three ways:

As stimuli, introspection, and a response

As stimuli, a transaction with the environment, introspection

As stimuli, a transaction with the environment, and a response

As stimuli, internalization, and a response

81. Cognitive control is the ability to cognitively restructure or think differently about____________________.

Positive emotions that stem from stressful events

Negative emotions that stem from stressful events

Negative emotions that stem from all events

Positive emotions that stem from all events

82. Disclosing painful feelings is known as ___________.

Purging

Catharsis

Sharing with friends

Expulsion

83. Which of the following statements is true concerning the relationship between the brain size and intelligence?

The less the brain volume is, the higher the intelligence test scores.

The higher the brain volume is, the higher the intelligence test scores.

There is no correlation between brain size and intelligence.

84. The behavioral theories tend to focus on ________.

Thinking

Communicating

Introspection

Learning

85. According to Vygotsky, what would be the most effective way to identify a child’s level in the zone of proximal development?

Talk to the child

Observe the child

Give a test to the child

Allow the child to interact with his environment

86. The field of psychology that integrates the behavioral sciences with the practice and science of medicine is known as:

Behavioral medicine

Behavioral integration

Psychology integration

Psychology medicine

87. Successful communication depends on the ______________.

Quantitative abilities of the speaker.

Quantitative abilities of the listener.

Reasoning abilities of the speaker.

Reasoning abilities of the listener.

88. At five year olds, Sammy is better able to understand his friends’ feelings as compared to when he was three years old. Sammy is acquiring a __________.

Theory of mind

Theory of self

Theory of sympathy

Theory of empathy

89. When we feel drowsy late at night, it is the result of neurons that are controlled within our ___________.

Amygdala

Hypothalamus

Hippocampus

Cortex

90. As symbol systems of communication , most languages are ______________

Based on biological capabilities.

Known to have a direct relationship between words and meaning

Known to have a partially direct relationship between words and meaning.

Arbitrary in the relationship between words and meaning.

91. Three-year-old Joaquin is given a glass of water. His mother then decided to pour the water into a larger cup with a lid. Joaquin starts complaining that he has less water. He has yet to understand the theory of __________.

Approximation

Accommodation

Conservation

Liquid conversion

92. Which of the following is an example of imprinting?

A young child’s behavior is influenced by peer pressure.

Young geese imitate the behavior of older siblings.

Young geese demonstrate an attachment to a round ball.

Young geese scatter away in fear when a ball approaches them.

93. A ball of identical cells that haven’t yet begun to take on a specific function during early pregnancy is called a __________.

Zygote

Blastocyst

Embryo

Fetus

94. What game would be difficult to play with a child lacking object permanence?

Checkers

Peek-a-boo

Hide and seek

Four-square

95. To which stage of sleep might the term passive-aggressive, in terms of the brain’s activity, apply?

Sleep stage 1

Sleep stage 2

Sleep stage 3

REM

96. By the end of the first year of life, an infant will generally use only ______________.

Hand-signaling to communicate.

Infrequent grunting sounds and finger-pointing to communicate.

The phonemes of the native language of his or her mother.

The phonemes of the native language of his or her caregiver.

97. Night terrors usually occur during:

Sleep stages 1 and 2

Sleep stages 2 and 3

Sleep stages 3 and 4

REM sleep

98. The idea that all psychological events have an underlying cause is better known as ___________.

Mental structuralism

Cognitive primacy

Manifest destiny

Psychic determinism

99. The key criteria for evaluating personality assessment are ____________.

Reliability and consistency

Recognition and validity

Reliability and validity

Tester and test-taker

100. Gender differences start occurring ___________________________.

As early as 1 day old or less

Exactly at 1 year old or less

After 1 year

As early as 1 year old or less

101. According to Freud, the motivated forgetting of distressing external experiences is known as _____.

Rationalization

Suppression

Denial

Internalization

102. In non-human animals, the most common circumstances under which communication occurs are _________.

Regression and meaning

Aggression and mating

Aggression and meaning

Regression and mating

103. Which problem might give a three-year-old the toughest time?

Asking her to compare the number of jelly beans to the number of raisins.

Asking her to compare the number of quarters to the number of pennies.

Asking her to compare the number of shoes to the number of dresses.

Asking her to compare the number of cars to the number of trucks.

The Toughest Psychology Test: Can You Pass IT? Trivia Quiz

1. Which of the following is true about learning language?

2.

What first name or nickname would you like us to use?

2. The drug that is a depressant is ___________.

3. In what way are the psychologists who study teratogens like homicide detectives?

4. The body’s first shield from foreign invaders is the ______.

5. The immune system can be fortified by:

6. Babies can hear inside the womb by the ____________.

7. Which of the following is true concerning the nature-nurture debate?

8. Which class of psychoactive drugs works by increasing activity within the nervous system?

9. Behavioral medicine and health psychology both ________________.

10. Emotional distress about the aging process could be signs of a ___________.

11. What is missing from the following sentence? Eggs the ham and green delicious are.

12. The human sleep cycle repeats itself approximately every:

13. Extralinguistic information allows us to determine meaning by analyzing ___________.

14. The extent to which respondents can tell what the items are measuring is known as ________.

15. Which research method is most suitable for studying factors that influence behavioral change over time?

16. The physical and psychological reaction that mobilizes people to either defend themselves or escape a dangerous situation is called _____________.

17. Which type of drug could also be labeled hallucinogens?

18. Which of the following factors impact an individuals ability to effectively deal with stress?

19. Henry is an optimist. As a result, he will probably:

20. Babies engage in intentional vocalizations that sound meaningful, but are not. This is referred to as ________.

21. What structure serves as the social component of one’s personality?

22. Which concept explains why four-year-old Jeremy thinks Mommy will definitely want the newest Power Ranger action figure for her birthday?

23. Which lobes of the cerebral cortex are most active on tasks involving reasoning, planning, and judgment?

24. The study of how behavior changes over time is called _______________ psychology.

25. Jean Piaget is best known for his pioneering work in the area of _________ development.

26. The human circadian rhythm can be disrupted by:

27. The main conflict of the anal stage comes from _________.

28. According to Freud, the ego is the ____________.

29. A Freudian psychotherapist would assert that an alcoholic is a chain-smoker is stuck in what stage of development?

30. In terms of conducting research, which of the following is a major disadvantage of the longitudinal design?

31. The transitional time between childhood and adulthood is called ________.

32. Social support encompasses the social relations with ____________________

33. The smallest units of speech that are meaningful are referred to as ________.

34. The MMPI and MMPI-2 are personality tests designed to detect _________________.

35. The phase, or learning period, when children are receptive to learning a new skill but aren’t yet successful at it is called the ____________________.

36. Of the following, which one has the strongest correlation with intelligence?

37. Identical twins tend to have IQ correlations at 0.7, whereas fraternal twins tend to have IQ correlations of about 0.3. What do these correlations suggest?

38. The 1968 book Personality and Assessment was written by ______________.

39. Dr. Dulaney wants to study how artificial light affects the growth of his plants. He selects ten different plants at various stages of growth and records their height. What type of study is Dr. Dulaney conducting?

40. According to Piaget, equilibration involves the process of _________________.

41. Why is it easier to form a secure attachment with an “easy” infant versus a “difficult” one?

42. The personality theory that said people were free to choose either adaptive or self-defeating patterns is known as ___________.

43. The human brain begins to develop after _______.

44. What concept from Piaget’s theory may interfere with a child’s developing theory of mind?

45. The Halls have a brand new baby. What is the most important thing they should do to create an attachment?

46. Which theory of personality is most concerned with understanding people’s unconscious narratives?

47. A statistical technique that analyzes the correlations among responses on personality inventories and other measures is called ____________.

48. When attempting to understand developmental transitions that people face throughout their lifespan, which of the following research designs would be most informative?

49. Tobacco is often used to enhance feelings of ____________.

50. Which of the following is a suggested treatment for insomnia?

51. If I am given 10 math problems, and I can and do solve the first 9 in the same way, I may struggle with the last problem if it requires a different method to solve it. This best illustrates the concept of _______.

52. Which researcher studied the effects of sensory abilities on intelligence?

53. ____________ is linked with enhanced immune functioning.

54. Which of the following is NOT one of the three keys to promoting a healthy lifestyle in all people?

55. Foreign invaders to the body are also called ___________.

56. We spend the greatest amount of time engaged in what altered state of consciousness?

57. The original purpose of the first intelligence test was to identify which children were __________.

58. Psychologists believe that personality is largely the result of _______.

59. Rationalization involves ________________________________.

60. According to Piaget, the process of absorbing new experience into current knowledge is called ____________.

61. The inability to view the world from any perspective either than their own is called __________.

62. Research suggests that stress-producing events _____________.

63. Language is a __________ of communication.

64. What general category of drug is used in the controlling of pain?

65. Behaviorists attempted to explain thinking in the narrow terms of ______________.

66. General findings concerning gender differences and IQ scores reveal that compared to men, women tend to score higher on _________.

67. Research on stereotype threat suggests __________.

68. The correct order of Piaget’s stages is ____________________.

69. Marijuana is often referred to as a mild hallucinogenic drug and DIFFERS from other hallucinogens in that it may also:

70. Which motto would best fit the id?

71. The heart, lungs, and brain begin to form during the __________ period of prenatal development.

72. Stranger anxiety is ____________.

73. The majority of children fall into one of these three temperament categories:

74. Erikson’s first psychosocial crisis is _________________.

75. Research on crisis debriefing and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest that:

76. A set of attitudes marked by a sense of control over events, commitment to life work, and courage and motivation to confront stressful events is ___________.

77. The most powerful natural stimulant is _________.