Test Bank for Psychology in Your Life 2e

Test Bank for Psychology in Your Life 2e Sarah Grison, Todd Heatherton, Michael Gazzaniga (All Chapters)

Chapter 01: Introducing the World of Psychology

MULTIPLE CHOICE

• Which of the following is the best definition of psychology?
• the study of the brain and its inner function
• the analysis of the mind and its unconscious thoughts
• the study of mental activity and behavior based on brain processes
• the study of thoughts, social interactions, and emotions

ANS: C DIF: Moderate OBJ: 1.1a | Remember the key terms about psychology.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Remembering

• Allanah has declared psychology as her major. Because of this, Allanah will most likely study
• the structure and function of the brain.
• mental disorders and their treatment.
• feelings, memory, and other inner states.
• mental activity, behavior, and the brain.

ANS: D DIF: Moderate OBJ: 1.1a | Remember the key terms about psychology.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 5, Professional Development

MSC: Remembering

• Barry states that psychology is the study of mental activity. Candace remarks that psychology is the

science of behavior. Which is the correct evaluation of these two statements?

• Barry’s definition is correct; Candace’s definition is incorrect.
• Barry’s definition is correct; Candace’s definition is correct.
• Taken together, the statements are correct.
• Barry’s definition is incorrect; Candace’s definition is correct.

ANS: C DIF: Difficult OBJ: 1.1a | Remember the key terms about psychology.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Understanding

• According to the textbook, “friendly skepticism” is an important element in a type of reasoning called
• functionalism. c. structuralism.
• introspection. d. critical thinking.

ANS: D DIF: Easy OBJ: 1.1b | Apply critical thinking to your life.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical

Thinking MSC: Remembering

• Critical thinking is best defined as thinking that
• systematically evaluates information.
• criticizes others’ opinions.
• is open-minded and creative.
• uses inferences but does not solve problems.
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ANS: A DIF: Moderate OBJ: 1.1b | Apply critical thinking to your life.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical

Thinking MSC: Remembering

• “Friendly skepticism” means
• finding flaws in an argument or claim.
• being open to new ideas, while also being careful before accepting them.
• asking a scientist to make his or her findings public so that they can be better evaluated.
• accepting all claims, as long as they are based on the scientific method.

ANS: B DIF: Easy OBJ: 1.1b | Apply critical thinking to your life.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical

Thinking MSC: Understanding

• Which of the following is an example of critical thinking?
• believing that sugar causes headaches because your head hurts after you eat a candy bar
• concluding that eating spinach leads to a longer life after seeing an ad for spinach on

television

• using a personal example to explain the importance of time management
• concluding that exercise is beneficial after evaluating the evidence of a research study

ANS: D DIF: Easy OBJ: 1.1b | Apply critical thinking to your life.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical

Thinking MSC: Understanding

• Talisa is writing a paper on critical thinking. She wants to explain how critical thinking differs from

everyday thinking. Accordingly, which sentence is Talisa most likely to include in her paper about the differences between critical thinking and everyday thinking?

• Critical thinking evaluates information and scientific research to make reasonable

conclusions.

• Everyday thinking evaluates information and scientific research to make reasonable

conclusions.

• Critical thinking relies on personal examples more than scientific evidence for making

conclusions.

• Critical thinking and everyday thinking often result in the same conclusions.

ANS: A DIF: Moderate OBJ: 1.1b | Apply critical thinking to your life.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical

Thinking MSC: Applying

• You are confident that your new roommate is a critical thinker after noticing the following bumper

sticker on his car:

• “Show me the evidence!” c. “Trust your gut!”
• “The only truth is no truth.” d. “What is the meaning of life?”

ANS: A DIF: Moderate OBJ: 1.1b | Apply critical thinking to your life.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 2, Scientific Inquiry and Critical

Thinking MSC: Applying

• You are discussing your psychology class with your aunt Annalise. She asks you, “Can psychology

really help people study?” You correctly answer,

• “Not really; psychologists generally agree that the field of education is better suited to

provide people with techniques for studying.”

• “Yes; psychological studies have shown that cramming before an exam can improve 2 / 4

memory.”

• “Yes; psychology provides us with techniques for improving memory and understanding.”
• “It depends; psychology can enhance students’ learning, but most people will have

difficulty using psychology to help them study.”

ANS: C DIF: Easy OBJ: 1.1c | Apply psychology to your life.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 5, Professional Development

MSC: Understanding

• Which of the following statements best describes psychology?
• Much of psychology is just common sense.
• Much of psychology is about applying common sense to everyday life.
• Psychological principles are highly applicable to everyday life.
• Psychological principles are too scientific to apply to everyday life.

ANS: C DIF: Easy OBJ: 1.1c | Apply psychology to your life.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Understanding

• Jeremy is studying for his final exam. Lauren has taken psychology and gives him a good tip about the

best way to study. She correctly says,

• “Be sure to cram in your studying during the night before the final exam.”
• “As you study, connect the information to something personal.”
• “Memorize bold terms by writing and rewriting the definitions.”
• “Study in the morning right before the exam deadline, because stress improves learning.”

ANS: B DIF: Easy OBJ: 1.1c | Apply psychology to your life.NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology | APA Goal 5, Professional Development

MSC: Applying

• Dualism is the classic idea in psychology that
• the mind and the brain are separate entities.
• the mind and the brain are the same entity.
• the mind and the brain are opposing forces.
• there is no mind, just the brain.

ANS: A DIF: Easy

OBJ: 1.2a | Remember the key terms about what psychologists investigate.

NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Remembering

• The philosopher who promoted dualism as an explanation of the mind/body problem was
• William James. c. René Descartes.
• Charles Darwin. d. Sigmund Freud.

ANS: C DIF: Easy

OBJ: 1.2a | Remember the key terms about what psychologists investigate.

NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Remembering

• The belief that the mind and body are separate but intertwined describes
• dualism. c. the nature/nurture debate.
• structuralism. d. cognitive psychology.

ANS: A DIF: Easy

OBJ: 1.2a | Remember the key terms about what psychologists investigate.

NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Remembering

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• Freddy and Mary Anne are having a disagreement about the nature/nurture debate. Freddy correctly

says, “Actually, the ‘nature’ portion of the debate refers to how a person thinks and acts and is a result of

• early education.” c. prenatal experiences.”
• inborn influences.” d. cultural norms.”

ANS: B DIF: Easy

OBJ: 1.2b | Apply the nature/nurture debate to your own life.

NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Remembering

• In the nature/nurture debate, the term nature refers to the question of how ________ factors affect the

mind, brain, and behavior.

• biological c. either biological or environmental
• environmental d. conscious or unconscious

ANS: A DIF: Easy

OBJ: 1.2b | Apply the nature/nurture debate to your own life.

NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Understanding

• With respect to the nature/nurture debate, psychologists now believe that ________ is/are important in

understanding the mind, brain, and behavior.

• nature c. both nature and nurture
• nurture d. neither nature nor nurture

ANS: C DIF: Easy

OBJ: 1.2b | Apply the nature/nurture debate to your own life.

NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology MSC: Understanding

• An early school of psychology used introspection to study the basic elements of mental experiences.

This school of psychology was called

• functionalism. c. cognitivism.
• behaviorism. d. structuralism.

ANS: D DIF: Easy OBJ: 1.2c |Understand the three psychology schools of thought that investigated the conscious mind

and the unconscious mind. NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology

MSC: Remembering

• Structuralism is a school of psychology introduced by
• Edward Titchener. c. Charles Darwin.
• William James. d. Sigmund Freud.

ANS: A DIF: Easy OBJ: 1.2c |Understand the three psychology schools of thought that investigated the conscious mind

and the unconscious mind. NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology

MSC: Remembering

• The psychologist most closely associated with the school of functionalism is
• Sigmund Freud. c. Edward Titchener.
• Wilhelm Wundt. d. William James.

ANS: D DIF: Easy OBJ: 1.2c |Understand the three psychology schools of thought that investigated the conscious mind

and the unconscious mind. NAT: APA Goal 1, Knowledge Base in Psychology

MSC: Remembering

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