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Created by the EIU History Department to assist students of Eastern Illinois University in meeting the Illinois state standards for specialization in the social sciences.
Psychology- Practice Quiz
The following is a short quiz that will test your knowledge of this discipline. These questions have been devised based on similar questions that have been asked on certification tests in the past. The key for the correct answer to each question is at the bottom of this page. To keep track of your answers for each question, simply have a piece of paper and a writing utensil handy.
1. Amy and Sam are shown two identical glasses, each containing four ounces of juice. The juice from one glass is then poured into a glass that is taller and narrower than the first. Sam is given the short glass of juice and Amy is given the tall glass. Sam comments, "Amy got more juice than I did." According to Piaget, this reaction indicates that Sam is at which of the following developmental levels?
  A. sensorimotor
  B. preoperational
  C. concrete operational
  D. formal operational
2. A stroke that damages the left hemisphere of an individual's brain will most likely impar that individual's abilities with respect to:
  A. speech and language.
  B. discriminating among colors.
  C. arranging items in a pattern.
  D. directional and spatial awareness.
3. In which of the following examples is a person demonstrating accurate sensation but poor perception?
  A. A dancer accurately repeats a complex dance after seeing it performed but cannot describe the dance sequence verbally.
  B. A woman accurately describes an event that occurred in her childhood but is unable to recall what she did the previous afternoon.
  C. A six-year-old accurately recalls a conversation between two adults but does not realize that the adults were joking.
  D. A man with colorblindness responds accurately to traffic lights but bases his response on the position of the lights rather than the color.
4. Which of the following methods is associated with the operant conditioning technique of extinction?
  A. removing forms of reinforcement from learned behavior
  B. using punishment for behaviors that were previously reinforced
  C. removing the natural stimulus while applying punishment
  D. using a combination of positive and negative stimuli
5. In their thinking processes, human make use of concepts primarily to:
  A. represent the form of an experience or activity.
  B. commit information to memory on a permanent basis.
  C. gain insight into motives for behavior.
  D. simplify complex information by organizing it into categories.
6. The advantage of projective tests cited most frequently by those who use them is that the results:
  A. can accurately predict the potential behavior of the test participant.
  B. reveal unconscious dimensions of the test participant's personality.
  C. will be identical for the test particpant even when different people administer it.
  D. provide concrete evidence that the test participant has one form of personality disorder.
7. Use the information below to answer the question that follows.
   
 
Employees at a company are asked to volunteer their time to organize a social gathering to celebrate record-setting profits made in the past year. Kristie decides to volunteer because her supervisor always compliments her willingness to help others. Larry volunteers because his brother lays in a music group that performs for corporate functions, and Larry might be able to get them hired for the event. Malik agrees to volunteer because he likes interacting with co-workers in less formal activities. Neva volunteers because she is good at planning events and likes seeing others enjoying the final results of her labors.
   
 
Of the individuals mentioned above, which employee's decision to volunteer for this activity was most intrinsically motivated?
  A. Kristie
  B. Larry
  C. Malik
  D. Neva
8. With respect to dreams and dreaming, on which of the following do psychologists agree the most?
  A. The brain interprets random neural activity during REM sleep by dreaming in stories that reflect people's daily lives.
  B. Dreams are a continuation of and attempt to consolidate the brain's daytime information-processing work.
  C. The latent content of dreams is more important than their manifest content.
  D. Dreaming and REM sleep that accompanies it are essential to human health.
9. Which of the following describes circumstances under which an individual's fear would be considered a phobic disorder?
  A. The fear is not rational and prompts behavior that interferes with daily functioning.
  B. The fear is not rational, and the individual chooses to ignore it rather than respond to it.
  C. The fear is justified, but the individual responds in a manner that is disproportionally extreme.
  D. The fear is rational, but the individual is disturbed enough by it to seek therapy.
10. According to social identity theory, some forms of prejudice develop or are reinforced when members of a particular group seek to:
  A. control access to the group through a series of initiation rites or activities.
  B. advance the reputation of their group by refuting any criticism from outsiders.
  C. enhance their own self-esteem by viewing their group as superior to any other.
  D. imitate group leaders and adopt their values to the greatest extent possible.

 
Answer Key

1:B, 2:A, 3:C, 4:A, 5:D, 6:B, 7:D, 8:D, 9:A, 10:C

 

Web-Site Last Updated 4-14-2005
  This practice quiz is a product of the Illinois Certification Testing System