GRE PSYCHOLOGY
SUBJECT TEST GUIDE
QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
GRADED A+ 2025-2026
Ablation - ANS-A surgically induced brain lesion.
Absolute refractory period - ANS-The period that follows the onset of an action
potential. During this period, a nerve impulse cannot be initiated
Absolute threshold - ANS-The minimum of stimulus energy needed to activate a
sensory system.
Accommodation - ANS-A principle of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. It
occurs when cognitive structures are modified because new information or new
experiences do not fit into existing cognitive structures.
Acetylcholine - ANS-A neurotransmitter found in both central and peripheral nervous
systems linked to Alzheimer's disease and used to transmit nerve impulses to the
muscles, respectively.
Acrophobia - ANS-A specific phobia that is an irrational fear of heights.
ACT model (Adaptive Control of Thought) - ANS-A model that describes memory in
terms of procedural and declarative memory.
,Actor-observer effect - ANS-The tendency of actors to see observer behavior as due to
external factors (situational factors) and the tendency of observers to attribute actors'
behaviors to internal characteristics (dispositional characteristics).
Adrenaline - ANS-A hormone that increases energy available for "fight or flight"
reactions (also known as epinephrine).
Afterimages - ANS-A visual sensation that appears after prolonged or intense exposure
to a stimulus.
Agnosia - ANS-Impairments in perceptual recognition.
Agoraphobia - ANS-An irrational fear of being in places or situations where escape
might be difficult.
All-or-none law - ANS-A law about nerve impulses stating that when depolarization
reaches the critical threshold (-50 millivolts) the neuron is going to fire, each time,
every time.
Alternate-form method - ANS-In psychometrics, it is the method of using two or more
different forms of a test to determine the reliability of a particular test.
Altruism - ANS-A form of helping behavior where the person's intent is to benefit
someone else at some cost to him- or herself.
Amnesia - ANS-A dissociative disorder where individuals are unable to recall past
experience, but this inability is not due to a neurological disorder.
Analogy of inoculation - ANS-McGuire's analogy that people can be psychologically
inoculated against the "attack" of persuasive communications by first exposing them to
a weakened attack.
,Analyses of Variance (anovas) - ANS-A statistical method to compare the means of
more than two groups by comparing the between-group variance to the within-group
variance.
Anchoring - ANS-A cognitive term (a heuristic) that refers to the tendency of people to
make decisions based on reference points, or standards used to make judgements.
Anima (animus) - ANS-An archetype from Jung's theory referring to the feminine
behaviors in males, and the masculine behaviors in females.
Anorexia nervosa - ANS-An eating disorder characterized by a refusal to maintain a
minimal normal body weight.
Anterograde amnesia - ANS-Memory loss for new information following brain injury.
Anti-social personality disorder - ANS-A personality disorder characterized by a
pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others.
Aphagia. - ANS-An impairment in the ability to eat.
Aphasias - ANS-Language disorders, which are associated with Broca's and Wernicke's
areas in the brain.
Apparent motion - ANS-An illusion that occurs when two dots flashed in different
locations on a screen seconds apart are perceived as one moving dot.
Apraxia - ANS-An impairment in the organization of voluntary action.
Archetypes - ANS-The building blocks for the collective unconscious referred to in
Jung's theory of personality.
, Assimilation - ANS-A principle of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. It is the
process of understanding new information in relation to prior knowledge, or existing
schemata.
Association area - ANS-Areas in the brain that integrate information from different
cortical regions
Atkinson-Shiffin model - ANS-A model of memory that involves three memory
structures (sensory, short-term and long-term), and the processes that operate these
memory structures.
Attachment bond - ANS-Evidence of a preference for the primary caregiver and a
wariness of strangers.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/HD) - ANS-A disorder characterized by
developmentally atypical inattention and/or impulsivity-hyperactivity.
Attribution theory - ANS-Fritz Heider's theory that people tend to infer the causes of
other people's behavior as either dispositional (related to the individual) or situational
(related to the environment).
Authoritarian parenting style - ANS-A parenting style tending to use punitive control
methods and lacking emotional warmth.
Authoritative parenting style - ANS-A parenting style tending to have reasonably high
demands for child compliance coupled with emotional warmth.
Autism - ANS-A disorder whose essential features are lack of responsiveness to other
people, gross impairment in communication skills, and behaviors and interests that are
repetitive, inflexibly routined and stereotyped.
Autokinetic effect - ANS-An illusion that occurs when a spot of light appears to move
erratically in a dark room, simply because there is no frame of reference.
SUBJECT TEST GUIDE
QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS
GRADED A+ 2025-2026
Ablation - ANS-A surgically induced brain lesion.
Absolute refractory period - ANS-The period that follows the onset of an action
potential. During this period, a nerve impulse cannot be initiated
Absolute threshold - ANS-The minimum of stimulus energy needed to activate a
sensory system.
Accommodation - ANS-A principle of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. It
occurs when cognitive structures are modified because new information or new
experiences do not fit into existing cognitive structures.
Acetylcholine - ANS-A neurotransmitter found in both central and peripheral nervous
systems linked to Alzheimer's disease and used to transmit nerve impulses to the
muscles, respectively.
Acrophobia - ANS-A specific phobia that is an irrational fear of heights.
ACT model (Adaptive Control of Thought) - ANS-A model that describes memory in
terms of procedural and declarative memory.
,Actor-observer effect - ANS-The tendency of actors to see observer behavior as due to
external factors (situational factors) and the tendency of observers to attribute actors'
behaviors to internal characteristics (dispositional characteristics).
Adrenaline - ANS-A hormone that increases energy available for "fight or flight"
reactions (also known as epinephrine).
Afterimages - ANS-A visual sensation that appears after prolonged or intense exposure
to a stimulus.
Agnosia - ANS-Impairments in perceptual recognition.
Agoraphobia - ANS-An irrational fear of being in places or situations where escape
might be difficult.
All-or-none law - ANS-A law about nerve impulses stating that when depolarization
reaches the critical threshold (-50 millivolts) the neuron is going to fire, each time,
every time.
Alternate-form method - ANS-In psychometrics, it is the method of using two or more
different forms of a test to determine the reliability of a particular test.
Altruism - ANS-A form of helping behavior where the person's intent is to benefit
someone else at some cost to him- or herself.
Amnesia - ANS-A dissociative disorder where individuals are unable to recall past
experience, but this inability is not due to a neurological disorder.
Analogy of inoculation - ANS-McGuire's analogy that people can be psychologically
inoculated against the "attack" of persuasive communications by first exposing them to
a weakened attack.
,Analyses of Variance (anovas) - ANS-A statistical method to compare the means of
more than two groups by comparing the between-group variance to the within-group
variance.
Anchoring - ANS-A cognitive term (a heuristic) that refers to the tendency of people to
make decisions based on reference points, or standards used to make judgements.
Anima (animus) - ANS-An archetype from Jung's theory referring to the feminine
behaviors in males, and the masculine behaviors in females.
Anorexia nervosa - ANS-An eating disorder characterized by a refusal to maintain a
minimal normal body weight.
Anterograde amnesia - ANS-Memory loss for new information following brain injury.
Anti-social personality disorder - ANS-A personality disorder characterized by a
pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others.
Aphagia. - ANS-An impairment in the ability to eat.
Aphasias - ANS-Language disorders, which are associated with Broca's and Wernicke's
areas in the brain.
Apparent motion - ANS-An illusion that occurs when two dots flashed in different
locations on a screen seconds apart are perceived as one moving dot.
Apraxia - ANS-An impairment in the organization of voluntary action.
Archetypes - ANS-The building blocks for the collective unconscious referred to in
Jung's theory of personality.
, Assimilation - ANS-A principle of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. It is the
process of understanding new information in relation to prior knowledge, or existing
schemata.
Association area - ANS-Areas in the brain that integrate information from different
cortical regions
Atkinson-Shiffin model - ANS-A model of memory that involves three memory
structures (sensory, short-term and long-term), and the processes that operate these
memory structures.
Attachment bond - ANS-Evidence of a preference for the primary caregiver and a
wariness of strangers.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/HD) - ANS-A disorder characterized by
developmentally atypical inattention and/or impulsivity-hyperactivity.
Attribution theory - ANS-Fritz Heider's theory that people tend to infer the causes of
other people's behavior as either dispositional (related to the individual) or situational
(related to the environment).
Authoritarian parenting style - ANS-A parenting style tending to use punitive control
methods and lacking emotional warmth.
Authoritative parenting style - ANS-A parenting style tending to have reasonably high
demands for child compliance coupled with emotional warmth.
Autism - ANS-A disorder whose essential features are lack of responsiveness to other
people, gross impairment in communication skills, and behaviors and interests that are
repetitive, inflexibly routined and stereotyped.
Autokinetic effect - ANS-An illusion that occurs when a spot of light appears to move
erratically in a dark room, simply because there is no frame of reference.
