, 📚 TABLE OF CONTENTS
PSY 101 SDSU — LAUMAKIS EXAMINATION TEST 2026
Chapter Topic
1 Foundations of Psychology & Research Methods
2 Biological Bases of Behavior
3 Sensation & Perception
4 Consciousness, Sleep & Altered States
5 Learning & Conditioning
6 Memory, Cognition & Intelligence
7 Human Development Across the Lifespan
8 Motivation, Emotion & Personality
9 Psychological Disorders & Treatment
10 Social Psychology
Total: 10 Chapters | 200 Questions
,CHAPTER 1 — FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY & RESEARCH METHODS
Question 1
Review of psychology’s early history identifies a school that attempted to analyze conscious experience into basic
sensations, feelings, and mental elements through introspection. Which school is described?
A. Functionalism
B. Behaviorism
C. Structuralism
D. Humanism
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Structuralism attempted to identify the fundamental elements that make up conscious experience.
Edward Titchener developed this approach from ideas associated with Wilhelm Wundt and relied heavily on
systematic introspection. Functionalism instead focused on the purposes served by mental activity and
behavior.
💡 Key Concept: Structuralism = elements of consciousness.
🎯 Exam Strategy: “Introspection + basic elements” strongly indicates structuralism.
Question 2
William James emphasized how consciousness and behavior help individuals adapt successfully to their
environments. Which psychological school best represents this position?
A. Functionalism
B. Structuralism
C. Psychoanalysis
D. Gestalt psychology
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Functionalism focuses on the adaptive purposes of thoughts, emotions, and behavior. James argued
that mental processes should be understood in terms of what they accomplish rather than being separated into
elementary components. This approach was strongly influenced by evolutionary ideas.
💡 Key Concept: Functionalism asks what mental processes do and why they are useful.
🎯 Exam Strategy: James + adaptation + purpose = functionalism.
Question 3
Examination of the nature–nurture debate reveals a position proposing that important capacities or structures are
present at birth rather than acquired entirely through experience. Which term describes this position?
A. Empiricism
B. Behaviorism
C. Functionalism
D. Nativism
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Nativism emphasizes biologically inherited or inborn capacities and therefore aligns more closely
with the “nature” side of the debate. Empiricism gives greater emphasis to learning and experience.
Contemporary psychology generally examines interactions between inherited and environmental influences.
💡 Key Concept: Nativism = innate/inborn influences.
🎯 Exam Strategy: “Present at birth” should immediately suggest nativism.
,Question 4
John Locke’s idea that the human mind begins as a tabula rasa, or blank slate, most strongly supports which
philosophical position?
A. Nativism
B. Empiricism
C. Structuralism
D. Evolutionary psychology
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Empiricism proposes that knowledge develops primarily through sensory experience and
environmental interaction. Locke’s blank-slate concept became a classic expression of this position. Nativism,
by contrast, assigns greater importance to inherited mental structures.
💡 Key Concept: Empiricism = knowledge through experience.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Blank slate → empiricism.
Question 5 — 📊 PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY
Perspective Major Focus
Biological Brain, genes, hormones, nervous system
Behavioral Learning and observable behavior
Cognitive Memory, thought, perception, reasoning
Psychodynamic Unconscious processes and conflicts
Sociocultural Social and cultural influences
Memory problems appear after damage to the hippocampus. Which psychological perspective would most directly
investigate this relationship?
A. Behavioral
B. Sociocultural
C. Biological
D. Humanistic
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The biological perspective examines relationships between behavior and physiological systems,
including brain structures and neural processes. Because the hippocampus plays an important role in memory
formation, neurological damage is most directly studied from a biological perspective.
💡 Key Concept: Brain + behavior = biological perspective.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Brain region, neurotransmitter, hormone, or gene usually points to biological psychology.
Question 6
Following a painful dog bite, a previously fearless child becomes anxious whenever dogs approach. Which perspective
most directly emphasizes how this response could have been learned?
A. Behavioral
B. Psychodynamic
,C. Biological
D. Humanistic
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Behavioral psychology focuses on how environmental experiences shape observable responses.
The bite may create an association between dogs and fear through classical conditioning. The explanation
emphasizes learning rather than unconscious conflict or biological structure.
💡 Key Concept: Behavioral psychology emphasizes conditioning and environmental learning.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Learned response after a specific experience → consider conditioning.
Question 7
Investigation of how expectations, memories, beliefs, and interpretations influence decision-making primarily reflects
which perspective?
A. Behavioral
B. Biological
C. Psychodynamic
D. Cognitive
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Cognitive psychology examines internal information-processing activities such as attention, memory,
reasoning, judgment, and language. It asks how people encode, interpret, store, and use information.
Observable behavior remains important but is explained partly through mental processes.
💡 Key Concept: Cognitive = thinking and information processing.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Memory + interpretation + reasoning = cognitive perspective.
Question 8
Persistent anxiety is explained as arising partly from unresolved unconscious conflicts and early childhood
experiences. Which perspective is most consistent with this interpretation?
A. Cognitive
B. Psychodynamic
C. Behavioral
D. Sociocultural
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Psychodynamic theories emphasize unconscious processes, internal conflicts, and the lasting
influence of early experiences. This tradition originated with Freud, although contemporary psychodynamic
approaches have developed beyond classical psychoanalysis.
💡 Key Concept: Unconscious conflict = psychodynamic.
🎯 Exam Strategy: When unconscious motives dominate the explanation, select psychodynamic.
Question 9
Comparison of behavior across communities shows substantial differences related to cultural expectations, family
roles, social norms, and group traditions. Which perspective is most appropriate for explaining these differences?
A. Biological
B. Behavioral
C. Sociocultural
D. Structuralist
,Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The sociocultural perspective examines how culture, social groups, relationships, norms, and
community expectations shape behavior. It is particularly valuable when psychological patterns vary across
social or cultural environments.
💡 Key Concept: Culture and social context can influence behavior and cognition.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Cultural expectations or social norms → sociocultural perspective.
Question 10
Which statement most accurately reflects the biopsychosocial approach to psychological behavior?
A. Biological, psychological, and social factors may interact to influence the same outcome.
B. Every behavior ultimately has one biological cause.
C. Environmental explanations should exclude biological variables.
D. Social factors matter only when biological causes are absent.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The biopsychosocial model integrates multiple levels of explanation rather than searching for one
exclusive cause. Genetic vulnerability, cognition, learning history, relationships, stress, and cultural context can
all contribute to the same psychological outcome.
💡 Key Concept: Biopsychosocial = integrated explanation.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Multiple interacting influences → biopsychosocial.
Question 11 — 🔗 GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Observe behavior
|
v
DESCRIBE
|
v
EXPLAIN
|
v
PREDICT
|
v
INFLUENCE / CHANGE
Researchers discover that sleep deprivation is consistently associated with poorer attention. Using this relationship to
estimate how attention will change following future sleep loss represents which goal?
A. Description
B. Explanation
C. Influence
D. Prediction
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Prediction involves using known relationships to anticipate future behavior or psychological
outcomes. Description identifies what happens, explanation addresses why it happens, and influence involves
attempting to alter behavior or conditions.
💡 Key Concept: Prediction asks “What is likely to happen?”
🎯 Exam Strategy: Future expectation based on existing findings = prediction.
,Question 12
Researchers encounter one individual with an extremely rare form of neurological impairment and want an intensive
record of symptoms, history, behavior, and test performance. Which research method is most appropriate?
A. Experiment
B. Case study
C. Random sampling
D. Correlational survey
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Case studies provide detailed investigation of a single person, group, or unusual event. They are
especially valuable when a condition is rare and cannot easily be studied using large samples. However,
findings from one case may have limited generalizability.
💡 Key Concept: Case study = depth rather than breadth.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Rare individual + intensive investigation = case study.
Question 13
Researchers quietly record how frequently students check their phones while studying in the library, without
manipulating the environment. Which research method is being used?
A. Survey research
B. Laboratory experiment
C. Naturalistic observation
D. Case study
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Naturalistic observation involves observing behavior in its usual environment without deliberately
manipulating variables. It can provide realistic information about naturally occurring behavior but cannot by itself
establish causal relationships.
💡 Key Concept: Naturalistic observation = observe without manipulation.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Real-world setting + no intervention → naturalistic observation.
Question 14
Results show a correlation of r = -0.72 between weekly exercise and reported stress levels. Which
interpretation is most appropriate?
A. Greater exercise is strongly associated with lower reported stress.
B. Exercise definitely causes stress to decrease.
C. Exercise and stress are unrelated.
D. Higher exercise is associated with higher stress.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A correlation of −0.72 represents a relatively strong negative relationship. As exercise increases,
stress tends to decrease. However, correlation does not establish causation because third variables and
reverse-direction explanations remain possible.
💡 Key Concept: Negative correlation = variables change in opposite directions.
🎯 Exam Strategy: The sign gives direction; magnitude gives strength.
,Question 15 — 📈 CORRELATION SKETCH
Variable Y
^
| * *
| * *
| *
| * *
| *
+--------------------> Variable X
Which relationship is best represented by the sketch?
A. Strong positive correlation
B. Zero correlation
C. Negative correlation
D. Experimental causation
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The general downward pattern indicates that higher values of one variable tend to occur with lower
values of the other. This represents a negative correlation. A scatterplot cannot independently demonstrate
causal direction.
💡 Key Concept: Downward left-to-right trend = negative correlation.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Never interpret correlation alone as proof of causation.
Question 16
Participants are assigned to consume either 0 mg, 100 mg, or 200 mg of caffeine before completing a reaction-time
task. Which variable is the independent variable?
A. Reaction time
B. Caffeine dosage
C. Participant age
D. Number of errors
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The independent variable is the factor deliberately manipulated by the researcher. Here, participants
receive different amounts of caffeine. Reaction time is measured afterward and therefore serves as the
dependent variable.
💡 Key Concept: Independent variable = manipulated factor.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Ask, “What did the researcher deliberately change?”
Question 17
In the caffeine experiment, the measured reaction time represents which type of variable?
A. Confounding variable
B. Independent variable
C. Dependent variable
D. Control variable
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The dependent variable is the outcome researchers measure to determine whether the independent
variable had an effect. Caffeine dosage is manipulated, while reaction time is recorded as the response.
💡 Key Concept: Dependent variable = measured outcome.
🎯 Exam Strategy: The dependent variable “depends on” the experimental manipulation.
,Question 18
Why does random assignment strengthen a controlled experiment?
A. It helps distribute participant characteristics across experimental conditions.
B. It guarantees that participants represent the entire population.
C. It removes every possible source of experimental error.
D. It prevents researchers from using control groups.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Random assignment reduces systematic preexisting differences between experimental groups by
giving participants an equivalent chance of entering each condition. This improves internal validity and
strengthens causal interpretation.
💡 Key Concept: Random assignment supports group equivalence.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Do not confuse random assignment with random sampling.
Question 19
Repeated administration of an intelligence test under similar conditions produces nearly identical scores for the same
individuals. Which property is most clearly demonstrated?
A. External validity
B. Experimental control
C. Construct validity
D. Reliability
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Reliability refers to consistency and stability of measurement. A reliable test produces similar results
when the measured characteristic has not changed. Reliability alone does not prove that the instrument
measures the intended construct.
💡 Key Concept: Reliability = consistency.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Repeated similar scores → reliability.
Question 20
A psychological scale repeatedly produces stable scores but actually measures general stress rather than the
depression it claims to measure. Which conclusion is most accurate?
A. The scale is valid but unreliable.
B. The scale may be reliable but lacks adequate validity.
C. Reliability automatically establishes validity.
D. The scale demonstrates experimental control.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Stable scores indicate reliability, but validity concerns whether a measure accurately assesses the
intended construct. An instrument can therefore be consistent while measuring the wrong psychological
characteristic.
💡 Key Concept: Reliability ≠ validity.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Reliable = consistent; valid = measures what it should.
,CHAPTER 2 — BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR
Question 21
Review of nervous-system communication shows a specialized cell that receives, processes, and transmits
information through electrical and chemical signals. Which cell is described?
A. Glial cell
B. Neuron
C. Hormone
D. Receptor organ
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Neurons are the primary information-processing cells of the nervous system. They receive input
through dendrites, integrate information within the cell body, and transmit signals along the axon. Glial cells
support neurons but do not serve the same primary signaling function.
💡 Key Concept: Neurons are the basic communication units of the nervous system.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Receiving + processing + transmitting neural information = neuron.
Question 22
Damage prevents incoming signals from reaching a neuron efficiently. Which part of the neuron is most directly
involved in receiving signals from other cells?
A. Axon terminal
B. Myelin sheath
C. Cell body only
D. Dendrites
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Dendrites are branching extensions that receive chemical and electrical input from other neurons.
They carry this information toward the cell body, where signals are integrated. Axons primarily carry information
away from the soma.
💡 Key Concept: Dendrites receive; axons send.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Think: Dendrites detect incoming information.
Question 23
Electrical activity travels from the cell body toward distant target cells through which neuronal structure?
A. Axon
B. Dendrite
C. Synaptic cleft
D. Receptor site
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The axon conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body toward axon terminals. These
terminals can then release neurotransmitters into the synaptic space. Dendrites generally receive rather than
carry outgoing signals.
💡 Key Concept: Axon = outgoing neural pathway.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Signal moving away from soma → axon.
PSY 101 SDSU — LAUMAKIS EXAMINATION TEST 2026
Chapter Topic
1 Foundations of Psychology & Research Methods
2 Biological Bases of Behavior
3 Sensation & Perception
4 Consciousness, Sleep & Altered States
5 Learning & Conditioning
6 Memory, Cognition & Intelligence
7 Human Development Across the Lifespan
8 Motivation, Emotion & Personality
9 Psychological Disorders & Treatment
10 Social Psychology
Total: 10 Chapters | 200 Questions
,CHAPTER 1 — FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY & RESEARCH METHODS
Question 1
Review of psychology’s early history identifies a school that attempted to analyze conscious experience into basic
sensations, feelings, and mental elements through introspection. Which school is described?
A. Functionalism
B. Behaviorism
C. Structuralism
D. Humanism
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Structuralism attempted to identify the fundamental elements that make up conscious experience.
Edward Titchener developed this approach from ideas associated with Wilhelm Wundt and relied heavily on
systematic introspection. Functionalism instead focused on the purposes served by mental activity and
behavior.
💡 Key Concept: Structuralism = elements of consciousness.
🎯 Exam Strategy: “Introspection + basic elements” strongly indicates structuralism.
Question 2
William James emphasized how consciousness and behavior help individuals adapt successfully to their
environments. Which psychological school best represents this position?
A. Functionalism
B. Structuralism
C. Psychoanalysis
D. Gestalt psychology
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Functionalism focuses on the adaptive purposes of thoughts, emotions, and behavior. James argued
that mental processes should be understood in terms of what they accomplish rather than being separated into
elementary components. This approach was strongly influenced by evolutionary ideas.
💡 Key Concept: Functionalism asks what mental processes do and why they are useful.
🎯 Exam Strategy: James + adaptation + purpose = functionalism.
Question 3
Examination of the nature–nurture debate reveals a position proposing that important capacities or structures are
present at birth rather than acquired entirely through experience. Which term describes this position?
A. Empiricism
B. Behaviorism
C. Functionalism
D. Nativism
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Nativism emphasizes biologically inherited or inborn capacities and therefore aligns more closely
with the “nature” side of the debate. Empiricism gives greater emphasis to learning and experience.
Contemporary psychology generally examines interactions between inherited and environmental influences.
💡 Key Concept: Nativism = innate/inborn influences.
🎯 Exam Strategy: “Present at birth” should immediately suggest nativism.
,Question 4
John Locke’s idea that the human mind begins as a tabula rasa, or blank slate, most strongly supports which
philosophical position?
A. Nativism
B. Empiricism
C. Structuralism
D. Evolutionary psychology
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Empiricism proposes that knowledge develops primarily through sensory experience and
environmental interaction. Locke’s blank-slate concept became a classic expression of this position. Nativism,
by contrast, assigns greater importance to inherited mental structures.
💡 Key Concept: Empiricism = knowledge through experience.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Blank slate → empiricism.
Question 5 — 📊 PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY
Perspective Major Focus
Biological Brain, genes, hormones, nervous system
Behavioral Learning and observable behavior
Cognitive Memory, thought, perception, reasoning
Psychodynamic Unconscious processes and conflicts
Sociocultural Social and cultural influences
Memory problems appear after damage to the hippocampus. Which psychological perspective would most directly
investigate this relationship?
A. Behavioral
B. Sociocultural
C. Biological
D. Humanistic
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The biological perspective examines relationships between behavior and physiological systems,
including brain structures and neural processes. Because the hippocampus plays an important role in memory
formation, neurological damage is most directly studied from a biological perspective.
💡 Key Concept: Brain + behavior = biological perspective.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Brain region, neurotransmitter, hormone, or gene usually points to biological psychology.
Question 6
Following a painful dog bite, a previously fearless child becomes anxious whenever dogs approach. Which perspective
most directly emphasizes how this response could have been learned?
A. Behavioral
B. Psychodynamic
,C. Biological
D. Humanistic
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Behavioral psychology focuses on how environmental experiences shape observable responses.
The bite may create an association between dogs and fear through classical conditioning. The explanation
emphasizes learning rather than unconscious conflict or biological structure.
💡 Key Concept: Behavioral psychology emphasizes conditioning and environmental learning.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Learned response after a specific experience → consider conditioning.
Question 7
Investigation of how expectations, memories, beliefs, and interpretations influence decision-making primarily reflects
which perspective?
A. Behavioral
B. Biological
C. Psychodynamic
D. Cognitive
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Cognitive psychology examines internal information-processing activities such as attention, memory,
reasoning, judgment, and language. It asks how people encode, interpret, store, and use information.
Observable behavior remains important but is explained partly through mental processes.
💡 Key Concept: Cognitive = thinking and information processing.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Memory + interpretation + reasoning = cognitive perspective.
Question 8
Persistent anxiety is explained as arising partly from unresolved unconscious conflicts and early childhood
experiences. Which perspective is most consistent with this interpretation?
A. Cognitive
B. Psychodynamic
C. Behavioral
D. Sociocultural
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Psychodynamic theories emphasize unconscious processes, internal conflicts, and the lasting
influence of early experiences. This tradition originated with Freud, although contemporary psychodynamic
approaches have developed beyond classical psychoanalysis.
💡 Key Concept: Unconscious conflict = psychodynamic.
🎯 Exam Strategy: When unconscious motives dominate the explanation, select psychodynamic.
Question 9
Comparison of behavior across communities shows substantial differences related to cultural expectations, family
roles, social norms, and group traditions. Which perspective is most appropriate for explaining these differences?
A. Biological
B. Behavioral
C. Sociocultural
D. Structuralist
,Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The sociocultural perspective examines how culture, social groups, relationships, norms, and
community expectations shape behavior. It is particularly valuable when psychological patterns vary across
social or cultural environments.
💡 Key Concept: Culture and social context can influence behavior and cognition.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Cultural expectations or social norms → sociocultural perspective.
Question 10
Which statement most accurately reflects the biopsychosocial approach to psychological behavior?
A. Biological, psychological, and social factors may interact to influence the same outcome.
B. Every behavior ultimately has one biological cause.
C. Environmental explanations should exclude biological variables.
D. Social factors matter only when biological causes are absent.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The biopsychosocial model integrates multiple levels of explanation rather than searching for one
exclusive cause. Genetic vulnerability, cognition, learning history, relationships, stress, and cultural context can
all contribute to the same psychological outcome.
💡 Key Concept: Biopsychosocial = integrated explanation.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Multiple interacting influences → biopsychosocial.
Question 11 — 🔗 GOALS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Observe behavior
|
v
DESCRIBE
|
v
EXPLAIN
|
v
PREDICT
|
v
INFLUENCE / CHANGE
Researchers discover that sleep deprivation is consistently associated with poorer attention. Using this relationship to
estimate how attention will change following future sleep loss represents which goal?
A. Description
B. Explanation
C. Influence
D. Prediction
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Prediction involves using known relationships to anticipate future behavior or psychological
outcomes. Description identifies what happens, explanation addresses why it happens, and influence involves
attempting to alter behavior or conditions.
💡 Key Concept: Prediction asks “What is likely to happen?”
🎯 Exam Strategy: Future expectation based on existing findings = prediction.
,Question 12
Researchers encounter one individual with an extremely rare form of neurological impairment and want an intensive
record of symptoms, history, behavior, and test performance. Which research method is most appropriate?
A. Experiment
B. Case study
C. Random sampling
D. Correlational survey
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Case studies provide detailed investigation of a single person, group, or unusual event. They are
especially valuable when a condition is rare and cannot easily be studied using large samples. However,
findings from one case may have limited generalizability.
💡 Key Concept: Case study = depth rather than breadth.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Rare individual + intensive investigation = case study.
Question 13
Researchers quietly record how frequently students check their phones while studying in the library, without
manipulating the environment. Which research method is being used?
A. Survey research
B. Laboratory experiment
C. Naturalistic observation
D. Case study
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Naturalistic observation involves observing behavior in its usual environment without deliberately
manipulating variables. It can provide realistic information about naturally occurring behavior but cannot by itself
establish causal relationships.
💡 Key Concept: Naturalistic observation = observe without manipulation.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Real-world setting + no intervention → naturalistic observation.
Question 14
Results show a correlation of r = -0.72 between weekly exercise and reported stress levels. Which
interpretation is most appropriate?
A. Greater exercise is strongly associated with lower reported stress.
B. Exercise definitely causes stress to decrease.
C. Exercise and stress are unrelated.
D. Higher exercise is associated with higher stress.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A correlation of −0.72 represents a relatively strong negative relationship. As exercise increases,
stress tends to decrease. However, correlation does not establish causation because third variables and
reverse-direction explanations remain possible.
💡 Key Concept: Negative correlation = variables change in opposite directions.
🎯 Exam Strategy: The sign gives direction; magnitude gives strength.
,Question 15 — 📈 CORRELATION SKETCH
Variable Y
^
| * *
| * *
| *
| * *
| *
+--------------------> Variable X
Which relationship is best represented by the sketch?
A. Strong positive correlation
B. Zero correlation
C. Negative correlation
D. Experimental causation
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The general downward pattern indicates that higher values of one variable tend to occur with lower
values of the other. This represents a negative correlation. A scatterplot cannot independently demonstrate
causal direction.
💡 Key Concept: Downward left-to-right trend = negative correlation.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Never interpret correlation alone as proof of causation.
Question 16
Participants are assigned to consume either 0 mg, 100 mg, or 200 mg of caffeine before completing a reaction-time
task. Which variable is the independent variable?
A. Reaction time
B. Caffeine dosage
C. Participant age
D. Number of errors
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The independent variable is the factor deliberately manipulated by the researcher. Here, participants
receive different amounts of caffeine. Reaction time is measured afterward and therefore serves as the
dependent variable.
💡 Key Concept: Independent variable = manipulated factor.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Ask, “What did the researcher deliberately change?”
Question 17
In the caffeine experiment, the measured reaction time represents which type of variable?
A. Confounding variable
B. Independent variable
C. Dependent variable
D. Control variable
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The dependent variable is the outcome researchers measure to determine whether the independent
variable had an effect. Caffeine dosage is manipulated, while reaction time is recorded as the response.
💡 Key Concept: Dependent variable = measured outcome.
🎯 Exam Strategy: The dependent variable “depends on” the experimental manipulation.
,Question 18
Why does random assignment strengthen a controlled experiment?
A. It helps distribute participant characteristics across experimental conditions.
B. It guarantees that participants represent the entire population.
C. It removes every possible source of experimental error.
D. It prevents researchers from using control groups.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Random assignment reduces systematic preexisting differences between experimental groups by
giving participants an equivalent chance of entering each condition. This improves internal validity and
strengthens causal interpretation.
💡 Key Concept: Random assignment supports group equivalence.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Do not confuse random assignment with random sampling.
Question 19
Repeated administration of an intelligence test under similar conditions produces nearly identical scores for the same
individuals. Which property is most clearly demonstrated?
A. External validity
B. Experimental control
C. Construct validity
D. Reliability
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Reliability refers to consistency and stability of measurement. A reliable test produces similar results
when the measured characteristic has not changed. Reliability alone does not prove that the instrument
measures the intended construct.
💡 Key Concept: Reliability = consistency.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Repeated similar scores → reliability.
Question 20
A psychological scale repeatedly produces stable scores but actually measures general stress rather than the
depression it claims to measure. Which conclusion is most accurate?
A. The scale is valid but unreliable.
B. The scale may be reliable but lacks adequate validity.
C. Reliability automatically establishes validity.
D. The scale demonstrates experimental control.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Stable scores indicate reliability, but validity concerns whether a measure accurately assesses the
intended construct. An instrument can therefore be consistent while measuring the wrong psychological
characteristic.
💡 Key Concept: Reliability ≠ validity.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Reliable = consistent; valid = measures what it should.
,CHAPTER 2 — BIOLOGICAL BASES OF BEHAVIOR
Question 21
Review of nervous-system communication shows a specialized cell that receives, processes, and transmits
information through electrical and chemical signals. Which cell is described?
A. Glial cell
B. Neuron
C. Hormone
D. Receptor organ
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Neurons are the primary information-processing cells of the nervous system. They receive input
through dendrites, integrate information within the cell body, and transmit signals along the axon. Glial cells
support neurons but do not serve the same primary signaling function.
💡 Key Concept: Neurons are the basic communication units of the nervous system.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Receiving + processing + transmitting neural information = neuron.
Question 22
Damage prevents incoming signals from reaching a neuron efficiently. Which part of the neuron is most directly
involved in receiving signals from other cells?
A. Axon terminal
B. Myelin sheath
C. Cell body only
D. Dendrites
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Dendrites are branching extensions that receive chemical and electrical input from other neurons.
They carry this information toward the cell body, where signals are integrated. Axons primarily carry information
away from the soma.
💡 Key Concept: Dendrites receive; axons send.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Think: Dendrites detect incoming information.
Question 23
Electrical activity travels from the cell body toward distant target cells through which neuronal structure?
A. Axon
B. Dendrite
C. Synaptic cleft
D. Receptor site
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The axon conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body toward axon terminals. These
terminals can then release neurotransmitters into the synaptic space. Dendrites generally receive rather than
carry outgoing signals.
💡 Key Concept: Axon = outgoing neural pathway.
🎯 Exam Strategy: Signal moving away from soma → axon.
