TABLE OF CONTENTS
Past exam Questions
1 STRESS 8
2 MOTIVATION 4
3 INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS 4
4 GROUP FUNCTION 8
6 THE SELF 7
7 SOCIETAL ISSUES 7
8 PSYCHOLOGY OF WORK 4
9 SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY 3
10 PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAMME 5
Page 1 of 34
, 1 STRESS (8 marks)
Q: South Africa experienced xenophobic attacks and this led to some people fleeing the country.
This is an example of a _______________ stressor
1 community
2 universal
3 micro
4 personal
Q: A certain degree of stress is normal in our lives. Response specificity refers to
1 the general way in which people react to stress
2 learned behaviours of individuals that live in adverse conditions for a prolonged period
3 unique way individuals respond to stress that adversely affects their health
4 increased levels of arousal experienced in the presence of specific stimuli
Q: During which phase of the General Adaption Syndrome (GAS) of the stress process does a
person come physically ill due to prolonged exposure to the stressor?
1 Reaction phase
2 Resistance Phase
3 Exhaustion Phase
4 Alarm and mobilisation phase
Q: Two people who perform the same job may experience stress differently. One person thinks that
work is stressful while the other does not. How can this be explained?
1 people use different coping strategies
2 one person may view work as a personal event and other see it as a micro event
3 personality plays a role in whether or not someone see work as threatening or challenging
4 all of the above
Q:Which of the following options about burnout is incorrect?
1 Burnout arises from prolonged exposure to stress
2 The development of burnout is rapid and easy to identify
3 burnout is also associated with decreased levels of performance
4 Burnout leads to feelings of alienation and emptiness
Q:The Contextual Stress Model is based on four assumptions which one of the assumptions is
incorrect?
1 The process of perception is important in the contextualisation of events
2 communities share beliefs and meanings in terms of the interpretation of events
3 Events do not have universal meaning independent of the situation in which it occurs
4 There is a pattern in the way people react to stress, regardless of the nature of the
stressor
Q:Which of the following statements is correct about the relationship between stress and disease?
1 Stress directly causes disease
2 stress is the only cause fro psychosomatic disease
3 chronic and acute stress act as a catalyst for disease
4 there is no relationship between stress and disease
Q: The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) of the stress process refers to . . .
1. the appraisal of our ability to cope in a stressful situation
2. the common pattern in which people react to stress
3. the contextualisation of the stress process
4. the use of unconscious processes to deal with a stressful situation
Page 2 of 34
,Q: John read in the newspaper that the economic recession is hitting many countries and
companies are retrenching people. This scenario is an example of . . . stressor.
1. personal
2. micro
3. community
4. universal
Q: There are physiological changes that take place when people experience stress. The . . .
increases the degree of physical tension of the body, whereas the . . . decreases it.
1) sympathetic nervous system; parasympathetic nervous system
2) primary appraisal; secondary appraisal
3) parasympathetic stimulation; sympathetic stimulation
4) psychosomatic stimulation; psycho-physiological stimulation
Q: There are different models that explain the process of stress. To what does the General
Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) of stress refer?
1) The appraisal of our ability to cope in a stressful situation
2) The way the human body reacts to stressful situations
3) The contextualisation of the stress process
4) All of the above
Q: The economic recession has led to many people losing their jobs across the globe and has
created uncertainty around job security. Thami is relocating to a distant branch so that he can keep
his job and he does not want to leave his family behind. What kind of stressor is Thami
experiencing?
1) A micro stressor
2) A community stressor
3) A universal stressor
4) A personal stressor
Q: To what does the Yerkes-Dodson law refer?
1) Burnout arises from prolonged exposure to stress
2) As arousal increases, so does the performance up to a certain level
3) The amount of time it takes to learn a task increases over time
4) Attention is associated with decreased levels of performance
Q: Which of the following statements is incorrect about the General adaption Syndrom (GAS)
1 There is no pattern in how people react to stressors
2 We become aware of stressor during the alarm phase
3 GAS describes three phases of human reactions to stress
4 The first reaction we experience is shock and our ability to cope is lower than normal
Q: Hurricane Gloria’s catastrophic strike on hate has been show to impact on parts of Jamaica,
eastern cuba, and the Bahamas. This is one xample fo a __________ stressor
1 micro
2 chronic
3 personal
4 universal
Q: The term __________________ is the difference between our feelings of no emotional tension
and the feeling of emotional tension that we experience in a situation
1 physical tension
2 physical arousal
3 emotional tension
4 psychological arousal
Page 3 of 34
, Q: In relation to stress, what does the Yerkes-Dodson law refer to?
1 Burnout arises from prolonged exposure to stress
2 As arousal increase, so does performance up to a certain point
3 The amount of time it takes to elan increases over time
4 Attention is associated with decreased levels of performance
Q: Stress can be defined as
1 a psychological response to cognitive demands
2 the combination of cognitive and stressful factors
3 the feeling experience when people are content
4 the feeling experience when events are appraised as treating to our coping abilities
Q: During which phase of the GAS does a person experience shock and their ability to deal with
stress drops
1 primary appraisal phase
2 resistance phase
3 exhaustion phase
4 alarm and mobilisation phase
Q: Two students who write the same exam may experience stress differently. One student may
think that exams are stressful while the other does not. How can this be explained?
1 People use different coping strategies
2 One views as personal and one as micro even
3 Personality plays a role in where or not someone sees and event as threatening or challenging
4 All of the above
Q: According to Yerkes-Dodson explanation of the relationship between stress and performance,
which of the following statements is incorrect?
1 Performance increase as arousal increases
2 Increasing arousal beyond an optimal level increases performance further
3 Stress increases to a moderate level of arousal for optimal performance
4 Increasing levels of arousal overstimulate the person physically and psychologically
According to Jordaan (1998), the contextual stress model consists of . . . phases that explain the
process of stress.
1) two
2) three
3) four
4) five
Mr Williams read in the newspaper that the widespread FeesMustFall strike in South Africa has
created some doubts about the academic future of many students at universities. This is an
example
of a . . . stressor.
1) community
2) universal
3) micro
4) personal
Q: Stress affects people in different ways and may lead to burnout. Which of the following is
associated
with burnout?
1) Burnout may develop when people are subjected to too much stress over a long period of
time
2) Burnt-out people tend to feel emotionally drained and alienated from others
3) Feelings of inadequacy and having achieved nothing are common with burnout
4) All of the above
Page 4 of 34
Past exam Questions
1 STRESS 8
2 MOTIVATION 4
3 INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS 4
4 GROUP FUNCTION 8
6 THE SELF 7
7 SOCIETAL ISSUES 7
8 PSYCHOLOGY OF WORK 4
9 SCIENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY 3
10 PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAMME 5
Page 1 of 34
, 1 STRESS (8 marks)
Q: South Africa experienced xenophobic attacks and this led to some people fleeing the country.
This is an example of a _______________ stressor
1 community
2 universal
3 micro
4 personal
Q: A certain degree of stress is normal in our lives. Response specificity refers to
1 the general way in which people react to stress
2 learned behaviours of individuals that live in adverse conditions for a prolonged period
3 unique way individuals respond to stress that adversely affects their health
4 increased levels of arousal experienced in the presence of specific stimuli
Q: During which phase of the General Adaption Syndrome (GAS) of the stress process does a
person come physically ill due to prolonged exposure to the stressor?
1 Reaction phase
2 Resistance Phase
3 Exhaustion Phase
4 Alarm and mobilisation phase
Q: Two people who perform the same job may experience stress differently. One person thinks that
work is stressful while the other does not. How can this be explained?
1 people use different coping strategies
2 one person may view work as a personal event and other see it as a micro event
3 personality plays a role in whether or not someone see work as threatening or challenging
4 all of the above
Q:Which of the following options about burnout is incorrect?
1 Burnout arises from prolonged exposure to stress
2 The development of burnout is rapid and easy to identify
3 burnout is also associated with decreased levels of performance
4 Burnout leads to feelings of alienation and emptiness
Q:The Contextual Stress Model is based on four assumptions which one of the assumptions is
incorrect?
1 The process of perception is important in the contextualisation of events
2 communities share beliefs and meanings in terms of the interpretation of events
3 Events do not have universal meaning independent of the situation in which it occurs
4 There is a pattern in the way people react to stress, regardless of the nature of the
stressor
Q:Which of the following statements is correct about the relationship between stress and disease?
1 Stress directly causes disease
2 stress is the only cause fro psychosomatic disease
3 chronic and acute stress act as a catalyst for disease
4 there is no relationship between stress and disease
Q: The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) of the stress process refers to . . .
1. the appraisal of our ability to cope in a stressful situation
2. the common pattern in which people react to stress
3. the contextualisation of the stress process
4. the use of unconscious processes to deal with a stressful situation
Page 2 of 34
,Q: John read in the newspaper that the economic recession is hitting many countries and
companies are retrenching people. This scenario is an example of . . . stressor.
1. personal
2. micro
3. community
4. universal
Q: There are physiological changes that take place when people experience stress. The . . .
increases the degree of physical tension of the body, whereas the . . . decreases it.
1) sympathetic nervous system; parasympathetic nervous system
2) primary appraisal; secondary appraisal
3) parasympathetic stimulation; sympathetic stimulation
4) psychosomatic stimulation; psycho-physiological stimulation
Q: There are different models that explain the process of stress. To what does the General
Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) of stress refer?
1) The appraisal of our ability to cope in a stressful situation
2) The way the human body reacts to stressful situations
3) The contextualisation of the stress process
4) All of the above
Q: The economic recession has led to many people losing their jobs across the globe and has
created uncertainty around job security. Thami is relocating to a distant branch so that he can keep
his job and he does not want to leave his family behind. What kind of stressor is Thami
experiencing?
1) A micro stressor
2) A community stressor
3) A universal stressor
4) A personal stressor
Q: To what does the Yerkes-Dodson law refer?
1) Burnout arises from prolonged exposure to stress
2) As arousal increases, so does the performance up to a certain level
3) The amount of time it takes to learn a task increases over time
4) Attention is associated with decreased levels of performance
Q: Which of the following statements is incorrect about the General adaption Syndrom (GAS)
1 There is no pattern in how people react to stressors
2 We become aware of stressor during the alarm phase
3 GAS describes three phases of human reactions to stress
4 The first reaction we experience is shock and our ability to cope is lower than normal
Q: Hurricane Gloria’s catastrophic strike on hate has been show to impact on parts of Jamaica,
eastern cuba, and the Bahamas. This is one xample fo a __________ stressor
1 micro
2 chronic
3 personal
4 universal
Q: The term __________________ is the difference between our feelings of no emotional tension
and the feeling of emotional tension that we experience in a situation
1 physical tension
2 physical arousal
3 emotional tension
4 psychological arousal
Page 3 of 34
, Q: In relation to stress, what does the Yerkes-Dodson law refer to?
1 Burnout arises from prolonged exposure to stress
2 As arousal increase, so does performance up to a certain point
3 The amount of time it takes to elan increases over time
4 Attention is associated with decreased levels of performance
Q: Stress can be defined as
1 a psychological response to cognitive demands
2 the combination of cognitive and stressful factors
3 the feeling experience when people are content
4 the feeling experience when events are appraised as treating to our coping abilities
Q: During which phase of the GAS does a person experience shock and their ability to deal with
stress drops
1 primary appraisal phase
2 resistance phase
3 exhaustion phase
4 alarm and mobilisation phase
Q: Two students who write the same exam may experience stress differently. One student may
think that exams are stressful while the other does not. How can this be explained?
1 People use different coping strategies
2 One views as personal and one as micro even
3 Personality plays a role in where or not someone sees and event as threatening or challenging
4 All of the above
Q: According to Yerkes-Dodson explanation of the relationship between stress and performance,
which of the following statements is incorrect?
1 Performance increase as arousal increases
2 Increasing arousal beyond an optimal level increases performance further
3 Stress increases to a moderate level of arousal for optimal performance
4 Increasing levels of arousal overstimulate the person physically and psychologically
According to Jordaan (1998), the contextual stress model consists of . . . phases that explain the
process of stress.
1) two
2) three
3) four
4) five
Mr Williams read in the newspaper that the widespread FeesMustFall strike in South Africa has
created some doubts about the academic future of many students at universities. This is an
example
of a . . . stressor.
1) community
2) universal
3) micro
4) personal
Q: Stress affects people in different ways and may lead to burnout. Which of the following is
associated
with burnout?
1) Burnout may develop when people are subjected to too much stress over a long period of
time
2) Burnt-out people tend to feel emotionally drained and alienated from others
3) Feelings of inadequacy and having achieved nothing are common with burnout
4) All of the above
Page 4 of 34
