AAMC MCAT Independent Question Bank Psychology
An individual arrives late at a meeting. Which explanation for being tardy is consistent with self serving bias? the individual will attribute being late to? -correct answer situational variable - because self serving bias attributes their own negative behaviors to situational variables
a researcher interested in actor observer bias asks a group of viewer participants to watch a target participant work on a series of puzzles. Which two variables is the researcher most likely to compare in this study -correct answer the viewers' likelihood of attributing the targets performance to intellect and the target's likelihood of attributing his or her own success to intellect - actor observer bias = actors tendency to explain own behavior by situational factors whereas the observer tends to explain the actors behavior by internal stable traits
a public health video designed to promote flu shots show a physician from a prestigious institution delivering facts about how viruses spread. The video also features data on how viruses can expose the body to serious illnesses. The video uses all of the following variables to manipulate attitudes EXCEPT -
correct answer audience characteristics the question stem does not address the characteristics of the audience, where as the question stem combines the central route to persuasion (disease) with the peripheral route
(the prestige of the physician) and the source characteristics is the mention of the physician's affiliation with a prestigious institution
a rat receives food for pressing a lever on a variable ratio schedule. which pattern of responding is most likely to be observed? -correct answer relatively high response rate with no predictable pauses because variable ratio schedule leads to high response rates with no predictable pauses
according to the psychodynamic theory conflict between the superego and the id leads to the unconscious conflict. The ego attempts to reduce this conflict through the use of defense mechanisms. Based on this description, the unconscious conflict functions as -correct answer a drive because a drive is a internal state that the individual acts to reduce, which is consistent with the definition of unconscious conflict in the stem
a patient experiences a debilitating depressive episode after the loss of a job. a psychologist suggests that the patient had a genetic predisposition to depression and that unemployment acted as a trigger. The psychologist is using which approach to explain the patients depression? -correct answer The diathesis- stress model
because the diathesis- stress model integrates the influence of biological predispositions and the environment
the dependent variable in a study of polarization is most likely to be each participants -correct answer attitude toward a topic because group polarization is a process that affects attitude toward a topic. when people who agree upon a topic are allowed to discuss their attitudes, they tend to become more polarized
which experimental procedure is most likely to result in learned helplessness -correct answer giving a participant a moderate electric shock that the participant cannot escape because uncontrollable exposure to an aversive stimulus results in learned helplessness, independently of the intensity of the punishment
regular breathing and regular, slow brain waves are the most consistent with which stage of sleep -
correct answer NREM3
An individual arrives late at a meeting. Which explanation for being tardy is consistent with self serving bias? the individual will attribute being late to? -correct answer situational variable - because self serving bias attributes their own negative behaviors to situational variables
a researcher interested in actor observer bias asks a group of viewer participants to watch a target participant work on a series of puzzles. Which two variables is the researcher most likely to compare in this study -correct answer the viewers' likelihood of attributing the targets performance to intellect and the target's likelihood of attributing his or her own success to intellect - actor observer bias = actors tendency to explain own behavior by situational factors whereas the observer tends to explain the actors behavior by internal stable traits
a public health video designed to promote flu shots show a physician from a prestigious institution delivering facts about how viruses spread. The video also features data on how viruses can expose the body to serious illnesses. The video uses all of the following variables to manipulate attitudes EXCEPT -
correct answer audience characteristics the question stem does not address the characteristics of the audience, where as the question stem combines the central route to persuasion (disease) with the peripheral route
(the prestige of the physician) and the source characteristics is the mention of the physician's affiliation with a prestigious institution
a rat receives food for pressing a lever on a variable ratio schedule. which pattern of responding is most likely to be observed? -correct answer relatively high response rate with no predictable pauses because variable ratio schedule leads to high response rates with no predictable pauses
according to the psychodynamic theory conflict between the superego and the id leads to the unconscious conflict. The ego attempts to reduce this conflict through the use of defense mechanisms. Based on this description, the unconscious conflict functions as -correct answer a drive because a drive is a internal state that the individual acts to reduce, which is consistent with the definition of unconscious conflict in the stem
a patient experiences a debilitating depressive episode after the loss of a job. a psychologist suggests that the patient had a genetic predisposition to depression and that unemployment acted as a trigger. The psychologist is using which approach to explain the patients depression? -correct answer The diathesis- stress model
because the diathesis- stress model integrates the influence of biological predispositions and the environment
the dependent variable in a study of polarization is most likely to be each participants -correct answer attitude toward a topic because group polarization is a process that affects attitude toward a topic. when people who agree upon a topic are allowed to discuss their attitudes, they tend to become more polarized
which experimental procedure is most likely to result in learned helplessness -correct answer giving a participant a moderate electric shock that the participant cannot escape because uncontrollable exposure to an aversive stimulus results in learned helplessness, independently of the intensity of the punishment
regular breathing and regular, slow brain waves are the most consistent with which stage of sleep -
correct answer NREM3
