NMAT Reviewer Social Science Section for Spring 2025.
What do you call the historical, economic, social, and cultural factors that influence mental
processes and behavior? - Correct Answer Context
*Everything that people think, say, and do is affected and influenced by these factors.
Hence, context must be taken into account in psychology
Who do most historians credit with establishing the first scientific laboratory dedicated to
studying behavior? - Correct Answer Wilhelm Wundt
*opened in Leipzig in 1879
One evening, Genie jumps into a pool and shivers at the coldness of the water. After five
minutes, however, she has gotten used to the cold and is "ignoring" it as if she does laps
across the pool. This is an example of what? - Correct Answer habituation/sensory
adaptation
*diminished sensitivity to a stimulus due to prolonged stimulation
Howard is an expert wine-taster. He can tell vintage wines apart with just single drops upon
his tongue, no matter how similar the samples taste. This demonstrates - Correct Answer
difference threshold/just noticeable difference
*smallest difference in stimulation required to discriminate one stimulus from another 50%
of the time
Which of the following EEG patterns occur in awake individuals? - Correct Answer alpha
waves --> usually occur in individuals who are in a relaxed or drowsy state
beta waves --> arise during high frequency electrical activity in the brain such as during
periods of concentration
As a boy, John was bitten by a large red ant and developed a phobia for ants. However, he
also developed a fear of all insects. In classical conditioning, this is an example of what? -
Correct Answer generalization
,*tendency of a new stimulus - similar to an original conditioned stimulus - to produce a
response similar to the conditioned response
Generalization also occurs in operant conditioning - Correct Answer giving the same
response to similar stimuli
e.x. an infant who has been taught to call a four-legged hairy animal "dog" may call a horse
"dog"
*stimulus generalization
Classical conditioning emphasizes the relationship between ____ and ____; operant
conditioning emphasizes the relationship between _____ and ____. - Correct Answer
stimulus; behavior
behavior; consequence/rewards
Classical conditioning
*tends to focus on the stimuli that precedes the behavior - Correct Answer point of interest
is the resulting behavior upon application of a stimulus
best at explaining how neutral stimuli can become linked to unlearned involuntary
responses (not effective in explaining voluntary behaviors)
Operant conditioning
*stimuli that govern the behavior follow the behavior - Correct Answer form of learning in
which the consequences of behavior produce changes in the behavior's occurrence
Which style of parenting is most likely to raise children who lack self-control and who
always expect to get their way? - Correct Answer indulgent parenting
Indulgent parenting - Correct Answer style wherein parents are involved with their child;
however, the parents place few demands and restrictions on the child --> social
incompetence and lack of self-control
Authoritarian parenting - Correct Answer restrictive, controlling, and demanding style
given little opportunity to disagree and is expect to follow without question
, Neglectful parenting - Correct Answer style wherein the parents are uninvolved in the
child's life
child tends to show poor self-control and does not handle independence well
Authoritative parenting - Correct Answer encourages a child to be independent without
neglecting to place limits and controls on behaviors
parents tend to be nurturant, and good communication is encouraged
child --> socially-competent, self-reliant, and responsible children
Which of the following personality theories generally tends to be pessimistic about human
nature? - Correct Answer psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory - Correct Answer tends to view people as being purely driven by
unconscious sexual and aggressive instincts that follow the pleasure principle (always
seek pleasure, avoid pain)
Little attention is given to conscious decisions of the ego (rational mind) and the superego
(the morality dimension of the mind)
Trait theory and behavioral theory - Correct Answer tend to be neutral about human nature
Humanistic theory and cognitive social learning theory - Correct Answer tend to be more
optimistic about the nature of people
According to Freud, which structure of personality consists of instincts and is completely
unconscious? - Correct Answer id
Freud believed there are two basic drives that guide and shape human behavior. What did
he call these two drives? - Correct Answer eros and thanatos
*reflection of the pleasure principle, which drives people towards seeking pleasure and
avoiding pain
eros - Correct Answer reflects the sexual drive
What do you call the historical, economic, social, and cultural factors that influence mental
processes and behavior? - Correct Answer Context
*Everything that people think, say, and do is affected and influenced by these factors.
Hence, context must be taken into account in psychology
Who do most historians credit with establishing the first scientific laboratory dedicated to
studying behavior? - Correct Answer Wilhelm Wundt
*opened in Leipzig in 1879
One evening, Genie jumps into a pool and shivers at the coldness of the water. After five
minutes, however, she has gotten used to the cold and is "ignoring" it as if she does laps
across the pool. This is an example of what? - Correct Answer habituation/sensory
adaptation
*diminished sensitivity to a stimulus due to prolonged stimulation
Howard is an expert wine-taster. He can tell vintage wines apart with just single drops upon
his tongue, no matter how similar the samples taste. This demonstrates - Correct Answer
difference threshold/just noticeable difference
*smallest difference in stimulation required to discriminate one stimulus from another 50%
of the time
Which of the following EEG patterns occur in awake individuals? - Correct Answer alpha
waves --> usually occur in individuals who are in a relaxed or drowsy state
beta waves --> arise during high frequency electrical activity in the brain such as during
periods of concentration
As a boy, John was bitten by a large red ant and developed a phobia for ants. However, he
also developed a fear of all insects. In classical conditioning, this is an example of what? -
Correct Answer generalization
,*tendency of a new stimulus - similar to an original conditioned stimulus - to produce a
response similar to the conditioned response
Generalization also occurs in operant conditioning - Correct Answer giving the same
response to similar stimuli
e.x. an infant who has been taught to call a four-legged hairy animal "dog" may call a horse
"dog"
*stimulus generalization
Classical conditioning emphasizes the relationship between ____ and ____; operant
conditioning emphasizes the relationship between _____ and ____. - Correct Answer
stimulus; behavior
behavior; consequence/rewards
Classical conditioning
*tends to focus on the stimuli that precedes the behavior - Correct Answer point of interest
is the resulting behavior upon application of a stimulus
best at explaining how neutral stimuli can become linked to unlearned involuntary
responses (not effective in explaining voluntary behaviors)
Operant conditioning
*stimuli that govern the behavior follow the behavior - Correct Answer form of learning in
which the consequences of behavior produce changes in the behavior's occurrence
Which style of parenting is most likely to raise children who lack self-control and who
always expect to get their way? - Correct Answer indulgent parenting
Indulgent parenting - Correct Answer style wherein parents are involved with their child;
however, the parents place few demands and restrictions on the child --> social
incompetence and lack of self-control
Authoritarian parenting - Correct Answer restrictive, controlling, and demanding style
given little opportunity to disagree and is expect to follow without question
, Neglectful parenting - Correct Answer style wherein the parents are uninvolved in the
child's life
child tends to show poor self-control and does not handle independence well
Authoritative parenting - Correct Answer encourages a child to be independent without
neglecting to place limits and controls on behaviors
parents tend to be nurturant, and good communication is encouraged
child --> socially-competent, self-reliant, and responsible children
Which of the following personality theories generally tends to be pessimistic about human
nature? - Correct Answer psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory - Correct Answer tends to view people as being purely driven by
unconscious sexual and aggressive instincts that follow the pleasure principle (always
seek pleasure, avoid pain)
Little attention is given to conscious decisions of the ego (rational mind) and the superego
(the morality dimension of the mind)
Trait theory and behavioral theory - Correct Answer tend to be neutral about human nature
Humanistic theory and cognitive social learning theory - Correct Answer tend to be more
optimistic about the nature of people
According to Freud, which structure of personality consists of instincts and is completely
unconscious? - Correct Answer id
Freud believed there are two basic drives that guide and shape human behavior. What did
he call these two drives? - Correct Answer eros and thanatos
*reflection of the pleasure principle, which drives people towards seeking pleasure and
avoiding pain
eros - Correct Answer reflects the sexual drive
