GRE Psychology Practice Test 2 UPDATED
Questions and CORRECT Answers
Social facilitation - CORRECT ANSWER - Susan, who is moderately critical of the
present government, gets involved in heated political discussions with her college classmates. On
her next visit home, her parents notice how much more critical of the government she has
become. Which of the following is the least likely explanation for her attitude change?
a) group polarization
b) the mere exposure effect
c) social facilitation
d) the risky shift phenomenon
e) conformity
Language largely determines the way in which we perceive the world - CORRECT
ANSWER - The Whorfian hypothesis states that
a) language largely determines the way in which we perceive the world
b) the way we perceive the world affects our language development
c) the way we observe the world contradicts our way of speaking
d) previous experience causes us to fixate on incorrect solutions to problems
e) we fixate in an effort not to be distracted from correct solutions
Joseph Wolpe - CORRECT ANSWER - Systematic desensitization is a form of therapy
most closely associated with the work of
a) Joseph Wolpe
b) Carl Rogers
c) Albert Ellis
d) Richard Lazarus
e) Jacob Moreno
,Trust versus mistrust - CORRECT ANSWER - Which of the following stages postulated
by Erikson corresponds most closely to Freud's oral stage of development?
a) trust versus mistrust
b) initiative versus guilt
c) integrity versus despair
d) incorporation versus dependence
e) autonomy versus shame and doubt
A variable-ratio schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - Door-to-door salespeople who are paid
on commission and maintain high levels of perseverance despite infrequent sales display an
effect of
a) a fixed-ratio schedule
b) a fixed-interval schedule
c) a variable-interval schedule
d) a variable-ratio schedule
e) successive approximations
Authoritarian, authoritative, permissive - CORRECT ANSWER - What three styles of
parenting did Baumrind identify?
a) autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire
b) authoritarian, authoritative, permissive
c) preconventional, conventional, postconventional
d) moving against, moving toward, moving away from
e) prototaxic, parataxic, syntaxic
The more ambiguous the stimulus, the more likely it is that the subject will conform to group
pressure - CORRECT ANSWER - Investigations into the influence of group pressure on
perceptual judgments reveal that
a) many people obey orders even though they object strongly to what they are doing
, b) the less ambiguous the stimulus, the more likely it is hat the subject will conform to group
pressure
c) the more ambiguous the stimulus, the more likely it is that the subject will conform to group
pressure
d) a pressure group is more effective in getting a subject to conform if group opinion is not
unanimous
e) group pressure cannot influence something as personal as perceptual judgments
The child actively constructs her own knowledge - CORRECT ANSWER - Which of the
following statements characterizes the cognitive-structuralist orientation in developmental
psychology?
a) the child is a "blank slate"
b) sexual drives play an important role in early development
c) there are no qualitative differences between the psychological processes of children and adults
d) the child is a passive receptor of stimuli
e) the child actively constructs her own knowledge
Functional fixedness - CORRECT ANSWER - In order to solve a particular problem,
subjects must use a hammer and a nail as units of measurement. This experiment is most directly
concerned with
a) demand characteristics
b) crystallized intelligence
c) functional fixedness
d) semantic priming
e) response generalization
Functional autonomy - CORRECT ANSWER - Which of the following concepts is most
closely associated with Allport?
a) striving for superiority
b) moving away from others
c) object displacement
Questions and CORRECT Answers
Social facilitation - CORRECT ANSWER - Susan, who is moderately critical of the
present government, gets involved in heated political discussions with her college classmates. On
her next visit home, her parents notice how much more critical of the government she has
become. Which of the following is the least likely explanation for her attitude change?
a) group polarization
b) the mere exposure effect
c) social facilitation
d) the risky shift phenomenon
e) conformity
Language largely determines the way in which we perceive the world - CORRECT
ANSWER - The Whorfian hypothesis states that
a) language largely determines the way in which we perceive the world
b) the way we perceive the world affects our language development
c) the way we observe the world contradicts our way of speaking
d) previous experience causes us to fixate on incorrect solutions to problems
e) we fixate in an effort not to be distracted from correct solutions
Joseph Wolpe - CORRECT ANSWER - Systematic desensitization is a form of therapy
most closely associated with the work of
a) Joseph Wolpe
b) Carl Rogers
c) Albert Ellis
d) Richard Lazarus
e) Jacob Moreno
,Trust versus mistrust - CORRECT ANSWER - Which of the following stages postulated
by Erikson corresponds most closely to Freud's oral stage of development?
a) trust versus mistrust
b) initiative versus guilt
c) integrity versus despair
d) incorporation versus dependence
e) autonomy versus shame and doubt
A variable-ratio schedule - CORRECT ANSWER - Door-to-door salespeople who are paid
on commission and maintain high levels of perseverance despite infrequent sales display an
effect of
a) a fixed-ratio schedule
b) a fixed-interval schedule
c) a variable-interval schedule
d) a variable-ratio schedule
e) successive approximations
Authoritarian, authoritative, permissive - CORRECT ANSWER - What three styles of
parenting did Baumrind identify?
a) autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire
b) authoritarian, authoritative, permissive
c) preconventional, conventional, postconventional
d) moving against, moving toward, moving away from
e) prototaxic, parataxic, syntaxic
The more ambiguous the stimulus, the more likely it is that the subject will conform to group
pressure - CORRECT ANSWER - Investigations into the influence of group pressure on
perceptual judgments reveal that
a) many people obey orders even though they object strongly to what they are doing
, b) the less ambiguous the stimulus, the more likely it is hat the subject will conform to group
pressure
c) the more ambiguous the stimulus, the more likely it is that the subject will conform to group
pressure
d) a pressure group is more effective in getting a subject to conform if group opinion is not
unanimous
e) group pressure cannot influence something as personal as perceptual judgments
The child actively constructs her own knowledge - CORRECT ANSWER - Which of the
following statements characterizes the cognitive-structuralist orientation in developmental
psychology?
a) the child is a "blank slate"
b) sexual drives play an important role in early development
c) there are no qualitative differences between the psychological processes of children and adults
d) the child is a passive receptor of stimuli
e) the child actively constructs her own knowledge
Functional fixedness - CORRECT ANSWER - In order to solve a particular problem,
subjects must use a hammer and a nail as units of measurement. This experiment is most directly
concerned with
a) demand characteristics
b) crystallized intelligence
c) functional fixedness
d) semantic priming
e) response generalization
Functional autonomy - CORRECT ANSWER - Which of the following concepts is most
closely associated with Allport?
a) striving for superiority
b) moving away from others
c) object displacement
