GRE psychology practice UPDATED
ACTUAL Questions and CORRECT
Answers
Acetycholine - CORRECT ANSWER - neurotransmitter associated with voluntary
movement, sleep and wakefulness. Too little is associated with Alzheimer's
Analysis of Variance/ANOVA - CORRECT ANSWER - inferential statistical procedure
used to compare 2 or more means to see if the difference is not chance (need p<.05 for statistical
significance)
Aphasia - CORRECT ANSWER - impairment of ability to communicate either through
oral or written discourse as a result of brain damage. Ex. Wernicke's ________ or Broca's
__________
Optimum Arousal Theory - CORRECT ANSWER - Theory stating that we are motivated
by our innate desire to maintain an personally preferred level of arousal.
Broca's Aphasia - CORRECT ANSWER - Loss of function associated with damage to a
specific area of the left frontal lobe, demonstrated by impairment in producing understandable
speech.
Egocentric - CORRECT ANSWER - young child's inability to understand another person's
perspective - typical of Piaget's preoperational stage
Concrete Operational Stage - CORRECT ANSWER - According to Piaget - stage of
cognitive development where child between ages of 7 and 12 begins thinking more globally and
outside of the self but are still deficient in abstract thought.
Construct Validity - CORRECT ANSWER - Validity answers the question of whether or
not the measuring device actually measures the theoretical idea under question.
,Convergence - CORRECT ANSWER - Binocular cue to distance referring to fact that the
closer an object is, the more inward our eyes need to turn in order to focus
Dopamine Hypothesis - CORRECT ANSWER - Theory that schizophrenia is caused by an
excess amount of dopamine in brain. Research has found that medication to reduce dopamine
can reduce the positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
Endorphins - CORRECT ANSWER - neurotransmitter involved in pain relief, and feelings
of pleasure and contentedness.
Epinephrine - CORRECT ANSWER - neurotransmitter involved in energy and glucose
metabolism.
External Validity - CORRECT ANSWER - The extent to which data collected from a
sample can be generalized to the entire population.
Factor Analysis - CORRECT ANSWER - A statistical technique used combine data into
similar groups
Frequency Effect - CORRECT ANSWER - The phenomenon in memory which states that
we tend to remember information better if it is repeated.
Formal Operational Stage - CORRECT ANSWER - Piaget's fourth and final stage of
cognitive development where thinking becomes more abstract. 12+ years
Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis - CORRECT ANSWER - Theory arguing that
aggression is the natural reaction to frustration.
g factor - CORRECT ANSWER - Basic intelligence of Spearman's theory. Typically
compared to s which represents specific intelligences.
, Gender Identity - CORRECT ANSWER - Internal sense of being either male or female.
Usually congruent with biological gender, but not always.
Hawthorne Effect - CORRECT ANSWER - Phenomenon that subject behavior changes by
mere fact that they are being observed.
Introspection - CORRECT ANSWER - The process of examining one's own consciousness
used by Structuralists and Functionalist researchers
Legitimate Power - CORRECT ANSWER - Power derived through one's position, such as
a police officer or elected official.
Motive - CORRECT ANSWER - Internal states that provide direction for one's behaviors.
Norepinephrine - CORRECT ANSWER - neurotransmitter associated with eating and
alertness. Too little has been associated with depression in addition to serotonin
Overlearning - CORRECT ANSWER - A technique used to improve memory where info is
learned to the point that it can be repeated without mistake more than one time. Continuted
rehearsal after material is leanred - Ebbinghaus
Phi Phenomenon - CORRECT ANSWER - The perception of motion based on two or
more stationary objects (e.g., perception of chaser lights brought about by different lights
blinking at different times).
Criterion Validity - CORRECT ANSWER - A measurements ability to predict scores on
another measurement that is related or purports to measure the same or similar construct
Preoperational Stage - CORRECT ANSWER - Piaget's second stage of cognitive
development in which a child develops objects permanency and language. 2-7 years
ACTUAL Questions and CORRECT
Answers
Acetycholine - CORRECT ANSWER - neurotransmitter associated with voluntary
movement, sleep and wakefulness. Too little is associated with Alzheimer's
Analysis of Variance/ANOVA - CORRECT ANSWER - inferential statistical procedure
used to compare 2 or more means to see if the difference is not chance (need p<.05 for statistical
significance)
Aphasia - CORRECT ANSWER - impairment of ability to communicate either through
oral or written discourse as a result of brain damage. Ex. Wernicke's ________ or Broca's
__________
Optimum Arousal Theory - CORRECT ANSWER - Theory stating that we are motivated
by our innate desire to maintain an personally preferred level of arousal.
Broca's Aphasia - CORRECT ANSWER - Loss of function associated with damage to a
specific area of the left frontal lobe, demonstrated by impairment in producing understandable
speech.
Egocentric - CORRECT ANSWER - young child's inability to understand another person's
perspective - typical of Piaget's preoperational stage
Concrete Operational Stage - CORRECT ANSWER - According to Piaget - stage of
cognitive development where child between ages of 7 and 12 begins thinking more globally and
outside of the self but are still deficient in abstract thought.
Construct Validity - CORRECT ANSWER - Validity answers the question of whether or
not the measuring device actually measures the theoretical idea under question.
,Convergence - CORRECT ANSWER - Binocular cue to distance referring to fact that the
closer an object is, the more inward our eyes need to turn in order to focus
Dopamine Hypothesis - CORRECT ANSWER - Theory that schizophrenia is caused by an
excess amount of dopamine in brain. Research has found that medication to reduce dopamine
can reduce the positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
Endorphins - CORRECT ANSWER - neurotransmitter involved in pain relief, and feelings
of pleasure and contentedness.
Epinephrine - CORRECT ANSWER - neurotransmitter involved in energy and glucose
metabolism.
External Validity - CORRECT ANSWER - The extent to which data collected from a
sample can be generalized to the entire population.
Factor Analysis - CORRECT ANSWER - A statistical technique used combine data into
similar groups
Frequency Effect - CORRECT ANSWER - The phenomenon in memory which states that
we tend to remember information better if it is repeated.
Formal Operational Stage - CORRECT ANSWER - Piaget's fourth and final stage of
cognitive development where thinking becomes more abstract. 12+ years
Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis - CORRECT ANSWER - Theory arguing that
aggression is the natural reaction to frustration.
g factor - CORRECT ANSWER - Basic intelligence of Spearman's theory. Typically
compared to s which represents specific intelligences.
, Gender Identity - CORRECT ANSWER - Internal sense of being either male or female.
Usually congruent with biological gender, but not always.
Hawthorne Effect - CORRECT ANSWER - Phenomenon that subject behavior changes by
mere fact that they are being observed.
Introspection - CORRECT ANSWER - The process of examining one's own consciousness
used by Structuralists and Functionalist researchers
Legitimate Power - CORRECT ANSWER - Power derived through one's position, such as
a police officer or elected official.
Motive - CORRECT ANSWER - Internal states that provide direction for one's behaviors.
Norepinephrine - CORRECT ANSWER - neurotransmitter associated with eating and
alertness. Too little has been associated with depression in addition to serotonin
Overlearning - CORRECT ANSWER - A technique used to improve memory where info is
learned to the point that it can be repeated without mistake more than one time. Continuted
rehearsal after material is leanred - Ebbinghaus
Phi Phenomenon - CORRECT ANSWER - The perception of motion based on two or
more stationary objects (e.g., perception of chaser lights brought about by different lights
blinking at different times).
Criterion Validity - CORRECT ANSWER - A measurements ability to predict scores on
another measurement that is related or purports to measure the same or similar construct
Preoperational Stage - CORRECT ANSWER - Piaget's second stage of cognitive
development in which a child develops objects permanency and language. 2-7 years
