MCAT Psychology Practice Questions
and Verified Answers
Bystander effect - CORRECT ANSWERS -individuals do not intervene to help victims when others
are present
Social Loafing - CORRECT ANSWERS -tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a
group setting than individually
In studies of bystander intervention, which variable is typically found to be positively correlated
with the time it takes for an individual to offer help in case of emergency?
A. The severity of the emergency
B. The number of bystanders who witness the emergency
C. The individual's level of altruism as assessed by a standardized measure
D. The degree to which altruism is a part of the individual's self-image - CORRECT ANSWERS -B.
The number of bystanders who witness the emergency
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:
A. an uncontrollable personality trait.
B. a situational variable.
C. a controllable personality trait.
D. a stable variable. - CORRECT ANSWERS -B. a situational variable.
Self-serving bias - CORRECT ANSWERS -the tendency for people to view their own success
based on internal factors and failures on external factors
Actor-observer bias - CORRECT ANSWERS -the tendency to blame our actions on the situation
and blame the actions of others on their personalities
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?
A. The viewers' memory for the puzzles and the target's memory for the puzzles
, B. The viewers' estimate of the difficulty of the puzzles and the target's estimate of the
difficulty of the puzzles
C. The viewers' likelihood of accurately remembering the target's performance and the target's
likelihood of accurately remembering his or her own performance
D. The viewers' likelihood of attributing the target's performance to intellect and the target's
likelihood of attributing his or her own success to intellect - CORRECT ANSWERS -D. The
viewers' likelihood of attributing the target's performance to intellect and the target's
likelihood of attributing his or her own success to intellect
A public health video designed to promote flu shots shows 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:
A. the peripheral route to persuasion.
B. the central route to persuasion.
C. source characteristics.
D. audience characteristics. - CORRECT ANSWERS -D. audience characteristics.
peripheral route persuasion - CORRECT ANSWERS -focusing on superficial details of persuasive
information like appearances and slogans (low elaboration)
central route persuasion - CORRECT ANSWERS -scrutinizing and analyzing the content of
persuasive information (high elaboration)
A rat receives food for pressing a lever on a variable ratio schedule. Which pattern of
responding is most likely to be observed?
A. Relatively high response rate with predictable pauses after reinforcement
B.Relatively high response rate with no predictable pauses
C. Relatively low response rate with a predictable increase in responding right before
reinforcement
D. Fluctuating response rate with a predictable increase in responding right after reinforcement
- CORRECT ANSWERS -B.Relatively high response rate with no predictable pauses
varibale ratio schedule - CORRECT ANSWERS -a schedule of reinforcement where a response is
reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses.
and Verified Answers
Bystander effect - CORRECT ANSWERS -individuals do not intervene to help victims when others
are present
Social Loafing - CORRECT ANSWERS -tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a
group setting than individually
In studies of bystander intervention, which variable is typically found to be positively correlated
with the time it takes for an individual to offer help in case of emergency?
A. The severity of the emergency
B. The number of bystanders who witness the emergency
C. The individual's level of altruism as assessed by a standardized measure
D. The degree to which altruism is a part of the individual's self-image - CORRECT ANSWERS -B.
The number of bystanders who witness the emergency
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:
A. an uncontrollable personality trait.
B. a situational variable.
C. a controllable personality trait.
D. a stable variable. - CORRECT ANSWERS -B. a situational variable.
Self-serving bias - CORRECT ANSWERS -the tendency for people to view their own success
based on internal factors and failures on external factors
Actor-observer bias - CORRECT ANSWERS -the tendency to blame our actions on the situation
and blame the actions of others on their personalities
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?
A. The viewers' memory for the puzzles and the target's memory for the puzzles
, B. The viewers' estimate of the difficulty of the puzzles and the target's estimate of the
difficulty of the puzzles
C. The viewers' likelihood of accurately remembering the target's performance and the target's
likelihood of accurately remembering his or her own performance
D. The viewers' likelihood of attributing the target's performance to intellect and the target's
likelihood of attributing his or her own success to intellect - CORRECT ANSWERS -D. The
viewers' likelihood of attributing the target's performance to intellect and the target's
likelihood of attributing his or her own success to intellect
A public health video designed to promote flu shots shows 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:
A. the peripheral route to persuasion.
B. the central route to persuasion.
C. source characteristics.
D. audience characteristics. - CORRECT ANSWERS -D. audience characteristics.
peripheral route persuasion - CORRECT ANSWERS -focusing on superficial details of persuasive
information like appearances and slogans (low elaboration)
central route persuasion - CORRECT ANSWERS -scrutinizing and analyzing the content of
persuasive information (high elaboration)
A rat receives food for pressing a lever on a variable ratio schedule. Which pattern of
responding is most likely to be observed?
A. Relatively high response rate with predictable pauses after reinforcement
B.Relatively high response rate with no predictable pauses
C. Relatively low response rate with a predictable increase in responding right before
reinforcement
D. Fluctuating response rate with a predictable increase in responding right after reinforcement
- CORRECT ANSWERS -B.Relatively high response rate with no predictable pauses
varibale ratio schedule - CORRECT ANSWERS -a schedule of reinforcement where a response is
reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses.
