PSY 121 - MISSOURI STATE - EXAM 1 QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED SOLUTIONS LATEST UPDATE 2026
Psychology - Answers the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Psychodynamic approach - Answers Emphasizing unconscious thought, the conflict between
biological drives (such as the drive for sex) and society's demands, and early childhood family
experiences. Think unconscious, motives, conflicts, and past experiences, Freud
Behavioral approach - Answers Emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses
and their environment. Think Observation, Watson, Skinner, Learning, Environment
Humanistic approach - Answers Emphasizes the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to
choose any destiny. Maslow, Rogers, self actualization
Cognitive Perspective - Answers A psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in
perception, memory, thinking, perceiving, problem solving, memory, rationality, and attitudes
Biological Perspective - Answers Emphasizes bodily events and changes associated with actions,
feelings, and thoughts. Think Neurotransmitters, Dopamine, Genetics, DNA, Brain function, Hormones
Evolutionary perspective - Answers how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of
genes, Darwin, Survival of the fittest
Sociocultural perspective - Answers perspective that focuses on the relationship between social
behavior and cultural influence
Correlation - Answers DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION
Expiriment - Answers Allows us to determine causality by manipulation of one or more independent
variables
Compliance - Answers When you do what is requested of you
Obedience - Answers When you follow a direct request from a position of authority
Conformity - Answers Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard without
request
foot-in-the-door technique - Answers asking for a small commitment and, after gaining compliance,
asking for a bigger commitment
door-in-the-face technique - Answers asking for a large commitment and being refused and then
asking for a smaller commitment
low-ball technique - Answers offer a good deal, then later changing the terms after agreement to the
deal
People generally ober authority when... - Answers -Authority is seen as legitimate
-There is distance from the repercussions of the actions
-There are no alternative behaviors to follow
-There are demand characteristics present
cognitive dissonance - Answers Inner tension that occurs when one is faced with conflicting attitudes
and behavior
3 ways to reduce cognitive dissonance - Answers 1. change behavior to make it match the attitude
2. change current attitude to justify the behavior
3. form new cognitions to JUSTIFY the behavior
prejudice - Answers negative attitudes held toward members of a group.
Descrimination - Answers negative behavior toward a group and its members
explicit stereotypes - Answers stereotypes of an out-group about which we're aware of
implicit stereotypes - Answers unconscious stereotypes guiding our judgments and actions without
our conscious awareness
fundamental attribution error - Answers the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's
behavior, to assume dispositional attributions about their character
-1 person, not yourself
-Dispositional attribution about others
actor-observer bias - Answers the tendency to attribute one's own behavior to situational factors but
to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional factors
-2 people
-actor makes situational attributions
-observer makes dispositional attributions
self-serving bias - Answers the tendency for people to take dispositional credit for success but blame
failure on situational factors
-1 person, yourself
Psychology - Answers the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
Psychodynamic approach - Answers Emphasizing unconscious thought, the conflict between
biological drives (such as the drive for sex) and society's demands, and early childhood family
experiences. Think unconscious, motives, conflicts, and past experiences, Freud
Behavioral approach - Answers Emphasizing the scientific study of observable behavioral responses
and their environment. Think Observation, Watson, Skinner, Learning, Environment
Humanistic approach - Answers Emphasizes the capacity for positive growth, and the freedom to
choose any destiny. Maslow, Rogers, self actualization
Cognitive Perspective - Answers A psychological approach that emphasizes mental processes in
perception, memory, thinking, perceiving, problem solving, memory, rationality, and attitudes
Biological Perspective - Answers Emphasizes bodily events and changes associated with actions,
feelings, and thoughts. Think Neurotransmitters, Dopamine, Genetics, DNA, Brain function, Hormones
Evolutionary perspective - Answers how the natural selection of traits has promoted the survival of
genes, Darwin, Survival of the fittest
Sociocultural perspective - Answers perspective that focuses on the relationship between social
behavior and cultural influence
Correlation - Answers DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION
Expiriment - Answers Allows us to determine causality by manipulation of one or more independent
variables
Compliance - Answers When you do what is requested of you
Obedience - Answers When you follow a direct request from a position of authority
Conformity - Answers Adjusting one's behavior or thinking to coincide with a group standard without
request
foot-in-the-door technique - Answers asking for a small commitment and, after gaining compliance,
asking for a bigger commitment
door-in-the-face technique - Answers asking for a large commitment and being refused and then
asking for a smaller commitment
low-ball technique - Answers offer a good deal, then later changing the terms after agreement to the
deal
People generally ober authority when... - Answers -Authority is seen as legitimate
-There is distance from the repercussions of the actions
-There are no alternative behaviors to follow
-There are demand characteristics present
cognitive dissonance - Answers Inner tension that occurs when one is faced with conflicting attitudes
and behavior
3 ways to reduce cognitive dissonance - Answers 1. change behavior to make it match the attitude
2. change current attitude to justify the behavior
3. form new cognitions to JUSTIFY the behavior
prejudice - Answers negative attitudes held toward members of a group.
Descrimination - Answers negative behavior toward a group and its members
explicit stereotypes - Answers stereotypes of an out-group about which we're aware of
implicit stereotypes - Answers unconscious stereotypes guiding our judgments and actions without
our conscious awareness
fundamental attribution error - Answers the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's
behavior, to assume dispositional attributions about their character
-1 person, not yourself
-Dispositional attribution about others
actor-observer bias - Answers the tendency to attribute one's own behavior to situational factors but
to attribute the behavior of others to dispositional factors
-2 people
-actor makes situational attributions
-observer makes dispositional attributions
self-serving bias - Answers the tendency for people to take dispositional credit for success but blame
failure on situational factors
-1 person, yourself
