Psychology Exam Questions and
answers graded A+
What is psychology? What is the mind? What is behavior? - ANS✅✅Psychology is the scientific
study of the mind and behavior
Mind is our private inner experience of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings
Behavior is the observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals
What are the three key questions in psychology? - ANS✅✅1. What are the bases of perceptions,
thoughts, memories, and feelings, or our subjective senses of self?
2. How does the mind usually allow us to function effectively in the world?
3. Why does the mind occasionally function so ineffectively?
What is the nativism? What is philosophical empiricism? Which reflects "nature" and which reflects
"nurture" in the nature- nurture debate? - ANS✅✅Nativism is the philosophical view that certain
kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn
Philosophical empiricism is the philosophical view that all knowledge is acquired through experience.
Although few modern psychologists believe that nativism or empiricism is entirely correct, the issue
of just how much "nature" and "nurture" explain any given behavior is still a matter of controversy.
What is phrenology? How did work with brain damaged patients help establish a mind- body
connection? - ANS✅✅Phrenology is a now defunct theory that specific mental abilities and
characteristics, ranging from memory to the capacity for happiness, are localized in specific regions
of the brain.
When Paul Broca worked with a patient who had suffered damage to a small part of the left side of
the brain the patient was virtually unable to speak yet was able to understand everything that was
said and could communicate using gestures. Broca had the crucial insight that damage to a specific
part of the brain impaired a specific mental function, clearly demonstrating that the mind and body
are linked
Psychology has its roots in philosophy- from which it drew the questions it tries to answer- and
physiology. What is physiology? - ANS✅✅Physiology is the study of biological processes, especially
in the human body
Who is credited as being the founder of psychology including teaching its first course in 1867 and
opening its first lab? - ANS✅✅Wilhelm Wundt
, What is consciousness? How did Wundt study consciousness using stimuli and reaction time? What
is structuralism? What is introspection? What is the problem with using introspection as a research
method? - ANS✅✅Consciousness is a person's subjective experience of the world and the mind.To
study consciousness Wundt and his students adopted an approach called structuralism, which is the
analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind. Some of Wundt's studies used the method
of introspection, which involves the subjective observation of one's own experiment.
In a typical experiment, research participants were presented with a stimulus, and asked to report
their introspections. By analyzing the relation between feelings and perceptual sensations, Wundt
and his students hoped to uncover the basic structure of conscious experience.
The problem with using introspection is that science requires replicable observations.
What is functionalism? How did William James differ from Wundt in how he believed consciousness
should be studied? Which man thought consciousness was a stream? Which man thought it could be
broken up? - ANS✅✅Functionalism is the study of the purpose of mental processes serve in
enabling people to adapt to their environment.
James agreed with Wundt of some points, but disagreed with his claim that consciousness could be
broken down into separate elements. James believed that trying to isolate and analyze a particular
moment of consciousness distorted the essential nature of consciousness.
"Consciousness was more like a flowing stream than a bundle of separate elements" -William James
and also thought that it can be broken up
What is natural selection? - ANS✅✅Natural selection is Charles Darwin's theory that the features
of an organism that help it survive and reproduce are more likely to be passed on to subsequent
generations
What is hysteria? What is the unconscious? What is the emphasis in Freud's psychoanalytic theory?
What is psychoanalysis? What were some criticisms of Freud's approach (page 14)? -
ANS✅✅Hysteria is a temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of
emotionally upsetting experiences.
Unconscious is the part of the mind that operates outside of conscious awareness but influences
conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions
Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic approach that focuses on bringing unconscious material into
conscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders.
Freud's visions of human nature was a dark one, emphasizing the limitations and problems rather
than the possibilities and potentials.
answers graded A+
What is psychology? What is the mind? What is behavior? - ANS✅✅Psychology is the scientific
study of the mind and behavior
Mind is our private inner experience of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings
Behavior is the observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals
What are the three key questions in psychology? - ANS✅✅1. What are the bases of perceptions,
thoughts, memories, and feelings, or our subjective senses of self?
2. How does the mind usually allow us to function effectively in the world?
3. Why does the mind occasionally function so ineffectively?
What is the nativism? What is philosophical empiricism? Which reflects "nature" and which reflects
"nurture" in the nature- nurture debate? - ANS✅✅Nativism is the philosophical view that certain
kinds of knowledge are innate or inborn
Philosophical empiricism is the philosophical view that all knowledge is acquired through experience.
Although few modern psychologists believe that nativism or empiricism is entirely correct, the issue
of just how much "nature" and "nurture" explain any given behavior is still a matter of controversy.
What is phrenology? How did work with brain damaged patients help establish a mind- body
connection? - ANS✅✅Phrenology is a now defunct theory that specific mental abilities and
characteristics, ranging from memory to the capacity for happiness, are localized in specific regions
of the brain.
When Paul Broca worked with a patient who had suffered damage to a small part of the left side of
the brain the patient was virtually unable to speak yet was able to understand everything that was
said and could communicate using gestures. Broca had the crucial insight that damage to a specific
part of the brain impaired a specific mental function, clearly demonstrating that the mind and body
are linked
Psychology has its roots in philosophy- from which it drew the questions it tries to answer- and
physiology. What is physiology? - ANS✅✅Physiology is the study of biological processes, especially
in the human body
Who is credited as being the founder of psychology including teaching its first course in 1867 and
opening its first lab? - ANS✅✅Wilhelm Wundt
, What is consciousness? How did Wundt study consciousness using stimuli and reaction time? What
is structuralism? What is introspection? What is the problem with using introspection as a research
method? - ANS✅✅Consciousness is a person's subjective experience of the world and the mind.To
study consciousness Wundt and his students adopted an approach called structuralism, which is the
analysis of the basic elements that constitute the mind. Some of Wundt's studies used the method
of introspection, which involves the subjective observation of one's own experiment.
In a typical experiment, research participants were presented with a stimulus, and asked to report
their introspections. By analyzing the relation between feelings and perceptual sensations, Wundt
and his students hoped to uncover the basic structure of conscious experience.
The problem with using introspection is that science requires replicable observations.
What is functionalism? How did William James differ from Wundt in how he believed consciousness
should be studied? Which man thought consciousness was a stream? Which man thought it could be
broken up? - ANS✅✅Functionalism is the study of the purpose of mental processes serve in
enabling people to adapt to their environment.
James agreed with Wundt of some points, but disagreed with his claim that consciousness could be
broken down into separate elements. James believed that trying to isolate and analyze a particular
moment of consciousness distorted the essential nature of consciousness.
"Consciousness was more like a flowing stream than a bundle of separate elements" -William James
and also thought that it can be broken up
What is natural selection? - ANS✅✅Natural selection is Charles Darwin's theory that the features
of an organism that help it survive and reproduce are more likely to be passed on to subsequent
generations
What is hysteria? What is the unconscious? What is the emphasis in Freud's psychoanalytic theory?
What is psychoanalysis? What were some criticisms of Freud's approach (page 14)? -
ANS✅✅Hysteria is a temporary loss of cognitive or motor functions, usually as a result of
emotionally upsetting experiences.
Unconscious is the part of the mind that operates outside of conscious awareness but influences
conscious thoughts, feelings, and actions
Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic approach that focuses on bringing unconscious material into
conscious awareness to better understand psychological disorders.
Freud's visions of human nature was a dark one, emphasizing the limitations and problems rather
than the possibilities and potentials.
