Test Bank for
Understanding Psychology, 15th Edition Feldman
Chapter 1-17 Answers are at the end of Each chapter
Chapter 1
Student name:__________
MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
1) Psychology is defined as the
A) intuition-based approach to study human behavior.
B) speculative method to find answers about human cognition.
C) study of mental disorders and their treatment.
D) scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
2) Akira has declared psychology as his major. He will be studying
A) internal medicine.
B) behavior and mental processes.
C) mental disorders and their diagnosis and treatment.
D) the disorders of the central nervous system.
3) A single-sentence definition of psychology may be misleading because
A) it is very difficult to study the mind and behavior scientifically.
B) psychology is a narrower, more specific field than a general definition might suggest.
C) psychologists disagree on how broad psychology should really be.
D) the discipline of psychology really has no core or center.
Version 1 1
,4) In order to study mind and behavior, psychologists
A) rely on the scientific method.
B) use their intuition.
C) rely on the study of internal medicine.
D) use speculation.
5) In which of the following scenarios is a scientific explanation being provided to explain a
phenomenon?
A) When asked if violent video games have an impact on players, Dr. Lee replies that
there is substantial empirical evidence to suggest a change in the gamers' behavior.
B) When asked if mood influences social behavior, Dr. Sessler replies that he believes
that it does.
C) When asked if addiction is a disease or a choice, Dr. Smith replies that he knows
many addicts and he feels that they have a disease.
D) When asked if he can train his mind to not feel physical pain, Dr. Farnworth replies
that he focuses on his breathing when he feels pain to increase his tolerance for it.
6) Which of the following statements accurately describes the diverse subfields of
psychology?
A) They allow psychologists to explain different types of behavior using the same
techniques and experiments.
B) Though they are individually separate and distinct, they all share a common goal of
understanding behavior.
C) They always lead to an MD (doctor of medicine) degree.
D) They are not related at all other than being considered a part of psychology.
7) Dr. Alvarez is currently studying how the degeneration of certain components of nerve
cells in the brain leads to Lewy body disease. Dr. Alvarez's work is most likely to be a part of the
________ subfield of psychology.
Version 1 2
, A) evolutionary
B) developmental
C) industrial-organizational
D) behavioral neuroscience
8) Which of the following is the focus of experimental psychology?
A) exploring the relationship between psycho-logical factors and physical ailments or
disease
B) investigating the relationship between people and their physical environment
C) studying the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking about the world
D) analyzing how people grow and change from the moment of conception through
death
9) Which of the following subfields of psychology matches with its description?
A) Cognitive psychology examines the relationship between the nervous system and
behavior.
B) Developmental psychology examines how people grow and change from conception
through death.
C) Experimental psychology explores the relationship between psycho-logical factors
and physical ailments or disease.
D) Clinical psychology focuses on the consistency in people's behavior over time and
the traits that differentiate one per-son from another.
10) Which of the following subfields of psychology is CORRECTLY matched with a sample
topic?
Version 1 3
, A) behavioral neuroscience: the influence of chronic stress on physical health
B) developmental psychology: the effectiveness of drug therapy for obsessive-
compulsive disorder
C) cognitive psychology: the influence of an event on people's thinking
D) health psychology: the role that frustration plays in producing aggression
11) Which of the following is true of cognitive psychology?
A) It studies the inheritance of traits related to behavior.
B) It stems from Charles Darwin's arguments in his book, On the Origin of Species.
C) It is a subspecialty of experimental psychology.
D) It includes subfields such as developmental and personality psychology.
12) ________ psychology focuses on higher mental processes, including thinking, memory,
reasoning, problem solving, judging, decision making, and language.
A) Developmental
B) Personality
C) Clinical
D) Cognitive
13) Why is the term experimental psychologist considered somewhat misleading?
A) Psychologists in every subfield use the experimental method.
B) The term is no longer in existence.
C) Most psychological topics are not suited to experimental study.
D) Experimental methods are only appropriate to the study of the biological bases of
behavior.
14) Which of the following is TRUE of evolutionary psychology?
Version 1 4
Understanding Psychology, 15th Edition Feldman
Chapter 1-17 Answers are at the end of Each chapter
Chapter 1
Student name:__________
MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
1) Psychology is defined as the
A) intuition-based approach to study human behavior.
B) speculative method to find answers about human cognition.
C) study of mental disorders and their treatment.
D) scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
2) Akira has declared psychology as his major. He will be studying
A) internal medicine.
B) behavior and mental processes.
C) mental disorders and their diagnosis and treatment.
D) the disorders of the central nervous system.
3) A single-sentence definition of psychology may be misleading because
A) it is very difficult to study the mind and behavior scientifically.
B) psychology is a narrower, more specific field than a general definition might suggest.
C) psychologists disagree on how broad psychology should really be.
D) the discipline of psychology really has no core or center.
Version 1 1
,4) In order to study mind and behavior, psychologists
A) rely on the scientific method.
B) use their intuition.
C) rely on the study of internal medicine.
D) use speculation.
5) In which of the following scenarios is a scientific explanation being provided to explain a
phenomenon?
A) When asked if violent video games have an impact on players, Dr. Lee replies that
there is substantial empirical evidence to suggest a change in the gamers' behavior.
B) When asked if mood influences social behavior, Dr. Sessler replies that he believes
that it does.
C) When asked if addiction is a disease or a choice, Dr. Smith replies that he knows
many addicts and he feels that they have a disease.
D) When asked if he can train his mind to not feel physical pain, Dr. Farnworth replies
that he focuses on his breathing when he feels pain to increase his tolerance for it.
6) Which of the following statements accurately describes the diverse subfields of
psychology?
A) They allow psychologists to explain different types of behavior using the same
techniques and experiments.
B) Though they are individually separate and distinct, they all share a common goal of
understanding behavior.
C) They always lead to an MD (doctor of medicine) degree.
D) They are not related at all other than being considered a part of psychology.
7) Dr. Alvarez is currently studying how the degeneration of certain components of nerve
cells in the brain leads to Lewy body disease. Dr. Alvarez's work is most likely to be a part of the
________ subfield of psychology.
Version 1 2
, A) evolutionary
B) developmental
C) industrial-organizational
D) behavioral neuroscience
8) Which of the following is the focus of experimental psychology?
A) exploring the relationship between psycho-logical factors and physical ailments or
disease
B) investigating the relationship between people and their physical environment
C) studying the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning, and thinking about the world
D) analyzing how people grow and change from the moment of conception through
death
9) Which of the following subfields of psychology matches with its description?
A) Cognitive psychology examines the relationship between the nervous system and
behavior.
B) Developmental psychology examines how people grow and change from conception
through death.
C) Experimental psychology explores the relationship between psycho-logical factors
and physical ailments or disease.
D) Clinical psychology focuses on the consistency in people's behavior over time and
the traits that differentiate one per-son from another.
10) Which of the following subfields of psychology is CORRECTLY matched with a sample
topic?
Version 1 3
, A) behavioral neuroscience: the influence of chronic stress on physical health
B) developmental psychology: the effectiveness of drug therapy for obsessive-
compulsive disorder
C) cognitive psychology: the influence of an event on people's thinking
D) health psychology: the role that frustration plays in producing aggression
11) Which of the following is true of cognitive psychology?
A) It studies the inheritance of traits related to behavior.
B) It stems from Charles Darwin's arguments in his book, On the Origin of Species.
C) It is a subspecialty of experimental psychology.
D) It includes subfields such as developmental and personality psychology.
12) ________ psychology focuses on higher mental processes, including thinking, memory,
reasoning, problem solving, judging, decision making, and language.
A) Developmental
B) Personality
C) Clinical
D) Cognitive
13) Why is the term experimental psychologist considered somewhat misleading?
A) Psychologists in every subfield use the experimental method.
B) The term is no longer in existence.
C) Most psychological topics are not suited to experimental study.
D) Experimental methods are only appropriate to the study of the biological bases of
behavior.
14) Which of the following is TRUE of evolutionary psychology?
Version 1 4
