Essentials of Understanding Psychology 14th
Edition – Robert Feldman TEST BANK
2025/2026 || VERIFIED QUESTIONS AND
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS <NEW UPDATE>
**Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology**
**1. What is the formal definition of psychology?**
a) The study of the brain and nervous system.
b) The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
c) The treatment of mental illness.
d) The philosophical inquiry into the human mind.
**Answer: b) The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.**
*Rationale: This is the foundational, modern definition of the field, encompassing both
observable actions and internal cognitive functions.*
**2. Which perspective in psychology emphasizes unconscious conflicts and early childhood
experiences?**
a) Behavioral
b) Humanistic
c) Psychodynamic
d) Cognitive
**Answer: c) Psychodynamic**
,*Rationale: The psychodynamic perspective, rooted in Freudian theory, focuses on how
unconscious drives and conflicts from childhood influence behavior.*
**3. Dr. Ebrahim conducts research on how children learn language. Her work is most aligned
with which psychological perspective?**
a) Biological
b) Behavioral
c) Cognitive
d) Evolutionary
**Answer: c) Cognitive**
*Rationale: The cognitive perspective focuses on mental processes, including how we encode,
process, store, and retrieve information, which is central to language acquisition.*
**4. A psychologist who focuses on improving workplace productivity and employee satisfaction
is most likely a(n):**
a) Clinical psychologist
b) Industrial-organizational psychologist
c) Health psychologist
d) Developmental psychologist
**Answer: b) Industrial-organizational psychologist**
*Rationale: I/O psychologists apply psychological principles to issues in business and industry,
such as productivity and morale.*
**5. Which school of thought believed that psychology should only study observable,
measurable behavior?**
a) Functionalism
b) Structuralism
c) Behaviorism
,d) Humanism
**Answer: c) Behaviorism**
*Rationale: Pioneered by Watson and Skinner, behaviorism rejected the study of the
unobservable mind and focused solely on observable stimuli and responses.*
**Chapter 2: Psychological Research**
**6. A detailed, in-depth study of a single individual or a small group is called a(n):**
a) Experiment
b) Case study
c) Correlational study
d) Survey
**Answer: b) Case study**
*Rationale: A case study provides rich, qualitative data from a single subject, often used in
clinical or unusual situations (e.g., Phineas Gage).*
**7. A correlation coefficient of -0.85 indicates:**
a) A strong positive relationship
b) A weak positive relationship
c) A strong negative relationship
d) No relationship
**Answer: c) A strong negative relationship**
*Rationale: The sign (-) indicates the direction (negative/inverse), and the magnitude (0.85)
indicates a strong relationship, close to the maximum of -1.0.*
**8. In an experiment, the group that does NOT receive the independent variable is called
the:**
, a) Experimental group
b) Control group
c) Dependent group
d) Random group
**Answer: b) Control group**
*Rationale: The control group provides a baseline for comparison to see if the independent
variable had an effect.*
**9. The variable that a researcher manipulates in an experiment is the ________ variable.**
a) Dependent
b) Confounding
c) Control
d) Independent
**Answer: d) Independent**
*Rationale: The independent variable is the factor the experimenter systematically changes to
observe its effect.*
**10. A researcher wants to ensure that every member of the population has an equal chance
of being selected for a study. This is called:**
a) Random assignment
b) Representative sampling
c) Random sampling
d) Stratified sampling
**Answer: c) Random sampling**
*Rationale: Random sampling is a method for selecting a study sample from a population,
ensuring generalizability. (Random assignment is for assigning participants to groups in an
experiment).*
Edition – Robert Feldman TEST BANK
2025/2026 || VERIFIED QUESTIONS AND
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS <NEW UPDATE>
**Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychology**
**1. What is the formal definition of psychology?**
a) The study of the brain and nervous system.
b) The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
c) The treatment of mental illness.
d) The philosophical inquiry into the human mind.
**Answer: b) The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.**
*Rationale: This is the foundational, modern definition of the field, encompassing both
observable actions and internal cognitive functions.*
**2. Which perspective in psychology emphasizes unconscious conflicts and early childhood
experiences?**
a) Behavioral
b) Humanistic
c) Psychodynamic
d) Cognitive
**Answer: c) Psychodynamic**
,*Rationale: The psychodynamic perspective, rooted in Freudian theory, focuses on how
unconscious drives and conflicts from childhood influence behavior.*
**3. Dr. Ebrahim conducts research on how children learn language. Her work is most aligned
with which psychological perspective?**
a) Biological
b) Behavioral
c) Cognitive
d) Evolutionary
**Answer: c) Cognitive**
*Rationale: The cognitive perspective focuses on mental processes, including how we encode,
process, store, and retrieve information, which is central to language acquisition.*
**4. A psychologist who focuses on improving workplace productivity and employee satisfaction
is most likely a(n):**
a) Clinical psychologist
b) Industrial-organizational psychologist
c) Health psychologist
d) Developmental psychologist
**Answer: b) Industrial-organizational psychologist**
*Rationale: I/O psychologists apply psychological principles to issues in business and industry,
such as productivity and morale.*
**5. Which school of thought believed that psychology should only study observable,
measurable behavior?**
a) Functionalism
b) Structuralism
c) Behaviorism
,d) Humanism
**Answer: c) Behaviorism**
*Rationale: Pioneered by Watson and Skinner, behaviorism rejected the study of the
unobservable mind and focused solely on observable stimuli and responses.*
**Chapter 2: Psychological Research**
**6. A detailed, in-depth study of a single individual or a small group is called a(n):**
a) Experiment
b) Case study
c) Correlational study
d) Survey
**Answer: b) Case study**
*Rationale: A case study provides rich, qualitative data from a single subject, often used in
clinical or unusual situations (e.g., Phineas Gage).*
**7. A correlation coefficient of -0.85 indicates:**
a) A strong positive relationship
b) A weak positive relationship
c) A strong negative relationship
d) No relationship
**Answer: c) A strong negative relationship**
*Rationale: The sign (-) indicates the direction (negative/inverse), and the magnitude (0.85)
indicates a strong relationship, close to the maximum of -1.0.*
**8. In an experiment, the group that does NOT receive the independent variable is called
the:**
, a) Experimental group
b) Control group
c) Dependent group
d) Random group
**Answer: b) Control group**
*Rationale: The control group provides a baseline for comparison to see if the independent
variable had an effect.*
**9. The variable that a researcher manipulates in an experiment is the ________ variable.**
a) Dependent
b) Confounding
c) Control
d) Independent
**Answer: d) Independent**
*Rationale: The independent variable is the factor the experimenter systematically changes to
observe its effect.*
**10. A researcher wants to ensure that every member of the population has an equal chance
of being selected for a study. This is called:**
a) Random assignment
b) Representative sampling
c) Random sampling
d) Stratified sampling
**Answer: c) Random sampling**
*Rationale: Random sampling is a method for selecting a study sample from a population,
ensuring generalizability. (Random assignment is for assigning participants to groups in an
experiment).*
