Motivation: Biological, Psychological, and Environmental, 4th Edition by Lambert Deckers
Chapters 1–13
knowledge and practical application. Depending on the subject area, these exams can vary significantly in format. Common types of business exams and Writing Skills: Busin
CHAPTER 1 - Test Bank
Overview: Conceptualizing and Measuring Motivation
and the Role of Evolution in Motivation
[Note: After each question, the correct answer, the textbook page from which it comes,
and the question type is provided.]
1. Motivation can best be viewed as:
a. an on and off mechanism
b. a constant flow of behavior that can be directed in only one way
c. a constant flow of behavior that can be directed in many different ways
d. a state where one is either motivated or not motivated
[c 3 factual]
2. The concept of motivation is used to describe forces acting on or within an organism
that influence which of the following aspects of behavior?
a. initiation and direction
b. growth and maturation
c. speed and duration
d. verbal only
[a 4 factual]
3. A student studies hard to earn a slice of pizza. In this situation, studying might be
considered a variable.
a. determination
b. persistence
c. performance
d. stimulus
[c 5 conceptual]
4. According to the stimulus-response analysis, motivation
a. can be measured directly
b. can be seen as an intervening variable
c. can be studied only in laboratory rats
d. can not be studied in humans
[b 5 factual]
5. Which of the following is NOT a reason that motivation is difficult to study?
a. its presence must often be inferred rather than observed directly
b. it is often an intervening variable
c. it is a performance variable and therefore temporary in nature
d. it can usually be determined through a survey
[d 5 conceptual]
, 6. According to the authors of the text, two main characteristics of motivation are:
a. activation and inactivation
b. activation and direction
c. performance and intervention
d. persistence and performance
[b 6-7 factual]
7. Prof Psyche is studying motivation by examining how individuals make choices. This
approach involves which characteristic of motivation?
a. deprivation
b. direction
c. needs
d. activation
[b 7 conceptual]
knowledge and practical application. Depending on the subject area, these exams can vary significantly in format. Common types of business exams and Writing Skills: Busin
8. Activation involves all of the following EXCEPT:
a. production of behavior
b. persistence of behavior
c. vigor of behavior
d. directionality of behavior
[d 7 factual]
9. A preference test can be a good indicator of:
a. directionality
b. vigor
c. activation
d. intervention
[a 7 factual]
10. A friend who persistently tries to find a date for the dance is displaying the
component of motivation.
a. vigor
b. nomothetic
c. activation
d. homeostasis
[c 7 conceptual]
11. Going to a movie theater and selecting a romantic comedy indicates which
component of motivation?
a. direction
b. activation
c. persistence
d. vigor
[a 7 conceptual]
12. Preference may be considered an index of motivation because it shows:
, a. activation of behavior
b. persistence of behavior
c. differences between several choices of behaviors
d. that persistence and activation are linked
[c 7 conceptual]
13. The nomothetic approach to the study of motivation involves the development of:
a. general or universal laws
b. ideas about individual differences
c. ideas about how learning causes behavior
d. ideas about how behavior is influenced by genetic factors
[a 7-8 factual]
14. Categories of analysis used in the study of motivation include all of the following
EXCEPT:
a. nomothetic vs. idiographic
b. innate vs. acquired
c. internal vs. external
d. instinct vs. attribution
[d 8 factual]
15. Theorists who emphasized instincts in the past, or who advocate ethology today are
most likely to use which approach to the study of motivation?
a. cognitive
b. mechanistic
c. innate
d. acquired
[c 8 factual]
16. Needs are generally viewed as sources of motivation, while goals emphasize
sources of motivation.
a. internal; external
b. external; internal
c. mechanistic; cognitive
d. problematic; innate
[a 8 conceptual]
knowledge and practical application. Depending on the subject area, these exams can vary significantly in format. Common types of business exams and Writing Skills: Busin
TB01 - 3
, 17. The assumption that changes in specific factors activate circuits that in turn motivate
the organism to engage in appropriate behavior typifies which approach to the study of
motivation?
a. cognitive
b. mechanistic
c. internal
d. nomothetic
[b 9 factual]
18. Which of the following statements best represents the assumptions held by theorists
who advocate the cognitive approach?
a. "The manner in which information is interpreted influences motive states"
b. "Motive states are influenced by environmental factors acting on the organism"
c. "Instincts control most motive states"
d. "Motive states are controlled by needs that promote behaviors to reduce those needs"
[a 9 conceptual]
19. The example of the Olds and Milner (1954) experiment in which electrodes were
introduced into areas of a rat's brain best exemplifies which level of analysis?
a. philosophical
b. individual
c. physiological
d. social
[c 9 factual]
knowledge and practical application. Depending on the subject area, these exams can vary significantly in format. Common types of business exams and Writing Skills: Busin
20. Which of the following is NOT a technique used in motivational research at the
physiological level?
a. electrical stimulation of the brain
b. chemical stimulation of the brain
c. electrical recording of brain cell activity via EEG
d. depriving a rat of food and observing how it's behavior changes
[d 9-10 conceptual]
21. Bandura's (1973) study with the Bobo doll is an example of which level of analysis?
a. individual
b. physiological
c. social
d. philosophical
[a 11 conceptual]
22. One reason why Bandura's (1973) study with the Bobo doll is important is that:
a. it shows how brain functions influence behavior
b. it shows that aggression may be learned through observation
c. it shows that children are naturally aggressive
d. it shows that some motive states are innate
[b 11 conceptual]
TB01 - 4