Understanding Key Concepts in Psychology and Intelligence
1. A person who can imagine many possible solutions to a problem, including some that might be outside of the box, best illustrates:
B – divergent thinking
2. Per the class notes, intelligence is best defined as a(n):
A – ability to learn from experience and adapt to change.
3. The ability to learn a new computer software program is to ________ as knowledge of state capitals is to ________.
B – fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence
4. Which of the following is not one of the dimensions of intelligence in Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence?
C – crystallized intelligence
5. Which of the following processes most obviously operates in group thinking?
C – group polarization
6. Although Melissa suffered intensely from the unexpected death of her young husband, her personal strength and optimistic outlook on life enable her to effectively cope with her loss and live a productive and meaningful life. Melissa most clearly illustrated:
A – resilience
7. The fundamental attribution error refers to our tendency to underestimate the impact of ______ and to overestimate the impact of ________ in explaining the behavior of others.
A – situational influences; personal traits
8. Frans avoids talking with food in his mouth because he knows others think it is socially inappropriate. This best illustrates the impact of:
C – social norm
9. Attitudes are ________ that guide behavior.
B – situational attributions
10. Which biological theory suggests that dreams are mental responses to random bursts of neural stimulation?
D – activation-synthesis theory
11. Stress is defined as:
12. Attempting to reduce stress directly by changing or managing a stressor is known as:
A – problem-focused coping
13. After an exciting football game in which the home team loses by one point, angry fans throw bottles and begin to tear up the field. This behavior is best understood in terms of:
A – deindividuation
14. In 1942, German reserve police officers obeyed orders to kill some 1500 Jews in the village of Jozefow, Poland. This incident illustrated that people are most likely to be destructively obedient when:
D – they perceive their orders to come from legitimate authority figures
15. REM rebound involves the:
D – tendency for REM sleep to increase following REM sleep deprivation
16. Which of the following is NOT characteristic of REM sleep?
C – heart and breathing rates increase.
17. When a person is able to recognize that they are dreaming and can control the content of that dream, they are said to be:
D – lucid dreaming
18. The order of the phases of the general adaptation syndrome are:
A – alarm reaction, resistance, and exhaustion
19. Jacinda failed her last history midterm. Which of the following conclusions would be most representative of a self-serving bias on Jacinda’s part?
A – “I think the test questions were ambiguous and confusing.”
20. Changing how we view a stressor from looking at it as a challenge as opposed to a threat is considered:
D – emotion-focused coping
21. The interpretation and expression of emotion can be influenced by which of the following:
E – all of these can be an influence
22. An eagerness to believe that victims of a natural disaster are being punished by God for their sins is best explained in terms of:
A – the just-world phenomenon
23. Which of the following persons is most clearly acting aggressively?
C – a child who tries to hit another child with a rock
24. Prior to age 18, an IQ of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the normal demands of life are the criteria for a diagnosis of:
D – intellectual disability
25. When community members become upset when a preacher publicly exhibits angry behavior or is charged with DUI but do not respond that way when a regular member of the community does the same, the preacher is being held to a different set of behavioral standards. This best describes a(n):
C – ingroup bias
26. Solomon Asch’s experiment showed that individuals conformed to a group’s judgment of the lengths of lines:
D – even when the group judgment was clearly incorrect
27. Mr. O’Brian is a high school teacher who suffers from hypertension and depression. Research suggests that regular aerobic exercise would ________ his depression and ________ his hypertension.
E – reduce; reduce
28. The evaluation of what our options are in coping with a stressor is called:
B – secondary appraisal
29. In emergency situations, emotional arousal resulting in the fight or flight response will normally result in:
D – all of these actions
30. Chronic sleep deprivation is most likely to contribute to:
D – brain plasticity
31. Andrea’s physician has suggested that a program of relaxation training and aerobic exercise would provide the best treatment for her high blood pressure. The physician probably considers Andrea’s hypertension to be a ______ illness.
D – psychophysiological
32. According to Swenson’s stress model, when an individual experiences ___________, he/she has a greater chance of experiencing burnout.
33. Per the class notes, if sleepwalking occurs, it will usually occur in the ________ stage of sleep.
D – NREM3
34. Freud would say that the symbols and images we see in our dreams are called the ______ content, but the real meaning of the dream lies in its hidden ______ content.
B – manifest; latent
35. Which of the following is not one of the eight types of intelligence listed in Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences?
D – creativity
36. Which of the following describes a stereotype?
D – Robin is convinced that university professors are usually impractical and forgetful
37. The belief that our life is controlled by circumstances or chance and therefore unchangeable is called ______ and can promote the development of _______.
38. Prejudice is best defined as:
D – an unjustifiable and usually negative attitude toward a particular group and its members
39. To say that the heritability of intelligence is about 50 percent means that 50 percent of:
B – the variation in intelligence between individuals is the result of genetic factors
40. Per our class discussion, which of the following will least help lead to more happiness and fulfillment in life?
41. Pilar prefers to take exams in the late afternoon rather than during the morning. This is because she has more energy and is better able to concentrate at that time. Pilar’s experience most likely reflects the influence of her:
C – circadian rhythm
42. People sometimes feel less personally accountable and less concerned about what others think of them when acting as part of a group. This most clearly contributes to:
D – social loafing
43. In very stressful or embarrassing situations, Sanura is able to maintain her poise and help others to feel comfortable. Sanura’s ability best illustrates the value of:
E – emotional intelligence
44. Which branch of psychology is most directly concerned with the study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another?
A – social psychology
45. Tests of _______ measure what an individual can do (or knows) now, whereas tests of ______ predict what an individual will be able to do (or learn) later.
C – achievement; aptitude
46. Creativity is the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas. Which of the following is not a characteristic of creativity?
B – extrinsic motivation
47. It was suggested in our class discussion of the Anger Model that when reality does not meet our expectations, ________ occurs, resulting in negative emotions that we either manage in a healthy or unhealthy way.
48. During NREM1 sleep, Melanie experienced pressure on her body followed by a feeling that she was falling. Her experience best illustrates:
C – hypnagogic sensations
49. The discomfort we feel when our beliefs and behaviors clash is called:
A – cognitive dissonance
50. Stress lowers the body’s resistance to and/or may help promote:
E – all listed