Introductory Psychology (PSY301, 2:00-3:330PM) – Test 4

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

1. People who eat odd things like dirt and metal are considered to have a mental disorder. However, there is no mental disorder classification for serial rapists. According to lecture, why is one group but not the other classified as having a mental disorder?

a.	Serial rapists have been found to suffer from traumatic childhood experiences which cannot be the cause of a mental disorder.
b.	People who eat odd things all have specific damage to a brain region, while serial rapists tend not to suffer from brain damage.
c.	Serial rapists and people eating odd things both fall into the category of criminal disorders.
d.	The definitions of mental disorders are often culturally defined and can be driven by seemingly arbitrary factors, such as politics.
e.	Mental disorders are unrelated to sexual disorders, such as with a serial rapist.

2. In another class, Dr. Pennebaker makes his TA’s hand count how many words the students write in an essay (a very boring and time consuming task). Afterwards, he gives Rafael $3 for doing this and gives Marcus $30. According to cognitive dissonance, which TA is most likely to tell future TAs for Dr. Pennebaker that he did NOT enjoy the task?

a.	Marcus, because $30 was sufficient justification to do a boring task.
b.	Rafael, because $3 does not seem like enough money to justify doing something so boring.
c.	Both will say they both did not enjoy the task equally.
d.	Both will say that they did enjoy the task because some reward was given.
e.	Both will say that they enjoyed the task because Dr. Pennebaker is always watching.

3. The professors gave direct orders to the teaching assistants to fail everyone in the class. The professors did not give a reason but said that the University agreed with their decision, so the TAs obeyed and failed everyone. This incident illustrated that people are most likely to be destructively obedient when:

a.	their victims are distant and depersonalized.
b.	they perceive their orders to come from legitimate authority figures.
c.	they are evil.
d.	they fail to realize their actions are morally wrong.
e.	they derive personal satisfaction from destructive acts.

4. According to the laws of social physics,

a.	groups with lower status will attract more people
b.	the more popular the teacher, the less sociable he or she naturally is
c.	the smaller the group, the faster the group walks on a stroll through the park
d.	if a person falls from a building, he (or she) will maintain a constant velocity
e.	in a crowded room, people avoid standing next to a tall person.

5. On which of the following tasks would the presence of others be most likely to lead to improved performance?

a.	counting backward from 10 to 1
b.	learning nonsense syllables
c.	solving calculus equations
d.	reciting the months of the year in alphabetical order
e.	learning foreign language words

6. Fleur suffers from chronic depression. According to the social-cognitive perspective, how is she most likely to respond when told that she performed very poorly on a test she took the previous day?

a.	“The professors suck.”
b.	“There was a test yesterday?”
c.	“I'm just stupid and always will be.”
d.	“Yesterday was just my unlucky day, but I'll do better next time.”
e.	“I suspect that none of the students in my class did well on that test.”

7. A fast-growing company called Super Psych Inc. is finding that even though it’s hiring new employees, many groups of co-workers are leaving the company. The company decides that it should re-structure how it is organized. Based on the lecture on social dynamics, which of the following would BEST solve their problem with company stability?

a.	The company should restructure itself into smaller groups since they should be more stable than one large unit.
b.	The company should assist in helping employees who want to quit find a new job to create dissonance for the remaining employees.
c.	The company should use the foot-in-the-door technique to increase recruitment.
d.	The company should attempt to merge with a larger company.
e.	The company should fire all its employees and start over.

8. Based on the video about the Milgram study in class, which of the following is the BEST reason why teachers in the study continued the shocks?

a.	They ignored or didn’t believe that the shocks were affecting the learner.
b.	Teachers believed they weren’t responsible for their actions.
c.	The teachers were forced to administer the shocks and had no choice about whether and when to give the shocks.
d.	The experimenter lied to the teachers about the health of the learner, saying that the learner’s lack of response was due to equipment failure.
e.	The teachers could not hear the cries of the learner, so they had no way of knowing that the shocks were painful.

9. One reason that the in class demonstration of conformity wasn’t as successful as it could have been was:

a.	People with blue forms might have seen one other person still sitting down on the key trial.
b.	People without blue forms might have failed to stand up fast enough on the key trial.
c.	People with the blue forms might have been too focused on grabbing their blue form and failed to sit down on the key trial.
d.	People with the blue forms might have stayed standing just because everyone else stood up on the key trial.
e.	Some people without the blue forms didn’t come to class on the right day.

10. Arabella is tempted to shoplift a gold necklace even though she has negative feelings about shoplifting. Arabella is LEAST likely to steal the merchandise if:

a.	she has recently shoplifted jewelry from several different stores.
b.	her negative feelings about shoplifting result from normative social influence.
c.	her negative feelings about shoplifting result from informational social influence.
d.	she is highly aware of her negative feelings about shoplifting.
e.	she is suffering the effects of deindividuation.

11. If one were to generalize from Sherif's study of conflict resolution between two groups of children campers, the best way for the United States and China to improve their relationship would be to:

a.	conduct a joint space program designed to land humans on Mars.
b.	hold highly publicized athletic contests between the two countries.
c.	teach citizens of each country to speak the language of the other country.
d.	minimize their trade and economic exchanges.
e.	allow citizens of each country the right to freely immigrate to the other country.

12. Marvolo is 32 years old, well above average in intelligence, and quite charming. What might lead you to suspect he has antisocial personality disorder?

a.	He swindled several elderly people out of their life savings, yet he expresses little regret and does not fear the consequences of getting caught.
b.	He constantly worries about germs and often has to wash his hands until his skin is raw.
c.	He is afraid of being in a crowded room and avoids potentially embarrassing social situations, so people who know him think he is not very sociable.
d.	He seems to go through cycles of being very talkative and energetic and being hopeless and withdrawn.
e.	He says he hears voices calling him nasty names and telling him to hurt himself.

13. Johan was classified as having a mental illness when he actually was faking it and does not have one. According to Rosenhan’s findings dealing with sane people going into mental hospitals, which of the following is LEAST likely to occur if he’s at a mental institution?

a.	The doctors will interpret ordinary stories that Johan tells as symptoms of his mental illness.
b.	The doctors will interpret Johan’s claim that he faked his illness as signs that he is still ill.
c.	The doctors will quite quickly be able to discover that Johan has faked the illness and will send him home.
d.	The doctors will want to keep Johan under supervision for a while even if one of his friends says that he was faking it.
e.	Johan will see how other patients are treated at the institution.

14. When the class had the “cocktail party”, the partiers did all of the following EXCEPT:

a.	Tended to face away from the non-partiers in an attempt to shield themselves.
b.	Tended to clump together on just one side of the stage in order to feel more secure.
c.	Tended to use hand gestures when talking because it was loud on stage.
d.	Tended to discuss topics that were more personal because the partiers are in a psychology class that emphasizes personal well-being.
e.	Tended to talk to people who were similar to themselves in dress and gender because people naturally find something to talk about with people who look like them.

15. Elvira is in the library when the fire alarm goes off. She looks around at other students and no one seems to care. Based on the lectures, how is Elvira MOST likely to respond?

a.	Elvira will start a fire herself so everyone will leave.
b.	Elvira will leave the library immediately.
c.	Elvira will stop what she’s doing until the alarm goes off.
d.	Elvira will scream “Fire!” even though she doesn’t see one.
e.	Elvira will continue to study in the library, ignoring the alarm.

16. During the manic phase of bipolar disorder, individuals are most likely to

a.	experience delusions of persecution.
b.	have visual or auditory hallucinations.
c.	show good judgment.
d.	experience uncontrollable grief and despair.
e.	have high self-esteem.

17. When a salesperson visits your home and asks you to try a free sample of a cleaning fluid, you agree. When he returns the following week and asks you to purchase an assortment of expensive cleaning products, you make the purchase. The salesperson appears to have made effective use of:

a.	the foot-in-the-door phenomenon - because you accepted the smaller request you then accepted the larger request.
b.	deindividuation - you felt anonymous and less restrained in the presence of the salesman so you made an uninhibited purchase.
c.	normative social influence - you wanted the salesman's approval so you purchased the cleaning products.
d.	prejudice - the salesman took advantage of your negative attitude toward his products to get you to purchase them.
e.	the fundamental attribution error - you overestimated the quality of the cleaning product.

18. Viktor is afraid to ask a girl for a date, so his therapist instructs him to relax and simply imagine he is reaching for a telephone and then calling a potential date. The therapist's technique best illustrates the process of:

a.	free association - he is being asked to freely associate about his fear of telephones.
b.	cognitive therapy - he is being taught to change his self-defeating beliefs about his ability to use a phone to ask a girl for a date.
c.	systematic desensitization - he is being conditioned to associate relaxation with calling a potential date.
d.	aversive conditioning - he is being conditioned to associate his fear of girls with making telephone calls.
e.	transference - he is transferring his feelings of fear to the therapist.

19. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) differs from the psychoanalytic approach and the humanistic approach because it

a.	assumes a core model of personality
b.	focuses on discovering the underlying cause of the problem
c.	focuses on the patient's history and family history of mental illness
d.	uses conditioning strategies
e.	involves neglecting the patient

20. Imagine you are attending a meeting in the conference room of a hotel. On one side of the room there is a water cooler, and on the other side of the room there is a coffee machine. Many people are expected to attend. Based on social physics, you would expect that

a.	People will be evenly distributed throughout the room
b.	People will tend to stay in groups of 5-8
c.	People will tend to stand by the water cooler or the coffee machine.
d.	At first people will stand by the water cooler, but over time they will drift over to the coffee machine
e.	At first people will talk to others that are most different from them.

21. William decides to dress up as the Grimm Reaper and wear a mask for halloween. On his way to a party, he passes a person who is obviously in distress. Although he is normally inclined to help people, in this case he does not stop to help. Which theory would best explain William's actions?

a.	The smoky-room effect
b.	Diffusion of responsibility
c.	Social physics
d.	Deindividualization
e.	The good Samaritan theory

22. Santini, a pilot, was recently in a crash. Although he himself suffered no physical injuries, his plane was severely damaged and two crew members were killed. Which of the following would lead you to believe William is suffering from a dissociative disorder?

a.	He is hyperactive, impulsive, and unable to focus on tasks like reading a book.
b.	He complains of having recurring haunting memories and nightmares about the crash.
c.	He is unable to remember anything of the crash, and his friends say they've seen major changes in his personality.
d.	He has an intense fear of flying that he links with the belief that he was responsible for killing his crew members.
e.	He says he is having repetitive thoughts of something terrible happening and has to repeatedly check his car brakes.

23. Social loafing is most likely to occur among:

a.	students who are each assigned a different topic for their course term papers.
b.	UT football players who are playing in a rematch against Texas Tech.
c.	factory workers paid on the basis of individual level of productivity.
d.	a group of runners competing for first place in a race.
e.	students who are given a group assignment for which everyone gets the same grade regardless of their contribution.

24. Which of the following individuals is most likely to benefit from an SSRI (selective-serotonin-reputake-inhibitor) like Prozac?

a.	Sybill, who hears imaginary voices telling her that she will suffer a fatal accident
b.	Pomona, who feels helpless and apathetic and thinks her life is meaningless and worthless
c.	Albus, who has involuntary movements of his facial muscles, tongue, and limbs
d.	Minerva, who is so addicted to cigarettes that she doesn't want to quit smoking
e.	Horace, who has lost his sense of identity and wandered from his home to a distant city

25. Neville told his therapist, “I came to see what you could do for me.” What would be the therapist's response if he is using the active listening technique?

a.	“Talk about your relationship with your mother.”
b.	“It sounds like you're feeling you need some help. Am I right?”
c.	“Tell me about the dreams you've been having recently.”
d.	“What makes you think I could do anything for you?”
e.	“I can prescribe a drug that might help you.”

26. Based on research on aggression and parent-training programs, which of the following would be the best advice to give parents who are concerned about the frequent aggressive outbursts of their 6-year-old son?

a.	“Let him be aggressive and beat up other kids. You don't want him to be a weakling, do you?”
b.	“Don't be concerned about your child's aggressiveness, unless the behavior pattern continues beyond the fifth grade.”
c.	“Be consistent in spanking your child after every outburst so he'll realize that aggression never pays.”
d.	“Reward and praise your son whenever he is socially cooperative and altruistic.”
e.	“Encourage your son to watch the devastating consequences of violence portrayed on TV.”

27. Pedro and his friends go to an ice cream shop, and all his friends order vanilla ice cream. Pedro is the last to order, and he decides to order vanilla, too. Pedro's decision may be explained by

a.	The Milgram effect
b.	The power of authority effect
c.	Informative social influence
d.	The social power effect
e.	Normative social influence

28. Every time Karl leaves his apartment he checks to see if the door is locked at least three times. Every time he leaves his office he also returns at least three times to see if the lights have all been switched off. Karl shows signs of

a.	Schizophrenia
b.	Generalized anxiety disorder
c.	Panic disorder
d.	Depression
e.	Obsessive-compulsive disorder

29. Imagine your friend Samuel decides to join a fraternity. On his first day in the fraternity, he is forced to perform embarrassing acts. He is then forced to stay awake all night reciting the fraternity's pledge. A week later you ask him if he enjoys the fraternity and he tells you that he is very happy there and thinks it is a great place to be. Which of the following best explains Samuel's attitude?

a.	diffusion of responsibility
b.	social physics
c.	deindividuation
d.	openness to experience
e.	cognitive dissonance

30. Louis occasionally hears voices telling her that the end of the world is coming. She believes that she can control the weather with her mind. What disorder is Louis suffering from?

a.	Multiple personality disorder
b.	Paranoid Schizophrenia
c.	Catatonic schizophrenia
d.	Panic disorder
e.	Bipolar depression

31. Fred, an extraverted university freshman, has just moved into a dormitory. Fred is most likely to become friends with:

a.	Padma, his psychology TA who lives in an apartment off-campus.
b.	Quigley, a junior who is majoring in psychology and lives in a dormitory down the street.
c.	Amos, his assigned roommate who is majoring in computer science.
d.	Gilderoy, an introverted student who lives on the next floor and enjoys playing chess.
e.	Dexter, a lonely sophomore who lives down the hall and is undecided about his major.

32. Rowena is so fearful of being overwhelmed by anxiety that she rarely steps outside her apartment. The thought of going shopping and getting lost in a crowd terrifies her, so she has her groceries delivered. Because of her fear, she earns her living as a freelance writer, working at home. Rowena's behavior is most characteristic of:

a.	antisocial personality disorder.
b.	bipolar disorder.
c.	obsessive-compulsive disorder.
d.	generalized anxiety disorder.
e.	agoraphobia.

33. Alastor did very poorly on his last arithmetic test. The tendency to make the fundamental attribution error might lead his sixth-grade teacher to conclude that Freire did poorly because:

a.	the test covered material that had not been adequately covered in class.
b.	he was not given enough time to complete the test.
c.	his calculator was broken.
d.	his parents had an argument the evening before the test.
e.	he is unmotivated to do well in school.

34. Wendy suffers from claustraphobia and has decided to go to a therapist to talk about her problem. She finds it strange that her therapist makes her talk about her dreams and her relationship with her parents so frequently. What therapy approach is being used in this case?

a.	Psychoanalytic
b.	Cognitive behavioral
c.	Humanistic
d.	New age
e.	Compassionate

35. Rita Skeeter, a 45-year-old journalist, alternates between extreme sadness and tiredness and extreme excitement and overactivity. Which drug would you prescribe for her to give her the most beneficial results?

a.	Thorazine to keep her from being hyperactive
b.	lithium to stabilize her mood
c.	alcohol to help her relax
d.	Clozaril to reduce her auditory hallucinations
e.	Xanax to relieve her tension

36. The risk of suicide is greatest when people:

a.	experience depressive symptoms at their most extreme levels of severity.
b.	begin to rebound from their depression.
c.	experience the first symptoms of a depressive episode.
d.	have never been depressed.
e.	start to hear voices telling them to kill themselves.

37. Professor Snape is a member of the faculty committee on academic standards. He personally disagrees with the other committee members' proposed plan to begin accepting students with below-average grades. However, Professor Snape is most likely to vote in favor of their plan if:

a.	he is physically attractive.
b.	he has a high level of self-esteem.
c.	he stated his personal opinion early in the committee's discussion.
d.	the other committee members are unanimous in their opinion.
e.	committee voting is done by private ballot.

38. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders, fourth edition (DSM IV), was created to

a.	explain the causes of mental disorders
b.	provide comprehensive statistics of the rates of different mental disorders
c.	diagnose mental disorders
d.	outline treatments for mental disorders
e.	evaluate the effectiveness of mental institutions

39. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an example of a(n) _________ disorder

a.	Depressive
b.	Anxiety
c.	Conduct
d.	Behavior
e.	Dissociative

40. Electroconvulsive shock therapy is effective in treating

a.	Multiple personality disorder because the trauma to the brain prevents switching between personalities
b.	Anxiety because the trauma to the brain inhibits the release of serotonin
c.	Depression because the trauma to the brain results in the release of serotonin
d.	Schizophrenia because the trauma to the brain results in the release of dopamine
e.	Phobias because the trauma to the brain inhibits the release of dopamine

41. Salazar, a 21-year-old university junior, is physically unattractive. Compared to good-looking students, Salazar is most likely to:

a.	have difficulty making a favorable impression on potential employers.
b.	have lower intelligence and earn lower grades in his college courses.
c.	be well liked by other male college students.
d.	have high self-esteem.
e.	be physically coordinated and athletic.

42. Malfoy is a college sophomore who feels so incompetent that he believes his life is worthless and hopeless. Malfoy would profit the most from:

a.	Wolpe's systematic desensitization - he would be conditioned to feel more comfortable about his incompetency.
b.	Moniz's lobotomy - removing the part of the brain responsible for his negative thoughts will help him think more positively.
c.	Shapiro's EMDR because electrical stimulation of the brain will calm his nerves.
d.	Freud's resistance because it will teach him to resist negative thoughts.
e.	Beck's cognitive therapy because it will teach him more adaptive ways of thinking about himself and his life.

43. Which of the following is the BEST example of the foot-in-the-door technique?

a.	An encyclopedia salesman who asks you to buy a $1000 set of books, then after you decline, asks if you’ll buy just one book for $30.
b.	A cult leader asks you to donate a small amount of money or time at first, then after you do, asks for more things.
c.	A person on the beach asks you to watch his stuff while he goes for a swim.
d.	A TV salesman tries to sell you a $100 cable after you’ve bought a $2000 TV.
e.	A witness claims she didn’t see the person on the floor because they were in a rush to get to class.

44. Gloria and Esteban go on a blind date and get along very well despite having very different personalities. Based on the writing assignment, which of the following is most likely to be TRUE about Gloria and Esteban?

a.	Their language styles were highly correlated.
b.	Their personality scores were highly correlated.
c.	Their language styles had a low correlation.
d.	Their personality scores must be negatively correlated because of the “opposites attract” hypothesis.
e.	They both talked only in Freudian slips.

45. A person who is having a heart attack is more likely to receive help in all of the following cases EXCEPT when:

a.	the person is obviously in need of help
b.	there are a large number of bystanders
c.	the heart attack occurs in a public place
d.	the person cries for help
e.	it would be very easy to help