History and Approaches to Psychology — HS Psychology practice questions

A psychologist who helps a company choose job candidates and improve teamwork works in:

1. clinical psychology
2. industrial-organizational psychology
3. developmental psychology
4. counseling psychology

Answer: B — industrial-organizational psychology

B) Correct — I/O psychology applies psychology to workplaces: hiring, training, motivation and team performance. A) Assesses and treats psychological disorders. C) Studies change across the lifespan. D) Helps people with everyday adjustment problems, not workplace selection.

Psychology is best defined as the scientific study of:

1. the unconscious mind
2. observable behavior only
3. mental illness and its treatment
4. behavior and mental processes

Answer: D — behavior and mental processes

D) Correct — Modern psychology studies both what people do and what they think and feel, using scientific methods. A) Was Freud's focus, one school, not the whole field. B) Was strict behaviorism's definition; it left out mental processes. C) Is clinical psychology, one branch of the field.

John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner argued that psychology should:

1. study only observable behavior
2. focus on unconscious motives
3. emphasize free will and personal growth
4. explain behavior through evolution

Answer: A — study only observable behavior

A) Correct — Behaviorists held that only behavior can be measured objectively, so mental states had no place in a science. B) Is Freud's approach, which behaviorists rejected as unscientific. C) Is the humanistic view of Rogers and Maslow. D) Is evolutionary psychology.

The biopsychosocial approach holds that depression is BEST explained by:

1. genetic risk alone, since depression often runs in families
2. interacting biological, psychological and social factors
3. negative thinking habits learned in early childhood
4. stressful life events, which are the main cause of most cases

Answer: B — interacting biological, psychological and social factors

B) Correct — It combines levels of analysis: genes and brain chemistry, thought patterns, and relationships and culture all contribute. A) Genes raise risk but don't explain it alone; that is one level of the model. C) Is one psychological factor, not the full model. D) Stress matters, but the approach rejects any single cause.

The nature–nurture debate is about the relative influence of:

1. reward and punishment
2. mind and brain
3. conscious and unconscious thought
4. genes and environment

Answer: D — genes and environment

D) Correct — Nature is heredity; nurture is experience. Most traits reflect both. A) Are both environmental (nurture) influences, so they are one side of the debate. B) Is the mind–body question, a different philosophical issue. C) Is a psychodynamic distinction.

A psychologist explains a student's test anxiety by pointing to the student's thoughts ("I always fail"). Which perspective is this?

1. Behavioral
2. Biological
3. Humanistic
4. Cognitive

Answer: D — Cognitive

D) Correct — The cognitive perspective looks at how thinking, beliefs and interpretation shape feelings and behavior. A) Would focus on learned responses and reinforcement, not thoughts. B) Would look at hormones, genes or brain activity. C) Would focus on growth, self-concept and free will.

Psychiatrists differ from most clinical psychologists in that psychiatrists:

1. treat patients only in hospitals
2. use talk therapy but never medication
3. hold an MD and can prescribe drugs
4. focus on research rather than treatment

Answer: C — hold an MD and can prescribe drugs

C) Correct — Psychiatrists are physicians; most clinical psychologists hold a PhD or PsyD and use psychological treatment. A) Both work in many settings, including private practice. B) Reverses it: prescribing is what sets psychiatrists apart. D) Describes research psychologists.

Which perspective would MOST likely explain aggression in terms of testosterone and brain activity?

1. Sociocultural
2. Psychodynamic
3. Biological
4. Cognitive

Answer: C — Biological

C) Correct — The biological perspective explains behavior through the body: genes, hormones and the nervous system. A) Looks at culture and social context. B) Looks at unconscious drives and early conflicts. D) Looks at thinking and interpretation.

Psychology definition?

Scientific study of behavior and mental processes.

Structuralism vs functionalism?

Structuralism: break consciousness into basic elements. Functionalism: study how mental processes help us adapt.

Cognitive perspective?

Mental processes — thinking, memory, problem-solving.