PSYC 355 - Final Exam Questions and Answers
UPDATED 2026 100% Verified Graded A+
1. Main psychoanalytic psychologists/main themes
Answer: -Freud and Erikson
-continuity and discontinuity
-individual ditterences
-nature and nurture
2. Psychoanalytic Theories
Answer: child goes through stages, driven by biological maturation
3. Freud
Answer: -behavior is driven by the need to satisfy basic drives
-emphasis on the unconscious
-emphasis on importance of early experience for later development
4. Psychosexual theory
Answer: -at each stage, children encounter conflicts related to ditterent erogenous zones
,-how these conflicts are resolved impacts later development
5. Personality structure (Freud)
Answer: -Id (instincts)- innate biological drives; earliest/most primative; uncon- scious; goal of seeking
pleasure
-Ego (reality)- emerges in the first year; the rational/logical/problem-solving component
-Superego (morality)- develops during ages 3-6
6. Internalization
Answer: adoption of the parents' attributes, beliefs and standards as his/her own
7. Strengths of Freud
Answer: -strengths: emphasis on the importance of early social experience, particularly with parents;
emphasis on subjective experience and unconscious mental activity
8. Weaknesses of Freud
Answer: -some claims diflcult or impossible to empirically test (un-falsifiable)
-some elements are highly questionable
-retrospective (he didn't actually work with children)
9. Erikson's Psychosocial Theory
Answer: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority,
identity vs. role confusion
,10. Trust vs. Mistrust
Answer: FIRST YEAR
-developing trust in other people is the crucial issue
11. Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt
Answer: 1-3.5 YEARS
-the challenge is to achieve a strong sense of autonomy while adjusting to increased social demands
12. Initiative vs. Guilt
Answer: 4-6 YEARS
-resolved when the child develops high standards and the initiative to meet them without being crushed by worry about not
being able to measure up
13. Industry vs. Inferiority
Answer: 6-PUBERTY
-the child must master cognitive and social skills, learn to work industriously, and play well with others
, 14. Identity vs. Role confusion
Answer: ADOLESCENCE-EARLY ADULTHOOD
-adolescents must resolve the question of who they really are or live in confusion about what roles they should play as
adults
15. Strengths of Erikson
Answer: -focus on adolescent identity development and sense of self has been very
influential
-emphasis on the importance of early social experience
-lifespan perspective
16. Weaknesses of Erikson
Answer: some claims diflcult or impossible to empirically test (un-falsifiable)
17. Watson Behaviorism
Answer: -Little albert: developed fear of white rat through classical conditioning
-therapy based on systematic desensitization
18. Systematic desensitization
Answer: -therapy approach to treating phobias based on learning principles
-exposure to the feared object in the context of positive reinforcement
19. Watson example
UPDATED 2026 100% Verified Graded A+
1. Main psychoanalytic psychologists/main themes
Answer: -Freud and Erikson
-continuity and discontinuity
-individual ditterences
-nature and nurture
2. Psychoanalytic Theories
Answer: child goes through stages, driven by biological maturation
3. Freud
Answer: -behavior is driven by the need to satisfy basic drives
-emphasis on the unconscious
-emphasis on importance of early experience for later development
4. Psychosexual theory
Answer: -at each stage, children encounter conflicts related to ditterent erogenous zones
,-how these conflicts are resolved impacts later development
5. Personality structure (Freud)
Answer: -Id (instincts)- innate biological drives; earliest/most primative; uncon- scious; goal of seeking
pleasure
-Ego (reality)- emerges in the first year; the rational/logical/problem-solving component
-Superego (morality)- develops during ages 3-6
6. Internalization
Answer: adoption of the parents' attributes, beliefs and standards as his/her own
7. Strengths of Freud
Answer: -strengths: emphasis on the importance of early social experience, particularly with parents;
emphasis on subjective experience and unconscious mental activity
8. Weaknesses of Freud
Answer: -some claims diflcult or impossible to empirically test (un-falsifiable)
-some elements are highly questionable
-retrospective (he didn't actually work with children)
9. Erikson's Psychosocial Theory
Answer: trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority,
identity vs. role confusion
,10. Trust vs. Mistrust
Answer: FIRST YEAR
-developing trust in other people is the crucial issue
11. Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt
Answer: 1-3.5 YEARS
-the challenge is to achieve a strong sense of autonomy while adjusting to increased social demands
12. Initiative vs. Guilt
Answer: 4-6 YEARS
-resolved when the child develops high standards and the initiative to meet them without being crushed by worry about not
being able to measure up
13. Industry vs. Inferiority
Answer: 6-PUBERTY
-the child must master cognitive and social skills, learn to work industriously, and play well with others
, 14. Identity vs. Role confusion
Answer: ADOLESCENCE-EARLY ADULTHOOD
-adolescents must resolve the question of who they really are or live in confusion about what roles they should play as
adults
15. Strengths of Erikson
Answer: -focus on adolescent identity development and sense of self has been very
influential
-emphasis on the importance of early social experience
-lifespan perspective
16. Weaknesses of Erikson
Answer: some claims diflcult or impossible to empirically test (un-falsifiable)
17. Watson Behaviorism
Answer: -Little albert: developed fear of white rat through classical conditioning
-therapy based on systematic desensitization
18. Systematic desensitization
Answer: -therapy approach to treating phobias based on learning principles
-exposure to the feared object in the context of positive reinforcement
19. Watson example
