PSYCH 210 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026
What is science? - Answers A systematic way of gaining knowledge through observation,
measurement, testing hypotheses, replication, and evidence-based conclusions.
What are the characteristics of science? - Answers Objective, systematic, testable, and self-correcting.
What is science NOT? - Answers Opinion, guesswork, or based on authority alone.
What is psychology? - Answers The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
What does psychology study? - Answers Thoughts, emotions, behavior, brain processes, and social
interaction.
Why did psychology become necessary? - Answers Newtonian physics suggested the universe follows
laws, and the theory of evolution showed humans evolved like other animals.
What are the scientific roots of psychology? - Answers It connects natural sciences, social sciences,
and human sciences.
What is structuralism? - Answers A school of thought that studied the structure of the mind using
introspection, focusing on conscious experience.
What is functionalism? - Answers A school of thought that studied the purpose of mental processes,
focusing on adaptation and survival.
What is psychoanalysis? - Answers A school of thought founded by Freud, focusing on the
unconscious mind and childhood influences.
What is behaviorism? - Answers A school of thought that focuses on observable behavior only and
ignores mental processes, asserting behavior is shaped by the environment.
What is cognitive science? - Answers A school of thought that focuses on mental processes, viewing
the mind like a computer.
What challenges does psychology face? - Answers Behavior is complex and variable, mental processes
are hard to observe, and psychology is often seen as subjective.
What are common stereotypes about psychology? - Answers Misconceptions include that psychology
is therapy only, psychologists just give advice, and psychology is common sense.
What is the current state of psychology? - Answers Modern psychology uses experiments and data,
combines biology, cognition, and behavior, and applies scientific methods.
Common sense - Answers Based on experience and intuition
Science - Answers Uses evidence and testing
Psychological Misconceptions - Answers Misconceptions come from media, folk wisdom, personal
experience, and overconfidence in intuition.
Gut feelings - Answers Influenced by brain-gut communication and emotional processing, but not
always reliable.
Folk tales - Answers Popular beliefs or sayings that oversimplify behavior.
Artificiality Problem - Answers Criticism that experiments are artificial.
Internal Validity - Answers Study accurately shows cause-effect.
External Validity - Answers Results apply to real-world situations; improving one often weakens the
other.
Sophomore Problem - Answers Psych studies often use college students, limiting generalization.
Animal Studies - Answers Used when human research is impossible, e.g., Harlow's monkey
attachment studies.
Confirmation Bias - Answers We seek information confirming what we already believe.
Hindsight Bias - Answers After events happen, we believe we 'knew it all along.'
Overcoming Biases - Answers Seek opposing evidence, slow down decisions, use data over intuition.
Rational Choice Theory - Answers People should make logical decisions maximizing benefit.
Reality of Rational Choice Theory - Answers People often do not make logical decisions.
System 1 - Answers Fast, automatic, emotional thinking that uses heuristics.
System 2 - Answers Slow, logical, effortful, analytical thinking.
Heuristics - Answers Mental shortcuts that save time but cause errors.
Availability Heuristic - Answers Judge likelihood by how easily examples come to mind.
Representativeness Heuristic - Answers Judge probability by similarity to stereotype.
Conjunction Fallacy - Answers Assuming combined events are more likely than single events.
Base Rate Fallacy - Answers Ignoring general probability information.
Expected Utility Theory - Answers Decision value = probability × outcome value.
Loss Aversion - Answers Losses feel worse than gains feel good.
What is science? - Answers A systematic way of gaining knowledge through observation,
measurement, testing hypotheses, replication, and evidence-based conclusions.
What are the characteristics of science? - Answers Objective, systematic, testable, and self-correcting.
What is science NOT? - Answers Opinion, guesswork, or based on authority alone.
What is psychology? - Answers The scientific study of behavior and mental processes.
What does psychology study? - Answers Thoughts, emotions, behavior, brain processes, and social
interaction.
Why did psychology become necessary? - Answers Newtonian physics suggested the universe follows
laws, and the theory of evolution showed humans evolved like other animals.
What are the scientific roots of psychology? - Answers It connects natural sciences, social sciences,
and human sciences.
What is structuralism? - Answers A school of thought that studied the structure of the mind using
introspection, focusing on conscious experience.
What is functionalism? - Answers A school of thought that studied the purpose of mental processes,
focusing on adaptation and survival.
What is psychoanalysis? - Answers A school of thought founded by Freud, focusing on the
unconscious mind and childhood influences.
What is behaviorism? - Answers A school of thought that focuses on observable behavior only and
ignores mental processes, asserting behavior is shaped by the environment.
What is cognitive science? - Answers A school of thought that focuses on mental processes, viewing
the mind like a computer.
What challenges does psychology face? - Answers Behavior is complex and variable, mental processes
are hard to observe, and psychology is often seen as subjective.
What are common stereotypes about psychology? - Answers Misconceptions include that psychology
is therapy only, psychologists just give advice, and psychology is common sense.
What is the current state of psychology? - Answers Modern psychology uses experiments and data,
combines biology, cognition, and behavior, and applies scientific methods.
Common sense - Answers Based on experience and intuition
Science - Answers Uses evidence and testing
Psychological Misconceptions - Answers Misconceptions come from media, folk wisdom, personal
experience, and overconfidence in intuition.
Gut feelings - Answers Influenced by brain-gut communication and emotional processing, but not
always reliable.
Folk tales - Answers Popular beliefs or sayings that oversimplify behavior.
Artificiality Problem - Answers Criticism that experiments are artificial.
Internal Validity - Answers Study accurately shows cause-effect.
External Validity - Answers Results apply to real-world situations; improving one often weakens the
other.
Sophomore Problem - Answers Psych studies often use college students, limiting generalization.
Animal Studies - Answers Used when human research is impossible, e.g., Harlow's monkey
attachment studies.
Confirmation Bias - Answers We seek information confirming what we already believe.
Hindsight Bias - Answers After events happen, we believe we 'knew it all along.'
Overcoming Biases - Answers Seek opposing evidence, slow down decisions, use data over intuition.
Rational Choice Theory - Answers People should make logical decisions maximizing benefit.
Reality of Rational Choice Theory - Answers People often do not make logical decisions.
System 1 - Answers Fast, automatic, emotional thinking that uses heuristics.
System 2 - Answers Slow, logical, effortful, analytical thinking.
Heuristics - Answers Mental shortcuts that save time but cause errors.
Availability Heuristic - Answers Judge likelihood by how easily examples come to mind.
Representativeness Heuristic - Answers Judge probability by similarity to stereotype.
Conjunction Fallacy - Answers Assuming combined events are more likely than single events.
Base Rate Fallacy - Answers Ignoring general probability information.
Expected Utility Theory - Answers Decision value = probability × outcome value.
Loss Aversion - Answers Losses feel worse than gains feel good.
