PSY 240 TEST PAPER 2026/2027 QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔Planning fallacy - ✔✔the tendency to underestimate how long it will take to complete
a task
✔✔Origins of the Self - ✔✔•Rudimentary sense of self
• Some non-human animals
-------->
Humans ~18-24 months
•Child's self-concept (knowing yourself) becomes concrete
References to characteristics like age, sex, neighborhood, and hobbies
✔✔Self-concept - ✔✔The overall set of beliefs that people have about their personal
attributes
(3 kinds of ways we know ourselves)
✔✔Knowing Ourselves Through Introspection - ✔✔Introspection
• Looking inward and examining our own thoughts, feelings, and motives
• Useful but not perfect
• Even if we don't know, we tend to come up with explanations
✔✔Self-awareness theory - ✔✔The idea that when people focus their attention on
themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to their internal standards and
values
✔✔Causal theories - ✔✔Theories about the causes of one's own feelings and
behaviors; often we learn such theories from our culture
- they aren't always correct and can lead to incorrect judges for our actions
✔✔Knowing ourselves by our own behavior: Self-perception theory - ✔✔The theory that
when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by
observing our behavior and the situation in which it occurs
✔✔Attribution theory - ✔✔A description of the way in which people explain the causes
of their own and other people's behavior
, (we explain our behavior after we observe it to ourselves)
✔✔Arousal - ✔✔A state of feeling a strong emotional charge toward something
✔✔Two-factor theory of emotion - ✔✔The idea that emotional experience is the result of
a two-step self-perception process in which people:
1. First experience physiological arousal
2. Then seek an appropriate explanation for it
✔✔Misattribution of arousal - ✔✔When people make mistaken inferences about what is
causing them to feel the way they do
✔✔Intrinsic motivation - ✔✔Engage in an activity because of enjoyment or interest, not
external rewards or pressures
✔✔Extrinsic motivation - ✔✔Engage in an activity because of external reasons, not
because of enjoyment or interest (Like money)
Extrinsic rewards can reduce intrinsic motivation
• Could lead to losing interest in activities they initially enjoyed
• Hobby vs. hustle
✔✔Overjustification effect - ✔✔The tendency for people to view their behavior as
caused by compelling extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which
it was caused by intrinsic reasons
✔✔Fixed mindset - ✔✔The idea that we have a set amount of an ability that cannot
change
✔✔Growth mindset - ✔✔The idea that achievement is the result of working hard, trying
new strategies, and seeking input from others
✔✔Mindset affects motivation - ✔✔A fixed mindset more likely to give up
after setbacks and less likely to work on
and hone skills
✔✔Using Other People to Know Ourselves - ✔✔Self-concept does not develop in
isolation
✔✔Social comparison theory - ✔✔The idea that we learn about our own abilities and
attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people
SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔Planning fallacy - ✔✔the tendency to underestimate how long it will take to complete
a task
✔✔Origins of the Self - ✔✔•Rudimentary sense of self
• Some non-human animals
-------->
Humans ~18-24 months
•Child's self-concept (knowing yourself) becomes concrete
References to characteristics like age, sex, neighborhood, and hobbies
✔✔Self-concept - ✔✔The overall set of beliefs that people have about their personal
attributes
(3 kinds of ways we know ourselves)
✔✔Knowing Ourselves Through Introspection - ✔✔Introspection
• Looking inward and examining our own thoughts, feelings, and motives
• Useful but not perfect
• Even if we don't know, we tend to come up with explanations
✔✔Self-awareness theory - ✔✔The idea that when people focus their attention on
themselves, they evaluate and compare their behavior to their internal standards and
values
✔✔Causal theories - ✔✔Theories about the causes of one's own feelings and
behaviors; often we learn such theories from our culture
- they aren't always correct and can lead to incorrect judges for our actions
✔✔Knowing ourselves by our own behavior: Self-perception theory - ✔✔The theory that
when our attitudes and feelings are uncertain or ambiguous, we infer these states by
observing our behavior and the situation in which it occurs
✔✔Attribution theory - ✔✔A description of the way in which people explain the causes
of their own and other people's behavior
, (we explain our behavior after we observe it to ourselves)
✔✔Arousal - ✔✔A state of feeling a strong emotional charge toward something
✔✔Two-factor theory of emotion - ✔✔The idea that emotional experience is the result of
a two-step self-perception process in which people:
1. First experience physiological arousal
2. Then seek an appropriate explanation for it
✔✔Misattribution of arousal - ✔✔When people make mistaken inferences about what is
causing them to feel the way they do
✔✔Intrinsic motivation - ✔✔Engage in an activity because of enjoyment or interest, not
external rewards or pressures
✔✔Extrinsic motivation - ✔✔Engage in an activity because of external reasons, not
because of enjoyment or interest (Like money)
Extrinsic rewards can reduce intrinsic motivation
• Could lead to losing interest in activities they initially enjoyed
• Hobby vs. hustle
✔✔Overjustification effect - ✔✔The tendency for people to view their behavior as
caused by compelling extrinsic reasons, making them underestimate the extent to which
it was caused by intrinsic reasons
✔✔Fixed mindset - ✔✔The idea that we have a set amount of an ability that cannot
change
✔✔Growth mindset - ✔✔The idea that achievement is the result of working hard, trying
new strategies, and seeking input from others
✔✔Mindset affects motivation - ✔✔A fixed mindset more likely to give up
after setbacks and less likely to work on
and hone skills
✔✔Using Other People to Know Ourselves - ✔✔Self-concept does not develop in
isolation
✔✔Social comparison theory - ✔✔The idea that we learn about our own abilities and
attitudes by comparing ourselves to other people
