MCAT Psychology Practice Questions & Solutions
Rated A+
Bystander effect - Answer individuals do not intervene to help victims when others are present
Social Loafing - Answer tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a group setting than
individually
In studies of bystander intervention, which variable is typically found to be positively correlated with the
time it takes for an individual to offer help in case of emergency?
A. The severity of the emergency
B. The number of bystanders who witness the emergency
C. The individual's level of altruism as assessed by a standardized measure
D. The degree to which altruism is a part of the individual's self-image - Answer B. The number of
bystanders who witness the emergency
An individual arrives late at a meeting. Which explanation for being tardy is consistent with self-serving
bias? The individual will attribute being late to:
A. an uncontrollable personality trait.
B. a situational variable.
C. a controllable personality trait.
D. a stable variable. - Answer B. a situational variable.
Self-serving bias - Answer the tendency for people to view their own success based on internal factors
and failures on external factors
Actor-observer bias - Answer the tendency to blame our actions on the situation and blame the actions
of others on their personalities
, A researcher interested in actor-observer bias asks a group of viewer participants to watch a target
participant work on a series of puzzles. Which two variables is the researcher most likely to compare in
this study?
A. The viewers' memory for the puzzles and the target's memory for the puzzles
B. The viewers' estimate of the difficulty of the puzzles and the target's estimate of the difficulty of the
puzzles
C. The viewers' likelihood of accurately remembering the target's performance and the target's
likelihood of accurately remembering his or her own performance
D. The viewers' likelihood of attributing the target's performance to intellect and the target's likelihood
of attributing his or her own success to intellect - Answer D. The viewers' likelihood of attributing the
target's performance to intellect and the target's likelihood of attributing his or her own success to
intellect
A public health video designed to promote flu shots shows a physician from a prestigious institution
delivering facts about how viruses spread. The video also features data on how viruses can expose the
body to serious illnesses. The video uses all of the following variables to manipulate attitudes EXCEPT:
A. the peripheral route to persuasion.
B. the central route to persuasion.
C. source characteristics.
D. audience characteristics. - Answer D. audience characteristics.
peripheral route persuasion - Answer focusing on superficial details of persuasive information like
appearances and slogans (low elaboration)
central route persuasion - Answer scrutinizing and analyzing the content of persuasive information (high
elaboration)
A rat receives food for pressing a lever on a variable ratio schedule. Which pattern of responding is most
likely to be observed?
A. Relatively high response rate with predictable pauses after reinforcement
B.Relatively high response rate with no predictable pauses
Rated A+
Bystander effect - Answer individuals do not intervene to help victims when others are present
Social Loafing - Answer tendency of individuals to put in less effort when in a group setting than
individually
In studies of bystander intervention, which variable is typically found to be positively correlated with the
time it takes for an individual to offer help in case of emergency?
A. The severity of the emergency
B. The number of bystanders who witness the emergency
C. The individual's level of altruism as assessed by a standardized measure
D. The degree to which altruism is a part of the individual's self-image - Answer B. The number of
bystanders who witness the emergency
An individual arrives late at a meeting. Which explanation for being tardy is consistent with self-serving
bias? The individual will attribute being late to:
A. an uncontrollable personality trait.
B. a situational variable.
C. a controllable personality trait.
D. a stable variable. - Answer B. a situational variable.
Self-serving bias - Answer the tendency for people to view their own success based on internal factors
and failures on external factors
Actor-observer bias - Answer the tendency to blame our actions on the situation and blame the actions
of others on their personalities
, A researcher interested in actor-observer bias asks a group of viewer participants to watch a target
participant work on a series of puzzles. Which two variables is the researcher most likely to compare in
this study?
A. The viewers' memory for the puzzles and the target's memory for the puzzles
B. The viewers' estimate of the difficulty of the puzzles and the target's estimate of the difficulty of the
puzzles
C. The viewers' likelihood of accurately remembering the target's performance and the target's
likelihood of accurately remembering his or her own performance
D. The viewers' likelihood of attributing the target's performance to intellect and the target's likelihood
of attributing his or her own success to intellect - Answer D. The viewers' likelihood of attributing the
target's performance to intellect and the target's likelihood of attributing his or her own success to
intellect
A public health video designed to promote flu shots shows a physician from a prestigious institution
delivering facts about how viruses spread. The video also features data on how viruses can expose the
body to serious illnesses. The video uses all of the following variables to manipulate attitudes EXCEPT:
A. the peripheral route to persuasion.
B. the central route to persuasion.
C. source characteristics.
D. audience characteristics. - Answer D. audience characteristics.
peripheral route persuasion - Answer focusing on superficial details of persuasive information like
appearances and slogans (low elaboration)
central route persuasion - Answer scrutinizing and analyzing the content of persuasive information (high
elaboration)
A rat receives food for pressing a lever on a variable ratio schedule. Which pattern of responding is most
likely to be observed?
A. Relatively high response rate with predictable pauses after reinforcement
B.Relatively high response rate with no predictable pauses
