1|Page
**INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
COMPLETE EXAM REVIEW 2026-2027: 210+
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS WITH
DETAILED ANSWERS & RATIONALES, HIGH-
YIELD TOPICS FOR FIRST-TIME PASS
(COLLEGE FINAL EXAMS & CLEP/AP PREP)**
## UNIT 1 – HISTORY, APPROACHES & RESEARCH METHODS (20 Questions)
**Q1.** Who established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany
(1879), marking the beginning of scientific psychology?
A. William James
B. Sigmund Freud
C. Wilhelm Wundt
D. John B. Watson
**Answer: C**
*Rationale:* Wundt (1832-1920) established first lab and used introspection to
study consciousness (structuralism).
**Q2.** Which school of psychology focused on the adaptive functions of
behavior and mental processes (influenced by Darwin)?
A. Structuralism
B. Functionalism
C. Behaviorism
,2|Page
D. Psychoanalysis
**Answer: B**
*Rationale:* Functionalism (William James, John Dewey) asked "What is the
purpose of behavior?" rather than "What are its elements?"
**Q3.** "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" is a central idea of which
school?
A. Behaviorism
B. Gestalt psychology
C. Structuralism
D. Psychoanalysis
**Answer: B**
*Rationale:* Gestalt (Wertheimer, Köhler, Koffka) emphasized perceptual
organization and that the mind organizes experiences into wholes.
**Q4.** John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner argued that psychology should study
only observable behavior, not internal mental states. This approach is called:
A. Psychoanalysis
B. Humanism
C. Behaviorism
D. Cognitive psychology
**Answer: C**
,3|Page
*Rationale:* Behaviorism = focus on observable behavior, stimulus-response
relationships, and learning through conditioning.
**Q5.** Which research method allows researchers to determine cause-and-effect
relationships?
A. Naturalistic observation
B. Correlational study
C. Experiment (with random assignment and manipulation of IV)
D. Case study
**Answer: C**
*Rationale:* Only experiments manipulate an independent variable and control
confounding variables to establish causation.
**Q6.** A researcher finds a correlation coefficient of -0.85 between hours of
sleep and stress levels. This means:
A. More sleep causes less stress
B. Less sleep causes more stress
C. As sleep increases, stress tends to decrease (strong negative relationship)
D. No relationship exists
**Answer: C**
*Rationale:* Correlation does not imply causation. Negative correlation = high
scores on one variable associated with low scores on the other.
**Q7.** The mean, median, and mode are measures of:
, 4|Page
A. Variability
B. Central tendency
C. Correlation
D. Statistical significance
**Answer: B**
*Rationale:* Central tendency = typical or central score. Mean = average, median
= middle, mode = most frequent.
**Q8.** A double-blind study controls for:
A. Participant expectancy effects and experimenter bias
B. Only participant bias
C. Only experimenter bias
D. Statistical errors
**Answer: A**
*Rationale:* Double-blind = neither participants nor researchers know group
assignment → eliminates both biases.
**Q9.** The American Psychological Association (APA) ethical guidelines require
all EXCEPT:
A. Informed consent
B. Deception when necessary with debriefing
C. Confidentiality
D. Guarantee of treatment success
**INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
COMPLETE EXAM REVIEW 2026-2027: 210+
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS WITH
DETAILED ANSWERS & RATIONALES, HIGH-
YIELD TOPICS FOR FIRST-TIME PASS
(COLLEGE FINAL EXAMS & CLEP/AP PREP)**
## UNIT 1 – HISTORY, APPROACHES & RESEARCH METHODS (20 Questions)
**Q1.** Who established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany
(1879), marking the beginning of scientific psychology?
A. William James
B. Sigmund Freud
C. Wilhelm Wundt
D. John B. Watson
**Answer: C**
*Rationale:* Wundt (1832-1920) established first lab and used introspection to
study consciousness (structuralism).
**Q2.** Which school of psychology focused on the adaptive functions of
behavior and mental processes (influenced by Darwin)?
A. Structuralism
B. Functionalism
C. Behaviorism
,2|Page
D. Psychoanalysis
**Answer: B**
*Rationale:* Functionalism (William James, John Dewey) asked "What is the
purpose of behavior?" rather than "What are its elements?"
**Q3.** "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" is a central idea of which
school?
A. Behaviorism
B. Gestalt psychology
C. Structuralism
D. Psychoanalysis
**Answer: B**
*Rationale:* Gestalt (Wertheimer, Köhler, Koffka) emphasized perceptual
organization and that the mind organizes experiences into wholes.
**Q4.** John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner argued that psychology should study
only observable behavior, not internal mental states. This approach is called:
A. Psychoanalysis
B. Humanism
C. Behaviorism
D. Cognitive psychology
**Answer: C**
,3|Page
*Rationale:* Behaviorism = focus on observable behavior, stimulus-response
relationships, and learning through conditioning.
**Q5.** Which research method allows researchers to determine cause-and-effect
relationships?
A. Naturalistic observation
B. Correlational study
C. Experiment (with random assignment and manipulation of IV)
D. Case study
**Answer: C**
*Rationale:* Only experiments manipulate an independent variable and control
confounding variables to establish causation.
**Q6.** A researcher finds a correlation coefficient of -0.85 between hours of
sleep and stress levels. This means:
A. More sleep causes less stress
B. Less sleep causes more stress
C. As sleep increases, stress tends to decrease (strong negative relationship)
D. No relationship exists
**Answer: C**
*Rationale:* Correlation does not imply causation. Negative correlation = high
scores on one variable associated with low scores on the other.
**Q7.** The mean, median, and mode are measures of:
, 4|Page
A. Variability
B. Central tendency
C. Correlation
D. Statistical significance
**Answer: B**
*Rationale:* Central tendency = typical or central score. Mean = average, median
= middle, mode = most frequent.
**Q8.** A double-blind study controls for:
A. Participant expectancy effects and experimenter bias
B. Only participant bias
C. Only experimenter bias
D. Statistical errors
**Answer: A**
*Rationale:* Double-blind = neither participants nor researchers know group
assignment → eliminates both biases.
**Q9.** The American Psychological Association (APA) ethical guidelines require
all EXCEPT:
A. Informed consent
B. Deception when necessary with debriefing
C. Confidentiality
D. Guarantee of treatment success
