Psychology CLEP Practice Test Questions and Answers Graded A 2024

Which of the following is the philosophical approach to studying human behavior that emphasizes the purpose or usefulness of behavior? A. Structuralism B. Behaviorism C. Functionalism D. Psychoanalysis E. Humanism - (C) Functionalists focus on the value that behaviors and other psychological characteristics have for an organism's adaptation to its environment. Structuralists focus on what those behaviors and characteristics are, and on finding the basic components that make them up. Which of the following approaches is used by a psychologist who studies depression by examining levels of a certain neurotransmitter in the brains of depressed and non-depressed people? A. psychoanalytic B. behavioral C. humanistic D. cognitive E. biological - (E) The biological perspective emphasizes the roles of hormones, neurotransmitters, and other biological and physiological agents in determining behavior. Psychoanalysts emphasize unconscious wishes and fears; behaviorists emphasize learning; humanists emphasize authenticity of one's self; and cognitivists emphasize thought processes Which of the following approaches is used by a psychologist who emphasizes the power of rewards and punishments to influence behavior? A. behavioral B. cognitive C. humanistic D. psychoanalytic E. biological - (A) Using rewards (or reinforcers) and punishment to change behavior is called "operant conditioning." Operant conditioning is a form of learning, which is central to the behavioral approach to psychology. A researcher wants to know whether failure at a task causes aggression. As part of her study, some subjects are told they have failed at a task, whereas others are told they have succeeded. Failing or not at the task would be A. a placebo. B. the independent variable. C. a within-subjects manipulation. D. the dependent variable. E. a counterbalancing procedure. - (B) Experiments test cause-and-effect relationships by manipulating the presumed cause (the independent variable) and measuring the effect in terms of differences in behavior (the dependent variable) across the experimental and control groups. Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the strongest relationship between two variables? A. 0.31 B. -.06 C. 0.73 D. -.81 E. 0.5 - (D) Correlation coefficients provide two pieces of information: the direction of a relationship between two variables and the magnitude of that relationship. The magnitude can range from 0 to 1 and, regardless of the direction of the relationship, higher numbers indicate stronger relationships. "Nature" is to "nurture" as _______ is to _______. A. genetics; environment B. biology; physiology C. physiology; genetics D. upbringing; social status E. social status; biology - (A) "Nature" has to do with inborn, genetic, biological reasons for behavior, whereas "nurture" has to do with behaviors, or changes in behaviors, that are the product of experiences. Which of the following areas of the brain, located at the top of the spinal cord, regulates breathing, waking, and heartbeat? A. Thalamus B. Reticular formation C. Parietal lobe D. Medulla E. Cerebellum - (D) The medulla is at the base of the brainstem, which is at the top of the spinal cord. The thalamus is at the top of the brainstem and the reticular formation is in the middle of the brainstem. The parietal lobe is at the back of the brain. The cerebellum hangs under the back of the brain behind the brainstem. Which of the following greatly speeds up the transmission of signals through a neuron? A. Dendrites B. A myelin sheath C. Depolarization D. An action potential E. Vesicles - (B) A myelin sheath is a layer of fatty tissue that insulates the axons of some neurons. Dendrites are a part of the neuron itself, as are vesicles. An action potential is the signal that passes down the neuron. Depolarization is one of the signal-related processes that is accelerated by having a myelin sheath on the neuron.