MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) · Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior
Psychology
48 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.
Practise Psychology now
Random questions from this topic, one at a time. You see the answer and the explanation straight after each one.
All 48 questions
- In Pavlov's experiment, after repeated pairings the sound of a bell alone makes the dog salivate. What is the bell at this stage?
- Which reinforcement schedule produces the highest steady rate of response and the greatest resistance to extinction?
- A student studies harder to stop the nagging of a parent. Which concept does this show?
- A child understands that pouring water from a short wide glass into a tall thin glass does not change the amount of water. In which Piagetian stage is the child?
- According to Erikson, what is the main psychosocial crisis of adolescence?
- A person obeys the law because it is expected by society and wants to be seen as a good citizen. At which level of Kohlberg's moral development is this?
- According to Miller, about how many items can be held in short-term memory?
- Which brain structure is essential for forming new explicit (declarative) memories?
- Which brain structure is most associated with processing fear?
- A patient understands speech but can only produce slow, effortful words. Damage to which area is most likely?
- A smoker who knows smoking is harmful decides that the risk is exaggerated. Which concept explains this?
- A person believes that a stranger who cut in line is rude by nature, but explains their own similar behavior by being in a hurry. Which bias is this?
- A person collapses in a crowded street and nobody helps. Which concept best explains this?
- In signal detection theory, what is it called when a person says a signal is present but no signal was presented?
- According to Weber's law, the smallest detectable change in a stimulus is what?
- Which neurotransmitter abnormality is most associated with the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?
- Fluoxetine and sertraline treat depression by blocking a presynaptic transporter, which increases the availability of which neurotransmitter?
- Which sleep stage is characterized by sleep spindles and K-complexes on the electroencephalogram?
- Which type of memory stores skills such as riding a bicycle?
- In Kohlberg's theory, deciding right and wrong by avoiding punishment is characteristic of which level?
- Feeling uncomfortable after acting against one's own beliefs, and then changing the belief, is described by
- Which part of the eye contains photoreceptors for color vision?
- Taking away a teenager's phone to stop an unwanted behavior is an example of
- Judging the likelihood of an event by how easily examples come to mind is the
- Asch's line-judgment experiments demonstrated
- The bystander effect refers to the finding that
- Which of the following is a symptom of schizophrenia classified as a positive symptom?
- Damage to Broca's area typically causes
- A teacher gives a student extra recess after good behavior, and the behavior increases. What is this?
- In signal detection theory, saying a signal is present when it is absent is a
- Weber's law states that the just noticeable difference is
- Which disorder is characterized by persistent intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors performed to reduce anxiety?
- According to Piaget, a child who can think logically about concrete objects but not about abstract ideas is in which stage?
- A person recalls a list of words best at the beginning and at the end of the list. What are these effects called?
- Which term describes the tendency to seek information that supports existing beliefs?
- Which learning theory emphasizes learning by watching others?
- Which neurotransmitter is most associated with reward and Parkinson's disease?
- A child learns to fear a white rat after it is paired with a loud noise. What is the loud noise in this classical conditioning experiment?
- A reinforcement schedule that provides a reward after an unpredictable number of responses is
- Which of Maslow's levels is at the base of the hierarchy of needs?
- Which of Erikson's stages is the central task of adolescence?
- Believing that one's own success is due to ability but failure is due to bad luck is an example of
- In Milgram's experiments, many participants continued to deliver apparent shocks because of
- Which sleep stage is associated with vivid dreaming and muscle atonia?
- Which neurotransmitter is the main inhibitory transmitter of the brain?
- In Freud's model, which part of the personality operates on the reality principle?
- Which brain structure is most associated with forming new explicit memories?
- Explaining another person's lateness as laziness rather than traffic is an example of