Psychology MCQs

  • Which psychological perspective focuses on the study of mental processes such as perception and memory?
    a) Behavioral
    b) Cognitive
    c) Humanistic
    d) Psychodynamic
    Answer: b) Cognitive
  • What term describes the process of learning through the association of stimuli?
    a) Operant conditioning
    b) Classical conditioning
    c) Observational learning
    d) Insight learning
    Answer: b) Classical conditioning
  • Which psychologist is known for developing the theory of operant conditioning?
    a) John Watson
    b) B.F. Skinner
    c) Ivan Pavlov
    d) Carl Rogers
    Answer: b) B.F. Skinner
  • What is the primary focus of humanistic psychology?
    a) Behavioral modification
    b) Self-actualization and personal growth
    c) Unconscious motives
    d) Cognitive processes
    Answer: b) Self-actualization and personal growth
  • Which approach to psychology emphasizes the role of unconscious processes and childhood experiences?
    a) Humanistic
    b) Cognitive
    c) Psychodynamic
    d) Biological
    Answer: c) Psychodynamic
  • What is the term for the mental process of organizing and interpreting sensory information?
    a) Sensation
    b) Perception
    c) Attention
    d) Memory
    Answer: b) Perception
  • Which term refers to the tendency to believe that an event was predictable after it has already happened?
    a) Confirmation bias
    b) Hindsight bias
    c) Self-serving bias
    d) Fundamental attribution error
    Answer: b) Hindsight bias
  • What is the primary focus of behavioral psychology?
    a) Conscious and unconscious processes
    b) Observable behaviors and learning
    c) Cognitive processes
    d) Emotional and social development
    Answer: b) Observable behaviors and learning
  • Which of the following is a projective personality test?
    a) MMPI
    b) Rorschach Inkblot Test
    c) Big Five Inventory
    d) NEO-PI
    Answer: b) Rorschach Inkblot Test
  • What is the primary function of the amygdala in the brain?
    a) Memory formation
    b) Emotional regulation
    c) Motor control
    d) Sensory processing
    Answer: b) Emotional regulation
  • Which term describes the tendency to attribute our successes to internal factors and our failures to external factors?
    a) Self-serving bias
    b) Fundamental attribution error
    c) Hindsight bias
    d) Confirmation bias
    Answer: a) Self-serving bias
  • Which theory suggests that physiological arousal and emotional experience occur simultaneously?
    a) Cannon-Bard Theory
    b) James-Lange Theory
    c) Schachter-Singer Theory
    d) Lazarus Theory
    Answer: a) Cannon-Bard Theory
  • What type of memory holds information for a very short period, typically less than a second?
    a) Sensory memory
    b) Short-term memory
    c) Long-term memory
    d) Working memory
    Answer: a) Sensory memory
  • Which psychological disorder is characterized by persistent and excessive worry about various aspects of life?
    a) Major depressive disorder
    b) Obsessive-compulsive disorder
    c) Generalized anxiety disorder
    d) Bipolar disorder
    Answer: c) Generalized anxiety disorder
  • What is the term for a mental disorder characterized by the presence of two or more distinct personality states?
    a) Dissociative identity disorder
    b) Schizophrenia
    c) Borderline personality disorder
    d) Bipolar disorder
    Answer: a) Dissociative identity disorder
  • Which cognitive bias refers to the tendency to seek out information that confirms one’s existing beliefs?
    a) Hindsight bias
    b) Confirmation bias
    c) Anchoring bias
    d) Availability heuristic
    Answer: b) Confirmation bias
  • What is the term for the tendency to perceive oneself as better than average in various aspects?
    a) Self-serving bias
    b) Overconfidence bias
    c) Halo effect
    d) False consensus effect
    Answer: b) Overconfidence bias
  • Which type of learning involves acquiring skills or knowledge through observing others?
    a) Classical conditioning
    b) Operant conditioning
    c) Observational learning
    d) Insight learning
    Answer: c) Observational learning
  • What term describes the psychological and physiological state of arousal that occurs in response to stress?
    a) Eustress
    b) Distress
    c) Homeostasis
    d) Adaptation
    Answer: b) Distress
  • Which of the following is an example of a negative reinforcement?
    a) Giving a reward for good behavior
    b) Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior
    c) Presenting an aversive stimulus to decrease behavior
    d) Providing praise to encourage a behavior
    Answer: b) Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior
  • What is the term for the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person?
    a) Sympathy
    b) Empathy
    c) Apathy
    d) Compassion
    Answer: b) Empathy
  • Which term refers to the process by which an individual comes to terms with the reality of a stressful situation?
    a) Coping
    b) Denial
    c) Repression
    d) Projection
    Answer: a) Coping
  • What is the focus of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)?
    a) Uncovering unconscious conflicts
    b) Changing maladaptive thought patterns and behaviors
    c) Exploring childhood experiences
    d) Enhancing self-esteem
    Answer: b) Changing maladaptive thought patterns and behaviors
  • Which stage of Erik Erikson’s psychosocial development theory involves the challenge of forming intimate relationships?
    a) Industry vs. Inferiority
    b) Identity vs. Role Confusion
    c) Generativity vs. Stagnation
    d) Intimacy vs. Isolation
    Answer: d) Intimacy vs. Isolation
  • What term describes the tendency for individuals to perform better on tasks in the presence of others?
    a) Social facilitation
    b) Social loafing
    c) Groupthink
    d) Deindividuation
    Answer: a) Social facilitation
  • Which theory of emotion suggests that emotions result from our interpretation of physiological arousal?
    a) James-Lange Theory
    b) Cannon-Bard Theory
    c) Schachter-Singer Theory
    d) Lazarus Theory
    Answer: c) Schachter-Singer Theory
  • What is the term for the phenomenon where people in a group go along with the majority view, even if it contradicts their own beliefs?
    a) Conformity
    b) Obedience
    c) Compliance
    d) Persuasion
    Answer: a) Conformity
  • Which psychological perspective focuses on the role of biological processes and brain structures in behavior?
    a) Cognitive
    b) Humanistic
    c) Evolutionary
    d) Biological
    Answer: d) Biological
  • What is the term for the mental process of retrieving information from long-term memory?
    a) Encoding
    b) Storage
    c) Retrieval
    d) Consolidation
    Answer: c) Retrieval
  • Which type of memory is used to temporarily hold and manipulate information during cognitive tasks?
    a) Sensory memory
    b) Short-term memory
    c) Long-term memory
    d) Working memory
    Answer: d) Working memory
  • What is the term for the belief that one’s own culture or group is superior to others?
    a) Ethnocentrism
    b) Prejudice
    c) Discrimination
    d) Stereotyping
    Answer: a) Ethnocentrism
  • Which term describes a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a situation?
    a) Availability heuristic
    b) Representativeness heuristic
    c) Anchoring bias
    d) Confirmation bias
    Answer: a) Availability heuristic
  • What is the term for a psychological condition characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness?
    a) Anxiety disorder
    b) Bipolar disorder
    c) Major depressive disorder
    d) Schizophrenia
    Answer: c) Major depressive disorder
  • Which approach to psychology emphasizes the study of individual differences and the impact of genetics on behavior?
    a) Psychodynamic
    b) Humanistic
    c) Evolutionary
    d) Trait theory
    Answer: d) Trait theory
  • What is the term for the process of adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information?
    a) Assimilation
    b) Accommodation
    c) Equilibration
    d) Conservation
    Answer: b) Accommodation
  • Which psychological perspective focuses on the study of mental processes and their influence on behavior?
    a) Behavioral
    b) Cognitive
    c) Humanistic
    d) Psychodynamic
    Answer: b) Cognitive
  • What is the term for the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors?
    a) False consensus effect
    b) Halo effect
    c) Self-serving bias
    d) Hindsight bias
    Answer: a) False consensus effect
  • Which term refers to the mental process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to make sense of the world?
    a) Perception
    b) Sensation
    c) Attention
    d) Memory
    Answer: a) Perception
  • What is the term for the psychological phenomenon where an individual’s performance improves on a task when they are observed by others?
    a) Social facilitation
    b) Social loafing
    c) Groupthink
    d) Deindividuation
    Answer: a) Social facilitation
  • Which term describes the tendency to attribute others’ behaviors to internal factors while attributing our own behaviors to external factors?
    a) Fundamental attribution error
    b) Self-serving bias
    c) Hindsight bias
    d) Confirmation bias
    Answer: a) Fundamental attribution error
  • Which type of learning involves associating a behavior with its consequences?
    a) Classical conditioning
    b) Observational learning
    c) Operant conditioning
    d) Insight learning
    Answer: c) Operant conditioning
  • What is the term for a mental disorder characterized by a detachment from reality, including symptoms like hallucinations and delusions?
    a) Bipolar disorder
    b) Schizophrenia
    c) Major depressive disorder
    d) Generalized anxiety disorder
    Answer: b) Schizophrenia
  • Which term refers to the process of maintaining a stable internal environment despite external changes?
    a) Homeostasis
    b) Adaptation
    c) Coping
    d) Equilibration
    Answer: a) Homeostasis
  • What is the term for the tendency to seek information that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs and ignore information that contradicts them?
    a) Confirmation bias
    b) Hindsight bias
    c) Availability heuristic
    d) Anchoring bias
    Answer: a) Confirmation bias
  • Which term describes a cognitive bias where people rely too heavily on the first piece of information they encounter when making decisions?
    a) Anchoring bias
    b) Availability heuristic
    c) Representativeness heuristic
    d) Self-serving bias
    Answer: a) Anchoring bias
  • What is the primary focus of social psychology?
    a) Mental disorders and treatment
    b) Cognitive processes and memory
    c) Social interactions and group behavior
    d) Biological processes and genetics
    Answer: c) Social interactions and group behavior
  • Which term refers to a mental state characterized by the feeling of being overwhelmed and unable to cope with life’s demands?
    a) Stress
    b) Anxiety
    c) Depression
    d) Burnout
    Answer: d) Burnout
  • What is the term for the tendency to perform better on simple tasks and worse on complex tasks in the presence of others?
    a) Social facilitation
    b) Social loafing
    c) Groupthink
    d) Deindividuation
    Answer: a) Social facilitation
  • Which term describes the process by which individuals come to terms with the reality of a stressful or challenging situation?
    a) Coping
    b) Denial
    c) Repression
    d) Rationalization
    Answer: a) Coping
  • What is the term for a psychological phenomenon where individuals show a stronger preference for things they are familiar with, even if they are not the best options?
    a) Familiarity effect
    b) Halo effect
    c) Confirmation bias
    d) Endowment effect
    Answer: a) Familiarity effect