1.Cognitive psychologyMedium
Which of these is an ill-defined problem?
- ASolving an anagram
- BDesigning a pleasant garden
- CFinding the sum of two numbers
- DCompleting a Tower of Hanoi puzzle
Introduction to Psychology: cram pack
Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 8 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
1Practice problems
2.Cognitive psychologyHard
Readers stumble on "The horse raced past the barn fell" before understanding it. What does this show about sentence processing?
- APeople build an interpretation word by word and must revise it when it fails
- BShort sentences are always harder than long ones
- CPeople wait until the end of a sentence before interpreting it
- DGrammar plays no role in understanding
3.Developmental psychologyMedium
A parent's stressful workplace affects a child's home life, although the child never goes there. In Bronfenbrenner's theory, the workplace is part of the child's:
- AExosystem
- BMesosystem
- CChronosystem
- DMicrosystem
4.Developmental psychologyHard
Baron-Cohen, Leslie and Frith gave the Sally–Anne task to autistic children, children with Down syndrome and typical children. Most autistic children failed, while most children with Down syndrome passed. Why was the Down syndrome group important?
- AIt showed the failure was not simply due to low general mental age
- BIt showed the task is too hard for anyone under 10
- CIt showed that all three groups have exactly the same theory of mind
- DIt showed autistic children have poor eyesight
5.Social psychologyMedium
Burger's 2009 partial replication of Milgram stopped at 150 volts for ethical reasons. What did it find?
- AWomen nearly always refused to continue
- BAlmost nobody obeyed in a modern sample
- CObedience was far higher than in Milgram's study
- DObedience was similar to Milgram's at that point
6.Social psychologyHard
Zanna and Cooper gave participants a placebo pill, telling some it would make them tense. After writing a counter-attitudinal essay, those told the pill causes tension showed little attitude change. This supports the idea that:
- APlacebo pills themselves cause attitude change
- BWriting essays never changes people's attitudes
- CSelf-perception theory explains all attitude change
- DDissonance involves arousal that people try to explain
7.Clinical psychologyMedium
Clozapine is typically reserved for treatment-resistant schizophrenia because:
- AIt cannot be taken as tablets
- BIt only works on negative symptoms
- CIt can cause agranulocytosis, so regular blood monitoring is required
- DIt is the least effective antipsychotic available, so it is a last resort
8.Clinical psychologyHard
Which finding best supports the role of serotonin and other monoamines, rather than circumstance alone, in depression?
- ADepression rates are equal in all countries, regardless of large differences in social and economic circumstances
- BEveryone who experiences a loss becomes depressed
- CDepression never runs in families
- DDrugs that act on monoamine systems reduce depressive symptoms more than placebo in randomised trials
2Solutions
1.Cognitive psychology
Answer: B · Designing a pleasant garden
Why this is the answer
Ill-defined problems lack a clear goal, starting state or set of operators. Well-defined problems, like anagrams or puzzles, have clear rules and a clear solution.
Answer
B · Designing a pleasant garden
2.Cognitive psychology
Answer: A · People build an interpretation word by word and must revise it when it fails
Why this is the answer
Readers commit early to "raced" as the main verb. "Fell" forces reanalysis to "the horse (that was) raced past the barn fell", showing incremental parsing.
Answer
A · People build an interpretation word by word and must revise it when it fails
3.Developmental psychology
Answer: A · Exosystem
Why this is the answer
The exosystem includes settings that affect the child indirectly, such as a parent's job or local government decisions.
Answer
A · Exosystem
4.Developmental psychology
Answer: A · It showed the failure was not simply due to low general mental age
Why this is the answer
Because the Down syndrome group passed despite lower verbal mental age, the autistic group's failure pointed to a specific difficulty with theory of mind.
Answer
A · It showed the failure was not simply due to low general mental age
5.Social psychology
Answer: D · Obedience was similar to Milgram's at that point
Why this is the answer
Most participants who continue past 150 volts tend to go to the end, so Burger used it as a safe cut-off. Obedience at that point was only slightly lower than Milgram's.
Answer
D · Obedience was similar to Milgram's at that point
6.Social psychology
Answer: D · Dissonance involves arousal that people try to explain
Why this is the answer
When participants could misattribute their discomfort to the pill, they had no need to change attitudes. This suggests dissonance is an unpleasant arousal state.
Answer
D · Dissonance involves arousal that people try to explain
7.Clinical psychology
Answer: C · It can cause agranulocytosis, so regular blood monitoring is required
Why this is the answer
Clozapine is effective when other antipsychotics fail, but it can cause a dangerous fall in neutrophils, so patients need regular blood tests.
Answer
C · It can cause agranulocytosis, so regular blood monitoring is required
8.Clinical psychology
Answer: D · Drugs that act on monoamine systems reduce depressive symptoms more than placebo in randomised trials
Why this is the answer
Antidepressants targeting monoamines outperform placebo on average, though by modest margins. This supports a biological contribution but does not show that low serotonin alone causes depression.
Answer
D · Drugs that act on monoamine systems reduce depressive symptoms more than placebo in randomised trials
ExamProblems · examproblems.com/courses/introduction-to-psychology