Introduction to Psychology: cram pack

Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 8 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.

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1Practice problems

1.Cognitive psychologyMedium

Broadbent's filter model of attention proposes that unattended messages are:

  1. ABlocked by physical features before meaning is analysed
  2. BWeakened but still analysed for important meanings, such as names
  3. CProcessed at the same level as the attended message
  4. DFully analysed for meaning and then quickly forgotten
2.Cognitive psychologyHard

Readers stumble on "The horse raced past the barn fell" before understanding it. What does this show about sentence processing?

  1. AShort sentences are always harder than long ones
  2. BPeople build an interpretation word by word and must revise it when it fails
  3. CGrammar plays no role in understanding
  4. DPeople wait until the end of a sentence before interpreting it
3.Developmental psychologyMedium

Scaffolding refers to:

  1. ALetting children discover everything alone
  2. BSupport given to a learner that is reduced as competence grows
  3. CBuilding one fixed curriculum that every child must follow in order
  4. DPunishing errors so they are not repeated
4.Developmental psychologyHard

An irritable, difficult baby tends to receive harsher parenting than a calm baby. This is an example of which gene–environment correlation?

  1. AGene–environment independence
  2. BActive (niche-picking)
  3. CPassive
  4. DEvocative
5.Social psychologyMedium

Which concept describes believing that others share our opinions more than they actually do?

  1. AHalo effect
  2. BJust-world belief
  3. CFundamental attribution error
  4. DFalse consensus effect
6.Social psychologyHard

Kunst-Wilson and Zajonc showed octagons too briefly to be recognised. Later, participants could not tell old from new shapes but preferred the ones shown before. This suggests:

  1. AMere exposure can raise liking without conscious recognition
  2. BVery brief exposure tends to reduce liking for a shape
  3. CPeople always know which shapes they have seen before
  4. DLiking depends only on what can be consciously remembered from before
7.Clinical psychologyMedium

Which defence mechanism is shown when someone with strong hostile feelings towards a colleague acts in an excessively friendly way towards them?

  1. ADenial
  2. BRationalisation
  3. CReaction formation
  4. DDisplacement
8.Clinical psychologyHard

A student believes "If I'm not perfect, I'm worthless." In Beck's model, this belief is best classed as:

  1. AA negative symptom of schizophrenia
  2. BA defence mechanism called sublimation, which channels distress into socially valued work
  3. CA dysfunctional assumption or core belief that makes the person vulnerable
  4. DA hallucination that requires antipsychotics

2Solutions

1.Cognitive psychology

Answer: A · Blocked by physical features before meaning is analysed

Why this is the answer

Broadbent argued that a selective filter lets through one channel based on physical characteristics such as ear or pitch, so unattended input is not processed for meaning.

Answer

A · Blocked by physical features before meaning is analysed
2.Cognitive psychology

Answer: B · 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

B · People build an interpretation word by word and must revise it when it fails
3.Developmental psychology

Answer: B · Support given to a learner that is reduced as competence grows

Why this is the answer

Wood, Bruner and Ross described scaffolding as adjustable support that helps a learner work within the zone of proximal development.

Answer

B · Support given to a learner that is reduced as competence grows
4.Developmental psychology

Answer: D · Evocative

Why this is the answer

In evocative correlations, a child's inherited characteristics evoke reactions from the environment. Scarr and McCartney also described passive and active correlations.

Answer

D · Evocative
5.Social psychology

Answer: D · False consensus effect

Why this is the answer

The false consensus effect is the tendency to overestimate how common our own attitudes and behaviours are.

Answer

D · False consensus effect
6.Social psychology

Answer: A · Mere exposure can raise liking without conscious recognition

Why this is the answer

The mere exposure effect can occur without awareness, suggesting affective reactions can be formed independently of conscious recognition.

Answer

A · Mere exposure can raise liking without conscious recognition
7.Clinical psychology

Answer: C · Reaction formation

Why this is the answer

Reaction formation turns an unacceptable impulse into its opposite, often in an exaggerated form.

Answer

C · Reaction formation
8.Clinical psychology

Answer: C · A dysfunctional assumption or core belief that makes the person vulnerable

Why this is the answer

Beck distinguished surface negative automatic thoughts from deeper schemas and conditional assumptions. Such beliefs remain dormant until activated by a matching stressor, such as failure.

Answer

C · A dysfunctional assumption or core belief that makes the person vulnerable

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