1.Cognitive psychologyMedium
Rubin's vase, which can be seen as a vase or as two faces, illustrates:
- ARetinal disparity
- BFigure–ground organisation
- CSize constancy
- DThe law of closure
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 wait until the end of a sentence before interpreting it
- BShort sentences are always harder than long ones
- CPeople build an interpretation word by word and must revise it when it fails
- DGrammar plays no role in understanding
3.Developmental psychologyMedium
Habituation in infant research is used to show that babies:
- ACan tell two stimuli apart because interest returns when the stimulus changes
- BPrefer their own reflection
- CBecome drowsy and sleep more when the same stimulus is presented over and over again
- DAre born with full adult vision
4.Developmental psychologyHard
Romanian orphan studies (Rutter and colleagues) found that children adopted after about 6 months of severe deprivation:
- ARecovered completely regardless of adoption age
- BWere more likely to show lasting difficulties than those adopted earlier
- CShowed no differences from non-adopted children raised in their birth families
- DHad better outcomes than children adopted earlier
5.Social psychologyMedium
The self-serving bias is the tendency to:
- AAttribute others' failures to bad luck
- BAttribute successes to ourselves and failures to external factors
- CUnderestimate our own abilities
- DRecall only negative information about ourselves, especially after failure
6.Social psychologyHard
Social loafing in a group shouting task disappeared when participants believed their individual output could be identified. This shows loafing is driven mainly by:
- APoor coordination only
- BReduced evaluation of individual effort
- CFear of the experimenter
- DPhysical tiredness in larger groups
7.Clinical psychologyMedium
Which of these is a positive symptom of schizophrenia?
- AFlat affect
- BSocial withdrawal
- CPoverty of speech
- DDelusions
8.Clinical psychologyHard
In Seligman's later reformulation of learned helplessness (Abramson, Seligman and Teasdale), depression is most likely when people attribute negative events to causes that are:
- AExternal, stable and specific
- BInternal, stable and global
- CExternal, unstable and specific
- DInternal, unstable and specific
2Solutions
1.Cognitive psychology
Answer: B · Figure–ground organisation
Why this is the answer
Perception separates a scene into a figure and a background. In ambiguous figures like Rubin's vase, the two interpretations alternate.
Answer
B · Figure–ground organisation
2.Cognitive psychology
Answer: C · 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
C · People build an interpretation word by word and must revise it when it fails
3.Developmental psychology
Answer: A · Can tell two stimuli apart because interest returns when the stimulus changes
Why this is the answer
When a familiar stimulus is replaced by a new one, a recovery in looking time (dishabituation) shows the infant perceives the difference.
Answer
A · Can tell two stimuli apart because interest returns when the stimulus changes
4.Developmental psychology
Answer: B · Were more likely to show lasting difficulties than those adopted earlier
Why this is the answer
Children adopted later from institutional deprivation were more likely to show disinhibited attachment and cognitive difficulties, supporting a sensitive period for early care.
Answer
B · Were more likely to show lasting difficulties than those adopted earlier
5.Social psychology
Answer: B · Attribute successes to ourselves and failures to external factors
Why this is the answer
The self-serving bias protects self-esteem by taking credit for success and blaming circumstances for failure.
Answer
B · Attribute successes to ourselves and failures to external factors
6.Social psychology
Answer: B · Reduced evaluation of individual effort
Why this is the answer
Williams, Harkins and Latané found that identifiability eliminated loafing, suggesting that people loaf when their effort cannot be evaluated.
Answer
B · Reduced evaluation of individual effort
7.Clinical psychology
Answer: D · Delusions
Why this is the answer
Positive symptoms are additions (hallucinations, delusions, disorganised speech). Negative symptoms are losses (flat affect, avolition, alogia).
Answer
D · Delusions
8.Clinical psychology
Answer: B · Internal, stable and global
Why this is the answer
The attributional reformulation proposed that a depressive attributional style explains bad events by internal, stable and global causes, which leads to hopelessness.
Answer
B · Internal, stable and global
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