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

People verify "A robin is a bird" faster than "A penguin is a bird". This finding supports:

  1. AThe classical view that all members are equally good examples
  2. BPrototype theory and graded category membership
  3. CThe multi-store model of memory
  4. DFeature integration theory
2.Cognitive psychologyHard

H.M. practised mirror drawing over several days. His performance improved steadily, yet each day he said he had never done the task before. What does this show?

  1. ASkills can be learned without remembering the practice
  2. BHis improvement came from rehearsal in short-term memory
  3. CH.M. was only pretending not to remember the sessions
  4. DMirror drawing depends mainly on the hippocampus
3.Developmental psychologyMedium

A researcher tests 5-, 10- and 15-year-olds now and then retests the same groups every two years. This design is called:

  1. ACross-sequential
  2. BCase study
  3. CCross-sectional
  4. DLongitudinal only
4.Developmental psychologyHard

Romanian orphan studies (Rutter and colleagues) found that children adopted after about 6 months of severe deprivation:

  1. AShowed no differences from non-adopted children raised in their birth families
  2. BHad better outcomes than children adopted earlier
  3. CWere more likely to show lasting difficulties than those adopted earlier
  4. DRecovered completely regardless of adoption age
5.Social psychologyMedium

The self-serving bias is the tendency to:

  1. AUnderestimate our own abilities
  2. BAttribute others' failures to bad luck
  3. CAttribute successes to ourselves and failures to external factors
  4. DRecall only negative information about ourselves, especially after failure
6.Social psychologyHard

Latané and Darley's "seizure" study found that participants were least likely to help when:

  1. AThey believed they were the only one listening to the victim
  2. BThe experimenter was in the room
  3. CThe victim was a close friend
  4. DThey believed four other people could also hear the victim
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. CDisplacement
  4. DReaction formation
8.Clinical psychologyHard

Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) was originally developed for:

  1. ABipolar disorder
  2. BBorderline personality disorder with self-harm
  3. CDementia
  4. DSpecific phobias

2Solutions

1.Cognitive psychology

Answer: B · Prototype theory and graded category membership

Why this is the answer

The typicality effect shows that category membership is graded. Items close to the prototype are classified faster, which the classical definitional view cannot explain.

Answer

B · Prototype theory and graded category membership
2.Cognitive psychology

Answer: A · Skills can be learned without remembering the practice

Why this is the answer

Milner's finding showed that procedural (implicit) learning does not depend on the medial temporal structures needed for forming new declarative memories.

Answer

A · Skills can be learned without remembering the practice
3.Developmental psychology

Answer: A · Cross-sequential

Why this is the answer

A cross-sequential design follows several age cohorts over time, allowing researchers to separate age changes from cohort effects.

Answer

A · Cross-sequential
4.Developmental psychology

Answer: C · 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

C · Were more likely to show lasting difficulties than those adopted earlier
5.Social psychology

Answer: C · 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

C · Attribute successes to ourselves and failures to external factors
6.Social psychology

Answer: D · They believed four other people could also hear the victim

Why this is the answer

Participants who believed they were alone helped quickly; those who believed others were present helped less often and more slowly.

Answer

D · They believed four other people could also hear the victim
7.Clinical psychology

Answer: D · Reaction formation

Why this is the answer

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

Answer

D · Reaction formation
8.Clinical psychology

Answer: B · Borderline personality disorder with self-harm

Why this is the answer

DBT combines CBT with mindfulness, emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills, initially for people with borderline personality disorder and chronic suicidality.

Answer

B · Borderline personality disorder with self-harm

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