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

In Duncker's candle problem, participants must fix a candle to a wall using a box of tacks and matches. The solution is hard to find because people:

  1. ASpend too long trying to melt wax with the matches
  2. BSee the box only as a container, not as a shelf
  3. CAssume the tacks are too short to hold the candle
  4. DDo not realise the candle has to be lit first
2.Cognitive psychologyHard

In the Wason selection task, cards show E, K, 4 and 7. The rule is "If a card has a vowel on one side, it has an even number on the other". Which cards must be turned to test the rule?

  1. AE, 4 and 7
  2. BE and 4
  3. CE and 7
  4. DE only
3.Developmental psychologyMedium

Which feature is typical of infant-directed speech ("parentese")?

  1. AHigher pitch and exaggerated intonation
  2. BFast speech with very few pauses
  3. CLong sentences with complex grammar
  4. DA flat, quiet and monotonous tone
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. AActive (niche-picking)
  2. BPassive
  3. CEvocative
  4. DGene–environment independence
5.Social psychologyMedium

Adorno and colleagues linked prejudice to an "authoritarian personality". This personality was thought to develop from:

  1. AA permissive upbringing with very few rules or limits
  2. BA strict, harsh upbringing with conditional love
  3. CCompetition for jobs and housing in adulthood
  4. DMembership of trivial or minimal groups
6.Social psychologyHard

Milgram moved his study from Yale University to a run-down office building. What happened to obedience?

  1. AIt was exactly the same as at Yale
  2. BIt rose to every participant obeying
  3. CIt fell to almost zero
  4. DIt fell somewhat but remained substantial
7.Clinical psychologyMedium

The diathesis–stress model proposes that mental disorders arise from:

  1. AStress alone
  2. BGenes alone
  3. CPoor parenting alone
  4. DAn underlying vulnerability combined with environmental stress
8.Clinical psychologyHard

A clinician considers whether a categorical or dimensional approach to personality disorders is better. Which point favours a dimensional approach?

  1. ATraits vary continuously, and categories overlap with arbitrary cut-offs
  2. BDimensional models cannot be measured with questionnaires or interviews
  3. CPersonality traits are either fully present or fully absent in any one person
  4. DCategories have been shown to give perfect inter-rater reliability

2Solutions

1.Cognitive psychology

Answer: B · See the box only as a container, not as a shelf

Why this is the answer

The difficulty shows functional fixedness. When the tacks are presented outside the box, people more often realise it can be tacked to the wall as a platform.

Answer

B · See the box only as a container, not as a shelf
2.Cognitive psychology

Answer: C · E and 7

Why this is the answer

Only a vowel with an odd number falsifies the rule, so check E (odd on back?) and 7 (vowel on back?). Most people choose E and 4, which reflects a matching or confirmation tendency.

Answer

C · E and 7
3.Developmental psychology

Answer: A · Higher pitch and exaggerated intonation

Why this is the answer

Infant-directed speech uses higher pitch, slower pace, simple words and exaggerated intonation. Infants prefer it and it may help them pick out words.

Answer

A · Higher pitch and exaggerated intonation
4.Developmental psychology

Answer: C · 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

C · Evocative
5.Social psychology

Answer: B · A strict, harsh upbringing with conditional love

Why this is the answer

Adorno proposed that harsh parenting creates hostility that is displaced onto weaker groups. The theory is criticised for ignoring social and cultural factors.

Answer

B · A strict, harsh upbringing with conditional love
6.Social psychology

Answer: D · It fell somewhat but remained substantial

Why this is the answer

Obedience dropped (to just under half) without Yale's prestige, but many still obeyed, suggesting the authority of the experimenter mattered more than the institution.

Answer

D · It fell somewhat but remained substantial
7.Clinical psychology

Answer: D · An underlying vulnerability combined with environmental stress

Why this is the answer

The model holds that a predisposition (biological or psychological) leads to disorder only when triggered by sufficient stress.

Answer

D · An underlying vulnerability combined with environmental stress
8.Clinical psychology

Answer: A · Traits vary continuously, and categories overlap with arbitrary cut-offs

Why this is the answer

Categorical diagnoses overlap heavily and treat a continuum as present/absent. DSM-5 Section III and ICD-11 therefore offer trait-based dimensional models of personality disorder.

Answer

A · Traits vary continuously, and categories overlap with arbitrary cut-offs

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