Examtests with Historical and Conceptual Issues in Psychology by Brysbaert and Rastle - 2nd edition

Psychology: the wider picture, where did it all start? - ExamTests 1

Open Questions

Question 1

Give three reasons why the invention of writing was so important for scientific thinking.

Question 2

Explain what the term 'place coding system' means.

Question 3

Is the following statement correct or incorrect: "two important contributions from the ancient Egyptians were geometric knowledge and the calendar."

Question 4

The study by Lindenberg (1992) revealed three important characteristics of an illiterate society (preliterate civilization). What are these three characteristics?

Question 5

In what four ways has the Protestant Reformation helped to restore scientific thinking?

Answer indication

Question 1

Information is not only stored in the memory, but also written down so that information is stored better and more accurately.
Researchers can learn from their predecessors.
Now that it can be written down, it no longer matters how much information you want or need to keep. People were no longer limited by the limits of their own memory.

Question 2

This is a system in which the meaning of a sign depends not only on its shape but also on its position in a series.

Question 3

Correct.

Question 4

These civilizations make firing, hunting and gathering etc. and build on practical knowledge of 'knowing how' without the theoretical understanding of the underlying principles.
A second characteristic is that the knowledge of the history of the tribe is limited to two generations. The rest of the information is lost.
A third characteristic is animism , the functioning of the world is explained on the basis of spirits that have human qualities.

Question 5

The Protestant Reformation has helped restore scientific thinking by emphasizing the importance of:

1. education
2. critical thinking
3. hard work
4. worldly success

What was the scientific revolution in the 17th century about? - ExamTests 2

MC-Questions

Question 1

After the death of Copernicus, which scientist worked hard to get the heliocentric model to work and, as a result, worked hard at the Catholic Church?

1. René Descartes
2. Galileo Galilei
3. Isaac Newton
4. None of the above answers is correct

Question 2

Which statement or statements below about the French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650) are correct?

1. He completely rebelled against the church, was only concerned with science and thought that science and religion should be separated.
2. He saw the human body and the soul as two separate things in which the soul has innate knowledge that can be revealed through reasoning.
3. He is the founder of the mechanism whereby the material world can be understood as a complex machine.
4. Descartes' urge to separate science and religion has only led the two to come closer together.

Question 3

What is the difference between induction and deduction? Choose the correct explanation:

1. Inductive reasoning is that one starts with an assumption from which, if logic permits, new conclusions are derived. Deductive reasoning is that one starts with an observation and tries to derive generally applicable laws from it through the convergence of different observations, so observations are converted into scientific laws but this does not guarantee that the conclusions are true.
2. Inductive reasoning is that one starts with an observation and tries to derive generally applicable laws from it through the convergence of different observations, so observations are converted into scientific laws but this does not guarantee that the conclusions are true. Decuctive reasoning is that one starts with an assumption from which, if logic permits, new conclusions are derived.

Open Questions

Question 1

Copernicus is often seen as the founder of the heliocentric model which states that the sun is at the center of the universe. Why has Copernicus waited so long to publish his knowledge about the heliocentric model? Give two reasons.

Question 2

In the previous question it was already said that the discovery of the heliocentric model is often attributed to Copernicus, is this actually the case? Explain why or not.

Question 3

Which British naturalist and mathematician has really been able to explain why the planets revolve around the sun?

Answer indication MC-Questions

Question 3

B. Galileo Galilei.

Question 4

B. He saw the human body and the soul as two separate things in which the soul has innate knowledge that can be revealed through reasoning. and C. He is the founder of the mechanism whereby the material world can be understood as a complex machine.

Question 6

B. Inductive reasoning is that one starts with an observation and tries to derive generally applicable laws from it through the convergence of different observations, so observations are converted into scientific laws but this does not guarantee that the conclusions are true. Decuctive reasoning is that one starts with an assumption from which, if logic permits, new conclusions are derived.

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

He was scared to incite the anger of church.
He did not think he could sufficiently substantiate his model.

Question 2

No, the idea that the earth revolves around the sun has been suggested much earlier than Copernicus by other authors, but nobody took their ideas seriously. So Copernicus actually used a previously never taken seriously idea to explain his own observations.

Question 3

Isaac Newton (1643-1727)

Which psychological science theories emerged in the 18th and 19th centuries? - ExamTests 3

MC-Questions

Question 1

Which two great philosophers had their doubts about introspection as a scientific method?

1. Kant and Comte
2. Comte and Locke
3. Kant and Wolff
4. Wolff and Locke

Question 2

Indicate whether the following statements are correct or incorrect:

1. Rationalism believes in the existence of innate knowledge and that reason is the source of knowledge as opposed to empiricism, which states that there is no innate knowledge and that every individual comes to this world as a tabula rasa (blank paper) and that perception is the source of knowledge.
2. Rationalism uses induction, observation and experimentation as opposed to Empirism which uses deduction, logic and mathematics.
3. Rationalism has been proclaimed by Locke, Berkeley and Hume, among others.
   
   1. Statement II and III are correct and statement I is incorrect.
   2. Theorem III is correct and theorem I and II are incorrect
   3. Statement I is correct and statement II and III are incorrect.
   4. All the above statements are correct.
   5. All the above statements are incorrect.

Open Questions

Question 1

Since the Middle Ages, people in the West have increasingly become individualized here. Which four factors contributed to the individualization of Western society?

Question 2

Explain what the concepts of Natural selection and Survival of the fittest mean.

Question 3

True or false: Darwin's evolution theory shows that evolution of organisms always results in better and stronger organisms.

Answer indication MC-Questions

Question 1

A. Kant and Comte

Question 2

C. Statement I is correct and statement II and III are incorrect.

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

The following four factors contributed to the increase in individualization:

1. An increasingly complex society.
2. Increasing state control.
3. Individualization was promoted by Christianity.
4. The increasing availability of mirrors, books and letters.

Question 2

Natural selection: Process in Darwin's evolution theory. This process is the cause of evolution. Organisms that adapt well to their environment are more likely to survive and will also provide offspring that also have a good chance of survival in this environment, unlike organisms that cannot adapt, they will die out slowly.
Survival of the fittest: A term introduced by Herbert Spencer to describe the outcome of natural selection. Only the organisms that can adapt well will ensure good offspring and thus guarantee the continuation of their breed.

Question 3

Not true, this is just one of the two biggest misconceptions about evolution theory.

How has psychology as a science evolved in recent centuries? - ExamTests 4

Open Questions

Question 1

In almost all psychology study and handbooks it is said that psychology originated in 1879. Which event in this year was so important that people started to see this as the birth year of psychology?

Question 2

For each statement about psychologist William James, state whether it is correct or incorrect:

1. William James was a fierce opponent of introspection, and found it the least good research method there was at the time.
2. William James was strongly influenced by Darwin's evolution theory and tried to explain the functioning of the human mind on the basis of the principles of the evolution theory.
3. William James is the founder of structuralism.

Question 3

What historical period around the 18th century has had a major influence on the way people thought about people locked up in asylum?

Question 4

True or False: In the UK, compared to other countries, it took a long time, longer than in other countries, for psychology to be considered an academic discipline.

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

The opening of Wundt's psychological laboratory for experimental psychology.

Question 2

I: Incorrect, II: Correct, III: Incorrect.

Question 3

Lighting

Question 4

True

What is the history of the scientific reputation of psychology? - ExamTests 5

MC-Questions

Question 1

What is the name of the non-scientific movement led by Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828) who stated that the aptitude and character are determined by the growth of certain parts of the brain. The character of a person could then be deduced from the shape of the skull, which would exhibit certain nodules.

1. Mesmerism
2. Spiritualism
3. Phrenology
4. None of the above answers.

Open Questions

Question 1

What term does Thorndike use to refer to learning based on the 'law of effect' which Skinner called 'Operante Conditioning'?

Question 2

After Watson, behaviorism was continued by three "neo-behaviorists." Who were these three? Indicate for each person what kind of behaviorism they stood for.

Answer indication MC-Questions

Question 1

C. Phrenology

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

Instrumental conditioning

Question 2

The three people are:

1. Hull: Mathematical comparisons with operationally defined variables that make it possible to make accurate predictions about behavior in specific circumstances.
2. Skinner: Radical Behaviorism
3. Tolman: Purposive (purposeful) Behaviorism

What is the history of brain research within psychology? - ExamTests 6

MC-Questions

Question 1

Which of the following neurophysiological techniques makes it possible for researchers to locate brain activity based on oxygen use, produces detailed images, and does not require the participant to be injected with a fluid?

1. TMS (Transcranial Magnatic Stimulation)
2. PET (Positron Emission Tomography)
3. fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
4. ERP (Event Related Potentials)

Open Questions

Question 1

Plato thought the soul was divided into three body parts. What were these three parts?

Question 2

In the 19th century there were five major breakthroughs in neurophysiology that led to great progress. What were these five breakthroughs?

Question 3

What was one of the first topics to be examined by neuropsychology?

Answer indication MC-Questions

Question 1

C. fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

The brain, the heart and the liver.

Question 2

1. The discovery of the cerebrospinal axis
2. The growing impact of the reflex arc
3. The localization of brain functions
4. The discovery of the nervous system
5. Exposing the communication between neurons

Question 3

Deep dyslexia

What are the historical views within psychology of the "mind-brain dilemma"? - ExamTests 7

MC-Questions

Question 1

Within the mind-brain problem there are three approaches, which approach states that the human brain is a by-product of the biological functioning of the brain?

1. Dualism
2. Materialism
3. Functionalism
4. Rationalism

Open Questions

Question 1

Which two 'mysterious powers' were used as explanations for the burning and the existence of living beings in the 17th and 18th centuries?

Question 2

True or false: The 'Chinese room experiment' by John Searle is intended to show that a functionalist version of the mind still lacks an essential quality (qualia).

Question 3

What is the Name given by Chalmers to refer to the fact that it is very difficult to explain in what respects consciousness is / involves so much more than how consciousness is explained on the basis of materialism and functionalism?

Answer indication MC-Questions

Question 1

B. Materialism

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

Flogiston and vital force

Question 2

True

Question 3

Hard problem

How does psychological science affect our daily lives? - ExamTests 8

Open Questions

Question 1

Which three developments after WWII have caused the popularity of clinical psychology to increase?

Question 2

Explain how Karl Rogers' client-focused therapy differs from Freudian psychoanalysis.

Question 3

Where was the focus of the first clinical psychology centers based in Pennsylvania by Lightner Witmer?

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

Three other developments after WWII further strengthened the status of clinical psychology:

1. People felt uncomfortable with the way patients in institutions were treated by psychiatrists. (antipsychiatry movement, an action group set up in the 60s of the 20th century that questioned the usefulness of psychiatric treatment methods).
2. The input of scientific research in psychotherapy. (The effectiveness of therapies, researchers started to evaluate the efficiency of therapies after WWII, did a therapy really help? The word of the person who devised the therapy was no longer enough to assume that the therapy works, the value / efficiency of a therapy had to be demonstrated empirically from then on The first study by Hans Eysenck (1952/1992) also turned out to be a real wake-up call, showing that the therapies from around 1950 did not work because they were not based on science research Furthermore, his research has prompted many more studies that investigated the effectiveness of a therapy.
3. The fact that psychiatrists relied more and more quickly on medication to treat psychological problems. The first psychoactive drugs were actually discovered 'by accident' as a side effect of existing drugs.

Question 2

At Freud's Psychoanalysis therapy, the idea is central that human actions are governed by their subconscious mind. The psychoanalyst obliges the patient to follow his vision, and must blindly accept the given causes about his problems and how to solve them. Not everyone was equally enthusiastic about psychoanalysis. Carl Rogers (1902-1987), for example, questioned the effectiveness of psychoanalysis and in 1942 he published 'Counseling and Psychotherapy'. He provided an alternative to psychoanalysis: the client-focused therapy . In this form of therapy, the client would look more for solutions to their psychological problems. According to Rogers, these solutions will be found if the client has an intensive conversation with a listening, understanding and supportive therapist.

Question 3

The first treatment center was opened in 1896 at the University of Pennsylvania by Lightner Witmer. The main objective was to help school children with behavioral and learning difficulties.

What is science and how did the scientific method arise? - ExamTests 9

MC-Questions

Question 1

What was the philosophical movement to which the Wiener Kreiss belonged?

1. Logical positivism
2. Realism
3. Idealism
4. Post-modernism

Open Questions

Question 1

True or false: Whewell and Comte wanted to show that there is a clear distinction between observation and idea, between fact and theory.

Question 2

What is the name of the criterion as formulated in the 1929 manifesto of the Wiener Kreis?

Question 3

For each statement about demarcation, indicate whether it is correct or incorrect:

1. Demarcation is a delimitation / limitation of a certain concept.
2. In the philosophy of science demarcation is used to make generally applicable rules about science, these demarcations are called limitations within science.
3. A demorcation can not be used for scientific knowledge of pseudo-scientific knowledge to separate.

Answer indication MC-Questions

Question 1

A. Logical positivism

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

Not true.

Question 2

Verification principle

Question 3

1. Correct
2. Correct
3. Incorrect

Is psychology a science? - ExamTests 10

MC-Questions

Question 1

Who were the founders of humanistic psychology, which was a counter-reaction to psychoanalysis and behaviorism? Emphasizes that people: 1) are human, 2) inherent 3) are positive, 4) are endowed with free will and 5) live within a socio-cultural context.

1. Adler and Erikson
2. Rogers and Erikson
3. Bowlby and Maslov
4. Rogers & Maslov.
5. None of the above answers is correct.

Open Questions

Question 1

Chapter 10 lists a number of reasons why psychology can be seen as a science. Give two reasons why Psychology can be seen as science.

Question 2

What do we call the tendency of scientists to glorify methodology? In this case, the focus on methodology is seen as the only requirement for scientific research at the expense of theory building.

Question 3

Why did Dilthey think that psychology was part of the humanities (Geisteswissenschaften)? Give at least 2 reasons.

Answer indication MC-Questions

Question 1

D. Rogers & Maslov.

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

1. The founders of the field of psychology have defined psychology as the study of the human mind through a scientific method.
2. They further stated whether a particular discipline is a science or not largely depends on the research methods that are used, and is not determined by the subjects being investigated.
3. Psychology uses the scientific method and therefore it is a science.
4. This scientific method has proven to be successful and has been fully incorporated into mainstream psychological research.

Question 2

Methodolatry or methodologism.

Question 3

It is about the content of the human mind.
It describes the 'human experience as a whole' (cognition, emotion and expression of will).
It sees a person's life in a context.
Only the method of understanding can study the entire human experience (according to Dilthey there are several levels of understanding).

What is the contribution of qualitative and quantitative research models within psychology? - ExamTests 11

Open Questions

Question 1

A distinction is made in Chapter 11 between descriptive, relational and experimental research. Indicate for each explanation what type of research is involved.

1. …………… research: searches for statistical correlations in order to gain insight into the relationships that exist between variables. They use factor analysis to find structures in datasets within many variables.
2. …………… research: is often the first step in a quantitative research program because researchers want to know the cause of the observed research results.
3. …………… research: looks for cause-and-effect relationships by excluding confusing variables. To ensure that a researcher formulates good conclusions about cause and effect, experiments must be set up to manipulate the probable cause.

Question 2

Chapter 11 lists the advantages and disadvantages of quantitative research. Name three disadvantages of quantitative research.

Question 3

Is the fact that qualitative research based on induction and verification a strong or weak point?

Question 4

Some psychologists (both those who adhere to the quantitative or qualitative research method) see qualitative and quantitative as incompatible and believe that psychology should make a choice. How do they further substantiate this statement?

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

1. Relational
2. Descriptive
3. Experimental

Question 2

There is no interest in the individual behind the participant.
The research is driven too much by what can be measured numerically and experimentally tested. Hermeneutic criticism states that this has led to the ' quantitative imperative'. The belief that you cannot know what you cannot measure.
The falsification test is not designed to generate new ideas or to find practical solutions to specific problems.

Question 3

Weak point

Question 4

They believe that the underlying philosophies (positivism vs. postmodernism) exclude each other. Attempts to combine these two are, according to them, disguised attempts to improve the status of natural science and hermeneutic psychological research at the expense of others.

How do biological, psychological and sociological influences relate to psychology? - ExamTests 12

MC-Questions

Question 1

What is the name of the theory developed by the American evolutionary biologist and sociobiologist Robert L. Trivers around 1972? In evolutionary psychology, that attempts to explain the dynamics between parents and their children. It also states that if one of the parents spends more time than the other in the upbringing, that parent will also be more critical on the partner of the child.

1. Inclusive fitness
2. tit-for-tat strategy
3. parental investment theory
4. gate control theory of pain

Open Questions

Question 1

What is the name of McDougall's book from 1908 in which he argued that people are motivated by innate 'drives' (instincts and inclinations), that are adjusted by experiences and grouped in different sentiments?

Question 2

Which two diseases were thought for a long time to be caused by psychological causes instead of biological ones?

Question 3

Geert Hofstede (2001) distinguishes between four dimensions along which cultures differ. Which four dimensions are these?

Answer indication MC-Questions

Question 1

C. Parental Investment Theory

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

"An introduction to social psychology."

Question 2

Epilepsy and stomach and duodenal ulcer.

Question 3

1. Power distance: The degree of power distance is derived from the relative valuation of social inequality and hierarchy.
2. Individualism: The degree of individualism vs. socialism within a society determines to what extent people individualize.
3. Masculinity vs. Feminity: The degree of masculinity or femininity indicates the extent to which traditional male and female qualities are valued.
4. Uncertainty avoidance: The degree of uncertainty avoidance that is caused by regulations, formal procedures and rituals. The higher a society/culture scores, the more people are willing to work in a calculation. This has to do with the fear of the uncertain, the unknown. High-scoring cultures tend to want to have everything under control as opposed to low-scoring cultures where people seem to have a natural calmness and tend to let everything come their way and see what needs to be done.

What is the influence of psychology on society? - ExamTests 13

Open Questions

Question 1

In their research, Gentner & Grudin (1985) argue that psychologists use four types of metaphors. Which four are they?

Question 2

Who was one of the first post-modernists who questioned the special status of science, arguing that scientific claims are social constructs that are part of the constant 'power game' in society?

Question 3

What is the concept that can refer to (1) the fact that emotional ties and personal well-being are of great importance in primary social relationships or (2) to the growing influence of psychology on the way people see themselves and interaction have with others?

Question 4

The last part of chapter 13 discusses the extent to which psychologists have succeeded in changing the negative image of mental disorders. This negative image is partly due to the negative perception of mental disorders in the media, but Foucault gives another argument as to why people who suffer from mental disorders carry a stigma with them. What is this argument and why does he think it is wasted energy to try to tackle the negative image.

Answer indication Open Questions

Question 1

Gentner and Grudin (1985) have argued in their research that psychology has generally used four types of metaphors:

1. The human mind as an animal
2. The human mind as a nervous system.
3. The human mind as a spatial container.
4. The human mind as a mechanical or computational system.

Question 2

Michel Foucault (1926-1984)

Question 3

Psychologization

Question 4

If we follow Foucault's argument that "crazy people" are labeled by the rest of society as outcasts so that other people can feel better about themselves and that these crazy people can serve as a "surveillance threat" (if you don't behave well, you just like a madman) the conclusion is fairly simple. In this case the conclusion would be that no matter how much effort psychologists put in to make the negative image disappear, it is wasted energy. The 'crazy' group is needed to make the other groups feel good about themselves and if the 'crazy group' disappears, another group will replace it.