All Free Psychology MCQs with Answers

Every Psychology question in the bank, across all chapters, each with the correct answer and a written explanation. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

3,519 questions · page 109 of 176

  • A. auditory
  • B. kinesthetic
  • C. olfactory
  • D. vestibular

Explanation: The semicircular canals detect rotational movements of the head and contribute to balance, making them part of the vestibular sense.

Correct answer: vestibular
  • A. closure
  • B. figure and ground
  • C. proximity
  • D. distance

Explanation: Figure-ground organization separates an object of focus, the figure, from its surrounding background, the ground.

Correct answer: figure and ground
  • A. anvil
  • B. ear canal
  • C. basilar membrane
  • D. ear drum

Explanation: The basilar membrane is a key structure inside the cochlea: its movement stimulates hair cells that convert sound vibrations into neural…

Correct answer: basilar membrane
  • A. the duplicity theory
  • B. Wever's volley principle
  • C. Hering's opponent process theory
  • D. Helmholtz's trichromatic theory

Explanation: A red stimulus producing a green afterimage reflects opponent color processes, in which red and green operate as opposing pairs.

Correct answer: Hering's opponent process theory
  • A. vestibular system
  • B. pinna
  • C. round window
  • D. cochlea

Explanation: The cochlea contains the basilar membrane and hair cells that convert sound vibrations transmitted through the inner ear into nerve…

Correct answer: cochlea
  • A. texture-density gradient
  • B. retinal disparity
  • C. reciprocal innervations
  • D. retinal polarity

Explanation: A texture-density gradient is a monocular cue: surfaces appear denser and finer with increasing distance.

Correct answer: texture-density gradient
  • A. provide a sense of balance
  • B. provide the ability to taste
  • C. provide a sense of touch
  • D. provide an ability to feel an emotion

Explanation: The vestibular organs detect head movement and orientation relative to gravity, providing information needed for balance and bodily…

Correct answer: provide a sense of balance
  • A. texture
  • B. light and shadow
  • C. convergence
  • D. linear perspective

Explanation: Convergence is a physiological, binocular cue because the eyes turn inward for nearby objects.

Correct answer: convergence
  • A. cochlea
  • B. ossicles
  • C. round window
  • D. Organ of Corti

Explanation: The middle ear occupies the space between the eardrum and oval window and contains the three ossicles: malleus, incus, and stapes.

Correct answer: ossicles
  • A. outer ear
  • B. oval window
  • C. cochlea
  • D. ossicles

Explanation: The pinna, or auricle, is the visible flap that collects sound and directs it into the ear canal, so it belongs to the outer ear.

Correct answer: outer ear
  • A. formation of neural impulse
  • B. sound-wave amplification
  • C. sound collection
  • D. transmission to the brain

Explanation: The middle ear, especially the ossicles, amplifies and mechanically transfers vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear.

Correct answer: sound-wave amplification
  • A. apparent motion
  • B. induced motion
  • C. the autokinetic effect
  • D. binocular disparity

Explanation: The autokinetic effect is the illusory movement of a stationary light seen in an otherwise dark environment.

Correct answer: the autokinetic effect
  • A. deoxyribonucleic acid
  • B. genes
  • C. atoms
  • D. myelin

Explanation: Chromosomes are made mainly of DNA wound around protein molecules; DNA stores the genetic instructions.

Correct answer: deoxyribonucleic acid
  • A. a disease of the blood cells
  • B. hyperventilation
  • C. interruption of the oxygen supply to brain
  • D. an oversupply of oxygen to the brain

Explanation: Anoxia means a severe interruption or absence of oxygen supply, especially to the brain, and it can cause serious neurological damage.

Correct answer: interruption of the oxygen supply to brain
  • A. Wundt
  • B. Dewey
  • C. Darwin
  • D. Watson

Explanation: John B. Watson, the founder of behaviorism, emphasized environmental conditioning and argued that behavior could be shaped by experience.

Correct answer: Watson
  • A. molecular configuration making up chromosomes
  • B. germ-cell configurations in genes
  • C. atom structure in genes
  • D. neural structure in cell bodies

Explanation: DNA is the molecule that carries genetic information and forms the chemical material of chromosomes.

Correct answer: molecular configuration making up chromosomes
  • A. reuptake site
  • B. receptor site
  • C. synapse
  • D. axon terminal

Explanation: A synapse is the junction where one neuron communicates with another, usually by releasing neurotransmitters across a small gap.

Correct answer: synapse
  • A. organize information
  • B. carry information to central nervous system
  • C. transmits messages between neurons
  • D. transmit messages from motor to interneurons

Explanation: Sensory neurons carry information from receptors, such as those in the skin or eyes, toward the central nervous system.

Correct answer: carry information to central nervous system
  • A. skeletal nervous system
  • B. sympathetic nervous system
  • C. limbic system
  • D. parasympathetic nervous system

Explanation: The sympathetic nervous system arouses the body during stress or action, increasing heart rate and alertness.

Correct answer: sympathetic nervous system
  • A. regeneration
  • B. accommodation
  • C. aphasia
  • D. plasticity

Explanation: Brain plasticity is the capacity of neural tissue to reorganize and allow other areas to compensate for damage.

Correct answer: plasticity