All Free Psychology MCQs with Answers

• A. is greatest for behaviors leading to financial material success
• B. does not occur in primitive cultures
• C. is defined as the desire to meet internalized standard of excellence
• D. is greater in women than in men

Explanation: Achievement motivation is the desire to accomplish difficult tasks according to an internal standard of excellence.

• A. curiosity
• B. the desire for money
• C. physical contact
• D. thirst

Explanation: Thirst is a primary motive because it is biologically based and necessary for survival.

• A. pancreas
• B. pituitary gland
• C. hypothalamus
• D. limbic system

Explanation: The hypothalamus monitors body-fluid balance and helps generate thirst when the body needs water.

• A. human factors psychology
• B. achievement motivation
• C. homeostasis
• D. 360-degree feedback

Explanation: Jeff is repeatedly practising to reach a high standard and achieve a competitive goal, which exemplifies achievement motivation.

• A. Opponent-process
• B. Instinct
• C. Arousal
• D. Behavioral

Explanation: The fish's fixed courtship and fertilisation sequence is an inherited, species-typical response to a specific stimulus, which is the basis…

• A. the number of calories a person consumes daily has no effect on body weight
• B. she may have a higher-than-average set point for body weight
• C. her resting metabolic rate will increase and prompt her to over eat vigorous exercise
• D. fat cells can be lost only with vigorous exerciseTry Prep Courses

Explanation: Set-point theory proposes that the body tends to defend a biologically influenced weight range, so a high set point can make sustained…

• A. "Avoid consumption of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages"
• B. "Avoid eating during the day so you can enjoy a big meal in the evening"
• C. "Accompany your diet with a sustained exercise program"
• D. "Reduce your weight gradually over a period of many months"

Explanation: Skipping food all day to eat one large evening meal can produce excessive hunger and overeating, making weight control harder.

• A. opponent-process
• B. drive reduction
• C. incentive
• D. arousalTake Psychology Courses

Explanation: Drive-reduction theory predicts that hunger creates an unpleasant drive that motivates eating, so deliberately ignoring hunger contradicts…

• A. flow
• B. strengths-based selection
• C. transformation leadership
• D. achievement motivation

Explanation: Csikszentmihalyi used flow to describe intense absorption in an activity, in which a person becomes highly focused and loses awareness of…

• A. a competence motive
• B. a drive motive
• C. an achievement motive
• D. an intellect motive

Explanation: The achievement motive is the desire to master difficult tasks, meet high standards, and outperform others.

• A. arousal; Incentive
• B. drive reduction; arousal
• C. drive; reduction; incentive
• D. incentive; drive; reduction

Explanation: At first, Josh smokes for the pleasurable incentive produced by nicotine; after dependence develops, smoking reduces the unpleasant…

• A. instinct
• B. drive reduction
• C. incentive
• D. evolutionary

Explanation: An incentive is an external reward that attracts and energises behaviour, such as the promised car.

• A. Lauren is motivated by both a fear of failure and a need for achievement, while Curtis is merely motivated by a need for achievement
• B. Lauren is motivated by a fear of failure and Curtis is motivated by a need for achievement
• C. both students are motivated by a need for achievement
• D. both students are motivated by a fear of failure

Explanation: Lauren studies to avoid failing, showing fear of failure, whereas Curtis studies to attain the highest grade, showing a need for…

• A. fixed-action patterns
• B. homeostasis
• C. secondary drives
• D. arousal

Explanation: Money is a secondary drive because its motivational value is learned through its association with primary needs and rewards.

• A. ventromedial; lateral
• B. lateral; ventromedial
• C. non-homeostatic; homeostatic
• D. cyclic; episodic

Explanation: The ventromedial hypothalamus is traditionally associated with satiety, whereas the lateral hypothalamus is associated with feeding and…

• A. lowering its set point
• B. destruction of its lateral hypothalamus
• C. destruction of its ventromedial hypothalamus
• D. stimulation of its ventromedial hypothalamus

Explanation: The ventromedial hypothalamus is classically linked with satiety, so its destruction removes an important stop signal and can produce…

• A. a stimulus need
• B. a curiosity drive
• C. the Coolidge effect
• D. an episodic drive

Explanation: The Coolidge effect is the return of sexual interest when a novel mate is introduced, even after sexual satiation with the previous mate.

• A. emotional distress
• B. the fear of becoming too thin
• C. drinking alcohol in small quantities
• D. the perception that they have cheated on their diet

Explanation: Restrained eaters commonly lose dietary control after believing they have already broken their diet, producing the ‘what-the-hell’ effect.

• A. taste aversions are really more like operant conditioning
• B. taste aversions can be unlearned as well
• C. there is a biological tendency to associate sickness with any food eaten earlier
• D. there is less aversion associated with the actual sickness than with whatever caused the sickness in the first placeTry Prep Courses

Explanation: Taste aversion is a biological preparedness effect: organisms are especially ready to associate a taste with later illness, even after a…

• A. drink more water than biologically needed
• B. refuse to drink until forced to do so
• C. eat until it becomes obese
• D. refuse to eat until force fed

Explanation: Damage to the lateral hypothalamus produces aphagia, or failure to eat, often accompanied by reduced drinking.