Free General Psychology MCQs with Answers

• A. Hearing
• B. Accommodation
• C. Parallel processing
• D. The vestibular senseTry Prep Courses

Explanation: The semicircular canals are fluid-filled organs of the vestibular system that detect rotational movement of the head and support balance.

• A. Complementary color theory
• B. Trichromatic theory
• C. Opponent-process theory
• D. Saturation theory

Explanation: Trichromatic theory holds that color vision depends on three types of cones sensitive to different primary colors, whose signals combine…

• A. Sensory interaction; feature detection
• B. Sensation; perception
• C. Absolute threshold; difference threshold
• D. The just noticeable difference; accommodation

Explanation: Detecting the pitches of separate sounds is sensation, the registration of physical stimulation by the senses.

• A. Subtractive color mixing
• B. Divisive color mixing
• C. Trichromatic theory
• D. Multiplicative color mixing

Explanation: Paint absorbs, or subtracts, wavelengths of light, so mixing yellow and blue pigments produces green through subtractive color mixing.

• A. Subliminal cells
• B. Ganglion cells
• C. Rods and cones
• D. Bipolar cells

Explanation: Rods and cones lie closest to the back, or outer wall, of the retina, where they receive light before signals pass toward bipolar and…

• A. Transduction
• B. Sensory adaptation
• C. Parallel processing
• D. Accommodation

Explanation: Transduction is the conversion of physical energy into neural signals; in hearing, hair cells convert sound vibrations into neural…

• A. Inhibit action potentials from reaching the terminal buttons
• B. Cause action potentials that were took weak to reach the terminal buttons
• C. Fall below William's absolute threshold for sound
• D. Cause more inhibitory than excitatory synapses

Explanation: A sound below a person's absolute threshold cannot be detected reliably, even though it is physically present.

• A. warmth and pressure
• B. warmth and pain
• C. pressure and pain
• D. cold and warmth

Explanation: The sensation of heat can result from stimulating adjacent cold and warmth receptors together, an effect known as the thermal grill…

• A. accommodation
• B. subliminal stimulation
• C. distraction
• D. acupuncture

Explanation: Lamaze training commonly uses breathing, relaxation and focused attention to distract the mother from childbirth pain.

• A. loudness
• B. amplitude
• C. wavelength
• D. location

Explanation: The owl's asymmetric ears receive a sound at slightly different times and intensities, allowing the brain to determine where the sound…

• A. a threshold
• B. perceptual defense
• C. a sensation
• D. subliminal messages

Explanation: Limen means a sensory threshold, the point at which a stimulus becomes detectable or distinguishable.

• A. compression, rarefaction
• B. rarefaction; compression
• C. pitch; loudness
• D. loudness; pitch

Explanation: Frequency determines perceived pitch, so higher frequency produces a higher pitch.

• A. ciliary muscles
• B. the cochlea
• C. the olfactory bulb
• D. the semicircular canals

Explanation: The semicircular canals are part of the vestibular system, which detects head movement and helps maintain balance.

• A. Cochlea
• B. Iris
• C. Pupil
• D. Cornea

Explanation: The cochlea belongs to the inner ear and is involved in hearing, not vision. The iris, pupil, and cornea are all structures of the eye.

• A. Difference
• B. Theoretical
• C. Obtained
• D. Absolute

Explanation: The absolute threshold is the weakest stimulus that can be detected reliably, usually defined as detectable on about half of the trials.

• A. Pressure of one had pushing on your head for 30 seconds
• B. A puff of air blown in your face from 2 feet away
• C. Water from a shower landing on your back with a velocity of one foot per second
• D. The wing of a bee falling on your cheek from a distance of 1 centimeter

Explanation: A bee wing barely landing on the cheek is a classic example of a stimulus near the absolute threshold for touch.

• A. Only found in hearing
• B. Non-shared perceptual distortions
• C. Shared by most people
• D. Only found in vision

Explanation: A hallucination is a perceptual experience without an external stimulus, whereas an illusion misinterprets a stimulus that is actually…

• A. Unknown
• B. Threshold
• C. Puzzle
• D. Constant

Explanation: Weber's law states that the just noticeable difference is a constant proportion of the original stimulus, not a fixed absolute amount.

• A. radioactive sugar
• B. iodine
• C. metal particles
• D. xenon gas

Explanation: PET uses a radioactive tracer, commonly a glucose-like sugar such as fluorodeoxyglucose, to show areas of metabolic activity in the brain.

• A. Behaviorism
• B. Cognitive school of thought
• C. Progressivism
• D. Existaetialism

Explanation: Koffka and Köhler were major Gestalt psychologists, and Gestalt psychology explains perception and thinking as organized cognitive…