Free General Psychology MCQs with Answers

• A. clairvoyants
• B. telepaths
• C. parapsychologists
• D. levitators

Explanation: Parapsychologists investigate alleged extrasensory phenomena such as telepathy and clairvoyance.

• A. frequencies
• B. Hertz
• C. wavelengths
• D. decibels

Explanation: Sound amplitude is commonly expressed as sound level in decibels, whereas frequency is measured in hertz.

• A. perceptual consistency
• B. relative motion
• C. linear perspective
• D. continuity

Explanation: Perceptual constancy allows an object to be perceived as stable even when its retinal image changes as the observer moves.

• A. perceptual set
• B. retinal disparity
• C. convergence
• D. visual capture

Explanation: A perceptual set is a mental readiness to perceive something in a particular way, shaped by expectations, experience, or context.

• A. convergence
• B. linear perspective
• C. relative motion
• D. retinal disparity

Explanation: Retinal disparity is the slight difference between the images received by the two eyes, which the brain uses to judge depth.

• A. sensory adaptation
• B. feature detection
• C. signal detection
• D. transduction

Explanation: Transduction changes physical stimulation, such as light or sound, into neural signals that the nervous system can process.

• A. the Young-Helmholtz theory
• B. the opponent-process theory
• C. feature detection
• D. color constancy

Explanation: Color constancy keeps an object’s perceived color relatively stable despite changes in illumination, so the rose still appears red in…

• A. the bones of the middle ear
• B. membranes within cochlea
• C. information from the muscles, tendons and joints
• D. the body's sense of balance

Explanation: Kinesthesis, or the kinesthetic sense, detects the position and movement of body parts through receptors in muscles, tendons, and joints.

• A. dark adaptation
• B. light adaptation
• C. coding of contrast
• D. coding of light intensity patterns

Explanation: Light adaptation is the adjustment of the visual system when moving from darkness into bright light.

• A. iris
• B. retina
• C. lens
• D. optic nerve

Explanation: The retina contains rods and cones, whose photoreceptors transduce light into neural signals.

• A. eyes
• B. ears
• C. tongue
• D. skin

Explanation: The skin is the body's largest sense organ because it contains receptors for touch, pressure, temperature, and pain across the body's…

• A. a cloudy cornea
• B. an elongated eyeball
• C. a malfunction of the lens of the eye
• D. an eyeball that has become shortened

Explanation: Myopia occurs when the eyeball is too long from front to back, causing light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it.

• A. optic chiasma
• B. optic nerve
• C. blind spot
• D. fovea

Explanation: The optic chiasma is the X-shaped junction where some optic-nerve fibers cross to the opposite hemisphere.

• A. size
• B. shape
• C. color
• D. dimension

Explanation: Perceptual constancies commonly include size, shape, and color constancy, which let objects appear stable despite changes in viewing…

• A. wholistic functions
• B. continuity
• C. proximity
• D. additive vision

Explanation: The principle of proximity groups elements that are close together, so equally spaced dots are perceived as rows or columns.

• A. telepathy and precognition
• B. psycho-kinesis and kinesthesis
• C. balance and kinesthesis
• D. psycho-kinesis and clairvoyance

Explanation: Balance, or equilibrium, and kinesthesis provide information about body position and movement, so they are often added to the five…

• A. similarity
• B. symmetry
• C. holistic perception
• D. continuity

Explanation: The Gestalt principle of continuity describes the tendency to perceive smooth, flowing paths rather than disconnected segments.

• A. stimulus energies are detected
• B. stimulus energies are transformed into neural activity
• C. sensory input is selected, organized and interpreted
• D. nerve cells respond to specific features of a stimulus

Explanation: Perception gives meaning to sensory information by selecting, organizing, and interpreting it.

• A. Cutaneous
• B. Auditory
• C. Visual
• D. Olfactory

Explanation: The visual system contains retinal ganglion cells, and accommodation is controlled by the ciliary muscles that adjust the lens for…

• A. audition
• B. taste
• C. vision
• D. touch

Explanation: Vision contributes more information to human experience than the other senses, allowing us to detect color, form, distance, and movement…