Free General Psychology MCQs with Answers

• A. Wundt
• B. Skinner
• C. Bandura
• D. Watson

Explanation: John B. Watson launched behaviorism by arguing that psychology should study observable behavior scientifically rather than private…

• A. one's own conscious sensory experience
• B. how one's own personality affects one's conscious sensory experience
• C. how one's own behavior affects one's conscious sensory experience
• D. all of the above

Explanation: Titchener used introspection to obtain trained, detailed reports of a person's immediate conscious sensory experience.

• A. industrial/organizational psychologists
• B. developmental psychologists
• C. personality psychologists
• D. biological psychologists

Explanation: Industrial and organizational psychologists commonly conduct applied research to solve workplace problems such as employee selection…

• A. nativism
• B. empiricism
• C. dualism
• D. interactionism
• E. None of these

Explanation: Empiricism holds that knowledge and mental contents develop from sensory experience, whereas nativism gives greater importance to inborn…

• A. industrial and organizational psychology
• B. mental retardation
• C. astrological psychology
• D. test and measurement
• E. None of these

Explanation: Astrological psychology is not an evidence-based psychological specialty of the American Psychiatric Association; astrology does not meet…

• A. animals
• B. behavior
• C. social institution
• D. symptoms of abnormality

Explanation: Psychology begins with the objective description of behavior, including actions that can be observed and measured.

• A. animal behavior is just as complex as human behavior
• B. experiments on people are generally considered to be unethical
• C. the ethical treatment of animals is not mandated by professional guidelines
• D. similar processes often underline animal and human behavior

Explanation: Animal research is useful because many basic processes, such as learning, motivation, and memory, operate similarly in animals and humans.

• A. science and culture
• B. culture and philosophy
• C. science and philosophy
• D. philosophy and religion

Explanation: Modern psychology developed in the nineteenth century through the meeting of scientific methods with philosophical questions about the…

• A. Sigmund Freud
• B. Carl Rogers
• C. Harry Stack Sullivan
• D. John B. Watson

Explanation: John B. Watson established behaviorism, which defined psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior.

• A. psychoanalytic
• B. gestalt
• C. biological
• D. structural

Explanation: Gestalt psychology studies organized perception, including how people perceive motion, whole patterns, and relationships between parts.

• A. divided into three separate layers
• B. a flow of ideas without clear boundaries
• C. a collective unit passed down genetically
• D. a set of discrete sensations

Explanation: Structuralists such as Wundt and Titchener analyzed consciousness into basic, discrete sensations, images, and feelings.

• A. clairvoyance
• B. kinesthesis
• C. psychokinesis
• D. precognition
• E. None of these

Explanation: Psychokinesis refers to the claimed ability to influence or move physical objects through mental processes alone.

• A. William McDougall
• B. Thorndike
• C. Watson
• D. None of these

Explanation: William McDougall criticized the strict stimulus-response view because it left little room for purposive behavior and internal motives.

• A. John Watson
• B. Max Wertheimer
• C. Hermann von Helmholtz
• D. Edward Titchener

Explanation: Edward Titchener made trained introspection the central method of structuralism, asking observers to report and analyze immediate…

• A. biological
• B. clinical and counseling
• C. social and personality
• D. school and educational

Explanation: Clinical and counseling psychologists apply psychological principles to assess and treat emotional disorders, mental illness, and…

• A. gestalt, Wertheimer
• B. psychoanalytic, Freud
• C. behaviorism, Titchener
• D. behaviorism, Watson

Explanation: Behaviorism explains behavior mainly through conditioning and environmental influences, and John B. Watson was its major early advocate.

• A. psychiatrist
• B. social psychologist
• C. educational psychologist
• D. industrial psychologist

Explanation: Industrial or organizational psychologists apply psychology to workplaces, including employee relations, management issues, and conflict…

• A. instituting fair rules
• B. the dangers of injury
• C. improving the players' performance
• D. making sure that the game is not beyond the capability of the players

Explanation: Sports psychology uses psychological principles to improve performance, motivation, concentration, and team functioning.

• A. can be observed
• B. the organism chooses to perform
• C. can be inferred
• D. is part of the conscious experience

Explanation: Behaviorism focuses on observable and measurable behavior because it aims to study responses that can be directly recorded.

• A. Structuralist
• B. Behaviorist
• C. Gestaltists
• D. None of the above

Explanation: These psychologists are associated with functionalism, which studied how mental processes and behavior help individuals adapt.