NMAT 2019

Psychology
Module B
(with explanations)
1. A behavioral psychologist is interested in behaviour that

A. can be observed
B. is shown in major body movements
C. an organism displays voluntarily
D. can be inferred

• D. More applicable for cognitive psychology because inference is

a cognitive activity
2. You jerk your hand away after touching a hot
plate.

A. the sympathetic system

B. parasympathetic system
C. afferent neurons
D. motor neurons
3. Which of the ff. is most accurate statement about the determinants of human
development?

A. The interaction between biological predisposition and individual experiences

governs development
B. Development results from combination of cultural and environmental influences
C. Biological predispositions combine with maturational time tables to determine
development
D. Heredity (“nature”) is more important than environment (“nurture”) in determining
the course of human development

• In psychology, nature and nurture are given equal importance in

development/maturation
4. Figure is to ground as

A. Light to dark C. Thunder is to lightning

B. Water is to ice D. Clouds is to sky

• 3 Requirements for Distinguishing a Figure from a Background:

• Both stimuli should be visual (Which explains why A cannot be the answer)
• There should be contrast (Which is why B cannot be an answer; they are both
transparent)
• Separate images (i.e., a figure and a ground) must emerge out of the said contrast
(Which is why C cannot be an answer)
 5. Chanting a mantra during meditation is an example of

A. Repression
B. Active consciousness
C. Dynamic consciousness
D. Passive consciousness

• Repression – is the process of excluding from the consciousness a thought or feeling that causes pain, shame
or guilt.
• Active consciousness – a type of consciousness that is used by a person to affect the environment.
i.e. Affect the behavior of a physical object -- for example, the behavior of an otherwise random device.
• Passive consciousness - can react to external stimuli but cannot stimulate itself into activity.
• Dynamic consciousness - ability on the part of the person concerned to be in the appropriate state of attention
for the task in hand.
6. When a newly presented stimulus is very similar to stimulus to which a
conditioned response has been learned, the new stimulus is likely to
A. Inhibits the same response
B. Produce no response
C. Elicit the same responses
D. Produce a new response

• Key Phrase: very similar

• Stimulus generalization: Tendency of a stimulus other than the
conditioned stimulus to elicit the same response
• This may be attributed to similarities between the conditioned stimulus and the
new stimulus
7. Psychological motives are most influenced by

A. Genetics
B. Physiological drives
C. Social factors
D. Neurological and chemical events

• Application of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

8. Social psychologists note that we probably maintain consistent
attitudes and reference group over lifetime because

A. we select reference groups that support our attitudes

B. our reference groups help to create our attitudes
C. we identify with members of the reference group
D. all of the above

• Reference groups: Groups that help us shape ourselves into who

we want to become
9. According to social learning theory, what a person will do in a situation depends on

A. Past reinforcement (Behavioral aspect)

B. Evaluation of the present situation (Cognitive aspect; Evaluation is a cognitive activity)
C. Observation of the others (Observation is also a cognitive activity)
D. All of the above

• The Social Learning Theory by Albert Bandura may simply be understood as learning
theory that gives importance to both behavior and cognition. Albert Bandura also
coined the term Observational Learning and Modelling.
10. Jerry felt terrified whenever he had to travel in automobiles;
he now avoids them completely. Jerry suffers from a(n)

A. Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior
B. Phobia (Irrational fear)
C. Anxiety Reaction
D. Personality Disorder
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) - a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which
a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions)
that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.
• Anxiety reaction – a psychological state or experience involving the apprehension of danger,
accompanied by a feeling of dread and such physical symptoms as restlessness and rapid
heartbeat, occurring in the absence of any identifiable fear stimulus.
• Personality disorders (PD)- a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive
patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and
deviating markedly from those accepted by the individual's culture.
11. The least negative effects in your performance would
probably be produced by

A. A thunderstorm
B. Your neighbor’s lawn mower
C. Cars honking loudly outside your window
D. The radio you are too lazy to turn off

• We are affected mostly by what is beyond our control

12. A goal of Cognitive Psychology is to

A. Develop theories about how emotions function

B. Develop theories about how mental processes are
organized
C. Conduct experimentation on behavior data
D. Conduct psychological studies of stimuli

• Key word:
Cognitive = mental processes
13. Tapping the tendon in top of the knee cap result
in what is known as knee jerk. This is a test of

A. Spinal reflex
B. Muscle coordination
C. Somatic nervous system
D. Automatic nervous system
14. Maturation refers to
A. Orderly changes in behavior that are caused by experience
B. Disrupted prenatal development that results in permanent
defects
C. Natural physical growth processes that are relatively
independent of environment events
D. The acquisition of adult behavior through social contact

• Best answer because it gives due credit to both heredity and the
environment; among the rest of the choices, either is missing
15. Although a door is that closing appears trapezoidal at one point, you
will still perceive it as rectangular due to

A. Stroboscopic motion

B. Figure- ground perception

(people's perception of the shape of an object does not change regardless of changes to the object's orientation)

C. Shape constancy

D. Pattern recognition

• Keywords:
Rectangular = shape
16. Sleep studies have shown that people can

A. Discriminate between dreaming and non-dreaming sleep while

asleep
B. Be aware they are dreaming while in the midst of the dream
C. Control their dream content
D. All of the above

• Lucid Dreaming
-a dream during which the dreamer is aware of dreaming. During lucid dreaming,
the dreamer may be able to exert some degree of control over the dream characters,
narrative, and environment.
17. In operant conditioning, the reward

A. Follows behavior
B. Comes before the behaviour
C. Occurs at the same time as the behavior
D. Elicits behavior

• Operant conditioning: Behavior comes first, followed by a

consequence (Reward/Punishment)
• Classical conditioning: A stimulus is presented, followed by a
response/behavior
18. Amanda considers applying to medical school but decides not to because
she anticipates rejection. The impact thinking on behavior is emphasized in

A. Social learning theory

B. Psychoanalytic theory
C. Behavioral theory
D. Maslow’s theory

• Keyword: thinking
• It combines principles of both the cognitive and behavioral schools of
thought
19. In Freudian terms, a person who doesn’t care if he/she
harms others in order to achieve success probably has a
weak

A. Id C. Libido
B. Ego D. Superego

• Weak morals/sense of right and wrong

20. The best example of an obsession is

A. The irresistible urge to use credit cards (Compulsion)

B. Recurring thought of performing an obscene act
C. Felling panicked with no definable cause (Anxiety)
D. Being distressed over the death of a friend (Grief)

• Keyword:
• obsession = thought
21. Studies of animals have shown that living under
crowded conditions is associated with

A. Increased aggression C. Infant neglect

B. Physical disorders D. All of the above

22. Psychoanalytic psychologist emphasize that
behavior is often controlled by

A. Free will C. Unconscious processors

B. External stimuli D. Perception

23. The center of higher mental process is the

A. Limbic system (Expression and regulation of emotions)

B. Cerebrum

C. Cerebellum (Balance and motor coordination)

D. hypothalamus (Feelings of hunger/satiety; temperature regulation)

24. Franklin spent the first six-month of his life with heavy casts on his feet. How will this affect
his motor development?

A. because motor development is sensitive to restriction, he will probably never walk with
normal gait.
B. He may not walk as early as other children, but he will probably catch up rapidly
C. He will walk normally only of his parent spend a lot of time teaching him
D. Since motor development, we cannot predict what will happen

This is a case of Clubbed Feet among infants,

which is corrected by casting. Over the
course of six to eight weeks, clubfoot may be
corrected without surgery, and may catch up
with motor development
25. Which of the ff. is an example of selective attention?

A. Not speaking up when you see someone stealing

B. Not hearing the radio when you are reading the book
C. Eating a candy bar while watching a television
D. Sitting at rock concert

• A. This is deliberate, the ignoring of stimuli in selective attention is

unsconscious
• C. In selective attention, something is given attention to in expense of
other stimuli, which are ignored unconsciously
• D. Attention is not selective
26. The behavior of heroin user differs from the behavior of a person
consuming alcohol is that the heroin user

A. Is more likely to become more aggressive or assaultive

B. Can produced skilled responses to agility and intellectual tests
C. Has a depressed nervous system
D. none of these

• B. Heroin alters state of consciousness significantly

• C. Heroin is a stimulant
27. Which statement exemplifies effective use of punishment?
A. “If you do that, what kind of person do you think you will grow up
to be?”
B. “Wait until your father comes home; he’ll give you a spanking”
C. “Don’t pull Rover’s tail, pat him like this”
D. “I never want to hear that word again”

• A. This is merely reasoning with a child

• C. Not punishment, only showing someone else how something must
be done
• D. Between B and D, B is a better answer
28. Research indicates that childhood viewing of violence on television

A. Increase aggressive behaviour

B. Has no impact on aggressive behaviour
C. Decrease aggressive behaviour
D. Increases instrumental aggression but decrease hostile aggressive

• B. Definitely does
• D. Both instrumental and hostile aggression may be increased
• Instrumental Aggression: A form of aggression that helps us attain our objectives
• Hostile Aggression: A form of aggression that is aimless and only means destruction
and harm
29. According to phenomenological approaches, the most innate
motivation is

A. The need to feel worthy

B. The need for acceptance
C. To restore consistencies
D. Toward self-actualization

• The Phenomenological Approach is under the Humanistic School of

Thought in Psychology. According to the Humanistic Movement, self-
actualization is the primary human motive.
30. If Tim does not change his clothes four times a day and put new
laces in his shoes every other day, he become very anxious. These
behavior are

A. Compulsive C. Projected
B. Obsessive D. Phobic

• Keyword: behavior
• Compulsions: Repetitive, non-productive behavior
• Obsessions: Recurring thoughts, urges
31. People are reluctant to intervene in emergency situation because

A. Sometimes there is a real danger

B. Emergencies arise quickly and require quick, unplanned action
C. they risk making fools of themselves by misinterpreting the situations as
emergencies
D. all of the above

• A. One’s welfare and survival are priorities

32. Humanistic theorists believe that an important force
motivating individuals is a tendency

A. Toward growth & self-actualization

B. Toward effective cognitive conditioning
C. To recognized and categorized life experiences
D. To bring unconscious impulses to conscious awareness

• Key Phrase: Humanistic theorists

• Take note of keywords
33. The portion of the brain responsible for the regulation of motor
coordination is the

A. Cerebellum C. Cerebrum
B. Corpus Callosum D. Thalamus

• Cerebrum: Higher mental processes

• Cerebellum: Coordination of motor movements as well as balance
• Thalamus: Final sensory relay station for all types of senses EXCEPT for
olfaction (Final sensory relay station: Olfactory bulb)
• Corpus Callosum: Structural and functional “bridge” between the two
hemispheres of the cerebrum
34. According to Piaget, a child has attained the concept of object
permanence when he/she is aware that objects

A. Continue to exist
B. Have a constant mass
C. Have a constant shape
D. Vary in color

• Key phrase: object permanence

• C. Shape Constancy
35. The orienting reflex

A. Occurs only in response to major changes in the environment

B. Prepares an organism to responds quickly
C. Is weak in Human being compared to animals
D. Responds primarily to familiar stimuli

• Orienting Reflex: Tendency of an organism to familiarize one’s

self to unfamiliar elements of the environment so that it could
act immediately and appropriately
36. Hypnotic induction typically requires

A. An authoritarian hypnotist
B. A willing and cooperative subject
C. An alert mode of consciousness
D. None of these

• A. An authoritarian hypnotist may hamper the patient from relaxing

• B. Otherwise, hypnosis will be unsuccessful
• C. Patient must be relaxed
37. A customer asked for “a pound of American cheese sliced thin.” You
should be most likely to retain activity in societies that are

A. Visual code C. Semantic code

B. Acoustic code D. Imagery code

• A, B, and C fall under D.

• Imagery: Mental representation of various sensory information, not
restricted to the sense of sight
• The receiver of this message most probably received this message through verbal
communication (Acoustic code), understood the message through one’s
knowledge of grammar (Semantic code), and knows what the customer’s request
looks like (Visual code)
38. Maslow’s theory of human motivation would predict a lack of artistic
and scientific activity in societies that are

A. Heavily industrialized and built up

B. Struggling to feed and shelter their people
C. Striving to improve their technology
D. Spartan and Puritanical

• B. Physiological needs
• According to Maslow, if one level of the hierarchy is not satisfied, the
succeeding stages may not be fully met.
39. If an employer wishes to evaluate the traits of an employee based
on observations of behaviour on the jobs, he/she probably used a

A. rating scale C. projective test

B. personality inventory D. statistical analysis

• Statistical Analysis: More significant in Test Construction and

Measurement
• Projective Tests and Personality Inventories measure an individual’s
personality, not job-related behavior
40. When they are encouraged to be more socially active,
depressed individuals usually

A. find new ways to criticize themselves

B. have panic attacks
C. become more outgoing
D. become more objective about their feelings

• The goal of this move is to elevate the mood of

individuals in a depressed state
41. A reference group is any group that

A. consists of individual with whom we identify

B. regulates its member through the use of social reward and
punishment
C. provides us an interpretation of events and social issues
D. All of the above

• A reference group basically serves to guide us. Usually we share

characteristics with them but it doesn’t necessarily mean that
we are actually part of these reference groups
42. Individuals with damage to the hippocampus area of the limbic system are unable
to

A. display their inhibitions

B. control their inhibitions
C. express their emotion
D. remember anything new

• Hippocampus: Consolidation of short-term memory to long-term memory

• Limbic System: Expression and regulation of emotions
• In this item, the hippocampus is stated to function as a part of the limbic system, so
instead of D, the answer is C.
43. A doctor examining a brain-damaged patient who cannot regulate
his/her body temperature would suspect damage to the

A. medulla C. thalamus
B. hypothalamus D. cerebellum

• Cerebellum: Coordination of motor movements as well as balance

• Thalamus: Final sensory relay station for all types of senses EXCEPT for
olfaction (Final sensory relay station: Olfactory bulb)
• Medulla oblongata: Involuntary actions vital in sustaining life (Breathing,
etc.)
44. According to Erickson, the way parents control their child’s exploration during his
or her second year will determine whether the child develops feeling of

A. intimacy and sharing

B. trust in others
C. identification and authority
D. autonomy and independence

• Key Phrase: second year

• A. Young adulthood years
• B. Infancy; 0-2 years old
• C. Adolescent stage
• D. Early childhood stage; age 2 onwards
 45. A subject attempt to name a card that an experimenter
is thinking of, the experiment is testing
A. precognition
B. clairvoyance
C. psychokinesis
D. telepathy
• Precognition - the ability to actually perceive or see a future event through extrasensory perception (ESP) or
clairvoyance, before it happens.
• Clairvoyance - the alleged ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through
extrasensory perception.
• Psychokinesis - an alleged psychic ability allowing a person to influence a physical system without physical
interaction.
• Telepathy - the purported transmission of information from one person to another without using any of our known
sensory channels or physical interaction.
46. Which of these is least likely to result from
sleep deprivation?

A. tendency to fall asleep

B. transient inattention
C. emotionally disturbed behavior
D. visual misperceptions
47. Why can a supermarket cashier recall the last few prices for
an order but not the first few?

A. later items displace earlier items in short term memory

B. the cahier paid closer attention to the last few items
C. the cashier used a linear search of short-term memory for the
last items but a sequential search for the earlier items
D. the later items were probably placed in long-term memory

• A. Recency Effect
48. Which of the following is not an aggressive act?

A. Emie punches Joe in the stomach for no reason

B. Carol screams at her daughter after a hard day of
work.
C. Sam accidentally spills ink all over the
roommate’s term paper
D. Janet spanks her son because he lied to her
49. In general, the closer you get to a feared object, the
greater the

A. avoidance C. ambivalence
B. conflict D. approach

• The closer a threatening stimulus gets, the urge to avoid

it increases
50. The belief that all food can cause cancer is an example of a(n)

A. hallucination C. delusion
B. mood swing D. affective disorder

• Hallucination: Perception experienced in the absence of a stimulus (Ex.

Hearing voices)
• Delusion: A belief that refuses to be disproved even in the presence of
reasonable explanations
• Affective Disorder: Disorders in mood
• Mood Swing falls under Affective Disorder