Practice quiz · by a Quizcard user

MCAT Psychology and Sociology: High-Yield Terms — quiz

15 multiple-choice questions covering Sensation & Perception, Signal Detection Theory, Operant Conditioning, Schedules of Reinforcement, Memory Stages. One answer each; you get a score at the end and the explanation for every question. No account needed.

Updated 2026-11-03. Keys 1–4 pick an answer, Enter moves on. Redo it any time, in order or shuffled.

The questions

Answers and explanations are shown after you finish.

1. Sensation & Perception

   A person can just barely detect a 5-gram increase when holding a 100-gram weight. Using Weber's Law, how large an increase should be needed to notice a difference when holding a 200-gram weight?

   • 20 grams
   • 10 grams
   • 5 grams
   • 15 grams
2. Signal Detection Theory

   An observer adopts a very lenient (liberal) response criterion when deciding whether a faint signal is present. According to signal detection theory, this shift in criterion would most likely increase which pair of outcomes?

   • Hits and false alarms
   • Misses and correct rejections
   • Hits and correct rejections
   • Correct rejections and misses
3. Operant Conditioning

   A teenager loses phone privileges after missing curfew, and the behavior decreases afterward. This consequence is best classified as:

   • Negative punishment
   • Negative reinforcement
   • Positive punishment
   • Positive reinforcement
4. Schedules of Reinforcement

   Slot machines reward players after an unpredictable number of pulls, and this pattern produces behavior that is extremely difficult to extinguish. Which reinforcement schedule is being used?

   • Variable ratio
   • Variable interval
   • Fixed interval
   • Fixed ratio
5. Memory Stages

   Miller's research on memory capacity ('the magic number seven') describes a limitation specific to which stage of memory?

   • Short-term/working memory
   • Episodic memory
   • Sensory memory
   • Long-term memory
6. Serial Position Effect

   A student studying a long vocabulary list recalls the last few words especially well right after studying, but this advantage disappears after a delay. This pattern is best explained by:

   • State-dependent memory retrieval
   • The recency effect, because recent items are still in short-term memory
   • Proactive interference from earlier material
   • The primacy effect, because early items moved into long-term memory
7. Heuristics

   After extensive news coverage of shark attacks, a person overestimates the actual risk of being attacked while swimming in the ocean. This judgment error illustrates:

   • The representativeness heuristic
   • The anchoring effect
   • An algorithm-based error
   • The availability heuristic
8. Language & the Brain

   A patient speaks fluently and effortlessly, but the content of their speech is nonsensical and they struggle to understand what others say to them. This presentation is most consistent with damage to:

   • Wernicke's area
   • The hippocampus
   • The amygdala
   • Broca's area
9. Theories of Emotion

   During a scary movie, a person notices their heart racing but interprets the feeling as excitement rather than fear because their friends nearby are laughing and seem to be enjoying themselves. This best illustrates which theory of emotion?

   • Yerkes-Dodson law
   • James-Lange theory
   • Schachter-Singer two-factor theory
   • Cannon-Bard theory
10. Stress — GAS

    After months of unrelenting work stress, an employee feels chronically fatigued, gets sick frequently, and seems to have no reserves left to cope. According to Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome, this employee is most likely in which stage?

    • Exhaustion
    • Alarm
    • Resistance
    • Adaptation
11. Maslow's Hierarchy

    An employee turns down a more creative but less stable job offer because they are primarily worried about losing steady income and benefits. According to Maslow's hierarchy, this decision is driven mainly by which need?

    • Safety needs
    • Physiological needs
    • Self-actualization needs
    • Esteem needs
12. Schizophrenia

    A patient with schizophrenia shows flat affect, social withdrawal, and a near-total lack of motivation to begin everyday tasks, but reports no hallucinations or delusions. These symptoms are classified as:

    • Positive symptoms
    • Catatonic symptoms
    • Prodromal symptoms
    • Negative symptoms
13. Conformity

    In a classic experiment, participants gave an answer about line length that matched an obviously incorrect group consensus, even though the correct answer was visually clear. This result demonstrates:

    • Obedience to authority
    • Conformity due to normative social influence
    • Groupthink within a cohesive team
    • Diffusion of responsibility
14. Cognitive Dissonance

    A person who smokes despite knowing the health risks begins telling themselves that smoking relieves their stress and isn't that dangerous after all. This shift in belief is best explained by:

    • The fundamental attribution error
    • Learned helplessness
    • Cognitive dissonance reduction
    • The bystander effect
15. Sociological Perspectives

    A sociologist argues that persistent inequality in wealth distribution creates ongoing tension and competition between social classes. This analysis best reflects which sociological perspective?

    • Functionalism
    • Demographic transition theory
    • Symbolic interactionism
    • Conflict theory