Applied Psychology — Module Assessment

Question 1

In the 1999 invisible gorilla experiment by Simons and Chabris, why did about half of viewers fail to see the gorilla?

Accepted Answer

Their attention was focused on counting passes, so an unexpected event went unprocessed

Answer

The gorilla appeared too briefly for the eyes to register it

Answer

The viewers had unusually poor peripheral vision

Answer

The gorilla was digitally faded to be nearly transparent

Question 2

What does it mean to say perception is 'construction, not recording'?

Accepted Answer

The brain builds an interpretation from incomplete, ambiguous signals using prior knowledge

Answer

The senses capture the world perfectly and the brain simply stores it

Answer

Perception only works when we consciously concentrate on it

Answer

The eyes invert the image, so nothing we see is real

Question 3

In Tversky and Kahneman's 1974 wheel-of-fortune study, participants who saw the wheel stop on 65 gave higher estimates of African UN membership than those who saw 10. What does this illustrate?

Accepted Answer

Anchoring, because an arbitrary, irrelevant number pulled their estimates

Answer

The availability heuristic, because dramatic numbers come to mind easily

Answer

Confirmation bias, because they sought evidence for a prior belief

Answer

That most people simply know the correct percentage

Question 4

Which statement best describes the System 1 and System 2 framing popularized by Daniel Kahneman?

Accepted Answer

A model contrasting fast, automatic thinking with slow, effortful thinking

Answer

Two separate brain regions, one logical and one emotional

Answer

A rule that System 2 always overrides System 1 errors

Answer

A claim that intuition is unreliable and should be ignored

Question 5

In Solomon Asch's line-judgement studies, what happened when a single dissenting confederate broke from the majority?

Accepted Answer

Conformity dropped sharply

Answer

Conformity to the majority increased

Answer

There was no measurable effect

Answer

Participants abandoned the task

Question 6

Which statement about the Kitty Genovese case is accurate?

Accepted Answer

The '38 witnesses did nothing' account was later shown to be significantly exaggerated

Answer

Exactly 38 witnesses watched and none reacted at all

Answer

The case disproved the bystander effect entirely

Answer

No researcher has examined the case since 1964

Question 7

According to Cialdini's framework, what best separates ethical persuasion from manipulation?

Accepted Answer

Whether the persuasion trigger is truthful or manufactured

Answer

The number of principles used at once

Answer

Whether the persuader is a trained professional

Answer

How quickly the target makes a decision

Question 8

The principle of social proof means we tend to...

Accepted Answer

Do what we see similar others doing, especially when unsure

Answer

Trust official authorities without question

Answer

Value things more when they are scarce

Answer

Return favours we have received

Question 9

Which best describes the difference between acute and chronic stress?

Accepted Answer

Acute stress is short-term and self-limiting, while chronic stress is prolonged with no clear off-switch

Answer

Acute stress is dangerous while chronic stress is harmless

Answer

Acute stress affects only the mind; chronic stress affects only the body

Answer

There is no meaningful difference between them

Question 10

According to established research, moderate short-term stress can…

Accepted Answer

improve performance by sharpening focus and energy

Answer

always damage your long-term health

Answer

permanently protect you from future stress

Answer

remove the need for sleep

Question 11

The habit loop consists of…

Accepted Answer

cue, routine, reward

Answer

goal, effort, reward

Answer

willpower, motivation, discipline

Answer

trigger, punishment, avoidance

Question 12

What does research such as Lally et al. (2010) suggest about how long it takes to form a habit?

Accepted Answer

It varies widely, averaging around two months, from roughly 18 days to over 200

Answer

Exactly 21 days for everyone

Answer

Habits form instantly after a single repetition

Answer

Habits can never truly become automatic

Question 13

The 2015 Reproducibility Project: Psychology attempted to replicate 100 published studies. What did it find?

Accepted Answer

Only a minority reproduced the original result, and even those effects were often smaller

Answer

Every study replicated successfully

Answer

No study could be replicated at all

Answer

Replication rates could not be measured

Question 14

Which of the following is a well-supported psychology finding rather than a popular myth?

Accepted Answer

Spaced practice and retrieval improve long-term memory

Answer

We use only 10% of our brains

Answer

People are fixed left-brained or right-brained personality types

Answer

Teaching to a learner's preferred style reliably improves learning