go to SALMON home page

Sample Multiple Choice Exam Questions
Here are some typical multiple choice exam questions:
    Physiological psychology is the branch of psychology that seeks to:
  1. study the vital processes of animal organisms
  2. explain behaviour in terms of the electrochemical events that take place within the body
  3. maximise the importance of environmental, social, and personality determinants of behaviour
  4. study how the enormously varied cellular components in animals are structured and how they function.
    The underlying assumption of physiological psychology is that:
  1. while normal behaviour can ultimately be traced to our neuroanatomy and biochemistry, abnormal behaviour cannot.
  2. some external behavioural events take place in the absence of any corresponding set of internal events involving the nervous system.
  3. for every behavioural events - action, feeling, or thought - there is a corresponding event or series of events taking place in the body.
  4. the biological approach or perspective is superior to the social or behavioural.
    Physiological psychology differs from life sciences such as neurophysiology and biochemistry in that it:
  1. has a behavioural emphasis
  2. is not concerned with the vital processes of living organisms.
  3. is a very old discipline.
  4. is not involved with the structure and functioning of the nervous system.
    The nervous system is composed of special cells called
  1. neurons.
  2. neurotubules.
  3. neurofibrils.
  4. axons.
    Which of the following could NOT serve as an operational definition for anger?
  1. reddening of the face.
  2. feelings of hostility
  3. threatening posture
  4. attack behaviour.
    Defining hunger in terms of the number of hours an animal has gone without food shows the use of
  1. a mechanistic approach to mind
  2. the scientific method
  3. an operational definition
  4. a "mental" index.
    Which of the following statements is FALSE
  1. The nervous and circulatory systems are structurally similar, being composed of networks of continuous tubes.
  2. Interspersed between individual cells in the nervous system are tiny spaces, or gaps, called synapses.
  3. The nervous system is composed of individual non-continuous cells called neurons.
  4. The existence of synaptic gaps was verified through the use of the electron microscope in the early 1950s.
    The synapses between neurons
  1. can be seen with an ordinary microscope
  2. are visible to the naked eye
  3. can only be seen with an electron microscope
  4. are called "hypothetical constructs" (i.e. they have never actually been seen)
    The idea that specific areas of the brain control specific behavioural events is known as
  1. the neuron theory
  2. behaviourism
  3. the membrane theory
  4. localisation of function
    Phrenology
  1. was developed by Pierre Flourens
  2. assumes that the brain functions as a single unit
  3. awakened interest in the idea that different parts of the brain control different behaviours.
  4. is taken seriously by scientists today
    The practice of measuring bumps along the skull in order to determine personality traits was called
  1. phrenology
  2. electroencephalography
  3. vivisection
  4. telepathy
    If it were discovered that destruction of a particular area of the brain disrupted a certain behaviour but that destruction of any other part of the brain had no effect on that behaviour, this would be evidence in favour of
  1. antilocalisation
  2. localisation of function
  3. both localisation and antilocalisation, depending upon the size of the lesion
  4. plasticity
    One ultimate goal of physiological psychology is to
  1. replace the other branches of psychology.
  2. alter peoples' brains in order to make them more docile
  3. be able to erase unpleasant memories
  4. help people who have behavioural disorders.
    The speciality of the neuron is
  1. communication
  2. contraction
  3. secretion
  4. energy production
    The part of the neuron that receives information from other cells is normally the
  1. axon
  2. dendrites
  3. soma
  4. all of the above
    Most axons are covered with a fatty sheath called
  1. neurilemma
  2. the nodes of Ranvier
  3. myelin
  4. the neural adipose
    The chemical that diffuse across the synaptic gap, establishing communication between two "connecting" neurons are called
  1. drugs
  2. neuroleptics
  3. neurotransmitters
  4. neurohumors
    Behaviour is determined by
  1. genetics
  2. an interaction between both genetics and the environment
  3. the environment
  4. interneurons
    Automatically pulling your hand away from a painful stimulus such as a hot pot handle is an example of
  1. reflexive behaviour
  2. instinctive behaviour
  3. internal behaviour
  4. learned behaviour
    The monoamine neurotransmitters include
  1. acetylcholine, norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine
  2. norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin
  3. GABA, glycine, glutamic acid, and enkephalin
  4. all of the above
    The pharmacological approach to the treatment of Parkinson's disease includes the administration of
  1. benzotropine, a drug that inhibits the enzymes that normally break down dopamine
  2. L-DOPA, a chemical precursor of dopamine
  3. physostigmine, a drug that inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase
  4. both 1 and 2
    Some researchers believe that an abnormally high level of dopamine may be related to the occurrence of
  1. Parkinson's disease
  2. mental depression
  3. Alzheimer's disease
  4. schizophrenia
    It is generally assumed that psychoactive drugs effect brain chemistry and control behaviour by
  1. either increasing or decreasing the activity of neurotransmitters
  2. increasing the activity of neurotransmitters
  3. decreasing the activity of neurotransmitters
  4. activating the autonomic nervous system
    Any drug capable of effecting behaviour is called
  1. psychoactive
  2. psychopharmacological
  3. psychedelic
  4. consciousness alerting
    Which of the following is TRUE of the benzodiazepines?
  1. They include Librium and Valium
  2. They are drugs that are widely prescribed for anxiety
  3. They often produce psychological dependence
  4. all of the above
    Schizophrenia has been treated with some success with
  1. antipsychotic drugs
  2. stimulants
  3. depressants
  4. antidepressant stimulants
    One possible side effect of the antischizophrenic drugs is
  1. symptoms like those in Parkinson's disease
  2. appetite reduction
  3. addiction
  4. all of the above
    Antipsychotic drugs block the action of dopamine by
  1. occupying and activating its receptor sites on the postsynaptic membrane
  2. occupying and but not activating its receptor sites on the postsynaptic membrane
  3. interfering with its reuptake by the presynaptic membrane
  4. inhibiting its release from the presynaptic membrane
    The motor disorder caused by prolonged use of antipsychotic drugs is called
  1. tardive dyskinesia
  2. multiple sclerosis
  3. delerium tremens
  4. myasthenia gravis
    Drugs used to treat depression
  1. include the monoamine oxidase inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants
  2. produce increases in all the monoamines
  3. apparently have their antidepressant effect because of their action on serotonin and norepinephrine
  4. all of the above
    Which of the following statements is FALSE?
  1. A single drug can have multiple behavioural effects
  2. Most drugs effect the brain by acting on specific neurotransmitters
  3. Most psychoactive drugs act within only one specific area of the brain and, therefore, effect only one type of behaviour.
  4. A single neurotransmitter can be involved in the control of a variety of behaviours
    Testosterone is
  1. an androgen
  2. an estrogen
  3. a progestin
  4. a monoamine
    Estadiol is
  1. an androgen
  2. an estrogen
  3. a progestin
  4. a monoamine
    Progesterone is
  1. an androgen
  2. an estrogen
  3. a progestin
  4. a monoamine
    Removing the testes from an adult male rat
  1. eliminates sexual behaviour immediately
  2. causes his sexual behaviour to gradually decline in frequency
  3. can be counteracted by injections of testosterone
  4. both 2 and 3
    Sexual receptivity is signalled in female rats by behavioural changes such as ear wiggling, hopping and darting which are collectively called
  1. secondary sexual characteristics
  2. estrus
  3. proceptive behaviour
  4. lordosis
    The part of the brain that interacts most importantly with the sex hormones in the regulation of sexual behaviour is the
  1. hypothalamus
  2. cortex.
  3. thalamus
  4. medulla
    Injecting estrogen or testosterone into animals whose sex organs have atrophied as a result of lesions in the hypothalamus
  1. is not effective
  2. works in males but not in females
  3. can have dangerous side effects
  4. is called "replacement therapy"
    The fetal development of both internal and external female reproductive organs depends upon the
  1. release of androgen
  2. release of estrogen
  3. release of progesterone
  4. absence of testosterone