IS PSYCHOLOGY COMMON SENSE?

1. In general, women conform more than men.

TRUE/FALSE

2. In bargaining with others, it is best to start with a moderate offer - one close to the
final agreement desired.
TRUE/FALSE

3. In making decisions, committees tend to be more conservative than individuals.

TRUE/FALSE

4. Dangerous riots are most likely to occur when temperatures reach extremely high
levels (e.g. around 95 - 100of).
TRUE/FALSE

5. The more persons present at the scene of an emergency, the more likely the victims
are to receive help.
TRUE/FALSE

6. If you pay someone for doing something they enjoy, they will come to like this task
even more.
TRUE/FALSE

7. In choosing their romantic partners, most people show a strong preference for
extremely attractive persons.
TRUE/FALSE

8. If you want to get someone to change his or her views, it is best to offer this person a
very large reward for doing so.
TRUE/FALSE

9. When a stranger stands very close to us, we usually interpret this as a sign of
friendliness and react in a positive manner.
TRUE/FALSE

10. Most people feel sympathy for the victims of serious accidents or natural disasters
and do not hold such persons responsible for the harm they have suffered.
TRUE/FALSE

11. Unpleasant environmental conditions (e.g. crowding, loud noise, high temperatures)
produce immediate reductions in performance on many tasks.
TRUE/FALSE

12. Directive, authoritative leaders are generally best in attaining high levels of
productivity from their subordinates.
TRUE/FALSE

13. In most cases, individuals act in ways that are consistent with their attitudes about
various issues.
TRUE/FALSE

14. Top executives are usually extremely competitive, hard-driving types.

TRUE/FALSE

15. Most persons are much more concerned with the size of their own salary than with
the salary of others.
TRUE/FALSE

16. Direct, face-to-face communication usually enhances co-operation between

individuals.
TRUE/FALSE

17. Most persons prefer challenging jobs with a great deal of freedom and autonomy.
TRUE/FALSE

18. The behaviour of most lower animals — insects, reptiles and amphibians, most
rodents and birds - is instinctive and unaffected by learning.
TRUE/FALSE

19. For the first week of its life, a baby sees nothing but a grey blue regardless of what
he or she “looks at”.
TRUE/FALSE

20. A child learns to talk more quickly if the adult around it habitually repeats the word it is
trying to say, using proper pronunciation.
TRUE/ FALSE

21. The best way to get a chronically noisy schoolchild to settle down and pay attention
is to punish it.
TRUE/FALSE

22. Slow learners remember more of what they learn than fast learners.
TRUE/FALSE

23. Highly intelligent people — “geniuses” — tend to be physically frail and socially
isolated.
TRUE/FALSE

24. On average, you cannot predict from a person’s grades at school and college
whether he or she will do well in a career.
TRUE/FALSE

25. Most national and ethnic stereotypes are completely false.

TRUE/FALSE

26. In small amounts alcohol is a stimulant.

TRUE/FALSE

27. LSD causes chromosome damage. TRUE/FALSE

28. The largest drug problem in Britain, in terms of the number of people affected, is
marijuana.
TRUE/FALSE

29. Psychiatry is a subdivision of psychology. TRUE/FALSE

30. Most mentally retarded people are also mentally ill.

TRUE/FALSE

31. Electroshock therapy is an outmoded technique rarely used in today’s mental hospitals.
TRUE/FALSE

32. The more severe the disorder, the more intensive the therapy required to cure it, for
example, schizophrenics usually respond best to psychoanalysis.
TRUE/FALSE

33. Quite a few psychological characteristics of men and women appear to be inborn in
all cultures, for example, women are more emotional and sexually less aggressive
 than men.
TRUE/FALSE

34. No reputable psychologist “believes in” such irrational phenomena as ESP, hypnosis,
or the bizarre mental and physical achievements of Eastern yogis.
TRUE/FALSE

35. To change people’s behaviour towards members of ethnic minority groups, we must
first change their attitudes.
TRUE/FALSE

36. The basis of the baby’s love for its mother is the fact that its mother fills its
physiological needs for food, etc.
TRUE/FALSE

37. The more highly motivated you are, the better you will do at solving complex problems.
TRUE/FALSE

38. The best way to ensure that a desired behaviour will persist after training is
completed is to reward the behaviour every single time it occurs throughout training
(rather than intermittently).
TRUE/FALSE

39. A schizophrenic is someone with a split personality.

TRUE/FALSE

40. The best way to stop a malicious rumour at work is to present contrary evidence against it.
TRUE/FALSE.