Psychology Test - 23

Anxiety is usually defined as a diffuse, vague, very unpleasant feeling of fear and apprehension. The anxious individual also shows combination of the following symptoms: rapid heart rate, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, fainting, dizziness, sweating, sleeplessness, frequent urination and tremors.

The correct answer is Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational, Formal operational

Key Points

• Cognitive development means how children think, explore and figure things out. It is the development of knowledge, skills, problem-solving, and dispositions, which help children to think about and understand the world around them. Brain development is part of cognitive development.
• Jean Piaget’s given four types of stages for cognitive development:

1 Sensorimotor Stage:(Birth to 2 years)

• During the early stages, according to Piaget, infants are only aware of what is right in front of them.
• They focus on what they see, what they are doing, and physical interactions with their immediate environment.
• Between ages 7 and 9 months, infants begin to realize that an object exists even though they can no longer see it.
• This important milestone -- known as object permanence -- is a sign that memory is developing.
• After infants start crawling, standing, and walking, their increased physical mobility leads to more cognitive development.
• Near the end of the sensorimotor stage (18-24 months), infants reach another important milestone -- early language development, a sign that they are developing some symbolic abilities.

2 Preoperational Stage(2 to 6 years):

• During this stage young children are able to think about things symbolically.
• Their language use becomes more mature.
• They also develop memory and imagination, which allows them to understand the difference between past and future, and engage in make-believe.
• But their thinking is based on intuition and is still not completely logical. They cannot yet grasp more complex concepts such as to cause and effect, time, and comparison.

3 Concrete Operational Stage(6 to 11 years):

• At this time, elementary-age and preadolescent children -- ages 7 to 11 -- show logical, concrete reasoning.
• Children's thinking becomes less focused on themselves. They're increasingly aware of external events.
• They begin to realize that their own thoughts and feelings are unique and may not be shared by others or may not even be part of reality.
• But during this stage, most children still can't think abstractly or hypothetically.

4 Formal Operational Stage(11 to adolescence and adulthood):

• Adolescents who reach this fourth stage of intellectual development -- usually at age 11-plus -- are able to use symbols related to abstract concepts, such as algebra and science.
• They can think about things in systematic ways, come up with theories, and consider possibilities.
• They also can ponder abstract relationships and concepts such as justice.
• Although Piaget believed in lifelong intellectual growth, he insisted that the formal operational stage is the final stage of cognitive development.
• He also said that continued intellectual development in adults depends on the buildup of knowledge.

The correct answer is All of these

Key Points

• Gestalt psychology was founded by Max Wertheimer, a Czechoslovakian psychologist.
• Wolfgang Köhlerand Kurt Koffka are also considered to be co-founders of the Gestalt theory.
• Gestalt theory of learning:
• Gestalt psychology has influenced how we study perception and sensation.
• It also increases our understanding of how our cognitive processes influence the way we behave socially.
• Most of the foundational principles of Gestalt psychology explain how we group things, such as by similarity, proximity, continuity, closure, and common reason.
• Some therapists use Gestalt psychology to help patients focus on the present over the past.
• Designers and product developers also use Gestalt theory to make their creations more appealing or to draw focus to certain elements over others.

The correct answer is Courage.

Key Points

Stress Resistant Personality

• Studies by Kobasa have shown that people with high levels of stress but low levels of illness share three characteristics, which are referred to as the personality traits of hardiness.
• It consists of ‘the three Cs’, i.e. commitment, control, and challenge. Hence option 3 is correct.
• Hardiness is a set of beliefs about oneself, the world, and how they interact. It takes shape as a sense of personal commitment to what you are doing, a sense of control over your life, and a feeling of challenge.
• Stress-resistant personalities have control which is a sense of purpose and direction in life; commitment to work, family, hobbies and social life; and challenge, that is, they see changes in life as normal and positive rather than as a threat.

The correct answer is 1,2, 3 and 4

Key Points

• Various factors have been identified which facilitate the development of positive health.
  • Diet: A balanced diet can lift one’s mood, give more energy, feed muscles, improve circulation, prevent illness, strengthen the immune system and make one feel better to cope with the stresses of life.
  • Exercise: A large number of studies confirm a consistently positive relationship between physical fitness and health. Also, of all the measures an individual can take to improve health, exercise is the lifestyle change with the widest popular approval.
  • Positive Attitude: Positive health and well-being can be realised by having a positive attitude. Some of the factors leading to a positive attitude are: having a fairly accurate perception of reality; a sense of purpose in life and responsibility; acceptance and tolerance for different viewpoints of others; and taking credit for success and accepting blame for failure. Finally, being open to new ideas and having a sense of humour with the ability to laugh at oneself help us to remain centred, and see things from a proper perspective.
  • Social Support: Social support is defined as the existence and availability of people on whom we can rely, people who let us know that they care about, value, and love us. Someone who believes that s/he belongs to a social network of communication and mutual obligation experiences social support. Hence option 4 is correct.

The correct answer is World Health Organisation (WHO).

Key Points

• The classification scheme officially used in India and elsewhere is the tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), which is known as the ICD-10 Classification of Behavioural and Mental Disorders. Hence option 2 is correct.
• It was prepared by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
• The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has published an official manual describing and classifying various kinds of psychological disorders.
  • The current version of it, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, IV Edition (DSM-IV), evaluates the patient on five axes or dimensions rather than just one broad aspect of ‘mental disorder’.
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA): The United States Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services.
• The National Health Authority or the NHA is responsible for implementing India’s flagship public health insurance/assurance scheme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. NHA has been set-up to implement the PM-JAY at the national level.

The correct answer is option 3.

Key Points

• Groups have the following salient characteristics: 
• A social unit consists of two or more individuals who perceive themselves as belonging to the group. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• This characteristic of the group helps distinguish one group from the other and gives the group its unique identity.
• A collection of individuals who have common motives and goals. Groups function either working towards a given goal or away from certain threats facing the group. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• A collection of individuals who are interdependent, i.e. what one is doing may have consequences for others. Suppose one of the fielders in a cricket team drops an important catch during a match — this will have consequences for the entire team. 
• Individuals who are trying to satisfy a need through their joint association also influence each other. 
• A gathering of individuals who interact with one another either directly or indirectly.

The correct answer is option 1.

Key Points

• Primary and Secondary Groups 
• A major difference between primary and secondary groups is that primary groups are pre-existing formations which are usually given to the individual whereas secondary groups are those that the individual joins by choice. Hence statements 1 and 2 are correct.
• Thus, family, caste, and religion are primary groups whereas membership in a political party is an example of a secondary group. Hence statements 3 and 4 are incorrect.
• In a primary group, there is face-to-face interaction, members have close physical proximity, and they share warm emotional bonds. 
• Primary groups are central to an individual’s functioning and have a very major role in developing values and ideals of the individual during the early stages of development. In contrast, secondary groups are those where relationships among members are more impersonal, indirect, and less frequent. 
• In the primary group, boundaries are less permeable, i.e. members do not have the option to choose their membership as compared to secondary groups where it is easy to leave and join another group.

The correct answer is option 2.

Key Points

• Each participant put in less effort as the group size increased. 
• The explanations for social loafing are: 
• Group members feel less responsible for the overall task being performed and therefore exert less effort. 
• The motivation of members decreases because they realise that their contributions will not be evaluated on an individual basis. 
• The performance of the group is not to be compared with other groups. 
• There is improper coordination (or no coordination) among members. 
• Belonging to the same group is not important for members. It is only an aggregate of individuals. Hence option B is correct.

The correct answer is Both 1 and 2

Key Points

• Prejudices are examples of attitudes towards a particular group. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• They are usually negative, and in many cases, may be based on stereotypes (the cognitive component) about the specific group. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• As will be discussed below in the section on social cognition, a stereotype is a cluster of ideas regarding the characteristics of a specific group. All members belonging to this group are assumed to possess these characteristics. 
• Often, stereotypes consist of undesirable characteristics about the target group, and they lead to negative attitudes or prejudices towards members of specific groups. The cognitive component of prejudice is frequently accompanied by dislike or hatred, the affective component. 
• Prejudice may also get translated into discrimination, the behavioral component, whereby people behave in a less positive way towards a particular target group compared to another group which they favor. History contains numerous examples of discrimination based on race and social class or caste. The genocide committed by the Nazis in Germany against Jewish people is an extreme example of how prejudice can lead to hatred, discrimination and mass killing of innocent people.