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Praxis Psychology study materials
Praxis Psychology study resources

Praxis Psychology practice questions

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Question 1Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A psychologist tests whether a new therapy reduces anxiety scores compared with a waitlist group. Which statistical outcome would most directly support the therapy's effectiveness?

  1. A high correlation between anxiety scores and age
  2. A nonsignificant interaction between group and time
  3. A significant between-group difference favoring the therapy group Correct answer.
  4. A significant pretest-posttest change within the therapy group

Explanation

A randomized comparison is designed to isolate treatment effects, so a significant difference between the therapy and waitlist groups is the most direct evidence of effectiveness. Within-group change alone cannot rule out regression to the mean, maturation, or repeated-testing effects.

Question 2Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

In classical conditioning, presenting the conditioned stimulus repeatedly without the unconditioned stimulus typically produces which result?

  1. Higher-order conditioning
  2. Stimulus generalization
  3. Extinction Correct answer.
  4. Spontaneous recovery

Explanation

Repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus alone weakens the conditioned response, a process called extinction. The association is not erased but inhibited, which is why spontaneous recovery can occur later.

Question 3Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A client reports hearing voices that others do not hear and believes neighbors are inserting thoughts into her mind. These experiences are best classified as which type of symptoms?

  1. Positive symptoms Correct answer.
  2. Cognitive symptoms
  3. Affective symptoms
  4. Negative symptoms

Explanation

Hallucinations and delusions are positive symptoms because they add unusual experiences beyond normal functioning. Negative symptoms reflect deficits such as flat affect or avolition.

Question 4Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

According to Piaget, a child who can conserve liquid volume and reason about hypothetical situations has most likely entered which stage?

  1. Formal operational Correct answer.
  2. Concrete operational
  3. Preoperational
  4. Sensorimotor

Explanation

Conservation is achieved in the concrete operational stage, but reasoning about abstract and hypothetical possibilities marks the formal operational stage. Formal operations typically emerge in adolescence.

Question 5Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher wants to minimize the influence of demand characteristics in a study of reaction time. Which procedure best addresses this concern?

  1. Randomly assigning participants to conditions
  2. Increasing the sample size to improve power
  3. Standardizing the instructions across participants
  4. Using a single-blind design in which participants do not know the hypothesis Correct answer.

Explanation

Demand characteristics are cues that lead participants to guess the hypothesis and alter their behavior. Concealing the hypothesis from participants (single-blind procedures) directly reduces this influence.

Question 6Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A test designed to measure depression shows consistent scores across repeated administrations, but its items correlate poorly with established depression measures. This test has which pattern of properties?

  1. Low reliability and low validity
  2. Low reliability and high validity
  3. High reliability and low validity Correct answer.
  4. High validity and low reliability

Explanation

Consistency across repeated administrations indicates reliability, whereas poor correlation with established measures indicates weak construct validity. Reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity.

Question 7Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

In a normal distribution with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10, approximately what percentage of scores falls between 40 and 60?

  1. 50%
  2. 68% Correct answer.
  3. 34%
  4. 95%

Explanation

The interval from 40 to 60 spans one standard deviation on either side of the mean. In a normal distribution, about 68% of scores fall within one standard deviation of the mean.

Question 8Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

Which memory system is most closely associated with the hippocampus and the consolidation of new declarative memories?

  1. Working memory
  2. Episodic memory Correct answer.
  3. Semantic memory
  4. Procedural memory

Explanation

The hippocampus is critically involved in forming new episodic memories and consolidating declarative information. Episodic memory is the declarative system most clearly dependent on hippocampal function.

Question 9Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A patient who had a stroke shows intact production of speech but cannot understand spoken language. This pattern is most consistent with damage to which area?

  1. Wernicke's area Correct answer.
  2. Primary motor cortex
  3. Broca's area
  4. Primary visual cortex

Explanation

Wernicke's area supports language comprehension, so damage produces fluent speech with impaired understanding. Broca's area damage instead impairs speech production.

Question 10Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

According to Bandura's social-cognitive theory, which factor most directly increases the likelihood that an observer will imitate a model's behavior?

  1. The observer sees the model rewarded for the behavior Correct answer.
  2. The behavior is performed only once
  3. The model is dissimilar from the observer
  4. The model is punished for the behavior

Explanation

Vicarious reinforcement occurs when an observer sees a model rewarded, which increases the likelihood of imitation. Observed punishment, by contrast, tends to inhibit imitation.

Question 11Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A clinician uses a structured interview with fixed questions and scoring rules to diagnose depression. The primary advantage of this method is which of the following?

  1. It eliminates the need for clinical judgment
  2. It guarantees diagnostic validity
  3. It increases diagnostic reliability across clinicians Correct answer.
  4. It shortens the assessment to a single session

Explanation

Standardized questions and scoring rules reduce variability between interviewers, improving inter-rater reliability. Structured interviews do not eliminate judgment or guarantee that the diagnosis is valid.

Question 12Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A person who is generally calm becomes extremely anxious only when required to speak in public. This pattern is most consistent with which diagnosis?

  1. Generalized anxiety disorder
  2. Social anxiety disorder Correct answer.
  3. Panic disorder
  4. Agoraphobia

Explanation

Social anxiety disorder involves marked fear of negative evaluation in social or performance situations. The situational specificity and fear of public scrutiny distinguish it from generalized anxiety disorder.

Question 13Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

Which ethical requirement is most directly intended to ensure that research participants can make an informed decision about taking part?

  1. Providing compensation for time
  2. Obtaining informed consent before participation Correct answer.
  3. Debriefing participants after data collection
  4. Maintaining confidentiality of records

Explanation

Informed consent requires disclosing the purpose, risks, and procedures so participants can decide voluntarily whether to participate. Debriefing occurs after participation and serves a different function.

Question 14Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

In operant conditioning, a behavior is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, and the behavior increases in frequency. This is best described as which procedure?

  1. Positive punishment
  2. Negative punishment
  3. Negative reinforcement Correct answer.
  4. Positive reinforcement

Explanation

Negative reinforcement increases behavior by removing an aversive stimulus. The term negative refers to removal, and reinforcement refers to the increase in behavior.

Question 15Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher finds a correlation of r = -0.70 between hours of sleep and reported fatigue. Which interpretation is most accurate?

  1. More sleep causes less fatigue
  2. The relationship is weak and negligible
  3. Less sleep is associated with greater fatigue Correct answer.
  4. Fatigue causes reduced sleep

Explanation

A negative correlation of this magnitude indicates that higher sleep hours are associated with lower fatigue. Correlation alone cannot establish causal direction or causation.

Question 16Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

Which of the following best describes the role of the superego in Freud's structural model of personality?

  1. It stores repressed memories from childhood
  2. It internalizes moral standards and produces guilt Correct answer.
  3. It operates on the pleasure principle and seeks immediate gratification
  4. It mediates between instinctual demands and reality

Explanation

The superego internalizes parental and societal standards, functioning as the moral conscience that produces guilt when standards are violated. The id and ego serve different functions.

Question 17Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher manipulates room temperature and measures aggression to test whether heat increases hostility. In this design, room temperature is which variable?

  1. Confounding variable
  2. Control variable
  3. Independent variable Correct answer.
  4. Dependent variable

Explanation

The independent variable is the factor the researcher manipulates, here room temperature. Aggression is the dependent variable being measured.

Question 18Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

Which finding from behavioral genetics is best illustrated by comparing identical twins raised apart?

  1. Genetic influence can be estimated by comparing similarity across rearing environments Correct answer.
  2. Prenatal factors have no influence on behavior
  3. Shared environment accounts for all variation in personality
  4. Adoption eliminates genetic effects on behavior

Explanation

Identical twins reared apart share genes but not family environment, so their similarity estimates genetic influence. Comparing them with twins reared together helps separate genetic and environmental contributions.

Question 19Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A client's therapist helps her identify automatic thoughts and challenge their accuracy. This approach is most characteristic of which orientation?

  1. Systemic family therapy
  2. Cognitive-behavioral therapy Correct answer.
  3. Psychodynamic therapy
  4. Client-centered therapy

Explanation

Cognitive-behavioral therapy targets distorted automatic thoughts and maladaptive behaviors. Identifying and testing automatic thoughts is a core CBT technique.

Question 20Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

Which statement about the standard error of the mean is correct?

  1. It decreases as sample size increases Correct answer.
  2. It is unaffected by variability in the population
  3. It increases as sample size increases
  4. It equals the population standard deviation

Explanation

The standard error of the mean equals the population standard deviation divided by the square root of the sample size, so it decreases as sample size grows. It also increases with population variability.

Question 21Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A child who has learned to call all four-legged animals 'dog' now calls a cat a dog. In classical conditioning terms, this is most analogous to which phenomenon?

  1. Extinction
  2. Generalization Correct answer.
  3. Discrimination
  4. Habituation

Explanation

Generalization is responding to stimuli similar to the original conditioned stimulus. Calling a cat a dog reflects overextension based on shared features, analogous to stimulus generalization.

Question 22Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

Which of the following is the strongest example of a negative symptom of schizophrenia?

  1. Disorganized speech
  2. An auditory hallucination
  3. Avolition and flat affect Correct answer.
  4. A fixed delusion of persecution

Explanation

Negative symptoms reflect diminished normal functioning, such as lack of motivation and reduced emotional expression. Delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized speech are positive symptoms.

Question 23Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher uses a 7-point Likert scale to measure attitudes and computes a mean attitude score. Which level of measurement does the individual item most closely approximate?

  1. Ordinal
  2. Nominal
  3. Ratio
  4. Interval Correct answer.

Explanation

Likert-type items are often treated as interval data because the distances between response options are assumed to be equal, though strictly they are ordinal. The mean is meaningful only under interval assumptions.

Question 24Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A patient with damage to the prefrontal cortex is most likely to show which pattern of deficits?

  1. Impaired planning and response inhibition Correct answer.
  2. Loss of long-term semantic knowledge
  3. Complete loss of language comprehension
  4. Inability to perceive visual motion

Explanation

The prefrontal cortex supports executive functions such as planning, working memory, and inhibiting inappropriate responses. Damage often produces disorganized behavior and poor impulse control.

Question 25Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher wants to test whether a new drug reduces symptoms more than placebo while controlling for expectancy effects. Which design feature is most important?

  1. Assigning participants based on symptom severity
  2. Keeping both participants and assessors unaware of condition assignment Correct answer.
  3. Measuring symptoms at baseline only
  4. Using a larger sample of volunteers

Explanation

Double-blind procedures prevent expectancy effects from influencing both participants' reports and assessors' ratings. This is essential when comparing an active drug with placebo.

Question 26Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A psychologist studying decision making asks participants to choose between a guaranteed $50 and a 50% chance of winning $120. Most participants choose the guaranteed amount. This pattern is best explained by which concept?

  1. The representativeness heuristic
  2. Risk aversion in the domain of gains Correct answer.
  3. Loss aversion in the domain of losses
  4. The availability heuristic

Explanation

When outcomes are framed as gains, people typically prefer a certain smaller reward over a larger probabilistic one, a pattern known as risk aversion. Loss aversion concerns how losses loom larger than equivalent gains and would predict risk-seeking when the choice is framed as avoiding a loss. The heuristics listed concern probability judgments, not preferences between certain and uncertain gains.

Question 27Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher measures reaction time in milliseconds and reports that the distribution is positively skewed. Which statement about the mean and median is most accurate?

  1. The mean equals the mode but not the median
  2. The median is greater than the mean
  3. The mean is greater than the median Correct answer.
  4. The mean equals the median

Explanation

In a positively skewed distribution the long tail extends toward high values, pulling the mean upward relative to the median. The median is less affected by extreme scores, so it stays below the mean here. Only a symmetric distribution places the mean and median at the same value.

Question 28Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A therapist teaches a client to progressively tense and then release muscle groups while attending to the resulting sensations. This technique is best identified as which of the following?

  1. Cognitive restructuring
  2. Systematic desensitization
  3. Exposure with response prevention
  4. Progressive muscle relaxation Correct answer.

Explanation

Progressive muscle relaxation trains clients to notice the contrast between tension and release to reduce physiological arousal. Systematic desensitization also aims to reduce anxiety but pairs relaxation with a graded hierarchy of feared stimuli. Cognitive restructuring targets distorted thoughts, and exposure with response prevention targets compulsive rituals.

Question 29Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher wants to reduce the influence of an extraneous variable that differs systematically between groups. Which procedure most directly addresses this by distributing the variable evenly across conditions?

  1. Debriefing participants afterward
  2. Increasing the sample size
  3. Using a posttest-only design
  4. Random assignment of participants to conditions Correct answer.

Explanation

Random assignment tends to balance both known and unknown participant characteristics across conditions, reducing systematic confounding. Increasing sample size reduces sampling error but does not by itself prevent a variable from differing between groups. Posttest-only designs and debriefing do not control extraneous variables.

Question 30Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A 10-year-old performs well on a conservation task when the materials are presented in familiar contexts but fails when they are presented abstractly. This variability most directly illustrates which concept?

  1. Assimilation
  2. Object permanence
  3. Egocentrism
  4. Horizontal decalage Correct answer.

Explanation

Horizontal decalage refers to uneven mastery of tasks within the same Piagetian stage, where a child may succeed on some conservation problems but not others. Object permanence and egocentrism belong to earlier sensorimotor and preoperational achievements. Assimilation describes incorporating new information into existing schemas rather than variation across tasks.

Question 31Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A supervisor explains that a new intelligence test was normed on a nationally representative sample. Which psychometric property is most directly supported by this feature?

  1. Content validity
  2. Internal consistency reliability
  3. Test-retest reliability
  4. Interpretability of scores relative to a defined population Correct answer.

Explanation

Representative norms allow a raw score to be interpreted relative to the distribution of scores in a defined reference population. Reliability concerns consistency of measurement and is not established by the representativeness of the norm group. Content validity concerns how well items sample the intended domain.

Question 32Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A client reports intrusive, unwanted thoughts of contamination and repeatedly washes hands to reduce distress. A behavior therapist would most likely conceptualize the handwashing as which of the following?

  1. A conditioned emotional response
  2. A manifestation of learned helplessness
  3. A positively reinforced obsession
  4. A negatively reinforced compulsion Correct answer.

Explanation

Handwashing removes the aversive anxiety produced by the obsession, and the removal of that aversive state strengthens the behavior, which is negative reinforcement. The obsession is the intrusive thought, not the reinforced behavior. A conditioned emotional response and learned helplessness do not describe the operant contingency maintaining the ritual.

Question 33Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

In a study of conformity, participants give an obviously incorrect answer after several confederates give that answer first. This behavior is best explained by which influence process?

  1. Obedience to authority
  2. Social loafing
  3. Informational social influence
  4. Normative social influence Correct answer.

Explanation

Normative social influence occurs when people conform to gain approval or avoid disapproval, which fits conformity to an obviously wrong majority. Informational social influence would involve conforming because others are believed to have accurate knowledge. Obedience and social loafing involve following commands and reduced effort in groups, respectively.

Question 34Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher reports a p value of .03 for a treatment effect. Which interpretation is most appropriate?

  1. The treatment has a 97% chance of producing a real effect
  2. Assuming the null hypothesis is true, results this extreme or more would occur about 3% of the time Correct answer.
  3. The effect size is large enough to be clinically meaningful
  4. There is a 3% probability that the null hypothesis is true

Explanation

A p value is the probability of obtaining a result at least as extreme as the observed one, assuming the null hypothesis is true. It is not the probability that the null hypothesis is true, nor the probability that the effect is real. Statistical significance also does not establish effect size or clinical importance.

Question 35Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A person who has not slept for over 24 hours shows slowed reaction time and increased errors on a vigilance task. These changes are most consistent with which effect of sleep deprivation?

  1. Enhanced procedural consolidation
  2. Increased working memory capacity
  3. Reduced circadian amplitude
  4. Impaired sustained attention Correct answer.

Explanation

Vigilance tasks require maintaining attention over time, and sleep deprivation reliably degrades sustained attention, producing lapses and errors. Procedural consolidation and working memory capacity are not enhanced by sleep deprivation. Circadian amplitude concerns the strength of biological rhythms rather than the observed performance decrements.

Question 36Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A client states, 'I failed one exam, so I will never succeed at anything.' A cognitive therapist would most likely label this statement as which type of cognitive distortion?

  1. Overgeneralization Correct answer.
  2. Magnification
  3. Mind reading
  4. Personalization

Explanation

Overgeneralization involves drawing a broad, sweeping conclusion from a single event, as when one failure is taken to predict universal failure. Personalization involves blaming oneself for external events, and mind reading involves assuming others' negative judgments. Magnification involves exaggerating the importance of an event.

Question 37Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher examines whether a new anxiety scale yields scores that agree with clinician ratings collected at the same time. This procedure most directly assesses which type of validity?

  1. Face validity
  2. Test-retest reliability
  3. Concurrent validity Correct answer.
  4. Predictive validity

Explanation

Concurrent validity is a form of criterion validity in which a measure is compared with a criterion assessed at approximately the same time. Predictive validity involves a criterion measured in the future. Test-retest reliability concerns score stability over time, and face validity concerns whether items appear relevant.

Question 38Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A patient shows a marked decline in memory and at least one other cognitive domain, and the deficits interfere with independence in daily activities. Delirium has been ruled out. This presentation is most consistent with which diagnosis?

  1. Somatic symptom disorder
  2. Major neurocognitive disorder Correct answer.
  3. Delirium
  4. Schizophrenia

Explanation

Major neurocognitive disorder requires evidence of significant cognitive decline in one or more domains that interferes with independence, and delirium must be excluded. Delirium itself is characterized by acute onset and fluctuating attention. Schizophrenia and somatic symptom disorder do not require progressive cognitive decline with functional impairment.

Question 39Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher randomly assigns participants and finds a statistically significant difference between groups. Which conclusion is best supported?

  1. The dependent variable caused the change in the independent variable
  2. The independent variable likely caused the difference in the dependent variable Correct answer.
  3. The result generalizes to all populations
  4. The effect is large in practical terms

Explanation

Random assignment supports causal inference about the manipulated independent variable's effect on the dependent variable. The reverse causal direction is ruled out by manipulation. Generalizability and practical significance require additional evidence beyond a significant group difference.

Question 40Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A child is praised by a teacher for sharing toys and subsequently shares more often. This change is best described as an effect of which process?

  1. Positive reinforcement Correct answer.
  2. Extinction
  3. Punishment
  4. Negative reinforcement

Explanation

Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is followed by the addition of a desirable consequence, increasing the behavior. Negative reinforcement would involve removing an aversive stimulus. Punishment decreases behavior, and extinction involves withholding a previously delivered reinforcer.

Question 41Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher investigating the heritability of a trait reports a value of .60 for a specific population. Which interpretation is most accurate?

  1. The trait is 60% inherited within families
  2. Heritability of .60 indicates the trait cannot be modified by environment
  3. About 60% of the variance in the trait in that population is associated with genetic differences Correct answer.
  4. About 60% of each individual's trait is determined by genes

Explanation

Heritability is a population statistic describing the proportion of phenotypic variance attributable to genetic variance in a given population and environment. It does not partition an individual's trait into genetic and environmental portions. Nor does it imply immutability or a fixed value across populations and contexts.

Question 42Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A student who is highly motivated to study performs well on an exam. A psychologist studying this relationship would be most concerned about which alternative explanation?

  1. The student consented to participate in the study
  2. The exam score was recorded after the motivation was measured
  3. A third variable such as prior knowledge influences both motivation and exam performance Correct answer.
  4. The motivation measure used a Likert scale

Explanation

Correlational designs cannot rule out third variables that affect both the predictor and the outcome, such as prior knowledge. The temporal order of measurement is relevant to causal inference but does not by itself create a spurious association. Consent procedures and scale type do not constitute confounds.

Question 43Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

According to Erikson's psychosocial theory, which task is central during adolescence?

  1. Intimacy versus isolation
  2. Generativity versus stagnation
  3. Identity versus role confusion Correct answer.
  4. Trust versus mistrust

Explanation

Erikson placed identity versus role confusion in adolescence, when individuals consolidate a coherent sense of self. Intimacy versus isolation follows in young adulthood, and generativity versus stagnation occurs in midlife. Trust versus mistrust belongs to infancy.

Question 44Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A patient with damage to the amygdala is most likely to show which pattern?

  1. Loss of voluntary motor control on one side of the body
  2. Impaired formation of new declarative memories
  3. Impaired acquisition of conditioned fear responses Correct answer.
  4. Difficulty producing fluent speech

Explanation

The amygdala is critical for associating neutral cues with aversive outcomes, so damage impairs fear conditioning. Declarative memory consolidation depends on the hippocampus, fluent speech on Broca's area, and voluntary movement on the motor cortex and corticospinal pathways.

Question 45Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher wants to compare mean scores across three independent groups while limiting the overall Type I error rate. Which analysis is most appropriate?

  1. Three separate independent-samples t tests
  2. A paired-samples t test
  3. A chi-square test of independence
  4. One-way analysis of variance Correct answer.

Explanation

A one-way ANOVA compares means across three or more groups with a single omnibus test, controlling the familywise error rate. Multiple t tests inflate Type I error across comparisons. A paired t test applies to dependent samples, and a chi-square test is used for categorical associations.

Question 46Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A clinician is asked to identify the most likely diagnosis for a client whose symptoms include recurrent unexpected panic attacks followed by persistent worry about additional attacks. Which diagnosis fits best?

  1. Generalized anxiety disorder
  2. Panic disorder Correct answer.
  3. Specific phobia
  4. Social anxiety disorder

Explanation

Panic disorder is characterized by recurrent unexpected panic attacks plus persistent concern about future attacks or their consequences. Specific phobia and social anxiety disorder involve fear cued by particular objects or social situations. Generalized anxiety disorder involves chronic, diffuse worry across multiple domains rather than unexpected attacks.

Question 47Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher studies how individuals perceive and interpret sensory information and how that interpretation affects behavior. This focus is most central to which area of psychology?

  1. Cognitive psychology Correct answer.
  2. Behavioral genetics
  3. Developmental psychology
  4. Psychopharmacology

Explanation

Cognitive psychology examines mental processes such as perception, attention, memory, and reasoning, including how interpretations of sensory input guide behavior. Behavioral genetics focuses on genetic contributions to behavior, psychopharmacology on drug effects, and developmental psychology on change across the lifespan.

Question 48Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher wants to reduce demand characteristics in a study of helping behavior. Which procedure is most directly aimed at this goal?

  1. Increasing the number of participants
  2. Randomizing the order of questionnaires
  3. Adding a manipulation check
  4. Using a cover story that conceals the true purpose of the study Correct answer.

Explanation

Demand characteristics arise when participants infer the study's purpose and alter their behavior, so a cover story reduces cues about the hypothesis. Increasing sample size addresses precision, manipulation checks verify the independent variable, and counterbalancing controls order effects.

Question 49Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A client reports low mood, anhedonia, and insomnia for most days over the past month. Which diagnostic criterion is most essential to distinguish major depressive disorder from a brief period of sadness?

  1. Duration and functional impairment meeting the required threshold Correct answer.
  2. Recent stressful life events
  3. A family history of depression
  4. Presence of a single symptom

Explanation

Major depressive disorder requires a minimum duration of two weeks plus a threshold number of symptoms causing clinically significant distress or impairment. A single symptom, family history, or recent stressors may be relevant but do not establish the diagnosis. The duration and impairment criteria distinguish it from ordinary sadness.

Question 50Content knowledge for psychology licensure (domain breakdown not published on the retrieved source page)

A researcher is planning a study and must ensure that participants understand the purpose, procedures, risks, and their right to withdraw before agreeing to take part. This requirement is most directly satisfied by which procedure?

  1. Maintaining confidentiality of data
  2. Obtaining informed consent Correct answer.
  3. Providing compensation for participation
  4. Debriefing after the study

Explanation

Informed consent ensures that prospective participants receive the information needed to decide voluntarily whether to participate. Debriefing occurs after participation and explains the study's purpose. Confidentiality protects data, and compensation is not a substitute for consent.