MCAT Psychology and Sociology Freestanding Practice Questions: personality, motivation, attitudes, and psychological disorders

1. A victim of suspected assault is unable to remember the attack. Follow-up tests demonstrate that the victim has no conscious memory of being attacked, and cannot remember anything about the day leading up to the attack. According to Freud, which of the following ego defense mechanisms is the victim most likely employing?

• A. Rationalization
• B. Regression
• C. Repression
• D. Denial

2. A patient is brought into the hospital. After completing a clinical interview and direct observation, the staff psychologist diagnoses the patient with schizophrenia, catatonic type. Which of the following is most likely true about this patient's clinical presentation?

I. Terrifying persecutory hallucinations were dominant

II. Negative symptoms were dominant

III. Negative and positive symptoms were equally manifest

• A. I only
• B. II only
• C. III only
• D. I and III

3. Conversion disorder is characterized by:

• A. a constant fear of being ill.
• B. panic attacks and severe anxiety.
• C. frequent vague complaints about a physical symptom.
• D. functional impairment of a limb or sensory ability with no apparent physical cause.

4. Suppose that an individual who proclaims to be staunchly opposed to consuming animal products (a vegan) falls in love with someone who regularly eats meat. According to cognitive dissonance theory, the vegan might do all of the following EXCEPT:

• A. downplay the role of veganism in his or her life.
• B. continue to remain outspoken about his or her views against consuming animal products and remain in the relationship with the person who regularly eats meat.
• C. justify breaking off his or her relationship with the meat-eater due to incompatibility.
• D. attempt to convince his partner to eat less meat by showing her information about the personal and environmental benefits of veganism.

5. A high school girl goes missing, and when she is found in a town 100 miles away a week later, she has assumed a new personality and has no apparent recollection of her life at home. Which category of disorder is she most likely suffering from?

• A. Somatoform disorder
• B. Delusional disorder
• C. Personality disorder
• D. Dissociative disorder

6. Lauren, a California native, moved to New York three years ago. Since then, during the winter months, Lauren finds it harder to wake up in the morning, avoids her friends, and has the tendency to overeat. Her psychiatrist prescribed 30 to 90 minutes of light exposure daily to relieve the symptoms. What disorder does the psychiatrist believe Lauren has?

• A. Catatonic schizophrenia
• B. Seasonal affective disorder
• C. Major depressive disorder
• D. Bipolar affective disorder

7. Parkinson's disease involves:

I. overstimulation of dopamine-producing neurons in the peripheral nervous system.

II. cell death in the basal ganglia and substantia nigra.

III. neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques in the brain.

• A. I only
• B. II only
• C. I and II
• D. II and III

8. Suppose that a study demonstrates that kindergarteners who are asked to pretend that they are first-graders are less disruptive in class and more likely to follow directions than their peers (who are not told to pretend anything). These results demonstrate the influence of:

• A. role-playing.
• B. the foot-in-the-door phenomenon.
• C. a justification of effort.
• D. public declarations.