Psychology Quiz
Think you know your psychology basics? This twelve-question quiz covers the big names, the brain, and the classic experiments every intro psych course touches. You get an explanation after every question.
If you enjoyed this, you might love studying it for real. Explore accredited psychology programs matched to students like you.
Questions like these show up in nearly every introduction to psychology course, from high school through college and AP Psychology. They cover the field's founding figures, the brain regions you will be quizzed on most, and the experiments that shaped modern psychology.
If you got most of them right, you have a solid grip on the fundamentals. If a few tripped you up, the explanations above are the fast way to fill the gaps. Want to go deeper? Our career guides show how these ideas play out in real psychology professions.
All 12 questions and answers
- Who is considered the father of psychoanalysis? Answer: Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis in the late 1800s, introducing ideas like the unconscious mind and defense mechanisms. Jung was a follower who later broke away to form his own school.
- Classical conditioning, learning by association, was first described by... Answer: Ivan Pavlov
Pavlov's experiments with dogs that learned to salivate at the sound of a bell are the textbook example of classical conditioning.
- Which psychologist is most associated with operant conditioning and reinforcement? Answer: B.F. Skinner
B.F. Skinner showed how consequences like reinforcement and punishment shape behavior, famously using the 'Skinner box'.
- Which brain structure is most important for forming new long-term memories? Answer: The hippocampus
The hippocampus is essential for turning short-term memories into lasting ones. Damage to it can prevent new memories from forming.
- The amygdala is most closely associated with which of the following? Answer: Fear and emotional processing
The amygdala helps process emotions, especially fear, and plays a key role in the brain's threat-detection system.
- Which neurotransmitter is most associated with mood and is targeted by SSRIs? Answer: Serotonin
SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) increase available serotonin, which is why they are commonly prescribed for depression and anxiety.
- Jean Piaget is best known for his theory of... Answer: Cognitive development in children
Piaget proposed that children move through distinct stages of cognitive development, from sensorimotor through formal operational thinking.
- Blaming someone's behavior on their personality while ignoring their situation is called... Answer: The fundamental attribution error
The fundamental attribution error is our tendency to overweight character and underweight circumstances when explaining other people's actions.
- At the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is... Answer: Self-actualization
Maslow placed self-actualization, the drive to reach one's full potential, at the peak, above more basic needs like food, safety, and belonging.
- According to Miller's classic research, short-term memory holds about how many items? Answer: Seven, plus or minus two
George Miller's famous 1956 paper described the 'magical number seven, plus or minus two' as the rough capacity of short-term memory.
- The 'fight or flight' response is driven by which system? Answer: The sympathetic nervous system
The sympathetic nervous system mobilizes the body for action, raising heart rate and releasing adrenaline. The parasympathetic system handles 'rest and digest'.
- A treatment with no active ingredient that still produces an effect is called a... Answer: Placebo
A placebo, like a sugar pill, can produce real changes because of expectation. That is why good experiments compare a treatment against a placebo.