SPMM 2015

Index
Title Page Title Page
Index 1 20 Pharmacokinetics 777
1 Basic_Psychology 2 21 Pharmadynamics 810
2 Social_Psychology 55 22 Adverse_effects 834
3 Sociocultural_Psychiatry 79 23 MOCK Paper A(2) Test 1 881
4 Human_Development 117 24 MOCK Paper A(2) Test 2 921
5 EMIs Development 182 25 MOCK Paper A(2) Test 3 960
6 Classification 211 26 MOCK Paper A(2) Test 4 1001
7 Clinical_Examination 288 27 MOCK Paper A(2) Test 5 1041
8 Rating_Scales 341 28 MOCK Paper A(2) Test 6 1081
9 Descriptive_Psychopathology 362 A1 TEST 1 1122
10 Dynamic_Psychopathology 451 A1 TEST 2 1162
11 Neuroanatomy 469 A1 TEST 3 1203
12 Neurochemistry 500 A1 TEST 4 1243
13 Neuropathology 519 A1 TEST 5 1284
14 Neurophysiology 535 A1 TEST 6 1324
15 Applied_Neurosciences 559 exa1 1365
16 EMIs Neuroscience Part 1 583 exa4 1404
17 EMIs Neuroscience Part 2 647 exa5 1466
18 Molecular_Genetics 694 exa6 1493
19 Basic_Pharmacology 751 mock a1 (2) 1557
 001
Which of the following statements does not reduce cognitive dissonance in a cocaine user?

Select one:
"I have more chances of dying when crossing a road than injecting cocaine"
"Smoking is worse killer than cocaine use"
"Alcohol affects the whole body while cocaine is not that bad"

"I like cocaine very much"

"Even Freud used cocaine in those days, there must be something good
about it".

'I like cocaine very much' is likely to increase not decrease the dissonance.
The correct answer is: "I like cocaine very much"

002
At what age do children pass the mirror test?

Select one:
6 Months of age
9 Months of age
3 Months of age
18 months of age
12 Months of age

55
Mirror test- A test for self-recognition in which the child using its mirror image to touch a dot on
its nose is achieved at 18 months of age.
The correct answer is: 18 months of age

003
Which of the following increases the effectiveness of a persuasive communication?

Select one:
Mass media communication
High intensity urging
A credible communicator
High receiver intelligence
High cognitive dissonance

Carl Hovland, at Yale University, studied various factors affecting persuasion.The credibility of a
perceived message is a crucial factor in persuasion . a health report is more persuasive if it is
published in a professional medical journal, than in a tabloid.
The correct answer is: A credible communicator

004
Which of the following describes a self-serving bias?

Select one:
A person attributes other people's behaviour to internal sources A
person attributes other people's behaviour to external sources A
person attributes successes to external sources
A person attributes successes to internal sources

A person attributes failures to internal sources

Self-serving bias- people show a strong bias towards attributing their success to internal
causes while attributing failures to situational causes.

56
The correct answer is: A person attributes successes to internal sources

005
Dissonance is decreased by

Select one:
Expectation of unpleasant consequences of behaviour towards others.
Adding new cognitions
Awareness of responsibility for consequences
Low pressure to comply
Increased choice of options

Festinger proposed the cognitive dissonance theory in 1957. Individuals strive for consistency in
their attitudes with discomfort or dissonance arising if two cognitions are held that are
inconsistent. Dissonance is increased by A. Low pressure to comply; B. Wide perceived choice
of options C. Awareness of responsibility for consequences D. Unpleasant consequences for
others. Dissonance is lowered if the behaviour is altered; cognitions are dismissed, and new
cognitions are added.
The correct answer is: Adding new cognitions

006
Which of the following is true concerning primate psychology?

Select one:
Aggressive male baboons have longer life expectancy
Aggression is higher during periods of instability

Young baboons learn appropriate expression of aggression by observing

their peers
Low ranking baboons are not aggressive
Among baboons, females are not aggressive

During periods of instability such as rank transition, baboons show higher levels of
aggression. This leads to high cortisol levels and stress among the animals.
The correct answer is: Aggression is higher during periods of instability

57
 007
Which of the following is most likely to influence individuals to conform to the views of the
group?

Select one:
Other individuals being friends
Older individuals
Individuals feel accepted by the group

Large group size

Ambiguous tasks

Ambiguous tasks tend to lead to more conformity as people may feel less certain of their own
ideas.
The correct answer is: Ambiguous tasks

008
Which of the following correctly describes fundamental attribution error?

Select one:
Refusing to accept one's own errors
Denying the fundamental flaws behind one's own negative behaviour

Attributing others mistakes to the context in which the mistakes occur

Attributing one's own mistakes to one's character and personality

Attributing others mistakes to their personal dispositions

Fundamental Attribution Error refers to overestimating dispositional factors and not situational
factors while attributing causes to other's behaviours. This allows a sense of predictability to be
developed about the other person. It is more pronounced if the attributed behaviour is negative
and undesirable.
The correct answer is: Attributing others mistakes to their personal dispositions

009
The theory of mind is not well developed in which of the following disorders?

Select one:

58
 All of the above
Anxiety disorders
Psychosomatic disorders

Depressive disorders
Autistic spectrum disorders

Theory of mind: An understanding that other people possess mental states that involve ideas
and views of the world that are different from our own. Children typically develop the theory of
mind around four years of age. This ability has been implicated to be absent in autistic disorder.
Many of the difficulties experienced by children with autism such as communication and
interpersonal difficulties might be explained in terms of an absence of the theory of mind.
The correct answer is: Autistic spectrum disorders

010
The first aspect of self-concept to develop is the

Select one:
Self actualisation
Self efficacy
Self image
Self esteem
Bodily self

Bodily self-refers to the ability to differentiate one's own body from that of others.
The correct answer is: Bodily self

011
The cognitive dissonance is;

Select one:
Is a type of plea
Phenomenon of group think
Caused by inconsistent cognitions

Inhibits problem solving

59
 Form of thought disorder

The principle of cognitive consistency is the focus of Festinger's (1957) theory of cognitive
dissonance. This theory starts from the idea that we seek consistency in our beliefs and
attitudes in any situation where two cognitions are inconsistent.
The correct answer is: Caused by inconsistent cognitions

012
The individual behaviour of group members is less important than that of the whole group?.
What is this concept called?

Select one:
Group think
Sociogram
Deindividuation
Risky shift phenomenon

Polarization

The individual behaviour of group members is less important than that of the whole group. This
is called deindividuation. It is a process where people lose their sense of socialised individual
identity and resort to unsocialized and antisocial behaviours. People normally refrain from acting
in an aggressive and selfish manner in part because they are easily identifiable in societies that
have strong norms against such uncivilised behaviour. In certain situations such as in crowds,
these restraints are relaxed, and people may engage in antisocial behaviour (e.g. the Tottenham
violence August 2011). The larger the group, the greater the anonymity and the greater the
difficulty in identifying a single individual. But in polarization, when individuals express their
opinions separately and then group to decide upon the same matter the eventual outcome is
likely to be more extreme than that of the group average. Risky shift phenomenon: people tend
to make riskier decisions when working as members of a group than they would make when
making the same decision as individuals. Groupthink is the desire to achieve consensus and
avoid dissent in group decisions. Sociogram developed by Moreno is a graphical representation
of relationships in a group.
The correct answer is: Deindividuation

013
An individual's tendency of not to intervene in a help-seeking situation where others are
present is known as

Select one:

60
 Diffusion of responsibility
Persuasion
Bystander intervention

Obedience
Pluralistic ignorance

Diffusion of responsibility: people feel that the responsibility is not theirs, and someone else will
do something. In pluralistic ignorance, members of a group convince each other that there is no
problem that requires intervention.
The correct answer is: Diffusion of responsibility

014
Which of the following is a behavioural component of Allport's concept of prejudice? (Nov
2009)

Select one:
Circumlocution
Stereotype
Discrimination
Moral attack
Hostility

Prejudice is essentially an attitude. Hence, it has 1. Cognitive component ­ stereotypes; 2.

Affective component ­ hostility; 3. Behavioural component ­ which according to Allport can be
Anti-locution, avoidance, discrimination. physical attack or extermination in terms of increasing
severity.
The correct answer is: Discrimination

015
In a small group situation, departures from norms are most likely to be tolerated if

Select one:
The setting is private
Presence of strong group leadership
The norms were stated frequently during previous meetings

61
 Dissent comes from a member with strong credentials
A consensus was reached before the dissent was expressed

Group members may wish to ignore a norm if it is burdensome or a source of punishment. Norm
rejection is more easily achieved in the absence of enforcement and more readily tolerated if the
rejecting member possesses strengths and abilities needed by the group. A norm that has been
frequently and clearly stated is more difficult to avoid because members cannot then claim
ignorance or misinterpretation. The threat of censure or punishment is a strong deter- rent to
violation of group norms, especially if the group is very cohesive and if the setting is one of
privacy.
The correct answer is: Dissent comes from a member with strong credentials

016
Aggression is a consequence of frustration'- Who proposed this hypothesis?

Select one:
The cue hypothesis of aggression
Lazarus and Folkman
Dollard's frustration-aggression hypothesis
Friedman and Rosenman
Lorenz ethological studies

According to Lorenz, aggression in nonhumans is essentially destructive and is characterised by

ritualisation and appeasement. But in humans it is basically destructive and has become
distorted. According to Berkowitz, aggressive-cue hypothesis frustration provokes anger, not
aggression. For this anger to be expressed as aggression, certain environmental cues are
needed.
The correct answer is: Dollard's frustration-aggression hypothesis

017
A patient who feels unhappy with respect to one aspect of his life soon observes that this
affects several other aspects of his life, turning his mood to a miserable one. This cognitive
bias is called

Select one:
Domino effect
Recall bias

62
 Stockholm effect
Hawthorne effect
Attributional fallacy

Domino effect is the psychological equivalent of the butterfly effect in chaos theory. According
to this notion, large changes in a later state are dependent on the initial conditions in which a
small change can result in a large catastrophe.
The correct answer is: Domino effect

018
The attributional bias seen in persecutory delusions are

Select one:
Internal attribution for positive events
Internal attribution for negative events

External attribution for negative events

Internal attribution for all events
External attribution for positive events

It has been proposed that individuals with persecutory delusions make excessive external
attributions of the cause for negative events. It remains unclear from empirical research
findings whether the externalizing bias is also common to other psychotic symptom
presentations.
The correct answer is: External attribution for negative events

019
The term 'cognitive dissonance' was coined by

Select one:
McClelland
Schacter
Festinger
Beck
Bard

63
Festinger coined the term 'cognitive dissonance'.
The correct answer is: Festinger

020
The Likert scale consists of

Select one:
Three responses to each statement

Four responses to each statement

Five responses to each statement

Six responses to each statement

Seven responses to each statement

The Likert scale consists of five responses to each statement- Agree/disagree on a five-point
scale. These are quick to design, but they are relatively sensitive. The Thurston scale has
equal intervals between successive points on the scale. A range of statements is presented,
and you tick those you agree with.
The correct answer is: Five responses to each statement

021
In a social psychology study, the subjects were told that writer's attitudes were determined by a
coin toss. Despite this, the subjects rated writers who spoke in favour of a subject as having on
average a more positive attitude towards the subject than those who spoke against it.
Which of the following does this indicate?

Select one:
Pygmalion effect
Actor-observer bias

Just world phenomenon

Fundamental attribution error
Hawthorne effect

64
We tend to explain behavior in terms of internal disposition, such as personality traits, abilities,
motives, etc. as opposed to external situational factors - this is called as Fundamental Attribution
Error.
The correct answer is: Fundamental attribution error

022
Several people at a train station see an elderly man asking for help. None of the onlookers
offer to help. This is explained by

Select one:
Group think
Halo effect
Risky shift phenomenon
Genovese effect
Group polarization

When alone, individuals will typically intervene if another person is in need of help: this is
called bystander intervention. But intervention becomes less likely to an extent that no single
person will intervene from a crowd or group of observers when someone is in need of help.
This is called bystander apathy or Genovese effect.
The correct answer is: Genovese effect

023
In self-rated scales, a patient who has experienced difficulties in one domain may fail to
recognize and rate his significant improvement in other domains. This effect is called

Select one:
Drift effect
Stockholm effect

Domino effect
Hawthorne effect
Halo effect

The halo effect refers to a cognitive bias whereby the perception of a particular trait is
influenced by the perception of the former traits in a sequence of interpretations

65
66
The correct answer is: Halo effect

024
If a person's performance of a task is influenced by test procedures used, this is called

Select one:
Hawthorne effect
Halo effect
Pygmalion effect
Practice effect
Barnham effect

The Hawthorne effect in psychology refers to the tendency of some people to work harder and
perform better when they are a part of an experiment. This is because of the fact that individuals
often change their behavior simply due to the attention they are receiving from researchers.

The correct answer is: Hawthorne effect

025
Which of the following accurately reflects instrumental aggression?

Select one:
It is often impulsive
It is carried out using destructive weapons

It is often planned
It is motivated by negative feelings
It is often purposeless

Instrumental aggression is carried out for the purpose of achieving a particular goal, e.g.,
kidnapping for ransom. Hence, it is often planned and not impulsive. Hostile (also called angry
or affective) aggression is motivated by the need to express negative feelings, such as anger.

The correct answer is: It is often planned

026

67
Task completion is poor in which of the following types of leadership?

Select one:
Democratic leaderships
Autocratic leadership style
Controlling

Rigid
Laissez-faire leadership

Successful leadership is determined both by the characteristics of the leader and the
characteristics of the situation. This is known as contingency theory of leadership. Autocratic,
democratic and laissez-faire are leadership types proposed by Lewin. Productivity is higher in
laissez-faire leadership than in autocratic leadership. Task completion is good in autocratic and
democratic leaderships but poor in groups led by a leader with laissez-faire style.
The correct answer is: Laissez-faire leadership

027
Vulnerability to conform with the group is more in those that are

Select one:
Less intelligent
Self-reliant
Expressive.
Socially able
Intelligent

Conformity refers to the normative social influence that makes an individual to agree with the
group view despite holding a different personal view. Experiments by Asch using a line length
judging task in a group setting explained various features of conformity seen in social settings.
Conformity increases with group number (maximum effect with three) and the perceived high
status of other group members. Less intelligent members conform more than those with higher
IQ. The presence of dissent in the group reduces conformity.
The correct answer is: Less intelligent

028
The vulnerability to conform is greater in individuals with which of the following characteristic
features?

68
Select one:
Socially able
Naive
Very expressive

Highly intelligent
Self reliant

People of high status more likely to induce conformity while people of low status more likely to
conform. Conformity increases with increasing group size, but after five people the effect
diminishes. People who are naive are more likely to conform, especially to members of their own
group and less likely to conform to members of another group.
The correct answer is: Naive

029
Which of the following is considered to be a factor of social influence when a group makes a
polarized decision?

Select one:
Normative influence
Summative influence
Disintegrative influence
Authoritative influence
Formative influence

Normative influence: People have a need not to appear odd or 'stick out' as a sore thumb. So
they say yes to what other say.
The correct answer is: Normative influence

030
The classic studies by Milgram explain the concept of

Select one:
Social norms
Persuasion
Motivation

69
 Conformity
Obedience

The classic studies by Milgram showing that people would obey orders under certain conditions
even if these exceeded the bounds of their usual beliefs explain the social psychology of
obedience. Obedience is influenced by various factors including the perceived authority and
powerfulness of the commander.
The correct answer is: Obedience

031
Which of the following can reduce groupthink?

Select one:
Strong chairperson
Financial incentives
Unplanned meetings of the group
Fewer group members
Open debate

Various strategies that can reduce groupthink include encouraging open debate,
acknowledging the presence of groupthink, seeking external opinion, splitting the group into
smaller units for discussion, holding last chance meetings to encourage challenges and
reserving leader's opinions until after the groups discussion has been completed.
The correct answer is: Open debate

032
A team leader is constantly stressing the group to focus on the commitment to the overall
outcomes more than anything else. She is following a

Select one:
Relationship oriented style
Autocratic style

Persuasive style
Coercive style
Task oriented style

70
Persuasion is the ability to motivate and enthuse the group to pursue the goal. It differs from
coercion where power is used to enforce change through rewards and punishment. Modern
leadership is the very antithesis of coercion because it involves a degree of consensus rather
than blind obedience.
The correct answer is: Persuasive style

033
When many lights are turned on and off in rapid succession, the observer perceives a single
light as moving from one position to the next rather than different lights coming on and off at
different positions. What is this called?

Select one:
Visual hallucination
Pseudohallucination
Cock tail party phenomenon
Phi phenomenon
None of the above

The phi phenomenon is an optical illusion (Max Wertheimer, 1912), based on the principle that
the human eye is capable of perceiving movement from pieces of information, such as repetition
(flickering) of images. In other words, from a slideshow of a group of frozen images presented at
a certain speed, we will perceive a constantly moving image. This is the principle behind motion
pictures.
The correct answer is: Phi phenomenon

034
Which one of the following is a secondary drive?

Select one:
Sex
None of the above

Play
Food
Water

71
In theories of motivation, Mowrer distinguished between primary and secondary drives.
Primary drives or survival drives are those, which are guided by a physiological need like
hunger or thirst and the primary reinforcers include food water and sex. Competence or
secondary drives are those, which people seek out, but which do not fulfil a physiological
need Eg play. Primary motives come and go. Secondary drives are continuous motives.
The correct answer is: Play

035
The semantic differential scale may be subject to which of the following problems?

Select one:
All of the above
Positional response bias
Recall Bias
Selection bias
Performance bias

The semantic differential scale is a visual analogue scale (7 points) with two polarized
adjectives at either extremes separated by a line. The subjects mark their attitudes between
the two. It may be subject to positional response bias.
The correct answer is: Positional response bias

036
A candidate who has appeared for a mock exam before the actual exam does well than a
candidate who has not. This is called

Select one:
Practice effect
Hawthorne effect

Observer effect
Regression of mean
Halo effect

72
Practice effects occur when a participant in an experiment performs the same task twice or
more after an interval. Subjects can either have a positive (subjects become better at
performing the task) or negative (subjects become worse at performing the task) effect.
Repeated measures designs are almost always affected by practice effects.
The correct answer is: Practice effect

037
What factor is, in general, most influential in the development of friendship relationships?

Select one:
Complementarity
Personal similarity
Proximity
Reciprocity
Attractiveness

A classic study of beginning friendship was reported by Theodore Newcomb in The

Acquaintance Process (1961). Newcomb identified four factors that affect the probability of
making an acquaintance. 1. Proximity. We are more likely to get to know somebody with whom
we have regular contact. 2. Reciprocity. We like people who like us.3. Similarity. We like people
who share our values and beliefs. 4. Complementarity. We are attracted to people whose skills
and abilities are complementary to our own. Complementary means different but compatible
and mutually beneficial, like people with different skills who work together for a common
purpose.
The correct answer is: Proximity

038
In Milgram's obedience experiments, the factors that increased obedience include all except

Select one:
Administering by proxy
Relieving the subject from responsibility of actions

Subject achieving an agentic state

Proximity to the shocked victim
Authority figure providing instructions

73
Being proximal to shocked victim will reduce shock administering behaviour and so reduce
obedience.
The correct answer is: Proximity to the shocked victim

039
The most common effect of cognitive dissonance is

Select one:
Memory disturbances
Formal thought disorder
Cognitive distortions
Psychological distress
Behavioural modification

'Cognitive dissonance' is an aversive psychological state aroused when there is a

discrepancy between actions and attitudes (Festinger, 1957). In situations when actions
cannot be reversed, or when doing so requires great effort, adjusting attitudes to be in line
with decisions often reduces this discrepancy.
The correct answer is: Psychological distress

040
The power in a person due to his ability to provide positive accomplishments is known as

Select one:
Expert power
Legitimate power

Reward power
Referent power
Coercive power

Reward power is the power that is conveyed through rewarding individuals for compliance with
one's wishes. This may be achieved through giving bonuses, raises, a promotion, and extra
time off from work, etc. Coercive power is the power to punish. Referent power is the power
through identification with the leader. Legitimate power is power bestowed by virtue of social
position. Expert power is power resulting having greater knowledge or skills.
The correct answer is: Reward power

74
 041
Which one among the following is defined by how much we approve of ourselves and how
worthy we think of ourselves?

Select one:
Self efficacy
Self esteem
Self image
Self actualisation
Self awareness

This is self-esteem. Self-image may be defined as the way we think we are like and how we
describe ourselves. Self-efficacy is a term referring to the belief that we can perform
adequately in a given situation. Self-awareness is the state of being or ability to be,
consciously aware of oneself. Humans and other great apes are believed to have this
capacity. Self-actualisation: It is the motive to realise one's full potential. According to
Maslow's theory, self-actualised people have an acceptance of who they are despite their
faults and limitations and experience a drive to be creative in all aspects of their lives.
The correct answer is: Self esteem

042
Tom is a student who attributes a good grade on an exam to his intelligence and hard work
but a poor grade to the teacher's poor ability and unfair test questions. He is exhibiting;

Select one:
Negativity bias
Attentional bias

Barnum effect
Self serving bias
Just world hypothesis

A self-serving attributional bias refers to individuals attributing their successes to internal or

personal factors but attributing their failures to external or situational factors. This bias is a
mechanism for individuals to protect or enhance their own self-esteem.
The correct answer is: Self serving bias

75
 043
The presence of others reduces task performance. This is called

Select one:
Group polarization
Group think
Social facilitation

Risky shift phenomenon

Social loafing

The presence of others reduces task performance. This has been called social loafing.
Ringelmann demonstrated it in the 1880s by observing tug-of-war teams. He demonstrated
that the more people there were in a team, the less the effort made by each person in the
team.
The correct answer is: Social loafing

044
Attitudes do not always correlate with one's behaviours. The attitudes that predict behaviour
best are those that are

Select one:
Broad and not task specific
Not emotionally valued
Flexible and changeable
Not based on one's own life experiences
Strong and consistent

Attitudes predict behaviour if 1. They are strong and consistent 2.Based on direct experience
and 3. Specifically relate to the behaviour being predicted.
The correct answer is: Strong and consistent

045
Scapegoating refers to

Select one:

76
 Tension between racial groups rise when the economic conditions are
similar
Encouraging conflicts with a political motive
Sexual assault on a vulnerable group leading to conflicts

Lack of empathy on perpetrators of abuse

Captives becoming emotionally attached to the captivators

Scapegoats are singled out victims who are blamed and discriminated by virtue of their group
membership (e.g. racial group, work group, etc.). Scapegoating involves political and economic
factors as well. Under the economic and political competition model, when resources are
relatively scarce, the dominant group in society will try to exploit [people from underrepresented
groups] for material gain. Discrimination and prejudice are heightened during times of tension
and increased competition over limited resources. Hovland and Sears showed that between
1882 and 1930, there was a direct relationship between the price of cotton and the number of
lynchings of Blacks. As the price of cotton decreased, the number of lynchings increased. In the
aftermath of the Tokyo Earthquake of 1923, which claimed the lives of 100,000 people, several
thousand Koreans were said to be massacred. The racial hatred allegedly stemmed from the
competition from the influx of Korean labor for scarce jobs that were available.

The correct answer is: Tension between racial groups rise when the economic conditions are
similar

046
A mother of an autistic child is curious to know the reason behind her son's apparent lack of
empathy towards other children of similar age. Which of the following can be explained to her in
order to address her question? (June 2009)

Select one:
Attribution error
Cerebellar dysplasia
Precontemplative stage
Theory of mind
Cognitive dissonance

Perspective taking is explained on the basis of the theory of mind. Lack of ToM may be the
explanation for the apparent lack of empathy among children with autism.
The correct answer is: Theory of mind

77
 047
According to the frustration-aggression hypothesis which of the following is false?

Select one:
Aggression is the one of the many possible responses to frustration
Fear of punishment can inhibit aggression
Aggression is driven by a need to nullify frustration

Unavailability of the frustrator can inhibit aggression

Unexpressed frustration cannot be displaced onto an innocent target

The frustration-aggression hypothesis of Dollard considers aggression to be one of the many

possible products of frustration. In a meta-analysis including 49 studies, Marcus-Newhall,
Pedersen, Carlson and Miller (2000) found consistent evidence that frustrated individuals show
displacement of aggression from the source of the frustration onto a less powerful or more
accessible target.
The correct answer is: Unexpressed frustration cannot be displaced onto an innocent target

78