Question: In Watson’s view, psychology’s focus should be:

Answer Options:
A. The study of consciousness.
B. The analysis of mental states.
C. The examination of sensations.
D. The observation and measurement of behavior.
E. The exploration of the unconscious mind.

Answer: D. The observation and measurement of behavior.

Question: Watson makes the case that, generally, experiments in natural science have what advantage over psychological experimentation?

Answer Options:
A. All hypotheses
B. Animal and human subjects
C. Collected data
D. Quantifiable results
E. Experimental conditions

Answer: E. Experimental conditions

Question: Using the example of sensation, Watson criticizes psychology for lacking which of the following aspects of good research? Not only was this criticism true in his day, but many would argue that many psychological studies today still have difficulty with this.

Answer Options:
A. Operationalizing terms
B. Subject selection
C. Avoiding experimenter bias
D. Controlling variables
E. Generalizability

Answer: A. Operationalizing terms

Question: Upon reading Watson’s critique of psychology, which of the following psychologists representing the school of “structuralism” was quite offended at Watson’s attack on introspection as a method?

Answer Options:
A. Wilhelm Wundt
B. Edward Titchener
C. William James
D. Lightner Witmer
E. Sigmund Freud

Answer: B. Edward Titchener

Question: Watson criticizes psychologists who emphasize the biological significance of conscious processes such as emphasizing how mental events (e.g., consciousness) help humans adapt and adjust to the world. This attack was primarily directed at which of the following schools of psychology and its main advocate?

Answer Options:
A. Humanistic psychology; Abraham Maslow
B. Functionalism; William James
C. Cognitive psychology; Alfred Binet
D. Psychoanalysis; Sigmund Freud
E. Objective psychology; Vladimir Bekhterev

Answer: B. Functionalism; William James

Question: In building a scientific psychology, Watson would exclude terms such as:

Answer Options:
A. Mind
B. Mental states
C. Imagery
D. Introspective verifiable
E. All of the above

Answer: E. All of the above

Question: Watson is adamant that psychology should begin with:

Answer Options:
A. A clear idea of how the mind works.
B. A clear method to study internal mental processes.
C. Observable facts of man and animal studies.
D. A clear idea of how reinforcers strengthen behavior.
E. A clear purpose to investigate topics such as meditation and will.

Answer: C. Observable facts of man and animal studies.

Question: Watson also argues that psychology ought to be focused on which of the following goals?

Answer Options:
A. A verifiable method for proving the basic elements of consciousness
B. Classification of the underlying mechanisms that exert internal influence on mental states
C. An examination of stimuli that cause responses that can lead to prediction and control of behavior
D. Closing major correlational studies to measure internal processes
E. Working with biologists to elucidate the role of genetics in human behavior

Answer: C. An examination of stimuli that cause responses that can lead to prediction and control of behavior

Question: Watson also makes the case that psychology ought to provide the businessman, the physician and the parent with information that is or can be:

Answer Options:
A. Utilized in a practical way
B. Used as a hypothesis to study a thesis
C. Shown to explain how mental processes such as abstract thinking
D. Of importance in explaining how animals think

Answer: A. Utilized in a practical way

Question: From reading his article, one can deduce that Watson believed psychology ought to only concern itself with which of the following kinds of behavior?

Answer Options:
A. Covert
B. Unconscious
C. Overt
D. Dream states
E. Major emotions such as love and fear

Answer: C. Overt

Question: Many believe that Watson’s lecture Psychology as the Behaviorists Views It to be the single most influential article in the history of psychology, certainly American psychology. It came to be known as “the Behaviorist Manifesto.” This nickname manifests no less likely a reverence to which other historical document that challenged a major paradigm or way of thinking within a certain discipline? You may have to do a little internet research to answer this. Then again, if you had a history teacher/professor who led you through Modern European history or perhaps a good economics teacher/professor you should know this off the top of your head.

Answer Options:
A. Isaac Newton’s Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687)
B. B.F. Skinner’s The Behavior of Organisms: An Experimental Analysis (1938)
C. Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels’ political pamphlet attacking capitalism (1848)
D. Thomas Paine’s pamphlet Common Sense (1776)
E. The signing of the Magna Carta (1215) by King John of England

Answer: C. Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels’ political pamphlet attacking capitalism (1848)

Question: Watson’s article clearly states that psychology should abandon the concept of consciousness, arguing that consciousness is:

Answer Options:
A. An irrelevant subject for psychology.
B. A product of the nervous system.
C. Impossible to measure scientifically.
D. A byproduct of mental processes.
E. Only observable through introspection.

Answer: C. Impossible to measure scientifically.

Question: Watson’s approach to psychology emphasizes the need for:

Answer Options:
A. Studying subjective experiences.
B. Understanding internal mental states.
C. Focusing on observable behavior.
D. Examining unconscious motives.
E. Analyzing sensory perceptions.

Answer: C. Focusing on observable behavior.

Question: Watson critiques previous psychological approaches for their reliance on:

Answer Options:
A. Empirical data.
B. Objective measurements.
C. Introspection and mentalism.
D. Behavioral observations.
E. Physiological responses.

Answer: C. Introspection and mentalism.

Question: Watson’s behaviorist view suggests that psychology should:

Answer Options:
A. Explore the mind through introspection.
B. Study consciousness using scientific methods.
C. Focus solely on the observation and control of behavior.
D. Include the analysis of subjective experiences.
E. Investigate the unconscious mind.

Answer: C. Focus solely on the observation and control of behavior.

Question: According to Watson, the future of psychology lies in:

Answer Options:
A. Investigating mental processes.
B. Analyzing sensory experiences.
C. Observing and predicting behavior.
D. Exploring emotional states.
E. Understanding consciousness.

Answer: C. Observing and predicting behavior.

Question: Watson believes that psychology should:

Answer Options:
A. Rely on introspection for data.
B. Focus on the study of consciousness.
C. Be a purely objective science.
D. Analyze dreams and their meanings.
E. Emphasize the importance of mental states.

Answer: C. Be a purely objective science.

Question: Watson’s critique of traditional psychology includes:

Answer Options:
A. Its emphasis on behavior.
B. Its focus on internal experiences.
C. Its reliance on introspection.
D. Its use of experimental methods.
E. Its objective approach to studying the mind.

Answer: C. Its reliance on introspection.

Question: In Watson’s view, the goal of psychology is to:

Answer Options:
A. Understand mental processes.
B. Predict and control behavior.
C. Explore sensory experiences.
D. Study the unconscious mind.
E. Analyze emotional responses.

Answer: B. Predict and control behavior.

Question: Mary W. Calkins, a famous American woman psychologist, criticized Watson’s paper on what grounds?

Answer Options:
A. His narrow definition of “behavior”
B. His complete dismissal of introspection as a method
C. On the plus side, she did agree with Watson that psychology ought to be more concerned with “problems of life”
D. She reproached his dismissal of anything related to the “self” in psychology
E. All of the above

Answer: E. All of the above

Question: At the convention of the American Psychological Association (December 1913) the American philosopher John Dewey expressed concern that the term “behavior”

Answer Options:
A. Was ultimately meaningless, agreeing with Watson
B. Meant more than just the mechanics of the nervous system
C. Would someday be clarified to the satisfaction of all psychologists, Watson included
D. Might be better thought of as “unconscious determinants” of behavior
E. Would be measureable in any way, shape, or form

Answer: B. Meant more than just the mechanics of the nervous system