Influential Psychologists

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AP Psychology › Influential Psychologists

Questions 1 - 10
1

Which of the following psychologists proposed the theory of the language acquisition device?

Noam Chomsky

Lev Vygotsky

Elissa Newport

B. F. Skinner

Explanation

The language acquisition device is the innate “tool” in the brain that allows children to learn language and grammar easily. Noam Chomsky proposed that language learning cannot be totally dependent on observation and reward—since young children learning to speak make errors and generate novel expressions that they have never heard anyone else say (e.g. a parent is unlikely to have said “I wants cookie yesterday” or “do you think dinosaurs liked candy?” in front of the child).

2

Which psychologist studied the instinctive behavior in greylag geese and jackdaws, investigated the principle of imprinting, and became widely known for his descriptions of imprinting as an instinctive emotional bond?

Kondrad Lorenz

Lev Vygotsky

Charles Darwin

Alfred Kinsey

Phineas Gage

Explanation

Konrad Lorenz was an Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern ethology. Lorenz won the Nobel Prize in 1973 for Physiology or Medicine (alongside Nikolass Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch) and is the author of numerous books.

3

Which of the following was the developmental psychologist who created the theory of attachment using the "Strange Situation" design?

Mary Ainsworth

Jean Piaget

Harry Harlow

John Bowlby

None of these

Explanation

Mary Ainsworth is most well known for her development of the Strange Situation design which was designed to study emotional attachment in early stages of childhood, resulting in the attachment theory. The other choices are incorrect. Jean Piaget was a developmental psychologist who created the theory of cognitive development; he is considered to be the most influential developmental psychologist. Harry Harlow is best known for studying maternal separation, dependency, and social isolation using rhesus monkeys. Last, John Bowlby developed the attachment theory of maternal deprivation.

4

Which of the following influential psychologists helped to change the language, and therefore attitude, of psychology by using a "person-centered approach", treating those undergoing psychotherapy as "clients" instead of "patients"?

Carl Rogers

Mary Ainsworth

Abraham Maslow

Erik Erikson

None of these

Explanation

Carl Rogers, among many other contributions to psychology including his nineteen propositions, developed a "person-centered approach" to psychotherapy that changed the stigma that surrounds being a patient of mental health. The other choices are incorrect. Abraham Maslow was a humanist who created Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Erik Erikson was a developmental psychologist who created the life-stage virtue and coined the term “identity crisis”. Last, Mary Ainsworth created the strange situation design to study attachment in young children.

5

Which of the following psychologists founded the first laboratory dedicated to psychological research in 1879?

Wilhelm Wundt

G. Stanley Hall

William James

Sigmund Freud

Ivan Pavlov

Explanation

Wilhelm Wundt is considered the “father of experimental psychology.” His psychological laboratory at the University of Leipzig was the first of its kind. It is because of his efforts that psychology is considered a distinct scientific discipline.

6

B.F Skinner was a principal proponent of which approach to psychology?

Radical behaviorism

Psychoanalysis

Developmental psychology

Humanism

Explanation

Skinner was a key theorist in the development of the behaviorist approach to psychological study. Skinner's particular brand of behaviorism was called Radical Behaviorism, and much of Skinner's research was focused on operant conditioning (conditioning focusing on the modification of voluntary behavior through positive or negative reinforcement and punishment).

7

in 1912, Carl Jung, a young apprentice of Sigmund Freud, split apart from Freud after a close friendship over differences regarding psychoanalytic theory. What was the main difference between Freud and Jung's psychoanalytic philosophies?

Jung saw Freud's theory of the unconscious as too negative and incomplete

Jung thought Freud didn't give enough emphasis on sexuality as a motivating force

Jung disagreed with Freud's belief of behavior being caused by future aspirations as well as childhood motivations

Jung thought neurosis was a personal disorder, while Freud believed it was a universal, transcendental disorder.

Jung disagreed with Freud's main focus of therapy being to heal the soul

Explanation

The main difference between Freud and Jung's psychoanalytic philosophies was that Freud's conception of the unconscious. Jung saw Freud's theory of the unconscious as too negative and incomplete. Jung believed that the unconscious was not only a source of creativity and positivity, but also that there were two unconscious levels. He believed that there was a personal level of unconscious as well as an ancestral level of unconscious called the collective unconscious. These were the primary conflicts between Freud and Jung. The other answers given are incorrect, because all of the listed tenets were Jung’s beliefs, not Freud’s.

8

The idea that personality consists of three dimensions, existing in high or low states, which largely influence personal preference and development is most closely associated with __________.

Hans Eysenck

Carl Rogers

Raymond Cattell

Walter Mischell

Explanation

Eysenck, who at the time of his death was the most cited living psychologist in the world, promoted the idea of extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism as the three personality traits or dimensions which, in combination, made up the majority influence in personality and psychological development.

9

Which of the following psychologists studied infant attachment patterns through her famous "Strange Situation" experiments?

Mary Ainsworth

Carol Gilligan

Karen Horney

Anna Freud

Elizabeth Loftus

Explanation

"Mary Ainsworth" devised the "Strange Situation" paradigm in the 1970s. It was used to examine the attachment patterns between parent and child. This study identified four primary attachment styles: secure, avoidant, resistant, and disorganized.

10

Which of the following was the influential psychologist who developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy which set the stage for cognitive-behavioral therapies to evolve?

Albert Ellis

Carl Jung

Abraham Maslow

Carl Rogers

None of these

Explanation

Considered one of the most influential psychologists, second only to Freud, Albert Ellis developed REBT in 1955 in order to help clients resolve emotional and behavioral problems and move towards happier, healthier mental states. Ellis's work set the foundation for the development of other cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) and changed the practice of clinical psychology. The other choices are incorrect. Carl Jung founded analytical psychology and coined several phrases such as archetype, collective unconscious, and introversion and extroversion. Abraham Maslow was a humanist who created Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Last, Carl Rogers designed the person-centered strategy to psychotherapy.

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