Ten questions on how minds work, each stated with the caution the evidence actually supports.
Psychology suffers from being interesting, which means its findings get simplified and overstated on the way to general knowledge. This quiz covers the foundational figures and experiments, how memory is structured, and the biases that show up reliably across studies. Where a famous result has been questioned or has replicated poorly, the explanation says so. The intention is accuracy about what the evidence supports rather than a set of tidy rules.
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadAnswer: D. Classical conditioning
Why: Pavlov showed that a neutral signal paired repeatedly with food would eventually trigger salivation alone. Operant conditioning, concerning consequences of behaviour, is associated with Skinner.
Answer: C. Psychoanalysis
Why: Freud developed psychoanalysis around unconscious conflict and early experience. Much of his specific theory is not supported by later evidence, though his cultural influence was enormous.
Answer: A. Improvement arising from expectation rather than active treatment
Why: Belief that treatment is being received can produce measurable change, particularly in subjective symptoms. The reverse, where expectation produces harm, is the nocebo effect.
Answer: B. Favouring information that supports what one already believes
Why: People seek and weight evidence that fits existing beliefs and discount what conflicts. It operates without any intention to be unfair.
Answer: D. Human needs
Why: It arranges needs from basic physical requirements up to self-actualisation. It remains widely taught despite limited empirical support for the strict ordering.
Answer: A. Holding a limited amount of information briefly
Why: It holds a small number of items for a short period unless rehearsed. The classic estimate of about seven items is now generally regarded as too high.
Answer: D. Patterns of thought and behaviour
Why: CBT works on identifying and changing unhelpful thinking and behaviour patterns. It is among the most extensively trialled talking therapies.
Answer: D. Obedience to authority
Why: Participants were instructed to administer what they believed were escalating shocks. The studies are historically important and would not meet current ethical standards.
Answer: C. The relative influence of genes and environment
Why: Current understanding treats the two as interacting rather than opposed. Most traits reflect both genetic predisposition and environmental influence.
Answer: C. Performance on a particular set of cognitive tasks
Why: Scores reflect performance on specific tasks under specific conditions, and are influenced by education and familiarity with testing. Treating a score as a fixed measure of a person's worth misreads what it captures.
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Forgetting curves, false details and why recall rebuilds an event instead of replaying it.
The misinformation effect describes what?
Replication, pre-registration and the famous psychology results that stopped standing up.
In research, replication means what?
A friendly tour of the planets, moons and the star at the middle of it all.
Which planet is closest to the Sun?