Biology

Behavioral Psychology and Physiology

1,185 Questions

Behavioral psychology and physiology explore cognitive processes, attention, memory, and learning mechanisms like conditioning. These concepts are frequently tested in general science and psychology sections of various competitive exams. Prepare thoroughly using these practice questions covering key behavioral theories and physiological functions.

Cognitive processesMemory and learningAttention and focusDevelopmental milestonesSensory perception

Behavioral Psychology and Physiology Questions

Multiple choice

The effect / influence which the environment exercises on an organism and reuses it to do activity is called _____________.

  1. response

  2. stimulus

  3. emotion

  4. force
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

A stimulus is any external or internal change that affects an organism and provokes a response or reaction. Response is the organism's reaction. Emotion is a psychological state. Force is a physics concept. Stimulus is the environmental influence that triggers activity.

Multiple choice

Conditioned Reflex Technique was developed by _________.

  1. pavlov

  2. thorndike

  3. watson

  4. skinner
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Ivan Pavlov developed the Conditioned Reflex Technique through his famous experiments with dogs, demonstrating classical conditioning. While Thorndike, Watson, and Skinner contributed to behaviorism, Pavlov's work on conditioned reflexes was foundational and came first.

Multiple choice

As per the author, the muscular effort we make is

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question:

One of the most potent elements in body language is eye behaviour. You shift your eyes, meet another person's gaze or fail to meet it - and produce an effect out of all proportion to the trifling muscular effort you have made. When two people look searchingly into each other's eyes, emotions are heightened and .the relationship tipped toward greater intimacy.
In normal conversation, each eye contact lasts only about a second before one or both individuals look away. Because the longer meeting of the eyes is rare, it is weighted with significance when it happens and can generate a special kind of human-to-human awareness. Most of the time, a lingering look is inter­preted as a sign of attraction and this should be scru­pulously avoided except in appropriate circumstances. A young woman once complained. ‘That man makes me so uncomfortable, half the time when I glance at him he's already looking at me - and he keeps right on looking.'
Proper street behaviour requires a balance of at­tention and intention. You are supposed to look at a passer-by just enough to show that you are aware of his presence. If you look too little, you appear haughty or furtive; too much and you are inquisitive. Usually what happens is that people eye each other until they are about eight feet apart, at which point both cast down their eyes.
Much of eye behaviour is so subtle that we react to it only on the intuitive level. This has been demon­strated in elaborate experiments. Subjects sit and talk in the psychologist's laboratory, irrespective of the fact that their eye behaviour is being observed from be­hind a one-way vision screen. In one fairly typical ex­periment, subjects were induced to cheat while per­forming a task, then were interviewed and observed. It was found that those who. had cheated met the interviewer's eyes less often than was normal, an in­dication that 'shifty eyes' can actually be a tip-off to an attempt to deceive.

  1. approximately equal to the effect of our shifting of the eyes

  2. much more than the effect of our eye movement

  3. much less than the effect of our eye movement

  4. inversely proportional to the effect of our eye movement
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The opening sentence states that eye behavior produces 'an effect out of all proportion to the trifling muscular effort you have made.' This means that a tiny, minimal physical action (shifting eyes) creates a much larger psychological effect than the effort would seem to warrant. The effect is disproportionately large compared to the small muscular movement.

Multiple choice

Prolonged eye contact between two individuals is weighted with great significance because

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the given question:

One of the most potent elements in body language is eye behaviour. You shift your eyes, meet another person's gaze or fail to meet it - and produce an effect out of all proportion to the trifling muscular effort you have made. When two people look searchingly into each other's eyes, emotions are heightened and .the relationship tipped toward greater intimacy.
In normal conversation, each eye contact lasts only about a second before one or both individuals look away. Because the longer meeting of the eyes is rare, it is weighted with significance when it happens and can generate a special kind of human-to-human awareness. Most of the time, a lingering look is inter­preted as a sign of attraction and this should be scru­pulously avoided except in appropriate circumstances. A young woman once complained. ‘That man makes me so uncomfortable, half the time when I glance at him he's already looking at me - and he keeps right on looking.'
Proper street behaviour requires a balance of at­tention and intention. You are supposed to look at a passer-by just enough to show that you are aware of his presence. If you look too little, you appear haughty or furtive; too much and you are inquisitive. Usually what happens is that people eye each other until they are about eight feet apart, at which point both cast down their eyes.
Much of eye behaviour is so subtle that we react to it only on the intuitive level. This has been demon­strated in elaborate experiments. Subjects sit and talk in the psychologist's laboratory, irrespective of the fact that their eye behaviour is being observed from be­hind a one-way vision screen. In one fairly typical ex­periment, subjects were induced to cheat while per­forming a task, then were interviewed and observed. It was found that those who. had cheated met the interviewer's eyes less often than was normal, an in­dication that 'shifty eyes' can actually be a tip-off to an attempt to deceive.

  1. it always generates a special awareness

  2. such contacts are extremely rare

  3. such contacts are often interpreted negatively

  4. such contacts create a great impression
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The passage explicitly states that 'Because the longer meeting of the eyes is rare, it is weighted with significance when it happens.' In normal conversation, eye contact lasts only about a second. When this brief moment is extended, it becomes meaningful precisely because it's unusual and uncommon. The rarity of prolonged eye contact is what gives it special significance and generates 'a special kind of human-to-human awareness.'

Multiple choice

The motion of a snake crawling ziz-zag on the grass is

  1. A combination of different kinds of motion

  2. Rectilinear motion

  3. Periodic motion

  4. Circular motion
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Snake crawling in a zigzag pattern involves multiple types of motion simultaneously - curvilinear motion along the curves and rectilinear motion along straighter segments. This is a classic example of complex biological motion combining different patterns.

Multiple choice

Match the following:

 
a. Geotropism 1. It is the movement of a plant part in response to water.
b. Hydrotropism 2. It is the movement of a plant part in response to the touch of an object.
c. Thigmotropism 3. It is the movement of a plant part in response to gravity.

  1. a - 3, b - 2, c - 1

  2. a - 1, b - 2, c - 3

  3. a - 1, b - 3, c - 2

  4. a - 3, b - 1, c - 2

  5. a - 2, b - 1, c - 3
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct option. Geotropism is the movement of a plant part in response to gravity. Hydrotropism is the movement of a plant part in response to water. Thigmotropism is the movement of a plant part in response to the touch of an object. This is a wrong option. Geotropism is the movement of a plant part in response to gravity. Thigmotropism is the movement of a plant part in response to the touch of an object. 

Multiple choice

Consider the Weberian classification of types of action:1. Traditional action

  1. Zweckrational action
  2. Wertrational action
  3. Affective action What is the correct sequence of the above classification, of types of action?

  1. 1, 4, 3, 2

  2. 1, 3, 4, 2

  3. 2, 4, 3, 1

  4. 2, 3, 4, 1
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Weber's four types of action in the correct sequence are: 1. Traditional action (guided by customs), 2. Affective action (driven by emotions), 3. Wertrational or value-rational action (guided by conscious belief in value), 4. Zweckrational or goal-rational action (guided by calculation of means to ends). The sequence 1, 4, 3, 2 correctly represents this ordering.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a good example of defensive driving?

  1. Keeping an eye on the cars brake lights in front of you while driving

  2. Keeping your eyes moving to look for possible hazards

  3. Keeping one car length between your car and the car ahead of you

  4. Checking your mirrors a couple times per trip

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Correct option is (2).

Multiple choice

Which of the following actions is not a reflex action?

  1. coughing on exposure of bad odour

  2. pulling of hand when pricked with a needle

  3. withdrawal of hand on touching hot plate

  4. running speedily to win a race

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Reflex actions are automatic, involuntary responses. Coughing, pulling hand away from pain, and withdrawal from heat are all reflexes mediated by the spinal cord. Running to win a race is a voluntary action requiring conscious decision-making and cerebellar coordination, not an automatic reflex.

Multiple choice

Which of the following actions is not a reflex action?

  1. Blinking eyes

  2. Shouting

  3. Yawning

  4. Sneezing

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Reflex actions are automatic involuntary responses. Blinking, yawning, and sneezing are all reflexes. Shouting is a voluntary action requiring conscious intent and decision, making it the correct answer as NOT being a reflex.