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

Which of the following characteristics is not true for a reflex action?

  1. Voluntary

  2. Automatic

  3. Rapid

  4. Simple

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

Reflex actions are involuntary, automatic responses that occur without conscious thought. They are rapid and simple, following a fixed neural pathway called the reflex arc. The key characteristic that is NOT true for reflexes is that they are voluntary - they happen automatically in response to specific stimuli.

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 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 tips towards 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 weighed 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 their eyes down.

  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

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

"You shift your eyes, meet another person's gaze or fail to meet it and produce an effect out of proportion to the trifling muscular effort you have made.". Here 'trifling' means much less.

Multiple choice

Prolonged eye contact between two individuals is weighed 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 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 tips towards 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 weighed 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 their eyes down.

  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

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

It is mentioned in the line "Because the longer meeting of the eyes is rare, it is weighed with significance when it happens and can generate a special kind of human-to-human awareness."

Multiple choice

For some mammals the sense of hearing seems to play a role in maintaining bearings, since mice with surgically removed cochlear nerve were found to have increased difficulties in staying balanced.

  1. were found to have increased difficulties

  2. have been found to have increased difficulty

  3. were found to have increasing difficulty

  4. had been found to have increased difficulties

  5. have been found to have increasing difficulties
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

In the second part of the sentence, "since" is used so we should use has/have. This leaves us with options (2) and (5). Option (5) can be eliminated because of "increasing". Besides in the context 'difficulty' is the usage of choice. Hence (2)

Multiple choice

Which of the following movements takes place by concentric contraction?

  1. Attempting to move a weight too heavy for the muscle to lift

  2. Bending of arm at elbow as the hand moves towards shoulder

  3. Muscles of the hand and forearm while gripping an object

  4. Propelling of body by muscles of legs during walking
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Bending of arm at elbow as the hands move towards shoulder is by concentric contraction.

Multiple choice

The child is in a state of continuous and intense transformation of body and mind, whereas, the adult has reached the norm of the species. This is what Montessori calls,

  1. fundamental difference

  2. knowledge

  3. vigilance

  4. metamorphosis
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Maria Montessori used the term metamorphosis to describe the intense, transformative process of development that a child undergoes compared to the relatively stable state of an adult.

Multiple choice

Which one of these is not an example of conditioned reflex?

  1. Withdrawal of a hand on touching a hot plate.

  2. Watering of mouth at the smell of food.

  3. Blinking of eyes against a flash of light.

  4. Sweating while it is very hot.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Sweating while it is very hot is not a conditioned reflex.It is one of homeostatic function of body to maintain body temperature.

Multiple choice

Which one of the following is an example of conditioned reflex?

  1. Cycling

  2. Withdrawal of hand on touching a hot plate

  3. Watering of mouth at the smell of food

  4. Flowing of tears while cutting onions
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Reflex acquired is conditioned reflex. It is attained by training in which the cerebral cortex is an essential part of the neural mechanism. Thus conditioned is not inborn or inherited.

Multiple choice

Which part of tongue is more sensitive?

  1. Tip

  2. Middle

  3. Back

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

The tip of the tongue is densely packed with taste buds and nerve endings, making it the most sensitive part for detecting flavors and textures. The middle and back areas have different distributions of taste receptors.