Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC)
Competitive Examination for Recruitment to BPS-17 Posts under the Federal Government
Time Allowed: 3 Hours
PART-I (Objective) : 20 Marks
Paper: Psychology
Q.1. (i) Select the best option/answer and fill in the appropriate Box on the OMR Answer Sheet.
(ii) Answers given anywhere else, other than OMR Answer Sheet, will not be considered.
1. “Give me a child till that child is five years old, and I will make of him anything you want doctor, lawyer, thief”, a likely quote from:
(A) Thorndike (B) Watson (C) Hull (D) Pavlov
2. First experimental lab of Psychology was established in:
(A) France (B) America (C) Germany (D) Japan
3. The ____________ is associated with the hypothalamus:
(A) Refined body movements (B) Spatial perception (C) Long-term planning (D) Homeostatic regulation
4. The “fight or flight” response to a perceived threat is associated with increased activity of:
(A) Sympathetic Nervous system (B) Parasympathetic Nervous system (C) Cerebral cortex (D) Corpus callosum
5. _________ styles of parenting Baumrind identify:
(A) Autocratic, Democratic, Laissez-faire (B) Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive
(C) Pre-conventional, Conventional, Post-conventional (D) Moving against, Toward, Away from
6. According to Piaget’s theory, in _________ stage a child can understand that a ball of clay can take a different shape without either losing or gaining substance:
(A) Sensorimotor (B) Preoperational (C) Concrete-operational (D) Formal-operational
7. The little bumps visible on your tongue are:
(A) Taste buds (B) Axon (C) Papillae (D) Receptors
8. The basilar membrane plays an important role in:
(A) Vision (B) Hearing (C) Olfaction (D) Taste
9. ____________ is based on the principles of classical conditioning:
(A) Token economies (B) Differential reinforcement (C) Contingency management (D) Systematic desensitization
10. Kohler’s experiments with chimpanzees demonstrate that chimps are capable of:
(A) One-trial learning (B) Insight learning (C) Trial & Error learning (D) State-dependent learning
11. Iconic memory refers to:
(A) Visual working memory (B) Auditory working memory (C) Visual short-term memory (D) Visual sensory memory
12. A major distinction between episodic and semantic memory was central to the work of:
(A) Miller (B) Tulving (C) Ebbinghaus (D) Skinner
13. Theory described by Abraham Maslow is known as:
(A) Hierarchy of needs (B) Equity theory (C) Psychoanalysis (D) Cognitive dissonance theory
14. A hungry person would find food to be a:
(A) Primary reinforcer (B) Secondary reinforcer (C) Negative reinforcer (D) None of these
15. The opponent process theory has been prominent in the field of:
(A) Vision (B) Learning (C) Neurosis (D) Emotion
16. ______________ studies how relationships among employees affect those employees and the performance of a business:
(A) Industrial Psychology (B) Organizational Psychology (C) Social Psychology (D) Clinical Psychology
17. Maria refuses to study for an exam, saying that fate will decide her grade. __________ provides a plausible explanation for her behavior:
(A) Self-monitoring (B) The placebo effect (C) The halo effect (D) Locus of control
18. When you focus on two or more things at the same time, you’re using:
(A) Divided attention (B) Sustained attention (C) Selective attention (D) Alternating attention
19. The field theory was developed by:
(A) Solomon Asch (B) Leon Festinger (C) Fritz Heider (D) Kurt Lewin
20. Salma has always strongly believed that it is wrong to cheat. But after she herself cheats on a quiz, her attitude toward cheating becomes significantly less harsh. This is an example of:
(A) Cognitive dissonance theory (B) Self-perception theory (C) Reinforcement theory (D) None of these
PART-II (Subjective) : 80 Marks
Attempt ONLY FOUR Questions from PART-II. (20×4)
PART-II
Q. No. 2. Explore the field of cognitive psychology by discussing key concepts such as memory, problem solving and decision-making. Critically evaluate Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory with examples.
Q. No. 3. Why is Emotional Intelligence (EI) more important than Intelligence Quotient (IQ)? Which one, do you think, matters more for your career & personal development?
Q. No. 4. Define the concept of emotions in psychology. Compare and contrast the James-Lange theory, Cannon-Bard theory and Schachter-Singer two-factor theory. Illustrate your answer with real-life examples.
Q. No. 5. Describe the psychoanalytical approach by Freud and what are the techniques used in psychoanalytic therapy?
Q. No. 6. Discuss the biological, social and personality factors behind anxiety disorders. Differentiate between panic disorder, phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorder according to the DSM criteria.
Q. No. 7. Explain Milgram’s experiments on obedience. Discuss the major criticism on Milgram’s experiments.
Q. No. 8. Write short notes on any TWO of the following: (10 each)
(a) Pituitary gland
(b) Thyroid gland
(c) Adrenal glands
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