This study set covers Psychology through 20 practice questions. Use it to review key concepts, test your understanding, and build confidence before exams. Every question includes the correct answer so you can learn as you go — pick any format above to get started.

Questions & Answers

Browse all 20 questions from the A Journey Through the History of Motivation Theories study set below. Each question shows the correct answer — select a study format above to practice interactively.

1 Which ancient Greek philosopher, according to the text, proposed that the soul has a visceral and a sensitive component that provide irrational motivational forces?

A Aristotle
B Plato
C Socrates
D Epicurus

2 What philosophical approach, initiated by Plato and Aristotle, dominated Western thought until the mid-19th century?

A Empiricism
B Existentialism
C Rationalism
D Stoicism

3 René Descartes, within the line of rationalism, emphasized the role of what in understanding motivations and emotions, leading to the mechanistic theory?

A Instinct
B Reason
C Willpower
D Emotions

4 Which philosophical current emerged from Descartes's mechanism and opposed rationalism, with Hobbes as a key proponent who identified hedonism as a motivational principle?

A Idealism
B Empiricism
C Nihilism
D Utilitarianism

5 The arrival of Darwin's ideas in the mid-19th century marked a shift from pre-scientific theories towards which new conception of motivation?

A Cognitivist
B Behaviorist
C Biologist
D Humanist

6 Darwin's theory suggested that organisms exhibit automatic and stereotyped behaviors with an essential function for what?

A Social interaction
B Reproduction
C Survival
D Cognitive development

7 Which of the following is NOT one of the three major perspectives in current motivation research mentioned in the text?

A Biological perspective
B Cognitive perspective
C Behaviorist perspective
D Existential perspective

8 The biological perspective of motivation focuses on variables that lead an organism in a state of rest to what?

A Inactivity
B Activity
C Sleep
D Contemplation

9 Which concepts dominated the early works of the biological perspective of motivation, with Hull and Spence as prominent representatives?

A Incentive, reward, punishment
B Cognition, belief, intention
C Instinct, drive, activation, need, energization
D Social learning, observation, imitation

10 The behaviorist approach to motivation centers on the relationship between motivation and what?

A Genetics
B Learning
C Emotions
D Consciousness

11 What key ideas from Darwin's evolutionary theory had a significant impact on the psychology of motivation?

A The origin of species and natural selection
B Interrelated evolution of species and innate behaviors for adaptation/survival
C The expression of emotions in humans and animals
D Sexual selection and genetic drift

12 William James suggested that instincts function blindly in response to a stimulus, but how do they change with subsequent occasions?

A They become more automatic
B They are modified by experience and memory
C They become less influential
D They are replaced by learned behaviors

13 Due to the indiscriminate use of the term 'instinct', ethologists eventually replaced it with what term to refer to species-specific movements in response to a stimulus?

A Fixed action patterns
B Learned behaviors
C Reflex arcs
D Instinctive drives

14 William McDougall emphasized instinct as the driving force behind behavior, proposing that instincts and their associated emotions were the triggers for behavior aimed at what?

A Establishing social hierarchies
B Seeking goals
C Conserving energy
D Avoiding conflict

15 McDougall's theory was criticized and eventually rejected for not adequately accounting for which factors?

A Biological needs
B Environmental influences
C Learning processes and individual experience
D Genetic predispositions

16 The concept of activation or arousal in biological theories of motivation is associated with the work of which researcher on the functions of the autonomic nervous system?

A Hebb
B Cannon
C Lindsley
D Lacey

17 The Yerkes-Dodson law suggests that the optimal level of motivation for task performance is found at:

A Extremely high levels of activation
B Extremely low levels of activation
C Intermediate levels of activation
D Constant levels of activation

18 The homeostatic model of motivation, proposed by Cannon, is based on the idea that the organism tries to return to an initial state of what?

A Excitement
B Equilibrium
C Stimulation
D Competition

19 John B. Watson, the introducer of behaviorism, opposed instinct theories by arguing that motivation arises from what?

A Internal psychological states
B Previous behaviors
C Genetic predispositions
D Unconscious desires

20 Clark Hull's theory of drive, considered the first empirically demonstrable interpretation of motivation, is based on the concept of homeostasis and biological survival, leading to a sequence of:

A Need, drive, activity, drive reduction, need satisfaction
B Goal, intention, planning, execution, reward
C Stimulus, response, reinforcement, extinction, punishment
D Emotion, appraisal, action, outcome, learning

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