Psychology and sociology

15 M.Sc Nursing Entrance (AIIMS, LBS, PGIMER, JIPMER) practice questions on Psychology and sociology, part of Basic Sciences. The first 15 are below; the first 5 with answers and explanations (tap Show answer after you have chosen), the rest in Learn with a free account.

Question 1 · Hard
A 78-year-old man in palliative care says his life was wasted, he regrets most of his choices and it is now too late. In Erikson's terms, he is struggling with which stage?
1. AEgo integrity versus despair
2. BGenerativity versus stagnation
3. CTrust versus mistrust
4. DIntimacy versus isolation
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Answer: A · Ego integrity versus despair
The last of Erikson's stages, in late adulthood, is ego integrity versus despair. A person who looks back and accepts his life as meaningful achieves integrity and faces death calmly. One who sees it as wasted feels despair, bitterness and fear of death. Reminiscence and life-review therapy can help him find meaning.
- B: Generativity versus stagnation is the middle-adult task of guiding the next generation.
- C: Trust versus mistrust is the task of infancy.
- D: Intimacy versus isolation is the young-adult task of close relationships.
Question 2 · Easy
According to Piaget, a baby first understands that a toy still exists when hidden under a cloth in which stage?
1. AFormal operational
2. BPre-operational
3. CConcrete operational
4. DSensorimotor
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Answer: D · Sensorimotor
Object permanence develops during the sensorimotor stage (birth to about 2 years), usually from 8-12 months. Before this, a hidden object is out of mind for the baby. Its appearance explains the onset of separation anxiety around the same age. Peek-a-boo games exercise this skill.
- A: Formal operations (from 11-12 years) bring abstract reasoning.
- B: The pre-operational stage (2-7 years) is marked by symbolic thinking and egocentrism.
- C: Concrete operations (7-11 years) bring conservation and logic about real objects.
Question 3 · Hard
A nurse newly diagnosed with breast cancer talks at length about tumour biology and survival statistics but shows no feeling when asked how she is coping. She is most likely using:
1. ADenial
2. BSublimation
3. CIntellectualisation
4. DRationalisation
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Answer: C · Intellectualisation
Intellectualisation keeps painful emotions at a distance by focusing on abstract facts and reasoning. She accepts the diagnosis, so this is not denial, and she is not excusing any behaviour, so it is not rationalisation. Used briefly it can help coping, but it can block emotional adjustment. The nurse gently invites her to share her feelings.
- A: Denial refuses to accept the reality of the diagnosis, which she has accepted.
- B: Sublimation channels drives into constructive, valued activity.
- D: Rationalisation gives logical excuses for one's own behaviour or failure.
Question 4 · Medium
On a long-stay psychiatric ward, patients earn tokens for bathing and dressing, which they exchange for privileges. This programme is based on:
1. AClassical conditioning
2. BInsight learning
3. COperant conditioning
4. DObservational learning
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Answer: C · Operant conditioning
A token economy applies Skinner's operant conditioning: a desired behaviour is followed by a reinforcer, so it becomes more frequent. Tokens are secondary reinforcers because they can be exchanged for primary rewards. Reinforcement must be immediate and consistent at first, then gradually reduced. It is used for self-care in chronic schizophrenia and in some learning disabilities.
- A: Classical conditioning pairs stimuli; it does not reward voluntary acts.
- B: Insight learning is a sudden grasp of the whole problem.
- D: Observational learning is learning by watching a model.
Question 5 · Easy
A ward sister rates a cheerful, well-liked nurse as excellent on every item of her annual appraisal, including skills she has rarely seen. This rating error is called the:
1. ARecency effect
2. BCentral tendency error
3. CContrast effect
4. DHalo effect
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Answer: D · Halo effect
The halo effect is a perceptual bias in which one strong positive impression colours judgement of all other traits. It makes appraisals and interviews unfair and unreliable. Rating each item on observed behaviour, using anecdotal records, guards against it. A negative impression that spreads the same way is sometimes called the horn effect.
- A: Recency effect bases the rating on the most recent events only.
- B: Central tendency error rates everyone as average.
- C: Contrast effect judges a person against the one rated just before.
Question 6 · Medium
In Kohlberg's theory of moral development, a child who obeys hospital rules only to avoid being scolded is at which level?
1. APost-conventional
2. BPre-conventional
3. CConventional
4. DAutonomous
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 7 · Medium
The Thematic Apperception Test assesses personality by asking the person to:
1. AFinish a series of incomplete sentences
2. BDescribe what each inkblot looks like
3. CMake up stories about ambiguous pictures
4. DAnswer true-false items about themselves
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 8 · Medium
Neighbours avoid a man treated for leprosy years ago, and he hides his past. Goffman's term for such a discrediting attribute is:
1. APrejudice
2. BAnomie
3. CStigma
4. DAlienation
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Question 9 · Hard
A newly formed ward quality team meets for the third week. Members openly disagree about who should lead and challenge each other's ideas, and two threaten to leave. In Tuckman's model the group is at which stage?
1. AStorming
2. BPerforming
3. CForming
4. DNorming
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 10 · Medium
A mother who deeply resents her unplanned baby becomes extremely protective and constantly praises the child to everyone. This defence mechanism is:
1. AReaction formation
2. BCompensation
3. CIdentification
4. DRationalisation
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 11 · Easy
A patient who is angry with his surgeon shouts at the ward assistant who brings his food. Which defence mechanism is he using?
1. AProjection
2. BSublimation
3. CDisplacement
4. DReaction formation
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 12 · Medium
A Muslim patient with type 2 diabetes wishes to fast in Ramadan. The nurse and doctor agree with him to shift his doses to the pre-dawn and sunset meals. In Leininger's theory this is:
1. ACultural care preservation
2. BCultural care repatterning
3. CCultural imposition
4. DCultural care accommodation
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 13 · Medium
In Herzberg's two-factor theory, which factor at work is a hygiene factor rather than a true motivator?
1. ASalary
2. BRecognition
3. CResponsibility
4. DAchievement
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 14 · Hard
A daily-wage worker knows she is at risk of cervical cancer and believes it is serious, but she skips VIA screening because the clinic is far and she would lose a day's pay. In the Health Belief Model, what explains her inaction?
1. APerceived barriers
2. BCues to action
3. CPerceived susceptibility
4. DPerceived severity
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account
Question 15 · Easy
The anxiety, confusion and homesickness felt by a nurse newly posted to work in a very different culture abroad is called:
1. AEthnocentrism
2. BCultural lag
3. CCulture shock
4. DAcculturation
Answer and explanation in LearnFree account

Psychology and sociology

A 78-year-old man in palliative care says his life was wasted, he regrets most of his choices and it is now too late. In Erikson's terms, he is struggling with which stage?

According to Piaget, a baby first understands that a toy still exists when hidden under a cloth in which stage?

A nurse newly diagnosed with breast cancer talks at length about tumour biology and survival statistics but shows no feeling when asked how she is coping. She is most likely using:

On a long-stay psychiatric ward, patients earn tokens for bathing and dressing, which they exchange for privileges. This programme is based on:

A ward sister rates a cheerful, well-liked nurse as excellent on every item of her annual appraisal, including skills she has rarely seen. This rating error is called the:

In Kohlberg's theory of moral development, a child who obeys hospital rules only to avoid being scolded is at which level?

The Thematic Apperception Test assesses personality by asking the person to:

Neighbours avoid a man treated for leprosy years ago, and he hides his past. Goffman's term for such a discrediting attribute is:

A newly formed ward quality team meets for the third week. Members openly disagree about who should lead and challenge each other's ideas, and two threaten to leave. In Tuckman's model the group is at which stage?

A mother who deeply resents her unplanned baby becomes extremely protective and constantly praises the child to everyone. This defence mechanism is:

A patient who is angry with his surgeon shouts at the ward assistant who brings his food. Which defence mechanism is he using?

A Muslim patient with type 2 diabetes wishes to fast in Ramadan. The nurse and doctor agree with him to shift his doses to the pre-dawn and sunset meals. In Leininger's theory this is:

In Herzberg's two-factor theory, which factor at work is a hygiene factor rather than a true motivator?

A daily-wage worker knows she is at risk of cervical cancer and believes it is serious, but she skips VIA screening because the clinic is far and she would lose a day's pay. In the Health Belief Model, what explains her inaction?

The anxiety, confusion and homesickness felt by a nurse newly posted to work in a very different culture abroad is called: