AS Level Psychology chapter 1: The core studies MCQs with answers

By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026

209 exam-style questions on The core studies, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.

209 questions · 12 topics · 10 per test

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What chapter 1 covers

Ten The core studies questions with answers

Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.

1. Which type of learning best explains how a child might come to fear an object after one very unpleasant experience with it?

  1. A
    insight learning
  2. B
    social learning from a model
  3. C
    classical conditioning
  4. D
    positive reinforcement
Show answer

Answer: C. In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus becomes associated with an unpleasant unconditioned stimulus and then produces fear by itself.

2. Exposure treatment involves the child facing something he finds frightening and disgusting. Which ethical issue does this raise?

  1. A
    protection from harm, since exposure may cause distress and the child must be able to stop
  2. B
    breach of copyright, since the treatment belongs to the researchers
  3. C
    lack of a control group, since every child in a treatment study has to be given the same treatment
  4. D
    deception, since the child must not be told what will happen
Show answer

Answer: A. Exposure causes temporary discomfort, so it must be carried out with care, consent and the right to withdraw. The benefit of ending the phobia justifies it.

3. Which result was found by Baron-Cohen et al. (2001)?

  1. A
    adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism scored lower on the test than typical adults
  2. B
    all participants scored at the level expected by guessing
  3. C
    adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism scored higher on the test than typical adults
  4. D
    adults with Asperger syndrome and typical adults had the same scores on the test
Show answer

Answer: A. The autistic-spectrum group had lower average scores, which supports the revised test as a sensitive measure of individual differences in social sensitivity.

4. What was the aim of Baron-Cohen et al. (2001)?

  1. A
    to test a revised Eyes Test of social sensitivity in adults with and without Asperger syndrome
  2. B
    to test whether oxytocin improves the recognition of emotions in the eyes
  3. C
    to test whether parenting style is a cause of autism in adults
  4. D
    to test whether children with autism are more likely than adults to give false identifications in a line-up
Show answer

Answer: A. The study aimed to improve the original 1997 test and to find out whether adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism score lower on it than other adults.

5. Which is an application of the findings of Bandura et al. to everyday life?

  1. A
    parents and broadcasters could limit children's exposure to aggressive role models
  2. B
    schools can reduce aggression by rewarding children who hit dolls, since they then learn a safe outlet
  3. C
    doctors can measure children's aggression with a blood test
  4. D
    courts can use children's imitation as evidence of guilt
Show answer

Answer: A. If children copy aggressive models, the behaviour of adults and the content of media matter for the behaviour that children learn.

6. Which conclusion could be drawn from Perry et al. (2015)?

  1. A
    oxytocin affects preferred personal space, but the effect depends on individual empathy
  2. B
    empathy is produced only by experience and not by biology
  3. C
    oxytocin always makes people want to be closer to others
  4. D
    personal space is fixed and cannot be influenced by hormones or by any other biological factor
Show answer

Answer: A. The effect was not the same for everyone and was related to empathy, which shows that a hormone and an individual characteristic interact.

7. Which result was found by Milgram (1963)?

  1. A
    all participants refused to continue before they reached 150 volts on the generator
  2. B
    all participants went to at least 300 volts and a majority went to 450 volts
  3. C
    only one participant went to the highest level
  4. D
    no participant went above 100 volts
Show answer

Answer: B. Twenty-six of the 40 participants (65%) gave the maximum shock. This was far higher than had been predicted beforehand.

8. Which assumption of the learning approach does Bandura et al. (1961) support?

  1. A
    behaviour is shaped by experience, including what is observed in the environment
  2. B
    behaviour is a product of the way that information is processed in the mind, like a computer
  3. C
    behaviour is a result of the roles that people play in a group
  4. D
    behaviour is caused by the structure and chemistry of the brain
Show answer

Answer: A. The learning approach says that behaviour is learned. Bandura showed that children could learn aggression simply by watching a model, without reinforcement of their own.

9. A teacher wants to apply Andrade's findings to lessons. Which limitation of the study is most relevant?

  1. A
    the study had no control group, so nothing was available with which to compare the doodlers
  2. B
    the study used animals, so it may not apply to humans
  3. C
    the task was a short, dull telephone message and not a real lesson, so findings may not apply
  4. D
    the participants were not asked to perform any task while the recording was playing to them
Show answer

Answer: C. The listening task was artificial and short and the doodling was shading shapes. This reduces ecological validity and makes generalising to lessons uncertain.

10. Which is a strength of the way Andrade (2010) was carried out?

  1. A
    the controlled laboratory setting and standard procedure make the study easy to replicate
  2. B
    the participants were told the aim in advance, so there was no risk of any demand characteristics at all
  3. C
    the sample was very large and drawn from all over the world
  4. D
    the task closely matched a real lecture, so ecological validity was high
Show answer

Answer: A. Standardising the recording, the timing and the instructions makes replication possible. The task was short and artificial, so ecological validity is a weakness.

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The core studies: questions students ask

How many The core studies MCQs are there?

209, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 12 topics: Biological approach: Dement and Kleitman (sleep and dreams), Biological approach: Hassett et al. (monkey toy preferences), Biological approach: Holzel et al. (mindfulness and brain scans), Cognitive approach: Andrade (doodling), Cognitive approach: Baron-Cohen et al. (eyes test), Cognitive approach: Pozzulo et al. (line-ups), Learning approach: Bandura et al. (aggression), Learning approach: Fagen et al. (elephant learning), Learning approach: Saavedra and Silverman (button phobia), Social approach: Milgram (obedience), Social approach: Perry et al. (personal space), Social approach: Piliavin et al. (subway Samaritans). Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.

Is the AS Level Psychology chapter 1 test free?

Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.

How is the chapter test marked?

The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.

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