These practice questions are a great way to help you engage with the phrasing of a question and identify clues to the answer. The questions will ask you to analyse a statement to identify what concepts are represented within.
Before showing you the answer, this quiz will highlight the sections in the question that are most useful for finding the answer.
For a full explanation of how these questions work and why they are useful, click here.
Question 1
And those whose hearts are fixed on Reality itself deserve the title of Philosophers. ... When the mind's eye rests on objects illuminated by truth and reality, it understands and comprehends them, and functions intelligently; but when it turns to the twilight world of change and decay, it can only form opinions, its vision is confused and its beliefs shifting, and it seems to lack intelligence. ... What is at issue is the conversion of the mind from the twilight of error to the truth, that climb up into the real world which we shall call true philosophy.
- Foundation
- Constructivism
- Idealism
- Materialism
- Reality
- Appearance
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “what is at issue”
- “error”
- “truth”
- “real world”
Click to find out the answer.
Click to understand why.
Error exists in change and decay (the world of ordinary experience), in appearance, which is not the truth—reality.
Source. Plato’s Republic
Question 2
Tricky
As someone wrote, “Finally, if nothing can be truly asserted, even the following claim would be false, the claim that there is no true assertion.”
- Positivism
- Skepticism
- Mechanism
- Foundation
- Constructivism
- Idealism
- Realism
- Relativism
- Anti-realism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
Click to find out the answer.
Click to understand why.
This was tricky. The author is referring to someone else who made a statement which is known—so realism. On the other hand, the statement itself is skepticism.
Source: Aristotle
Question 3
. . . our perception is related directly to the stimulus information that reaches us, with, perhaps room for some minor adjustments caused by interactions with or limitations imposed by the nature of our sensory receptors, or by the neural processes used to encode the information they receive.
. . . information from the stimulus may be . . . combined with other information in an inferential or problem-solving manner to “derive” the perceived object.
- Anti-realism
- Realism
- Direct realism
- Empiricism
- Deduction
- Constructivism
- Relativism
- Indirect realism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “perception”
- “related directly to”
- “stimulus information”
- “interactions with”
- “sensory receptors”
- “neural processes”
- “encode the information”
- “stimulus”
- “inferential”
- “derive”
Click to find out the answer.
- Anti-realism
- Indirect realism
Click to understand why.
Most correctly this, as stated, is anti-realism since one knows what is happening after stimulation and that is used to infer what caused the stimulation but the cause is unknown. It does seem to imply something that caused the stimulation — so indirect realism. Solipsism could have been used as a correct option, as could subjectivism.
Source: Coren, S., Ward, L. M., and Enns, J. T. (1994). Sensation and perception (4th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Question 4
Thing, body, matter, are nothing apart from their complexes of colors, sounds, and so forth-nothing apart from their so-called attributes ... the world consists only of our sensations ... we have knowledge only of sensations, . . . If we studied sensations and their relationships without taking the experiencing person into account, we had physics; if we studied the same sensations and their relationships as they depended on the experiencing person, then we had psychology . . . there was no principled distinction between the world of physics and that of psychology and no reason why psychology could not aspire to the status of a natural science.
- Subjectivism
- Reductionism
- Mechanism
- Materialism
- Phenomenalism
- Idealism
- Elementalism
- Positivism
- Hedonism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- thing, body, matter
- complexes of colors, sounds
- world consists only of our sensations
- knowledge only of sensations
Click to find out the answer.
- Reductionism
- Phenomenalism
- Elementalism
Click to understand why.
Everything is reduced to sensations which are the elements of experience. Knowledge is of subjective experience so phenomenalism.
Source: Mach in Wozniak, R. H. (1999). Classics in psychology, 1855‒1914: Historical essays. UK: Pear Tree Press.
Question 5
. . . if we set about to understand the physical, chemical, electrical, and developmental behaviour of neurons, and especially of systems of neurons, and the ways in which they exert control over one another and over behaviour, then we will be on our way toward understanding everything there is to know about natural language.
- Atomism
- Reductionism
- Materialism
- Rationalism
- Emergence
- Biological
- Determinism
- Reality
- Appearance
- Elementalism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “behaviour of neurons”
- “exert control”
- “over behaviour”
- “natural language”
Click to find out the answer.
- Reductionism
- Materialism
- Biological
- Determinism
- Elementalism
Click to understand why.
It is elementalism because complex behavior is being explained in terms of simple constituent components — neurons.
It is reductionism because complex behavior of a psychological nature — language — has been reduced to the biological and since the biological is determining it is biological determinism.
Since it is all biological it is a case of materialism.
Source: Churchland, P. M. (1992). Matter and consciousness: An introduction to the philosophy of mind (rev. ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Question 6
Theories cannot be falsified by virtue of their correspondence with something else called "the real," but only within the conventions of particular enclaves of meaning. Thus, one cannot establish any transcendent grounds for eliminating any theoretical formulation. Thus, to eradicate a theoretical perspective would not only be tantamount to losing a mode of human intelligibility (along with related social practices), but to silence a community of meaning making.
- Positivism
- Skepticism
- Mechanism
- Foundation
- Constructionism
- Idealism
- Conventionalism
- Relativism
- Anti-realism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “cannot be falsified by”
- “correspondence with something else called ‘the real’”
- “only within”
- “enclaves of meaning”
Click to find out the answer.
- Constructionism
- Relativism
- Anti-realism
Click to understand why.
This is social constructionism. There is no accessible objective reality (anti-realism) to measure against to establish truth. Truth is constructed within meaning enclaves and will vary over enclaves—truth is relative to the conventions of each group.
Source: Gergen, K. J. (1997). The place of the psyche in a constructed world. Theory and Psychology, 7, 723‒746.
Question 7
Any theory of induced motion [the perception of movement in a body at rest] must explain why, despite sufficient cues to the contrary, perception of the actually moving and the actually stationary stimuli is nonveridical [illusory].
- Realism
- Skepticism
- Nihilism
- Foundation
- Nativism
- Subjectivism
- Materialism
- Appearance
- Reality
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “perception of”
- “actually moving”
- “actually stationary”
- “nonveridical”
Click to find out the answer.
- Realism
- Appearance
- Reality
Click to understand why.
It is a question of appearance (what is perceived—movement) and reality (the actual condition—nonmoving). The expectation that this can be accounted for based on available evidence suggests realism.
Source: Michael, S. J. and Sherrick, M. F. (1986). Perception of induced visual motion: Effects of relative position, shape, and size of the surround. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 40, 122‒135.
Question 8
A teacher of culture doesn’t create a human being. It doesn’t implant within him the ability to love, or to be curious, or to philosophize, or to symbolize, or to be creative. Rather it permits, or fosters, or encourages, or helps what exists in embryo to become real and actual. The same mother or the same culture, creating a kitten or puppy in exactly the same way, cannot create a human being. The culture is sun and food and water: it is not the seed.
- Foundation
- Empiricism
- Idealism
- Nativism
- Relativism
- Anti-realism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
Click to find out the answer.
Click to understand why.
It is nativism because being human is what is human is present at birth. Some would argue that what exists is the biological human but the human being is a product of sociogenesis.
Source: Maslow in Lester, D. (1971). Maslow and the possibility of becoming healthy. Psychological Reports, 28, 777‒778.
Question 9
Consider the rat in its natural surroundings. From the moment it leaves its nest, it is subject to predation. If a potential predator appears, the rat must be able to make a decision immediately about where to find the nearest available safe location or to “freeze” if this is efficacious in the circumstances. It is highly advantageous for the animal to take a novel route directly to safety if this is the shortest one, rather than retracing a previously travelled but longer one.
- Realism
- Skepticism
- Materialism
- Monism
- Empiricism
- Idealism
- Nativism
- Dualism
- Anti-realism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “Consider the rat in its natural surroundings”
- “it is subject to predation”
- “a potential predator appears”
- “make a decision”
- “safe location”
Click to find out the answer.
- Realism
- Materialism
- Empiricism
Click to understand why.
It is realism since one has access to and can know of the rat. Knowledge of the rat comes from experience with it (empiricism). It is probably materialism since no statement was made regarding the mind‒body despite the use of the word decision which might suggest mind. After all behaviorists called choice behaviors decisions without implying mentalism. I think that when it is not stated explicitly, you can assume realism and materialism since that is within the mainstream framework. Strict experimentalists do not concern themselves with such issues even though they are inherent within their propositions.
Source: Sutherland, R. J. and Dyck, R. H. (1984). Place navigation by rats in a swimming pool. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 38, 322‒347.
Question 10
The "percept" [what is perceived] of the bottle is an action, namely the visual or mental exploration of the bottle. It is not simply the passive sensation we get from the retina . . . . Rather, this sensation is being used to supplement a mental schema we have about the results of the possible actions that we can undertake with our eyes (or heads or bodies). We do not see a hole in the bottle where the blind spot is . . . because our feeling of “seeing” comes not from what is on the retina, but from the result of using the retina as a tool for probing the environment (p. 472).
- Direct realism
- Indirect realism
- Secondary qualities
- Primary qualities
- Representationalism
- Naïve realism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “‘percept’”
- “sensation is being used to supplement a mental schema”
- “feeling of ‘seeing’”
- “not from what is on the retina”
- “result of using the retina as a tool for probing the environment”
Click to find out the answer.
- Direct realism
- Indirect realism
- Representationalism
Click to understand why.
There is a confusion of different standpoints here. To begin with there is the percept derived from sensation (not the bottle) supplemented by mental schema (knowledge already acquired) which means what is known is the mental representation of the bottle not the bottle—so representationalism and indirect realism. However, if seeing comes from using the retina to explore the environment it seems to suggest access to the environment and the bottle through the retina—so direct realism.
Source: O’Regan, J. K. (1992). Solving the real mysteries of visual perception: The world as an outside memory. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 46, 461‒488.
Question 11
If scientific language bears no determinate relationship to events external to the language itself, not only does its contribution to prediction becomes problematic, but hope that knowledge may be advanced through continued, systematic observation proves futile. More generally, one may question the fundamental grounds for authority—scientific and otherwise. The claim to objectivity has furnished a chief basis for authority—in the academy, policy-making circles, business, and elsewhere. With the truth bearing capacity of words thrown into question, so is authority in the modernist state.
- Positivism
- Skepticism
- Mechanism
- Foundation
- Constructionism
- Idealism
- Materialism
- Relativism
- Anti-realism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “language bears no determinate relationship to events external”
- “one may question”
- “claim to objectivity”
- “truth bearing capacity of words thrown into question”
Click to find out the answer.
- Skepticism
- Constructionism
- Idealism
- Anti-realism
Click to understand why.
Language has no reference to an objective reality (antirealism which pushes one into mind—idealism) and no basis for authority or truth, skepticism is the result. Science, and beliefs, is just communication and a social construction—constructionism (although admittedly that is not made explicit in the statement).
Source: Gergen, K. J. (1998). Constructionist dialogues and the vicissitudes of the political. In I. Velody and R. Williams (eds.), The politics of constructionism. London: SAGE.
Question 12
Subjects engaged in 1 of 3 interactions and then assessed future interactions.
“The data enable us to draw several firm conclusions. (1) The characteristics of others in an interaction greatly alter the choice of a distribution rule. However, we must restrict this generalization to individuals acting as third parties . . . where the influence of material self-interest is minimized” (p. 392)
- Anti-realism
- Realism
- Rationalism
- Empiricism
- Idealism
- Deduction
- Epistemology
- Relativism
- Constructionism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “Subjects & design”
- “data”
Click to find out the answer.
- Realism
- Empiricism
- Epistemology
Click to understand why.
The experimental method is an epistemology in that it is about proper methods for arriving at true knowledge. The knowledge acquired is derived from experience (data) — empiricism and accepts access to objective reality — realism.
Source: Austin, W. and McGinn, N. C. (1977) Sex differences in choice of distribution rules. Journal of Personality, 45, 379‒394.
Subjects & design. 60 M & F undergrad
Question 13
At life’s opening the mind/brain finds itself as confusing and unintelligible as it finds the external world. It must set about to learn the structure and activities of its inner states no less than it must set about to learn the structure and activities of the external world. With time, it does learn about itself but through a process of conceptual development and learned discrimination that parallels exactly the process by which it apprehends the world outside of it.
- Free will
- Dualism
- Realism
- Epiphenomenalism
- Positivism
- Determinism
- Phenomenalism
- Empiricism
- Monism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “mind/brain”
- “set about to learn”
- “conceptual development”
- “apprehends the world outside of it”
Click to find out the answer.
- Dualism
- Realism
- Empiricism
- Monism
Click to understand why.
Depending on how you interpret mind/brain it is monism (mind = brain) or dualism (there is a mind that parallels the brain). It is realism since the outside world is apprehended and empiricism since it learns through experience.
Source: Churchland, P. M. (1992). Matter and consciousness: An introduction to the philosophy of mind (rev. ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Question 14
This one is tricky
We have noted that qualitative research is based on an investigation of social phenomena that give precedence to the perspective of the people being studied. This approach to enquiry encourages researchers to view social reality as constructed out of different social perspectives. . . . all social facts, even those as apparently objective as medical diagnosis, are not simply discovered but created through the application of social norms, and that these norms may differ from one social group to another.
- Anti-realism
- Realism
- Rationalism
- Constructionism
- Empiricism
- Relativism
Click to reveal the key clues in the question.
- “We have noted that qualitative research is based on an”
Click to find out the answer.
Click to understand why.
They are writing about what they have observed (realism) about qualitative research. Now if it was an analysis of statements by those qualitative researchers making those claims then we get into constructionism, relativism, skepticism, idealism, solipsism, and anti-realism.
Source: Avis, M. (2005). Is there an epistemology for qualitative research?
Source: I. Holloway (Ed.), Qualitative research in health care. New York: Open University Press.
