Unofficial practice for MTTC Psychology (011): methods, development, behavior, personality and disorders, and social behavior, weighted as the test is.
75:00
Pick an answer, then press Check answer.Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason.Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.
Print covers the next 50 questions. Share this set copies a link to the same questions in the same order.
Exam mode: 50 questions, 75 minutes.
Your totals on this device
0answered
0right
none yetpercent right
none yetbest exam score
Seen 0 of 50 questions
More options
Which questions to ask
Missed and Flagged fill up as you go.
Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Michigan Department of Education or Pearson. Bank checked October 13, 2026.
A client tells a therapist of a plan to seriously harm a named person. Since the Tarasoff case in California, what has a therapist in that position been expected to do?Wikipedia, Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 002 (roles, issues and goals in contemporary psychology).
A new test of anxiety gives nearly the same score each time a person takes it, but its scores do not match any other sign of anxiety. How should the test be described?Wikipedia, Validity (statistics) (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 005 (psychological measurement).
A researcher flips a coin to decide whether each volunteer goes into the treatment group or the control group. What does this step accomplish?Wikipedia, Random assignment (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 004 (designing and conducting research).
A table reports four correlations between hours of sleep and other measures. Which one shows the strongest relationship?The answer rests on the text printed in the question and on the wording of the objective (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 003 (social science study skills).
Show all 50 questions (46 more)
Foundations, skills and methods, continued
The Belmont Report names three ethical principles for research with human subjects. Which principle is the basis for requiring informed consent?Wikipedia, Belmont Report (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 004 (designing and conducting research).
John B. Watson set out a program for psychology known as methodological behaviorism. What did he say the field should measure?Wikipedia, Behaviorism (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 001 (the historical development of psychology).
Which counseling approach, developed by William Glasser, focuses on a client's present choices and on taking responsibility for them?Wikipedia, Reality therapy (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 006 (therapeutic and counseling techniques).
Which early school of psychology, linked with William James, asked what mental processes are for and how they help a person adapt?Wikipedia, Functional psychology (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 001 (the historical development of psychology).
Which kind of personality test rests on the idea that people reveal hidden emotions and conflicts when they respond to ambiguous stimuli?Wikipedia, Projective test (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 005 (psychological measurement).
Which mental health practitioner is a physician, qualified to prescribe medication and order laboratory tests?Wikipedia, Psychiatrist (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 002 (roles, issues and goals in contemporary psychology).
Human development 9
A child watches water poured from a short wide glass into a tall thin one and now says the amount is the same. In Piaget's theory, what has the child acquired?Wikipedia, Conservation (psychology) (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 009 (childhood).
A ninth grader is sure that everyone in the hallway is studying the small stain on her sleeve. Which feature of adolescent thinking, described by David Elkind, is this?Wikipedia, Imaginary audience (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 010 (adolescence).
Between the late twenties and about age sixty, how do fluid and crystallized intelligence tend to change?Wikipedia, Fluid and crystallized intelligence (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 011 (adulthood).
In Erikson's theory, which conflict belongs to middle adulthood, when a person turns toward guiding the next generation?Wikipedia, Erikson's stages of psychosocial development (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 011 (adulthood).
In Harry Harlow's studies, infant monkeys spent most of their time clinging to a soft cloth "mother" rather than a wire one that held the bottle. What did this suggest about attachment?Wikipedia, Harry Harlow (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 008 (prenatal development and infancy).
Parents set firm rules, explain the reasons for them, and are warm and responsive to their child. Which of Baumrind's parenting styles is this?Wikipedia, Parenting styles (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 009 (childhood).
What is the term for an agent, such as a drug or a virus, that can cause a birth defect when an embryo or fetus is exposed to it?Wikipedia, Teratology (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 008 (prenatal development and infancy).
Which statement about heritability is accurate?Wikipedia, Heritability (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 007 (heredity and environment).
Why do researchers compare identical twins with fraternal twins when they study a trait?Wikipedia, Twin study (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 007 (heredity and environment).
Behavior 15
A dentist's drill has caused a child pain several times. Now the child's heart races at the mere sound of the drill. In classical conditioning, what is the sound?Wikipedia, Classical conditioning (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 015 (principles of learning).
A driver who has just changed her license plate keeps reciting the old number when asked for the new one. Which memory problem is this?Wikipedia, Interference theory (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 016 (memory).
A person can just tell a 100-gram weight from a 102-gram weight, and needs a 204-gram weight to tell it from a 200-gram one. Which principle does this illustrate?Wikipedia, Weber-Fechner law (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 013 (sensation and perception).
A pianist plays poorly when half asleep and also when badly frightened, and plays best when alert but calm. Which principle describes this pattern?Wikipedia, Yerkes-Dodson law (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 018 (theories of motivation).
A sleeper's eyes dart beneath closed lids, the brain is highly active, and the limb muscles are temporarily paralyzed. Which stage of sleep is this, and what is it known for?National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 014 (states of consciousness).
A student starts homework as soon as she gets home because doing so stops her father's repeated reminders. Starting early is being strengthened by what?Wikipedia, Reinforcement (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 015 (principles of learning).
After a week of news reports about a plane crash, a traveler judges flying to be far riskier than driving. Which mental shortcut explains the error?Wikipedia, Availability heuristic (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 017 (cognition and language).
After an injury a pianist can no longer make the smooth, practiced movements of playing, though memory and vision are intact. Which brain structure was most likely damaged?National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Brain Basics: Know Your Brain (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 012 (the biological bases of behavior).
Children who love to draw are promised a prize for drawing. Later, with no prize on offer, they draw less than before. What is this effect called?Wikipedia, Overjustification effect (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 018 (theories of motivation).
Hermann Ebbinghaus tested his own memory for nonsense syllables after various periods of time. What does the forgetting curve he plotted show?Wikipedia, Forgetting curve (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 016 (memory).
Noam Chomsky argued that children learn language too quickly for imitation and reward alone to explain it. What did he propose instead?Wikipedia, Language acquisition device (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 017 (cognition and language).
To which class of psychoactive drugs does alcohol belong?Wikipedia, Depressant (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 014 (states of consciousness).
Which part of a neuron receives messages from other cells?National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Brain Basics: The Life and Death of a Neuron (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 012 (the biological bases of behavior).
Which receptor cells of the retina work in dim light but do not signal color?Wikipedia, Rod cell (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 013 (sensation and perception).
Which theory of emotion holds that physiological arousal comes first and the experience of emotion follows from it?Wikipedia, James-Lange theory (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 019 (human emotion).
Personality theories and psychological disorders 9
A coworker is self-disciplined, dutiful and always striving to meet the goals set for her. On which of the Big Five traits would this person score high?Wikipedia, Big Five personality traits (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 021 (trait, learning and humanistic theories).
A hungry student wants to walk out of a long lecture to eat, feels it would be wrong to leave, and settles on waiting for the break. In Freud's model, which part of the personality worked out that compromise?Wikipedia, Id, ego and superego (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 020 (psychoanalytic theories of personality).
After being criticized by a supervisor all day, a clerk goes home and snaps at his family over nothing. Which defense mechanism is this?Wikipedia, Defence mechanism (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 022 (frustration, conflict and stress).
After failing one algebra quiz a student says, "I can learn this if I practice," and keeps working. In Albert Bandura's terms, she is high in what?Wikipedia, Self-efficacy (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 021 (trait, learning and humanistic theories).
For most of a year a woman has felt persistent worry and dread about ordinary matters such as bills and errands, on most days and without a single trigger. Which disorder fits this description?National Institute of Mental Health, Generalized Anxiety Disorder: What You Need to Know (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 023 (abnormal behavior).
Hans Selye's general adaptation syndrome has three phases. What happens in the middle one, the resistance phase?Wikipedia, Stress (biology) (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 022 (frustration, conflict and stress).
In a 1973 study, healthy volunteers gained admission to psychiatric hospitals and then behaved normally, yet staff went on treating them as ill. What is the study most often cited to criticize?Wikipedia, Rosenhan experiment (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 023 (abnormal behavior).
Which form of psychotherapy teaches a person to notice and change unhelpful patterns of thinking and behavior?National Institute of Mental Health, Psychotherapies (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 024 (treatment of psychological disorders).
Which neo-Freudian proposed a collective unconscious, shared by all people and filled with archetypes?Wikipedia, Collective unconscious (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 020 (psychoanalytic theories of personality).
Social behavior 7
A driver is cut off in traffic and decides the other driver is a reckless person, never considering that he may be rushing to a hospital. Which error is this?Wikipedia, Fundamental attribution error (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 026 (attitude formation and attribution).
A man who thinks of himself as honest pads an expense report, feels uneasy, and then decides that "everyone does it." Which theory explains the change in his belief?Wikipedia, Cognitive dissonance (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 027 (norms, persuasion and conformity).
A person collapses on a crowded sidewalk, and dozens of people walk past without helping. Research on the bystander effect points to which reason?Wikipedia, Bystander effect (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 028 (forms of social interaction).
In Solomon Asch's experiments, a participant judged line lengths aloud after hearing several others give the same wrong answer. What did the studies measure?Wikipedia, Asch conformity experiments (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 027 (norms, persuasion and conformity).
Members of a cohesive team keep their doubts to themselves to avoid conflict, and the team adopts a plan that no one has examined closely. Which phenomenon is this?Wikipedia, Groupthink (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 025 (groups, group behavior and self-concept).
On a project that earns one grade for the whole group, several students do less work than they do on assignments of their own. What is this called?Wikipedia, Social loafing (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 025 (groups, group behavior and self-concept).
Psychologists often describe an attitude as having three components. Which list names them?Wikipedia, Attitude (psychology) (read 2026-10-13). Outline: MTTC Psychology (011) test objectives, objective 026 (attitude formation and attribution).
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the test objectives of the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) field 011, Psychology, as the MTTC site prints them (https://www.mttc.nesinc.com/Content/STUDYGUIDE/MI_SG_obj_011.htm and the test page https://www.mttc.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/MI011_TestPage.html, read 2026-10-13): Foundations, skills, and methods, 21%; Human development, 18%; Behavior, 29%; Personality theories and psychological disorders, 18%; Social behavior, 14%; 100 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours 30 minutes of testing time, passing score 220. This bank holds 50 questions, spread 10, 9, 15, 9, 7 over those subareas. Every fact was read on 2026-10-13 in the public page named under its question: the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (Brain Basics), the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Wikipedia article named for each remaining question. 1 question rests on the numbers printed in the question and on the wording of the objective. Licence: Questions, passages, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
A free MTTC Psychology practice test: 50 questions of our own for field 011, as practice or a timed exam. Unofficial, and not affiliated with the Michigan Department of Education or Pearson. Practice for an exam, not medical advice.
Read the full guide
What field 011 covers
By the test objectives read October 13, 2026: foundations, skills, and methods 21%; human development 18%; behavior 29%; personality theories and psychological disorders 18%; social behavior 14%. This bank holds 10, 9, 15, 9 and 7. The timed exam asks all 50 in 75 minutes, the real pace.
Every objective has a question
Field 011 has 28 objectives, from the history of psychology to forms of social interaction. Each has at least one question here, and each explanation ends with its objective number, so a miss points to what to read.
Where the answers come from
Each explanation names its page: the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute of Mental Health or a named Wikipedia article. One rests on numbers in the question.
Behavior is the largest subarea: eight objectives on the nervous system, sensation, consciousness, learning, memory, cognition, motivation and emotion.
The objectives ask you to tell Freudian from neo-Freudian theories, and trait, learning and humanistic theories from both, so learn who proposed what.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the MTTC Psychology test?
The test has 100 multiple-choice questions and is given on a computer. Testing time is 2 hours 30 minutes, inside an appointment of 2 hours 45 minutes that starts with a tutorial and a nondisclosure agreement.
What is the passing score for MTTC Psychology?
A scaled 220. Scores run from 100 to 300, the Michigan Department of Education sets the passing score, and examinees who pass are not sent a numeric total.
Is the MTTC Psychology test enough for the CE endorsement?
Not by itself for initial certification. The test page says both the Psychology test (011) and a Professional Knowledge and Skills test (117, 121, 135 or 136) are required for the CE endorsement, and it sends other questions to the Michigan Department of Education.
Is there an MTTC Psychology study guide?
Yes. The MTTC site lists a study guide for field 011 in four sections, including the test objectives and sample multiple-choice questions, and an online practice test that comes with registration. The questions here follow the same objectives and are our own.