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Overview

The GRE® Psychology Test consists of approximately 205 multiple-choice questions. Some of the stimulus materials, such as a description of an experiment or a graph, may serve as the basis for several questions. Testing time is 2 hours and 50 minutes; there are no separately-timed sections.

This publication provides a comprehensive overview of the GRE Psychology Test to help you get ready for test day. It is designed to help you:

•Understand what is being tested

•Gain familiarity with the question types

•Review test-taking strategies

•Understand scoring

•Practice taking the test

To learn more about the GRE Subject Tests, visit www.ets.org/gre.

Test Content

The questions in the Psychology Test are drawn from the core of knowledge most commonly encountered in courses offered at the undergraduate level within the broadly defined field of psychology. A question may require recalling factual information, analyzing relationships, applying principles, drawing conclusions from data, and/or evaluating a research design.

The Psychology Test administered beginning in

September 2017 yields six subscores in addition to the total score:

•Biological

•Cognitive

•Social

•Developmental

•Clinical

•Measurement, Methodology and Other

The questions on which subscores are based are distributed throughout the test; they are not set aside and labeled separately, although several questions from a single content area may appear consecutively.

There are questions in six major content categories:

I.Biological (17-21%)

A. Sensation and Perception (5-7%)

1.Psychophysics, Signal Detection

2.Attention

3.Perceptual Organization

4.Vision

5.Audition

6.Gustation

7.Olfaction

8.Somatosenses

9.Vestibular and Kinesthetic Senses

10.Theories, Applications and Issues

B.Physiological/Behavioral Neuroscience (12-14%)

1.Neurons

2.Sensory Structures and Processes

3.Motor Structures and Functions

4.Central Structures and Processes

5.Motivation, Arousal, Emotion

6.Cognitive Neuroscience

7.Neuromodulators and Drugs

8.Hormonal Factors

9.Comparative and Ethology

10.States of Consciousness

11.Theories, Applications and Issues

II. Cognitive (17-24%)

A.Learning (3-5%)

1.Classical Conditioning

2.Instrumental Conditioning

3.Observational Learning, Modeling

4.Theories, Applications and Issues

B.Language (3-4%)

1.Units (phonemes, morphemes, phrases)

2.Syntax

3.Meaning

4.Speech Perception and Processing

5.Reading Processes

6.Verbal and Nonverbal Communication

7.Bilingualism

8.Theories, Applications and Issues

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C.Memory (7-9%)

1.Working Memory

2.Long-term Memory

3.Types of Memory

4.Memory Systems and Processes

5.Theories, Applications and Issues

D.Thinking (4-6%)

1.Representation (Categorization, Imagery, Schemas, Scripts)

2.Problem Solving

3.Judgment and Decision-Making Processes

4.Planning, Metacognition

5.Intelligence

6.Theories, Applications and Issues

III. Social (12-14%)

A.Social Perception, Cognition, Attribution, Beliefs

B.Attitudes, and Behavior

C.Social Comparison, Self

D.Emotion, Affect, and Motivation

E.Conformity, Influence, and Persuasion

F.Interpersonal Attraction and Close Relationships

G.Group and Intergroup Processes

H.Cultural or Gender Influences

I.Evolutionary Psychology, Altruism and Aggression

J.Theories, Applications and Issues

IV. Developmental (12-14%)

A.Nature-Nurture

B.Physical and Motor

C.Perception and Cognition

D.Language

E.Learning, Intelligence

F.Social, Personality

G.Emotion

H.Socialization, Family and Cultural

I.Theories, Applications and Issues

V.Clinical (15-19%)

A.Personality (3-5%)

1.Theories

2.Structure

3.Assessment

4.Personality and Behavior

5.Applications and Issues

B.Clinical and Abnormal (12-14%)

1.Stress, Conflict, Coping

2.Diagnostic Systems

3.Assessment

4.Causes and Development of Disorders

5.Neurophysiological Factors

6.Treatment of Disorders

7.Epidemiology

8.Prevention

9.Health Psychology

10.Cultural or Gender Issues

11.Theories, Applications and Issues

VI. Measurement, Methodology

and Other (15-19%)

A.General (4-6%)

1.History

2.Industrial-Organizational

3.Educational

B.Measurement and Methodology (11-13%)

1.Psychometrics, Test Construction, Reliability, Validity

2.Research Designs

3.Statistical Procedures

4. Scientific Method and the Evaluation of Evidence

5.Ethics and Legal Issues

6.Analysis and Interpretation of Findings

Preparing for the Test

GRE Subject Test questions are designed to measure skills and knowledge gained over a long period of time. Although you might increase your scores to some extent through preparation a few weeks or

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months before you take the test, last minute cramming is unlikely to be of further help. The following information may be helpful.

•A general review of your college courses is probably the best preparation for the test. However, the test covers a broad range of subject matter, and no one is expected to be familiar with the content of every question.

•Become familiar with the types of questions in the GRE Psychology Test, paying special attention to the directions. If you thoroughly understand the directions before you take the test, you will have more time during the test to focus on the questions themselves.

Test-Taking Strategies

The questions in the practice test illustrate the types of multiple-choice questions in the test. When you take the actual test, you will mark your answers on a separate machine-scorable answer sheet.

The following are some general test-taking strategies you may want to consider.

•Read the test directions carefully, and work as rapidly as you can without being careless. For each question, choose the best answer from the available options.

•All questions are of equal value; do not waste time pondering individual questions you fiind extremely diffiicult or unfamiliar.

•You may want to work through the test quickly, fiirst answering only the questions about which you feel confiident, then going back and answering questions that require more thought, and concluding with the most diffiicult questions if there is time.

•If you decide to change an answer, make sure you completely erase it and fiill in the oval corresponding to your desired answer.

•Your score will be determined by the number of questions you answer correctly. Questions you answer incorrectly or for which you mark no answer or more than one answer are counted as incorrect. Nothing is subtracted from a score if you answer a question incorrectly. Therefore, to maximize your score it is better for you to guess at an answer than not to respond at all.

•Record all answers on your answer sheet. Answers recorded in your test book will not be counted.

•Do not wait until the last few minutes of a testing session to record answers on your answer sheet.

What Your Scores Mean

The number of questions you answered correctly on the whole test (total correct score) is converted to the total reported scaled score.

The number of questions you answered correctly that belong to a particular content area (content correct score) and the number of questions you answered correctly on the whole test (total correct score) both contribute to each particular subscore. In most cases, questions that belong to a particular content area also require some ability in other content areas. By using the total correct score, the responses to the questions that belong to other content areas are allowed to contribute to each subscore and the quality of the subscore is enhanced. Once a subscore is computed it is then converted to a reported scaled subscore.

The total score and the subscores are converted to ensure that a scaled score reported for any edition of a GRE Psychology Test is comparable to the same scaled score earned on any other edition of the same test.

Thus, equal scaled scores on a particular test indicate essentially equal levels of performance regardless of the test edition taken.

GRE Psychology Test total scores are reported on a 200 to 990 score scale in ten-point increments. Six subscores (Biological; Cognitive; Social; Developmental; Clinical; and Measurement, Methodology and Other) are reported on a 20-99 score scale in one-point increments.

Test scores should be compared only with other scores on the Psychology Test. For example, a total scaled score of 740 on the Psychology Test is not equivalent to a total scaled score of 740 on the Biology Test.

Taking the Practice Test

The practice test begins on page 7. The total time that you should allow for this practice test is 2 hours and 50 minutes. An answer sheet is provided for you to mark your answers to the test questions.

It is best to take this practice test under timed conditions. Find a quiet place to take the test and

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make sure you have a minimum of 2 hours and 50 minutes available.

To simulate how the administration will be conducted at the test center, print the answer sheet (pages 46 and 47). Then go to the back cover of the test book (page 42) and follow the instructions for completing the identification areas of the answer sheet. When you are ready to begin the test, note the time and begin marking your answers on the answer sheet. Stop working on the test when 2 hours and 50 minutes have elapsed.

Scoring the Practice Test

The worksheet on pages 43 and 44 lists the correct answers to the questions. The “Correct Response” columns are provided for you to mark those questions for which you chose the correct answer. The “Content” columns indicate the primary content area to which each question contributes.

Mark each question that you answered correctly. Then, add up your correct answers and enter your total number of correct answers in each space labeled “Total Correct” on page 44. Next, use the “Total Score” conversion table on page 45 to find the corresponding total scaled score. For example, suppose you chose the correct answers to 142 of all of the questions on the test. The “Total Correct” entry in the “Total Score” conversion table that matches 142 is 142-143 and your total scaled score is 620.

To calculate each subscore: enter your number of correct answers on the questions contributing to each of the six content areas in the space labeled with the corresponding Questions Correct in Content Area (1–6). (Your total number of correct answers should already be entered in each “Total Correct” space.) Compute each subscore by multiplying the value entered with the value provided and by adding up the products. Finally, use the “Subscores” conversion table on page 45 to find the corresponding scaled subscore. For example, suppose you chose the correct answers to 142 of all of the questions on the test, and the correct answers to 25 of the questions associated with content

1 (Biological). Then your subscore 1 is:

(25 x 0.74) + (142 x 0.13) = 36.96.

The “Subscore 1” entry in the “Subscores” conversion table that matches 36.96 is 37 and thus your Biological scaled subscore is 61.

Evaluating Your Performance

Now that you have scored your test, you may wish to compare your performance with the performance of others who took this test.

The data in the worksheet on pages 43 and 44 are based on the performance of a sample of the test takers who took the GRE Psychology Test in the United States. The numbers in the column labeled “P+” on the

worksheet indicate the percentages of examinees in this sample who answered each question correctly. You may use these numbers as a guide for evaluating your performance on each test question.

Interpretive data based on the scores earned by a recent cohort of test takers are available on the GRE website at www.ets.org/gre/subject/scores/understand. The interpretive data show, for selected scaled score, the percentage of test takers who received lower scores. To compare yourself with this population, look at the percentage next to the scaled score you earned on the practice test. Note that these interpretive data are updated annually and reported on GRE score reports.

Your six subscores show your relative strengths or weaknesses in the six content areas of the Psychology Test. The subscores are scaled in such a way that they are related to the total scores on the test. On average, a person who has a comprehensive background in the fiield can expect to have subscores equal to about one- tenth of his or her total score. Thus, if you have a total scaled score of 600, and your undergraduate program placed equal emphasis on the six areas of psychology represented by the subscores, you would expect to have a scaled subscore of about 60 in each area. If, however, your subscores differ by more than a few points,

you may take this as an indication that your lower scaled subscore shows weakness, and you may wish to concentrate your review efforts on topics in that area.

It is important to realize that the conditions under which you tested yourself were not exactly the same as those you will encounter at a test center. It is impossible to predict how different test-taking conditions will affect test performance, and this is only one factor that may account for differences between your practice test scores and your actual test scores. By comparing your performance on this practice test with the performance of other individuals who took the GRE Psychology Test, however, you will be able to determine your strengths and weaknesses and can then plan a program of study to prepare yourself for taking the GRE Psychology Test under standard conditions.

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1.The ability of a postsynaptic neuron to respond to the presence of a particular neurotransmitter that is released from a neighboring presynaptic neuron is dependent on which of the following conditions?

(A)The storage of the neurotransmitter in the presynaptic neuron

(B)The ability of the neurotransmitter to penetrate the membrane of the postsynaptic neuron

(C)The presence of receptors on the postsynaptic neuron that have an affinity for that particular neurotransmitter

(D)Whether or not the neurotransmitter

is excitatory or inhibitory

(E)Whether or not the postsynaptic neuron has an axon that is myelinated

2. Critics have argued that projective tests are too

(A)brief

(B)concrete

(C)quantitative

(D)objective

(E)subjective

3.Organizing the string of letters B-F-J-T-A-V-K-C into JFK-TV-CAB is an example of

(A)simplifying

(B)clustering

(C)seriating

(D)chunking

(E)paraphrasing

4.When persuasive communications follow the peripheral route, they focus on which of the following?

(A)Beliefs

(B)Facts

(C)Values

(D)Emotions

(E)Cognitions

5.Consider the sentence “The dishwasher is running.” Which of the following is true?

(A)It can have more than one surface structure.

(B)It can have more than one deep structure.

(C)It is grammatically incorrect.

(D)It can have more than one syntax.

(E)It violates the rules of bottom-up processing.

6.According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5TM), children with separation anxiety disorder often experience which of the following symptoms in addition to excessive fear or anxiety over separation from attachment figures?

(A)Excessive concern about the safety and well- being of attachment figures

(B)Persistent desire to develop relationships with adults other than those who serve as major attachment figures

(C)Pervasive anxiety about failure in school or social situations

(D)Perceptual delusions that the child’s parents have been replaced by physically identical imposters

(E)Irresistible urges to perform and repeat a certain act over and over again

7.Patients with bilateral damage to the hippocampal formation are tested on motor learning tasks such as the Tower of Hanoi. Studies show that the patients improve their performance with repeated exposures. When asked whether they have ever seen the task, even after numerous test sessions with it, they typically report not having seen it before. Such results have led to which of the following conclusions?

(A)Patients with hippocampal injury suffer from confabulation similar to Korsakoff’s patients.

(B)The inability to remember the Tower of Hanoi reflects a fundamental lesion-induced inability to name objects.

(C)Although procedural memory may not rely on normal hippocampal functioning, declarative memory does.

(D)Hippocampal injury enhances the acquisition of tasks relying on motor learning.

(E)Whereas procedural memory is severely impaired after hippocampal injury, reference memory is intact.

8.Which of the following is chemically similar to opiates, has the ability to reduce pain, and is blocked by the action of naloxone?

(A)Norepinephrine

(B)Acetylcholine

(C)Serotonin

(D)Endorphin

(E)Dopamine

9.When stress is prolonged, the most likely result is

(A)generalized weakening of the immune system

(B)damage to brain areas within the pons and medulla

(C)an increase in the level of naturally produced endorphins

(D)intensification of the effects of natural

killer cells

(E) an increase in the number of T cells

10.The bradykinesia, cogwheel rigidity, and tremors that characterize Parkinson’s disease are a result of the degeneration of dopaminergic cells in the

(A)association cortex

(B)cerebellum

(C)hippocampus

(D)reticular formation

(E)substantia nigra

11.Which of the following best characterizes an infant’s object concept at six months of age?

(A)The infant’s visual system is too immature to enable focusing on an object in the visual field.

(B)The infant is unable to track moving objects in the visual field.

(C)The infant is not surprised when two objects are seen to occupy the same space at the same time.

(D)The infant’s understanding of object mechanics is as sophisticated as the adult’s understanding.

(E)The infant understands objects to be solid bounded entities that take up space and move on continuous paths.

12.A 40-item vocabulary test was administered to a group of students. A second, similar test of vocabulary terms was administered to this same group of students approximately one week later. The researcher reported that the correlation between these two tests was r = .90. What type of reliability is represented in this example?

(A)Test-retest

(B)Internal consistency

(C)Alternate forms

(D)Split-half

(E)Inter-rater