Practice questions
Q1Which option is incorrect about reactions to frustration and conflict?
A Aggression can appear as a maladjusted response to persistent frustration.
B Withdrawal can occur when a person persistently fails to meet personal needs or environmental demands.
C A well-adjusted person shows tolerance of frustration and the ability to handle stress.
D All reactions to frustration are mature defence mechanisms and therefore socially constructive.
Explanation Frustration and conflict can be followed by maladjusted reactions such as aggression or withdrawal, while a well-adjusted person shows frustration tolerance and stress handling. In defence-mechanism theory associated with Freud and Anna Freud, sublimation is the mature constructive defence, not every reaction to frustration.
Q2Consider the two statements about adjustment. Statement I: Adjustment is a continuous process because personal needs and environmental demands keep changing. Statement II: Good adjustment requires socially acceptable and satisfying ways of meeting needs. Which option is correct?
A Both Statement I and Statement II are correct
B Statement I is correct, but Statement II is incorrect
C Statement I is incorrect, but Statement II is correct
D Both Statement I and Statement II are incorrect
Explanation Both statements capture the core idea of adjustment: it is continuous and it balances needs with environmental demands in acceptable, satisfying ways. Treating adjustment as static or ignoring social acceptability is the common conceptual error.
Q3Which combination best represents the characteristics of a well-adjusted person?
A Rigid self-image, avoidance of relationships and inability to tolerate frustration
B Realistic self-concept, emotional stability and satisfying relationships
C High ambition, frequent aggression and rejection of recreation
D Emotional numbness, social isolation and mechanical efficiency
Explanation A well-adjusted person is described through realistic self-concept, emotional stability, stress handling, satisfying relationships and balance in life. The other combinations contain withdrawal, aggression, rigidity or emotional blunting, which are inconsistent with good adjustment.
Q4In the context of adjustment, which pair is correctly matched?
A Adjustment - A one-time achievement after all needs are satisfied
B Maladjustment - Temporary sadness after a single failure
C Frustration tolerance - Capacity to face blocked goals without disorganizing adjustment
D Mental hygiene - Personal cleanliness and physical grooming
Explanation Frustration is the blocking of goal-directed behavior, and frustration tolerance helps maintain adjustment when goals are obstructed. Adjustment is continuous, maladjustment is persistent failure in meeting needs or demands, and mental hygiene is about mental health rather than personal cleanliness.
Q5Match the defence mechanism with its correct description: I. Repression, II. Regression, III. Rationalization.
A I - retreat to earlier behaviour; II - acceptable but false reasons; III - pushing painful thoughts into the unconscious
B I - acceptable but false reasons; II - pushing painful thoughts into the unconscious; III - retreat to earlier behaviour
C I - pushing painful thoughts into the unconscious; II - retreat to earlier behaviour under stress; III - acceptable but false reasons
D I - socially valued channeling; II - blaming others for one's impulse; III - opposite expression of an impulse
Explanation Repression pushes painful or unacceptable thoughts into the unconscious, while regression is a return to earlier developmental behaviour under stress. Rationalization supplies acceptable but false reasons, including the sour grapes and sweet lemon patterns.
More questions
6Which pair correctly matches Lewin's conflict type with its psychological situation?
AAvoidance-avoidance conflict: one goal is both attractive and repelling
BApproach-avoidance conflict: two equally desirable goals are present
CDouble approach-avoidance conflict: each alternative has attractive and repelling features
DApproach-approach conflict: two equally undesirable goals are present
7A student has to choose between two equally attractive scholarships, each leading to a desirable academic opportunity. In Kurt Lewin's classification, this is an example of which conflict?
AApproach-approach conflict
BAvoidance-avoidance conflict
CApproach-avoidance conflict
DDouble approach-avoidance conflict
8Which statement about stress, coping and adjustment is incorrect?
AStress is the body's response to demands or stressors.
BModerate stress can sometimes improve performance.
CChronic excessive stress can harm adjustment and health.
DGood adjustment means complete freedom from stressors.
9Which statement about reaction formation is incorrect?
AIt expresses an unacceptable impulse in an opposite form.
BIt means attributing one's own unacceptable impulse to another person.
CIt reduces anxiety by distorting how the impulse is expressed.
DIt operates as an unconscious ego defence rather than as a deliberate moral decision.
10In the context of adjustment, which option is an indicator of maladjustment rather than a sign of normal adjustment?
AAbility to maintain satisfying social relationships
BRealistic appraisal of one's strengths and limitations
CPersistent withdrawal, chronic anxiety or repeated aggression
DBalanced attention to work, recreation and social life
11Match the area of adjustment with the most appropriate example: I. Home adjustment, II. School adjustment, III. Social adjustment, IV. Emotional adjustment.
AI - regulating anger, II - family roles, III - study routine, IV - peer cooperation
BI - peer cooperation, II - anger regulation, III - family roles, IV - study routine
CI - study routine, II - peer cooperation, III - anger regulation, IV - family roles
DI - family roles, II - study routine, III - peer cooperation, IV - anger regulation
12Which statement most accurately defines defence mechanisms in Freudian educational psychology?
AUnconscious ego strategies that reduce anxiety by distorting reality.
BConscious moral rules used by the superego to punish unacceptable behaviour.
CLearned classroom habits that directly remove the source of stress.
DVoluntary problem-solving methods selected after rational analysis.
13Which set contains only defence mechanisms included in the mature-or-related group listed in standard educational psychology, with sublimation correctly understood as the most mature?
ASublimation, frustration, identification, denial
BCompensation, mental hygiene, denial, sublimation
CSublimation, identification, compensation, denial
DSublimation, adjustment, compensation, identification
14Which statement most accurately defines adjustment in educational psychology?
AA continuous process of balancing personal needs with environmental demands in socially acceptable and satisfying ways
BA one-time achievement in which all personal needs are permanently satisfied
CComplete suppression of personal needs in order to obey every environmental demand
DAvoidance of all stress, conflict and social expectations
15Which statement most accurately defines mental health in educational psychology?
AA state of well-being in which a person realizes abilities, copes with normal stresses, works productively and contributes to the community.
BA condition in which a person has no diagnosed mental disorder and therefore needs no adjustment.
CA fixed personality state in which emotional reactions no longer occur.
DA level of intelligence that guarantees academic success and social approval.
