Psychology is a fascinating and complex field that explores the workings of the human mind and behavior. It encompasses a wide range of topics, from perception and memory to emotion and motivation, and has a profound impact on our understanding of ourselves and others. Psychology trivia questions are a great way to test your knowledge of this fascinating subject and to learn more about the human psyche.
This list of psychology trivia questions covers a wide range of topics and is designed to challenge your understanding of the field. Some of the questions are straightforward and can be answered by simple recall, while others require a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Regardless of your level of expertise, this list of psychology trivia questions is sure to be both educational and entertaining.
Whether you're a student of psychology, a practitioner in the field, or simply a curious individual interested in the workings of the human mind, this list of psychology trivia questions is sure to provide you with hours of enjoyment and learning. So why not put your knowledge to the test and see how you fare? Let's delve into the world of psychology and see how much you really know!
113 Psychology Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- Known for its "Twelve Steps" and “Twelve Traditions” guidelines for keeping clean, Bill Wilson and Robert Holbrook Smith founded what alliterative support group in 1935, which launched one of its first meetings in Akron, Ohio?
Answer: Alcoholics Anonymous
- In 2018, what much-decorated Team USA Olympic swimmer went public on the benefits of therapy with an ad campaign for the app Talkspace?
Answer: Michael Phelps
- The BDI is a "depression inventory" named for an American psychiatrist with what surname and presumably no relation to the singer of '90s indie hit "Loser"?
Answer: Beck
- What “B” psychological verb means to lead someone on, or keep their hopes up, through small acts of enticement that will lead to disappointment? It is the name of the item that Hansel and Gretel used to mark their path back home, before birds ate it.
Answer: Breadcrumb
- Practiced in the cultures of India, China, Persia, Sumeria, and more for centuries, but now considered pseudoscience, the practice of chiromancy is the studying of the lines and features of what body part?
Answer: Palm
- What 20th century psychologist, herself the child of a famous psychoanalyst, expanded upon the way in which psychology can be applied to children, such as 1956’s “Indications for Child Analysis?”
Answer: Anna Freud
- Bipolar disorder is characterized by periods of depression or low mood that alternate with episodes of mood elevation, which is referred to using which "M" word?
Answer: Mania
- What H-word mental health disorder is when a person is extremely worried that they have or will get a serious disease, even if they have been seen by a doctor and there is no evidence that they are sick?
Answer: Hypochondria
- What is the minimum degree requirement for a school psychologist (bachelor's, master's, PhD?)
Answer: Master's
- The four major lobes of the human brain are the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe, and what T-word one?
Answer: Temporal lobe
- What 20th-century German developmental psychologist with an “E” name coined the term “identity crisis”? His last name is a derivation of his first name, as he rejected the last name given to him by his stepfather, as part of his personal crisis.
Answer: Erik Erikson
- Since March 27, 1959, in Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip series, Lucy Van Pelt opened her “Psychiatric Help” booth at a rate of how many cents per session?
Answer: Five cents
- Frequently caused by a stroke or head trauma, the inability to comprehend or formulate language goes by what A-word from the Greek for "speechless"?
Answer: Aphasia
- What is the standard medical word to describe an intense and occasionally disabling fear or reaction to a specific object or situation which often poses little actual danger?
Answer: Phobia
- Commonly used to treat depression, the class of drugs known as SSRIs gets its name because they increase levels of what "feel-good chemical" in the brain?
Answer: Serotonin
- What psychoactive street drug, known to some as molly, was developed by Merck in 1912, and was used as an enhancement for psychotherapy as late as the 1970s?
Answer: MDMA
- According to "Psychology Today," four years is the modern average for marriages splitting apart instead of what timeframe in the title of a Marilyn Monroe flick?
Answer: Seven years
- Is psychiatry and neurology, the condition where individuals perceive objects as appearing smaller than they actually are is named for what Lewis Carroll story in which the main character shrinks after drinking from a bottle labelled "DRINK ME"?
Answer: Alice in Wonderland
- In a 1972 experiment, Walter Mischel offered children one of what “M” confectionery, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency, or two of these items if they could wait 15 minutes? Children who chose to wait were claimed to have better life skills going forward.
Answer: Marshmallow
- The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus was written in the 17th century BC and contains the earliest recorded reference to the brain. In what ancient empire was this papyrus written?
Answer: Egypt
- The Rorschach test is a psychological test that involves subjects' perceptions of what black and white design?
Answer: Inkblots
- Heliotherapy, or light therapy, is often linked to treating SAD because it attempts to make up for lost sunlight exposure and helps reset the body's internal clock. What does SAD stand for?
Answer: Seasonal affective disorder
- A person with could have dozens of alters (or alternate personalities) if they are diagnosed with DID, an initialism that stands for what condition?
Answer: Dissociative Identity Disorder
- Which word that’s also the title of an HBO drama describes the mental state of extreme happiness?
Answer: Euphoria
- What 20th-century American developmental psychologist tested her “attachment theory” and the relationship of small children to their caregivers by placing them in “strange situations,” in which the caregiver was removed from the child in small increments?
Answer: Mary Ainsworth
- What Ken Kesey novel, later turned into a movie, is set in an Oregon psychiatric hospital?
Answer: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Solomon Asch was a 20th-century Polish-American Gestalt psychologist who performed groundbreaking experiments in what “C” concept, the compliance with societal standards, often brought on by outside pressures?
Answer: Conformity
- Sertraline, a commonly prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, is better known by which brand name that starts with Z?
Answer: Zoloft
- What psychologist and professor organized the infamous Stanford Prison experiment, which demonstrated the corrupt and violent depths students would go to when given authority at a fictitious prison?
Answer: Philip Zimbardo
- Which 3-word term (with an accompanying triangular graphic) is used to describe the theory of motivation first proposed by Abraham Maslow in 1943?
Answer: Hierarchy of Needs
- The QS World University Rankings are based upon academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact. For 2022, QS ranked Harvard as the top Psychology university. What university, roughly 3,000 miles away from Harvard, ranked #2 on the list?
Answer: Stanford
- Fake inmates and prison guards both got a mere $15 bucks a day to participate in Philip Zimbardo infamous 1971 psychological experiment at what university?
Answer: Stanford
- Which rare facetious disorder (which can also be “by proxy”) is when a patient pretends to havean illness, usually for attention or gain (like getting money from crowdfunding)?
Answer: Munchausen
- What psychological complex suggests that little girls are in psychosexual competition with their mothers for the love of their fathers? Its name comes from the name of the Ancient Greek female character who attempted to kill her mother, Clytemnestra, in the “Orestes” plays.
Answer: Electra complex
- What is the six-letter "A" term used in neurology which typically refers to the lack of will or initiative? Although the severity can vary, this typically means an individual is unable to make decisions independently.
Answer: Abulia
- The "Big Five" is a well-known suggested taxonomy for personality traits that has been developed through psychology trait theory since the 1980s. The grouping is occasionally known by its acronym OCEAN as the five traits are openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and what fifth trait?
Answer: Neuroticism
- What is the FDA designation that expedites the development and review of drugs that treat serious or life-threatening conditions?
Answer: Breakthrough therapy
- What is the "M" term for the condition often associated with euphoric behavior such as frivolity and the inability to act seriously? The condition is found to originate in frontal lobe lesions and includes a lack of foresight.
Answer: Moria
- What 19th-century psychologist, whose brother wrote “The Ambassadors”, founded a psychological practice of viewing things based on their practical use and success, known as pragmatism?
Answer: William James
- In his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation”, Abraham Maslow theorized a hierarchy of human needs, with each need built upon fulfilling the last. This hierarchy was visually presented in what shape, also the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World?
Answer: Pyramid
- Depression occurring directly after childbirth is given what name, referring to the 6–8-week period immediately after pregnancy?
Answer: Postpartum depression
- What psychologist, one of the major originators of client-centered therapy, is noted for his person-centered approach? His books focused on helping people, with titles such as “On Becoming an Effective Teacher” and “On Becoming a Person.”
Answer: Carl Rogers
- What 20th-century female psychologist with a “C” name challenged sexism in books such as “The Myth of Women’s Masochism”, and criticized the value of psychological labelling and how it helped patients in “They Say You’re Crazy?”
Answer: Paula Caplan
- What late 19th and early 20th century Russian psychologist famously proved that responses could be conditioned by association, such as a dog drooling at the sound of the bell that rang before it was fed? His “P” name has become vernacular for someone reacting to a seemingly neutral thing.
Answer: Ivan Pavlov
- Up to their fifth edition and still shorter than "War and Peace," is the American Psychiatric Association's "DSM-5." What quantitative things do the D and S stand for?
Answer: Diagnostic and Statistical
- According to Sigmund Freud, which component of personality comprises the libido and acts according to the pleasure principle?
Answer: Id
- What “L” cognitive psychologist, the author of “Eyewitness Testimony” and “The Myth of Repressed Memory” is often called as an expert witness on memory, due to her history of research into memories and their malleability?
Answer: Elizabeth Loftus
- What “A” disorder is considered an emotional or behavioral reaction to a stressful event in a person’s life? The patient is attempting to reconcile the event, and the disorder is considered excessive if it persists for three or months.
Answer: Adjustment Disorder
- Which psychological experiment was performed in the early 1960s by Albert Bandura to test his theory that human behavior is largely based upon social imitation rather than inherited genetic factors?
Answer: Bobo Doll Experiment
- In psychology, a situation in which a group makes a collective decision that none of its members individually wants to do is a "paradox" named after what city in central Texas?
Answer: Abilene
- What “L” early 20th-century German-American psychologist was a pioneer of organized and social psychology, and studied applied research, action research, and group communication, and wrote books such as “Resolving Soclal Conflicts” and “A Dynamic Theory Of Personality?”
Answer: Kurt Lewin
- What actress, star of “Leon: The Professional” and the Star Wars franchise, graduated from Harvard University with a BA in psychology in 2003?
Answer: Natalie Portman
- Commonly used to treat depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions, SNRIs are a class of drugs that, as their name implies, modulate uptake of serotonin and what other neurotransmitter chemical?
Answer: Norepinephrine
- What is the name given to the number that represents the suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom a person can maintain stable social relationships? The value of this number is commonly said to be 150.
Answer: Dunbar's number
- Agnosia is a psychiatric term for when the human body is unable to use what faculties that perceive external stimuli? This problem is usually caused by brain damage.
Answer: Senses
- What "L" drug is often used to treat epilepsy or to help stabilize moods such as with bipolar disorder?
Answer: Lamotrigine
- In Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”, there is a story about Valentine symbol Cupid’s romance with what royal daughter who fell under Venus’ scorn? Her “P” name is also a term from modern psychology for the human mind.
Answer: Psyche
- In what year did the American Psychiatric Association (APA) declare that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and remove the diagnosis from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)?
Answer: 1973
- Korsakoff’s Syndrome, which includes symptoms of amnesia and confabulation, often follows what “A” addictive disease that requires support and abstinence to treat?
Answer: Alcoholism
- What “D” brain disorder with underlying physical causes creates mental illusions, visual hallucinations, and persecutory ideation?
Answer: Delirium
- What Austrian psychologist used abreactions, the process by which a patient vividly relieves repressed memories linked to past events, to help patients with their pathologies?
Answer: Sigmund Freud
- Who was the first female to earn a doctoral degree in psychology? She went on to study animal behavior and motor theory and was the second female president of the APA.
Answer: Margaret Floy Washburn
- Which cognitive bias describes the illusion that you know other people better than they know you?
Answer: Asymmetric insight
- In what Allied country did Sigmund Freud die in 1939, after having fled his homeland of Austria due to Nazi persecution?
Answer: United Kingdom
- Which effect refers to the tendency of individuals to alter their behavior in response to awareness of being observed? This effect shares its name with the surname of the author of “The Scarlet Letter,” one of the first mass-produced books in the U.S.
Answer: Hawthorne Effect
- Which field of psychology is the study of measurements like IQ tests, personality assessments, surveys, scales, and educational evaluations?
Answer: Psychometrics
- What is the nationality of clinical psychologist and Youtuber Jordan Peterson, who has written books entitled “Maps of Meaning” and “12 Rules for Life?”
Answer: Canadian
- What “C” process refers to the mental action of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses?
Answer: Cognition
- Howard Gardner, a development psychologist and a professor at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, is best known for a theory that separates what “I” aspect of mental power into multiple types?
Answer: Intelligence
- Also called “configurationism,” what G-word school of psychology from Germany says that when we look at the world, we see the “big picture” and not just the individual pieces? (Hint: You could simply summarize by saying, “the whole is more than the sum of its parts.”)
Answer: Gestalt
- In updated editions of the DSM, the name "Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another" replaced what other term, often abbreviated MSbP?
Answer: Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
- For the average adult human, the skin has a surface area of how many square feet? (answers accepted within 5ft margin of correct answer)
Answer: 19
- Medical doctors in the 1890s including Josef Breuer, Alfred Adler, and Otto Rank all actively investigated the mind and systematized a set of therapies and psychotherapy. From what country did all of these men hail?
Answer: Austria
- Ancient Greeks created some of the earliest manuscripts about mental disorders, including the 4th century BCE musings of what man who theorized that physiological abnormalities may be the cause of mental disorders?
Answer: Hippocrates
- The 20th-century American psychologist Gordon Allport is considered one of the founding figures of what kind of psychology? It explores the foundational characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s character.
Answer: Personality psychology
- The MMPI is a standardized psychological test that assesses personality traits and psychopathology. The first “M” in MMPI stands for which U.S. state, the location of the university where the test was first developed?
Answer: Minnesota
- There are three main types of psychology a professional can practice: social, cognitive, and what third type that deals with interactions among organisms in the natural world?
Answer: Behavioral
- The founder of analytical psychology, who is the famous psychoanalyst responsible for concepts like "synchronicity" and "introversion vs. extroversion?"
Answer: Carl Jung
- What 19th- and early 20th-century German psychologist was the first person to separate psychology from biological medicine, and also the first person to refer to psychology as his profession? This man with a “W” name was one of the earliest researchers into human memory.
Answer: Wilhelm Wundt
- "The Language Instinct," "How the Mind Works," and "The Blank Slate" are among the books by what Harvard professor of psychology?
Answer: Steven Pinker
- In 1961, sociologist Albert Bandura demonstrated that if children saw an adult punching a particular kind of doll, the kids would be more likely to punch it themselves. What employed entertainment entity was the doll, in this case, a character called Koko created by Max Fleischer in 1919?
Answer: Clown
- Which class of medication that includes Xanax and Ativan can be prescribed for anxiety, seizures, or to help a patient relax before a medical or dental procedure?
Answer: Benzodiazepines
- What 20th-century Russian psychologist developed his theory of the zone of proximal development, or ZPD, where the ability of a novice to accomplish something is compared to what can be accomplished by someone with more specific knowledge?
Answer: Lev Vygotsky
- During a clinical assessment, it is common that a psychiatrist may use a brain imaging technique known as a PET scan. What does PET stand for?
Answer: Positron Emission Tomography
- What 18th-century English physician with a “B” name wrote “A Treatise on Madness” in 1758, the first full-length book about treating mental illness? His last name sounds like an informal animalistic adjective for people who behave a little oddly.
Answer: William Battie
- Within 5 years, when did California become the first U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana usage?
Answer: 1996 (1991-2001 accepted as correct)
- If you're down with OCC, you're probably familiar with the classical conditioning "box" created by what Harvard behaviorist?
Answer: B.F. Skinner
- What American psychologist developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and wrote books such as “A Guide to Rational Living” and “Overcoming Resistance?”
Answer: Albert Ellis
- In what African country do epidemiologists believe Zika most likely infected its first Homo sapien? (This is the country where it was identified)
Answer: Uganda
- What 20th-century American psychologist is known for his “law of effect,” which states that behavioral responses that create a satisfying effect are more likely to happen again, as well as the theory of connectionism, an attempt to describe mental function through artificial neural networks?
Answer: Edward Thorndike
- What “K” psychology professor at the University of Chicago and Harvard came up with six stages of moral development that a person goes through? His stages include morality for personality benefit, morality conforming to social norms, and finally morality that best works for everyone.
Answer: Lawrence Kohlberg
- What “H” early 20th century German female psychologist challenged some of Freud’s views, in particular on sexuality and instinct?
Answer: Karen Horney
- What is the name of the 1899 book by Sigmund Freud concerning his theory of the unconscious? Freud wrote an abridged version of this book called “On Dreams.”
Answer: "The Interpretation of Dreams"
- Which pioneer of modern behaviorism is responsible for the theory of reinforcement, as well as the philosophy of radical behaviorism? He also invented the operant conditioning chamber, which was a box that was nicknamed after him.
Answer: Skinner
- Steven Pinker is a Canadian-American psychologist who is an advocate of a psychological approach connected to what theory, a concept more commonly associated with Charles Darwin?
Answer: Evolution
- Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt, one of the fathers of modern psychology, first used what “basic” term beginning with “I” to mean a tendency of an organism toward a particular behavior?
Answer: Instinct
- Which psychologist investigated obedience using electric shocks while a professor at Yale?
Answer: Stanley Milgram
- In 1849, an iron rod was accidentally driven through the head of a railroad worker, destroying his left temporal lobe. What was the name of this man, whose resulting personality change is considered a landmark in the understanding of brain psychology?
Answer: Phineas Gage
- What “H” psychologist performed a series of experiments on rhesus monkeys, demonstrating the effects of maternal separation, as well the effects of social isolation?
Answer: Harry Harlow
- The brain stem and cerebellum are the most ancient part of the human brain and are frequently referred to with what class of animals?
Answer: Reptilian brain
- Mary Whiton Calkins was the first female president of the American Psychological Association and famously conducted research on dreams and memory after being taught by William James. At what Massachusetts school did Calkins teach for many years? The school shares its name with the city in which it is located.
Answer: Wellesley College
- What is the name of the part of the brain in the frontal lobe (usually the left hemisphere) that is heavily involved in speech and was named for the French researcher who discovered that patients with damage in this brain region had problems processing language?
Answer: Broca's area
- Which type of conditioning (also called instrumental conditioning) involves externally reinforcing or punishing a behavior?
Answer: Operant
- Hermann Rorschach, after whom the Rorschach test is named, was a psychoanalyst from which European country, whose other contributions to the world of psychology include Jean Piaget and Carl Jung?
Answer: Switzerland
- What famed medical woman was born in Massachusetts in 1821, never married, and spent much of her childhood enduring attempts from her parents to help her "overcome shyness?"
Answer: Clara Barton
- What “F” psychologist developed the theories of cognitive dissonance and social comparison, addressing the ways in which social conditions influence behavior?
Answer: Leon Festinger
- What “E” American psychologist and professor emeritus at UC San Francisco is a pioneer in the relation between emotions and facial expressions? His books include “Telling Lies” and “Emotions Revealed.”
Answer: Paul Ekman
- What 1994 memoir by Elizabeth Wurtzel tells of the author's experiences with depression and its medications, and is often assigned as reading for social workers to help them empathize with their clients?
Answer: Prozac Nation
- 20th-century British psychologist John Bowlby is linked to theory involving what “A” word that means an affection or sympathy with someone that keeps you connected to them?
Answer: Attachment
- What test, named after two psychologists, was devised by Lewis Terman after revising the Binet-Simon Scale, and is used in the diagnosis of children with learning difficulties It can also be used to identify gifted children. (Hint: The name is the two psychologist's last names hyphenated.)
Answer: Stanford-Binet
- Which field within cognitive psychology looks at how language is related to psychology (for example, how we acquire, use, and understand language)?
Answer: Psycholinguistics
- Which subfield of psychology is a little meta because it studies the techniques and methods researchers use to learn about human behavior?
Answer: Quantitative
- If you’re paranoid, you think the world is out to get you. What term is used to describe the opposite—when you’re convinced the universe is conspiring to help you?
Answer: Pronoia
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Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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