Psychology As A Science Ch2 Test Questions & Answers - Test Bank | Psychology Around Us 4e by Nancy Ogden. DOCX document preview.
PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
- Science is an approach to knowing the world built on the core principles that (1) the universe operates according to certain natural laws, and (2) these laws are discoverable and testable.
- Science is founded upon the scientific method, a process that moves from making controlled, direct observations to generating progressively broader conclusions and tests and attempting to disprove hypotheses.
2. Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
- Psychology shares with every science the primary goals of describing, explaining, predicting, and controlling the objects of study. The goals of psychology differ from those of other sciences because the search for elements of mental processes and behaviour is complicated by constantly shifting human factors.
- Psychology also shares more similarity with the fields of religion and philosophy than many sciences do because psychological findings are more often associated with values, morality, and personal preference.
- Psychology is different from pseudopsychology. Although the latter also attempts to answer fundamental questions about human nature and behaviour, it has no basis in the scientific method.
3. List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
- Psychological research is rooted in first generating a hypothesis, or prediction, about the relationship between two or more variables based on observations.
- Psychologists conduct research with a sample, a small group meant to represent the larger population of interest. The best means of selecting a sample is random selection, a procedure in which everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected to be in the sample.
- Descriptive research methods include case studies, naturalistic observations, and surveys.
- Case studies are in-depth observations of a single individual.
- Naturalistic observation involves observing people in settings outside of laboratories where their behaviour occurs naturally.
- Surveys may be conducted in interviews or with questionnaires.
- Only experiments allow researchers to draw conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships.
- All research methods have advantages for particular uses, and all are subject to various drawbacks. Researchers must plan carefully to avoid subject bias, researcher bias, and demand characteristics.
4. Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
- Correlations allow us to describe and measure relationships between two or more variables. A correlation coefficient tells the direction and size of a correlation.
- Researchers use the mean and standard deviation to describe and summarize their results.
- Researchers use p values to determine the statistical significance of results. Effect size tells how strong the relationship is between variables.
- Replication of experiments and repeated study of the same predictions using different methods help hypotheses become theories.
5. Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
- Today, oversight boards called research ethics boards (REBs) help to protect human rights.
- Psychological researchers must obtain informed consent from human participants, protect them from harm and discomfort, protect their confidentiality, and completely debrief them at the end of their participation.
- The use of animal participants in research has also raised ethical concerns. An oversight council called the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) works to protect animals’ needs and comfort in experiments.
TRUE-FALSE STATEMENTS
1. Psychology, like biology and physics and chemistry, relies on the scientific method.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
2. If individuals carefully observe the events in the world around them, they are often able to discover the laws that govern those events.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
3. “Smoky is a cat. All cats are mammals. Therefore, Smoky is a mammal.” This line of argument is an example of inductive reasoning.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
4. “I predict that females will demonstrate 35% more empathic acts after reading a sad story than will males.” This statement is an example of a theory.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
5. Psychology differs from other sciences in that not all psychological phenomenon can be directly observed.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
6. The four goals of society are controlling, predicting, explaining, and monitoring
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
7. More time spent outdoors is associated with greater mental health. In this instance time spent outdoors is the dependent variable.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
8. Researchers can only generalize their findings if they have studied every individual in the population of interest.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
9. Descriptive research methods allow psychologists to determine the causal relationship between variables.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
10. Researcher bias is NOT an issue when naturalistic observation is used.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
11. Dr., Yee researches the treatment outcomes experienced by her patients. She focuses on one patient at a time in her research. This type of research is called a case study.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
12. People in the control group of an experiment are NOT exposed to the independent variable.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
13. To maintain the validity of the study, researchers must actively avoid exposure to sources of biases that may influence their data collection.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
14. Without statistical analyses, researchers would not know if their original hypotheses were valid.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
15. The closer in value a correlation coefficient is to zero, the stronger the relationship.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
16. Experimental research must be conducted if researchers intend to claim cause and effect.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
17. A mean is a statistical measure of how much scores vary within a group.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
18. The term “effect size” refers to a way to discuss the extent to which groups differ.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
19. During the process of informed consent researchers explain the risks of the experiment to the participant.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
20. One reason an ethics board would not ethically approve aa research proposal is that that might believe that the risks to participants outweigh any benefits.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Conceptual
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
21. Prior to the nineteenth century, which field contributed most to the rise of psychology?
a) philosophy
b) chemistry
c) biology
d) physics
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
22. Which approach to psychology advocated focus on observable behaviours only?
a) hypothetico-deductive
b) inductive reasoning
c) pseudopsychology
d) behaviourism
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
23. Which of the following is a core belief of psychology and all sciences?
a) The universe provides clues to what we can learn about.
b) The laws of nature are mysterious and untestable.
c) The universe operates according to certain natural laws.
d) Reliance on natural observation is a necessary first step.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
24. “Psychology is not a science,” Santiago argues. Which of the following is the BEST argument opposing this claim?
a) Psychology is a science because it uses sophisticated technology in its research.
b) Psychology is a science because some of its early contributors were physiologists.
c) Psychology is a science because of the methods it uses.
d) Psychology is a science because it studies the brain and the rest of the nervous system.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
25. Daphne is writing a paper about the core beliefs of science. Which of the following would NOT be included in her paper?
a) a reliance on the scientific method
b) the idea that some events in nature are untestable
c) the belief that events in nature follow certain laws
d) the assumption that natural laws are testable
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
26. Which of the following are the two core beliefs about the world?
a) The universe operates according to certain natural laws. These laws are typically not testable.
b) The universe operates according to the laws of physics. These laws are seldom discovered.
c) The universe operates according to certain natural laws. These laws are discoverable and testable.
d) The universe operates according to the laws of physics. These laws are discoverable and testable.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
27. Which of the following represent essential beliefs shared between psychology and all other physical sciences?
a) the universe operates according to certain natural laws that are discoverable and testable.
b) there is reliance on formalized ethical codes.
c) consensual paradigms and established methods are used
d) adherence to social norms and expectations
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
28. Which of the following adjectives would a scientist use most readily in describing the universe?
a) mysterious
b) lawful
c) simple
d) chaotic
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
29. What is the purpose of the scientific method?
a) to collect information in a way that minimizes bias and yields dependable results
b) to develop new theory
c) to promote positive change in human behaviour
d) to establish goals for scientific discovery
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
30. Which of the following statements is an example of a theory?
a) Behaviour is the product of the interaction of conscious and subconscious processes.
b) What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
c) The year 2025 will be an amazing year for marine scientists.
d) There is an inverse relationship between sexting behaviours and sexual promiscuity among teens.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
31. Your text states that, “By carefully observing what happens … we can figure out the laws governing those events. In turn, we can use these laws to make predictions about what might happen, and we can then experiment to see whether those predictions come true.” Which of these sequences reflects the order in which the goals of psychology are mentioned in this passage?
a) explanation – description – prediction
b) explanation – prediction – description
c) description – prediction – explanation
d) description – prediction – control
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
32. Based on the theory that language is only processed in the left hemisphere, Dr. Scalpetti has participants listen to words while undergoing a brain scan. He finds that when participants are listening to the words there is activity in both hemispheres of the brain. Which of the following would be Dr. Scalpetti’s next step?
a) He must repeat the study to see if his finding is accurate.
b) He must re-analyze his data to see if he made an error.
c) He must reconsider the theory about language only be processed in the left hemisphere of the brain.
d) He must accept that the theory has disproven his hypothesis.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
33. Julia, a biology researcher, is trying to isolate a gene that may be responsible for autism. David, a psychology researcher, is investigating the influence of various social factors on outcomes for children with autism. These examples emphasize the difference between psychology and physical sciences in their goal of
a) prediction.
b) description.
c) explaining.
d) controlling.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
34. Dr. Arceneaux is a meteorologist. Dr. Bianchini is a psychologist. With which of the following statements would they most likely agree?
a) Like the weather, human behaviour is inherently unpredictable.
b) The weather is predictable. Human behaviour is not.
c) While the weather is unpredictable, human behaviour is predictable.
d) Both the weather and human behaviour are ultimately predictable.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
35. Most of Noemi’s friends who have been married are now divorced. Noemi never wants to get married because she knows that most marriages end in divorce. Noemi’s thinking on this matter is an example of
a) empirical reasoning.
b) deductive reasoning.
c) inductive reasoning.
d) logical reasoning.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
36. Mateo has decided based on reasoning that proceeded from broad basic principles to specific situations. What type of reasoning has Mateo used?
a) inductive
b) deductive
c) anecdotal
d) hypthetico-deductive
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
37. If someone makes a decision based on reasoning that applies knowledge from broad basic principles to specific situations, they are using ________ reasoning.
a) inductive
b) hypothetico-deductive
c) deductive
d) hypothetical
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
38. Alison believes that eating chicken on a Friday will lead to a death in the family by Monday as this happened once in her life. Alison had chicken on Friday and her grandmother died on Monday. As such, when she is at a dinner party and the choice is a hamburger or a chicken burger, she sticks with the hamburger. What type of reasoning is Alison using?
a) deductive
b) inductive
c) transductive
d) it is impossible to determine from the information given
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
39. Lalit’s sister did not run quickly enough when the two of them were running to catch the bus as it was rounding the corner. Lalit has now declared that “no girls can run fast.” What type of reasoning is Lalit using?
a) deductive
b) inductive
c) transductive
d) it is impossible to determine from the information given
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
40. Based on past experience, Astrid believes that drinking red wine gives her migraines. As such, when she is at a dinner party and the only beverages available are red wine and water, she sticks with water. What type of reasoning is Astrid using?
a) deductive
b) inductive
c) hypothetico-deductive
d) It is impossible to determine from the information given.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
41. After her best friend’s two-year old does not adjust well to day care, Farrah decides she will never put her children in day care because most children do not adjust well. Farrah is engaging in _____________ reasoning based on a(n) ______________.
a) inductive; anecdote
b) inductive; bias
c) deductive; bias
d) hypothetico-deductive; anecdote
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
42. Hunter pulled an all-nighter to study before his last exam and he failed it. With the exam before that, he got a good sleep and he passed. Based on this, Hunter predicts that he will do better on his next exam if he gets a good sleep the night before. What type of reasoning is Hunter using?
a) deductive
b) inductive
c) hypothetico-deductive
d) It is impossible to determine from the information given.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
43. Nana told eleven year old Camila to eat a fruit snack. When she looked in the refrigerator, she found celery, carrots, and a Granny Smith apple. Camila knew that celery and carrots were not fruit. She also knew that even though this apple was green all apples are fruit, and she knew that a Granny Smith is an apple. Therefore, she selected the Granny Smith as her snack. What type of reasoning has Camila used in selecting her snack?
a) inductive
b) deductive
c) anecdotal
d) hypthetico-deductive
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
44. Nine-year-old Omar brought a troll doll with him to his last test, and he got 100% on the test. He forgot the troll doll the exam before that and only got 55% on that test. Based on this, Omar predicts that he will do better on his next exam if he brings the troll doll with him. What type of reasoning is Omar using?
a) deductive
b) inductive
c) hypothetico-deductive
d) It is impossible to determine from the information given.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
45. Jeannie heard about several car accidents that occurred while people were talking on their cell phones while driving. Harriette works for an insurance company and read the accident reports on distracted driving from the Canadian Insurance Association. Both Jeannie and Harriette have decided that talking on a cell phone while driving causes accidents. In making their decision, Jeannie has used _____________ reasoning and Harriette has used ____________ reasoning.
a) deductive; deductive
b) deductive; inductive
c) inductive; deductive
d) inductive; inductive
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
46. Which of the following is the correct sequence of events for inductive reasoning?
a) observation/experiment > predictions > theory
b) theory > predictions > observation/experiment
c) hypothesis > observation/experiment > theory
d) hypothesis > theory > predictions
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
47. Which of the following is the correct sequence of events for deductive reasoning?
a) observation/experiment > predictions > theory
b) theory > predictions > observation/experiment
c) hypothesis > observation/experiment > theory
d) hypothesis > theory > predictions
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
48. Which option accurately and thoroughly summarizes the scientific method?
a) A topic is identified; a literature review is conducted; a testable hypothesis is developed; a research design is selected; data are collected and analyzed; the study is published; theory is developed, and the cycle continues.
b) A hypothesis is developed; data are collected; a design is selected; a literature review is conducted; the study is published, and the cycle continues.
c) A peer-review is conducted; a testable hypothesis is determined; data are collected; statistics are analyzed; the study is published, and the cycle continues.
d) A literature review is conducted; a topic is identified; a testable hypothesis is developed; data are collected; statistics are analyzed; the study is published; the article is peer-reviewed, and the cycle continues.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
49. Reasoning that begins with specific facts and proceeds to general facts is called
a) deductive reasoning.
b) inductive reasoning.
c) hypothetico-deductive.
d) hypothetico-inductive.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
50. Which the following is correctly matched with its definition?
a) inductive – able to be tested in objective ways
b) deductive – reasoning that proceeds from broad basic principles that is applied to specific situations
c) hypothetico-deductive – reasoning that proceeds from specific situations to broader, more general truths
d) empirical – reasoning process that begins with an educated guess
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
51. Which the following correctly identifies the chronological order of reasoning used in psychology?
a) inductive – deductive – hypothetico-deductive
b) deductive – inductive – hypothetico-inductive
c) hypothetico-deductive – deductive-inductive
d) deductive – inductive – hypothetico-deductive
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
52. Which statement below is MOST consistent with the hypothetico-deductive approach to reasoning?
a) Hypotheses are deduced from theories.
b) Hypotheses are induced from theories.
c) Theories are deduced from hypotheses.
d) Theories are induced from observations.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
53. Hypothetico-deductive reasoning can best be described as
a) more accurate than deductive and inductive reasoning.
b) less accurate than deductive and inductive reasoning.
c) equally as accurate as deductive and inductive reasoning.
d) a blend of deductive and inductive reasoning.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
54. You are at the annual conference of the Association for Psychological Science, listening to researcher’s present papers on social development in later adulthood. In her presentation, Dr. Dryer notes, “Social disengagement theory predicts that older adults will attend social events less often than will middle-aged adults.” The next presenter, Dr. Ebrahimi, reports that in the diary’s participants kept as part of his study, older adults reported attending just as many parties, dinners, or other informal gatherings as did middle-aged adults, casting doubt on social disengagement theory. Dr. Dryer’s statement reflects the ___ component of hypothetico-deductive reasoning, whereas Dr. Ebrahimi’s illustrates ___.
a) inductive; the inductive component also
b) inductive; the deductive component
c) deductive; the inductive component
d) deductive; the deductive component also
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
55. Soren is searching for natural laws regarding the behaviour of nail biting. As a psychologist, how would Soren begin his search using inductive reasoning?
a) He would think of all the examples of nail biting he has observed.
b) He would develop a theory about nail biting.
c) He would make objectively, testable observations of nail biting.
d) He would make identify a hypothesis and then design small, controlled observations to support or invalidate that hypothesis.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
56. Dr. Edwards is using the scientific method to investigate the effects of sugar consumption on the attention span of 8-year old children. He predicts that children who drink a pop prior to participating in a boring task will give up sooner than children who drink a glass of milk before doing the boring task. What is the next thing that Dr. Edwards should do?
a) Observe children in their daily lives after they consume sugary and non-sugary foods.
b) Develop a hypothesis about what consuming sugar will do to children.
c) Test his hypothesis in a controlled environment.
d) Come up with a theory about the effects of sugar on attention.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
57. Kacia is conducting research examining the influence of watching videos on infant language development. She predicts that the more hours an infant spends watching videos, the later they will develop language. Kacia’s prediction is an example of
a) deductive reasoning.
b) inductive reasoning.
c) hypothetico-deductive reasoning.
d) a hypothesis.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
58. Which of the following statements is a testable hypothesis?
a) Children who read for twenty minutes per day are more likely than children who don’t read to score high on standardized tests.
b) Some, but not all, kitchen stoves are designed with the user in mind.
c) Eating only plants is better than eating both meat and plants.
d) Although most criminals are psychopaths and most psychopaths are criminals, perpetrators of intimate partner violence are psychologically normal.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
59. The fact that well designed research hypotheses can be disproven means that they are ________ statements.
a) falsifiable
b) absolute
c) predictable
d) educated
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
60. The main difference between deductive and inductive reasoning is that deductive reasoning ___, whereas inductive reasoning ___.
a) goes from general to specific; goes from specific to general
b) is based on observations; is based on logic
c) begins with an observation; ends with an observation
d) involves theories; involves hypotheses
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
61. The problem with concluding that unidentifiable flying objects (UFOs) are indicative of life on other planets is that the suggestion cannot be tested in objective ways. In other words, it could be said that the question of the existence of life on other planets is not _____________.
a) inductive
b) deductive
c) hypothetical
d) empirical
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
62. Psychologists conduct studies using objectively testable observations. Therefore, it can be said that psychological research is
a) hypothetical.
b) provable.
c) infallible.
d) empirical.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
63. What is the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning?
a) Inductive reasoning is based on logic; deductive reasoning is based on observations.
b) Inductive reasoning goes from specific to general; deductive reasoning goes from general to specific.
c) Inductive reasoning ends with an observation; deductive reasoning begins with an observation.
d) Inductive reasoning involves hypotheses; deductive reasoning involves theories.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
64. If you were asked to compare deductive reasoning to inductive reasoning, which of the following would be most accurate?
a) Both are equally subject to personal biases and beliefs.
b) Deductive reasoning is often wrong whereas, inductive reasoning is empirical and, therefore, always accurate.
c) They are very similar concepts but were used in different time periods.
d) They proceed in opposite directions.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
65. Why does contemporary psychology no longer rely solely on inductive reasoning?
a) Inductive reasoning is too susceptible to the biases of the individual psychologist.
b) Inductive reasoning is not based on objective observation.
c) There are so many factors influencing human behaviour that pure induction could never identify them all.
d) Inductive reasoning never proved a successful way of gaining knowledge.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
66. Why might one argue that inductive reasoning is less susceptible to bias than deductive reasoning?
a) Inductive reasoning begins with a general theory rather than specific observations.
b) In inductive reasoning, the observations that would refute the theory are specified in advance.
c) Inductive reasoning begins with objective observations rather than a theory in the reasoner’s mind.
d) Inductive reasoning is essentially the opposite of the sort of deductive reasoning that philosophers used.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
67. Biases based on personal beliefs or conventional wisdom can be avoided by
a) using hypothetical reasoning.
b) using deductive reasoning.
c) using inductive reasoning.
d) examining the available anecdotal evidence.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
68. For which of the following reasons did Sir Francis Bacon question the deductive reasoning approach?
a) He believed science should be based only on observable events.
b) He believed that deductive reasoning was subject to the influence of personal beliefs and biases.
c) He believed that deductive reasoning was too focused on small principles.
d) He believed that reasoning should be based on broad basic principles and applied to specific situations.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
69. What is a theory?
a) an idea about the laws that govern phenomena
b) a testable statement about the way variables are related
c) a reasoning process that proceeds from specific to general
d) a belief based on a researcher’s objective sense of reality
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
70. Scientific theories can lead to the
a) generation of additional hypotheses.
b) completion of the research in a specific area.
c) disproval of a hypothesis.
d) confirmation of a researcher's ideas.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
71. Josef and Andre were arguing. Josef maintained that a theory and a hypothesis were the same thing. Andre correctly argued that there was a difference between a theory and a hypothesis. What would Josef have argued?
a) A theory is a specific statement; a hypothesis is a general statement.
b) A theory is a prediction; a hypothesis is an observation.
c) A theory is the result of many observations; a hypothesis is a specific prediction.
d) A theory is falsifiable; a hypothesis is not.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
72. Ali is interested in conducting a research study about the beer drinking behaviour of people who eat chicken wings. He predicts that those people who eat chicken wings drink more beer than those who do not eat chicken wings. Using the scientific approach, what should Ali’s next step be in his research study?
a) make observations
b) develop a hypothesis
c) test the hypothesis
d) adjust the theory
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
73. If a hypothesis is disproved, all the following could happen EXCEPT
a) the hypothesis would be thrown out.
b) the hypothesis would be modified.
c) the theory would be reconsidered.
d) the research topic would be abandoned.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
74. One difference between a hypothesis and a theory is that a hypothesis is ___, whereas a theory is ___.
a) a specific prediction; the result of many observations
b) a general statement; a specific statement
c) an observation; a prediction
d) not falsifiable; falsifiable
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
75. _________ are specific statements that are objectively falsifiable and may therefore be disproved. In this case, the _______ must be modified in order to create new _______.
a) Theories; theory; hypotheses
b) Theories; hypothesis; theories
c) Hypotheses; theory; hypotheses
d) Hypotheses; hypotheses, theories
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
76. What British philosopher argued against the use of deductive reasoning because he believed it was too susceptible to thinkers’ biases?
a) Skinner
b) Popper
c) Kant
d) Bacon
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
77. Why did the Renaissance philosopher Francis Bacon question the validity of deductive reasoning? Which type of reasoning did he suggest as an alternative?
a) Bacon believed that deductive reasoning was prone to biases. He suggested hypothetico-deductive reasoning as an alternative.
b) Bacon believed that deductive reasoning was prone to biases. He suggested inductive reasoning as an alternative.
c) Bacon believed that deductive reasoning often failed to result in general theories. He suggested hypothetico-deductive reasoning as an alternative.
d) Bacon believed that deductive reasoning often failed to result in general theories. He suggested inductive reasoning as an alternative.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
78. Whereas ____________reasoning proceeds from specific to general, ___________reasoning proceeds from general to specific.
a) inductive; deductive
b) deductive; inductive
c) inductive; hypothetico-deductive
d) hypothetico-deductive; inductive
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
79. Dr. Emmerson is using the scientific method to investigate the effects of social media on empathy. He predicts that people who spend more time on social media will score lower on a test of empathy than people who spend less time on social media. What is the next thing that Dr. Emmerson should do?
a) Observe people in their daily lives after they go on social media.
b) Develop a hypothesis about what social media time will do to empathy.
c) Test his hypothesis in a controlled environment.
d) Come up with a theory about the effects of social media on empathy.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
80. The idea that depression involves many neurotransmitters in the brain has been supported by previous research studies. Therefore, the idea that specific neurotransmitters are involved in depression could be viewed as a ______________.
a) hypothesis
b) assumption
c) empirical observation
d) theory
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
81. The frustration-aggression hypothesis predicts that aggressive behaviour follows the failure to attain a goal. The hypothesis is supported when an individual hits and curses at a vending machine that fails to deliver a cold drink after money has been inserted. This scenario illustrates the ___ reasoning process.
a) reductive
b) deductive
c) inductive
d) hypothetico-deductive
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
82. Today, when psychologists conduct research, they examine the findings of other researchers first to look at broader topics, then narrow it down to design their own studies based on specific predictions. This is an example of
a) deductive reasoning.
b) inductive reasoning.
c) hypothetico-deductive reasoning.
d) empirical reasoning.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
83. Which of the following was suggested by philosopher Karl Popper?
a) A hypothesis must be based on proven theory.
b) A theory must establish in advance what observations would prove it to be false.
c) A hypothesis must be proven using the scientific method.
d) Researchers must develop theories based on deductive reasoning as it is less prone to personal bias.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
84. Roger Sperry examined which processes occur in each brain hemisphere. Since that time, researchers have conducted many different experiments that have helped us understand that, in righthanded persons, the left hemisphere typically processes language while the right hemisphere processes non-verbal material such as emotions. This is an example of
a) empirical reasoning.
b) deductive reasoning.
c) inductive reasoning.
d) hypothetico-deductive reasoning.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
85. Mac recently conducted a survey at his own university and discovered that 60% of the students are receiving student aid. From his research he concludes that 60% of all university students in Canada receive student aid. Mac has reached his conclusion based on ________________ reasoning.
a) deductive
b) inductive
c) hypothetico-deductive
d) hypothetico-inductive
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
86. A statement of the objective relationship between two variables is termed a(n) ___.
a) axiom
b) law
c) theory
d) hypothesis
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
87. What is a hypothesis?
a) an idea about the laws that govern phenomena
b) a testable statement about the way variables are related
c) a reasoning process that proceeds from specific to general
d) a belief based on a researcher’s objective sense of reality
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
88. For a hypothesis to be considered acceptable, it must
a) be confirmed.
b) be falsifiable.
c) lead to a new or revised theory.
d) disprove an existing theory.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
89. Dr. Farnum is using the scientific method to investigate how the content of dreams affects memory for personal events. Specifically, she predicts that any dream about a personal event will increase the individual’s memory for that event. What is the biggest problem that Dr. Farnum overlooking with her research?
a) Her hypothesis is not falsifiable.
b) Her prediction is biased.
c) She is not following the steps of the scientific method.
d) She is studying a topic that is out-dated.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
90. Dr. Langdon has been conducting research in one area for the past number of years. All his studies seem to support the same general idea. Based on his research, what might be Dr. Langdon’s next step in the scientific approach?
a) He could develop a hypothesis based on the findings of his research.
b) He could further test his theory based on the findings of his research.
c) He could develop a theory based on the findings of his research.
d) He could conclude he has proven his hypotheses.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
91. Ms. Juniper, an elementary school teacher, believes that children who play outdoors do better academically. She predicts that those children who play outside for at least half an hour each day will make better grades than those who stay inside all day. Which of the following terms best describes her predictions?
a) hypothesis
b) theory
c) inductive reasoning
d) deductive reasoning
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
92. Observations of behaviours or any other events must be objectively testable. Which of the following does NOT meet this criterion?
a) dollars spent in a department store
b) number of students in a school
c) frequency of reported car accidents
d) number of caring people in the world
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
93. Observations of behaviours or any other events must be objectively testable. Which of the following meets this criterion?
a) how much a mother loves her child
b) how desirable you find another person
c) how many plane departures there are from the local airport
d) how people feel about the view from the Eifel Tower
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
94. Dr. Crandall wants to use the scientific method to test whether caffeine improves cardiovascular endurance in male athletes. What is the first thing that he should do?
a) Observe male athletes doing cardiovascular workouts after having consumed caffeine or not.
b) Develop hypotheses about caffeine consumption and cardiovascular endurance.
c) Randomly give half of the male athlete’s caffeine and the other half no caffeine and then test their cardiovascular endurance.
d) Build a theory about caffeine’s effect on the cardiovascular system.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
95. Dr. Tse wants to use the scientific method to test whether vitamin C consumption improves resistance to stress. What is the first thing that she should do?
a) Observe people in stressful situations who have and who have not consumed vitamin C.
b) Develop hypotheses about vitamin C consumption and resistance to stress.
c) Randomly give half of the participants vitamin C and the other half a placebo and then test their resistance to stress.
d) Build a theory about vitamin C’s effect on the stress response.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
96. Recall your text’s discussion of the behaviourist perspective in Chapter 1. According to your text, “Skinner argued [that] empirical – observable – information should be gathered first, and then theories … could be formulated from that.” Skinner is endorsing ___ reasoning, promoted earlier by ___.
a) inductive; Bacon
b) inductive; Descartes
c) deductive; Bacon
d) deductive; Descartes
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Synthesis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
97. Recall your text’s discussion of the theoretical paradigm of structuralism in Chapter 1. According to your text, Titchener’s “goal was to uncover the structure, or basic elements, of the conscious mind …” and to then “…determine how these elements were related.” Titchener is endorsing ___ reasoning, promoted earlier by ___.
a) inductive; Bacon
b) inductive; Descartes
c) deductive; Bacon
d) deductive; Descartes
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Synthesis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
98. lan leaves for university at 7:00 a.m. for his 8:30 a.m. class and has never been late. Therefore, lan believes that he will never be late for his class if he leaves at 7:00 a.m. Which type of reasoning has lan used to arrive at this assumption?
a) inductive
b) deductive
c) hypothetico-deductive
d) hypothetico-inductive
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
99. Which of the following alternatives CORRECTLY identifies the order in which the goals of science are pursued using a given type of reasoning?
a) deductive reasoning: observation – prediction – explanation
b) hypothetico-deductive reasoning: prediction – observation – explanation
c) hypothetico-deductive reasoning: observation – prediction – explanation
d) inductive reasoning: explanation – prediction –observation
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
100. Jonathon conducted a research study that examined the influence of family history on juvenile delinquency. Based on the findings of his study, he concludes that adolescents whose parents have a criminal record are more likely to become juvenile delinquents than those whose parents do not have a criminal record. Jonathon’s study
a) has isolated family history as a crucial factor in juvenile delinquency.
b) is flawed because family history cannot be directly observed.
c) is flawed because it does not consider that family history might come together with other factors that may also contribute to juvenile delinquency.
d) is valid because, like a physical science, it describes the contribution of one small factor on juvenile delinquency.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
101. Henrick has decided to go to University X for his graduate degree. Originally, he chose it because his girlfriend goes to University X, but then they broke up. Since then, he has learned that the graduate programme at University X is amazing, and he is sticking with his decision for this reason alone, even if he will have to see his ex from time to time. In what way does this example show how psychology as a field differs from the physical sciences in the pursuit of scientific goals?
a) Many factors affect behaviour, and these can change over time.
b) Psychology must deal with issues associated with morality.
c) Psychological research is often misrepresented.
d) Many of the processes that form the basis of psychology cannot be directly observed.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
102. In which century did psychology move from a field based on philosophy and religion to one based on science?
a) the 17th century
b) the 18th century
c) the 19th century
d) the 20th century
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
103. Most likely, ___ was the driving force behind the shift in the focus of psychology from philosophy to being more scientific.
a) advances in the field of biology and Darwin’s theory of evolution
b) Darwin’s theory of evolution and eugenics
c) eugenics and pseudopsychology
d) pseudopsychology and the scientific method
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
104. What was the impetus for the shift in the focus of psychology from a philosophy toward becoming a science?
a) Darwin’s theory of evolution and advances in the field of biology
b) advances in the field of biology and eugenics
c) eugenics and pseudopsychology
d) pseudopsychology and the scientific method
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
105. Prior to the 19th century, the field of psychology was based mainly on philosophy. What field is responsible for shifting psychology toward a science?
a) religion
b) pseudopsychology
c) biological science
d) eugenics
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
106. What problem do psychologists have in attempting to isolate fundamental elements of behaviour and mental processes?
a) We do not have the technology required to isolate something as small as a neuron.
b) Behaviour is determined by many factors that may change over time.
c) We must rely on observable behaviour.
d) Some research projects face ethical dilemmas.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
107. In which of the following areas of study did Immanuel Kant believe psychology demonstrated their ability to be a “real” science?
a) consciousness, sensations, and behaviours
b) sensations, behaviours, and physiological responses
c) physiological responses, behaviours, and consciousness
d) behaviours, sensations, and emotions
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
108. In what way does astrology exemplify a pseudoscience?
a) It purports to help people with their lives.
b) It adopts the terms and topics found in psychology.
c) It makes grandiose claims regarding the influence of its key variables.
d) Its methods resemble those typical of personality psychology.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
109. Which of the following represents the key concerning difference between psychology and pseudopsychology?
a) Pseudopsychology argues that psychological principles can provide answers to all of life’s major questions whereas psychology does not.
b) Psychology only publishes their theories in academic journals; pseudopsychology publishes theories in the general media.
c) Pseudopsychology is very narrow in its focus, whereas psychology is broader.
d) Pseudopsychology encourages people to seek guidance and drive meaning about how to live effectively from physicians, whereas psychology feels that people should only seek guidance from people trained in psychology.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
110. Farzad is having a discussion with his roommates about whether psychology is a science. His roommates are calling psychology a ‘soft science’, and this is infuriating Farzad, who is adamant that psychology is a science like any other. What is Farzad likely to say to make his point?
a) The focus of psychology is often not directly observable.
b) Applying the research in psychology often has moral implications.
c) Psychology uses the scientific method to gather information.
d) Determining cause and effect is more difficult in psychology because multiple factors contribute to a behaviour.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
111. The field that suggests that genetics should be applied to human breeding to produce desired offspring is called
a) genetic counselling.
b) in vitro fertilization.
c) natural selection.
d) eugenics.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
112. The field of psychology wrestles with questions regarding how to ethically apply the knowledge it discovers. What other field would have a similar struggle, according to your text?
a) biology
b) philosophy
c) physical sciences
d) eugenics
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
113. Jake was teaching his sixth-grade class about a social movement that advocated improving humanity by encouraging reproduction by only people with desirable genetic traits and discouraging the reproduction of persons with undesirable traits. He told them this movement had followers such as Winston Churchill, Helen Keller, and Hitler. It was known as
a) behavioural genetics.
b) genetic selection.
c) natural selection.
d) eugenics.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
114. Which of the following would best demonstrate the concept of eugenics?
a) Tom wants to date Jody because he feels they would produce beautiful children together.
b) Ivan carries the gene for the serious disorder known as hemophilia. He decides to have a vasectomy so that he does not pass the gene onto his offspring.
c) Sahara was born with Down’s syndrome. When she was 14 years old, her parents had doctors perform a hysterectomy on her so she could not have children.
d) Kaleb and Tricia consult a genetic counsellor to find out the probability of their baby having blue eyes.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
115. Involuntary sterilizations were performed in Alberta between 1927 and 1972 on persons who were deemed unfit to reproduce. This is an example of
a) genetics.
b) natural selection.
c) eugenics.
d) in vitro fertilization.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
116. Although psychology is a science, it differs in several important ways from other physical sciences. Which of the attributes listed below differs between psychology and other physical sciences?
1 – the focus of the subject matter is not always directly observable
2 – it uses experimental methods
3 – how the findings are applied can have moral implications
4 – it attempts to isolate fundamental elements
a) 1 & 4
b) 2 & 3
c) 1 & 3
d) 2 & 4
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
117. Dr. Leonard conducts research on the relationship between appetite and depression. He has found that persons who experience depression often report a decrease in appetite. Which key difference between psychology and the physical sciences does Dr. Leonard’s research reflect?
a) Psychology attempts to isolate and describe the smallest elements whereas physical sciences look at multiple factors.
b) Psychology examines how factors interact to influence the subject they are studying whereas physical science examines a single factor at a time.
c) Psychology attempts to provide society with practical applications of research, whereas, physical sciences are more concerned with contributing knowledge to the discipline.
d) Psychology often studies factors that can be either temporary or permanent. Physical sciences typically study factors that are permanent.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
118. Ivy has decided to use a scientific approach to figure out how much her boyfriend loves her. She realizes that she cannot go based on her feelings alone because she is very likely to be biased, and she wants to know truthfully, once and for all, whether he really loves her or not. In what way does this example show how psychology as a field differs from the physical sciences in the pursuit of scientific goals?
a) Behaviour can be influenced by many factors and these can change over time.
b) Psychology must deal with issues associated with values and personal preferences.
c) Psychological research is often misinterpreted and used to make broad claims.
d) Many of the psychological processes that we want to study cannot be directly observed or measured.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
119. Jonathon is examining the influence of socioeconomic status, parental supervision, and family history on adolescent substance abuse. The goal in Jonathon’s research would be to
a) to pinpoint a single cause of juvenile delinquency.
b) isolate how much influence each of these factors has on juvenile delinquency.
c) examine how these factors might come together in different situations to influence juvenile delinquency.
d) both b) and c)
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
120. Which of the following examples shows how psychology differs from other sciences in that applying psychological findings entails issues associated with values and morality?
a) Jacob and Alex decide not to spank their children because they read that physical punishment increases aggression in children.
b) Kyle makes sure to sleep before his final exam because he read that sleep helps with memory consolidation.
c) Lucy is a Gemini and because of this she is prone to reacting in very different ways to the same situation.
d) Dr. Mariner is isolating the variables that contribute to weight loss.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
121. Which of the following suggested that psychology should be considered a “real” science in the study of sensations or physiological responses?
a) Rene Descartes
b) Karl Popper
c) John Watson
d) Immanuel Kant
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
122. Which of the following examples shows how the field of psychology faces the problem of misrepresentation?
a) Dr. Hunt read an article that stated that some therapeutic techniques are more effective than others.
b) Dr. Gerbach is launching his new therapy that he claims can cure depression in anyone in less than 2 weeks.
c) Dr. Irving believes that to provide a cure for any problem, we must understand the root cause of the problem.
d) Dr. Alves took credit for the development of a new therapy, when in fact it was her graduate student who perfected the therapy and deserved the credit.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
123. Which of the following is least likely to be considered a pseudopsychologist?
a) Zara, who provides life guidance based on astrological charts.
b) Phillip, a human resource manager, who after conducting years of research on how to motivate employees, speaks to business owners.
c) Tahlia, a spiritual advisor who provides guidance based on her religious beliefs.
d) Reginald, a parapsychologist who studies seemingly unexplainable events.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
124. Which of the following is one of the ways in which pseudopsychology differs from psychology?
a) Psychology’s main goal is description and explanation; pseudopsychology’s main goal is prediction and control.
b) Pseudopsychology is a small part of psychology that is based on Freud’s work.
c) Psychology is based on the scientific method; pseudopsychology isn’t.
d) Psychology focuses on the application of the knowledge gained from research; pseudopsychology focuses on classification and identification of mental disorders.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
125. How do pseudopsychologists differ from psychologists?
a) Psychologists are less likely to help people with their problems than are pseudopsychologists.
b) As compared to pseudopsychologists, psychologists are less likely to make exaggerated claims.
c) Pseudopsychologists are less likely to promote specific moral values than are psychologists.
d) Pseudopsychologists address different topics than do psychologists.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
126. Livia’s cousin is complaining of problems with anxiety and depression, so Livia does some research for some solutions. She finds one treatment that is proven effective in treating depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. Not only that, but everyone given this treatment was cured within 2 weeks. Do you think Livia should recommend the treatment for her cousin?
a) yes, since it is proven effective
b) yes, since everyone who was treated was cured
c) no, since it targets too many disorders and Sally’s cousin only has a subset of these disorders
d) no, since it sounds like pseudopsychology
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
127. Dr. Cooray studied astrophysics as a graduate student. Since graduation, his charming personality and quick wit have earned him a call-in radio show giving advice to people who are experiencing relationship difficulties. Although his advice is not based on any empirical research, his listeners find him to be sensitive as well as entertaining and continue to call in. Dr. Cooray exemplifies the field known as
a) Psychology
b) Pseudopsychology
c) Life coaching
d) Pseudocounselling
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
128. In that the field of psychology has a scientific foundation, any researcher investigating a psychological phenomenon will be faced with the additional burden of
a) extrapolating animal findings to human behaviour.
b) objectively defining mental functioning.
c) applying the scientific method to psychological questions.
d) competing with pseudopsychologists for research grants.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
129. What will always be a challenging task for psychologists doing research?
a) finding willing participants
b) objectively defining mental functioning
c) applying the scientific method to psychological questions
d) competing with pseudopsychologists for research grants
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
130. “The process of observation is a challenging one for psychology, given its subject matter,” offers Federico. “That’s why psychology should investigate only phenomena which are clearly observable,” Grady responds. “But psychologists can use observable behaviour to make reliable statements about internal processes that can’t be seen,” counters Holly. “Not to mention, technology continues to expand the range of psychological processes we can actually observe,” Indira notes. Which of these discussants is paired with the psychological perspective they most clearly reflect?
a) Holly – psychodynamic perspective
b) Federico – behaviourist perspective
c) Indira – neuroscience perspective
d) Grady – cognitive perspective
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
131. Which of the following approaches to psychology would most closely align with Immanuel Kant’s idea about psychology being a “real” science?
a) Functionalism
b) Structuralism
c) Humanism
d) Behaviourism
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
132. Recall the levels of analysis described in Chapter 1 of your text. If you were sympathetic to the notion that psychology should limit itself to clearly observable phenomena, on which level of analysis might you concentrate?
a) the brain level
b) the individual level
c) the group level
d) the social level
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Synthesis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
133. Recall the levels of analysis described in Chapter 1 of your text. If you were sympathetic to the notion that psychology should deal with issues related to values, morality, and personal preference, on which level of analysis might you concentrate?
a) the brain level
b) the individual level
c) the group level
d) both the individual and group level
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Synthesis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science
134. You are writing a history of psychology, focusing on the major themes and perspectives that have dominated the field over the past 150 years. Which phrase below offers the most fitting completion to the partial title, The Story of Psychology: ___?
a) Observing the Unobservable
b) Predicting the Unpredictable
c) Explaining the Inexplicable
d) Controlling the Uncontrollable
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
135. A behaviour, event, or other characteristic that can take on different values is termed a(n) ___.
a) variable
b) theory
c) operational definition
d) hypothesis
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
136. A researcher observed the eating patterns of laboratory rats while manipulating the amount of sleep they received during a week-long study. In this example, what type of variable is “sleep”?
a) observable
b) dependent
c) independent
d) extraneous
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
137. Therese is conducting a research study examining the effects of caffeine on driving ability. She has participants each consume 1, 2, 3, and 4 cups of coffee and gives them a driving test in a driving simulator after each cup of coffee. She also divides the participants into four groups – older and younger males and older and younger females. What would be the variables of interest to Therese in this study?
a) amount of caffeine consumed
b) amount of caffeine consumed, and age
c) amount of caffeine consumed, age, and sex
d) amount of caffeine consumed, age, sex, the number of driving errors
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
138. Dr. Morris is studying how sleep deprivation affects semantic memory. He has each participant study a list of random facts and then undergo sleep deprivation for either 24 hours, 30 hours, or 36 hours. Then, following an additional 48-hour delay period, each participant’s memory for the random facts is tested. In this study, what is the independent variable?
a) number of random facts remembered
b) number of hours of sleep deprivation
c) 48-hour delay
d) the amount of time spent trying to remember the random facts
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
139. Finnegan is conducting a research study examining the effect of food dye on 5-year-old children’s sleep habits. He divides his participants into six groups. Each group is given a bowl of candies to eat, but each group’s candies are a different colour. One group eats candy that has no food dye (i.e., is colourless) at all. He then measures the number of hours each child sleeps at night. In this study, _________________ is the independent variable and ____________ is the dependent variable.
a) age of the children; colour of the candy
b) age of the children; number of hours slept
c) colour of the candy; number of hours slept
d) number of hours slept; colour of the candy
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
140. Dr. Vesner is examining how exposure to Drug X affects levels of aggression in rats. She gives each rat one of four doses of Drug X: no drug (saline injection), low dose, medium dose, and a high dose. After 20 minutes so the drug has time to take effect, she measures aggression by the intensity with which the rat bites a probing rod that is entered into the apparatus. In this study, what is the independent variable?
a) levels of aggression
b) dose of Drug X
c) 20-minute delay
d) intensity with which the rat bites a probing rod
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
141. Felix is conducting a study comparing memory for words in young (age 18-22) and older (age 60 – 65) adults. He has all his participants study 3 lists of words and then asks them to recall as many words as possible from the lists. In this study, the independent variable(s) is/are________________ and the dependent variable(s) is/are _______________.
a) each participant’s age; number of words recalled
b) number of words recalled; participant age
c) age group; number of words recalled
d) participant age; number of words recalled and age group
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
142. If Corby hypothesizes that sleep deprivation in university students results in lower GPAs, what are the variables in his hypothesis?
a) amount of sleep deprivation
b) scores on tests
c) any factors other than sleep deprivation that affect student grades
d) sleep deprivation and GPA
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
143. A researcher is interested in seeing how long it takes participants to respond to sounds of different pitches. In this example, the time it takes the participants to respond to the sounds is the
a) controlling variable.
b) manipulative variable.
c) independent variable.
d) dependent variable.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
144. “Opposites attract.” “Birds of a feather flock together.” These aphorisms most closely resemble
a) hypotheses.
b) theories.
c) variables.
d) operational definitions.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
145. One of your psychology classmates tells you they have been reading the literature and it has caused them to wonder whether first-born children learn to talk earlier than later-born children. If your classmate wishes to conduct a study about this, what would be the next step you would advise them to take?
a) identify questions of interest
b) develop a testable hypothesis
c) select a research method, choose participants, and collect the data
d) build a theory
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
146. Which of the following researchers is using an acceptable operational definition of a variable?
a) Dr. Ziggy defines aggression as how angry one feels in different situations.
b) Dr. Abrams defines embarrassment as the number of friends on Facebook.
c) Dr. Byrne defines intelligence as one’s score on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.
d) Dr. Clay defines attraction to another as the desire to be liked by the other.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
147. Imagine you have developed the hypothesis, "Children living in poverty are at risk for school truancy". Which is the BEST operational definition for poverty?
a) children who live in a household whose income is $15,000 per year or below
b) school attendance records that show at least one absence per week
c) school grades that decrease at least one letter grade
d) children who have at least one unemployed parent
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
148. A group of researchers are studying the effect of listening to music on studying. They give their participants 50 words to study. Half of their participants study the words in a quiet room while the other half study in a room that has music playing. The participants are then asked to write down all the words from the list they can remember. In this study the number of words recalled is the ______________ and the presence or absence of music is the __________________.
a) controlling variable; dependent variable
b) dependent variable; controlling variable
c) independent variable; dependent variable
d) dependent variable; independent variable
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
149. Which of the following researchers is using an acceptable operational definition of a variable?
a) Dr. Pham defines intelligence as one’s ability to problem solve.
b) Dr. Selkirk defines aggression as the number of swear words spoken in an hour.
c) Dr. Barboza defines social anxiety as the intensity of embarrassment in social situations.
d) Dr. Okoro defines memory as the earliest childhood memory available.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
150. In a research study, a condition or event that you expect to change as a result of variations in other conditions or events is called the ________________.
a) independent variable
b) dependent variable
c) controlling variable
d) operational variable
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
151. A hypothesis is best defined as a(n)
a) broad, general explanation of the phenomenon of interest.
b) specific prediction concerning the relationship between variables.
c) specification of a variable in terms of the procedures that will be used to measure it.
d) behaviour, event, or other characteristic that can assume different values.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
152. Helena proposes that the more impulsive a student is, the more likely he or she will be to change answers on a multiple-choice test. The variable(s) in this statement is/are
a) impulsivity.
b) answer changing.
c) both impulsivity and answer changing.
d) the student, impulsivity, and answer changing.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
153. A researcher is interested in seeing how long it takes participants to respond to sounds of different pitches. In this example, the pitch of the sound is the
a) controlling variable.
b) manipulated variable.
c) independent variable.
d) dependent variable.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
154. Which of the following statements is the best operational definition of “test score”?
a) feeling of success following the test
b) feeling of failure following the test
c) number of questions answered correctly
d) number of questions answered confidently
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
155. Which of the following statements is the best operational definition of “off task behaviour” in a class setting?
a) number of times student is attending to something in class other than assignments
b) number of times student is not paying attention
c) number of times student is goofing off
d) number of times student is not responding
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
156. In a research study, a condition or event that is thought to be a factor in changing another condition or event is called the __________________.
a) independent variable
b) dependent variable
c) controlling variable
d) confounding variable
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
157. Two research assistants are collecting data for a study examining child aggression on the playground by observing children as they are playing. The first research assistant measures aggression by counting the number of times children hit each other. When the second research assistant goes to the playground, he counts the number of times children push each other. What is the greatest flaw with this study?
a) The research assistants are biased.
b) The study is not a “true” experiment.
c) The research assistants are working with different operational definitions.
d) All data should be collected by the same person.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
158. Albert Bandura conducted a famous study examining the influence of watching aggression in adults on aggressive behaviour in children. He had each some children watch an adult punch, throw, and hit a clown-shaped punching bag. Other children who participated in the study did not watch the adult. He then left each child in a room with the clown-shaped punching bag and counted the number of times each child hit the punching bag. He included hitting the doll with their hand, a mallet or other object the child found in the room, punching it, and kicking it. In this example, Bandura operationally defined aggression as
a) whether or not the child watched an adult hit the punching bag.
b) whether or not the child punched the punching bag.
c) how long the child watched an adult hit the punching bag.
d) the number of times the child hit, punched, or kicked the punching bag with their body or any other object.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
159. Psychologists operationalize the ___ in a ___.
a) groups; experiment
b) variables; hypothesis
c) samples; population
d) hypotheses; theory
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
160. Cleo wants to know which weighs more – a pillowcase full of feathers or a pillowcase full of cotton candy. As she does not have a scale, she decides that she will put one of the pillowcases on the end of a seesaw and then she will pile pennies on the other end until the seesaw balances. She will then repeat the process with the other pillowcase. In this case, the operational definition of weight is
a) the contents of the pillowcases.
b) the number of feathers in the pillowcase.
c) the number of feathers and the amount of cotton candy in the pillowcases.
d) the number of pennies it takes to balance the seesaw.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
161. Each of the following is an operational definition of ‘addiction’ EXCEPT
a) individual meets the DSM-5 criteria for substance use disorder
b) individual is unable to abstain from a substance for one week
c) individual is identified by family members as an addict
d) individual experiences withdrawal when they stop using a substance
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
162. Pollsters are conducting a survey to predict which candidate is going to win the next mayoral election in a large city. They decide to poll 5 of the 40 subdivisions in the city. How accurate is their poll likely to be?
a) quite accurate as they are polling different areas
b) not accurate as the pollsters did not use random selection
c) not accurate as they need to poll everyone in the city
d) quite accurate as polling 5 subdivisions suggests they used random selection
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
163. Crystal is conducting a study and is looking for participants. She posts notices across the city, runs and ad in the newspaper, and posts a notice online. Crystal’s recruitment of her participants reflects the process of _____________.
a) random assignment
b) sample control
c) random selection
d) controlled selection
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
164. How can researchers control for the fact that they may inadvertently only accept participants for their study who are likely to confirm their hypothesis?
a) random assignment
b) random selection
c) double-blind procedure
d) demand characteristics
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
165. How can researchers control for the fact that experimental and control groups may come to the experiment with pre-existing differences that can affect the results of the study?
a) random assignment
b) random selection
c) double-blind procedure
d) demand characteristics
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
166. A popular magazine published a survey asking about the division of housework between men and women. Based on the results of the survey, they have already planned to publish an article in the next edition claiming that women are still responsible for 90% of household chores. This result demonstrates
a) researcher bias.
b) sampling bias.
c) participant bias.
d) demand characteristics.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
167. Jason is conducting a survey on attitudes toward playing video games. To recruit participants, he runs an ad in all the video game magazines, and posts notices in the video game stores. Using this method, Jason runs the risk of having his study influenced by
a) demand characteristics.
b) experimenter bias.
c) assignment bias.
d) sampling bias.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
168. How can researchers minimize sampling biases?
a) random assignment
b) random selection
c) double-blind procedure
d) Hawthorne procedure
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
169. How can researchers control for the Hawthorne effect?
a) Choose participants who have volunteered for studies in the past.
b) Observe for an extended period of time.
c) Have multiple observers.
d) Do not inform observers about the specific hypothesis under investigation.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
170. The two main types of research methods are
a) sample and population.
b) experimental and descriptive.
c) applied and basic.
d) correlational and observational.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
171. Descriptive is to experimental as ___ is to ___.
a) relationship; cause
b) cause; relationship
c) description; statistics
d) statistics; description
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
172. Which of the following is NOT a descriptive research method?
a) case study
b) experiment
c) naturalistic observation
d) survey
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
173. Which of the following is a disadvantage for ALL types of descriptive research?
a) They suffer from participant bias.
b) They must control for the Hawthorne effect.
c) They are too artificial and controlled to capture natural behaviour.
d) They do not allow causal conclusions.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
174. There are many types of descriptive research, and all of them share the disadvantage that they
a) suffer from sampling bias.
b) must control for the Hawthorne effect.
c) do not allow cause-effect conclusions.
d) are too unnatural and controlled to capture true behaviour.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
175. Which of the following statements is NOT accurate about descriptive research methods?
a) They are designed to meet the goal of explanation in psychology.
b) They are good for developing early ideas.
c) They are more reflective of actual behaviour than other methods.
d) They allow statements to be made about the existence of a relationship between variables.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
176. Which of the following is an important advantage of the descriptive/correlational research method?
a) They reflect actual behaviour.
b) They allow close control over variables.
c) They explain cause and effect.
d) There is less of a concern of researcher and participant biases.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
177. Which of the following is a disadvantage of the descriptive/correlational research method?
a) They are impractical in some situations.
b) They do not reflect actual behaviour.
c) They do not allow control over variables.
d) They cannot infer relationships between variables.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
178. Dr. Poulsen plans to study the relationship between drug abuse and minor illnesses such as colds and flu. Why might he be most likely to use a descriptive research method?
a) Descriptive studies will allow him to draw conclusions about cause and effect.
b) There is little concern about participant or researcher biases.
c) He would have greater control over the variable of drug abuse.
d) It would be unethical to manipulate the variable of drug abuse.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
179. Dr. Jepson is studying the ability to name inanimate and animate objects in an 82-year old woman who had a stroke in the right hemisphere of the brain. He finds that although she can name inanimate objects such as furniture, tools, etc., she is unable to name animals. He concludes that strokes in the right hemisphere cause a loss of the ability to name animals. What is wrong with Dr. Jepson’s conclusion?
a) Dr. Jepson had little control over the variables investigated in this study.
b) There is evidence of researcher bias that might have influenced the outcome.
c) There were ethical concerns that might have affected the outcome of the study.
d) Dr. Jepson conducted a case study and, therefore, cannot draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
180. Florian is unable to control variables in his study. What research method is Florian likely to choose?
a) experimental
b) logical
c) descriptive
d) none of the above. Research requires that at least one variable be manipulated.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
181. Dr. Raul is interested in studying the factors that best predict which children are at greatest risk of later substance abuse. In analyzing his data, which statistical method would Dr. Raul use?
a) descriptive
b) t-test
c) analysis of variance
d) correlation
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
182. Holly plans to observe a preschool class to determine whether boys are more aggressive than girls. Even if Holly has adequate operational definitions and other methodological issues under control, she still faces a disadvantage. What is it?
a) it is much more difficult to collect data in descriptive research than in an experiment
b) descriptive research cannot explain cause and effect
c) description research cannot be statistically analyzed
d) descriptive research is not considered ethical
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
183. Karen is a primatologist interested in studying the grooming behaviour of baboon troops. To remain unobtrusive, she sat in a tree to watch the animals and counted the number of instances of grooming behaviour she observed. What research method did Karen use?
a) naturalistic observation
b) case study
c) survey
d) experiment
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
184. Which of the following distinguishes case studies from naturalistic observation and survey study methods?
a) They can be used for developing early ideas.
b) The results cannot be generalized to other situations.
c) They are more reflective of actual behaviour.
d) Case studies are descriptive research methods, whereas naturalistic observation and surveys are experimental research methods.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
185. Which of the following does NOT address the problems associated with the natural observation method?
a) the use of a single observer
b) not informing observers of the hypothesis being investigated
c) having the observer spend a lot of time in the setting they will be observing
d) using multiple observers
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
186. Which of the following is not accurate about naturalistic observation studies?
a) They are more reflective of actual human behaviour than most other research designs.
b) They are subject to researcher bias.
c) The presence of a researcher can influence participant behaviour.
d) There are ethical concerns about observing people without their permission.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
187. A study conducted by Landsberger (1958) suggested that when workers knew they were being observed their productivity increased regardless of what changes were made to the workplace. This finding became known as the
a) the Landsberger effect.
b) the worker bias effect.
c) the Hawthorne effect.
d) the productivity effect.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
188. Martha administered a survey about child abuse to 2000 anonymous new parents and found no reports of a parent exhibiting this type of behaviour. Knowing the number of incidences of child abuse reported each year, Martha suspected that some type of bias attributed to the erroneous results. Which type of bias most likely affected this study?
a) researcher bias
b) participant/subject bias
c) sampling bias
d) experimental bias
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
189. Jeremiah is convinced that the reason studies on Fetal Alcohol Effect are often unclear is because mothers often underreport the amount of alcohol they truly drank during their pregnancies. Jeremiah argues that mothers know that they should not drink in pregnancy and therefore give experimenters the answers they expect. The implicit expectation for the participant to give the desired response is known as
a) researcher bias.
b) the Hawthorne effect.
c) participant/subject bias.
d) an interaction effect.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
190. Which of the following statements describes a case study?
a) controlled observation in which experimenters manipulate variables
b) when researchers directly observe people in a study
c) a study focusing on a single person
d) when participants are asked questions, either orally or written
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
191. If researchers were interested in studying individuals’ attitudes toward the treatment of persons with mental illness in Canada, which of the following would they be MOST likely to use?
a) a case study
b) a survey
c) a naturalistic observation
d) an experiment
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
192. Harry wants to examine students’ attitudes about immigrant worker laws in Canada. Which of the following research methods would be the most appropriate way of approaching this sensitive topic?
a) naturalistic observation
b) survey
c) case study
d) control study
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
193. Which of the following statements describes a survey?
a) controlled observation in which experimenters manipulate variables
b) researchers directly observing people in a study
c) researchers focusing on a single person
d) researchers asking participants questions, either orally or written
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
194. Bram is preparing to study the effects of a new antidepressant and wants to minimize the undesired effect of demand characteristics. What is one way to do this?
a) random assignment
b) random selection
c) double-blind procedure
d) Hawthorne procedure
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
195. Aaron and Fatma are both taking part in a study examining the effectiveness of a new drug on studying. Aaron finds that the drug has absolutely no effect on his ability to study, but Fatma reports that she was able to study much more material after taking the drug. Neither one knows whether they received the real (new) drug, but when they ask the researcher, he tells them he does not know who was in which group. This is an example of
a) the Hawthorne effect.
b) participant bias.
c) double-blind procedure.
d) placebo procedure.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
196. Dr. Nalling conducted a survey asking participants about their hygienic habits. She was very surprised to find that most of her participants reported exemplary hygienic habits. Which bias might account for this finding?
a) researcher bias
b) sampling bias
c) participant bias
d) demand bias
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
197. Which of the following accurately describes the Hawthorne effect?
a) People who complete surveys frequently answer in ways that are socially acceptable.
b) The outcome when neither the participant nor the researcher knows the treatment or procedure the participant is receiving.
c) When an experimenter sets up their study so that to unintentionally convey to participants the outcome that they expect to see.
d) People who are being observed in studies improve or change some of their behaviour simply because they are being watched or studied rather than in response to an experimental manipulation.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
198. Dr. Unger is investigating the effects of sleep deprivation on memory for spatial locations. He decides to have three groups of participants each undergo different amounts of sleep deprivation (e.g., 24 hours, 30 hours, and 36 hours) and then perform a spatial memory task (e.g., remembering the locations of 10 hidden objects). What kind of research method is Dr. Unger using?
a) naturalistic observation
b) experiment
c) survey
d) case study
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
199. Madeline is carrying out a controlled observation in which she is manipulating the presence or amount of the independent variable to see what effect it has on the dependent variable. This type of research is known as a(n)
a) case study.
b) controlled study.
c) naturalistic observation.
d) experiment.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
200. Dr. Mallette is studying the effects of toy choices on aggressive behaviour in preschool children. To do this, she has two groups of children that each have access to different types of toys. The Violent Group has access to violent toys (guns, wrestling dolls, handcuffs), and the Non-Violent Group has access to non-violent toys (tea party set, colouring books, toy trucks). For each group, she records the number of aggressive acts performed. What kind of research method is Dr. Mallette using?
a) naturalistic observation
b) experiment
c) survey
d) case study
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
201. Dr. Garcia conducted an experiment to study the incidence of birth defects in infants born of mothers who drank alcohol during their pregnancies. From the outset of the study, she had a poster located behind her desk in full view of study participants that stated, “Don’t Drink” accompanied by a disturbing image of a newborn with multiple birth defects. What type of bias does this poster represent?
a) researcher
b) participant
c) demand characteristic
d) statistical
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
202. For which of the following reasons might a researcher use a double-blind procedure?
a) to avoid selection bias
b) to avoid sampling bias
c) to avoid non-random assignment
d) to avoid demand characteristics
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
203. In an experiment, the researcher deliberately manipulates the ___ variable and measures the ___ variable.
a) experimental; control
b) control; experimental
c) dependent; independent
d) independent; dependent
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
204. In experimental research, presumed cause is to potential effect as ___ is to ___.
a) dependent variable; independent variable
b) independent variable; dependent variable
c) experimental group; control group
d) control group; experimental group
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
205. A researcher is interested in whether working flexible hours increases worker productivity on an assembly line. She allows the employees to choose one of three work options – working 8 hours straight, working 4 hours in the morning and four hours in the evening, or working four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening. For each group, she measures the number of items they produce on the assembly line during their 8 hours of work. In this study, the work shift is the _________________ variable and the number of items produced is the __________________ variable.
a) manipulated; independent
b) dependent; controlling
c) dependent; independent
d) independent; dependent
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
206. Dr. Warner is studying the effects of vitamin C consumption on the frequency of common colds. To do this, he gives a random half of his sample of participants a large dose of vitamin C to consume daily for one year, while the other group takes a placebo daily for one year. The frequency of colds is recorded for the duration of the year. In this study, what is the control group?
a) the group that gets more colds throughout the year
b) the group that consumes the vitamin C daily for one year
c) the group that consumes a placebo daily for one year
d) the group that gets fewer colds throughout the year
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
207. After participating in a study, Kylie talks to Tim about the violent video the researcher had her watch before she completed a questionnaire. Tim is surprised as, although he completed the same questionnaire, he watched a peaceful travel video. Which of the following best explains Kylie and Tim’s different research experiences?
a) Kylie was part of the dependent group, Tim was part of the independent group
b) Kylie was part of the independent group. Tim was part of the dependent group.
c) Kylie was part of the experimental group. Tim was part of the control group.
d) Kylie was part of the control group. Tim was part of the experimental group.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
208. Dr. Olsson is studying the effects of cardiovascular exercise on intelligence. To do this, he gives a random half of his participants a daily cardio exercise routine to complete while the other half of his sample is required to do a daily yoga routine. At the end of one year, he measures everyone’s IQ by using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). In this study, what is the control group?
a) the group that has a higher IQ
b) the group that does a daily cardio workout
c) the group that does a daily yoga workout
d) the group that has a lower IQ
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
209. Gabriel and Roberta are both cancer patients at a large hospital. They both decide to take part in a study examining the effectiveness of an experimental cancer drug. While Gabriel shows improvement, Roberta does not. Which of the following is a plausible explanation for difference in results?
a) Gabriel is showing signs of the Hawthorne effect, whereas Roberta is not.
b) Gabriel is likely in the independent group, whereas Roberta was in the dependent group.
c) Gabriel was in the control group, whereas Roberta was in the experimental group.
d) Gabriel was in the experimental group, whereas Roberta was in the control group.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
210. Which of the following is a disadvantage of experimental research?
a) Does not allow researchers precise control over variables.
b) Cannot explain cause and effect.
c) Cannot always use random assignment due to ethical concerns.
d) It is impossible for control for demand characteristics.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
211. At their University, Drs. Chase and Sanborn are conducting an experiment on the effects of caffeine on memory. Participants are randomly assigned to a caffeine or a no-caffeine group and their recall of items on a word list is later assessed. Which pair below correctly identifies a variable in this experiment?
a) caffeine – dependent variable
b) caffeine – independent variable
c) word recall – independent variable
d) word recall – experimental variable
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
212. Marcus is interested in whether listening to fast or slow music effects worker productivity on an assembly line. He also wants to know if the type of music (country, jazz, or pop) makes a difference. For one week he plays country music in the factory – fast in the morning and slow in the afternoon. The next week, he does the same thing with jazz music, and the third week he plays pop music. He measures the number of items produced as well as the number of mistakes they made on the assembly line during each type and speed of music. In this study the type of music played would be a(n) __________ variable and the speed of the music would be a(n) ________________ variable.
a) independent; dependent
b) dependent; independent
c) dependent; dependent
d) independent; independent
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
213. Which of the following sequences best reflects the order of the steps in the scientific method as it is described and illustrated in your text?
a) build theory – operationalize variables – develop hypothesis
b) develop hypothesis – operationalize variables – build theory
c) develop hypothesis – build theory – operationalize variables
d) build theory – develop hypothesis – operationalize variables
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
214. What is the last step in the cycle of how psychologists conduct research?
a) Develop a testable hypothesis.
b) Identify questions of interest and review the literature.
c) Build a theory.
d) Seek scientific review, publish, and replicate.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
215. What step comes after analyzing the data and accept/reject the hypothesis in the cycle of how psychologists conduct research?
a) Develop a testable hypothesis.
b) Identify questions of interest and review the literature.
c) Build a theory.
d) Seek scientific review, publish, and replicate.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
216. Which of the following statements BEST expresses the relationship between a sample and a population?
a) A sample includes a population.
b) A population includes a sample.
c) A population is like a sample.
d) A sample is separate from a population.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
217. Silas is conducting a study comparing math ability in undergraduate students with ADHD to those who do NOT have ADHD. Who is the sample for Silas’s study?
a) Undergraduate students with ADHD.
b) Undergraduate students who do not have ADHD.
c) Everybody who has ADHD.
d) Both the participants with and without ADHD.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
218. A _________ is to a single experiment, as a ________ is to the larger group who could be participants in the study.
a) sample; participant
b) participant; sample
c) sample; population
d) population; sample
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
219. Stijn is assessing the effects on people’s health in is city since fluoride was added to the water supply. The group of people about whom Stijn will be making claims about based on his study is called:
a) a sample
b) a population
c) the participants
d) the experimental group
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
220. At a DUI checkpoint, some cars are stopped at random; many others are not stopped. Using the terminology of psychological research, the cars that are stopped may be considered a ___ of all the cars that pass by the checkpoint.
a) sample
b) subset
c) population
d) segment
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
221. Felipe is a police officer. His precinct captain chooses four officers a month, at random dates and times, for drug tests. The captain’s logic on this method of testing is that the tested employees represent a ______________ of all other police officers at the precinct.
a) sample
b) subset
c) population
d) segment
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
222. Magazine surveys cannot be considered valid research methods because its readers are the only ones who will respond, and the readers may be predisposed to have a special interest in the hypothesis. This is an example of a
a) random sample.
b) sampling error.
c) sampling bias.
d) representative sample.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
223. Eabha has inadvertently recruited participants that are especially likely to confirm the hypothesis of her study. She has committed what type of error in selecting her participants?
a) sampling error.
b) participant bias.
c) random assignment.
d) sampling bias.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
224. Aria is conducting a survey on personality traits and binge drinking among college students as part of her masters’ thesis work. Aria distributes questionnaires to students enrolled in her own section of an introductory psychology course, as well as those taught by her thesis advisor. Based on this information, it appears that Aria has failed to
a) randomly select the participants.
b) operationalize the variables.
c) randomly assign the participants.
d) debrief the participants.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
225. Amy is conducting a survey of dating attitudes and behaviours among young adults as part of her masters’ thesis work. Amy distributes questionnaires to 200 randomly selected students enrolled in an introductory psychology course at her university. The 200 students constitute Amy’s ___. The people to whom she assumes her results will generalize are termed the ___.
a) control group; population
b) experimental group; population
c) population; sample
d) sample; population
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
226. If you are studying the effects of sugar consumed on the activity levels of 10-year old boys, the 10-year old boys who participate in your study would be the __________, and all 10-year-old boys would be the _____________.
a) experimental group; control group
b) sample, sample
c) sample; population
d) population; sample
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
227. One method that researchers use to ensure that everyone in a population of interest has an equal chance of being involved in a study is ___________________.
a) sampling bias
b) random assignment
c) random recruitment
d) random selection
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
228. Which of the following is a disadvantage of descriptive research?
a) artificial lab conditions
b) cannot explain cause and effect
c) ethical concerns
d) harder to collect data
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
229. Kayley is trying to decide whether to study the relationship between alcohol consumption using survey research techniques on the one hand, or experimental research methods on the other. Which of the following alternatives most accurately identifies considerations Kayley should keep in mind as she plans her research?
a) Survey responses are prone to biases, but survey work allows you to identify causes and effects. Experimental research is more artificial but allows you to control variables.
b) Both survey research and experimental methodology involve somewhat artificial conditions. However, both survey research and experimental research are easier to conduct than other methods.
c) Both survey research and experimental methodology allow you to identify causes and effects. However, experimental research usually involves artificial laboratory conditions, while survey responses may reflect biases.
d) Experimental research usually involves artificial laboratory conditions, but it would allow you to identify causes and effects. Survey research does not allow cause-effect-conclusions, and survey responses may reflect biases.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
230. Dr. Avelar is studying the vocal outbursts of a young man with autism. After conducting several observations, he finds that most of the young man’s outbursts occur when there are loud noises in the room. Dr. Avelar concludes that loud noises can evoke vocal outbursts in persons with autism. What is wrong with Dr. Avelar’s conclusion?
a) Dr. Avelar had little control over the variables investigated in this study.
b) Dr. Avelar conducted a case study so the findings cannot be generalized to other people with autism.
c) There is evidence of researcher bias that might have influenced the findings.
d) There were ethical concerns that might have influenced the findings.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and
experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
231. Dr. Tanaka encountered an alien and found, to his surprise, that they were able to converse. The alien consented to being studied. Dr. Tanaka therefore gave the alien several intelligence tests, personality tests, memory tests, empathy tests, and observed the alien in in its day-to-day interactions. What type of research method was Dr. Tanaka using?
a) experiment
b) naturalistic observation
c) case study
d) survey
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
232. To determine whether fluctuations in the economy influence the vacation plans of families in Canada, Gannon stops people on the street to ask them a series of questions. Gannon is using the research method known as
a) case study.
b) naturalistic observation.
c) experiment.
d) survey.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
233. Dr. Peacock is investigating the effect of the amount of daycare fees on preschooler’s language development. To do this, she finds a handful of daycares that differ according to their weekly fees (some are very expensive, and others are not), and she quietly sits and records the number of words spoken by random samples of children throughout the day in each daycare. What type of research method is Dr. Peacock using?
a) experiment
b) naturalistic observation
c) case study
d) survey
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
234. Which of the following alternatives correctly identifies BOTH an advantage AND a disadvantage of naturalistic observation?
a) Naturalistic observation is highly reflective of actual behaviour, but it is difficult to generalize results gained through the study of a single person.
b) Naturalistic observation is highly reflective of actual behaviour, but it is prone to biases.
c) Naturalistic observation allows cause-and-effect conclusions, but it can be highly artificial.
d) Naturalistic observation allows control over variables, but it is prone to biases.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
235. Elizabeth is considering whether to consider the results from a case study she recently read as valid. What would you tell her is NOT a disadvantage of a case study?
a) There is little or no control over variables.
b) They can be greatly affected by researcher bias.
c) Cannot be generalized to other situations.
d) Laboratory conditions may produce artificial results.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
236. Experimental research requires that the responses of ___ group(s) be examined.
a) at least 1
b) 2
c) at least 2
d) 3 or more
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
237. Why are control groups included in experiments?
a) to determine whether two variables are related
b) to ascertain cause-and-effect relationships
c) to ensure that participant characteristics are essentially the same in each group
d) to ensure that the results may be generalized to the population
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
238. Random assignment
a) guarantees the elimination of differences between the control and experimental groups.
b) may not entirely eliminate differences between the control and experimental groups.
c) does little to minimize differences between the control and experimental groups.
d) ensures that a sample represents a population.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
239. Dr. McMillan is studying the effects of violent cartoon watching on aggressive play behaviour in school-aged children. She divides the children up into two groups: one group watches a violent cartoon for 20 minutes and the other group watches a non-violent cartoon for 20 minutes. Then, all the children play together in a large area, and researchers count the number of aggressive acts performed by each child. Most importantly, when the researchers are counting aggressive acts, they don’t know which child watched which cartoon. What potential influence on the results is Dr. McMillan mindful of in collecting her data this way?
a) sampling bias
b) demand characteristics
c) researcher bias
d) participant bias
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
240. Dr. Yagushi is researching the effects of daily exercise on neurogenesis. To do this, she uses three groups of rats that vary in the amount of daily exercise: one group gets no access to a running wheel, another group gets 2 hours of access to the running wheel, and a final group gets 12 hours of access to the wheel. After 2 months on their respective exercise schedules, the rats are sacrificed, and Dr. Yagushi counts the number of neurons in a given region of the brain. Most importantly, when Dr. Yagushi is doing her neuron count on each brain slice, she doesn’t know which brain received each exercise level. What potential influence on the results is Dr. Yagushi mindful of in collecting her data this way?
a) sampling bias
b) demand characteristics
c) researcher bias
d) participant bias
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
241. A pharmaceutical company wishes to test the efficacy of a new anti-depressant using a double-blind procedure. Which alternative CORRECTLY describes the procedure the company would use?
a) The research assistants would know which participants were receiving the new drug and which were receiving an inert pill. Each patient would also know which type of pill he or she was taking.
b) The research assistants would know which participants were receiving the new drug and which were receiving an inert pill. Each patient, though, would not know which type of pill he or she was taking.
c) The research assistants would not know which participants were receiving the new drug and which were receiving an inert pill. Each patient, though, would know which type of pill he or she was taking.
d) The research assistants would not know which participants were receiving the new drug and which were receiving an inert pill. Also, each patient would not know which type of pill he or she was taking.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
242. A study in which neither the participant nor the research knows what treatment or procedure the participant is receiving is using the ________________ procedure.
a) experimental
b) correlational
c) demand
d) double-blind
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
243. Which of the following research methods is CORRECTLY matched with a description?
a) naturalistic observation – behaviour is investigated in the environment in which it typically occurs
b) case study – a large sample is asked a set of questions
c) survey research – at least one variable is deliberately manipulated by the researcher
d) experimental research – a single individual is examined in detail
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
244. Which of the following research methods is CORRECTLY matched with an advantage?
a) naturalistic observation – rich source of hypotheses regarding a single individual’s behaviour
b) case study – allows control over variables
c) survey research – lets researchers measure the strength of the relationship between variables
d) experimental research – highly reflective of actual human behaviour
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
245. What method do psychologists use to analyze study data?
a) logic
b) induction
c) statistics
d) deduction
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
246. What do psychologists do to determine whether the variables in their research are related, or whether there is a true difference between their groups?
a) They do a visual inspection of their data and see if there are any obvious trends.
b) They rely in impressions or logic.
c) They use statistics as a tool.
d) They compare their findings to previous work in the area.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
247. Researchers use statistics as a tool to
a) compare their findings to previous work in the area.
b) see if their work supports an existing theory or whether they have to revise the theory.
c) determine whether the variables in their research are related, or whether there is a true difference between their groups.
d) choose a representative sample of the population to serve in the experiment.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
248. Which of the following values indicates that there is no relationship between two variables?
a) –1.0
b) –.10
c) 0.00
d) 1.0
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
249. Which term is most nearly synonymous with the term correlation?
a) relationship
b) explanation
c) observation
d) influence
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
250. The correlation coefficient ranges from
a) 1 to 100.
b) –1.00 to 1.00.
c) 0 to 1.
d) –100 to 100.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
251. “Okay. What does a correlation coefficient tell us?” Zoe asks the members of her psychology study group. “The strength of a relationship between two variables,” answers Yvonne. “The direction of the relationship between two variables,” puts in Will. Who is right?
a) Only Yvonne is right.
b) Only Will is right.
c) Both Yvonne and Will are right.
d) Neither Yvonne nor Will is right.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
252. There is a positive correlation between the temperature and the amount of ice cream sold. Which of the following explains the relationship between ice cream and temperature?
a) Higher temperatures cause more people to buy ice cream.
b) The higher the temperature, the more ice cream is sold.
c) The lower the temperature, the more ice cream is sold.
d) The lower the temperature, the less ice cream is sold.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
253. The direction of the relationship between two variables is given by a correlation coefficient’s ___; the strength of the relationship is given by the coefficient’s ___.
a) absolute value; value
b) sign; absolute value
c) sign; value
d) absolute value; sign
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
254. Which of the following defines a positive correlation?
a) when the scores on one variable tend to decrease as the scores on another variable decrease
b) when the scores on one variable tend to increase as the scores on another variable decrease
c) when the scores on one variable tend to decrease as the scores on another variable increase
d) where there is no relationship between two variables
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
255. Which of the following defines a negative correlation?
a) when the scores on one variable tend to decrease as the scores on another variable decrease
b) when the scores on one variable tend to increase as the scores on another variable increase
c) when the scores on one variable tend to decrease as the scores on another variable increase
d) where there is no relationship between two variables
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
256. Which pair of variables is most likely to be a positive correlation?
a) alcohol consumption and GPA
b) GPA and height
c) GPA and amount of studying
d) GPA and depression
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
257. Which pair of variables is most likely to be a negative correlation?
a) alcohol consumption and GPA
b) GPA and height
c) GPA and amount of studying
d) GPA and confidence
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
258. Rae tells Shu-fen that the data from her study indicates that as the lower the number of hours a student spends studying, the lower their GPA. Rae is describing
a) the results of a t-test.
b) the results of an analysis of variance.
c) a negative correlation.
d) a positive correlation.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
259. Linh has finished collecting and analyzing data for her thesis and her data show that children with higher rates of empathy engage in less screen time than children with lower rates of empathy. Linh’s data are
a) the results of a t-test.
b) the results of an analysis of variance.
c) a negative correlation.
d) a positive correlation.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
260. Kjersti found a positive correlation between self-reported alcohol and drug use and sick days taken in a study of white-collar workers. A graph of her results would show
a) a diagonal line from the top left to the bottom right.
b) a diagonal line from the bottom left to the top right.
c) a horizontal line.
d) a U-shaped curve.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
261. Asiya is looking at the graph of the data from her correlational study. She finds that the data points form a line that begins at the intersection of the x and y axes and extends to the top right-hand corner of the graph. How should Asiya interpret her results?
a) There is a positive correlation between her variables. Those who score high on variable A also tend to score high on variable B.
b) There is a negative correlation between her variables. Those who score high on variable A, tend to score low on variable B.
c) There is a positive correlation between her variables. Those who score high on variable A, tend to score low on variable B.
d) There is a negative correlation between her variables. Those who score low on variable A, also tend to score low on variable B.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
262. A researcher finds a correlation of –.51. Which pair of variables is the researcher most likely investigating?
a) GPA and alcohol use
b) IQ and GPA
c) GPA and height
d) GPA and amount of studying
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
263. Benoit is analyzing the data from a study examining the relationship between the amount of television a child watches and the amount of physical activity they engage in. If the higher amount of television a child watches, the less physical activity they engage in, which of the following would represent the largest possible correlation coefficient?
a) -.43
b) 0.00
c) +. 73
d) -.62
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
264. Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the strongest relationship between two variables?
a) –.75
b) .60
c) .00
d) .30
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
265. Every time variable A decreases by one unit variable B also decreases by one unit. Which of the following correlation coefficients best describes the relationship between variables A and B?
a) +.50
b) -.50
c) +1.00
d) -1.00
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
266. Every time variable A increases by one unit variable B decreases by one unit. Which of the following correlation coefficients best describes the relationship between variables A and B?
a) +.50
b) -.50
c) +1.00
d) -1.00
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
267. A ___ correlation results when there is no relationship between two variables.
a) negative
b) inverse
c) zero
d) infinite
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
268. If there is a relationship between the amount of caffeine consumed and heart rate in that the more caffeine that is consumed the faster a person’s heart beats, how would you describe the correlation between caffeine and heart rate?
a) negative correlation
b) positive correlation
c) stable correlation
d) unstable correlation
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
269. Which of the following is an example of a positive correlation?
a) The slower you drive, the longer it takes to reach your destination.
b) The more it snows, the more shovels are sold.
c) The less one smokes, the longer they will live.
d) The longer you spend in bed, the shorter you day will be.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
270. As a person ages they demonstrate lower rates of recall for words studied from a list. This suggests that the relationship between age and recall memory is a
a) positive correlation.
b) negative correlation.
c) zero correlation.
d) perfect correlation.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
271. Janessa and Unni have just graphed the relationship between the variables of each of their correlational studies. Janessa finds that the data points from her study form a line that begins at the top left-hand side and goes to the bottom of the right-hand side of the graph. Unni finds that her data points are randomly scattered. Janessa has found a ________________ correlation and Unni has found a ________________ correlation.
a) positive; negative
b) negative; positive
c) positive; near zero
d) negative; near zero
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
272. In a survey project, Dr. Miyake finds a correlation of .60 between attachment security and the likelihood with which participants say they would engage in various pro-social behaviours at work. Each of the following is consistent with this data EXCEPT
a) attachment security leads people to behave pro-socially at work.
b) behaving pro-socially at work can produce a feeling of attachment security.
c) lower attachment security is associated with less pro-social work behaviour.
d) there is a perfect relationship between attachment security and pro-social work behaviour.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
273. If every time variable A increases by one unit, variable B also increases by one unit, it is known as a ________ correlation.
a) negative
b) zero
c) perfect
d) moderate
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
274. Patrice found a perfect correlation between children’s foot length and their shoe size. Malinda’s foot is 6 inches long and she takes a size 4 shoe. Based on this, if Tommy’s foot is 8 inches long, what size shoe would you predict he would take?
a) 5
b) 6
c) 7
d) 8
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
275. Using a sample of young adolescents, Dr. Nguyen finds a correlation of .55 between scores on a measure of neglectful or uninvolved parenting and scores on a measure of delinquent behaviour. Which of the following might Dr. Nguyen legitimately conclude?
a) Uninvolved parenting causes juvenile delinquency.
b) Uninvolved parenting is related to a higher degree of delinquent behaviour.
c) Uninvolved parenting is unrelated to delinquency.
d) There is a negative relationship between uninvolved parenting and delinquent behaviour.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
276. In a large correlational study, Grace finds a correlation coefficient of .15 between one pair of variables. She finds a coefficient of –.65 between two other variables. Which alternative below BEST describes these two correlations, respectively?
a) weak positive relationship; strong negative relationship
b) very weak positive relationship; strong negative relationship
c) weak positive relationship; very strong negative relationship
d) weak positive relationship; modest negative relationship
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
277. There is a correlation of -.84 between two variables. Which of the following would be the most accurate interpretation?
a) Based on the change in variable A, you would be able to predict the change in variable B 84% of the time.
b) As it is a negative correlation, there is no meaningful relationship between the variables.
c) There is a strong predictable relationship between the variables.
d) You would not be able to reliably predict the change in variable B based on the strength of variable A.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
278. “I’m so pleased! I got a correlation between scores on my socio-sexual activity measure and scores on the anxious attachment scale, just like I predicted,” enthuses Ahmed. Based on your text’s discussion regarding correlations between complex behaviours and thoughts, the absolute value of Ahmed’s coefficient should be
a) at least .20.
b) at least .30.
c) at least .40.
d) at least .60.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
279. Dr. Denny has just discovered a perfect positive correlation between hours of studying and grades in students who pay for their own education. Based on this, what can Dr. Denny conclude?
a) Studying for more hours causes better grades.
b) Getting better grades causes students to want to study more.
c) The number of hours of studying and grades are both caused by a good work ethic.
d) Causal conclusions are not possible here.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
280. Dr. Vance has just finished analyzing the data from her study and has found that the more classes a student misses, the lower their GPA. Dr. Vance must have conducted a(n) _________ because she has found a(n) ___________ relationship between number of classes missed and GPA.
a) inferential analysis; negative
b) inferential analysis; positive
c) descriptive analysis; positive
d) correlational analysis; negative
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
281. Correlational analysis is to experimental analysis as ___ is to ___.
a) inferential statistics; descriptive statistics
b) t-test; analysis of variance
c) relationship; cause and effect
d) cause and effect; relationship
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
282. After collecting her data, Alice is comparing the means of two groups. Which statistical analysis is she most likely to use?
a) correlation coefficient
b) standard deviation
c) t-test
d) p-test
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
283. Mean is to standard deviation as ___ is to ___.
a) average; variance
b) correlation; t-test
c) coefficient; significance
d) cause and effect; relationship
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
284. Statistics which summarize data are termed ___ statistics. Those that indicate what might be concluded from research results are called ___ statistics.
a) experimental; correlational
b) correlational; experimental
c) inferential; descriptive
d) descriptive; inferential
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
285. What do inferential statistics allow researchers to do?
a) Determine whether their findings can be applied to everyone in the population.
b) Describe the patterns in the data.
c) Determine how consistent each participant’s score was relative to the group.
d) Estimate whether the sample is representative of the population.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
286. The category of experimental analyses that assists researchers in making conclusions based on results is known as ___.
a) correlation statistics
b) inferential statistics
c) probability statistics
d) descriptive statistics
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
287. In a small study, a group of students in an Experimental Psychology course collected scores on two variables – Variables A and B – from five participants as follows: Participant 1: A = 3, B = 10; Participant 2: A = 3, B = 9; Participant 3: A = 8, B = 4; Participant 4: A = 6, B = 6; Participant 5: A = 10, B = 1. “The mean score on Variable A is 6, and the variables are not correlated,” Ivy notes. “The mean Variable B score is 5, and the variables are negatively correlated,” John states. “No, the mean score on B is 6; but, yes, A and B are negatively correlated,” Kenya remarks. “Wait. The mean score on A is 5,” Lara adds. Which of these students is correct?
a) Only John is correct.
b) Kenya and Lara are correct.
c) John and Lara are correct.
d) Only Kenya is correct.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
288. “The average was 75,” explains Dr. Cole, handing back the semester’s first midterm. The lowest score was 32, and there were several in the 40s. But I had some 95s, 96s, and even a 98 – so it’s not like it’s impossible to do well.” Handing back the second midterm, Dr, Cole notes, “The average was 75 again. There were a few in the low 60s, but I got a bunch in the high 80s and into the 90s. It’s looking better!” Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a) The means were the same on the two tests, but the standard deviation was lower on the first than on the second.
b) The means were the same on the two tests, but the standard deviation was higher on the first than on the second.
c) The mean was higher on the second test than on the first, but the standard deviation was lower on the second test.
d) The means and standard deviations were the same on the two tests.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
289. One statistic that tells researchers how much participants’ scores vary from one another is the
a) weighted mean.
b) standard deviation.
c) correlation coefficient.
d) inferential statistic.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
290. Which of the following statistical procedures can be used to determine to what degree participants’ scores within a group vary?
a) standard deviation
b) mean
c) t-test
d) analysis of variance
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
291. Imogen has just analyzed the data from her study. Although she finds that both groups in her study had a mean of 81, group 1 had a standard deviation of 6.7 and group 2 had a standard deviation of 24.6. Which of the following most accurately describes how this should be interpreted?
a) There is a significant difference between the two groups.
b) The scores of group 1 were more varied than group 2.
c) The scores of group 1 were less varied than group 2.
d) There were no differences between the groups.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
292. Dr. Cirella measures the throwing distance of a group of Grade 8 students and finds that the average distance for the boys is greater than that for the girls. If he also wanted to know how much the scores vary within each group, what statistic should he use?
a) mean
b) standard deviation
c) correlation coefficient
d) probability statistic
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
293. In an experiment containing one experimental group and one control group, the performance of the participants in the two groups would be compared using a(n)
a) t-test.
b) standard deviation.
c) analysis of variance.
d) correlation coefficient.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
294. Psychological researchers typically compare the means of two groups using a statistical procedure known as a
a) analysis of variance.
b) t-test.
c) standard deviation.
d) correlation.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
295. Dr. Nash is reading Odette’s thesis proposal. “Recovering cocaine addicts will view three types of words flashed briefly on the computer screen: cocaine-related words, words related to drugs the participants did not abuse, and neutral words unrelated to drugs,” reads one sentence. Later, Dr. Nash encounters this sentence: “Mean reaction times to the three types of words will be analyzed using a t-test.” Which piece of feedback is Dr. Nash most likely to give to Odette?
a) “The proposed analysis seems fine.”
b) “I would suggest using analyses of variance, since you have three groups.”
c) “Correlational analyses such as t-tests aren’t appropriate for experiments.”
d) “I would propose computing correlation coefficients for this type of study.”
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
296. Yvette is conducting a study that compares the means of four groups. Which of the following statistical tests is she most likely to use?
a) t-test
b) correlation
c) analysis of variance
d) standard deviation
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
297. Dr. Bauer is investigating the effects of a new drug on the capacity of short-term memory. To do this, he uses four doses of drug on different groups of patients: some take a high dose, others a medium dose, others a low dose, and finally some take a placebo sugar pill. He then measures each participant’s short-term memory capacity by seeing how many words they can remember immediately after hearing a list of 50 words. What statistic would Dr. Bauer use to determine if there was a significant difference between groups?
a) correlation coefficient
b) t-test
c) analysis of variance
d) standard deviation
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
298. In order to examine the difference of means between two groups the best analysis would be to use a _____.
a) t-test.
b) analysis of variance.
c) regression.
d) standard deviation.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
299. Which of the following would be analyzed using an analysis of variance?
a) A study examining the relationship between two variables.
b) A study examining the variance in the scores of two groups.
c) A study examining the differences in the means of two groups.
d) A study examining the differences in the means of four groups.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
300. Kendrick just finished analyzing the data of his research study using an analysis of variance. He is extremely pleased to find that his results are significant. Which of the following would be true about Kendrick’s findings?
a) There is a relationship between the variables of the study.
b) The findings of his study have practical applications.
c) If Kendrick were to conduct the same study 100 times, they would get the same results by chance less than 5% of the time.
d) If Kendrick were to conduct the same study 100 times, they would likely not get the same results.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
301. What does a psychologist usually mean when she says a specific experimental result is ‘significant’?
a) The result reflects a large difference between the mean scores of one participant group and the mean scores of another.
b) The result is important in a practical sense.
c) The result will allow psychologists to support one theory over alternative theories.
d) The result is unlikely to have occurred solely because of chance.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
302. What can statistics tell us about the results of a research project?
a) the importance of the findings
b) the likelihood that the results would have been found by chance alone
c) how much the dependent variable depends on the independent variable
d) how often the findings have been replicated
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
303. The hypothesis of a study is supported when
a) the results are statistically significant.
b) the data are inaccurate.
c) a new theory is created from the results.
d) a non-random sample is used.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
304. What does it mean to say that research findings are ‘statistically significant’?
a) the findings are important
b) the findings will be published
c) the findings are not likely to be due to chance
d) the findings are not likely to be found again
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
305. After a researcher has tested all their participants and they have their data, what information can statistics add to their knowledge?
a) how many other researchers have found the same results
b) the likelihood that the results will be published
c) the extent that the dependent variable depends on the independent variable
d) the likelihood that the results would have been found by chance alone
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
306. When the results of a research project have been found to be ‘statistically significant’, what does this mean?
a) The findings are original and have never been published before.
b) The findings are very important, and the scientific community should know about them.
c) The findings are not likely to be due to chance alone.
d) The findings will be published in a reputable journal.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
307. Which value indicates the greatest likelihood that a result occurred by chance alone?
a) .005
b) .05
c) .5
d) .001
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
308. Bentley is excitedly telling his professor that he just analyzed his data and found a result of p < .05. Bentley is referring to the
a) mean.
b) standard deviation.
c) correlation coefficient.
d) probability statistic.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
309. Paulette encounters the following sentence in a psychology journal article she is reading: “Participants exposed to brief heat stress made more errors on the visual attention task than did participants not exposed to heat stress, p < .05.” Paulette can conclude each of the following EXCEPT
a) the difference between the groups in the number of errors most likely stems from heat stress.
b) there was a significant difference between the groups in the number of errors.
c) the number of errors was much larger in the heat stress group than it was in the other group.
d) there is less than a 5% chance that random coincidence was responsible for the difference between the groups in the number of errors.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
310. Julia and Marco have just completed the analysis on their research projects. Julia has found a probability statistic of p < .01 and Marco has found a probability statistic of p < .001. Who has found the stronger relationship between the variables of their study?
a) Julia
b) Marco
c) Neither of these findings are significant because they are both smaller than p < .05.
d) The probability statistic only indicates if there are differences between the groups, it does not provide information about the strength of the relationship.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
311. Why do the editors of psychology journals sometimes insist that psychologists include an estimate of effect size along with the probability statistic when they report a significant result?
a) By itself, a probability statistic indicates only whether the difference in means between the groups in the study is unlikely to reflect chance. The effect size statistic indicates whether the difference is large.
b) By itself, a probability statistic indicates only that the difference in means between the groups in the study is large. The effect size statistic indicates whether the difference is unlikely to reflect chance.
c) The effect size statistic replicates the probability statistic, providing additional evidence that the result is significant.
d) By itself, a probability statistic indicates only that there is a relationship between two variables. The effect size statistic gives some indication of cause and effect.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
312. Polly is showing the results of her study to her statistics professor. She has found a significant difference between her groups with a small effect size. What will her professor likely tell her regarding the relationship between her variables?
a) She should be very excited because she found significance and an effect size.
b) There is a large difference between her groups.
c) Although she found significance, it appears that the difference between the groups may not be very large.
d) She should have reported the standard deviation rather than the effect size, as it would give her more information about the strength of the relationship between the variables.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
313. Redoing and expanding on a study to see if its results hold up in different conditions with new samples is termed ___.
a) reproduction
b) replication
c) repetition
d) restoration
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
314. Immediately after the title of a journal article in psychology, a brief overview of the research always appears before the introduction begins. This overview is called a(n) ___.
a) synopsis
b) preface
c) precis
d) abstract
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
315. Dr. Fillipe is investigating the effects of vitamin B consumption on stress levels. He randomly gives half of his participants a daily dose of vitamin B for one month while the other half takes a sugar pill. Each day, the participants provide a saliva sample to measure stress hormones. If Dr. FIllipe wanted to determine whether the vitamin B group had significantly lower levels of stress hormones compared to the sugar pill group, which of the following pieces of information would he NOT need to know?
a) the number of participants in each group
b) the mean levels of stress hormones of each group
c) the standard deviation for stress hormone levels of each group
d) the correlation coefficient of each group
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
316. Dr. Jirandi is studying the effects of caffeine on road rage. He randomly gives half of his participants an espresso every morning for one month before their commute to work, while the other half consumes a decaffeinated coffee. After the daily commute, each participant provides a rating of how angry they felt during the drive, and stress levels are measured by taking a saliva sample. If Dr. Jirandi wanted to determine whether the caffeine group had significantly more road rage than the decaffeinated group, which of the following pieces of information would he NOT need to know?
a) the number of participants in each group
b) the mean anger ratings and levels of stress hormones of each group
c) the standard deviation for anger ratings and stress hormone levels of each group
d) the correlation coefficient of each group
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
317. Which of the following is true about the research ethics board (REB)?
a) It is funded by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
b) It is made up of elected government officials.
c) It reviews each research project in an institution to protect the rights of participants in the study.
d) It is a research grant agency.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
318. a. Which group evaluates each research project to protect the rights of participants in a study?
a) Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
b) The Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC)
c) The Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)
d) the research ethics board (REB)
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
319. REB is to ____________ as CCAC is to _______________.
a) animals; humans
b) humans; animals
c) animals; animals
d) humans; animals
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
320. REB is to ____________ as NSERC is to _______________.
a) research design; ethics
b) ethics; research design
c) funding; oversight
d) oversight; funding
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
321. Research at Harvard University that exposed mentally ill patients to LSD and ECT to test the causes and effects of brainwashing failed to comply with which ethical guideline?
a) participant bias
b) confidentiality
c) informed consent
d) voluntary withdrawal
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
322. What procedure at the end of an experiment provides participants with information regarding the full purpose and goals of the study?
a) informed consent
b) confidentiality review
c) debriefing
d) welfare review
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
323. Which of the following is the best definition of debriefing?
a) when participants are told that they can end their participation at any time
b) when participants are told about the study to help decide whether they want to participate or not
c) when participants are reassured that their responses and identity will be protected and kept private
d) when participants are given full information about the study after their participation
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
324. Which of the following is the best definition of informed consent?
a) when a research participant is supplied with full information about the study after their participation
b) when a participant is given information about the purpose of the study, the procedures, and any potential risks and benefits, to decide whether they want to participate or not
c) when the researchers ensure that the participant’s raw data and identifying information will be kept private
d) when participants are told that they have the right to end participation at any point during the study
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
325. Trent, a doctoral student in psychology, is preparing his dissertation proposal. The research ethics board (REB) at his university will approve his research if
a) the research promises at least some scientific benefit.
b) participants will experience no risk or discomfort during the research.
c) the scientific benefit of the research outweighs the risk to the participants.
d) participants are fully informed of the study’s true purpose before the session begins.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
326. Cassidy wants to tell her participants that she is conducting a study on memory for words. She will give the participants a list of words to study and then ask them to type all the words they remember into a computer. After the study time is finished, she will deliberately “forget” to remove the original list of words. Cassidy will be watching her participants through a one-way window because she is really studying cheating behaviour. What will most probably be the response of the Research Ethics Board to her ethics application?
a) They will likely reject it because her participants cannot give informed consent unless they know what the study is actually about.
b) They will probably approve it because the benefits of learning about cheating behaviour outweighs the harm that a little embarrassment might cause.
c) They will likely reject it because this could cause embarrassment to those participants who cheat.
d) They will probably approve it if Cassidy plans to debrief her participants after the experiment.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
327. Dr. O’Connor is telling his participants before he begins the experiment that their participation is completely voluntary and that they can stop taking part at any time. Dr. Quick is providing a detailed explanation to participants who have just completed a study. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a) Dr. O’Connor is obtaining informed consent from his participants. Dr. Quick is debriefing her participants.
b) Dr. O’Connor is debriefing his participants. Dr. Quick is obtaining informed consent from her participants.
c) Both Dr. O’Connor and Dr. Quick are obtaining informed consent from their participants.
d) Both Dr. O’Connor and Dr. Quick are debriefing their participants.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
328. Lance is conducting a study that asks participants to complete a number of questionnaires. Part way through the experiment, a participant tells Lance he wishes to leave because he does not feel comfortable with some of the questions. Lance tells the participant that he can leave after he completes the study, but in the meantime, he should just skip the questions that are causing him concern. Which of the following ethical guidelines did the researcher breach?
a) voluntary participation
b) informed consent
c) providing debriefing
d) Lance did not violate ethical guidelines because he allowed the participant to skip the questions that made him feel uncomfortable.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
329. Which of the following would NOT be an ethical concern for research ethics boards?
a) not telling a participant the true purpose of a study
b) not paying participants for participating in a study
c) disclosing the names of participants in a study
d) pressuring participants to participate in a study
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
330. Which of the following information is a researcher NOT required to include in providing participants with informed consent?
a) the purpose of the study
b) what the participant will be asked to do in participating
c) any risks involved with the study
d) any deception involved in the study
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
331. Ginnie just finished participating in a study on the effects of alcohol on driving. She had to consume an unpleasant tasting liquid that may or may not have had alcohol, and then she drove in a simulator for half an hour while the researchers measured her performance. Now, she is sitting down with the experimenter and is handed a document that explains the details of the study to a greater degree. She is further asked if she has any questions and provided with contact information in case she thinks of a question later. What type of document was this?
a) a debriefing form
b) a confidentiality form
c) an ethics review form
d) an informed consent form
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
332. Dr. Fernandez is conducting a research study where he brings participants into a waiting room and watches them through a window to observe their behaviour. He records all his observations and then, after a time, he tells the participant that the study has been cancelled and lets them leave. Although there are many ethical violations in this example, what should Dr.Fernandez have done to have this study meet ethical guidelines?
a) He should have fully disclosed to the participant all the details of the study.
b) He should have debriefed the participants before they left.
c) He should have obtained the informed consent of the participants.
d) He should have allowed the participant to leave if they wanted.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
333. After testing 10 participants, Manny is on his way to class when he realizes he left the participants questionnaires in the testing room. When he goes back to get them, another student is looking at the consent forms and questionnaires and, pointing to one of the names, says, “I know this guy – he is in my social psychology class”. Which of the following ethical guidelines has been breached with this incident?
a) Informed consent - Manny did not disclose to his participants that others might have access to his data.
b) Voluntary participation – Had the participants known someone else might see their data they might not have wanted to participate.
c) Debriefing – participants did not have full knowledge of the study.
d) Confidentiality – participants’ identities and their research responses are supposed to be protected.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
334. Which of the following examples shows how psychologists take care to protect the confidentiality of their participants?
a) Henry explains to his participant after the study is over that he had to use deception in his research.
b) Amanda stores the raw data from her participants under lock and key.
c) Casey makes sure that each participant in his study has an equal chance of being assigned to the experimental or control group.
d) Devon informs his participant that he has the right to withdraw at any time.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
335. Horace is working in a lab that is researching personality types and dreams. In this research, participants fill out lengthy personality questionnaires and record the content of their dreams for one week. Horace’s job is to make sure that each participant is given an identity number, and that this number is not stored with any identifying information about the participant. Furthermore, Horace oversees storing all the raw data under lock and key, so that only the compiled data is available for analysis. In what way does Horace’s job show how psychologists take steps to protect human participants?
a) The participation is voluntary.
b) The participants are not deceived.
c) The participants’ confidentiality is protected.
d) The participants are completely debriefed.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
336. Serena wishes to conduct a study on people’s ability to identify different odors. When she provides the participants with information about the study, she tells them they will only be presented with pleasant odours. She knows, however, that some of the odours will be very unpleasant although not dangerous. She does not want to tell her participants about the unpleasant odours because they may not want to participate. How would an REB be most likely to respond to Serena’s application?
a) They would likely approve it if Serena debriefed her participants afterward.
b) They would likely approve it because Serena will not actually cause her participants any harm.
c) They would likely reject her application because there is no compelling justification for not telling her participants about the unpleasant odours.
d) They would likely approve her application because she is providing the participants with informed consent.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
337. Imogen is in the middle of participating in a research study when suddenly she remembers that she was supposed to babysit her little cousin. She immediately quits the study and goes to her cousin’s house. In what way does this example show that psychologists take steps to protect their participants?
a) Participants are fully debriefed.
b) There was no deception involved in this study.
c) Participation is voluntary.
d) Participants’ responses are kept confidential.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
338. Janelle just found out that the researchers in the study she just participated in lied to her. She was told that she was consuming alcohol, but she really was not, and they were observing the effects of believing you had consumed alcohol on reaction times. She feels silly, because she did act as though she was drunk, and she thinks she will be very skeptical of researchers in the future. What is likely to be true about this study?
a) It should not have been given ethics approval.
b) Janelle gave informed consent.
c) The costs of this study outweigh the benefits.
d) The debriefing phase should be more informative and much longer.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
339. Participation is to ______________ as deception is to _______________.
a) debriefing; post-experimental review
b) informed consent; debriefing
c) pre-experimental review; post-experimental review
d) debriefing; informed consent
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
340. Dr. Katawa just learned that his research proposal did not get approval by the ethics review board. He wanted to study the effects of a new relaxation technique on risk-taking behaviour, and he proposed to tell the participants all the details of the study at the outset. Furthermore, he was going to compensate each participant with $100 for one hour of their time. What reason do you think the ethics review board rejected Dr. Katawa’s proposal?
a) The compensation was too high.
b) It was not voluntary.
c) She needed to do an animal study first.
d) There is no such thing as a new memory strategy.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
341. Which of the following is a reason REB’s might be concerned about how much compensation a researcher offers a participant as compensation for participating in a study?
a) It may not be enough.
b) It is unfair to other researchers who cannot afford to compensate their participants.
c) It may unfairly induce a participant to overlook the risks of a study to obtain the compensation.
d) It might not cover the expenses the participant incurs for participating.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
342. Dr. Price is proposing to study the effects of humiliation on the tendency of individuals to obey an authority figure. To do this, he plans on setting up a public embarrassment scene for a random half of the participants, and then measure how likely they are to obey a group leader who is telling them to cheat. Do you think Dr. Price would be given ethics approval?
a) Yes, there is no other way to study this research question.
b) Yes, this study involves minor costs and great benefits.
c) No, a study like this would be impossible to pull off because it involves too many people.
d) No, this study would cause discomfort to some participants.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
343. Dr. Lillian is proposing to study the effects of social embarrassment on stress levels. To do this, she plans on having participants perform an oral presentation and either face laughter from the audience or not. Following this, each participant would provide a saliva sample to measure stress levels. Do you think Dr. Lillian would be given ethics approval?
a) Yes, there is no other way to study this research question.
b) Yes, this study involves minor costs and great benefits.
c) No, psychology is not allowed to collect biological samples from participants.
d) No, this study would cause discomfort to some participants.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
344. What is the difference between debriefing and informed consent?
a) Debriefing happens after participation; informed consent happens before.
b) Debriefing only happens with animal subjects.
c) Debriefing is only necessary when deception is used, informed consent is always necessary.
d) Debriefing usually provides less information than informed consent.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
345. What is the difference between informed consent and debriefing?
a) More information is given during informed consent than debriefing.
b) Debriefing only happens with animal participants.
c) Debriefing is optional, informed consent is mandatory.
d) Informed consent happens before the study, debriefing after.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
346. Which of the following would represent an acceptable reason for a researcher to use deception in a study?
a) If participants knew all the details of the study they may not wish to participate.
b) If a participant knew all the details of the study, they might ask for more compensation.
c) If the participant knew all the details of the study, it might influence the way they respond.
d) There are no acceptable reasons for using deception in a research study.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of
human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
347. What additional ethical challenge do researchers have when their participants are children compared to adults?
a) explaining the purpose of the study to them
b) getting consent from both the parent and child
c) having the child legally protected during the study for insurance purposes
d) hiding the true purpose of the study from them
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
348. Which of the following would a research ethics board NOT be concerned with?
a) costs and benefits of the study
b) compensation offered to participants
c) whether specific groups of participants are being treated differently
d) the length of time the research project is expected to take
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
349. Do you think that the ethics review board would approve of a study that posed potentially large risks to their participants but immense benefits to the rest of humanity?
a) Yes, because the benefits to most people are so great.
b) Yes, if the study used animal subjects.
c) Yes, if the study explains the risks to the participants without using deception.
d) No, because there are potentially large risks to the participants.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
350. What would happen if the potential risks of having someone participate in a study are large, but the benefits to humankind are even greater?
a) The study would get ethics approval because the benefits are so great.
b) The study would have to use animal subjects.
c) The study would have to explain the risks to the participants without using deception.
d) The study would not be allowed to move forward and test participants.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
MATCHING QUESTION
351. Match the appropriate words in the left column to the definitions in the right column.
Terms A. Demand characteristics B. Positive correlation C. Independent variable D. Experimental group E. Random selection F. Sampling bias G. Descriptive methods H. Experimental methods I. Deductive reasoning J. Perfect correlation K. Negative correlation L. Control group M. Dependent variable N. Random assignment O. Inductive reasoning | ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ | Definitions 1. Identifying a sample in such a way that everyone in the population of interest has an equal chance of being involved in the study 2. When higher scores on one variable are related to lower scores on another variable 3. Allow researchers to demonstrate a relationship between the variables of interest 4. When each participant has an equal chance of being in either group in an experiment 5. When a researcher unintentionally conveys the desired outcome of the study to a participant 6. When higher scores on one variable are related to higher scores on another variable 7. Reasoning process proceeding from small specific situations to more general truths. 8. Group that has not been or will not be exposed to the treatment 9. Condition or event that you expect to change because of changing a variable 10. Condition or event that is thought to be a factor in changing another condition or event |
ANSWERS TO MATCHING QUESTION
1. E: Random selection
2. K: Negative correlation
3. G: Descriptive methods
4. N: Random assignment
5. A: Demand characteristics
6. B: Positive correlation
7. O: Inductive reasoning
8. L: Control group
9. M: Dependent variable
10. C: Independent variable
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
FILL-IN-THE-BLANK
352. The natural law of ___ suggests that when something is set in motion, it influences other things.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
353. Ideas that psychologists develop about the laws that govern processes and behaviour are called ___.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
354. The field of ___ is often credited with shifting psychology from a philosophy to a science.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
355. Forced sterilization and controlled breeding are two consequences of ___.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
356. In an experimental setting, the variable that is NOT manipulated is called the ___ variable.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
357. A subset of a population is known as a(n) ___.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
358. A ___ study focuses on observing a single person.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
359. The research methodology that asks participants to answer a series of questions is called a(n) ___.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
360. In more complex experiments, multiple experimental groups are exposed to varying amounts of the ___ variable.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
361. An unintentional factor that conveys what a researcher expects to find is known as a(n) ___.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
362. If a researcher chooses a sample that will all respond in the same way, it can alter the results of the study because the sample is not ___ of the population.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
363. Analyzing data using ___ allows researchers to describe and measure relationships between variables.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
364. The value of a perfect positive relationship is ___.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
365. Researchers can conclude more broadly from their results through the use of ___ statistics.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
366. A(n) ___ test can be used to compare the performance of more than two groups.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
367. To assess the strength of the relationship between variables, a(n) ___ can be calculated.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
368. Before a researcher can test his or her hypotheses by collecting data, a(n) ___ must provide ethical oversight.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
369. Protecting the identity and information collected from individual respondents in a research study refers to maintaining ___.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
SHORT ANSWER ESSAY QUESTIONS
370. What logical process starts with broad, basic principles and applies them in specific situations to prove many smaller truths?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
371. What term refers to personal beliefs or conventional wisdom that an individual thinker accepts as a broad, basic truth?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
372. What logical process uses direct observations to generate broad conclusions?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
373. What blended model is commonly used by psychologists to employ the best attributes of deductive and inductive reasoning?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
374. What four goals does psychology share with other sciences?
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
375. Psychology distinguishes itself from other scientific fields by examining what three issues?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
376. What does it mean to operationalize a variable?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
377. Define random selection and why it is used.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
378. At what stage of research are case studies usually conducted?
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
379. Describe a limitation associated with the use of naturalistic observation methodology.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
380. In an experiment, what names are given to the variable that is manipulated and the variable that is measured?
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
381. What term is used to describe the process in which everyone in a sample has an equal chance of being placed in either the control or experimental group?
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
382. Name two benefits of a study that uses a double-blind procedure.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
383. What statistic is used to describe the relationship between two or more variables?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
384. Interpret the meaning of a strong positive correlation found in a study that measured abusive parenting and childhood aggression.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
385. What is the mean of a data set?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
386. Define “statistically significant.”
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
387. Describe what replication means?
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
388. What is the ethical goal of psychologists who are conducting research?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
389. Identify three pieces of information that are often included on a research study consent form?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
ESSAY QUESTIONS
390. What are the two essential beliefs that science has regarding the world? Provide an example for each belief.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
391. Define the term “hypothesis” and provide an example.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
392. Describe the four steps used in the scientific approach to study behaviour.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List two core beliefs of science, and describe the steps in the scientific method.
Section Reference: What Is a Science?
393. Describe a key difference between the goals of psychology and the physical sciences.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
394. What is the difference between psychology and pseudopsychology? Provide an example of for each to illustrate your answer.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
395. What difficult balance, regarding using psychology and pseudopsychology, must psychologists maintain?
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Compare and contrast psychology with other natural sciences, such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and with pseudosciences, such as astrology.
Section Reference: Is Psychology a Science?
396. Stanley wanted to determine whether hunger influenced his performance on his history exams. For the first exam, he ate 1 hour before the exam. For the second exam, he ate immediately after the exam. Identify the independent and dependent variables in this study.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
397. A political scientist wanted to study the prevalence of racism in Canada by interviewing scholars in the area. Unknowingly, her sample included a disproportionate number of racist individuals. Name a methodological criticism of her research.
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
398. Explain the Hawthorne Effect. What type of study was conducted to show this effect?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
399. Name two disadvantages of using a case study methodology.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
400. Describe three different means by which surveys can be conducted.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Knowledge
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
401. In an experiment, how does an experimental group vary from a control group? Provide two examples to illustrate your response.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
402. Describe the characteristics of a double-blind study. Why is this type of study used in research?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
403. Define and provide an example of a demand characteristic.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Application
Learning Objective: List steps in the research process and key characteristics of descriptive and experimental psychological research methods.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Conduct Research?
404. Describe the difference between a negative and positive correlation.
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
405. Provide an example of a negative correlation.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
406. Make a distinction between descriptive and inferential statistics.
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
407. What is the purpose of calculating a probability statistic?
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
408. Why is experimental replication necessary?
Difficulty: Easy
Bloomcode: Comprehension
Learning Objective: Describe what information is conveyed by statistics, including correlation coefficients, means, and standard deviations, and explain how psychologists draw conclusions about cause and effect.
Section Reference: How Do Psychologists Make Sense of Research Results?
409. What special considerations must researchers give to participants such as children or the elderly?
Difficulty: Medium
Bloomcode: Analysis
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
410. Evaluate the following statement: Animal testing has not benefited our understanding of human behaviour. Is this an accurate statement? Why or why not?
Difficulty: Hard
Bloomcode: Evaluation
Learning Objective: Describe what ethical steps psychologists take to protect the rights of human research participants.
Section Reference: What Ethical Research Guidelines Do Psychologists Follow?
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