AP Psych Unit 2 Test

(EC) Charles Darwin believed that behaviors, such as the emotional expressions associated with human rage, could be explained by natural selection. Which early psychologist would be most likely to agree with Darwin's assessment? a) William James b) Edward B. Titchener c) Wilhelm Wundt d) John B. Watson e) Ivan Pavlov

a) William James

George was worried about his bakery's new cupcakes after 2 customers disliked them on the 1st day, but when he surveyed his customers over the next week, more than 90% of the customers said they loved them. By giving too much weight to those 2 customers before the survey, George almost committed an error known as a) a sampling bias b) wording effects c) a replication error d) confusing correlation with causation e) not following ethical guidelines

a) a sampling bias

(EC) Professor Brody attempts to measure the relative contributions of inborn traits and social influences on sexual behavior. Her research efforts best illustrate the interests of the _____ approach. a) biopsychosocial b) psychodynamic c) behavioral d) cognitive e) social-cultural

a) biopsychosocial

To determine whether a research finding is statistically significant, researchers a) compare the means of the control group and experimental group b) survey other researchers to ensure the hypothesis is significant c) perform detailed case studies to validate findings d) confirm correlational evidence with empirical findings e) convert positive correlations to negative ones

a) compare the means of the control group and experimental group

Variation is to central tendency as ____ is to ____. a) range; median b) median; mean c) mode; mean d) scatterplot; bar graph e) correlation; scatterplot

a) range; median

Which of the following correlations between self-esteem and body weight would enable you to most accurately predict body weight from knowledge of level of self-esteem? a)+0.60 b)+0.01 c)-0.10 d)-0.06 e)0.00

a)+0.60

(EC) Which philosopher is most well known for theorizing that the mind at birth is tabula rasa or a "blank slate"? a) Plato b) John Locke c) Immanuel Kant d) Rene Descartes e) Aristotle

b) John Locke

Why would the median, rather than the mean, be the appropriate measure of central tendency in determining housing values in a particular community? a) The median is useful for measuring how much values deviate from one another. b) The median is minimally affected by extreme scores. c) The median is best used to sort values into groups. d) The median allows you to examine the gap between the lowest and highest value. e) The median allows you to generalize from representative samples to the general population.

b) The median is minimally affected by extreme scores.

Which of the following statements is most correct about the relationship between correlation and causation? a) correlations are statistical relationships, causations are logical relationships b) correlation indicates the possibility of a causal relationship, but it does not prove causation c) if one variable is strongly positively correlated with another variable, the relationship is causal d) if one variable is strongly negatively correlated with another variable, the relationship is not causal e) both correlations and causations need to be proven with experimental data

b) correlation indicates the possibility of a causal relationship, but it does not prove causation

If psychologists discovered that wealthy people are less satisfied with their marriages than poor people are, this would indicate that wealth and marital satisfaction are a) causally correlated b) negatively correlated c) independent variables d) dependent variables e) positively correlated

b) negatively correlated

Which of the following is most likely to inhibit critical thinking? a) operational definitions b) overconfidence c) random assignment d) naturalistic observation e) the double-blind procedure

b) overconfidence

To understand the unusual behavior of an adult client, a clinical psychologist carefully investigates the client's current life situation and his physical, social-cultural, and educational history. Which research method has the psychologist used? a) the survey b) the case study c) experimentation d) naturalistic observation e) correlation

b) the case study

Formulating testable hypotheses before conducting research is most directly useful for restraining a thinking error known as a) random sampling b) the hindsight bias c) overconfidence d) illusory correlation e) random assignment

b) the hindsight bias

If scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) are normally distributed, with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, what percentage of scores will fall between 85 and 115? a) 34 b) 47 c) 68 d) 80 e) 95

c) 68

(EC) In a class lecture, Professor Hampton emphasized the extend to which abnormal blood chemistry can contribute to psychological disorders. The professor's lecture highlighted a _______ perspective on psychological disorders. a) psychodynamic b) humanistic c) biological d) social-cultural e) cognitive

c) biological

Psychologists' personal values and goals a) are carefully tested by means of observation and experimentation b) lead them to avoid experiments involving human participants c) can bias their observations and interpretations d) have very little influence on the process of scientific observation e) affect their work only if they are different from the norm

c) can bias their observations and interpretations

The explanatory power of a scientific theory is most closely linked to its capacity to generate testable a) assumptions b) correlations c) inferences d) variables e) hypotheses

c) inferences

Which technique most clearly minimizes the likelihood that any outcome differences between the experimental and control conditions can be attributed to age or personality differences in research participants? a) replication b) statistical measurement c) random assignment d) operational definitions e) the double-blind procedure

c) random assignment

Professor Smith told one class that alcohol consumption has been found to increase sexual desire. He informed another class that alcohol consumption has been found to reduce sexual appetite. The fact that neither class was surprised by the info they received best illustrates the power of a) overconfidence b) replication c) the hindsight bias d) the double-blind procedure e) the placebo effect

c) the hindsight bias

In the hypothesis "Students who study a list of terms in the morning, just after waking up will recall more terms than students who study the list just before falling asleep," what is the independent variable? a) list of terms b) memorization c) time of day d) number of terms remembered e) students

c) time of day

The news media reported that a new pesticide was not harmful to humans. Which of the following statements best exemplifies critical thinking in response to this report? a) "I think I will try this pesticide on my own garden to kill pests." b) "I don't like to use pesticides, but this one is safe." c) "I think I'll use this product, but I think I'll wear gloves." d) "I wonder who funded this study?" e) "I don't believe this study because I got a rash after using this poison on my garden."

d) "I wonder who funded this study?"

How would a researcher likely respond to the statement, " Science can't really prove anything, because lab experiments are so artificial and not like the real world"? a) "That's not true. Lab experiments are usually very realistic." b) "Most experiments aren't done in the laboratory." c) "The goal of science is to establish hypotheses, not prove things." d) "Laboratory experiments can establish general principles that generalize to other contexts." e) "When operational definitions are inadequate, laboratory experiments are the only choice."

d) "Laboratory experiments can establish general principles that generalize to other contexts."

What is the primary limitation of the case study research method? a) It is not an empirical method b) The case study is not part of the scientific method. c) Random sampling must be used to ensure representative findings. d) Individual cases can be misleading and result in false generalizations. e) Correlational findings from case studies cannot be interpreted as causal.

d) Individual cases can be misleading and result in false generalizations.

Researchers are interested in studying the relationship between poor prenatal nutrition and early cognitive development. Because of ethical concerns, which research method would be most appropriate for researchers to use? a) survey b) case study c) experimentation d) correlational e) naturalistic observation

d) correlational

Knowing the difference between an experimental condition and a control condition is most relevant to understanding the nature of a) correlations b) random sampling c) replication d) independent variables e) hindsight bias

d) independent variables

Which makes finding statistical evidence more likely? a) random sampling b) skewed distributions c) small sample size d) large sample size e) operational definitions

d) large sample size

What technique do researchers use to reduce the impact of confounding variables? a) hindsight bias b) naturalistic observation c) scatterplots d) random assignment e) measures of central tendency

d) random assignment

In an experiment, researchers manipulate one factor to see its effect on a target factor. What is this target factor called? a) confounding variable b) operational definition c) control group d) placebo effect e) dependent variable

e) dependent variable

(EC) The psychologist who would be least likely to be involved directly in patient care in a hospital setting is a a) clinical psychologist b) rehabilitation psychologist c) neuropsychologist d) health psychologist e) educational psychologist

e) educational psychologist

Which procedure helps to ensure that the participants in a survey are representative of a larger population? a) random assignment b) replication c) correlation d) naturalistic observation e) random sampling

e) random sampling