CH 1

Introspection was the basic research tool used by ________ in order to study people's inner sensations and mental images.

Edward Titchener

Which major force in psychology emphasized unconscious thought processes?

Freudian psychology

Who was a student of William James and the first female president of the American Psychological Association?

Mary Whiton Calkins

Which of the following is a statistical measure of both the direction and the strength of a relationship between two variables?a a correlation coefficient b a random sample c a double-blind procedure d an independent variable

a

Assessing how well one variable predicts another variable is to _________ as detecting cause-effect relationships between different variables is to _________.

a control group; an experimental group

Which of the following is a statistical measure of both the direction and the strength of a relationship between two variables?

a correlation coefficient

Professor Delano suggests that because people are especially attracted to those who are good-looking, handsome men will be more successful in getting a job. The professor's prediction regarding employment success is an example of

a hypothesis.

The case study is a research method in which

a single individual or group is studied in great depth.

Using scientific procedures to test whether watching violent movies increases the frequency of emotionally upsetting dreams best illustrates

an empirical approach.

An experiment was designed to study the potential impact of alcohol consumption on emotional stability. A specification of the procedures used to measure emotional stability illustrates

an operational definition.

Studies conducted for the sake of building psychology's base of knowledge are most clearly examples of

basic research.

Contemporary psychology is best defined as the science of

behavior and mental processes.

Professor Brody attempts to measure the relative contributions of inborn traits and social influences on sexual preferences and behavior patterns. Her research efforts best illustrate the interests of the ________ perspective.

behavior genetics

Which perspective studies the relative contributions of our genes and our environment on our individual differences?

behavior genetics

Exploring how we humans are diverse because of our differing genes and environments is the focus of

behavior genetics.

Akira believes that her son has become a good student because he is frequently praised for his learning efforts. Her belief best illustrates a ________ perspective.

behavioral

Psychologists' personal values and goals

can bias their observations and interpretations.

For no apparent reason, Adam has recently begun to feel so tense and anxious that he frequently stays home from work. It would be best for Adam to contact a ________ psychologist.

clinical

Dr. Caleigh conducts research on the relationship between adults' language skills and their capacity to solve mathematical problems. Dr. Caleigh is most likely a _________ psychologist.

cognitive

Which perspective is most concerned with how individuals interpret their experiences?

cognitive

Which psychological perspective is most likely to be concerned with identifying the powers and the limits of human reasoning?

cognitive

The scientific study of mental activities associated with perceiving, processing, and remembering information is most central to

cognitive psychology.

The biopsychosocial approach incorporates different levels of analysis, which

complement one another.

A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment is called a

confounding variable.

If participants in the experimental group of a drug treatment study are much younger than participants in the control group, the age of the research participants is a

confounding variable.

To study the potential effects of social interaction on problem solving, some research participants were instructed to solve problems by working together; other participants were told to solve problems by working alone. Those who worked alone were assigned to the ________ group.

control

To discover the extent to which economic status can be used to predict political preferences, researchers are most likely to use

correlational measures.

Dr. Vazquez helps people make career choices by assisting them in identifying their strengths and interests. Dr. Vazquez is most likely a

counseling psychologist.

Melinda expressed concerns as to whether the wording of the questions in a life satisfaction survey may have encouraged respondents to convey unusually positive levels of well-being. Melinda's concerns best illustrated

critical thinking.

Reasoning that does not blindly accept available arguments and conclusions illustrates

critical thinking.

The transmission of customs for showing respect to those in positions of authority best illustrates the importance of

culture.

After an experiment, research participants are told its purpose and about any deception they may have experienced. This is called

debriefing.

Random assignment minimizes ________ between experimental and control groups. Random sampling minimizes ________ between a sample and a population.

differences; differences

Studying people of all races and cultures is most helpful for

discerning human similarities and differences.

Which perspective highlights the reproductive advantages of inherited psychological traits?

evolutionary

Exploring how we humans are alike because of our common biology and evolutionary history is the focus of

evolutionary psychology.

The hindsight bias refers to people's tendency to

exaggerate their ability to have foreseen an outcome.

Participants who are exposed to the treatment being tested in an experiment are said to be assigned to the

experimental group.

The most reliable way of testing whether a newly introduced method of psychological therapy is truly effective is to use

experimental research.

The ethics codes of the American Psychological Association and the British Psychological Society urge researchers to

explain the research to the participants after the study has been completed.

The nature-nurture issue refers to the debate over the relative contributions that ________ make to the development of psychological traits.

genes and experience

Aristotle suggested the source of our personality is the

heart.

A sense of humility regarding the accuracy of our intuitions is most likely to be undermined by

hindsight bias.

Giving half the members of a group some purported psychological finding and the other half an opposite finding is an easy way to demonstrate the impact of

hindsight bias.

The perception that psychological research findings merely verify our commonsense understanding is most clearly facilitated by

hindsight bias.

Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow promoted a historically significant approach known as

humanistic psychology.

In a psychological experiment, the experimental factor that is manipulated by the investigator is called the ________ variable.

independent

Dr. Lipka focuses on ways to improve employee job satisfaction and productivity. Dr. Lipka is most likely a(n) ________ psychologist.

industrial-organizational

Which psychologists are MOST likely to be involved in applied research?

industrial-organizational psychologists

Potential research participants are told enough about an upcoming study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate. This illustrates the practice of seeking

informed consent.

Research participants are asked to monitor and report their own immediate sensory reactions to differently colored objects. This research involves a technique known as

introspection.

The biggest danger of relying on case-study evidence is that it

may be unrepresentative of what is generally true.

Early psychologists such as Wilhelm Wundt and William James focused on the study of

mental processes.

Wilhelm Wundt's laboratory work involved experimental studies of

mental processes.

Research participants are randomly assigned to different groups in an experiment in order to

minimize any differences between groups of participants.

The biopsychosocial approach provides an understanding of social-cultural influences integrated within the larger framework of

multiple levels of analysis.

To compare the pace of life in different countries, investigators measured the speed with which postal clerks completed a simple request. Which research method did this illustrate?

naturalistic observation

Which of the following facilitates more exact descriptions of ongoing behaviors without explaining them?

naturalistic observation

Professor Ober carefully observes and records the behaviors of children in their classrooms in order to track the development of their social and intellectual skills. Professor Ober is most clearly engaged in

naturalistic observation.

Efforts to discover whether the intelligence of children is more heavily influenced by their biology or their home environments are most directly relevant to the debate regarding

nature and nurture.

Lissette wonders whether personality differences between her friends who recently moved from Nigeria and those who moved from Thailand result primarily from biological influences or from cultural influences. In this instance, Lissette is primarily concerned with the relative contributions of

nature and nurture.

Plato's assumption that we inherit character traits and intelligence is most directly relevant to the controversy regarding

nature and nurture.

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

negatively correlated.

Professor Lopez believes that severe depression results primarily from an imbalanced diet and abnormal brain chemistry. Professor Lopez favors a ________ perspective on depression.

neuroscience

Beginning in the 1920s, American psychologists such as John B. Watson emphasized the study of

observable behavior.

John B. Watson is to Edward Titchener as ________ is to ________.

observable behavior; inner sensations

A statement describing the exact procedures for measuring an anticipated experimental outcome is known as a(n)

operational definition.

In a published report of a research study on social anxiety, psychologists included a 30-item questionnaire, which they had used to assess levels of social anxiety. The psychologists have thus provided their readers with a(n)

operational definition.

Replication of a research study is most likely to be facilitated by

operational definitions.

A theory is an explanation using an integrated set of principles that ______ observations and ______ behaviors or events.

organizes; predicts

Megan was certain that she would never live far away from her family. However, when offered a job in another state, she decided to move. Megan's experience best illustrates

overconfidence.

Our tendency to believe we know more than we do best illustrates

overconfidence.

The cognitive perspective in psychology focuses on how

people encode, process, store, and retrieve information.

A negative correlation between degree of wealth and likelihood of suffering from a psychological disorder would indicate that

people who are poor are more likely to have a psychological disorder than are wealthy people.

The personality theorist Sigmund Freud was an Austrian

physician.

A representative sample is one that accurately reflects a larger

population.

To learn about the TV viewing habits of all the children attending Oakbridge School, Professor DeVries randomly selected and interviewed 50 of the school's students. In this instance, all the children attending the school are considered to be a(n)

population.

Humanistic psychologists focused attention on the importance of people's

potential for growth.

Correlational research is most useful for purposes of

prediction.

Students learn and remember course materials best when they

process information actively.

Governor Donovan was greeted by large, enthusiastic crowds at all of his political rallies. As a result, he became overconfident about his chances of reelection. In this instance, the governor needs to be alerted to the value of

random sampling.

When every individual in a large population has a small but equal chance of being included in a survey, researchers are using a procedure known as

random sampling.

Professor Ambra was skeptical about the accuracy of recently reported research on sleep deprivation. Which process would best enable her to assess the reliability of the findings?

replication

The SQ3R study method emphasizes the importance of

retrieving information.

Psychologists study animals because

similar processes often underlie animal and human behavior.

Rodesia insists that Dr. Phillips' theory of aggression be checked against observable evidence. She is demonstrating the scientific attitude of

skepticism.

Dr. Mills conducts research on why individuals conform to the behaviors and opinions of others. Which specialty area does his research best represent?

social psychology

Dr. Wilson attributes the delinquent behaviors of many teens to the pressures associated with being a member of a street gang. Her account best illustrates a(n) ________ perspective.

social-cultural

Which perspective in psychology is most likely to focus on how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures?

social-cultural

Which perspective would focus on the extent to which different parenting styles are encouraged among various ethnic groups?

social-cultural

Charles Darwin attempted to explain the ________ that he encountered.

species variation

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?

the case study

Which of the following methods is most helpful for clarifying cause-effect relationships?

the experiment

Testing hypotheses and refining theories in light of those tests is central to

the scientific method.

Which research method would be most appropriate for investigating the relationship between the religious beliefs of Americans and their attitudes toward abortion?

the survey

Professor Shalet contends that parents and children have similar levels of intelligence largely because they share common genes. His idea is best described as a(n)

theory.

Being randomly assigned to the experimental group in a research project involves being assigned

to that group by chance.

Participants in an experiment are said to be blind if they are uninformed about

which experimental treatment, if any, they are receiving.