Psychology Test #1
If researchers found a strong negative correlation between the amount of time a mother holds a baby and the amount of time the baby cries, you should expect to see a correlation coefficient close to:
-1.00.
The _____ method manipulates an independent variable to reveal causal effects on a dependent variable.
experimental
Dr. Ahmad is worried that his beliefs about the effectiveness of a drug might influence the behaviors of participants in his experiment. He is worried about:
experimenter bias.
Dr. Segal's work with Sam and Anaïs, and other identical twins separated at birth, could potentially help her untangle the roles of nature and nurture in a variety of areas including intelligence and psychological disorders. This part of Dr. Segal's research serves the goal of:
explaining.
Characteristics of the environment or the participants that might interfere with an experiment's outcome are called:
extraneous variables.
Critical thinking is an invaluable skill:
for anyone with any interest
A positive correlation would be predicted for which two variables?
grade point average and amount of studying
Dr. Nancy Segal, who studied the identical twins Anaïs and Sam, initially thought of the idea to develop a twin study due to a common research-generating experience that she had. The idea initially came to her because of:
her own experience with observing twins.
Karim has decided to conduct a(n) _____ since he wants to study people in an environment that has not been manipulated.
naturalistic observation
Identical twins Sam and Anaïs were raised apart during their childhood and adolescence, but were reunited in adulthood. Despite having grown up in different households and countries, they have the same laugh and they both deal with stress by taking a nap. This indicates that their _____ is responsible for their similarities, which is consistent with _____ theory.
nature; Plato's
In a small preliminary study of sixth graders, Britton et al. (2014) found that replacing detention with mindful meditation has resulted in:
not a single suspension.
Psychology's goal of explanation includes _____ behavior.
noticing patterns in
Dr. Villatte is overseeing a naturalistic observation study of children's aggression. He notices that male and female research assistants vary in how they rate the aggressiveness of girls' behaviors. Dr. Villatte suspects the presence of _____ bias.
observer
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. O'Connor is:
obtaining informed consent.
A placebo is intended to minimize _____ expectations; a double-blind procedure is intended to minimize _____ expectations.
participant; experimenter
In order to think critically about whether opposites attract, a student will need to _____ since attraction may differ from person to person.
tolerate uncertainty
A characteristic that can take on different values is called a(n):
variable.
Hasan is evaluating a new piece of research he just heard on the news. To critically think about this research, he should ask whether the research:
was written by an author with a professional background
Dr. Franklin is studying the association between the experience of discrimination and self-esteem among children and adolescents. Her research reflects the pioneering work of _____, one of psychology's "founding mothers."
Mamie Phipps Clark
The 33 Chilean miners trapped inside a safety shelter half a mile underground at the base of the mine needed food and water to survive. How these needs affected the miner's behavior is a topic discussed in:
Motivation and Emotion (Chapter 9)
According to the World Happiness Report published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, five of the top ten happiest countries in the world are _____ countries.
Nordic
_____ psychology is a relatively new approach that counters the field's more traditional focus on abnormality and maladaptive behavior.
Positive
Stephanie is a graduate student in charge of an experiment for her research group at her university. She has two of her friends, Rebecca and Aldo, actually run the experiment with participants on campus. Rebecca runs all of the participants getting the real treatment and Aldo runs all of the participants getting the placebo. What error did Stephanie make in setting up this study?
Stephanie inadvertently created a confounded variable.
The formal beginning of psychology is associated with:
Wilhelm Wundt.
Dr. Lee, a clinical psychologist, conducted a detailed examination of a patient with dissociative identity disorder. He gathered a lot of information about his patient from a variety of sources, and immersed himself into the life of his patient. Dr. Lee conducted:
a case study.
Samantha and Anaïs are identical twins who were separated at birth and raised in different cultures. Samantha was raised in the United States, and Anaïs was raised in France. Their rare circumstances made them good candidates for:
a case study.
Dr. Estevez prepares a set of questions to ask a large group of college students about their drinking behavior and their attitudes toward alcohol. Dr. Estevez is undertaking:
a survey.
Marcus is interested in studying the effects of sleep on exam performance. If he randomly chooses a sample for his research study, then:
all members of a population have an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study.
Research with the goal of changing behaviors or outcomes is called _____ research.
applied
If two variables X and Y are strongly correlated, it can be concluded that:
as the value of X increases or decreases, the value of Y increases or decreases, respectively.
Aurora is a neuropsychologist focused on mapping certain reward circuits in the brain. She is not concerned about how her work might be used to change behavior but instead she is just trying to further knowledge about these circuits for the sake of knowledge. Aurora's research can be described as:
basic
Margaret Floy Washburn had a huge influence on the field of psychology in the late 1890s in that she was the first woman to:
be granted a PhD in psychology from an elite college.
A psychologist who focuses on studying people's observable and measurable actions rather than on sensations, feelings, and consciousness or unconsciousness takes the _____ perspective.
behavioral
Penny is a recovering drug addict. Her treatment program emphasizes an understanding of the reinforcers in the environment—the "people, places, and things"—that underlie her addiction. Her program reflects the _____ perspective of psychology.
behavioral
The cognitive perspective may be said to represent a reaction to the _____ perspective.
behavioral
Deborah is a graduate student studying how levels of the hormone testosterone affect aggressive behavior. What psychological perspective is she taking?
biological
Dr. Gayle studies behavior by considering people's brain chemistry, thoughts, feelings, and societal factors, and the ways in which these factors interact with each other. He takes the _____ perspective.
biopsychosocial
Sigmund Freud based much of his theory on intensive analyses of individual patients. Freud's theory therefore is built on a foundation of:
case studies.
A goal of psychology is to _____, which involves using research findings to shape or modify behavior, or to apply the findings in order to direct behavior in a beneficial way.
change
Failing to cite the proper source of information is:
considered an act of plagiarism
Irving has noticed that the more alcohol people drink, the more aggressive they seem to become. Which research technique would be aimed at verifying the relationship between these two variables?
correlational method
By weighing pieces of evidence about the connection between mental illness and violence, and considering the source and quality of information before accepting it as valid, Naadira is demonstrating:
critical thinking.
For her final project in graduate school, called her doctoral dissertation, Chondra monitored the participants of a mindfulness meditation program at a local grade school. Her work focused on which goal of psychology?
describe
Dr. Segal gave Sam and Anaïs, identical twins separated at birth and reunited at age 25, several psychological tests to measure personality traits. This part of Dr. Segal's research served the goal of:
describing.
After gathering data on psychologists, Jocelyn creates a pie chart to display the percentage of psychologists working in different fields. In this scenario, she uses _____ to display the collected data.
descriptive statistics
Inferential statistics help researchers:
determine the probability of future events.
Which sequence correctly represents the first three steps of the scientific method, in order?
develop question > develop hypothesis > design study
Professor Gomez explained that human mate selection is due to a tendency to seek out those who ensure reproductive success and, ultimately, human survival. She would associate herself with the _____ perspective.
evolutionary
A student majoring in psychology understands that psychological literacy:
hinges on critical thinking.
Positive psychology has its roots in the _____ perspective.
humanistic
Dr. Segal predicted that when given a joint task, identical twins will cooperate more and compete less than fraternal twins. This prediction was her:
hypothesis
A researcher gives the experimental group a nutritional supplement, and the control group is not given anything. In this example, what the groups are given is the _____ variable.
independent
Ohana is asked to engage in effortful reflection of her sensations, thoughts, and feelings in response to a stimulus. This procedure is known as:
introspection.
Identical twins Anaïs and Sam went through 25 years of life without any knowledge of each other. When the twins reunited, they:
looked similar and had similar mannerisms.
The ethical guidelines written by professional organizations encourage psychologists to:
maintain accuracy in research, teaching, and practice.
In an experiment, the dependent variable is:
measured by the researcher.
Finches that have big beaks can crack open a greater variety of seeds and thus are more likely to survive when food is scarce than small-beaked finches. This is an example of:
natural selection.
As part of her research in graduate school, Janice wants to examine children's play behavior in a realistic setting. She decides to watch groups of children as they play at a playground and note whether boys or girls tend to engage in more risky behavior on a particular piece of equipment. What kind of descriptive research is Janice conducting?
naturalistic observation
Dr. Schiavo is an expert on adolescence and is reading an article submitted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. At the moment, she is examining the methods section for potential flaws in the design of the research. Dr. Schiavo is contributing to the process of _____ review.
peer
Neuropsychologist Ling Chew gives half of the participants in her experiment a pill that contains a stimulant drug. She gives the other half of her participants an identical-looking pill that does not contain the drug. Dr. Chew is using a pill without the drug as a(n):
placebo.
Dr. Moyer is studying the association between opportunities for workplace creativity and overall happiness. Dr. Moyer is a practitioner of _____ psychology.
positive
Research by Catalino and Fredrickson (2011) indicates that optimism is _____ correlated with mental health.
positively
Glenn is a business major. He enrolled in a psychology course this semester because he had to fulfill a requirement and psychology was offered at a good time. Although Glenn isn't planning to pursue a career in psychology, he pays close attention to the topic of _____ since this is relevant to him as a future business owner.
psychology in the workplace
A good way to minimize the influence of extraneous variables is to use:
random assignment.
"_____ data" is the term used for data once they have been gathered and entered into a data file but before they have been analyzed to give the numbers meaning.
raw
Before _____ her psychology textbook, Ambia applies the technique of _____ in order to identify main ideas and concepts she will be learning about.
reading; surveying
Correlational research can be an important tool for researchers who want to test:
real-world variables that cannot ethically be manipulated.
Using the technique of _____, Ting Wei discusses how additional material supports key facts and concepts.
recalling
Do opposites attract? Psychological research suggests that:
similarity is a better predictor of attraction
Dr. Pepper conducted an experiment to test the effects of a new stimulant drug on a group of participants. In the experiment, Dr. Pepper knew which participants were receiving the new drug and which were receiving an inert pill. However, the participants did not know which type of pill they were taking. Given this information, it can be inferred that Dr. Pepper conducted a _____ study.
single-blind
In many Asian markets, such as those in Vietnam, customers are expected to bargain with the seller, which affects their shopping behavior in a way that is very different from the shopping behavior of customers in the United States. This exemplifies the importance of considering _____ when trying to understand human behavior.
social interactions and culture
The differences between the identical twins separated at birth, Sam and Anaïs, may be partly due to the fact that Sam was raised in the United States and Anaïs was raised in France. This idea would be consistent with the _____ perspective.
sociocultural
The basics of traditional education—math, science, language, and arts—are:
still important in today's culture.
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is known as:
sustainable.
The impression that psychological findings are obvious might be related to _____, or the "I knew it all along" feeling.
the hindsight bias
In 1998, research conducted by Wakefield and colleagues was published that suggested vaccinations cause autism. The study was retracted from the journal years later because:
the results of the study were fabricated
The continuing cycle of exploration, critical thinking, and systematic observation that psychologists use to conduct research is called:
the scientific method.
Researchers consistently report a positive correlation between exposure to violence in the media and aggressive behavior. It is possible that the two variables caused each other, but it is also possible that a _____ variable actually influences both exposure to violence and aggressive behavior.
third
Dr. Johnannsen is a psychologist whose research is based on that of Mamie Phipps Clark, the first Black woman to be awarded a PhD in psychology. Dr. Johanssen's research would likely focus on:
ways to improve education for minority children.
Foroughi, Werner, Barragan, and Boehm-Davis (2015) conducted an experiment on the effects of interruptions on reading comprehension. They found that participants struggled more with reading comprehension after being interrupted. However, this effect was not observed:
when the interruption was preceded by a 15-second break.
Tomas is writing a paper about the women who were early influences in the field of psychology. When discussing the contributions of Margaret Floy Washburn, he should write that:
"Margaret Floy Washburn was able to earn her PhD and publish scholarly work in the late 1800s because of her perseverance, despite society's belief that women are inferior to men."
Leslie and Jodi are taking time to think about which resources they would find useful and how they would employ them prior to exam time. According to Chen and colleagues (2017), Leslie and Jodi should see exam grades that are about:
4% higher than if they don't take time to think about available resources.
According to the APA Center for Workforce Studies (2015) and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014) _____% of full-time doctoral level psychologists work in educational settings.
45
According to the APA Center for Workforce Studies (2015) and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014) _____% of full-time doctoral level psychologists specialize in clinical and counseling psychology.
55
_____ involves weighing pieces of evidence and considering the source and quality of information before accepting it as valid.
Critical thinking
_____ involves weighing various pieces of evidence, synthesizing them, and determining how each contributes to the bigger picture.
Critical thinking
"By conducting introspection experiments, his aim was to understand the most basic elements of the mind. He wanted to do for psychology what the periodic table of the elements did for chemistry," lectures a Dr. Chekov. This would be part of an effective presentation about:
Edward Titchener.
Which psychologist helped pioneer the cognitive perspective?
George Miller
Tamara was interested in studying people's attitudes toward immigration reform, so she surveyed a sample of friends from her college in Chicago. In her study, Tamara found that 63% of her friends favored immigration reform. She concluded that "The majority of people in the United States are in favor of immigration reform." Which statement expresses the problem with Tamara's conclusion?
Her sample is not representative of the United States population.
Some of the 33 rescued Chilean miners attributed their survival to a " cariño." This is the idea that there is a(n):
brotherhood within a moment of danger.
In a social psychology experiment, one group of participants is reminded of a social stereotype they are likely to believe, while another group is not. All participants then interact with a member of the group to which the stereotype applies, and the nature of their interactions is recorded. Which statement is true?
The reminded group receives the treatment and is the experimental group.
An example of _____ is what a man who, having raised three kids, knows about child development.
anecdotal evidence
Akira has declared psychology as his major. He will be studying:
behavior and mental processes.
In an experiment, the _____ variable is measured by the researcher.
dependent
