AP Psychology CHAPTER 2

Both the researchers and the participants in a memory study are ignorant about which participants have actually received a potentially memory-enhancing drug and which have received a placebo. This investigation involves the use of

the double-blind procedure

The relief of pain following the ingestion of an inert substance that is presumed to have medicinal benefits illustrates

the placebo effect

The hindsight bias leads people to perceive research findings as

unsurprising

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

A specification of how a researcher measures a research variable is known as a(n)

operational definition

Our tendency to believe we know more than we do illustrates

overconfidence

When provided with the unscrambled solution to anagrams, people underestimate the difficulty of solving the anagrams by themselves. This best illustrates

overconfidence

In a study of the effects of alcohol consumption, some participants drank a nonalcoholic beverage that actually smelled and tasted like alcohol. This nonalcoholic drink was a

placebo

If college graduates typically earn more money than high school graduates, this would indicate that level of education and income are

positively correlated

To assess the effect of televised violence on aggression, researchers plan to expose one group of children to violent movie scenes and another group to nonviolent scenes. To reduce the chance that the children in one group have more aggressive personalities than those in the other group, the researchers should make use of

random assignment

The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution is the

range

Replication involves

repeating an earlier research study

To graphically represent the correlation between two variables, researchers often construct a

scatterplot

When the observed difference between the means of an experimental group and control group are not likely due to chance, researchers conclude that this difference is

statistically significant

Professor Woo noticed that the distribution of students' scores on her last biology test had an extremely small standard deviation. This indicates that the

students' scores tended to be very similar to one another

Random sampling is to ____________ as random assignment is to ____________.

surveys; experiments

A hypothesis is a(n)

testable prediction that gives direction to research

During the past year, Zara and Ivan each read 2 books, but George read 9, Ali read 12, and Marsha read 25. The median number of books read by these individuals was

9

According to Professor Fayad, we like people who like us because their affection for us boosts our own self-esteem. His idea is an example of

A Theory

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

A hypothesis

Which of the following is the best definition of illusory correlation?

A perceived but nonexistent correlation

Which of the following are considered to be limitations of psychological experiments conducted in laboratory environments?

Laboratories are artificial environments, so behavior might not apply to the real world.

Why are researchers careful to use large, representative samples in their studies?

Larger, representative sample sizes help ensure reliable and valid results.

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

May be unrepresentative of what is generally true

Professional psychological associations require researchers to

Minimize infection, illness, and pain in animal subjects.

Psychologists who carefully watch the behavior of chimpanzee societies in the jungle are using a research method known as

Naturalistic observation

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

When you read a bar graph, it is most important for you to

Note the range and size of the scale values

The complete set of cases from which samples may be drawn is called a(n)

Population

Correlation research is most useful for purposes of

Prediction

Which procedure helps to ensure that the participants in a survey are representative of a larger population?

Random Sampling

Why is replication important to science?

Repeated research with similar results increases confidence in the reliability of the original findings.

A researcher interested in investigating the attitudes or opinions of a large sample of people is most likely to use which research method?

Survey

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

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

The hindsight bias

Why would the median, rather than the mean, be the appropriate measure of central tendency in determining housing values in a particular community?

The median is minimally affected by extreme scores

What do scientists call an explanation that organizes observations and predicts future behaviors or events?

Theory

Redelmeier and Tversky (1996) followed 18 patients with arthritis for 18 months. Patients were asked to record their pain and joint tenderness, while researchers documented changes in the weather. Nearly all patients believed that their condition was associated with weather changes, when the actual correlation was near zero. These participants need to be reminded that

We are likely to recall instances that confirm our beliefs

A majority of respondents in a national survey agreed that "classroom prayer should not be allowed in public schools." Only 33 percent of respondents in a similar survey agreed that "classroom prayer in public schools should be banned." These divergent findings best illustrate the importance of

Wording Effects

Bar graphs allow researchers to

compare groups

A researcher who publishes the results of a case study might be most worries about violating which ethical principle of human experimentation?

confidentiality

In an experiment designed to study the effectiveness of a new drug, research participants who receive a placebo are participating in the ________ condition.

control

A researcher interested in studying the relationship between poor prenatal nutrition and early cognitive development. Because of ethical concerns, which research methods would be most appropriate for researcher to use?

correlational

A questioning attitude regarding psychologists' assumptions and hidden values best illustrates

critical thinking

The enduring traditions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a large group of people constitutes their

culture

Historians of science describe which three attitudes as the basis of the scientific viewpoint?

curiosity, skepticism. humility

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?

"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"?

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

In a group of five individuals, two report annual incomes of $10,000, and the other three report incomes of $14,000, $15,000, and $31,000, respectively. The mode of this group's distribution of annual incomes is

$10,000.

Which of the following correlations between self-esteem and body weight would enable you to most accurately predict boy weight from knowledge of level of self-esteem?

+0.60

Which of the following correlation coefficients expresses the weakest degree of relationship between two variables?

-0.12

A moderate positive correlation has been found between a person's weight and hours of television watched per week. Which of the following scatter plots best shows this relationship?

1

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?

68

Mr. and Mrs. Klostreich have six children aged 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, and 16. The mean age of the Klostreich children is

8

Following the scientific discovery that a specific brain structure is significantly larger in violent individuals than in those who are nonviolent, a news headline announced: "Enlarged Brain Structure Triggers Violent Acts." The headline writer should most clearly be warned about the dangers of

Confusing correlation with causation

A researcher who deceives participants about the goals of the research needs to fully inform them of the true nature of the study later, according to which ethical principle of human experimentation?

Debriefing

A researcher interested in proving a causal relationship between two variables should choose which research method?

Experiment

Dr. DeVries is interested in measuring how practice in problem solving affects this ability. The population of interest is high school seniors, and the sample consists of students who attend an exclusive college preparatory school. Half of the sample receives practice in solving particular types of problems, while the other half does not. Both groups take the same problem-solving test. Which of the following might best explain why Dr. DeVries may not be able to generalize his findings?

His sample is not representative of the population

Which of the following defines ethical principles that should guide human experimentation?

Informed consent, protection from harm, confidentiality, debriefing

Psychologists' personal values and goals

can bias their observations and interpretations

In 1954, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that schools must be desegregated, meaning Black and White children must attend the same schools. In its decision the Court cited the expert testimony of two psychologists, illustrating the negative impact of such separation on Black children. This example illustrates that psychology

can help people understand some of our world's great problems

In an experiment, researchers manipulate one factor to see its effect on another factor, called the

dependent variable

A correlation coefficient is a measure of the

direction and strength of the relationship between two variables

Basing decisions or conclusions on observable evidence describes which of the following?

empirical approach

The hindsight bias refers to people's tendency to

exaggerate their ability to have foreseen the outcome of past events

In a distribution of test scores, which measure of central tendency would likely be the most affected by a couple of extremely high scores?

mean