ch.1 psych

Twin and adoption studies addressing the nature-nurture debate are typically conducted by _________

behavior geneticists

Dr. Frohardt is a psychology professor who has been asked to explain what all people will look at first when they view photographs of dangerous animals. Dr. Frohardt will find this task difficult because

eye-tracking studies show differences between cultures when inspecting visual materials.

Zhanna was lying in the grass looking at the sky when a cloud floated by that Zhanna thought looked like a dinosaur. This tendency to perceive patterns in meaningless things in our environment is called

patternicity

According to David Hume, an eighteenth-century Scottish philosopher, the more a claim contradicts what we already know, the more __________ must be the evidence for the claim

persuasive

Your friend is an emergency room nurse. He tells you the ER is always busier when there is a full moon; he claims it is because unstable people are more affected by the moon's gravitational pull. To evaluate his claim, you should understand that __________

correlation is not causation

The phrase "don't confuse me with the facts" would best describe which self-deception trap?

belief perseverance

Psychics who perform poorly in laboratory tests and then blame their poor performance on "bad vibes" from skeptical researchers are displaying which sign of pseudoscience?

ad hoc immunizing hypotheses

Some main warning signs of pseudoscientific claims include overreliance on anecdotes, exaggerated claims, absence of connectivity to other research, lack of peer review, and

use of scientific-sounding terms that make little sense

Alice is looking for an effective diet program. She is able to evaluate the claims of competing programs in an open-minded and careful fashion by __________, the hallmark of scientific skepticism.

using her critical thinking skills

Because religious concepts cannot be tested scientifically, we should consider that

science and religion are nonoverlapping realms of knowledge.

An approach to psychology that relied heavily on dream interpretation, symbolism, unconscious motives, and the suppression of sexual and aggressive urges was developed by

Sigmund Freud.

Besse believes that food supplements are very dangerous and should be avoided because they do not pass the tests of the Food and Drug Administration. For Besse to be convinced to take a food supplement, which of the following will need to occur?

The evidence for the food supplement's effectiveness and safety would have to be very persuasive

Which term describes the commonsense belief that we see the world as it really is?

Which term describes the commonsense belief that we see the world as it really is?

The idea that we can dismiss scientific theories (such as Darwinian evolution) from serious consideration because a theory "is just an educated guess" is

a misconception

Of the 3,500 or so self-help books published every year, what percentage are scientifically tested?

about 5 percent

According to astronomer Carl Sagan, scientific skepticism includes (1) a willingness to keep an open mind to all claims, and (2) a willingness to __________

accept claims only after researchers have subjected them to careful scientific tests

The idea of placing a third brake light at the base of a car's back windshield and changing the color of fire engines from red to yellow are examples of _________

applied psychological research

Georgio does not want to take the SAT or ACT exams because he thinks they will not accurately reflect his ability to succeed in college and are no more useful than flipping a coin. His guidance counselor explains that psychologists have determined that, although not perfect, these tests are significantly better than chance at predicting college success. These psychologists are sharing some __________ with Georgio

applied research

Dr. Goldschmidt is a psychologist. He works with individuals who have serious mental illness by giving them assessments, diagnosis, and treatment. Specifically, Dr. Goldschmidt is a

clinical psychologist

In the 1950s and 1960s, many psychologists were disillusioned with behaviorism's neglect of the mental processes involved in different aspects of thinking. Arguing that thinking has a powerful effect on behavior, psychologists such as Jean Piaget began to develop the field of __________

cognitivism

Dr. Nadica believes that the new medication he is testing helps treat anxiety. As he runs his experiment testing the medication, every time he sees a participant stutter or show nervousness, he attributes it to their newness to the experiment and does not record it as an anxious behavior. Dr. Nadica is showing

confirmation bias

One reason that intuition and common sense are not a good basis for scientific psychology is that we often do not notice _________

contradictions between our views

The "third variable problem" is associated with which scientific thinking principle?

correlation is not causation

Psychological researchers have become more aware of the importance of replicating research results. Part of this awareness is driven by the observation that the size of certain psychological findings appears to be shrinking over time. This phenomenon is known as the

decline effect

You meet a psychologist who tells you that she conducts research on children to determine how their cognitive processes differ as the child gets older. You recognize that this person is most likely a(n)

developmental psychologist

Ten-year-old Candace Newmaker died as a result of a pseudoscientific treatment called "rebirthing therapy." This is an example of pseudoscience causing

direct harm

Bethany is especially prone to trying to find patterns in meaningless stimuli. According to research, Bethany most likely

does not feel a sense of control

A friend says he will not have his new baby inoculated against any childhood diseases because he is afraid the shots will cause autism. You point out that there is no scientific evidence to support that idea. He says he knows that, but he just feels that it is true. What logical fallacy is at work?

emotional reasoning fallacy

Lada was feeling overwhelmed and hopeless and concluded that the problems she was facing could not be solved. Lada is subject to the

emotional reasoning fallacy

Helga wants to be a scientist. She believes that observation is the best way to gain knowledge. Helga believes in

empiricism

One of the great debates that has shaped the field of psychology is the question of whether people choose their behaviors or are obliged to act in certain ways by factors beyond their control. This is known as the __________ debate.

free will-determinism

The theoretical framework of psychology known as structuralism had two major problems. One was that highly trained introspectionists often disagreed on subjective reports. The other was the discovery of _________

imageless thought

Wilhelm Wundt developed the first full-fledged psychological laboratory in 1879 in Leipzig, Germany. He pioneered the technique of __________, in which trained observers reflected on and reported on their own mental experiences

introspection

According to philosopher of science Sir Karl Popper, for a scientific claim to be meaningful, it must be falsifiable, which means __________

it can be tested to determine if it is false

Evolutionary psychology has been criticized because

its predictions are difficult to falsify

From "neurons to neighborhoods" represents the multiple __________ found in the discipline of psychology

levels of analysis

Ways of thinking that appear to make intuitive sense but are actually traps that lead to mistaken conclusions are called __________

logical fallacies

Bud and Sandy are discussing the merits of new automobiles. Bud noted, "This car model has been tested by four different consumer agencies in hundreds of tests with virtually the same outcomes each time; it is very reliable." Sandy countered, "Yeah, but my neighbor down the street bought that car, and he has had nothing but problems. I would stay away from it." Which hallmark of pseudoscience has Sandy fallen prey to?

overreliance on anecdotes

After studying her psychology text, Gwen was asked which of the early perspectives in psychology she was most attracted to. Gwen replies, "The perspective that focused on internal psychological processes of the unconscious." Gwen likes

psychoanalysis

Anastasia is shy and introverted. Hanging out with other shy people, she becomes even more shy and introverted. She is being impacted by what Bandura called

reciprocal determinism

Laurie told her friend Sandi, "I had a headache this morning, so I used an old family cure: Three sips of ginger ale, and an hour later my head felt better." Sandi replied, "I am glad you are feeling more comfortable now, but maybe the sheer passage of time made your headache go away." Sandi is offering a(n) __________ in response to Laurie's explanation

rival hypothesis

The police have arrested a suspect in an assault case and the victim has agreed to look at a lineup to see if he can identify the person who attacked him. Gary, a police psychologist, is advising the detectives on the most accurate way to put together a lineup. What should he recommend that they use?

sequential lineup

Frida believes that psychological experience can be understood by breaking it down into its basic elements. Frida believes in

structuralism

British philosopher John Locke stood on the nurture side of the nature-nurture debate, comparing the mind of a newborn to a sheet of paper that had yet to be written on. Others later used which term to describe the same idea?

tabula rasa

In thinking of the multiple levels of analysis in psychology, the neurochemical level is considered to be __________ because this level is more closely tied to biological influences

toward the lower end of the ladder