Psych Chapter 1

The variables of stress and depression are positively correlated. This means _______________.

we cannot determine causality with a correlation

What advice might John B. Watson have offered to psychologists of his time?

"Focus on observable behavior."

You read online that people who make more money are also healthier. Your friends says, "I guess money can even buy good health now." You respond with:

"Just because those variables are correlated doesn't mean that one caused the other."

What does the evidence show about the link between autism and vaccines?

There have been no scientifically sound studies showing a link between autism and vaccines.

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

+.05

Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the strongest relationship between two variables?

-.75

Which of the following is NOT an example of applied psychology?

A health psychologist researches a potential link between depression and brain tumors.

Which of the following is NOT an ethical principle for psychological research?

Avoid any deception

A large automobile company says the cars the company makes are the safest in the world. You have driven one of these vehicles for a week and have not had any accidents or problems. Therefore, you believe the company's claim about safety. This error in critical thinking is related to which of the following steps?

Avoid using emotions or personal experiences when evaluating the claim

___________ psychologists interview patients, give diagnostic tests, provide psychotherapy, and design and implement behavioral modification programs

Clinical

Which of the following is an example of critical thinking?

Considering alternative explanations for a study's results

Which of the following questions could be answered best by using the survey method?

Do students prefer a grading system with or without pluses and minuses?

Which early movement of psychology investigated how our minds help us adapt to the world around us?

Functionalism

A psychology student had to use the steps of the scientific method for a class project. He first decided to study the effect of age on clothing choices. He then formulated a hypothesis that older people would prefer more conservative clothing than younger people. Where did he go wrong?

He did not conduct background research before developing his hypothesis.

Numerous ethical concerns were raised in Wakefield's study linking MMR to autism. Which concern was related to a conflict of interest?

He was paid $780,000 by lawyers planning to sue makers of the MMR vaccine months before he conducted his study.

You attend a lecture by a psychologist who uses terms such as free will and self-actualization. Which psychological perspective is most consistent with the points the psychologist presented?

Humanism

Which of the following is CORRECT concerning random assignment?

In random assignment, each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to each condition.

Which of the following is a limitation of a case study?

It is difficult to generalize to other people or situations based on a case study.

A research hypothesis proposes that consuming a low carbohydrate diet results in increased weight loss. One group of participants follows a low-carb diet for 3 weeks, whereas a second group follows a high-carb diet containing the same number of calories for 3 weeks. The average number of pounds lost for each group is then is compared. What is the dependent variable?

Number of pounds lost

Ashley is using the scientific method to test whether male children are more violent than female children. What will she most likely do first?

Research previous scientific studies about children, gender roles, and violence.

____________ occurs in situations where a research participant's behavior is different than normal because the participant is being observed.

Reactivity

How were the research methods flawed in Wakefield et al's. 1998 study that linked MMR to the development of autism?

Small sample size; lack of control group; nonblind researchers

A case study would be the most appropriate method to investigate which of these topics?

The development of a male baby raised as a female after a surgical error destroyed his penis

________ is an experiment in which neither the participants nor the individuals running the experiment know if participants are in the experimental or the control group until after the results are tallied.

The double-blind study

Golf skill is negatively correlated with golf scores. Based on this information, which of the following statements is true?

The more skilled you are at golf, the lower your golf score.

Paul records data that indicate that the number of hot chocolates sold at the concession stand increases as temperature outside decreases (for example, more hot chocolates are purchased during late fall than late spring). Which of the following statements is the most accurate depiction of this finding?

There is a negative correlation between the two variables.

Many African American citizens are distrustful and wary of the medical establishment based on what study conducted by the U.S Public Health Service between 1932 and 1972?

Tuskegee syphilis experiment

Julie finds that the more she sleeps on the eve of an exam, the higher the score she gets on the exam. There is _______________ correlation between the amount Julie sleeps and her exam scores.

a postitive

A group of randomly selected participants for a study that matches the population on important characteristics such as age and sex is called ________.

a representative sample

All of the following variables, except for ________, would likely show a positive correlation.

alcohol consumption and scores on a driving test

Experiments are more valuable than other research methods because they _______________________.

allow a determination of cause-effect relationships

The administration of Midwest State University wants to know if the arrangement of chairs affects student participation in classrooms. They arrange the chairs in two different ways (theater style and circular) and then measure participation. In this study, ________ is the independent variable, and _________ is the dependent variable.

arrangement of chairs; student participation

All of the following variables would likely be negatively correlated EXCEPT _______.

calories consumed and weight gain

A detailed description of a particular individual being studied or treated is called a ________.

case study

Dr. Sardonicus wants to know whether or not the first three years of life are critical for acquiring language. She decides to study a child who was tragically deprived of human language by her parents. This type of research is called a(n):

case study

Correlations do not show ________.

causal relationships.

Isabella is planning on studying the influence of intelligence on the ability to recall events from the 1960s. If Isabella does not account for variables such as age, which could also influence one's ability to recall these events, age could be considered a(n) ________ variable.

confounding

Dr. Wiseman wants to know about the alcohol consumption patterns among college juniors in the United States. He should ________.

draw a representative sample among college juniors

In a laboratory, children are given either a beverage with sugar or one without sugar. The experimenter measures the level of hyperactivity in the children following consumption of the beverage. The experimental group in this scenario consists of children who ____________________.

drink the beverage with sugar

A researcher wants to know whether eating chocolate makes people nervous. Some participants are given two bars of chocolate to eat, and some are given no chocolate at all, and then all of the participants are tested for nervousness an hour later. In this experiment, the participants who eat the chocolate are in the __________ group, while the people who did not eat any chocolate are in the __________ group.

experimental; control

Testing a hypothesis is the ______ step in a scientific investigation.

fourth

Independent variable is to dependent variable as ________.

manipulate is to measure

Dr. Littman-Smith is conducting research in Kenya into the ways that mothers and their toddlers interact throughout the day. Given the purpose of her study, she most likely is engaged in ________.

naturalistic observation

When you watch dogs play in the park, or watch how your professors conduct their classes, you are engaging in a form of ________.

naturalistic observation

Sam conducted a naturalistic observation as a project for a psychology class. He observed the interactions of parents and children at a restaurant. He believes many parents spoil their children in today's society. He observed many parents allowing children to get away with bad behavior such as being rude to the wait staff. When Sam described his work to his teacher, she suggested he find out more about the ________.

observer effect

Researchers designed an experiment that tested the impact of drinking alcohol on test taking abilities. They gave one group a drink with vodka and the other group a drink with tonic water. Neither group knew which drink they received. One interesting result of the experiment was that several members of the group who received the drink with the tonic water acted as if they were impaired. This result is called the _______________.

placebo effect

Joaquin went to McDonald's to observe people eating in fast-food restaurants. He brought a camera crew and bright lights, and they all wore yellow jump suits. Joaquin said he wanted to do a naturalistic observation but may have had some problems because of ________.

reactivity

If you are interested in how patterns, beliefs, and customs influence behavior, you are interested in the ________ perspective.

sociocultural

Jana conducts a study in which she calls participants and asks them questions about their opinions. She is conducting a:

survey.

A study shows that the correlation between shoe size and intelligence is .05. This means that _____________.

there is no relationship between shoe size and intelligence score.

Evolutionary psychology might suggest that certain cognitive strategies and goals are built into the brain because ____________________.

they help humans adapt to their natural environment