Exam 1- Psychology

Dr. Girard is conducting a detailed examination of a patient with dissociative identity disorder. Dr. Girard is undertaking:

A Case Study

Which best defines a culture?

A common set of social norms

Which of the following is NOT one of the characteristics of a good theory? A. A good theory is general. B. A good theory is complex. C. A good theory can be falsified. D. A good theory inspires future research.

A good theory is complex

Which is the best definition of an operational definition?

A method of turning conceptual variables into measured variables

Dr. Evans prepares a set of questions to ask college students about their drinking behavior and their attitudes toward alcohol. Dr. Evans is undertaking:

A survey

Informed consent includes which of the following? A. a detailed explanation of the study and its procedures B. a statement of the potential risks of participating in the study C. an assurance that participation is completely voluntary D. A, B, and C

A, B, and C

Which of the following best defines basic research? A. Research that answers fundamental questions about behavior B. Research that is empirical C. Research that is based on theory D. Research that is objective

A. Research that answers fundamental questions about behavior

Fidelma is undertaking survey research. Which of the following is she probably doing?

Asking a sample of students a series of questions about their sexual attitudes and behaviors

What best defines functionalism?

Attempts to understand why animals and humans have developed the particular psychological aspects that they currently possess

Psychologists use the term ___________ research to refer to research that answers fundamental questions about behavior. The term _________ research refers to research that provides solutions to everyday problems.

Basic; Applied

As compared to 'cramming,' studying material in shorter sessions spread over time produces _____ test performance. This is known as the _____ effect.

Better; Spacing

Which level of explanation in psychology is correctly matched with an example?

Biological level -- Cocaine exerts its effects by prolonging the presence of specific chemicals at the junctions between nerve cells

The sequence correctly ordering the level of explanation in psychology, from the lowest to the highest?

Biological; Interpersonal; Social/Cultural

Arif is conducting an investigation of the effect of a word's length on the time it takes to recognize it. Brandy is examining the extent to which several broad personality traits are related. Which of the following alternatives best describes the type of research each of these individuals in conducting?

Both Arif and Brandy are conducting basic research

Which type of evidence provided the foundation for Freud's psychodynamic theory?

Case studies of patients in psychotherapy

Driving to work one day, Rosemary suspects that motorists talking on their cell phones process less information relevant to the task of driving than do other drivers. This hypothesis would most likely be tested by a _____ psychologist.

Cognitive

Psychologists have studied the ways that best allow people to acquire, store, and retain information. These are most likely _____ psychologists.

Cognitive

The computer metaphor is at the heart of the _____ approach

Cognitive

Abstract ideas forming the basis of research hypotheses are termed:

Conceptual variables

Dr. Ellis performs an experiment to test the hypothesis that alcohol consumption increases verbal aggression. However, the alcohol group contained mostly men, whereas the no-alcohol group contained mostly women. In this experiment, gender is a(n ) _________ variable.

Confounding

Amanda selects a sample of college students. She obtains the students' scores on several personality scales, as well as on a test of creativity. Amanda wishes to summarize her sample's performance on the creativity test. She therefore computes ________ statistics.

Descriptive

Gene is to environment as _____ is to _____

Determinism; Free will

Which of the following psychologists is most likely to work in a research setting? A. Dr. Brennan, a forensic psychologist B. Dr. Chan, a clinical psychologist C. Dr. DeVries, a biopsychologist D. Dr. Estevez, a sports psychologist

Dr. DeVries, a biopsychologist

Dr. Greenway argues that psychology should focus on observable, measurable behavior. Dr. Cech suggests that psychology should study how people think and process information about the world. Which option correctly identifies their respective approaches?

Dr. Greenway - behaviorism; Dr. Cech - cognitive

Which of the following individuals is most likely a clinical psychologist? A. Dr. MacGinnis, who works in a law firm B. Dr. Landry, who works in a private research laboratory C. Dr. Kendall, who works in a corporation D. Dr. Inglis, who works in a social service agency

Dr. Inglis, who works in a social service agency

Which of the following researchers is conducting a case study? A. Dr. Henriette, who is measuring how fast a group of students can respond to a stimulus. B. Dr. Innis, who is examining the tactile perception of a blind woman C. Dr. Jenner, who is observing children on a playground D. Dr. Kulik, who is combing through newspaper stories on serial killers

Dr. Innis, who is examining the tactile perception of a blind woman

The purpose of random assignment is to: A. Combine the results of a number of similar studies B. Determine how likely it is that the results of a manipulation were due to chance C. Ensure that participant characteristics are equivalent across conditions D. determine whether two variables are related

Ensure that participant characteristics are equivalent across conditions

Naturalistic observation entails which of the following?

Examining behavior in the setting in which it typically occurs

Which of the following alternatives correctly matches a research design with its goal? A. Descriptive research - assesses the causal influence of one or more manipulations B. Experimental research - assesses the relationships among variables C. Correlational research - provides an assessment of the current state of affairs D. Experimental research - assesses the causal influence of one or more manipulations

Experimental Research - assesses the causal influence of one or more manipulations

One of the most frequent criticisms of psychodynamic theory is that it cannot be disproved; that is, the theory is not __________.

Falsifiable

Important cognitive psychologists include each of the following EXCEPT: A. Kahneman B. Broadbent C. Ebbinghaus D. Freud

Freud

Which of the following prominent psychologists developed his theories primarily through using case studies? A. James B. Watson C. Skinner D. Freud

Freud

Which of the following alternatives best expresses the fate of the functional approach to psychology? A. Functionalism was rapidly replaced by the structuralist approach early in psychology's history. B. Functionalism continues to exist as a school of psychology, and its ideas have become increasingly influential. C. Functionalism no longer exists as a school of psychology, and its ideas have had little impact. D. Functionalism no longer exists as a school of psychology, but its ideas have become absorbed into the field of evolutionary psychology.

Functionalism no longer exists as a school of psychology, but its ideas have become absorbed into the field of evolutionary psychology.

Between which pair of values is one most likely to find a positive correlation? A. alcohol consumption and GPA B. GPA and height C. GPA and amount of studying D. GPA and depression

GPA and amount of studying

With respect to the psychology of emotion, William James would be most interested in:

How emotions aid one's adaptation to the environment

"Opposites attract." "Birds of a feather flock together." These aphorisms are:

Hypotheses

Professors Chase and Sanborn are conducting an experiment on the effects of caffeine on memory. Participants are randomly assigned to a caffeine or a no-caffeine group and their recall of items on a word list is later assessed. Which pair correctly identifies a variable in this experiment? A. Experimental variable; memory B. Independent variable; caffeine C. Outcome variable; caffeine D. Dependent variable; caffeine

Independent variable; caffeine

Which of the following challenges of studying psychology is correctly matched with which example?

Individual differences - Some people have lower self-esteem than are others.

Which of the following types of psychologists is correctly paired with a field or setting in which he or she might work? A. social psychologist; school B. industrial-organizational psychologist; corporation C. biopsychologist; marketing D. developmental psychologist; corporation

Industrial-organizational psychologist; corporation

A procedure in which an observer describes the simple elements of a complex experience in as much detail as possible is called:

Introspection

The best description of "everyday research" that we all perform when we try to understand thoughts and behavior

It can lead us to believe that we know the causes of things when we really do not

Which of the following statements best expresses the aim of the functionalist approach?

It seeks to determine the purpose of mental processes

The behaviorists made their most important contributions to the study of _____ in psychology.

Learning

Survey is to case study as _______ is to __________

Many participants; One participant

Our ability to adequately assess our own knowledge describes?

Metacognition

One way of learning material is to link each of the pieces of information with a familiar place. This strategy is termed the _____. A. place method B. pegword method C. keyword method D. method of loci

Method of loci

Nathalie reads her psychology notes over and over again. Odette links the information to material she has learned in other courses. How would you describe how they're studying?

Nathalie is rehearsing the information, whereas Odette is elaborating it. Odette is likely to retain the information better than is Nathalie.

Which of the following is true in a double-blind experiment? A. The participant knows what condition he or she is in but the experimenter does not. B. The experimenter knows what condition the participant is in but the participant does not. C. Neither the experimenter nor the participant knows what condition the participant is in. D. The experimenter and the participant know what condition the participant is in but they cannot influence the outcome

Neither the experimenter nor the participant knows what condition the participant is in.

A reviewer believes that a researcher's theory is unnecessarily complicated. She believes that the theory is not __________.

Parsimonious

Which psychologist studied how and when the presence of food would produce salivation in dogs?

Pavlov

In the _______ review process, research is screened and critiqued by scientists in the field before it is published

Peer

Research reported in your text is most consistent with the fact that...

People may believe that they have free will even when they do not

When a researcher debriefs her participants, she, A. provides a detailed explanation of the hypotheses and goals of the study. B. tells them they can stop taking part at any time. C. assures them that their data will remain confidential. D. outlines what is going to occur in the study.

Provides a detailed explanation of the hypotheses and goals of the study

Regarding the historical development of contemporary psychology, which of the following statements is true?

Psychology has become more objective and scientific

The difference between the highest and the lowest score in a data set is termed the _________.

Range

Which of the following is a measure of variability? A. median B. correlation coefficient C. mode D. mean E. range

Range

Creating knowledge is to using knowledge as _____ is to _____.

Research Psychologist; Psychologist-Practitioner

Which of the following best defines applied research? A. Research that investigates issues that have implications for everyday life B. Research that is not as empirical as basic research C. Research that is not based on prior theory D. Research that answers fundamental questions about behavior

Research that investigates issues that have implications for everyday life

At a DUI checkpoint, some cars are stopped at random; many others are not stopped. Using the terminology of psychological research, the cars that are stopped may be considered a __________ of all the cars that pass by the checkpoint

Sample

Amy is conducting a survey of dating attitudes and behaviors among young adults as part of her masters' thesis work. Amy distributes questionnaires to 200 randomly selected students enrolled in an introductory psychology course at her university. The 200 students constitute Amy's ________. The people of whom she assumes her results will generalize are termed the _______.

Sample; Population

Which American psychologist contributed to behaviorism?

Skinner

Which psychologist is associated with the behavioral approach?

Skinner

Which alternative best expresses the influence of the cognitive approach?

The approach has been highly influential, and its impact remains.

Which is an operational definition of "happiness"?

The number of times an individual smiles in an hour and an individual's self-rating on a 10-point happiness scale

When scientists conduct research, they may find that what they thought were facts are actually incorrect. What normally happens in this case?

The old facts are replaced with new facts based on newer and more correct data

A scatterplot is a visual representation of:

The relationship between two variables

What does a psychologist usually mean when she says a particular experimental result is 'statistically significant'?

The result is unlikely to have occurred solely as a result of chance

Which of the following is the best definition of the hindsight bias?

The tendency to think that we could have predicted things that we probably would not have been able to predict

Which of the following concepts is correctly matched with its definition? A. hypothesis - a statement translating a conceptual definition into a measured definition B. law - an attribute that can assume different values C. variable - a general, overarching principle D. theory - an integrated framework explaining the data in a given domain

Theory - an integrated framework explaining the data in a given domain

With which of the following statements would William James most readily agree? A. Thinking is the same as doing. B. Thinking is irrelevant to doing. C. Thinking and doing are unrelated. D. Thinking is for doing.

Thinking is for doing

Perhaps the best-known structuralist was Wundt's student, _____

Titchener

Which of the following is the goal of experimental research? A. To assess the validity of a measurement B. To assess the relationships among variables C. To assess the current state of affairs D. To assess the causal influence of one or more manipulations

To assess the causal influence of one or more manipulations

Which of the following is the goal of descriptive research? A. To assess the validity of a measurement B. To assess the relationships among variables C. To assess the current state of affairs D. To assess the causal influence of one or more manipulations

To assess the current state of affairs

True or False: Psychologists disagree on whether deception is ever permissible in the conduct of psychological research.

True

Personal statements are to objective statements as _____ are to _____

Values; Facts

Independence is to interdependence as _____ is to _____

Western culture; East Asian culture

Professors Chase and Sanborn are conducting an experiment on the effects of caffeine on memory. Participants are randomly assigned to a caffeine or a no-caffeine group and their recall of items on a word list is later assessed. Which pair below correctly names and identifies the variables in this experiment? A. Word recall-outcome variable; caffeine-predictor variable B. Word recall-independent variable; caffeine-dependent variable C. Word recall-dependent variable; caffeine-independent variable D. Word recall-experimental variable; caffeine-control variable

Word recall-dependent variable; caffeine-independent variable

According to the structuralists, the goal of psychology is to:

identify the elements of conscious experience

The use of reaction time methods to study mental events originated with the work of the _____ psychologists. These techniques are now frequently used in _____ psychology

structuralist; cognitive

Descriptive statistics...?

summarize a set of data