Experimental Psych Exam 1
c
Asking questions to get the answers we want is known as: a. Availability heuristic b. Cherry-picking of evidence c. Confirmatory hypothesis testing d. Overconfidence
a
Research studies are superior to personal experience because: a. They include at least one comparison group b. They avoid constants c. They use confederates d. An authority is involved
c
Which of the following sources is most likely to contain only information that has been rigorously peer-reviewed? a. Chapters in edited books b. Full-length books c. Review journal articles d. Wikis
a
After reading the chapter, Cyril says to himself, "I am sure other people might engage in faulty thinking but I never would." What is Cyril experiencing? a. Bias blind spot b. Confirmatory hypothesis testing c. Faulty intuition d. Motivated thinking
d
All of the following are reasons psychological scientists publish their research EXCEPT: a. To have their results reviewed by other psychologists b. To share interesting findings c. To provide evidence for a theory d. To get money from the journals where their work appears
b
Benjamin is a social psychologist who studies marriage. He believes that marital satisfaction has two components: the ability to trust one's partner and a belief that one can be a good spouse. He conducts a study to test his ideas. Assuming that his data match his theory, which of the following statements should he make? a. "The data complicate my theory." b. "The data provide support for my theory." c. "The data prove my theory." d. "My theory is generalizable."
b
Benjamin is a social psychologist who studies marriage. He believes that marital satisfaction has two components: the ability to trust one's partner and a belief that one can be a good spouse. This is known as: a. Data b. A theory c. A hypothesis d. Research
b
Both James and Thomas have theories that explain why listening to classical music while reading is associated with increased recall of the material. James' theory is much simpler than Thomas'. Thomas created his theory a few months before James did. Which of the following is true? a. Thomas' theory would be considered better because he thought of it first. b. James' theory would be considered better because it is more parsimonious. c. Thomas' theory would be considered better because it is more complex. d. James' theory would be considered better because it was thought of more recently.
d
Elliott is double majoring in English and psychology. He plans on being a high school English teacher and is only majoring in psychology because he finds the classes interesting. All of the following are important reasons for him to be a good consumer of research EXCEPT: a. He will likely be asked to read research studies in his future psychology classes b. He will likely encounter research studies described in popular magazines he reads c. He will likely need to read research related to enhancing his teaching d. He will likely need to be a producer of researcher as wel
c
Lana is writing her first empirical journal article. Although she thinks she knows why she found the results she did, she also wants to mention some alternative explanations for her findings. In which section will she mention these alternative explanations? a. Method b. Results c. Discussion d. References
c
Of the options listed below, which of the following is the last section of an empirical journal article? a. Method b. Results c. Discussion d. Introduction
b
Psychological scientists may choose to publish their work in all of the following EXCEPT: a. Edited books b. Popular magazines c. Scientific journals d. Full-length books
d
RESEARCH STUDY 1.1 Deci and Ryan (1985, 2001) have proposed that there are three fundamental needs that are required for human growth and fulfillment: relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Susan predicts that students who have these needs met in their psychology class feel happier and more satisfied with the class. She collects data and finds that students who feel more related and competent do feel happier but that feeling more autonomous does not seem to matter. Susan thinks that maybe autonomy is only necessary when people are in situations in which they are not being evaluated. Refer to Research Study 1.1 to answer the following four questions. Deci and Ryan's general statement of how the three needs are related to growth and fulfillment is an example of which of the following? a. Data b. Research c. A hypothesis d. A theory
b
Research that is done specifically to add to our general understanding of psychology, like distinguishing the components of extraversion or predicting the time it takes a person to determine whether an object is a face or another object, is known as: a. Translational research b. Basic research c. Applied research d. Empirical research
a
Sasha believes that she is a nice person. To confirm this, she asks all her friends whether she is a nice person; they all agree that she is. Sasha concludes that she is a nice person and says she has evidence of it. However, she does not ask any of her enemies whether they think she is a nice person. This is an example of which of the following? a. Cherry-picking of evidence b. Availability heuristic c. Fourth cell reasoning d. Overconfidence
b
Translational research is best thought of as ________ basic research and applied research. a. Inferior to both b. A bridge between c. Superior to both d. Another word for
b
When reading an empirical journal article "with purpose," why should you read the abstract first? a. Because it is the shortest section b. Because it provides an overview of the article c. Because it is written by the journal's editor d. Because it appears in PsycINFO
c
Which of the following is true of the distinction between scientific journals and popular magazines? a. Scientific journals are published quarterly; popular magazines are published monthly. b. Scientific journals are published on specific topics; popular magazines are not published on specific topics like psychology. c. Scientific journal articles are peer-reviewed; popular magazine articles are not. d. There are no differences between scientific journals and popular magazines.
d
Which of the following people will likely NOT find it important to be a consumer of psychological research professionally? a. High school teachers b. Human resource managers c. Sales representatives d. Gardeners
c
Your friend Gaby loves reading articles about psychology studies in her monthly women's magazine. Which of the following would you tell her? a. Reading those magazines is just as good as reading the peer-reviewed journals. b. Stop reading those articles because they are never accurate. c. Be careful about reading those articles because they may not present accurate findings. d. Peer-reviewed journals are much easier to read than magazines.