Psychology Ch. 1

A descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a representative sample of a population is known as a) a survey. b) debriefing. c) a case study. d) naturalistic observation.

a) a survey.

Contemporary psychology is best defined as the science of a) behavior and mental processes. b) maladaptive and adaptive behaviors. c) observable responses to the environment. d) conscious and unconscious mental activity.

a) behavior and mental processes.

Which perspective most clearly focuses on how we learn observable responses? a) behavioral b) behavior genetics c) neuroscience d) evolutionary

a) behavioral

If participants in the experimental group of a drug treatment study are much younger than participants in the control group, the age of the research participants is a a) confounding variable. b) correlation coefficient. c) dependent variable. d) replication.

a) confounding variable.

In a psychological experiment, the factor that may be influenced by the manipulated experimental treatment is called the ________ variable. a) dependent b) experimental c) independent d) control

a) dependent

Participants who are exposed to the treatment being tested in an experiment are said to be assigned to the a) experimental group. b) standardized treatment. c) control group. d) random sample.

a) experimental group.

In which type of research would an investigator manipulate at least one factor and observe its effect on some behavior or mental process? a) experimentation b) naturalistic observation c) the survey d) the case study

a) experimentation

In the 1960s, the cognitive revolution in psychology involved a renewal of interest in the scientific study of a) mental processes. b) unconscious motives. c) hereditary influences. d) learned behaviors.

a) mental processes.

Lissette wonders whether personality differences between her friends who recently moved from Nigeria and those who moved from Thailand result primarily from biological influences or from cultural influences. In this instance, Lissette is primarily concerned with the relative contributions of a) nature and nurture. b) behavior and mental processes. c) neuroscience and cognition. d) conscious and unconscious thoughts.

a) nature and nurture.

A theory is an explanation using an integrated set of principles that ______ observations and ______ behaviors or events. a) organizes; predicts b) questions; surveys c) replicates; controls d) randomly samples; randomly assigns

a) organizes; predicts

The scientific attitude requires an open-minded humility because it involves a willingness to a) recognize the errors in our own ideas. b) respect political beliefs that contradict our own. c) avoid multiple levels of analysis. d) reject any ideas that can't be scientifically tested.

a) recognize the errors in our own ideas.

The distinctive feature of the psychodynamic perspective is its emphasis on a) unconscious conflicts. b) brain chemistry. c) natural selection. d) learned behaviors.

a) unconscious conflicts.

Using scientific procedures to test whether watching violent movies increases the frequency of emotionally upsetting dreams best illustrates a) positive psychology. b) an empirical approach. c) Freudian psychology. d) functionalism.

b) an empirical approach.

The biopsychosocial approach incorporates different levels of analysis, which a) typically contradict common sense. b) complement one another. c) have little value for applied research. d) are generally impossible to test scientifically.

b) complement one another.

The enduring traditions, attitudes, ideas, and behaviors shared by a large group of people constitute their a) behavior genetics. b) culture. c) community psychology. d) levels of analysis.

b) culture.

Which perspective highlights the reproductive advantages of inherited psychological traits? a) behavioral b) evolutionary c) cognitive d) social-cultural

b) evolutionary

The risk of being color deficient is greater for men than for women. This best illustrates an important a) empirical approach. b) gender difference. c) conditioned response. d) psychodynamic perspective.

b) gender difference.

The nature-nurture issue refers to the debate over the relative contributions that ________ make to the development of psychological traits. a) unconscious and conscious motives b) genes and experience c) behavior and mental processes d) introspection and nerve cell activity

b) genes and experience

Several weeks after a political election, voters often exaggerate their ability to have predicted the election outcome. This best illustrates a) wording effects. b) hindsight bias. c) the placebo effect. d) random assignment.

b) hindsight bias.

A descriptive technique of monitoring and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to change or control the situation is called a) random sampling. b) naturalistic observation. c) the double-blind procedure. d) replication.

b) naturalistic observation.

Efforts to discover whether the intelligence of children is more heavily influenced by their biology or their home environments are most directly relevant to the debate regarding a) conscious and unconscious thought. b) nature and nurture. c) observation and introspection. d) structuralism and functionalism.

b) nature and nurture.

Beginning in the 1920s, American psychologists such as John B. Watson emphasized the study of a) self-esteem. b) observable behavior. c) genetic influences. d) conscious thoughts and feelings.

b) observable behavior.

An inert substance that may be administered instead of a drug to see if it produces any of the same effects as the drug is called a a) case study. b) placebo. c) coefficient. d) replication.

b) placebo.

Humanistic psychologists focused attention on the importance of people's a) childhood memories. b) potential for growth. c) unconscious thought processes. d) genetic predispositions.

b) potential for growth.

The specialist most likely to have a medical degree is a a) developmental psychologist. b) psychiatrist. c) clinical psychologist. d) personality psychologist.

b) psychiatrist.

Rodesia insists that Dr. Phillips' theory of aggression be checked against observable evidence. She is demonstrating the scientific attitude of a) enthusiasm. b) skepticism. c) practicality. d) pride.

b) skepticism.

Dr. Mills conducts research on why individuals conform to the behaviors and opinions of others. Which specialty area does his research best represent? a) clinical psychology b) social psychology c) cognitive psychology d) developmental psychology

b) social psychology

Being randomly assigned to the experimental group in a research project involves being assigned a) to the group in which participants all have similar personalities. b) to that group by chance. c) to the group in which participants are representative of people in general. d) in a way that ensures that the independent variable will affect the dependent variable.

b) to that group by chance.

Correlation is a measure of the extent to which two factors a) are dependent variables. b) vary together. c) influence each other. d) are random samples.

b) vary together.

Dr. Robinson conducts research on the relationship between brain chemistry and intellectual functioning. Which psychological specialty does Dr. Robinson's research best represent? a) clinical psychology b) social psychology c) biological psychology d) industrial-organizational psychology

c) biological psychology

The scientific study of mental activities associated with perceiving, processing, and remembering information is most central to a) evolutionary psychology. b) clinical psychology. c) cognitive psychology. d) humanistic psychology.

c) cognitive psychology.

A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment is called a a) placebo effect. b) correlation coefficient. c) confounding variable. d) wording effect.

c) confounding variable.

Professor Smith told one class that drinking alcohol has been found to increase sexual desire. He informed another class that drinking alcohol has been found to reduce sexual appetite. The fact that neither class was surprised by the information they received best illustrates the power of Incorrect Response a) the placebo effect. b) the double-blind procedure. c) hindsight bias. d) replication.

c) hindsight bias.

In a psychological experiment, the experimental factor that is manipulated by the investigator is called the ________ variable. a) experimental b) dependent c) independent d) control

c) independent

Potential research participants are told enough about an upcoming study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate. This illustrates the practice of seeking a) a representative sample. b) a placebo effect. c) informed consent. d) an operational definition.

c) informed consent.

Question 14 0 / 0.1 points Early psychologists such as Wilhelm Wundt and William James focused on the study of a) conditioned responses. b) unconscious motives. c) mental processes. d) clinical psychology.

c) mental processes.

The cognitive perspective in psychology focuses on how a) behavior is influenced by environmental conditions. b) people try to understand their own unconscious motives. c) people encode, process, store, and retrieve information. d) feelings are influenced by blood chemistry.

c) people encode, process, store, and retrieve information.

The birth of psychology is often attributed to Wilhelm Wundt because he pioneered the investigation of mental processes using Incorrect Response a) a biopsychosocial perspective. b) an evolutionary perspective. c) scientific methods. d) positive psychology.

c) scientific methods.

Question 15 0.1 / 0.1 points The relief of pain following the taking of an inactive substance that is perceived to have medicinal benefits illustrates a) random assignment. b) debriefing. c) the placebo effect. d) hindsight bias.

c) the placebo effect.

Which major force in psychology emphasized unconscious thought processes? a) evolutionary psychology b) behavior genetics c) behaviorism d) Freudian psychology

d) Freudian psychology

The young science of psychology developed from the more established fields of philosophy and a) geography. b) sociology. c) economics. d) biology.

d) biology.

A questioning attitude regarding psychologists' assumptions and hidden values best illustrates a) introspection. b) behaviorism. c) Freudian psychology. d) critical thinking.

d) critical thinking.

A statement describing the exact procedures for measuring an anticipated experimental outcome is known as a(n) a) control condition. b) hypothesis. c) replication. d) operational definition.

d) operational definition.

Our tendency to believe we know more than we do best illustrates a) random assignment. b) the placebo effect. c) naturalistic observation. d) overconfidence.

d) overconfidence.

Which perspective in psychology is most likely to focus on how behavior and thinking vary across situations and cultures? a) evolutionary b) cognitive c) neuroscience d) social-cultural

d) social-cultural

Participants in an experiment are said to be blind if they are uninformed about a) whether the experimental findings will be meaningful. b) what experimental hypothesis is being tested. c) how the dependent variable is measured. d) which experimental treatment, if any, they are receiving.

d) which experimental treatment, if any, they are receiving.