PSY 101 Exam 1

Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates the strongest relationship between variables? A. +.05 B. -.25 C. +.75 D. -.95

D. -.95

Why does the "multiple comparisons" problem lead to unreplicable published findings? A. Because it increases the chances that the null hypothesis is true B. Because it results from behavior that is a form of fraud C. Because it does not support the scientific norm or universalism D. Because it increases the likelihood of finding an effect that meets the threshold for significance, just by chance

D. Because it increases the likelihood of finding an effect that meets the threshold for significance, just by chance

Which of the following was NOT one of the potential solutions to the replication crisis discussed in class? A. Make materials, procedures, and data publicly available B. Try to repeat studies that have already been published C. Plan how a study will be done and how the data will be analyzed ahead of time D. Have stricter criteria for who gets to be a scientist

D. Have stricter criteria for who gets to be a scientist

Dr. Anderson conducts an experiment to see whether exposure to helpful models leads to helping behavior in young children. Of the forty girls and boys in his study, hall are exposed to helpful models while the other half watch the same models not engaged in helping behavior. In this experiment, the dependent variable is: A. The gender of the children B. Helpful or non helpful models C. The age of the children D. Helping behavior

D. Helping behavior

What is the name of the bias in which people think they knew something all along, even though they just learned it? A. Precognition bias B. Availability bias C. Confirmation bias D. Hindsight bias

D. Hindsight bias

When an exact replication does not find the same results as the original research, what does it mean? A. The original research falsified their data B. The replication researcher made an error in their replication C. Cultural and social norms have shifted. The results were accurate when the research was first conducted but people have changed since then D. It is difficult to determine because there are several potential causes of non-replication

D. It is difficult to determine because there are several potential causes of non-replication

After conducting an experiment, Dr. Fitspatrick concluded that there was a statistically significant difference between the scores of the experimental and control groups. In other words: A. The difference is highly meaningful and important to scientists B. The results are replicable C. The scores differed by five points or more D. It is unlikely that the difference occurred by chance, assuming that the null hypothesis were true

D. It is unlikely that the difference occurred by chance, assuming that the null hypothesis were true

In class, you learned about the task, where people turn over cards to validate a rule. The specific example we discussed in class showed that people often get this task wrong in the same way. Which of the following biases best explains the precise way that people get this task wrong? A. Confirmation bias B. Overconfidence C. Hindsight bias D. Illusory correlation

A. Confirmation bias

What is science?

A better alternative to intuition -That is based on (but not simply reducible to) observable facts -That avoids relying on inductive reasoning by focusing on falsification

Dr. Waehner is studying the relationship between sensation seeking behaviors and personality traits in college females. He finds that there is a relationship between these two variables, and that the relationship is significant. If he is using a typical cutoff to make that determination, then his study would have a p-value around ____ or less. A. .05 B. .08 C .10 D. .15

A. .05

A null hypothesis is (in most cases): A. A hypothesis of no effect or no difference B. The lack of a hypothesis C. The hypothesis that the researcher believes is true D. The hypothesis that gains the most support after running a study

A. A hypothesis of no effect or no difference

Major Theme #1

Correlation does not equal causation Solution: Experiments -The investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) to observe their effect on some behavior or mental process (the dependent variable) -The experimenter controls for other relevant factors by using random assignment of participants to conditions

Naturalistic Observation

Observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

The file drawer problem

Positive-results bias, a type of publication bias, occurs when authors are more likely to submit, or editors are more likely to accept, positive results than negative or inconclusive results.

What are merton's four norms?

Universalism Communality Disinterestedness Organized Skepticism

Practical Solutions: Preregistration What does this mean? Problems solved? Norms this supports?

What does this mean? -Make all decisions about your study before you do it -Post these publicly so others can check your work Problems solved: -Multiple comparisons -P-hacking -File drawer Norms this supports: -Universalism -Communality -Disinterestedness -Organized Skepticism

Practical solutions: Open Science What does this mean? Problems solved? Norms this supports?

What does this mean? -Open materials -Open data -Anyone is able to view the materials and data themselves in order to interpret the research Problems Solved: -File Drawer -Multiple comparisons -P-hacking Norms this supports: -Universalism -Communality -Disinterestedness -Organized Skepticism

Practical solutions: Replications What does this mean? Problems solved? Norms this supports?

What does this mean? -Repeat (or replicate) studies -Preferably by independent researchers Problems solved: -Multiple comparisons -P-hacking -Overconfidence Norms this supports: -Universalism -Communality -Disinterestedness -Organized Skepticism

priming

the process by which exposing people to one stimulus makes certain thoughts, feelings or behaviors more salient

deductive reasoning

the process of reasoning from one or more premises to reach a logically certain conclusion Ex. Premise: All lectures in psychology are boring; Premise: This is a psychology lecture; Conclusion: This lecture is boring.

True or False: When using inductive reasoning, the truth of a conclusion is certain, as long as the premises are true.

false

Confirmation bias

when we look to confirm something, rather than to disconfirm something. "the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories." -critically important in understanding the replication crisis

Multiple comparisons problem

multiplicity or multiple testing problem occurs when one considers a set of statistical inferences simultaneously or infers a subset of parameters selected based on the observed values.

Organized skepticism

scientific claims should be exposed to critical scrutiny before being accepted

Disinterestedness

scientists should be focused on identifying the truth and not about their own advancement or about making money

The Replication Crisis

"is an ongoing methodological crisis in science in which scholars have found that the results of many scientific studies are difficult or impossible to replicate or reproduce on subsequent investigation, either by independent researchers or by the original researchers themselves" -things such as fraud have led to this crisis

P-value

(of a result) is the probability of obtaining a result at least as extreme, given that the null hypothesis were true -Convention is to set the significance level at .05, meaning that we reject the null hypothesis if the p-value is lower than .05. -This also means that there is a 5% chance of rejecting the null hypothesis when it is in fact true

Whats wrong with intuition?

-Hindsight bias -overconfidence -confirmation bias -inductive reasoning

What are some common misunderstandings when it comes to something being statistically significant and a p-value?

-Statistically significant is not synonymous with important; Something that is statistically significant isn't always important or have much meaning -The p-value cannot be interpreted as the likelihood that the null hypothesis is true -The p-value cannot be interpreted as the likelihood that a study will replicate

Independent variable

-The experimental factor that is manipulated -The variable whose effect is being studies

Dependent variable

-The experimental factor that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable -In psychology it is usually a behavior or mental process

Inductive reasoning (induction)

-a method of reasoning in which the premises are viewed as supplying strong evidence for the truth of the conclusion -the truth of the conclusion of an inductive argument is not certain, even if it may be probable, based on the evidence given Ex. Premise: the first psychology lecture was boring; Premise: the second psychology lecture was boring; Premise: the third psychology lecture was boring; Conclusion: All psychology lectures are boring. -even though you have strong evidence, the conclusion of the argument is not certain given that more evidence could be found disproving the previous premises, -Ex. The fourth psychology lecture could be interesting.

A significant disadvantage of the correlational approach is that it: A. Does not provide evidence of cause and effect B. Cannot be used to examine relationships between variables that exist naturally C. Does not aid in the process of prediction D. Does not provide information about how two variables are related

A. Does not provide evidence of cause and effect

Using some probability based method of dividing a sample of research participants into different treatment groups is called ____. A. Random assignment B. Out-group stratification C. Random sampling D. In-group stratification

A. Random assignment

What is falsifiability? A. The ability to prove a theory wrong B. The ability to exactly replicate a result C. The ability to correct one's biases D. A feature of unscientific beliefs

A. The ability to prove a theory wrong

Many researchers will carefully select a sample of participants so that the sample is representative of the population they hope to understand. Researchers who do this are especially interested in the ___ of their findings: A. Generalizability B. Statistical significance C. Distribution D. Plausibility

A. generalizability

Case study

An observation technique in which one person (or other unit) is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles

In 2011, one of the main journals in social and personality psychology published an article with unbelievable findings. What did that article find? A. That people could move objects with their minds B. That people could predict the future C. That people could remember at most seven items from a list of objects D. That people were overconfident in their knowledge of trivia

B. That people could predict the future

Which is the correct definition of a p-value in the context of statistical significance testing? A. The probability that a finding will replicate B. The probability of obtaining a results at least as extreme, given that the null hypothesis is true C. The probability that the null hypothesis is correct D. The probability that the null hypothesis is wrong

B. The probability of obtaining a results at least as extreme, given that the null hypothesis is true

What would a researcher attempting to conduct an exact replication of a past study do? A. The researcher would go to the lab where the original research was conducted and re-run the original study using identical materials and the same participants B. The researcher would read the published article about the original research and use the same materials and procedures with new participants C. The researcher would read the published article about the original research and create new procedures and materials that test the same hypothesis in a somewhat different way D. The researcher would re-analyze the data collected in the original study to determine whether the results were the same

B. The researcher would read the published article about the original research and use the same materials and procedures with new participants

According to the lecture, Hindsight Bias is: A. The tendency to think we know more than we do B. The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it C. The tendency to rely on p-values for assessing statistical significance D. The tendency to focus on confirming evidence and to ignore disconfirming evidence

B. The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

Merton's scientific norm of universalism refers to the idea that: A. Scientific theories should be comprehensive and universal B. The validity of a scientific claim should not rest on who is making the claim C. Scientists and the general public should be universally skeptical of scientific claims D. Scientists should take a "disinterested" perspective on their work

B. The validity of a scientific claim should not rest on who is making the claim

In class, we read about a study on what is called the "generation effect." In that study, students were asked to generate either one associate for each word on a list or three associates for each word. Students who generated more associates later remembered more words. In this experiment, the independent variable was... a) An operational definition b) The number of words the students were asked to generate c) The number of words that students remembered d) Whether students followed instructions

B. the number of words the students were asked to generate

The Demarcation problems refers to... A. The problem of determining what counts as statistically significant B. The problem of determining what counts as science C. A problem that results from confirmation bias D. A problem that leads to a lack of replicability in science

B. the problem of determine what counts as science

If I run a study and find a difference between groups with a p-value of .02, this means what? A. There is a 2% chance that the null hypothesis is true B. There is a 98% chance that the null hypothesis is true C. If the null hypothesis were true, there would be a 2% chance of getting a difference at least this big D. If the null hypothesis were true, there would be a 90% chance of getting a difference at least this big

C. If the null hypothesis were true, there would be a 2% chance of getting a difference at least this big

A longitudinal study is one where: A. Random assignment is used B. Random sampling is used C. The same people are tracked over time D. Survey methods are used

C. The same people are tracked over time

If the points on a scatterplot are clustered in a pattern that extends from the upper left to the lower right, this would suggest that the two variables depicted are... A. positively correlated B. normally distributed C. Negatively correlated D. not correlated

C. negatively correlated

What are the types of descriptive research?

Case study, survey, naturalistic observation, experiment

In the Reproducibility Project: Psychology, a large group of researchers tried to replicate 100 different studies that had previously been published in journal articles. These researchers found that: A. Most replication studies got the same results as the original studies B. Most original studies were found to be fraudulent C. The standard criterion for statistical significance is overly stringent D. Less than half of the original studies' results were replicated, using standard criteria for evaluating scientific results

D. Less than half of the original studies' results were replicated, using standard criteria for evaluating scientific results

According to the textbook reading, the pattern of variation in a single variable is called the ____ of the variable: A. Mean B. Significance C. Correlation D. Distribution

D. distribution

Survey

Technique for ascertaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people

What are the four problematic research practices?

The File Drawer Problem Multiple Comparisons P-hacking Overconfidence

null hypothesis

a hypothesis that there is no effect or no difference -Can be contrasted with an alternative hypothesis (the hypothesis of interest) that there really is an effect -Example: Flipping a coin: is the coin "fair?"; Null hypothesis: the coin is fair; Alternative hypothesis: the coin is weighted towards heads

Conceptual replication

a researcher would read a published article about original research and create new procedures and materials that test the same hypothesis in a somewhat different way

operational definition

a statement of procedures (operations) used to define research variables Example: intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures

In which of the following cases would a correlational study be preferable to an experimental study? a) A case where it would be unethical to manipulate the independent variable b) A case where there is only one operational definition c) A case where the correlation between the independent and dependent variables is very strong d) Experiments are always preferenable to correlational studies

a) A case where it would be unethical to manipulate the independent variable

Why is it important to use random assignment when determining which research participants will be in the different treatment groups of the study? a) Random assignment balances out the differences that might naturally exist between participants b) Without random assignment, there is no way to conduct statistical analyses of the data that are collected c) Because there is no form of research than can be conducted without using random assignment d) Random assignment eliminates variability from research

a) Random assignment balances out the differences that might naturally exist between participants

Merton's scientific norm of universalism refers to the idea that: a) The validity of a scientific claim should not rest on who is making that claim b) Scientists and the general public should be universally skeptical of scientific claims c) Scientists should take a "disinterested" perspective on their work d) Scientific theories should be comprehensive and universal

a) The validity of a scientific claim should not rest on who is making that claim

In the video on dowsing shown in class, the dowser who was looking for a piece of metal under an overturned trash can argued that he couldn't find the first pipe because it was the wrong type of metal. He suggested replacing the piece of pipe with a lead weight. He was arguing for a change in which feature of the research design? a) operational definition b) random assignment c) statistical analysis d) standard of statistical significance

a) operational definition

What would be the best method for examing the relationship between age and driving behavior? a) correlational method b) experimental method c) placebo-control method d) A case study

a. correlational method

Precognition/ESP

also called sixth sense or second sight, includes claimed reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind.

theory

an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations

If I run a study and find a difference between groups with a p-value of .04, this means that: a) There is a 96% chance that the null hypothesis is true b) If the null hypothesis were true, there would be a 4% chance of getting a difference at least this big c) There is a 4% chance that the null hypothesis is true d) If the alternate hypothesis were true, there would be a 4% chance of getting this difference

b) If the null hypothesis were true, there would be a 4% chance of getting a difference at least this big

Which of the following is a statistical measure of both the direction and the strength of a relationship between two variables? a) range b) correlation coefficient c) standard deviation d) mean

b) correlation coefficient

A negative correlation between people's work-related stress and their marital happiness would indicate that... a) marital unhappiness promotes work-related stress. b) higher levels of marital happiness are associated with lower levels of work-related stress. c) marital happiness has no causal influence on work-related stress. d) work-related stress has a negative impact on marital happiness.

b) higher levels of marital happiness are associated with lower levels of work-related stress.

A researcher would like to determine the effect of caffeine on memory. Participants are randomly assigned to receive a caffeine pill, a sugar pill, or no pill at all. All three groups complete a recall task that assesses their memory. However, both those who received the caffeine and those who received the sugar pill had a small increase in memory over the group that received no pill at all. This is likely due to: a) the experimental effect b) the placebo effect c) the correlational approach to the study d) the participants becoming smarter

b) the placebo effect

Being randomly assigned to the experimental group in a research project involves being assigned.... a) to the group in which participants are representative of people in general. b) to that group by chance. c) in a fashion that ensures that the independent variable will have a strong effect on the dependent variable. d) to the group in which participants are all very similar in personality characteristics.

b) to that group by chance.

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

b. independent

Which research method would be most appropriate for investigating the relationship between the religious beliefs of Americans and their attitudes toward abortion? a) the case study b) the survey c) experimentation d) naturalistic observation

b. the survey

When conducting tests of statistical significance, researchers must specify a null hypothesis. Typically, the null hypothesis reflects a hypothesis of: a) Large differences b) Statistically significant differences c) No differences or no effect d) A placebo effect

c) No differences or no effect

The class demonstration involving the "Let's Make a Deal" game was not an experiment because: a) There was no independent variable b) There was no dependent variable c) There was no random assignment d) Correlation does not equal causation

c) There was no random assignment

What is the name of the bias in which people think they knew something all along, even though they just learned it? a) Availability bias b) Precognition bias c) Hindsight bias d) Confirmation bias

c. hindsight bias

Researchers studied language development in the same group of children every year over a five year period. This research design is called: a) correlational b) cross-sectional c) longitudinal d) placebo-controlled

c. longitudinal

Betty decided to conduct an experiment on the effectiveness of a new anti-anxiety pill. She decided that participants who had been diagnosed with anxiety would be in the treatment group and participants who had never been treated for anxiety would be the control group. Which aspect of proper research design did Betty ignore? a) correlation does not imply causation b) placebo effect c) random assignment d) observational learning

c. random assignment

Which of the following correlation coefficients expresses the strongest association between two variables? a) 0.00 b) +0.35 c) +0.17 d) -0.90

d) -0.90

In the Reproducibility Project: Psychology, a large group of researchers attempted to replicate approximately 100 studies from prominent psychology journals. The results of this effort were: a) Almost all of the replication studies got the same result as the original b) Less than five percent of the replication studies got the same result as the original; about what would be expected by chance c) Replication studies are uninformative d) Less than half of the replication studies got the same result as the original

d) Less than half of the replication studies got the same result as the original

The "demarcation problem" concerns: a) What counts as an experiment b) What counts as statistically significant c) What counts as an operational definition d) What counts as science

d) What counts as science

Students who study for 7 hours over the course of a week will perform better than students who cram for 7 hours the night before the exam. If you were to design a study testing this idea, the independent variable in this study would be: a) number of hours studied b) exam performance c) students d) method of studying (spaced over multiple days or cramming)

d) method of studying (spaced over multiple days or cramming)

To understand the unusual behavior of a specific adult client, a clinical psychologist carefully investigates the client's current life situation and his physical, social-cultural, and educational history. Which research method has the psychologist used? a) naturalistic observation b) experimentation c) the survey d) the case study

d. case study

Professor Carter observes and records the behavior of grocery shoppers as they select items to purchase. Which type of research is Professor Carter using? a) case study b) experimentation c) survey research d) naturalistic observation

d. naturalistic observation

If psychologists discovered that wealthy people are less satisfied with their marriages than poor people are, this would indicate that wealth and marital satisfaction are... a) independent variables. b) causally related. c) positively correlated. d) negatively correlated

d. negatively correlated

Which research method provides the best way of assessing whether cigarette smoking boosts mental alertness? a) the survey b) the case study c) naturalistic observation d) the experiment

d. the experiment

the demarcation problem

how to distinguish between science and non-science

the commonsense view

is sound practical judgment concerning everyday matters, or a basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge that is shared by nearly all people

Significance level

is the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis, given that it were true

What does overconfidence have to do with problematic research practices?

poor understanding of p-values, overconfidence, and lack of replication studies; the failure to question the study/results

Replication Study

repeating a study using the same methods but with different subjects and experimenters

Hindsight Bias

tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it; the "i-knew-it-all-along" phenomenon. -if you have this, you don't second guess yourself or test whether your knowledge is correct or not, same happens with overconfidence

Significance testing

tests whether it is likely that we obtained the results by chance, if we assume that the null hypothesis is true

Falsifiability

the ability to prove a theory wrong logically. -the goal is to prove ourself wrong in a way that is logically correct and gives us more certainty about the way things work. -My theory clearly predicts X not Y; Conduct study to test X vs. Y; If we find Y, then theory is wrong (through deduction); If we find X, the best we can say is that the theory was not falsified

Intuition

the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning; a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.

P-hacking

the act of changing your analyses based on how those changes affect the p-value that you obtain

Communality

the findings of science are meant to be common property to the scientific community

Statistical Significance

the most common criterion for determining whether a scientific finding should be accepted -The interpretation of statistical significance is frequently misunderstood -Critical for understanding how to evaluate scientific claims -Critical for understanding why scientific findings sometimes turn out to be wrong -Example: Flipping a coin: is the coin "fair?"; Fair coins should land "heads" about half of the time; But, there is variability

Illusory correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

Universalism

the validity of a scientific claim should not rest on who is making the claim

experimentation

to gather relevant facts, to isolate process under investigation and eliminate effects of others

Random assignment

using a probability-based method to divide a sample into treatment groups.

random sampling

using a probability-based method to select a subset of individuals for the sample from the population

Overconfidence

we tend to think we know more than we do