Psychology Mid-Term
Assuming that something is so simply because a teacher or religious authority said it is so, is an example of a. appeal to authority fallacy. b. circular reasoning fallacy. c. hasty generalization fallacy. d. naturalistic fallacy.
a
Developmental psychologists are trying to evaluate different explanations for the effects of poor parenting on behavior problems in children. One important scientific thinking principle that the psychologists should keep in mind is to a. accept only those explanations which are unfalsifiable. b. accept the most popular explanation even if it competes with other explanations. c. develop their own explanation and exclude all others. d. rule out rival hypotheses using additional research.
d
Which of these is a principle of scientific thinking? a. Hypothetico-deductive reasoning b. Variation c. Conventional morality d. Occam's Razor
d
The major difference between pseudoscience and science is that A. pseudoscience is less similar to popular psychology than science is. B. pseudoscience addresses different questions than science. C. pseudoscience lacks the general level of public support that characterizes science. D. pseudoscience lacks the safeguards against cognitive biases that characterize science.
D
A __________ works in prisons, jails, and other settings to assess inmates and assist in rehabilitation. a. forensic psychologist b. biopsychologist c. clinical psychologist d. school psychologist
a
A correlation coefficient will always range between a. -1.0 and +1.0. b. 0 and 1. c. 0 percent and 100 percent. d. -10 and +10.
a
According to terror management theory, what is a mechanism used by many people around the world to deal with the fear caused by our awareness of our own mortality? a. Adopting a broad worldview that associates our lives with a broader purpose or meaning. b. Reconciling our past with our future so that we are always "ready' for death, should it occur. c. Focusing on the "here and now" rather than waiting for what might not ever occur. d. Remembering that the greatest accomplishment that we can possibly have is to raise children as well as we can.
a
After suffering a brain injury by falling from a ladder, Zack's wife continues to tell the doctor that his personality has changed. He used to be fun loving and care-free, but he is now more critical and yells at his children for seemingly little reason. Zack is likely to have suffered damage to the _______ lobe of his cortex. a. frontal b. temporal c. occipital d. parietal
a
Damage to the cerebellum is likely to disrupt which of the following? a. Playing basketball b. Sleeping c. Homeostasis d. Thinking
a
Dr. Riviera measures his students' knowledge on the topic of memory by giving them three different quizzes over the course of 3 weeks (1 per week). He is hoping to show that student scores are largely the same from week to week. He is trying to establish the ________ of his quiz. a. reliability b. validity c. subjectivity d. objectivity
a
Evolutionary psychology a. applies Darwin's theory of natural selection. b. focuses on animal behavior. c. provides easily testable hypotheses. d. has solved the nature-nurture debate.
a
If there is no discernible relationship between scores on students' homework assignments and their exam scores in an introductory biology class, we would say that a(n) ________ correlation exists. a. zero b. positive c. inverse d. negative
a
One particular confound for the use of an adoption study of heritability is the phenomenon of _________ placement, in which a child is placed in a home that is similar to the home of the biological parents. a. selective b. unilateral c. matched d. forced
a
People's genetic makeup is their a. genotype. b. genome. c. phenotype. d. mRNA.
a
Professor Clark gives her students an assignment to develop hypotheses on global warming. To be consistent with a scientific method, students should develop their hypotheses based on a. a well-supported scientific theory. b. reports discussed on television. c. untestable predictions. d. their own existing beliefs about the issue.
a
Psychology was once similar to which of the following disciplines? a.Philosophy b.Biology c.Journalism d.Theology
a
The ________ nervous system is composed of the brain and the spinal cord. a. central b. autonomic c. peripheral d. somatic
a
The general public is often misled by discussions of research in the media because a. most reporters are not trained in understanding research or how to accurately communicate about it. b. most reporters are not fair and balanced in their reporting of the facts. c. most reporters are lazy and attempting to do as little as possible in their jobs. d. most reporters are actively working to bias the public against scientific research.
a
The lasting contribution of the psychological school of thought known as structuralism is a.the importance it placed on systematic observation in studying consciousness. b.its concern with developing a scientific model of human learning. c.its findings that underscored the importance of unconscious mental processes in daily life. d.its concern with understanding the adaptive purposes of consciousness.
a
The study of rare or unusual phenomena is most easily done through the use of the ________ design. a. case study b. observational c. correlational d. experimental
a
When conducting psychological research, a(n) ________ is any situation that can change or fluctuate over time. a. variable b. confound c. constant d. dependent
a
Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the strongest degree of relation between two variables? a. -.47 b. +.43 c. -.25 d. +.19
a
Which of the following is a function of the right hemisphere? a. Perceptual grouping, face perception, tone of voice b. Language processing in most individuals c. Sense of time and rhythm d. Speech, handwriting, and calculation
a
A __________ examines the physiological bases of behavior in animals and humans. a. clinical psychologist b. biological psychologist c. school psychologist d. forensic psychologist
b
A basic error that nearly all psychology students make is to assume that a. good theories make safe, not risky, predictions. b. correlation is causation. c. research questions or theories must be falsifiable. d. simple theories are preferred to complex ones.
b
A mechanism by which experts in a field carefully screen the work of their colleagues is known as a. experimental validity. b. peer review. c. experimenter bias effect. d. peer assessment.
b
A research design characterized by random assignment of participants to conditions and manipulation of an independent variable is called a(n) a. case study. b. experiment c. naturalistic observation. d. survey.
b
Authorities have noted that there is an increased number of teen pregnancies among high schools that offer day care to their students. We can draw which of the following conclusions? a. There is a negative correlation between teen pregnancies and day care in the high schools. b. There is a positive correlation between teen pregnancies and day care in the high schools. c. The presence of day care is causing students to become sexually active. d. High schools that provide day care are also offering sexual education.
b
Dr. Wilkins randomly assigns subjects to one of three groups. He is interested in the effects of caffeine on anxiety levels. He gives subjects in the first group an extra two cups of coffee a day for six months. The second group receives an extra two cups of decaffeinated coffee a day for the same time period, while the control group is not given either regular or decaffeinated coffee. By providing one group with decaffeinated coffee, Dr. Wilkins is trying to account for which potential element of the experiment? a. The Rosenthal effect b. The placebo effect c. A control condition d. The artificial condition
b
Drugs that decrease a neuron's receptor site activity are called a. reuptake blockers. b. antagonists. c. excitatory. d. agonists.
b
How does conducting a double-blind study attempt to remedy the experimenter expectancy effect? a. The experimenter knows but the participant does not know what condition the participant is assigned to b. Neither the experimenter nor the participant knows what condition the participant is assigned to c. The experimenter and the participant both know what condition the participant is assigned to d. The experimenter does not know but the participant does know what condition the participant is assigned to
b
Lisa, a college student, had a great time at the party last night. She danced, sang karaoke, and even played the "rock band" video game—all behaviors that she had never exhibited in public before. She had been drinking the "punch" all night long, which she was told contained high levels of alcohol. Lisa was quite surprised to find out the next morning that the punch did NOT contain any alcohol. What concept may explain Lisa's behavior? a. The Rosenthal effect b. The placebo effect c. Illusory correlations d. The nocebo effect
b
Mary conducts research examining the efficacy of treatment of elderly persons in nursing facilities in her home state. In order for her to use this research to influence larger political policies regarding the care of the elderly on a state and federal level, she will have to generalize her findings to the larger population of elderly nursing home residents. What sort of statistics should she use to accomplish this goal? a. descriptive statistics b. inferential statistics c. logical statistics d. correlational statistics
b
Sarah, a graduate student in psychology, just heard about a five-year-old child who has already learned calculus. She is thinking about doing an in-depth study of the child for her dissertation because such early-life math skill is so rare. Sarah is considering which research method? a. Naturalistic observation b. Case study c. Independent study d. Experiment
b
The general public is often misled by discussions of research in the media because a. most reporters are not fair and balanced in their reporting of the facts. b. most reporters are not trained in understanding research or how to accurately communicate about it. c. most reporters are actively working to bias the public against scientific research. d. most reporters are lazy and attempting to do as little as possible in their jobs.
b
The tendency to look for supportive evidence rather than actively seeking out contradictory evidence is known as a. belief perseverance. b. the confirmation bias. c. the hindsight bias. d. the availability heuristic.
b
The term __________ refers to the tendency to perceive meaningful connections among unrelated phenomena. a. parsimony b. patternicity c. confirmation bias d. interconnectivity
b
Uncovering of learning that explain all behaviors, especially observable behaviors, is the goal of which perspective? a. Psychoanalysis b. Behaviorism c. Functionalism d. Structuralism
b
What famous American psychologist also heavily influenced the field of advertising? a. Carl Rogers b. John Watson c. William James d. B. F. Skinner
b
What is the main function of the reticular activating system? a. to control thinking b. to control levels of arousal c. to regulate emotions d. to coordinate involuntary rapid fine-motor movements
b
When a psychologist is discussing a heuristic, he or she is referring to a. a mental technique to improve memory recall. b. a mental shortcut or rule of thumb. c. a mental technique to increase deliberation in our decision making. d. biased information processing strategies.
b
When assessing patients' personalities using an "ink blot" test that she created, Dr. Hardcastle is gaining confidence in the test's reliability. Which of the following is likely to be happening? a. The test is measuring what it is supposed to be measuring. b. The test is generating approximately the same results each time. c. Her patients are enjoying being tested every day. d. The test is likely to be uninformative.
b
Which correlation coefficient is most likely to describe the relationship between brushing one's teeth and the number of cavities one gets? a. r = -.08 b. r = -.62 c. r = .83 d. r = .45
b
Which of the following correlation coefficients represents the strongest degree of relation between two variables? a. +.19 b. -.47 c. +.43 d. -.25
b
Which of the following statements would your authors probably find the most worrisome? a. The majority of Americans do not believe in the existence of ghosts or witches. b. Pseudoscience seems to be so much more interesting and engaging than science. c. Being open-minded about topics associated with pseudoscience is no big deal. d. Science cannot answer all of the questions I am interested in, such as "Why am I here?" or "What is my life's purpose?"
b
________ is the creation of new neurons in the adult brain. a. Synaptogenesis b. Neurogenesis c. Neural plasticity d. Long term potentiation
b
After a head injury a person reports that she is unable to see, although her eyes are uninjured. A doctor would suspect an injury in the ______ lobe. a. frontal b. parietal c. occipital d. temporal
c
An experiment would be described as __________ when neither researchers nor participants are aware of who's in the experimental or control group. a. a placebo b. unfalsifiable c. double-blind d. blind
c
Despite the fact that scientific research has found no support or basis for the belief of "the hot hand" in baseball, basketball, or golf, the idea still persists among athletes, sports commentators, and fans. This is a classic example of a. gullibility. b. scientific illiteracy. c. belief perseverance. d. the hindsight bias.
c
Dr. Nolen wants to know the effects of removing portions of one's hippocampus on long-term memory, in the hopes of one day finding a cure for patients with Alzheimer's disease. The subjects for his study are most likely to be a. insects. b. humans. c. nonhuman animals. d. robots.
c
Dr. Wilkins randomly assigns subjects to one of three groups. He is interested in the effects of caffeine on anxiety levels. He gives subjects in the first group an extra two cups of coffee a day for six months. The second group receives an extra two cups of decaffeinated coffee a day for the same time period, while the control group is not given either regular or decaffeinated coffee. By providing one group with decaffeinated coffee, Dr. Wilkins is trying to account for which potential element of the experiment? a. A control condition b. The Rosenthal effect c. The placebo effect d. The artificial condition
c
Evolutionary psychology a. focuses on animal behavior. b. has solved the nature-nurture debate. c. applies Darwin's theory of natural selection. d. provides easily testable hypotheses.
c
For a scientific claim to be meaningful, it must be capable of being disproven. This is the critical thinking principle of a. empirical investigation. b. skepticism. c. falsifiability. d. constructive alternativism.
c
Introspection requires a.self-skepticism about experiences. b.metaphysical experiences. c.reflection on the self. d.empiricism.
c
Lucia has suffered an injury to one of the major structures of her limbic system. One of her symptoms is that she cannot seem to remember the layout of her own house. It is as if her mental map of the rooms, furniture, and other parts of her home have been scrambled up. It is most likely that the structure impacted by Lucia's injury is the a. amygdala b. hypothalamus c. hippocampus d. reticular activating system
c
One difficulty in conducting medical research is that participants often assume that any treatment will be effective in alleviating their symptoms. Therefore, a researcher has to design an experiment that measures the influence of a. the Rosenthal effect. b. medical confounds. c. the placebo effect. d. random selection.
c
Several years ago the NBA (National Basketball Association) introduced a new style of basketball to the players. After several months, many players complained that they did not like the "feel" of the new ball. Based on this scenario, what constitutes the control? a. Both the new and old balls are part of the control condition. b. The new ball that was introduced c. The original ball the players were used to d. There is no control condition.
c
The peer review process is designed to a. place obstacles in front of people whose theories differ from mainstream science. b. block alternative therapies from being made available to the general public. c. identify flaws in a research study's methods, findings, and conclusions. d. make researchers feel bad when their article is not published.
c
The subdivision of the peripheral nervous system that consists of nerves that control all of the involuntary organs and glands is called the _________ nervous system. a. somatic b. sympathetic c. autonomic d. parasympathetic
c
Two variables are said to be correlated when scores on one variable a. are different from the scores on the second variable. b. cause the scores on the second variable. c. are related to scores on the second variable. d. are unrelated to the scores on the second variable.
c
What individual is often credited with establishing the first psychological laboratory, thus establishing psychology as an experimental science? a. Sigmund Freud b. William James c. Wilhelm Wundt d. John Watson
c
Which of the following categories involves claims that are always untestable? a. Pseudoscience b. Popular psychology c. Metaphysics d. Science
c
Which of the following categories involves claims that are always untestable? a. Science b. Popular psychology c. Metaphysics d. Pseudoscience
c
Which of the following statements is true? a. Scientists have discovered a specific "God spot" in the brain because it becomes active when an individual thinks of God. b. Not every part of the brain has a function. c. Few if any complex psychological functions are likely to be confined to a single brain area. d. Most people use only 10 percent of their brains.
c
Which of the following statements would your authors probably find the most worrisome? a. The majority of Americans do not believe in the existence of ghosts or witches. b. Being open-minded about topics associated with pseudoscience is no big deal. c. Pseudoscience seems to be so much more interesting and engaging than science. d. Science cannot answer all of the questions I am interested in, such as "Why am I here?" or "What is my life's purpose?"
c
__________ is a phenomenon in which researchers' hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study. a. Durability bias b. Confounding variable c. Experimenter expectancy effect d. Availability heuristic
c
A brain-imaging method using magnetic fields to measure the release of energy from water in biological tissues is called ______________. a. positron emission tomography (PET) b. computed tomography (CT) c. electroencephalography (EEG) d. magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
d
A correlation coefficient will always range between a. 0 percent and 100 percent. b. -10 and +10. c. 0 and 1. d. -1.0 and +1.0.
d
According to ________ theory, memories are initially stored at multiple sites. Over time, storage strengthens at some sites, but weakens at others. a. memory consolidation b. neural realignment c. memory transfer d. multiple trace
d
According to the discussion about Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy, we often a. chalk up coincidences as being due to chance rather than to supernatural events. b. actively seek out parsimonious explanations for complicated problems. c. prefer skepticism to conspiracy theory explanations about presidential assassinations. d. overestimate how unusual certain patterns of coincidental information really are.
d
B. F. Skinner is most associated with which perspective? a. Psychoanalysis b. Cognitivism c. Functionalism d. Behaviorism
d
Chandra believes that her astrological sign, Libra, provides a guide for her daily and weekly actions. She reads her horoscope every morning without fail, and even has an astrology application on her cell phone that regularly gives her "advice" on what to do as the day goes on. She tells her friends that the advice is always right, and the only time it makes a mistake is when she fails to do as it says. When they say it doesn't work for them, she says, "That is because you don't really believe in astrology!" Because Chandra's beliefs are not truly open to being tested, they would be an example of a ________ claim. a. religious b. "Occam's" c. psychophysiological d. metaphysical
d
Developmental psychologists are trying to evaluate different explanations for the effects of poor parenting on behavior problems in children. One important scientific thinking principle that the psychologists should keep in mind is to a. accept only those explanations which are unfalsifiable. b. develop their own explanation and exclude all others. c. accept the most popular explanation even if it competes with other explanations. d. rule out rival hypotheses using additional research.
d
Dr. Johansen randomly assigned subjects to three different groups during her last experiment. She then proceeded to give all the participants in the experiment a new study technique designed to enhance their learning for the upcoming test. What critical error did she make during her experiment? a. She failed to identify the independent variable. b. She failed to identify the dependent variable. c. She failed to include an experimental group. d. She failed to include a control group.
d
Dr. Watson wanted to know which sex was better at sharing at the sixth-grade level, so he went to the local middle school to observe lunch periods. This is a form of a. case study. b. confirmation bias. c. experimental design. d. naturalistic observation.
d
E. B. Titchener founded which perspective of psychology? a. Cognitivism b. Functionalism c. Psychoanalysis d. Structuralism
d
Jason was conducting an evaluation of a restaurant waitress. He sat at the table with a list of things to observe in front of him, and the waitress noticed that he was assessing her every move. He noticed that she began acting more professionally around him, was friendlier, and gave him extra attention. Why would Jason have been better off using naturalistic observation for this assessment? a. So that he could have been sure to get enough data to use proper statistics. b. So that he would be sure to "catch" the waitress behaving unprofessionally. c. So that he could have more experimental control over his independent variable. d. So that his observations would not have changed the waitress's behaviors.
d
Lucia has suffered an injury to one of the major structures of her limbic system. One of her symptoms is that she cannot seem to remember the layout of her own house. It is as if her mental map of the rooms, furniture, and other parts of her home have been scrambled up. It is most likely that the structure impacted by Lucia's injury is the a. amygdala b. hypothalamus c. reticular activating system d. hippocampus
d
Six-year-old Scotty comes running in the door and yells triumphantly to his mother, "Today is my lucky day; I found a four-leaf clover!" Many superstitions, like this one, likely began as which of the following? a. Coincidence b. Imaginary correlation c. Anecdotal stories d. Illusory correlation
d
Talk show pundits often take extreme positions and use language that is designed to anger and upset persons who AGREE with the pundit's position. These strong, negative feelings are likely to encourage the a. either-or fallacy. b. bandwagon fallacy. c. not me fallacy. d. emotional reasoning fallacy.
d
The area housed inside of the cortex and located at the very back of the brain is called the ________. It contains the midbrain, pons, and medulla. a. arachnoid meninx b. diencephalon c. corpus callosum d. brainstem
d
The fact that many people, when looking at the moon that orbits Earth, see a face (commonly called "the man in the moon") can be explained by the phenomenon of ________. a. chaotics b. metaphysics c. apophenia d. patternicity
d
Tranquilizers like Xanax work to diminish anxiety symptoms by stimulating the receptor sites for ________, thereby driving down neuronal activity at those sites. a. serotonin b. acetylcholine c. glutamate d. GABA
d
Uncovering of learning that explain all behaviors, especially observable behaviors, is the goal of which perspective? a. Functionalism b. Psychoanalysis c. Structuralism d. Behaviorism
d
When assessing patients' personalities using an "ink blot" test that she created, Dr. Hardcastle is gaining confidence in the test's reliability. Which of the following is likely to be happening? a. Her patients are enjoying being tested every day. b. The test is measuring what it is supposed to be measuring. c. The test is likely to be uninformative. d. The test is generating approximately the same results each time.
d
When psychologists want to find out about people's personality or attitudes, an effective research tool would be a(n): a. experiment. b. case study. c. naturalistic observation. d. self-report measure.
d
Which ethical requirement of research was not present in the Tuskegee experiment, where nearly 400 African American men were exposed to syphilis and denied treatment for its symptoms? a. Anonymity b. Confidentiality c. Protection from deception d. Informed consent
d
Which of the following statements is true? a. Every part of the brain has a redundant backup, which is why brain injuries are so rarely serious. b. Losses of small areas of certain parts of the brain rarely cause devastating, often permanent, losses of function. c. Many parts of the brain appear to have no useful function in today's world. d. All the brain areas become active on brain scans at one time or another as we think, feel, and perceive.
d
Which of the following would be best described as an "educated guess?" a. design b. method c. theory d. hypothesis
d
Which of the following would be the best example of the "Hot Hand" phenomenon discussed in your textbook chapter? a. Lincoln, playing baseball for his little league team, goes three consecutive innings at 2nd base without having a single ball hit to him. b. Pamela, taking an exam in her psychology class, finds that "C" is the right answer to 12 consecutive questions. c. Marcia, driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco, does not see a single police officer on the road for over 200 miles. d. Stephanie, sitting at a blackjack table in Las Vegas, wins 8 consecutive rounds of the game and triples her money in under 20 minutes.
d
While playing poker with his friends, Matthew scratches his right leg before winning a very big hand. He decides that scratching his right leg will be his "lucky gesture," and for a long time scratches his right leg with every hand that is dealt. This silly superstition violates which rules of critical thinking? a. extraordinary claims b. Occam's Razor c. falsifiability d. correlation versus causation
d
Why is it important to make sure that different participant groups are roughly equivalent in terms of personal characteristics (e.g., age, gender) before any independent variable is introduced? a. Because it is important to treat all research participants equally so that they feel that they are not being manipulated. b. Because it threatens the integrity of a within-group experimental design. c. Because research ethics forbid any experiment to take place when the participant groups are fundamentally different from each other. d. So that no major differences between the groups unduly bias the results of the experiment.
d
__________ studies allow us to make predictions about one variable based on the knowledge of another. a. Experimental b. Natural c. Case d. Correlational
d
