Unit 2 Test Prep
both the researchers and the participants in a memory study are ignorant about which participants have actually received a potentially memory-enhancing drug and which have received a placebo. the investigation involves the use of
double blind procedure
psychologists who carefully watch the behavior of chimpanzees societies in the jungle are using a research method known as
naturalistic observation
which technique most clearly minimizes the likelihood that any outcome differences between the experimental and control conditions can be attributes to age or personality differences in research participants?
random assignment
Which procedure helps to ensure that the participants in a survey are representative of a larger population?
random sampling
Which measure of variation is most affected by extreme scores?
range
the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution is the
range
How would a researcher likely respond to the statement, "Science can't really prove anything, because lab experiments are so artificial and not like the real world"?
" laboratory experiments can establish general principles that generalize to other contexts"
in a group of five individuals, two report annual incomes of $10,000, and the other three report incomes of $14,000, $15,000, and $31,000, respectively. The mode of this group's distribution of annual income is
$10,000
Six different high school students spent $10, $13, $2, $12, $13, and $4, respectively, on entertainment. The mode of this group's entertainment expenditures is
$13
which of the following correlations between annual income and education level would best enable you to predict annual income on the basis of level of education?
+0.50
which of the following correlations between self-esteem and body weight would enable you to most accurately predict body weight from knowledge of level of self-esteem?
+0.60
which of the following is the strongest correlation?
-.90
which of the following correlation coefficient expresses the weakest degree of relationship between two variables?
-0.12
which of the following correlation coefficients expresses the strongest degree of relationship between two variables?
-0.67
for which of the following distribution of scores would the median most clearly be a more appropriate measure of central tendency than the mean?
10, 22,8,9,6
on a 10-time test, three students in professor Hsin's advanced chemistry seminar received scores of 2,5, and 8, respectively. For this distribution of test scores, the standard deviation is equal to the square root of
6
If scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) are normally distributed, with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, what percentage of scores will fall between 85 and 115?
68
Mr. and Mrs. Berry have five children aged 2, 3, 7, 9, and 9. The median age of the Berry children is
7
Mr. and Mrs. Klostreich have six children aged 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, and 16. The mean age of the Klostreich children is
8
mr. and mrs. klostriech have six children aged 5,6,6,7,8, and 16. Mean age of the Klostreich children is
8
act scores from a group of juniors are plotted on a bell curve. the mean is 22 and the standard deviation is 4. what percent of students scored between 18 and 30?
99%
the most commonly reported measure of central tendency is the
mean
which of the following researchers used the case study method, carefully observing one exceptional individual in depth to reach conclusions that might be true of all of us?
Jean Piaget
Why is replication important to science?
Repeated research with similar results increases confidence in the reliability of the original findings.
Examining correlational evidence to determine what further research would be needed to establish a causal relationship is an example of ________ thinking?
critical
which of the following is the best definition of illusory correlation?
a perceived but nonexistent correlation
researchers are interested in studying the impact of drugs on human fetuses. In the case, why would a correlational study be more appropriate than an experiment?
because participants could not be ethically assigned to an experimental or control condition
Coach Vroman attended a clinic to improve his basketball coaching skills. Afterward, he randomly assigned his seventh-grade players to two groups: Group 1 will be coached by the new method and Group 2 will be coached by his old method. He then measured their performance at one team practice to judge the effectiveness of the new coaching method. Which of the following might affect the statistical significance of his study?
by only testing two groups, coach vroman's sample size may be too small and unrepresentative
Psychologists' personal values and goals
can bias their observations and interpretations
psychologists personal values and goals
can bias their observations and interpretations
in 1954, the U.S. supreme court ruled that schools must be desegregated, meaning black and white children must attend the same schools instead of being separated. in its decision, the court cited the expert
can help people understand some of our worlds greatest problems
in which research method do we study one exceptional individual in depth and try to carefully draw conclusions about others based on evidence?
case study
which research method is typically used to examine one participant in depth, usually because the individuals situation/behavior is rare or unusual?
case study
Researchers use experiments rather than other research methods in order to distinguish between
cause and effect
Researchers use experiments rather than other research methods in order to distinguish between
causes and effects
Dr. Roberts hypothesized that students in a classroom seating 30 would get higher course grades than students seated in an auditorium seating 300. In this example,
classroom size has been operationally defined
to determine whether a research finding is statistically significant, researchers
compare the means of the control group and experimental group
a researcher who publishes the results of a case study might be most worried about violating which ethical principle of human experimentation?
confidentiality
In an experiment designed to study the effectiveness of a new drug, research participants who receive a placebo are participating in the ________ condition.
control
which of the following statements is most correct about the relationship between correlation and causation?
correlation indicates the possibility of a casual relationship, but it does not prove causation
examinign correlational evidence to detemine what further research would be needed to establish a casual relationship is an example of _____________ thinking?
critical
a questioning attitude regarding psychologists assumptions and hidden values best illistrates
critical thinking
American males shake hands in greeting; Japanese men bow. However, people can communicate with a smile. What does this tell us about the role of culture in understanding our psychology?
culture shapes our behavior, but certain underlying processes guide people everywhere
Historians of science describe which three attitudes as the basis of the scientific viewpoint?
curiosity, skepticism, humility
In an experiment, the researcher manipulates one factor to see its effect on a target factor. what is this target factor called?
dependent variable
in an experiment to test the effects of hunger on aggressive behavior, aggressive behavior would be the:
dependent variable
A correlation coefficient is a measure of the
direction and strength of the relationship between two variables
correlation coefficient is a measure of the
direction and strength of the relationship between two variables
Abdul has volunteered to participate in an experiment evaluating the effectiveness of aspirin. Neither he nor the experimenters know whether the pills he takes during the experiment contain aspirin or are merely placebos. The investigators are apparently making use of
double-blind procedure
to minimize the extent to which outcome differences between experimental and control conditions can be attributed to placebo effect, researchers make use of
double-blind procedure
to minimize the extent to which outcome dofferences between experimental and control conditions can be attributed to placebo effects, researchers can make use of
double-blind procedure
basing descions or conclusions on observable evidence describes which of the following
empirical approach
which of the following generalizations about culture and gender is most correct?
even when specific attitudes and behaviors vary by gender or across cultures, underlying principles are often very similar
the hindsight bias refers to peoples tendency to
exaggerate their ability to have foreseen the outcome of past events
a research method in which an investigator manipulates factors that potentially produce a particular behavior is called
experiment
research method in which an investigator manipulates factors that potentially produce a particular behavior is called
experiment
which of the following is true for those assigned to the experimental group in an experiment?
experimental group receives the experimental treatment
which of the following is true for those assigned to a control group?
experimental treatment is absent
the american psychological association and British psychological society have developed ethical principles urging investigators to
explain the research to the participants after the study has been completed
After noting that a majority of professional basketball players are African-American, Ervin concluded that African-Americans are better athletes than members of other racial groups. Ervin's conclusion best illustrates the danger of
generalizing from vivid cases
When we see certain outcomes as obvious based on what has occurred, we may be experiencing
hindsight bias
professor smith told one class that alcohol consumption has been found to increase sexual desire. he informed another class that alcohol consumption has been found to reduce sexual appetite. the fact that neither class was surprised by the information they received best illustrates the power of
hindsight bias
the scientific attitude of humility is most likely to be undermined by
hindsight bias
Because she had a serious traffic accident on Friday the 13th of last month, Felicia is convinced that all Friday the 13ths will bring bad luck. Felicia's belief best illustrates
illusory correlation
The belief that weather conditions signal the onset of arthritis pain best illustrates
illusory correlation
The sequential occurrence of two highly unusual events is most likely to contribute to
illusory correlation
what is the primary limitation of the case study research method?
individual cases can be misleading and result in false generalizations
a researcher gathers and analyzes data from student essay test responses without talking with the students about the study violates which ethical principle of human experimentation?
informed consent
which of the following defines ethical principle of human experimentation?
informed consent, protection from harm, confidentiality, debriefing
in a normal distribution, which of the following statements is true about the area that falls between one standard deviation above and one standard deviation below the mean?
it contains the middle 68% of the distribution
Why are researchers careful to use large, representative samples in their studies?
larger, representative sample sizes help ensure reliable and valid results
the biggest danger of relying on case-study evidence is that it
may be unrepresentative of what is generally true
The most commonly reported measure of central tendency is the
mean
when mr. Adams calculated his students algebra test scores, he noticed that two students had extremely low scores. which measure of central tendency is affected most by the scores of these two students?
mean
which measure of central tendency would a baseball manager be most likely to rely on in picking a pinch hitter in a tie game?
mean
professor gonzalez is interested in evaluating the ability of a new method of note-taking to improve student grades. Group A is trained in the new method and group B uses the traditional outline method of taking notes. What is professor gonzalez independent variable?
method of note taking
Professional psychological associations require researchers to
minimize infection, illness and pain in animal subjects
to descibe the behavior of animals in their native habitats, researchers are most likly to make use of
naturalistic observaqtion
in the hypothesis "students who study a list of terms in the morning, just after waking up, will recall more terms than students who study the list before falling asleep", what is the dependent variable
number of terms remembered
a specification of how a researcher measures a research variable is known as
operational definition
Our tendency to believe we know more than we do illustrates
overconfidence
Sasha believes that she is a very good driver. Her belief leads her to take unnecessary risks, such as driving too fast and cutting in front of other drivers. Sasha's driving appears to be affected by
overconfidence
Thinking that she had outperformed most of her classmates, Glenda was surprised to receive just an average grade on her psychology test. Glenda's experience best illustrates
overconfidence
When provided with the unscrambled solution to anagrams, people underestimate the difficulty of solving the anagrams by themselves. This best illustrates
overconfidence
which of the following is most likely to inhibit critical thinking?
overconfidence
in a drug treatment study, participants given a pill containing no actual drug are receiving
placebo
in a drug treatment study, participants given a pill containing no actual drug receiving a
placebo
The relief of pain following the ingestion of an inert substance that is presumed to have medicinal benefits illustrates
placebo effect
what technique do researchers use to reduce the impact of confounding variable?
random assignment
the complete set of cases from which samples may be drawn is called
population
research finds that, in general, the higher an incoming college student scores o a given test, the higher the students college grade point average. which of the following best describes this relationship?
positive correlation
dr.Donelian wants to reduce his students perception that psychological experiments merely document the obvious. His best strategy would be to ask the students to
predict the outcomes of experiments before they are told the actual results.
Hypothesis are best described as
predictions
Stanley milgram designed his influential studies on obedience in response to thinking about the holocaust. in their defense, Nazi war criminals said they had committed such atrocities against the Jews and others because they were "just following order". Milgrim's motivation to study obedience to authority illustrates that
psychology is not value free, it affects what psychologists study
Critical thinkers can best be described as
questioning
To accurately infer cause and effect, experimenters should use
random assignment
To assess the effect of televised violence on aggression, researchers plan to expose one group of children to violent movie scenes and another group to nonviolent scenes. To reduce the chance that the children in one group have more aggressive personalities than those in the other group, the researchers should make use of
random assignment
Professor Ambra was skeptical about the accuracy of recently reported research on sleep deprivation. Which process would best enable her to assess the reliability of these findings?
replication
Which technique involves repeating the essence of an earlier research study with different participants and in different circumstances?
replication
to graphically represent the correlation between two variables, researchers often construct a
scatter-plot
to graphically represent the correlation between two variables, researchers often construct a
scatterplot
stadnard devition is a measure of how much
scores in a group differ from the mean of that group
which of the following is a measure of the degree of variation among a set of events?
standard deviation
a research psychologists generalizes from a particular sample to an entire population. this an example of:
statistical inference
When the observed difference between the means of an experimental group and control group are not likely due to chance, researchers conclude that this difference is
statistically significant
`professor Woo noticed that the distribution of students scores on her last biology tests had an extremely small standard deviation. this indicates that the
students score tended to be very similar to one another
A researcher interested in investigating the attitudes or opinions of a large sample of people is most likely to use which research method?
survey
a researcher interested in investigating the attitudes or opinions of a larger sample of people is most likely to use which research method?
survey
If psychologists discovered that more intelligent parents have smarter children than less intelligent parents, this would demonstrate that
the intelligence of parents and children is positively correlated
which of the following assertions is best supported by empirical evidence?
the two cerebral hemispheres are specialized to process difference types of cognitive tasks
what do scientists call an explanation that organizes observations and predicts future behaviors or events?
theory
If a result is statistically significant, this means that the
there is less then 5 percent likelihood that the results occurred by chance
which is the advantage of researchers using an empirical approach in evaluating the accuracy of eyewitness testimony?
under controlled conditions, researchers collect evidence that may justify a cause-effect conclusion
The hindsight bias leads people to perceive reasearch findings as
unsuprising
the hindsight bias leads people to perceive research findings as
unsurprising
a psychological researcher designs a study to determine whether positive feedback affects self-esteem. researcher requires each participant to toss twenty coins into a coffee can that is three feet away. half of the participants are told that their performance is superior, and the other half are told that their performance is well below average. although some of the participants want to quit tossing coins after a few attempts, they are told that once they begin the study they have to complete it. after the coin toss, participates take a test measuring self-esteem. following the test, all participants are debriefed and told that information about their performance was false. results of the study indicate that participates who are told their performance is well below average report lower levels of self-esteem that do those who are told their performance is superior. which of the following violations of ethical guidelines occurs in the study?
violation of the right to withdraw
Which two questions exemplify the scientific attitude?
what do you mean? how do you know?
Surveys indicate that people are much less likely to support "welfare" than "aid to the needy." These somewhat paradoxical survey results best illustrate the importance of
wording effects
a majority of respondents in a national survey agreed that "classroom prayer should not be allowed in public schools" only 33 percent of respondents in a similar survey agreed that "classroom prayer in public schools should be banned" these divergent findings best illustrate the importance of
wording effects