Module 3 Review
Well-done surveys measure attitudes in a representative subset, or ____________, of an entire group, or ____________ a. population; random sample b. control group; experimental group C. experimental group; control group d. random sample; population
D
What is the median of the following distribution of scores: 1, 3, 7, 7, 2, 8, 4? a. 1 C. 3 b.2 d.4
D
Which of the following is the measure of variation that is most affected by extreme scores? a. mean C. mode b. standard deviation d. range
D
Which of the following research methods does not belong with the others? a. case study c. naturalistic observation b. survey d. experiment
D
Which of the following would be best for determining whether alcohol impairs memory? a. case study c. survey b. naturalistic observation d. experiment
D
Which type of research would allow you to determine whether students' grades accurately predict later income? a. case study b. naturalistic observation c. experimentation d. correlation
D
a difference between two samples is NOT statistically significant, which of the following can be concluded? a. The difference is probably not a true one. b. The difference is probably not reliable. c. The difference could be due to sampling variation. d. All of these conclusions can be reached.
D
The football team's punter wants to determine how consistent his punting distances have been during the past season. He should compute the a. mean. c. mode. b. median. d. standard deviation.
D
The strength of the relationship between two vivid events will most likely be a. significant. b. positive. C. negative. d. overestimated.
D
Theories are defined as a. testable propositions. b. factors that may change in response to manipulation. c. statistical indexes. d. principles that help to organize observations and predict behaviors or events.
D
To ensure that other researchers can repeat their work, psychologists use a. control groups. b. random assignment. c. double-blind procedures. d. operational definitions.
D
To prevent the possibility that a placebo effect or researchers' expectations will influence a study's results, scientists employ a. control groups. b. experimental groups. c. random assignment. d. the double-blind procedure.
D
After detailed study of a gunshot wound victim, a psychologist concludes that the brain region destroyed is likely to be important for memory functions. Which type of research did the psychologist use to deduce this? a. the case study c. correlation b. a survey d. experimentation
A
In generalizing from a sample to the population, it is important that a. the sample be representative. b. the sample be nonrandom. c. the sample not be too large. d. all of these conditions exist.
A
The four families on your block all have annual household incomes of $25,000. If a new family with an annual income of $75,000 moved in, which measure of central tendency would be most affected? a. mean c. mode b. median d. standard deviation
A
Which of the following is the measure of central tendency that would be most affected by a few extreme scores? a. mean c. median b. range d. mode
A
Which of the following procedures is an example of the use of a placebo? a. In a test of the effects of a drug on memory, a participant is led to believe that a harmless pill actually contains an active drug. b. A participant in an experiment is led to believe that a pill, which actually contains an active drug, is harmless. c. Participants in an experiment are not told which treatment condition is in effect. d. Neither the participants nor the experimenter knows which treatment condition is in effect.
A
A researcher was interested in determining whether her students' test performance could be predicted from their proximity to the front of the classroom. So she matched her students' scores on a math test with their seating position. This study is an example of a. experimentation. b. correlational research. c. a survey. d. naturalistic observation.
B
Dr. Salazar recently completed an experiment in which she compared reasoning ability in a sample of females and a sample of males. The means of the female and male samples equaled 21 and 19, respectively, on a 25-point scale. A statistical test revealed that her results were not statistically significant. What can Dr. Salazar conclude? a. Females have superior reasoning ability. b. The difference in the means of the two samples is probably due to chance variation. c. The difference in the means of the two samples is reliable. d. She cannot reach any of these conclusions.
B
If shoe size and IQ are negatively correlated, which of the following is true? a. People with large feet tend to have high IQs. b. People with small feet tend to have high IQs. c. People with small feet tend to have low IQs. d. IQ is unpredictable based on a person's shoe size.
B
Illusory correlation refers to a. the perception that two negatively correlated variables are positively correlated. b. the perception of a correlation where there is none. c. an insignificant correlation. d. a correlation that equals -1.0.
B
In a test of the effects of air pollution, groups of students performed a reaction-time task in a polluted or an unpolluted room. To what condition were students in the unpolluted room exposed a. experimental b. control c. randomly assigned d. dependent
B
Rashad, who is participating in a psychology experiment on the effects of alcohol on perception, is truthfully told by the experimenter that he has been assigned to the "high-dose condition." What is wrong with this experiment? a. There is no control condition. b. Rashad's expectations concerning the effects of "high doses" of alcohol on perception may influence his performance. c. Rashad was given a placebo, so the results may be tainted. d. All of these statements are correct.
B
The concept of control is important in psychological research because a. without control over independent and dependent variables, researchers cannot describe, predict, or explain behavior. b. experimental control allows researchers to study the influence of one or two independent variables on a dependent variable while holding other potential influences constant. c. without experimental control, results cannot be generalized from a sample to a population. d. of all of these reasons.
B
The procedure designed to ensure that the experimental and control groups do not differ in any way that might affect the experiment's results is a. variable controlling. b. random assignment. c. representative sampling. d. stratification.
B
The set of scores that would likely be most representative of the population from which it was drawn would be a sample with a relatively a. large standard deviation. b. small standard deviation. C. large range. d. small range.
B
What is the mode of the following distribution: 8, 2, 1, 1, 3, 7, 6, 2, 0, 2? a. 1 c. 3 b.2 d.7
B
Which of the following is NOT a basic research technique used by psychologists? a. description b. replication C. experimentation d. correlation
B
Whit is the mode of the following distribution of scores: 2, 2, 4 .4 4, 14? a.2 c.5 b. 4 d. 6
B
You decide to test your belief that men drink more soft drinks than women by finding out whether more soft drinks are consumed per day in the men's dorm than in the women's dorm. Your belief is a(n) _________, and your research prediction is a(n) _________ a. hypothesis; theory b. theory; hypothesis C. independent variable; dependent variable d. dependent variable; independent variable
B
A lopsided set of scores that includes a number of extreme or unusual values is said to be a. symmetrical. c. skewed. b. normal. d. dispersed.
C
Bob scored 43 out of 70 points on his psychology exam. He was worried until he discovered that most of the class earned the same score. Bob's score was equal to the a. mean. c. mode. b. median. d. range.
C
If height and body weight are positively correlated, which of the following is true? a. There is a cause-effect relationship between height and weight. b. As height increases, weight decreases. c. Knowing a person's height, one can predict his or her weight. d. All of these statements are true.
C
In an experiment to determine the effects of exercise on motivation, exercise is the a. control condition. b. intervening variable. c. independent variable. d. dependent variable.
C
Joe believes that his basketball game is always best when he wears his old gray athletic socks. Joe is a victim of the phenomenon called a. statistical significance. b. the placebo effect. c. illusory correlation. d. the double blind.
C
Martina believes that high doses of caffeine slow a person's reaction time. To test this belief, she has five friends each drink three 8-ounce cups of coffee and then measures their reaction time on a learning task. What is wrong with Martina's research strategy? a. No independent variable is specified. b. No dependent variable is specified. c. There is no control condition. d. There is no provision for replication of the findings.
C
To determine the effects of a new drug on memory, one group of people is given a pill that contains the drug. A second group is given a sugar pill that does not contain the drug. This second group constitutes the a. random sample. c. control group. b. experimental group. d. test group.
C
To study the effects of lighting on mood, Dr' Cooper had students fill out questionnaires in brightly lit or dimly lit rooms. hi this study the independent variable consisted of a. the number of students assigned to each group. b. the students' responses to the questionnaire. c. the room lighting. d. the subject matter of the questions asked.
C
What is the mean of the following distribution of scores: 2, 3, 7, 6, 1, 4, 9, 5, 8, 2? a. 5 c. 4.7 b.4 d.3.7
C
When a difference between two groups is statistically significant, this means that a. the difference is statistically real but of little practical significance. b. the difference is probably the result of sampling variation. c. the difference is not likely to be due to chance variation. d. all of these statements are true.
C
Which of the following is NOT characteristic of a normal curve? a. The distribution is bell-shaped and symmetrical. b. Most scores fall near the mean. c. About 95 percent of all scores fall within one standard deviation on either side of the mean. d. The distribution describes many types of psychological data
C
Your roommate is conducting a survey to learn how many hours the typical student studies each day. She plans to pass out her questionnaire to the members of her sorority. You point out that her findings will be flawed because a. she has not specified an independent variable. b. she has not specified a dependent variable. c. the sample will probably not be representative of the population of interest. d. of all of these reasons.
C
what is the mean of the following distribution of scores: 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 4, 6, 9, 1, 4? a.2 C. 6 b. 10 d. 15
C
what is the median ofthe following distribution: 10, 7, 5, 11, 8, 6, 9? a. 6 C. 8 b.7 d.9
C
A professor constructs a questionnaire to determine how students at the university feel about nuclear disarmament. Which of the following techniques should be used in order to survey a random sample of the student body? a. Every student should get the questionnaire. b. Only students majoring in psychology should be asked to complete the questionnaire. c. Only students living on campus should be asked to complete the questionnaire. d. From an alphabetical listing of all students, every tenth (or fifteenth, e.g.) student should be asked to complete the questionnaire.
D
A psychologist studies the play behavior of Young children by watching groups during recess at school. Which type of research is being used? a. correlation c. experimentation b. case study d. naturalistic observation
D
Esteban refuses to be persuaded by an advertiser's claim that people using their brand of gasoline average 50 miles per gallon. His decision probably is based on a. the possibility that the average is the mean, which could be artificially inflated by a few extreme scores. b. the absence of information about the size of the sample studied. c. the absence of information about the variation in sample scores. d. all of these statements.
D
If eating saturated fat and the likelihood of contracting cancer are positively correlated, which of the following is true? a. Saturated fat causes cancer. b. People who are prone to develop cancer prefer foods containing saturated fat. c. A separate factor links the consumption of saturated fat to cancer. d. None of these statements are necessarily true.
D
In an experiment to determine the effects of attention on memory, memory is the a. control condition. b. intervening variable. c. independent variable. d. dependent variable.
D
In generalizing from a sample to the population, it is important that a. the sample be representative of the population. b. the sample be large. c. the scores in the sample have low variability. d. all of these conditions exist.
D
