PSY 101 CHAPTER 1
Bria, who is taking her first psychology class, earned a C on her first exam. Although C is a passing grade, Bria would like to earn an A in this class. What can she do to help improve not only her grade but also her retention of the material?
Use the SQ3R method when studying.
All those in a group being studied make up the
Population
Which of the following people is most likely to earn a doctorate degree in psychology today?
Samantha, who is from the United States
Professor Jamison is studying the impact of alcohol consumption on driving impairment. She divides participants into two groups. One group gets the treatment, in this case alcohol, and the other group does not. Participants then complete a task to measure their reaction time. Professor Jamison finds that those who had consumed alcohol had a slower reaction time than those who did not consume alcohol. She then concludes that alcohol consumption would impair driving ability. Why is she able to reach this conclusion?
She is testing theoretical principles that can help explain everyday behaviors.
In a survey, psychologists select a random sample of research participants to ensure that
The participants are representative of the population they are interested in studying.
For an experiment designed to study how drinking alcohol might affect romantic attraction, the researcher clearly identified the procedures used to measure romantic attraction. This illustrates
an operational definition.
Research on animal subjects has demonstrated that
animals can benefit from research.
Psychological research indicates that regular aerobic exercise is an effective way to minimize
anxiety.
The neuroscience perspective in psychology would be most likely to emphasize that behavior is influenced by
blood chemistry.
By suggesting that nurture works on what nature provides, psychologists highlight the fact that we are biologically graced with a capacity for
brain plasticity.
Psychologists' personal values and goals
can bias their observations and interpretations.
Professor Warburton is interested in memory processes and how retrieval of information is influenced by current schema activation. Which field of psychology does he study?
cognitive
Assessing how well one variable predicts another variable is to ________ as detecting cause-effect relationships between different variables is to ________.
correlational research; experimental research
Jennifer was worried that the wording of the questions in a diet and exercise survey may have encouraged respondents to express unusually positive levels of health. Jennifer's concern best illustrates
critical thinking.
Which perspective would suggest that the facial expressions associated with the emotions of lust and rage are inherited?
evolutionary
The hindsight bias refers to people's tendency to
exaggerate their ability to have foreseen an outcome.
Dr. Stembridge conducts research on how children's moral reasoning changes as they grow older. It is most likely that Dr. Stembridge is a(n) ________ psychologist.
developmental
Our visual perception track enables us to recognize objects while our visual action track enables us to manipulate objects. This best illustrates
dual processing.
Processing information at the same time on separate conscious and unconscious tracks is called
dual processing.
A central issue that emerges in debates over experimenting on animals is the
ethics of placing the well-being of humans above that of animals.
Psychologists study animals because
similar processes often underlie animal and human behavior.
Stacey insists that Dr. Hendricks' theory of aggression be checked against observable evidence. She is demonstrating the scientific attitude of
skepticism.
Dr. Stott conducts research on why individuals obey orders from an authoritative person. Which specialty area does his research best represent?
social psychology
Research has shown that about two percent of people are able to accurately predict their own social behavior. Psychologist Philip Tetlock and science writer Dan Gardner have referred to these successful predictors as
superforecasters.
Suppose you want to find out which candidate women will vote for in an upcoming national election. To be sure the sample you survey is representative of the population of women, you should
survey a large representative sample of the population of women.
A hypothesis is a(n)
testable prediction that gives direction to research.
Which research method provides the best way of assessing whether aerobic exercise boosts mental alertness?
the experiment
The group of people who are exposed to the treatment being tested in an experiment is called the ________ group.
experimental
Vishal believes that the Earth is flat and has befriended several people on social media who also hold this view. This is an example of how ________ can feed the acceptance of misinformation.
group identity
Dr. Tate is an excellent professor. She is curious, humble, and skeptical. These are all characteristics of
having a scientific attitude.
The Greek naturalist and philosopher Aristotle suggested the source of our personality is the
heart
In the 1960s, the cognitive revolution in psychology led the field back to its early interest in the scientific study of
mental processes.
Dr. Packwood is examining Twitter messages among men and women as part of her research project. This is an example of how modern technology has improved research using
naturalistic observation
Psychologists who carefully watch the behavior of lion societies in the jungle are using a research method known as
naturalistic observation
Which of the following enables more exact descriptions of ongoing behaviors without explaining them?
naturalistic observation
In one study, introductory psychology students were fitted with electronically activated recording devices so that researchers could sample their daily activities. The researchers used a scientific method known as
naturalistic observation.
In a study of the effects of drinking coffee, some participants drank a decaf coffee that actually smelled and tasted like coffee. This decaf coffee was a
placebo.
A representative sample is one that accurately reflects a larger
population.
SQ3R is a study method incorporating five steps: survey, question, read, ________, and review.
retrieve
The enduring traditions, attitudes, ideas, and behaviors shared by a large group of people form their
Culture
A few weeks after a TV award show, viewers are likely to exaggerate their ability to have predicted the Emmy winners. This best illustrates
Hindsight bias
Which woman psychologist was the first to officially earn a doctorate degree?
Margaret Floy Washburn
Who promoted the early school of thought in psychology referred to as functionalism?
William James
An inverse relationship in which one factor increases as another factor decreases represents
a negative correlation.
A descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a representative sample of a population is known as
a survey.
Studies conducted for the sake of building psychology's base of knowledge are most clearly examples of
basic research
Psychology is currently best defined as the science of
behavior and mental processes.
Which perspective studies the relative contributions of our genes and our environment to our individual differences?
behavior genetics
Professor Thornton is studying experiences that influence genetic expression. He is most likely studying
behavior genetics.
Bettina believes that her son has become a good student because he is frequently praised for his learning efforts. Her belief best illustrates a ________ perspective.
behavioral
The view that psychology should be an objective science that studies observable human activity without reference to mental processes is known as
behaviorism.
An unconscious gut feeling, or ________, provides a sharp contrast to explicit, conscious reasoning.
common sense
Depression and suicide are more common in North America today than they were a century ago. But in both periods, pessimistic thinking and feelings of loneliness correspond to a heightened risk of depression and suicide. This best illustrates that ________ play a role in depression and suicide in varied settings
common underlying principles
Martin Seligman calls for a positive psychology that focuses on such topics as
compassion
The birth of psychology is often attributed to Wilhelm Wundt because he pioneered the investigation of mental processes by
conducting the first psychological experiment.
Examining naturally occurring relationships is the basic purpose of conducting ________ research.
correlational
Professor Stevens wants to examine the relationship between false news and negative attitudes about migrants. Professor Stevens' research would be an example of
correlational research.
Different accounts of the same behavior that together give us a more complete understanding represent different
levels of analysis.
Which of the following is NOT an important way for you to use psychology?
criticize others
the enduring traditions, attitudes, ideas, and behaviors shared by a large group of people form their
culture
Three key elements of the scientific attitude are
curiosity, skepticism, and humility.
After an experiment, research participants are told its purpose and about any deception they may have experienced. This is called
debriefing.
Professor Caste just finished running data collection for her research study. When participants have completed the study, Professor Caste explains to them the true purpose of the study and any deceptions that were used. Her explanations are referred to as
debriefing.
In an effort to prevent participants in an experiment from trying to confirm the researchers' predictions, psychologists sometimes
deceive participants about the true purpose of an experiment.
In a psychological experiment, the factor that may be influenced by the manipulated experimental treatment is called the ________ variable.
dependent
A sense of humility regarding the accuracy of our commonsense thinking is most likely to be undermined by
hindsight bias.
Developing testable predictions before conducting research is most directly useful for restraining a thinking error known as
hindsight bias.
An experiment enables researchers to isolate the effects of one or more factors by manipulating the factors of interest and also by
holding other factors constant across experimental and control groups.
In an experimental study of the impact of bullying on self-esteem, being bullied would be the ________ variable.
independent
Which psychologists are most likely to be involved in applied research?
industrial-organizational psychologists
Which of the following is NOT an example of animal research guidelines, as discussed in the text?
informed consent
Which of the following is NOT a weakness of the experimental method?
lack of control of variables
Efforts to discover whether children's personalities are more heavily influenced by their biology or their home environments are most directly relevant to the debate regarding
nature and nurture.
Professor Dominges believes that severe depression results primarily from an imbalanced diet and abnormal brain chemistry. Professor Dominges favors a ________ perspective on depression.
neuroscience
Which perspective would help us to understand the impact of strokes and brain diseases on memory?
neuroscience
A carefully worded statement describing the exact procedures for measuring an anticipated experimental outcome is known as a(n)
operational definition
In a published report of a research study on personal control, Drs. Jamison and Phillips included a 30-item questionnaire, which they had used to assess levels of personal control. The psychologists have thus provided their readers with a(n)
operational definition.
Which of the following is most likely to inhibit critical thinking?
overconfidence
Shelly was certain that she would never attend a college near her home town. However, when she was accepted by the local community college, she readily agreed to enroll. Shelly's experience best illustrates
overconfidence.
The personality theorist Sigmund Freud was an Austrian
physician.
An inactive 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
placebo.
When researchers publicly communicate planned study design, hypotheses, data collection, and analyses, they are engaged in
preregistration.
Students learn and remember course materials best when they
process class information actively
Mr. Alexander believes that his wife's angry outbursts against him result from her unconscious hatred of her own father. Mr. Alexander is looking at his wife's behavior from a(n) ________ perspective
psychodynamic
Mr. Alexander believes that his wife's angry outbursts against him result from her unconscious hatred of her own father. Mr. Alexander is looking at his wife's behavior from a(n) ________ perspective.
psychodynamic
The study of psychology is potentially dangerous because
psychological knowledge can be used for destructive purposes.
To assess the impact of test difficulty on persistence of effort, Professor Terry plans to give one group of children relatively easy tests and another group more difficult tests. To reduce the chance that the children in one group are more intelligent than those in the other group, Professor Terry should make use of
random assignment
Norman is especially prone to ulcers and has been told by friends and parents that spicy foods can lead to or aggravate ulcers. When dining with friends at a Mexican restaurant, he opted for a light salad. When asked why he was not indulging, he replied that he cannot eat spicy foods because he is prone to ulcers. Why might Norman believe this myth?
repetition
Why might so many people believe the commonly accepted idea that roaches could survive a nuclear bomb?
repetition
Testing hypotheses and refining theories in light of those tests is central to
the scientific method
Which research method would be most appropriate for investigating the relationship between the political beliefs of Americans and their attitudes toward welfare?
the survey
Researchers have demonstrated that the way a question is phrased can affect how people respond. This reveals that
the words used can reflect values.
A survey revealed that children with relatively high self-esteem tend to picture God as kind and loving, while those with lower self-esteem tend to perceive God as angry. The researchers concluded that the children's self-esteem had influenced their views of God. This conclusion best illustrates the danger of
thinking that association proves causation.
Cognitive neuroscience studies relationships between
thought processes and brain functions.
