psyc quiz practice history and methodology
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 incomes is: Correct!
$10,000
Mr. and Mrs. Klostreich have six children aged 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, and 16. The mean age of the Klostreich children is:
8
During the past year, Zara and Ivan each read 2 books, but George read 9, Ali read 12, and Marsha read 25. The median number of books read by these individuals was:
9
Which of the following best describes the hindsight bias?
Events seem more predictable after they have occurred.
If height and body weight are positively correlated, which of the following is true?
Knowing a person's height, one can predict his or her weight.
Which of the following is true, according to the text?
No psychological theory can be considered a good one until it produces testable predictions.
A friend majoring in anthropology is critical of psychological research because it often ignores the influence of culture on thoughts and actions. You point out that:
even when specific thoughts and actions vary across cultures, as they often do, the underlying processes are much the same.
f shoe size and IQ are negatively correlated, which of the following is true?
People with small feet tend to have high IQs.
In a distribution of test scores, which measure of central tendency would likely be the most affected by a couple of extremely high scores?
mean
The arithmetic average of a distribution of scores 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
Researchers control factors that might influence a dependent variable by means of:
operational definitions
The process of replication is most likely to be facilitated by:
operational definitions
To ensure that other researchers can repeat their work, psychologists use:
operational definitions
Juwan eagerly opened an online trading account, believing that his market savvy would allow him to pick stocks that would make him a rich day trader. This belief best illustrates:
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: Correct!
overconfidence
Brooke believes that boys learn to be more aggressive than girls primarily because boys are more frequently exposed to external pressures to fight.Brooke's belief most directly exemplifies the ________ perspective. Correct!
behavioral
Which perspective most clearly focuses on how we learn observable responses?
behavioral
Dr. Robinson conducts basic research on the relationship between brain chemistry and intellectual functioning. Which psychological specialty does Dr. Robinson's research best represent?
biological psychology
Psychologists' personal values:
can bias both scientific observation and interpretation of data.
Dr. MacPherson believes that the way students organize and think about the information in their textbooks will strongly influence their ability to later remember and use what they have studied. Dr. MacPherson's ideas most directly exemplify the ________ perspective.
cognitive
Which psychological perspective is most likely to be concerned with identifying the powers and the limits of human reasoning?
cognitive
In an experiment to determine the effects of attention on memory, memory is the:
dependent variable
One reason researchers base their findings on representative samples is to avoid the false consensus effect, which refers to our tendency to:
overestimate the extent to which others share our belief.
The strength of the relationship between two vivid events will most likely be:
overestimated
In a study of the effects of alcohol consumption, some participants drank a nonalcoholic beverage that actually smelled and tasted like alcohol. This nonalcoholic drink was a:
placebo
A lopsided set of scores that includes a number of extreme or unusual values is said to be:
skewed
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:
small standard deviation
Which perspective would focus on the extent to which different styles of parenting are encouraged among various ethnic communities?
social-cultural
Evelyn wants to know how consistent her bowling scores have been during the past season. Which of the following measures would be most relevant to this specific concern?
standard deviation
The football team's punter wants to determine how consistent his punting distances have been during the past season. He should compute the:
standard deviation
Which of the following is a measure of the degree of variation among a set of events?
standard deviation
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 research strategy did the psychologist use to deduce this?
the case study
Correlation is decreased
the closer to zero you get
When a difference between two groups is "statistically significant," this means that:
the difference is not likely to be due to chance variation.
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?
From an alphabetical listing of all students, every tenth (or fifteenth, e.g.) student should be asked to complete the questionnaire.
Which of the following procedures is an example of the use of a placebo?
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.
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?
The difference in the means of the two samples is probably due to chance variation.
Martina believes that high doses of caffeine slow a person's reaction time. In order 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?
There is no control condition
Following the scientific discovery that a specific brain structure is significantly larger in violent individuals than in those who are nonviolent, a news headline announced: "Enlarged Brain Structure Triggers Violent Acts." The headline writer should most clearly be warned about the dangers of:
confusing correlation and causation
In a study of factors that might affect memory, research participants were assigned to drink either an alcoholic or a nonalcoholic beverage prior to completing a memory test. Those who drank the nonalcoholic beverage participated in the ________ condition.
control
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?
control
In an experiment designed to study the effectiveness of a new drug, research participants who receive a placebo are participating in the ________ condition.
control
In order 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:
control group
Which type of research would allow you to determine whether students' college grades accurately predict later income?
correlation
Which type of research would allow you to determine whether students' college grades accurately predict later income? You Answered
correlation
Which of the following statistical measures is most helpful for indicating the extent to which high school grades predict college grades? You Answered
correlation coefficient
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:
correlational research
Mark believes that people are genetically predisposed to dislike bitter-tasting foods because this has enhanced human survival. His belief best illustrates the ________ perspective.
evolutionary
A research method in which an investigator manipulates factors that potentially produce a particular behavior is called a(n):
experiment
Which of the following research methods does not belong with the others?
experiment
Which of the following research strategies would be best for determining whether alcohol impairs memory?
experiment
The concept of control is important in psychological research because:
experimental control allows researchers to study the influence of one or two independent variables on a dependent variable while holding other potential influences constant.
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: You Answered
hindsight bias
The scientific attitude of skepticism is based on the belief that:
ideas need to be tested against observable evidence.
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
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:
illusory correlation.
In an experiment to determine the effects of exercise on motivation, exercise is the:
independent variable
In an experimental study of the effects of dieting on weight loss, dieting would be the:
independent variable
A psychologist studies the play behavior of third-grade children by watching groups during recess at school. Which type of research is being used?
naturalistic observation
In order to study the development of relationships, Dr. Rajiv carefully observed and recorded patterns of verbal and nonverbal behaviors among men and women in singles bars. Which research method did Dr. Rajiv employ?
naturalistic observation
Professor Lopez believes that severe depression results primarily from an imbalanced diet and abnormal brain chemistry. Professor Lopez favors a ________ perspective on depression.
neuroscience
In order to learn about the TV viewing habits of all the children attending Oakbridge School, Professor DeVries randomly selected and interviewed 50 of the school's students. In this instance, all the children attending the school are considered to be a(n): Correct!
population
The complete set of cases from which samples may be drawn is called a(n):
population
If college graduates typically earn more money than high school graduates, this would indicate that level of education and income are:
positively correlated
Theories are defined as:
principles that help to organize, predict, and explain facts.
Your best friend criticizes psychological research for being artificial and having no relevance to behavior in real life. In defense of psychology's use of laboratory experiments you point out that:
psychologists intentionally study behavior in simplified environments in order to gain greater control over variables and to test general principles that help to explain many behaviors.
To say that "psychology is a science" means that:
psychologists study thoughts and actions with an attitude of skepticism and derive their conclusions from direct observations.
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 called:
random assignment
Which technique most clearly minimizes the likelihood that any outcome differences between the experimental and control conditions can be attributed to age or personality differences in research participants?
random assignment
Well-done surveys measure attitudes in a representative subset, or ________, of an entire group, or ________.
random sample; population
Which procedure helps to ensure that the participants in a survey are representative of a larger population?
random sampling
The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution is the:
range
Which of the following is not a basic research strategy used by psychologists?
replications
The scientific attitude of humility is based on the idea that:
researchers must be prepared to reject their own ideas in the face of conflicting evidence.
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:
the double blind procedure
To prevent the possibility that a placebo effect or researchers' expectations will influence a study's results, scientists employ:
the double blind procedures
Christine, who is opposed to capital punishment, was extremely surprised to learn that the results of a survey indicated that the majority of the population approved of capital punishment. Christine's surprise best illustrates the power of:
the false consensus effect
Correlation is increased
the farther from zero you get
Illusory correlation refers to:
the perception of a correlation where there is none.
The relief of pain following the ingestion of an inert substance that is presumed to have medicinal benefits illustrates:
the placebo effect
In order to study the effects of lighting on mood, Dr. Cooper had students fill out questionnaires in brightly lit or dimly lit rooms. In this study, the independent variable consisted of:
the room lighting
In generalizing from a sample to the population, it is important that:
the sample be representative.
Your roommate is conducting a survey to learn how many hours the typical college 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:
the sample will probably not be representative of the population of interest.
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) ________.
theory; hypothesis
The distinctive feature of the psychoanalytical perspective is its emphasis on:
unconscious conflicts
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