psych 2000
What does is mean that behavioral research is probabilistic?
Inferences drawn from behavioral research are not expected to explain all cases
Compared with doing a generic Internet search, why is PsycINFO a superior way to find scientific sources?
It narrows your search by only identifying sources in psychology and related fields
Which of the following is an association claim? a. "Owning a dog is related to higher life satisfaction" b. "A majority of Americans like dogs" c. "Dog traveled 500 miles to find its owners" d. "Being visited by dogs in the hospital causes a decrease in recovery time"
a. "Owning a dog is related to higher life satisfaction"
Which of the following is the first section of an empirical journal article? a. Abstract b. Introduction c. Results d. References
a. Abstract
Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to Group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g., passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g., houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B. Which of the following makes Dr. Kang's study an experiment? a. Dr. Kang manipulated one variable and measured another. b. Dr. Kang used a distractor task. c. The study was conducted at a university. d. The study was conducted by a professor.
a. Dr. Kang manipulated one variable and measured another.
Which of the following is a problem presented by the availability heuristic? a. We do not examine all of the evidence, only what we can quickly think of. b. We rely on the opinions of others rather than on our own opinions. c. It keeps us from examining our own experience. d. We will never be right in our conclusions.
a. We do not examine all of the evidence, only what we can quickly think of.
Edward believes that there are a lot of differences between men and women on a variety of different dimensions. He believes this because when he thinks about books that have been written on men and women, he can recall only books that say men and women are different (e.g., Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus) and cannot recall any that say men and women are the same. His reliance on what comes to mind is an example of which of the following? a. the availability heuristic b. cherry-picking of evidence c. conformation bias d. overconfidence
a. availability heuristic
Occam's razor states that the simplest solution is the best, all things being equal. This speaks to a theory's: a. parsimony. b. falsifiability. c. theorizing. d. empiricism.
a. parsimony.
Matthew is reading an empirical journal article and wants to know whether the authors used the Big Five Inventory (BFI-44) or the NEO-PI to measure extraversion. In which section would he find this information? a. Introduction b. Method c. Results d. Discussion
b. Method
Which of the following is a limitation of PsycINFO compared to Google Scholar? a. PsycINFO does not provide PDF versions of articles. b. PsycINFO is not free to use. c. PsycINFO is not limited to just psychology and related fields. d. PsycINFO does not allow you to search particular fields.
b. PsycINFO is not free to use.
Hannah just finished reading an empirical journal article for a class project. What information might she get out of reading the references section of her article? a. A list of the measures used in the study b. The name of an article that researched a similar topic c. An idea for a future study d. An explanation of the statistical tests used
b. The name of an article that researched a similar topic
A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to TV is associated with increased aggression behavior in children. You know this relationship may not be casual because you are not sure which occurred first: watching TV or being aggressive. You are questioning which of the following rules of causation? a. the criterion of covarience b. the criterion of temporal precedence c. the third-variable criterion d. the criterion of external validity
b. the criterion of temporal precedence
Which of the following is the difference between claims based on personal experience (anecdotal claims) and frequency claims? a. Anecdotal claims involve a single variable; frequency claims involve two variables. b. Anecdotal claims are not based on scientific studies but frequency claims are. c. Anecdotal claims are less interesting than frequency claims. d. Anecdotal claims appear in newspapers; frequency claims appear in journals.
c. Anecdotal claims are less interesting than frequency claims.
Anton and his friends are discussing a study he read about in his developmental psychology class. In the study, the researcher made the claim that most middle school students who are bullied have low self-esteem. Clarissa questions the study, saying, "I am not sure that I am convinced. I am not sure you can really measure being bullied." Quinn also questions the study, saying, "Which middle school students did they study? I am curious if they included both private and public school students." Manish also is curious about the study, asking, "I wonder how strong the relationship is between bullying and self-esteem. Could you predict one from the other?" Why should Anton NOT interrogate the internal validity of the study? a. because he is a student, not a researcher b. because the author of the study already did c. because the study's claim is an association claim d. because he has not taken statistics yet
c. because the study's claim is an association claim
Anton and his friends are discussing a study he read about in his developmental psychology class. In the study, the researchers made the claim that most middle school students who have been bullied have low self esteem. Clarissa questions the study, saying, "I am not sure that I am convinced. I am not sure you can really measure being bullied." Quinn also questions the study, saying, "Which middle school students did they study? I am curious if they included both private and public school students." Manish also is curious about the study, asking, "I wonder how strong the relationship is between bullying and self-esteem. Could you predict one from the other?" Quinn's concern is addressing which of the following? a. the study's statistical validity b. the study's internal validity c. the study's external validity d. the study's construct validity
c. the study's external validity
Which of the following is the correct ordering of empirical journal article sections? a. Introduction, Results, Discussion, Method, References b. Introduction, Discussion, Method, Results, Abstract c. Abstract, References, Introduction, Results, Discussion d. Abstract, Method, Results, Discussion, References
d. Abstract, Method, Results, Discussion, References
Which of the following is an example of basic research? (i.e. 3 can readily be applied to a real world issue/problem. Which 1 cannot readily be applied to a real world issue/problem?) a. An industrial-organizational psychologist who is interested in the components of job commitment b. A clinical psychologist who examines the effectiveness of drama therapy in helping children who have been abused c. An educational psychologist who examines how mindset ("intelligence is innate" or "intelligence can be achieved") affects academic performance d. An experimental psychologist who examines people's ability to perceive a "sweet" taste
d. An experimental psychologist who examines people's ability to perceive a "sweet" taste
Dr. Smitherman insists that all his research assistants know how to be producers of research. All of the following relate to this requirement EXCEPT: a. He wants to make sure they understand how to write in APA style. b. He wants to make sure they understand why anonymity is important. c. He wants to make sure they understand how to interpret study results and graphs. d. He wants to make sure they have previously been participants in research studies.
d. He wants to make sure they have previously been participants in research studies.
Angela reads about a study in which cell phone use is associated with migraine headaches. She says, "Well, that study is not valid because I use a cell phone more than anyone I know and I never get migraines." Based on her comment, Angela may be forgetting which of the following? a. Science is based on empiricism. b. The study has been replicated. c. The study did not properly define cell phone use. d. Science is probabilistic.
d. Science is probabilistic.
Deci and Ryan (1985, 2001) have proposed that there are three fundamental needs that are required for human growth and fulfillment: relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Susan predicts that students who have these needs met in their psychology class feel happier and more satisfied with the class. She collects data and finds that students who feel more related and competent do feel happier but that feeling more autonomous does not seem to matter. Susan thinks that maybe autonomy is only necessary when people are in situations in which they are not being evaluated. After Susan collects and analyzes her data, which of the following is the next logical step? a. Susan writes a paper challenging Self-Determination Theory because only some of her data supported it. b. Susan ignores the data that did not fit the theory. c. Susan recalculates her data to fit the theory. d. Susan alters or amends the theory to fit her data.
d. Susan alters or amends the theory to fit her data.
Tim tells you that the best way to make friends is by opening the conversation with a joke. He can easily recall all the friends he met by telling a joke and also the times he opened with chitchat and didn't befriend the person. If you were concerned that Tim was making the present/present bias, what would you ask him? a. How many people have you met and befriended? b. Do you think the times you made friends by telling jokes might come more easily to mind? c. Did you go into conversations where you opened with jokes thinking that you would make friends? d. What about the times you opened with a joke and didn't become friends with the person?
d. What about the times you opened with a joke and didn't become friends with the person?
Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time communicating with their spouses, study says." Dr. LaSalle makes the claim: "Research shows that making more money correlates with spending less time talking with your spouse." Which type of claim is Dr. Ramon making? a. anecdotal claim b. association claim c. causal claim d. frequency claim
d. frequency claim
Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Playing Rock Music When Playing Board Games." In the study, men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music. Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music. Which of the following is a variable in this study? a. the sex of the researcher b. the volume of the music c. the type of game d. the sex of the participant
d. the sex of the participant
Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Playing Rock Music When Playing Board Games." In the study, men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music. Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music. In this study, the authors were interested in participants' board game performance. Which of the following would be a reasonable operational definition of performance? a. an earnest attempt to finish quickly b. which board game participants chose to play c. performance when playing board game d. whether participants won against a partner
d. whether participants won against a partner
Research studies are superior to personal experience beacause ...
they include at least one comparison group
