Unit 2 Questions

Identify in which of the following examples would the use of qualitative research be most likely useful...

After a discovery of ancient remains that provides sociology and archaeology with a unique new opportunity.

Which of the following is NOT a part of a psychological research experiment?

All research subjects are given exactly the same treatment.

I am studying two babies of the same age. One child eats eight ounces of formula four times a day, and the other eats six ounces of formula six times a day. I guess that this must be because the first baby's stomach is more developed than the second baby's. Formulating this guess or opinion is called making a(n):

Hypothesis.

How do basic and applied research work together?

One leads into the other.

'I knew someone with mental problems, so everyone with mental problems must be like that,' is an example of _____.

Personal Experience

Psychological research is a broad category of research. Which of the following does NOT often have a model to help describe it?

Physical traits.

Mary gives her subjects a survey to complete. Which type of psychological tool is Mary using?

Psychological Measurement.

Which of the following is the most effective way to use models in the decision-making process?

Reducing complex ideas to models so they can be examined from new and different angles.

After performing an initial run of his clinical trial, Juan thinks he has found the reason behind why a number of participants were experiencing a specific side effect from a medication. However, Juan knows that he needs to run more iterations of his trial to ensure this wasn't just a fluke. This is known as which of the following aspects of creating high quality research?

Replicability

Which is an example of basic research?

Research focusing on the processes of memory.

Which of the following is an example of applied psychological research?

Research measuring the level of impairment of driving skills with alcohol intoxication.

Which of the following is explanatory research?

Research which tells us what will happen to the current habitats of African elephants as a result of ivory poaching activity.

Observational bias occurs when an observer:

Sees what they want to see.

Parsimony looks for the _____ explanation to a phenomenon.

Simplest.

Scientific models are used to _____ complex ideas.

Simplify.

Currently, the common model of the human mind compares it to _____.

The Internet.

Bill will be testing to see if a new type of therapy will be helpful, but due to ethical reasons, he will have to enter all of his subjects into one therapeutic group. Which of the following is the best explanation for why this is a non-experimental design?

There is a lack of experimental and control groups.

If a large corporation was looking for someone to conduct research on the efficacy of their new product, who are they most likely to contact?

A PhD student who is working on research to complete their dissertation.

Basic research

Expands our knowledge and understanding.

You decide to throw an umbrella in your car before leaving the house because it feels like rain to you, even though the weather forecast isn't calling for rain. This is an example of which of the following?

Intuition

The scientific method _____, while the nonscientific method _____.

Is a logically stepped process; relies on personal experience, authority, and tradition.

Non-experimental research typically is used for research involving age, gender, and real prisoners. Which of the following is the best explanation for why you can not conduct an experiment with these variables?

These variables can't be manipulated.

An individual who is an authority on a subject _____, while an authoritative person _____.

Is an expert in his field; is someone who has power.

The purpose of research in the psychology field is to:

Answer questions about human thinking and behavior.

Applied research

Answers a real-world problem.

If a study about the relationship between intelligence and income produced a Pearson correlation coefficient of .90, it would suggest that...

As intelligence increases, income increases.

Why is using an operational definition sometimes problematic in research?

Because it depends upon what you perceive as the relevant attribute or variable, thus restricting your view.

Which of the following statements is correct in connection with descriptive research?

Descriptive research attempts to explore and explain the situation while providing additional information about a topic.

Brain scans include areas such as CT, PET, and MRI. Brain scan research has gone beyond the most basic phase and is in the process of expanding our understanding of the living brain. Into which realm of research would this place brain scan research?

Descriptive.

Xavier is conducting a study on the effect of an online game on test scores. He has two groups of subjects to whom he gives a pretest. Xavier then gives one group the treatment (the online game) and gives the other group worksheets. He then gives each group a posttest. Which of the following best describes the type of research that Xavier is conducting?

Experimental Research.

Researchers conduct a study to determine whether natural lighting causes increased test performance as opposed to fluorescent lighting. What type of research will they conduct?

Experimental research.

Which of the following statements describes the initial research into a hypothetical or theoretical idea?

Exploratory research.

Which of the following correctly depicts the typical development of research?

Exploratory, descriptive, explanatory.

'If the presence of excess feelings of happiness is present in people diagnosed with depression, then the current definition of depression is erroneous and should be changed' violates which element:

Falsifiability.

The 'stereotype threat' refers to the hypothesis that women and racial minorities will...

Feel anxiety because of the stereotype that they will perform badly on tests, causing them to perform poorly.

Marco observes secretaries in offices to see if the time of day affects their productivity. Marco does not interact with the secretaries. Which type of psychological tool is Marco using?

Field Observation.

The goal of a descriptive study is to...

Gather data about a given subject.

Identify which of the following most resembles quantitative research...

Graph with the line.

How does the aspect of empiricism help to create high quality research?

It allows a scientist to rely on real evidence to confirm or refute a claim.

'Human behavior is caused by the soul interacting with nerve fibers' is false for many reasons, but specifically, it fails the aspect of determinism because...

It attributes an event to a supernatural cause.

Trent wants to test the impact of a scent on a person's mood. Trent realizes that he will need to expose subjects to the scent and observe their reaction. Which type of psychological tool should Trent use?

Laboratory Observation.

John is really nervous to fly to the Bahamas for his honeymoon. However, he has chosen to put aside his fear because he knows that flying is actually safer than driving to another destination. This is an example of using _____.

Logic

Which of the following pitfalls is often responsible for poor decisions based off of models?

Misinterpreting or believing models are facts.

The juveniles primarily avoided each other during their interactions. However, when contact did occur, there was some aggression noted ('squaring off'=5; verbal threats=3). However, after each interaction the juveniles would then separate and continue to avoid each other.

Mixed Methods.

Mary's study primarily relies on observation, surveys, and case studies. Which of the following best describes Mary's study?

Non-experimental.

'By recording the number and type of questions asked by students we can measure their confusion with new subjects.' Which of the following is the predictor variable in this situation?

Number and type of questions.

The story of Phineas Gage is a good example of a case study because...

Researchers studied him and used the information to make better hypotheses in the future.

When formulating a research question, one must be careful to choose a question that is _____ and not too _____.

Testable; vague.

A medical student needs to diagnose a patient she is working with in her clinical studies. She has an idea about what could possibly be wrong with the patient and has formed a research question. What should be the medical student's next step?

The student should use their own observations, professional literature, and discussion with peers to find information on the topic.

A researcher is studying the behavior of animals in difficult desert conditions in Africa. He is measuring how many times they eat per day, analyzing how much they are active during extremely hot temperatures, and how much water they drink per day. He hopes to understand what they need to survive in such a harsh climate. Based on the concept of generalization, which of the following can the results of this study be applied on?

They can be applied to a similar environment, such as a desert climate in South America.