chapter 2 scientific methods in psychology...39 chapter 2 ² scientific methods in psychology...

39

Chapter 2—Scientific Methods in Psychology

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Psychology research differs from chemistry research in many ways. What is one way in which they are

similar?

A. They face similar ethical issues.

B. They both need careful measurement.

C. They have the same problems of getting a representative sample.

D. They both have to worry that their participants will know they are in an experiment.

ANS: B REF: introduction OBJ: application and understanding

2. The word science derives from a Latin word with which meaning?

A. knowledge

B. test

C. fact

D. statistics

ANS: A REF: gathering evidence OBJ: remembering

3. Any scientific study goes through four steps. Which of the following is NOT one of those steps?

A. hypothesis

B. interpretation

C. method

D. proof

ANS: D REF: gathering evidence OBJ: remembering

4. What is a hypothesis?

A. a statistical procedure

B. a testable prediction

C. an established fact

D. a method of investigation

ANS: B REF: gathering evidence OBJ: remembering (definition)

5. A testable prediction of what will happen under a specific set of conditions is known as a/an

A. replication.

B. hypothesis.

C. demand characteristic.

D. correlation.

ANS: B REF: gathering evidence OBJ: remembering (definition)

6. When someone conducts a research study, which of these comes first?

A. methods

B. results

C. interpretation

D. hypothesis

ANS: D REF: gathering evidence OBJ: remembering

Full file at https://testbankgo.info/p/

40

7. If nearly all investigators can repeat a study and get similar results, the result is

A. parsimonious.

B. replicable.

C. falsifiable.

D. correlational.

ANS: B REF: replicable OBJ: remembering (definition)

8. Which of these must be true if a result is “replicable”?

A. The results are statistically significant.

B. Other investigators can repeat the results.

C. The interpretation is consistent with other scientific theories.

D. The result agrees with common sense.

ANS: B REF: replicable OBJ: remembering (definition)

9. Suppose an unscrupulous researcher made up results and got them published. In the long run, people

will not take them seriously, because presumably the false results will not be

A. parsimonious.

B. replicable.

C. falsifiable

D. psychoanalytic.

ANS: B REF: replicable OBJ: application and understanding

10. If competent researchers consistently get similar results whenever they follow a particular procedure,

then the results are

A. replicable.

B. correlational.

C. representative.

D. operational.

ANS: A REF: replicable OBJ: remembering

11. An investigator repeats the procedures of another researcher's experiment but obtains different results.

Scientists would say that the results of the first experiment were not

A. correlational.

B. parsimonious.

C. statistically significant.

D. replicable.

ANS: D REF: replicable OBJ: application and understanding

12. Which of the following is a highly desirable feature of a scientific study?

A. selective attrition

B. demand characteristics

C. replicability

D. illusory correlation

ANS: C REF: replicable OBJ: application and understanding

13. Which of these refers to the idea that we accept results only if other investigators can repeat them?

A. determinism

B. parsimony

C. synesthesia


https://testbankgo.info/p/

41

D. replicability

ANS: D REF: replicable OBJ: remembering

14. If someone combines results from many studies as if they were one study, what is the outcome?

A. a meta-analysis

B. a demand characteristic

C. a standard deviation

D. a confidence interval

ANS: A REF: replicable OBJ: remembering (definition)

15. Which of the following is a desirable feature of a scientific theory?

A. The theory simply restates the facts it is supposed to explain.

B. The theory is based on illusory correlations.

C. The theory makes complex assumptions.

D. The theory is falsifiable.

ANS: D REF: burden of proof

OBJ: application and understanding

16. What does it mean to say that a theory is “falsifiable”?

A. Someone has reported evidence that contradicts the theory.

B. We can imagine evidence that would contradict the theory.

C. The evidence supporting the theory is not replicable.

D. Most scientists do not agree with the theory.

ANS: B REF: burden of proof OBJ: remembering (definition)

17. To say that a theory is falsifiable is to say that

A. it is based on results that are not replicable.

B. investigators have replaced it with a more accurate theory.

C. we can imagine results that would contradict it.

D. it is so vague that it fits any and all possible results.

ANS: C REF: burden of proof OBJ: remembering (definition)

18. A falsifiable theory

A. disagrees with known, replicable data.

B. makes clear, unambiguous predictions.

C. is widely debated and disputed.

D. has not yet been tested.

ANS: B REF: burden of proof OBJ: remembering

19. If a theory is "falsifiable," then it

A. makes specific, testable predictions.

B. contradicts other well-established theories.

C. contradicts common sense.

D. requires more new assumptions than necessary.

ANS: A REF: burden of proof OBJ: remembering (definition)

20. "Falsifiability" is a desirable characteristic for a scientific theory because a falsifiable theory

A. avoids independent variables.



42

B. makes clear, testable predictions.

C. disagrees with common sense.

D. relies on anecdotal evidence.

ANS: B REF: burden of proof OBJ: remembering

21. Which of the following would NOT be falsifiable?

A. "Children in day care centers develop about the same as those reared at home."

B. "Dreams are often disguised to hide their true meaning."

C. "Behaviors followed by reward increase in frequency."

D. "People find the direction of a sound by comparing the responses of the two ears."

ANS: B REF: burden of proof


22. A psychic claims that he can read the minds of people on the planet Zipton, which is millions of light

years away. The main scientific objection is that this claim

A. confuses correlation with causation.

B. ignores the role of demand characteristics.

C. is based on a negative correlation.

D. is not falsifiable.



23. Which of the following do researchers generally regard as desirable?

A. illusory correlations

B. selective attrition

C. demand characteristics

D. falsifiable theories



24. In both science and the legal system, the "burden of proof" is on the side that

A. agrees with common sense.

B. disagrees with common sense.

C. should find it possible to present convincing evidence, if in fact it is right.

D. should find it harder to present convincing evidence, if in fact it is right.

ANS: C REF: burden of proof


25. In both science and a criminal trial, who has the "burden of proof"—that is, the obligation to

demonstrate that their claims are correct?

A. the side that should be able to produce good evidence, if they are right

B. the side that has more to lose, if they fail to convince others

C. the side with more money to spend

D. the side that is defending the status quo (that is, the current set of beliefs)

ANS: A REF: burden of proof


26. In both the U.S. legal system and in scientific disputes, the "burden of proof" falls on

A. someone who has been accused of doing something wrong.



43

B. someone who is defending traditional beliefs or values.

C. someone who is politically unpopular.

D. someone who should be in the better position to provide convincing evidence.



27. The legal system requires the prosecution to demonstrate the defendant’s guilt. Similarly, a scientist

who makes a claim is expected to provide evidence. What is this obligation called?

A. demand characteristic

B. correlation coefficient

C. burden of proof

D. principle of parsimony

ANS: C REF: burden of proof OBJ: remembering (definition)

28. Scientists’ preference for the theory that makes the fewest unfamiliar or untested assumptions is the

principle of

A. parsimony.

B. statistical significance.

C. normal distribution.

D. informed consent.

ANS: A REF: parsimony OBJ: remembering (definition)

29. If a theory makes only simple assumptions similar to those of other theories that are widely accepted,

the new theory is said to be

A. replicable.

B. correlational.

C. parsimonious.

D. reductionistic.

ANS: C REF: parsimony OBJ: remembering (definition)

30. To determine whether a theory is parsimonious, psychologists pay attention to whether

A. its assumptions are simple and consistent with those of other theories.

B. the results on which it is based are statistically significant.

C. it has the potential to lead to practical applications.

D. investigators have replicated the results on which it is based.

ANS: A REF: parsimony OBJ: application and understanding

31. According to the principle of parsimony, we should prefer the theory that

A. is most popular among the population as a whole.

B. makes fewer or simpler assumptions.

C. fits any data that we could possibly imagine.

D. relies on anecdotal evidence.

ANS: B REF: parsimony OBJ: remembering

32. Brittany cannot remember what happened during her psychology class and suggests that aliens from

outer space temporarily kidnapped her brain. Her roommate suggests that she slept through class. Most

psychologists prefer the “sleep” explanation because it is more

A. statistical.

B. correlational.



44

C. psychoanalytic.

D. parsimonious.

ANS: D REF: parsimony OBJ: application and understanding

33. Scientists usually prefer the more "parsimonious" explanation because it is:

A. based on common sense.

B. more interesting.

C. based on higher levels of mathematics.

D. simpler.

ANS: D REF: parsimony OBJ: application and understanding

34. If someone claims to read other people’s minds though psychic powers, most psychological

researchers would seek an explanation that is more

A. synesthetic.

B. statistical.

C. parsimonious.

D. psychodynamic.

ANS: C REF: parsimony OBJ: application and understanding

35. Who was Clever Hans?

A. a dog that seemed to speak in German.

B. Clever Gretel's brother.

C. a horse that seemed to do arithmetic.

D. a psychic who was popular in the 1930s.

ANS: C REF: Clever Hans OBJ: remembering

36. “Clever Hans” appeared able to answer math questions, but only under which conditions?

A. only if his trainer was present

B. only if he could see the face of the questioner

C. only if he could hear the voice of the questioner

D. only if he could see the objects that he was supposed to count

ANS: B REF: Clever Hans OBJ: remembering

37. When Clever Hans appeared to do math, what was he really responding to?

A. subtle sounds.

B. facial expressions.

C. brain waves.

D. magnetic fields.


38. We find it difficult to accept the idea of a horse doing math because we regard it as

A. unparsimonious.

B. falsifiable.

C. replicable.

D. insignificant.

ANS: A REF: Clever Hans OBJ: remembering

39. What was Oskar Pfungst’s evidence that Clever Hans was not doing math?



45

A. Hans was correct no more often than we would expect for chance guessing.

B. Hans answered correctly only if the questioner knew the correct answer.

C. Hans answered correctly only if the questioner made subtle sounds.

D. Hans answered correctly only if his owner, Mr. von Osten, was present.


40. When Clever Hans seemed to answer mathematical questions, what was he really responding to?

A. facial expressions

B. signals from the person asking the question

C. subtle sounds that spectators made

D. extrasensory perception

ANS: A REF: Clever Hans OBJ: remembering

41. Clever Hans could answer a question correctly only if he

A. heard the questioner during the answer.

B. saw his trainer in the background.

C. saw the questioner during the answer.

D. had practiced that particular question previously.


42. How did Clever Hans solve arithmetic problems?

A. with ESP

B. by taking advantage of coincidence

C. by watching the examiner for subtle cues

D. by using his native abilities to do arithmetic


43. In one word, why did most scientists resist the belief that Clever Hans could do complex mathematics,

even before they had a good explanation of what he was actually doing?

A. parsimony

B. randomness

C. statistics

D. correlation

ANS: A REF: Clever Hans OBJ: application and understanding

44. What is an anecdote?

A. medicine that reverses the effect of a poison.

B. professional psychic.

C. measurement of the variation in results within a group.

D. report of a single event or experience.

ANS: D REF: extrasensory OBJ: remembering (definition)

45. Jane describes a dream she had that came true the next day. This is an example of

A. an anecdote.

B. an experimental result.

C. a parsimonious explanation.

D. a correlational result.

ANS: A REF: extrasensory OBJ: application and understanding



46

46. One problem with using anecdotes as evidence for ESP (or for anything else) is that anecdotes are

A. highly technical.

B. not replicable.

C. falsifiable.

D. experimental.

ANS: B REF: extrasensory OBJ: application and understanding

47. "The Amazing Kreskin" demonstrates his powers by finding his paycheck hidden somewhere in the

audience. The most parsimonious explanation for this trick is that

A. he genuinely possesses psychic abilities.

B. he reads subtle cues, much like Clever Hans.

C. it is a coincidence that he keeps finding his check.

D. audience members send delta waves that lead him to his check.


48. When The Amazing Kreskin finds his check hidden in the audience, he uses the same method as

A. Wilhelm Wundt.

B. Clever Hans.

C. Oskar Pfungst.

D. Mary Calkins.


49. A proponent of ESP claims that ESP shows up only when the vibrations are right and that there is no

way to know whether the vibrations are right except to see whether ESP shows up. What is wrong with

this theory from a scientific standpoint?

A. It relies too heavily on operational definitions.

B. It relies too heavily on negative correlations.

C. It is not falsifiable.

D. It has too many dependent variables.

ANS: C REF: extrasensory OBJ: application and understanding

50. One of the main objections raised against ESP is that

A. the theory of ESP is falsifiable.

B. the experiments that reportedly produced positive results have not been replicable.

C. the claims for it are based entirely on anecdotes.

D. none of the experiments on ESP has produced statistically significant results.

ANS: B REF: extrasensory OBJ: remembering

51. Two serious objections to claims of extrasensory perception are that the explanations are not

__________ and that the results are not __________.

A. parsimonious...replicable

B. statistical...correlational

C. significant...independent

D. double-blind...random

ANS: A REF: extrasensory OBJ: remembering

52. An operational definition is a definition that

A. explains where the term came from.



47

B. describes the underlying cause of something.

C. gives synonyms or antonyms.

D. tells us how to produce or measure something.

ANS: D REF: operational def OBJ: remembering (definition)

53. The benefit of using an operational definition is that it

A. provides a compromise between competing viewpoints.

B. explains what the term means to the average person.

C. enables investigators to measure a phenomenon.

D. offers a theoretical explanation of the causes of a phenomenon.

ANS: C REF: operational def


54. Which of the following is an operational definition of "grief"?

A. synonym for bereavement

B. a feeling of sadness and loneliness

C. the consequence of the loss of a loved one

D. the number of tears shed per day

ANS: D REF: operational def


55. Which of the following is an operational definition of "anxiety"?

A. a vague sensation that "something dangerous might happen"

B. an experience like fear, but more prolonged

C. the amount of muscle tension after hearing a loud noise

D. the opposite of relaxation



56. Which of the following is an operational definition of "confusion"?

A. an unpleasant feeling of not understanding something

B. the result of receiving several kinds of contradictory information

C. the opposite of "decisiveness"

D. number of seconds delay before answering a question



57. Which of the following could be an operational definition of "curiosity"?

A. the mental activity experienced by a child in the presence of brightly colored objects

B. the number of unassigned books that someone reads during a month

C. discomfort provoked by recognizing that one does not understand something

D. a desire to gain knowledge for its own sake

ANS: B REF: operational def


58. Which of the following could be an operational definition of “politeness”?

A. an effort to treat other people with respect and dignity

B. the opposite of rudeness

C. a set of customs taught by one’s cultue



48

D. the percentage of someone’s statements that include the word “please”



59. Which of the following could be an operational definition of “conscientiousness”?

A. an effort to live up to the obligations one has accepted

B. a lack of spontaneous or surprising behavior

C. the number of times someone shows up on time for classes and appointments

D. the outcome of a strict and demanding style of parenting



60. Which of the following could be an operational definition of “sense of humor”?

A. the ability to enjoy amusing events

B. the number of times someone makes other people laugh

C. the ability to fight off depression by seeing events in a different light

D. the opposite of being “too serious”

ANS: B REF: operational def


61. Which of the following is an operational definition of “good color vision”?

A. how quicly someone can find 25 red and green dots on a gray background

B. the ability to perceive the difference between one color and another

C. the results of having three types of cone in the retina

D. the ability to describe colors to another person

ANS: A REF: operational def


62. Which of the following is an operational definition of “high self esteem”?

A. thinking highly of yourself and your abilities

B. tending to remain confident in the face of setbacks and disappointments

C. the opposite of depression

D. how frequently you describe yourself in ways that other people rate as favorable



63. Which of the following is true of a convenience sample?

A. It is representative of the population.

B. Every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected.

C. People are chosen just because they are available or easy to study.

D. The mean for this sample is probably the same as for the whole population.

ANS: C REF: samples OBJ: remembering (definition)

64. Suppose you conduct a survey, interviewing every fourth person who enters a certain fast-food

restaurant. What kind of sample is this?

A. random

B. representative

C. convenience

D. cross-cultural



49

ANS: C REF: samples OBJ: application and understanding

65. A survey on the Internet lets anyone answer it. What kind of sample will probably result?

A. representative sample

B. convenience sample

C. random sample

D. total population sample

ANS: B REF: samples OBJ: application and understanding

66. Researchers survey people they selected to include the same percentages of male and female, old and

young, etc., as the whole population. What kind of sample is this?

A. representative sample.

B. random sample.

C. convenience sample.

D. longitudinal sample.

ANS: A REF: samples OBJ: remembering (definition)

67. A survey company that wants to know the views of the average person goes to a shopping mall to

interview anyone who is available. What kind of sample is this?

A. representative sample.

B. convenience sample.

C. random sample.

D. cross-cultural sample.

ANS: B REF: samples OBJ: application and understanding

68. An investigator identifies 1,000 people, using the same percentages of male and female, young and old

as in the total population. What kind of sample is the investigator trying to obtain?

A. an independent sample

B. a convenience sample

C. a random sample

D. a representative sample

ANS: D REF: samples OBJ: application and understanding

69. Which sample matches the population in its percentage of males and females, old and young?

A. random sample.

B. representative sample.

C. normal distribution.

D. control group.

ANS: B REF: samples OBJ: remembering (definition)

70. If every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected for a sample, it is a/an

__________ sample.

A. representative

B. random

C. independent

D. stratified

ANS: B REF: samples OBJ: remembering (definition)



50

71. Which of these procedures would produce a random sample of U.S. citizens?

A. Interview every tenth person you meet one day on a given street.

B. Identify a sample that matches the total population in age, gender, and so forth.

C. Take all the names on the US census, mix them up, and draw names blindfolded.

D. Choose one person, ask him/her to identify a friend, ask that person for a friend, etc.


72. Someone doing a survey in some state obtains a copy of the census and interviews every 1,000th

person on that list. This procedure provides an approximately

A. normal sample.

B. experimental sample.

C. proportional sample.

D. random sample.


73. What kind of group has the same percentage of young and old, male and female, and educated and

uneducated people as the population as a whole?

A. random sample.

B. convenience sample.

C. cross-cultural sample.

D. representative sample.

ANS: D REF: samples OBJ: remembering

74. You find a difference between men and women at your college, but you wonder whether it is true for

humans in general. To answer the question, which kind of sample would be best?

A. random sample of the population

B. representative sample of the population

C. convenience sample

D. cross-cultural sample


75. A cross-cultural sample is most important for which type of research?

A. surveys to predict the outcome of a particular election

B. research measuring the prevalence of mental illness in the United States

C. research seeking generalizations about human nature in general

D. preliminary studies to test the equipment to be used for later research


76. Dr. Wonderful conducts a cross-cultural study comparing all 600 residents of a tropical island to 600

volunteers from a European city. What is the MAIN weakness in this research?

A. The types of samples are not comparable.

B. The sample sizes are too small.

C. The researcher should have studied other tropical islands.

D. The researcher should have compared results from other European cities.

ANS: A REF: samples OBJ: application and understanding

77. The careful examination of what people or animals do in their normal environments is called

A. intrusive observation.

B. naturalistic observation.



51

C. double-blind study.

D. a case history.

ANS: B REF: naturalistic OBJ: remembering (definition)

78. Jane Goodall spent years observing chimpanzees in the wild. Her technique was

A. an experiment

B. correlational analysis.

C. naturalistic observation.

D. a case history.

ANS: C REF: naturalistic OBJ: remembering

79. Which of the following would be most likely to rely on naturalistic observations?

A. psychologist studying the effects of reward and punishment on animal behavior

B. a biopsychologist studying the role of various brain structures in memory

C. a cognitive psychologist studying memory for concrete versus abstract words

D. a cross-cultural psychologist studying how people in different cultures settle disputes

ANS: D REF: naturalistic OBJ: application and understanding

80. Which of these ways of conducting research generally uses the fewest participants?

A. case history

B. correlational study

C. experiment

D. survey

ANS: A REF: case history OBJ: application and understanding

81. Investigators are most likely to use the case history method when they study

A. the effects of a drug on behavior.

B. the frequency of certain attitudes in a large population.

C. a rare behavior or an unusual person.

D. two or more independent variables.

ANS: C REF: case history OBJ: application and understanding

82. Lycanthropy is an extremely rare condition in which someone believes he or she is a wolf. An

investigator who wished to study this condition would most likely rely on which method?

A. case history

B. survey

C. single-blind experiment

D. double-blind experiment

ANS: A REF: case history OBJ: application and understanding

83. What should one always try to do when administering a survey?

A. use a random sample or representative sample of the population.

B. invite participation from everyone who wants to answer the questions

C. put the survey on the internet to make it easy for anyone to volunteer

D. suggest a likely answer for each question

ANS: A REF: survey OBJ: application and understanding

84. Which of the following is a common problem with survey research?



52

A. Many people express opinions despite having no idea what they are talking about.

B. It is difficult to obtain a sufficient number of participants.

C. The independent variables are hard to define.

D. The dependent variables are hard to measure.

ANS: A REF: survey OBJ: remembering

85. According to a recent survey, 78% of workers say they have cheated their employer. Before we can

interpret these results, which of the following questions is most important to ask?

A. Did the workers admit to other misconduct also?

B. What were the independent variables in this study?

C. What were the participants told to count as examples of cheating?

D. Were the participants randomly assigned to groups?

ANS: C REF: survey OBJ: application and understanding

86. In one survey, 95% of high-school students said they were sexually harassed. Before we decide how

seriously to take these results, which question is most important to ask?

A. Did the survey deal with equal numbers of sophomores, juniors, and seniors?

B. Were the results similar the following year?

C. How did the survey define sexual harassment?

D. Did the survey administrators take precautions against cheating?

ANS: C REF: survey OBJ: application and understanding

87. A survey asks, "Do you support the current laws on abortion?" Ninety-four percent of the respondents

answer "no." What, if anything, can we conclude?

A. These people feel that the laws are too restrictive.

B. These people feel that the laws are not strict enough.

C. At least 94% of the people surveyed are familiar with the abortion laws.

D. We can draw none of these conclusions.

ANS: D REF: survey OBJ: application and understanding

88. A study of the relationship between two variables that the investigator does not control is a

A. single-blind experiment.

B. double-blind experiment.

C. correlational study.

D. case history.

ANS: C REF: correlation OBJ: remembering (definition)

89. What is a correlation?

A. a measurement of how some treatment affects people’s behavior

B. a careful study of a single person over time

C. a measurement of the difference between experimental and control groups

D. a measurement of the relationship between two variables

ANS: D REF: correlation OBJ: remembering (definition)

90. It is found that children with many friends are generally happier than children with fewer friends.

What kind of research design was probably used in this study?

A. correlation

B. anecdote

C. case history



53

D. experiment

ANS: A REF: correlation OBJ: application and understanding

91. It has been reported that people with an extraverted personality are generally happier than most other

people. This conclusion is probably based on which kind of study?

A. single-blind experiment

B. double-blind experiment

C. correlational study

D. case history

ANS: C REF: correlation OBJ: application and understanding

92. A researcher measures people's blood type and tests whether those with different blood types have

different personalities. What kind of research is this?

A. single-blind experiment.

B. double-blind experiment.

C. correlation.

D. case study.


93. People who own many books about chess tend to be better chess players than those who own few or

none. This observation was almost certainly based on what kind of study?

A. single-blind experiment

B. double-blind experiment

C. case study

D. correlation

ANS: D REF: correlation OBJ: application and understanding

94. A correlation coefficient is a mathematical value that ranges between

A. -1 and +1.

B. 0 and infinity.

C. 0 and 1.

D. 0 and 100.

ANS: A REF: correlation OBJ: remembering

95. What does it mean if the correlation between variable A and variable B is -.5?

A. The relationship between A and B is random.

B. Increases in A are associated with decreases in B.

C. We can use measurements of A to predict measurements of B perfectly.

D. Measured values of A are lower than measured values of B.

ANS: B REF: correlation OBJ: application and understanding

96. Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates that you could use measurements of one

variable to predict measurements of a second variable with perfect accuracy?

A. .9

B. 0

C. -1

D. .5




54

97. If the correlation between variable A and variable B is negative, then

A. the strength of the relationship is growing weaker over time.

B. A causes B.

C. B causes A.

D. increases in A are associated with decreases in B.


98. Suppose we find that how many hours people spend studying correlates -.60 with their knowledge

about current television programs. What can we conclude?

A. People who study more tend to know more about television.

B. People who study more tend to know less about television.

C. Study habits have nothing to do with knowledge of television.

D. People spend more time studying than watching television.

ANS: B REF: correlation OBJ: application and understanding

99. According to one study, the more hours students spend watching television, the lower their grades in

school. What kind of correlation does this study illustrate?

A. an illusory correlation.

B. a positive correlation.

C. a zero correlation.

D. a negative correlation.


100. Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates that two variable have no consistent

relationship to each other?

A. 0

B. .5

C. 1

D. -1


101. If the correlation between variables A and B is +0.7, then

A. measurements of A lead to moderately accurate predictions of B.

B. the mean value of B is greater than the mean value of A.

C. the mean value of A is greater than the mean value of B.

D. as variable A increases, variable B tends to decrease.


102. If the correlation between variable A and variable B is -0.75, then

A. measurements of A lead to moderately accurate predictions of B.

B. there is no consistent relationship between variables A and B.

C. the relationship between A and B has been growing weaker over time.

D. the mean value of B is less than the mean value of A.


103. If the correlation between variable A and variable B is 0, then

A. measurements of A lead to accurate predictions of B.

B. increases in A are associated with decreases in B.



55

C. the relationship between A and B is random.

D. the mean value of A equals the mean value of B.


104. If an increase in one variable is not associated with any consistent increase or decrease in a second

variable, then the correlation between the two variables is

A. positive.

B. negative.

C. zero.

D. uncertain.


105. What can we conclude if the correlation between variable A and variable B is zero?

A. A and B have the same mean, the same median, and the same distribution.

B. As A goes up, B does not consistently go either up or down.

C. If we know the value of A, we can predict the value of B with zero error.

D. As A goes up, B goes down.

ANS: B REF: correlation OBJ: remembering

106. What does it mean to say the correlation between two variables is zero?

A. Measuring one variable gives no information useful in predicting the other.

B. The values of one variable match those of the other variable exactly.

C. As one variable increases, the other decreases.

D. The strength of the relationship between the variables has decreased over time.

ANS: A REF: correlation OBJ: remembering

107. According to one report, people with higher levels of stress have a greater probability of suffering a

heart attack. Therefore the correlation between stress and probability of a heart attack is

A. uncertain.

B. negative.

C. positive.

D. zero.


108. An investigator finds it possible to use measurement A as a moderately accurate predictor of

measurement B. From this information we can conclude that the correlation between A and B is

A. either positive or negative but not zero.

B. zero.

C. negative.

D. positive.


109. Which of the following is true about research using correlations?

A. A negative correlation is just as useful as a positive correlation.

B. Correlational research leads to cause and effect conclusions.

C. Individuals are randomly assigned to two or more groups.

D. The researcher manipulates an independent variable.




56

110. Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates the weakest relationship between two

variables--that is, the weakest ability to use one variable to predict the other?

A. -.5

B. +.1

C. +.5

D. 0


111. Of these correlation coefficients, which indicates the strongest relationship between variables?

A. -.75

B. 0

C. +.25

D. +.5


112. What is an illusory correlation?

A. a correlation that is positive at some times and negative at other times

B. an imagined or greatly exaggerated correlation

C. a correlation that has been increasing in strength over time

D. a correlation between a psychological variable and a physical variable

ANS: B REF: illusory OBJ: remembering (definition)

113. John believes that Saturdays are more likely to be cloudy or rainy than weekdays are. However, he has

never collected data to test his hypothesis. His belief is most likely an example of

A. an illusory correlation.

B. an independent variable.

C. a significant negative correlation.

D. a demand characteristic

ANS: A REF: illusory OBJ: application and understanding

114. Some people believe that genius is associated with insanity, although they have no scientific evidence

to support their claim. This is an example of

A. a demand characteristic.

B. an illusory correlation.

C. a normal distribution

D. a negative correlation.

ANS: B REF: illusory OBJ: application and understanding

115. Deliria thinks her hunches usually come true, although in fact they are correct only by chance.

Remembering only the cases that fit her expectations produces which of the following?

A. illusory correlation

B. negative correlation

C. positive correlation

D. demand characteristics

ANS: A REF: illusory OBJ: application and understanding

116. What is one major reason for the persistence of many illusory correlations?

A. Many experimenters use the wrong statistical techniques.



57

B. Many variables that were strongly correlated in the past have ceased to be correlated.

C. People tend to ignore strong patterns in their observations.

D. People tend to remember observations that support their expectations.

ANS: D REF: illusory OBJ: application and understanding

117. If the correlation between variable A and variable B is +1, then

A. A causes B.

B. B causes A.

C. something else, C, causes both A and B.

D. we can say nothing about causation from this result.

ANS: B REF: correlation/causation


118. The correlation between A and B is +.60; the correlation between C and D is -.75. What do we know

about causation based on this information?

A. We know A causes B, but we don't know if C causes D.

B. We know C causes D, but we don't know if A causes B.

C. We know A causes B AND that D causes C.

D. We don't know anything about causation from the information above.

ANS: D REF: correlation/causation


119. Parents who frequently beat their children tend to have aggressive children. What, if anything, can we

conclude from this observation?

A. Physical punishment causes aggression.

B. Aggressive children cause parents to use physical punishment.

C. The children probably inherited a gene for aggressiveness.




120. Suppose we find a +.8 correlation between students’ reported interest in psychology and their grades in

a psychology course. Which conclusion, if any, can we draw?

A. Having a strong interest improves students’ learning of the material.

B. Students who are doing well in a course tend to develop a strong interest in it.

C. Bright students do well in many courses and also develop strong interests.

D. None of these conclusions follow from the results.



121. People in crowded cities are more likely than country dwellers to develop schizophrenia. From this

observation, what conclusion (if any) can we draw?

A. Something about life in crowded cities leads to schizophrenia.

B. People with schizophrenia are more likely than others to move to crowded cities.

C. People predisposed to schizophrenia are likely to prefer life in a crowded city.

D. The results do not justify any of these conclusions.





58

122. People who report having trouble sleeping are more likely than others to become depressed. Which of

these conclusions, if any, follows from these data?

A. Sleeplessness increases the probability of becoming depressed.

B. People who are starting to become depressed have trouble sleeping.

C. Certain genes increase depression and also, independently, lead to sleep troubles.

D. None of these conclusions follow from the data.



123. People who smile frequently are more likely than average to have many friends. Which of the

following conclusions can we draw, if any?

A. Smiling increases the probability of making friends.

B. Having friends makes one happy and increases the probability of smiling.

C. Healthy people tend to smile and tend to make friends easily.




124. Researchers find that happy people tend to be healthier than unhappy people. From this kind of

information, which of the following (if any) can we conclude?

A. Happiness improves people's health.

B. Health improves people's happiness.

C. The same genes and experiences that aid health also promote happiness.

D. We can draw none of these conclusions..



125. Studies find that people who exercise regularly tend to have a more cheerful outlook on life. What

conclusion, if any, can we draw from these data?

A. Exercise improves mood.

B. Cheerfulness increases one's urge to be active.

C. People who are young and healthy tend to be cheerful and active.




126. A clinical psychologist finds that clients who show up on time for their appointments improve more

rapidly than others do. What conclusion, if any, follows?

A. Conscientious participation leads to a good outcome.

B. Clients who notice early improvement continue attending promptly.

C. Clients who like the therapist attend promptly and follow the therapist’s advice.

D. None of these conclusions follow from the observation.



127. On average, people who regularly attend counseling sessions remain drug-free more than those who

attend less often. Which conclusion, if any, can we draw from this result?

A. The counseling sessions help people stay off drugs.

B. People highly motivated to quit drugs attend the sessions most regularly.



59

C. Social support (friends, etc.) helps someone go to meetings and also stay off drugs.

D. None of these conclusions follow from the result.



128. The amount of sleep that people get correlates negatively with their scores on a test of creativity. What

conclusion, if any, can we draw from this result?

A. Sleep improves creativity.

B. Sleep impairs creativity.

C. Highly creative people are too busy to sleep much.




129. Researchers report that people with schizophrenia are more likely than other people to use marijuana

extensively. What conclusion, if any, follows from this result?

A. Extensive marijuana use increases the probability of schizophrenia.

B. Having schizophrenia increases one’s likelihood of using marijuana.

C. People in certain places tend to use marijuana, and tend to develop schizophrenia.

D. None of these conclusions follows from the result.



130. What is the main difference between a correlational study and an experiment?

A. Participants in an experiment know what hypothesis is being tested.

B. All participants in an experiment receive the same treatment.

C. Participants in an experiment are observed without interference in their normal life.

D. In an experiment, the investigator manipulates the independent variable.

ANS: D REF: experiments OBJ: application and understanding

131. What is the advantage of the experimental method as opposed to correlational studies?

A. An experiment is better suited to studies of unusual individuals.

B. An experiment can consist of as little as one observation of a single individual.

C. An experiment can demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships.

D. An experiment is easier to do and poses fewer ethical problems.

ANS: C REF: experiments OBJ: application and understanding

132. Which of the following methods leads to conclusions about cause and effect?

A. correlation

B. experiment

C. case study

D. naturalistic observation

ANS: B REF: experiments OBJ: application and understanding

133. What is the main advantage of an experiment, in contrast to a correlational study?

A. An experiment is less likely to be influenced by independent variables.

B. An experiment is quicker and easier to conduct.

C. An experiment is more likely to demonstrate cause-and-effect.

D. An experiment raises fewer ethical questions.



60


134. How does a correlational study differ from an experiment?

A. Participants in a correlational study are assigned to groups randomly.

B. A researcher conducting a correlational study begins with an hypothesis.

C. A correlational study has an independent variable but no dependent variable.

D. A researcher conducting a correlational study does not control either variable.

ANS: D REF: experiments OBJ: remembering

135. Students who spent the weekend studying got better test scores than students who went to the beach.

To know whether this statement came from an experiment or a correlational study, which question

should we ask?

A. How many students spent the weekend studying and how many went to the beach?

B. How big was the difference between the two groups?

C. Were students randomly assigned to two groups, or did they decide for themselves?

D. Did any of the students who went to the beach take their books along with them?


136. What is an independent variable?

A. something irrelevant to the procedures of the experiment.

B. something the experimenter cannot control or measure.

C. something the experimenter changes or controls..

D. something the experimenter measures after the treatment.

ANS: C REF: experiments OBJ: remembering (definition)

137. What is a dependent variable?

A. something the participants themselves measure

B. something that an experimenter measures to see how another variable affected it

C. something the experimenter changes or controls

D. something irrelevant to what happens in the experiment

ANS: B REF: experiments OBJ: remembering (definition)

138. A professor provides a review session for half the students, and later compares their scores to the other

students. What is the independent variable in this experiment?

A. the test scores of the students

B. the total number of students

C. the review session

D. the difficulty of the test


139. A professor provides a review session for half the students, and later compares their scores to the other

students. What is the independent variable in this experiment?

A. the total number of students

B. the test scores of the students

C. the review session

D. the difficulty of the test




61

140. Dr. Rodentz deprives rats of food for different lengths of time and then records how long each rat takes

to reach food at the end of a maze. The time needed to reach the food is the

A. dependent variable.

B. normal distribution.

C. inferential statistic.

D. independent variable.

ANS: A REF: experiments OBJ: application and understanding

141. Dr. Rodentz deprives rats of food for different lengths of time and then records how long each rat takes

to reach food at the end of a maze. The length of food deprivation is the

A. independent variable.

B. dependent variable.

C. hypothesis.

D. correlation.


142. An experimenter exposed students to an hour of soft, intermediate, or loud noise and then tested their

ability to solve puzzles. What was the independent variable?

A. the loudness of the noise

B. the students' scores on the puzzles

C. the motivation of the students

D. the difficulty of the puzzles


143. An experimenter had participants exercise much, a little, or not at all and then measured how much

they ate at dinner. What was the dependent variable?

A. the delay between exercise and dinner

B. the amount of exercise

C. the type of food offered

D. the amount of food eaten


144. An experimenter had people exercise much, a little, or not at all and then measured how much they ate

at dinner. What was the independent variable?

A. the type of food offered

B. the delay between exercise and dinner

C. the amount of exercise

D. the amount of food eaten


145. An experimenter kept students in a hot, neutral, or cold room and then tested their ability to memorize

poetry. What was the independent variable in this experiment?

A. the motivation of the students

B. the temperature of the room

C. the difficulty of the poetry

D. the students' success in memorizing the poetry




62

146. An experimenter kept students in a hot, neutral, or cold room and then tested their ability to memorize

poetry. What was the dependent variable in this experiment?

A. the motivation of the students

B. the difficulty of the poetry

C. the temperature of the room

D. the students' success in memorizing the poetry


147. An instructor gives more tests in one class than in the other, and compares students when they all take

the same final exam. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

A. the number of students in each class

B. the difficulty of the final exam

C. the number of tests given before the final exam

D. the students' scores on the final exam


148. An instructor gives weekly tests to one class and just a midterm exam to another class. The instructor

compares the two classes’ performances when both take the same final exam. What is the independent

variable in this experiment?

A. the number of tests before the final

B. the students' performance on the final exam

C. the difficulty of each test

D. the number of students in each class


149. What characterizes the control group in an experiment?

A. It gets to choose which procedure to receive.

B. Its members have some control over the independent variable.

C. The dependent variable controls its behavior.

D. It is treated like the experimental group except for the treatment the experiment is

designed to test.

ANS: D REF: experiments OBJ: remembering (definition)

150. The experimental group receives a free copy of the study guide so that the experimenter can determine

its effect on test performance. What will the control group in this experiment do?

A. help the experimenter write the tests

B. take all the same tests without using the study guide

C. use the study guide without taking any tests

D. help the experimenter decide which students will get the study guide


151. In one study, the experimental group is subjected to loud, unpredictable noises to see how they affect

performance on a memory task. What will the control group do?

A. nothing at all

B. perform the memory task without noises

C. listen to the noises but perform no task

D. control the noises that the experimental group has to listen to




63

152. Random assignment is a procedure that psychological researchers apply to their

A. demand characteristics.

B. dependent variables.

C. means and medians.

D. participants.


153. How does an experimenter try to equate the experimental group and the control group?

A. elimination of independent variables

B. random assignment


D. statistical tests


154. What is random assignment?

A. a means of deciding who will be in the experimental group.

B. a means of eliminating the effects of independent variables.

C. the procedure administered to just the control group

D. a means of keeping the dependent variable constant for all groups.


155. If everyone has the same chance of being in the experimental group, then the experiment has


B. random assignment.

C. a correlation.

D. statistical significance.

ANS: B REF: experiments OBJ: remembering (definition)

156. Professor King gave copies of old tests to the first 20 students who came to class. Later these students

got better grades than the other students. What is wrong with this experiment?

A. The procedure had too many independent variables.

B. Participants were not randomly assigned to groups.

C. The procedure lacked demand characteristics.

D. The procedure did not include a dependent variable.


157. Which of the following is part of an experiment but NOT part of a correlational study?

A. operational definitions

B. random assignment to groups

C. measurement of each individual’s responses

D. careful analysis of results


158. Older studies found that menopausal women taking hormone replacement were healthier than other

women their age not taking the hormones. What was a major limitation on this study?

A. Women were not randomly assigned to groups.

B. The results were based on small groups of women.

C. The study had too many independent variables.

D. The research did not include men.



64

ANS: A REF: experiments OBJ: remembering

159. Several studies found that moderate alcohol drinkers tend to be healthier than non-drinkers. Can we

draw a conclusion about the effects of moderate alcohol? If not, why not?

A. Yes, it is clear that drinking alcohol in moderation is good for health.

B. No, because participants may have been influenced by the independent variable.

C. No, because people were not randomly assigned to groups.

D. No, because excess alcohol is clearly bad for people’s health.


160. Moderate alcohol drinkers have been reported to be healthier than non-drinkers. What is a problem

with this research?

A. The studies were based on very small samples of people.

B. People were not randomly assigned to groups.

C. Different people drink different alcoholic beverages.

D. The reported differences were so large that they are hard to believe.

ANS: B REF: experiments OBJ: remembering

161. What is the advantage of randomly assigning participants to the experimental and control groups?

A. It guarantees that participants will know what results are expected.

B. It avoids the need to perform statistical tests on the results.

C. It reduces the influence of independent variables.

D. It reduces the possibility that the groups differ greatly at the start of the experiment.


162. Dr. Hoonoes got impressive results in her last experiment, but she is worried about experimenter bias.

By this she means that the results may have been influenced by

A. the experimenter's dislike for calculating statistics.

B. the way the expectations influence how the experimenter collects results.

C. the fact that some people quit before the experiment was finished.

D. a tendency to rank people high on everything or on nothing.

ANS: B REF: blind studies OBJ: application and understanding

163. Who is influenced by demand characteristics?

A. people who read about an experiment

B. people who provide financial support for an experiment

C. participants in an experiment

D. the experimenter

ANS: C REF: blind studies OBJ: application and understanding

164. Researchers use placebos to try to minimize the effects of which of the following?

A. dependent variables.

B. case histories.

C. experimenter bias.

D. informed consent.


165. What is a placebo?



65

A. a member of the control group.

B. a pill with effects opposite to those of an experimental drug.

C. a non-blind observer.

D. a pill with no important biological effects.

ANS: D REF: blind studies OBJ: remembering (definition)

166. A blind observer is an observer who

A. has no previous experience with psychological observations.

B. does not reveal his or her observations to anyone.

C. observes everyone except himself/herself.

D. does not know the experimenter’s predictions.

ANS: D REF: blind studies OBJ: remembering (definition)

167. In Dr. Wizard’s study, people in the experimental group receive a "subliminal audiotape" that is

supposed to improve their self-esteem. The other group receives no treatment. Later, Dr. Wizard

interviews them and reports that people in the experimental group show higher self-esteem. What

change would IMPROVE the research?

A. Eliminate the independent variables

B. Use a convenience sample of people

C. Include more demand characteristics

D. Use a blind observer.

ANS: D REF: blind studies OBJ: application and understanding

168. A researcher, who predicts that children are more aggressive in the afternoon, watches them at play,

counting acts of aggression. How could this study be improved?

A. Tell the children what the experimenter predicted.

B. Use a “blind” observer.

C. Add demand characteristics.

D. Avoid having an independent variable.


169. Dr. Wonderful provides a new therapy to half of those seeking help, while keeping the others on a

waiting list. After 6 months she evaluates both groups and reports that those receiving treatment are

doing better than the others. What is wrong with this study?

A. It has too many independent variables.

B. It has too many dependent variables.

C. It should have a blind observer.

D. It lacks a control group.


170. Which of these best describes a double-blind study?

A. The observer does not know who is in the experimental group.

B. Neither the observer nor the participants know who is in the experimental group.

C. The participants do not know who is in the experimental group.

D. Both the observer and the participants know who is in the experimental group.

ANS: B REF: blind studies OBJ: remembering (definition)



66

171. A researcher hypnotizes 20 volunteers and suggests that they will become more creative. Later the

researcher reports that these people wrote more creative stories than 20 other people. This study

LACKS:

A. independent variables and demand characteristics.

B. dependent variables and informed consent.

C. random assignment and blind observations.

D. hypothesis and correlation.

ANS: C REF: blind studies and random assignment


172. A teacher expects physical activity to improve students’ alertness. She has them exercise on randomly

chosen days, and rates their alertness. What, if anything, is wrong with this study?

A. It doesn’t have enough demand characteristics or case histories.

B. It should have a blind observer and a control group.

C. It should get rid of the independent variable and add a dependent variable.

D. Nothing is wrong with this study.


173. To test the effect of an informal atmosphere on class performance, Professor Hall dresses in shorts and

bare feet for his morning class and in conventional clothing for his afternoon class. He then counts the

number of "intelligent questions" in each class and reports more in the class for which he wore shorts.

What are the two things wrong with this experiment?

A. lack of random assignment and lack of blind observations

B. differential survival and lack of an independent variable

C. lack of blind observations and lack of a dependent variable

D. lack of random assignment and lack of an independent variable

ANS: A REF: random assignment and blind observer


174. To test the effects of eating on learning, Professor Lee permits snacks in her morning class but not in

her afternoon class. She reports getting more interesting questions in the morning class. What are two

serious flaws in this experiment?

A. too many dependent variables and lack of an independent variable

B. lack of a control group and use of a falsifiable hypothesis

C. lack of random assignment and lack of blind observations

D. lack of demand characteristics and presence of too many independent variables

ANS: C REF: random assignment and blind observer


175. What do we call the cues that suggest what the experimenter hopes to find?

A. independent variables.

B. correlations.

C. dependent variables.

D. demand characteristics.

ANS: D REF: demand characteristics OBJ: remembering (definition)

176. People give different answers depending on whether they think the survey was sponsored by the

Republican or Democratic Party. What does this tendency illustrate?

A. the placebo effect



67

B. illusory correlation

C. standard deviation


ANS: D REF: demand characteristics


177. Which of the following procedures would be most likely to reduce the effects of demand

characteristics?

A. Conceal the purpose of the experiment from the participants.

B. Evaluate the statistical significance of the results.

C. Discard data from any subject who did not complete the experiment.

D. Assign participants randomly to groups.

ANS: A REF: demand characteristics


178. An experimenter announces, "This is an experiment on hypnosis." Although the experimenter does not

actually hypnotize anyone, many participants behave the way they believe hypnotized people do.

Which of these do the results illustrate?


B. an illusory correlation.

C. random assignment.

D. experimenter bias.



179. Which of the following would a psychological experimenter try to avoid or minimize?

A. parsimony

B. independent variables


D. random assignment

ANS: C REF: demand characteristics


180. Men who thought seeing pink would increase their strength showed greater strength while seeing

something pink than did men who thought it would decrease their strength. This result illustrates

which of the following?

A. operational definitions

B. demand characteristics

C. illusory correlations

D. random assignment

ANS: B REF: demand characteristics


181. Which of the following is undesirable for psychological research and theories?

A. demand characteristics

B. falsifiability

C. parsimony

D. independent variables




68


182. Why do many psychological researchers take elaborate steps to conceal the purpose of the experiment

from the participants?

A. to establish random assignment

B. to eliminate demand characteristics

C. to make the study more ethical

D. to eliminate illusory correlations

ANS: B REF: demand characteristics


183. Juanita takes a drug one night to eliminate her headache. The next morning her headache is gone.

What kind of research is this?

A. a double-blind experiment

B. a before and after study

C. a cross-sectional study

D. a single-blind experiment

ANS: B REF: before/after OBJ: application and understanding

184. Juanita takes a drug one night to eliminate her headache. The next morning her headache is gone.

What conclusion, if any, can we draw, and why?

A. We conclude that the drug relieved her headache.

B. We conclude that sleep relieved her headache.

C. We draw no conclusion because the study lacks a control group.

D. We draw no conclusion because the study has an independent variable.

ANS: C REF: before/after OBJ: application and understanding

185. An experimenter tests the reading skills of 10-year-old children, puts them on a low-fat diet, and finds

that most show improved reading 6 months later. The experimenter concludes that the diet was helpful.

One major defect in this study is that it lacks

A. a dependent variable.

B. demand characteristics.

C. a control group.

D. independent variables.


186. A therapist provides treatment for clients just by saying “magic words.” Surprisingly, most of them

show improvement over 3 months. What is the main problem with this research?

A. lack of a no-treatment control group

B. lack of demand characteristics

C. probable presence of an independent variable

D. falsifiability of the hypothesis

ANS: A REF: before/after OBJ: application and understanding

187. Professor Lewis gave a study guide to the students in the first two rows of class. Later, these students

got better grades than the other students. What is wrong with this experiment?

A. lack of an independent variable

B. confusion of experimentation with correlation

C. lack of random assignment to groups



69

D. lack of a dependent variable


188. An investigator trying to demonstrate Lamarckian evolution tested rats’ ability to learn a swimming

maze, and then bred those rats and demonstrated that the next generation learned faster. What kind of

study is this?

A. before and after study

B. single-blind experiment

C. double-blind experiment

D. case history



maze, and then bred those rats and demonstrated that the next generation learned faster. What

important element was this study MISSING?

A. a dependent variable

B. a control group

C. an operational definition of learning




maze, and then bred those rats and demonstrated that the next generation learned faster. What

conclusion can we draw, if any?

A. We conclude that rats can inherit what their parents learned.

B. We conclude that rats are gradually evolving greater learning abilities.

C. We draw no conclusion, because the study lacked a control group.

D. We draw no conclusion, because the hypothesis was falsifiable.


191. Which type of experiment produces the results that are often difficult to interpret?

A. before and after studies

B. single-blind experiments

C. double-blind experiments

D. experiments with random assignment


192. Results of a before-and-after study are often difficult to interpret. Why?

A. Participants in such studies are randomly assigned to groups.

B. Such studies use a falsifiable hypothesis.

C. Such studies lack an operational definition.

D. Such studies lack a control group.

ANS: D REF: before/after OBJ: application and understanding

193. A psychologist evaluates 60 people before and after 8 weeks of therapy. Because 55 of the 60 are

improved, she concludes that the therapy was effective. A flaw in this study is that it lacks

A. descriptive statistics.

B. a control group.

C. a dependent variable.



70

D. a hypothesis.


194. Which of these is an important ethical principle for research with human participants?

A. Start by telling the participants the theory behind the research.

B. Tell people what will happen and get their consent.

C. Never repeat an experiment that someone else has already done.

D. All participants must be paid at least a minimum wage.

ANS: B REF: human ethics OBJ: remembering

195. What must a researcher obtain before conducting research on humans?

A. a license from the local government

B. signed permission from the American Psychological Association

C. an outline of likely results from a statistician

D. informed consent from the participants

ANS: D REF: human ethics OBJ: remembering

196. Before conducting research on humans, a researcher must obtain informed consent. Who signs this

informed consent?

A. the American Psychological Association

B. the people participating in the research

C. a board of people who oversee research at the institution

D. the local government

ANS: B REF: human ethics OBJ: remembering

197. What does an Institutional Review Board do?

A. It provides lists of people who are willing to participate in research studies.

B. It collects statistics on the results of research at an institution.

C. It helps experimenters evaluate the statistical significance of their data.

D. It judges whether proposed experiments are ethical.

ANS: D REF: human ethics OBJ: remembering

198. Who decides whether a proposed research study on humans is ethically permissible?

A. an Institutional Review Board

B. elected officials of the city or state

C. friends and colleagues of the experimenters

D. the experimenters themselves

ANS: A REF: human ethics OBJ: remembering

199. Under what circumstances is psychological research with animals legally permissible?

A. whenever the proposal satisfies the researchers’ own conscience

B. only after a committee at the college or research institute approves the proposal

C. only after the researcher obtains a license from the government

D. never

ANS: B REF: animal ethics OBJ: remembering

200. What are “descriptive statistics”?

A. mathematical summaries of results



71

B. rules about how to conduct research

C. books about how to evaluate data

D. predictions of future results

ANS: A REF: descriptive stats OBJ: remembering (definition)

201. Your soccer team scored 1, 1, 2, 3, and 8 goals (a total of 15) in their first five games. What was their

mean number of goals?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 8

ANS: C REF: central score OBJ: application and understanding

202. Your soccer team scored 1, 1, 2, 3, and 8 goals (a total of 15) in their first five games. What was their

median number of goals?

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 8

ANS: B REF: central score OBJ: application and understanding

203. The Lizard Lick State Fighting Nematodes scored 50, 50, 55, 60, and 85 points in their first five

basketball games. What was their mean score?

A. 50

B. 55

C. 60

D. 85


204. The Lizard Lick State Fighting Nematodes scored 50, 50, 55, 60, and 85 points in their first five

basketball games. What was their median score?

A. 50

B. 55

C. 60

D. 85


205. Which of the following is true of normal distributions?

A. They are symmetrical.

B. They have a standard deviation of zero.

C. They have a mean equal to the standard deviation.

D. They have a mean of zero.

ANS: A REF: central score OBJ: remembering

206. You take a job selling diet marshmallows at a company where the average employee earns $70,000 a

year. Later you discover that the company has a president and 30 salespeople, but each salesperson

earns $20,000 a year. How can the “average” be so high?

A. The median is $70,000 because of the president’s high salary.

B. The mean is $70,000 because of the president’s high salary.



72

C. The median is higher than the mean.

D. The mode is $70,000 because of the president’s high salary.


207. When is the median a better indicator of most people's scores than the mean?

A. when most scores were low but a few scores were very high

B. whenever the scores follow the normal distribution

C. when the mean score is larger than the standard deviation

D. when the mean is equal to the mode

ANS: A REF: central score OBJ: application and understanding

208. In what situation is the median better than the mean for representing most scores?

A. when all of the scores cluster around the mean

B. when the scores are arranged in a normal distribution

C. when there are some extreme scores

D. when there are no very low or very high scores


209. A group of seven students receive the following scores on a test: 87, 88, 89, 86, 85, 90, and 35. What

is the median score?

A. 35

B. 87

C. 86

D. 90


210. Which term refers to the most common score?

A. standard deviation

B. median

C. mode

D. mean

ANS: C REF: central score OBJ: remembering (definition)

211. Students received these scores: 70, 75, 80, 90, 95, 95, and 100. The score of 95 is what?

A. the mean

B. the median

C. the mode

D. the standard deviation


212. If we want to describe the "average" person, the mean and median give similar results UNLESS

A. the sample has a small standard deviation.

B. the population being studied is extremely large.

C. the sample has a normal distribution centered around a mean of zero.

D. a few individuals in the sample are extreme, unlike the others.

ANS: D REF: central score OBJ: application and understanding



73

213. A pre-school teacher records the height of all the students and their parents. The distribution of these

measures would be a

A. bimodal distribution.

B. normal distribution.

C. logarithmic distribution.

D. standard distribution.

ANS: A REF: central score OBJ: application and understanding

214. A survey asked how many sex partners you hope to have in the future. The majority of men answered

1, 2, or 3, yet the mean was 64. How can that be?

A. The median was even higher than 64.

B. The mean is influenced by extreme scores (i.e., very high numbers).

C. Inferential statistics are misleading.

D. The study had no independent variables.


215. What does the standard deviation measure?

A. the average score

B. the difference between two groups

C. mistakes made by the experimenter

D. the amount of variation

ANS: D REF: variation OBJ: remembering (definition)

216. If most scores are very close to the mean, then the standard deviation is

A. impossible to determine.

B. very small.

C. very large.

D. about the same size as the mean.

ANS: B REF: variation OBJ: remembering

217. If the standard deviation is small, then

A. most scores are close to the mean.

B. the results are probably not statistically significant.

C. the mean is high.

D. the median is larger than the mean.

ANS: A REF: variation OBJ: remembering

218. On the first test, the mean is 70, the standard deviation is 5, and your score is 80. On the second test,

the mean is 70, the standard deviation is 15, and your score is 85. Compared to other students, how

well did you do on the two tests?

A. better on the first test than on the second test

B. better on the second test than on the first test

C. equal on both tests

D. Not enough information is given to answer the question.

ANS: A REF: variation OBJ: application and understanding

219. The mean, median, range, and standard deviation are all examples of

A. inferential statistics.

B. descriptive statistics.



74

C. correlations.

D. tests of significance.

ANS: B REF: descriptive stats OBJ: remembering

220. Which of the following is an example of an inferential statistic?

A. the p value from a statistical test

B. the mean

C. the median

D. the standard deviation

ANS: A REF: inferential OBJ: remembering

221. Mathematical summaries of results are called __________ statistics, while statistics that inform about

the entire population, based on information collected from small samples, are called __________

statistics.

A. inferential...descriptive

B. inferential...correlational

C. correlational...descriptive

D. descriptive...inferential

ANS: D REF: inferential OBJ: remembering (definition)

222. What does it mean to say that "p < .05"?

A. The correlation between two variables is very low, almost random.

B. The probability that the experiment was done correctly is less than 5%.

C. Fewer than 5% of all scientists agree with the theory.

D. The probability of getting such a pattern of results by accident is less than 5%.


223. In the statement “p < .05,” what does p stand for?

A. percentage

B. probability

C. psychologists

D. perception

ANS: B REF: inferential OBJ: remembering (definition)

224. A particular research study compares an experimental group with a control group. An analysis of the

results reveals that "p < .05." Therefore,

A. the difference between the experimental group and the control group is less than 5%.

B. there is less than a 5% chance that the results are statistically significant.

C. the chance of getting the observed difference by accident is less than 5%.

D. fewer than 5% of psychologists would agree with the conclusions.

ANS: C REF: inferential OBJ: remembering (definition)

225. An investigator analyzes the results of an experiment and determines that p < .05. Why does the

investigator want to know the value of p?

A. to determine whether the results are statistically significant

B. to determine whether participants were randomly assigned to the two groups

C. to determine whether the results are replicable

D. to determine whether to use the mean or the median



75

ANS: A REF: inferential OBJ: application and understanding

226. The statement "p < .05" refers to

A. the amount of change in some behavior over time.

B. the amount of agreement among psychologists.

C. how accurately we can predict one variable from measurements of another one.

D. the probability of getting a result by chance.

ANS: D REF: inferential OBJ: remembering

227. If p < .05, then the observed difference between two groups is

A. difficult to replicate.

B. an accidental fluctuation.

C. larger than usually occurs by chance.

D. too small to measure.

ANS: C REF: inferential OBJ: application and understanding

228. A psychologist conducts an experiment and reports that p < .05. What is the relationship between the

value of p and the statistical significance of the results?

A. The results are significant if the value of p is very low.

B. The value of p has no relationship to the significance of the results.

C. The closer p is to .05, the more significant the results.

D. The higher the value of p, the more significant the results.


229. In the statistical expression "p < .05," what does "p" represent?

A. the difference between the independent variable and the dependent variable.

B. the correlation between two measured variables.

C. the percentage of psychologists who agree with the conclusion.

D. the probability of accidentally obtaining results similar to the obtained results.


230. Which of the following would (as a rule) indicate that a result is statistically significant?

A. p < .05

B. mean=standard deviation

C. correlation=.1

D. mean>median

ANS: A REF: inferential OBJ: remembering

231. An investigator decides to consider the results of an experiment to be statistically significant if p < .05.

An analysis of the result indicates that p = .09. What conclusion, if any, can the investigator draw?

A. The results do not justify any conclusion.

B. The hypothesis was correct.

C. The hypothesis was incorrect.

D. The results are significant for the control group but not the experimental group.


232. An investigator wishes to determine whether the difference between two groups of participants is

statistically significant. To answer that question, the investigator must first determine the difference

between the means of the two groups, the number of participants in each group, and



76

A. the age of participants in each group.

B. the duration of the experiment in hours.

C. the amount of variation in each group.

D. the strength of motivation by members of each group.

ANS: C REF: inferential OBJ: application and understanding

233. An investigator conducts a statistical test to determine whether the difference between the

experimental group and the control group was statistically significant. Other things being equal, the

difference is most likely to be significant if

A. the standard deviation was high for each group.

B. the mean of one group was much larger than the mean of the other group.

C. both groups had a small number of participants.

D. the mean for each group was about the same size as the standard deviation.

ANS: B REF: inferential OBJ: application and understanding

234. You wish to determine whether the difference between the experimental group and the control group

was statistically significant. To make that determination, you will need to know three of the following

types of information. Which one will you NOT need to know?

A. the number of participants in each group

B. the ages of the participants in each group

C. the amount of variation among participants within each group

D. the difference between the means of the two groups

ANS: B REF: inferential OBJ: application and understanding

235. For a variety of reasons, many scientists recommend that instead of (or in addition to) stating the p

value, researchers should show the means and:

A. the mode for each group.

B. 95% confidence intervals for each group.

C. 85% confidence intervals for each group.

D. the median for each group.

ANS: B REF: inferential OBJ: remembering

236. We should be more impressed with a result if the p value is ___ and the 95% confidence interval is

___.

A. small... small

B. small... large

C. large... small

D. large... large


237. Why do researchers need to determine the 95% confidence interval for their results?

A. They know that the results are not completely accurate.

B. They know that some people will disagree with the conclusions.

C. They need to state the results as convincingly as possible.

D. They want to avoid the need for replications.




chapter 2 scientific methods in psychology...39 chapter 2 ² scientific methods in psychology...

Documents