Practice Exam 1 for Coursepage Psych2ta
1.
The assumption that there are specifiable reasons for the way people behave lies at the heart of
what Alfred North Whitehead called__________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2.
No. The principle of parsimony states that preference should be given to the simplest theory that
can explain a set of observations.
Not the best answer. Whitehead would have considered this assumption to constitute good
thinking, but he said something more specific. Good thinking means that data is collected and
interpreted in a systematic, objective, and open-minded fashion.
Not this one. Falsification is one of the criteria for a good theory and for good hypotheses.
No. Scientists do rely on empirical (observable) evidence to either support or fail to support their
theories, but this isn’t what Whitehead was referring to.
Yes. Scientists assume that all human behavior can be explained, although we may not be able to
explain it at this moment in time. Another way of saying this is that behavior follows a
predictable, natural order.
The person responsible for the idea of the scientific method was __________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
3.
the principle of parsimony
good thinking
falsification
reliance on the empirical
the scientific mentality
Hume
Aristotle
Alfred North Whitehead
Popper
Baron
No. Hume was a seventeenth century British philosopher who held that knowledge of reality
could come only from impressions processed through the sensory apparatus. Due to his emphasis
on sensory experience rather than on an innately given basis for knowledge, Hume was known as
a British empiricist.
Yes. Aristotle, one of the famous philosophers from ancient Greece (fourth-century B.C.E.),
proposed that order exists in the universe, and set about describing that order in a systematic way
by collecting empirical data.
No. Whitehead (1861-1947) traced the beginnings of modern science to the works of Aristotle.
Whitehead was a British mathematician, logician, and philosopher.
No. Sir Karl Popper, a modern philosopher of science, wrote that science progresses only through
developing successively more accurate and comprehensive theories.
No. Robert A. Baron is a contemporary researcher, who has looked at the effects of air charged
with negative ions on mood.
Two characteristics of commonsense psychology are __________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
it is always wrong and does not deal with behavior.
it does not use data at all and is always wrong.
it uses nonscientific data and nonscientific inferences.
it cannot be tested and it does not make inferences.
None of the above is characteristic of commonsense psychology.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
4.
No. Commonsense notions are not always wrong. Sometimes commonsense explanations of
behavior are accurate. The problem with commonsense explanations is that they don’t help verify
truth nor expose inaccurate conclusions.
No. As commonsense psychologists, we gather data in unsystematic and biased ways. Although
commonsense conclusions aren’t always wrong, we have no way of knowing when they are and
when they are NOT accurate.
Yes. What is nonscientific about commonsense information is that it is subject to confirmation
bias. It also allows us to make inferences about cause and effect relationships without verifying
the accuracy of such inferences.
Not so. We can put commonsense notions to the test, and commonsense explanations do make
inferences, many of which are not accurate.
This is not the correct choice, since “c” gives two characteristics of commonsense psychology.
A researcher is conducting a study of people’s attitudes and is afraid that if she tells subjects her
research hypothesis, they will give distorted responses. If she decides to withhold any information
about the study, the researcher must be sure that__________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
5.
Yes. When deception is used, its nature must be such that the subjects would not have refused to
participate if they knew the true purpose and other circumstances of the experiment.
No. The purpose of paying subjects is strictly to induce them to participate, but payment does not
alter subjects’ rights in any way.
Not at all. Whenever deception is used, subjects MUST be debriefed, which means that they must
be told the true nature of the experiment.
No. Only one of the above choices is correct.
No. When the ground rules are met, deception is permitted in psychological experiments.
A developmental psychologist observing children at play through a one-way mirror and recording
the frequency of aggressive behaviors would be using __________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
the information withheld will not affect subjects’ decisions to participate.
subjects will be paid to participate.
subjects will not find out about the deception after the experiment.
All of the above.
None of the above, since she cannot conduct the experiment.
deviant case analysis
retrospective data
a phenomenological approach
naturalistic observation
the experimental method
No. The deviant case analysis compares deviant and normal individuals for significant
differences. These differences may have important implications for the cause of the
psychopathology in question.
Nope. Retrospective data are collected in the present, but are based on recollections of past
events. Since the developmental psychologist isn’t interviewing either the children or their
parents, he/she cannot be collecting retrospective data.
No. The children are not describing their own immediate experiences, which is what constitutes
phenomenological data.
Yes. The psychologist is observing the children’s behaviors as they occur spontaneously in
natural settings. You could argue that the described setting isn’t particularly natural. However,
when children are put into a room with toys, crayons, paper, and other interesting objects to
explore, they typically relax in their new surroundings, and engage in their normal behaviors.
No. The psychologist is not manipulating an independent variable in a carefully controlled
situation, to observe its effect on a dependent variable.
6. Psychology is considered a science because it:
a. gains information through new methods and technology.
b. accepts what seems plausible and sensible.
c. relies on direct observation and measurement of behavior.
d. studies animal rather than human behavior.
e. reports its findings in scholarly journals.
a. Not really. This answer sounds like it’s on the right track, but it’s really too
vague to be a useful answer.
b. Not at all. Accepting what seems plausible and sensible is NOT science.
Scientists are supposed to be willing to put even their most cherished beliefs to
the test, using the scientific method.
c. Yes. The scientific method relies on collecting empirical evidence through direct
observation and measurement of phenomena, including human behavior.
d. No. Psychologists study both animals and people. They are primarily interested
in human beings, but often use animals for studies that would be unethical or
impractical to conduct with human subjects.
e. Not the best answer. Psychologists do publish the results of their research in
scholarly journals. This is one of the behaviors of scientists, but this action alone
wouldn’t qualify psychology as a science.
7. Jane Goodall’s observation of chimpanzees using grass stems as tools is an
example of what type of research?
a. a survey
b. naturalistic observation
c. controlled experimentation
d. a clinical case study
e. an unobtrusive measure
a. No. Surveys are impersonal data collection tools for gathering information on the
attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of large numbers of people.
b. Yes. Naturalistic observation involves observing and recording behaviors as they
occur spontaneously in natural settings.
c. No. Controlled experimentation requires the control of potential extraneous
variables; while an “independent” variable is manipulated by the experimenter to
see what affect it has on the “dependent” variable.
d. Not the best answer. Case studies involve the intensive investigation of an
individual or small group, but not necessarily in a natural setting.
e. No. Unobtrusive measures are procedures for assessing subjects’ behavior
without their knowledge, such as looking at the wear and tear on students’
textbooks as an indication of how much time they spend studying! (or recording
the numbers of “hits” on a website)
8. An experimenter computing the correlation between age and memory span may:
a. be able to show that old age caused a decrease in memory span.
b. be able to determine that a third variable was involved.
c. make an error because age and memory span are unrelated.
d. be able to prove that a decrease in memory produces old age.
e. be able to show a relationship between age and memory span.
a. No. The problem with this answer choice is the word “caused.” Causality cannot
be determined by computing a correlation coefficient.
b. No. A typical problem that crops up in correlational research is called “the third
variable problem,” which occurs when a variable NOT under investigation is
causing two or more variables that are being studied to be correlated. The third
variable problem is just one reason why we cannot make causal inferences about
variables that are correlated.
c. No. If age and memory are unrelated, the correlation coefficient that is computed
will be close to zero, but this isn’t an error. It’s important information about those
two variables: age and memory.
d. Not so. The word “produces” implies that a cause and effect relationship exists.
Causality cannot be determined by computing a correlation coefficient.
e. Yes. The correlation coefficient that is computed in a correlational study would
indicate the degree of relationship between age and memory span.
9. In order to arrive at an experimental hypothesis, a researcher must:
a. abandon the facts in favor of opinion.
b. incorporate all possible explanations of the behavior to be explained.
c. rely on intuition.
d. focus on one particular explanation that seems plausible.
e. develop strong attitudes and beliefs in a subject area.
a. Not at all. A central purpose in using the scientific method is to try to avoid being
swayed by opinions. By conducting experiments, we are trying to get to the point
where we are confident that we have reliable or factual information (“the truth”).
b. Not really. An experimental hypothesis is a limited, testable statement about the
nature of the relationship between two or more variables. Several different
hypotheses could be generated from a single explanation, but several explanations
aren’t likely to be distilled down to a single hypothesis.
c. Well, no. A researcher may occasionally arrive at a hypothesis through intuition,
but this isn’t the usual route, so we wouldn’t want to say that a researcher “must”
rely on intuition.
d. Yes. Due to the nature of a hypothesis, it has a limited, narrow focus. If we have
several different explanations (theories) about a set of observations, we have to
select one to test first, and then may proceed to test the remaining theories or
explanations.
e. No. Doing research on a topic about which we already have strong attitudes and
beliefs can be a real hindrance. Part of training as a scientist entails remaining
open-minded and willing to let go of our attitudes and beliefs when we encounter
empirical evidence that those attitudes and beliefs are incorrect.
10. In reviewing his data, a researcher who has been studying the circumstances
under which people express their prejudices suddenly realizes the one general rule
that connects all of his experiments. He is reasoning based on __________.
a. induction
b. parsimony.
c. deduction.
d. serendipity.
e. falsifiability.
a. Yes. The inductive method involves deriving a general conclusion or explanation
from specific instances. Induction is an important part of theory building, through
which specific observations are pulled together by an explanation that shows what
the observations have in common, or helps us understand how the observations
are related.
b. No. Parsimony refers to the preference that is given to scientific theories that are
simple and straightforward, but still explain all of the observations that need
explaining, over more complex theories that explain the same observations.
c. No. Deduction refers to starting with a general principle or explanation that we
believe to be true, and developing specific predictions from that general principle.
Deduction is the means by which theories are tested.
d. No. In a research context, serendipity refers to accidental discoveries that turn out
to be useful in generating hypotheses that can be tested through experimentation.
e. No. Falsifiability (testability) is an important property of hypotheses that we
generate in order to test the accuracy of our theories.
11. Julian computed the Pearson Product Moment correlation Coefficient for a set of
data and found that r = +1.80. Without knowing more about the study, we can
say __________.
a. there is a high, positive relationship between the two measures used in the
study.
b. Julian has confirmed the hypothesis.
c. there is a low negative relationship between the two measures.
d. one measure reliability predicts the other measure.
e. Julian made an error in his calculation.
a. Not so. It might seem that there is a high positive correlation, because the sign is
positive and the number is high, but look at the number again. What is wrong
with it?
b. Not really. While it may look as though Julian succeeded in finding a strong,
positive correlation, but look at that number. Something is fishy about it.
c. No. Since the sign is positive, this cannot be a negative correlation.
d. Nope. If it were the case that r = +.80, you might say that one measure reliability
predict the other measure, but something is problematic about r = +1.80. Can you
spot it?
e. Yes. Since the Pearson r can only be somewhere between –1.00 and +1.00, Julian
has made a calculation error, and needs to go over his numbers.
12. When subjects cannot be randomly assigned to different treatment groups, as they
are in true experiments, researchers frequently select a(n) __________ design.
a. correlational
b. nonexperimental
c. case study design
d. quasi-experimental design
e. experimental design
a. No. A correlational study is designed to determine the degree of relationship
between two or more traits, behavior, or events. There are no treatment groups,
because the experimenter doesn’t manipulate any variable.
b. Not the best answer. Whereas it’s true that the described procedure doesn’t quite
fit the experimental model, there is another technical name given to this type of
procedure.
c. No. A case study takes an in-depth look at a single individual, and doesn’t
involve assigning subject to different treatment groups, whether such assignment
is random or not.
d. Yes. “Quasi-experimental” is the name given to nonexperimental designs that
“almost seem like” experiments, but are not because subjects are not randomly
assigned to treatment conditions.
e. No. An experimental design requires that subjects be randomly assigned to the
treatment and control groups.
13. The experimental hypothesis must be a(n) __________ statement.
a. synthetic
b. analytic
c. contradictory
d. true
e. prophetic
a. Yes. Synthetic statements are those that can be either true or false. An
experiment is designed to test a hypothesis, and decide between two possibilities:
that the hypothesis is apparently true (supported by evidence) or false (not
supported by the data generated in the experiment).
b. No. An analytic statement is one that is always true. An example of an analytic
statement is: “Many students will perform better in some subject areas than
others.”
c. No. A contradictory statement is always false. For example, it can’t be true that I
have a brother and that I don’t have a brother.
d. No. A hypothesis doesn’t have to be true. In fact, it has to have the possibility of
being shown to be false. In other words, it must be falsifiable.
e. No. A hypothesis must be predictive, but not prophetic. A statement is prophetic
when it foretells future events or is a divinely inspired revelation. A hypothesis is
merely a hunch or an educated guess about something expected to occur in the
future.
14. The idea that all sensate species, particularly those who can feel pain, are of equal
value and have equal rights is the advocated position of __________.
a. the Animal Welfare Act.
b. some members of the Animal Rights Movement.
c. the Committee on Animal Research Ethics (CARE).
d. the American Psychological Association (APA).
e. America Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAC).
a. No. This Federal Legislation addresses the well-being of higher animals used in
research, but does not take this position.
b. Yes. Some members of the Animal Rights Movement advocate equal rights for
all species that have sense modalities (e.g. can see, feel, hear).
c. No. CARE developed the APA’s standards for the Care and Use of Animals in
Research.
d. No. The APA gives priority to human welfare over animal well-being.
e. No. AALAC has taken the position that the use of experimental animals has been
shown to be essential to the development of an understanding of many
biochemical, behavioral, physiological, and disease processes in human beings.
15. Informed consent means that __________.
a. the subjects agree to let the experimenter use their data after the
experiment is over and they know what it is about.
b. the parents of each subject must give their permission.
c. the subjects agree to participate in a study after receiving complete
information about the nature and purpose of the study.
d. the experimenter allows the study to be conducted after a thorough review
of the research in that area.
e. the experimenter informs the subjects that he/she has received that consent
of a review board to use them in an experiment.
a. No. Informed consent must be obtained from human subjects before the
experiment begins.
b. Not necessarily. Only in the cases where a subject is a minor or is impaired, must
the researcher obtain consent from a parent or legal guardian.
c. Yes. When subjects are deemed “at risk,” they would be asked to sign a written
agreement to participate in the study, after having been told the procedure and
purpose of the research.
d. Not at all. Informed consent means the consent of the subject, not of the
experimenter.
e. No. The informed consent refers to the consent of the subjects, not the consent of
the review board.