Exam: 01.

08 Module 1 Exam

98
Score:
98 of 100 points

Answer Key
Question 1 (Worth 2 points)
A scientist, conducting a research study on sleep and learning, questions her
own objectivity and decides to let a third person, not associated with the
experiment, score the tests. The scientist is probably trying to eliminate _____.

 experimenter bias

 sample bias

 control bias

 treatment bias

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 2 (Worth 2 points)

Which of the following is CORRECT concerning random assignment?

 In random assignment each participant has an equal chance for each
condition.
  In random assignment each participant is assigned alphabetically to each
condition.

 Random assignment can only be determined after an experiment is over.

 The best formula for random assignment is birth dates.

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 3 (Worth 2 points)

Professor Lawrence was concerned about the validity of a recently reported
experiment on the effects of alcohol use. Which process would best enable her
to assess the reliability of these findings?

 naturalistic observation

 replication

 random sampling

 a case study

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 4 (Worth 2 points)

The purpose of a control group in an experiment is to _____.

 serve as a check on the interpretation of results

 increase the ability to generalize the findings

 manipulate the dependent variable

  represent the general, nonlaboratory population

Points earned on this question: 0

Question 5 (Worth 2 points)

In an experiment to test the effects of anxiety on performance, the dependent
variable is the _____.

 amount of anxiety

 age of the person

 person's performance

 cause of the anxiety

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 6 (Worth 2 points)

Which of the following is an empirical question?

 Would Martin Luther King, Jr. have been a good president?

 What is the meaning of life?

 Was the Civil War necessary?

 Is there life on other planets?

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 7 (Worth 2 points)

In a controlled experiment, the group subjected to a change in the independent
variable is called the _____ group.
  independent

 experimental

 dependent

 control

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 8 (Worth 2 points)

_____ is a system used for reducing bias and error in the measurement of data.

 Statistics

 The scientific method

 Checks and balances

 The double-blind method

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 9 (Worth 2 points)

A correlation coefficient shows that smoking and life expectancy are indeed
related. As a result, a researcher could predict _____ if the direction of the
relationship is known.

 if a person smokes a lot of cigarettes, he or she will have less money
monthly to buy gas
  the person's life expectancy will go up or down based on the number of
cigarettes the person smokes daily

 if a person smokes cigarettes, he or she will eventually develop lung cancer

 a person's lungs will repair themselves and he or she will live a longer life

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 10 (Worth 2 points)

A negative correlation means that _____.

 high values of one variable are associated with low values of the other

 high values of one variable are associated with high values of the other

 low values of one variable are associated with low values of the other

 there is no relationship between the two variables

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 11 (Worth 2 points)

A correlation coefficient represents two things: _____ and _____.

 a representative sample; strength

 strength; direction of the relationship

 the experimental group; control group

 direction of the relationship; expectant functionality

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 12 (Worth 2 points)

A(n) _____ is a measure of how strongly two variables are related to one another.

 independent variable

 dependent variable

 experimental effect

 correlation

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 13 (Worth 2 points)

If psychologists discovered that intellectual parents have more gifted children
compared to unintelligent parents, this would demonstrate that _____.

 intelligence is inherited

 intelligent parents provide their children with greater educational

opportunities than do unintelligent parents

 the intelligence of parents and children is positively correlated

 unintelligent parents will always have unintelligent children

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 14 (Worth 2 points)

A correlation coefficient shows that alcohol consumption and driving accidents
are indeed related. As a result, a researcher could predict _____ if the direction of
the relationship is known.
  the number of arrests a person has will go up or down based on the type of
car an individual drives

 the number of driving accidents a person has will go up or down based on

the number of alcoholic drinks consumed

 the number of arrests will increase the fewer drinks an individual consumes

 the number of driving accidents a person has will contribute to the number
of days spent in jail

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 15 (Worth 3 points)

In the definition of psychology, what does the term mental processes refers to?

 internal, covert processes

 outward behavior

 overt actions and reactions

 only animal behavior

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 16 (Worth 3 points)

Each of the following is a common ethical guideline suggested by the American
Psychological Association EXCEPT _____.

 participants must be informed of the nature of the research in clearly

understandable language
  participants cannot be deceived or have information concealed from them
at any time during an experiment

 risks, possible adverse effects, and limitations on confidentiality must be

spelled out in advance

 informed consent must be documented

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 17 (Worth 3 points)

Which of the following would NOT be considered essential for a proposed
research design to meet ethical requirements?

 Research subjects must consent to participate in the project, and a full

description of what their participation consists of must be spelled out before
they are asked to give consent

 Participants must be allowed to withdraw from the project at any time

 Both the subjects and the researchers must know which of the subjects will
be part of the experimental group

 If deception is involved, a full debriefing of the subjects must occur soon
after the completion of the project

 In keeping with protecting the privacy of the confidentiality of the subjects,
data should be obtained as anonymously as possible

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 18 (Worth 3 points)

Darley and Latanè (1968) believe that the presence of other people in a
distressing situation decreased the likelihood that they would receive help due
to _____.
  diffusion of anonymity

 diffusion of responsibility

 flaws in laws protecting Good Samaritans

 timeliness of onset

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 19 (Worth 3 points)

In 1879, in Leipzig, Germany, the first psychological laboratory was developed by
_____.

 William James

 William Tell

 Wilhelm Wundt

 Sigmund Freud

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 20 (Worth 3 points)

The school of psychology called structuralism used a technique called _____,
which involved reporting the contents of consciousness to study a person's
experiences.

 intervention
  introspection

 insight inventory

 induction

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 21 (Worth 3 points)

What is the best description of Wundt's and Titchener's mission for psychology?

 analyzing how to break down sensations into their most basic elements

 determining the function or purpose of a particular human behavior

 listening intently while individuals tell of their depression or nervousness

 analyzing the elements of the nervous system

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 22 (Worth 3 points)

At the close of the nineteenth century, Gerhard is excited to find that he has
been accepted for training in the psychology laboratory of Wilhelm Wundt. It is
likely that Gerhard will be trained to _____.

 analyze how to break down his sensations into their most basic elements

 determine the function or purpose of a particular human behavior

 listen intently while individuals tell him of their depression or nervousness

  carefully feel the bumps on a person's head in order to determine his or her
character traits

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 23 (Worth 3 points)

On a television talk show an actor describes the symptoms of anxiety he has
been experiencing. He reports that the severity of the symptoms has decreased
since he has been taking a drug prescribed by his therapist back in Hollywood.
You conclude that the actor's therapist is probably a _____.

 podiatrist

 psychiatrist

 clinical psychologist

 counseling psychologist

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 24 (Worth 3 points)

What did Sigmund Freud consider as the key to understanding the nervous
disorders he observed?

 free will

 brain physiology

 unconscious mind

 external consequences

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 25 (Worth 3 points)
Sandi is a single mother living in a project in a poor section of the city. She has
addiction issues and just lost custody of her three children. What type of
psychologist is most likely to get involved in Sandi's situation?

 educational psychologist

 psychiatrist

 psychiatric social worker

 counselor

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 26 (Worth 3 points)

The emerging field of brain imagery in cognitive neuroscience has developed
methods, such as MRI, to examine _____.

 images of the living brain

 biopsies of the brain of a cadaver

 select biopsied portions of a brain

 acute time of death in stroke patients

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 27 (Worth 3 points)

"The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" is a statement associated with
the perspective of _____.

 introspection
  functionalism

 psychoanalysis

 Gestalt psychologists

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 28 (Worth 3 points)

Which treatment approach did Sigmund Freud develop for treating his patients?

 drug therapy

 neuropsychology

 clinical psychology

 psychoanalytic therapy

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 29 (Worth 3 points)

Which type of psychologist would be most likely to argue that a criminal engages
in unlawful behavior because he grew up around older boys who engaged in
criminal activities?

 Gestaltist

 Behavioralist

 Psychodynamic
  Functionalist

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 30 (Worth 3 points)

Self-actualization was part of which of the following perspectives?

 Behaviorism

 Cognitive perspective

 Functionalism

 Humanism

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 31 (Worth 3 points)

Which of the following terms do NOT belong together?

 Structuralism; Observable behavior

 Gestalt; Whole

 Psychoanalysis; Unconscious conflict

 Behaviorism; Consciousness

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 32 (Worth 3 points)

Why was the perspective followed by Wilhelm Wundt and his followers called
structuralism?
  They wanted to identify the major brain structures.

 Their primary goal was to understand the physiology of the mind.

 They focused their efforts on analyzing the elements of the nervous system.

 Their primary focus was on describing the structure of conscious

experience.

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 33 (Worth 3 points)

Experimenter bias can best be controlled using _____.

 a placebo

 double-blind control

 randomization

 subjects who do not know the purpose of the study

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 34 (Worth 3 points)

Which of the following situations best illustrates the placebo effect?

 You sleep because you are tired.

 You throw up after eating bad meat.

 You have surgery to repair a defective heart valve.

  You drink a nonalcoholic drink and become "intoxicated" because you think
it contains alcohol.

Points earned on this question: 3

Question 35 (Worth 2 points)

The editors of Scientific American are able to obtain a representative sample of
their readers in order to assess their attitudes toward preservation of the rain
forests in Costa Rica. When interpreting the results of their survey, the editors
will be able to _____.

 apply the results to the entire U.S. population

 apply the results to Costa Rica

 apply the results to subscribers of Scientific American

 apply the result to scientists

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 36 (Worth 2 points)

In the 1970s, a 13-year-old girl was found locked up in a room, strapped to a
potty chair. Since she had grown up in a world without human speech,
researchers studied "Genie's" ability to acquire words, grammar, and
pronunciation. This type of research is called _____.

 a case study

 a representative sample

 a single-blind study

 a naturalistic observation
Points earned on this question: 2

Question 37 (Worth 2 points)

A weakness of _____ is that subjects participating in the research often report,
consciously and unconsciously, inaccurate information.

 naturalistic observation

 surveys

 correlations

 experiments

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 38 (Worth 2 points)

A case study would be the most appropriate method to investigate which of
these topics?

 The ways in which the games of boys differ from the games of girls.

 The development of a male baby raised as a female after a surgical error

destroyed his penis.

 The math skills of students in Japan as compared to those of U.S. students.

 Physiological changes that occur when people watch violent movies.

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 39 (Worth 2 points)

Which of the following statements is true about naturalistic observation?
  It recreates natural conditions in the laboratory as closely as possible to
make an experiment more valid.

 It involves observing behavior in its natural context.

 It is basically the same process as objective introspection.

 It involves observing behavior in the lab without taking formal notes or
using technological equipment to measure the experimental findings.

Points earned on this question: 2

Question 40 (Worth 2 points)

You overhear psychology students preparing for a test. They note that one of the
research methods often "fails to generalize." Which method is the MOST likely
topic of their discussion?

 correlation

 case study

 experiment

 surveys

Points earned on this question: 2