Exam 2: The Research Enterprise in Psychology

A researcher interested in studying individuals' attitudes toward "animal rights issues" would MOST likely conduct a

Explain why "a correlation does not prove causation."

A researcher wants to see if a protein-enriched diet will enhance the maze-running performance of rats. One group of rats is fed the high-protein diet for the duration of the study; the other group continues to receive ordinary rat chow. In this experiment, the rats' maze-running performance is the _____ variable.

Pretend you are in a discussion with friends and the topic is hard sciences versus soft sciences. It is argued that psychology is not a true science at all, as are sciences like chemistry and physics. How would you defend the proposition that psychology is a true science?

Which of the following statements concerning anecdotal evidence is FALSE?

As the number of bystanders increases, people are less likely to help someone who is in distress. This suggests that the size of a crowd and helping behavior are ​

An instructor wishes to find out whether a new teaching method is superior to his usual procedures, so he conducts an experiment. Everyone in his classes is quite excited about the prospect of learning under the new procedure, but he cannot administer the new teaching method to everyone: a random half of the students receive the new method and the remaining half receive the old method. What is the MOST obvious flaw in this experiment?

Which of the following research methods involves a researcher engaging in careful observation of behavior without intervening directly with the subjects?

In an experiment designed to test memory processes, one group was given special instructions and asked to group the items on a list into categories while they tried to memorize them. A second group of participants was given the same list, but they did not receive any special instructions. In this study, the experimental group is ​

Explain the difference between an independent variable and a dependent variable as used in the experimental method. ​

If a researcher observed that more traffic accidents occurred on cold days than on hot days, then temperature and traffic accidents would be _____ correlated.

A clinical psychologist notes that an unusually large number of obese people are depressed or anxious, and she offers an explanation that excess weight causes emotional disorders. Her explanation is an example of a(n)

Dr. Licciardi predicts that people who are observed while they perform a complex task will make more errors. Dr. Licciardi's prediction is an example of

In experimental research, subjects who receive some special treatment with regard to the independent variable are in the _____ group.

Theories permit researchers to move from

One of your friends is writing a research paper and wants to obtain information about the depth of personal information people typically reveal during a first date. Directly observing a large number of people during a first date will be difficult, so your friend asks for advice on how to collect this type of data. The BEST suggestion would be for your friend to use

A group of researchers wanted to determine if people will eat more food in a room with red paint than in a room that is decorated blue. Half the participants in this study ate in a red room and half ate in a blue room. The researchers then measured how much food was consumed in each of the two rooms. In this study, the independent variable was

In a journal article, the _____ presents an overview of the problem under investigation and quickly reviews previous research in the same area. ​

One is MOST likely to encounter problems with the social desirability bias when using

Dr. Kincaid was interested in the topic of autistic savants (individuals with limited abilities in many areas, but with an exceptional talent in one specific area). In the initial part of the investigation, Dr. Kincaid carefully observed and compiled detailed files on three individuals who were autistic savants. Dr. Kincaid is conducting _____ research.