Exam 2: The Scientific Method

A theory that predicts children will develop abstract reasoning by age 12 is more ________ than a theory that predicts the development of abstract reasoning by ages 12 to 20.

Researchers demonstrated a relationship between the extent to which people in large cities help strangers and the degree of cultural embeddedness in the city (i.e.,concern for family and in-group members).As cultural embeddedness increased,people were less likely to help strangers.This relationship indicates that

Suppose you come across a car accident at an intersection and observe that a small car is severely damaged and a large SUV appears to have only a headlight broken.If you describe the accident as occurring because the SUV hit the smaller car,your report likely includes

When research consists of verbal summaries of "naturally occurring,ordinary events in natural settings" the research is

A researcher manipulates the amount of time participants view a list of words (1 vs.4 minutes),and measures the number of words the participants are able to write down 10 minutes later.The researcher suggests that in-between the presentation time and the later recall of the words,the words are in participants' memory.The construct of "memory" in this example represents

Which of the following is not one of the conditions for making a causal inference?

Research has indicated that amount of undergraduate research activity predicts measures of later success in the profession of psychology.For this prediction to be possible,undergraduate research activity and later success must be

The essential ingredient of scientific observation is

When two potentially effective independent variables are allowed to covary simultaneously,a __________ has occurred.

When an hypothesis is stated in such a way that the event to be explained becomes the explanation itself (e.g.,the child is distractable because he has attention deficit disorder),the hypothesis is said to be

The primary means scientists use to establish control in their observations is to

A researcher wanted to compare the relative effectiveness of two techniques for reducing anxiety: a drug and a relaxation exercise.The researcher gave the experimental group both the drug and the relaxation exercise.The control group was given neither the drug nor the exercise.The difference between the drug and the relaxation exercise cannot be compared in this experiment because the experiment involves a

The main difference between physical measurement and psychological measurement is that physical measurement

The major function of a theory in psychology is to

The most rigorous test of a scientific theory involves

Describe the differences between basic and applied research.

The factors that the researcher controls or manipulates in order to determine their effect on behavior are called the

An operational definition of a construct is

The idea that people purchase "green" products in order to achieve higher status by behaving altruistically is

People's tendency to select news programs that do not challenge their attitudes or beliefs is explained by