Question 1

Your nephew is fascinated with human memory and the strategies that help people remember large amounts of information. If he were to become a psychologist, you suspect that he would be best suited for a career in

Accepted Answer

A)  industrial/organizational psychology. 
B)  cognitive psychology or neuroscience. 
C)  developmental psychology. 
D)  clinical psychology.

Question 2

Psychologists work in many settings. Which are the two main areas?

Accepted Answer

A)  business and government 
B)  health care settings and private practice 
C)  government and private practice 
D)  universities and health care settings

Question 3

When a researcher manipulates a variable to see what effect the manipulation has on another variable, the research design is a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)  correlational study. 
B)  experiment. 
C)  observational study. 
D)  case study.

Question 4

If a researcher was denied permission to conduct a study because participants might suffer harm, that decision would have been made by the

Accepted Answer

A)  American Psychological Association. 
B)  Institutional Review Board. 
C)  National Science Foundation. 
D)  Association of Psychological Science.

Question 5

"Should people have access to data collected in an experiment?" This question is associated with the ethical issue of

Accepted Answer

A)  deception. 
B)  informed consent. 
C)  privacy. 
D)  confidentiality.

Question 6

If Mike wants to use the scientific method, he would use all of the following elements EXCEPT

Accepted Answer

A)  focusing on a theory. 
B)  stating a hypothesis. 
C)  using a research method. 
D)  recalling his personal experiences.

Question 7

The concept of nurture includes both ________ and ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  experience; culture 
B)  genes; metabolism 
C)  mind; body 
D)  culture; genes

Question 8

How did the ancient Greeks and Romans know that the brain was the part of the body essential for normal functioning?

Accepted Answer

A)  They performed carefully controlled experiments similar to those conducted by modern scientists. 
B)  They assumed the brain was important based on knowledge passed down from earlier civilizations. 
C)  They observed that people who had suffered blows to the head often lost consciousness or had behavioral changes. 
D)  They assumed that the heart was the center of the body responsible for normal functioning.

Question 9

Which of the following is the best description of the mind, according to your textbook?

Accepted Answer

A)  all of your intuitions 
B)  your conscience and sense of morality 
C)  your education, experiences, and beliefs 
D)  the sum total of your mental activity

Question 10

A researcher believes that presenting possible suspects in a lineup one at a time instead of in a group would lead to more accurate identification of the true suspect. This belief represents a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)  hypothesis. 
B)  independent variable. 
C)  correlation. 
D)  theory.

Question 11

Deshawnda has just read an article reporting a "strong correlation between baldness and heart attacks." She concludes that one should never shave one's head because it will cause one to have a heart attack. Evaluate Deshawnda's interpretation of this article. Explain why you agree or disagree with her conclusion.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Deshawnda has just read an article reporting...

Question 12

Your younger brother believes that all psychologists are clinical psychologists who specialize in treating people with mental health difficulties. Write a response to him showing that psychology is broader than the clinical subfield by providing two examples of nonclinical areas of psychology. In your answer, be sure to name each subfield and to give a brief description of each.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Your younger brother believes that all psychologists...

Question 13

If a psychologist's goal is to understand behavior, he or she might conduct a(n) ________ study.

Accepted Answer

A)  experimental 
B)  descriptive 
C)  independent 
D)  dependent

Question 14

Charles Darwin's observations on how individuals adapt to an environment through natural selection had the strongest influence on which of the following schools of thought?

Accepted Answer

A)  structuralism 
B)  Gestalt theory 
C)  functionalism 
D)  psychoanalytic theory

Question 15

The theories of Sigmund Freud and his followers

Accepted Answer

A)  state that behavior can be altered by the application of reinforcement and punishment. 
B)  emphasize the functions or adaptive purposes of the mind. 
C)  emphasize the concept that the whole is different from the sum of its parts. 
D)  state that much of human behavior is determined by the unconscious.

Question 16

Which of the following is an example of critical thinking?

Accepted Answer

A)  believing that sugar causes headaches because your head hurts after you eat a candy bar 
B)  concluding that eating spinach leads to a longer life after seeing an ad for spinach on television 
C)  using a personal example to explain the importance of time management 
D)  concluding that exercise is beneficial after evaluating the evidence of a research study

Question 17

A) Describe the nature/nurture debate.
B) Discuss the modern view regarding the nature/nurture debate.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A) Describe the nature/nurture debate.
B) Discuss the...

Question 18

If a researcher wants to be able to generalize about a population using data pulled from a sample, it is best to use

Accepted Answer

A)  a convenience sample. 
B)  experience sampling. 
C)  a descriptive study. 
D)  a random sample.

Question 19

What recent advances have helped scientists to better understand the functions of the brain?

Accepted Answer

A)  better nutrition and greater access to improved medications 
B)  improved therapeutic techniques and methods 
C)  improved scanning and brain imaging tools 
D)  better access to psychiatric patients for research

Question 20

Rebecca evaluates a claim and finds scientific evidence in support of the claim. Why should she still use her own logic and reasoning in deciding whether to accept the claim as true?

Accepted Answer

A)  Only research that has been shown to be valid and replicated by other researchers is published in scientific journals. 
B)  Even research published in peer-reviewed journals can have flaws in the analysis of or methods behind the research. 
C)  There is no reason for Rebecca to use her own logic and reasoning; scientific evidence is seldom incorrect. 
D)  Rebecca's intuition should be the ultimate means of establishing whether the evidence is strong.

Exam 1: Introducing the World of Psychology