Question 1

Based on your text's discussion of scientific inquiry,the goals of psychological science include each of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

A)   explaining behavior and mental processes
B)   controlling the causes of behavior and mental processes
C)   synthesizing behavior and mental processes
D)   predicting behavior and mental processes C

Question 2

The process by which any deception used in a study is explained to a participant is called:

Accepted Answer

A)   debriefing
B)   informed consent
C)   relief of confidentiality
D)   relief from relative risk A

Question 3

Operational definitions make it possible for researchers to do what?

Accepted Answer

A)   identify variables
B)   record a variable's quantity
C)   identify variables and record their quantity
D)   none of the above C

Question 4

Data collection is particularly problematic when a researcher uses participant observation because:

Accepted Answer

A)   the researcher is able to make use of only closed-ended questions
B)   the researcher fails to recognize the third variable problem
C)   random error occurs in the initial stages of observation
D)   the researcher loses objectivity in participating with a group

Question 5

The most frequently occurring score in a data set is known as the:

Accepted Answer

A)   mean
B)   mode
C)   range
D)   standard deviation

Question 6

The statistic that involves the basic arithmetic average of a set of scores is known as the:

Accepted Answer

A)   mode
B)   range
C)   mean
D)   median

Question 7

A(n)_____ is a specific,testable prediction about the result that,if the theory is correct,will support the theory.

Accepted Answer

A)   replication
B)   hypothesis
C)   experiment
D)   all of the above

Question 8

The precise way a researcher measures and defines a variable is known as the:

Accepted Answer

A)   operational definition
B)   response accuracy
C)   stimulus judgment
D)   central tendency

Question 9

An institutional review board is likely to conclude that there are no troublesome ethical issues associated with which of the following types of study?

Accepted Answer

A)   research in a controlled study in a laboratory
B)   surveys on topics such as experiences of sexual abuse
C)   naturalistic observation of the conditions in which people are likely to litter in public
D)   experiments on learning simple lists of words when the experimenter has deceived participants about the purpose of the study

Question 10

A study of the experiences of a synesthete-for example,a person who experiences a visual sensation when hearing a sound-is likely to make use of:

Accepted Answer

A)   random selection
B)   a case study
C)   cross-sectional research
D)   participant observation

Question 11

Which of the following phenomena would be best researched using a longitudinal study?

Accepted Answer

A)   the change in children's concepts of sharing from infancy through adolescence
B)   the difference between children and adults in their responses to a natural disaster
C)   the frequency with which people think about sources of stress in their lives over the course of a single day
D)   the rates of hospitalization of psychiatric patients over the course of the last century

Question 12

Someone who is interested in studying age-related developmental changes as they unfold over time would likely use what type of descriptive design?

Accepted Answer

A)   naturalistic observation
B)   participant observation
C)   longitudinal study
D)   cross-sectional study

Question 13

When people are aware of being observed,they might change their behaviors.This phenomenon illustrates:

Accepted Answer

A)   variability
B)   experimenter expectancy
C)   random assignment
D)   reactivity

Question 14

If you created a scatter plot of your data,what type of statistic would you have computed?

Accepted Answer

A)   correlation
B)   range
C)   median
D)   inferential

Question 15

When two variables are correlated,it is not clear which one is a causal variable and which is an effect.This ambiguity reflects:

Accepted Answer

A)   the third variable problem
B)   random error
C)   selection bias
D)   the directionality problem

Question 16

Psychologist Jean Piaget observed children to see how they solved problems.Over the course of many studies,he was able to spot general patterns of behavior.This led him to connect different concepts and behaviors within a single:

Accepted Answer

A)   theory
B)   hypothesis
C)   experiment
D)   sample

Question 17

Researchers assess the baseline performance of people with respect to a given behavior so they can identify what happens to behavior when they manipulate a variable.The use of baseline groups and groups that experience a manipulation of a variable is characteristic of:

Accepted Answer

A)   correlational studies
B)   longitudinal research
C)   naturalistic observation
D)   experimental research

Question 18

In order to look good,respondents sometimes give incorrect answers on a questionnaire.This behavior illustrates:

Accepted Answer

A)   the better-than-average effect
B)   socially desirable responding
C)   an experimental confound
D)   selection bias

Question 19

Which of the following alternatives is the closest meaning to the term serendipitous?

Accepted Answer

A)   erratic
B)   unexpected
C)   significant
D)   systematic

Question 20

According your text,physiologists David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel's Nobel Prize-winning research on the function of visual cells in cats' brains illustrates the value of _____ in scientific research.

Accepted Answer

A)   serendipity
B)   replication
C)   objectivity
D)   abstraction

Exam 2: Research Methodology