Question 1

_____ is the most objective method known for acquiring knowledge.

Accepted Answer

A) Observational research 
B) The scientific method 
C) A pilot study 
D) A case study

Question 2

A prediction about a cause and effect relationship between two or more variables is a _____

Accepted Answer

A) theory. 
B) experiment. 
C) causal hypothesis. 
D) correlational hypothesis.

Question 3

_____ set up the first formal psychological lab at the University of Leipzig in Germany and used _____ as the primary research method.

Accepted Answer

A) Freud; reflection 
B) Skinner; case studies 
C) Wundt; introspection 
D) Wundt; hypnosis

Question 4

Which of the following represents a replication?

Accepted Answer

A) Josh did the first-ever study on color perception in hummingbirds. 
B) Hunter repeated Josh's study as exactly as possible. 
C) Lyta's study was peer-reviewed. 
D) Orlando's study was published.

Question 5

James is a researcher examining the effects of vitamin D deficiency on mood. Based on everything he has read, he speculates that if an individual has a low vitamin D level, then he/she may experience changes in mood. James's speculation can also be described as a _____

Accepted Answer

A) causal hypothesis. 
B) school of thought. 
C) theory. 
D) psychological perspective.

Question 6

Imagine you work for a drug company that just created a medication to decrease anxiety in adults. Design an experiment using the research method that would allow you to best determine if the pill is effective for reducing anxiety in the population of interest.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Imagine you work for a drug company...

Question 7

When an independent variable would endanger a human participant's health, we must conduct the research by comparing groups that already have differing degrees of the variable of interest. These are known as _____ experiments.

Accepted Answer

A) partial 
B) correlational 
C) quasi 
D) descriptive

Question 8

Dr. Littman-Smith is conducting research in Kenya into the ways that mothers and their toddlers interact throughout the day. Given the purpose of her study, it is most likely that she is engaged in _____

Accepted Answer

A) naturalistic observation. 
B) laboratory observation. 
C) case study research. 
D) experimental research.

Question 9

A large study of heart disease that included White and African-American participants considered the age and gender of the participants but not their socioeconomic status. The conclusion drawn by the researchers was that being an African American male places you at greater risk for heart disease than being a White male. The problem with this conclusion is _____

Accepted Answer

A) no other races were included in the study. 
B) we can't tell if the variable is race or socioeconomic status. 
C) there were no African-American researchers on the team. 
D) we already knew African-Americans get more heart disease.

Question 10

Which of the following is an advantage to using naturalistic observation as a research method?

Accepted Answer

A) We can infer cause-effect relationships. 
B) We can study behavior in naturally occurring environments. 
C) We can easily influence the target behaviors. 
D) The target behaviors are always quite obvious.

Question 11

Psychologists Mamie and Kenneth Clark's research helped to _____

Accepted Answer

A) explain color vision. 
B) end racial segregation in schools. 
C) develop methods for studying memory. 
D) found behaviorism.

Question 12

What safeguards are there for the welfare of human research participants?

Accepted Answer

A) Professional organizations' codes of ethics; laws and institutional policies. 
B) Only the individual researcher's ethics. 
C) Only ethical codes from professional organizations. 
D) Only the ability of participants to sue.

Question 13

Jeanette needed a large number of responses for her survey about taste preferences so she chose to do an internet survey. A significant problem she may have is _____

Accepted Answer

A) no one will respond to her survey. 
B) her sample will not be representative. 
C) her sample may be too big. 
D) her sample may be representative.

Question 14

Using research results to solve practical problems is an example of the goal of ____

Accepted Answer

A) prediction. 
B) influence. 
C) explanation. 
D) replication.

Question 15

When seeking sensitive information, such as financial or sexual information, it is probably best to use _____

Accepted Answer

A) trained interviewers. 
B) self-administered questionnaires. 
C) phone interviews. 
D) researcher-administered questionnaires.

Question 16

Gen's father is being treated successfully for depression with antidepressant medication. Gen is experiencing similar symptoms of depression including disturbed sleep, poor appetite, low energy, and hopelessness. A professional person taking the _____ perspective will take his family history and the physical basis of his symptoms into account.

Accepted Answer

A) psychoanalytic 
B) humanistic 
C) biological 
D) sociocultural

Question 17

Which of the following would limit the effectiveness of the experimental method?

Accepted Answer

A) random assignment 
B) selection bias 
C) independent variables 
D) representative samples

Question 18

A correlation coefficient represents two things: _____ and _____

Accepted Answer

A) a sample; strength. 
B) the strength; direction of the relationship. 
C) the direction; a cause. 
D) the relationship; expectant functionality.

Question 19

When we examine how factors like poverty, peers, and parents interact to produce antisocial behavior in teens, we are using the _____

Accepted Answer

A) systems perspective. 
B) multifactor design model. 
C) information processing theory 
D) humanistic approach.

Question 20

Your assignment is to design a study to test the effectiveness of caffeine on performing rapid, precise movements. You want an A, so your design will _____

Accepted Answer

A) be a quasi experiment. 
B) assign students alphabetically. 
C) be a double blind study. 
D) give all participants caffeine.

Exam 1: Introduction to Psychology