Question 1

Statistical significance refers to whether research

Accepted Answer

A)   variables are causally related.
B)   participants were randomly assigned to particular conditions.
C)   findings are due to chance variations.
D)   results add support to previous findings.

Question 2

Professor Bolden claims that his experimental research demonstrates that eating an apple every day improves children's reading skills.How might he best offer further support for the reliability of this finding?

Accepted Answer

A)   replication
B)   naturalistic observation
C)   case studies
D)   correlational research

Question 3

Which of the following provides only a rough indication of the degree of variation among a set of scores?

Accepted Answer

A)   correlation
B)   standard deviation
C)   range
D)   median

Question 4

In a well-controlled experiment,researchers seek to minimize

Accepted Answer

A)   confounding variables.
B)   informed consent.
C)   replication.
D)   random assignment.

Question 5

Hindsight bias often leads us to place too much faith in

Accepted Answer

A)   curious skepticism.
B)   an empirical approach.
C)   human intuition.
D)   critical thinking.

Question 6

In a random sequence of coin tosses,series of successive heads occur ________ often than people expect and series of tails occur ________ often than people expect.

Accepted Answer

A)   more;less
B)   less;more
C)   more;more
D)   less;less

Question 7

To study the development of relationships,Dr.Rajiv carefully observed and recorded patterns of verbal and nonverbal behaviors among men and women in singles bars.Which research method did Dr.Rajiv employ?

Accepted Answer

A)   naturalistic observation
B)   the survey
C)   the case study
D)   experimentation

Question 8

A testable prediction that is often implied by a theory is called a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)   naturalistic observation.
B)   operational definition.
C)   dependent variable.
D)   hypothesis.

Question 9

The hindsight bias refers to people's tendency to

Accepted Answer

A)   dismiss the value of skepticism.
B)   reject any ideas that can't be scientifically tested.
C)   exaggerate their ability to have foreseen an outcome.
D)   overestimate the extent to which others share their opinions.

Question 10

To maximize control over the factors they are studying,researchers engage in

Accepted Answer

A)   case studies.
B)   correlational research.
C)   experimentation.
D)   surveys.

Question 11

The relief of pain following the taking of an inactive substance that is perceived to have medicinal benefits illustrates

Accepted Answer

A)   random assignment.
B)   hindsight bias.
C)   debriefing.
D)   the placebo effect.

Question 12

Unusual ESP subjects who defy chance when first tested nearly always lose their "psychic powers" when retested.This decline is best explained in terms of

Accepted Answer

A)   illusory correlation.
B)   regression toward the mean.
C)   a placebo effect.
D)   a confounding variable.

Question 13

The biggest danger of relying on case-study evidence is that it

Accepted Answer

A)   is based on naturalistic observation.
B)   may be unrepresentative of what is generally true.
C)   overestimates the importance of operational definitions.
D)   leads us to underestimate the causal relationships between events.

Question 14

Dr.Birk suggests that since depression is associated with pessimistic thinking,depressed students would be more likely than nondepressed students to perceive themselves as academically incompetent.Dr.Birk's prediction regarding students' self-perceptions is an example of a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)   illusory correlation.
B)   placebo effect.
C)   confounding variable.
D)   hypothesis.

Question 15

Website polls and call-in phone surveys often yield unrepresentative results because they fail to use

Accepted Answer

A)   operational definitions.
B)   random sampling.
C)   scatterplots.
D)   double-blind procedures.

Question 16

In reporting the effect of drinking alcohol on self-consciousness,psychological researchers would specify exactly how they measured self-consciousness.They are thereby providing a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)   experimental hypothesis.
B)   case study.
C)   double-blind procedure.
D)   operational definition.

Question 17

Gene believes he is much more likely to win the state lottery if he chooses the numbers than if the numbers are randomly generated by a computer program.Gene's belief best illustrates

Accepted Answer

A)   regression toward the mean.
B)   an independent variable.
C)   an illusion of control.
D)   a scatterplot.

Question 18

Three key attitudes of scientific inquiry are

Accepted Answer

A)   pride,enthusiasm,and ingenuity.
B)   ingenuity,practicality,and certainty.
C)   certainty,creativity,and curiosity.
D)   curiosity,skepticism,and humility.

Question 19

A scatterplot graphically depicts the

Accepted Answer

A)   standard deviation of a distribution of scores.
B)   arithmetic average of a distribution of scores.
C)   total population from which samples may be drawn.
D)   degree of relationship between two variables.

Question 20

Which method offers the most reliable way of assessing whether athletic performance is boosted by drinking soda with caffeine in it?

Accepted Answer

A)   the survey
B)   the case study
C)   the experiment
D)   naturalistic observation

Exam 2: Thinking Critically With Psychological Science

Which method offers the most reliable way of assessing whether athletic performance is boosted by drinking soda with caffeine in it?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In a random sequence of coin tosses,series of successive heads occur ________ often than people expect and series of tails occur ________ often than people expect.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Statistical significance refers to whether research

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Professor Bolden claims that his experimental research demonstrates that eating an apple every day improves children's reading skills.How might he best offer further support for the reliability of this finding?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A testable prediction that is often implied by a theory is called a(n)

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Three key attitudes of scientific inquiry are

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Gene believes he is much more likely to win the state lottery if he chooses the numbers than if the numbers are randomly generated by a computer program.Gene's belief best illustrates

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In reporting the effect of drinking alcohol on self-consciousness,psychological researchers would specify exactly how they measured self-consciousness.They are thereby providing a(n)

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Hindsight bias often leads us to place too much faith in

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A scatterplot graphically depicts the

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Website polls and call-in phone surveys often yield unrepresentative results because they fail to use

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The relief of pain following the taking of an inactive substance that is perceived to have medicinal benefits illustrates

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Unusual ESP subjects who defy chance when first tested nearly always lose their "psychic powers" when retested.This decline is best explained in terms of

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Dr.Birk suggests that since depression is associated with pessimistic thinking,depressed students would be more likely than nondepressed students to perceive themselves as academically incompetent.Dr.Birk's prediction regarding students' self-perceptions is an example of a(n)

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The biggest danger of relying on case-study evidence is that it

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

To study the development of relationships,Dr.Rajiv carefully observed and recorded patterns of verbal and nonverbal behaviors among men and women in singles bars.Which research method did Dr.Rajiv employ?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following provides only a rough indication of the degree of variation among a set of scores?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

To maximize control over the factors they are studying,researchers engage in

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The hindsight bias refers to people's tendency to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In a well-controlled experiment,researchers seek to minimize

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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In a random sequence of coin tosses,series of successive heads occur often than people expect and series of tails occur often than people expect.

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