Exam 2: Thinking Critically With Psychological Science

Alexandra is told that research supports the value of cosmetic surgery for boosting self-esteem.Belinda is told that the esteem-enhancing value of cosmetic surgery has been refuted by research.Both women consider the research findings to be common sense.This best illustrates the power of

As scientists,psychologists adopt an attitude of skepticism because they believe that

The first major issue that emerges in debates over experimenting on animals centers around the

The most familiar measure of central tendency is the

To assess the effectiveness of flu vaccine for county residents,Mr.Carlson wants to administer vaccine injections to all county residents rather than give half of them a placebo injection.Mr.Carlson is most clearly underestimating the importance of

A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment is called a

Random assignment minimizes ________ between experimental and control groups.Random sampling minimizes ________ between a sample and a population.

When you question whether anecdotal evidence can be generalized to all people,you are most clearly demonstrating

In a published report of a research study on social anxiety,psychologists included a 30-item questionnaire,which they had used to assess levels of social anxiety.The psychologists have thus provided their readers with a(n)

Psychologists who carefully watch the behavior of chimpanzee societies in the jungle are using a research method known as

Professor Delano suggests that because people are especially attracted to those who are good-looking,handsome men will be more successful than average-looking men in getting a job.The professor's prediction regarding employment success is an example of

The range is

Mike Crampton's stockbroker has informed him that he has suffered substantial investment losses.When Mike tells his wife,she angrily responds,"I could have told you that your investment plan would fail!" Her comment best illustrates

Psychology experiments are typically designed to

A hypothesis is a(n)

A positive correlation between self-esteem and academic success would indicate that

The King James Version of the Bible was completed when William Shakespeare was 46 years old.In Psalm 46 of this translation,the forty-sixth word is "shake," and the forty-sixth word from the end is "spear." Before concluding that the biblical translators were trying to be humorous with these specific word placements,you would be best advised to recognize the danger of

A statement describing how a researcher manipulates an independent variable is known as a(n)

A correlation of +0.70 between children's physical height and their popularity among their peers indicates that

Professor Smith told one class that drinking alcohol has been found to increase sexual desire.He informed another class that drinking alcohol has been found to reduce sexual appetite.The fact that neither class was surprised by the information they received best illustrates the power of