Exam 2: Scientific Methods in Psychology

A dependent variable is a variable that

What does it mean to say that "p < .05"?

A researcher hypnotizes twenty volunteers an suggests to them that they will become more creative.Later the researcher compares stories these people write to stories written by 20 other people,and reports a difference.The main problem with this study is that it LACKS:

The advantage of a double-blind study is that it minimizes the effect of

The Greenville College soccer team scored 1,1,2,3,and 8 goals (a total of 15 goals)in their first five games.What was their mean number of goals?

Clever Hans could answer a question correctly only if he

The statement "p < .05" refers to

A researcher announces that according to a recent survey,78% of all American workers say they have cheated their employer in the past year.Before we can interpret these results,which of the following questions would be most important to ask?

The control group in an experiment is a group that

In one word,why did most scientists resist the belief that Clever Hans could do complex mathematics,even before they had a good explanation of what he was actually doing?

Which of the following do researchers generally regard as desirable?

Which cause-and-effect conclusion,if any,can we draw from the correlational studies of watching violent television?

Which of the following would (as a rule)indicate that a result is statistically significant?

The goal of scientific research is to establish comprehensive explanations of observable events.These explanations are called ____________________. theories

In both the U.S.legal system and in scientific disputes,the "burden of proof" falls on

Suppose we find that how many hours various people have studied their textbook correlates -.60 with their knowledge about current television programs.We could conclude that,in general,

Any scientific study goes through four steps.Which of the following is NOT one of those steps?

The word science derives from a Latin word meaning ____________________. knowledge

After defining the variables involved in a study,scientists have to identify individuals to study.The population is the group of individuals to whom we hope our conclusions will apply.Researchers generally hope that their conclusions will apply to a large population,such as all 5-year-olds or all people with schizophrenia.Because it is not practical to examine everyone in the population,researchers study a sample of people and assume that the results for the sample apply to the whole population.Briefly define the following types of samples and give one example for each;convenience sample,representative sample,random sample,and cross cultural sample.

"The Amazing Kreskin" is a professional psychic who demonstrates his powers by finding his paycheck hidden somewhere in the audience.If he doesn't find it,he doesn't get paid,but he is almost always successful.The most parsimonious explanation for this trick is that