Exam 5: Pseudoscience, Science, and Evidence-Based Practice

Presently, the manufacturers of nutritional supplements are not required to obtain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to verify the claims of the effectiveness of the health products they sell. Suppose a company wants to market a new herbal supplement which it claims improves memory. A scientifically informed citizen would hope that someday the FDA would insist that before it approves such a product, research on the effectiveness of the supplement would:

The assumption of phrenology that specific abilities are associated with certain underlying brain areas is consistent with which idea from modern research on the brain?

People often find their horoscopes surprisingly accurate in describing their lives. Which statement is a key factor contributing to this acceptance?

Some people believe that a dramatized rebirthing procedure will simulate a real birth process and help a child "attach" to a new caregiver. Which thinking error are these people committing?

The use of a control group that waits for treatment is essentially an effort by a researcher to:

Richard Feynman described a group of scientifically uneducated native islanders who wanted to recreate the experience of cargo planes landing on their island during World War II. They built an imitation of a runway and huts in which a man wore wooden pieces on his head to imitate radio headphones. This example of a "cargo cult science" was used to illustrate how:

The self-help program The Secret assumes that positive thoughts can directly affect physical events in the universe to produce success and other positive outcomes. When a person who is not cured after using its approach, the program attributes the failure to the idea that "God had other plans" for the person. From a scientific perspective, the program's explanation for therapeutic failure shows that it is using:

The use of a placebo control is essentially an effort by a researcher to:

Meta-analysis is a technique that allows researchers to find out how effective a treatment is through a quantitative comparison of different treatments. It does this by comparing their:

The self-help program The Secret assumes that positive thoughts can directly affect physical events in the universe to produce success and other positive outcomes. From a scientific perspective, the _____ is the most important objection to the ideas found in The Secret.

The fact that astrology has changed little in centuries despite research failing to support its predictions shows that, unlike science, astrology is not:

Scientologists use terms such as "auditing" for "counseling" and "clear" for a client who has "been cured" of psychological problems. For this reason, Scientology meets which criterion for being classified as a pseudoscience?

Which of the following is likely to be endorsed for the treatment of depression by those who advocate that clinicians should use evidence-based practices?

The text lists a number of reasons why it is important to study the difference between science and pseudoscience. One reason is that pseudoscientific practices, such as the rebirthing procedure, may cause harm. This reason is MOST related to the idea that:

Which of the following statements is TRUE about magnet therapy?

Astrology seems implausible given what is known, especially from research in:

The text suggests that one reason why people in ancient times found patterns in the stars and planets that are not really there is that they were:

The field of _____ made observations that contributed to the development of the science of chemistry, even though it might now be considered a pseudoscience.

Psychologists heeding the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association would likely respond to the case of Candace Newmaker, an adopted child who died while undergoing a rebirthing procedure. These psychologists would take the position that Candace's therapists:

Astrologers and others who practice pseudosciences do not revise or reject their "theories" when they are not supported by research. This practice shows that pseudosciences: