Exam 1: Behavioral Science

Give an example of a political use and a personal use of research.

Professor O'Malley is examining ways to help autistic children remain calm during class. He gives one group of autistic children a spinner that they can play with during class; the other group is given a small stuffed animal. In this study, type of toy is a(n) ________ variable.

Which of the following is NOT one of the principles of the logical positivist epistemology?

Definitions that explain the meaning of a hypothetical construct in words are referred to as

A theory that is falsifiable

Professor Carlsmith conducts a laboratory study of work motivation using college students as research participants. Professor Cantu wonders whether the same effect would be found using factory workers as participants. Professor Cantu's question concerns the ________ of Professor Carlsmith's study.

Outline the five general steps in the research process.

The scientific goal of ________ attempts to determine why a phenomenon occurs.

In behavioral science, theory, research, and application

________ constructs are made up of two or more independent components; ________ constructs are considered to be correlated.

The American Psychological Association often writes "friend of the court" briefs when a federal court is making decisions that affect social policy. This practice best represents the ________ use of behavioral science theory and research.

Explain why it is beneficial for scientists to make their information about their procedures and findings public.

Define empiricism and describe its key aspects.

This type of reasoning derives hypotheses from a theory

Theories can be used to

This type of reasoning applies the results from tests of a theory to verify the propositions of the theory.

Explain why researchers make assumptions when formulating a scientific theory.

In what ways are theory, research, and application interdependent aspects of behavior science research?

Describe the factors that make a theory useful.

List two key factors that are affected by a scientist's epistemological perspective.