Exam 2: Scientific Methods in Psychology

The benefit of using an operational definition is that it

An investigator finds that it is possible to use measurements of people's speed of response as a moderately accurate predictor of their grades in school. From this information we can conclude that the correlation between speed of response and grades is

To test the value of the study guide, Professor Lewis gives a free copy to the students sitting in the first two rows of class. Later she finds that these students got better grades than the students in the back of the room (who didn't get study guides). What is wrong with this experiment?

An instructor gives weekly tests to one class and just one midterm exam to another class. Both classes get the same final exam. The instructor compares performances on the final exam to see whether the weekly tests affected students' performance. What is the independent variable in this experiment?

If the correlation between variable A and variable B is +1, then

An anecdote is a

If most scores are very close to the mean, then the standard deviation is

An investigator decides to consider the results of an experiment to be statistically significant if p < .05. An analysis of the result indicates that p = .09. What conclusion, if any, can the investigator draw?

Animal research is responsible for much of what we know about all the following areas EXCEPT

A psychologist conducts an experiment and reports that p < .05. What is the relationship between the value of p and the statistical significance of the results?

A placebo is a

One problem with using anecdotes as evidence for ESP (or for anything else) is that anecdotes are, by their very nature,

Scientists usually prefer the more "parsimonious" explanation because it is:

Professor Middlebrain notes that rats in the first 10 cages, which were injected with salt water, are calm. Rats in the last 10 cages, which were injected with distilled water, are aggressive. He concludes that salt decreases aggressiveness. What is wrong with this study?

Judy cannot remember anything that happened during her 8:00 am psychology class. Her roommate Juanita suggests that perhaps Judy slept throughout class. Judy, however, suggests that her brain was temporarily kidnapped by aliens from outer space. Most psychologists would prefer Juanita's explanation because it is more

If a theory is "falsifiable," then it

In one experiment, participants who were told they were in a sensory deprivation experiment (but who really were not) showed the same symptoms as participants who really were kept in sensory deprivation. These results suggest that the experiences reported by the participants were influenced by

We would find it difficult to accept the idea of a horse performing algebraic equations because we regard it as

Some investigators claim they have taught monkeys to understand spoken English, but another scientist argues that the results might be due to a Clever Hans effect. What does this mean?

An investigator finds no consistent relationship between how much sleep students get at night and their grade point average in school. According to that study, the correlation between sleep and grades is