Exam 1: Introduction and Research Methods

Psychologists who take the evolutionary perspective apply the principles of evolution, including natural selection, to explain psychological processes and phenomena.

A useful theory is one that does all of the following EXCEPT:

Which of the following conditions would increase scientific confidence in a particular research finding?

Increased number of hours watching television is associated with decreased grades on school tests. This finding represents a positive correlation.

According to the evolutionary perspective, psychological processes that were adaptations to a prehistoric way of life may continue to exist in the human behavioral repertoire today.

Which of the following is NOT one of the brain-imaging techniques discussed in the Focus on Neuroscience section in the text?

The placebo effect is any change attributed to a person's beliefs and expectations rather than the actual drug, treatment, or procedure.

How did physiology contribute to the emergence of psychology as a separate scientific discipline?

Random selection is a process by which participants are selected randomly from a larger group such that every group member has an equal chance of being included in the study.

Ginkgo biloba is an herb that is thought to increase blood flow in the brain and enhance memory processes. In a carefully controlled study investigating this claim, young adults were assigned to one of three groups. Those in group 1 took a capsule containing 120 milligrams of ginkgo biloba once a day. Those in group 2 took a capsule that looked identical but was a fake. Those in group 3 did not take any capsules. The participants assigned to group 2 constituted the _____ in this study.

A cognitive psychologist might use a computer metaphor for human memory, suggesting that human memory, thinking, and perception could be understood in terms of an information processing model.

The participants assigned to the control group or condition in Crum and Langer's hotel experiment were:

To ensure that participants are responding honestly and consistently, survey researchers:

Psychologists' open-minded attitude is tempered by a healthy sense of realism, which is guided by the assumption that many events are not explainable, including human behavior and mental processes.

Researchers were interested in the effects of alcohol consumption on the perceived attractiveness of members of the opposite sex. One group of participants was given four drinks containing alcohol, and another group was given no drinks at all. Next, both groups of participants rated the attractiveness of members of the opposite sex by viewing pictures and rating attractiveness on a 1-to-10 scale. Which group was the control group?

Researchers Craig Anderson and Karen Dill (2000) surveyed college students about their video game playing habits. What did their survey reveal?

How is a theory different from a hypothesis?

Edward B. Titchener at Cornell University opened the first psychology research laboratory.

The evolutionary perspective in psychology:

Evidence that is the result of observation, measurement, and experimentation is referred to as _____ evidence.