Deck 2: Psychology As a Science

Question 1

"Psychology is not a science," Adam argues. Which of the following is the BEST argument opposing this claim?

A) Psychology is a science because it uses sophisticated technology in its research.
B) Psychology is a science because some of its early contributors were physiologists.
C) Psychology is a science because of the methods it uses.
D) Psychology is a science because it studies the brain and the rest of the nervous system.

Answer 1

Psychology is a science because of the methods it uses.

Question 2

What logical process uses direct observations to generate broad conclusions?

Answer 2

Inductive reasoning

Question 3

A given field of study is defined as a science by virtue of its:

A) methods
B) equipment
C) subject matter
D) findings

Answer 3

methods

Question 4

What logical process starts with broad, basic principles and applies them in specific situations to prove many smaller truths?

Question 5

Which of the following is most debatable as a true science?

A) chemistry
B) physics
C) psychology
D) biology

Question 6

What blended model is commonly used by psychologists to employ the best attributes of deductive and inductive reasoning?

Question 7

What British philosopher argued against the use of deductive reasoning because he believed it was too susceptible to thinkers' biases?

A) Skinner
B) Popper
C) Kant
D) Baker

Question 8

The Greek philosophers used a type of reasoning known as ______ reasoning.

A) deductive
B) hypothetico-deductive
C) Socratic
D) inductive

Question 9

Psychology, like other sciences, relies on the scientific method.

Question 10

Ideas that psychologists develop about the laws that govern processes and behavior are called ___________.

Question 11

Dr. Arceneaux is a meteorologist. Dr. Bianchini is a psychologist. With which of the following statements would they most likely agree?

A) Like the weather, human behavior is inherently unpredictable.
B) The weather is predictable. Human behavior is not.
C) While the weather is unpredictable, human behavior is predictable.
D) Both the weather and human behavior are ultimately predictable.

Question 12

Describe the four steps used in the scientific approach to study behavior.

Question 13

What term refers to personal beliefs or conventional wisdom that a particular thinker accepts as a broad, basic truth?

Question 14

What are the two essential beliefs that science has regarding the world?

Question 15

The natural law of __________ suggests that when something is set in motion, it has an effect on other things.

Question 16

If individuals carefully observe the events in the world around them, they are often able to discover the laws that govern those events.

Question 17

Which of the following adjectives would a scientist use most readily in describing the universe?

A) mysterious
B) lawful
C) simple
D) chaotic

Question 18

Observations of behaviors or any other events must be objectively testable. Which of the following does not meet this criterion?

A) dollars spent in a department store
B) number of students in a school
C) frequency of reported car accidents
D) number of caring people in the world

Question 19

Theories are the product of deductive reasoning.

Question 20

Define the term "hypothesis" and provide an example.

Question 21

You are at the annual conference of the Association for Psychological Science, listening to researchers present papers on social development in later adulthood. In her presentation, Dr. Dryer notes, "Social disengagement theory predicts that older adults will attend social events less often than will middle-aged adults." The next presenter, Dr. Ebrahimi, reports that in the diaries participants kept as part of his study, older adults reported attending just as many parties, dinners, or other informal gatherings as did middle-aged adults, casting doubt on social disengagement theory. Dr. Dryer's statement reflects the _______ component of hypothetico-deductive reasoning, whereas Dr. Ebrahimi's illustrates _______.

A) inductive; the inductive component also
B) inductive; the deductive component
C) deductive; the inductive component
D) deductive; the deductive component also

Question 22

Which approach to psychology advocated focus on observable behaviors only?

A) hypothetico-deductive
B) inductive reasoning
C) pseudopsychology
D) behaviorism

Question 23

Recall your text's discussion of the behaviorist perspective in Chapter 1. According to your text, "Skinner argued [that] empirical - observable - information should be gathered first, and then theories . . . could be formulated from that." Skinner is endorsing _____ reasoning, promoted early on by _______.

A) inductive; Bacon
B) inductive; Descartes
C) deductive; Bacon
D) deductive; Descartes

Question 24

Cecilia is using the formula F = M*A to solve a physics problem. Cecilia is using ______ reasoning.

A) hypothetico-deductive
B) empirical
C) inductive
D) deductive

Question 25

Why did the Renaissance philosopher Francis Bacon question the validity of deductive reasoning? Which type of reasoning did he suggest as an alternative?

A) Bacon believed that deductive reasoning was prone to biases. He suggested hypothetico-deductive reasoning as an alternative.
B) Bacon believed that deductive reasoning was prone to biases. He suggested inductive reasoning as an alternative.
C) Bacon believed that deductive reasoning often failed to result in general theories. He suggested hypothetico-deductive reasoning as an alternative.
D) Bacon believed that deductive reasoning often failed to result in general theories. He suggested inductive reasoning as an alternative.

Question 26

Most psychologists today use a type of reasoning termed ________ reasoning.

A) theoretico-inductive
B) theoretico-deductive
C) hypothetico-inductive
D) hypothetico-deductive

Question 27

Why might one argue that inductive reasoning is less susceptible to bias than deductive reasoning is?

A) Inductive reasoning begins with a general theory rather than specific observations.
B) In inductive reasoning, the observations that would refute the theory are specified in advance.
C) Inductive reasoning begins with objective observations rather than a theory in the reasoner's mind.
D) Inductive reasoning is essentially the opposite of the sort of deductive reasoning that philosophers used.

Question 28

Forced sterilization and controlled breeding are two consequences of __________.

Question 29

What 4 goals does psychology share with other sciences?

Question 30

Religion and mysticism were not early influences on the development of psychology as a discipline.

Question 31

The field of __________ is often credited with shifting psychology from a philosophy to a science.

Question 32

Prior to the nineteenth century, which field contributed most to the rise of psychology?

A) philosophy
B) chemistry
C) biology
D) physics

Question 33

The frustration-aggression hypothesis predicts that aggressive behavior follows the failure to attain a goal. The hypothesis is supported when an individual hits and curses at a vending machine that fails to deliver a cold drink after money has been inserted. This scenario illustrates the ________ reasoning process.

A) reductive
B) deductive
C) inductive
D) hypothetico-deductive

Question 34

Describe a key difference between the goals of psychology and the physical sciences.

Question 35

Psychology distinguishes itself from other scientific fields by examining what 3 issues?

Question 36

A statement of the objective relationship between two variables is termed a(n) _______.

A) axiom
B) law
C) theory
D) hypothesis

Question 37

Which of the following alternatives CORRECTLY identifies the order in which the goals of science are pursued using a given type of reasoning?

A) deductive reasoning: observation prediction explanation
B) hypothetico-deductive reasoning: prediction observation explanation
C) hypothetico-deductive reasoning: observation prediction explanation
D) inductive reasoning: explanation prediction observation

Question 38

Why does contemporary psychology no longer rely solely on inductive reasoning?

A) Inductive reasoning is too susceptible to the biases of the individual psychologist.
B) Inductive reasoning is not based on objective observation.
C) There are so many factors influencing human behavior that pure induction could never identify them all.
D) Inductive reasoning never proved a successful way of gaining knowledge.

Question 39

Which statement below is MOST consistent with the hypothetico-deductive approach to reasoning?

A) Hypotheses are deduced from theories.
B) Hypotheses are induced from theories.
C) Theories are deduced from hypotheses.
D) Theories are induced from observations.

Question 40

Kant argued that psychology is not a "real" science.

Question 41

Recall the levels of analysis described in Ch. 1 of your text. If you were sympathetic to the notion that psychology should limit itself to clearly observable phenomena, on which level of analysis might you concentrate?

A) the brain level
B) the individual level
C) the group level
D) the social level

Question 42

Which science uses Zodiac signs to predict the future and provide advice about relationships?
a) astrology
b) astronomy
c) Gestalt
d) Maharishi

Question 43

In what way does astrology exemplify a pseudoscience?

A) It purports to help people with their lives.
B) It adopts the terms and topics found in psychology.
C) It makes grandiose claims regarding the influence of its key variables.
D) Its methods resemble those typical of personality psychology.

Question 44

According to your text, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker argues that language is instinctual among human beings. Which of the following eminent psychologists of the past would be LEAST willing to entertain Pinker's claim?

A) Abraham Maslow
B) Roger Sperry
C) Ulrich Neisser
D) B.F. Skinner

Question 45

Why is psychology so often misrepresented and misapplied?

A) It is highly relevant to people's lives.
B) It has made little real progress in understanding thought and behavior.
C) It focuses on unobservable phenomena.
D) As a discipline, it has been hijacked by pseudopsychologists.

Question 46

You are writing a history of psychology, focusing on the major themes and perspectives that have dominated the field over the past 150 years. Which phrase below offers the most fitting completion to the partial title, The Story of Psychology: __________?

A) Observing the Unobservable
B) Predicting the Unpredictable
C) Explaining the Inexplicable
D) Controlling the Uncontrollable

Question 47

About how many of psychology's "celebrity practitioners" are legitimate?

A) none is
B) only a minority is
C) about half are
D) a majority is

Question 48

In which century did psychology move from a field based on philosophy and religion to one based on science?

A) the 17^th century
B) the 18^th century
C) the 19^th century
D) the 20^th century

Question 49

What is the guiding principle of astrology?

Question 50

Psuedopsychology is based on the scientific method.

Question 51

How do pseudopsychologists differ from psychologists?

A) Psychologists are less likely to help people with their problems than are pseudopsychologists.
B) As compared to pseudopsychologists, psychologists are less likely to make exaggerated claims.
C) Pseudopsychologists are less likely to promote specific moral values than are psychologists.
D) Pseudopsychologists address different topics than do psychologists.

Question 52

What is the difference between psychology and pseudopsychology?

Question 53

Psychology does not provide the means to answer all of life's major questions.

Question 54

What difficult balance, in regards to using psychology and pseudopsychology, must psychologists maintain?

Question 55

Which of the following is an example of pseudopsychology?

A) astronomy
B) astrology
C) Gestalt
D) Maharishi

Question 56

Which discipline is credited with transforming psychology from a philosophical field to a scientific one?

A) biology
B) chemistry
C) physics
D) mathematics

Question 57

Which of the following alternatives accurately states a key difference between psychology and the other sciences?

A) Psychology is less concerned with practical applications than are some of the other sciences.
B) Psychology is more likely to deal with "morally-loaded" issues than are the other sciences.
C) Psychology is more concerned with the goal of control than are the other sciences.
D) Psychology is less interested in building theories than are the other sciences.

Question 58

According to your text, which scientific goal seems to pose a particular challenge for psychology?

A) description
B) prediction
C) explanation
D) control

Question 59

Which of the following statements best expresses the relationship between psychology and such natural sciences as biology?

A) Psychology is the same as any other natural science.
B) Psychology pursues different goals and uses different methods than do such natural sciences as biology.
C) Psychology is unlikely ever to become a true natural science.
D) Psychology differs in some ways from the other natural sciences.

Question 60

"The process of observation is a challenging one for psychology, given its subject matter,"offers Frederico. "That's why psychology should investigate only phenomena which are clearly observable," Grady responds. "But psychologists can use observable behavior to make reliable statements about internal processes that can't be seen," counters Holly. "Not to mention, technology continues to expand the range of psychological processes we can actually observe," Indira notes. Which of these discussants is paired with the psychological perspective they most clearly reflect?

A) Grady - psychodynamic perspective
B) Holly - behaviorist perspective
C) Indira - neuroscience perspective
D) Grady - cognitive perspective

Question 61

Researcher bias is not an issue when naturalistic observation is used.

Question 62

The research methodology that asks participants to answer a series of questions is called a(n) __________.

Question 63

A subset of a population is known as a(n) __________.

Question 64

Events, situations, and conditions are all examples of variables.

Question 65

Which of the following is not a descriptive research method?

A) case study
B) experiment
C) naturalistic observation
D) survey

Question 66

With which of psychology's shared values are pseudosciences such as astrology MOST inconsistent?

A) Psychology is empirical.
B) Psychology is multilevel.
C) Psychology is theory-driven.
D) Psychology is contextual.

Question 67

What does it mean to operationalize a variable?

Question 68

In an experimental setting, the variable that is not manipulated is called the __________ variable.

Question 69

Karen is a primatologist interested in studying the grooming behavior of baboon troops. To remain unobtrusive, she sat in a tree to watch the animals and counted the number of instances of grooming behavior she observed. What research method did Karen use?

A) naturalistic observation
B) case study
C) survey
D) experiment

Question 70

Researchers can only generalize their findings if they have studied every individuals in the population of interest.
every individual (not plural)

Question 71

A political scientist wanted to study the prevalence of racism in the United States. Unknowingly, her sample included a disproportionate number of racist individuals. Name a methodological criticism of her research?

Question 72

A researcher observed the eating patterns of laboratory rats while manipulating the amount of sleep they received during a week-long study. In this example, what type of variable is "sleep"?

A) observable
B) dependent
C) independent
D) extraneous

Question 73

At what stage of research are case studies usually conducted?

Question 74

Define random selection.

Question 75

Stanley wanted to determine whether hunger influenced his performance on his history exams. For the first exam, he ate 1 hour before the exam. For the second exam, he ate immediately after the exam. Identify the independent and dependent variables in this study.

Question 76

Name 2 disadvantages of using a case study methodology.

Question 77

A __________ study focuses on observing a single person.

Question 78

Descriptive research methods allow psychologists to determine the relationship between variables.

Question 79

Describe a limitation associated with the use of naturalistic observation methodology.

Question 80

Which of the following statements is the best operational definition of "test score"?

A) feeling of success following the test
B) feeling of failure following the test
C) number of questions answered correctly
D) number of questions answered confidently