Deck 2: Studying Behaviour Scientifically

Question 1

Random assignment is important in research because

A) it eliminates experimenter expectancy effects.
B) it balances differences between participants across experimental groups.
C) it ensures that samples are representative of the population being studied.
D) it eliminates the placebo effect.
E) it ensures that the study can be replicated.

Answer 1

it balances differences between participants across experimental groups.

Question 2

Dr.Jonas is interested in how parents interact with their children.So she goes to a local daycare centre and watches how parents greet their children when they come to pick them up at the end of the day.This study could best be described as

A) a case study.
B) a correlational study.
C) a naturalisticobservation.
D) an experiment.
E) a survey.

Answer 2

a naturalisticobservation.

Question 3

Which if the following is NOT a measure of variability?

A) median
B) range
C) standard deviation
D) variance
E) all are measures of variability

Answer 3

median

Question 4

An advantage of the case study method is that it ________,whereas a disadvantage of the case study method is that it _________.

A) eliminates researcher bias;has high participant bias
B) allows an in-depth study of rare phenomenon;has poor generalizability
C) has high internal validity;is costly to run
D) can be used to determine cause-and-effect relationships;has low internal validity
E) None of these choices are correct.

Question 5

To say that a study has high external validity means that

A) the results of the study are reliable over time.
B) the hypothesis is clearly supported by the findings of the study.
C) the dependent variable caused the effects of the independent variable in the study.
D) the results of the study are generalizable.
E) the study is not confounded.

Question 6

After writing his Biology exam,Sam's professor announces that the grades from the exam were normally distributed with a mean of 60 and a standard deviation of 10.Sam's grade on the exam was 70.Approximately what percentage of the class had a grade on the exam that was higher than Sam's?

A) 2%
B) 10%
C) 16%
D) 34%
E) 84%

Question 7

A placebo effect makes it difficult to draw cause and effect conclusions because we cannot tell whether

A) it is the treatment or the researcher's behaviors that are responsible for the results.
B) it is the treatment or the participant's expectations that are responsible for the results.
C) random sampling or random assignment is appropriate for the study.
D) it is the independent variable or the dependent variable that are responsible for the results.
E) the variables were operationally defined.

Question 8

After writing the licensing exam to practice Psychology,Dr.Evans is sent the following information: Her grade on the exam was 550.The scores on the exam were normally distributed with a mean of 450 and a standard deviation of 100.How well did Dr.Evans do on the licensing exam?

A) Her grade was better than approximately 16% of the other examinees.
B) Her grade was better than approximately 50% of the other examinees.
C) Her grade was better than approximately 84% of the other examinees.
D) Her grade was better than approximately 97% of the other examinees.
E) Dr.Evans received the highest grade on the exam.

Question 9

The tendency to respond in what is believed to be a socially appropriate manner rather than according to how a person actually thinks,feels,or behaves is called the __________,and it is most problematic with ___________.

A) social desirability bias;self-report measures
B) social desirability bias;physiological measures
C) social expectancy bias;behavioral observations
D) social acceptability bias;self-report measures
E) social acceptability bias;reports by others

Question 10

If a measure of behavior is reliable,then it is considered to be

A) valid.
B) based on theory.
C) consistent.
D) operationally defined.
E) random.

Question 11

The "Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists" lists basic principles that should be followed when psychologists are involved in

A) teaching.
B) direct service.
C) research.
D) administration.
E) All of these choices are correct.

Question 12

Dr.Sandeep wants to study the spending habits in London residents.To study this,he hands out questionnaires about spending habits to all of the students in his introductory psychology class.Dr.Sandeep's data will be __________ because ________.

A) valid;he included all of his students in his sample
B) invalid;there is no control group
C) invalid;he did not use a representative sample
D) invalid;all of his students were residents of London
E) valid;he used random sampling

Question 13

Dr.Archer,who wants to study the effects of poverty on crime,selects a group of individuals,and collects information about each individual's annual income and criminal record (or lack thereof).Dr.Archer finds that income is negatively correlated with crime.On the basis of these findings we can conclude that

A) as income decreases,crime increases.
B) as crime decreases,income increases.
C) low income causes crime.
D) income and crime increase together.
E) as income decreases,crime increases AND as crime decreases,income increases.

Question 14

Which of the following is/are TRUE of the normal distribution (bell-shaped curve)?

A) the mean is equal to the mode
B) the mean is equal to the median
C) 50% of the scores fall below the mean
D) approximately 68% of the scores fall between -1 standard deviation and +1 standard deviation
E) All of these choices are correct.

Question 15

Dr.Samways is interested in the relationship between education level and annual income.He randomly selects 5000 Canadians and collects information about their highest completed education and last year's income.He then calculates a correlation coefficient,and finds that the correlation between education and income is +.78.On the basis of this correlation we can conclude that

A) there is no relationship between education and income.
B) as education increases income also increases.
C) as education increases income decreases.
D) higher education causes higher income.
E) as education increase income also increases AND higher education causes higher income.

Question 16

A researcher is interested in the effects of a vegetarian diet on memory.One group eats a strict vegetarian diet for three months,a second group eats a strict vegan diet for three months,while a third group eats anything they want for three months.After three months,all participants are given a memory test.Results indicated that memory was is better for both the vegetarian and vegan groups.In this study,the independent variable is

A) the three month time frame.
B) scores on the memory test.
C) the type of diet.
D) the vegetarian diet but not the vegan diet.
E) impossible to tell in this situation.

Question 17

Considering the following data set: (3,4,4,0,4,1,5),which of the following statements is/are FALSE?

A) the mean is greater than the range
B) the mode is equal to the median
C) the mode is greater than the mean
D) the mean is equal to 3
E) the range is greater than the mode

Question 18

One of the main differences between theories and hypotheses,is that

A) theories tend to be broader than hypotheses.
B) hypotheses tend to be broader than theories.
C) theories tend to be internally valid,whereas hypotheses tend to be externally valid.
D) theories use operational definitions,whereas hypotheses do not.
E) theories involve testable "If-Then" statements,whereas hypotheses do not.

Question 19

If a researcher is conducting an experiment,the researcher will _________.

A) measure two or more variables without altering any of the variables
B) observe behaviour in the setting where it naturally occurs
C) alter the dependent variable and assess its effect on the independent variable
D) alter the independent variable and assess its effect on the dependent variable
E) measure two or more variables without altering any of the variables AND observe behaviour in the setting where it naturally occurs

Question 20

A researcher who is interested in studying the effects of the amount of study time on exam anxiety selects a group of students to take part in her study.One group of students is allowed 10 hours of study time and a second group is allowed 20 hours of study time.Immediately before the exam,the researcher assesses each student's level of anxiety by measuring their blood pressure and heart rate.In this study,the independent variable is the ________,and the dependent variable is the ____________.

A) amount of study time;level of exam anxiety
B) level of exam anxiety;amount of study time
C) level of exam anxiety;the student's grade on the exam
D) the length of time the student spent writing the exam;number of correct answers on the exam
E) None of these choices are correct.

Question 21

You are trying to find out your friend's IQ.She won't tell you.But she did say that her Z-score on a standard Wechsler test (M = 100;SD = 15)was +2.0.What's her IQ?

A) 100
B) 200
C) 115
D) 130
E) 85

Question 22

Elyse is interested in studying aggression.To do so,she decides to look at horn-honking behaviour at stop signs and records the number of times someone honks their car horn before the car in front moves on.In this example,horn-honking is the _____ and the number of honks recorded is the _____.

A) independent variable;dependent variable
B) dependent variable;independent variable
C) operational definition of aggression;dependent variable
D) controlled variable;measured variable
E) dependent variable;error variance

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a good theory?

A) It is intuitive.
B) It incorporates existing facts and observations.
C) It is testable.
D) It is parsimonious.
E) Predictions are supported by new research.

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT a part of the scientific process?

A) identify a question of interest
B) gather information and form hypothesis
C) conduct an experiment
D) analyze data
E) build a body of knowledge

Question 25

An experimental design in which all participants are exposed to all of the conditions of an independent variable is called

A) a between groups design.
B) a repeated measures design.
C) a made an error design.
D) a counterbalanced design.
E) an interaction design.

Question 26

Professor Bono believes that there is a correlation between number of hours spent on social media and grades in first-year classes.Which of the following correlation coefficients would provide the STRONGEST support for her prediction?

A) +.70
B) -.85
C) +.25
D) -.70
E) 0.0

Question 27

A major difference between experiments and correlational studies is

A) manipulation of independent variables.
B) control.
C) sampling methods.
D) external validity.
E) control and manipulation of independent variables.

Question 28

Typically,when psychologists conduct an experiment,they are willing to a ___ percent chance that the results are random and are due to chance.

A) five
B) ten
C) one
D) twenty
E) zero

Question 29

Which of the following research methods is MOST susceptible to threats to internal validity?

A) experiments
B) correlational studies
C) naturalistic observation
D) case studies
E) surveys

Question 30

Let's say that you conduct a study on the effects of vitamin B12 on maze learning in rats.Your statistical analysis reveals that 60% of the variance can be accounted for by the manipulation of vitamin B12.The remaining variance (40%)is referred to as

A) independent variance.
B) variable fluctuation.
C) factor analysis.
D) error variance.
E) normal variance.