Deck 1: Psychology and Scientific Thinking

Question 1

Most people get their knowledge about psychological topics from

A)scientific magazines.
B)academic books.
C)popular psychology.
D)research reports.

Answer 1

popular psychology.

Question 2

When people watch a debate they often point out the internal contradictions,flaws in logic,and hypocrisy in positions they oppose while glossing over the same shortcomings for positions they support.This is an example of

A)the availability heuristic.
B)belief perseverance.
C)confirmation bias.
D)healthy skepticism.

Answer 2

confirmation bias.

Question 3

The discipline of psychology is best thought of as

A)a field of self-help principles to eliminate mental problems.
B)a mixture of anecdotes and personal intuition about human behavior and mental processes.
C)a process for encouraging people to reach their ultimate potential.
D)a science of the mind,brain,and behavior.

Answer 3

a science of the mind,brain,and behavior.

Question 4

Common-sense explanations for events

A)can often lead to hypotheses that scientists can later test.
B)are often accurate when examining first impressions about someone's trustworthiness.
C)are often good guides to the truth.
D)All of the above

Question 5

Dr.Jones is offering a course this semester in popular psychology.His coverage of topics will likely be focused on the

A)history of modern psychology.
B)use of scientific theory in psychological practices.
C)production of material and knowledge to be used by the general public.
D)diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.

Question 6

Douglas believes that females are more polite and respectful than males.He easily recalls examples of this and constantly points out situations to others that support this belief.However,he often ignores evidence to the contrary.Douglas's belief about gender differences in socially appropriate behavior is maintained through

A)belief perseverance.
B)the confirmation bias.
C)the hindsight bias.
D)the representativeness heuristic.

Question 7

A science is defined by

A)knowledge.
B)its concern with solving real-life practical problems.
C)its popularity among the general public.
D)its approach to gathering evidence.

Question 8

According to the authors,much of the commonsensical knowledge from popular psychology sources

A)is consistent with the results of psychological research.
B)is contradicted by what psychological research has demonstrated.
C)is not able to be studied empirically.
D)is of no or very little interest to psychologists.

Question 9

"Seek and ye shall find" is a short and simple way to sum up

A)naive realism.
B)belief perseverance.
C)empiricism.
D)confirmation bias.

Question 10

Luis believes in an old southern tradition that eating clay will help his wife deliver a healthy baby.His tendency to believe he sees the world correctly is called

A)popular psychology.
B)naive realism.
C)common sense.
D)a single-variable explanation.

Question 11

__________ refers to the belief that we see the world precisely as it is.

A)Common sense
B)Confirmation bias
C)Single-variable explanation
D)Naive realism

Question 12

Police interrogators often assume that persons brought in for questioning have important knowledge about the crime in question.If this leads an interrogator to ask questions that assume the guilt of a particular individual rather than asking questions that would exonerate him or her,________ may occur.

A)the anchoring and adjustment heuristic
B)the availability heuristic
C)belief perseverance
D)confirmation bias

Question 13

Psychology is a method for

A)determining simple answers to complex questions.
B)gaining deeper insight into how and why people think and act a certain way.
C)knowing how to turn people from maladaptive to adaptive actions,feelings,and thoughts.
D)restating commonsense findings in a more convoluted manner.

Question 14

Gwen has posted a questionnaire on MySpace asking her friends to support her idea of cell phones in the classroom.She ignores anyone opposing her beliefs,which is an example of

A)naive realism.
B)conjunctive fallacy.
C)confirmation bias.
D)attribution bias.

Question 15

The tendency to look for supportive evidence rather than actively seeking out contradictory evidence is known as

A)the availability heuristic.
B)belief perseverance.
C)the confirmation bias.
D)the hindsight bias.

Question 16

Knowledge of ________ refers to the use of everyday sources to understand and explain human behavior.

A)common sense
B)experimental psychology
C)popular psychology
D)psychology

Question 17

A psychologist is often skeptical of claims suggesting that

A)people are influenced by others' thoughts and behaviors.
B)a particular behavior is the result of a single causal factor.
C)a person's culture is a strong influence on his or her everyday thoughts and behaviors.
D)that a person's future behavior is often difficult to predict accurately.

Question 18

Dr.Garonski is testing his hypothesis that people use hand gestures more in communication when emotionally aroused than when clam.When his results were reviewed,it was noted that Dr.Garonski sometimes missed seeing small gestures in the calm condition.This is an example of

A)conjunctive fallacy.
B)confirmation bias.
C)attribution error.
D)a single-variable explanation.

Question 19

When students begin to read through their introductory psychology textbook,they are often surprised to learn that

A)commonsense explanations abound in the field of psychology.
B)many of their beliefs about the causes of thoughts and behaviors are incorrect.
C)psychologists do not study people's everyday behaviors.
D)psychology is a unique field of study separate from philosophy and biology.

Question 20

Modern psychology is best considered to be a

A)collection of pieces of folk wisdom.
B)series of contradictions to be sorted out.
C)science.
D)therapeutic process.

Question 21

Gregg's nose itches as he is walking toward his telephone to call someone.Gregg phones his friend Maurice who tells him,"Man,we were just talking about you.That's freaky!" Gregg takes this as support for the folk wisdom "your nose itches when people are talking about you." In reality,this is an example of the confirmation bias because

A)Gregg failed to consider the times where his nose itched and no one was talking about him.
B)Gregg continues to believe this even though no evidence for it exists.
C)Gregg is not a scientist and therefore cannot answer the question.
D)the folk wisdom "your nose itches when people are talking about you" is an unfalsifiable question.

Question 22

A scientific theory is defined as a(n)

A)educated opinion about the natural world.
B)explanation for scientific findings.
C)personal understanding of natural laws.
D)testable prediction about the natural world.

Question 23

Barry believes that male dogs are better at protection than female dogs.He does research on training exercises that he believes proves males are better in K9 training.When presented with evidence that shows female dogs are just as competent as male dogs,he continues to stick to his original opinion,thus demonstrating

A)belief perseverance.
B)naive realism.
C)analytical thinking.
D)scientific skepticism.

Question 24

Students at a local high school are opposing restrictions the administration has placed on students interacting on social networking websites.The administration believes that the sites promote aggressive behavior among students.The students have offered research findings that show social networking sites do not increase aggression.They believe the administrators are only seeking out evidence that supports their view,which is an example of

A)critical thinking.
B)scientific skepticism.
C)disinterestedness.
D)confirmation bias.

Question 25

If a psychologist were to develop a theory of cognitive development,he or she would want that theory to explain ________ observations.

A)a moderate number of
B)a small number of
C)a substantial number of
D)very few

Question 26

38 Which of the following is a theoretical statement?

A)The most likely suspects for the armed robbery are two former employees.
B)One would expect John not to get a good night's sleep because he has been so stressed.
C)Men will score higher on math tests then females.
D)There is a connection between emotionality and increase in nonverbal communication because emotions cause heightened neural activity.

Question 27

Despite the fact that scientific research has found no support or basis for the belief in "the hot hand" in baseball,basketball,or golf,the idea still persists among athletes,sports commentators,and fans.This is a classic example of

A)belief perseverance.
B)gullibility.
C)the hindsight bias.
D)scientific illiteracy.

Question 28

When a psychologist mentions the term "scientific theory," he or she is referring to something that

A)explains a single event.
B)explains a wide range of observations.
C)is no better an explanation than another person's opinion.
D)refers to an educated guess.

Question 29

Professor Clark gives her students an assignment to develop hypotheses on global warming.To be consistent with a scientific method,students should develop their hypotheses based on

A)their own existing beliefs about the issue.
B)reports discussed on television.
C)untestable predictions.
D)a well-supported scientific theory.

Question 30

When attempting to differentiate between useful and useless information from popular psychology,what is a good rule of thumb to follow?

A)All popular psychology claims are misinformation.
B)Common sense is often correct; go with your gut.
C)Insist on evidence to accurately evaluate all claims.
D)Trust nothing that you read or hear in the media about psychology.

Question 31

Because none of us wants to believe we are wrong,we are usually reluctant to give up cherished notions.This phenomenon is known as

A)belief perseverance.
B)confirmation bias.
C)availability heuristic.
D)the fundamental attribution.

Question 32

Dr.Rashad offers the class an explanation for an extensive group of research findings connecting emotionality and nonverbal communication.Her explanation for this group of findings is a(n)

A)hypothesis.
B)empirical conclusion.
C)operational definition.
D)theory.

Question 33

According to your authors,________ is the "mother of all biases."

A)the availability heuristic
B)belief perseverance
C)confirmation bias
D)the hindsight bias

Question 34

Jan decides to take an online personality quiz to determine her personality characteristics.Though the advice is very useful,Jan should be cautious in believing the results of this inventory because the results

A)are factual.
B)are based on scientific methods.
C)may be part of the misinformation explosion.
D)may lead to better decision making.

Question 35

Dr.Richburg's botany class gathers specimens outside of the classroom for further study.Dr.Richburg instructs his students to develop a scientific theory that helps explain the biodiversity of the plants.The resulting theory should

A)provide an educated guess about the biodiversity of the plants.
B)explain observations about the plants and predict new findings about plant biodiversity.
C)explain a few findings about the biodiversity of the plants.
D)interpret what has already been discovered about the biodiversity of the plants.

Question 36

Sandi is an art major who believes that color affects everything,from how people communicate to their moods.At a recent art show,Sandi discussed this issue with fellow artists who told her that no scientific evidence supported her statements.Sandi still holds to her belief that color affects everything,especially personality,thus demonstrating

A)belief perseverance.
B)confirmation bias.
C)analytical thinking.
D)naive realism.

Question 37

Milo and Shirley are taking a trip on a cruise ship for their 20th wedding anniversary.They believe they made it to this milestone because they know each other so well.During the trip they take part in a game show where they find out they don't know each other as well as they thought.However,they still maintain they are very much in tune with the other's needs and thoughts.This is an example of

A)the availability heuristic.
B)belief perseverance.
C)the hindsight bias.
D)the representativeness heuristic.

Question 38

Some traditions dating back hundreds of years believe in psychic phenomena and use it to explain occurrences in nature.These groups actively seek evidence that supports the ideology and discredit any form of scientific information that is opposed to their beliefs.Instead of asking questions that may redefine their traditions,____________________ occurs and the traditions continue.

A)selective thinking
B)confirmation bias
C)analytical thinking
D)scientific skepticism

Question 39

A local mental health facility looks for extra employees for their crisis line on the night of a predicted full moon.Past experience has led them to believe that a full moon increases levels of suicidal behavior.Even though the employees were presented with evidence showing there is no link between suicide and full moons,they focus on their own evidence of past behavior and ignore the current scientific evidence by exhibiting

A)scientific skepticism.
B)belief perseverance.
C)critical thinking.
D)hindsight bias.

Question 40

Rona believes that women make better elementary school teachers than men because women are more nurturing and less legalistic.When you present her with data that indicate male teachers perform very well at the elementary level,she tries to discredit the information.Rona is a victim of

A)confirmation bias.
B)naive realism.
C)belief perseverance.
D)critical thinking.

Question 41

A classic warning sign of pseudoscience is

A)evasion of peer review.
B)overreliance on anecdotal evidence.
C)lack of self-correction.
D)all of the above.

Question 42

A group of animal behaviorists has discovered several new species of insects in the Amazon jungle.They collect the new species for later study back at the camp.Due to advances in computer technology,they are able to transfer their findings immediately to other researchers studying insects.Their willingness to share these findings with other scientists shows their commitment to

A)critical thinking.
B)falsifiability.
C)peer review.
D)pseudoscience.

Question 43

Recently,ads have appeared on the radio for some natural herbs that will calm you,increase your sense of well-being,and make you happier in a month's time.You are sure this is a pseudoscientific claim because it is

A)psychobabble.
B)exaggerated.
C)anecdotal.
D)hypothetical.

Question 44

Mr.Gleim suffers from generalized anxiety disorder.One day when he was watching a news program on television,a psychologist was interviewed and claimed he has discovered a cure for panic attacks.Mr.Gleim should be cautious of this new treatment if it

A)has been subjected to scientific experiments and the results have been replicated.
B)claims to have cured most of the patients.
C)has been compared to other treatments that have been shown to be helpful.
D)has been accepted by the scientific community.

Question 45

A key issue in science is providing methods to help people distinguish between accurate,helpful claims and those that are inaccurate and unhelpful.Which of the following warning signs most directly prohibits arriving at that distinction?

A)Evading peer review
B)Exaggerating claims beyond the available evidence
C)Relying too heavily on anecdotal information
D)Using highly technical terms and information

Question 46

Imagine that you see the textbook authors on television talking with Larry King about popular psychology.Which of the following points are you most likely to hear them make?

A)All information from popular psychology and/or self-help is useless.
B)Beware of claims of miracle cures without supporting evidence.
C)Psychology and medicine often marginalize those with ideas that differ from conventional wisdom.
D)Self-help therapies are rigorously tested before people can write books about them.

Question 47

Websites advertising "love potions" in the form of fragrances are appearing on the internet.There has never been any scientific evidence that can prove love potions really help people attract mates.Regarding these potions,scientists would encourage the general public to

A)accept the evidence described on the websites and buy the product.
B)think about the evidence described on the websites and buy the product if it sounds convincing.
C)insist on more evidence before buying the product.
D)buy the product or not based on one's own opinion.

Question 48

Bob is looking for information about mental illness on the Internet.He is not sure where to look and is randomly searching for various terms related to mental illness.Using this method,Bob is most likely to learn about

A)specific treatment programs for mental illness that have been researched by professionals.
B)scientists' current understanding of the role of genetics in mental illness.
C)unproven and misinterpreted information,which may lead to misdiagnosis of mental illness.
D)effective self-help treatments to relieve symptoms of mental illness.

Question 49

One evening,when he couldn't sleep,Mr.Bradley turned on the television and saw an infomercial for a new sleep aid.As a critical thinker,Mr.Bradley should be most cautious about this new product if

A)the product had been subjected to an experimental study and the scrutiny of a peer-review process.
B)its makers claim it has been "proven" to induce sleep in one-third the time of competing sleep aids.
C)its makers discuss the scientific investigations that have compared it to other effective sleep aids rather than relying on testimonials of those with insomnia.
D)the results of research connect the efficacy of the sleep aid to other widely accepted scientific findings.

Question 50

Curtis is considering buying a new workout machine that promises weight loss at twice the rate of other machines.When Curtis questioned such a claim with the manufacturer,the customer service representative stated this was a new system and previous research on weight loss was not applicable.This example illustrates which warning sign of pseudoscience?

A)Evasion of peer review
B)Absence of connectivity
C)Overreliance on anecdotes
D)Lack of self-correction

Question 51

According to the authors,________ of the claims made by self-help proponents have been scientifically examined.

A)few
B)many
C)none
D)roughly half

Question 52

Researchers studying the mating behaviors in a rare species of bird found in South Africa are anxious to report their findings,but know the process may take months before their results are published in a peer-reviewed journal.Instead of waiting,they decide to publish their results in a popular nature magazine.This example illustrates which warning sign of pseudoscience?

A)Absence of connectivity
B)Use of psychobabble
C)Lack of self-correction
D)Evasion of peer review

Question 53

A key characteristic of a pseudoscience is that incorrect theories are

A)discarded.
B)formulated and revised as needed.
C)rarely corrected when contrary evidence is published.
D)seldom believed by the general public.

Question 54

__________ refers to a claim or statement that superficially appears to be scientific but is not.

A)Misinformation
B)Anecdotal evidence
C)Pseudoscience
D)Common sense

Question 55

Dr.McDonald uses only the testimonies of parents and teachers as support for his treatment of ADHD; this illustrates which warning sign of pseudoscience?

A)Exaggerated claims
B)Lack of self-correction
C)Overreliance on anecdotes
D)Evasion of peer review

Question 56

Two competing groups of scientists have published their findings on biological factors in antisocial personality disorder.Both groups' theories are shown to be incorrect,but only one group corrects and changes its theory.The other group sticks to its theory,demonstrating which warning sign of pseudoscience?

A)Lack of self-correction
B)Overreliance on anecdotes
C)Exaggerated claims
D)Evasion of peer review

Question 57

Which of the following statements would your authors find the most worrisome?

A)At times,everyone perceives meaningful connections between unrelated phenomena.
B)The majority of Americans believe in the existence of ghosts or witches.
C)Pseudoscience is often very interesting and really pretty harmless.
D)Science cannot answer all of the questions I am interested in,such as "Why am I here?" or "What is my life's purpose?"

Question 58

One reason to be wary of programs that promise to teach you speed reading techniques in return for money is that such claims do not fit with the available data on information processing and memory.This is consistent with the pseudoscience warning sign known as

A)absence of connectivity.
B)evasion of peer review.
C)exaggerated claims.
D)psychobabble.

Question 59

Which of the following is found in science but NOT in pseudoscience?

A)Amazing,counterintuitive claims
B)The presence of difficult-to-understand jargon or technical information
C)Reliance on anecdotal evidence to support one's theory of human behavior
D)Self-correction of incorrect hypotheses and theories

Question 60

The major difference between pseudoscience and science is that pseudoscience

A)addresses different questions than science.
B)is less similar to popular psychology than science is.
C)lacks the safeguards against cognitive biases that characterize science.
D)lacks the general level of public support that characterizes science.

Question 61

Pinker (1997)and others have demonstrated that humans display an adaptive predisposition to make order out of disorder and sense out of nonsense.This tendency can account for

A)reliance on confirmation bias.
B)skepticism.
C)the popularity of pseudoscience.
D)belief perseverance.

Question 62

Thinking skeptically requires that one rely on

A)authority figures' opinions.
B)one's own intuition.
C)objective evidence.
D)one's subjective understanding of the world.

Question 63

We experience the phenomenon of apophenia when we

A)accept anecdotal evidence in place of scientific evidence.
B)fall victim to erroneous information given to us by others.
C)see a connection between related events.
D)see a pattern where none really exists.

Question 64

Researchers programmed a computer to randomly make dots appear either at the top or bottom of the screen.If you were a student in this research study,you would be likely to ________ identify the pattern of dot presentation and ________ explain the pattern to the researchers.

A)correctly; correctly
B)correctly; incorrectly
C)incorrectly; correctly
D)incorrectly; incorrectly

Question 65

Pseudoscience can be dangerous because

A)it can lead us in the wrong direction when trying to help others or ourselves.
B)it can cause us to do direct harm.
C)it reduces our ability to think scientifically.
D)All of the above.

Question 66

One explanation for why people are drawn to pseudoscience or to specific pseudoscientific beliefs is that many people

A)are rational thinkers.
B)have a good understanding of scientific findings.
C)find comfort in ideas that help them to make sense of the world.
D)are uninterested in scientific research and prefer to develop their own conclusions.

Question 67

Dr.Simmons teaches philosophy and discusses several topics in the course including religion.Paulo,a student in the class,believes that when he dies,he will be resurrected.Paulo's claim falls under the area of

A)metaphysics.
B)science.
C)pseudoscience.
D)rational thinking.

Question 68

The term __________ refers to the tendency to perceive meaningful connections among unrelated phenomena.

A)apophenia
B)confirmation bias
C)parsimony
D)interconnectivity

Question 69

Why might we be most likely to accept our local weatherman's claim that the air quality in our town is within acceptable limits?

A)The weatherman is an authority on the subject.
B)We do not have the resources to evaluate the claim ourselves.
C)The evidence is not persuasive enough to challenge our own preconceptions.
D)We tend to keep a closed mind in face of potentially dangerous,uncontrollable conditions.

Question 70

According to the discussion about Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy,we often

A)actively seek out parsimonious explanations for complicated problems.
B)chalk up coincidences as being due to chance rather than to supernatural events.
C)overestimate the significance of coincidental information.
D)prefer skepticism to conspiracy theory explanations about presidential assassinations.

Question 71

According to the authors,we must sometimes look to authorities because we have difficulty evaluating claims of human behavior due to

A)lack of time.
B)biases.
C)susceptibility to pseudoscience.
D)an inability to think hypothetically.

Question 72

__________ is the approach of evaluating all claims with an open mind but insisting on persuasive evidence before accepting them.

A)Metaphysics
B)Pseudoscience
C)Scientific skepticism
D)Empiricism

Question 73

Scientific skepticism requires that any claim is met with

A)an open mind.
B)regard for authority.
C)healthy resistance to persuasion.
D)hypothetical aptitude.

Question 74

A major reason to be concerned about the dangers of pseudoscience is that

A)harm rarely results from pseudoscientific beliefs or treatments.
B)a lack of scientific thinking may lead to poor decisions that affect many areas of our lives.
C)people are often quite accurate and unbiased in their day-to-day decision making.
D)quackery and pseudoscience are especially easy to detect without exposure to critical thinking or skepticism.

Question 75

Time,expertise,and resources are all obstacles that

A)diminish skepticism.
B)diminish metaphysical claims.
C)increase reliance on authorities.
D)increase reliance on empiricism.

Question 76

A skeptic is one who accepts claims

A)on the basis of supportive scientific evidence.
B)only from trusted authority figures.
C)only on the basis of logical reasoning.
D)only on the basis of their popularity with the public.

Question 77

A skeptic is someone who

A)is close-minded when evaluating evidence.
B)considers the available evidence carefully.
C)is dismissive of any evidence that contradicts his or her beliefs.
D)seeks out evidence that is inconsistent with a theory he or she does not believe in.

Question 78

Steve and Julie have purchased a program that promises to drastically improve marital relations in just two weeks.Although the program has not been tested scientifically,they were impressed by the use of scientific phrasing such as "co-dependency," "holistic healing," and "subjective well-being." This example illustrates which warning sign of pseudoscience?

A)Psychobabble
B)Absence of connectivity
C)Exaggerated claims
D)Lack of self-correction

Question 79

Tiffany spends a great deal of time reading self-help books on relationships.She has had several failed relationships and is bewildered by the events.Even though she knows most of these books are pseudoscience,Tiffany is attracted to them because

A)she is comforted by the realization she is not alone.
B)she is trying to make order out of disorder.
C)she suffers from apophenia.
D)None of the above

Question 80

Dr.Wolpe designs an experimental test of his theory of aggression against a competing theory.After conducting the appropriate statistical tests,he finds that the data are better explained by the competing theory.His willingness to accept the evidence that another theory is superior is a characteristic of

A)dogmatism.
B)gullibility.
C)pathological skepticism.
D)scientific skepticism.