Deck 1: Studying Psychology

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true of popular psychology

A) Popular psychology is not necessarily incorrect or inferior to academic psychology
B) Popular psychology is inferior to academic psychology
C) Popular psychology is written for psychologists and psychology students
D) Popular psychology is based closely on referenced psychological theory and research

Answer 1

A

Question 2

One critique of popular psychology is

A) they tend to present ideas as facts, often without any indication of where these 'facts' come from
B) they are typically written for a layperson audience
C) they often contain technical terms which are hard to understand
D) they focus too much on theory and not practice

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following statements is true of academic psychology

A) Academic psychology is superior to popular
B) Academic psychology is inferior to academic psychology
C) Academic psychology is typically written for the layperson
D) Academic psychology is based closely on referenced psychological theory and research

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Unlike psychologists, when writing articles, Journalists may

A) present a balanced and critical argument
B) be writing with a political agenda
C) have a more nuanced understanding of psychological issues
D) communicate psychological ideas in a way that is only understood from experts in the field

Question 5

One core difference between academic psychology and popular psychology is that

A) Psychologist are much more cautious about identifying 'facts'
B) Journalists are much more cautious about identifying 'facts'
C) Academic psychologists are less cautious about identifying 'facts'
D) Journalists are better able to identify 'facts'

Question 6

General psychology texts are often helpful for

A) Providing detail of individual studies
B) Providing an overview of psychology
C) The whole duration of your degree
D) More complex understanding

Question 7

Specialist psychology tests are often helpful for

A) Providing an overview of a specialist area of psychology
B) Providing an overview of psychology
C) The whole duration of your degree
D) More complex understanding

Question 8

Review articles may typically be published in all EXCEPT:

A) magazines
B) research journals
C) publications
D) the newspaper

Question 9

The authors that contribute to review articles are often

A) journalists
B) undergraduate students
C) experts in the field
D) layperson

Question 10

Research journal articles and conference papers are sometimes called

A) Superior sources
B) Secondary sources
C) Primary sources
D) Review articles

Question 11

This method is typically the first point at which the results and conclusions of scientific research are published.

A) Research journal articles and conference papers
B) Review articles
C) General psychology texts
D) Specialist psychology texts

Question 12

One caution when using search engines such as google to find sources is that

A) This may be a time consuming process
B) You cannot always be clear of the quality-assurance of the hits you get
C) You are likely to not find anything relevant
D) This will only pull up academic journals

Question 13

Which of the following is TRUE for academic journals

A) Most academic journals are not available online
B) Academic journals are often long
C) It is difficult to find relevant academic journals
D) Many academic journals are now available online

Question 14

Academic conferences often publish abstracts or full papers on conference websites, one should be cautious however because

A) They are difficult to find
B) They vary in quality
C) They are likely to be too complex
D) They are secondary sources

Question 15

Which of these statements is TRUE of pre-degree study of Psychology

A) It does not necessarily develop the sort of skills needed for degree level
B) It is the same as your first year of your undergraduate degree
C) It is essential for studying degree level psychology
D) it is more analytical than degree level psychology

Question 16

Moving from pre-degree to undergraduate psychology encompasses challenges, such as

A) Moving away from a single textbook to multiple sources of information
B) Developing your skills of evaluation
C) Becoming more up to date in your understanding of psychology
D) All of the above

Question 17

Primary sources are

A) biased accounts of theory and research
B) where theory and research are first published
C) books that outline a previously developed theory
D) the first stage in the research process

Question 18

When searching for specialist and primary sources you should:

A) Refer to your textbook
B) Look on Wikipedia
C) Use a range of online search databases and repositories (e.g., PsycINFO)
D) Ask a friend on your course

Question 19

When you want to know more about a topic, you should:

A) Use your pre-degree textbook
B) Read a newspaper article
C) Search for contemporary papers
D) Ask a friend on your course

Question 20

When you hear about a study or theory in a lecture or textbook and want to know more, you should:

A) Find the original source
B) Re-read your lecture notes and/or the textbook
C) Ask a friend on your course
D) None of the above

Question 21

Analytic (critical) thinking involves:

A) applying your understanding of a concept, theory, or research findings in psychology to understanding or intervening in a real-life situation.
B) breaking down a theory or study in order to identify its strengths and limitations.
C) putting ideas together rather than picking them apart and is closely related to the idea of creativity.
D) considering where the study took place

Question 22

Synthetic thinking involves:

A) applying your understanding of a concept, theory, or research findings in psychology to understanding or intervening in a real-life situation.
B) breaking down a theory or study in order to identify its strengths and limitations.
C) putting ideas together rather than picking them apart and is closely related to the idea of creativity.
D) considering where the study took place

Question 23

Practical thinking involves:

A) applying your understanding of a concept, theory, or research findings in psychology to understanding or intervening in a real-life situation.
B) breaking down a theory or study in order to identify its strengths and limitations.
C) putting ideas together rather than picking them apart and is closely related to the idea of creativity.
D) considering where the study took place

Question 24

Parsimony is the

A) extent to which different elements of a complex theory hang together logically
B) usefulness of a theory as a tool to help people think about a complex issue
C) simplicity of a theory.
D) extent to which a theory can be considered scientific

Question 25

Internal consistency is the

A) extent to which different elements of a complex theory hang together logically
B) usefulness of a theory as a tool to help people think about a complex issue
C) simplicity of a theory.
D) extent to which a theory can be considered scientific

Question 26

Heuristic value concerns the

A) extent to which different elements of a complex theory hang together logically
B) usefulness of a theory as a tool to help people think about a complex issue
C) simplicity of a theory.
D) extent to which a theory can be considered scientific

Question 27

Within a university context, Psychology is considered:

A) as a pure science
B) as a non-science
C) as a humanities
D) as an art

Question 28

At undergraduate level you are being trained to

A) be a clinical psychologist
B) be a competent researcher
C) work with others
D) read what other people are thinking

Question 29

One common criticism of pre-psychology degree is that

A) It encourages description rather than analysis
B) It encourages analysis rather than description
C) It lacks ecological validity
D) It provides a solid basis for further study

Question 30

Degree level psychology requires you to

A) think more deeply about the theories and/or studies you are looking at when evaluating them
B) think in shallow terms about the theories and/or studies you are looking at when evaluating them
C) describe rather than provide analysis
D) read what other people are thinking

Question 31

McGhee suggests that a good psychologist must be able to

A) think like a scientist
B) think like a scientist, but also on occasion like an anthropologist, a historian, a philosopher and a therapist
C) think like a therapist
D) think like a philosopher

Question 32

Why might as a psychologist is help to think like a philosopher on occasion

A) It helps us to take a step back and evaluate the importance, availability and credibility of ideas and their evidence
B) It helps to be able to think about the extent to which ideas are helpful to people
C) It helps to make psychologists seem more approachable
D) It helps generate new theories and hypotheses

Question 33

The sample is important to consider when thinking critically about research because

A) It allows us to consider the extent to which results can be generalized to other populations
B) it allows us to consider any potential confounding variables
C) It allows us to consider the representativeness of measures used
D) It allows us to assess the credibility of the findings against previous work

Question 34

The design is important to consider when thinking critically about research because

A) It allows us to consider the extent to which results can be generalized to other populations
B) it allows us to consider any potential confounding variables
C) It allows us to consider the representativeness of measures used
D) It allows us to assess the credibility of the findings against previous work

Question 35

The measures are important to consider when thinking critically about research because

A) It allows us to consider the extent to which results can be generalized to other populations
B) it allows us to consider any potential confounding variables
C) It allows us to consider the representativeness of measures used
D) It allows us to assess the credibility of the findings against previous work

Question 36

Corroborating evidence is important to consider when thinking critically about research because

A) It allows us to consider the extent to which results can be generalized to other populations
B) it allows us to consider any potential confounding variables
C) It allows us to consider the representativeness of measures used
D) It allows us to assess the credibility of the findings against previous work

Question 37

When critically evaluating a theory, which of the following statements refers to, the extent to which a theory makes logical sense.

A) Logical characteristics of the theory
B) Origins of the theory
C) Testability of the theory
D) Completeness

Question 38

When critically evaluating a theory, which of the following statements refers to, the extent to which a theory can explain all aspects of a situation

A) heuristic value
B) completeness
C) origins of the theory
D) testability of the theory

Question 39

When critically evaluating a theory, which of the following statements refers to, the extent to which a theory can be applied in the real world

A) heuristic value
B) completeness
C) origins of the theory
D) practical application

Question 40

This term defines the extent to which different elements of complex theory hand together logically

A) validity
B) face validity
C) parsimony
D) heuristic value

Question 41

This term concerns the usefulness of a theory as a tool to help people think about a complex issue

A) validity
B) reliability
C) parsimony
D) heuristic value

Question 42

This term is best associated with the idea of Occam's razor

A) validity
B) reliability
C) parsimony
D) heuristic value

Question 43

Sally wants to know whether a theory helps us to understand or think about something. She is interested in the

A) completeness
B) ecological validity
C) reliability
D) heuristic value

Question 44

Your first year at university is an opportunity to

A) Abandon your pre-degree textbook
B) Start making user of primary sources
C) Start operating more like a psychologist
D) All of the above

Question 45

In order to study psychology you need to be able to think

A) sociologically
B) mathematically
C) psychologically
D) like a layperson

Question 46

One way to develop your creative thinking skills in psychology is

A) to collate abstracts of different articles
B) by practising generating predictions from theories and designing studies to test these
C) to use your pre-degree textbook
D) to join a club or society

Question 47

Which of the following is true of degree level psychology?

A) There will be a lot more practical work
B) There will be a lot less practical work
C) There will be much less emphasis on analysis
D) Degree level psychology requires similar skills to pre-degree psychology

Question 48

Psychology is

A) Definitely a science
B) Sometimes considered a science
C) Not a science
D) The same as psychiatry

Question 49

The OSCA principle highlights the need to use

A) Original sources and catchy articles
B) Objective science and critical analysis
C) Original sources and contemporary articles
D) Objective science and classical assumptions

Question 50

Some authors have strong views on particular issues in psychology, this could mean that

A) issues may be presented in a biased way
B) the authors do not have a scientific grounding
C) they are more likely to produce a balanced argument
D) the articles are more readily available

Question 51

Academic psychology is another term for popular psychology

Question 52

Research journal articles and conference papers are sometimes called primary sources

Question 53

Degree level psychology encourages description rather than analysis

Question 54

Analytical thinking involves putting ideas together rather than picking them apart, and is closely related to the idea of creativity

Question 55

Scientific thinking can be described as the logical process of thinking about how to generate and evaluate evidence for an idea

Question 56

Internal consistency concerns the usefulness of a theory as a tool to help people think about a complex issue

Question 57

Parsimony is the simplicity of a theory

Question 58

When you hear about a study or theory in a lecture or textbook and want to know more, always go back to the original source

Question 59

Popular psychology and stories of psychology in the media tend to present ideas as facts but often the evidence is lacking or at best mixed

Question 60

__________are the first point at which the results and conclusions of scientific research are published

Question 61

In order to study psychology you need to be able to think _______

Question 62

__________is the extent to which different elements of a complex theory hand together logically

Question 63

For degree level psychology your writing needs to become less _________and more _________

Question 64

You can develop your creative thinking by practicing generating predictions from theory and __________to test these

Question 65

The OSCA principle highlights the need to use __________and ________

Question 66

__________literature is written for psychologists and psychology students, and its aim is to provide an account of psychology closely based closely on referenced psychological theory and research.

Question 67

_________thinking involves breaking down a theory or study in order to identify its strengths and limitations

Question 68

__________concerns the usefulness of a theory as a tool to help people understand a complex issue

Question 69

_________refers to the extent to which a theory can explain all aspects of a situation

Question 70

Explain the differences between popular psychology and academic psychology.

Question 71

What is meant by psychological thinking? In your answer make reference to Robert Sternberg (1997) model.

Question 72

Describe and evaluate the different sources you may use throughout your degree. Make reference with how best to use them

Question 73

Explain the key differences between pre-degree psychology and psychology at degree level.