Deck 4: Psychology Can Help Save the Planet

Question 1

Suppose a researcher was interested in whether a particular intervention would increase proenvironmental behavior. Besides directly observing subsequent proenvironmental behavior, how might the researcher assess the effectiveness of the intervention?

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

When are correlational studies useful?

A)When a researcher wants to test a causal hypothesis.
B)When manipulation of an IV is not possible.
C)When researchers are dealing with a small sample size.
D)All of the above.

Answer 2

When manipulation of an IV is not possible.

Question 3

Suppose a researcher found a correlation between time spent in urban settings and antienvironmental attitudes. Which of the following is the correct interpretation of this result?

A)Spending time in urban settings leads to antienvironmental attitudes.
B)People with antienvironmental attitudes prefer to spend time in urban settings.
C)A third variable, such as upbringing, is affecting both time spent in urban settings and environmental attitudes.
D)None of the above is the correct interpretation of this result.

Answer 3

None of the above is the correct interpretation of this result.

Question 4

In correlational studies, predictor variables are _______________ and criterion variables are ______________.

A)manipulated; measured
B)manipulated; manipulated
C)measured; measured
D)measured; manipulated

Question 5

Brook (2011) predicted that ecological footprint (EF) feedback would affect people differently depending on how tightly linked their self worth was to environmentalism (ESW) In this study, the EF feedback is an example of

A)deception
B)a confederate
C)debriefing
D)a quasi-IV

Question 6

Brook (2011) correctly predicted that ecological footprint (EF) feedback would affect people differently depending on how tightly linked their self worth was to environmentalism (ESW) In other words, the results of this study showed a(n) ______________ between EF feedback and ESW.

A)confound
B)interaction
C)correlation
D)quasi-correlation

Question 7

Brook (2011) predicted that ecological footprint (EF) feedback would affect people differently depending on how tightly linked their self worth was to environmentalism (ESW) In this study, ESW was a

A)quasi-IV.
B)DV.
C)IV.
D)constant.

Question 8

Age, gender, race and ethnicity are all examples of

A)True IVs
B)DVs
C)quasi-IVs
D)quasi-DVs

Question 9

Which of the following is false about random assignment?

A)It minimizes the risk of confounds in an experiment.
B)It increases the likelihood that participants' individual differences will be distributed across the conditions.
C)When it is employed, the causal variable is called a quasi-independent variable.
D)It is essential for drawing firm conclusions about cause and effect.

Question 10

What is a confounding variable?

A)A variable that is manipulated by the experimenter.
B)A factor other than the manipulated variable that differs between conditions.
C)A variable held constant across conditions by the researcher.
D)An individual difference variable such as personality, intelligence, and expertise.

Question 11

The most highly controlled method of hypothesis testing is

A)a laboratory experiment
B)a correlational survey
C)a field experiment
D)an interview

Question 12

Which of these is most likely to be a first step in a research program on a little known phenomenon?

A)laboratory experiments
B)correlational surveys
C)field experiments
D)interviews and focus groups

Question 13

Predictions about the expected relationships among variables are

A)theories
B)hypotheses
C)operationalizations
D)constructs

Question 14

Which of the following is true about the samples of participants employed in most psychological research?

A)They are diverse in terms of a variety of demographic variables (e.g., race, age, education)
B)They usually represent the general population.
C)They typically draw from multiple cultures, rather than just one at a time.
D)They are frequntly composed of undergraduate psychology students.

Question 15

To operationalize a variable is to

A)specifically define how it is represented and measured in a study.
B)intentionally change it to see how it affects another variable.
C)control it so that it is consistent across different conditions of an experiment.
D)measure its pattern of association with another variable.

Question 16

The Precautionary Principle is most relevant to the risk of ____________ in scientific research on human and ecological health.

A)false positives
B)false negatives
C)disproven theories
D)All of the above.

Question 17

One advantage of a field experiment over a laboratory experiment is

A)Field experiments offer the researcher a higher degree of control over extraneous variables.
B)Field experiments take place in a real-world context and so they may capture more genuine behavior.
C)Field experiments allow researchers to manipulate more than one IV at a time.
D)All of the above are advantages of field experiments.

Question 18

As described in the text, the results of the Cialdini, Reno, & Kallgren (1990) field experiment on littering behavior in a parking garage are a good example of ______________ findings.

A)counterintuitive
B)commonsensical
C)confounding
D)correlational

Question 19

Describe some of the challenges inherent in psychological measurement.

Question 20

What is a main effect? What is an interaction? Provide an example research study (real or made up) to illustrate your answer.

Question 21

Why do researchers say, ""correlation does not equal causation""?

Question 22

In what ways are laboratory experiments potentially lacking in realism? What are some methods researchers can use to improve realism?

Question 23

When conducting an experiment, why is it essential to (a) hold everything constant except for the manipulated variable(s), and (b) randomly assign participants to the different conditions?

Question 24

What does it mean to operationalize a variable? How does operationalizing a construct help, and limit, what we can learn about it?

Question 25

How is psychology a scientific discipline?

Question 26

Briefly describe the perspectives of Environmental Psychology, Ecopsychology, and Conservation Psychology. When did each of these perspectives emerge in the discipline of psychology?

Question 27

How is the discipline of psychology relevant to environmental sustainability, and why is its relevance unclear to many people?

Question 28

What does it mean to say that psychological science is reductionistic?

A)This means that researchers are engaged in the process of reducing multiple hypotheses down to a select few.
B)This means that it rests on the assumption that complex behavior can be understood by studying simpler behaviors in isolation.
C)This means that the goal of psychological science is to reduce behavior to a set of universal laws, like the laws of Newtonian physics.
D)It means all of the above.

Question 29

Which of the following is an example of a method for collecting qualitative data?

A)An open-ended question on a survey.
B)A 5-point scale on a survey.
C)A self-report measure of frequency of specific behaviors.
D)All of the above represent methods for collecting qualitiative data.

Question 30

Because direct behavioral observation can be difficult and imprecise, researchers often measure ___________ instead.

A)indirect behavior
B)self-reported behavior
C)behavioral intentions
D)All of the above

Question 31

Which of the following is not an important property of a psychological measurement tool?

A)reliability
B)validity
C)sensitivity
D)brevity

Question 32

________________ involves quantitative synthesis of the results of multiple studies on the same topic.

A)Meta-analysis
B)A literature review
C)Quasi-experimentation
D)Statistical significance testing

Question 33

Which of following best captures the question of statistical significance?

A)What are the odds that this is a meaningful finding?
B)What are the odds that I would see this pattern in my sample of participants if no such pattern actually exists in the broader population?
C)What is the chance that I have revealed an unknown finding?
D)How likely is it that I would get this same result again?

Question 34

Field studies that involve behavioral interventions sometimes don't allow random assignment to conditions. Studies like these are called

A)naturalistic observations
B)focus groups
C)correlational
D)quasi-experiments

Question 35

In scientific research, identifying a result as significant when it is actually just a chance finding is called a ________ error; overlooking a significant finding is called a _______ error.

A)identification; omission
B)Type I; Type II
C)statistical; empirical
D)Form A; Form B

Question 36

How do psychologists come to conclusions about human behavior?

A)Like philosophers they use reasoned argument to develop their theories.
B)Like laypersons they base their conclusions on hunches and common sense.
C)Like natural scientists they collect and analyze data.
D)None of the above.

Question 37

Psychological researchers may deceive participants so as to increase realism in an experiment.

Question 38

Sometimes experiments involve both IVs and quasi-IVs.

Question 39

Some potential causal variables cannot be manipulated by researchers.

Question 40

Whether a study's conclusions can be generalized to the larger population is the question of external validity.

Question 41

A primary challenge in psychological research is obtaining diverse samples of people to study.

Question 42

There is only one correct way to operationalize a given variable.

Question 43

Scientists who conduct applied research aimed at solving real problems must sacrifice stringent empirical standards.

Question 44

Like science in general, the goal of conservation psychology is value-neutral.

Question 45

Scientists are typically more wary of false negatives than false positives.

Question 46

In psychology, as in other sciences, empirical research makes it possible to pinpoint certain truths.

Question 47

There are many examples of psychological research results that contradict common sense.

Question 48

Psychological knowledge is based on empirical evidence.

Question 49

Most of the work of environmental psychologists is related to sustainability.

Question 50

Individual behavior change is socially contagious.

Question 51

Environmental scientists have come to realize that inspiring large-scale human behavior change will require input from psychologists.

Question 52

It is at the level of the individual that all behavior starts, and so it is at the individual level that behavior must change to achieve sustainability.

Question 53

An actor hired by the experimenter to pose as another participant, passerby, or some other pretend role is called a confidant.

Question 54

When a researcher reveals that deception has been employed in an experiment, this is called confession.

Question 55

To approach a question scientifically is to approach it

A)empirically
B)skeptically
C)Both A and B
D)Neither A nor B

Question 56

Environmental psychology, Ecopsychology, and Conservation Psychology represent

A)distinctly non-overlapping subdisciplines.
B)facets of the psychology of sustainability.
C)different forms of nature therapies.
D)scientific subdisciplines dedicated to the study of the human relationship with nonhuman nature.

Question 57

___________ utilize a scientist-practitioner model in which psychological research is applied to encourage environmental sustainability.

A)Environmental Psychologists
B)Ecopsychologists
C)Conservation Psychologists
D)Human Ecologists

Question 58

Ecotherapy is most closely affiliated with

A)Environmental Psychology
B)Ecopsychology
C)Conservation Psychology
D)Green Psychology

Question 59

A fundamental premise of Ecopsychology is that

A)living disconnected from the natural world is psychologically distressing
B)people prefer wild landscapes over cultivated ones
C)the Western scientific method is the key to understanding people's relationship with nonhuman nature
D)basic psychological research findings can be applied to promote sustainability.

Question 60

Which perspective focuses on the reciprocal relationship between the health of humans and nonhuman nature?

A)Environmental Psychology
B)Ecopsychology
C)Conservation Psychology
D)Green Psychology

Question 61

Which of the following types of ""green psychology"" started first?

A)Environmental Psychology
B)Ecopsychology
C)Conservation Psychology
D)None; they all started at the same time

Question 62

How are psychologists different from other social scientists, such as sociologists and geographers?

A)Psychologists study behavior at the level of the individual.
B)Psychologists study families, institutions, and organizations.
C)Psychologists study people.
D)All of the above.

Question 63

Self-report generally yields the most accurate measurement of a person's behavior.

Question 64

Behavioral observation is the msot commonly used type of behavioral measurement.

Question 65

A valid psychological measurement tool is one that measures what it is supposed to measure.

Question 66

Psychological researchers typically analyze each study participant's respones individually.

Question 67

In the littering field experiment described in the text, participants were least likely to litter in the condition where the confederate did not litter in a clean setting.

Question 68

When a predictor variable is correlated with a criterion variable, it is appropriate to say that ""the predictor influences the criterion.""

Question 69

To most people, psychology's relevance to sustainability is probably pretty obvious.