Deck 2: Psychology As a Science

Question 1

What is 'ontology'?

A) A view of what kinds of things exist.
B) A view of what we can know about things that exist.
C) The methods we can use to find out about things.
D) A form of reflexive discourse.

Answer 1

A view of what kinds of things exist.

Question 2

Which of the following is not a part of science?

A) Observing regularities
B) Making predictions
C) Testing predictions
D) Making assumptions

Answer 2

Making assumptions

Question 3

What did the Viennese circle of philosophers add to positivism to form logical positivism?

A) Induction
B) Propositional logic
C) Deduction
D) Predicate calculus

Answer 3

Deduction

Question 4

What did Popper suggest as a hallmark of a good scientific theory?

A) Parsimony
B) Falsifiability
C) Empiricism
D) Determinism

Question 5

How did Kuhn suggest science develops?

A) Through incremental improvement.
B) Through the efforts of a few great individuals.
C) Through the development of new technology.
D) Through paradigm shifts.

Question 6

Which of the following is not an aim of science?

A) Description
B) Prediction
C) Prescription
D) Control

Question 7

What is another term for the scientific method in psychology?

A) The hypothetico-deductive method.
B) The observational method.
C) The correlational method.
D) The longitudinal method.

Question 8

Three of the following are necessary to be able to claim that one variable has caused a change in another variable. Which one answer does not allow us to make that claim?

A) An experimental design.
B) A correlation between the two variables.
C) Control for other variables.
D) Accurate measurement.

Question 9

What term is used to describe a study where there are pre-existing groups of participants?

A) A correlational design.
B) A quasi-experimental design.
C) A multi-factorial design.
D) A multi-variate design.

Question 10

Which of the following statements does not apply to quasi-experiments?

A) We can identify differences between groups.
B) We cannot ascribe causality.
C) We can use standard statistical techniques.
D) We can manipulate the independent variable.

Question 11

Which of the following is a hypothetical construct?

A) A psychological phenomenon we can observe directly.
B) A way of measuring tangible objects.
C) A psychological phenomenon that we assume exists but cannot directly measure.
D) A way of measuring intangible objects.

Question 12

What assumption underlies the principle of operationism?

A) That unobservable factors have observable consequences.
B) That we can directly measure intangible constructs.
C) That psychological constructs are always tangible.
D) That we should not investigate things we cannot observe directly.

Question 13

Which of the following is not a potential issue in doing psychology scientifically?

A) There may be difficulties with measurement.
B) People may react to being studied.
C) Studies may lack validity.
D) Psychology cannot be done scientifically.

Question 14

What is 'internal validity'?

A) The extent to which the results of a study can be generalised.
B) The extent to which a study investigates what it purports to investigate.
C) The extent to which a study will produce the same results if repeated.
D) The extent to which two groups in a study differ.

Question 15

Which of the following is not a threat to external validity?

A) The size of the effect found.
B) The need to have internal validity.
C) The representativeness of the sample.
D) The reliability of the measurements used.

Question 16

What term is used to refer to participant artefacts where participants try to do what they think is expected of them?

A) The good subject effect
B) The halo effect
C) The Hawthorne effect
D) The horns effect

Question 17

Which of the following is not a class of experimenter artefacts?

A) Observer effects
B) Interpreter effects
C) Accidental effects
D) Expectancy effects

Question 18

When does reification occur?

A) When we prove that a hypothetical construct exists.
B) When we wrongly assume that a hypothetical construct exists.
C) When we successfully measure a phenomenon.
D) When a measure is reliable over time.

Question 19

Which of the following is not a feature of new paradigm research methods?

A) They study people in real life settings.
B) They use open-ended methods to gather information.
C) They see participants as collaborators in the research.
D) They emphasize the need to maintain objectivity.

Question 20

Which of the following is not a commonly held view about research methods in psychology?

A) Psychology is and should be a science.
B) Psychology should reject scientific methods and use new paradigm methods exclusively.
C) Psychology should reject empiricism.
D) Psychology should use a mix of methods.