Deck 1: Asking Good Psychological Questions

Question 1

Your textbook defines psychology as which of the following

A) The science of behavior
B) The study of mental processes
C) The study of mental disorders and their treatment
D) The science of mind and behavior

Answer 1

The science of mind and behavior

Question 2

Which of the following sequences correctly orders the level of explanation in psychology,from the lowest to the highest

A) social/cultural ; interpersonal; biological
B) interpersonal ; social/cultural; biological
C) biological; social/cultural ; interpersonal
D) biological; interpersonal; social/cultural

Answer 2

biological; interpersonal; social/cultural

Question 3

One morning,Alan wakes to the news that a powerful earthquake occurred in California."I told you the big one would hit this year!" he exclaims.Alan appears subject to the _____ bias.

A) cognitive
B) hindsight
C) predictive
D) foresight

Answer 3

hindsight

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the "everyday research" that we all perform when we try to understand thoughts and behavior

A) It is usually accurate.
B) It is never accurate
C) It can lead us to believe that we know the causes of things when we really do not
D) It is performed very rarely

Question 5

.The set of assumptions,rules,and procedures that scientists use to conduct empirical research.This statement best describes _____

A) data
B) empiricism
C) the scientific method
D) the hindsight bias

Question 6

What,if anything,unites psychology

A) All psychologists are committed to the scientific method.
B) All psychologists conduct research.
C) All psychologists focus on measuring behavior.
D) All psychologists use the same theoretical approach in studying mind and behavior.

Question 7

Based on your text's discussion,which of the following alternatives best expresses the relationship between facts and values

A) Research can sometimes provide facts that can help people develop their values.
B) Values are more important than facts.
C) Facts and values are independent of each other.
D) Facts and values are often indistinguishable.

Question 8

Personal statements are to objective statements as _____ are to _____.

A) facts; values
B) theories; facts
C) values; theories
D) values; facts

Question 9

.Dr.Kennison relates binge drinking among college students to personality traits such as conscientiousness.Dr.Leblanc relates college binge drinking to the proportion of students living on campus.Dr.Kennison is analyzing binge drinking at the _____ level.Dr.Leblanc is studying binge drinking at the _____ level.

A) interpersonal; social/cultural
B) interpersonal; interpersonal
C) social/cultural; interpersonal
D) social/cultural; social/cultural

Question 10

Barry states that psychology is the study of the mind.Candace states that psychology is the science of behavior.How might you evaluate these two statements

A) Barry's definition is correct. Candace's definition is incorrect.
B) Barry's definition is incorrect. Candace's definition is correct.
C) Barry's definition is too broad. Candace's definition is correct.
D) Both statements are partially correct.

Question 11

Dr.Estevez is a cognitive psychologist.Dr.Francis is a school psychologist.Dr.Gigliotti is a counseling psychologist.Which of these individuals is most likely a research psychologist

A) Both Dr. Francis and Dr. Gigliotti are likely research psychologists.
B) None of these individuals is likely a research psychologist.
C) Dr. Gigliotti is most likely a research psychologist.
D) Dr. Estevez is most likely a research psychologist.

Question 12

Creating knowledge is to using knowledge as _____ is to _____.

A) psychologist-practitioner; research psychologist
B) psychologist-practitioner; experimental psychologist
C) research psychologist; psychologist-practitioner
D) research psychologist; experimental psychologist

Question 13

Your textbook describes a study in which participants preferred tea whose name contained the first 3 letters of their own name 64% of time,and tea whose name contained the first three letters of their experimental partner's name 36% of the time.If unconscious preferences had no effect on behavior then participants should have chosen the tea whose name included the first three letters of their name what percent of the time

A) 75
B) 33
C) 25
D) 50

Question 14

"History is the most fundamental of all the humanities," lectures a professor early in the semester.In your textbook's terms,the professor's statement is a _____.

A) theory
B) value
C) fact
D) rule

Question 15

Allanah has declared psychology as her major.Which of the following alternatives best identifies what Allanah will study

A) Mental processes
B) Mind and behavior
C) Psychological disorders and their treatment
D) The development of the individual

Question 16

Dr.Harris is describing the assumptions,rules,and procedures that psychologists use to gather observations.Dr.Harris is outlining the _____ method.

A) deductive
B) psychological
C) rational
D) scientific

Question 17

Which of the following is the best definition of the hindsight bias

A) The ability to remember the past.
B) The ability to remember the past more than the present.
C) The ability to understand the causes of complex events.
D) The tendency to think that we could have predicted things that we probably would not have been able to predict.

Question 18

Which level of explanation in psychology is correctly matched with an example

A) Social/cultural level -- At low doses, cocaine can improve performance on visual attention tasks such as detecting specific stimuli appearing on a computer screen.
B) Interpersonal level -- Cocaine abuse is associated with a history of violence and sexual abuse in the family.
C) Biological level -- Cocaine exerts its effects by prolonging the presence of specific chemicals at the junctions between nerve cells.
D) Social/cultural level -- Cocaine abuse is associated with high levels of the personality trait of neuroticism and with low levels of the trait of conscientiousness.

Question 19

Regarding science,which of the following statements is most accurate

A) Science is completely objective.
B) Science is not at all objective.
C) Values affect science.
D) Science is value-free.

Question 20

.When scientists conduct research,they may find that what they thought were facts are actually incorrect.What normally happens in this case

A) The old facts become values
B) The old facts are forgotten
C) The old facts are replaced with new facts based on newer and more correct data.
D) The scientific method does not separate facts from values

Question 21

Which challenge of studying psychology did Freud bring to our attention

A) unconscious processes
B) individual differences
C) multiple causes
D) interrelated causes

Question 22

A professor of cognitive psychology tells her class,"One of the ies researchers face in evaluating potential gender differences in mathematical reasoning is that men vary dramatically in mathematical reasoning ability,and so do women." The professor is referring to the challenge of:

A) unconscious processes
B) multiple levels of explanation
C) interrelated causes
D) individual differences

Question 23

Which of the following challenges of studying psychology is correctly matched with an example

A) Individual differences - Some people have lower self-esteem than are others.
B) Unconscious processes - Gender differences in aggression reflect not only hormonal differences, but also cultural norms.
C) Behavior is multiply determined - Behavior is often caused by factors that are outside of our awareness.
D) All of these are correctly matched.

Question 24

Behavior is produced by many causes.That is,behavior is:

A) subject to individual differences
B) unidimensionally described
C) multiply determined
D) produced by interrelated factors

Question 25

Which of the following is the best definition of heritability

A) The proportion of observed differences among people that is due to genetics
B) The extent to which men and women differ in terms of their genetic makeup
C) The average genetic similarity between identical twins.
D) The average genetic similarity among strangers.

Question 26

"Adultery is wrong" is a value statement.

Question 27

Which of the following best defines individual differences

A) the average correlation among personality variables
B) average differences between men and women on depression
C) variations among people
D) extreme rather than moderate changes in behavior

Question 28

Dr.Brown conducts empirical research to create new knowledge regarding human visual attention.Her colleague,Dr.Chase,is a counseling psychologist using such knowledge to help college students combat ADHD.Dr.Chase is a(n)psychologist-_____.

Question 29

Facts and values are independent.

Question 30

Behavior is determined by multiple factors.These factors are often:

A) unrelated
B) interrelated
C) synonymous
D) opposing

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in your text as a challenge facing psychologists in the study of thought and behavior

A) People vary dramatically in thought and behavior.
B) Behavior reflects multiple causes simultaneously.
C) The biological basis of behavior is largely unknown.
D) The causes of behavior are often outside awareness.

Question 32

Unconscious processes have little influence on behavior.

Question 33

The scientific method guides empirical research.

Question 34

Psychology does not include the study of the mind.

Question 35

The multiple factors underlying a given behavior are generally independent.

Question 36

Because values cannot be considered to be either true or false,science cannot prove or disprove them.

Question 37

Which of these statements is at the social/cultural level of explanation

A) Depression is in part genetically influenced
B) Psychotherapy can be used to help people combat depression
C) Women experience more depression than men do
D) Depression is influenced by the action of neurotransmitters in the brain

Question 38

Which of the following challenges of studying psychology is correctly matched with a description

A) Individual differences - Behavior is usually caused by many factors simultaneously.
B) Unconscious processes - Behavior is often caused by factors outside our awareness.
C) Behavior is multiply determined - The factors causing behavior are often interrelated.
D) Repression - The awareness of a thought or behavior

Question 39

A time-travel mishap lands Freud at the 2010 conference of the Association for Psychological Science.How would Freud probably react to the interest in unconscious processes among contemporary psychologists

A) He would be gratified to see how his ideas about the unconscious have been used by psychologists.
B) He would be disappointed to see how his ideas about the unconscious have been ignored by psychologists.
C) He would argue that he did not believe in the unconscious.

Question 40

The lowest level of explanation in psychology is the biological level.

Question 41

Which of the following terms is most closely associated with evolutionary psychology

A) unconscious
B) introspection
C) fitness
D) reinforcement

Question 42

Gene is to environment as _____ is to _____.

A) determinism; free will
B) unconscious processing; conscious processing
C) nature; nurture
D) free will; determinism

Question 43

Which of the following psychologists is correctly matched with his contribution to psychology

A) Wundt - opened one of the first laboratories in psychology
B) Fechner - studied list memory
C) Ebbinghaus - developed the first psychological measurement, the JND
D) Freud - founded the behaviorist school

Question 44

_____ research methods involve collecting and organizing data.

Question 45

Which of the following American psychologists is correctly matched with his contribution to psychology

A) Freud - opened one of the first psychology laboratories
B) Skinner- contributed to behaviorism
C) Watson - contributed to structuralism
D) James - contributed to behaviorism

Question 46

Dr.Greenway argues that psychology should focus on observable,measurable behavior.Dr.Cech suggests that psychology should study how people think and process information about the world.Which option correctly identifies their respective approaches

A) Dr. Greenway - psychodynamic; Dr. Cech - structuralism
B) Dr. Greenway - structuralism; Dr. Cech - psychodynamic
C) Dr. Greenway - behaviorism; Dr. Cech - cognitive
D) Dr, Greenway - cognitive; Dr. Cech - behaviorism

Question 47

Which of the following best defines cognitive psychology

A) The study of consciousness and development
B) The study of stress and coping
C) The study of mental processes including thinking and memory
D) The study of human development

Question 48

Which of the following best defines structuralism

A) Uses the method of introspection to identify the basic elements of psychological experience
B) Focuses on the role of our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories and our early childhood experiences in determining behavior
C) Based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively study the mind, and therefore that psychologists should limit their attention to the study of behavior itself
D) The study of mental processes, including perception, thinking, memory, and judgments

Question 49

Regarding the historical development of contemporary psychology,which of the following statements is true

A) Psychology has remained largely subjective.
B) Relatively few women have entered the field.
C) The proportion of men in the field has increased.
D) Psychology has become more objective and scientific

Question 50

Which psychologist is correctly matched with an associated approach

A) Freud - behaviorist
B) James - psychodynamic
C) Jung - cognitive
D) Titchener - structuralism

Question 51

Describe the levels of analysis used in psychological science.Select a behavioral or mental phenomenon of interest to you and suggest how it might be influenced by factors at each of the levels you identify

Question 52

Which of the following best defines functionalism

A) Uses the method of introspection to identify the basic elements of psychological experience
B) Attempts to understand why animals and humans have developed the particular psychological aspects that they currently possess
C) Focuses on the role of our unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories and our early childhood experiences in determining behavior
D) Based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively study the mind, and therefore that psychologists should limit their attention to the study of behavior itself

Question 53

Dahlia is reading a description of recent psychological research in a popular newsmagazine."I could have told you that," she remarks on finishing the article.Dahlia is displaying the _____ bias.

Question 54

Which approach is correctly matched with its description

A) functionalism; emphasizes why our behavior and mental processes are the way they are
B) structuralism; emphasizes the unconscious determinants of behavior
C) psychodynamic; emphasizes the elements of mental experience
D) behaviorism; emphasizes mental processes

Question 55

The highest level of explanation in psychology focuses on the _____ factors underlying behavior.

Question 56

Distinguish between facts and values.Provide an example of a statement of fact and an example of a value statement.How might facts and values influence each otherModerate

Question 57

Many factors influence any given behavior: Behavior is _____.

Question 58

Identify two challenges psychologists face in studying behavior and mental processes.Supply a concrete example of how each fact you identify might complicate the study of a particular behavioral or mental phenomenon

Question 59

Some of your friends are more extraverted than others,reflecting the role of _____ in thought and behavior.

Question 60

Which of the following best defines evolutionary psychology

A) The study of the history of the unconscious
B) The study of the development of the mind
C) The application of the Darwinian theory of natural selection to understanding behavior
D) The case study approach to human development

Question 61

Which of the following statements most accurately captures Descartes' view of the relationship between the mind and the body

A) The mind is similar to the body.
B) The mind and body are unrelated.
C) The mind is the same as the body.
D) The mind is different from the body.

Question 62

Dreleux asserts that psychologists should attempt to isolate the fundamental attributes of mental experience.Dr.Leleux appears most sympathetic to the _____ approach in psychology.

A) functionalist
B) cognitive
C) psychodynamic
D) structuralist

Question 63

Which of the following best defines a culture

A) The sum of many associations
B) The outcome of learning
C) A shared way of thinking or feeling
D) A common set of social norms

Question 64

Dr.Aziz studies the biases that may impair human decision-making.Dr.Aziz' work is most relevant to the question of:

A) conscious vs. unconscious processing
B) free will vs. determinism
C) differences vs. similarities
D) accuracy vs. inaccuracy

Question 65

Perhaps the best-known structuralist was Wundt's student,_____.

A) Titchener
B) Piaget
C) Bartlett
D) Fechner

Question 66

The phrase tabula rasa may be translated as:

A) red tablet
B) raised table
C) empty table
D) empty slate

Question 67

Dr.Reynolds believes that depression reflects aspects of a patient's early relationship with her parents of which she may be completely unaware.Dr.Smith,by contrast,argues that depression stems from a patient's current knowledge about herself.The two psychologists appear to disagree on the _____question.

A) conscious vs. unconscious processing
B) free will vs. determinism
C) differences vs. similarities
D) nature vs. nurture

Question 68

Which of the following defines the process of introspection

A) the person thinks about others
B) the person describes what they experience
C) the person remembers early childhood experiences
D) the person holds numbers in memory

Question 69

Research reported in your text is most consistent with which of the following statements

A) It is to convince people that they have free will
B) People may believe that they have free will even when they do not
C) Free will is not possible to study scientifically
D) Free will is observed more frequently in men than in women

Question 70

A procedure in which an observer describes the simple elements of a complex experience in as much detail as possible is called:

A) inner perception
B) introspection
C) internal observation
D) introjection

Question 71

The story the War of the Ghosts was used by Sir Frederic Bartlett to study

A) how children learn to write
B) how the unconscious influences behavior
C) how expectations influence memory
D) how much knowledge is innate

Question 72

Which of the following best defines a social norm

A) A cognitive structure
B) A psychodynamic repression
C) A shared way of thinking or feeling
D) A reinforcement schedule

Question 73

Dr.Quinones studies the achievement motivation of junior high-school students.He asserts that such motivation mainly reflects the parenting and educational practices the students have experienced.This statement is most directly related to the _____ question; Dr.Quinones' position is toward the _____ end of the continuum.

A) nature vs. nurture; nature
B) nature vs. nurture; nurture
C) determinism vs. free will; free will
D) determinism vs. free will; determinism

Question 74

In which city did Wundt open one of the first psychological laboratories

A) Vienna, Austria
B) Oxford, England
C) Leipzig, Germany
D) Krakow, Poland

Question 75

Lassandra takes a sip of cola."Sweet ...cold,wet,tingly ...slightly bitter," she reports.Lassandra is:

A) introspecting
B) interviewing
C) suffering a stroke
D) taking an intelligence test

Question 76

According to the structuralists,the goal of psychology is to:

A) uncover the unconscious determinants of behavior
B) focus on observable behavior itself
C) examine the impact of society and culture on behavior
D) identify the elements of conscious experience

Question 77

Whereas the philosophers _____ believed that humans possessed some innate knowledge,the philosopher _____ believed that all knowledge derived from experience.

A) Aristotle and Descartes; Plato
B) Plato and Descartes; Aristotle
C) Plato and Descartes; Wundt
D) Plato and Aristotle; Descartes

Question 78

According to your text,two of the first research psychologists were _____ and _____.

A) James and Watson
B) Wundt and James
C) Watson and Titchener
D) Fechner and Freud

Question 79

During which historical period were the first psychology laboratories established

A) the era of Classical Greece
B) the early Renaissance
C) the 1700s
D) the 1800s

Question 80

According to your text,psychologists reflecting the _____ and _____ approaches have highlighted the importance of unconscious processing.

A) psychodynamic; behaviorist
B) psychodynamic; cognitive
C) cognitive; behaviorist
D) structuralist; behaviorist