Deck 2: Scientific Methods in Psychology

Question 1

Which of the following do researchers generally regard as desirable?

A) illusory correlations
B) selective attrition
C) demand characteristics
D) falsifiable theories

Answer 1

falsifiable theories

Question 2

The goal of scientific research is to establish comprehensive explanations of observable events. These explanations are called

A) theories.
B) facts.
C) predictions.
D) hypotheses.

Answer 2

theories.

Question 3

Which of the following is a desirable feature of a scientific theory?

A) The theory simply restates the facts it is supposed to explain.
B) The theory is based on illusory correlations.
C) The theory makes complex assumptions.
D) The theory is falsifiable.

Answer 3

The theory is falsifiable.

Question 4

In both science and the legal system, the "burden of proof" is on the side that

A) agrees with common sense.
B) disagrees with common sense.
C) should find it possible to present convincing evidence, if in fact it is right.
D) should find it harder to present convincing evidence, if in fact it is right.

Question 5

If a theory is "falsifiable," then it

A) makes specific, testable predictions.
B) contradicts other well-established theories.
C) contradicts common sense.
D) requires more new assumptions than necessary.

Question 6

Any scientific study goes through four steps. Which of the following is NOT one of those steps?

A) hypothesis
B) interpretation
C) method
D) proof

Question 7

In both the U.S. legal system and in scientific disputes, the "burden of proof" falls on

A) someone who has been accused of doing something wrong.
B) someone who is defending traditional beliefs or values.
C) someone who is politically unpopular.
D) someone who should be in the better position to provide convincing evidence.

Question 8

What is a hypothesis?

A) a statistical procedure
B) a testable prediction
C) an established fact
D) a method of investigation

Question 9

A solid theory would be one that

A) predicts many observations.
B) makes many assumptions.
C) is not falsifiable.
D) avoids independent variables.

Question 10

In both science and a criminal trial, who has the "burden of proof"-that is, the obligation to demonstrate that their claims are correct?

A) the side that should be able to produce good evidence, if they are right
B) the side that has more to lose, if they fail to convince others
C) the side with more money to spend
D) the side that is defending the status quo (that is, the current set of beliefs)

Question 11

The word science derives from a Latin word meaning?

A) knowledge
B) test
C) fact
D) statistics

Question 12

In both our legal system and in science, which side of a dispute bears the "burden of proof"?

A) the one defending the current state of affairs
B) the one that should be able to present convincing evidence, if its position is correct
C) the one that has more to lose, if its position is rejected
D) the one that has the smaller number of supporters

Question 13

A testable prediction of what will happen under a specific set of conditions is known as a/an

A) replication.
B) hypothesis.
C) demand characteristic.
D) correlation.

Question 14

"Falsifiability" is considered a desirable characteristic for a scientific theory because a falsifiable theory

A) avoids independent variables.
B) makes clear, testable predictions.
C) disagrees with common sense.
D) relies on anecdotal evidence.

Question 15

To say that a theory is falsifiable is to say that

A) it is based on results that are not replicable.
B) investigators have replaced it with a simpler or more accurate theory.
C) we can imagine results that would contradict it.
D) it is so vague that it fits any and all possible results.

Question 16

Which of the following would NOT be falsifiable?

A) "Children who spend much time in day care centers before age one year develop about the same personality as those reared at home by their parents."
B) "Dreams are motivated by wish fulfillment and are usually disguised to hide their true meaning."
C) "Behaviors followed by reinforcement increase in frequency."
D) "People identify the direction of a sound source by comparing the response in the left ear with the response in the right ear."

Question 17

To say that a theory is falsifiable means that

A) evidence is already available that contradicts the theory.
B) one can imagine evidence that would contradict the theory.
C) various scientists disagree on whether the theory is correct.
D) the theory depends on assumptions that are not parsimonious.

Question 18

A falsifiable theory

A) disagrees with known, replicable data.
B) makes clear, unambiguous predictions.
C) is widely debated and disputed.
D) has not yet been tested.

Question 19

A psychic claims that he can read the minds of people on the planet Zipton, which is millions of light years away. The main scientific objection is that this claim

A) confuses correlation with causation.
B) ignores the role of demand characteristics.
C) is based on a negative correlation.
D) is not falsifiable.

Question 20

A falsifiable theory is one that

A) makes clear, easily tested predictions.
B) disagrees with well-established evidence.
C) makes unnecessary assumptions.
D) is too vague to be useful.

Question 21

According to the principle of parsimony, we should prefer the theory that

A) is most popular among the population as a whole.
B) makes fewer or simpler assumptions.
C) fits any data that we could possibly imagine.
D) relies on anecdotal evidence.

Question 22

To determine whether a theory is parsimonious, psychologists pay attention to whether

A) its assumptions are simple and consistent with those of other theories.
B) the results on which it is based are statistically significant.
C) it has the potential to lead to practical applications.
D) investigators have replicated the results on which it is based.

Question 23

If competent researchers consistently get similar results whenever they follow a particular procedure, then the results are

A) replicable.
B) correlational.
C) representative.
D) operational.

Question 24

Why do investigators sometimes repeat an experiment that other researchers have already completed?

A) to try to eliminate the independent variables
B) to check whether the results are replicable
C) to check whether the explanation is parsimonious
D) to increase the demand characteristics of the experiment

Question 25

Clever Hans could answer a question correctly only if he

A) heard the questioner during the answer.
B) gave his trainer flashing signals.
C) saw the questioner during the answer.
D) had practiced that particular question previously.

Question 26

The preference of scientists for the theory that makes the fewest unfamiliar or untested assumptions is known as the principle of

A) parsimony.
B) statistical significance.
C) normal distribution.
D) informed consent.

Question 27

Judy cannot remember anything that happened during her 8:00 am psychology class. Her roommate Juanita suggests that perhaps Judy slept throughout class. Judy, however, suggests that her brain was temporarily kidnapped by aliens from outer space. Most psychologists would prefer Juanita's explanation because it is more

A) statistical.
B) correlational.
C) psychoanalytic.
D) parsimonious.

Question 28

An investigator repeats the procedures of another researcher's experiment but obtains different results. Scientists would say that the results of the first experiment were not

A) correlational.
B) parsimonious.
C) statistically significant.
D) replicable.

Question 29

What evidence did Oskar Pfungst present to indicate that Clever Hans was not doing mathematical calculations?

A) Hans was correct no more often than we would expect for chance guessing.
B) Hans could answer a question correctly only if the questioner knew the correct answer.
C) Hans could answer correctly only if the questioner made subtle sounds while he was answering.
D) Hans could answer correctly only if his owner, Mr. von Osten, was present.

Question 30

The horse named Clever Hans that seemed to answer mathematical questions, got the answers from?

A) unintentional facial expressions.
B) signals from his owner, Mr. von Osten.
C) subtle sounds that spectators made.
D) extrasensory perception.

Question 31

We would find it difficult to accept the idea of a horse performing algebraic equations because we regard it as

A) unparsimonious.
B) falsifiable.
C) replicable.
D) insignificant.

Question 32

Suppose some unscrupulous researcher made up results and got them published. In the long run, people will not take them seriously because presumably the false results will not be

A) parsimonious.
B) replicable.
C) falsifiable
D) psychoanalytic.

Question 33

Psychologists have the greatest confidence in their results if the results have been

A) replicated using the same method in multiple studies.
B) replicated using multiple methods in multiple studies.
C) replicated using the same method in a single study.
D) falsified using the same method in multiple studies.

Question 34

Clever Hans was

A) a dog that seemed to speak in German.
B) Clever Gretel's brother.
C) a horse that seemed to do arithmetic.
D) a psychic who was popular in the 1930s.

Question 35

Which of the following is a highly desirable feature of a scientific study?

A) selective attrition
B) demand characteristics
C) replicability
D) illusory correlation

Question 36

Some investigators claim they have taught monkeys to understand spoken English, but another scientist argues that the results might be due to a Clever Hans effect. What does this mean?

A) The procedure works only if training begins during infancy.
B) The procedure works only with a few carefully selected and especially bright individuals.
C) The monkeys might be responding to subtle visual cues accidentally given by the investigators.
D) The results are not replicable.

Question 37

Several years ago, researchers examined the effect of listening to music from Mozart on psychological test performance. It appeared that those people who had listened to Mozart performed better on tasks of spatial reasoning than did those people who listened to a relaxation tape or had experienced silence. Later research revealed some problems with these findings. Specifically,

A) the results were not consistently replicable.
B) no control group had been used.
C) the original study was a double-blind study.
D) the independent variable was not operationally defined.

Question 38

A result is replicable if

A) the results are statistically significant.
B) other competent investigators can repeat the results.
C) the interpretation is consistent with other scientific theories.
D) it agrees with common sense.

Question 39

A result is replicable if

A) appropriate research methods are used.
B) the experimental group behaves the same way as the control group.
C) it is statistically significant.
D) researchers who repeat the procedure get similar results.

Question 40

Scientists usually prefer the more "parsimonious" explanation because it is:

A) based on common sense.
B) more interesting.
C) based on higher levels of mathematics.
D) simpler.

Question 41

How did Clever Hans solve arithmetic problems?

A) with ESP
B) by taking advantage of coincidence
C) by watching the examiner for subtle cues
D) by using his native abilities to do arithmetic

Question 42

Which of the following is an operational definition of "anxiety"?

A) a vague sensation that "something dangerous might happen"
B) an experience like fear, but more prolonged
C) the amount of muscle tension after hearing a loud noise
D) the opposite of relaxation

Question 43

In one word, why did most scientists resist the belief that Clever Hans could do complex mathematics, even before they had a good explanation of what he was actually doing?

A) parsimony
B) randomness
C) statistics
D) correlation

Question 44

An anecdote is a

A) medicine that reverses the effect of a poison.
B) professional psychic.
C) measurement of the variation in results within a group.
D) report of an isolated event or occurrence.

Question 45

One problem with using anecdotes as evidence for ESP (or for anything else) is that anecdotes are, by their very nature,

A) highly technical.
B) not replicable.
C) falsifiable.
D) experimental.

Question 46

A convenience sample is

A) representative of the population.
B) a group in which every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected.
C) a group chosen because of its ease of study.
D) the most likely to represent the mean of the population.

Question 47

Which of the following is an operational definition of "confusion"?

A) an unpleasant feeling of not understanding something
B) the result of receiving several kinds of contradictory information
C) the opposite of "decisiveness"
D) number of seconds delay before answering a question

Question 48

One of the main objections raised against ESP is that

A) the theory of ESP is falsifiable.
B) the experiments that reportedly produced positive results have not been replicable.
C) the claims for it are based entirely on anecdotes.
D) none of the experiments on ESP has produced statistically significant results.

Question 49

Participants who volunteer for an experiment would most likely be in a __________ sample.

A) convenience
B) representative
C) random
D) cross-cultural

Question 50

When "The Amazing Kreskin," the professional psychic, finds his check hidden somewhere in the audience, he uses the same method used by

A) Wilhelm Wundt.
B) Clever Hans.
C) Oskar Pfungst.
D) Mary Calkins.

Question 51

Which of the following could be an operational definition of "curiosity"?

A) the mental activity experienced by a child in the presence of brightly colored objects
B) the number of unassigned books that someone reads during a month
C) discomfort provoked by recognizing that one does not understand something
D) a desire to gain knowledge for its own sake

Question 52

A proponent of ESP claims that ESP shows up only when the vibrations are right and that there is no way to know whether the vibrations are right except to see whether ESP shows up. What is wrong with this theory from a scientific standpoint?

A) It relies too heavily on operational definitions.
B) It relies too heavily on negative correlations.
C) It is not falsifiable.
D) It has too many dependent variables.

Question 53

Jane describes a dream she had that came true the next day. This is an example of

A) an anecdote.
B) an experimental result.
C) selective truth.
D) a correlational result.

Question 54

The ganzfeld procedure, used to investigate claims of extrasensory perception, has been

A) used to create homeopathic medical techniques.
B) shown to be a nonreplicable finding.
C) demonstrated to be the only true, reliable ESP phenomenon.
D) responsible for remarkable cures for phobic individuals.

Question 55

An operational definition is a definition that

A) explains where the term came from.
B) describes the underlying cause of something.
C) gives synonyms or antonyms.
D) tells us how to produce or measure something.

Question 56

The benefit of using an operational definition is that it

A) provides a compromise between competing viewpoints.
B) explains what the term means to the average person.
C) enables investigators to measure a phenomenon.
D) offers a theoretical explanation of the causes of a phenomenon.

Question 57

Two serious objections to claims of extrasensory perception are that the explanations are not __________ and that the results are not __________.

A) parsimonious...replicable
B) statistical...correlational
C) significant...independent
D) double-blind...random

Question 58

"The Amazing Kreskin" is a professional psychic who demonstrates his powers by finding his paycheck hidden somewhere in the audience. If he doesn't find it, he doesn't get paid, but he is almost always successful. The most parsimonious explanation for this trick is that

A) he genuinely possesses psychic abilities.
B) he reads subtle cues, much like Clever Hans.
C) it is a coincidence that he keeps finding his check.
D) audience members send delta waves that lead him to his check.

Question 59

A survey team asks questions of a group of people who have been carefully selected to be sure that they include the same percentages of male and female; old and young; and black, white, Asian, and Hispanic as the population as a whole. This group of people constitute a

A) representative sample.
B) random sample.
C) convenience sample.
D) longitudinal sample.

Question 60

Which of the following is an operational definition of "grief"?

A) synonym for bereavement
B) a feeling of sadness and loneliness
C) the consequence of the loss of a loved one
D) the number of tears shed per day

Question 61

Which of the following would best describe the kind of research a psychologist would use to study whether facial expressions have the same meaning for various people throughout the world?

A) longitudinal study
B) triple-blind study
C) cross-cultural study
D) population study

Question 62

A placebo is a

A) member of the control group.
B) pill with effects opposite to those of an experimental drug.
C) nonblind observer.
D) pill with no important biological effects.

Question 63

Dr. Hoonoes got statistically significant results in her last experiment, but she is worried about experimenter bias. By this she means that the results may have been influenced by

A) the experimenter's dislike for calculating statistics.
B) the tendency of an experimenter to distort the experimental results to fit an expected outcome.
C) the fact that some people quit before the experiment was finished.
D) a tendency to rank people high on everything or on nothing.

Question 64

In a double-blind study,

A) participants are assigned randomly to both the control group and the experimental group.
B) the experimenter manipulates neither the independent variable nor the dependent variable.
C) both the experimental group and the control group receive placebos.
D) neither the observer nor the participants know which group is the experimental group and which is the control group.

Question 65

If every individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected for a sample, the sample is said to be a/an __________ sample.

A) representative
B) random
C) independent
D) stratified

Question 66

An investigator wishes to conduct a double-blind study to determine the effect of an experimental drug on memory. The investigator gives the drug to members of the experimental group and a ____ to members of the control group.

A) demand characteristic
B) random sample
C) placebo
D) mode

Question 67

The advantage of a double-blind study is that it minimizes the effect of

A) the expectations by the experimenter and participants.
B) the dependent variable.
C) the independent variable.
D) distracting stimuli.

Question 68

The use of placebos in research is an attempt to minimize the effects of

A) dependent variables.
B) case histories.
C) experimenter bias.
D) informed consent.

Question 69

An investigator who wishes to study the attitudes of people in Illinois identifies 1,000 people in Illinois, taking care that the percentages of male and female, black and white, young and old are the same in the sample as in the total population of the state. What kind of sample is the investigator trying to obtain?

A) an independent sample
B) a convenience sample
C) a random sample
D) a representative sample

Question 70

Dr. Wizard randomly assigns people to two groups. Those in the experimental group receive a "subliminal audiotape" that they are told will improve their self-esteem. The other group receives no treatment. Three weeks later Dr. Wizard interviews them and reports that people in the experimental group show higher self-esteem. What change would IMPROVE the procedure for this research?

A) Eliminate the independent variables
B) Use a convenience sample of people
C) Include more demand characteristics
D) Make the procedure double-blind

Question 71

In order to study the attitudes of the people who live in Tennessee, I obtain a copy of the census of that state and interview every 1,000th person on that list. My procedure will provide an approximately

A) normal sample.
B) experimental sample.
C) proportional sample.
D) random sample.

Question 72

If a group has the same percentage of young and old, male and female, and educated and uneducated people as the population as a whole, then this group is a

A) random sample.
B) convenience sample.
C) cross-cultural sample.
D) representative sample.

Question 73

A sample that is selected to resemble the entire population in its percentage of males and females, blacks and whites, and other factors is said to be a

A) random sample.
B) representative sample.
C) normal distribution.
D) control group.

Question 74

A survey company that wants to know the views of the average person sends an agent to a shopping mall to interview anyone who is available. The people who are interviewed constitute a

A) representative sample.
B) convenience sample.
C) random sample.
D) cross-cultural sample.

Question 75

The tendency for researchers to believe that they see what they expected to see rather than observing what is really happening, is called

A) the Clever Hans effect.
B) the Garcia effect.
C) experimenter bias.
D) extrasensory perception.

Question 76

The best way to describe a double-blind study is to say that

A) the observer does not know which is the control group and which is the experimental group.
B) neither the observer nor the participants know which group is the experimental group and which is the control group.
C) the participants do not know who is in the experimental group and who is in the control group.
D) both the observer and the participants know which is the control group and which is the experimental group.

Question 77

A blind observer is an observer who

A) has no previous experience with psychological observations.
B) does not reveal his or her observations to anyone.
C) does not know what each subject is expected to do.
D) observes everyone except himself or herself.

Question 78

A researcher hypnotizes twenty volunteers an suggests to them that they will become more creative. Later the researcher compares stories these people write to stories written by 20 other people, and reports a difference. The main problem with this study is that it LACKS:

A) independent variables and demand characteristics.
B) dependent variables and informed consent.
C) random samples and blind observations.
D) hypothesis and correlation.

Question 79

Often the experimental group receives a pill believed to have strong effects, and the control group receives a pill that looks like the other pill, but has no effects, other than those due to expectations. The one given to the control group is called a

A) synergy.
B) demand characteristics.
C) placebo.
D) transaction.

Question 80

A researcher conducts a survey of the Canadian population, interviewing 1000 people with the same distribution of men and women, old and young, urban and rural people as the whole Canadian population. Of the following terms, this sample is best described as

A) convenient.
B) distorted.
C) random.
D) representative.