Deck 1: Section 1: The Science of Psychology

Question 1

The behavioral perspective focuses on _____, and the sociocultural perspective focuses on _____.

A) both observable behavior and mental processes; both observable behavior and mental processes
B) both observable behavior and mental processes; observable behavior only
C) observable behavior only; both observable behavior and mental processes
D) observable behavior only; observable behavior only

Answer 1

observable behavior only; both observable behavior and mental processes

Question 2

Which statement about scatterplots is TRUE?

A) If points are scattered randomly, one variable does not predict another.
B) If data points fall on a line from the bottom right to the top left, there is a negative relationship.
C) If data points fall on a line from the bottom left to the top right, there is a positive relationship.
D) All the answers are correct.

Answer 2

All the answers are correct.

Question 3

Measures of central tendency provide information about _____, and measures of variability provide information about _____.

A) how spread out the scores are; the typical score
B) the typical score; how spread out the scores are
C) the percentile rank of scores; whether or not the distribution is skewed
D) whether or not the distribution is skewed; the percentile rank of scores

Answer 3

the typical score; how spread out the scores are

Question 4

The biological perspective most directly emphasizes _____, and the cognitive perspective most directly emphasizes _____.

A) the brain and nervous system; the environment
B) the brain and nervous system; mental processes
C) mental processes; the environment
D) the environment; mental processes

Question 5

In a distribution of test scores, there are a few scores that are much lower than the others. This is an example of a _____-skewed distribution in which the mean is _____ than the median.

A) right; greater
B) right; less
C) left; greater
D) left; less

Question 6

Random assignment is to _____ as random sampling is to _____.

A) generalize; control
B) control; generalize
C) large groups; small groups
D) small groups; large groups

Question 7

When an experiment includes a placebo group, why should researchers use a double-blind procedure?

A) The double-blind procedure controls for experimenter expectation.
B) An experimenter may treat control and treatment groups differently, thus influencing their behavior.
C) An experimenter may record and interpret the two groups' behaviors differently.
D) All the answers are correct.

Question 8

Why does the normal distribution have a bell shape?

A) because all scores occur with equal frequency
B) because low scores are more frequent than high scores
C) because high scores are more frequent than low scores
D) because scores near the mean are most frequent and extreme scores are rare

Question 9

One disadvantage of the case study method is that it _____.

A) is difficult to recruit a large number of participants
B) does not provide findings that can be generalized
C) is not useful for generating hypotheses
D) involves traveling to multiple natural settings

Question 10

The biological perspective is to _____ as the cognitive perspective is to _____.

A) hardware; software
B) software; hardware
C) internal factors; external factors
D) external factors; internal factors