Question 1

The _________________ the opportunity cost of bad behavior,the _________________ likely one is to exhibit bad behavior.

Accepted Answer

A)  higher; less 
B)  lower; more 
C)  higher; more 
D)  lower; less 
E)  a and b

Question 2

A person who lives in a good-climate city says,"It's expensive to live here,but at least the climate is free." In terms of a theory advanced in the text,this person has either forgotten or is unaware that

Accepted Answer

A)  New York City is not a good-climate city and it is expensive to live there. In other words, not all good-climate cities are expensive and not all bad-climate cities are cheap. 
B)  part of the reason it's expensive to live in the city is because of the good climate. 
C)  good-climate cities have more outdoor entertainment entities and activities and therefore people have to pay higher taxes to support those entities and activities. 
D)  there is a sunshine tax in most of the country - the more hours of sunshine a day, the higher the tax. 
E)  none of the above

Question 3

Which of the following is not a prediction of the theory on baseball caps and cheating?

Accepted Answer

A)  More people will wear baseball caps on test days than on lecture days. 
B)  More people will wear baseball caps for multiple choice tests than for essay tests. 
C)  More people will wear baseball caps when students sit close to each other in class and are taking a test than when students sit far apart from each other and are taking a test. 
D)  Baseball caps are more likely to be worn on backwards (than frontwards) on test days than on lecture days. 
E)  none of the above

Question 4

Economists often evaluate a theory in terms of how consistently and accurately it predicts what happens. Implicit in this position is the belief that

Accepted Answer

A)  if the theory's predictions are consistently accurate, then there is a fairly good chance that the theory is a good explanation of how things work. 
B)  if the theory's predictions are consistently accurate, then there is a fairly good chance that the theory will be accepted by others. 
C)  if the theory's predictions are consistently accurate, then there is a fairly good chance that the theory's assumptions (even if they initially seem unrealistic) capture something that is essential to explaining what it is that the theory is trying to explain. 
D)  all of the above

Question 5

Scientists are interested in finding out when their theories are wrong,as well as when they are right.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

It often appears as if there are "too few" workers at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)to service all their customers at a given point in time. Based on one of theories discussed in the text,this is probably because

Accepted Answer

A)  the equilibrium "price" to be served by the DMV is lower than the "price" charged customers. 
B)  the equilibrium "price" to be served by the DMV is higher than the "price" charged customers. 
C)  the equilibrium "price" to be served by the DMV minus the "price" charged to customers is zero. 
D)  b and c 
E)  none of the above

Question 7

If a theory can predict those things that you should observe if it is right and can also predict those things that you should observe if it is wrong,it is said to have the virtue of falsifiability.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

A theory predicts that all swans are white. A thousand people go out into the field and identify the color of the swans they see. Their results reveal that,of the 10,000 swans they saw,all were white. It follows that

Accepted Answer

A)  the swan theory is a falsifiable theory. 
B)  the swan theory is correct. 
C)  the evidence fails to reject the swan theory. 
D)  a and b 
E)  a and c

Question 9

Kristie currently spends her $1,000 a week income on X,Y,and Z. Her mother gives her an extra $400 and tells her to use it to buy more Z. Kristie actually takes the $400 her mother gave to her,adds it $40 of the $300 she usually spends on Z,and buys $660 worth of Z. Did Kristie's mother's $400 go to buy only Z?

Accepted Answer

A)  Yes, because Kristie used her mother's actual $400 (four $100 bills) to buy Z. 
B)  No, because if it had, Kristie would have bought $700 worth of Z. Some of Kristie's mother's money went for what Kristie had next on her list to buy. 
C)  Yes, since Kristie bought $640 worth of Z, and the amount of money her mother gave her is less than $640. 
D)  There is not enough information to answer the question.

Question 10

Theory A predicts that the higher the opportunity cost of having a child,the fewer children a woman will have. Which of the following is evidence against the theory if opportunity cost is measured in terms of foregone salary?

Accepted Answer

A)  women with high-paying jobs have more children than women with low-paying jobs. 
B)  women with low-paying jobs have more children than women with high-paying jobs. 
C)  men married to women with high-paying jobs want more children than men married to women with low-paying jobs. 
D)  the mothers of women with high-paying jobs will want their daughters to have children more than the mothers of women with low-paying jobs will want their daughters to have children. 
E)  none of the above

Question 11

Which of the following is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  The motivation to try to explain something is at the heart of building a theory. 
B)  If a theory makes people uncomfortable then it should be discarded or ignored. 
C)  In order for a theory to be valid it must be a perfect description of reality. 
D)  Building a theory and evaluating a theory are the same thing.

Question 12

A man moves from a large city to a small town. In the small town he seems like a very different person than the person he was in the big city. For instance,he is more polite in the small town than he was in the big city. This could be because

Accepted Answer

A)  the costs of his being impolite are higher in the big city than in the small town. 
B)  the costs of his being impolite are higher in the small town than in the big city. 
C)  he is a happier person in the small town and it could be that happier people are more polite. 
D)  b and c 
E)  a and c

Question 13

A theory is a perfect description of reality.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

People sometimes act differently in different settings. An economist is likely to explain this by saying

Accepted Answer

A)  the benefits and costs of certain behaviors can be different in different settings. 
B)  people are hard to figure out. 
C)  people behave as others behave. 
D)  it is hard to figure out what makes people tick. 
E)  none of the above

Question 15

If a theory gives a scientist results that she does not want,then she should not believe in that theory.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Theories should be judged based upon how consistently and precisely they predict and how well they explain things.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

A gift-giver's efficient number of gifts (to give to a gift-recipient)has fallen from 10 to 8. This could be because

Accepted Answer

A)  the gift-giver's marginal benefit curve for giving gifts shifted down and left. 
B)  the gift-giver's marginal cost curve of giving gifts shifted up and left. 
C)  the gift-recipient "fell out" of the gift-giver's utility function. 
D)  a and b 
E)  none of the above

Question 18

There is a direct relationship between the opportunity cost of bad behavior in a public venue and the use of bad behavior in that venue.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

The ______________ the gap between the tuition a college student pays and the equilibrium tuition for that college,the _____________ likely the student's instructors will be on time and attentive during their office hours.

Accepted Answer

A)  larger; less 
B)  smaller; more 
C)  larger; more 
D)  smaller; less 
E)  a and b

Question 20

Smith says that criminals are rational and that they consider both the benefits and costs of criminal activity. Jones disagrees. He says criminals are irrationals and can't possibly be considering both the benefits and costs of criminal activity. If they did,he argues,they wouldn't be criminals. An economist who wants to figure out if criminals are rational,would most likely build a

Accepted Answer

A)  falsifiable theory built on a rational criminal and then test the theory. 
B)  non-falsifiable theory built on a rational criminal and then test the theory. 
C)  falsifiable theory built on a rational criminal, but not test the theory. 
D)  non-falsifiable theory built on a rational criminal, but not test the theory.

Exam 33: Building Theories to Explain Everyday Life: From Observations to Questions to Theories to Predictions

The _ the opportunity cost of bad behavior,the _ likely one is to exhibit bad behavior.

A person who lives in a good-climate city says,"It's expensive to live here,but at least the climate is free." In terms of a theory advanced in the text,this person has either forgotten or is unaware that

Which of the following is not a prediction of the theory on baseball caps and cheating?

Economists often evaluate a theory in terms of how consistently and accurately it predicts what happens. Implicit in this position is the belief that

Scientists are interested in finding out when their theories are wrong,as well as when they are right.

It often appears as if there are "too few" workers at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to service all their customers at a given point in time. Based on one of theories discussed in the text,this is probably because

If a theory can predict those things that you should observe if it is right and can also predict those things that you should observe if it is wrong,it is said to have the virtue of falsifiability.

A theory predicts that all swans are white. A thousand people go out into the field and identify the color of the swans they see. Their results reveal that,of the 10,000 swans they saw,all were white. It follows that

Theory A predicts that the higher the opportunity cost of having a child,the fewer children a woman will have. Which of the following is evidence against the theory if opportunity cost is measured in terms of foregone salary?

Which of the following is true?

A man moves from a large city to a small town. In the small town he seems like a very different person than the person he was in the big city. For instance,he is more polite in the small town than he was in the big city. This could be because

A theory is a perfect description of reality.

People sometimes act differently in different settings. An economist is likely to explain this by saying

If a theory gives a scientist results that she does not want,then she should not believe in that theory.

Theories should be judged based upon how consistently and precisely they predict and how well they explain things.

A gift-giver's efficient number of gifts (to give to a gift-recipient) has fallen from 10 to 8. This could be because

There is a direct relationship between the opportunity cost of bad behavior in a public venue and the use of bad behavior in that venue.

The __ the gap between the tuition a college student pays and the equilibrium tuition for that college,the _ likely the student's instructors will be on time and attentive during their office hours.