Research Methods test questions:
1. The perception that psychological research findings merely verify our common sense
understanding is most clearly facilitated by
A. illusory correlations.
B. hindsight bias.
C. operational definitions.
D. the placebo effect.
Answer: B
2. By testing their predictions with the observational method of science, psychologists are using
a(n)
A. correlation coefficient.
B. empirical approach.
C. standard deviation.
D. independent variable.
Answer: B
3. When you question whether anecdotal evidence can be generalized to all people, you are
applying
A. the placebo effect.
B. hindsight bias.
C. random assignment.
D. critical thinking.
Answer: D
4. Professor Delano suggests that because people are especially attracted to those who are good-
looking, handsome men will be more successful than average-looking men in getting a job. The
professor's prediction regarding employment success is an example of
A. the hindsight bias.
B. the placebo effect.
C. a hypothesis.
D. illusory correlation.
Answer: C
5. To understand the unusual behavior of an adult client, a clinical psychologist carefully
investigates the client's current life situation and his physical, social-cultural, and educational
history. Which research method has the psychologist used?
A. the survey
B. the case study
C. experimentation
D. naturalistic observation
Answer: B
6. In which type of research is a representative, random sample of people asked to answer
questions about their behaviors or attitudes?
A. experimentation
B. the survey
C. the case study
D. naturalistic observation
Answer: B
7. Which of the following is most useful for helping survey researchers avoid false generalizations?
A. the case study
B. naturalistic observation
C. random sampling
D. operational definitions
Answer: C
8. To learn about the TV viewing habits of all the children attending Oakbridge School, Professor
DeVries randomly selected and interviewed 50 of the school's students. In this instance, all the
children attending the school are considered to be a(n)
A. population.
B. representative sample.
C. independent variable.
D. control condition.
Answer: A
9. Psychologists who carefully watch the behavior of chimpanzee societies in the jungle are using a
research method known as
A. the survey.
B. experimentation.
C. naturalistic observation.
D. the case study.
Answer: C
10. Correlation is a measure of the extent to which two variables
A. vary together.
B. are random samples.
C. influence each other.
D. show statistically significant differences.
Answer: A
11. To represent graphically the correlation between two variables, researchers often construct a
A. skewed distribution.
B. scatterplot.
C. standard deviation.
D. bar graph.
Answer: B
11. Which of the following correlation coefficients expresses the weakest degree of relationship
between two variables?
A. –0.12
B. –0.99
C. +0.25
D. –0.50
Answer: A
12. Which of the following methods is most helpful for revealing cause-effect relationships?
A. the survey
B. the experiment
C. correlational research
D. naturalistic observation
Answer: B
13. To assess the impact of test difficulty on persistence of effort, researchers plan to give one
group of children relatively easy tests and another group more difficult tests. To reduce the
chance that the children in one group are more intelligent than those in the other group, the
researchers should make use of
A. random assignment.
B. the double-blind procedure.
C. naturalistic observations.
D. operational definitions.
Answer: A
14. Commonly used in drug-evaluation studies, ________ ensures that research participants' belief
in a drug's healing powers will not bias the results
A. random sampling
B. the double-blind procedure
C. random assignment
D. operational definitions
Answer: B
15. An inert substance that may be administered instead of a drug to see if it produces any of the
same effects as the drug is called a
A. placebo.
B. median.
C. case study.
D. replication.
Answer: A
16. Random assignment minimizes ________ between experimental and control groups. Random
sampling minimizes ________ between a sample and a population.
A. similarities; differences
B. differences; similarities
C. similarities; similarities
D. differences; differences
Answer: D
17. In an experimental study of the effects of anxiety on self-esteem, anxiety would be the
________ variable.
A. experimental
B. dependent
C. correlational
D. independent
Answer: D
18. Any factor such as infant nutrition which can vary in its quality or quantity is called a
A. sample.
B. median.
C. variable.
D. coefficient.
Answer: C
19. The most frequently occurring score in a distribution of scores is the
A. mode.
B. median.
C. standard deviation.
D. mean.
Answer: A
20. When a statistical average is reported in the news, it is most important for readers to
A. determine whether it is statistically significant.
B. consider whether it is distorted by a few extreme cases.
C. be sure that it describes a truly random sample.
D. recognize the potential for illusory correlation.
Answer: B
21. Although Dominick's psychology class is sometimes longer or shorter than usual, on the average
each class is 50 minutes. If the lengths of these classes form a normal curve, which statistic
would enable Dominick to estimate the probability that any single class will last somewhere
between 47 and 53 minutes?
A. range
B. median
C. correlation coefficient
D. standard deviation
Answer: D
22. Differences between two sample averages are most likely to be statistically significant if
A. the difference between the samples is large.
B. the standard deviations of the samples are large.
C. both samples are drawn from the same population.
D. the sample means are larger than the sample medians.
Answer: A
23. The American Psychological Association has developed ethical principles urging investigators to
A. avoid the use of monetary incentives in recruiting people to participate in research.
B. forewarn potential research participants of the exact hypotheses that the research will test.
C. avoid the manipulation of independent variables in research involving human participants.
D. explain the research to the participants after the study has been completed.
Answer: D
History and approaches questions: ch. 15 TB
1. Dr. Wolski does research on the potential relationship between neurotransmitter deficiencies
and mood states.
Which psychological specialty does Dr. Wolski's research best represent?
A. phrenology
B. biological psychology
C. psychoanalysis
D. social psychology
Answer: B
2. The school of thought in psychology that systematically turned away from the study of
consciousness during the first half of the last century was
A. behaviorism.
B. psychoanalysis.
C. humanistic psychology.
D. evolutionary psychology.
Answer: A
3. Which specialty area would be most interested in identifying the cortical activation patterns
associated with a person's perception of different objects?
A. evolutionary psychology
B. cognitive neuroscience
C. behavior genetics
D. behaviorism
Answer: B
4. A therapist who takes an eclectic approach is one who
A. prescribes the use of drugs as part of psychotherapy.
B. emphasizes that active listening is the major technique in all effective therapies.
C. prefers to engage in therapy in a group setting.
D. uses a variety of psychological theories and therapeutic approaches.
Answer: D
5. Helping people gain insight into the unconscious origins of their disorder is a central aim of
A. cognitive therapies.
B. systematic desensitization.
C. light exposure therapy.
D. psychoanalysis.
Answer: D
6. An important component of psychoanalysis is
A. active listening.
B. dream analysis.
C. spontaneous recovery.
D. systematic desensitization.
Answer: B
7. Unlike psychoanalytic therapists, humanistic therapists tend to focus on the ________ more
than the ________.
A. present; future
B. past; present
C. present; past
D. past; future
Answer: C
8. Instead of focusing on the cure of psychological disorders, ________ therapies seek to promote
personal growth and self-fulfillment.
A. psychodynamic
B. biomedical
C. behavior
D. humanistic
Answer: D
