The parallel between the legal system and psychological science

  A) is inappropriate because different kinds of judgments are made.

  B) is that both legal and scientific decisions can be made with certainty.

  C) is that the quality and extent of evidence in each determines the decisions that are made.

  D) reflects the high degree of subjective decision-making that occurs in each.

Before beginning a research project, researchers should search the psychological literature about their topic

  A) in order to develop research hypotheses.

  B) to stop the research if the study or a similar one has already been done.

  C) to demonstrate that no one has had a similar idea.

  D) all of the above

Which of the following statements about the historical context of psychology is true?

  A) The topics and theoretical perspectives have changed very little over the past 100 years of psychological research.

  B) By investigating a wide array of topics over time, psychologists have demonstrated the complexity of human behavior.

  C) Only a few key scientists have contributed important findings to the science of psychology.

  D) The theoretical perspective of behaviorism has dominated the science of psychology since its inception.

One aspect of the social and cultural context in which scientists work is that

  A) society’s acceptance of research findings can influence how research findings are applied.

  B) research findings are implemented in society without people’s awareness.

  C) scientists have full control over how society’s resources are used to advance science.

  D) society has little to say about the topics investigated by scientists.

Ethnocentrism occurs when

  A) researchers falsify their research findings to benefit a particular group.

  B) psychological research occurs in a historical context.

  C) reports of psychological research are reported incorrectly in the media.

  D) researchers attempt to understand a different culture from their own culture’s framework.

One aspect of the moral context of scientific activity concerns the fact that

  A) science is flawed because it is a human activity.

  B) pressures to produce research reports may lead to scientific misconduct.

  C) scientists who employ humans and animals as subjects frequently face ethical dilemmas.

  D) all of the above.

As an approach to knowledge, the scientific method relies on

  A) intuitive procedures.

  B) deductive procedures.

  C) empirical procedures.

  D) subjective procedures.

Which of the following characteristics applies to a measurement that consistently discriminates between high and low scorers?

  A) validity

  B) reliability

  C) precision

  D) accuracy

The tentative explanations scientists use to explain events that must be testable are called

  A) hypotheses.

  B) postulates.

  C) heuristics.

  D) axioms.

Using the nomothetic approach, psychologists seek to

  A) describe one individual’s behavior.

  B) create change in an individual’s life.

  C) identify a research question.

  D) establish general laws of behavior that apply to a diverse population.

A correlational study is uniquely useful for meeting which of the following goals of the scientific method?

  A) description

  B) creating change

  C) prediction

  D) understanding

A correlation exists when __________

  A) two hypotheses are shown to support the same theory.

  B) two measures of the same people, events, or things vary together.

  C) one study uses applied research and a second study uses basic research.

  D) a measurement is both reliable and valid.

Psychologists use _______ to identify the causes of a phenomenon.

  A) correlations

  B) applied research

  C) qualitative research

  D) controlled experiments

A(n) ____________ is a statement about the cause of an event or behavior.

  A) causal inference

  B) experiment

  C) controlled cause

  D) correlation

Which is the primary goal of research that psychologists strive to achieve when they conduct controlled experiments?

  A) description

  B) prediction

  C) understanding

  D) covariation

When scientists report their findings they strive to describe

  A) only the aspects of what they have observed that differ from what they expected to observe.

  B) only their personal interpretations.

  C) what they have observed along with their personal interpretations.

  D) only what they have observed.

The essential ingredient of scientific observation is

  A) control.

  B) precise instrumentation.

  C) description.

  D) creating change.

A researcher tests whether students learn better with an active learning teaching method or with a traditional teaching method. In this example, the teaching method is a(n)

  A) dependent variable.

  B) control variable.

  C) independent variable.

  D) intervening variable.

What characteristic distinguishes scientific hypotheses from casual, everyday hypotheses?

  A) testability

  B) intuitive appeal

  C) circularity

  D) certainty

Which of the following characterizes the majority of the research conducted in psychology?

  A) quantitative research using the idiographic approach

  B) quantitative research using the nomothetic approach

  C) qualitative research using the idiographic approach

  D) qualitative research using the nomothetic approach

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between correlation and causation?

  A) Correlation does not imply causation.

  B) Correlation directly implies causation.

  C) Correlation and causation are synonymous.

  D) Correlation is unrelated to causation.

When a researcher studies an individual differences variable, the levels of the independent variable are

  A) manipulated.

  B) averaged.

  C) dependent.

  D) selected.

Measures of behavior used by researchers to assess the effect of an experimental manipulation are called

  A) reliable variables.

  B) independent variables.

  C) dependent variables.

  D) empiricals.

When a study is free of confoundings it is said to have

  A) external validity.

  B) internal validity.

  C) integrity.

  D) reproducibility.

The results of an externally valid study are ones that

  A) apply to a narrow range of subjects, conditions, and settings.

  B) apply to a wide range of subjects, conditions, and settings.

  C) are likely to replicate if the study is repeated.

  D) are likely to be difficult to interpret unambiguously.

Constructing a psychological theory based on the simplest of several available explanations for a phenomenon illustrates the use of the scientific principle of

  A) confirmation.

  B) precision.

  C) rigorous testing.

  D) parsimony.

The ethical standards of the APA’s ethics code

  A) include clear rules for how research should be conducted in specific situations.

  B) provide principles for conducting research that are never contradictory.

  C) provide specific rules for how to solve ethical dilemmas.

  D) are general ethical principles that researchers apply to their own research situations.

Researchers must take special safeguards to protect human participants when

  A) behavior is observed in the public domain.

  B) informed consent is not required.

  C) anonymous questionnaires are used.

  D) more than minimal risk is present.

Which of the following is typically not one of the types of risk that may be present in psychological research?

  A) economic

  B) psychological

  C) social

  D) physical

Whenever deception is used, the researcher has the responsibility to

  A) debrief the participant.

  B) inform the participant of the deception before the experiment begins.

  C) withhold information from the participant concerning the reasons for having used deception.

  D) avoid telling the participant about the deception before, during, and after the experiment.

Making an ethical decision involves

  A) simply applying a clear and definitive set of guidelines for ethical research.

  B) deciding that an ethical decision is good if it makes you happy.

  C) identifying what ethical guidelines are relevant in a situation and what is at stake for all parties involved.

  D) maintaining the anonymity of the researchers who are conducting the research.

According to the APA Ethical Standards, psychologists must inform participants of the nature of the research and that participants are free to participate or to decline to participate or to withdraw from the research. These requirements (among others) are necessary to ensure the participants’

  A) anonymity.

  B) risk level.

  C) informed consent.

  D) debriefing.

Which of the following is not a justification for using deception in research?

  A) when the researcher stands to gain in reputation for conducting the research

  B) when the research study is very important

  C) when no other methods for answering the research question are available

  D) when the deception would not influence participants’ willingness to participate

Which of the following is not a goal of debriefing?

  A) remove any harmful effects or misconceptions about the research

  B) explain the need for any deception

  C) learn how participants interpreted the study’s procedures

  D) get participants to participate in a study they might not normally do

When should researchers consult with the proper authorities about the appropriate procedures for institutional review of their research project?

  A) before beginning the research project

  B) before testing the last participant in the research project

  C) before analyzing the data from the research project

  D) before submitting the research for publication

Researchers can avoid the potential of social injury or risk for the participants in their research project if the researchers

  A) avoid using deception in their research.

  B) ensure the internal validity of their study.

  C) obtain informed consent from each participant.

  D) protect the confidentiality of participants’ responses.

Which of the following is not one of the major dimensions that researchers need to consider when deciding what information is private?

  A) the sensitivity of the information that the researcher is seeking

  B) the setting in which the researcher is seeking the information

  C) the amount of information that the researcher is seeking

  D) the manner in which the information will be disseminated to others

Under what conditions is it always unethical to deceive research participants?

  A) when withholding information that might lead participants to act according to the instructions provided by the experimenter

  B) when deceiving participants to get them to participate in research in which they would not normally take part or in research that involves serious risk

  C) when deceiving participants places them at minimal risk by participating in the research

  D) when concealing the true nature of the experiment might lead participants to behave as they normally would

According to the APA Ethical Standards, who is ultimately responsible for the ethical conduct of research done in psychology?

  A) the Institutional Review Board (IRB)

  B) the individual researcher doing the research

  C) the sponsoring institution (e.g., the university)

  D) the assistants who actually test the participants

When using a direct quote from a source, it is appropriate to

  A) cite the source with the quote.

  B) use quotation marks around the quoted material.

  C) cite the source at the end of the paragraph.

  D) (a) and (b)

In addition to providing benefits to the researcher, debriefing provides potential benefits to

  A) society.

  B) the research participants.

  C) the Institutional Review Board.

  D) the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

An assessment of risk must consider

  A) risks associated with everyday life.

  B) characteristics of the participants.

  C) participants’ possible misconceptions about the research.

  D) all of the above

When observers classify events according to mutually exclusive categories, interobserver reliability is usually assessed using a

  A) Spearman correlation coefficient.

  B) percentage agreement measure.

  C) Pearson correlation coefficient.

  D) percent reliability measure.

Which of the following is not a characteristic of the naturalistic observation method?

  A) observation in a natural setting

  B) systematic observation of behavior

  C) major goal being description of behavior

  D) manipulation of events by an experimenter

The influence that an observer has on the behavior under observation is called

  A) reactivity.

  B) observer bias.

  C) demand characteristics.

  D) expectancy effect.

Which of the following characteristics of observers would most likely be associated with high interobserver reliability?

  A) observers are unclear about what is to be observed

  B) observers are well trained

  C) observers are tired or bored

  D) observers differ in outcome expectancy

The person who assists the experimenter by carrying out a role essential to implementing an experimental treatment is called a(n)

  A) accomplice.

  B) helper.

  C) confederate.

  D) experimenter.

An investigator who provides a written description of the situation surrounding a child's temper tantrum, as well as characteristics of the event itself, is implementing the technique of a

  A) narrative record.

  B) field experiment.

  C) participant observation.

  D) checklist.

When people know they are participants in a research study they often try to figure out what the researcher expects them to do. The cues participants use to help guide their behavior in a research situation are called

  A) unobtrusive effects.

  B) reactive cues.

  C) experimenter effects.

  D) demand characteristics.

Researchers who conduct observational studies typically use a combination of time sampling and situation sampling to achieve

  A) nominal scales of measurement.

  B) representative samples of behavior.

  C) maximum interobserver reliability.

  D) internally valid samples of behavior.

Which of the following observational methods represents a middle ground between passive nonintervention and the systematic control and manipulation of variables in laboratory methods?

  A) naturalistic observation

  B) participant observation

  C) structured observation

  D) a field experiment

Researchers who use narrative records seek to provide a verbal summary of observations and to develop a theory that explains behavior in the narrative records. This approach to data analysis represents

  A) qualitative data analysis with comprehensive recording of behavior.

  B) qualitative data analysis with selective recording of behavior.

  C) quantitative data analysis with comprehensive recording of behavior.

  D) quantitative data analysis with selective recording of behavior.

A sample is considered biased when the characteristics of the sample

  A) differ systematically from those of the target population.

  B) differ randomly from those of the target population.

  C) differ haphazardly from those of the target population.

  D) correspond well to those of the target population.

Which of the following statements could you make if you knew that the correlation between the time high school students spend watching TV and their scores on a school achievement test was -.64?

  A) The more time students spend watching TV, the higher their scores on a school achievement test will be.

  B) The more time students spend watching TV, the lower their scores on a school achievement test will be.

  C) The amount of time students spend watching TV and their scores on a school achievement test are entirely unrelated to each other.

  D) Spending more time watching TV causes students to do more poorly on a school achievement test.

Suppose a population is 60% women and 40% men. A representative sample of 200 people from this population would consist of

  A) 100 women and 100 men.

  B) 80 women and 120 men.

  C) 120 women and 80 men.

  D) 150 women and 50 men.

Which of the following is one of the advantages of the case study method?

  A) rich source of ideas for developing hypotheses

  B) it is nomothetic research

  C) provides definitive support for a theory

  D) permits intensive study of common, everyday phenomena

Which of the following is not one of the disadvantages of the case study method?

  A) difficulty in drawing cause-and-effect conclusions

  B) bias can arise due to distortions in patient's self-reports

  C) poor source of hypotheses about behavior

  D) difficult to generalize from a single case

Which of the following designs is used when the researcher focuses on the way behavior changes with the systematic introduction and withdrawal of the treatment?

  A) successive treatment design

  B) ABAB design

  C) alternating baseline design

  D) repeating pattern design

Which of the following raises ethical concerns peculiar to the ABAB design?

  A) the use of aversive stimuli in treatment

  B) the excessive length of time it takes to complete a study

  C) the withdrawal of a beneficial treatment

  D) the deception required to establish a control group

In a multiple-baseline design, the target behavior should change

  A) just before the onset of the treatment.

  B) long before the onset of the treatment.

  C) just after the onset of the treatment.

  D) long after the onset of the treatment.

In the multiple-baseline design across individuals, the treatment is administered

  A) to all individuals in the study at the same time.

  B) many times to each individual.

  C) during the common baseline period for all individuals.

  D) successively to one individual at a time.

Which of the following patterns represents an ideal baseline in an N=1 design?

  A) line with a positive slope (diagonal from lower left to upper right)

  B) line with zero slope (horizontal line)

  C) line with a negative slope (diagonal from upper left to lower right)

  D) jagged line with several peaks and valleys

Which of the following is not an acceptable approach to dealing with the problem of excessive baseline variability?

  A) seeking out and removing sources of variability

  B) selecting only the last data point in the baseline for analysis

  C) extending the time during which baseline observations are made

  D) averaging data points to remove the "appearance" of variability

When presented by the media, positive results for the effects of treatment observed in a case study

  A) are presented in conjunction with the limitations of the study.

  B) may prevent people from seeking out treatments shown to be effective in more controlled research.

  C) may prevent researchers from investigating the treatment further.

  D) are shown to have limited generality – that is, the beneficial effects likely won’t occur for other people.

Which of the following patterns provides considerable evidence in an ABAB design that the treatment caused the behavior change?

  A) when the behavior remains the same across both of the baseline and treatment stages

  B) when the behavior remains constant when the treatment is introduced but changes when the treatment is withdrawn

  C) when the behavior changes both when the treatment is introduced and when the treatment is withdrawn

  D) when the behavior changes when the treatment is introduced and the behavior stays constant when the treatment is withdrawn

What do each of the multiple baselines in the multiple-baseline single-case experimental design represent?

  A) individual case studies

  B) replications built into the design

  C) redundant sources of evidence

  D) inevitable sources of confounding

Which of the following must be balanced in order to have an interpretable repeated measures design experiment?

  A) practice effects

  B) individual differences

  C) subject variables

  D) task variability

Practice effects are described as nonlinear, when participants experience

  A) lingering effects of one condition when they participate in subsequent conditions.

  B) individual differences in the conditions of the experiment.

  C) relatively constant change across the conditions of the experiment.

  D) abrupt changes in a condition and little or no change in subsequent conditions.

The following table presents the results of a complex design where the two independent variables were Test Anxiety (Low, High) and Test Difficulty (Easy, Hard); what two values would be used to represent the main effect of the Test Anxiety independent variable? 

a)      80 and 65

b)      80 and 70

c)      80 and 60

d)      75 and 70

In a 2 X 2 design with the independent variables Anxiety Level (Low, High) and Type of Test (Easy, Hard), which of the following would be one of the four conditions created using factorial combination?

a)      low anxiety–high anxiety

b)      easy test–hard test

c)      low anxiety–easy test

d)      hard test