Experimental Method
Descriptive Research
Statistical Reasoning
Correlational Coefficients
Important Terms
100
Dr. Jordan believes there is a relationship between the amount of chocolate a child eats and the hyperactivity level of the child. This belief is a(n) A. theory B. variable C. paradigm D. hypothesis E. premise
A. theory
100
A psychologist using the method of naturalistic observation would A. carefully design controlled situations in which to observe behavior B. rely on observations of subjects' responses to questionnaires C. observe behavior as it happens outside the laboratory or clinic D. make records of the behavior of clients treated in therapy
C. observe behavior as it happens outside the laboratory or clinic
100
Luis conducted a study of the attitudes and savings behavior. He followed 100 participants for 10 years. Luis conducted a ________________ study. A. longitudinal B. ex-post facto C. experimental D. cross-sectional E. cross-sequential
A. longitudinal
100
Which of the following coefficients of a correlation indicate the weakest relationship between two variables? A. 0.51 B. -0.28 C. 0.08 D. -1.00 E. 1.00
C. 0.08
100
A teacher believes that one group of children is very bright and that a second is below average in ability. Actually, the groups are identical, but the first group progresses more rapidly than the second. This demonstrates A. the placebo effect in a natural experiment B. observer bias in naturalistic observation C. the self-fulfilling prophecy D. the ethical problems of field experiments
C. the self-fulfilling prophecy
200
In an experiment, the variable that is manipulated is called the _________________variable. A. control B. independent C. dependent D. extraneous E. confounding
B. independent
200
To prevent ethical abuse in psychological research, the APA has suggested that A. psychologists must treat all subjects with respect and concern for the subject's dignity. B. psychologists must avoid deception with using human subjects. C. all data collected from a person must be made public. D. all psychological harm to subjects must be corrected by counseling.
A. psychologists must treat all subjects with respect and concern for the subject's dignity.
200

In a normal distribution of scores, approximately what percentage of all scores will occur within one standard deviation from the mean? A. 34 B. 68 C. 95 D. 97.5 E. 100

B. 68

200
Cory scored high on a test of mathematics. He also scored high on a test of engineering. If we run a correlation on his scores, the correlation would be _______ A. perfect B. positive C. negative D. skewed E. no relationship
B. positive
200
In a weight-reduction experiment, an overweight individual was given what the researcher called a new type of diet pill that would help curb the desire to eat. In fact, the pill really contained powdered milk, but ever since the individual started taking the diet pill, he has reported that his desire to eat has decreased. This illustrates the A. linear relationship B. effect of extraneous variables C. natural experiment D. placebo effect
D. placebo effect
300
Dexter works for a magazine and is told by his editor to write an article on test scores in the local elementary school. He divides the students into groups based on grade level. He then examines the local test scores. In this study, the dependent variable is the ____________. A. school the students attend B. grade level of the students C. income level of the parents D. gender of the students E. test scores of the students
E. test scores of the students
300
Subjects are said to be assigned randomly when A. they are assigned to experimental and control groups from a sample which is representative of the larger population B. they each have an equal chance of being assigned to either the experimental or control group C. they are assigned to experimental and control groups so that the groups differ on some critical variable before the experiment begins. D. neither the experimenter nor the subject knows whether the subject is in the experimental or control group.
B. they each have an equal chance of being assigned to either the experimental or control group
300

What identifies the number of standard deviations a particular value is from the mean of its distribution

z-score

300
The correlation between two observed variables is -0.84. From this, it can be concluded that A. as one variable increases, the other is likely to increase, showing a direct relationship B. as one variable increases, the other is likely to decrease, showing an inverse relationship C. the two variables are unrelated D. one variable causes the other variable to occur E. one variable causes the other variable not to occur
B. as one variable increases, the other is likely to decrease, showing an inverse relationship
300
A measure of central tendency for a distribution, represented by the score that occurs more often than any other. A. median B. mode C. mean D. variability E. standard deviation
B. mode
400
Dr. Bisell conducts an experiment to see whether hunger makes mice run faster through a maze. He randomly assigns 25 mice to a control group or an experimental group. Which cannot be a confounding variable? A. Where the experiment takes place B. How hungry the mice were before the experiment C. How fast the mice are before the race D. When the experiment takes place E. The population from which he selected the mice
E. The population from which he selected the mice
400
A representative sample is an essential element of the A. natural experiment or case study B. psychoanalytic method C. clinical method D. survey method
D. survey method
400
A set of exact procedures that represent particular variables is called a(n) A. abstract definition B. operational definition C. case study D. defining characteristics
B. operational definition
400
A researcher determines that the crime rate in a large city fluctuates with the phases of the moon. He concludes that the gravitational pull of the moon influences human behavior. He has committed what error? A. He incorrectly inferred correlation from causation. B. He incorrectly inferred causation from correlation. C. He failed to measure the gravitational pull to test his hypothesis. D. He has overlooked the placebo effect.
B. He incorrectly inferred causation from correlation.
400
___________________is the tendency to believe after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. A. illusory correlation B. hindsight bias C. overconfidence D. critical thinking E. skepticism
B. hindsight bias
500
A random sample can best be defined as: A. A sample in which each potential participant has an equal chance of being selected B. A sample that is carefully chosen so the characteristics of participants correspond to the larger population C. A selection of cases from a larger population D. A selection of cases from the control group E. A sample of a larger population from the experimental group
A. A sample in which each potential participant has an equal chance of being selected
500
What percentage of data must fall within two standard deviations from the mean?
95%
500
The simplest measure of variability is A. mean. B. median. C. mode. D. standard deviation. E. range.
E. range
500
An observation that the higher the air temperature, the lower the activity of test animals would be an example of a A. negative correlation B. positive correlation C. causal relationship D. zero correlation
A. negative correlation
500
A measure of variability that indicates the average difference between the scores and their mean. A. range B. median C. standard deviation D. correlation coefficient E. inferential statistics
C. standard deviation
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