Psychology as a Natural Science: Final Exam Questions and Answers, Exams of Physiology

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PSYC 289 PSYCHOLOGY AS A NATURAL SCIENCE FINAL

EXAM ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ALL CORRECT

ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY

Chapter 2 FINAL EXAM TEST QUESTIONS

1. The work of a clinical psychologist to reduce the suffering of an individual reflects the goal of a. measurement and description. b. understanding and prediction. c. application and control. d. all of the above. e. none of the above. 2. An experimenter test the hypothesis that physical exercise affects people's moods by making them feel happier. Subjects in the experimental group participate on Monday and Tuesday, and those in the control group participated on Wednesday and Thursday. What is the independent variable? a. the hypothesis b. the day of the week c. the exercise d. the mood (degree of happiness) e. There is no independent variable. 3. Regarding the experiment described in question 2, what is the dependent variable? a. the hypothesis b. the day of the week c. the exercise d. the mood (degree of happiness) e. There is no dependent variable. 4. Regarding the experiment described in question 2, what is an extraneous (confounding) variable? a. the hypothesis b. the day of the week c. the exercise d. the mood (degree of happiness) e. the day of the week and the exercise 5. The major advantage of the experimental method over correlational approach is the experimental method a. permits one to make causal conclusions. b. allows for prediction. c. is generally less artificial than correlational procedures. d. permits the study of people in groups. e. is cheaper to use. 6. In looking through medical records, you find a strong relationship between depression and chronic pain: the stronger the physical pain that people report, the higher their scores on an inventory that measures depression. Which of the following conclusions are justified? a. Depression tends to produce chronic pain. b. Chronic pain tends to produce depression. c. Both chronic pain and depression result from some unknown third factor. d. Both chronic pain and depression are really the same.

e. None of the above conclusions are justified.

7. What is the mode of the following data? 2, 3, 3, 3, 5, 5, 7, 12 a. 3 b. 4 c. 5 d. 6 e. The mode is impossible to calculate from this data set. 8. What is the median of the following data? 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 a. 3. b. 4 c. 5 d. 6. e. It is impossible to calculate the median because the sample is too small. 9. Researchers find a negative relationship between alcohol consumption and speed of response: the more alcohol consumed, the slower the response speed. Which of the following fictitious statistics could possibly represent that correlation? a. -4. b. -0. c. 0. d. 0. e. 0. 10. The term statistical significance refers to a. how important the data are for future research on the topic. b. the conclusion that there are no reasonable alternative explanations. c. the fact that a significant statistical test is needed. d. the representativeness of the sample. e. the inference that the observed effects are unlikely to be due to chance. 11. An instructor wishes to find out whether a new teaching method is superior to his usual procedures, so he conducts an experiment. Everyone in his classes is quite excited about the prospect of learning under the new procedure, but, of course, he cannot administer the new teaching method to everyone. A random half of the students receive the new method, and the remaining half receive the old method. What is the most obvious flaw in this experiment? a. Subjects should have been systematically assigned to groups. b. The sample is not representative of the population. c. Placebo effects or experimenter bias are likely to affect results. d. Distortions in self-report will affect results. e. There is no flaw in this experiment. 12. What procedure helps correct for experimenter bias? a. extraneous or confounding variables b. sleep learning or hypnosis c. a higher standard for statistical significance d. use of the double-blind procedure e. confounded blind procedure 13. With regard to the topic of deception in research with humans, which of the following statements is true? a. Researchers are careful to avoid deceiving subjects. b. Some topics could not be investigated unless deception is used.

c. It has been empirically demonstrated that deception causes severe distress. d. All psychological research must involve some deception. e. It is of no concern to researchers.

14. Which of the following is among the six standard parts of an article in a psychological journal? a. conclusions b. bibliography c. data summary d. results e. acknowledgments 15. A design is being used when neither the experimenters nor the participants are receiving the experimental treatment and which are receiving a placebo A. Single blinded B. Double blinded C. Confounded D. Triple blind 16. By definition, sample A. Is a group of people to whom the conclusion of the study will apply B. Is the subset of the population who actually participate in a research study C. Contains fewer than 50 people or animals D. Must only include volunteers who express an interest in the study 17. Dr. M predicts that if teachers ignore students who act up in class, fewer students will act up in class. Dr. M’s prediction is an example of? A. An operational definition B. A theory C. Inferential statistics D. A hypothesis 18. Mark conducted a study in which he measured the response time for males and females to complete a spatial task. He found that the mean response time was 1.48 minutes for males and 1.63 for females. For mark to be confident that an actual difference exists between the spatial skills of males and females in his study he must A. Calculate a correlation coefficient B. Redo the experiment C. Obtain a larger sample D. Calculate an inferential statistic 19. In a random sample A. Every tenth person is asked to take part in the study B. Everyone in the target population has an equal likelihood of being selected C. Individuals who take part in a surgery are asked all different sets of questions D. Participants with strong opinions are excluded from the surgery 20. To better understand the links between brain function and behaviour, Dr. V conducted research when she carefully observed and extensively questioned one stroke victim

A. Correlational B. Survey C. Case study D. Experimental

21. To discover whether residents of a city are in favour of building a new sports stadium, the teams owner randomly selected and interviewed 500 of the city’s 500,000 residents. In this case, the 500 people that the owner would mist likely be A. A biased sample B. A population C. The dependent variable D. Representative sample 22. As adults age, their physical strength declines. What correlation exists between age physical strength A. Strong correlation B. Negative correlation C. Weak correlation D. Positive correlation 23. A hypothesis is the A. Independent variable B. Only variable that remains once the others have been eliminated C. A guess of a relationship or possible explanation D. Dependent variable 24. Mya’s daughter, Emily, was performing poorly in school. Emily claimed that she studied and but failed to get good grades. Mary needed to decide whether to make Emily study more than she already did. Mary used a stopwatch to record the amount of time Emily was studying. She also checked the number of pages of homework Emily completed. Both the stopwatch data and the number of pages data indicated that Emily was studying about 15 minutes each evening and was completing less than one page of homework. Therefor, Mary decided to increase Emily’s homework requirements. This is an example of A. Anecdotal evidence B. Evidence based decision making C. Belief perseverance D. Availability heuristics E. Conjunction fallacy 25. Ray is filling out the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). As he reads each question, Ray thinks how most other people would probably response. When he answers he selects the alterative that he thinks will present the most favourable impression. Ray’s answers reflect A. Social desirability bias B. Negative response set C. The placebo effect D. Non representative sampling 26. A hypothesis

A. Is a conclusion based on the results of a study B. Is not necessary if the scientific method is being used C. Normally would not be generated until a study has been completed.

D. Is a prediction about characteristics of a behaviour under investigation

27. The purpose of a control group is to A. Make the experiment more complex B. Isolate the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable C. Make statistical significance more likely D. Isolate the effect of the dependent variable on the independent variable 28. To learn whether the people in Timmins support the extension of the towns elementary school, Mayor Ty randomly selected and interviewed 100 of the towns 10,000 residents. In this instance the 100 people who were interviews by the mayor would be considered to be a A. Population B. Representative sample C. Random population D. Biased sample 29. a researcher engaged in goes to a playground o record the amount of time children spend playing at each activity A. Correlation research B. Naturalistic observation C. Experimentation D. Case study research 30. Defining intelligence in terms of performance on a psychological test would A. Represent an operation definition of intelligence B. Be a testable hypothesis about intelligence C. Provide empirical verification of intelligence D. Violate general research ethics 31. John was rushing to get to his English class on time. He crossed paths with 2 of his classmates who were heading the other way. John asked why they were heading the other way, they said the English class had been cancelled. John turned around and went home. John apparently based his decision to head back home on A. Scientific evidence B. Authority based evidence C. Media based evidence D. Statistical significance testing E. Anecdotal evidence 33. Dr. T has found that students who score higher than 85% on the midterm exam tend to earn scores of 75% of better on the final exam, whereas students who score less than 60% on the midterm end up with a failing grade on the final exam. This suggest that A. There is a relatively strong positive correlation between the scores on the midterm and the scores on the final B. There is a relatively strong negative correlation between the scores on the final exam and the scores on the midterm C. The scores on the final exam and the midterm exam are not very highly correlated D. Students who do poorly on the midterm exam give up and study less for the final

33. To generalize results to a population one must first A. Select a biased sample o=from the population of intere3st B. Oversample selected subgroups in the population

C. Draw a representative sample from the population of interest D. Ensure that all the variable have been operationally defined.

Test Chapter 2 Answers

1. C

2. C

3. D

4. B

5. A

6. E

7. A

8. C

9. B

10. E

11. C

12. D

13. B

14. D

15. B

16. B

17. D

18. D

19. B

20. C

21. D

22. B

23. C

24. B

25. A

26. D

27. B

28. B

29. B

30. A

31. E

32. A

33. C