Self test #2 - Psychology & Science 

1. Ritalin is to _________ as aspirin is to __________. 

 depression; headache 
 stimulant; depressant 
 analgesic; amphetamine 
 attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; headache 

2. Which of the following is not a commonly used method for answering questions? 
 
 survey 
 experiment 
 case study 
 introspection 

3. Kyle wants to accurately assess students’ attitudes toward the cafeteria food on his college 
campus for his psychology research project. What research method should he use to 
collect this information? 
 
 case study 
 survey method 
 experimental method 
 laboratory observation 

4. You are conducting a survey on racism. You have a group of well- trained assistants, about 
half white, half African American. Should you keep track of which subjects are 
questioned by white assistants and which by African Americans assistants? 

 No - you might offend your assistants 
 No - ethnicity has no effect one way or the other 
 Yes - ethnicity of assistant may affect subjects' answers 
 Yes - ethnicity of assistant may affect their ability to accurately record subjects' 
 answers 

5. What research method can be described as an in-depth analysis of a single person? 

 case study 
 correlation 
 survey method 
 experimental method 

6. Of the following, which best relates to a case study? 

 a shopping list 
 the telephone book 
 your medical records 
 a psychology textbook 

7. The observation that testimonials of parents concerning ADHD children 
contradict studies done by researchers suggests that: 

 researchers used confounded research designs 
 errors and bias make testimonials questionable 
 parents know more than researchers about their children 
 research studies conducted with children are often poorly designed 

8. Placebo effects may occur because of 

 a self-fulfilling prophecy.
 powerful correlations. 
 a distrust of medicine. 
 a distrust of science. 

9. A correlation is used to: 

 prove theories 
 explain how one variable causes another variable 
 describe a relationship between two or more variables 
 show the effect that one variable has on another variable 

10. A number that describes the strength of a relationship between events is 
called a(n) ____________; it can range between _______. 

 average; .00 and +1.00 
 mean coefficient; 0.00 and +1.00 
 average correlation; 0.00 and +10.00 
 correlation coefficient; -1.00 and +1.00 

11. Select one of the following statements about methods that is incorrect. 
 
 A case study provides information about one person. 
 A correlation shows us cause and effect relationships. 
 The experiment suggests cause and effect relationships. 
 A survey gives us information about a large number of people. 

12. Correlations are not appropriate to ___________ but are useful to ________. 
 
 evaluate testimonials; evaluate surveys 
 predict behavior; make cause and effect statements 
 make cause & effect statements; pinpoint confounding effects 
 make cause & effect statements; make predictions about behavior 

13. If a researcher wants to study a behavior in a controlled environment, 
the researcher should utilize a(n): 

 case study 
 testimonial 
 naturalistic study 
 laboratory experiment 

14. If you are conducting an experiment in a naturalistic setting, which of the following 
will you avoid? 
 
 using a large city as the experimental setting 
 trying to observe the organisms’ behavior 
 attempting to change or control the situation 
 watching the organisms in their own environment 

15. Information obtained in ______ is unique to an individual and may not apply to or help 
understand the behaviors of others. 

 a case study 
 an animal model 
 a laboratory setting 
 standardized testing 

16. Ed has conducted a study in a laboratory setting and is currently preparing a presentation 
describing his research. Which of the following is the most likely criticism 
he will receive about his research setting. 

 - He did random selection of his subjects 
 - The dependent variable was measured instead of manipulated. 
 - The setting is too controlled and the results may not apply to real-life situations. 
 - Bias was introduced because he used a setting where he had little control over 
   extraneous variables. 

17. What words are most illustrative of experiments? 
  
 cause, effect 
 relationship, test 
 individual, unique 
 predicting, correlation 

18. Among the following, which is the best hypothesis? 

 - Taking an aspirin a day helps keep the doctor away 
 - Often times, people will go out of their way to help others 
 - Children who watch a lot of television will be more aggressive 
 - Students who review their notes each night for one hour will score 
   significantly higher on the next day’s quiz than students who do 
   not review their notes 

19. Manipulated is to measured as ________ is to ________. 
 
 effect; cause 
 case study; placebo 
 independent variable; dependent variable 
 dependent variable; independent variable 

20. With regard to a subject’s answers or behavior in an experiment, 
psychologists take seriously the subject’s right to: 

 free speech 
 privacy and confidentiality 
 explain their answers and behavior 
 question the validity of the experiment 
 
21. A perfect positive correlation is to always as a prefect negative correlation 
is to _______.

 never
 maybe
 forever
 sometimes
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                            Topics in Psychology
                               Robert C. Gates