Psychology is formally defined as what?

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

People who engage in critical thinking:
a. evaluate evidence only from their own
perspective
b. are open to new ideas yet maintain a sense of
skepticism
c. readily accept an explanation if the
explanation makes sense.
d. try to boil down all complex issues to a yes/no
proposition

b. are open to new ideas yet maintain a sense of
skepticism

Limitations of the experimental method include which of the following?
a. because the subjects are "blind" to the
experimental conditions, they are unable to
give informed consent.
b. cultural factors cannot be studied
experimentally
c. it may not be ethical or possible to
experimentally investigate some issues.
d. it may not be feasible to establish a cause-
and-effect relationship

c. it may not be ethical or possible to
experimentally investigate some issues.

Of the following correlation coefficients, which represents the strongest relationship between two factors?
a. -.80
b. +.38
c. +.03
d. -.15

a. -.80

Dr Hazlett used statistics and determined that the result of her experiment was statistically significant. Dr. Hazlett would then conclude that:
a. the results of the experiment have practical
importance in everyday life
b. the results of the experiment were not likely
to have occurred by chance
c. the correlation coefficient was zero
d. the hypothesis for the experiment was not
supported

b. the results of the experiment were not likely
to have occurred by chance

The research method that is used to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between changes in one variable and the effects in another variable is called what?

experimental method

What was NOT a criticism of introspection as a technique?
a. a number of topics, including learning,
development, and mental disorders could not be
studied using this technique
b. introspection could not be used to study
children or animals
c. it was an unreliable method since different
subjects often provided different reports about
the same stimulus
d. there was too great an emphasis on the
physiological mechanisms that made the
technique work so effectively

d. there was too great an emphasis on the
physiological mechanisms that made the
technique work so effectively

In an experiment, the independent variable is the variable that is:
a. unknown
b. affected by changes in the dependent variable
c. deliberately manipulated by the researcher
d. beyond the researcher's control, as it
independently varies or changes over time

c. deliberately manipulated by the researcher

How might the different goals of media and science clash?

media reporters are often more interested in attracting viewers or listeners than accurately portraying scientific findings

Humanistic psychology was called the :third force" because it:
a. proposed that there were three methods that
could be used to scientifically study human
behavior
b. was composed if three separate branches, or
schools
c. provide an alternative viewpoint to the two
approaches that were dominant at the time,
behaviorism and psychoanalysis
d. was based upon the belief that there were three
forces that motivated all human behavior

c. provide an alternative viewpoint to the two
approaches that were dominant at the time,
behaviorism and psychoanalysis

Structuralists and functionalists both agree what?

psychology should study conscious experience

After analyzing her data, Professor Nelson discovers that a correlation coefficient of +.75 exists between the amount of coffee a person drinks and the degree of stress experienced. Professor Nelson can safely conclude that:
a. there is no relationship between stress and
coffee consumption
b. drinking coffee produces stress
c. as coffee consumption increases, stress also
increases
d. stress causes people to drink coffee

c. as coffee consumption increases, stress also
increases

A natural experiment is a study of what?

investigates that effects of a naturally occuring event on the research participants

Cognitive psychology focuses on the study of what?

mental processes, including reasoning and thinking, problem solving, memory, perception, mental imagery, and language

Which if the following is a definition of the confirmation bias?
a. the belief that testimonials are the best type
of empirical evidence to confirm
pseudoscientific claims
b. the tendency for subtle cues or signals,
expressed by the researcher, to bias
participants so that they attempt to confirm
the hypothesis being tested
c. the tendency to seek out evidence that confirms
a claim or belief, while ignoring evidence
that contradicts or undermines the claim or
belief
d. the belief that irrefutable or nonfalseifiable
claims can be used to confirm the existence of
pseudoscientific methods and practices

c. the tendency to seek out evidence that confirms
a claim or belief, while ignoring evidence that
contradicts or undermines the claim or belief

Empirical evidence refers to evidence that is the results what?

observation, measurement, and experimentation