Psychology Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1

The primary concern of an institutional review board is to

determine whether deception is necessary.

determine whether informed consent will be obtained.

ensure that the safety of research participants is adequately protected.

evaluate the scientific merit of a proposed study.
3 points
Question 2

Tammy’s experiment compared the effectiveness of videotape and textbook presentation of a history lesson. Unexpectedly, her demeanor changed with each treatment condition. She appeared worried during the videotape condition because the audiovisual equipment periodically broke down. In contrast, she seemed relaxed in the textbook condition during which subjects read from a book. Which problem does this illustrate?

confounding by a context variable

experimenter bias

history threat

selection threat
3 points
Question 3

Professor Smith’s class was stunned. She mistakenly included questions from chapter 5 on an exam that was supposed to cover chapters 1-4. In appealing their low grades, the students should diplomatically question the ____of this exam.

construct validity

content validity

face validity

predictive validity
3 points
Question 4

Pavlov’s classical conditioning research contained an element of serendipity because Pavlov

did not recognize the importance of what he found.

discovered this learning process through intuition.

intended to study stomach secretions.

predicted this form of conditioning based on prior research.
3 points
Question 5

Laboratory experiments may trade _____ for precision.

control

generalizability

realism

both generalizability and realism
3 points
Question 6

To study the possible causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer, researchers start with human _____ studies and then progress to animal _____ studies.

experimental; experimental

experimental; quasi-experimental

quasi-experimental; experimental

correlational; quasi-experimental
3 points
Question 7

Which of these should be controlled using constancy of conditions instead of elimination?

a poster for a controversial speaker

bright room lighting

interruptions by students opening the door

visual distractions by classmates outside of the room
3 points
Question 8

In a true experiment, an experimenter ____ the independent variable and ____ the dependent variable.

manipulates; measures

selects; manipulates

measures; manipulates

selects; measures
3 points
Question 9

Theories are explanations of events that

apply to all situations

are supported by a majority of studies

provide interim explanations

are supported by a majority of studies and provide interim explanations
3 points
Question 10

What does a double-blind experiment control?

demand characteristics

experimenter bias

confounding by context variables

demand characteristics and experimenter bias
3 points
Question 11

A _____ is a statistical review procedure that summarizes and quantifies multiple research findings on an individual topic.

case study

factor analytical study

literature search

meta-analysis
3 points
Question 12

Which human experiment could not be justified, regardless of the knowledge that might be gained?

studying the effectiveness of subliminal advertising on product recognition

studying the effectiveness of a drug that produces complete muscular paralysis in treating alcohol addiction

studying the effect of mild sleep deprivation on cognitive performance

studying the effect of shift rotation schedules on employee absenteeism
3 points
Question 13

Since Tim belongs to a Bible study group, a classmate mistakenly assumes that he doesn’t drink alcoholic beverages and always votes Republican. This example of nonscientific inference illustrates

confirmatory bia

overconfidence bias

stereotyping

the gambler's fallacy
3 points
Question 14

_____ is the primary resource currently used by psychologists to find journal articles.

FirstSearch

Lexis/Nexis

PsychINFO

PsychSource
3 points
Question 15

Falsifiable means that a hypothesis is

always false.

capable of being disproved.

fruitful.

parsimonious.
3 points
Question 16

Which of these must be established by institutions engaging in research with human subjects?

human research review committee

institutional animal care and use committee

institutional review board

subjects use committee
3 points
Question 17

Balancing is a control procedure that

distributes the effect of physical variables equally across the treatment conditions.

distributes the effect of the independent variable equally across all of the treatment conditions.

ensures that subjects in all conditions experience nearly identical physical variables.

removes potentially confounding physical variables from the testing situation.
3 points
Question 18

When an experimenter fails to randomly assign subjects to different experimental conditions, a ____ threat is present since treatment groups may differ on subject variables.

selection

statistical regression

subject mortality

testing
3 points
Question 19

An experimenter provided two groups of rats different quantities of food for successfully completing the same maze. She controlled the kind of food and the amount of time the rats had access to the food. She reported that both groups of rats committed the same number of errors in learning the maze. The number of errors was

a confounding variable.

a subject variable.

the dependent variable.

the independent variable.
3 points
Question 20

Which of these techniques to control demand characteristics involves deception?

cover story

double-blind experiment

quasi-experiment

single-blind experiment
3 points
Question 21

Systematic data gathering, noting relationships, and offering explanations are central to

commonsense psychology

the content of science

nonscientific inference

the process of science
3 points
Question 22

In a pretest/posttest design, participants may improve with repeated testing due to increased familiarity with a test. This problem is called

bidirectional causation

practice effect

regression to the mean

a third variable problem
3 points
Question 23

Volunteer subjects may differ from nonvolunteers in that volunteers may be

less authoritarian.

more politically and socially liberal.

more intelligent.

all of these
3 points
Question 24

Researchers conduct experiments in laboratories to achieve the greatest degree of

control

objectivity

generalizability

realism
3 points
Question 25

Experimenters generally want subjects to be as naïve as possible concerning the experimental hypothesis to reduce confounding by

context variable.

demand characteristics.

experimenter bias.

response sets.
3 points
Question 26

A review of prior studies in an area may provide

help in identifying important issues.

information on previous important issues.

new research ideas.

all of these
3 points
Question 27

In single-blind experiments,

experimenters are unaware of the treatments given to subjects.

experimenters encourage subjects to guess the experimental hypothesis.

subjects do not know which treatment they are receiving.

subjects do not receive feedback on their performance.
3 points
Question 28

Kirk hypothesizes that his dog dreams in color. This is not an experimental hypothesis because it

cannot be stated in an "if...them" format.

cannot be tested.

in an analytic statement.

is not a parsimonious statement
3 points
Question 29

Both correlational designs and quasi-experiments are often higher in ____ than laboratory experiments.

external validity

imposition of units

internal validity

manipulation of antecedents
3 points
Question 30

Which of these correlations would permit the most accurate prediction?

-0.93

-0.20

+0.81

+1.32
3 points
Question 31

A longitudinal study that observes first-born children’s behavior before and after the birth of a sibling is particularly vulnerable to a ____ threat since rapid cognitive and physical change normally occur at this age.

history

maturation

selection

testing
3 points
Question 32

In experiments, researchers most often achieve control over possible explanations by

random assignment of subjects to different treatment conditions or use of within-subjects designs.

presenting a treatment condition in an identical manner to all subjects.

keeping the environment, the procedures, and the measuring instruments constant for all subjects in the experiment.

using all of these methods.
3 points
Question 33

Researchers conduct experiments in laboratories to achieve the greatest degree of

control.

objectivity.

generalizability.

realism