The independent variable in an experiment is
Answer: the variable that the experimenter chooses to manipulate.
A field experiment is one that
Answer: uses the "real world" as a laboratory.
Characteristics of the scientific method include
Answer: controlled observation.
Theories explain results, predict future outcomes, and
Answer: guide research for future studies.
A correlation coefficient of -1.09 indicates a(n)
Answer: error in computation.
A representative sample is an essential element of the
Answer: survey method.
The effects of brain injury on personality would usually be investigated by the use of the
Answer: case study method.
A correlational study is one that determines
Answer: the relationship between two events
In order to summarize or organize a series of observations in some meaningful way, psychologists may develop
Answer: theories.
Basic ethical guidelines for psychological researchers include
Answer: providing results and interpretations to participants.
What best describes a double-blind experimental procedure?
Answer: Half the subjects get the experimental procedure, half the placebo; which they receive is not known to subjects or experimenters.
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A set of exact procedures that represent particular variables is called a(n)
Answer: operational definition.
To investigate the effects of a particular study method on student performance, two different methods are tried, each with a different group of subjects. If only the experimenter knows which method is under investigation, the procedure being used is described as
Answer: a single blind.
The results of carefully controlled observations of Clever Hans and his ability to solve math problems showed
Answer: he was cued by the owner looking up or down.
The study of unusual events is to __________ as information from a large number of people is to __________.
Answer: clinical method; survey method
One of the limitations of the survey method is
Answer: that replies may not be accurate.
I work at a university, and my research is designed to be of immediate use in the classroom. My research would be called
Answer: applied.
In terms of critical thinking and testing, results should be
Answer: metaanalytical.
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A variable, such as the personality of a subject, that might affect the outcome of an experiment would be controlled by
Answer: random assignment of subjects.
A friend states that since he has been taking vitamin C, he has not had a single cold. His observation has little value in assessing the effects of vitamin C because
Answer: there was no control group for comparison.
A simple experiment has two groups of subjects called
Answer: the control group and the experimental group.
An example of the "experimenter effect" would be a situation in which the experimenter
Answer: unknowingly hints to subjects what is expected of them.
Which of the following is considered by the text to be a pseudo-psychology?
Answer: astrology
In my experiment, I am going to investigate how sleep affects anxiety. The number of hours of sleep the subjects have is called the __________ variable.
Answer: independent
With respect to astrology, palmistry, and phrenology, it can be said that
Answer: all are pseudo-psychology's.
A major problem with the survey method is
Answer: obtaining a representative sample of subjects to be questioned.
An observation that the higher the air temperature, the lower the activity of test animals would be an example of a
Answer: negative correlation.
To assess clients' abilities, a phrenologist would want to
Answer: examine their skulls.
The steps involved in the scientific method include?
Answer: experimentation
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__________ is an inherent part of the scientific method.
Answer: observation
The story of Clever Hans, the mathematical horse, illustrates the use of controlled observation to test a series of
Answer: hypotheses.
When subjects in an experiment are chosen so that each has an equal chance of being in either the experimental group or the control group, we say that the subjects have been assigned
Answer: randomly.
The survey method involves
Answer: careful questioning of a representative sample of people.
What type of method can be used in order to create a real world laboratory.
Answer: field experiment
To be confident that a cause-and-effect relationship exists, it is necessary to
Answer: perform a controlled experiment.
An experiment is performed to test the effects of sleep deprivation on rote memory. In this experiment, the dependent variable is the
Answer: rote memory scores.
To replicate an experiment means to
Answer: repeat the experiment using either identical or improved research methods.
The conditions that a researcher wishes to prevent from affecting the experiment are called
Answer: extraneous variables.
One of the characteristics of the scientific method is
Answer: repeatable results.
In the simplest experiment, the two groups of subjects are treated exactly alike except for the __________ variable.
Answer: independent
The fortune teller who studies your palm carefully before announcing that "great fortune lies in your immediate future" is practicing __________ psychology.
Answer: pseudo
Research on the benefit of aspirin to prevent heart attacks used only male subjects in the sample. Both men and women are given this advice. The problem with this recommendation reflects
Answer: gender bias.
To estimate the degree of the relationship between birth order and achievement motivation, a researcher would do a(n) __________ study.
Answer: correlational
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In the method of naturalistic observation, psychologists
Answer: set out to actively observe subjects in their natural environments.
Two variables may be said to be causally related if
Answer: all extraneous variables are controlled, and the independent variable creates consistent differences in behavior of the experimental group.
The problems of observers seeing only what they expect to see is called
Answer: observer bias.
Giving placebos in drug experiments is necessary to
Answer: control for the effects of suggestion and expectation.
The following could serve as an _______ "College women who are anxious tend to want to be together."
Answer: experimental hypothesis
One of the limitations of the case study is that
Answer: there are no control groups.
A scientist wants to find out if there is empirical evidence for a relationship between caffeine and aggressive behavior. She would
Answer: test the idea by conducting an experiment.
The essence of the experimental method is
Answer: using control to identify cause-and-effect connections.
If you're trying to establish a causal relationship between a reinforcer and increased performance, you should use a(n) __________ method.
Answer: experimental
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
Answer: placebo effect.
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An educated guess about what is controlling some behavior is called
Answer: a hypothesis.
A correlation coefficient is best characterized as a(n)
Answer: measure of the extent of the relationship between two variables.
In order to determine the cause of behavior, the questions we ask must be
Answer: testable.
A common sense approach to psychology is
Answer: often contradicted by empirical evidence.
Responding to a substance like a sugar pill as if it were a drug is called
Answer: the placebo effect.
The control group and the experimental group in an experiment are treated exactly the same except for the
Answer: independent variable