Our tendency to notice and remember instances in which a premonition of an unlikely phone call is actually followed by the call most clearly contributes to:
the false consensus effect.
an illusory correlation.
replication.
the placebo effect.
Which of the following procedures is an example of the use of a placebo?
In a test of the effects of a drug on memory, a subject is led to believe that a harmless pill actually contains an active drug.
A subject in an experiment is led to believe that a pill, which actually contains an active drug, is harmless.
Subjects in an experiment are not told which treatment condition is in effect.
Neither the subjects nor the experimenter know which treatment condition is in effect.
Professor Saxton was very skeptical about the findings of a recently reported experiment on the effects of sleep deprivation. Which technique would best enable her to investigate the reliability of these findings?
naturalistic observation
replication
random sampling
positive correlation
As the size of a random sample increases, the ________ of that sample is most likely to decrease.
range
mean
standard deviation
median
Your best friend criticizes psychological research for being artificial and having no relevance to behavior in real life. In defense of psychology's use of laboratory experiments you point out that:
psychologists make every attempt to avoid artificiality by setting up experiments that closely simulate real-world environments.
psychologists who conduct basic research are not concerned with the applicability of their findings to the real world.
most psychological research is not conducted in a laboratory environment.
psychologists intentionally study behavior in simplified environments in order to gain greater control over variables and to test general principles that help to explain many behaviors.
In order to study the effects of lighting on mood, Dr. Cooper had students fill out questionnaires in brightly lit or dimly lit rooms. In this study, the independent variable consisted of:
the number of subjects assigned to each group.
the students' responses to the questionnaire.
the room lighting.
the subject matter of the questions asked.
Alicia Adams insists that Dr. Phillip's theory of aggression be checked against observable evidence. She is demonstrating the scientific attitude of:
pride.
skepticism.
practicality.
enthusiasm.
In order to determine the effects of a new drug on memory, one group of subjects is given a pill that contains the drug. A second group is given a sugar pill that does not contain the drug. This second group constitutes the:
random sample.
experimental group.
control group.
test group.
If shoe size and IQ are negatively correlated, which of the following is true?
People with large feet tend to have high IQs.
People with small feet tend to have high IQs.
People with small feet tend to have low IQs.
IQ is unpredictable based on a person's shoe size.
A professor constructs a questionnaire to determine how students at the university feel about nuclear disarmament. Which of the following techniques should be used in order to survey a random sample of the student body?
Every student should be sent the questionnaire.
Only students majoring in psychology should be asked to complete the questionnaire.
Only students living on campus should be asked to complete the questionnaire.
From an alphabetical listing of all students, every tenth (or fifteenth, e.g.) student should be asked to complete the questionnaire.
In which type of research would an investigator manipulate one factor in order to observe its effect on some behavior or mental process?
the survey
the case study
experimentation
In order to compare the pace of life in different countries, Levine and Norenzayan measured the speed with which postal clerks completed a simple request. This best illustrates the use of a research method known as:
the case study.
naturalistic observation.
random assignment.
the double-blind procedure.
the survey.
A specification of how a researcher measures a research variable is known as a(n):
standard deviation.
control condition.
operational definition.
case study.
Statistical reasoning can help us to generalize correctly from a ________ to a ________.
range; standard deviation
standard deviation; mean
sample; population
scatterplot; skewed distribution
When a difference between two groups is "statistically significant," this means that:
the difference is statistically real but of little practical significance.
the difference is probably the result of sampling variation.
the difference is not likely to be due to chance variation.
all of the above are true.
Government experts who are convinced of the correctness of their own mistaken political predictions most clearly demonstrate:
illusory correlation.
overconfidence.
In a group of five individuals, two report annual incomes of $10,000, and the other three report incomes of $14,000, $15,000, and $31,000, respectively. The mode of this group's distribution of annual incomes is:
$10,000.
$15,000.
$16,000.
$31,000.
$80,000.
Psychologists who carefully watch the behavior of chimpanzees in the jungle are using a research method known as:
experimentation.
random sampling.
Psychological differences between the genders are:
of little interest to contemporary psychologists.
simply reflections of biological differences between the sexes.
no longer evident in contemporary Western societies.
of little relevance to real life.
far outweighed by gender similarities.
Which research method would be most appropriate for investigating the relationship between the religious beliefs of Americans and their attitudes toward abortion?
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