ESTUDYR
PSYCH 280 EXAM 1 MOST TESTED QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS GRADED A+ WITH RATIONALES
1. Which of the following best describes topics relevant to social psychology?
A. It studies only internal traits of people
B. It ignores subjective experience
C. It integrates the person and the situation to explain behavior ✅
D. It is purely philosophical with no empirical testing
Rationale: Social psychology is a science that studies behavior by integrating both personal and
situational factors. It uses subjective experiences, is testable, and relevant to everyday life.
2. Which of the following is a feature of the scientific method?
A. Subjective reasoning
B. Logical, repeatable, and open to disconfirmation ✅
C. Only observational
D. Random speculation
Rationale: The scientific method requires logic, replicability, and openness to being disproved.
3. What are the primary goals of research in social psychology?
A. Describe, predict, explain ✅
B. Describe, evaluate, rank
C. Test, speculate, judge
D. Only predict behavior
Rationale: Research aims to describe behavior, predict relationships, and explain causes.
4. Describing behavior is best achieved by which method?
A. Correlational studies
B. Experimental manipulation
C. Observation/ethnography ✅
D. Self-report surveys
Rationale: Observation allows recording behavior where it naturally occurs, which is ideal for
description.
,ESTUDYR
5. Determining how pre-existing variables relate to each other is called:
A. Experimentation
B. Correlational study ✅
C. Ethnography
D. Case study
Rationale: Correlational studies measure how two variables co-vary without manipulating them.
6. Which method involves manipulating variables to explain behavior?
A. Observation
B. Correlational study
C. Experiment ✅
D. Survey
Rationale: Experiments control and manipulate variables to establish causality.
7. Which of the following is NOT a type of study in social psychology?
A. Experiment
B. Correlational study
C. Observation
D. Astrology ✅
Rationale: Astrology is not a scientific method; experiments, correlational studies, and
observations are.
8. A major advantage of observational research is:
A. High internal validity
B. Can record actual behavior in natural contexts ✅
C. Eliminates researcher bias
D. Can infer causality
Rationale: Observation is high in external validity but cannot determine causality.
9. Correlational studies are useful because:
A. They allow causal inference
B. They can study variables that cannot be manipulated ✅
, ESTUDYR
C. They are free of bias
D. They are always expensive
Rationale: Correlational studies are often cheaper and allow investigation of variables that
cannot be ethically manipulated.
10. A disadvantage of experiments is:
A. Low internal validity
B. Low external validity ✅
C. Cannot infer causality
D. Cannot manipulate variables
Rationale: Experiments can establish causality (high internal validity) but may not generalize
well to real-life settings.
11. Which is true about an independent variable?
A. It is measured as the outcome
B. It is manipulated by the researcher ✅
C. It is always random
D. It is uncontrolled
Rationale: The independent variable is what the researcher changes to observe its effect.
12. Random assignment in experiments is important because:
A. It ensures everyone likes the experiment
B. It minimizes individual differences ✅
C. It eliminates all errors
D. It replaces replication
Rationale: Random assignment ensures each participant has an equal chance of being in any
condition, controlling for confounding variables.
13. Blinding refers to:
A. Keeping participants unaware of key aspects of the study ✅
B. Manipulating results to fit expectations
C. Allowing participants full knowledge of hypotheses
D. Ensuring participants are not paid
PSYCH 280 EXAM 1 MOST TESTED QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS GRADED A+ WITH RATIONALES
1. Which of the following best describes topics relevant to social psychology?
A. It studies only internal traits of people
B. It ignores subjective experience
C. It integrates the person and the situation to explain behavior ✅
D. It is purely philosophical with no empirical testing
Rationale: Social psychology is a science that studies behavior by integrating both personal and
situational factors. It uses subjective experiences, is testable, and relevant to everyday life.
2. Which of the following is a feature of the scientific method?
A. Subjective reasoning
B. Logical, repeatable, and open to disconfirmation ✅
C. Only observational
D. Random speculation
Rationale: The scientific method requires logic, replicability, and openness to being disproved.
3. What are the primary goals of research in social psychology?
A. Describe, predict, explain ✅
B. Describe, evaluate, rank
C. Test, speculate, judge
D. Only predict behavior
Rationale: Research aims to describe behavior, predict relationships, and explain causes.
4. Describing behavior is best achieved by which method?
A. Correlational studies
B. Experimental manipulation
C. Observation/ethnography ✅
D. Self-report surveys
Rationale: Observation allows recording behavior where it naturally occurs, which is ideal for
description.
,ESTUDYR
5. Determining how pre-existing variables relate to each other is called:
A. Experimentation
B. Correlational study ✅
C. Ethnography
D. Case study
Rationale: Correlational studies measure how two variables co-vary without manipulating them.
6. Which method involves manipulating variables to explain behavior?
A. Observation
B. Correlational study
C. Experiment ✅
D. Survey
Rationale: Experiments control and manipulate variables to establish causality.
7. Which of the following is NOT a type of study in social psychology?
A. Experiment
B. Correlational study
C. Observation
D. Astrology ✅
Rationale: Astrology is not a scientific method; experiments, correlational studies, and
observations are.
8. A major advantage of observational research is:
A. High internal validity
B. Can record actual behavior in natural contexts ✅
C. Eliminates researcher bias
D. Can infer causality
Rationale: Observation is high in external validity but cannot determine causality.
9. Correlational studies are useful because:
A. They allow causal inference
B. They can study variables that cannot be manipulated ✅
, ESTUDYR
C. They are free of bias
D. They are always expensive
Rationale: Correlational studies are often cheaper and allow investigation of variables that
cannot be ethically manipulated.
10. A disadvantage of experiments is:
A. Low internal validity
B. Low external validity ✅
C. Cannot infer causality
D. Cannot manipulate variables
Rationale: Experiments can establish causality (high internal validity) but may not generalize
well to real-life settings.
11. Which is true about an independent variable?
A. It is measured as the outcome
B. It is manipulated by the researcher ✅
C. It is always random
D. It is uncontrolled
Rationale: The independent variable is what the researcher changes to observe its effect.
12. Random assignment in experiments is important because:
A. It ensures everyone likes the experiment
B. It minimizes individual differences ✅
C. It eliminates all errors
D. It replaces replication
Rationale: Random assignment ensures each participant has an equal chance of being in any
condition, controlling for confounding variables.
13. Blinding refers to:
A. Keeping participants unaware of key aspects of the study ✅
B. Manipulating results to fit expectations
C. Allowing participants full knowledge of hypotheses
D. Ensuring participants are not paid
