Test Bank For
Essentials of Psychology Eighth Edition Stephen Franzoi
Chapters 1-14 Answers are at the End of Each Chapter
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. You see a journal article entitled, ―Injection of Happystuff Causes a Reduction in Symptoms of Depression in Adult
Males.‖ This tells you that the independent variable
a. is the injection of Happystuff.
b. is the reduction in symptoms of depression.
c. is the population of adult males.
d. is the construct of depression.
2. Which theory proposed the technique of introspection?
a. Functionalism
b. Structuralism
c. Behaviorism
d. Psychoanalysis
3. Social desirability bias and volunteer bias are problems typically associated with which research method?
a. naturalistic observation
b. experiments
c. case studies
d. surveys
4. A movement with modern psychology that applies principles from Darwin‘s theories is called
a. humanistic psychology.
b. evolutionary psychology.
c. cognitive psychology.
d. behavioral psychology.
5. Your psychology professor refers to a research study and says the results were ―statistically significant.‖ Which step in
the scientific method does this apply?
a. Drawing conclusions
b. Developing a research question
c. Gathering evidence
d. Replicating results
6. You have written an article that you want to publish. The publisher requires that you provide citations. Why does the
publisher have this requirement?
a. To examine the sources on which you based the study
b. To fact check the accuracy of your investigation
c. To examine alternative ways of explaining claims
d. To clarify meaning
7. To discover the extent to which economic status can be used to predict political preferences, researchers are most likely
to use
, a. the case study approach.
b. naturalistic observation.
c. correlational measures.
d. experimental research.
8. Which of the following is a major benefit of naturalistic observation as a research method?
a. There is no concern about the artificial introduction of the laboratory setting when drawing conclusions.
b. Correlated variables are not statistically significant.
c. When one variable seems to cause another, it does not mean that they are necessarily related, only that they
occur in tandem.
d. Studies that look for cause and effect run the risk of asking leading questions, which will yield unreliable
answers.
9. Suppose Anita conducts an experiment to test which types of stimuli elicit the fastest reaction time in participants.
When she publishes her results in a scientific paper, Anita includes information on the equipment she used to measure
reaction time and on exactly which stimuli were used in the study. According to the scientific method, including this
information is important so that other researchers
a. can determine if Anita was properly educated.
b. know that Anita used the most advanced equipment.
c. know that Anita actually performed the experiment.
d. can replicate Anita‘s experiment if they want to do so.
10. Which of the following research methods demonstrate the statistical association between variables?
a. Descriptive
b. Correlational
c. Experimental
d. Naturalistic observation
11. DeShawn is researching the effects of brain lesioning on depression. For ethical reasons, he is not able to cut into the
brains of study participants. What may be an alternate research method that he could use that follows APA ethical
guidelines?
a. He may use animals as test subjects.
b. He may tell participants that he is actually studying productivity.
c. He may pay participants more for their consent to have surgery.
d. He may perform the tests on children whose parents have given consent.
12. As a scientific endeavor, the goal of psychology is primarily the
a. treatment of troubled individuals.
b. attempt to understand behavior and mental processes.
c. attempt to expand human consciousness.
d. teaching of psychology in high schools and colleges.
13. Suppose a study is conducted examining the development of sexual orientation in young men. Why should the
researchers be cautious about generalizing their results to both sexes?
a. The development of sexual orientation for young women may not be the same as for young men.
b. The study results are correlational and cannot be interpreted as causal.
c. The results based on a sample should never be generalized to a population.
d. The participants probably did not take the study seriously.
14. It is important for a sample in survey research to be representative so that researchers can ________.
, a. study just one or two individuals in great depth and detail
b. make generalizations about the population as a whole
c. observe people in their natural environments rather than in a lab
d. determine causation from correlation
15. Which of the following is included in the American Psychological Association‘s (APA‘s) code of ethics regarding
psychological experiments?
a. Participants in research studies must be 18 or older.
b. Participants must be informed about the nature of the research only when the experiment‘s methods are
potentially harmful.
c. Deception about the goals of the research can be used only when absolutely necessary to the integrity of the
research.
d. Deception about the goals of the research can never be used.
16. A descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a representative sample of a
population is known as
a. naturalistic observation.
b. debriefing.
c. a case study.
d. a survey.
17. In a drug study, group one receives an inactive pill and group two receives a pill that is believed to be effective in
treating depression. Group two is the
a. control group.
b. placebo group.
c. experimental group.
d. independent group.
18. Participants in an experiment on stress management are given stress reduction techniques and then measured for the
effect. What is the role of the control group in this experiment?
a. They receive no techniques, and they are not measured.
b. They receive a random technique.
c. They receive no techniques at all, but they are measured.
d. They receive the same techniques as the experimental group, and they are measured.
19. At the end of your research study, you determine that the results were ―statistically significant.‖ What does this mean
in general?
a. The results met a threshold considered to be scientifically meaningful.
b. The hypothesis was worth testing.
c. The results could not have occurred as the result of chance.
d. The hypothesis has been proven.
20. The ethical guideline requiring that information be disclosed to research participants about what they can expect if
they participate is referred to as
a. informed consent.
b. beneficence.
c. debriefing.
d. protection of confidentiality.
21. In conducting an experiment, a precisely worded, educated guess is called a ____.
, a. hypothesis
b. proposal
c. variable
d. randomization
22. The use of the survey method is limited by which types of biases?
a. social desirability bias and volunteer bias
b. random sampling bias and population bias
c. case study bias and observational bias
d. survey bias and volunteer bias
23. Which of the following is the most complete definition of psychology?
a. The science of observable behavior and thoughts.
b. The science of behavior.
c. The science of mental processes.
d. The science of behavior and mental processes.
24. Suppose the guards at a prison began to mistreat and abuse the inmates. When new guards join the prison, they soon
begin mistreating the prisoners as well, even though they have never done so before. Which type of psychologist would be
most interested in studying why this occurs?
a. Counseling psychologist
b. Developmental psychologist
c. Social psychologist
d. Physiological psychologist
25. A psychologist is interested in the relationship between alcohol use and low energy. Which type of research method
could be used to determine if it is alcohol use that causes low energy, and not the other way around?
a. Correlation
b. Naturalistic observation
c. Case study
d. Experimental
26. Which sampling procedure is MOST likely to produce a random sample?
a. A researcher stands outside a football stadium entrance before a game asking people to fill out a survey in
order to obtain the opinions of city residents about the building of a new stadium.
b. A researcher goes to a dealership to obtain a list of the people who purchased luxury automobiles in order to
gather information about the driving habits of American drivers.
c. A researcher draws 60 names from a hat that contains the names of all 300 construction workers on a job site
in order to survey them about the job site's safety practices.
d. A researcher surveys first-year psychology students in order to gather information about the school's first-year
students' feelings of homesickness.
27. The word ‗psychology‘ comes from two Greek roots that mean
a. knowledge and mind
b. emotion and mind
c. emotion and spirit
d. mind and emotion
28. A sample is considered to be random if
Essentials of Psychology Eighth Edition Stephen Franzoi
Chapters 1-14 Answers are at the End of Each Chapter
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. You see a journal article entitled, ―Injection of Happystuff Causes a Reduction in Symptoms of Depression in Adult
Males.‖ This tells you that the independent variable
a. is the injection of Happystuff.
b. is the reduction in symptoms of depression.
c. is the population of adult males.
d. is the construct of depression.
2. Which theory proposed the technique of introspection?
a. Functionalism
b. Structuralism
c. Behaviorism
d. Psychoanalysis
3. Social desirability bias and volunteer bias are problems typically associated with which research method?
a. naturalistic observation
b. experiments
c. case studies
d. surveys
4. A movement with modern psychology that applies principles from Darwin‘s theories is called
a. humanistic psychology.
b. evolutionary psychology.
c. cognitive psychology.
d. behavioral psychology.
5. Your psychology professor refers to a research study and says the results were ―statistically significant.‖ Which step in
the scientific method does this apply?
a. Drawing conclusions
b. Developing a research question
c. Gathering evidence
d. Replicating results
6. You have written an article that you want to publish. The publisher requires that you provide citations. Why does the
publisher have this requirement?
a. To examine the sources on which you based the study
b. To fact check the accuracy of your investigation
c. To examine alternative ways of explaining claims
d. To clarify meaning
7. To discover the extent to which economic status can be used to predict political preferences, researchers are most likely
to use
, a. the case study approach.
b. naturalistic observation.
c. correlational measures.
d. experimental research.
8. Which of the following is a major benefit of naturalistic observation as a research method?
a. There is no concern about the artificial introduction of the laboratory setting when drawing conclusions.
b. Correlated variables are not statistically significant.
c. When one variable seems to cause another, it does not mean that they are necessarily related, only that they
occur in tandem.
d. Studies that look for cause and effect run the risk of asking leading questions, which will yield unreliable
answers.
9. Suppose Anita conducts an experiment to test which types of stimuli elicit the fastest reaction time in participants.
When she publishes her results in a scientific paper, Anita includes information on the equipment she used to measure
reaction time and on exactly which stimuli were used in the study. According to the scientific method, including this
information is important so that other researchers
a. can determine if Anita was properly educated.
b. know that Anita used the most advanced equipment.
c. know that Anita actually performed the experiment.
d. can replicate Anita‘s experiment if they want to do so.
10. Which of the following research methods demonstrate the statistical association between variables?
a. Descriptive
b. Correlational
c. Experimental
d. Naturalistic observation
11. DeShawn is researching the effects of brain lesioning on depression. For ethical reasons, he is not able to cut into the
brains of study participants. What may be an alternate research method that he could use that follows APA ethical
guidelines?
a. He may use animals as test subjects.
b. He may tell participants that he is actually studying productivity.
c. He may pay participants more for their consent to have surgery.
d. He may perform the tests on children whose parents have given consent.
12. As a scientific endeavor, the goal of psychology is primarily the
a. treatment of troubled individuals.
b. attempt to understand behavior and mental processes.
c. attempt to expand human consciousness.
d. teaching of psychology in high schools and colleges.
13. Suppose a study is conducted examining the development of sexual orientation in young men. Why should the
researchers be cautious about generalizing their results to both sexes?
a. The development of sexual orientation for young women may not be the same as for young men.
b. The study results are correlational and cannot be interpreted as causal.
c. The results based on a sample should never be generalized to a population.
d. The participants probably did not take the study seriously.
14. It is important for a sample in survey research to be representative so that researchers can ________.
, a. study just one or two individuals in great depth and detail
b. make generalizations about the population as a whole
c. observe people in their natural environments rather than in a lab
d. determine causation from correlation
15. Which of the following is included in the American Psychological Association‘s (APA‘s) code of ethics regarding
psychological experiments?
a. Participants in research studies must be 18 or older.
b. Participants must be informed about the nature of the research only when the experiment‘s methods are
potentially harmful.
c. Deception about the goals of the research can be used only when absolutely necessary to the integrity of the
research.
d. Deception about the goals of the research can never be used.
16. A descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a representative sample of a
population is known as
a. naturalistic observation.
b. debriefing.
c. a case study.
d. a survey.
17. In a drug study, group one receives an inactive pill and group two receives a pill that is believed to be effective in
treating depression. Group two is the
a. control group.
b. placebo group.
c. experimental group.
d. independent group.
18. Participants in an experiment on stress management are given stress reduction techniques and then measured for the
effect. What is the role of the control group in this experiment?
a. They receive no techniques, and they are not measured.
b. They receive a random technique.
c. They receive no techniques at all, but they are measured.
d. They receive the same techniques as the experimental group, and they are measured.
19. At the end of your research study, you determine that the results were ―statistically significant.‖ What does this mean
in general?
a. The results met a threshold considered to be scientifically meaningful.
b. The hypothesis was worth testing.
c. The results could not have occurred as the result of chance.
d. The hypothesis has been proven.
20. The ethical guideline requiring that information be disclosed to research participants about what they can expect if
they participate is referred to as
a. informed consent.
b. beneficence.
c. debriefing.
d. protection of confidentiality.
21. In conducting an experiment, a precisely worded, educated guess is called a ____.
, a. hypothesis
b. proposal
c. variable
d. randomization
22. The use of the survey method is limited by which types of biases?
a. social desirability bias and volunteer bias
b. random sampling bias and population bias
c. case study bias and observational bias
d. survey bias and volunteer bias
23. Which of the following is the most complete definition of psychology?
a. The science of observable behavior and thoughts.
b. The science of behavior.
c. The science of mental processes.
d. The science of behavior and mental processes.
24. Suppose the guards at a prison began to mistreat and abuse the inmates. When new guards join the prison, they soon
begin mistreating the prisoners as well, even though they have never done so before. Which type of psychologist would be
most interested in studying why this occurs?
a. Counseling psychologist
b. Developmental psychologist
c. Social psychologist
d. Physiological psychologist
25. A psychologist is interested in the relationship between alcohol use and low energy. Which type of research method
could be used to determine if it is alcohol use that causes low energy, and not the other way around?
a. Correlation
b. Naturalistic observation
c. Case study
d. Experimental
26. Which sampling procedure is MOST likely to produce a random sample?
a. A researcher stands outside a football stadium entrance before a game asking people to fill out a survey in
order to obtain the opinions of city residents about the building of a new stadium.
b. A researcher goes to a dealership to obtain a list of the people who purchased luxury automobiles in order to
gather information about the driving habits of American drivers.
c. A researcher draws 60 names from a hat that contains the names of all 300 construction workers on a job site
in order to survey them about the job site's safety practices.
d. A researcher surveys first-year psychology students in order to gather information about the school's first-year
students' feelings of homesickness.
27. The word ‗psychology‘ comes from two Greek roots that mean
a. knowledge and mind
b. emotion and mind
c. emotion and spirit
d. mind and emotion
28. A sample is considered to be random if
