PSYC 333 Midterm Study Questions – Psychology course exam preparation
material
John believes that women are more emotionally expressive than men. When asked why he
believes this, john says it is because he has "always" believed it, and because "everybody knows
it is true." John is using the:
a. Method of tenacity
b. Scientific method
c. A priori method
d. Method of authority - ANS ✔✔a
Miles, a student at California State University at Sacramento, tells another student, Sasha, that
"numbers are infinite," to which she responses, "Prove it!" Miles says, "Would you agree that
any number doubles will result in a new number twice the size?" When Sasha answers yes,
Miles responds, "Aha, you have just proved that numbers are infinite, because there must be a
limitless number of numbers if you are correct." Miles is using the
a. Method of tenacity
b. Scientific method
c. A priori method
d. Method of authority - ANS ✔✔c
Julie believes that everyone dreams every night, because her psychology professor told her this
is true. Julie is using the
a. Method of tenacity
b. Scientific method
c. A priori method
d. Method of authority - ANS ✔✔d
,Dr. Smith believes that psychotherapy is generally very effective in treating mental disorders.
She claims that her belief is based on empirical research in which therapy was given to some
patients but not others and in which the degree of mental disorder was carefully measured. Dr.
Smith's belief is based on the
a. Method of tenacity
b. Scientific method
c. A priori method
d. Method of authority - ANS ✔✔b
Which of the following is the most distinctive characteristic of science?
a. Empirical inquiry and empirical reasoning
b. Images and metaphors
c. The rhetoric of science
d. Statistical explanation - ANS ✔✔a
Behavioral research
a. Encompasses many scientific fields
b. Emphasizes multiple methods of observation and explanation
c. Has seen a growth in the number of interdisciplinary fields
d. All of the above - ANS ✔✔d
Which empirical approach is often considered a necessary first step in conducting research but
is rarely considered sufficient by itself?
a. Relational research
b. Experimental research
c. Descriptive research
d. None of the above - ANS ✔✔c
, A researcher at the College of the Southwest conducts a research project on the study habits of
students. She reports that, on average, college students study 20 hours per week. This is an
example of
a. Relational research
b. Experimental research
c. Descriptive research
d. None of the above - ANS ✔✔c
Experimental research
a. Can support cause-effect conclusions
b. Involves the manipulation of variables
c. Often involves randomly assigning subjects to conditions
d. All of the above - ANS ✔✔d
A researcher at Grand Valley State University flips a coin to decide whether each person in a
sample of research participants will be assigned to the experimental group or the control group.
This is an illustration of
a. Random sampling
b. Random assignment
c. Both random assignment and randomization because they are synonyms
d. None of the above - ANS ✔✔b
Paul has suffered brain damage in a car accident. Dr. Thaler, a specialist in internal medicine,
studies Paul intensively, giving him many clinical interviews and tests to measure his cognitive
functioning. Based on his work with Paul, Dr. Thaler comes up with a brilliant new hypothesis,
which he and others can test further in empirical research. From what we know so far, we
would say that the doctors hypothesis came about primarily through
a. Serendipity
material
John believes that women are more emotionally expressive than men. When asked why he
believes this, john says it is because he has "always" believed it, and because "everybody knows
it is true." John is using the:
a. Method of tenacity
b. Scientific method
c. A priori method
d. Method of authority - ANS ✔✔a
Miles, a student at California State University at Sacramento, tells another student, Sasha, that
"numbers are infinite," to which she responses, "Prove it!" Miles says, "Would you agree that
any number doubles will result in a new number twice the size?" When Sasha answers yes,
Miles responds, "Aha, you have just proved that numbers are infinite, because there must be a
limitless number of numbers if you are correct." Miles is using the
a. Method of tenacity
b. Scientific method
c. A priori method
d. Method of authority - ANS ✔✔c
Julie believes that everyone dreams every night, because her psychology professor told her this
is true. Julie is using the
a. Method of tenacity
b. Scientific method
c. A priori method
d. Method of authority - ANS ✔✔d
,Dr. Smith believes that psychotherapy is generally very effective in treating mental disorders.
She claims that her belief is based on empirical research in which therapy was given to some
patients but not others and in which the degree of mental disorder was carefully measured. Dr.
Smith's belief is based on the
a. Method of tenacity
b. Scientific method
c. A priori method
d. Method of authority - ANS ✔✔b
Which of the following is the most distinctive characteristic of science?
a. Empirical inquiry and empirical reasoning
b. Images and metaphors
c. The rhetoric of science
d. Statistical explanation - ANS ✔✔a
Behavioral research
a. Encompasses many scientific fields
b. Emphasizes multiple methods of observation and explanation
c. Has seen a growth in the number of interdisciplinary fields
d. All of the above - ANS ✔✔d
Which empirical approach is often considered a necessary first step in conducting research but
is rarely considered sufficient by itself?
a. Relational research
b. Experimental research
c. Descriptive research
d. None of the above - ANS ✔✔c
, A researcher at the College of the Southwest conducts a research project on the study habits of
students. She reports that, on average, college students study 20 hours per week. This is an
example of
a. Relational research
b. Experimental research
c. Descriptive research
d. None of the above - ANS ✔✔c
Experimental research
a. Can support cause-effect conclusions
b. Involves the manipulation of variables
c. Often involves randomly assigning subjects to conditions
d. All of the above - ANS ✔✔d
A researcher at Grand Valley State University flips a coin to decide whether each person in a
sample of research participants will be assigned to the experimental group or the control group.
This is an illustration of
a. Random sampling
b. Random assignment
c. Both random assignment and randomization because they are synonyms
d. None of the above - ANS ✔✔b
Paul has suffered brain damage in a car accident. Dr. Thaler, a specialist in internal medicine,
studies Paul intensively, giving him many clinical interviews and tests to measure his cognitive
functioning. Based on his work with Paul, Dr. Thaler comes up with a brilliant new hypothesis,
which he and others can test further in empirical research. From what we know so far, we
would say that the doctors hypothesis came about primarily through
a. Serendipity
