TEST BANK FOR RESEARCH IN
PSYCHOLOGY: METHODS AND
DESIGN 8TH EDITION BY KERRI
GOODWIN, JAMES GOODWIN
,Test Bank—Chapter 1 Goodwin & Goodwin, Research in Psychology, 8e 1-1
Multiple Choice
1) What do the preface to Wundt’s Principles of Physiological Psychology and the original constitution of
the American Psychological Association have in common?
a) they both defined psychology as the study of behavior
b) they both recognized that psychology was a subdivision of philosophy
c) they both emphasized the scientific nature of the new psychology
d) they both defined psychology as the study of the mind
2) A research methods course differs from a course in developmental psychology by emphasizing
a) process over content
b) content over process
c) basic rather than applied research
d) applied rather than basic research
3) A research methods course is to a social psychology course as ______ is to ______.
a) content; process
b) process; content
c) scientific; nonscientific
d) philosophy; sociology
4) Which of the following is not listed in the text as a reason for taking a research methods course?
a) it helps the student become a critical consumer of information
b) it is essential for admission to most graduate schools
c) it is the most important course in the psychology curriculum for achieving self-understanding
d) it provides a foundation for achieving a better understanding of other psychology courses
5) Why is it important for professional psychologists to be familiar with research methods?
a) they might need to perform an evaluation to determine the effectiveness of an agency’s program
b) they might need to critically evaluate the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of some new
clinical treatment for depression
c) both alternatives a. and b. are true
d) none of the above—professional psychologists only need to apply the results of research; they
need not be familiar with how the research was done
6) When students assume that their textbook must be correct, they are relying on _________ as a way
of knowing.
a) the a priori method
b) experience
c) creativity
d) authority
7) Which of the following is true about relying on authority as a way of searching for the truth?
a) the authority could be wrong
b) it is a problem for nonscientists but not for scientists
c) it is almost certain that the authority’s knowledge is based on subjective experience only
d) authority should seldom if ever be believed–people should discover things for themselves
8) Relying on authority as a basis for fixing belief is illustrated by which of the following statements?
a) Because all events have causes, there must be some First Cause, namely God
b) Why do I know it? I just know it, that’s all
c) My country, right or wrong
d) It just stands to reason that animals with a cortex must have some level of consciousness
,Test Bank—Chapter 1 Goodwin & Goodwin, Research in Psychology, 8e 1-2
9) Ted argues that the mind equals the brain. His argument is based on the assertion that the mind
ceases to function when the brain ceases to function. This illustrates which of Peirce’s ways of fixing
belief?
a) the a priori method
b) the method of direct experience
c) the scientific method
d) the method of authority
10) As a way of fixing belief, Peirce’s a priori method relies heavily on
a) belief perseverance
b) drawing conclusions from making systematic observations of nature
c) relying on the expertise of others
d) convincing others through logical arguments
11) Peirce was critical about the a priori method as a way of fixing belief because
a) it was especially prone to a confirmation bias
b) the use of logic is not really needed for arriving at truth
c) it really meant nothing more than relying on authority
d) carefully reasoned arguments can produce opposite conclusions
12) The problem with relying on a belief that “experience is the best teacher” is that
a) our experiences might be limited and influenced by bias
b) our experiences seldom provide any information about what life is like
c) relying on experience makes us overlook the most important source of knowledge—authorities
d) none of the above—personal experience is the only reliable way to truth
13) If our experiences include some unforgettable events, we might overestimate how often those kinds
of events occur. This is called
a) belief perseverance
b) a confirmation bias
c) the availability heuristic
d) the a priori heuristic
14) Our experiences can be a valuable guide to the truth, but drawing firm conclusions from experience
can be affected by our tendencies to ignore events that don’t support our beliefs. That is, we
sometimes
a) use the availability heuristic
b) have a confirmation bias
c) decide on the truth on the basis of logic rather than direct experience
d) rely too much on introspection
15) According to Thomas Kuhn, it is generally a good thing for scientists to hang on to their pet theories
tenaciously. Why?
a) they seem more human that way
b) by seeking out controversies with other scientists, they keep their aging minds sharp
c) by vigorously advocating their theory, it won’t be abandoned without a thorough test
d) none of the above—because they are objective, dispassionate, and ruled only by data, “tenacity”
is not a term that characterizes scientists
16) Relying on Peirce’s a priori method as a way of fixing belief is illustrated by which of the following
statements?
a) Because all events have causes, there must be some First Cause greater than all the rest
b) My country, right or wrong
c) Nothing will ever convince me that men have been on the moon
d) Of course it’s right—it was in the book
, Test Bank—Chapter 1 Goodwin & Goodwin, Research in Psychology, 8e 1-3
17) Students sometimes change their answers on multiple-choice questions. Many students believe that
the most common outcome is that they change from the correct answer to a wrong answer, despite
research that shows that students more often change from an incorrect answer to a correct one. What
accounts for the strength of this erroneous belief?
a) scientific thinking via logical deduction
b) social cognition biases that distort their beliefs of their experiences
c) a priori thinking—they reason that it would have been better to go with the first hunch or instinct
d) none of the above—students in fact believe that they are successful when they change answers
18) As psychologists use the term, determinism means that
a) free choice does not exist
b) all the events of our lives have been “determined” ahead of time
c) every event has a cause that can be known and discovered with certainty
d) events can be predicted with greater than chance probability
19) Research psychologists believe all of the following except
a) the causes of behavior can be discovered by using scientific methods
b) if statistical determinism is true, then free choices cannot be made
c) it may not be possible to predict behavior with certainty
d) making effective choices requires that events be predictable
20) A major characteristic of psychological science is its objectivity, which means that
a) science is free from human biases
b) psychologists assume that people are essentially machines
c) observations can be verified by more than a single observer
d) results of research are always reported in terms of numbers (statistics)
21) An objective observation is one
a) that can only be made by a mechanical recording device
b) completely free from any personal bias on the part of the observer
c) that can be verified by a second observer
d) that cannot be questioned
22) The major shortcoming with introspection as a method was that
a) it relied too heavily on the a priori method
b) it was used to answer philosophical rather than empirical questions
c) it relied too heavily on direct observations of behavior
d) observations could not be verified—they were too subjective
23) The method of introspection was gradually replaced by behavioral methods because
a) the latter were more objective
b) the latter yielded more in depth descriptions of one’s personal experience
c) introspection required considerable training but no training is required to use behavioral methods
d) behavioral methods allowed a closer examination of mental processes
24) To be data driven is to
a) insist on empirical support for assertions
b) use scientific methods even when they are inappropriate
c) collect more data than is really necessary in order to answer an empirical question
d) insist that the only valid question is an empirical question
25) Scientific thinking by psychologists is characterized by all of the following except
a) they realize that conclusions are tentative and could change depending on future research
b) they are most interested in finding answers to the “big” questions (e.g., mind-body)
c) they expect claims to be supported by data collected in a systematic fashion
PSYCHOLOGY: METHODS AND
DESIGN 8TH EDITION BY KERRI
GOODWIN, JAMES GOODWIN
,Test Bank—Chapter 1 Goodwin & Goodwin, Research in Psychology, 8e 1-1
Multiple Choice
1) What do the preface to Wundt’s Principles of Physiological Psychology and the original constitution of
the American Psychological Association have in common?
a) they both defined psychology as the study of behavior
b) they both recognized that psychology was a subdivision of philosophy
c) they both emphasized the scientific nature of the new psychology
d) they both defined psychology as the study of the mind
2) A research methods course differs from a course in developmental psychology by emphasizing
a) process over content
b) content over process
c) basic rather than applied research
d) applied rather than basic research
3) A research methods course is to a social psychology course as ______ is to ______.
a) content; process
b) process; content
c) scientific; nonscientific
d) philosophy; sociology
4) Which of the following is not listed in the text as a reason for taking a research methods course?
a) it helps the student become a critical consumer of information
b) it is essential for admission to most graduate schools
c) it is the most important course in the psychology curriculum for achieving self-understanding
d) it provides a foundation for achieving a better understanding of other psychology courses
5) Why is it important for professional psychologists to be familiar with research methods?
a) they might need to perform an evaluation to determine the effectiveness of an agency’s program
b) they might need to critically evaluate the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of some new
clinical treatment for depression
c) both alternatives a. and b. are true
d) none of the above—professional psychologists only need to apply the results of research; they
need not be familiar with how the research was done
6) When students assume that their textbook must be correct, they are relying on _________ as a way
of knowing.
a) the a priori method
b) experience
c) creativity
d) authority
7) Which of the following is true about relying on authority as a way of searching for the truth?
a) the authority could be wrong
b) it is a problem for nonscientists but not for scientists
c) it is almost certain that the authority’s knowledge is based on subjective experience only
d) authority should seldom if ever be believed–people should discover things for themselves
8) Relying on authority as a basis for fixing belief is illustrated by which of the following statements?
a) Because all events have causes, there must be some First Cause, namely God
b) Why do I know it? I just know it, that’s all
c) My country, right or wrong
d) It just stands to reason that animals with a cortex must have some level of consciousness
,Test Bank—Chapter 1 Goodwin & Goodwin, Research in Psychology, 8e 1-2
9) Ted argues that the mind equals the brain. His argument is based on the assertion that the mind
ceases to function when the brain ceases to function. This illustrates which of Peirce’s ways of fixing
belief?
a) the a priori method
b) the method of direct experience
c) the scientific method
d) the method of authority
10) As a way of fixing belief, Peirce’s a priori method relies heavily on
a) belief perseverance
b) drawing conclusions from making systematic observations of nature
c) relying on the expertise of others
d) convincing others through logical arguments
11) Peirce was critical about the a priori method as a way of fixing belief because
a) it was especially prone to a confirmation bias
b) the use of logic is not really needed for arriving at truth
c) it really meant nothing more than relying on authority
d) carefully reasoned arguments can produce opposite conclusions
12) The problem with relying on a belief that “experience is the best teacher” is that
a) our experiences might be limited and influenced by bias
b) our experiences seldom provide any information about what life is like
c) relying on experience makes us overlook the most important source of knowledge—authorities
d) none of the above—personal experience is the only reliable way to truth
13) If our experiences include some unforgettable events, we might overestimate how often those kinds
of events occur. This is called
a) belief perseverance
b) a confirmation bias
c) the availability heuristic
d) the a priori heuristic
14) Our experiences can be a valuable guide to the truth, but drawing firm conclusions from experience
can be affected by our tendencies to ignore events that don’t support our beliefs. That is, we
sometimes
a) use the availability heuristic
b) have a confirmation bias
c) decide on the truth on the basis of logic rather than direct experience
d) rely too much on introspection
15) According to Thomas Kuhn, it is generally a good thing for scientists to hang on to their pet theories
tenaciously. Why?
a) they seem more human that way
b) by seeking out controversies with other scientists, they keep their aging minds sharp
c) by vigorously advocating their theory, it won’t be abandoned without a thorough test
d) none of the above—because they are objective, dispassionate, and ruled only by data, “tenacity”
is not a term that characterizes scientists
16) Relying on Peirce’s a priori method as a way of fixing belief is illustrated by which of the following
statements?
a) Because all events have causes, there must be some First Cause greater than all the rest
b) My country, right or wrong
c) Nothing will ever convince me that men have been on the moon
d) Of course it’s right—it was in the book
, Test Bank—Chapter 1 Goodwin & Goodwin, Research in Psychology, 8e 1-3
17) Students sometimes change their answers on multiple-choice questions. Many students believe that
the most common outcome is that they change from the correct answer to a wrong answer, despite
research that shows that students more often change from an incorrect answer to a correct one. What
accounts for the strength of this erroneous belief?
a) scientific thinking via logical deduction
b) social cognition biases that distort their beliefs of their experiences
c) a priori thinking—they reason that it would have been better to go with the first hunch or instinct
d) none of the above—students in fact believe that they are successful when they change answers
18) As psychologists use the term, determinism means that
a) free choice does not exist
b) all the events of our lives have been “determined” ahead of time
c) every event has a cause that can be known and discovered with certainty
d) events can be predicted with greater than chance probability
19) Research psychologists believe all of the following except
a) the causes of behavior can be discovered by using scientific methods
b) if statistical determinism is true, then free choices cannot be made
c) it may not be possible to predict behavior with certainty
d) making effective choices requires that events be predictable
20) A major characteristic of psychological science is its objectivity, which means that
a) science is free from human biases
b) psychologists assume that people are essentially machines
c) observations can be verified by more than a single observer
d) results of research are always reported in terms of numbers (statistics)
21) An objective observation is one
a) that can only be made by a mechanical recording device
b) completely free from any personal bias on the part of the observer
c) that can be verified by a second observer
d) that cannot be questioned
22) The major shortcoming with introspection as a method was that
a) it relied too heavily on the a priori method
b) it was used to answer philosophical rather than empirical questions
c) it relied too heavily on direct observations of behavior
d) observations could not be verified—they were too subjective
23) The method of introspection was gradually replaced by behavioral methods because
a) the latter were more objective
b) the latter yielded more in depth descriptions of one’s personal experience
c) introspection required considerable training but no training is required to use behavioral methods
d) behavioral methods allowed a closer examination of mental processes
24) To be data driven is to
a) insist on empirical support for assertions
b) use scientific methods even when they are inappropriate
c) collect more data than is really necessary in order to answer an empirical question
d) insist that the only valid question is an empirical question
25) Scientific thinking by psychologists is characterized by all of the following except
a) they realize that conclusions are tentative and could change depending on future research
b) they are most interested in finding answers to the “big” questions (e.g., mind-body)
c) they expect claims to be supported by data collected in a systematic fashion
