Fall final exam questionnaire Flashcards
Researchers proposed a study on language acquisition to see if exposing 10-month-old babies to phonemes outside of their primary language had an impact on the child’s fluency in their primary language. One hundred babies are randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In one condition babies would only be exposed to phonemes of their primary language for one hour per day over the course of six months. The other group would be exposed to phonemes from several different languages for one hour per day over the course of six months. The researchers hoped to explore whether exposure to phonemes from several different languages helped or impeded language development.
Which of the following concerns would an IRB likely have about this study?
Responses
A
There would be no way to get informed consent.
B
The procedure could potentially cause harm to the babies by interfering with their language development.
C
There is too much deception involved in this research proposal.
D
There would be no way to keep the information about each child confidential.
The procedure could potentially cause harm to the babies by interfering with their language development. - The study has the potential of harming the children’s natural ability to acquire language.
Researchers gathered information on the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in children under the age of six years from a randomly selected sample from a large nation. One type of data collected involved parents reporting about special health care needs of their children such as whether they had emotional, behavioral, or developmental delays. Children with no or low ACEs were less likely to experience developmental difficulties.
Which of the following research methodologies was used in this study?
Responses
A
Experimental
B
Meta-analysis
C
Naturalistic observation
D
Correlational
Answer D - This research showed a correlation between the number of ACEs a child has and the number of developmental difficulties they experienced.
Crystal has three children she loves and cares for very much. Denise has two children that she neglects. Crystal’s children are very friendly and talk to people more often than Denise’s children. Which of the following is the likely result of the children’s attachment to their mothers?
Responses
A
Crystal used rewards and punishments more often than Denise.
B
Crystal’s children will have better socialization skills.
C
Denise’s children’s schemas regarding parent-child relationships are quite strong.
D
Crystal’s children will have resolved the Oedipal complex, and Denise’s children will not have.
Answer B - Research indicates that there is some relationship between early attachment and the quality of later socialization skills.
Which of the following statements explains why it is difficult to experiment with human development?
Responses
A
The genes of identical twins are not similar enough for statistics.
B
Direct long-term manipulation of a child’s environment would be unethical.
C
Experiments with small children are always unethical.
D
Identifying what genetic traits are interacting with the environment is impossible.
Answer B - It would be unethical to assign a child to a particular set of parents or home for the sake of an experiment.
Dr. Jamal surveys parents of children of fifth graders who have done well in school. Based on his survey results, Dr. Jamal claims that being raised as an only child accelerates how quickly students will be able to progress to concrete operational thinking. What problem is associated with this claim?
Responses
A
Dr. Jamal places too much significance on grading to justify the claim.
B
Dr. Jamal did not randomly assign participants in his study.
C
Dr. Jamal cannot make a cause-and-effect claim from survey results.
D
Dr. Jamal should have surveyed the children directly to justify the claims he made.
Answer C- He cannot make a cause-and-effect claim from a survey
Jean Piaget formulated his theory of cognitive development by observing his own children at play. What is a valid criticism of the case study approach that Jean Piaget used to collect research data to originate his cognitive development theory?
Responses
A
He failed to get permission from the parents of the children he studied.
B
He limited his observations to groups of children with mixed ages because he believed that group efforts would enhance learning.
C
He interviewed many children to achieve breadth when it would have been better to focus on a few children to achieve depth.
D
His observations may have been biased due to his relationship with the participants.
Answer D- Case studies are vulnerable to biases held by the interviewer or researcher that can influence the outcome of the research.
A psychologist works with the Temne people of Western Africa. The psychologist presents two equal balls of clay, both an inch in diameter. First, the child acknowledges that the balls of clay are equal. Then, the researcher flattens one of the balls, and the psychologist asks the child, “If your friend was given the clay shaped like a rice cake and you were given the ball, who would have more to eat?” The psychologist counted how many children said, “One of us cannot have more than the other.”
Which of the following cognitive concepts was the psychologist testing?
Responses
A
Animism
B
Conservation
C
Scaffolding
D
Object permanence
Answer B- This is a child’s awareness that physical quantities do not change in amount when they are altered in appearance. The psychologist was counting how many children said, “One of us cannot have more than the other.”
If various cultures expect students to master more than one language in school, which of the following courses of action are supported by the evidence presented in the graph?
Responses
A
Students should be introduced to the second language as soon as they start going to school.
B
If schools offer effective programs, students can easily become fluent in a second language as long as they start learning it in high school.
C
Schools should not implement a second language program for the youngest students because that instruction might impede their ability to master their primary language.
D
Schools should introduce students to a second language between the ages of 11-15 to get the strongest results.
Answer A - The evidence indicates that the best results are linked to learning a second language as early as possible.
Based on the findings presented in the graph above, a researcher proposed a study in which 100 10-year-old students would be randomly assigned to two groups. One group would be exposed to a course with instruction for a second language every day during school, and the second group would not be allowed to take a second- language course. The principal of the school agreed to the study, but students were not aware of the purpose of the study. Which of the following is the most significant ethical concern in this study?
Responses
A
The proposed study would not allow researchers to debrief once the research concluded.
B
The researcher would not be able to maintain confidentiality about student performance.
C
The study would cause too much psychological stress for the students.
D
The students did not provide informed consent.
Answer D - The students were not aware of the purpose of the study.
Professor Whitmore conducted research to examine changes in cognitive development across the life span. He recruited 400 participants and then grouped them by age. The study included 20-year-olds, 40-year-olds, 60-year-olds, and 80-year-olds (100 in each group). Each group in the study took several different tests. Some of the tests were fact-based and drew upon knowledge from several different areas. Other tests required participants to solve new problems as quickly as they could.
Based upon research on fluid intelligence, which of the following is a likely hypothesis for Dr. Whitmore’s study?
Responses
A
The 80-year-old cohort will likely outperform the 20-year-old cohort on all cognitive measures.
B
The 40-year-old cohort will likely perform the lowest on the section of the test where participants are solving new problems quickly.
C
The 60-year-old cohort will likely perform better than all other groups on tests of factual knowledge.
D
The 20-year-old cohort will likely outperform all other groups on the tests that involve solving new problems quickly.
Answer D - Research on fluid intelligence indicates the younger groups outperform older cohorts on solving novel problems.
Professor Whitmore conducted research to examine changes in cognitive development across the life span. He recruited 400 participants and then grouped them by age. The study included 20-year-olds, 40-year-olds, 60-year-olds, and 80-year-olds (100 in each group). Each group in the study took several different tests. Some of the tests were fact-based and drew upon knowledge from several different areas. Other tests required participants to solve new problems as quickly as they could.
One of Dr. Whitmore’s students had strongly believed that cognitive abilities remained stable throughout the lifespan. When that student read Dr. Whitmore’s research which found that the 60-year-old and 80-year-old groups significantly outperformed the younger groups on test of factual knowledge, he claimed that it was an obvious finding because as you get older you naturally accumulate more knowledge. This student is most clearly exhibiting which of the following?
Responses
A
Hindsight bias
B
Confirmation bias
C
Overconfidence
D
Preoperational thinking
Answer A - The student is exhibiting the “I knew it all along” cognitive bias. After learning the results of the research, he claimed to have known, even though he predicted differently.
Professor Whitmore conducted research to examine changes in cognitive development across the life span. He recruited 400 participants and then grouped them by age. The study included 20-year-olds, 40-year-olds, 60-year-olds, and 80-year-olds (100 in each group). Each group in the study took several different tests. Some of the tests were fact-based and drew upon knowledge from several different areas. Other tests required participants to solve new problems as quickly as they could.
Dr. Whitmore’s research design is best classified as which of the following?
Responses
A
Longitudinal
B
Cross-sectional
C
Experimental
D
Case study
Answer B
Correct. The researcher is comparing cohorts from different age groups.
Dr. Norman conducts a study about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses and gender. They gather data from a local college’s admissions and registration department. Within the population of the college, 52% identified as female, 45% identified as male, and the remaining identified as “nonbinary, other, or prefer not to say.” Additionally, of the students registered as majors in STEM subjects, 34% identified as female, 59% identified as male, and the remainder identified as “nonbinary, other, or preferred not to say.”
Based on the data presented in this scenario, which of the following is a hypothesis for Dr. Norman’s research?
Responses
A
“Does gender effect success in college STEM courses?”
B
“Is there a relationship between gender and registration for college STEM majors?”
C
“Do college admissions practices cause females to drop out of STEM courses?”
D
“Does gender affect drop-out rates in college?”
Answer B - The data reflects a correlational design to show the relationship between gender identity and registration for college STEM majors.
Marjorie’s little brother tends to bother her when he is bored. Marjorie wants to figure out which toy will keep her brother occupied the longest so he will not bother her. She conducts a study where each day at 6 P.M. for a week she gives her brother a different toy and on one of the days she gives him no toys to play with. She measures the amount of time he spends playing with each toy before he comes to bother her. Which of the following is the independent variable in this example?
Responses
A
Time of day
B
Amount of time playing
C
Type of toy
D
The little brother
Answer C - The type of toy is the variable being manipulated in this study.
To explore the concept of the “imaginary audience,” a researcher gave the Imaginary Audience Scale to 6th, 8th, and 10th graders who visited a local shopping mall during one weekend in June. The results indicated that students in 10th grade had the lowest ratings on the scale and concluded that the “imaginary audience” does not apply to students beyond the 8th grade. For the researcher to generalize this research, what would he need to do differently?
Responses
A
He would need to randomly assign the students to the experimental and control conditions.
B
He would need to test more kids from each grade level.
C
He would need to obtain a random sample of participants from each of the three grade levels.
D
He would need to manipulate an independent variable, which he is not doing in the current design.
Answer C - To generalize results, the researcher would need a random sample of subjects. This sample is limited and doesn’t represent all individuals from these grade levels.
Researchers hypothesize that the older a baby is when it begins to crawl, the longer it will take the baby to stop exhibiting earlier rocking behaviors. The researchers go into the infant room of a day care center every day for six weeks. Every time a baby rocks, the researchers record it. They document which babies are already crawlers and at what age each started crawling. What will help the researchers with their investigation?
Responses
A
Surveying 100 parents about prenatal care
B
Their knowledge that babies develop fine motor skills before they develop gross motor skills
C
Their knowledge that rocking behavior develops before crawling behavior and that rocking behavior eventually goes away once crawling behavior begins
D
Randomly assigning the babies to the crawling versus not-crawling conditions
Answer C - Correct. This is factual knowledge, which could lead researchers to develop such a study.
Dr. Arthur conducted a correlational study to determine the relationship between parental approval and preference for gender-congruent toys. She interviewed 40 sets of parents about the types of toys their child plays with and the parents’ preferences for these toys. Later, she interviewed each of the 92 children over the age of four about which toys they preferred. Dr. Arthur determined that there was a predicable relationship between the toys the children preferred and the toys the parents preferred.
Which of the following is a variable of interest in this study?
Responses
A
The types of toys the children played with
B
40 sets of parents
C
Parental approval
D
92 children above the age of four
Answer C - Parental approval is a variable of interest in this study.
Researchers created a study to try to assess the extent to which 2-year-old children could detect emotion in telegraphic speech coming from adults. Children would be exposed to neutral phrases, happy phrases, and angry phrases. Which of the following statements about ethical guidelines is accurate for this study?
Responses
A
This research is unethical because the children may be uncomfortable with the different phrases.
B
The researchers will first need to obtain informed consent from the parents of each child.
C
The researchers will need to attempt to debrief the children prior to beginning the study.
D
The study is flawed because researchers would not be able to maintain the confidentiality of the participants.
Answer B - Because the research is with children, the parents would need to be fully informed of the procedure and then give consent for their child to participate.
By age six months, infants from different countries in the world will distinguish hearing a change in small units of sound. For example, in one study, when six-month old babies hear the RRR sound change to an LLL sound, they sucked faster on a special pacifier that measured their rate of sucking. By twelve months, however, Japanese children no longer distinguish these sounds since culturally, they are not exposed to them.
Which of the following terms were researchers studying on a cross-cultural level?
Responses
A
Morpheme
B
Semantics
C
Phoneme
D
Syntax
Answer C - Phonemes are small units of sound like the sound of RRR or the sound of LLL.
Maria is a thirteen year old child born with deafness to parents who can hear and who also live in a remote, rural area. Since birth, her parents have provided love, nourishment, educationally enriching toys, and developed their own hand signals to communicate with her about basic necessities. However, Maria did not begin to learn sign language until she was twelve and the family moved to a city and encountered members of a deaf community. Maria has found it very difficult to learn sign language, no matter what her instructors try. Which of the follow concepts best explains Maria’s difficulty learning sign language?
Responses
A
Latent learning
B
A sensitive period
C
Cognitive dissonance
D
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Answer B - A sensitive or critical period refers to a window of time in which learning most easily takes place before a narrowing of learning ability.
A researcher studied the impact of early childhood education on disadvantaged children. Half of the children were randomly assigned to receive high-quality preschool, while the other half received no opportunity to attend preschool. The study collected extensive data on the children from the study until they reached age 40. The researchers were able to conclude that high-quality preschool positively affected education, socioeconomic status, crime prevention, family dynamics, and health.
Which of the following best describes the research methodology used?
Responses
A
Naturalistic observation
B
Meta-analysis
C
Cross-sectional correlational study
D
Longitudinal experiment
Answer D - The study used a longitudinal experiment by following children over roughly 35 years to study the effects of preschool education. The children were randomly assigned to the preschool and non-preschool groups.
Researchers conducted a study to investigate whether problem-solving abilities declined as subjects got older. They gave a large random sample of 20-year-old subjects a test with various problem-solving tasks. For the next 40 years, the researchers followed up every five years with the subjects and had them complete additional tests to gauge their problem-solving abilities. Which of the following is the most accurate statement regarding this research?
Responses
A
This study will allow researchers to determine whether age causes a decline in problem-solving abilities.
B
This study will provide correlational results.
C
This study cannot be generalized because there are too few participants.
D
This study is experimental because the subjects were randomly assigned to a control or experimental condition.
Answer B - This study will reveal the degree to which the two variables are related.
Professor Wapner conducted research to explore the extent to which elements of a subject’s macrosystem are linked to a person’s level of self-esteem. He gathered responses from several different cultures and compared the various macrosystems to the subject ratings of self-esteem. Which of the following research methods is Professor Wapner using?
Responses
A
Correlational
B
Experimental
C
Case study
D
Naturalistic observation
Answer A - This study would show the correlation between a various macrosystems and self-esteem.
Annette, who lives in the United States, experienced menarche at age ten, while her great-grandmother experienced it at age fourteen. Which of the following most likely explains the difference between the age that Annette and the age that her great-grandmother experienced menarche?
Responses
A
Annette’s great-grandmother lived in a rural area, while Annette lives in a city.
B
Annette has better nutrition and medical care than her great-grandmother did.
C
Annette is the youngest child in her family, while her great-grandmother was the oldest child in her family.
D
Annette has more peers of the same age than her great-grandmother did.
Answer B - Most psychologists believe that the age of menarche is getting younger because of better nutrition and medical care.
Dr. Shirah believes irritable infants grow up to be irritable adults. Which of the following best represents Dr. Shirah’s beliefs?
Responses
A
Nurture view
B
Nature view
C
Discontinuity position
D
Cross-sectional study
Answer B - A nature view reflects the enduring effects of genetics.
To study the effects of smoking on sense of smell, a researcher would most likely conduct a
Responses
A
longitudinal study on 200 smokers to determine whether their sense of smell improved over time
B
longitudinal study on 100 smokers and a matched sample of 100 nonsmokers to determine whether the smokers’ sense of smell declined more over time than the nonsmokers’ did
C
cross-sectional study of 100 nonsmokers to determine whether nonsmokers’ sense of smell improved with age
D
cross-sectional study on 200 smokers to determine whether smokers’ sense of smell stayed the same over time
Answer B - By conducting a longitudinal study comparing sense of smell in smokers and a matched sample of nonsmokers, a researcher can differentiate the decline in smell due to age or other factors and the decline due to smoking.
In homes where parents do not use correct grammar, their children tend to make more grammatical errors. Which of the following concepts identifies a type of error children might make?
Responses
A
Telegraphic speech
B
Babbling
C
Overgeneralization
D
Non-verbal manual gestures
Answer C - Overgeneralization occurs when children extend regular grammatical patterns to irregular words, such as adding “ed” to throw to make the past tense.
Anthony is an adolescent who has a pimple on his cheek and thinks everyone is looking at it. Which of the following best explains what Anthony is experiencing?
Responses
A
The personal fable phenomenon
B
The imaginary audience phenomenon
C
Identity foreclosure
D
Identity diffusion
Answer B - Imaginary audience is the belief adolescents hold that everyone is as attentive to their looks and behaviors as they are.
A researcher studied 30 people ages twenty to forty, 30 people ages forty-one to sixty, and 30 people ages sixty-one to eighty. The researcher set up two rooms—one with a faint rose smell, and one with a faint lemon smell. Each participant was asked to enter each room and identify the smell in the room. What research method did the researcher use, and what outcome would be found?
Responses
A
Cross-sectional. As people age, their sense of smell diminishes, especially in older age.
B
Cross-sectional. Middle-aged people have the strongest sense of smell.
C
Cross-sectional. No conclusions can be made because cause and effect cannot be inferred.
D
Longitudinal. As people age, their sense of smell diminishes, especially in older age.
Cross-sectional. As people age, their sense of smell diminishes, especially in older age.
A researcher explored the importance of comfort in newborn rhesus monkeys. The researcher separated infant monkeys from their biological mothers and introduced them to two inanimate surrogate mothers. One surrogate mother was constructed of wire and had a milk bottle attached to it, and the second was covered in soft cloth but did not have a milk bottle attached to it. The baby monkeys spent almost all of their time on the soft cloth mother and only went to the wire monkey to eat.
In this experiment, what is the dependent variable?
Responses
A
The wire surrogate with milk.
B
The soft cloth surrogate without milk.
C
The amount of time the infants were separated from their biological mothers.
D
The amount of time the infant spent with each surrogate mother.
Answer D - The variable being measured is how much time the infant spent with each surrogate mother.
Dr. Lawrence conducts a survey to gather information about socialization of gender roles. As part of the section on demographics, Dr. Lawrence asks the following question.
Which gender identity do you identify with?
Female
Male
Not sure
All of the above
Why might it be better for Dr. Lawrence to use an open-ended questionnaire rather than multiple choice when asking this question?
Responses
A
There is little difference between these options; therefore, participants will not be able to select just one option.
B
The survey does not provide an option to select one’s chromosomal sex as XX or XY.
C
The three options provided are too limiting and will not allow for other response options participants can use to self-report.
D
This question does not include the option to describe one’s sexual orientation.
Answer C - The four options presented to not offer the opportunity for all gender identities to be honestly reported as part of the data.
Which of the following scenarios best describes the relationship between temperament and child-parent relationships?
Responses
A
Garrett’s parents reward him for having an easy temperament, so he remains an easy child.
B
Stanley has an easy temperament, which has made him more sensitive to differences in parenting.
C
Fred has a slow-to-warm-up temperament, which has led his parents to be distant with him.
D
Sammy has a difficult temperament, but his parents love and care for him anyway.
Answer D - Research indicates that the parents of difficult children are usually as loving and caring with their children as parents of easy children are.
Researchers were interested in seeing how quickly toddlers learned how to play with a new toy while interacting with one of their caregivers. They documented the number of interactions between toddlers and caregivers as they learned to play with the new toy. The researchers noted that caregivers from different cultures varied in the number of verbal statements spoken to the children to explain how to play with the toy.
Which of the following concepts best describes the topic of the research study?
Responses
A
Zone of proximal development
B
Theory of mind
C
Conservation
D
Object permanence
Answer A - Vygotsky believed children are social learners who learn through interacting with other people within sociocultural contexts. Ideally, learning occurs while the person is in their zone of proximal development – the space where guidance is needed from more knowledgeable others (caregivers).
Dr. Belzer documented the behaviors of parents with their children at a local restaurant. She looked for specific examples of permissive, authoritarian, and authoritative parenting styles.
Which of the following best describes the method of research used by Dr. Belzer?
Responses
A
Experiment
B
Case Study
C
Meta-analysis
D
Naturalistic Observation
Answer D - The researcher observed and took notes of behaviors in natural settings
Students who have faced many obstacles in educational settings were asked to participate in a study that required that they take a test. Many of the students scored poorly on the test. Which of the following ethical issues arises because the students feel that their low test scores are reflective of their abilities, rather than their circumstances?
Responses
A
Anonymity
B
Right to withdraw
C
Debriefing
D
Risk to participants
Answer D - A negative self-perception based on the test score can lead to low self-esteem and self-image and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Risk to well-being is increased.
Professor Belvedere wants to help her anatomy students memorize the names of different parts of the body. Which of the following techniques will best help her students?
Responses
A
Teaching them a rhyme for each word
B
Asking them questions about the meaning of each word
C
Writing the words in different colors and having the students think about the color that each word is printed in
D
Having them write sentences where each word of the sentence starts with the same letter as one of the parts of the body
Answer B - Craik and Tulving found that elaborative encoding, in which the learner thinks about the meaning of the thing to be memorized, is most effective.
Researchers were interested in whether there is a correlation between binocular cues and depth perception. Which of the following would be an operational definition of depth perception?
Responses
A
How far someone can see objects clearly
B
Whether people can tell how far away something is
C
How far away a research assistant stands from the participant
D
How many times a person accurately judges the distance of an object
Answer D
Correct. This presents a measurable definition of depth perception.
Alumni of a small high school where everyone knew each other were tracked down twenty years after their high school graduation. Alumni were shown photographs of other individuals they graduated with. First, they were asked if they recognized the person in the photograph. Participants responded “yes” 75% of the time. Next, they were asked if they knew the person’s name. Participants could only correctly name the person in the photograph 25% of the time. Which of the following is the dependent variable in the recall condition?
Responses
A
How the question was asked
B
The percentage of people identified by name
C
The number of “yes” responses to the recognition question.
D
How well they knew the individuals in the study.
Answer B - The dependent variable is the outcome or what is measured in a study. The percentage of people identified by name is the dependent variable for the recall condition
Dr. Lofter is a professor of cognitive psychology at a university. He has been collecting data from student performances on tests throughout the school year. Every other test is formatted as either a fill-in-the-blank test, which relies on recall, or a multiple-choice test, which relies more on recognition. At the end of the year, Dr Lofter publishes the research findings in a journal on cognitive sciences showing how students perform better on recognition tests than recall tests. Which of the following ethical violations did Dr. Lofter commit?
Responses
A
Dr. Lofter’s students did not give informed consent to be a part of the research.
B
Dr. Lofter did not protect his students from harm.
C
Dr. Lofter did not give any other researchers an opportunity to replicate the study.
D
Dr. Lofter should never use their own students as research subjects.
Answer A - The students were being used to collect data without their informed consent.
Memory researchers want to determine if using a mnemonic device will prevent participants from forgetting information. They present a list of nonsense syllables to participants that have been randomly divided into two different groups. One group is instructed to use an assigned mnemonic device to remember the words while the other group is instructed to just try to recall the words without using any memory aid. Participants are then asked to recall the nonsense syllables after one hour, one day, and one week. Which of the following research designs best describes this research?
Responses
A
Case Study
B
Naturalistic Observation
C
Experiment
D
Correlational Study
Answer C - The study has an independent variable (use of a mnemonic device), a control condition (no mnemonic device), and random assignment to groups, which are all the components of an experiment.
A corporation created what they referred to as an “intelligence assessment” to give to people who are applying for jobs with their company, which sells medical equipment. The assessment asked questions about popular culture, sports, and historical events that occurred in the United States. Which of the following might explain why the assessment results did not give the company a diverse pool of final candidates?
Responses
A
The assessment lacked reliability by only asking about United States cultural and historic topics.
B
The assessment lacked validity by only asking about United States cultural and historic topics.
C
The assessment lacked standardization by only asking about United States cultural and historic topics.
D
The assessment lacked metacognition by only asking about United States cultural and historic topics.
Answer B - Validity refers to how well an assessment measures what it is supposed to measure. The assessment only asked about United States cultural and historic topics, so the assessment will only likely identify people familiar with United States’ culture
Dr. Shay is designing a research study to demonstrate the serial position effect. They asked 10 of their friends to volunteer as participants in the study. Half of the participants were randomly assigned Group A and shown eight random words on a computer screen. After viewing the words, members of Group A were asked to recall as many words as possible. The other half of the students randomly assigned to Group B also viewed a set of eight random words. After viewing the words, students in Group B were asked to count backwards from one hundred, in increments of 3, before recalling any of the words. What is the design flaw of this study?
Responses
A
Group B will recall fewer words than Group A.
B
The participants in the study were not randomly selected.
C
None of the participants gave consent to participate in the study.
D
Both groups are likely to recall the first and last few words of the list better than they recall the words in the middle.
Answer B - Dr. Shay asked their friends to participate in the study. Their friends may not be an accurate representation of the population to which the results will be generalized.
Which of the following scenarios is an example of retroactive interference?
Responses
A
After a car accident, Serena can no longer form new memories, though she can still remember things that happened before the accident.
B
Alexis believes that because she has played the lottery many times without winning, she is more likely to win than someone who has never played before.
C
Carl tries to remember the name of his first boss, but he cannot because he keeps thinking of the name of his current boss.
D
Raj just bought a new phone and keeps trying to turn it on by pushing the wrong button because the button is in the place where the on button was on his old phone.
Answer C - Retroactive interference occurs when new information (the name of Carl’s current boss) interferes with recalling old information (the name of Carl’s first boss).
Dr. Hayes is studying people’s memories. She had a group of randomly selected participants learn a list of dates related to historical events. Group 1 had to recall the dates without any cues, and Group 2 was given a one-word cue to help them with their recall of the dates. Dr. Hayes then asked the participants to rank how strongly they agreed with the following statement: How confident are you that you remembered the dates accurately? Participants were given a range of numbers to choose from to rank their level of agreement, from 1 meaning they were not confident at all to 5 meaning they were absolutely confident. Which of the following measurement tools was Dr. Hayes using in this study?
Responses
A
Structured interview
B
Standard deviation
C
Correlation coefficient
D
Likert scale
Answer D - A Likert scale is a tool that asks participants to rank their agreement to a statement using a range of numbers.
When Gustavo goes through lists of inventory items and thinks about whether each one is a fruit or not, he remembers more of the items on those lists later than when he goes through lists of inventory items and does not think about what each item is. Which of the following concepts best explains Gustavo’s performance?
Responses
A
Sensory memory, because he is activating information about his sensory experiences of fruit.
B
The spacing effect, because he is going through the list multiple times.
C
Elaborative encoding, because engaging in deeper processing improves memory.
D
Highly superior autobiographical memory, because Gustavo can remember vivid details for any day of his life.
Answer C
Correct. Elaborative encoding, or engaging with the word to be remembered on a deeper level (for example, by considering what the word means), leads to better learning than not attending to the meaning at all.
Mary has an IQ score within one standard deviation above the mean score. This indicates her score is best described as having which of the following qualities?
Responses
A
high enough for Mary to be considered a genius
B
higher than at least 75% of people who took the test
C
within the middle 68% of people who took the test
D
higher than exactly 93% of people who took the test
Answer C - About 34% of people score between the mean and one standard deviation below the mean, and about 34% of people score between the mean and one standard deviation above the mean.
A psychologist was interested in how people of different cultures choose a pet. They posted on social media a question that asked people to respond with what kind of animal would make a good pet. Which of the following psychological concepts would best characterize what the psychologist was examining?
Responses
A
Algorithms
B
Heuristics
C
Schemas
D
Episodic memories
Answer C - Schemas are mental frameworks for how people think about the world. The researcher is examining people’s schemas about pets.
Shayna is chronically tired and decides to record how many hours of sleep she is getting. Her data for the last ten nights include the following estimated hours: 8, 8, 8, 4, 6, 3, 6, 10, 6, 5. What number represents the median value?
Responses
A
10
B
6
C
8
D
7
Answer B - The middle of the rank-ordered values is 6.
Samantha experienced a traumatic brain injury and afterward began to exhibit bizarre symptoms that no one had ever documented before. The best research method to study Samantha would be
Responses
A
an experiment
B
a correlational study
C
a case study
D
naturalistic observation
Answer C - Samantha’s sym
Dr. Copeland is interested in studying how diet impacts the nervous system activity of professional dancers. She randomly assigns a group of professional ballet dancers to either a protein-rich diet or a carbohydrate-rich diet. After three weeks on each food plan, she measures the function of specific parts of the brain and nervous systems while they are dancing.
Which of the following is true about Dr. Copeland’s study?
Responses
A
Dr. Copeland is conducting an experiment.
B
Dr. Copeland is conducting a case study.
C
Dr. Copeland is using meta-analysis to test her hypothesis.
D
Dr. Copeland is using a correlational method.
Answer A - Dr. Copeland has randomly assigned participants to two experimental conditions (protein-rich and carbohydrate-rich).
Dr. Copeland is interested in studying how diet impacts the nervous system activity of professional dancers. She randomly assigns a group of professional ballet dancers to either a protein-rich diet or a carbohydrate-rich diet. After three weeks on each food plan, she measures the function of specific parts of the brain and nervous systems while they are dancing.
Dr. Copeland found that ballet dancers on a carbohydrate-rich diet had greater activity levels in the somatic nervous system. Which is a prediction that can be made from these findings?
Responses
A
The nervous system activation of untrained dancers on carbohydrate-rich diets would be similar.
B
The nervous system activation for any other type of dancers on carbohydrate-rich diets would be similar.
C
The dancers will make fewer mistakes on the carbohydrate-rich diet.
D
The dancers will make fewer mistakes on the protein-rich diet.
Answer B - These results could be expected again with other types of dancers with similar training and diets.
Dr. Copeland is interested in studying how diet impacts the nervous system activity of professional dancers. She randomly assigns a group of professional ballet dancers to either a protein-rich diet or a carbohydrate-rich diet. After three weeks on each food plan, she measures the function of specific parts of the brain and nervous systems while they are dancing.
Which of the following is most relevant to digesting carbohydrate-rich meals and resting after dance practice?
Responses
A
Reticular activating system
B
Somatic nervous system
C
Parasympathetic nervous system
D
Sympathetic nervous system
Answer C - This part of the nervous system helps calm the body and instigates digestion of food.
Researchers at a local veteran’s hospital wanted to explore the impact of traumatic brain injuries on veteran’s ability to sleep. Which of the following would the researchers use if they wanted to see the brain activity in a particular area of the brain as the veteran’s were sleeping?
Responses
A
EEG
B
Survey
C
fMRI
D
Lesioning
Answer C
Correct. An fMRI measures brain activity in specific parts of the brain.
A manager of a company that makes self-driving cars is interested in showing that self-driving cars cause fewer accidents than traditional cars. She recruited 30 people for her study. After keeping her participants awake for 24 hours straight, she randomly assigned them to either drive a traditional car or a self-driving car. Which of the following is the most significant ethical factor that might influence the approval of this study?
Responses
A
Informed consent
B
Protection from harm
C
Debriefing
D
Confidentiality
Answer B
Correct. The participants have been kept awake for hours which will cause delayed reflexes and slowed thinking needed to drive a car safely.
Dr. Popoca studied the characteristics of individuals experiencing red-green and yellow-blue color vision deficiency. They recruited one individual with each type of color vision deficiency and assessed each person three times per week for a period of three months. They found that all of the participants in their study were left-handed. Following their research, Dr. Popoca concludes that all individuals who experience dichromatism are left-handed. Why is their conclusion inappropriate based on their research strategy?
Responses
A
Dr. Popoca has assumed that correlation implies causation.
B
Dr. Popoca’s study did not include the use of random assignment, therefore they cannot draw a conclusion about the differences between their subjects.
C
Dr. Popoca has conducted a case study, which cannot be generalized to the population.
D
Dr. Popoca has not operationally defined their variables.
Answer C
Correct. Their sample size is only two and results cannot be generalized to the larger population.
Which study is a researcher who wants to draw correct cause-and-effect conclusions about the sense of smell likely to conduct?
Responses
A
A case study in which the researcher records a person’s facial expressions when the person encounters different smells and then determines that when a person smells a good smell, the person smiles.
B
A study in which 50 participants are asked to rate the degree to which different smells evoke happy memories. The researcher then determines which smells are associated with happy memories.
C
A study in which the researcher randomly selects two groups of 30 people and exposes one group to the smell of roses and the other group to the smell of gasoline to determine whether members of the group that smelled roses act nicer to one another afterward.
D
A study in which the researcher randomly assigns 50 people to a group that is exposed to a strong smell of roses and 50 people to a group that experiences an odor-free environment to see whether the group exposed to the strong smell of roses reports experiencing more memories.
Answer D
Correct. An experiment with random assignment and a control group allows the researcher to draw cause-and-effect conclusions, and strong smells do evoke memories from past experiences.
Which of the following biological systems is most likely responsible for an increase in heart rate while experiencing anxiety?
Responses
A
The central nervous system
B
The sympathetic nervous system
C
The parasympathetic nervous system
D
The opponent-process system
Answer B
Correct. The sympathetic nervous system controls the fight-or-flight response, which occurs in response to a perceived threat.
A research study seeks to examine the influence of REM sleep disruption on memory and attention. To investigate this, researchers gather a representative sample of healthy participants ages 18 to 40 years old with no prior history of sleep disorders or psychiatric conditions. They give each participant a baseline cognitive functioning test. The participants are housed in a sleep research lab for the duration of the study where they have their REM sleep disrupted multiple times each night. Following a three-week period of REM sleep disruption, participants will repeat the initial cognitive assessments to evaluate changes in performance. Which of the following research methods is being used in this study?
Responses
A
A naturalistic observation
B
A correlational study
C
An experiment
D
A case study
Answer C
Correct. An experimental study involves manipulation and control over an independent variable (REM sleep) to observe its effect on the dependent variable (cognitive functioning test scores).
Two researchers are interested in the social skills by people with synesthesia to perceive color. Researcher A interviews people with this disorder, and Researcher B creates a survey with a dozen questions that the participants answer using a numeric scale. Which of the following is true about this research scenario?
Responses
A
Both researchers are using qualitative measures.
B
Researcher A is using a quantitative measure.
C
Researcher B is using a qualitative measure.
D
Researcher B is using a quantitative measure.
Answer D
Correct. The numeric ratings that the participants provide are considered a quantitative measure.
eurologists trying to find a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease selected 100 individuals with moderate to severe symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Fifty participants were randomly placed into either an experimental condition that received a new medication that acted as an agonist for acetylcholine or the control condition which continued to receive same care as before. The study lasted for ten weeks at which time members of both groups took a cognitive assessment to determine their level of functioning. Which of the following best explains the operational definition of the dependent variable in this study?
Responses
A
The group that received the new medication.
B
The group that continues with their treatment as before.
C
How the participants were placed into their respective groups.
D
The score on the cognitive assessment.
Answer D
Correct. The dependent variable is the outcome or what is measured in a study, and the operational definition describes how that variable will be measured. The assessment is the measurement tool, and the operational definition is the score.
A sample of pregnant women is given a high dose of caffeine daily to determine if their babies are born with an addiction to caffeine. Which of the following is an ethical issue in this study?
Responses
A
There was no random assignment.
B
Deception is not allowed in psychological research.
C
There is possible long-term harm to the babies.
D
Pregnant women are not a random sample.
Answer C
Correct. It is important that informed consent be obtained from the participants, especially when there is a potential for long-term effects. Also, an IRB would need to review this study to determine if the potential benefit of the study outweighed the risks to the participants.
Dr. Jones conducted a study in which he surveyed participants and compared their reported levels of physical activity to their measures of brain plasticity. Dr. Jones concludes that higher levels of physical activity cause a greater degree of neuroplastic changes in the brain. He plans to publish his findings. What mistake is Dr. Jones making in his research conclusion?
Responses
A
Dr. Jones’s study was correlational, so it cannot generate a causal conclusion.
B
Dr. Jones did not fully debrief participants of his findings at the conclusion of the study.
C
Dr. Jones plans to publish his research findings without peer review.
D
Dr. Jones did not operationally define how he measured levels of physical activity.
Answer A
Correct. This study is correlational; therefore, it cannot generate causal conclusions.
Which of the following studies is from an evolutionary perspective?
Responses
A
A study to see if people who had a more congruent view of their real self and their ideal self were happier
B
A study to see if women were more attracted to men who liked children than men who did not like children
C
A study looking at how biological, psychological, and social factors affect development
D
A study looking at how quickly a variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement leads to extinction resistant behaviors
Answer B
Correct. Evolutionary psychology is concerned with mating strategies, and perceived attractiveness of the opposite sex in relation to their affinity for their children.
A researcher is interested in measuring adrenaline levels in male subjects and then comparing those levels to each participant’s corresponding level of aggression. The researcher takes blood samples from each male participant to identify their adrenaline levels, and then gives each participant a survey that measures aggression. The results of the study indicate that higher levels of adrenaline were associated with higher rates of aggression. Which of the following best describes why the researcher cannot report a causal relationship in this study?
Responses
A
There was no manipulation of an independent variable.
B
The sample was not large enough to be representative.
C
There is no operational definition of aggression.
D
There is no reliable way to measure testosterone in the subjects.
Answer A
Correct. This research is not experimental because there was no manipulation of an independent variable.
Based on its effects on the central nervous system, alcohol can be classified as which of the following concepts?
Responses
A
a hallucinogen
B
a depressant
C
an antagonist
D
a neurotransmitter
Answer B
Correct. Alcohol is a depressant, meaning it has a calming effect on the central nervous system.
The drugs that block the reabsorption of neurotransmitters in the synapse during neural transmission are best identified as which of the following concepts?
Responses
A
reuptake inhibitors
B
antipsychotics
C
antihistamines
D
stimulants
Answer A
Correct. Reuptake inhibitors block the reabsorption of neurotransmitters back into the sending neuron.
Researchers measured changes in neural firing in the frontal lobes for ten rats that were exposed to stimulants. The researchers used an MRI that indicates brain activity with colors. Normal brain activity is indicated by greens and yellows. High brain activity is indicated by reds and oranges. Low brain activity is indicated by grays and blues. All the rat’s brains showed normal activity prior to being exposed to the stimulant.
What type of study was being conducted by the researcher?
Responses
A
Correlational
B
Experiment
C
Case
D
Longitudinal
Answer B
Correct. This study has an independent variable (stimulants) that are manipulated by the researchers and compared to a control measure to determine the effect on a dependent variable (brain activity).
Researchers measured changes in neural firing in the frontal lobes for ten rats that were exposed to stimulants. The researchers used an MRI that indicates brain activity with colors. Normal brain activity is indicated by greens and yellows. High brain activity is indicated by reds and oranges. Low brain activity is indicated by grays and blues. All the rat’s brains showed normal activity prior to being exposed to the stimulant.
What is the operational definition of neural activity in the rats?
Responses
A
The amount of stimulant given to each rat.
B
Random selection of the rats from a large population to be part of the stimulant group.
C
The color presented in the MRI images.
D
The size of the rats’ frontal lobes.
Answer C
Correct. The color in the fMRI is the measurable and observable element of the study being described.
Researchers measured changes in neural firing in the frontal lobes for ten rats that were exposed to stimulants. The researchers used an MRI that indicates brain activity with colors. Normal brain activity is indicated by greens and yellows. High brain activity is indicated by reds and oranges. Low brain activity is indicated by grays and blues. All the rat’s brains showed normal activity prior to being exposed to the stimulant.
Which of the following is a prediction that could be made about the activity of the rats’ brains when exposed to the stimulant?
Responses
A
The MRI will show more greens and yellows when exposed to the stimulants.
B
The MRI will show more blues and grays when exposed to the stimulant.
C
The MRI will show no difference in neural activity.
D
The MRI should show more oranges and reds when exposed to the stimulant.
Answer D
Correct. The stimulant would increase brain activity, which is indicated by oranges and reds.
A small sample of living neural tissue is being studied under a powerful microscope. The researcher notices that some of the neural cells have connections to capillaries and seem to nourish and support the other neural cells. What type of research is being conducted?
Responses
A
Experiment
B
Naturalistic observation
C
Correlational
D
Case study
Answer B
Correct. The researcher is simply observing the behavior of the cells under the microscope without any interference.
The figure shows the myelin sheath, a semipermeable membrane that provides support and helps speed up the action potential in neurons. What condition occurs when the immune system causes the deterioration of the myelin sheath?
Responses
A
Alzheimer’s disease
B
Multiple sclerosis
C
Autism
D
Myasthenia gravis
Answer B
Correct. Deterioration of the myelin sheath is the cause of muscular sclerosis.
A researcher studied rats to determine the effectiveness of a new drug on acetylcholine receptor sites. First, the rats were trained to find a reward at the end of a maze. Next, the rats were randomly assigned to two groups. One group of rats were injected with the new acetylcholine-like drug. The second group of rats were injected with a saline solution. Finally, researchers measured how many mistakes the rats made as they navigated the maze. Which of the following research methods was used by the researchers?
Responses
A
Correlational
B
Experimental
C
Naturalistic observation
D
Case study
Answer B
Correct. The study manipulates an independent variable and measures the dependent variable to determine its effects while using random assignment of subjects into experimental and control groups.
Getting a headache from not having a morning coffee after substantial daily coffee consumption for several months is most likely due to which of the following concepts?
Responses
A
tolerance
B
withdrawal
C
dependence
D
accommodation
Answer B
Correct. After becoming dependent on a drug, abstaining from that drug can cause unpleasant physiological symptoms.
Below is a transcript of a case study about an individual named Arjun.
Arjun was diagnosed with epilepsy and struggled with seizures regularly. After trying multiple unsuccessful treatments, his neurologist recommended surgery that severed the connections between the two hemispheres of the brain. Arjun agreed to the surgery.
After surgery, Arjun experienced changes that were noticed during special testing in a laboratory setting by a researcher. In the laboratory, psychologists flashed different images or words to his left and right visual fields. Arjun could easily speak the names of items that were flashed to his right visual field. He could not easily speak the names of items that were flashed to this left visual field. Arjun was studied by a researcher for many years, and his experiences went unchanged. The researcher published the research with Arjun where he shared Arjun’s experience and his first and last name.
Which of the following parts of the brain was severed to address Arjun’s epileptic seizures?
Responses
A
Amygdala
B
Cerebellum
C
Corpus Callosum
D
Medulla
Answer C
Correct. The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the brain.
Below is a transcript of a case study about an individual named Arjun.
Arjun was diagnosed with epilepsy and struggled with seizures regularly. After trying multiple unsuccessful treatments, his neurologist recommended surgery that severed the connections between the two hemispheres of the brain. Arjun agreed to the surgery.
After surgery, Arjun experienced changes that were noticed during special testing in a laboratory setting by a researcher. In the laboratory, psychologists flashed different images or words to his left and right visual fields. Arjun could easily speak the names of items that were flashed to his right visual field. He could not easily speak the names of items that were flashed to this left visual field. Arjun was studied by a researcher for many years, and his experiences went unchanged. The researcher published the research with Arjun where he shared Arjun’s experience and his first and last name.
Which of the following parts of the brain allowed Arjun to speak the names of the items flashed to his right visual field?
Responses
A
Hypothalamus
B
Hippocampus
C
Primary visual cortex
D
Broca’s Area
Answer D
Correct. Broca’s area is in the left frontal lobe and assists in speech production.
Below is a transcript of a case study about an individual named Arjun.
Arjun was diagnosed with epilepsy and struggled with seizures regularly. After trying multiple unsuccessful treatments, his neurologist recommended surgery that severed the connections between the two hemispheres of the brain. Arjun agreed to the surgery.
After surgery, Arjun experienced changes that were noticed during special testing in a laboratory setting by a researcher. In the laboratory, psychologists flashed different images or words to his left and right visual fields. Arjun could easily speak the names of items that were flashed to his right visual field. He could not easily speak the names of items that were flashed to this left visual field. Arjun was studied by a researcher for many years, and his experiences went unchanged. The researcher published the research with Arjun where he shared Arjun’s experience and his first and last name.
Which of the following ethical procedures did the researcher neglect when they published the research with Arjun?
Responses
A
Confidentiality
B
Informed consent
C
Deception
D
Sampling bias
Answer A
Correct. The researcher shared Arjun’s full name in the journals where he shared his research.
Much of the research regarding the function of brain areas has been gathered from case studies of individuals with brain injury or disease. Which of the following identifies a reason for this?
Responses
A
Quantitative research studies cannot demonstrate cause and effect between variables.
B
The independent variable in an experiment would inflict brain injury, which is unethical.
C
There would be no relationship between an injured area of the brain and the functioning of that respective area.
D
It is not possible to find enough participants to conduct a proper qualitative research study.
Answer B
Correct. An experiment involves manipulation of an independent variable and random assignment to groups. Researchers cannot intentionally cause harm to participants.
Which of the following activities most directly relies on the hippocampus?
Responses
A
Remembering events specific to one’s life
B
Memorizing the layout of a neighborhood
C
Using short-term memory to recreate a picture when drawing a copy of the picture
D
Rehearsing a fact to remember it for a short period of time
Answer B
Correct. The hippocampus is most involved in creating cognitive maps (such as a layout of a new neighborhood).
Professor Janeja is studying which brain regions are involved in learning to correctly navigate a maze task. She randomly assigns half of a group of mice to get a lesion in one area of the brain. The other half does not get a lesion. Based on the following graph, where in the brain is the most likely site of the lesion?
The figure shows a bar graph. The vertical axis is labeled “Accuracy,” and the numbers through 100, in increments of 20, are indicated. Two categories are indicated on the horizontal axis. Each category has one bar. The data represented by the bar are as follows. Note that all values are approximate. Mice with a Lesion, 5. Mice without a Lesion, 100.
Responses
A
The hippocampus
B
Wernicke’s area
C
The thalamus
D
The pons
Answer A
Correct. The hippocampus is associated with spatial learning and navigation, so lesioning it would cause difficulties with navigation.
Which of the following best describes a major role of the thalamus?
Responses
A
It regulates body temperature.
B
It regulates hunger.
C
It regulates the autonomic nervous system.
D
It relays most sensory signals to the cortex.
Answer D
Correct. All sensory signals, except for olfactory signals, reach the cortex by first passing through the thalamus.
A researcher discovered a chemical compound that seems to slow down the heart rate of monkeys by targeting an area of the medulla. The researcher believes that the compound could help reduce the symptoms associated with panic disorder. Which of the following is the appropriate next step for the researcher to take after developing the compound into a new drug?
Responses
A
Immediately begin giving the drug to humans to test its effects.
B
Publish the findings in an appropriate journal and see if the results can be replicated.
C
Report the findings to a reputable pharmaceutical company to apply for a patent.
D
Apply to an institutional review board (IRB) to begin animal trials for the drug.
Answer D
Correct. This is the first step in testing a new drug for its effectiveness for treating panic disorder symptoms.
The parietal lobe is most involved in which of the following processes?
Responses
A
processing sensory information
B
storing information in long-term memory
C
coordinating complex motor movements
D
regulating emotions
Answer A
Correct. The parietal lobe processes and integrates sensory information, including taste, hearing, sight, touch, and smell.
Researchers conducted an experiment on baboons by inserting a wire into the reticular activating system (RAS) that produced a mild electrical current. The researchers stimulated the RAS while the baboons were performing different tasks. Which of the following operational definitions would be most easily replicated by other researchers trying to duplicate the experiment?
Responses
A
The baboons were observed to see if they were more awake after they had the RAS stimulated.
B
The baboons’ heart rates were measured by a monitor attached to their chest before and after the RAS was stimulated.
C
The baboons enjoyed a food reward after the mild electrical current was experienced.
D
The baboons were observed to see if they were more aggressive after having the RAS stimulated.
Answer B
Correct. The variable of a heart rate difference before and after the RAS stimulation has data that could be compared if the experiment were replicated.
Which of the following is a testable hypothesis using operational definitions about people who have undergone split-brain surgery to help control severe epilepsy?
Responses
A
Split-brain patients will not be able to name an object placed in their left visual field.
B
Split-brain patients will no longer appreciate art following the surgery.
C
Split-brain patients will have very vivid dreams following the surgery.
D
Split-brain patients will be more amused by jokes following the surgery.
Answer A
Correct. The wording of this hypothesis has a specific measurable variable that can be observed.
