Psyc Midterm1 Flashcards
When students begin to read through their introductory psychology textbook, they are often surprised to learn that
a. common-sense explanations abound in the field of psychology.
b. many of their beliefs about the causes of thoughts and behaviours are incorrect.
c. psychology is a unique field of study separate from philosophy and biology.
d. psychologists do not study people’s everyday behaviours.
b. many of their beliefs about the causes of thoughts and behaviours are incorrect.
Trying to explain complex human behaviours, like violence, in terms of one causal factor, such as genes or video games, fails to acknowledge that
a. biological roots to behaviour are more important than other causes.
b. actions are multiply determined.
c. individual differences prevent us from making any conclusions.
d. behaviour is always reciprocally determined.
b. actions are multiply determined.
Professor Smith told one class that alcohol consumption has been found to increase sexual desire. He informed another class that alcohol consumption has been found to reduce sexual appetite. The fact that neither class was surprised by the information they received best illustrates:
a. How psychology findings are common sense.
b. the hindsight bias.
c. The need for replications.
d. belief perseverance.
The hindsight bias
Milo and Shirley are taking a trip on a cruise ship for their twentieth wedding anniversary. They believe they made it to this milestone because they know each other so well. During the trip, they take part in a game show where they find out they don’t know each other as well as they thought. However, they still maintain they are very much in tune with the other’s needs and thoughts. This is an example of
a. the representativeness heuristic.
b. the hindsight bias.
c. belief perseverance.
d. the availability heuristic.
belief perseverance.
When attempting to differentiate between useful and useless information from popular psychology, what is a good rule of thumb to follow?
a. Trust nothing that you read or hear in the media about psychology.
b. Insist on evidence to accurately evaluate all claims.
c. All popular psychology claims are misinformation.
d. Common sense is often correct; go with your gut.
Insist on evidence to accurately evaluate all claims.
A major problem with common-sense proverbs is that they often coexist with their complete opposite. This violates which principle of critical thinking?
a. Replicability
b. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence
c. Parsimony/Occam’s razor
d. Falsifiability
Falsifiability
When people watch a debate, they often point outthe internal contradictions, flaws in logic, and hypocrisy in positions they oppose while glossing over the same shortcomings for positions they support. This is an example of
a. an illusory correlation.
b. the hindsight bias.
c. the confirmation bias.
d. belief perseverance
the confirmation bias
In research reports, we often see the terms “suggests,” “appears,” or “raises the possibility that” a finding is correct but also acknowledges that we might be incorrect. The authors of your textbook refer to this as
a. naive realism.
b. a prescription for humility.
c. falsifiability.
d. Occam’s razor
a prescription for humility.
Dr. Boliba develops a herbal supplement that he claims increases memory abilities. However, many other researchers have been unable to replicate his findings and report that placebo pills are just as effective as his herbal supplement. In response to these criticisms, Dr. Boliba argues that his pills increase specific types of memory that were not tested by researchers and that the participants must have performed poorly in other studies because they were concerned about taking a drug. In this example, which warning sign of pseudoscience are you witnessing?
a. Ad hoc immunizing
b. Exaggerated claims
c. Overreliance on anecdotes
d. Evasion of peer review
Ad hoc immunizing hypothesis
What is one take-home message from the discussion of autism and facilitated communication?
a. The scientific method is not an effective means for finding solutions for persons who live with autism and other psychological disorders.
b. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, some people won’t abandon their erroneous beliefs.
c. Autistic children want to communicate with their parents but need someone to facilitate the process.
d. Psychological research is dangerous because it allows anyone to find support for any idea or opinion
Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, some people won’t abandon their erroneous beliefs.
Sahar attended a workshop on how crystals have healing power, can eliminate “blood sludge,” and cure mental illness. The workshop facilitator presented clinical observations of several patients to demonstrate the effectiveness of crystals. What should Sahar keep in mind here?
a. In the absence of systematic research, clinical observations are not sufficient evidence for their effectiveness.
b. Clinical observations are a powerful source of evidence and demonstrate treatment effectiveness.
c. Patients’ own reports that crystals cured their cancer or depression provide empirical evidence of their effectiveness.
d. The workshop facilitator appears credible, so his claims must be true
In the absence of systematic research, clinical observations are not sufficient evidence for their effectiveness
A group of student researchers divide up the different times and buildings on their campus to attempt to determine when people will hold a door open for another person. These student researchers are most likely to use which research method design when conducting their study?
a. Correlational design
b. Experimental design
c. Case study design
d. Naturalistic observation design
Naturalistic observation design
Dr. Didus has diagnosed a patient with dissociative identity disorder (DID), a very rare type of dissociative disorder. He observes the behaviour of his patient and her alter personalities and discovers that every time he asks her about sexual experiences, an alter that is a male takes over as the dominant personality. Based on his case study, what can Dr. Didus conclude about DID in general?
a. Patients with DID cannot cope with discussing uncomfortable experiences.
b. Sexual experiences are linked with the presence of alter experiences.
c. Opposite gender personalities take over to protect the host personality when talking about sex.
d. No conclusions can be drawn about DID without systematic research on this population.
No conclusions can be drawn about DID without systematic research on this population.
- A key disadvantage to self-report measures is that:
a. they are less effective than experiments in accurately predicting peoples’ behaviour.
b. respondents are not always honest in their answers.
c. observing behaviour leads to changes in behaviour.
d. demand characteristics can bias participants’ answers
respondents are not always honest in their answers.
If you are interested in examining the relationship between the number of class days missed and one’s subsequent semester grade point average, you would be best served to use a(n) __________ to study this question.
a. experimental design
b. naturalistic observation design
c. case study design
d. correlational design
correlational design
Which of the following correlations represents the weakest degree of relation between two variables?
a. Daily calcium intake and bone mass density, r = +.11
b. Number of cigarettes smoked per day and incidence of lung cancer, r = +.39
c. Degree of exposure to lead and IQ scores in children, r = –.12
d. Hours of exposure to media violence and aggressive behaviour, r = +.31
a. Daily calcium intake and bone mass density, r = +.11
