1. In a laboratory, smokers are asked to drive using a computerized driving simulator. They are asked to cover the maximum distance possible, while avoiding rear-end collisions. Some volunteers are given a real cigarette to smoke immediately before the test. Others are given a fake cigarette without nicotine. The number of collisions the two groups make will be compared. In this study, the cigarette without nicotine is a(n):
A. dependent variable.
B. placebo.
C. double-blind procedure.
D. hypothesis.
2. Which of these is a type of inferential statistic?
A. Median
B. Significance test
C. Arithmetic mean
D. Standard deviations
3. Why are experiments generally more valuable than other research methods?
A. They are always double-blind.
B. They can determine correlations among ideas.
C. They require informed consent by participants.
D. They allow a determination of cause-effect relationships.
4. Which of the following is critical in testing new drugs because of the optimism that the new drugs may create in the minds of the users?
A. Standardization
B. Small sample sizing
C. Laboratory observation
D. Use of a placebo
5. Which statement about a hypothesis is true?
A. It is a sentence negating the assumption that is considered correct by a researcher.
B. It is a theory that has not yet been accepted by most scientists.
C. It is a statement about a relationship between variables that may be empirically tested.
D. It is a precise definition of a term used in a theory.
6. __________ are fake treatments or inactive substances used as a control in an experiment.
A. Double-blinds
B. Alternative medicines
C. Clinical trials
D. Placebos
7. In an experimental situation, what is true of the independent variable?
A. It is a placebo.
B. It is measured.
C. It is held constant.
D. It is manipulated.
8. An experiment is conducted to test a new antianxiety drug. After taking the drug, 35 percent of the participants receiving the medication report decreased anxiety, compared to 36 percent of those taking the placebo. Which conclusion should the researchers make?
A. The research participants knew which group they were in.
B. The drug itself probably has no real effect on anxiety.
C. The drug may have led to an increase in anxiety.
D. The research participants need a more effective anxiety treatment.
9. In the cycle of scientific research, a theory is __________ when new evidence is gathered.
A. proven
B. replaced
C. revised
D. legalized
10. A statement that attempts to predict or account for a set of phenomena is called a(n):
A. hypothesis.
B. axiom.
C. corollary.
D. theory.
11. Which of these is now required as a result of controversy over the use of deception in research?
A. The APA now no longer sanctions the use of deception.
B. Researchers are required to debrief participants when deception is used.
C. Deceived participants must be offered therapy free of charge if requested.
D. Deception is allowed only if the participants are volunteers.
12. In the scientific use of the term, a "theory" is a(n):
A. prediction about the outcome of a given experiment or study.
B. organized system of assumptions and principles that claims to explain a set of observations and how they are related.
C. precise definition of a term in a hypothesis, which specifies how it will be observed and measured.
D. scientist's best guess about the cause of an event or phenomenon.
13. Psychologists typically consider a result to be significant if it would be expected to occur by chance __________ or fewer times in 100 repetitions of the study.
A. 5
B. 10
C. 20
D. 40
14. A result that is significant at the .05 level indicates that:
A. the probability that the result was obtained by chance is high, so the result is not real.
B. the probability that the result is due to real differences between groups can be measured at .05 chance.
C. the probability is high that there is a positive relationship between the dependent and independent variables.
D. the probability that the result was obtained by chance is low, so the result is probably real.
15. A(n) __________ allows a researcher to control and manipulate the situation under study.
A. survey
B. experiment
C. case study
D. correlational study
16. A __________ draws a range a little higher and lower than the sample mean to help depict where the true mean probably lies.
A. confidence interval
B. standard deviation
C. significance test
D. descriptive statistic
17. A scientific theory can be thought of as a(n):
A. personal opinion.
B. established truth.
C. system of assumptions.
D. empirical proof.
18. Hannah decides to test whether engineering majors have greater visual-spatial abilities than students with other majors. Hannah decides to define visual-spatial ability in terms of how long it takes each participant to complete a jigsaw puzzle. This is an example of a(n):
A. operational definition.
B. theoretical definition.
C. corollary.
D. hypothesis.
19. Mei is trying to define "anxiety" in such a way that it specifies how it is to be observed, measured, and empirically tested. She is attempting to find an appropriate:
A. hypothesis.
B. corollary.
C. theoretical definition.
D. operational definition.
20. Before research can proceed, a hypothesis must be made more __________ through the use of operational definitions.
A. empirical
B. accurate
C. precise
D. theoretical