SOLVED

1) A psychologist is often skeptical of claims suggesting a. people are influenced by others’ thoughts and behaviours. b. a particular behaviour is the result of a single causal factor. c. that a person’s future behaviour is often difficult to predict accurately. d. a person’s culture is a strong influence on his or her everyday thoughts and behaviours. 2) In 2005, then Harvard president Lawrence Summers suggested, to much controversy, that fewer women may achieve in scientific fields because of a lack of innate ability in science. Which is the best evaluation of this claim, from a psychological science perspective? a. This claim is probably correct. Evolutionary psychology research has proven that to aid in hunting and war, males developed superior spatial awareness over females. b. This claim is probably incorrect. Psychological research suggests that behaviours are attributable mostly to our environments. c. This claim is probably incorrect. Psychological research suggests that behaviours are attributable to a complex interaction between our genes and environments. d. This claim is probably correct. Psychological research suggests that behaviours are attributable mostly to our genes. 3) All types of psychology involve a. replicating what is already known via common sense. b. treating people’s behavioural and emotional problems. c. interactions between patients and therapists. d. the use of scientific methods. 4) If you were to do a presentation on “Psychology’s Great Debates” you would be most likely to make which of the following points? a. Research indicates that most people possess a remarkable insight into the underlying cause(s) of their behaviour. b. Psychologists consider the “mind” to be nothing more than brain and nervous system activity. c. Evidence suggests that free will is illusory to some extent. d. Different human behaviours result from levels of nature and nurture influences. 5) According to the authors, much of the knowledge from popular psychology sources a. is consistent with the results of psychological research. b. is of no or very little interest to psychologists. c. is contradicted by what psychological research has demonstrated. d. is not able to be studied empirically. 6) Your friend claims that psychology is a subjective art, and not an objective science. He says that psychology researchers will “see” whatever they want to see in their participants, just to prove a hypothesis. Based upon your textbook readings, you should explain to your friend that a. he is describing the confirmation bias, but psychologists use a double-blind design or meta-analysis to alleviate this concern. b. he is describing an illusory correlation, but psychologists use a correlational design to alleviate this concern. c. he is describing the representativeness heuristic, but psychologists use a double-blind design to alleviate this concern. d. he is describing the availability heuristic, but psychologists use the case study design to alleviate this concern. 7) If a researcher’s initial findings that a particular relationship or effect exists are not reliably demonstrated by other independent researchers, how are these initial findings thought of in the discipline of psychology? a. As an error or fluke in research b. As a hoax or scam c. As a real phenomenon that exists for some gifted people but not for everyone d. As a deliberate, unethical attempt to falsify one’s data 8) Some parents of children with autism strongly believe that vaccines cause autism. They claim that the child was perfectly normal until the child received vaccines. Which is the best evaluation of these claims, from a psychological science perspective? a. Although these parents may be right, an illusory correlation could be responsible for the perceived link between vaccines and autism. b. These parents are probably right. Psychological research strongly suggests that everyday intuition is almost always correct. c. These parents are probably right. Psychological research strongly suggests that the world is exactly as we see it. d. Although these parents may be right, a greater number of parents would have to make this claim in order to validate that vaccines cause autism. 9) Correlational research designs are NOT appropriate for purposes of a. causation. b. prediction. c. description. d. any of the above. 10) The term statistical significance implies that the results are a. valid. b. extremely meaningful. c. important. d. not likely due to chance.