Modules 1 & 2

Practice Questions

1. Psychology is currently defined as:

• A) the scientific study of behavior.• B) the scientific study of behavior and

mental processes.• C) the scientific study of biological and

cognitive processes.• D) the scientific study of motives and

conflicts.

2. The ____ administers tests and provides therapy and the ___ prescribes medication.

• A) clinical psychologist; psychiatrist• B) psychiatrist; clinical psychologist• C) counseling psychologist; clinical

psychologist• D) school psychologist; clinical

psychologist

3. Dr. James proposes that men’s desire for young, healthy women contributes to the survival of the human species. He is taking the ___ perspective.

• A) psychodynamic• B) neurological• C) evolutionary• D) socio-cultural

4. Julie appeared not to be surprised when the couple broke up. “I could have predicted that,” she said. Julie is demonstrating:

• A) ESP.• B) hindsight bias.• C) an overestimate of the extent to

which others share her opinion.• D) correlation proves causation.

5. To have a scientific attitude, we should not just believe something we have been told, we should examine the evidence, ask questions, and come to our own conclusions. This process is called:• A) a hypothesis.• B) an experiment.• C) critical thinking.• D) logical reasoning.

6. A hypothesis is a(n):

• A) testable prediction that gives direction to research.

• B) way to organize facts.• C) process of linking facts to deeper

principles.• D) set of principles that explains

newly discovered facts.

7. The following is an example of an operational definition:

• A) stress is defined as how well a person adjusts to his/her environment.

• B) personality is defined as how well that person relates to others.

• C) empathy is defined as showing you can understand the other person’s feelings.

• D) intelligence is defined as a score on an intelligence test.

8. When everybody has an equal chance of being included in a study, this process is called:

• A) unbiased reporting.• B) a survey.• C) a random sample.• D) reliability.

9. Which of the following correlation coefficients reflects the strongest correlation?

• A) +.10• B) -.64• C) +.35• D) -.10

10. A mistaken belief that two factors or events are related when they are not is called: • A) the rule of falsifiability.• B) pseudoscience.• C) an illusory correlation.• D) paranormal phenomena.

11. Joan believes she is infertile and that women like her are more likely to have a child after adoption. Six months after she and her husband adopt, Joan became pregnant. This proves:• A) the belief that infertile couples are more

likely to have a child after adoption.• B) if you try hard to have a child, you are less

likely to.• C) she must have become remarried. • D) coincidences which confirm a belief are

believed to be meaningful.

12. Consistently, we find low self-esteem is often related with high levels of depression. This means:

• A) low self-esteem causes depression.• B) depression causes low self-esteem.• C) low self-esteem and depression are

caused by a third factor.• D) they are correlated but this does not

prove causation.

13. To prove a cause-and-effect relationship, we must use:

• A) naturalistic observation.• B) the experimental method.• C) human subjects.• D) correlation coefficients.

14. In an experiment, the group of participants who are exposed to the treatment of interest is in the:

• A) control condition.• B) independent condition.• C) placebo condition.• D) experimental condition.

15. The best way to assure that the post-treatment differences found between the experimental and control groups are due to the treatment is by:

• A) random assignment.• B) training your subjects well.• C) letting your subjects know which group

they are in.• D) using a placebo.

16. Dr. Schulte wants to investigate if aggressive behavior in children is increased if they view violent videos. In this instance, the dependent variable is:

• A) violent videos.• B) aggressive behavior.• C) a placebo.• D) the control condition.

17. In the SQ3R model, the recommended sequence is: • A) survey, question, read, reason, review.• B) study, question, review, read, reflect.• C) study, question, read, review, reflect.• D) survey, question, read, review, reflect.

18. Eleanor has a test on Friday, four days away. You tell her the best way to study is to:

• A) study for 3 hours right before the exam.

• B) study for 8 hours the night before the exam.

• C) study 2 hours every day.• D) read each chapter once, in one sitting.

19. To think critically about what you learn, you will need to: • A) evaluate people’s values.• B) evaluate evidence.• C) assess conclusions.• D) all of the above.

20. In the SQ3R method, the “question” means that you should:

• A) answer all the questions in the book.• B) always question why you are

studying psychology.• C) make a list of questions for the

professor.• D) figure out what question the text is

trying to answer as you read each section.

21. As part of your study plan,_____ and _____ are two good ways improve your retention of the material.

• A) crib sheets; summaries• B) cramming; taking vitamin E• C) overlearning; distributed practice• D) skimming the text; reading the

whole chapter