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PSYCHOLOGY EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
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PSYCHOLOGY EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
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PSYCHOLOGY EXAM QUESTIONS WITHCORRECT ANSWERS
What is empiricism? What is the scientific method? What is a theory? A hypothesis?
What is an operational definition? - Answer-Empiricism is the belief that accurate
knowledge can be acquired through observation.
Scientific method is a set of principles about the appropriate relationships between
ideas and evidence.
Theory is a hypothetical explanation of a natural phenomenon.
Hypothesis is a falsifiable prediction made by a theory.
An operational definition is a description of a property in concrete, measurable terms.
Measurements need to have validity, reliability and power. What are reliability and
validity? Which refers to whether a measure is consistent? Which refers to whether a
measure is measuring what it is supposed to measure? - Answer-Reliability is the
tendency for a measure to produce the same measurement whenever it is used to
measure the same thing.
Validity is the extent to which a measurement and property are conceptually related.
Reliability refers to whether a measure is consistent.
Validity refers to whether a measure is measuring what it is supposed to measure.
What are demand characteristics and how can they be a problem when observing
people? What is naturalistic observation? What is a double blind observation and why
might it be needed? - Answer-Demand characteristics are those aspects of an
observational setting that cause people to behave as they think they should. This can
be a problem when observing people because the people aren't behaving as they
normally would causing inaccurate data.
To avoid the problem of demand characteristics, psychologists use naturalistic
observation, a technique for gathering scientific information by unobtrusively observing
people in their natural environment.
A double blind observation is an observation whose true purpose is hidden from both
the observer and the person being observed. This might be needed because when
observing behavior it is all too easy for psychologists to see what they want to see.
First, expectations can influence observation. Second, expectations can influence
reality. So we need conclusive evidence in the form of a study.
What is a variable? What is a correlation? With a correlation, why can we not say that
one variable causes the other? See Figure 2.2. What is the third-variable problem? Also
review the section on Measuring Correlation on page A-4 and A-5 in the Appendix. You
should understand what a positive correlation and a negative correlation are. For
instance, if as height increases, weight also tends to increase is this a positive or
negative correlation? - Answer-Variable is a property whose value can vary across
individuals or over time.
, Correlation is when two variables are said to "be correlated" when variations in the
value of one variable are synchronized with variations in the value of the other.
Third-variable problem is the fact that two variables are correlated only because each is
causally related to a third variable.
Positive correlation describes a relationship between two variables in "more-more" or
"less-less"
Negative correlation describes a relationships between two variables in "more-less" or
"less-more" terms.
While a correlation only measures variables, an experiment manipulates one variable.
What is an experiment? What is manipulation? What is an independent variable? What
is a dependent variable? What is an experimental group? What is a control group?
Given examples of studies, you should be able to identify the independent variable, the
dependent variable, the experimental group and the control group. - Answer-Experiment
is a technique for establishing the causal relationship between variables.
Manipulation is the creation of an artificial pattern of variation in a variable in order to
determine its causal powers.
Independent variable is the variable that is manipulated in an experiment.
Dependent variable is the variable that is measured in a study.
Experimental group is the group of people who are treated in a particular way, as
compared to the control group, in an experiment.
Control group is the group of people who are not treated in the particular way that the
experimental group is treated in an experiment.
What is self-selection and why is it a problem in experiments? What is random
assignment and how does it help with the self-selection problem? - Answer-Self-
selection is a problem that occurs when anything about a person determines whether he
or she will be included in the experimental or control group. This is a problem because
in an experiment when separating into groups you only want them to differ in one way. If
they choose which group they are in they differ in more than one way.
Random assignment is a procedure that uses a random event to assign people to the
experimental or control group. This helps with the self-selection problem to make sure
that there is one and only one difference between the two groups since they are
randomly determined.
What does it mean to say that the difference between the control group and
experimental group are statistically significant? Top p. 46 - Answer-Random
assignments ensures that participants in the experimental and the control groups are
one average equal terms of all possible third variables. In essence, it ensures that there
is no correlation between a third variable and the dependent variable.
What is internal validity? What is external validity? Which type of validity refers to our
ability to draw inferences about cause and effect? Which allows us to generalize to the
"real" world? - Answer-Internal validity is the characteristic of an experiment that
establishes the causal relationship between variables. This validity refers to our ability to
draw inferences about cause and effect.
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