PYC3704 - Past exam
questions
2012-2013
May/June 2012
Question 1
1 The term 'inference’ in psychological research refers to
______
1. describing information in a precise way
2. making a prediction or generalization based on existing information
3. the procedures for making a construct visible so that a measurement can be made
4. the development of a hypothesis as a relationship among variables
Answer: Option 2 Page 2. An inference is a conclusion that follows from existing
information, by generalising from the specific information to the general type of
phenomenon, where the conclusion is not absolutely certain. So in summary inferential
statistics are techniques for making generalisations based on imperfect numeric data, where
the conclusions have a high probability of being true, but you can never be completely
certain.
Question 2
In psychological research, a construct may be a(n)
______
1. measurement based on the careful observation of aspects of humans or human behaviour
2. observation of an aspect of humans or human behaviour which was operationalised in
some way
3. hypothetical aspect of humans or human behaviour which we wish to investigate
4. explanation of empirical observations based on the measurement of certain variables
Answer: Option 3 Page 4 Constructs and their interrelations (how they affect each other,
their patterns of interaction) are used in this way to develop theoretical explanations of
why people behave in certain ways in certain contexts, or why mental phenomena appear to
be as they are.
Question 3
Which of the options below provides the best description of the main purpose of quantitative
research in psychology? Its purpose is to ______
1. develop theories that explain the relationships among observed aspects of human
behaviour and mental processes
2. develop predictions about human behaviour of which we can be applied with absolute
certainty
3. describe and classify aspects of humans and human behaviour
4. develop hypotheses about relationships that may exist among various constructs
Answer: Option 4 Pages: 1-4, 6, 21-26, Q2, Q3.
,Psychology is a discipline that endeavours to collect information and develop theories about
human behaviour and mental processes. The aim is to establish facts that are related to
psychological phenomena, that are valid and can be justified on scientific grounds.
The act of simply observing phenomena and describing them or collecting facts about them
is usually not sufficient. The next step in the scientific process is to go beyond the level of
description by attempting to develop explanations for the things we observe: we want to
know not only what the facts are, but also why they appear to be as they are. In other words,
we want to develop theories, which explain why things are as they appear to be when we
observe them.
Psychologists try to develop explanations for human experiences and behaviour. To do this,
they often have to make use of abstract concepts (also called constructs) that serve as
explanations for the behaviour they observe.
Psychologists are interested to find out which constructs are important (in the sense of being
required or useful to explain human behaviour) and how they work together in a pattern, or
what their interrelationships are. One of the objectives of psychology is not only to describe
human behaviour, but also to find explanations for it. Constructs and how they interact fill the
role of explanatory mechanisms in psychology. We try to find out which constructs offer an
appropriate explanation of the behaviour or events we perceive, and what the pattern of their
interactions with other constructs may be. In this sense, it can be said that constructs are the
building blocks of theory.
The link between observing a construct and measuring it is so close that when we talk about
'observation' in quantitative research, we often imply the process of measurement. The
taking of a measurement is regarded as an act of observation.
Research in psychology is primarily about testing theories of human behaviour.
The main purpose of psychological research is to test theories empirically.
Question 4
Operationalising a construct means to ______
1. find an explanation for the construct to explain why it appears as it is
2. make an educated guess on how it relates to other constructs
3. determine the correct level at which it should be measured
4. devise a systematic procedure to make the construct observable, in such a way that we
can measure it
Answer: Option 4 Page: 25 'Operationalisation' is where you make the construct (which
is usually an abstract concept, so it is difficult to observe it clearly) visible by finding some
suitable way to measure it. You need it to be able to test a hypothesis, but it is not in itself
'the process of forming an hypothesis'. The primary aim of operationalisation is to describe a
construct clearly and unambiguously so that it can be measured and tested in a research
study.
Question 5
Empirical knowledge is knowledge that is based on
______
1. careful reasoning
2. appropriate theories
3. the observation of events
4. published research
Answer: 3 Page: 2 All scientific knowledge begins with description of the phenomena being
studied, based on careful observation. Knowledge based on observation of physical
events is referred to as empirical knowledge (as distinct from knowledge based on
contemplation, unexplained insights, mystical experiences or claims by authority figures).
Use the following extract from a research proposal to answer Questions 6 to 8
,“Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) refers to a pattern of almost constant worry or tension,
even when there is little or no apparent cause. Both genetic predisposition and stressors in
the life of a particular patient is believed to contribute to this condition. The research will
investigate whether the level of anxiety of persons diagnosed with GAD is actually reduced
by psychotherapy. It is expected that patients receiving therapy will score lower on the
Manifest Anxiety Scale than patients not receiving therapy "
Question 6
“Both genetic predisposition and stressors in the life of a particular patient is believed to
contribute to this condition' is ______
1. the research hypothesis
2. a theory about the causes of GAD
3. a postulated relation between two constructs
4. a description of the constructs in terms of which GAD can be observed
Answer: 2 Page 4, 15, 18-19, 21-26
A theory is a well-established principle that has been developed to explain some aspect of
the natural world. A theory arises from repeated observation and testing and incorporates
facts, laws, predictions, and tested hypotheses that are widely accepted. In science, a theory
is a framework for facts. It is some kind of description that tells you how the facts are
connected, and why the facts are as they are (where the word 'facts' refers to things or
events that were observed and described in a careful way). A theory is a network of relations
among facts that were proposed to be true and explanations for observed phenomena in
terms of constructs. Constructs and their interrelations (how they affect each other, their
patterns of interaction) are used in this way to develop theoretical explanations of why
people behave in certain ways in certain contexts, or why mental phenomena appear to be
as they are.
A hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in your
study. A hypothesis can be informally described as an educated guess. As we indicated
above, research usually tries to establish relationships among constructs in order to develop
a theory or to test an existing theory. Usually, the theory makes it possible for us to make
some kind of prediction of how constructs should be interrelated. We formulate this
relationship as an hypothesis, and we test the hypothesis (using statistical methods) to see if
the prediction is true. If it is not true, there is something wrong with the theory, and we need
to reconsider it.
Question 7
"Whether the level of anxiety of persons diagnosed with GAD is actually reduced by
psychotherapy" describes
______
1. an observed relation between two variables
2. a theoretical prediction about the effect of psychotherapy
3. the operationalisation of the construct 'anxiety’
4. the hypothesis to be investigated
Answer: 4 Page 4, 15, 18-19, 21-26
See comments above
Question 8
The dependent variable is ______ and the independent variable is ______
1. whether or not psychotherapy is received, the level of anxiety experienced by patients
2. the effectiveness of psychotherapy, the level of anxiety
3. the level of anxiety experienced by patients, whether or not psychotherapy is received
, 4. the anxiety score as measured on the Manifest Anxiety Scale, the presence of stressors in
the life of the patient
Answer: 3 Page 8-9, 24
The dependent variable is the one that is predicted or explained, and the independent
variable is manipulated to see how it affects the dependent variable.
The independent variable is that variable which affects the dependent variable; or,
conversely, the dependent variable depends on the independent variable.
When a researcher focuses on the interaction of only two variables at a time, the dependent
variable is usually the one that the researcher is interested in, the variable that is the focus of
the research. The independent variable is something that the researcher manipulates, to see
how this affects the dependent variable (in other words, the dependent variable is dependent
on the independent variable).
Hidden variables are effects on the dependent variable that we may be unaware of, or that
we choose to ignore. Very often the events or behaviour that we observed are the
consequence of many interacting factors, and we have to analyse the situation carefully to
try and identify as many things as possible that may interfere with our ability to find a clear
relationship between a dependent variable and some specific independent variable.
One of these hidden effects that researchers in psychology often have to contend with is that
people change their behaviour when they realise that someone is paying extra attention to
them (usually referred to as the 'Hawthorne effect').
Question 9
“The mental age of child number one is eight years'. In this statement 'mental age" is a(n)
______, whereas “eight years' is a(n) ______
1. variable, specific value of that variable
2. construct, variable
3. independent variable, dependant variable
4. hidden variable, descriptive statistic
Answer: 2 Page 7
A construct that has been measured in some way produces a variable. A variable refers to a
number that can take on any one of a range of possible values. They can be discrete (when
only whole numbers like 1, 2, 3 are allowed) or continuous (what mathematicians refer to as
'real numbers'). In some cases variables also take on values smaller than zero to produce
negative numbers.
So the (visible) variable reflects the intensity of the underlying (invisible) construct, in terms
of how it was measured. We say that the variable is manifest (it is visible in the sense that
we can observe it) and the construct is latent (it is invisible in the sense that we need some
way to make it appear).
So the latent construct is made manifest by the use of an appropriate measurement
procedure. The dependent variable is the one that is predicted or explained, and the
independent variable is manipulated to see how it affects the dependent variable.
Question 10
A researcher would use a ______ to make a(n) ______ about the nature of the ______
1. sample, inference, population
2. sample, hypothesis, population
3. variable, prediction, construct
4. population, inference, sample
Answer: 1 Page 11
