Week 1: Introduction
DISCUSS BRIEFLY
1. Give reasons why are research methods important?
2. Explain why psychologists at the turn of the 20th century embraced an empirical approach to
advance understanding about human behaviour.
3. Why the need to evaluate a media report of research? Identify two reasons why it is important to
go to or check the original source (i.e., the research report)
MULTIPLE-CHOICE
4. The “scientific method” refers to:
A. historical, social-cultural, and ethical contexts in which science takes place.
B. the specific procedures, measurements, and instruments used by psychologists.
C. an abstract concept that describes the logic and methods used to answer questions.
D. the development of psychophysical methods for measuring thought processes.
5. The most important characteristic of the scientific method is the:
A. theoretical perspective of behaviorism.
B. empirical approach.
C. computer revolution.
D. cognitive approach.
6. Three ways that we can characterize the context in which science occurs include:
A. historical, social/cultural, and moral.
B. behavioral, cognitive, and neuroscience.
C. legal, scientific, and media.
D. American Psychological Association, hypotheses, and ethnocentrism.
7. The development of psychophysical methods and reaction time experiments at the end of the 19th century was important to emerging field of psychology because these methods:
A. allowed researchers to gain understanding about mental telepathy and clairvoyance.
B. were instrumental in the development of behaviorism in the 20th century.
C. linked psychology with spiritualism in the public’s mind.
D. paved the way for psychology to become a quantifiable, laboratory-based science.
8. When using an empirical approach, psychologists focus on:
A. behaviors and experiences that can be observed directly.
B. pseudoscientific topics such as clairvoyance and telepathy.
C. using computers and other technology to understand people.
D. the “black box” between a stimulus and a response.
9. In modern-day psychology, the dominant perspective for understanding people’s behavior and mental processes is:
A. the psychology of sensation and perception.
B. behaviorism.
C. cognitive psychology.
D. neuropsychology.
10. The broad trend that describes the historical development of scientific psychology may be characterized as:
A. a chaotic array of investigations covering a diverse set of topics.
B. shifts in theoretical perspectives: from behaviorism, to cognitive perspectives, to neuroscience emphases.
C. unchanging; current scientific psychology is much as it was at its inception.
D. advances in science due to only one or two people.
11. The social-cultural context in which research takes places influences psychological research by affecting:
A. the change in theoretical perspectives from behaviorism to cognitive psychology.
B. the resources available for psychological research.
C. the moral integrity of individual researchers.
D. All of these
12. Scientists’ choice of topics to study, resources available to support their research, and society’s acceptance of their findings is most influenced by:
A. their moral integrity.
B. the American Psychological Association.
C. the number of research articles found in a literature search.
D. the social and cultural context in which they work.
13. Public criticism of psychological research seems to occur primarily when:
A. the research was poorly conducted.
B. the media seeks to make a trivial topic more controversial than it is.
C. the research was conducted in a laboratory setting.
D. the research findings go against strongly held personal beliefs.
14. A source of bias that may originate when we attempt to understand another culture through the framework or lens of our own culture is called:
A. ethnocentrism.
B. anthropomorphism.
C. nomotheticism.
D. egotism.
15. An example of a violation of scientific integrity is:
A. using the number of scientific publications authored by a researcher to make decisions about professional advancement.
B. using animal subjects in research.
C. selectively reporting research findings when making a claim about behavior.
D. attending to societal issues when choosing research questions.
16. Data fabrication, plagiarism, and failure to acknowledge individuals who contributed to a research project are examples of:
A. the social and cultural context in which scientists conduct their work.
B. violations of scientific integrity.
C. easy to detect in research reports.
D. the lack of a moral context for scientists’ work.
17. Violations of scientific integrity include:
A. fabricating data, reporting only the data that support the researcher’s expectations, and failure to acknowledge people who contributed significantly to the research.
B. plagiarism, selective reporting of research findings, and using computers to collect data.
C. sing animals in research, misusing research funds, and deceiving participants in a research project.
D. All of these
18. In order to make decisions about ethical dilemmas in research, psychologists consult:
A. their attorneys.
B. the psychological literature related to their topic.
C. the local, state, and federal agencies most relevant to their work.
D. the American Psychological Association’s ethical principles.
19. A key factor when “thinking like a researcher” is to be:
A. polemic.
B. trusting.
C. skeptical.
D. dogmatic.
20. Which of the following statements is false?
A. Scientists strive to draw conclusions based on empirical evidence rather than subjective judgments
B. Psychological scientists often withhold judgment because they recognize human behavior is complex.
C. Scientists recognize that researchers can make mistakes in their research.
D. Scientists are cautious about accepting claims about behavior until they see the findings published
21. The strongest research evidence for a claim about behavior occurs when:
A. findings converge across many replications of an experiment.
B. survey findings suggest a high percentage of participants who agree in their response to a particular question.
C. a strong relationship is observed among factors or variables.
D. an experiment allows researchers to identify a cause of people’s behavior.
22. The parallel in attempting to understand truth based on legal evidence and scientific evidence is that in both cases:
A. we can make decisions with absolute certainty.
B. we make our decisions based on subjective impressions of people.
C. the decisions we make depend on the quality and extent of evidence.
D. decisions are reliable and accurate.
23. A potential problem that arises when evaluating research findings presented in the media (e.g., television, newspapers) is that:
A. the findings may be from research studies conducted in other countries.
B. important aspects of the research method are likely not reported.
C. those reporting the findings have little financial stake in the public’s acceptance of the findings.
D. All of these
24. An important first step when evaluating psychological research reported in the media is to:
A. go to the original source in which the research was reported.
B. determine whether the research was reported both on television and in printed material (e.g., newspapers, magazines).
C. search the psychological literature for related information.
D. decide whether the report describes a survey or an experiment.
25. A psychology student watches a television program that mentions research on newborn infants’ ability to recognize their parents’ voices. To learn more about this study, the student should:
A. contact the producer of the television program.
B. locate and read the original research article that describes the research.
C. ask friends if they saw the program too.
D. ask parents if their children recognized their voices as infants.
