Name ________________________

 

Psychology 259-Experimental Psychology-Exam #1

You should write on the test using the spaces provided. You may use the back if necessary but let me know if you have done so. Write concisely and legibly. You have the whole class period. (Total points possible: 100)

Briefly define each of the following terms and give an example. (Worth 4 points each)

  1. Theory:

    2.  

     

  2. Inductive Reasoning:

    3.  

     

  3. Directional Hypothesis:

    4.  

     

  4. Control Group:

    5.  

     

  5. Placebo:

 

 

Short-answer essay: (Worth 5 points each)

  1. Compare and contrast the Scientific Method with the method of authority.

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  2. Why can’t psychologists ever hope for the same precision as physicists?

    3.  

     

     

     

     

  3. What are the main ways that an experimenter can deal with extraneous variables?

    4.  

     

     

     

     

  4. What are two sources of research ideas and explain why these still require a literature search?

    5.  

     

     

     

     

  5. Explain why you can never create the perfect study?

    6.  

     

     

     

     

     

  6. What makes a good hypothesis? Or What makes a good theory? (choose only 1 to answer)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Essay: (Worth 10 points each)

  1. Imagine that you are creating a test to measure "sensitivity to social rejection". What 2 characteristics are most important in test development and how do you plan to demonstrate these for your test?

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  2. Compare and contrast the three types of survey methods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short-answer

Dr. Smith conducted a study of low birth-weight infants and their mothers. In this study there were 24 infants born to married mothers at the same hospital with a gestational age of less than 37 weeks and all had been hospitalized for at least 10 days. Infant-mother pairs were randomly assigned to one of two groups; one received an 11-session training program on infant care, and the other received no training. Later the researchers measured the mothers’ self-confidence and the infants’ cognitive development. (Worth 3 points each)

  1. The Independent Variable(s)______________________________________________

    2.  

  2. The Dependent Variable(s)_______________________________________________

    3.  

  3. Name 1 variable that was controlled________________________________________

    4.  

  4. From the information given, what was the hypothesis?

    5. _____________________________________________________________________

     

  5. Name 3 extraneous variables:___________________________________________

 

 

 

Multiple Choice (Worth 3 points each)

____1. Dr. Vaughn has decided to observe and measure dating rituals. She rank orders

couples she observes on their compatibility with one another. Couples can either

be low, moderate, or high in compatibility. What scale of measurement is she

using?

    1. Nominal
    2. Ordinal
    3. Interval
    4. Ratio

____ 2. A graduate student decides he is going to study juror demographics and trial

outcomes. He obtains his data from records kept on past court cases. What method of research is he using?
    1. Case study
    2. Participant observation
    3. Archival
    4. Cross-sectional research

____3. One would expect there to be a ___________ correlation between the number

traffic accidents per year and a person’s driving experience.

    1. perfect positive correlation
    2. perfect negative correlation
    3. positive correlation
    4. negative correlation

____4. If a researcher is interested in surveying welfare recipients and he knows that 10%

are disabled men, 60% are single mothers, and 30% are unemployed men. What is

the best approach to get a representative sample?

    1. Random sampling with replacement
    2. Stratified random sampling
    3. Analytic survey
    4. A small random sample

____5. Dr. Birdseye is interested in the treatment of mental patients. He has himself

admitted to a hospital as a mental patient. After 2 months of careful study his

assistants inform the hospital staff of the study and he is released. What type of research is this?
    1. Participant observation
    2. Laboratory observation
    3. Case study
    4. Personal Interviews

Extra Credit (Worth 2 points each): Put your answers on the back of this page.

  1. What is the experimental dilemma that I described to you in class?
  2. Besides the usual methods of gathering literature and past studies (e.g., databases, references, psych abstracts, and books) what are some additional methods?
  3. Describe three of the most important APA guidelines and justify your choices.