Study Guide


Chapter Key Terms

You should know the definitions of the following key terms from the chapter. They are listed in the order in which they appear in the chapter. For those you do not know, return to the relevant section of the chapter to learn them. When you think that you know all of the terms, complete the matching exercise based on these key terms.

psychology

biological perspective

cognitive perspective

behavioral perspective

sociocultural perspective

hindsight bias (I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)

descriptive methods

naturalistic observation

participant observation

case study

survey research

population

sample

random sampling

correlational study

variable

correlation coefficient

positive correlation

negative correlation

scatterplot

third-variable problem

random assignment

independent variable

dependent variable

experiment

experimental group

control group

operational definition

placebo effect

placebo

nocebo effect

placebo group

inferential statistical analyses

double-blind procedure

meta-analysis

descriptive statistics

frequency distribution

mean

median

mode

range

standard deviation

normal distribution

percentile rank

right-skewed distribution

left-skewed distribution

Key Terms Exercise

Identify the correct term for each of the following definitions.

Question 1.1

1. An explanation of a correlation between two variables in terms of another variable that could possibly be responsible for the observed relationship between the two variables.

third-variable problem

Question 1.2

2. A control measure in an experiment in which neither the experimenters nor the participants know which participants are in the experimental and control groups.

double-blind procedure

Question 1.3

3. The score positioned in the middle of a distribution of scores when all of the scores are arranged from lowest to highest.

median

Question 1.4

4. An asymmetric frequency distribution in which there are some unusually high scores that distort the mean to be greater than the median.

right-skewed distribution

Question 1.5

5. Improvement due to the expectation of improving because of receiving treatment.

placebo effect

Question 1.6

6. An inverse relationship between two variables.

negative correlation

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Question 1.7

7. A control measure in an experiment in which participants are randomly assigned to groups in order to equalize participant characteristics across the various groups in the experiment.

random assignment

Question 1.8

8. The percentage of scores below a specific score in a distribution of scores.

percentile rank

Question 1.9

9. A research perspective whose major explanatory focus is how the brain, nervous system, and other physiological mechanisms produce our behavior and mental processes.

biological perspective

Question 1.10

10. A description of the operations or procedures that a researcher uses to manipulate or measure a variable.

operational definition

Question 1.11

11. The tendency, after learning about an outcome, to be overconfident in one's ability to have predicted it.

hindsight bias (I-knew-it-all-along phenomenon)

Question 1.12

12. A visual depiction of correlational data in which each data point represents the scores on the two variables for each participant.

scatterplot

Question 1.13

13. The entire group of people that a researcher is studying.

population

Question 1.14

14. The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution of scores.

range

Question 1.15

15. Statistical analyses that allow researchers to draw conclusions about the results of a study by determining the probability the results are due to random variation (chance).

inferential statistical analyses

Practice Test Questions

The following are practice multiple-choice test questions on some of the chapter content. If you guessed on a question or incorrectly answered a question, restudy the relevant section of the chapter.

Question 1.16

1. Which of the following major research perspectives focuses on conditioning by external environmental events as the major cause of our behavior?
  • biological
  • cognitive
  • behavioral
  • sociocultural

c; behavioral

Question 1.17

2. Which of the following would be the best procedure for obtaining a representative sample of the students at your school?
  1. sampling randomly among students in the student union
  2. sampling randomly among students studying in the library
  3. sampling randomly among the students who belong to Greek organizations
  4. sampling randomly from a list of all the students enrolled at your school

d; sampling randomly from a list of all the students enrolled at your school

Question 1.18

3. Which of the following research methods allow(s) the researcher to draw cause-effect conclusions?
  1. descriptive
  2. correlational
  3. experimental
  4. all of the above

c; experimental

Question 1.19

4. Height and weight are _______ correlated; elevation and temperature are _______ correlated.
  1. positively; positively
  2. positively; negatively
  3. negatively; positively
  4. negatively; negatively

b; positively; negatively

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Question 1.20

5. Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates the STRONGEST relationship?
  1. +.75
  2. -.81
  3. +1.25
  4. 0.00

b; –.81

Question 1.21

6. Manipulate is to measure as ______ is to ______.
  1. positive correlation; negative correlation
  2. negative correlation; positive correlation
  3. independent variable; dependent variable
  4. dependent variable; independent variable

c; independent variable; dependent variable

Question 1.22

7. In an experiment, the ______ group participants receive an inactive treatment but are told that the treatment will help them.
  1. experimental
  2. control
  3. placebo
  4. third-variable

c; placebo

Question 1.23

8. The most frequently occurring score in a distribution of scores is the ______, and the average score is the ______.
  1. mode; mean
  2. mean; mode
  3. median; mean
  4. mean; median

a; mode; mean

Question 1.24

9. About ______ percent of the scores in a normal distribution are between -1 standard deviation and +1 standard deviation of the mean.
  1. 34
  2. 68
  3. 95
  4. 99

b; 68

Question 1.25

10. In a left-skewed distribution, the mean is ______ than the median; in a right-skewed distribution, the mean is _______ than the median.
  1. greater; greater
  2. greater; less
  3. less; greater
  4. less; less

c; less; greater

Question 1.26

11. Shere Hite's failure to use ______ resulted in misleading findings for her women and love survey study.
  1. a placebo group
  2. a double-blind procedure
  3. random assignment
  4. random sampling

d; random sampling

Question 1.27

12. Professor Jones noticed that the distribution of students' scores on his last biology exam had an extremely small standard deviation. This indicates that:
  1. the exam was given to a very small class of students.
  2. the exam was a poor measure of the students' knowledge.
  3. the students' scores tended to be very similar to one another.
  4. the students' mean exam score was less than the median exam score.

c; students’ scores tended to be very similar to one another

Question 1.28

13. In a normal distribution, the percentile rank for a score that is 1 standard deviation below the mean is roughly ______%.
  1. 16
  2. 34
  3. 68
  4. 84

a; 16

Question 1.29

14. Dian Fossey's study of gorillas is an example of ______.
  1. naturalistic observation
  2. participant observation
  3. naturalistic observation that turned into participant observation
  4. a case study

c; naturalistic observation that turned into participant observation

Question 1.30

15. Which of the following types of scatterplots depicts a weak, negative correlation?
  1. a lot of scatter with data points going from top left to bottom right
  2. very little scatter with data points going from top left to bottom right
  3. a lot of scatter with data points going from bottom left to top right
  4. very little scatter with data points going from bottom left to top right

a; a lot of scatter with data points going from top left to bottom right

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