Unit 1: Scientific Foundations of Psychology

A researcher randomly assigns participants to either a treatment group or a control group to study the effects of caffeine on memory. What type of research method is being used?

In an experiment studying whether music affects test performance, the type of music played is the _____ and the test score is the _____.

A correlation coefficient of -0.85 between hours of sleep and number of errors on a task indicates:

A researcher finds a positive correlation between ice cream sales and drowning deaths. Which is the most reasonable explanation?

In a double-blind experiment, who is unaware of which participants are in the control group vs. the experimental group?

A researcher wants to study stress levels in college students. She surveys students at only one elite university. Her results may lack:

What ethical principle requires researchers to inform participants about the nature of a study and obtain their agreement to participate?

Which research method allows researchers to establish cause-and-effect relationships?

In psychological research, informed consent requires that participants:

A researcher finds a correlation of r = −0.72 between hours of TV watched and GPA. This means:

An operational definition specifies:

The mode of a data set is the:

Standard deviation measures:

Why can't correlational studies establish causation?

What is the independent variable in this study?

What is the most appropriate conclusion from these data?

Which ethical principle is MOST directly violated in this study?

What type of sampling method did the researcher use?

What should the researcher conclude?

What is the most appropriate measure of central tendency for Class B?

Which of the following is the best operational definition of "aggressive behavior" in this study?

What is the most significant confounding variable in this experiment?

Dr. Chen wants to test whether background music affects students' test performance. She randomly assigns 40 students to either a music or silence condition and compares their scores. In this study, the test scores are the:

A researcher finds a correlation of r = −0.85 between hours of sleep deprivation and cognitive test performance. Which of the following conclusions is most justified?

A researcher finds that students who sleep more hours per night tend to have higher GPAs. The researcher concludes that sleep causes better academic performance. What is the primary flaw in this conclusion?

A psychologist conducts an experiment where half the participants receive a sugar pill and half receive a caffeine pill, but neither the researcher nor the participants know who received which. This is an example of a