Deck 1: The Science of Psychology

Question 1

The "clinical practice of psychology" includes the work of marriage and family therapists.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Most scientific research in psychology is conducted by psychotherapists studying their own clients.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

All good psychological research is conducted to solve real-world problems.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Human emotions cannot be studied scientifically.

Question 5

Folk psychology refers to incorrect beliefs about human behavior.

Question 6

The term pseudoscience means "false science."

Question 7

Psychology is fundamentally different from other sciences such as biology and chemistry.

Question 8

Questions about values cannot be answered by scientific research.

Question 9

It is impossible to test the effectiveness of psychotherapy.

Question 10

The primary source of new research questions is past research.

Question 11

Skepticism refers to tolerance of different viewpoints.

Question 12

Psychological research has shown that cell phone use does not impair driving performance.

Question 13

Sigmund Freud developed the concept of falsifiability.

Question 14

The adult children of alcoholics have been shown by scientific research to suffer from many serious psychological problems.

Question 15

Psychology is a science.

Question 16

The scientific study of sex differences in talkativeness is an example of basic research.

Question 17

Scientific research has shown that women are more talkative than men.

Question 18

The modern theory of biorhythms is a good example of a scientific theory.

Question 19

Empiricism refers to learning by observation.

Question 20

Scientific research has suggested which of the following?

A) Women are much more talkative than men.
B) Men are much more talkative than women.
C) Men and women are equally talkative.
D) none of the above.

Question 21

Explain, for someone not familiar with scientific psychology, why it is important to conduct research on questions that seem to be matters of "common sense." As an example, use the idea that it is important for people who have experienced a trauma to have immediate "crisis counseling."

Question 22

Give at least three specific recommendations for how people should go about deciding whether or not a set of beliefs (e.g., the theory of biorhythms) is pseudoscientific?

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT one of the three fundamental features of science?

A) empirical questions
B) public knowledge
C) mathematical equations
D) systematic empiricism

Question 24

Which of the following "commonsense" beliefs is incorrect?

A) People use only 10% of their brainpower.
B) Students learn best when teaching styles are matched to their learning styles.
C) Low self-esteem is a major cause of psychological problems.
D) all of the above

Question 25

Describe how a psychologist would go about conducting research on the effect of cell phone use on driving performance in terms of the general model of scientific research in psychology presented in the textbook.

Question 26

A set of beliefs can be said to be pseudoscientific if it lacks one or more of the three features of science and _____.

A) its adherents claim or imply that it is scientific
B) it has been discredited by scientific research
C) it seems "crazy"
D) it refers to phenomena that cannot be directly observed

Question 27

Two important attitudes of scientists are skepticism and _____.

A) emotional neutrality
B) mathematical ability
C) tolerance of uncertainty
D) religious agnosticism

Question 28

The tendency to notice evidence that is consistent with our beliefs and ignore evidence that is inconsistent with our beliefs is called _____.

A) wishful thinking
B) confirmation bias
C) skepticism
D) common sense

Question 29

Which of the following is most clearly an example of an applied research question?

A) Is the tendency to take physical risks related to extroversion?
B) Do people's scores on a paper-and-pencil measures of empathy predict whether they will help a disabled person cross the street?
C) How does damage to the amygdala affect people's experience of fear?
D) Does the color of a recycling bin affect how much people recycle?

Question 30

The process of conducting scientific research in psychology can be conceptualized as which of the following?

A) a line
B) a cycle
C) a staircase
D) an equation

Question 31

Which of the following is true of the adult children of alcoholics?

A) They tend to have lower self-esteem than other people.
B) They are especially likely to suffer from depression during middle age.
C) They are especially likely to get divorced.
D) none of the above.

Question 32

Explain what it is that makes psychology a science like biology, chemistry, and physics. Be sure to discuss the three fundamental features of science.

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT an empirical question?

A) Are women more talkative than men?
B) Is dieting an effective weight loss strategy?
C) Should we prohibit cell phone use while driving?
D) Does cognitive psychotherapy help depressed people?

Question 34

Most people who conduct and publish scientific research in psychology are which of the following?

A) undergraduate students
B) Federal Government employees
C) practicing clinicians
D) college faculty

Question 35

What is an empirically supported treatment?

A) a psychological treatment that has been shown to work by scientific research
B) a psychological treatment that has not yet been tested
C) a psychological treatment that should work in theory but that does not work in practice
D) a psychological treatment that can, in principle, be tested

Question 36

Research questions in psychology can come from which of the following?

A) previous research
B) informal observations
C) practical problems to be solved
D) all of the above

Question 37

What is the role of scientific research in the clinical practice of psychology?

Question 38

Which of the following best describes the relationship between psychology, on the one hand, and biology, chemistry, and physics, on the other hand?

A) Psychology is fundamentally different from biology, chemistry, and physics.
B) Psychology is not scientific but biology, chemistry, and physics are.
C) Psychology is non-mathematical but biology, chemistry, and physics are.
D) All of these disciplines share the same general approach to understanding the natural world.