Deck 1: Introduction and Research Methods

Question 1

Increasing team cohesion, avoiding distractions, and creating and sticking to clear mental and physical plans are all helpful:

A) Psychological skills
B) Biological traits
C) Physical skills
D) Instincts

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Examining how participation in sports can shape development and well-being is part of the field of:

A) Sport psychology
B) Cognitive psychology
C) Developmental psychology
D) Social psychology

Answer 2

A

Question 3

When might a sport psychologist be used by a group of athletes?

A) All of the above
B) When the athletes are under intense pressure
C) When the athletes need assistance communicating with one another
D) When athletes need help maintaining motivation

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A sport psychologist who provides basic mental health care would be which of the following types of sport psychologist?

A) Therapist/Clinical psychologist
B) Researcher
C) Teacher
D) Consultant

Question 5

Who is considered the father of American sport psychology?

A) Coleman Griffith
B) Norman Triplett
C) Warren Johnson
D) Franklin M. Henry

Question 6

Who started the first graduate sport psychology specialization?

A) Dorothy Harris
B) Coleman Griffith
C) Avksenty Cezarevich Puni
D) Pierre de Coubertin

Question 7

Sport psychology was most academic in focus during which phase?

A) The early years
B) The contemporary years
C) The formative years
D) All of the above

Question 8

Which of the following is an advantage of descriptive research?

A) It is often cost-efficient and provides richly-detailed information
B) The results can be generalized to other people in other situations
C) Can be used to show how one variable causes another
D) None of the above

Question 9

If a researcher wants to study why a team is struggling with communication and cohesion, which method will be most helpful?

A) Naturalistic observation
B) Meta-analysis
C) Archival research
D) None of the above

Question 10

Which of the following occurred during the formative years of sport psychology?

A) The formation of the International Society of Sport Psychology
B) Norman Tripett studied children winding string
C) Soviet Union professors Puni and Roudik established sport psychology laboratories
D) The U.S. Olympic Committee developed a Sport Psychology Advisory Board

Question 11

Sport psychology research may be done by researchers in which related field?

A) All of the above
B) Social psychology
C) Cognitive psychology
D) Personality psychology

Question 12

What is the major difference between descriptive and experimental research?

A) The manipulation of variables
B) The formation of a hypothesis
C) The collection and analysis of data
D) The development of a theory

Question 13

A meta-analysis is used when a researcher wants to accomplish which of the following?

A) Combine data that has already been collected
B) Measure behavior in everyday situations
C) Survey a large number of individuals over the phone
D) Control for extraneous variables

Question 14

A researcher wants to know if the temperature in the room will affect number of baskets made by basketball players. What would be the independent variable in this scenario?

A) The temperature of the room
B) The number of baskets made
C) The gender of the basketball players
D) The size of the room

Question 15

A researcher does an experiment which measures the effect of fluid intake on heart rate while running. What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

A) Heart rate
B) The amount of fluid intake
C) The average speed of the runner
D) How the runner reports feeling after finishing the run

Question 16

Which of the following is a characteristic of experimental, but not descriptive, research methods?

A) The use of random assignment
B) The use of naturalistic observation
C) The formation of a hypothesis
D) The use of case studies and focus groups

Question 17

Which of the following is a characteristic of experimental, but not descriptive, research methods?

A) The manipulation of variables
B) The analyzation of data
C) The development of a theory
D) The collection of data

Question 18

Which of the following is a characteristic of qualitative, but not experimental, research methods?

A) Not using quantifiable numbers
B) The manipulation of variables
C) The use of random assignment
D) The use of a control group

Question 19

Which of the following must be true in order for a sport psychologist to treat an athlete with a psychological disorder?

A) The sport psychologist must have a license to practice
B) The sport psychologist must have experience working with athletic teams
C) The sport psychologist must be a faculty member at a university
D) The sport psychologist must have published at least one research paper

Question 20

Sport psychologists must not only have knowledge of both sports and psychology, but must also be:

A) All of the above
B) Empathetic
C) Flexible
D) Trustworthy

Question 21

What did Norman Triplett observe when he asked children to wind a string as fast as they could while alone and also in the presence of other children?

A) The children wound the string faster when they were in the presence of other children
B) The children wound the string faster when they were alone
C) The children found the task too difficult to complete
D) Only a few of the children were affected by the presence of other children

Question 22

Why is Dorothy Yates an important figure in sport psychology?

A) She was the first woman to study sport psychology
B) She was the first woman to be hired to consult with an athletic team
C) She was the first sport psychologist to study minority athletes
D) She was the founder of the U.S. Olympic Sport Psychology Advisory Board

Question 23

What does fMRI show happening in the brain when swimmers watch a video of a poor performance in one of their own races?

A) Their brains show increased activity in the emotional areas, and decreased activity in the planning and motor areas
B) Their brains show increased activity in the emotional, planning, and motor areas
C) Their brains show decreased activity in the emotional area, and increased activity in the planning and motor areas
D) Their brains show decreased activity in the emotional, planning, and motor areas

Question 24

Which is the proper procedure for testing a research idea?

A) Form a hypothesis, choose a method, collect and analyze data, develop a theory
B) Develop a theory, choose a research method, form a hypothesis, collect and analyze data
C) Collect and analyze data, form a hypothesis, choose a research method, develop a theory
D) Choose a research method, develop a theory, form a hypothesis, collect and analyze data

Question 25

During which phase of the research process does a researcher decide how they will measure the variable they want to test?

A) Choosing a research method
B) Forming a hypothesis
C) Developing a theory
D) Collecting and analyzing data

Question 26

Naturalistic observation studies are designed to be high in:

A) Ecological validity
B) External validity
C) Internal validity
D) All of the above

Question 27

A sport psychologist wants to conduct a new study on how average male and female children respond to losing a soccer game. Which research design is the most appropriate, considering ethical and practical concerns?

A) Survey
B) Meta-analysis
C) Experiment
D) Case Study

Question 28

Sport psychology is only helpful to elite or professional athletes.

Question 29

Sport psychologists only research ways to improve athletic performance.

Question 30

Educational sport psychology specialists are not allowed to treat athletes with a psychological disorder.

Question 31

The purpose of a focus group is to study how a small number of people behave in a controlled environment while manipulating an independent variable.

Question 32

Much of the past research done on athletes and their performance has been done on white males.

Question 33

In order to achieve external validity, researchers need to perform their experiments in a laboratory setting.

Question 34

Forming a hypothesis is the final step in the experimental process.

Question 35

Quasi-experiments are descriptive experiments that use random assignment.

Question 36

Experiments performed in a natural setting where the athletes feel comfortable and can be themselves will result in higher levels of ecological validity.

Question 37

Experimental methods typically have higher internal validity than descriptive methods.

Question 38

Surveys and interviews suffer from inaccurate reporting among those surveyed and interviewed.

Question 39

An athlete may see a sport psychologist in order to combat a tendency to "choke" under pressure.

Question 40

After forming a hypothesis, a researcher must next choose a research method for testing the question.

Question 41

Observing and collecting data on athletes in a natural setting is more likely to be done using descriptive methods.

Question 42

One of the limitations of experimental methods is that the findings cannot explain or predict behavior.

Question 43

What are two ways that sport psychology is similar to other branches of psychology (e.g., social psychology)? What are two ways that sport psychology is different from other branches of psychology?

Question 44

Why don't sport psychologists always use experiments? Give an example in which an experiment would not be possible and describe an alternative research design.

Question 45

What is the difference between external validity and ecological validity? Can an experiment have one without the other? Why or why not?

Question 46

Does a sport psychologist have an ethical responsibility to report recruiting violations to the proper authorities? What about allegations of hazing? Why or why not?

Question 47

What are two benefits of conducting an experiment in the lab? Give two reasons why results from lab studies may not generalize to professional athletes.