Deck 1: Behavioral Science

Question 1

List the three interrelated factors that define knowledge in behavioral science.

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Distinguish between description and understanding as goals of science.

Answer 2

No Answer

Question 3

List John Stuart Mill's three rules for causality.

Answer 3

No Answer

Question 4

Name and define the two forms prediction can take as a goal of science.

Question 5

Explain why behavioral scientists question whether control should be a goal of science.

Question 6

Define empiricism and describe its key aspects.

Question 7

Name and define the four key values of science for Western scientists.

Question 8

Explain why it is beneficial for scientists to make their information about their procedures and findings public.

Question 9

Explain why it is difficult for people to differentiate between well-established scientific findings and fringe scientific claims.

Question 10

List three key differences between the logical positivist and the humanist approaches to knowledge.

Question 11

List two key factors that are affected by a scientist's epistemological perspective.

Question 12

Define social constructionism and describe its role in contemporary behavioral science.

Question 13

Do you consider your epistemological perspective to be closer to logical positivism or to humanism? Explain your answer.

Question 14

Name and define the key components of theories.

Question 15

Explain the relationship between theoretical propositions and research hypotheses.

Question 16

What are narrative definitions of hypothetical constructs and why are they important?

Question 17

Choose a hypothetical construct based on your own research interests and write a conceptual definition of that construct. Then write an operational definition of that construct.

Question 18

List three characteristics of paradigmatic assumptions.

Question 19

Distinguish among unidimensional, multidimensional, and multifaceted constructs. Give an example of each.

Question 20

Briefly describe a study with a manipulated independent variable and one dependent variable. Be sure to label which is which.

Question 21

Distinguish between mediating and moderating variables.

Question 22

Distinguish between the terms specification and scope as they pertain to theories.

Question 23

Explain why researchers make assumptions when formulating a scientific theory.

Question 24

List the three scientific purposes of theories.

Question 25

What are propositions and how are they related to theories?

Question 26

Your text notes that theories incorporate the four goals of science. Explain how they do so.

Question 27

Name and define two of the essential characteristics of theories.

Question 28

Define parsimony and explain why it is a desirable characteristic of a good theory.

Question 29

List and define the three criteria for evaluating theories.

Question 30

Describe the factors that make a theory useful.

Question 31

Outline the five general steps in the research process.

Question 32

Describe the role of inference in the behavioral science research process.

Question 33

Distinguish between internal and external validity.

Question 34

What is statistical conclusion validity?

Question 35

List four errors you could make that would lead to inaccurate conclusions about the validity of your research study.

Question 36

Imagine you are designing a study. Do you believe it is more important to focus on internal or external validity? Explain your reasoning.

Question 37

In what ways are theory, research, and application interdependent aspects of behavior science research?

Question 38

Give an example of a political use and a personal use of research.

Question 39

Which of the following is true about personal beliefs about social behavior compared with beliefs based on scientific knowledge?

A) Scientists focus on how and why they believe something to be true rather than on what they personally think is true.
B) Personal beliefs may reflect bias; scientific beliefs are not subject to bias.
C) Scientific beliefs stem from observations of daily life; personal beliefs stem from what people have learned from others.
D) Personal beliefs about the social world are less likely to be accurate than beliefs based on findings from rigorous research.

Question 40

Behavioral science is composed of

A) theory.
B) research.
C) application.
D) all of the above.

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT a component of behavioral science?

A) theory
B) statistics
C) research
D) application

Question 42

The goals of behavioral science include

A) describing behavior.
B) predicting behavior.
C) controlling behavior.
D) all of the above.

Question 43

Defining a phenomenon is one aspect of the scientific goal of

A) describing behavior.
B) understanding behavior.
C) predicting behavior.
D) controlling behavior.

Question 44

Dr. Chan has noticed that when students leave class, they immediately check their cell phones but professors do not. Which goal of science has Dr. Chan met?

A) description
B) understanding
C) prediction
D) both a and c

Question 45

Discovering relationships among phenomena is an aspect of _______ as scientific goals.

A) description and control.
B) prediction and control.
C) description and understanding.
D) none of the above.

Question 46

The scientific goal of ________ attempts to determine why a phenomenon occurs.

A) control
B) prediction
C) understanding
D) description

Question 47

Dr. Katib has noticed that if she greets students as they are coming into the classroom, they are less likely to check their cell phones while waiting for class to begin. She conducts a study that shows that this is because she has identified them as individuals and they no longer feel anonymous. Which goal of science has Dr. Katib met?

A) control
B) prediction
C) description
D) understanding

Question 48

Statements about possible reasons for inconsistencies among research findings are

A) hypotheses.
B) descriptions.
C) operational definitions.
D) plausible alternatives.

Question 49

Which of the following is NOT one of John Stuart Mill's rules for causality?

A) time precedence of the cause
B) identification of moderators
C) lack of plausible alternative explanations
D) covariation

Question 50

Joan notes the amount of coffee people drink in her workplace and observers the amount of aggression they later exhibit. She finds no correlation between coffee consumption and aggression. The only criterion of causality that Joan's study clearly meets is

A) time precedence of the cause.
B) lack of plausible alternative explanations.
C) covariation.
D) none of these; that is, Joan's study does not meet any of the criteria for causality.

Question 51

As a goal of science, prediction consists of

A) forecasting future events, such as by using Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores and high school grade point average (GPA) to predict GPA during the first year of college.
B) formulating hypotheses to be tested in research.
C) making predictions about the behavior of specific individuals.
D) both a and b but not c.

Question 52

The scientific goal of control of behavior raises issues of

A) ethics: Should we try to control behavior?
B) practicality: Are we able to control behavior?
C) options: What techniques should we use to control behavior?
D) all of the above.

Question 53

The scientific value of empiricism means that scientists should always

A) base decisions about what consti?tutes knowledge on objective evidence rather than ideology or abstract logic.
B) question the quality of the knowledge they have on a topic.
C) be willing to change their views about what they consider to be valid knowledge as new evidence becomes available.
D) make available to others both what they find in their research and how they conduct their research.

Question 54

The scientific value of skepticism means that scientists should

A) base decisions about what consti?tutes knowledge on objective evidence rather than ideology or abstract logic.
B) question the quality of the knowledge they have on a topic.
C) be willing to change their views about what they consider to be valid knowledge as new evidence becomes available.
D) make available to others both what they find in their research and how they conduct their research.

Question 55

The scientific value of tentativeness means that scientists should

A) base decisions about what consti?tutes knowledge on objective evidence rather than ideology or abstract logic.
B) question the quality of the knowledge they have on a topic.
C) be willing to change their views about what they consider to be valid knowledge as new evidence becomes available.
D) make available to others both what they find in their research and how they conduct their research.

Question 56

Researchers used to assume that gender is a binary category. More recently, this assumption has been challenged. This demonstrates the scientific value of

A) publicness.
B) tentativeness.
C) empiricism.
D) control.

Question 57

The scientific value of publicness means that scientists should

A) base decisions about what consti?tutes knowledge on objective evidence rather than ideology or abstract logic.
B) question the quality of the knowledge they have on a topic.
C) be willing to change their views about what they consider to be valid knowledge as new evidence becomes available.
D) make available to others both what they find in their research and how they conduct their research.

Question 58

An effective way to teach people to debunk misconceptions about the results of scientific research is to

A) make the scientific evidence that disconfirms the myth readily available.
B) evaluate people's level of scientific knowledge and address their areas of weakness.
C) teach critical thinking skills alongside the scientific method.
D) begin teaching the scientific method in elementary school.

Question 59

The Method sections in scientific journals should describe the research procedures in enough detail that other scientists can examine them for possible flaws. This criterion reflects which scientific value?

A) tentativeness
B) publicness
C) skepticism
D) empiricism

Question 60

Which of the following is NOT one of the principles of the logical positivist epistemology?

A) Scientists' personal beliefs and values have no effect on science.
B) Science should seek naturalism even at the cost of giving up control.
C) Scientific inquiry must be carefully controlled, as in the traditional experiment.
D) There is only one correct interpretation of scientific data.

Question 61

Which of the following is NOT one of the principles of the humanistic epistemology?

A) The scientist should be emotionally distant from the people studied.
B) Research should be carried out in depth through the use of case studies.
C) Scientists' personal beliefs and values have a strong effect on the scientific process.
D) Science should seek naturalism even at the cost of giving up control.

Question 62

Scientists' epistemologies affect

A) their opinions about which theories are valid.
B) the kinds of research questions they believe are important.
C) the proper ways in which to interpret data.
D) all of the above

Question 63

Someone who holds the humanistic viewpoint on science is most likely to prefer the _______ as a research strategy.

A) correlational study
B) case study
C) laboratory experiment
D) quasi-experiment

Question 64

Someone who holds the logical positivist viewpoint on science is most likely to prefer the _______ as a research strategy.

A) correlational study
B) case study
C) laboratory experiment
D) quasi-experiment

Question 65

__________ is the belief that a scientist's understanding of the world is influenced by their values and expectations.

A) Logical positivism
B) Social constructionism
C) Scientific eloquence
D) Value attribution

Question 66

Which of the following researchers is MOST likely to take a social constructionist perspective?

A) a neuroscientist studying how right- or left-handedness affects information processing
B) a primatologist studying the longevity of animals in captivity
C) a critical race theorist studying how institutional factors influence employment discrimination
D) a clinical psychologist studying the effectiveness of a new anti-anxiety medication

Question 67

A theory is a

A) set of speculations about a phenomenon that has no basis in fact.
B) set of statements about relationships between variables
C) set of beliefs that are taken to be true and are not subject to empirical testing.
D) general way of conceptualizing and studying the subject matter of a particular field of science.

Question 68

Theoretical assumptions are

A) speculations about a phenomenon that have no basis in fact.
B) testable statements about relationships between variables.
C) beliefs that are taken to be true and are not subject to empirical testing.
D) ways of conceptualizing and studying the subject matter of a particular field of science.

Question 69

Which of the following is a reason that theoretical assumptions are not subject to empirical testing?

A) Scientists' base their assumptions on their personal understanding of the world.
B) Assumptions are abstract and so cannot be tested in the physical world.
C) Many technologies that could be used to test the assumption are too expensive for practical use.
D) Scientists cannot reasonably know and understand reality.

Question 70

Paradigms are

A) speculations about a phenomenon that have no basis in fact.
B) statements about relationships between variables.
C) beliefs that are taken to be true and are not subject to empirical testing.
D) ways of conceptualizing and studying the subject matter of a particular field of science.

Question 71

Theories are based on assumptions. General scientific assumptions

A) deal with the nature of reality.
B) derive from general ways of conceptualizing the subject matter of a particular scientific field.
C) concern the domain, or subject, of a theory.
D) often reflect the cultural norms surrounding the subject of a theory.

Question 72

Theories are based on assumptions. Domain assumptions

A) deal with the nature of reality.
B) derive from general ways of conceptualizing the subject matter of a particular scientific field.
C) concern the subject of a theory.
D) often reflect the cultural norms surrounding the subject of a theory.

Question 73

Domain assumptions are

A) usually implicit.
B) established facts.
C) untestable.
D) specific to the subject of a theory.

Question 74

Scientists' implicit assumptions can

A) cause conflicts if others adhere to different paradigms.
B) lead to the biased interpretation of data.
C) influence the development of research hypotheses.
D) all of the above.

Question 75

Definitions that explain the meaning of a hypothetical construct in words are referred to as

A) narratives.
B) operationalizations.
C) domain assumptions.
D) reifications.

Question 76

In theories, narrative definitions

A) are concrete representations of hypothetical constructs that are used in research.
B) are the meanings that people assign to concepts in everyday language.
C) explain the meanings of constructs in words, much as a dictionary definition does.
D) do none of the above.

Question 77

In theories, independent variables

A) are causes of other variables.
B) are effects of other variables.
C) come between two other variables in a causal chain.
D) limit the relationship between a proposed causal variable and its effect.

Question 78

In theories, dependent variables

A) are causes of other variables.
B) are effects of other variables.
C) come between two other variables in a causal chain.
D) limit the relationship between a proposed causal variable and its effect.

Question 79

In theories, mediating variables

A) are causes of other variables.
B) are effects of other variables.
C) come between two other variables in a causal chain.
D) change or limit the relationship between a proposed causal variable its effect.

Question 80

In theories, moderating variables

A) are causes of other variables.
B) are effects of other variables.
C) come between two other variables in a causal chain.
D) change or limit the relationship between a proposed causal variable and the variable proposed as its effect.