Deck 15: Psychology in Action: Anomalistic Psychology

Question 1

Scientific research and knowledge is:

A) Based on revelations
B) Based only on non-experimental methods
C) Based only on laboratory studies
D) Objective, observable, and falsifiable
E) Subjective, observable, and falsifiable

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Parapsychology has not been considered a science because, in general:

A) Research has not been falsifiable
B) Research has not been replicable
C) Findings have not been measurable
D) All of these
E) None of these

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Keeping an open mind about a concept is scientifically reasonable if:

A) Scientific methodology has rarely been used
B) An alternative concept is far more reasonable
C) The evidence points away from that concept
D) All of these
E) None of these

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Major problems with parapsychological research such as that of Levy and Randi are due to:

A) Gullible participants
B) Deliberately fraudulent researchers
C) Deliberate fraud by researchers and/or participants
D) Misinterpretation of findings
E) Misinterpretation of instructions

Question 5

Ganzfeld studies are considered scientific because they involve:

A) Measurable findings
B) Experimental methodology
C) Controls
D) None of these
E) All of these

Question 6

Prior experience, prior laboratory experience, feeling/perception preferences on a Myers-Briggs-type questionnaire, and practising a mental discipline:

A) Are not possible confounding variables
B) Can affect Ganzfeld scores without supporting ESP
C) Do not affect Ganzfeld scores
D) Are not possible extraneous variables
E) Can affect Ganzfeld scores because they support ESP

Question 7

Experimenter belief in ESP can affect findings if:

A) Attitudes are communicated to the participants
B) All controls are in place
C) The entire procedure is automated
D) Digital autoganzfeld procedures are used
E) Data are collected and stored by computers

Question 8

The sheep-goat effect means that:

A) Some people (sheep) distort memory to fit belief, whereas others (goats) recall accurately
B) Some animals (sheep) show evidence of psi powers, but others (goats) do not
C) Sheep have psi powers but goats do not
D) Goats have psi powers but sheep do not
E) Neither sheep nor goats have psi powers

Question 9

Horoscopes are seen as more meaningful by believers in astrology, which Wiseman and Smith (2002) identify as a demonstration of:

A) Cognitive dissonance
B) Spiritual belief
C) Cognitive bias
D) Maladaptive cognition
E) Evidence of psi

Question 10

Paranormal beliefs and reported experiences are more likely in individuals with:

A) None of these
B) All of these
C) Creative personalities
D) Fantasy-prone personalities
E) Abnormal temporal lobe activity

Question 11

The Psychodynamic Functions Hypothesis suggests that belief in psi is linked to childhood trauma and:

A) A lack of the maternal bond
B) Fixation at the oral stage
C) Fixation at the genital stage
D) A lack of control in childhood
E) Fixation at the phallic stage

Question 12

Self-deception occurs when individuals mislead themselves to:

A) Ignore research that challenges their own views
B) Believe what they want to believe
C) Misrepresent patterns of data
D) Give attention to research that supports their own views
E) All of these

Question 13

Researchers supporting superstitions as likely to be the result of faulty cognitions include:

A) Jahoda
B) Freud
C) Marmor
D) Skinner
E) Levy

Question 14

Large samples increase the likelihood of coincidences, which is the basis of:

A) Superstitions
B) Culture-specific paranormal beliefs
C) The Law of Truly Large Numbers
D) Cross-cultural paranormal beliefs
E) True paranormal experiences

Question 15

Psychic healing could be a manifestation of:

A) Paranormal activity
B) Extraneous variables such as mental health
C) A placebo effect
D) None of these
E) All of these

Question 16

Out-of-body experiences typically have the individuals:

A) Viewing themselves from a very great distance
B) At the point of death
C) In a highly excited emotional state
D) Having experienced a shock
E) Viewing themselves from outside their own bodies

Question 17

Out-of-body experiences differ from near-death experiences because the former:

A) Are more exciting
B) Are less exciting
C) Can occur in non-life threatening situations
D) Can occur during the daytime
E) Cannot occur during the day

Question 18

A strength of near-death experience research, e.g. van Lommel et al. (2001), is that it is:

A) Retrospective not prospective
B) Prospective not retrospective
C) Proactive not retroactive
D) Retroactive not proactive
E) Culturally specific

Question 19

Research with larger samples, e.g. Greyson (2003) and Lai et al. (2007) found the frequency of near-death experiences in patients of:

A) 12-20%
B) 10-17%
C) 10-14%
D) 8-16%
E) 8-10%

Question 20

A significant issue with research into psychic mediumship is the lack of:

A) A research hypothesis
B) Proof of an afterlife
C) Participating mediums
D) A set protocol for research procedures
E) Impartial recipients in samples