Question 1

Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding the advertising by psychic advisors and stage mentalists?

Accepted Answer

This statement is false. Stage mentalists use deception as a key part of their performances and often rely on audience participation to create the illusion of psychic ability.

Question 2

Psychic advisers promoted in television commercials rely on which of the following to create an illusion that they know private information about the people who call them?

Accepted Answer

Psychic advisers promoted in television commercials rely on uncritical acceptance from their audience, who are predisposed to believe their claims. They also rely on confirmation bias, as their clients are likely to remember the psychic's accurate predictions and forget their incorrect ones.

Question 3

If a television ad tells you that a "life coach" can map out your entire career and financial future if you log-on and pay for three half-hour web-based sessions,

Accepted Answer

It is unlikely that a life coach can accurately predict one's entire career and financial future in just three half-hour sessions. This is an oversimplified claim that should be approached with caution.

Question 4

An advertisement promising to "unlock your hidden potential in just two hours!" should be suspect because

Accepted Answer

Promising to "unlock your hidden potential in just two hours" is an oversimplification of a complex process. It is unrealistic to expect that everyone can achieve significant personal growth in such a short amount of time. True personal development requires ongoing effort and commitment.

Question 5

Expensive commercial courses have long been promoted to teach people to walk barefoot on hot coals through a technique called "neurolinguistic programming." Physicist Bernard Leikind was able to show that anyone with reasonably callused feet can walk over a bed of coals because he

Accepted Answer

Bernard Leikind demonstrated that walking on hot coals did not require special training by showing that volunteers could do it without any prior instruction, challenging the necessity of expensive courses.

Question 6

You caution a friend about eating so many foods that are high in fat content.Your friend replies that his grandfather ate all the bacon and cheese he wanted, and he lived to be 93.Which of the following is the BEST explanation for your friend's error in reasoning?

Accepted Answer

Your friend is using an individual case (his grandfather) to justify his own behavior, without considering other factors that may have contributed to his grandfather's longevity. This is a logical fallacy known as the use of individual cases.

Question 7

Regarding psychology in the media, which of the following statements is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

This statement is false, as media stories regarding psychology tend to focus more on entertainment value rather than critical thinking and science. The media often exaggerate findings and report sensational stories to capture the audience's attention. Therefore, reports in the popular media tend to be biased towards reporting "astonishing" findings and telling interesting stories. Choices A, C, and D are all true statements regarding psychology in the media.

Question 8

A theater reported that their highest beverage sales this year occurred during showings of The Great African Desert.However, we cannot conclude that the film affected beverage consumption because

Accepted Answer

Without a control group, it's difficult to determine if the film itself influenced beverage sales or if other factors were at play.

Question 9

If students who complete a study skills course raised their grade point averages, can we conclude that the course caused their improvement?

Accepted Answer

Without a control group, we cannot determine whether the improvement was due to the study skills course or other factors such as motivation, natural academic improvement, or external factors. Without a control group, we cannot rule out alternative explanations for the improvement in GPA.

Question 10

When reading the claims of makers of home biofeedback machines, sleep-learning devices, subliminal CDs, and the like, it is important to

Accepted Answer

When reading the claims of makers of home biofeedback machines, sleep-learning devices, subliminal CDs, and the like, it is important to consider whether the information is motivated by monetary gain. Many of these products make extravagant promises without any scientific evidence to back them up, and their primary goal is often to make money rather than to provide a genuine benefit to consumers. Therefore, it's essential to approach these claims with a healthy level of skepticism and to carefully evaluate any potential benefits against the cost of the product.

Question 11

Incredible but false stories posted on the Internet, such as "The Health Department in Oregon Looking for Someone Fluent in the Fictional Language of Klingon," illustrates the need for readers to always

Accepted Answer

The story illustrates the need for readers to always be skeptical of what they read on the Internet, as incredible but false stories are often posted. It is important to fact-check and verify information before accepting it as true.

Question 12

When newspaper or magazine articles claim the effectiveness of some product or service, it is wise to

Accepted Answer

It is important to consider the source of the information before accepting any claims of effectiveness. The credibility and potential biases of the source should be taken into account.

Question 13

In 2002, baseball pitcher Randy Johnson began wearing a particular metal-impregnated twisted rope necklace designed to "stabilize the electricity flow through the body." He claimed that it improved his pitching and his batting.By the 2010 World Series, hundreds of players were wearing one, all without any scientific explanation of, or evidence for, this rope necklace's efficacy.They bought this necklace

Accepted Answer

The players likely bought the necklace due to a single example - Randy Johnson's claim that it improved his performance.

Question 14

As consumption of ice cream increases during the year, so does the number of aggravated assaults.A politician advocates that ice cream be banned so that the crime rate will go down.Besides needing to be voted out of office, this politician needs to understand

Accepted Answer

The politician needs to understand the difference between correlation and causation. Just because two things are correlated, it does not necessarily mean that one causes the other. There could be other factors at play that contribute to both phenomena. Banning ice cream to reduce crime rates would not be an effective solution based on this correlation.

Question 15

A psychologist finds that most of the juvenile delinquents at the facility where he counsels have parents who are smokers.If he concludes that parental smoking is the reason for these teens' behavior and poor choices, then he has

Accepted Answer

The psychologist has confused correlation and causation by assuming that parental smoking is the cause of the teens' behavior and poor choices. While it is possible that parental smoking may contribute to some of the teens' behavior, it is not necessarily the only or primary cause. There may be other factors at play, such as genetics, family dynamics, and socioeconomic status. Therefore, the psychologist would need to conduct further research and analysis to determine the true causative factors.

Question 16

Regarding the use of examples, anecdotes, single cases, and testimonials in advertising, which of the following statements is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

Using examples, anecdotes, single cases, and testimonials in advertising can create a bias towards the effectiveness of a product or service, but they are not necessarily valid indicators of the general truth. Individual cases may not be representative of what is true for everyone, and they may not provide sufficient evidence to support the claims being made in the advertisement. Therefore, they are potentially deceptive and should be viewed with caution.

Question 17

Kevin is a law student, who reads an advertisement for a sleep-learning device that claims to have helped a law student pass the state bar exam.Kevin should

Accepted Answer

An individual case does not provide evidence of the effectiveness of the device in general. It is important to base decisions on reliable scientific evidence from systematic research, which is not provided in this case.

Question 18

A friend tells you that he conducted a scientific experiment this summer in which he talked to ten plants and measured their growth.He found that these plants grew faster and taller than any plants he had ever grown.From your friend's research, can we conclude that talking to plants is the cause of their fast growth?

Accepted Answer

Without a control group, it is not possible to conclude that talking to the plants caused the growth, as there may be other factors that influenced the growth. The control group would provide a baseline for comparison and determine if the observed growth was actually due to the treatment (talking to the plants) or due to other factors such as soil quality, light exposure, or temperature.

Question 19

A researcher determines that the crime rate in a large city is related to the phases of the moon.She concludes that the gravitational pull of the moon influences human behavior.She does not understand

Accepted Answer

Correlation does not necessarily imply causation, and in this case, the researcher is assuming a causal relationship between the moon's phases and crime rates without considering alternative explanations or controlling for other variables that may affect crime rates.

Question 20

The modern media, and especially the Internet, function as a giant "echo chamber" awash with rumors, hoaxes, half-truths, and urban legends like the one about giant alligators living in New York sewers.Therefore, as a critical thinker, you should

Accepted Answer

Being skeptical means questioning and evaluating information before accepting it as true. This is especially important in an age when false information can spread quickly through social media and other online outlets. It is important to fact-check and do your own research before accepting any information as true.

Quiz 1: Psychology, Critical Thinking, and Science