Question 1

Which of the following is NOT used to help control for subjects' behavior and expectations in an experimental study?

Accepted Answer

A selection factor refers to the process of selecting subjects that have specific characteristics, and is not directly related to controlling for subjects' behavior and expectations in an experimental study. Placebo, blind, and random assignment are all techniques that are commonly used to help control for subjects' behavior and expectations in experimental studies.

Question 2

In social situations, men who believe they have been drinking alcohol tend to become ______ anxious and ______ sexually aroused.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that men tend to experience decreased social anxiety after drinking alcohol, but are more likely to experience increased sexual arousal.

Question 3

In an experiment, if there are two groups being studied and one group is given alcohol to measure its effects while the other group is not given alcohol, the people who do not get the alcohol would be considered ______.

Accepted Answer

The group that is not given alcohol is called the control group. They serve as the baseline for comparison with the experimental group, which is the group being given alcohol. The dependent and independent variables are not determined by whether or not alcohol is given, but rather by what is being measured or manipulated in the experiment.

Question 4

The widely used study technique developed by psychologist Francis Robinson in 1970 is the ______ system.

Accepted Answer

The widely used study technique developed by psychologist Francis Robinson in 1970 is the SQ3R system, which stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review.

Question 5

In experiments, some subjects are kept unaware of whether or not they have received an experimental treatment. This is known as keeping the subjects ______.

Accepted Answer

Keeping subjects unaware of whether they have received an experimental treatment is known as blinding. This helps to reduce bias and ensure the accuracy of the results.

Question 6

In well-designed studies subjects are assigned ______ to treatment and control groups.

Accepted Answer

Random assignment ensures that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to either the treatment or control group, which minimizes the risk of bias and confounding variables. Arbitrary, haphazard, and sequential assignment methods are more prone to bias and are not recommended in well-designed studies.

Question 7

Experiments in which neither the subjects nor the researchers know who has been given the treatment and who has not are known as ______ studies.

Accepted Answer

Double-blind studies are experiments in which neither the subjects nor the researchers know who has been given the treatment and who has not. This is done to prevent any potential bias in the results, as the researchers may unintentionally influence the outcomes by their expectations or beliefs. The use of a placebo, or a fake treatment, is often employed in double-blind studies to further ensure that any observed effects are due to the treatment itself and not just the placebo effect.

Question 8

In a study to measure the effects of a new drug to treat anxiety, some subjects are given the real drug while others are given sugar pills. In this situation, the sugar pills are being used as ______.

Accepted Answer

The sugar pills are being used as a placebo, which is a substance that has no therapeutic effect but is given to a patient as if it does. The purpose of a placebo is to serve as a control group and to determine if the effects of the treatment are due to the drug or simply the patient's belief in the treatment.

Question 9

In double-blind controlled studies, evidence shows that ______ can guess at greater than chance levels of accuracy whether an active drug or placebo was used.

Accepted Answer

Both prescribing doctors and patients can guess at greater than chance levels of accuracy whether an active drug or placebo was used in double-blind controlled studies.

Question 10

According to government statistics, when compared to high school graduates, over a lifetime of earnings, people with college degrees earn ______.

Accepted Answer

According to government statistics, people with college degrees earn about $1,000,000 more over their lifetime than high school graduates.

Question 11

A bogus treatment that has the appearance of being genuine is called ______.

Accepted Answer

A placebo is a simulated or sham treatment that has the appearance of being genuine. It is often used in medical studies as a control group to compare the results of the actual treatment against.

Question 12

In social situations, men who believe they have been drinking alcohol tend to become ______ sexually aroused and ______ aggressive.

Accepted Answer

Men who believe they have been drinking alcohol tend to become more sexually aroused and more aggressive due to the disinhibiting effects they attribute to alcohol, regardless of whether they have actually consumed alcohol or not.

Question 13

In an experiment, if there are two groups being studied and one group is given alcohol to measure its effects while the other group is not given alcohol, the people receiving the alcohol would be considered ______.

Accepted Answer

The group receiving the alcohol is the experimental group because it is the group being tested and studied to measure the effects of the alcohol. The other group, which is not given alcohol, is the control group, used as a standard of comparison for the results. The terms "dependent group" and "independent group" are not commonly used in experimental design.

Question 14

In social situations, men who believe they have been drinking alcohol tend to become ______ anxious and ______ aggressive.

Accepted Answer

Research shows that in social situations, men who believe they have been drinking alcohol tend to become less anxious but more aggressive.

Question 15

. Each of the following is recommended by your authors for taking an active approach to learning EXCEPT ______.

Accepted Answer

The statement "study only one subject per day" is not recommended by the authors for taking an active approach to learning. Instead, they suggest incorporating variety in your studying by switching between subjects or topics. Planning ahead, practicing self-reward, and expanding your attention span are all recommended by the authors for taking an active approach to learning.

Question 16

A measure of the assumed effect of an independent variable is the ______.

Accepted Answer

The assumed effect of an independent variable is typically measured by observing changes in the dependent variable. Therefore, the answer is the dependent variable (option A). Experimental control (option B) refers to the ability to manipulate or hold constant all potential confounding variables, experimental blind (option C) pertains to participants being unaware of their group assignment, and placebo effect (option D) refers to the phenomenon where a participant's belief in receiving a treatment leads to improvements they attribute to the treatment, even if the treatment is actually inert.

Question 17

The person who on average earns the most money per year is someone with a ______.

Accepted Answer

According to various studies and statistics, individuals with professional degrees, such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, and veterinarians, tend to earn the highest salaries on average compared to other education levels.

Question 18

Lang's (1975) study found that men who drank nonalcoholic tonic water but who had been led to believe that it contained alcohol ______.

Accepted Answer

Lang's (1975) study demonstrated the power of expectancy effects, showing that men who believed they had consumed alcohol (even though it was nonalcoholic tonic water) exhibited more aggression than those who had actually consumed alcohol without knowing it.

Question 19

In an experiment, if there are two groups being studied and one group is given alcohol to measure its effects, while the other group is not given alcohol, the alcohol would be considered ______.

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the factor that is manipulated or changed in an experiment to observe its effects on the dependent variable. In this case, alcohol is the independent variable because it is being manipulated to measure its effects.

Question 20

Most of us learn ______.

Accepted Answer

Research has shown that most of us learn better through distributed learning, where the material is studied in multiple sessions with breaks in between. Massed learning, where material is studied in one long session, can lead to overload and is not as effective. Therefore, choice D is the best answer.

Quiz 1: Psychology and the Challenges of Life