Step Up To: Psychology

by John J. Schulte, Psy.D.

Psychology, Eighth Edition

by David G. Myers
Worth Publishers
(2007)

Chapter 1: Thinking Critically With

Psychological Science
Correlation

Describe Our
World

Psychology
as a
Science

Experiment

Statistical
Reasoning

Psychology as a
Science

500
400
300
200
100

Describe our World

500
400
300
200
100

Correlation

500
400
300
200
100

Experiment

500
400
300
200
100

Statistical
Reasoning

500
400
300
200
100

1. Psychology is currently defined

as:
A) the scientific study of behavior.
B) the scientific study of behavior and
mental processes.
C) the scientific study of biological and
cognitive processes.
D) the scientific study of motives
and conflicts.

2. The ____ administers tests and

provides therapy and the ___ prescribes
medication.
A) clinical psychologist; psychiatrist
B) psychiatrist; clinical psychologist
C) counseling psychologist; clinical
psychologist
D) school psychologist; clinical
psychologist

3. In the SQ3R model, the

recommended sequence is:
A) survey, question, read, reason,
review.
B) study, question, review, read,
reflect.
C) study, question, read, review,
reflect.
D) survey, question, read, review,
reflect.

4. Dr. James proposes that mens desire

for young, healthy women contributes to
the survival of the human species. He is
taking the ___ perspective.

A) psychodynamic
B) neurological
C) evolutionary
D) socio-cultural

5. Together, three different levels form

an integrated approach to
understanding psychological
processes. This approach is called:

A) neuro-developmental.
B) biopsychosocial.
C) bio-mental-behavioral.
D) cognitive-behavioral.

6. Julie appeared not to be surprised when

the couple broke up. I could have
predicted that, she said. Julie is
demonstrating:
A) ESP.
B) hindsight bias.
C) overestimation the extent to
which others share her opinion.
D) correlation proves causation.

7. To have a scientific attitude, we

should not just believe something we
have been told, we should examine the
evidence, ask questions and come to our
own conclusions. This process is called:
A) a hypothesis.
B) an experiment.
C) critical thinking.
D) logical reasoning.

8. A hypothesis is a(n):
A) testable prediction that gives
direction to research.
B) way to organize facts.
C) process of linking facts to
deeper principles.
D) set of principles that explains
newly discovered facts.

9. According to the recommendations by

the Psychologists for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals, research using
animal subjects:
A) should not be done.
B) should be conducted in a controlled
laboratory.
C) should only be conducted in order
to
save lives.
D) should be done through
naturalistic
observation.

10. The following is an example of

an operational definition:
A) stress is defined as how well a person
adjusts to his/her environment.
B) personality is defined as how well that
person relates to others.
C) empathy is defined as showing you can
understand the other persons feelings.
D) intelligence is defined as a score on
an intelligence test.
E) all of the above.

11. When everybody has an equal

chance of being included in a
study, this process is called:

A) unbiased reporting.
B) a survey.
C) a random sample.
D) reliability.

12. Which of the following

correlation coefficients reflects the
strongest correlation?

A) +.10
B) -.64
C) +.35
D) -.10

13. A mistaken belief that two factors

or events are related when they are
not is called:

A) the rule of falsifiability.

B) pseudoscience.
C) an illusory correlation.
D) paranormal phenomena.

14. Joan had not been able to get pregnant

for years so she and her husband decided
to adopt. Six months after the adoption,
Joan became pregnant. This proves:
A) the belief that infertile couples are more
likely to have a child after adoption.
B) if you try hard to have a child, you are
less likely to.
C) she must have become remarried.
D) coincidences which confirm a
belief are believed to be meaningful.

15. Consistently, we find low self-esteem

is often related with high levels of
depression. This means:
A) low self-esteem causes depression.
B) depression causes low self-esteem.
C) low self-esteem and depression are
caused by a third factor.
D) they are correlated but this does
not prove causation.

16. In order to prove a cause-andeffect relationship, we must use:

A) naturalistic observation.
B) the experimental method.
C) human subjects.
D) correlation coefficients.

17. In an experiment, the group of

participants who are exposed to the
treatment of interest is in the:

A) control condition.
B) independent condition.
C) placebo condition.
D) experimental condition.

18. Neither the researcher nor the

subjects knew whether or not they
received the drug studied or a placebo.
This is an example of:

A) expectancy effects.
B) placebo effects.
C) a double-blind study.
D) nothing. It would be ridiculous.

19. The best way to assure the posttreatment differences found between the
experimental and control groups is due
to the treatment is by:
A) random assignment.
B) training your subjects well.
C) letting your subjects know which
group they are in.
D) using a placebo.

20. Dr. Schulte wants to investigate if

aggressive behavior in children is
increased if they view violent videos. In
this instance, the dependent variable is:

A) violent videos.
B) aggressive behavior.
C) a placebo.
D) the control condition.

21. Which measure of central

tendency is the exact middle score of
a distribution of scores?

A) mean
B) median
C) mode
D) coefficient

22. The ____ is a measure of the

degree of variation among a set of
scores from each other.

A) mean
B) scatterplot
C) standard deviation
D) normal distribution

23. Mean is to range as ____ is to ___.

A) central tendency; variation
B) frequency distribution; bar
graph
C) scatterplot; correlation
D) mean; mode

24: If results of research are not likely to

have occurred by chance, we say the
results are:

A) an illusory correlation.
B) descriptive.
C) valid.
D) statistically significant.

25. Mr. Soda found in his experiment more

Americans enjoyed Coke than Pepsi. He
blindfolded 100 people, had them taste each
and then report. You would recommend that
Mr. Soda:

A) should use other colas, too.

B) should have tested non-Americans.
C) should test many more subjects.
D) should have some test 7-up.

Stop here, or continue as a review

1. Psychology is currently defined as:

A) the scientific study of behavior.
B) the scientific study of behavior and
mental processes.
C) the scientific study of biological
and cognitive processes.
D) the scientific study of motives and
conflicts.
2

2. The ____ administers tests and

provides therapy and the ___ prescribes
medication.
A) clinical psychologist; psychiatrist
B) psychiatrist; clinical psychologist
C) counseling psychologist; clinical
psychologist
D) school psychologist; clinical
psychologist
13

3. In the SQ3R model, the

recommended sequence is:
A) survey, question, read, reason,
review.
B) study, question, review, read,
reflect.
C) study, question, read, review,
reflect.
D) survey, question, read, review,
reflect.

15

4. Dr. James proposes that mens desire

for young, healthy women contributes to
the survival of the human species. He is
taking the ___ perspective.

A) psychodynamic
B) neurological
C) evolutionary
D) socio-cultural
11

5. Together, three different levels form

an integrated approach to
understanding psychological
processes. This approach is called:

A) neuro-developmental.
B) biopsychosocial.
C) bio-mental-behavioral.
D) cognitive-behavioral.
10

6. Julie appeared not to be surprised when

the couple broke up. I could have
predicted that, she said. Julie is
demonstrating:
A) ESP.
B) hindsight bias.
C) overestimation the extent to which
others share her opinion.
D) correlation proves causation.
20

7. To have a scientific attitude, we

should not just believe something we
have been told, we should examine the
evidence, ask questions and come to our
own conclusions. This process is called:
A) a hypothesis.
B) an experiment.
C) critical thinking.
D) logical reasoning.
24

8. A hypothesis is a(n):
A) testable prediction that gives
direction to research.
B) way to organize facts.
C) process of linking facts to
deeper principles.
D) set of principles that explains
newly discovered facts.
25

9. According to the recommendations by

the Psychologists for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals, research using
animal subjects:
A) should not be done.
B) should be conducted in a controlled
laboratory.
C) should only be conducted in order
to
save lives.
D) should be done through
naturalistic
observation.
47

10. The following is an example of

an operational definition:
A) stress is defined as how well a person
adjusts to his/her environment.
B) personality is defined as how well that
person relates to others.
C) empathy is defined as showing you can
understand the other persons feelings.
D) intelligence is defined as a score on
an intelligence test.
E) all of the above.
25

11. When everybody has an equal

chance of being included in a
study, this process is called:

A) unbiased reporting.
B) a survey.
C) a random sample.
D) reliability.
28

12. Which of the following

correlation coefficients reflects the
strongest correlation?

A) +.10
B) -.64
C) +.35
D) -.10

31

13. A mistaken belief that two factors

or events are related when they are
not is called:

A) the rule of falsifiability.

B) pseudoscience.
C) an illusory correlation.
D) paranormal phenomena.

33

14. Joan had not been able to get pregnant

for years so she and her husband decided
to adopt. Six months after the adoption,
Joan became pregnant. This proves:
A) the belief that infertile couples are more
likely to have a child after adoption.
B) if you try hard to have a child, you are
less likely to.
C) she must have become remarried.
D) coincidences which confirm a
belief are believed to be meaningful.
33

15. Consistently, we find low self-esteem

is often related with high levels of
depression. This means:
A) low self-esteem causes depression.
B) depression causes low self-esteem.
C) low self-esteem and depression are
caused by a third factor.
D) they are correlated but this does
not prove causation.
32

16. In order to prove a cause-andeffect relationship, we must use:

A) naturalistic observation.
B) the experimental method.
C) human subjects.
D) correlation coefficients.
36

17. In an experiment, the group of

participants who are exposed to the
treatment of interest is in the:

A) control condition.
B) independent condition.
C) placebo condition.
D) experimental condition.

37

18. Neither the researcher nor the

subjects knew whether or not they
received the drug studied or a placebo.
This is an example of:

A) expectancy effects.
B) placebo effects.
C) a double-blind study.
D) nothing. It would be ridiculous.
37

19. The best way to assure the posttreatment differences found between the
experimental and control groups is due
to the treatment is by:
A) random assignment.
B) training your subjects well.
C) letting your subjects know
which group they are in.
D) using a placebo.
37

20. Dr. Schulte wants to investigate if

aggressive behavior in children is increased
if they view violent videos. In this instance,
the dependent variable is:

A) violent videos.
B) aggressive behavior.
C) a placebo.
D) the control condition.

38

21. Which measure of central tendency is the

exact middle score of a distribution of scores?

A) mean
B) median
C) mode
D) coefficient

41

22. The ____ is a measure of the degree of

variation among a set of scores from each
other.

A) mean
B) scatterplot
C) standard deviation
D) normal distribution

42

23. Mean is to range as ____ is to ___.

A) central tendency; variation
B) frequency distribution; bar
graph
C) scatterplot; correlation
D) mean; mode

41

24: If results of research are not likely to

have occurred by chance, we say the
results are:

A) an illusory correlation.
B) descriptive.
C) valid.
D) statistically significant.

43

25. Mr. Soda found in his experiment more

Americans enjoyed Coke than Pepsi. He
blindfolded 100 people, had them taste each
and then report. You would recommend that
Mr. Soda:

A) should use other colas, too.

B) should have tested nonAmericans.
C) should test many more subjects.
D) should have some test 7-up.
43

Acknowledgements
Step Up Created by:
John J. Schulte, Psy.D.

Based on Psychology,
Eighth Edition
By David G. Myers
Published by
Worth Publishers
(2007)

Answers
1.

9.

17.

2.

10.

18.

3.

11.

19.

4.

12.

20.

5.

13.

21.

6.

14.

22.

7.

15.

23.

8.

16.

24.

25.