iClicker Questions for Exploring Psychology, 9th Edition by David G. Myers Karla Gingerich, Colorado State University Chapter 1: Thinking Critically with Psychological Science

Who was denied the Ph.D. degree from Harvard because she was a woman? A. Mary Whiton Calkins B. William James C. Margaret Floy Washburn D. Edward Bradford Titchener Answer: A

Psychology is currently defined as: A. the study of individual experience. B. the science of behavior and mental processes. C. the study of mental life. D. the scientific study of observable behavior. Answer: B

Which of the following is NOT one of psychology’s three main levels of analysis? A. developmental B. social-cultural C. biological D. psychological Answer: A

Which of the following is TRUE? A. Hypnosis is an effective way to help people relive long-buried or repressed memories. B. Electroconvulsive therapy is no longer used. C. Most people do not suffer from unrealistically low self-esteem. D. Opposites generally attract. Answer: C

Naturalistic observations are conducted in order to: A. describe behavior. B. explain behavior. C. predict behavior. D. control behavior. Answer: A

Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates the strongest relationship between variables? A. positive .05 B. negative .25 C. positive .75 D. negative .95 Answer: D

Which of the following represents the average score in a distribution? A. the mode B. the mean C. the median D. the standard deviation Answer: B

Critical Thinking Questions

Dr. Garcia asks participants in her study to describe their experience as they smell an orange. Dr. Garcia’s method most closely resembles that of the early: A. structuralists. B. pragmatists. C. Freudians. D. functionalists. Answer: A

John B. Watson is most likely to say: A. “A person needs unconditional love and acceptance in order to reach her true potential.” B. “A person’s behavior reflects unconscious conflicts and emotions that result from early childhood experiences.” C. “Emotional responses reflect biological processes such as hormones and brain chemistry. D. “Science must be rooted in observation of behavior, rather than introspective processes.” Answer: D

Dr. Lee’s research explores how children’s intellectual development is affected by environmental and genetic factors. His research reflects the modern __________ perspective. A. behavioral B. behavioral genetics C. evolutionary D. neuroscience Answer: B

Dr. Frye conducts research investigations on memory, with the intent of contributing to what is known about human memory processes. Dr. Frye conducts: A. professional service. B. applied research. C. basic research. D. psychiatry. Answer: C

After watching their favorite team lose a game, Emma and her friends commented to each other about how they had always known the loss was inevitable. Psychologists call this: A. overconfidence. B. the false consensus effect. C. the hindsight bias. D. an illusory correlation. Answer: C

Dr. Anderson conducts an experiment to see whether exposure to helpful models leads to helping behavior in young children. Of the forty girls and boys in his study, half are exposed to helpful models while the other half watch the same models not engaged in helping behavior. In this experiment, the dependent variable is: A. the gender of the children. B. helpful or non-helpful models. C. the age of the children. D. helping behavior. Answer: D

Which of the following is the best way to generate a random sample of students for a research study? A. mail out a questionnaire that students could voluntarily complete and return B. stand by the door of the library and ask people who pass by to answer your questions C. offer extra credit for students in a particular classroom who choose to participate D. use a table of random numbers to pick participants from a student listing Answer: D

A significant disadvantage of the correlational approach is that it: A. does not provide evidence of cause and effect. B. cannot be used to examine relationships between variables that exist naturally. C. does not aid in the process of prediction. D. does not provide information about how two variables are related. Answer: A

After conducting an experiment, Dr After conducting an experiment, Dr. Fitzpatrick concluded that there was a statistically significant difference between the scores of the experimental and control groups. In other words, A. the difference is highly meaningful and important to scientists. B. the results are replicable. C. the scores differed by five points or more. D. it is unlikely that the difference occurred by chance. Answer: D