A disadvantage of longitudinal studies is that

• Differences observed among participants of different ages are usually due to differences in the environment in which they were reared

• Participants who drop out during the course of the students may be different in important ways from ones who did not drop out

• Unfamiliarity with testing situations can put older participants at a disadvantage

• Personality traits do not remain constant across life spans

• Men and women confront different developmental crises in the course of their lives because of their different social roles

A test is administered to 1,000 fourth graders across the country, and then it is re-administered to the same children 90 days later. The test-retest results will yield an evaluation of the test’s

• Validity

• Reliability

• Cross-cultural fairness

• Factor analysis

• Goodness of fit

All of the following are American Psychological Association guidelines for researchers EXCEPT

• Research may not involve deception

• Participants must be voluntary

• Participants must be informed of potential risks

• Participants must be offered alternative activities if research participation is a course requirement

• Participants’ right to privacy must be protected

Which of the following characterizes a behavioral approach to psychology?

• A study of the unconscious motives involved in behavior

• An introspective study of the mental imagery used in problem solving

• An analysis of the neurons involved in memory storage

• The use of a projective test to assess personality

• A study of how reinforcement affects learning

Which of the following is required for a psychological experiment?

• More than one independent variable

• Sophisticated equipment

• Highly generalizable results

• Precise operational definitions

• A longitudinal study

According to the psychoanalytic theory, the bases for the development of mental disorders are

• Maladaptive, learned patterns of behavior

• Social, economic, and cultural factors

• Unconscious conflicts producing anxiety

• Physiological events that cause chemical imbalances in the brain

• Inherent moral weakness and lack of willpower

A researcher is trying to determine whether a new painkilling medicine is effective in reducing headaches. Twenty adult participants sit in a noisy environment for 30 minutes and then rate the severity of their headache on a scale from 0 (none) to 5 (intense). Group M (the medicine group) received a normal does of the medicine. Group C (control group) rests quietly. After 20 minutes, all participants again complete the headache rating scale.

Which of the following is the independent variable?

• The rating of the headache severity

• The medicine

• The age of the participants

• The 30 minutes of noise

• The 20 minute interval

Of the following topics, which would a cognitive psychologist be most likely to study?

• Conformity behavior of college students

• Genetic determinants of behavior

• Problem-solving strategies in chess

• Personnel selection problems

• Maturational process in adolescent development

Which of the following research approaches would be best for testing the hypothesis that the presence of certain odors causes people to gamble more?

• Experimental

• Observational

• Correlational

• Survey

• Case study

Researchers find that there is a significant, positive correlation between the number of hours students sleep and their grades. The researchers would be justified in concluding that

• Earning good grades cause people to sleep more

• Sleep more causes students to perform better in school

• Students who earn good grades tend to sleep more than those who do not

• More sleep has a beneficial impact on students’ grades

• Sleep deprivation has no impact on school performance