Psych - Final Exam Study Guide Review

You wish to take an accurate poll in a certain country by questioning people who truly represent the country’s adult population. Therefore, you need to ensure that you question:

• At least 50 percent males and 50 percent females.
• A small but intelligent sample of the population.
• A very large sample of the population.
• A random sample of the population.

Descriptive and correlational studies describe behavior, detect relationships, and predict behavior. But to explain behaviors, psychologists use:

• Naturalistic observation.
• Experiments.
• Surveys.
• Case studies.

To test the effect of a new drug on depression, we randomly assign people to control and experimental groups. Those in the experimental group take a pink pill containing the new medication; those in the control group take a pink pill that contains no medication. Which statement is true?

• The medication is the dependent variable.
• Depression is the independent variable.
• Participants in the control group take a placebo.
• Participants in the experimental group take a placebo.

Milgram's studies on obedience to authority showed that:

• Most people were able to resist the experimenter's pressure to shock the 'learner.
• Obedience was strongly linked to the subject's personality.
• Subjects readily imitated aggressive behavior after seeing violent movies.
• Most 'teachers' delivered the maximum amount of shock to the 'learner.

A researcher wants to determine whether noise level affects the blood pressure of elderly people. In one group she varies the level of noise in the environment and records participants’ blood pressure. In this experiment, the level of noise is the:

• Control condition.
• Placebo.
• Dependent variable.
• Independent variable.

A psychologist who explores how Chinese and South African definitions of attractiveness differ is working from the ________ perspective.

• behavioral
• evolutionary
• social-cultural
• cognitive

Dr. White investigates how a person's interpretation of a specific situation affects his or her reaction. Evidently, Dr. White is working from the _______________ perspective.

• neuroscience
• cognitive
• behavioral
• social-cultural

The psychological perspective that places the most emphasis on how observable responses are learned is the ________ perspective.

• behavioral
• cognitive
• behavior genetics
• evolutionary

To ensure that other researchers can repeat their work, psychologists use

• control groups.
• random assignment.
• operational definitions.
• double-blind procedures.

To find out what new restaurant to add on Grand Ave. in Gurnee, researchers conduct a survey. Everyone living in Gurnee is the __________________; where as people selected to take the survey will make up the ___________.

• population; random sample
• control group; experimental group
• experimental group; control group
• random sample; population