AP Psych Midterm Review

David is conducting research on the effectiveness of a new teaching method. He decides to use a meta-analysis to strengthen his findings. What is a meta-analysis?

• A study of a single case in detail.

• A method of observing subjects in their natural environment.

• A statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple studies.

• A survey conducted to gather public opinion.

Grace conducts a survey among students who are part of the university's honors program. Which of the following is this study most likely to suffer from?

• Wording effects

• Placebo effect

• Sampling bias

• Observer bias

Which is NOT true of random assignment?

• It eliminates experimenter bias

• It ensures that the research is ethical

• It attempts to control for confounding variables

• It ensures that the experimental & control groups are roughly similar

In a city, both ice cream sales and drowning incidents increase during summer. Maria comes to the conclusion that ice cream sales cause drowning. Maria should not make this assumption because...(more than one answer applies)

• correlation does not equal causation

• the two variables are negatively correlated

• the two variables are unrelated

• there is a third variable can that can explain the relationship between ice cream sales & drowning incidents.

Charlotte noticed that her test scores were unusually high one semester, but the following semester, they were closer to her usual average. What is the term for this phenomenon?

• Observer bias

• Regression toward the mean

• Sampling bias

• Placebo effect

In a split brain patient, a flower appears in the left visual field. What would the patient be able to do?

• Say he saw a flower

• Draw or identify a flower with his left hand

• Draw or identify a flower with his right hand

• Do nothing since his corpus callosum is severed.

Why is a double-blind procedure important in avoiding the placebo effect in clinical trials?

• It ensures all participants are aware of the treatment they are receiving.

• It prevents researchers from unintentionally influencing participants' behaviors.

• It guarantees participants in the control group receive the active treatment.

• It limits the number of variables by keeping the sample size smaller.

If Melanie can't seem to remember the names of new people she meets, she most likely has damage to her

• hypothalamus

• hippocampus

• thalamus

• amygdala

In a psychological experiment, why is it important to use operational definitions for terms like "sleep" and "memory retention"?

• To ensure the experiment is conducted in a laboratory setting.

• To allow researchers to measure variables consistently and accurately.

• To make the experiment more complex and detailed.

• To ensure participants understand the purpose of the study.

​ (a)   % of the population will score between a 70-130 on an IQ test.

• 95
• 68
• 99
• 2