Research Methods in Psychology 10th Edition By Shaughnessy-Test Bank

Chapter 01
Introduction

Short Answer Questions

1. (p. 6-7) Explain why psychologists at the turn of the 20th century embraced an empirical approach to advance understanding about human behavior.
At the turn of the 20th century society was interested in pseudoscientific topics such as clairvoyance and telepathy. To establish the young field of psychology as a science, the early psychologists focused on behavior and mental processes that could be observed directly. By adopting an empirical approach, with its emphasis on direct observation and experimentation for answering questions, early psychologists were able to divorce psychology from pseudoscience.
Level: Conceptual

2. (p. 11-12) Define ethnocentric bias and provide an example from the field of psychology.
Ethnocentric bias is when we attempt to understand the behavior of individuals in a different culture through the framework or views of our own culture. An example of ethnocentric bias occurred when researchers studied the concept of agency, the ability to control one’s environment and influence others, following Hurricane Katrina. Individuals higher in social status value control and agency, whereas individuals lower in social status value flexibility and resilience. People who stayed through the Hurricane Katrina, rather than flee, were judged as making bad choices. From their cultural perspective, however, they valued interdependence, strength, and faith as reasons for staying, rather than control and independence.
Level: Factual

3. (p. 13-14) Identify two ways in which psychological science takes place in a moral context, and the resource that psychologists use to guide the moral conduct of their research.
The first way that psychological science takes place in a moral context concerns the ethical behavior of researchers. They must maintain a high level of integrity and avoid scientific misconduct such as data fabrication, plagiarism, selective reporting of findings, failure to acknowledge contributions of others, misuse of funds, and unethical treatment of those involved in research. The second way in which psychological science takes place in a moral context relates to ethical dilemmas associated with the research process. For example, researchers confront questions concerning the use of deception in research and the use of animals for experimentation. The APA ethical principles guide researchers’ ethical behavior and are used to resolve ethical dilemmas.
Level: Factual

4. (p. 17) Identify two reasons why it is important to go to the original source “i.e., a research report” when evaluating a media report of psychological findings.
Based on a media report, it is very difficult to know whether the research is (good) research. A second problem is that media reports are summaries of the original research and critical aspects of the method, results, or interpretation of the research may be missing in the summary. A third problem may be that what is presented in the media may not reflect any research at all, as sometimes occurs with self-help books.
Level: Conceptual

Multiple Choice Questions

5. (p. 3) One way that psychologists seek to improve people’s lives is by
A. developing theories and conducting research.
B. relying on the medical model to understand human behavior.
C. using their intuition and common sense to answer questions about behavior.
D. shifting from behaviorism to a cognitive approach to psychology.
Level: Factual

6. (p. 4) The “scientific method” refers to
A. historical, social-cultural, and ethical contexts in which science takes place.
B. the specific procedures, measurements, and instruments used by psychologists to conduct research.
C. an abstract concept that describes the logic and methods used to answer questions.
D. the development of psychophysical methods for measuring thought processes.
Level: Factual

7. (p. 4-5) The most important characteristic of the scientific method is the
A. computer revolution.
B. empirical approach.
C. common-sense approach.
D. cognitive approach.
Level: Factual

8. (p. 6) Three ways in which we can characterize the context in which science occurs include
A. behavioral, cognitive, and neuroscience.
B. philosophical, hypothetical, and ethnocentric.
C. laboratory, field, and clinical.
D. historical, social/cultural, and moral.
Level: Factual

9. (p. 6) At the end of the 19th century, the young field of psychology was a subdiscipline of
A. medicine.
B. neuroscience.
C. philosophy.
D. theology.
Level: Factual

10. (p. 6) The development of psychophysical methods and reaction-time experiments at the end of the 19th century was important to the emerging field of psychology because these methods
A. were instrumental in the development of behaviorism in the 20th century.
B. helped psychology to become a quantifiable, laboratory-based science.
C. formed a foundation for the work of Sigmund Freud.
D. allowed researchers to provide information to the public about mental telepathy and clairvoyance.
Level: Conceptual

11. (p. 7) When using an empirical approach, psychologists focus on
A. behaviors and experiences that can be observed directly.
B. questions concerning sensation and perception.
C. using computers and other technology to understand people.
D. building an “empire” of psychological researchers around the world using the Internet.
Level: Factual

12. (p. 7) Most recently, the dominant psychological perspective for understanding people’s behavior and mental processes is
A. computer and Internet psychology.
B. cognitive psychology.
C. clinical psychology.
D. behaviorism.
Level: Factual

13. (p. 7) An important factor in the advancement of cognitive psychology during the 20th century was the
A. development of brain imaging techniques.
B. award of the Nobel Prize to several important psychologists.
C. shift from spiritualism to behaviorism.
D. computer revolution.
Level: Factual

14. (p. 7) The broad trend that describes the historical development of scientific psychology may be characterized as
A. unchanging; current scientific psychology is much as it was at its inception.
B. a focus on a small, specific set of behaviors in order to establish the science as legitimate.
C. shifts in theoretical perspectives from behaviorism, to cognitive perspectives, to neuroscience emphases.
D. conflicted, with much disagreement about the role of spiritualism in psychology.
Level: Conceptual

15. (p. 7) Which of the following statements about the historical context of psychology is true?
A. By investigating a wide array of topics over time, psychologists have demonstrated the complexity of human behavior.
B. The theoretical perspective of behaviorism has dominated the science of psychology since its inception.
C. Topics and theoretical perspectives have changed very little in more than 100 years of psychological research.
D. Only a few key scientists have contributed important findings to the science of psychology.
Level: Factual