Name: __________________________ Date: _____________

1. The basic goal of behavioral research is to

A) change how people interact with each other.
B) make scientific research more like philosophy.
C) study the behavior of humans and animals.
D) change political attitudes.

2. Scientific research is empirical. This means that it is based on

A) rational reflection.
B) logical reasoning.
C) systematic collection and analysis of data.
D) prior theorizing.

3. One of the most important uses of behavioral research is to

A) prevent unwanted technological development.
B) change the moral behavior of individuals.
C) study and provide solutions to important human problems.
D) discipline scientists who conduct unethical research.

4. Statements that are based on a systematic collection and analysis of data are called
A) value-laden.
B) empirical.
C) subjective.
D) rational.

5. Behavioral scientists believe that the best tool for understanding human behavior is to
A) pay close attention to the beliefs of experts.
B) conduct empirical research.
C) combine the ideas of many people into systematic statements.
D) ask individuals about their personal habits.

6. Behavioral scientists draw conclusions about human behavior primarily by

A) analyzing the statements of other scientists.
B) reading journal articles.
C) using intuition.
D) collecting and analyzing data.

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 7. It is not usually a good idea to rely on people's intuition about the causes of behavior
because
A) people cannot report on their intuition.
B) people don't usually tell the truth.
C) people can be inaccurate about why they do what they do.
D) intuition is too much related to extrasensory perception.

8. In scientific research,
A) ideas are primarily based on the opinions of others.
B) ideas are developed primarily through intuition.
C) ideas are obtained primarily through observation.
D) there are many different sources of ideas.

9. Which of the following is NOT a way to get a research idea?

A) Using the deductive method
B) Using the empirical method
C) Using the inductive method
D) Finding previous limiting conditions of a tested research question.

10. Charles has noticed that every time it rains, both his car and his lawn mower are hard to
start up. On the basis of these observations, he develops a theory that humidity reduces
the ability of gasoline to burn effectively. Charles's theory can be said to have been
developed on the basis of which of the following?
A) The inductive method
B) The deductive method
C) The empirical method
D) The abstract method

11. One of the disadvantages of using our observation of everyday life to generate a
research hypothesis is that
A) the hypothesis may be shown to be incorrect.
B) the hypothesis is likely to be tautological.
C) the results of the research may not relate to existing knowledge in the domain being
studied.
D) the hypothesis is unlikely to be falsifiable.

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12. A researcher might use previous research to develop an experiment that
A) explained conflicting findings.
B) found limiting conditions.
C) added to existing research.
D) Any of the above may be used.

13. When looking for literature sources for a research project, Sarah looked for information
in the Journal of Counseling Psychology and in her social psychology textbook. What
types of sources are each of these?
A) Secondary, secondary
B) Secondary, primary
C) Primary, secondary
D) Primary, primary

14. A literature search is usually conducted

A) to be certain that no research relevant to the research hypothesis has already been
conducted.
B) to avoid duplication of effort and to expand and modify the original research
hypothesis.
C) to locate previous research that was ethically invalid.
D) to locate previous research that was not falsifiable.

15. A literature search will be most efficient if it

A) starts at a specific level and expands to a more general level.
B) starts at a general level and then progresses to a more specific level.
C) starts at one level and stays the same throughout the search.
D) considers primarily general, rather than specific, levels of information.

16. One of the major difficulties involved in studying human beings is that
A) they often behave differently when they are being studied than they would
otherwise.
B) suspicion checks reveal that measures of deception rarely work.
C) participants will rarely give their informed consent to participate.
D) the IRB only permits about 5 percent of all proposed studies to be carried out.

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17. Why are ethics a concern in behavioral research?
A) Because the participants are human and researchers are obligated to protect them
from harm.
B) Because researchers can be fined by the American Psychological Association if
they do not follow ethical guidelines.
C) Because animals are not given equal rights during an experiment.
D) Behavioral scientists do not normally need to consider ethical issues when
conducting research.

18. Which scientific fields face ethical dilemmas?

A) Only behavioral science
B) Medical science and behavioral science
C) Physical science and medical science
D) All fields of science

19. Which of the following are potential benefits of scientific research?

A) Knowledge gained for the society at large
B) Knowledge gained by the participant about how scientific research is conducted
C) Knowledge gained for the scientist concerning the area being studied
D) All of the above are potential benefits.

20. Which is NOT one of the four basic goals of ethical research?
A) Providing freedom of choice
B) Keeping the participant free of physical or mental harm
C) Honestly describing the research being performed
D) Using deception to make sure results will not be hindered

21. Conceptual variables are turned into measured variables using

A) a quantitative definition.
B) a measured response.
C) an operational definition.
D) the research hypothesis.

22. The number of jokes that a person tells at a party is to having a good sense of humor as
A) a conceptual variable is to a measured variable.
B) a behavioral variable is to a self-report variable.
C) a behavioral variable is to an operational definition.
D) a measured variable is to a conceptual variable.

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23. An operational definition
A) tests a relationship between measured variables.
B) describes the causes of a behavior.
C) expresses a behavior in terms of a mathematical formula.
D) explains how a conceptual variable is to be measured.

24. Which of the following is the best operational definition of intelligence?

A) Scores on the Stanford-Binet IQ test
B) A person's cognitive thinking ability
C) The ability to comprehend difficult sentences
D) The ability to do well in college

25. The goal of research is to

A) make old findings into new experiments.
B) learn about the relationships between and among conceptual variables.
C) determine whether common sense is correct or incorrect.
D) confirm findings of past research.

26. Which of the following is true about the difference between random and systematic
error?
A) Random error is self-canceling, whereas systematic error tends to increase or
decrease the scores on the measured variable.
B) Random error tends to increase or decrease the scores on the dependent variable,
whereas systematic error is self-canceling.
C) Both random error and systematic error are self-canceling.
D) Because systematic error is self-canceling, it is less problematic in research than is
random error.

27. Changes in a person's current mood, a misreading or misunderstanding of the question,

and measuring individuals on different days or in different places are all likely to
contribute to
A) random error.
B) systematic error.
C) reliable error.
D) operational error.

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28. The reliability of a test refers to the extent that the test is free from
A) random error.
B) measurement bias.
C) systematic error.
D) individual traits.

29. Which of the following is a primary goal of descriptive research?

A) Testing a research hypothesis
B) Providing a snapshot of the current state of affairs
C) Collecting information about changes in individuals over time
D) Measuring relationships between variables

30. A face-to-face unstructured interview in which a number of people are interviewed at

the same time is known as a
A) focus group.
B) small group interview.
C) case study.
D) group questionnaire.

31. When the response rate on a questionnaire is low,

A) the conclusions drawn about the population may be incorrect.
B) the data are easier to analyze.
C) fewer questions should be placed on the questionnaire.
D) more questions should be placed on the questionnaire.

32. A telephone book from a large city could be considered

A) a sampling frame.
B) a simple random sample.
C) a systematic random sample.
D) a stratified random sample.

33. Which of the following refers to a distribution of events that has two equally likely
possibilities?
A) The binomial distribution
B) The sampling distribution of the mean
C) The effect size statistic
D) The p-value

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34. The sampling distribution is essentially a picture of
A) the research hypothesis.
B) the effect size.
C) the null hypothesis.
D) statistical significance.

35. Which of the following provides a visual image of the relationship between two
quantitative variables?
A) A scatterplot
B) A correlation matrix
C) A contingency table
D) A schematic diagram

36. A linear relationship that moves from the top left corner of the scatterplot to the lower
right corner of the scatterplot would be which of the following?
A) Independent
B) Curvilinear
C) Negative
D) Positive

37. When the light level of a computer screen is moderate, task performance scores are
high. When the light level of the computer screen is either very low or very high, task
performance scores are low. The relationship between the light level and performance
is
A) negative linear.
B) positive linear.
C) curvilinear.
D) independent.

38. A contingency table is a table that

A) displays the number of individuals who have each value on each of two nominal
variables.
B) shows the correlations of many variables with each other.
C) shows the relationships depicted in a scatterplot.
D) presents a chi-square statistic.

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39. Which part of the correlation matrix is usually included in the research report?
A) The diagonal
B) The entire matrix
C) The upper triangle
D) The corners

40. In general, ______________ are more problematic than ________________ because

they can produce spurious relationships.
A) extraneous variables; mediating variables
B) reciprocal variables; mediating variables
C) common-causal variables; extraneous variables
D) extraneous variables; common-causal variables

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Answer Key

1. C
2. C
3. C
4. B
5. B
6. D
7. C
8. D
9. A
10. A
11. C
12. D
13. C
14. B
15. B
16. A
17. A
18. D
19. D
20. D
21. C
22. D
23. D
24. A
25. B
26. A
27. A
28. A
29. B
30. A
31. A
32. A
33. A
34. C
35. A
36. C
37. C
38. A
39. C
40. C

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