Question 1

Which of the following best describes a falsifiable hypothesis in psychological research?

Accepted Answer

A hypothesis that can be refuted or disproven by evidence.

Question 2

A researcher defines 'anxiety' as the score on a specific anxiety questionnaire. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

An operational definition

Question 3

Which of the following statements about correlation is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

A negative correlation means that as one variable increases, the other decreases.

Question 4

A psychologist wants to study the effect of nature exposure on stress. She randomly assigns participants to either view nature scenes or neutral images, then measures their stress levels. What is the independent variable in this experiment?

Accepted Answer

The type of images viewed (nature vs. neutral)

Question 5

Which of the following is a major limitation of case studies in psychological research?

Accepted Answer

They are usually not representative of an entire group, limiting generalizability.

Question 6

A researcher finds a statistically significant difference between two groups with a $p$-value of $0.04$. What does this mean?

Accepted Answer

There is a 4% chance the difference is due to random variation.

Question 7

Which of the following best illustrates the 'third variable problem' in correlational research?

Accepted Answer

A correlation between ice cream sales and drowning rates, both influenced by temperature.

Question 8

In a double-blind study, which of the following is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

Both the participants and the experimenters are unaware of group assignments.

Question 9

A test consistently produces the same results when administered to the same person under similar conditions. This test is said to have high:

Accepted Answer

Reliability

Question 10

Which of the following is an example of an operational definition?

Accepted Answer

Defining happiness as a score above 7 on a 10-point self-report scale.

Question 11

A researcher uses a sample of undergraduate students to study memory. What is a potential problem with generalizing the results?

Accepted Answer

Convenience samples may not represent the broader population.

Question 12

Which of the following best describes the purpose of inferential statistics in psychological research?

Accepted Answer

To determine whether observed differences are likely due to chance.

Question 13

A psychologist wants to compare the memory performance of 20-year-olds, 40-year-olds, and 60-year-olds at one point in time. What type of study is this?

Accepted Answer

Cross-sectional study

Question 14

Which of the following is a key ethical requirement for research involving human participants?

Accepted Answer

Participants must be informed of the risks and give consent.

Question 15

A researcher finds a correlation of $r = 0.85$ between two variables. What does this indicate?

Accepted Answer

A strong positive relationship between the variables.

Question 16

Which of the following is an example of a confounding variable in an experiment?

Accepted Answer

A variable outside the researcher's control that affects the results.

Question 17

A researcher wants to ensure that her measure of 'stress' actually measures stress and not something else. She is concerned with:

Accepted Answer

Validity

Question 18

Which of the following best describes the normal distribution?

Accepted Answer

A perfectly symmetrical distribution with most scores around the mean.

Question 19

In a between-subjects experimental design, which of the following is TRUE?

Accepted Answer

Different groups of participants are compared across conditions.

Question 20

Which of the following is a potential risk of relying solely on statistical significance ($p$-values) in psychological research?

Accepted Answer

Large sample sizes can make trivial differences statistically significant.

How Psychologists Do Research: Scientific Methods and Principles

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