AP Psychology : Research and Testing
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Psychology
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Example Questions
Example Question #171 : Research And Testing
Often called "the father of psychology," Wilhelm Wundt used which of the following methods to study human thought based on social and cultural influences?
behaviorism
self motivation
introspection
externalization
introspection
Introspection is when a person uses their personal experience to look inward. Wundt believed that a focused practice of introspection could be used to find and study the basic elements of the human mind. Wundt's practice of introspection fell out of favor by the 1930s, and his primary contribution to the history of science was his founding of the first experimental psychology lab, which helped formalize the study of psychology as an academic disciple.
Example Question #172 : Research And Testing
Which of the following best describes Functionalism's influence on the study psychology?
Functionalism never became a formalized school of thought, and thus had no influence on psychology as a field of study.
It acted as alternative to Structuralism, and was a precursor to Behaviorism
It limited the field to study of only behavior.
It built on the principles of Structuralism, and was a precursor to Behaviorism.
It acted as alternative to Structuralism, and was a precursor to Behaviorism
Functionalism, while it never became a formalized school of psychological thought, had an important impact on the field. Functionalism considered thinking and behavior in terms of functional adaptation to the subject's environment. It is fallacious to say that a school of thought must have been formalized and maintained in order to have influence in a field of study.
Example Question #173 : Research And Testing
Which of the following characteristics is true for a falsifiable hypothesis?
Should be considered wrong until proven right through experiment
Can be used to prove that another hypothesis is incorrect
Is something that might be misrepresented or confounded
Can be proven wrong if the right conditions are met
None of these
Can be proven wrong if the right conditions are met
Falsifiability is the principle that states that a research hypothesis must be able to be disproven. This does not mean that the hypothesis needs to be disproven in the study; however, hypothesis should be able to be disproven. If a hypothesis is correct under all conditions, then there is no way to scientifically test its validity.
Example Question #11 : Other Research Principles
In a study of the effect of a new drug on sleep, researchers bring participants into a sleep lab and give half of them the new drug and half of them a placebo. They then asked the participants how they slept the next morning. In this experiment the quality of sleep is the __________ variable.
external
independent
dependent
internal
dependent
The dependent variable is what the researchers measure in the experiment. In this case, the dependent variable is reactions of the participants to the drug or placebo (the independent variable). Since the reaction depends on the drug and is not within the direct control of the researchers it is the dependent variable.
Example Question #12 : Other Research Principles
In a study of the effect of a new drug on sleep, researchers bring participants into a sleep lab and give half of them the new drug and half of them a placebo. They then asked the participants how they slept the next morning. In this experiment the drug is the __________ variable.
independent
internal
dependent
external
independent
The independent variable is what the researchers manipulate in the experiment. In this example, since the distribution of the drug and placebo is the element controlled by the researchers, it is the independent variable.
Example Question #13 : Other Research Principles
Which of the following describes the relationship between the population, the sample, and sampling in an experiment?
The sample is chosen from the population through sampling
The sampling is chosen from the population through the sample
The population is chosen from the sample through sampling
The sampling is chosen from the sample through the population
The population and the sample describe the same group of people
The sample is chosen from the population through sampling
The population is the entire group of people that the researcher is interested in, and the sample is the (often much smaller) group of people from that the researcher collects information from. Sampling is the process by which the sample group is chosen from the population.
Example Question #14 : Other Research Principles
Research has indicated that the level of intelligence in the world has has been steadily increasing over time. This is shown by increasing IQ scores over generations of students. This effect has been labeled as which of the following?
Galton effect
Sternberg effect
Flynn effect
Binet effect
Terman effect
Flynn effect
The answer is the "Flynn effect." The Flynn effect is the finding that IQ scores have steadily been surpassing previous generations. The reason for this effect has not been identified yet, but it is generally attributed to better nutrition and education.
Example Question #15 : Other Research Principles
Garth believes that there is a relationship between eating yogurt and doing well on important tests. Since there is not actually a relationship between these two variables, Garth's thinking represents an __________________.
hindsight bias
groupthink
false consensus effect
illusory correlation
anecdotal correlation
illusory correlation
Garth's thinking represents an illusory correlation. Although Garth believes that eating yogurt will help him to score higher on his important tests, there is no actual relationship between these two variables.
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