Basic research is more theoretical and focused on understanding a phenomenon, whereas applied research is more focused on solving a real-world problem. In the answer choices, the only issue that would immediately solve a real-world problem is "testing the efficacy of an educational program designed to raise the IQ scores of low-income students." Developing theories and understanding patterns are more characteristic of basic research.

A “variable” is described something that varies between people or objects—in this case, temperature and aggression are the variables. The “independent variable” (IV) is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher (temperature) and the “dependent variable” (DV) is the variable that changes as a result of a change in the IV (aggression). A “hypothesis” describes the relationship between variables and is generally what the researcher predicts will happen (i.e. “as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well”). Last, a “theory” is a principle or set of principles that explains a phenomenon.

A “variable” is described something that varies between people or objects—in this case, temperature and aggression are the variables. The “independent variable” (IV) is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher (temperature) and the “dependent variable” (DV) is the variable that changes as a result of a change in the IV (aggression). A “hypothesis” describes the relationship between variables and is generally what the researcher predicts will happen (i.e. “as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well”). Last, a “theory” is a principle or set of principles that explains a phenomenon.

A “variable” is described something that varies between people or objects—in this case, temperature and aggression are the variables. The “independent variable” (IV) is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher (temperature) and the “dependent variable” (DV) is the variable that changes as a result of a change in the IV (aggression). A “hypothesis” describes the relationship between variables and is generally what the researcher predicts will happen (i.e. “as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well”). Last, a “theory” is a principle or set of principles that explains a phenomenon.

A “variable” is described something that varies between people or objects—in this case, temperature and aggression are the variables. The “independent variable” (IV) is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher (temperature) and the “dependent variable” (DV) is the variable that changes as a result of a change in the IV (aggression). A “hypothesis” describes the relationship between variables and is generally what the researcher predicts will happen (i.e. “as the temperature in a room increases, a measure of the subject's aggression will increase as well”). Last, a “theory” is a principle or set of principles that explains a phenomenon.

Proving a hypothesis is actually impossible—we can only fail to disprove or add support for a hypothesis. Essentially, the closest we can get to "proving" a hypothesis is to not find evidence that contradicts it. This is because there could always be an exception to the hypothesis that we have not discovered.

When one operationally defines a variable, they translate an idea into a concrete operation that can be measured. For example, the concept of "aggression" might be operationally defined as "the number of times someone punches a wall in a 5 minute period." In order to get from the concept to the concrete, the researcher has to consider a lot of questions about how the idea will be specifically measured within the study.  

Albert Bandura's BOBO doll experiment showed the significance of modeling. Humans learn by way of observation; we watch the demonstrated behavior and imitate that behavior. In a similar manner, the BOBO doll experiment showed how vicarious reward and punishment influence behavior modification.If a child observed an adult being praised for aggressive behavior, then the child would imitate that behavior. If a child observed an adult being scolded for aggressive behavior, then the child would avoid modeling that behavior.

All of these statements are correct except for the idea that participants "volunteered" to have their corpus callosum severed. Psychologists know that the corpus callosum plays an extremely important role in communication between the two brain hemispheres, so it would be incredibly unethical to cut it simply for a study. Surgeries to cut the corpus callosum are generally only performed on patients with severe epilepsy, as the procedure (for reasons not entirely known) tends to stop the seizures. Split-brain research is important because it demonstrates that different halves of the brain are specialized for different activities. For example, if a split-brain patient was shown a spoon to her left eye, contralateral control means this information would be much more readily available to the right cerebral hemisphere. Since the left (not right) hemisphere is associated with language, she would not be able to correctly identify what the object was in words. This is evidence for hemispheric specialization—the “division of labor” between the two halves of the brain such that each side specializes in certain functions.

The Stanford prison experiment was a study of the psychological effects of roles associated with being a prisoner or a prison guard within a fictitious prison located in an laboratory setting. The experiment was stopped after six days due to the psychological torture that was being inflicted on the prisoners by the prison guards. It was conducted byPhilip Zimbardo and has been the subject of many conversations regarding ethical violations.