Self-test Questions

Click on the answer you consider correct.

All questions © William Glassman and Marilyn Hadad, 2004.

1		If a behaviourist researcher assumes thinking is irrelevant to understanding behaviour, and ignores evidence that might contradict this view, the researcher
			A)	is showing a form of cognitive pathology.
			B)	has a preference for parsimony.
			C)	favours social constructionism.
			D)	all of the above.
2		Logical empiricism asserts that
			A)	theories may be evaluated by examining how well they account for observed data.
			B)	theories can be tested by whether or not they are logically consistent.
			C)	subjective forms of observation are invalid.
			D)	theories are evaluated by social processes rather than available evidence.
3		If the five approaches to psychology function like paradigms, then one would expect that
			A)	approaches are accepted or rejected based on the current evidence.
			B)	one approach will eventually replace all the others, when we gather enough evidence.
			C)	the popularity of approaches is more dependent on social processes than evidence.
			D)	the differences among the approaches will eventually disappear.
4		The shift from psychodynamic to biological treatments for many forms of abnormal behaviour is primarily the result of
			A)	behaviourists rejecting the focus on unconscious processes.
			B)	the development of new medications.
			C)	a loss of popularity for psychoanalysis after Freud died.
			D)	evidence that psychodynamic treatment doesn't work.
5		In order to address concerns about demand characteristics, Martin Orne suggested that
			A)	one should never do experiments.
			B)	researchers should extensively debrief participants.
			C)	naturalistic observation is better than doing field experiments.
			D)	the only reliable experiment is one that produces an unexpected outcome.
6		The 'butterfly effect' in chaos theory implies that
			A)	a small change in initial conditions can trigger large changes in outcomes.
			B)	the lack of consistency in controlling a situation results in distracting participants.
			C)	the complexity of behaviour makes prediction impossible.
			D)	changes in feedback processes can change the way people behave.
7		According to systems theory, the role of negative feedback is to
			A)	keep a system stable.
			B)	promote a change in response by a system.
			C)	discourage repetition of a particular response.
			D)	all of the above.
8		Chaos theory and systems theory challenge traditional methods in psychology because
			A)	they demonstrate that subjective evidence is actually more accurate than objective data.
			B)	they suggest that prediction is not a realistic criterion for understanding behaviour.
			C)	they suggest that no theory can ever be proven false.
			D)	all of the above.
9		The most appropriate way to think about the influence of culture on behaviour is to
			A)	assume that culture is superficial, and doesn't change basic human nature.
			B)	treat culture as another research variable, like age or gender.
			C)	consider culture as the context in which behaviour occurs.
			D)	use double-blind designs, so researchers won't be biased.
10		If Prof. Harrison believes in reductionism, he likely believes that
			A)	eventually, all the psychological approaches will be merged into the biological.
			B)	psychological theories must constantly be simplified to reduce the number of variables.
			C)	cultural influences should only be considered when behaviour can't be otherwised explained.
			D)	all of the above.