7/25/25, 5:21 PM PSYC 2301: Exam 1 Review 2025 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS |FREQUENTLY TESTED QUESTIONS |RECENTLY T…
PSYC 2301: Exam 1 Review 2025
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS
|FREQUENTLY TESTED QUESTIONS |RECENTLY
TESTING REAL EXAM QUESTIONS|VERIFIED
SOLUTIONS (100% CORRECT)
Save
Terms in this set (125)
Belief vs Knowledge:
- Belief -- propositions unsupported by facts
- Knowledge -- propositions supported by facts
Kinds of Information
Opinion vs fact:
- Opinion -- inherently involves interpretation
- Facts -- involves an objective, real observation
Intuition is a source of belief, not information
- Sometimes involves a hard-to-track-down source of
a feeling
Sources of Information:
- Sometimes involves anecdote
Intuition
- Sometimes involves a mistaken analogy
Acting on intuition without exploring real data is
dangerous
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,7/25/25, 5:21 PM PSYC 2301: Exam 1 Review 2025 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS |FREQUENTLY TESTED QUESTIONS |RECENTLY T…
Lawrence Summers example
- Believed men and women had "innate biological
differences in capabilities including overall IQ,
Sources of information:
mathematical ability and scientific ability"
Authority vs Empirical
Summers asserted, without giving evidence, that
observation
innate biological causes led to men being more
variable in intelligence, such that that smartest men
were smarter than the smartest women.
In philosophy: the idea that knowledge is derived
from experience
What is empiricism? In practical use in science: the idea that knowledge
comes from systematic observation and tests, not
logical reasoning alone
Observation can be wrong!
- Example: you wore red socks on game day one time.
The football team won
Systematic observation:
- Does the football team win every time you wear red
socks?
Systematic and controlled
- Does the football team win when other people wear
observation
red socks?
- Does the football team win when you don't wear red
socks?
Controlled observation:
- What do you compare your observations against?
- Are there other possible explanations?
- Observation
- Lacks (sufficient) comparison group(s)
- Insufficient repetition, and typically is one-off
Anecdote - Does not rule out other accounts or confounds
- Almost always suffers from confirmation bias
- Transform complex reality into straightforward
oversimplification
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,7/25/25, 5:21 PM PSYC 2301: Exam 1 Review 2025 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS |FREQUENTLY TESTED QUESTIONS |RECENTLY T…
- Observation
- Has comparison group(s)
- Repeatable and repeated
Research - Rules out other accounts and considers confounds
- If done right, does not suffer from confirmation bias
- Acknowledges and explains complex reality of real-
world phenomena
1. Hypothesis based on prior knowledge and beliefs
2. Systematic, controlled observation to empirically
The scientific method
evaluate hypothesis
3. Refine hypothesis
If a question can be operationalized as an empirical
question, science can (or somebody will be able to
Operational definitions address it)
Operationalize here means to give an operational
definition
For a question to be answered via science, it must be
operationalized so that its resulting claims are
falsifiable
Falsifiable - means that evidence could, in principle,
Falsifiability
prove it wrong (Karl Popper)
If a claim can accommodate all possible outcomes,
than it cannot predict any outcome. Non-falsifiable
claims are not useful in science
"My car breaks down because of the gremlins living in
the engine cylinders. They are really good at hiding,
so no one can see them."
"The flying spaghetti monster exists"
There is no evidence that can disprove these
Non-falsifiable claims
statements. We might find evidence that supports
them, but no possible evidence could disprove them.
Claims are important and valid parts of our lives, bu
they are not science!
"I love you"
https://quizlet.com/1062213087/psyc-2301-exam-1-review-2025-comprehensive-exam-questions-frequently-tested-questions-recently-testing-real-ex… 3/32
, 7/25/25, 5:21 PM PSYC 2301: Exam 1 Review 2025 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS |FREQUENTLY TESTED QUESTIONS |RECENTLY T…
Another key feature of science
We will discuss replication in later in the semester, but
for now:
- If something is true, it shouldn't just work once
Repeateability
- Instead, we should be able to accomplish it
repeatedly
- And if it is meaningful, it should be robust to small
changes
Clear, limited claims
Testable claims
Systematic, controlled observation
Science
Explicit operational definitions
Clear chain of logical connections
Clear methods allow replication of results
Vague, often expansive claims
Unfalsifiable claims
"Cherry-picked," uncontrolled observations
Pseudoscience Overly-flexible or absent operational definitions
"Hand-waving" explanations
Obscured methods allow claims that failed replication
is due to user error
If it's not clear to you how an information source
reached its conclusions, then scrutinize it closely
Be (constructively) adversarial and critical
Question authority
You should have scientific Question intuition (your own, too!)
skepticism! Try to find reasons that the accepted truth is incorrect
But make sure your reasons are grounded in good
research themselves
Maybe you didn't understand - but maybe the
conclusion is not supported by evidence
https://quizlet.com/1062213087/psyc-2301-exam-1-review-2025-comprehensive-exam-questions-frequently-tested-questions-recently-testing-real-ex… 4/32
PSYC 2301: Exam 1 Review 2025
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS
|FREQUENTLY TESTED QUESTIONS |RECENTLY
TESTING REAL EXAM QUESTIONS|VERIFIED
SOLUTIONS (100% CORRECT)
Save
Terms in this set (125)
Belief vs Knowledge:
- Belief -- propositions unsupported by facts
- Knowledge -- propositions supported by facts
Kinds of Information
Opinion vs fact:
- Opinion -- inherently involves interpretation
- Facts -- involves an objective, real observation
Intuition is a source of belief, not information
- Sometimes involves a hard-to-track-down source of
a feeling
Sources of Information:
- Sometimes involves anecdote
Intuition
- Sometimes involves a mistaken analogy
Acting on intuition without exploring real data is
dangerous
https://quizlet.com/1062213087/psyc-2301-exam-1-review-2025-comprehensive-exam-questions-frequently-tested-questions-recently-testing-real-ex… 1/32
,7/25/25, 5:21 PM PSYC 2301: Exam 1 Review 2025 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS |FREQUENTLY TESTED QUESTIONS |RECENTLY T…
Lawrence Summers example
- Believed men and women had "innate biological
differences in capabilities including overall IQ,
Sources of information:
mathematical ability and scientific ability"
Authority vs Empirical
Summers asserted, without giving evidence, that
observation
innate biological causes led to men being more
variable in intelligence, such that that smartest men
were smarter than the smartest women.
In philosophy: the idea that knowledge is derived
from experience
What is empiricism? In practical use in science: the idea that knowledge
comes from systematic observation and tests, not
logical reasoning alone
Observation can be wrong!
- Example: you wore red socks on game day one time.
The football team won
Systematic observation:
- Does the football team win every time you wear red
socks?
Systematic and controlled
- Does the football team win when other people wear
observation
red socks?
- Does the football team win when you don't wear red
socks?
Controlled observation:
- What do you compare your observations against?
- Are there other possible explanations?
- Observation
- Lacks (sufficient) comparison group(s)
- Insufficient repetition, and typically is one-off
Anecdote - Does not rule out other accounts or confounds
- Almost always suffers from confirmation bias
- Transform complex reality into straightforward
oversimplification
https://quizlet.com/1062213087/psyc-2301-exam-1-review-2025-comprehensive-exam-questions-frequently-tested-questions-recently-testing-real-ex… 2/32
,7/25/25, 5:21 PM PSYC 2301: Exam 1 Review 2025 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS |FREQUENTLY TESTED QUESTIONS |RECENTLY T…
- Observation
- Has comparison group(s)
- Repeatable and repeated
Research - Rules out other accounts and considers confounds
- If done right, does not suffer from confirmation bias
- Acknowledges and explains complex reality of real-
world phenomena
1. Hypothesis based on prior knowledge and beliefs
2. Systematic, controlled observation to empirically
The scientific method
evaluate hypothesis
3. Refine hypothesis
If a question can be operationalized as an empirical
question, science can (or somebody will be able to
Operational definitions address it)
Operationalize here means to give an operational
definition
For a question to be answered via science, it must be
operationalized so that its resulting claims are
falsifiable
Falsifiable - means that evidence could, in principle,
Falsifiability
prove it wrong (Karl Popper)
If a claim can accommodate all possible outcomes,
than it cannot predict any outcome. Non-falsifiable
claims are not useful in science
"My car breaks down because of the gremlins living in
the engine cylinders. They are really good at hiding,
so no one can see them."
"The flying spaghetti monster exists"
There is no evidence that can disprove these
Non-falsifiable claims
statements. We might find evidence that supports
them, but no possible evidence could disprove them.
Claims are important and valid parts of our lives, bu
they are not science!
"I love you"
https://quizlet.com/1062213087/psyc-2301-exam-1-review-2025-comprehensive-exam-questions-frequently-tested-questions-recently-testing-real-ex… 3/32
, 7/25/25, 5:21 PM PSYC 2301: Exam 1 Review 2025 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTIONS |FREQUENTLY TESTED QUESTIONS |RECENTLY T…
Another key feature of science
We will discuss replication in later in the semester, but
for now:
- If something is true, it shouldn't just work once
Repeateability
- Instead, we should be able to accomplish it
repeatedly
- And if it is meaningful, it should be robust to small
changes
Clear, limited claims
Testable claims
Systematic, controlled observation
Science
Explicit operational definitions
Clear chain of logical connections
Clear methods allow replication of results
Vague, often expansive claims
Unfalsifiable claims
"Cherry-picked," uncontrolled observations
Pseudoscience Overly-flexible or absent operational definitions
"Hand-waving" explanations
Obscured methods allow claims that failed replication
is due to user error
If it's not clear to you how an information source
reached its conclusions, then scrutinize it closely
Be (constructively) adversarial and critical
Question authority
You should have scientific Question intuition (your own, too!)
skepticism! Try to find reasons that the accepted truth is incorrect
But make sure your reasons are grounded in good
research themselves
Maybe you didn't understand - but maybe the
conclusion is not supported by evidence
https://quizlet.com/1062213087/psyc-2301-exam-1-review-2025-comprehensive-exam-questions-frequently-tested-questions-recently-testing-real-ex… 4/32
