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Portage PSYC 101 General Psychology Midterm
Exam Newest 2025/2026 Complete All Questions
And Correct Answers |Already Graded A+||
Dr. Cunningham find that people who take herbal supplements that
profess to improve memory scored, on average, 15% higher on a
memory test relative to groups who did not take herbal supplements or
placebos. However, other researchers have tried to study this effect and
have duplicated his findings. What principle of critical thinking does this
example demonstrate the importance of?
A)Occam's Razor
B)extraordinary claims
C) Replicability
D) Falsifiability - ANSWER-C-Replicability
Despite the fact that scientific research has found no support or basis for
the belief of "the hot hand" in sports, the idea still persists among
athletes, sports, commentators, and fans. This is a classic example of:
A)Scientific illiteracy
B)Gullibility
C)The hindsight bias
D) Belief perseverance - ANSWER-D-Belief perseverance
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When people watch a debate, they often point out the internal
contradictions, flaws in logic, and hypocrisy in their opponents while
glossing over the same shortcomings for positions they support. What is
this an example of? - ANSWER-Confirmation bias
A key aspect of scientific skepticism is:
A)Dogmatic belief
B) Reliance on authority
C) Critical thinking
D) Narrow-mindedness - ANSWER-C-critical thinking
Dr. Wolpe designs an experimental test of his theory of aggression
against a competing theory. After conducting the appropriate statistical
tests, he finds that the data are better explained by the competing theory.
His willingness to accept the evidence that another theory is superior is a
characteristic of:
A) scientific skepticism
B) dogmatism
C) pathological skepticism
D)gullibility - ANSWER-A-scientific skepticism
Following Stephen Harper's defeat of the NDP candidate Jack Layton,
many people looked back over the NDP campaign and claimed they
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knew all along that Layton would lose. This illustrates what? -
ANSWER-Hindsight bias-"I knew it all along"
Suppose you seat yourself in a cafeteria to count up which checkout line
will students prefer: the one staffed by visible minority or the other line.
This is an example of which research design?
A) Correlational design
B)Naturalistic observation design
C) Experimental design
D)Case study design - ANSWER-B-naturalistic observation design
How does conducting a double-blind study attempt to remedy the
experimenter expectancy effect? - ANSWER-Neither the experimenter
nor the participant knows what condition the participant is assigned to.
When a psychologist is discussing a heuristic, he or she is referring to
what? - ANSWER-Mental decision-making strategies/shortcuts
Before Jessica completed an online questionnaire, she had to read
information about what type of questions to expect. Then she clicked on
the button that said "I agree" before she could see the rest of the study.
What procedure does this represent?
A) Cover story of an experiment
B)Using the peer review process
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C) Gaining informed consent
D) Debriefing of participants - ANSWER-C-gaining informed consent
Which of the following statements is illustrative of the post hoc fallacy?
A) Believing that because some is muscular in body type, he or she is
more likely to become a professional athlete.
B)Believing that because most professional athletes lift weights,
weightlifting produces professional athletes.
C) Believing that because someone has benefitted from the best
coaching, he or she will have a good chance of becoming a professional
athlete.
D) Believing that because someone is specially trained, he or she is more
likely to become a professional athlete. - ANSWER-B-Believing that
because most professional athletes lift weights, weightlifting produces
professional athletes.
Nathan is trying to conduct a pendulum to figure out what makes a
pendulum swing faster or slower. At his current stage of cognitive
development, he is unable to successfully contract this himself, but is
receptive to learning the skill with the assistance of others. According to
Vygotsky, what developmental stage is Nathan at? - ANSWER-The zone
of proximal development
Dr. Aragio is a pediatrician and is constantly advising parents to
carefully monitor the experiences their children have within the first
three years of life, as these are the most crucial in their psychological
Portage PSYC 101 General Psychology Midterm
Exam Newest 2025/2026 Complete All Questions
And Correct Answers |Already Graded A+||
Dr. Cunningham find that people who take herbal supplements that
profess to improve memory scored, on average, 15% higher on a
memory test relative to groups who did not take herbal supplements or
placebos. However, other researchers have tried to study this effect and
have duplicated his findings. What principle of critical thinking does this
example demonstrate the importance of?
A)Occam's Razor
B)extraordinary claims
C) Replicability
D) Falsifiability - ANSWER-C-Replicability
Despite the fact that scientific research has found no support or basis for
the belief of "the hot hand" in sports, the idea still persists among
athletes, sports, commentators, and fans. This is a classic example of:
A)Scientific illiteracy
B)Gullibility
C)The hindsight bias
D) Belief perseverance - ANSWER-D-Belief perseverance
,2|Page
When people watch a debate, they often point out the internal
contradictions, flaws in logic, and hypocrisy in their opponents while
glossing over the same shortcomings for positions they support. What is
this an example of? - ANSWER-Confirmation bias
A key aspect of scientific skepticism is:
A)Dogmatic belief
B) Reliance on authority
C) Critical thinking
D) Narrow-mindedness - ANSWER-C-critical thinking
Dr. Wolpe designs an experimental test of his theory of aggression
against a competing theory. After conducting the appropriate statistical
tests, he finds that the data are better explained by the competing theory.
His willingness to accept the evidence that another theory is superior is a
characteristic of:
A) scientific skepticism
B) dogmatism
C) pathological skepticism
D)gullibility - ANSWER-A-scientific skepticism
Following Stephen Harper's defeat of the NDP candidate Jack Layton,
many people looked back over the NDP campaign and claimed they
,3|Page
knew all along that Layton would lose. This illustrates what? -
ANSWER-Hindsight bias-"I knew it all along"
Suppose you seat yourself in a cafeteria to count up which checkout line
will students prefer: the one staffed by visible minority or the other line.
This is an example of which research design?
A) Correlational design
B)Naturalistic observation design
C) Experimental design
D)Case study design - ANSWER-B-naturalistic observation design
How does conducting a double-blind study attempt to remedy the
experimenter expectancy effect? - ANSWER-Neither the experimenter
nor the participant knows what condition the participant is assigned to.
When a psychologist is discussing a heuristic, he or she is referring to
what? - ANSWER-Mental decision-making strategies/shortcuts
Before Jessica completed an online questionnaire, she had to read
information about what type of questions to expect. Then she clicked on
the button that said "I agree" before she could see the rest of the study.
What procedure does this represent?
A) Cover story of an experiment
B)Using the peer review process
, 4|Page
C) Gaining informed consent
D) Debriefing of participants - ANSWER-C-gaining informed consent
Which of the following statements is illustrative of the post hoc fallacy?
A) Believing that because some is muscular in body type, he or she is
more likely to become a professional athlete.
B)Believing that because most professional athletes lift weights,
weightlifting produces professional athletes.
C) Believing that because someone has benefitted from the best
coaching, he or she will have a good chance of becoming a professional
athlete.
D) Believing that because someone is specially trained, he or she is more
likely to become a professional athlete. - ANSWER-B-Believing that
because most professional athletes lift weights, weightlifting produces
professional athletes.
Nathan is trying to conduct a pendulum to figure out what makes a
pendulum swing faster or slower. At his current stage of cognitive
development, he is unable to successfully contract this himself, but is
receptive to learning the skill with the assistance of others. According to
Vygotsky, what developmental stage is Nathan at? - ANSWER-The zone
of proximal development
Dr. Aragio is a pediatrician and is constantly advising parents to
carefully monitor the experiences their children have within the first
three years of life, as these are the most crucial in their psychological
