Psych 100 Final Exam Study Guide 2025
– Practice Questions & Answers
How is psychological science defined? - ANSWER ✨✔---the science of behavior and mental
processes
why does my prof disagree with the definition of psychological science? - ANSWER ✨✔---1.
behavior can be observable or unobservable
2. behavior can include "mental behavior" (thoughts, emotions, intuitions)
3. behavior can be conscious or unconscious
What is the "scientific attitude" and why did my prof call it "special"? - ANSWER ✨✔---- being
curious, seeing the world as a puzzle
- skeptical and open-minded but not cynical or gullible
- critical thinking
- special b/c not everyone can have a scientific attitude
What is critical thinking? - ANSWER ✨✔---examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns
hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
,What do psychological scientists "believe in"? - ANSWER ✨✔---the scientific method
What are some other ways of "knowing"? - ANSWER ✨✔---- intuition/emotion
- observation (illusory correlation)
- anecdote
- personal experience
- authority
- faith
What/who is authority - ANSWER ✨✔---a) authority = looking up to ppl who you believe are better
or more "popular" than you
b) why peer reputations matter, institutions matter, why funding matters
c) actors, musiciANSWER, friends, etc. --> anyone can be an authority
d) why ppl are used in advertising and why we have come upon an age of influencers
What are some of the things psychologists study? - ANSWER ✨✔---1. clinical
2. developmental
3. personality
4. social
5. cognitive
6. counseling
7. industrial/organizational
8. biological
9. cross-cultural
10. gender
11. evolutionary and behavior genetics
*basically everything*
,Why do we "need" psychology anyway? - ANSWER ✨✔---b/c ppl are not good at knowing
themselves
(1) hindsight bias
(2) overconfidence and better-than-avg effect
(3) perceiving order where none exists b/c we aren't good at understanding random events
What is the scientific approach to knowing? - ANSWER ✨✔---using logic or evidence-based
reasoning to understand and explore scientific topics
What makes "good science"? - ANSWER ✨✔---- results are reproducible
- empiricism approach
- peer reviews
- ethical
- openness/trANSWERparency about what you are researching
What is empiricism? - ANSWER ✨✔---something that can be observed directly, is measurable,
quantifiable, verifiable, and replicable
What is the replication crisis? - ANSWER ✨✔---many scientific studies are difficult to reproduce
results, which is so important now since Deidrick Stapel was caught falsifying data and information that
was widely used by psychologists everywhere
What is open science, statistical power, and meta-analysis? - ANSWER ✨✔---a) open science
movement = letting ppl know your intentions for your research as well as telling them everything that is
happening as it happens (trANSWERparency) --> also have to preregister hypotheses and publish all data
and materials used
b) statistical power = the likelihood that a researcher will find statistical significance in a sample if the
effect exists in the full population (based on sample size, randomization)
c) meta-analysis = looking at data from different independent studies to see if there is an overall trend in
the data
, What are the differences between case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation, correlation research,
and experiments? - ANSWER ✨✔---case study = an in-depth investigation of a single individual,
family, event, etc.
survey = asking a large group of people questions
naturalistic observation = looking at and identifying behaviors of subjects
correlation research = nonexperimental, measuring two variables and finding the correlation
experiment = independent, dependent variable, like in biology or chemistry
What is the difference, if any, between "basic" and "applied" research? - ANSWER ✨✔---basic
research = ANSWERwers fundamental questions and may not have any immediate practical applications
applied research = tries to solve problems and apply basic research findings to practical issues
*a continuum, not a sharp distinction, although the goal of the research helps define its type*
What is an operational definition? - ANSWER ✨✔---something that can't be directly measured (no
tangible definition, we can only describe what it is, not say exactly what it is)
examples of operational definitions - ANSWER ✨✔---happiness, depression, job satisfaction,
gravity
How do theories and hypotheses differ? - ANSWER ✨✔---theory = explains why things work in a
certain way (explains why a prediction should be made)
hypothesis = a testable prediction of a relationship between 2 or more things (the specific prediction)
– Practice Questions & Answers
How is psychological science defined? - ANSWER ✨✔---the science of behavior and mental
processes
why does my prof disagree with the definition of psychological science? - ANSWER ✨✔---1.
behavior can be observable or unobservable
2. behavior can include "mental behavior" (thoughts, emotions, intuitions)
3. behavior can be conscious or unconscious
What is the "scientific attitude" and why did my prof call it "special"? - ANSWER ✨✔---- being
curious, seeing the world as a puzzle
- skeptical and open-minded but not cynical or gullible
- critical thinking
- special b/c not everyone can have a scientific attitude
What is critical thinking? - ANSWER ✨✔---examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns
hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions
,What do psychological scientists "believe in"? - ANSWER ✨✔---the scientific method
What are some other ways of "knowing"? - ANSWER ✨✔---- intuition/emotion
- observation (illusory correlation)
- anecdote
- personal experience
- authority
- faith
What/who is authority - ANSWER ✨✔---a) authority = looking up to ppl who you believe are better
or more "popular" than you
b) why peer reputations matter, institutions matter, why funding matters
c) actors, musiciANSWER, friends, etc. --> anyone can be an authority
d) why ppl are used in advertising and why we have come upon an age of influencers
What are some of the things psychologists study? - ANSWER ✨✔---1. clinical
2. developmental
3. personality
4. social
5. cognitive
6. counseling
7. industrial/organizational
8. biological
9. cross-cultural
10. gender
11. evolutionary and behavior genetics
*basically everything*
,Why do we "need" psychology anyway? - ANSWER ✨✔---b/c ppl are not good at knowing
themselves
(1) hindsight bias
(2) overconfidence and better-than-avg effect
(3) perceiving order where none exists b/c we aren't good at understanding random events
What is the scientific approach to knowing? - ANSWER ✨✔---using logic or evidence-based
reasoning to understand and explore scientific topics
What makes "good science"? - ANSWER ✨✔---- results are reproducible
- empiricism approach
- peer reviews
- ethical
- openness/trANSWERparency about what you are researching
What is empiricism? - ANSWER ✨✔---something that can be observed directly, is measurable,
quantifiable, verifiable, and replicable
What is the replication crisis? - ANSWER ✨✔---many scientific studies are difficult to reproduce
results, which is so important now since Deidrick Stapel was caught falsifying data and information that
was widely used by psychologists everywhere
What is open science, statistical power, and meta-analysis? - ANSWER ✨✔---a) open science
movement = letting ppl know your intentions for your research as well as telling them everything that is
happening as it happens (trANSWERparency) --> also have to preregister hypotheses and publish all data
and materials used
b) statistical power = the likelihood that a researcher will find statistical significance in a sample if the
effect exists in the full population (based on sample size, randomization)
c) meta-analysis = looking at data from different independent studies to see if there is an overall trend in
the data
, What are the differences between case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation, correlation research,
and experiments? - ANSWER ✨✔---case study = an in-depth investigation of a single individual,
family, event, etc.
survey = asking a large group of people questions
naturalistic observation = looking at and identifying behaviors of subjects
correlation research = nonexperimental, measuring two variables and finding the correlation
experiment = independent, dependent variable, like in biology or chemistry
What is the difference, if any, between "basic" and "applied" research? - ANSWER ✨✔---basic
research = ANSWERwers fundamental questions and may not have any immediate practical applications
applied research = tries to solve problems and apply basic research findings to practical issues
*a continuum, not a sharp distinction, although the goal of the research helps define its type*
What is an operational definition? - ANSWER ✨✔---something that can't be directly measured (no
tangible definition, we can only describe what it is, not say exactly what it is)
examples of operational definitions - ANSWER ✨✔---happiness, depression, job satisfaction,
gravity
How do theories and hypotheses differ? - ANSWER ✨✔---theory = explains why things work in a
certain way (explains why a prediction should be made)
hypothesis = a testable prediction of a relationship between 2 or more things (the specific prediction)
