PSY 1101 MIDTERM 1 EXAM QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE 2026/2027
Operational Definitions - Answers Definitions that specify how concepts can be observed and measured.
Descriptive Research - Answers Methods designed to observe and describe behavior.
Reactivity - Answers When behavior changes as a result of the observation process.
External Validity - Answers The extent to which results generalize to other situations or are
representative of real life.
Naturalistic Observation - Answers A descriptive research technique that records naturally occurring
behavior as opposed to behavior produced in the laboratory.
Case Study - Answers A descriptive research technique in which the effort is focused on a single case,
usually an individual.
Survey - Answers A descriptive research technique designed to gather limited amounts of information
from many people, usually by administering some kind of questionnaire.
Random Sampling - Answers A procedure guaranteeing that everyone in the population has an equal
likelihood of being selected for the sample.
Mean - Answers The arithmetic average of a set scores.
Mode - Answers The most frequently occurring scene in a set of scores.
Median - Answers The middle point in an ordered set of scores; half of the scores fall at or below the
median score, and half fall at or above the median score.
Variability - Answers A measure of how much the scores in a distribution of scores differ from one
another.
Range - Answers The difference between the largest and smallest scores in a distribution.
Standard Deviation - Answers An indication of how much individual scores differ or vary from the mean.
Descriptive Statisitcs - Answers Mathematical techniques that help researchers describe their data.
Inferential Statisitcs - Answers Mathematical techniques that help researchers decide whether data are
representative of a population or whether differences among observations can be attributed to chance.
Correlation - Answers A statistic that indicates whether two variables vary together in a systematic way;
correlation coefficients vary from +1.00 to -1.00.
Experimental Research - Answers A technique in which the investigator actively manipulates the
environment to observe its effect on behavior.
Independent Variable - Answers The aspect of the environment that is manipulated in an experiment. It
must consist of at least two conditions.
Dependent Variable - Answers The behavior that is measured or observed in an experiment.
, Confounding Variable - Answers An uncontrolled variable that changes along with the independent
variable.
Internal Validity - Answers The extent to which an experiment has effectively controlled for confounding
variables; internally valid experiments allow for the determination of causality.
Random Assignment - Answers A technique ensuring that each participant in an experiment has an
equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions in the experiment.
Placebo - Answers An inactive, or inert, substance that resembles an experimental substance.
Single-blind Study - Answers Experimental participants do not know to which conditions they have been
assigned (e.g., experimental versus control); it's used to control for subject expectancies.
Double-blind Study - Answers Neither participants nor research observers are aware of who has been
assigned to the experimental and control groups; it's used to control for both subject and experimenter
expectancies.
Informed Consent - Answers The principle that before consenting to participate in research, people
should be fully informed about any significant factors that could affect their willingness to participate.
Debriefing - Answers At the conclusion of an experimental session, informing the participants about the
general purpose of the experiment, including any deception that was involved.
Confidentiality - Answers The principle that personal information obtained from a participant in research
or therapy should not be revealed without the individual's permission.
Scientific Method - Answers A multistep technique that generates empirical knowledge- that is,
knowledge derived from systematic observations of the world.
Psychology's First Experiment - Answers - Machine to measure time lag between people's hearing a ball
hit a platform and their pressing a telegraph key.
- Response was one tenth of a second when asked to press key as soon as sound occurred
- Response was two tenths of a second when asked to press the key as soon as they were consciously
aware of perceiving the sound
Structuralism - Answers an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural
elements of the human mind (Edward Bradford Titchener)
Structuralism - Answers - Method: introspection to report elements of their experience as they looked at
a rose, listened to a metronome, smelled a scent or tasted a substance
- Immediate sensations, images, feelings? Their relation?
William James - Answers - Considered the evolved functions of our thoughts & feelings
- Influenced by Charles Darwin
- Assumed that thinking, like smelling, developed because it was adaptive- contributed to our ancestor's
survival
Operational Definitions - Answers Definitions that specify how concepts can be observed and measured.
Descriptive Research - Answers Methods designed to observe and describe behavior.
Reactivity - Answers When behavior changes as a result of the observation process.
External Validity - Answers The extent to which results generalize to other situations or are
representative of real life.
Naturalistic Observation - Answers A descriptive research technique that records naturally occurring
behavior as opposed to behavior produced in the laboratory.
Case Study - Answers A descriptive research technique in which the effort is focused on a single case,
usually an individual.
Survey - Answers A descriptive research technique designed to gather limited amounts of information
from many people, usually by administering some kind of questionnaire.
Random Sampling - Answers A procedure guaranteeing that everyone in the population has an equal
likelihood of being selected for the sample.
Mean - Answers The arithmetic average of a set scores.
Mode - Answers The most frequently occurring scene in a set of scores.
Median - Answers The middle point in an ordered set of scores; half of the scores fall at or below the
median score, and half fall at or above the median score.
Variability - Answers A measure of how much the scores in a distribution of scores differ from one
another.
Range - Answers The difference between the largest and smallest scores in a distribution.
Standard Deviation - Answers An indication of how much individual scores differ or vary from the mean.
Descriptive Statisitcs - Answers Mathematical techniques that help researchers describe their data.
Inferential Statisitcs - Answers Mathematical techniques that help researchers decide whether data are
representative of a population or whether differences among observations can be attributed to chance.
Correlation - Answers A statistic that indicates whether two variables vary together in a systematic way;
correlation coefficients vary from +1.00 to -1.00.
Experimental Research - Answers A technique in which the investigator actively manipulates the
environment to observe its effect on behavior.
Independent Variable - Answers The aspect of the environment that is manipulated in an experiment. It
must consist of at least two conditions.
Dependent Variable - Answers The behavior that is measured or observed in an experiment.
, Confounding Variable - Answers An uncontrolled variable that changes along with the independent
variable.
Internal Validity - Answers The extent to which an experiment has effectively controlled for confounding
variables; internally valid experiments allow for the determination of causality.
Random Assignment - Answers A technique ensuring that each participant in an experiment has an
equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions in the experiment.
Placebo - Answers An inactive, or inert, substance that resembles an experimental substance.
Single-blind Study - Answers Experimental participants do not know to which conditions they have been
assigned (e.g., experimental versus control); it's used to control for subject expectancies.
Double-blind Study - Answers Neither participants nor research observers are aware of who has been
assigned to the experimental and control groups; it's used to control for both subject and experimenter
expectancies.
Informed Consent - Answers The principle that before consenting to participate in research, people
should be fully informed about any significant factors that could affect their willingness to participate.
Debriefing - Answers At the conclusion of an experimental session, informing the participants about the
general purpose of the experiment, including any deception that was involved.
Confidentiality - Answers The principle that personal information obtained from a participant in research
or therapy should not be revealed without the individual's permission.
Scientific Method - Answers A multistep technique that generates empirical knowledge- that is,
knowledge derived from systematic observations of the world.
Psychology's First Experiment - Answers - Machine to measure time lag between people's hearing a ball
hit a platform and their pressing a telegraph key.
- Response was one tenth of a second when asked to press key as soon as sound occurred
- Response was two tenths of a second when asked to press the key as soon as they were consciously
aware of perceiving the sound
Structuralism - Answers an early school of psychology that used introspection to explore the structural
elements of the human mind (Edward Bradford Titchener)
Structuralism - Answers - Method: introspection to report elements of their experience as they looked at
a rose, listened to a metronome, smelled a scent or tasted a substance
- Immediate sensations, images, feelings? Their relation?
William James - Answers - Considered the evolved functions of our thoughts & feelings
- Influenced by Charles Darwin
- Assumed that thinking, like smelling, developed because it was adaptive- contributed to our ancestor's
survival
