PSYC 100 UIUC Exam #1 | Questions and
correct detailed Answers | 2026 Updated |
100% correct
What are the two modes of thinking & their descriptions? - ANSWER- -1. Intuitive - instant,
unconscious, automatic, and emotional thinking.
2. Analytical - slow, rational, conscious, reflective, reasoning, and deliberate thinking.
Heuristic - ANSWER- -A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and
solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms.
Nautralistic Observation - ANSWER- -Looking at a population in their natural habitat. (useful
for people who can't follow instructions in an experiment; animals, infants & people with a
disability.
HIGH external validity
LOW internal validity
External Validity - ANSWER- -Generalizability of the results to the real world.
Internal Validity - ANSWER- -Extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences from a
study.
Case Study - ANSWER- -Watching one person, who usually has something unusual about
them, and recording what they do different.
LOW external validity
,Surveys & Self-report - ANSWER- -Use of questionnaires to assess characteristics such as
personality traits, mental illness, interests, motivations, opinions, and attitudes.
Important Terms:
1. Random Selection
2. Reliability
3. Validity
Random Selection - ANSWER- -A way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of
a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the
sample.
Reliability - ANSWER- -The extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the
consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.
Important Terms:
1. Test-retest
2. Inter-rater
Test-retest - ANSWER- -A method for determining the reliability of a test by comparing a test
taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions.
Inter-rater - ANSWER- -If the criteria set forward is reliable, different judges or readers should
give a very similar score.
(e.g., A gymnast judge should give a similar score in comparison to another judge)
, Validity - ANSWER- -The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.
(e.g., A test regarding depression with questions about anxiety on it --> invalid)
Can an invalid test be reliable? - ANSWER- -Yes, a test may be reliable without being valid, but
a test cannot be valid unless it is reliable
Reliability vs. Validity - ANSWER- -Consistency vs Accuracy.
Correlational Design - ANSWER- -Research design that examines the extent to which two
variables are associated.
B could cause A; A could cause B; there could be a third variable, C, which causes A & B.
Is correlation causation? - ANSWER- -No.
What is the one method we can use to infer cause and effect? - ANSWER- -Experiments, we
are actively manipulating something so we can infer that any difference in the groups is caused
by the change that we initiated.
Random Assignment - ANSWER- -Assigning participants to experimental and control
conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the
different groups.
Random Assignment vs. Random Selection - ANSWER- -Assigning participants to
experimental and control conditions by random assignment vs. selecting people to participate in
a study from a larger population.
correct detailed Answers | 2026 Updated |
100% correct
What are the two modes of thinking & their descriptions? - ANSWER- -1. Intuitive - instant,
unconscious, automatic, and emotional thinking.
2. Analytical - slow, rational, conscious, reflective, reasoning, and deliberate thinking.
Heuristic - ANSWER- -A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and
solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms.
Nautralistic Observation - ANSWER- -Looking at a population in their natural habitat. (useful
for people who can't follow instructions in an experiment; animals, infants & people with a
disability.
HIGH external validity
LOW internal validity
External Validity - ANSWER- -Generalizability of the results to the real world.
Internal Validity - ANSWER- -Extent to which we can draw cause-and-effect inferences from a
study.
Case Study - ANSWER- -Watching one person, who usually has something unusual about
them, and recording what they do different.
LOW external validity
,Surveys & Self-report - ANSWER- -Use of questionnaires to assess characteristics such as
personality traits, mental illness, interests, motivations, opinions, and attitudes.
Important Terms:
1. Random Selection
2. Reliability
3. Validity
Random Selection - ANSWER- -A way of ensuring that a sample of people is representative of
a population by giving everyone in the population an equal chance of being selected for the
sample.
Reliability - ANSWER- -The extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the
consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.
Important Terms:
1. Test-retest
2. Inter-rater
Test-retest - ANSWER- -A method for determining the reliability of a test by comparing a test
taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions.
Inter-rater - ANSWER- -If the criteria set forward is reliable, different judges or readers should
give a very similar score.
(e.g., A gymnast judge should give a similar score in comparison to another judge)
, Validity - ANSWER- -The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.
(e.g., A test regarding depression with questions about anxiety on it --> invalid)
Can an invalid test be reliable? - ANSWER- -Yes, a test may be reliable without being valid, but
a test cannot be valid unless it is reliable
Reliability vs. Validity - ANSWER- -Consistency vs Accuracy.
Correlational Design - ANSWER- -Research design that examines the extent to which two
variables are associated.
B could cause A; A could cause B; there could be a third variable, C, which causes A & B.
Is correlation causation? - ANSWER- -No.
What is the one method we can use to infer cause and effect? - ANSWER- -Experiments, we
are actively manipulating something so we can infer that any difference in the groups is caused
by the change that we initiated.
Random Assignment - ANSWER- -Assigning participants to experimental and control
conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the
different groups.
Random Assignment vs. Random Selection - ANSWER- -Assigning participants to
experimental and control conditions by random assignment vs. selecting people to participate in
a study from a larger population.
