Questions and CORRECT Answers
Which of these is the key characteristic of science?
A) It involves formal and systematic observation.
B) It involves the use of laboratories.
C) It is performed by professors.
D) It results in technological advances. - CORRECT ANSWER -A
Which of these is a goal of science?
A) inquiry
B) Internal validity
C) description
D) discovery - CORRECT ANSWER -C
The goals of science include description, explanation, control, and: A) expectation.
B) prescription.
C) confirmation.
D) prediction. - CORRECT ANSWER -D
The goal of science that involves the manipulation of antecedent conditions to affect behavior is
called: A) control.
B) explanation.
C) prediction.
D) disconfirmation. - CORRECT ANSWER -A
The goal of science that involves the accurate portrayal of a certain phenomenon is known as: A)
control.
B) explanation.
,C) description.
D) evaluation. - CORRECT ANSWER -C
The goal of science that involves learning about how and why a phenomenon exists is known as:
A) control.
B) explanation.
C) description.
D) proving. - CORRECT ANSWER -B
A scientist who believes that behavior is orderly and systematic and does not happen by chance
holds the basic assumption of science known as:
A) discoverability.
B) empiricism.
C) descriptivism. D) determinism. - CORRECT ANSWER -D
Dr. Le believes that humans behave in orderly ways, and it is possible to detect this orderliness .
Dr. Le appears to believe in an assumption of science known as:
A) parsimony.
B) precision.
C) discoverability. D) generativity. - CORRECT ANSWER -C
Jill develops the theory that students learn better from lectures than from reading. Sam believes
that this theory is not very good because it is unclear what Jill means by "better." In other words,
Jill's theory lacks:
A) precision.
B) discoverability.
C) parsimony. D) generativity. - CORRECT ANSWER -A
Which of these is a criterion of a good theory?
, A) usefulness
B) empiricism
C) entropy
D) pseudoscience - CORRECT ANSWER -A
Professor Fisk has developed a theory that contains statements that are verifiable by
experimentation. The professor's theory has met the criterion for a "good" theory that is known
as:
A) parsimony.
B) precision.
C) discoverability. D) testability. - CORRECT ANSWER -D
Ting believes that if you die in a dream you will also die in real life. Karen points out that if
someone dies in his or her sleep we could never find out what happened in the dream. Thus,
there is no way to demonstrate support for Ting's theory. His theory lacks:
A) precision.
B) parsimony. C) testability. D) determinism. - CORRECT ANSWER -C
The scientific philosopher Karl Popper stated that science is really about:
A) generating as many theories as possible in order to advance science.
B) proving that theories are true based on experimental data.
C) ruling out alternative explanations until one explanation or theory fits the data.
D) creating new theories, even if no one ever tests them. - CORRECT ANSWER -C
This criterion of a good theory states that it should be practical and help to describe, explain, and
predict an important phenomenon. Thus, a good theory must be:
A) systematic.
B) useful.
C) deterministic. D) testable. - CORRECT ANSWER -B