Psychology Exam test questions and
answers graded A+
psychology - ANS✅✅the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
behavior - ANS✅✅an observable action
monism - ANS✅✅seeing mind and body as different aspects of the same thing
dualism - ANS✅✅seeing mind and body as two different things that interact
eclectic - ANS✅✅use of techniques and ideas from a variety of approaches
empiricism - ANS✅✅the view that knowledge should be acquired through observation and often
an experiment
science - ANS✅✅way of getting knowledge about the world based on observation
theory - ANS✅✅a collection of interrelated ideas and facts put forward to describe, explain, and
predict behavior and mental processes
scientific method - ANS✅✅in psychology, the techniques used to discover knowledge about
human behavior and mental processes
hypothesis - ANS✅✅a tentative statement or idea expressing a causal relationship between two
events or variables that is to be evaluated in a research study
experiment - ANS✅✅a procedure in which a researcher systematically manipulates and observes
elements of a situation in order to test a hypothesis and make a cause-and-effect statement
independent variable - ANS✅✅the variable in a controlled experiment that the experimenter
directly and purposefully manipulates to see how the other variables under study will be affected
,dependent variable - ANS✅✅the variable in a controlled experiment that is expected to change
due to the manipulation of the independent variable
experimental group - ANS✅✅in an experiment, the group of participants to whom a treatment is
given
control group - ANS✅✅subjects and not exposed to a changing variable in an experiment
variable - ANS✅✅a condition or characteristic of a situation or a person that is subject to change
(it varies) within or across situations or individuals
sample - ANS✅✅a group of participants who are assumed to be representative of the population
about which an inference is being made
random sample - ANS✅✅selection of a part of the population without reason; participation is by
chance
operational definition - ANS✅✅a definition of a variable in terms of the set of methods or
procedures used to measure or study that variable
participant - ANS✅✅an individual who takes part in an experiment and whose behavior is
observed as part of the data collection process
double-blind procedure - ANS✅✅technique in which neither the persons involved for those
conducting the experiment know in what group to participate is involved
debriefing - ANS✅✅a procedure to inform participants about the true nature of an experiment
after its completion
ethics - ANS✅✅rules of proper and acceptable conduct that investigators use to guide
psychological research
ethnocentrism - ANS✅✅tendency to believe that one's own group is the standard, the reference
point by which other people and groups should be judged
,case study - ANS✅✅a highly detailed description of a single individual or a vent
ex post facto study - ANS✅✅describes differences between groups of participants that differ
naturally on a variable such as race or gender
naturalistic observation - ANS✅✅observing and recording behavior naturally without trying to
manipulate and control the situation
correlational research - ANS✅✅establish the relationship between two variables
survey research - ANS✅✅the measurement of public opinion through the use of sampling and
questioning
experimenter bias - ANS✅✅expectation of the person conducting an experiment which may be
affect the outcome
observer bias - ANS✅✅expectations of an observer which may distort an authentic observation
response bias - ANS✅✅preconceived notions of a person answering [a survey] which may alter the
experiments purpose
informed consent - ANS✅✅the agreement of participants to take part in an experiment and their
acknowledgement that they understand the nature of their participation in the research, and have
been fully informed about the general nature of the research, its goals, and methods
normal distribution - ANS✅✅approximate distribution of scores expected when a sample is taken
from a large population, drawn as a frequency polygon that often takes the form of a bell-shaped
curve, called the normal curve
placebo - ANS✅✅typically a pill that is used as a control in the experiment; a sugar pill
pseudoscience - ANS✅✅an unscientific system which pretends to discover psychological
information that his means are unscientific or deliberately fraudulent
, representative sample - ANS✅✅selection of a part of the population which mirrors the current
demographics
significant difference - ANS✅✅in an experiment, a difference that is unlikely to have occurred
because of chance alone and is inferred to be most likely due to the systematic manipulations of
variables by the researcher
self-fulfilling prophecy - ANS✅✅when a researcher's expectations unknowingly create a situation
that affects the results
statistics - ANS✅✅branch of mathematics that deals with collecting, classifying, and analyzing data
descriptive statistics - ANS✅✅general set of procedures used to summarize, condense, and
describe sets of data
frequency distribution - ANS✅✅a chart or array of scores, usually arranged from highest to lowest,
showing the number of instances for each score
frequency polygon - ANS✅✅graph of a frequency distribution that shows the number of instances
of obtained scores, usually with the data points connect by straight lines
measure of central tendency - ANS✅✅a descriptive statistic that tells which result or score best
represents an entire set of scores
mean - ANS✅✅the arithmetic average of a set of scores
median - ANS✅✅the measure of central tendency that is the data point with 50% of the scores
above it and 50% below it
mode - ANS✅✅the most frequently occurring score in a set of data
range - ANS✅✅the spread between the highest and the lowest scores in a distribution
answers graded A+
psychology - ANS✅✅the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
behavior - ANS✅✅an observable action
monism - ANS✅✅seeing mind and body as different aspects of the same thing
dualism - ANS✅✅seeing mind and body as two different things that interact
eclectic - ANS✅✅use of techniques and ideas from a variety of approaches
empiricism - ANS✅✅the view that knowledge should be acquired through observation and often
an experiment
science - ANS✅✅way of getting knowledge about the world based on observation
theory - ANS✅✅a collection of interrelated ideas and facts put forward to describe, explain, and
predict behavior and mental processes
scientific method - ANS✅✅in psychology, the techniques used to discover knowledge about
human behavior and mental processes
hypothesis - ANS✅✅a tentative statement or idea expressing a causal relationship between two
events or variables that is to be evaluated in a research study
experiment - ANS✅✅a procedure in which a researcher systematically manipulates and observes
elements of a situation in order to test a hypothesis and make a cause-and-effect statement
independent variable - ANS✅✅the variable in a controlled experiment that the experimenter
directly and purposefully manipulates to see how the other variables under study will be affected
,dependent variable - ANS✅✅the variable in a controlled experiment that is expected to change
due to the manipulation of the independent variable
experimental group - ANS✅✅in an experiment, the group of participants to whom a treatment is
given
control group - ANS✅✅subjects and not exposed to a changing variable in an experiment
variable - ANS✅✅a condition or characteristic of a situation or a person that is subject to change
(it varies) within or across situations or individuals
sample - ANS✅✅a group of participants who are assumed to be representative of the population
about which an inference is being made
random sample - ANS✅✅selection of a part of the population without reason; participation is by
chance
operational definition - ANS✅✅a definition of a variable in terms of the set of methods or
procedures used to measure or study that variable
participant - ANS✅✅an individual who takes part in an experiment and whose behavior is
observed as part of the data collection process
double-blind procedure - ANS✅✅technique in which neither the persons involved for those
conducting the experiment know in what group to participate is involved
debriefing - ANS✅✅a procedure to inform participants about the true nature of an experiment
after its completion
ethics - ANS✅✅rules of proper and acceptable conduct that investigators use to guide
psychological research
ethnocentrism - ANS✅✅tendency to believe that one's own group is the standard, the reference
point by which other people and groups should be judged
,case study - ANS✅✅a highly detailed description of a single individual or a vent
ex post facto study - ANS✅✅describes differences between groups of participants that differ
naturally on a variable such as race or gender
naturalistic observation - ANS✅✅observing and recording behavior naturally without trying to
manipulate and control the situation
correlational research - ANS✅✅establish the relationship between two variables
survey research - ANS✅✅the measurement of public opinion through the use of sampling and
questioning
experimenter bias - ANS✅✅expectation of the person conducting an experiment which may be
affect the outcome
observer bias - ANS✅✅expectations of an observer which may distort an authentic observation
response bias - ANS✅✅preconceived notions of a person answering [a survey] which may alter the
experiments purpose
informed consent - ANS✅✅the agreement of participants to take part in an experiment and their
acknowledgement that they understand the nature of their participation in the research, and have
been fully informed about the general nature of the research, its goals, and methods
normal distribution - ANS✅✅approximate distribution of scores expected when a sample is taken
from a large population, drawn as a frequency polygon that often takes the form of a bell-shaped
curve, called the normal curve
placebo - ANS✅✅typically a pill that is used as a control in the experiment; a sugar pill
pseudoscience - ANS✅✅an unscientific system which pretends to discover psychological
information that his means are unscientific or deliberately fraudulent
, representative sample - ANS✅✅selection of a part of the population which mirrors the current
demographics
significant difference - ANS✅✅in an experiment, a difference that is unlikely to have occurred
because of chance alone and is inferred to be most likely due to the systematic manipulations of
variables by the researcher
self-fulfilling prophecy - ANS✅✅when a researcher's expectations unknowingly create a situation
that affects the results
statistics - ANS✅✅branch of mathematics that deals with collecting, classifying, and analyzing data
descriptive statistics - ANS✅✅general set of procedures used to summarize, condense, and
describe sets of data
frequency distribution - ANS✅✅a chart or array of scores, usually arranged from highest to lowest,
showing the number of instances for each score
frequency polygon - ANS✅✅graph of a frequency distribution that shows the number of instances
of obtained scores, usually with the data points connect by straight lines
measure of central tendency - ANS✅✅a descriptive statistic that tells which result or score best
represents an entire set of scores
mean - ANS✅✅the arithmetic average of a set of scores
median - ANS✅✅the measure of central tendency that is the data point with 50% of the scores
above it and 50% below it
mode - ANS✅✅the most frequently occurring score in a set of data
range - ANS✅✅the spread between the highest and the lowest scores in a distribution
