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Experimental psychology - Exam
Contributed by: Grainger
  • 1. Experimental psychology is a branch of psychology that utilizes scientific methods to study human behavior. Researchers in this field design experiments to test hypotheses about various aspects of cognition, emotion, and behavior. They use techniques such as observation, surveys, and controlled experiments to gather data and draw conclusions. By conducting systematic investigations, experimental psychologists aim to better understand how and why people think, feel, and act the way they do. This field has contributed valuable insights to a wide range of topics, including memory, perception, learning, decision-making, and social behavior.

    What is the primary goal of experimental psychology?
A) To analyze historical case studies.
B) To provide therapy to individuals.
C) To predict future behavior based on observations.
D) To understand behavior through controlled experiments.
  • 2. What is the purpose of a control group in an experiment?
A) To provide a baseline for comparison with the experimental group.
B) To ensure the participants are not aware of the study.
C) To manipulate the independent variable.
D) To make the experiment more complex.
  • 3. Which statistical analysis is commonly used in experimental psychology to determine if there is a significant difference between groups?
A) Regression analysis.
B) Chi-square test.
C) ANOVA (Analysis of Variance).
D) T-test.
  • 4. Which ethical principle in psychology research focuses on minimizing harm and maximizing benefits for participants?
A) Confidentiality.
B) Beneficence.
C) Deception.
D) Informed consent.
  • 5. What is external validity in experimental psychology?
A) The replicate reliability of the study.
B) The statistical significance of the results.
C) The accuracy of the measurements taken.
D) The extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized to real-world settings.
  • 6. What is the purpose of debriefing participants after an experiment?
A) To ensure they are not aware of the manipulation.
B) To inform them about the true nature and purpose of the study.
C) To provide false feedback about their performance.
D) To gather additional data.
  • 7. What is the difference between an experimental group and a control group?
A) Both groups receive different treatments.
B) The experimental group is observed in a naturalistic setting.
C) The control group is where the researchers are blind to the results.
D) The experimental group is exposed to the independent variable, while the control group is not.
  • 8. What does replicability refer to in experimental psychology?
A) The statistical significance of the results.
B) The complexity of the experimental design.
C) The number of participants in the study.
D) The ability of an experiment to be repeated with similar results.
  • 9. Who founded the first psychology laboratory and where was it located?
A) Charles Bell in London, England
B) Ernst Heinrich Weber in Berlin, Germany
C) Hermann Ebbinghaus in Paris, France
D) Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig, Germany
  • 10. Who is credited with suggesting that judgments of sensory differences are relative?
A) Wilhelm Wundt
B) Ernst Heinrich Weber
C) Francois Magendie
D) Charles Bell
  • 11. What is the mathematical expression for Weber's Law?
A) I/ΔI = k
B) ΔI + I = k
C) I - ΔI = k
D) ΔI/I = k
  • 12. Who published similar findings to Charles Bell's research without being aware of it?
A) Ernst Heinrich Weber
B) Hermann Ebbinghaus
C) Wilhelm Wundt
D) Francois Magendie
  • 13. What was one of the methods used by early experimental psychologists like Wundt and Titchener?
A) Introspection
B) Behavioral observation
C) Neuroimaging
D) Genetic analysis
  • 14. What was disproved by Charles Bell's discovery?
A) The belief that nerves transmitted either vibrations or spirits.
B) Weber's Law.
C) The existence of motor nerves.
D) The presence of sensory nerves in the spinal cord.
  • 15. What is considered to be the first quantitative law in psychology?
A) Bell–Magendie law
B) Wundt's Principle of Introspection
C) Weber's Law
D) Ebbinghaus' Forgetting Curve
  • 16. Who is considered to have published the first work of experimental psychology?
A) Oswald Külpe
B) Ernst Heinrich Weber
C) Gustav Fechner
D) Wilhelm Wundt
  • 17. In what year did Gustav Fechner publish 'Elemente der Psychophysik'?
A) 1879
B) 1883
C) 1855
D) 1860
  • 18. What concept did the Würzburg School emphasize that affects perception and problem solving without awareness?
A) Introspection
B) Mental Set (Einstellung)
C) Structuralism
D) Voluntarism
  • 19. What type of thought did Külpe describe as consisting of pure mental acts without mental images?
A) Imageless Thought
B) Associative Thought
C) Sensory Thought
D) Perceptual Thought
  • 20. Which psychological movement was influenced by the work of the Würzburg School?
A) Behaviorism
B) Psychoanalysis
C) Gestalt Psychology
D) Humanistic Psychology
  • 21. Who introduced experimental psychology into the United States?
A) Sir Frederic Bartlett
B) Jerzy Neyman
C) George Trumbull Ladd
D) Charles Sanders Peirce
  • 22. Which university did George Trumbull Ladd found the first psychological laboratory at?
A) Yale University
B) Harvard University
C) Johns Hopkins University
D) University of Chicago
  • 23. Where did the center of experimental psychology in the US shift after Ladd's founding of the Yale Laboratory?
A) Columbia University
B) University of Chicago
C) Harvard University
D) Johns Hopkins University
  • 24. With whom did Charles S. Peirce conduct experiments on weight discrimination?
A) George Trumbull Ladd
B) Joseph Jastrow
C) Jerzy Neyman
D) John Dewey
  • 25. What design did Peirce and Jastrow use in their experiments?
A) Cross-sectional design
B) Longitudinal design
C) Case-control design
D) Blinded, repeated-measures design
  • 26. What was the focus of Peirce's pragmatic program?
A) Understanding human perception
B) Analyzing social interactions
C) Exploring developmental stages
D) Studying animal behavior
  • 27. Which student of Peirce conducted experiments on human cognition in schools?
A) John Dewey
B) George Trumbull Ladd
C) Joseph Jastrow
D) Jerzy Neyman
  • 28. Which paradigm became dominant in psychology during the mid-20th century, especially in the United States?
A) Humanistic Psychology
B) Behaviorism
C) Psychoanalysis
D) Cognitive Psychology
  • 29. In which year was the National Research Act established?
A) 1965
B) 1974
C) 1999
D) 1982
  • 30. Where is the presence of an IRB required by law?
A) In all private businesses.
B) Exclusively at government agencies.
C) At institutions such as universities where psychological research occurs.
D) Only in medical facilities.
  • 31. What is the significance of parsimony in scientific theory selection?
A) If two theories handle observations equally well, prefer the simpler one.
B) Simplicity is irrelevant in comparing scientific theories.
C) Theories should be selected based on their popularity.
D) Parsimony suggests choosing the most complex theory available.
  • 32. Which method assesses reliability by measuring participants at two different times?
A) Construct validity
B) Criterion validity
C) Test-retest
D) Split-half
  • 33. On which type of temperature scale are ratios like 'twice as hot' meaningful?
A) Celsius scale
B) Fahrenheit scale
C) Rankine scale
D) Kelvin scale
  • 34. Which of these is an example of a property that can be measured on a ratio scale?
A) Difference in loudness
B) Standard scores on an achievement test
C) Length
D) Temperature in Fahrenheit
  • 35. Which scale allows for the comparison 'twice as heavy'?
A) Ratio scale
B) Ordinal scale
C) Nominal scale
D) Interval scale
  • 36. In a 2x3 factorial design, how many levels does the second independent variable have?
A) One level.
B) Three levels.
C) Two levels.
D) Four levels.
  • 37. What is a significant advantage of within-subjects designs over between-subjects designs?
A) They prevent sequence effects.
B) They allow for more participants.
C) They have no disadvantages.
D) They eliminate person confounds.
  • 38. What is a serious disadvantage of within-subjects designs?
A) Elimination of person confounds.
B) Fewer conditions can be tested.
C) They require more participants.
D) Possible sequence effects.
  • 39. What does a control group in a two-group design typically receive?
A) A different treatment from the experimental group.
B) The same treatment as the experimental group.
C) A placebo.
D) No treatment.
  • 40. Who popularized the use of factorial designs?
A) B.F. Skinner.
B) R.A. Fisher.
C) Sigmund Freud.
D) Jean Piaget.
  • 41. What unique capacity do bats display that helps clarify important cognitive functions?
A) Migration over long distances
B) Echo location
C) Camouflage
D) Hibernation
  • 42. What are some instruments used in sensory measurement?
A) Microscope, telescope, and thermometer
B) Computer, calculator, and smartphone
C) Oscillator, attenuator, stroboscope
D) Syringe, scalpel, and stethoscope
  • 43. Who is considered one of the founders of behavioral psychology?
A) Sigmund Freud
B) William James
C) Ivan Pavlov
D) Carl Jung
  • 44. What principle did Ivan Pavlov establish through his experiments with dogs?
A) Operant conditioning
B) Social learning theory
C) Classical conditioning
D) Cognitive dissonance
  • 45. What type of conditioning did B.F. Skinner distinguish from classical conditioning?
A) Social learning theory
B) Operant conditioning
C) Cognitive dissonance
D) Classical conditioning
  • 46. Who conducted the Stanford prison experiment?
A) Stanley Milgram
B) John B. Watson
C) Philip Zimbardo
D) Norman Triplett
  • 47. Which early instrument was used in experimental psychology?
A) MRI scanner
B) Hipp Chronoscope
C) Polygraph machine
D) Electroencephalograph (EEG)
  • 48. Who invented the first stereoscope?
A) Wheatstone
B) Carl Ludwig
C) Matthäus Hipp
D) Hermann von Helmholtz
  • 49. What instrument was developed by Carl Ludwig?
A) Galvanometer
B) Photokymograph
C) Kymograph
D) Stereoscope
  • 50. What was the kymograph originally used for?
A) Recording reaction times
B) Detecting nerve impulses
C) Presenting images to each eye separately
D) Measuring blood pressure
  • 51. In psychology, what was the kymograph often used to record?
A) Speed of bullets
B) Response times
C) Electric current strength
D) Depth perception
  • 52. What component allows a photokymograph to reach an appropriate speed for recording?
A) They employ electrical signals
B) Some have a lens
C) They utilize revolving drums
D) They use vibrating reeds
  • 53. Who used the galvanometer to detect electrical signals generated by nerve impulses?
A) Wheatstone
B) Matthäus Hipp
C) Carl Ludwig
D) Hermann von Helmholtz
  • 54. Which device was commonly used in psychology labs for olfactory studies?
A) The Morris water maze.
B) The radial arm maze.
C) The Zwaardemker olfactometer.
D) An electroencephalograph.
  • 55. Which maze is used to test spatial learning in rats?
A) The Morris water maze.
B) An olfactometer setup.
C) A visual acuity test.
D) The radial arm maze.
  • 56. Where are fMRIs most commonly found?
A) Offices
B) Hospitals
C) Private homes
D) Schools
  • 57. Which school criticizes experimental psychology for neglecting context?
A) Cognitive School
B) Behaviorist School
C) Frankfurt School
D) Psychoanalytic School
  • 58. What term do critical psychologists use to describe their approach?
A) Critical Theory
B) Cognitive Science
C) Behavioral Analysis
D) Experimental Psychology
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