Research in Psychology
Use the following research study to answer questions 35 – 45.
After careful observation, Jaime finds that when children eat a lot of sugar they tend to become
aggressive. She decided to do a research study to try to confirm this is the case. Specifically,
Jaime is testing whether eating five sugar candy bars in the morning will cause aggression in an
afternoon “play- date” of five year olds. Jaime separates the five-year-olds into three groups.
Group A got five candy bars; Group B got five sugar-free candy bars; and Group C got no candy
bars. Upon doing a behavioral and statistical analysis, Jaime found that group A was
significantly more aggressive during the play-date than group B and Group Label the following:
35. Theory:_____________
36. Hypothesis:_______________
37. Experimental Group(s): ______________
38. Control Group (s):_______________
39. Dependent variable:______________
40. Independent Variable_______
41. Placebo: ___________
42. What is the operational definition of “a lot” of sugar in this research study?
43. Is there another variable in this study that requires an operational definition? ____________
44. If so, which? If not, why?_________
45. Suppose that Jaime was extremely pleasant and accommodating to group A. What would
this be an example of?___________
51. True or False: Key issues in psychology, should be viewed as being on an opposite end of
a continuum.
52. True or False: Scientists have found that new neurons cannot be created past the age of 21,
when the brain fully matures.
53. True or False: Theories provide a framework for understanding relationships among a set of
otherwise unorganized facts or principles
54. True or False: By employing both experimental and control groups in an experiment,
researchers are able to rule out the possibility that something other than the experimental
manipulation produced the results observed in the experiment.
55. True or False: Oxytocin is a hormone that is at the root of many of life’s satisfactions and
pleasures.
56. True or False: The ultimate processing of visual images takes place in the retina, where the
most complex kinds of processing occur.
57. True or False: The first true laboratory for the study of psychology was set up by Sigmund
Freud.
58. True or False: Some neurons are capable of firing as many as 1,000 times per second
. 59. True or False: Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s inabillty to change throughout the life
span.
60. True or False: Evolution has produced a neural transmission system that at some points has
no need for a structural connection between its components
61. True or False: The autonomic division in the nervous system plays a crucial role during
emergencies.
62. True or False: Using random assignment in experimentation, increases the chances that
each of the groups being studied will have approximately the same proportion of individual
characteristics.
63. True or False: During REM sleep, the major muscles of the body appear to be paralyzed.
64. True or False: Mirror neurons are important because they may help explain how and why
humans have the capacity to understand others’ intentions and may be the root of empathy.
65. True or False: Dreams are less likely to occur in the REM period.
66. True or False: Correlational studies can yield cause and effect results if conducted using
the scientific method.
67. True or False: The brain’s integration of visual information occurs in a single step and
location.
68. True or False: The nervous system is the pathway for the instructions that permit our bodies
to carry out precise activities.
69. True or False: Neurons, or nerve cells are the basic elements of the nervous system.
70. True or False: Damage to the right side of the brain is typically indicated by functioning
difficulties in the right side of the body and vice versa
. 71. True or False: Experiments are the only form of research that can determine cause and
effect relationships.
72. True or False: The hemispheres of the brain work independently in deciphering, interpreting,
and reacting to the world.
73. True or False: Weber’s law helps to explain why a person in a quiet room is more startled
by the ringing of a cell phone than a person in an already noisy room.
74. True or False: Judgments of sensory stimuli are affected by the context in which the
judgements are made .
75. True or false: messages that travel through a neuron are electrical in nature.
