Week 1 Quiz

In a reaction-time trial, a lamp flashes and a person presses a key as fast as possible. Which part of the trial is a behavior rather than a mental process?

Select one.

• Noticing that the lamp has flashed
• Pressing the key with one finger
• Deciding to move as soon as possible
• Remembering the instruction to respond

In 1879, a laboratory opened in Leipzig, Germany, that is usually taken as the start of psychology as an experimental science. Who opened it?

Select one.

• Wilhelm Wundt
• Sigmund Freud
• William James
• John B. Watson

Which early school of psychology asked what mental processes are for, meaning how they help an organism adapt to its surroundings, and who led it?

Select one.

• Structuralism, built by Edward Titchener
• Psychoanalysis, founded by Sigmund Freud
• Functionalism, led by William James
• Behaviorism, led by John B. Watson

A researcher says psychology should stop guessing about the mind and study only what people do and what consequences follow. Which school does this view belong to?

Select one.

• The humanistic movement
• Structuralism
• Functionalism
• Behaviorism

The reaction-time sample (illustrative, constructed for this course, not real data) holds nine simple-reaction-time trials, in milliseconds: 312, 289, 401, 356, 298, 275, 388, 342, and 310. What is the median of the nine trials, in milliseconds? Enter the number only.

Type a short answer.

The reaction-time sample (illustrative, constructed for this course, not real data) holds nine simple-reaction-time trials, in milliseconds: 312, 289, 401, 356, 298, 275, 388, 342, and 310. What is the range of the nine trials, in milliseconds? Enter the number only.

Type a short answer.

The reaction-time sample (illustrative, constructed for this course, not real data) holds nine simple-reaction-time trials, in milliseconds: 312, 289, 401, 356, 298, 275, 388, 342, and 310. Its mean is 330.1111 ms and its median is 312 ms. Why does the mean sit above the median?

Select one.

• The median uses every trial, so the fast ones pull it down
• A few slow trials pull the mean up toward their values
• The sample is illustrative, so its mean is not a real average
• The mean leaves out the slowest trial when it is computed

Which of these statements are hypotheses, meaning specific predictions stated precisely enough that data could show them to be wrong? Select all that apply.

Select every option that applies.

• On days when a food truck's line has eight or more people at noon, more walk-up customers join in the next hour than on days with two or fewer.
• Students who review their notes for ten minutes before bed will recall more terms the next morning than students who do not review.
• Customers always do whatever feels right to them.
• People are influenced by what other people around them choose.

A student puts off a paper until the night before. Which perspective is used by the explanation "past last-minute papers that still earned a passing grade rewarded the habit"?

Select one.

• The cognitive perspective
• The biological perspective
• The behavioral perspective
• The sociocultural perspective

True or false: if a research finding feels obvious as soon as you hear it, common sense has already confirmed it, so it does not need to be tested.

True or false.

• True
• False