Q&A Hero

Q: The first sign of puberty in girls is generally: A. growth of breasts. B. underarm hair. C. menarche. D. acne.

Q: Molly's breasts are beginning to develop, she is beginning to grow pubic hair, her skin is becoming more oily, and her body is growing rapidly. These changes are brought about by the secretion of _____ by the _____. A. estrogen only; testes B. androgens only; ovaries C. estrogen and androgens; ovaries D. estrogen and androgens; testes

Q: Which of the following is not characteristic of changes in skeletal structure during puberty? A. One marker that indicates the termination in growth in height is epiphysis. B. Bones become more porous and more likely to break. C. Height gains are attributable more to increases in torso length than leg length. D. The growth sequence generally begins with the extremities, and then proceeds to the arms and legs, then to the torso and shoulders.

Q: Who is at the greatest risk of developing body dissatisfaction? A. Callie, an early-maturing, affluent White girl who compares herself to her friends B. Miranda, a late-maturing Black girl C. John, an early-maturing Black male who compares himself to his friends D. Mike, a late-maturing White male who feels he is not muscular enough

Q: Which of the following is not thought to contribute to the onset of puberty? A. the presence of sexually mature partners in the environment B. whether the individual is healthy enough to begin reproduction C. the development of primary sex characteristics D. whether there are nutritional resources available to support a pregnancy

Q: Which of the following statements suggests that rising levels of the protein leptin is an important signal that tells the body it is ready for puberty? A. Production of pubic hair relates to increased sex drive. B. Excessive thinness can delay onset of puberty. C. Poorer adolescents tend to go through puberty earlier than non-poor adolescents. D. Excessive exercise promotes early physical development.

Q: Which of the following is not part of the feedback loop in the endocrine system? A. gonads B. hypothalamus C. pituitary gland D. thyroid hormones

Q: Ten-year-old Luna's budding feelings of sexual attraction are most likely explained: A. by maturation of the adrenal glands through the process called adrenarche. B. by maturation of the gonads through a process called menarche. C. as rising levels of leptin instruct her hypothalamus to set the hormonal changes of puberty in motion. D. as increases in sex hormones activate her HPG axis.

Q: The hormonally induced increase in the rate of growth in height and weight is referred to as: A. the adolescent growth spurt. B. epiphyses. C. secular trend. D. delayed phase preference.

Q: The simultaneous release of growth hormones, thyroid hormones, and _________ stimulates rapid acceleration in height and weight during puberty. A. pituitary glands B. estrogens C. androgens D. thyroid glands

Q: At the time of peak height velocity, adolescents grow at about the same rate as: A. newborns. B. infants. C. toddlers. D. elementary schoolchildren.

Q: The adolescent growth spurt: A. generally begins two years earlier for girls than for boys. B. generally begins two years earlier for boys than for girls. C. is slower in the early adolescent years, then speeds up around age 15 for boys and girls. D. proceeds along a smooth and rapid course over the teen years.

Q: The term puberty refers to the period during which: A. an individual is between the ages of 12 and 15. B. an individual's endocrine system creates new hormones. C. an individual becomes capable of sexual reproduction. D. an individual stops growing.

Q: According to the textbook, puberty involves all of the following except A. development of the primary sex characteristics. B. changes in distribution of fat and muscle in the body. C. development of secondary sex characteristics. D. increases in intellectual functioning

Q: Professor Radon is studying the _________ system, which produces, circulates, and regulates levels of hormones in the body. A. adrenal B. circulatory C. respiratory D. endocrine

Q: Which of the following statements about the production of hormones at puberty is false? A. The body begins to produce several hormones that have not been present in the body up until this time. B. There is an increase in the production of certain hormones. C. Boys' bodies produce more androgens and girls' bodies produce more estrogens. D. The feedback loop regulating the endocrine system's set point for each hormone becomes increasingly important.

Q: When levels of _____ and _____ fall below the set points, the _____ stops inhibiting the pituitary gland, thus permitting it to stimulate the release of sex hormones by the gonads. A. leptin; thyroid hormones; hypothalamus B. androgens; estrogen; adrenal gland C. androgens; estrogens; hypothalamus D. leptin; thyroid hormones; adrenal gland

Q: The presence or absence of certain hormones early in life may "program" the brain and the nervous system to develop in certain ways later on. These hormones are considered: A. androgens. B. estrogens. C. organizational. D. activational.

Q: Hormones play two very different roles in adolescence. _______ hormones program the brain to behave in certain ways, whereas _______ hormones are thought to stimulate development of the secondary sex characteristics. A. Activational; organizational B. Organizational; activational C. Testosterone; endocrine D. Endocrine; testosterone

Q: Which of the following statements about prenatal development is not true? A. Up until about eight weeks after conception, all human brains are feminine. B. Puberty is part of a gradual process that begins at conception. C. All hormones necessary for puberty are present before birth. D. The amount of cortisol exposed to the fetus is directly linked to the timing and tempo of puberty.

Q: Of all the developments that take place during the second decade of life, the only one that is truly inevitable is: A. physical maturation. B. an identity crisis. C. rebellion against one's parents. D. the first experience of romantic love.

Q: The average girl in the United States reaches _________, the time of her first menstrual period, sometime between the ages of 12 and 13. A. spermarche B. menarche C. puberty D. adrenarche

Q: The physical transformation from child to adult is called: A. puberty. B. early adolescence. C. middle adolescence. D. late adolescence.

Q: Perhaps the most common type of graph in psychology journals is the A. line graph. B. frequency polygon. C. frequency distribution. D. pie chart.

Q: A good Discussion section of a research report begins with A. repeating the most significant statistical results, including the exact probability values. B. a succinct statement of the study's findings. C. a description of the study's limitations. D. a discussion of related research findings.

Q: For a research article found online, it is recommended that you should include in the References section the A. date in which it was retrieved. B. digital object identifier (DOI). C. uniform resource locator (URL). D. all of these.

Q: The correct order for listing work cited in the References section of an APA-format manuscript is A. according to the order in which the works were cited in the manuscript. B. based on the relevance of the work to the manuscript (i.e., most relevant first, and so on). C. alphabetically according to the last name of the first author. D. according to the year the work was published, with the most recent works listed first.

Q: When footnotes are used in a research manuscript, they are A. lettered A, B, C, and so on. B. listed on a separate page after the References section. C. typed at the bottom of the page where the footnote is mentioned. D. both (B) and (C)

Q: Oral presentations differ from written presentations of scientific studies mainly in terms of A. whether conclusions from statistical analyses are mentioned. B. whether they are interesting. C. the amount of details provided. D. the use of figures or graphs.

Q: A written research proposal, unlike the report of a completed research study, generally will not include A. a Method section. B. an Appendix. C. an Abstract. D. any reference to statistics.

Q: One way that psychologists search the recent psychology research literature is by A. reviewing textbooks. B. searching the PsycInfo database. C. browsing the self-help section of their local bookstore. D. searching for reports that reach the media.

Q: The best way to write a Method section of a research report is to include information that A. is mainly general in nature. B. identifies every detail of the study. C. demonstrates how the study is similar to previous research. D. is essential to comprehend and replicate the study.

Q: A typical paragraph in a Results section begins by A. summarizing what was found in the analysis. B. reviewing the statistical tests used. C. stating the purpose of the analysis. D. presenting descriptive statistics.

Q: The last step in writing a paragraph in a Results section is to A. explain why the statistical tests were used. B. state a brief conclusion regarding the statistical finding. C. present the descriptive statistics in a verbal statement, table, or figure. D. present the confidence interval in APA-format.

Q: Which of the following is the correct report of a t-statistic when using APA format? A. t(36) = 4.10, p = .025, d = 1.20 B. t = 4.10, df = 36, p < .05, d = 1.20 C. t(36) = 4.10, p < .05, d = 1.20 D. t = 4.10, p = .025

Q: When graphing the results of an experiment with an independent variable and a dependent variable, the values for the dependent variable are plotted A. on the horizontal or x-axis. B. on the vertical or y-axis. C. in a scatterplot. D. in separate panels.

Q: The main purpose of the Abstract in a research report is to A. identify the authors of the research and their affiliations. B. summarize the purpose of the study and the content of the research report. C. provide a logical development of the study's hypotheses. D. provide a concise description of the study's procedures so the study can be replicated.

Q: The abstract of your research article is best written A. before you do the research. B. before you write the body of the report. C. after writing the introduction. D. after you have written the rest of your report.

Q: The literature review in the introduction section of a research report should include A. the studies that are most directly related to the research topic. B. all of the previous research that is relevant to the topic. C. complete descriptions of the hypotheses, methodology, and findings of previous research related to the research topic. D. only previous studies that describe theories related to the research topic.

Q: Identify the APA-format error in the following sentence: Nature and nurture interact to produce gender differences (Alice Eagly & Wendy Wood, 2013). A. The reference to the authors should appear at the beginning of the sentence. B. Parentheses should not be used in the sentence. C. The authors' first names should not appear in the citation. D. The year should come before the authors' names.

Q: The initial overall analysis of an experiment based on the analysis of variance is called A. an omnibus F-test. B. the between-within test. C. the interaction F-test. D. a multiple-group analysis.

Q: When an researcher submits a manuscript for publication, a number of experts in the field of the research evaluate the manuscript. This process is known as A. peer review. B. editorial evaluation. C. APA format. D. discussion group.

Q: When making decisions about whether to accept a research manuscript for publication, the primary emphasis of journal editors when they evaluate the manuscript is A. whether the research will help to sell journal issues and bring psychology into the news. B. the quality of the research and the effectiveness of the presentation in the manuscript. C. who conducted the research and where it was conducted. D. all of these

Q: About ______ percent of the manuscripts submitted for publication in American Psychological Association journals are accepted for publication. A. 25 B. 33 C. 50 D. 75

Q: To avoid unbiased communication when referring to human participants in your study, you should describe them A. in the most general terms. B. using the word "subjects." C. using specific descriptions. D. using ethnic labels that make you comfortable.

Q: Which is not one of the four major sections that make up the body of a research report? A. Introduction B. Results C. Appendices D. Discussion

Q: The title of a research manuscript should A. be "flashy" to attract potential readers to the research. B. include the goals and the primary methodological design of the research. C. include the author's name, such as "John Doe's Study of Personality and Behavior". D. inform readers of important variables or theoretical issues in the research.

Q: The second page of a formal, written research manuscript prepared according to APA format is the A. Introduction. B. Title page. C. Author Notes. D. Abstract.

Q: A researcher tested a treatment and a control group in an experiment with 15 subjects in each group. Although a t-test indicated the means for the dependent variable were not statistically different, the effect size for the independent variable was .50. A power analysis revealed that the power of the study was .26. This means that A. the difference between means in the experiment was .26. B. the value of the t-statistic is 0.13 (.50 .26). C. a statistically significant outcome would be obtained in approximately 1 in 4 attempts with this sample size and effect size. D. the probability of obtaining a statistically significant difference for this experiment is .74 (1 - .26).

Q: The most frequently used inferential statistics test when comparing more than two means is A. analysis of variance (ANOVA). B. repeated measures t. C. t-test for independent groups. D. correlation coefficient, r.

Q: The F-test provides a statistic that represents the ratio of between-group variation in the data to A. sample size. B. within-group variation. C. total variation in the data. D. degrees of freedom.

Q: The expected value of the F-statistic when the null hypothesis is true is ________. A. 0.0 B. .05 C. .50 D. 1.00

Q: The t-test for independent groups is the appropriate inferential test when A. a margin of error is needed for single random sample from a population. B. comparing two means. C. comparing more than two means. D. calculating a correlation between groups.

Q: The degrees of freedom for a t-test for independent groups are A. N - 1. B. (n1 + n2) - 1. C. (n1 + n2) - 2. D. 2(N) - 1.

Q: The appropriate inferential test when each subject participates in both conditions of an experiment is A. a between-subjects t-test. B. a margin of error. C. a t-test for independent groups. D. a repeated measures t-test.

Q: Results that are "statistically significant" may not be of interest to the scientific community because A. the study's methodology was poor. B. the results have little external validity. C. the treatment effect is too small to be of practical value. D. any of these reasons

Q: When a finding in an experiment is statistically significant, the scientific community can be confident that A. the experiment is free of confoundings. B. the finding will generalize to settings beyond those studied in the experiment. C. the finding has a low probability of occurring if the null hypothesis were true. D. all of these

Q: A psychologist conducts a study to test a new treatment. The effect of treatment is statistically significant; the effect size is small according to accepted criteria. When considering the practical or clinical significance of the finding, the psychologist is likely to be concerned about A. the financial cost of implementing the treatment. B. the external validity of the finding. C. whether the study is free of confoundings. D. all of these

Q: When deciding how to make a claim about the effect of a variable, researchers should A. report the results of significance testing instead of measures of effect size. B. be aware of limitations association with null hypotheses significance testing. C. use the most complicated analysis to tease out the fullest effects. D. not use confidence intervals.

Q: A researcher plans to conduct a study to compare two groups. Based on previous research, she anticipates a medium effect size. She does a power analysis with alpha level of .05. This power analysis tells her A. the t-test outcome and degrees of freedom she should expect. B. Cohen's d for her study. C. the sample size she will need to observe a statistically significant finding. D. the practical significance of her research.

Q: If a researcher were to use a .01 level of significance rather than the .05 level, the probability of a Type II error would A. not change. B. decrease. C. increase. D. not able to tell without more information.

Q: A researcher predicted that an independent variable would produce a difference between a treatment and a control group for the dependent variable. The statistical test resulted in a "statistically significant" difference. This finding A. proves the null hypothesis is false. B. supports the null hypothesis. C. proves the researcher's hypothesis. D. supports the researcher's hypothesis.

Q: Which of the following factors is not likely to be related to the power of a statistical test comparing two means? A. whether the t- or F-statistic is used B. sample size C. level of significance D. size of the treatment effect

Q: The primary factor that researchers use to control the power of a statistical test is A. the size of the treatment effect. B. the level of significance. C. the sample size. D. choosing a more heterogeneous population.

Q: The most common error associated with null hypothesis testing in psychological research is A. a Type I error. B. a Type II error. C. random sampling. D. too much power.

Q: When researchers have a good estimate of the expected effect size for an independent variable prior to conducting a study, they should A. perform a power analysis. B. compute an inferential statistics test. C. draw confidence intervals for their means. D. all of these

Q: A result that is not "statistically significant" means that A. the null hypothesis is definitely false and should be rejected. B. the null hypothesis is definitely true and should be accepted. C. we should conclude that the independent variable had no effect whatsoever. D. without more information, we should be cautious about concluding that the independent variable did not have an effect.

Q: The probability we use to define a statistically significant outcome is equivalent to A. a Type I error. B. a Type II error. C. the null hypothesis. D. the population mean.

Q: (p. 387, 355) Read the following research report and answer the question that follow. A researcher compares men's and women's attitudes toward dating their best friend's former girl/boy friend. Specifically, college students are asked to read a story describing a situation in which their best friend breaks up with a partner and they later have an opportunity to date their best friend's former partner. Men and women rate the likelihood they would choose to date their best friend's former partner using a 10-point scale (0 = not at all likely and 9 = completely likely). In addition, participants rate the extent to which a similar situation has occurred to them using a 10-point scale (0 = not at all and 9 = completely). The mean ratings for each question for the two groups, men and women, are presented below: The square root of 28 (the df) is approximately 5.3. What is Cohen's d for the difference between ratings for men and women for the question regarding the likelihood of dating? According to Cohen's criteria, how would you describe this effect?

Q: Read the following research report and answer the question that follow. A researcher compares men's and women's attitudes toward dating their best friend's former girl/boy friend. Specifically, college students are asked to read a story describing a situation in which their best friend breaks up with a partner and they later have an opportunity to date their best friend's former partner. Men and women rate the likelihood they would choose to date their best friend's former partner using a 10-point scale (0 = not at all likely and 9 = completely likely). In addition, participants rate the extent to which a similar situation has occurred to them using a 10-point scale (0 = not at all and 9 = completely). The mean ratings for each question for the two groups, men and women, are presented below: Describe whether a Type I error and whether a Type II error are possible in this study. A Type I error is possible if, in fact, the null hypothesis of no difference between men and women for the likelihood of dating question is true (in the population of men and women), and therefore, should not have been rejected. The probability of this Type I error is the level of significance, or alpha (p = .05). A Type II error occurs when a false null hypothesis is not rejected. This is possible if there truly is a difference for men's and women's experience of a similar situation (in the population), but the results for this sample did not indicate this difference. The experiment or statistical test may not have been sensitive or powerful enough to detect this difference.

Q: The null hypothesis is the assumption that the independent variable A. did not have an effect. B. had an effect. C. is a relevant variable. D. is statistically significant.

Q: The level of significance, or alpha, in psychological research is generally set at A. .01. B. .05. C. .10. D. .50.

Q: The probability we use to define a statistically significant outcome is called A. an effect size. B. the null hypothesis. C. alpha. D. a margin of error.

Q: Null hypothesis significance testing uses the laws of probability to estimate the likelihood of an outcome by first assuming that A. the null hypothesis is false. B. an effect of an independent variable is present. C. the population means are different. D. only chance factors caused the outcome.

Q: (p. 396-397, 407) Use the ANOVA Summary Table to answer the question that follow: Which results are statistically significant? Explain how you arrived at this decision.

Q: Use the ANOVA Summary Table to answer the question that follow:

Q: The ANOVA Summary Table for a two-factor, mixed design is divided into two parts; the between subjects section and the __________ section. A. interaction B. within-subjects C. eta-squared D. correlation

Q: When reporting the results of a complex design experiment, which of the following should not be included? A. summary statistics for cells in the design in the text, a table, or a figure B. results for omnibus F-test, with exact probabilities C. verbal description of any statistically significant interaction effects D. each subject's score for each dependent variable

Q: Null hypothesis significance testing is used to compare two means in an independent groups design. (a) What is the null hypothesis? (b) What is required to "reject" the null hypothesis?

Q: Explain the difference between experimental sensitivity and statistical power and identify factors that influence each.