Science Inquiry Skills Revision Test/Questions

Stage 1 Psychology
Name_____________________________ TOTAL - / 42

Science Inquiry Skills

1. The definition of psychology is the study of

A thoughts
B feelings
C behaviour
D All of the above

Questions 2 and 3 refer to the following information.

A researcher was interested in the effects of a new drug to improve memory. He obtained a random sample of 30
male and 30 female students. First he gave all participants the memory test. Three days later, the students were
allocated to two groups where only one of the groups received the new drug. A week later he gave all the participants
the memory test again.

2. The independent variable in this experiment is

A whether or not the students have good memory skills

B whether or not the students receive the new drug
C performance on the memory test.
D gender of the students

3. The dependent variable in this experiment is

A whether or not the students have good memory skills

B whether or not the students receive the new drug
C performance on the memory test.
D gender of the students

4. Which of the following is NOT an ethical consideration when choosing participants?

A the participants are volunteers

B the participants have been informed of the purpose of the research
C the participants have been drawn from the undergraduate population of a university
D the participants will be deceived by the researcher and will be debriefed immediately after the experiment

5. A major difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist is that

A there are fewer areas of specialisation in psychology than there are in psychiatry
B a psychologist is allowed to perform medical procedures whereas a psychiatrist is not
C a psychologist is allowed to prescribe certain types of drugs only whereas a psychiatrist can prescribe all types of
drugs
D a psychiatrist is allowed to perform medical procedures whereas a psychologist is not
6. In psychology a population is considered to be?

a. The same as a sample

b. An entire group of people a researcher is interested in researching
c. All the people in Australia
d. Only participants in the control group

7. A prediction based on a theory that is tested in psychological research is known as a

a. sample
b. hypothesis
c. observation
d. replication

8. A relatively small group of participants studied in the hope of learning something that applies to every being or animal
is known as the

a. research method
b. hypothesis
c. sample
d. replication

9. The careful observation and recording of behaviour in real-life settings is known as

a. quantitative observation
b. replication method
c. survey method
d. correlation method

10. Ann has decided to study psychology at university. She is particularly interested in directly helping people with
psychological disorders. Which speciality in psychology will she be most likely to study in post-graduate work?

a. educational psychology
b. clinical psychology
c. research
d. forensic psychology
SHORT ANSWER SECTION:
1. Psychology can be broadly defined as:

(2 mark)

2. Experimental research is to identify causal links between variables. That is, experimental researchers manipulate
and control one variable and observe the effect it has on the other variable. The manipulated variable is known
as the

____________________________________ (1 marks)

3. Name one difference between experimental and observational research designs.

(2 marks)

4. A researcher may be interested in the effects of smoking during pregnancy on the birth-weight of infants. What
type of research design would they use and why?

(2 marks)
5. Identify the IV and the DV in the following hypothesis

a) People who use marijuana will have impaired average performance scores on a memory task .

IV: ______________________________ DV: __________________________

(2 marks)

b) Listening to music while studying increases performance on a school test.

IV: ______________________________ DV: __________________________

(2 marks)

c) Drinking red cordial increases hyperactivity in children

IV: ______________________________ DV: __________________________

(2 marks)

6. List the three research methods for assessing psychological responses.

_____________________ ________________________________ _______________________

(3 marks)

7. An experiment was conducted on the effect of sleep deprivation on children aged between 10 and 15. Children
were allocated to Group A or Group B. Group A were allowed to sleep normally. Group B were kept awake all
night doing a variety of tasks. The next morning each group did a series of tests and were asked to rate their own
performance.

(a) Identify a possible extraneous variable in this experiment.

(2 marks)

b) What method is being used to assess the psychological responses?

(2 marks)

c) Explain two ethical concerns associated with this experiment.

Ethical issue 1:

(2 marks)

Ethical issue 2:
 (2 marks)

d) It was found that the members of Group A performed better on the series of tests but the members of Group
B rated their performance better.
State one conclusion about the effects of sleep deprivation on children.

(2 marks)

9) Match the area of specialisation in psychology with the correct description.

1 Counselling psychologist 2 Sport psychologist

3. Clinical psychologist 4. Organisational psychologist

a) Specialise in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and mental illness_______

b) Seek to understand complex relationships in the work place _______

c) Assists in persons in areas of person well being, relationships, work, recreation and health _______

d) Assist athletes with preparing for competition _______

[2 marks]

10) A study was performed to examine the effect of alcohol consumption on reaction time in healthy 20-40 year old
males. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups of 20 subjects. Group A was given raspberry cordial,
group B was given raspberry cordial with a flavourless alcohol added. Subjects were not told which group they
were assigned to. Blood tests were taken to detect blood alcohol readings. Reaction rate was measured by timing
how long it took to press a button in response to a beep.

Write a hypothesis for the above study

(2 marks)