Psychology 101- Exam 1

8 January 2023
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the corpus callosum is a wide band of axon fibers that
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transmits info between the cerebral hemispheres
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Which division of the autonomic nervous system arouses the body and mobilizes its energy in stressful situations?
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the sympathetic nervous sytem
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A myelin sheath is a
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layer of fatty tissue encasing the axons of some nerve cells
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A tendency for the brain's left and right hemispheres to serve different functions is called
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lateralization
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A neuron's reaction of either firing at full strength or not firing at all is described as
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an all-or-none response
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Neurotransmitters are released from vesicles located on knob-like terminals at the end of the
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axon
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Motor neurons transmit signals to
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glands
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the neural center in the limbic system that processes explicit memories for storage is called the
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hippocampus
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To identify which specific brain areas are most active during a particular mental task, researchers would be most likely to make use of an
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fMRI
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A brief electrical charge that travels down the axon of a neuron is called the
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action potential
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The occipital lobes are to _________ as the temporal lobes are to _____________
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seeing; hearing
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To demonstrate that brain stimulation can make a rat violently aggressive a neuroscientist should electrically stimulate the rat's
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amygdala
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the two major divisions of the nervous system are the central and the ___________ nervous systems
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peripheral
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the capacity of a brain area reorganize in response to damage is known as
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plasticity
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the classical case of railroad worker Phineas Gage is best illustrated that frontal lobe damage can
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alter one's personality
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Hormones are the chemical messengers of the
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endocrine system
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Those whose corpus callosum is surgically severed are said to be patients with
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split brains
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The function of dendrites is to
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receive incoming signals from other neurons
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which limbic system structure regulates thirst and body temperature
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hypothalamus
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In transmitting sensory info to the brain, an electrical signal travels from the _____________ of a single neuron
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axon to the cell body to the dendrites
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An axon is
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the extension of a neuron that carries messages away from the cell body
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a picture of a dog is briefly flashed in the left visual field of a slip-brain patient. At the same time a picture of a boy is flashed in the righ visual field. In identifying what she saw, the patient would be most likely to
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verbally report that she saw a boy
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auditory stimulation is processed in the ______________ lobes
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temporal
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the sequence of brain regions from the evolutionarily oldest to the newest is
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brainstem, limbic system, cerebral cortex
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the chemical messengers released into the spatial junctions between neurons are called
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neurotransmitters
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Two-year old Philip was recently clawed by the neighbor's cat. Philip now fears all small animals. His fear demonstrates the process of
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generalization
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In classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning is called a )n)
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neutral stimulus
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Extinction occurs when a _________ is no longer paired with a __________
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CS; US
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Shaping is a(n) _______________ procedure
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operant conditioning
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Administering an aversive stimulus following an operant response is
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positive punishment
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In which form of learning is behavior influenced by its consequences?
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operant conditioning
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A young child who is spanked after running into the street learns not to repeat this behavior. In this case, the spanking is a
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postitive punishment
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Positive reinforcers __________ the rate of operant responding and negative reinforcers ______________ the rate of operant responding
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increase; increase
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After a scary biking accident, Alex extinguished his conditioned fear of bikes by cycling on a safe biking trail every day for a week. The reappearance of his previously extinguished fear when he rode a bike on the same trail two weeks late best illustrates
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spontaneous recovery
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The views of learning advanced by Ivan Pavlov and John B. Watson underestimated the importance of
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cognitive processes
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a partial reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response that occurs after an unpredictable period of time is a ______________ schedule
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variable-interval
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Pets who learn that the sound of an electric can opener signals the arrival of food illustrate
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classical conditioning
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negative reinforcement ____________ the rate of operant responding and punishment ______________ the rate of operant responding
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increases; decreases
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The reappearance, after a time lapse, of an extinguished CR is called
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spontaneous recovery
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Which of the following is an unconditioned response?
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sweating in hot weather
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Conditioning is the process of
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learning associations
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Resistance to extinction is most strongly encouraged by ___________
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intermittent
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Our ability to learn by witnessing the behavior of others best illstrates
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observational learning
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Learning specific behaviors simply by watching others perform them is known as
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observational learning
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A fixed-ratio schedule of reinforcement is one in which a response is reinforced only after a(n)
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specified number of responses have been made
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Both classical and operant conditioning are forms of
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associative learning
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A child's learned fear at the sight of a hypodermic needle is a(n)
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conditioned response
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Garcia and Koelling's studies of taste aversion in rats demonstrated that classical conditioning is constrained by
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biological predispostiions
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A descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reported attitudes or behaviors of a representative sample of a population is known as
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a survey
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the hindsight bias refers to people's tendency to
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exaggerate their ability to have foreseen an outcome
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What is most useful for helping survey researchers avoid false generalizations?
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random sampling
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The scientific attitude requires an open-minded humility because it involves a willingness to
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recognize the errors in our own ideas
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The most foolproof way of testing whether a newly introduced method of psychological therapy is truly effective is to use
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experimental research
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When every individual in large population has a small but equal chance of being included in a survey, researchers are using a procedure known as
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random sampling
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In an experimental study of the impact of exposure to criticism on self-esteem, exposure to criticism would be the _____________ variable
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independent
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a statement describing the exact procedures for measuring an anticipated experimental outcome is known as a(n)
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operational definition
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To accurately isolate cause and effect, experimenters should use
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random assignment
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To study the potential effects of social interaction on problem solving, some research participants were instructed to solve problems by working together; other participants were told to solve problems by working alone. Those who worked alone were assigned to the ________ group.
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control
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A descriptive technique of monitoring and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to change or control the situation is called
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naturalistic observation
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The case study is a research method in which
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a single individual or group is studied in great depth
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Professor Delano suggests that because people are especially attracted to those who are good-looking, handsome men will be more successful than average-looking men in getting a job. The professor's prediction regarding employment success is an example of
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a hypothesis
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In a survey, psychologists select a random sample of research participants in order to ensure that
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the participants are representative of the population they are interested in studying
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Suppose that people who watch a lot of violence on TV are also particularly likely to behave aggressively. This relationship would NOT necessarily indicate that watching violence influences aggressive behavior because
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association does not prove causation
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The explanatory power of a scientific theory is most closely linked to its capacity to generate testable
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predictions
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Researchers use experiments rather than other research methods in order to isolate
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causes from effects
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Research participants are randomly assigned to different groups in an experiment in order to
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minimize any differences between groups of participants
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The biggest danger of relying on case study evidence is that it
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may be unrepresentative of what is generally true
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A correlation between physical attractiveness and dating frequency of +0.60 would indicate that
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less frequent dating is associated with lower levels of physical attractiveness
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New technologies such as smart phone apps and body-worn sensors have enabled the collection of "big data" by means of
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naturalistic observation
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Which of the following is true for those assigned to a control group
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the experimental treatment is absent
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In contrast to explicit, conscious reasoning, an effortless and immediate automatic judgment is best described as a(n)
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intuition
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An experiment was designed to study the potential impact of alcohol consumption on emotional stability. A specification of the procedures used to measure emotional stability illustrates
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an operational definition
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A factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect in an experiment is called a
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confounding variable
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Which of the following is most likely to inhibit critical thinking?
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overconfidence
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a hypothesis is a(n)
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testable prediction that gives direction to research
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To discover the extent to which economic status can be used to predict political preferences, researchers are most likely to use
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correlational measures
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Which of the following methods is most helpful for clarifying cause-effect relationships?
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the experiment
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Which research method would be most appropriate for investigating the relationship between the religious beliefs of Americans and their attitudes toward abortion?
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the survey
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three key attitudes of scientific inquiry are
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curiosity, skepticism, and humility
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Potential research participants are told enough about an upcoming study to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate. This illustrates the practice of seeking
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informed consent
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The group exposed to a newly created drug that is being tested in an experiment is called the ________ group.
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experimental
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In a study of the effects of drinking alcohol, some participants drank a nonalcoholic beverage that actually smelled and tasted like alcohol. This nonalcoholic drink was a
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placebo
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Illusory correlation refers to
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the perception of a relationship between two variables that does not exist
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Which of the following correlations between self-esteem and body weight would enable you to most accurately predict body weight from knowledge of level of self-esteem?
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+0.60
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Testing hypotheses and refining theories in light of those tests is central to
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the scientific method
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Rodesia insists that Dr. Phillips' theory of aggression be checked against observable evidence. She is demonstrating the scientific attitude of
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skepticism
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The perception that psychological research findings merely verify our commonsense understanding is most clearly facilitated by
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hindsight bias
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In a psychological experiment, the experimental factor that is manipulated by the investigator is called the ________ variable.
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independent
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After an experiment, research participants are told its purpose and about any deception they may have experienced. This is called
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debriefing
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Repeating the essence of a previous research study to verify that the findings of the original study extend to a new group of research participants and to different circumstances is called
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replication
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Correlational research is most useful for purposes of
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prediction