ABOUT THE EXAMS

General tips:

• You do need to know the specific names for all the concepts we are learning. I understand this can be challenging (we social psychologists like to name things). Do your best.
• Be sure you can explain the concept in your own words, and that you can generate your own example for the concept.
• Except for those studies we read in their entirety as supplemental readings and/or the "big" studies covered in depth in class or in your text (e.g., Milgram's obedience research) I will not be asking you to spit back author names, dates, or super-specific details of the numerous studies you'll be reading about.  I may, however, describe the basic outline of a study in a question then ask you to predict the results.  So, you need to understand the studies you read about as examples of/demonstrations of the concepts we are learning.

Example Questions

Below are several multiple choice questions that represent the type of questions you will encounter on the exams in this course.  You should note that these are example questions with random content. These are NOT meant to review the material. Remember, information from the textbook, supplemental readings AND the lecture material may be included in the exam.

Feel free to come to my office hours (or set up a time to meet with me) to go over any questions you have, or to double check your understanding of any concepts.

Example Questions (1 point each)

Correlational research would be most useful for which of the following individuals?

 a.  Luke, who wants to know whether children who watch a lot of violent television are more likely to be bullies in school

b.  Stacey, who wants to know whether putting guns on display causes children to act aggressively toward a doll

c.  Joanna, who wants to know whether parents spend time with their children discussing the lack of realism in violent television

To say that someone has conducted a correlational study signifies in part that the variables in the study were not

a.  archival variables

b.  manipulated variables

c.  self-reported variables

In an experimental study of the effects of fear on the desire to affiliate, fear would be the ___________.

a.  interaction

b.  independent variable

c.  dependent variable

(Answer: B)

One of the many advantages of correlational research is that it

a.  is more accurate than experimental research.

b.  allows researchers to determine if there is a causal relationship between two variables.

c.  can be used to examine phenomena that would be unethical to create in the laboratory.

(Answer: C)

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