Scientific Thinking Assessment



Scientific Thinking Assessment

Psychology Department

North Central College

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1. [2b] A number of studies have identified a link between teen drug use and truancy. Based only on this information, which of the following conclusions is the BEST one to make?

a. Reducing teen drug use will likely reduce truancy.

b. Teen drug use is associated with truancy.

c. If we can get teenagers to stay in school we will be able to reduce drug use.

d. Teen drug use is probably only one of the causes of truancy.

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2. [2b, 5c] Research has consistently found that increased exercise can lead to a decrease in heart-related ailments. Based only on this information, which of the following conclusions is the BEST one to make?

a. So far, only a correlation has been found between exercise and heart-related ailments.

b. No conclusion can be drawn until more research has been conducted.

c. There is a causal relationship between increased exercise and the level of heart-related ailments.

d. Reducing your level of exercise will lead to an increase in your heart-related ailments.

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[2b] For Questions 3-6 below, indicate whether each question better addresses the scientific goal of description, prediction, or explanation, or indicate that it is not a scientific question at all.

3. How long does it take the earth to make one revolution around the sun?

a. description

b. prediction

c. explanation

d. not a scientific question

4. What questions might you ask to determine if a person is at risk for committing suicide?

a. description

b. prediction

c. explanation

d. not a scientific question

5. Does drinking moderate amounts of red wine reduce the chance of heart disease?

a. description

b. prediction

c. explanation

d. not a scientific question

6. Can the rate of increase in population of a particular predator in a specific habitat be determined by the rate of increase in population of that predator's most common prey in that same habitat?

a. description

b. prediction

c. explanation

d. not a scientific question

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[3a] For items 7-9 below, indicate whether each item is more likely from a descriptive, correlational, or experimental study.

7. Grouping rocks into categories.

a. a descriptive study

b. a correlational study

c. an experiment

d. all of the above

8. Observing how much candy children ate and how actively they played at a party.

a. a descriptive study

b. a correlational study

c. an experiment

d. none of the above

9. Testing the effects of tobacco smoke on rat fetal development.

a. a descriptive study

b. a correlational study

c. an experiment

d. all of the above

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10. [3a] Ms. Poe randomly assigned participants in her study, which suggests Ms. Poe was likely conducting

a. a descriptive study

b. a correlational study

c. an experiment

d. any of the above

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11. ** [3b, 5b] In the past, Carl frequently suffered from severe leg cramps. A couple months ago, he began taking Vitamin Q because he read that it might help cure persistent leg cramps. He has not suffered a severe leg cramp since he began taking Vitamin Q. He now tells people that Vitamin Q cured his leg cramps. Which of the following responses is the BEST one to make regarding Carl’s claim?

a. It seems unlikely that Vitamin Q would cure leg cramps.

b. It seems likely that Vitamin Q cures leg cramps.

c. Although Vitamin Q probably cured Carl’s leg cramps, we don’t know if it would cure other people’s leg cramps.

d. We cannot tell if Vitamin Q had any effect on Carl’s leg cramps.

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12. ** [3c, 5b] A group of one hundred subjects was asked whether or not they would want to take a medication that might improve their sexual functioning. Fifty people said “yes” and the other fifty said “no.” Those answering “yes” were assigned to take the drug and those answering “no” were assigned to take a placebo. None of the subjects, however, knew whether they were taking the medication or the placebo. At the end of the study, it was found that the sexual functioning was better in the medication group. Which of the following is the BEST conclusion to make from these results?

a. Nothing can be concluded because the effects of suggestion alone can explain the results.

b. Nothing can be concluded because the two groups may have differed at the beginning of the study.

c. The medication causes sexual functioning to increase.

d. The medication only works for individuals who want to use such medication.

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13. ** [3c] In order to determine whether or not church attendance increases happiness, a group of 50 atheists (people who do not believe there is a god) who scored low on a measure of happiness were asked by researchers to begin attending weekly religious services at a particular church. At the end of one year, the average happiness score of these people had increased significantly. The researchers concluded that church attendance increases happiness. Which of the following criticisms is the BEST one to make of this study? The study should have included a

a. larger sample of people.

b. larger number of churches.

c. group of church-attenders who believe in god.

d. group of atheists who did not attend church.

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14. ** [2b, 6b, 6c] A chemist performed a series of rigorous experimental studies indicating that a new polymer is stronger and more durable than existing polymers currently used in artifical limbs. After the research was published, it became known that the chemist, prior to the publication of the research, had bought stock in the company which holds the patents associated with the new polymer. Which of the following is the BEST decision to make regarding the chemist’s conclusion that the new polymer is stronger and more durable than existing polymers used in artificial limbs?

a. The conclusion should be rejected because the chemist obviously has a strong motivation to find that the new polymer is superior to current ones.

b. The conclusion should be accepted or rejected only after examining the studies that provided evidence for the conclusion.

c. The conclusion should be accepted because the chemist is a scientist who performs scientific research.

d. The conclusion should be rejected because no other chemists have tested the new polymer.

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15. [3c, 5b, 5c] Researchers wanted to test the hypothesis that treating severe depression through a combination of medication and psychotherapy would be superior to medication alone for most patients. One hundred and sixty severely depressed patients were randomly assigned to either a medication+psychotherapy condition or a medication alone condition. The researchers found that symptoms of depression were reduced in 78 percent of patients in the medication+psychotherapy condition and were reduced in 52 percent of patients in the medication alone condition. This difference was statistically significant. Which of the following is the BEST response to these results?

a. More such studies need to be conducted before one can confidently draw a conclusion about the value of one form of therapy over the other.

b. Most severely depressed patients will be better served by the medication+psychotherapy treatment than by medication alone.

c. The sample size in this study was too small to draw any conclusions.

d. No conclusion can be drawn because there was no control condition.

[Note: Items above marked with ** were adapted, with permission, from Jeff Ricker of Maricopa Community College.]

Essay Questions

1. [3b, 5b, 6b] I went to a health food store to see if it had anything that could help with my migraine headaches. The migraines were becoming worse, and the medicine my doctor prescribed was not helping much. A woman who worked at the store picked out a particular product for me that she was sure would help my migraine headaches. I asked her how she could be so sure and she presented the evidence below. For each piece of evidence listed below, describe how well you think that evidence supports the claim that the product is effective at reducing migraine headaches.

• She was a migraine sufferer and the product had worked for her.

• At least six or seven other people she had recommended the product to had come into the store recently to tell her how well it had worked for them.

• It is the leading seller nationwide in health food stores among products for relieving migraine headaches.

• There have been some clinical trials that show that one of the main ingredients in the product can reduce stress which is thought to be related to migraines.

• Just as the store worker was presenting me with this evidence, another customer came into the store and thanked her for recommending this product. The customer reported that her husband, whom the product was for, was much less irritable in the last month since using the product.

Given your evaluation of the evidence, how confident should I be that this product will work for me?

1 2 3 4 5

not at all only a little somewhat very absolutely

confident confident confident confident confident

Briefly explain your level of confidence.

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2. [4a, 4b] Researchers hypothesized that engaging in aerobic exercise of substantial intensity and duration would reduce blood pressure in persons whose blood pressure was above normal levels. The research team selected several dozen volunteers with elevated blood pressure, and, over several months, participants monitored the intensity and duration of aerobic exercise that they engaged in and came to the research center to permit regular readings of blood pressure.

a. Did the researchers select an appropriate methodology given the stated hypothesis?

Yes No

b. If you answer Yes, explain why the methodology was appropriate for the hypothesis. If you answered No, describe what might the researchers have done differently to allow them to more appropriately address their hypothesis?

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3. [5a, 5b] An experiment was conducted in which 60 plants (10 in each condition) were grown for four months in an environment where temperature and humidity were carefully controlled. At the conclusion of the four months a measure of plant growth was taken, with larger values indicating greater growth. Presented below are the results of the research, expressed as mean growth, as well as an interpretation.

Temperature

|Humidity |65(F |75(F |85(F |

|30% |15.4 |16.1 |16.0 |

|70% |15.6 |17.9 |19.7 |

Interpretation: As the temperature increased the plants exhibited increases in growth. Similarly, as the humidity increased the plants exhibited increases in growth.

a. Given the data, do you consider the interpretation to be appropriate

Yes No

b. If Yes, explain why the interpretation is appropriate. If No, explain why the interpretation is inappropriate.

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4. [3a, 5b, 5c] The following is a summary of an actual news brief.

A large study in Finland found evidence that people who ate fish less than once a week ran a 31 percent higher chance of mild to severe depression than people who ate it more often. The researchers concluded that eating fish lowers the risk of depression.

a. Is the researchers' conclusion warranted given the results? Explain.

b. Circle the headline below that you believe BESTS fits the research results.

a. Eating Fish Can Make You Happy

b. Being Depressed Lowers Fish Consumption

c. Fish Eaters Are Happier Eaters

c. Explain why you selected that headline.

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5. [3c, 5a, 5b, 5d] An online poll conducted at attracted 6,834 respondents. The question asked was: Who is the greatest professional football player of all time? 34% voted for Walter Payton, 19% voted for Jim Brown, 14% voted for Joe Montana. Everyone else received less than 10% of the vote. A similar poll conducted near the same time at a different sports website found the same results with Walter Payton receiving significantly more votes than any other player. Readers of the two websites concluded that Walter Payton is considered the greatest professional football player of all time by most football fans.

Given the above information, do you believe the conclusion of the readers is appropriate?

Yes No

If Yes, explain why the conclusion is appropriate. If No, explain why the conclusion is inappropriate.

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6. [3c, 3d, 5b, 6b] Headline: "Students at Somewhere University prefer Pepsi over Coke"

The article accompanying the above headline goes on to say that a survey of a large, random sample of Somewhere University students found that 68% preferred Pepsi among all soft drinks, 27% preferred Coke, and the rest preferred other soft drinks.

What is the conclusion reached in the above article?

Given the above information, do you believe the conclusion is justified?

Yes No

If Yes, explain why the conclusion is justified. If No, explain why the conclusion is not justified.

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7. [4b, 5d] You notice that students at your school who get drunk frequently tend to have a lower grade point average. You mention this observation to your friend and he says, “Yeah, students who get wasted all the time don’t seem to be able to concentrate very well even when they are sober.”

Provide an alternative to your friend’s explanation for your observation.

Describe a method that might be used to test your alternative explanation.

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8. [5a, 5b, 5c, 6b] The figure below illustrates the number of deaths in the Chicago-land area from heart attacks that occurred during snow removal or non-removal activity in the three-day period from December 14-16, 2000.

There are many conclusions, appropriate and inappropriate, that might be drawn from this figure. Here are two possible ones.

Conclusion 1: Using a snow blower to remove snow will typically put someone at less risk for a heart attack than shoveling snow.

Conclusion 2: Engaging in snow removal (whether using a snow blower or shoveling) is a healthy activity that reduces the risk of a heart attack.

a. Is Conclusion 1 an appropriate conclusion to draw from the graph? Explain.

b. Is Conclusion 2 an appropriate conclusion to draw from the graph? Explain.

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9. [2a] Circle the letter of the question(s) below that can be answered scientifically.

a. Do angels exist?

b. Why do some dogs chase cars?

c. Does the weather affect moods?

d. Should abortion be legal?

If you identified one of the questions as one that CANNOT be answered scientifically, rewrite the question in the space below so that it can be answered scientifically.

10. [3d] Explain the differences between scientific hypotheses, theories and conclusions.

Revised: 9/9/05

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