University of Nebraska Kearney

(Questions 1-6 measure Overall objective 1)

1. The style guide most often used for humanities courses is
   
   1. MLA
   2. Chicago
   3. APA
   4. Turabian
      
2. One way to recognize a “classic” work of literature or artwork is if
   
   1. it was highly popular when first published or released
   2. it illustrates some aspect of human nature that is timeless, or transcends cultures
   3. its creator became famous for the work
   4. it speaks of issues relevant to minority cultures
      
3. A piece of expository prose such as an essay usually includes
   
   1. a five paragraph format
   2. a bibliography
   3. a thesis
   4. narrative
      
4. One reason consumers should be cautious with respect to information that is available on the World Wide Web is that
   
   1. authors who write material for electronic media are less qualified than authors of print material
   2. one often cannot tell if the source of the information is legitimate.
   3. most websites reject the vast majority of manuscripts that are submitted to them.
   4. the information has probably only undergone the process of peer review.
      
5. To determine the validity of a statement about human behavior made by a psychologist, one should:
   
   1. Find out if the psychologist is trustworthy
   2. Examine the evidence presented by the psychologist
   3. Consider where the psychologist published the statement
   4. Rely on your common sense
      
6. In order to find information for a research paper, the most reliable source would be
   
   1. a website on the topic
   2. a peer reviewed journal article from 2003
   3. a newspaper article from yesterday
   4. a book published in 1970
      

(Questions 7-12 measure Overall objective 2)

7. Premise: In order to succeed in academic examinations it is necessary to study.
   Argument: Therefore, if a student works hard in a particular subject, he or she should do well when it comes to the examination.
   
   Which of the following best describes the flaw in the argument?
   
   1. It ignores the fact that some students do not need to study very much in order to succeed.
   2. It overestimates the value of studying in preparation for examinations.
   3. It ignores the fact that some subjects are more academic than others.
   4. It assumes that just studying hard alone is sufficient for success on examinations.
      
      
8. A fear of spiders could be justified in that, technically, the bite of all spiders is venomous. However, we need to put this justification into perspective. In the United States, which has its fair share of hard-biting spiders, only three people die from spider bites each year and they are usually small children or the frail elderly. A good rule is that if a spider spins a web, as all British spiders do, its jaws are unlikely to be strong enough to penetrate human skin. Even when a web spider does bite humans, its venom is unlikely to be dangerous. Clearly, people in Britain have no good reason to fear spiders.
   
   Which one of the following is an underlying assumption of the above argument?
   
   1. Very few British spiders have a venomous bite.
   2. Most people in Britain are unlikely to be afraid of spiders.
   3. Most spiders that do not spin webs can bite through human skin.
   4. The only way in which spiders can harm people is by biting them.
      
      
9. Are researchers obligated to respect the basic rights of research participants? If so, how is this ensured?
   
   1. yes, special committees oversee every research proposal
   2. yes, researchers are on their honor to do ethical research
   3. no, as scientists, researchers are not obligated to show concern for the rights of participants
   4. yes, the legal system and courts hold hearings on all research proposals.
      
      
10. A teacher sends a student out of the classroom because she is disturbing the other children. She tells the student she will be allowed to come back to the classroom in fifteen minutes and that she expects her to be quiet when she returns. When the student comes back she is even more disruptive. What can you conclude from this example?
    
    
    1. the teacher has used punishment as a way to control the student's behavior
    2. the teacher thought he was using punishment, but the student was actually being reinforced
    3. the student's behavior is an example of negative punishment
    4. the student's behavior is an example of positive punishment.
       
       
11. A newspaper article describes how a "cure for cancer has been found." A critical thinker probably will:
    
    
    1. question the article, evaluate the evidence, and assess the conclusions.
    2. immediately dismiss the article as untrue because there is no evidence to back up the facts.
    3. accept the information as a wonderful breakthrough
    4. question the article but quickly accept it as true due to the author's excellent reputation
       
       
12. Which of the following observations provides the best evidence that intelligence test scores are influenced by environment?
    
    
    1. fraternal twins are more similar in their intelligence scores than are ordinary siblings.
    2. the intelligence scores of children are positively correlated with those of their parents.
    3. identical twins are more similar in their intelligence scores than are fraternal twins.
    4. the intelligence scores of siblings reared together are positively correlated.
       

(Questions 13-18 measure Overall objective 3)

13. Carol is marketing a product to other companies and is meeting with the board of directors of company X. She will demonstrate her product to the board and provide them with information as they debate the pros and cons of using the product for their business. Carol hopes the information she brings to the board will persuade them to switch to using the new product. Her presentation to the board is most likely to be an example of what type of public speaking?
    
    
    1. informative
    2. persuasive
    3. demonstration
    4. debate
       
       
14. No electoral system will ever produce the right leaders. From ancient times it has been recognized that people with the qualities needed to win high office have personal ambitions that are undesirable in a responsible leader. On the other hand, those with less questionable virtues, such as humility and open-mindedness, often do not emerge as leaders nor survive as leaders in such a competitive environment.
    
    Which of the following best expresses the main conclusion of the argument above?
    
    1. Personal ambition is necessary in a leader.
    2. Humility and open-mindedness are not political assets.
    3. People who win elections are seldom the right leaders.
    4. What is wrong with the electoral system is its competitiveness.
       
       
15. Man is not destined to vanish. He can be killed, but he cannot be destroyed, because his soul is deathless and his spirit is irrepressible. Therefore, though the situation seems dark in the context of the confrontation between armed nations, the silver lining is that the very nations which have spent incalculable resources and energy for the production of deadly weapons are desperately trying to find out how they might never be used. These nations threaten and intimidate each other, but before the final hour arrives, they withdraw.
    
    A suitable title for the above passage is
    1. Destruction of mankind through deadly weapons.
    2. Man's desire to survive inhibits use of deadly weapons.
    3. The mounting cost of modern weapons.
    4. Threats and intimidation between nations.
       
       
16. California has experienced its worst winter freeze in forty years.
    Citrus prices are expected to be very high this year.
    
    What does the second sentence do?
    
    1. It restates the idea found in the first.
    2. It states an effect.
    3. It gives an example.
    4. It analyzes the statement made in the first sentence.
       
       
17. A researcher is studying the effects of film violence on aggressive behavior in males. She randomly assigns 100 males to group A who see several short, violent films and 100 males to group B who see several short films of toddlers playing quietly. She then observes them for a period of time and rates their behavior for aggressiveness. She then decides to divide the data according to the age of the subjects (males over 30 and males under 30) so she can compare the treatment effects on younger and older age males.
    
    Which group is the experimental group?
    
    1. Group A
    2. Group B
    3. all the younger males (under 30)
    4. all the older males (over 30)
       

Questions 18-24 measure Overall objective 4)

18. There are two types of pottery that I do. There is production pottery –mugs, tableware–
    the kinds of things that sell easily. These pay for my time to do the other work, which is more creative and satisfies my needs as an artist.
    
    The author of the passage implies that
    
    
    1. artists have a tendency to waste valuable time
    2. creativity and mass-production are incompatible
    3. most people do not appreciate good art
    4. pottery is not produced by creative artists
       
       
19. We can most effectively acquire deeper understanding and empathy for cultures that have been historically under-represented by
    
    
    1. preparing for real life scenarios in that culture, such as business interactions
    2. focusing on special events in the culture, such as holidays
    3. knowing the physical geography of where members of that culture live
    4. studying their language and arts
       
       
20. Most experts would agree that intelligence tests are "biased" in the sense that:
    
    
    1. test performance is influenced by cultural experiences.
    2. the reliability of intelligence tests is close to zero.
    3. the heritability of intelligence is 100 percent.
    4. numerical scores of intelligence serve to dehumanize individuals.
       
       
21. The controversy surrounding the nature-nurture debate often becomes emotional in part because of the fact that African Americans as a group:
    
    
    1. have averaged 15 points lower than whites on IQ tests.
    2. score 100 points higher than whites on the SAT tests.
    3. score higher on SAT tests than do other minorities.
    4. score the same as whites on IQ tests and the SAT.
       
       
22. Most psychologists attribute the superior academic success of Asian American students to:
    
    
    1. higher IQ scores
    2. genetic factors
    3. cultural values
    4. measurement error
       
       
23. A person who grows up in an individualist culture is more likely than a person who grows up in a collectivist society to agree with the statement:
    
    
    1. "I like to live close to my good friends."
    2. "In the long run, the only person you can count on is yourself."
    3. "I enjoy meeting and talking to my neighbors every day."
    4. "I can count on my relatives to help if I find myself in trouble."
       
       
24. Accepting attitudes toward homosexuals are _________ common among men than women and __________ common among those who believe sexual orientation is genetically rather than environmentally determined.
    
    
    1. more; more
    2. less; less
    3. more; less
    4. less; more