Exam 4, Biology 301D, 6 December 2002 Printed name (required) ________________
101 points possible; 22 questions, 8 pages (including this one)
1. (4 pts.)
(2pts)
Key Code: Fill in (A) and (B) on scantron question 1. to indicate your exam code.
(2pts) Social
security number and name. Bubble in the scantron with your name and your
social security number (your SSN goes in the first 9 bubbles of the scantron ID
field).
Put your name on this hard copy, or you may not get credit
for taking the exam.
When
finished, turn in both the Scantron
and hard copy. You may write on this hard copy, but your grade will be
determined by the Scantron form, provided we can find a hard copy from you.
None, one, all, or
any combination of individual
answers may apply to a question
unless stated otherwise. We
use the acronym “NOM” for “None, One, or Many.”
As usual, phrases in italics may be taken as true.
Turn in your
exams by the end of the hour. A penalty
may be assigned for late exams.
2 (5pts). Which of the following points were considered to be examples of how our brains can mislead us into making irrational decisions? (NOM)
(A) Our memories are reconstructed over time.
(B) The corpus callosum connects the two halves of
the brain and prevents one side from making decisions independent of the other
side.
(C) We learn by trial and error.
(D) We unconsciously assume causation from
correlation.
(E) Our educational system has taught us facts
instead of problem-solving skills.
(F) We search for confirmation of our views rather
than evidence to evaluate them.
(G) We respond to perceived risks rather than actual
risks.
3. (3 pts) LeVay's study involved
measuring the volume of INAH 3 in several different groups listed as
(A)-(E).
|
(A) gay males with AIDS |
(D) heterosexual males without AIDS |
|
(B) heterosexual males (some with, and some without AIDS) |
(E) heterosexual females without AIDS |
|
(C) heterosexual males with AIDS |
|
Which two groups would you want to compare to
test whether the volume of INAH 3 is correlated specifically with gender? In
answering this question, make use of the information given in class about the
different categories of sexual preference. Assume that the listed groups differ
only in the ways explicitly indicated. Your answer should indicate the comparison
that addresses the hypothesis/correlation, and controls for all factors
indicated in this set of subjects (AIDS, sexual preference, gender). To
indicate the appropriate comparison, mark exactly two answers. However, if no
two groups control for all factors noted in these data, do not put down any
options. (2 or none)
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)
4. (3 pts) Which of the following
results were obtained by LeVay, and which conclusions can be drawn? (refer to the table above in problem 3) (NOM)
(A)
INAH
3 was larger in heterosexual males (groups B, C, D) than in the other groups.
(B)
INAH
3 was larger in heterosexual and gay males (groups A, B, C, D) than in females
(group E).
(C)
INAH
3 was larger in gay males (group A) than in heterosexual males (groups B, C,
D).
(D)
INAH
3 volume affects sexual preference.
(E)
Sexual
preference determines INAH 3 volume.
5. (4pts). Which themes apply to the
lecture on biological correlates of being gay (the LeVay study), as given in
class? (NOM)
|
(A) Time lags
slow progress |
(C) Pitfalls of
complexity/interactions |
(E) Correlation
does not imply causation |
|
(B) Humans make
difficult subjects |
(D) Rare events
are difficult to quantify |
(F) Experiments
provide the best controls |
6. (5pts) People
often have goals other than finding the truth. Which of the following options about conflicting goals are
correct? (NOM)
(A)
One class of alternative goal is “material gain,”
such as seeking money, power and objects.
(B)
Emotional factors were also discussed as influencing
people’s goals, but it was suggested that they were not as important as
material gain in distorting the truth, and they tend to subside with time.
(C)
Parental refusal to accept evidence against the
validity of facilitated communication was considered an example of goals
influenced by emotional factors.
(D)
Physician’s rejection of Semmelweis’s discovery of
the cause of high mortality rates in maternity wards was listed as an example
of material gain, because the physicians were concerned about losing profits.
7. (10 pts) Which of the following
options describe(s) an outcome that stems from a "tragedy of the
commons" conflict or correctly identifies a tragedy of the commons pattern? You may assume that what is
stated in each option is true; the question is whether it describes a tragedy
of the commons phenomenon. (NOM)
(A) Three unrelated people buy a ranch together. They calculate that, with the current market prices, their best plan is to graze more than the recommended number of cattle on their land, sell the beef for a profit, and invest the money in bonds. This plan fails because the price of beef falls before their beef get sold. In future years, their overgrazed land only supports half the number of livestock that it would have if they had not overgrazed.
(B) Physicians often face a conflict between what is
the best treatment for the patient and what treatment will most benefit the
physician. This conflict arises because
drug companies entice physicians to sell company products, even when those
products are not the best treatments available.
(C) Some diseases for which we have vaccines, such
as influenza and measles, are caused by viruses that are transmitted from
person to person. The number of people
exposed to these viruses depends on how many people get vaccinated. As more people get vaccinated, the rate at
which unvaccinated people get the disease declines – herd immunity. People who, for their own personal reasons,
refuse to get vaccinated for these diseases increase the risk that others in the
population (who are not vaccinated) will get the diseases.
(D) Vaccines cause us to develop immunity against
particular toxins, viruses, or bacteria.
Some diseases for which we have vaccines, such as tetanus, are caused by
bacteria that come from the soil and are not transmitted from person to
person. The number of people exposed to
the tetanus bacterium thus is not affected by how many people get
vaccinated. People who, for their own
personal reasons, refuse to get vaccinated for tetanus thus pose no increased
risk of tetanus for others in the population.
(E) Our parks constitute one of our important public
resources that has many direct and indirect benefits to our population. However, many people choose not to use our
parks, and as a consequence, this public resource benefits only a subset of the
population.
8. (5 pts). The money game.
Which of the following options apply to the "money game "
demonstration? (NOM)
(A) The
rules of the game created a conflict between individual and group (class)
benefit.
(B) The design for this experiment in class could not have
included randomization, because everyone was given the same choice.
(C)The outcome (this year and in previous years) was
that the self interests of many students prevented anyone from receiving any
money.
(D) Blind was an essential feature of the design,
because the outcome would likely have changed profoundly if everyone in class
had known what options were offered to others in the class.
Deliberate Bias
9. (4 pts) At what stages can a study or its conclusions be deliberately
biased? (NOM)
(A)
Before the experiment is designed (e.g., in deciding
what models to test).
(B)
In designing the study.
(C)
In the evaluation stage.
10. (5 pts) Mark all statements that
correctly summarize the information shown in the second part of Prisoners of
Silence video (NOM)
(A) The Syracuse University institute dedicated to
facilitated communication would be harmed (perhaps dissolved) if facilitated
communication were shown to have no factual basis. Douglas Bicklen's reluctance
to accept the results of the tests of FC (his bias against accepting those
results) can be understood from the fact that he would lose a prestigious
administrative appointment/position if he agreed with the refutation of FC.
(B) Douglas Bicklen responded to the data showing
that facilitated communication does not work by stating that many autistic
individuals exhibit severe word-finding difficulties, and that this is the
reason they did not perform well in the experimental tests. This is an example
of the use of post hoc arguments (as a form of bias).
(C) As discussed in class, the experiments that
purportedly debunked facilitated communication were flawed because they were
designed to allow for the possibility that facilitated communication is not
effective (they used the wrong null model).
(D) Douglas Bicklen's statement that it does not
matter how many experiments show that facilitated communication does not work
is a form of a refusal to admit error (as discussed in class).
11. (8 pts) Mark all of the following
statements that are correct about deliberate bias, as covered in lecture or the
Notes (NOM):
(A)
One
of the ways to guard against bias is to require that protocols be published in
advance of the study.
(B)
Even
when protocols are published in advance of the study, bias can be created by
causing the actual protocol to deviate from the published protocol.
(C)
A
major step in identifying deliberate bias is to identify conflicts of interest.
(D)
Requiring that evaluation criteria be
specified in advance of the study is not a very useful way to avoid deliberate
bias, because statistical tests have a rigorous, mathematical foundation and do
not allow leeway by which bias can be introduced.
(E)
Identifying
ways in which a model is false is an indication that someone is biased.
(F)
It
is possible to bias a study in the analysis stage, even if the study was
designed and conducted in an unbiased fashion
(G)
Studies
can be deliberately biased in the design and/or evaluation steps.
12.
(5 pts). Consider the demonstration conducted during
the last lecture, in which the class generated data on the probability of an
event under different experimental protocols.
What was the purpose of this demonstration, what parallels apply, and
what were the details of this demonstration? (NOM)
(A)
The
demonstration used random numbers drawn from CPS remotes, based on the letters
pushed (pseudo) randomly by students.
(B)
The
demonstration illustrated how a drug company could bias the evaluation of drug
safety/efficacy by terminating trials early in which the initial results look
bad and publishing only the results of completed studies.
(C)
The
demonstration illustrated that the choice of the null model is important to the
conclusion reached.
(D)
The
demonstration showed that increased sampling error reduces opportunities for
bias.
(E)
The
demonstration revealed that conflict declines when sampling error increases.
13. (4pts). (none, one, or many) To
bias a scientific process by "controlling the null model" means that
(NOM)
(A)
The
null model is changed in response to the study (post hoc), to fit the data.
(B)
The
control groups are chosen to bias the outcome in favor of the null model.
(C)
The
experimental design is chosen to bias the outcome of the study.
(D)
The
data analysis is conducted in such a way to bias the evaluation.
(E)
The
model that is considered to be accepted until proven wrong is chosen by the
individual according to his/her goals.
This choice precedes the experimental design and data analysis stages.
14-19.
Mark the type of nonscientific argument (blatant bias) illustrated in each of
the following examples. Base your answer on the information given in the
question. At least one answer per question.
|
(A) Claim that all alternatives have not been
disproved |
(D) Build causation from
correlation |
(G) No bias is indicated |
|
(B) Identify trivial flaws
in opponent’s model |
(E)
Refusal to admit error |
|
|
(C) Draw on anecdotes or
post hoc observations |
(F)
Either-or arguments |
|
14. (4 pts) In defending their beliefs
in the validity of facilitated communication, parents shown in the video
recalled incidents in which their child responded in a way that suggested to
them that facilitated communication worked. What type of blatant bias is
indicated by this form of parental defense of their belief in FC?
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G)
15. (4 pts) In attempting to discredit
the USDA’s insistence on the use of pesticides, a lawyer argues that pesticides
are not effective because pest levels are actually higher in agricultural
fields sprayed with pesticides than in fields not sprayed with pesticides.
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G)
16. (4 pts) As Governor, Ann Richards
publicly expressed her attitude that UT students were not poor and thus were
not in dire need of money. She
justified her position by commenting that the UT students she observed drove expensive
cars. (This quote is true, by the
way.) If we assume that she did indeed
observe students driving expensive cars but that, as today, these students are
not representative of UT students, which type of nonscientific argument is
illustrated by her reasoning?
(A)
(B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G)
17. (4 pts) In earlier days, in the
"road test" that police gave to drivers suspected of being
intoxicated, police asked the driver to perform simple coordination tests.
Then, if the coordination performance was sub-par, the driver was asked to
submit to a blood or breath test. What type of bias is indicated in this police
procedure?
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G)
18. (4 pts) In the Prisoners of Silence
video, Dr. Bicklen of Syracuse University states that it doesn't matter how
many times we fail in our attempts to demonstrate that facilitated
communication works, we need to keep looking for those cases in which it does
work. Dr. Bickland's viewpoint, taken in the context of this video, is an
example of which type of nonscientific argument ?
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G)
19. (4 pts) Lawyers, when questioning
an expert for the opposing side in a court case, often look for minor weakness
in the expert's arguments (if they can't find major ones). These weaknesses
might be nothing more than the standard "errors" that underlie all
data or the falsity inherent in all models. The lawyer then inflates the
significance of these weaknesses and blows them out of proportion in an attempt
to discredit the testimony. What type of blatant bias is indicated by this
inflation of minor weaknesses?
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G)
Drug Companies and Physicians
20. (3 pts) Big themes. The class lecture on strategies used by
drug manufacturers most prominently illustrated which of the following course
themes? (One answer
only)
(A)
the scientific method
(B)
Ideal data
(C)
Correlation does not imply causation
(D)
Impediments to scientific progress
21. (5 pts) The lecture and notes
mentioned that pharmaceutical manufacturers use (or have used) which of the
following methods to help bias doctors and research programs to enhance drug
sales: NOM)
(A) Sponsored Continuing
Medical Education classes, but invited as speakers mostly those researchers who
advocate using drugs manufactured by the sponsoring company
(B) Funded independent research
but terminated the study early if the results looked unfavorable to company
interests
(C) Given the doctors
trinkets and free samples (such as cups, posters, pens and note pads) with the
pharmaceutical company logo written on them to increase awareness of the
company
(D) Inflated the cost of
developing new drugs to facilitate getting more government grants
(E) Published advertisements
that look like real scientific articles
(E)
Drug
representatives take physicians to free lunches.
(F)
Invented
fake data from clinical trials to make their products look good.
22. (4pts) Which points about DNA evidence (and more generally, scientific
evidence) in court were made? (NOM)
(A)
With
respect to the biasing of scientific evidence, the parties in conflict in a
trial are the prosecution and defense.
Other parties (lab, experts) have only small roles in the manifestation
of conflict.
(B) The bias that a prosecution can introduce into a case may extend outside the courtroom, including the harassment of people associated with the defense’s case
(C) Expert witnesses are chosen by the court largely for the purpose of clarifying the evidence and its implications, to help reduce the impact of conflict between the prosecution and defense.
(D) The prosecution is likely to continue reusing labs that have previously given analyses that have led to convictions. This can contribute to bias because the lab’s goal may then become one of keeping the prosecution happy, rather than providing a fair evaluation of evidence.