1. (4 pts) Key code, box #, and name. Fill in (A B) to indicate your key for this version of the exam. Be sure your name and box number are correctly bubbled in on the scantron and that you have signed this exam copy.

Demos, videos, and current events

 

2. (5 pts). The money game. Which of the following options apply to the "money game" that used strips of paper? (MTF)

A)     Winning money was based on an individual’s ability to outwit others; if one was clever enough, he/she could win money regardless of the behavior of others.

B)     The largest monetary gain a person could get was possible if the entire class, including them, cooperated with each other

C)     The game illustrated how one can bias a study.

D)     Randomization of the choices given to participants was critical to the outcome.

E)     This year is the first in which no one received any money.

 

3. (5 pts). Consider Monday’s coin flip demonstration. What was the purpose of this demo, or what was illustrated? (MTF)

(A)         The demo illustrated a way to bias a set of studies by using initial results to decide which individual studies to complete and publish.

(B)         The demo could have also illustrated the same point if individuals had been allowed to use dice or random number tables to generate the data, rather than coin flips.

(C)         The problem illustrated by the demo relies on sampling error, and when sampling error is present, there is no easy way for a study to avoid the problem. In this sense, the problem is similar to an intrinsic difficulty.

(D)         The problem illustrated would be avoided, or at least be reduced, if companies were forced to publish the results of all studies, including studies that were incomplete.

(E)         The demonstration illustrated a type of bias that would usually occur at the end of a study, after all data were gathered.

 

4. (5 pts) Mark all statements that correctly summarize the information shown in part II of Prisoners of Silence video on Facilitated Communication (FC). The video illustrated or suggested: (MTF)

A)        Individuals for which emotional factors caused them to refuse to accept scientific evidence

B)        Individuals for which material (professional) gain caused them to refuse to accept scientific evidence

C)        Bias: the use of anecdotes to support conclusions contrary to the results of experimental studies.

D)        Bias: a person claiming that virtually no amount of evidence would cause them to reject their views.

E)        It was pointed out in the video that the controls used in the tests of FC overcame the objection that the testing environment was inappropriate for evaluating FC.

5. (4 pts) Which points were made in discussing current events? This one is factual only and refers to articles from the New York Times. MTF

A)        Michael Crichton’s new book Next (a novel) visits some social issues about genetics and biological determinism.

B)        Several cases were described of correlations between human health and environmental factors for which experiments are resolving causation (including the causes of asthma, and circumcision and STDs)

C)        One article described a study revealing a new way to analyze correlational data that avoids the problem of confounding factors (hidden 3rd variables)

D)        For the study of skin cancer in marathon runners, it was suggested that exposure to the sun and suppressed immune system from running were both factors that might enhance cancer rates.

Global warming lecture

6. (7 pts) Which points were made in the global warming lecture? This one is also factual. MTF

A)     Current atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are at the high end of range estimated from the last 750,000 years but are not yet outside that range.

B)     Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and some others.

C)     The reduction in acid rain that has been achieved by reducing sulfate emissions over the last few decades has slowed global warming from what it would have been if sulfate emissions had not been reduced.

D)     Nearly all changes (flucutations) in average annual temperature over the last century can be attributed to human effects on the environment

E)     Although there are obvious ongoing changes in climate averages, extreme events are not increasing.

F)     Observed increases in ocean levels over the last century have been attributed mostly to a warming of oceans and not to melting of ice sheets.

G)    Some time lags from the effects from carbon dioxide emissions are predicted to last thousands of years.

 

Biology of being gay

7. (7 pts) Besides sexual preference, in what contexts has the question of “biological determinism” been directly relevant to social practises, or which of the following pertain to biological determinism (as noted in class)? MTF

A)     Race and IQ

B)     Gender roles in society

C)     Forced sterilization of people

D)     Obesity

E)     In the last decade, the principle of biological determinism has become a matter of whether we can genetically engineer changes in people’s behavior.

F)     The eugenics movement in the first part of the 1900s was based on the thesis that many aspects of human behavior (including feeblemindedness, leadership) were hereditary.

G)    In the 1900s, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a state law that was used to forcibly sterilize people.

8 & 9. LeVay's study involved measuring the volume of INAH 3 in several different groups listed as (A)-(F). For the following two questions, assume that the listed groups differ only in the ways explicitly indicated. Your answer should indicate the comparison that addresses the hypothesis, and controls for all unwanted factors indicated in this set of subjects (the set is AIDS status, 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.

(A) gay males with AIDS

(C) heterosexual males with AIDS

(E) heterosexual females without AIDS

(B) heterosexual males (some with, and some without AIDS)

(D) heterosexual males without AIDS

(F) Lesbian females with AIDS

8. (3 pts) Which two groups would you want to compare to test the hypothesis that volume of INAH 3 differs with AIDS status? In answering this question, make use of the information given in class about the different categories of sexual preference. Two or none

                                                                                          (A)         (B)         (C)         (D)         (E)         (F)

9. (3 pts) Which two groups give the best evidence of whether sexual preference remains correlated with INAH 3 volume when other factors are controlled? Two or none.

(A)         (B)         (C)         (D)         (E)         (F)

 

10. (5 pts) With respect to the topic of sexual preference in general, and the study by Simon LeVay in particular, which are true? (MTF)

A)     The results of LeVay’s study showed that sexual preference in humans is genetically determined.

B)     Blind was not a relevant feature of LeVay’s study design because his subjects were all dead.

C)     Two major class themes pertain to the lecture (i) correlation does not imply causation, and (ii) humans make difficult subjects.

D)     In lecture, the anterior hypothalamus was shown to lie at the very back of the brain

E)     The result of the study was that detectable differences were found between gay and heterosexual males for one brain region or “nucleus.” Furthermore, gay men were indistinguishable from women in the volume of this nucleus.

Intrinsic Difficulties

11. (5pts) Which of the following options accurately explains an intrinsic difficulty and/or correctly explains why it constitutes a special difficulty for the scientific method? MTF

A)     Rare events: this difficulty posed here is that scientists do not put much effort into studying rare events because they happen too infrequently to justify maintaining an active research program.

B)     Complexity: this difficulty refers to the general phenomenon that outcomes caused by interactions from two or more factors are difficult to work out by studying one factor at a time.

C)     Humans make difficult subjects: This problem is primarily that humans are more difficult than other research organisms because they are so much more complicated to understand than other organisms.

D)     Time lags: this difficulty slows down the scientific method. A delay between the cause of an outcome and the time the effect appears introduces a delay in each cycle of the scientific method.

12-17. These questions ask for the course theme(s) illustrated by the given statement. Do not assume any more than what is explicitly given in the question. That is, address only the difficulties specifically mentioned. (At least one answer per question.)

(A)

Rare events are difficult to quantify

(B)

Time lags slow progress

(C)

Complexity (interactions)

(D)

Humans make difficult experimental subjects

(E)

None

12. (4pts) Research is commonly conducted on model organisms, instead of humans, even though we are ultimately interested in applications to humans. Not all model organisms are equally useful, however, and two factors that make one model organism better than another are short generation time and the ability to study very large numbers. Short generation time means that results can be obtained rapidly. And large numbers means that we can sample a larger range of outcomes than if few individuals are studied. These features of (ideal) model organisms refer to which types of intrinsic difficulties? MTF

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

13. (3pts) Progress in many fields of science (e.g., physics) has often been retarded because sufficiently accurate measurements could not be made. As better instruments became available, the field advanced because more accurate measurements were obtained. The inability to obtain accurate measurements is an example of which intrinsic difficulty?

                                             (A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

14. (3pts) The flash powder demonstration was an illustration of which “difficulty”? (A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

 

15. (4pts) Seldane was the first non-drowsy antihistamine approved by the FDA. Although it passed clinical trials, it was later found to kill people who were taking other drugs at the same time. The problem was that the trials had deliberately been limited to people taking only Seldane. Seldane was in fact toxic, but if a person was not taking other drugs, then enzymes would convert Seldane to the non-toxic form Allegra. But if the person was taking another drug at the same time, the enzymes would work on the other drug(s) and not detoxify Seldane quickly enough to avoid death. Which difficulties underlie the reason that the problem with Seldane was not discovered in clinical trials?                                                    

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

16. (3pts) The greater difficulty in adjusting a shower temperature to the proper level than in adjusting the radio volume to the proper level was given an example of which difficulty? (A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

 


Conflict

17. (7 pts) Which of the following are true about conflict in general, not just “tragedy of the common.?” Some options require distinguishing conflict from bias.

A)     All types of conflict we considered are different versions of “tragedy of the common” conflicts.

B)     Conflict between the defense and prosecution over evidence in a criminal trial leads to both sides treating evidence, especially evidence that involves uncertainty, differently than is scientifically proper.

C)     The effect of Lysenko on Soviet genetics was given as an example of conflict due to political factors dominating scientific ones.

D)     It was suggested that the social acceptance of science in the U.S. has advanced to the point that political factors no longer subvert science.

E)     Bias usually appears in the evaluation stage of a study. Conflict usually appears in the design.

F)     Conflict refers to different people/institutions having different goals. Bias refers to a way of distorting a study or its conclusions away from “truth.”

18. (8 pts) Which of the following options describe an outcome that stems from a "tragedy of the commons" conflict? Note that ‘tragedy of the common’ is not restricted to humans. (MTF)

A)         10 students each put $500 into an investment account, the profits of which are to be shared equally. The account is managed by a professional who is not one of the 10 students. Due to poor management and a tumultuous market, the account loses money, and each student recovers only $450 in the end.

B)         Students at the University of Bob Allen are given control of grades. Each student performs a self-evaluation for each course, which determines their grade in that course. The first students to graduate with this system have high GPAs because of their generous self-evaluations, and their transcripts help them find good jobs. Students in subsequent years continue to give themselves good grades, and as word of this system gets out, employers across the country downgrade the value of a degree from that university so much that it becomes almost worthless in finding jobs.

C)         Stability of the global climate is important to perhaps every country in the world, as a stable climate enables the development of predictable, consistent agricultural production, and population centers can form in areas that are known to be relatively free of weather-related cataclysms, such as floods and various weather-related extremes. There is now good scientific evidence that global climate is changing because of industrial production of “greenhouse” gases. Yet the cost of greenhouse gas output from each country is shared across the planet, whereas the immediate benefit of a vibrant economy goes to the country producing the greenhouse gases. As a consequence, it has been difficult to profoundly reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

D)         A common phenomenon involving biological interactions is synergy, whereby two or more individuals achieve more individual success in a group than by themselves. Thus, as group size increases, not only does the entire benefit realized by the group also increase, but the benefit realized by each individual in the group also goes up.


Deliberate Bias

19. (4 pts) Which of the following constitute possible ways of creating bias at the evaluation stage, rather than at other stages of the process? MTF


(A) Searching for a statistical test to support the desired conclusion

(B) Control the null model

(C) Appeal to authority

(D) Refusal to admit error

(E) use small samples

(F) Throw out unwanted results


20. (4 pts). Which apply to "controlling the null model?" MTF

(A)      Data analysis is conducted in such a way as to bias the evaluation

(B)     The model that is considered to be accepted until proven wrong is chosen by the individual/institution according to their goal.

(C)     “Controlling the null model” refers to a procedure in which the control group for the null model is chosen in a biased fashion, hence the word “controlling.”

(D)     For FDA approval of drugs and food additives, the null model of “harmful until proven safe” seems to protect consumer interests.

21-24 (3pts each). 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. one or two answers

(A) Claim that all alternatives have not been disproved

(C) Draw on anecdotes or post hoc observations

(E) Refusal to admit error

(G) None

(B) Character assassination of opponent

D) Build causation from correlation

(F) Either-or arguments

 

21. 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, upon interpretation, suggested to them that facilitated communication worked. What type of nonscientific argument is indicated by this form of parental defense of their belief in FC?                      (A)               (B)         (C)         (D)         (E)         (F)          (G)

22. Creationists argue that flaws in the theory of evolution mean that the theory that life was created by a god is correct.                    (A)         (B)         (C)         (D)         (E)         (F)          (G)        

23. In attempting to justify raising taxes, a politician argues that, because STD (sexually-transmitted disease) rates were lower following previous hikes in beer taxes, that beer taxes should be raised to further lower STD rates.                    (A)         (B)         (C)         (D)         (E)               (F)          (G)        

24. 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)