Survey of Psychological Literacy

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Question 1
You are offered the following gamble: 100 flips of an unbiased coin. For every head you are paid $2; for every tail, you pay $1. How probable is it that you would you accept the gamble?
Very Improbable
Improbable
Neither Improbable nor Probable
Probable
Very Probable

Questions 2-3
Here is a description of a hypothetical person named Linda:
Linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She had a double major in philosophy and music. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations.

Question 2
Please choose the more probable case:
Linda is a bank teller.
Linda is a bank teller and a feminist.

Question 3
Please choose the more probable case:
Linda is a feminist.
Linda is a bank teller and a feminist.

Question 4
In an independent survey of high school and college instructors, ninety percent agreed that students who have a computer receive better grades. We can conclude that:
Owning a computer helps get better grades.
Buying a computer will improve grades.
Both A and B
Neither A nor B

Question 5
All families of six children in a large city were surveyed. In 72 families the exact birth order of births of boys and girls was GBGBBG. What is your estimate of the number of families surveyed in which the exact order of births was BGBBBB? Choose the closest answer.
18
36
54
72
102

Question 6
You are offered the following gamble: one flip of an unbiased coin. If heads, you are paid $200; if tails, you pay $100. How probable is it that you would you accept the gamble?
Very Improbable
Improbable
Neither Improbable nor Probable
Probable
Very Probable

Question 7
If you were required to make a choice between the following two alternatives, which one would you choose?
A 100 percent chance of losing $50.
A 25 percent chance of losing $200, and a 75 percent chance of losing nothing.
No Preference.

Question 8
Read the following passage three times.

These functional fuses have been developed after years of scientific investigation of electric events, combined with the fruit of long experience on the part of the two investigators who have come forward with them for our meetings today.

Now simply read the passage once more counting the number of f letters. How many times does the letter f appear in the passage? Make your choice without rereading the passage again.
6 or less
7
8
9
10 or more

Question 9
Which of the following sequences of Heads and Tails was more likely to have been generated by a random process with an unbiased coin?
HTHTTH
THTTTT
Both sequences are equally likely.

Question 10
If you were required to make a choice between the following two alternatives, which one would you choose?
A 100 percent chance of winning $50.
A 25 percent chance of winning $200, and a 75 percent chance of winning nothing.
No preference.

Question 11
The mean IQ of the population of eighth graders in a city is known to be 100. A random sample of 50 children are tested. The first child has an IQ of 150. What do you expect the mean IQ to be for the whole sample?
100
150
101
Not given.

Question 12
There is a situation known as the "Sports Illustrated jinx". Highly successful athletes and teams tend to experience a drop in performance immediately after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. The proper interpretation of this relationship is:
Fame goes to the head and the athlete performs more poorly due to overconfidence.
Knowing about this jinx creates anxiety and leads to poorer performance.
A statistical phenomenon in which high or low scores tend to be followed by more average scores.
There is currently no reasonable explanation.

Question 13
You are in a game show with an attractive prize behind one of a million doors. You are asked to pick the door that has the prize. You pick a door, say Door 12,586. The host, who knows what is behind each door, selectively opens all of the other doors except Door 698,453. You are then given the option of changing your choice; in this case, you could pick Door 698,453. Is it to your advantage to switch your choice in this game?
Yes
No

Question 14
In a study of brain tumors, 250 hospitalized neurology patients were classified as follows:

According to the table, is dizziness associated with having a brain tumor?
Yes
No
Maybe
No answer possible.

Question 15
In a study of brain tumors, 250 hospitalized neurology patients were classified as follows.

According to the table, is dizziness associated with having a brain tumor?
Yes
No
Maybe
No answer possible.

Question 16
Solve the problem: Each of four cards has a number on one side and a letter on the other. Which cards must be turned over to test the hypothesis, "If a card has a vowel on one side, then it has an odd number on the other side"? The four cards are showing 6, L, U, and 9, respectively.
L and U
U
U and 9
6, L, and U
U and 6

Question 17
You are in a game show with an attractive prize behind one of three doors. You are asked to pick the door that has the prize. You pick a door, say Door 1. The host, who knows what is behind each door, selectively opens another door, say Door 3, with no prize behind it. You are then given the option of changing your choice; in this case, you could pick Door 2. Is it to your advantage to switch your choice in this game?
Yes
No

Question 18
View the pairs of lines in the left and right halves of this figure.

Question 19
How many animals of each kind did Moses take on the ark?
1
2
40
Can't say

Question 20
What hero does Clark Kent become when he changes in a toll booth?
Spiderman
Superman
Batman
Can't say

Question 21
The final score of a baseball game was 9 to 8, but no man on either team had crossed home plate. Is this possible?
Yes
No

Question 22
A father and son went for a drive and had a serious car accident killing the father and seriously injuring the son. The boy was rushed to the hospital, and the doctor on duty said, "I can't operate on this boy, he's my son." Is this possible?
Yes
No

Question 23
A psychic claims to know the score of an important game before it begins. Do you believe her?
Yes
No

Question 24
Consider the following categorical syllogistic reasoning.
All psychologists are scientists.
Some scientists are mortal.
Some psychologists are mortal.
This argument is valid.
This argument is invalid.
The conclusion is true.
The conclusion is not true.
Alternatives B and C.

Question 25
Consider the following categorical syllogistic reasoning.
All xenos are oxons.
All oxons are red.
Some xenos are red.
This argument is valid.
This argument is invalid.
The conclusion is true.
The conclusion is not true.
Alternatives B and C.

Question 26
If p, then q. I observe p. Therefore, I conclude that q must be the case.
This argument is valid.
This argument is invalid.
The conclusion is true.
The conclusion is not true.
Alternatives A and C.

Question 27
If p, then q. I observe q. Therefore, I conclude that p must be the case.
This argument is valid.
This argument is invalid.
The conclusion is true.
The conclusion is not true.
Alternatives B and C.