1. The following journal article would be an example of _______ research; "The benefits of florescent lighting on production in a factory setting."

Applied

Interview

Basic

Stupid (hint: don't select this one)
 

2. The ________ is only useful if the concepts, ideas, questions, etc. to be investigated are both testable and falsifiable.

Independent Variable

Dependent Variable

Experimental Method

Scientific Method

3. Many experiments conducted at universities have Introductory Psychology students act as participants, and then generalize the findings of the study to the general public. In this case, ALL college students in the US can be considered the "population", but those students who participated in the experiment themselves are called the:

control group

sample

experimental group

guinea pigs

4. If you take the S.A.T. exam four times and you receive the same score all four times, we may conclude that the test is ______ but not necessarily _____.

valid; reliable

reliable; accurate

reliable; valid

valid; important

5. In order for an experiment to be considered a TRUE EXPERIMENT there must be both random assignment of subjects/participants to groups, and _______.

equal numbers of males and females

preliminary testing to see if participants are eligible

approval of an internal review board

manipulation of an Independent Variable

6. Marsha, Jan, and Cindy are participants in a psychological study of the effectiveness of three different psychedelic drugs. Each participant is assigned to one and only one condition, receiving only one type of drug, in order to examine the effects of each drug from one group to the next. This is a _____ design.

between-subjects

within-subjects (repeated measures)

I have no clue

experimental

7. A correlation coefficient of +0.92 means that as one variable increases, the other variable:

increases

decreases

is not affected

is impossible to predict

8. If a participant in an experiment believed that she was expected to act in a certain way, and therefore did not act completely honestly or naturally, her behavior would fit the definition of:

experimenter bias

control

demand characteristics

subjective behavior

9. After a Psychologist has stated the specific problem to be studied in an experiment, he/she must then develop a(n):

theory

conclusion

hypothesis

summary of the data

10. Which of the following would allow me to have the MOST control over environmental variables when conducting a research study?

true experimental design

quasi-experimental design

survey

case study

11. What identifies psychology as a scientific discipline?

its professional status

methods used in studying its subject matter

its subject matter

amount of education needed to be a psychiatrist

12. Hypothesis refers to __________:

the outcome of an experiment

a conclusion drawn from an experiment

a form of bias in which the subject tries to outguess the experimenter

a tentative statement about the relationship

13. Statistics are used by researchers to:

analyze the empirical data collected in a study

make their findings sound better

operationally define their variables

ensure the study comes out the way it was intended

 

14. What is the final step of a scientific investigation?

analyze data

collect data

report the findings

determine whether the hypothesis was supported

15. What is the variable called, in an experiment, that is manipulated by the researcher?

stimulus

control

dependent

independent

16. What is the purpose of a control group?

make the experiment easier to analyze

show the value of the dependent variable when the independent variable is not being manipulated

to be able to better evaluate the effect of the independent variable

to control all variables

17. When does random assignment occur?

when subjects have an equal chance to be assigned to any condition and/or group in a study

when a subject can choose its group and study

none of the above

all of the above

 

18. Beth goes to a fast food restaurant and records how many people order hamburgers versus cheeseburgers and whether or not they order a coke versus a diet coke. Beth is involved in a __________:

case study

naturalistic observation

survey

experiment

19. What technique would be useful in determining why a specific toddler is afraid to go to bed?

descriptive study

case study

a placebo

experiment

 

 

20. What is one way that distortions can be produced in self report data?

lying

social desirability bias

faulty memory

all of the above

 

 

. Which of the following describes single-blind experiments?

(A) They are experiments in which the subjects don’t know whether they are

receiving a real or fake drug or treatment

(B) They help reduce placebo effects

(C) They help reduce bias in research

(D) All of the above

 

 

2. What does it mean if two variables have a positive correlation?

(A) As one variable increases, so does the other

(B) As one variable increases, the other decreases

(C) The correlation between the two variables is 0

(D) The correlation between the two variables is greater than 1.0

 

 

3. In what type of study does a researcher study an individual subject in depth?

(A) Naturalistic observation

(B) Laboratory observation

(C) Case study

(D) Survey

 

 

4. How can we determine if a test has good validity?

(A) It produces the same result when it is given at different times to the same

group of people

(B) It produces the same result no matter which version of the test is used

(C) It measures what it is supposed to measure

(D) All of the questions on it can be answered accurately by the subject

 

 

5. What is the variable called that a researcher manipulates in an experiment?

(A) Dependent variable

(B) Independent variable

(C) Extraneous variable

(D) None of the above

 

 

6. What is the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a data

distribution called?

(A) Mode

(B) Standard deviation

(C) Range

(D) Median

 

 

7. The social desirability bias can affect which of the following?

(A) The validity of a test

(B) The reliability of a test

(C) Self-report data

(D) None of the above

 

 

8. Which of the following is a research method that allows a researcher to get

information about a large number of subjects relatively inexpensively and easily?

(A) Naturalistic observation

(B) Case study

(C) Laboratory observation

(D) Survey

 

 

9. What is a common way of controlling extraneous variables in an experiment?

(A) Random assignment

(B) Double-blind procedure

(C) Single-blind procedure

(D) Using animal subjects

 

 

10. When doing research involving deception with human subjects, researchers have an obligation to do which of the following?

(A) Tell subjects the truth about the study’s purpose and methods after the study is completed

(B) Prevent mental and physical harm to subjects

(C) Let subjects withdraw from the study at any time if they don’t want to  keep participating

(D) All of the above

 

 

Practice Quiz

 

 

Chapter 5

Measurement Concepts

1. A reliable measure has more measurement error than an unreliable measure.

True

False

2. An indicator of reliability based on the correlations of each item in a measure

with every other item is called:

Test-retest reliability

Cronbach's alpha

Split-half reliability

3. A measure is reactive if it changes the behavior being measured.

True

False

 

 

4. A researcher developed a measure of shyness and is now asking whether this

measure does in fact measure a person's true state of shyness. This is a

question of:

reactivity.

construct validity.

reliability.

5. Scores on a final exam are related to student grade point average, the amount

of time spent studying for the exam, and class attendance. What type of validity

is demonstrated in this case?

convergent validity.

discriminant validity.

criterion validity.

 

 

6. Nominal scales of measurement have no quantitative properties.

True

False

7. Which of the following variables does NOT have ratio scale properties?

job satisfaction rating

reaction time to respond when a stimulus is presented

distance (in inches) that two people stand from each other when

conversing

8. My measure allows me to successfully predict future behavioral outcomes. My

measure has:

Criterion validity

Face validity

 

 

9. Unobtrusive measures reduce the problem of reactivity.

True

False

10. Whenever you divide people into groups, you probably using a nominal scale

level of measurement.

True

False

4. The statement, "Interviewers rate job applicants more favorably when they are

wearing a pleasant scent than when they have no scent" is an example of:

description of behavior.

prediction of behavior.

explanation of behavior.

5. The statement, "A pleasant scent increases favorability of ratings because the

scent creates a positive emotional state in the interviewer" is an example of:

description of behavior.

prediction of behavior.

explanation of behavior.

3. Which of the following would result in finding more articles when using

PsycINFO?.

happiness AND marital satisfaction

happiness OR marital satisfaction

4. You found an important article published in 1990. What resource would you

use to find articles that have cited your article since then?

Psychological Abstracts

PsycINFO

Social Science Citation Index

5. Which of the following is NOT true of theories?

Explain currently known facts.

Rarely change once formulated.

Generate new knowledge.

7. You are reading a paragraph in a journal article; the topic of the paragraph is

the implications of the results for future research. Which section of the article are

you reading?

Introduction

Results

Discussion

4. A researcher records the tips left at a restaurant. The amount of the tip is

related to size of the check, and the number and gender composition of people in

the party. According to regulations, this research would be classified as:

No risk

Minimal risk

Greater than minimal risk

5. Which is not a reason for a debriefing session?

Required by Health and Human Services regulations.

Deal with issues of stress or deception.

Education about psychological research.

4. Which is NOT a problem when the nonexperimental method is used to study

relationships between variables?

Direction of cause and effect

Behavior is only measured

A "third" variable may be responsible for the relationship.

5. Which of the following relationships would most likely be studied with the

nonexperimental method?

The effect of parental use of alcohol on aggressive behavior of

children.

The effect of distraction while studying on test performance.

The effect of defendant attractiveness on juror decisions.

. In an experiment, some participants took a standard printed exam; others took

the exam using a computer administration procedure. Scores obtained with the

two exam procedures were compared. The independent variable was

__________ and the dependent variable was __________.

exam type; exam score.

exam score, exam type.

participant gender, exam procedure

Which of the following is used to make sure that the participants in each

condition of an experiment are equivalent?

Experimental control

Randomization

2. A researcher devised a coding system to analyze the messages on an Internet

bulletin board discussion of the controversy concerning Elian Gonzalez, the

Cuban boy who was rescued after a boat accident in the ocean between

 

Cuba

 

 

 

 

 

and the United States. This study used:

content analysis.

naturalistic observation.

systematic observation.

4. A researcher videotaped people while viewing political debates. Raters viewed

segments of the tapes and recorded whether the people were smiling. This study

used:

systematic observation.

naturalistic observation.

content analysis.

5. A researcher tries to explain why a particular observation does not fit with a

theory that is used to explain other observations. This is called:

inter-rater reliability.

negative case analysis.

internal validity.

7. A researcher accessed information on the Internet from a series of surveys of

women that was conducted during the 1970s and 1980s. The data were

analyzed to examine changes in attitudes and behaviors over time. Which of the

following methods was used?

systematic observation

case study

archival research

8. When two or more judges make ratings of observed behaviors, it is important

to examine:

inter-rater reliability.

test-retest reliability.

9. A psychologist conducts a study that uses data collected from many cultures in

the world. The researcher probably used:

Human Relations Area Files

PsycINFO

2. You wish to make a precise estimate about the characteristics of a population

of individuals. You should use:

quota sampling.

probability sampling.

accidental sampling.

10. A researcher studies memory by talking to groups of people in their 50s, 60s,

and 70s about memory problems that they have experienced and worried about.

This study has collected:

quantitative data.

qualitative data.

. The number of people who complete a survey in relation to the number of

people contacted to participate is called the:

response set.

response rate.

response bias.

6. The question, "Do you think that television should have less violence and

fewer shows about sex" is considered:

double-barreled.

loaded.

open-ended.

7. Which type of questions should be first in a questionnaire or interview?

questions about demographics such as age and gender

questions about attitudes and behaviors

8. Which type of question is most likely to be used when the researcher is just

starting to explore what people think about a particular topic?

closed-ended

open-ended

10. Which is most likely to yield qualitative data?

Mail survey

Focus group

Telephone interview

2. A researcher studied the effect of defendant physical attractiveness on juror

decisions. The attractive person was 20 years old, and the unattractive person

was a 45-year old. The problem here is that:

age is confounded with attractiveness.

it is very difficult to operationally define physical attractiveness.

attractiveness is not related to perceptions of guilt.

4. The same people participate in each condition of an experiment. What type of

design is this?

repeated measures (within-subjects)

independent groups (between-subjects)

matched pairs

6. Complete counterbalancing means that:

there were no practice effects

all possible orders of the IV were used

all Latin squares were constructed

9. All things being equal, which design is more likely to result in a statistically

significant effect?

Independent groups

Repeated measures

10. You identified the 15 employees in a large organization who were absent

from work the most days during the previous month. You require these

employees to attend a one-day program on time and stress management in an

attempt to reduce absenteeism. In the following month, all of the employees

improved their attendance. The improvement could be caused by the program or

it might be due to:

statistical regression.

mortality

instrument decay

1. In an experiment, words with either feminine or masculine connotation were

presented on a computer screen. The participant pressed one key when they

perceived a masculine word and another key when it was perceived as feminine.

Reaction time was the dependent variable. The experimenter used a:

staged manipulation

straightforward manipulation

 

 

2. The dependent variable was score on a measure of comprehension of

material. Virtually everyone in all conditions of the experiment answered all

questions correctly. Researchers refer to this situation as a:

floor effect.

ceiling effect.

similarity effect.

 

 

4. You are concerned that participants in your study may be figuring out exactly

what you are studying. You are worried about:

demand characteristics.

experimenter expectancies.

placebo effects.

6. The session that the experimenter holds with participants following an

experiment is called:

deception.

informed consent.

debriefing

 

 

7. The galvanic skin response (GSR) is a measure of:

anxiety.

muscle tension.

8. A good way to "debug" a study is to run a:

placebo group.

pilot study.

9. An experiment was conducted entirely on the Internet. This procedure

probably eliminated the problem of:

demand characteristics.

experimenter expectancies.

informed consent.

 

 

10. A researcher is designing a study on the effect of defendant attractiveness on

juror decisions. To investigate whether participants perceive the two defendants

as different in attractiveness, the researcher should use a:

sensitive dependent measure.

manipulation check.

strong manipulation.

7. A documentary film director made a series of films about the lives of a set of

children when they were 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 years of age, i.e, the films 7-Up

and 14-Up.. What type of "research design" is this?

cross-sectional

longitudinal

sequential

 

 

8. When Donald Campbell compared fatalities in Connecticut and nearby states

before and after a police speeding crackdown, the ___________ design was

used.

interrupted time series

control series

longitudinal

 

 

10. After comparing the effects of jail and a drug treatment program on persons

convicted of drug-related offenses, a researcher analyzed the societal costs of

each. The researcher has conducted:

outcome evaluation

needs assessment

economic efficiency assessment

1. You want to know if males and females differ in preferences for dogs and cats

as pets. You ask males and females to indicate whether they prefer dogs, cats,

or neither dogs nor cats. When you describe your results, you will compare:

means.

percentages.

medians.

 

 

2. You want to know if males and females differ in the length of recommended

sentence for someone found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol. You

ask males and females to indicate the number of weeks of jail time the convicted

person should receive. When you describe your results, you will compare:

means

percentages

medians

4. You conducted a survey of students in your school. You report that half the

students work 25 hours per week or less. The statistic you used is the

mean.

median.

mode

 

 

5. Couples who share more similar attitudes indicate that they are more satisfied

with their relationship. This reflects a ___________ correlation.

positive

negative

7. A researcher assessed the following variables in a sample of teenage males:

aggressive behavior, anger, loneliness, and perceived social support from family

and friends. In addition to examining the correlations among these variables, the

researcher tested a proposed model of how these variable are related to one

another. The researcher is using a:

partial correlation analysis.

structural equation model.

multiple regression analysis.

10. A multiple correlation is a correlation between one variable and

another variable that is measured on a ratio scale.

a combined set of variables.

a manipulated variable

2. The ability to infer that that the independent variable caused the effect on the

dependent variable is called:

internal validity

external validity

criterion validity

 

 

3. When you discuss the extent to which your results would apply to other people

or settings, you are concerned with:

internal validity

external validity

criterion validity

5. A replication in which the original procedures are duplicated is called a(n)

_______________ .

exact replication

conceptual replication

systematic replication.

. A study on fear of medical procedures was conducted in a room on campus that

had been decorated as a doctor's office has:

experimental realism

mundane realism

replicability

 

 

8. The participants in the study became very involved in a computer simulation.

This study has:

experimental realism

mundane realism

replicability

 

 

10. A study conducted outside the confines of a standard laboratory/classroom is

called a:

field experiment

mundane experiment

 

meta-analysis