Ch. 1

______ are measured along a continuum at any place beyond the decimal point.

Continuous data

______ is the variable that is believed to change in the presence of the independent variable.

Dependent variable

______ are measured in whole units or categories that are not distributed along a continuum.

Discrete data

______ is the variable in an experiment that is manipulated between conditions being observed.

Independent variable

Researcher A measures academic preparedness as the percent correct responses on an entrance exam; Researcher B measures academic preparedness as the current class rank of students. Which researcher measured academic preparedness as discrete data?

Researcher B

______ refer(s) to how the properties of numbers can change with different uses.

Scales of measurement

Researchers rarely have access to entire populations. How do researchers resolve this limitation?

They record data from a sample of people in the larger population in order to make inferences concerning characteristics in that larger population.

Suppose that a researcher is interested in a group of 10 million people who paid to see a movie playing in theaters. In this example, the 10 million moviegoers would be regarded as ______.

a population of moviegoers who paid to see the movie in a theater

Quantitative measures can be ______.

a. discrete data b. continuous data (both A and B)

Descriptive statistics are procedures used to ______

a. summarize a set of scores or observations b. organize a set of scores or observations c. make sense of a set of scores or observations (all of these)

A population can be ______ group of interest to a researcher.

any

Qualitative data varies by ______; quantitative data varies by ______.

class; amount

The procedure of converting a categorical variable to numeric values, is called ______.

coding

Based on the following graphical summary display, what research design was used to record and analyze these data?

correlational

A researcher records the number of votes for each of five candidates running for class president. Based on her presentation of the following results, what type of statistics did she use?

descriptive statistics

The use of tables and graphs to summarize data is an example of ______.

descriptive statistics

A health practitioner measures the heart rate (in number of beats per minute) of patients under low, moderate, and high stress levels. Heart rate can be best described as ______.

discrete data

Recording the number of dreams recalled is an example of ______ data; whereas recording the time (in minutes) spent in a dream stage of sleep is an example of ______ data.

discrete; continuous

Each of the following are interval scale measurements, except ______.

duration of sleep (in hours)

Statistical analysis allows researchers to ______.

evaluate scientific observations

A researcher tests whether the dosage level of some drug (low, high) causes significant differences in health. To do this, the researcher randomly assigns rat subjects to receive a low or high dosage of the drug and records health-related measures in both groups. The type of method described is ______.

experimental

Which of the following research designs is used to determine the causes of behavior that help to explain why the behavior occurs?

experimental

Three research methods common to research in the behavioral sciences are ______.

experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlational

A therapist observes that spouses are more likely to forgive their partners for lying to them if they find out the truth from their spouse and not a third party. In this example, the dependent variable is ______.

forgiveness

Interval scales of measurement ______.

have equidistant scales

Procedures that allow researchers to infer or generalize observations made with samples to the larger population from which they were selected best describes ______.

inferential statistics

A researcher measures the body temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit) of participants immediately before and immediately following sleep. Temperature is on what scale of measurement?

interval

An animal researcher measures the number of times a rat presses a lever located at the right, center, and left of a cage for a food reward. What scale of measurement is the location of lever pressing?

nominal

An education counselor records the number of high school graduates enrolled in community colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities. What scale of measurement is the type of college?

nominal

State the four scales of measurement in order from least informative to most informative

nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio

Which of the following terms are least likely to be used to describe qualitative data?

numeric

A consultant ranks the five most needed areas of improvement for a local business. What scale of measurement are the rankings?

ordinal

A movie critic rates a movie on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest) stars. What scale of measurement are the ratings?

ordinal

Each of the following is an example of quantitative data, except ______.

political affiliation

A characteristic (usually numeric) that describes a population is called a ______.

population parameter

A psychologist reviews her notes for all her patients and determines that on average her patients complete therapy in 24 days. The average time to complete therapy among all her patients is called a(n) ______.

population parameter

Recording whom students study with describes ______ types of data; whereas recording the number of hours spent studying per week describes ______ types of data.

qualitative; quantitative

______ data describe numeric aspects of phenomena; whereas ______ data describe nonnumeric aspects of data.

quantitative; qualitative

Three key elements of control that allow researchers to draw cause-and-effect conclusions are ______.

randomization, manipulation, and comparison/control

A researcher compares the amount of college debt (in dollars) that undergraduate students incur up to their 4-year degree. College debt is on what scale of measurement?

ratio

A characteristic (usually numeric) that describes a sample is called a ______.

sample statistic

A researcher records the time it takes to complete a memory task in a sample of 25 participants. He finds that the average participant completed the test in 43 s. The average time to complete this task is called a(n) ______.

sample statistic

Researchers measure data in a ______ to learn more about individuals in the larger ______ of interest.

sample; population

Which of the following describes a descriptive statistic?

summarize

Which of the following best describes an independent variable?

the manipulated variable

Which of the following best describes a dependent variable?

the measured behavior

You are interested in measuring the construct, work expertise. Which of the following measures for this construct is quantitative and discrete?

the number of employees that work under an employee

Which of the following measures of attraction is an example of a ratio scale measurement?

the physical proximity (in feet and inches) between two romantic partners

You are interested in measuring the construct, reinforcement. Which of the following measures for this construct is quantitative and continuous?

the size of a reward in grams

A researcher identifies college students as a group of interest to test her hypothesis. She then identifies a few local college students and selects a small group of the local college students to be observed. In this example, the sample is ______.

the small group of college students who here observed