Chapter 8 Psych Research Methods

When using a matched pairs design, the first step is to _____.

obtain a measure of the matching variable from each individual

To achieve good internal validity, a researcher must design and conduct an experiment so that _____.

only the independent variable can be the cause of the results

Random assignment will prevent _____.

systematic biases

If awareness of a pretest is a problem, _____.

the pretest can be disguised

Identify a disadvantage of a matched pairs design.

It is likely to be costly and time-consuming.

Identify the advantages of using repeated measures design over independent groups design. (Check all that apply.)

There is greater control over participant differences. There is a decrease in the number of participants required to complete the experiment.

A matched pairs design results in an enhanced ability to detect _____.

a statistically significant effect of the independent variable

In a repeated measures design, a _____ effect is likely to occur when the first condition produces a change that is still influencing a person when the second condition is introduced.

carryover

A study is conducted to determine the effect of monetary benefits on the ability of individuals to memorize words. In the first condition, the participants are asked to memorize a set of words. It is observed that many participants fail to complete this task. In the second condition, the participants are asked to memorize a different set of words and are informed about the associated monetary incentives. Experiencing failure at the first task results in a temporary increase in stress responses and pressurizes the participants during the second task. This scenario best exemplifies a _____.

carryover effect

A test was conducted to measure the effect of video clips of tragedies on writing. A group of students were asked to write an essay of their choice after watching clips of tragic events. In the control test, the students were asked to write an essay without watching the clips. If the effect of watching the clips affects the result of the control test, then that effect is called a _____.

carryover effect

When the effect of the first treatment influences the response to the second treatment in a repeated measures design, it is known as a(n) _____.

carryover effect

_____ occurs when the effects of the independent variable and an uncontrolled variable are intertwined so that one cannot determine which of the variables is responsible for the observed effect on the dependent variable in an experiment.

confounding

A consideration in whether to use a repeated measures design concerns _____.

generalization to conditions in the real world

Repeated measures designs are extremely sensitive to finding statistically significant differences between groups because the researchers have access to _____.

data from the same participants in both test conditions

In a repeated measures design, participants are repeatedly measured on the _____.

dependent variable

A test using a repeated measures design is conducted to measure the effect of room temperature on the tasks of watching television and reading a book. Firstly, the task of watching television precedes the task of reading. Secondly, the task of reading precedes the task of watching television. In this scenario, a(n) _____ most likely affects the scores obtained in these two instances.

order effect

A researcher must obtain two equivalent groups of participants, manipulate the independent variable, and measure the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable when using a _____.

posttest-only design

In a repeated measures design, a long time interval would be needed with procedures that _____.

produce emotional changes

In matched pairs designs, the matching procedures are likely to be costly and time-consuming because _____.

they require measuring participants on the matching variable prior to the experiment

Although randomization is likely to produce equivalent groups, it is possible that, with small sample sizes, the groups will not be equal. In such cases, how do researchers ensure that the groups are equivalent?

they use a pretest to tell whether the groups are equivalent to begin with

Identify the disadvantages of a pretest. (Check all that apply.)

time consuming and awkward to administer -it can enable participants to figure out what the study is about

A repeated measures design is also called a(n) _____.

within-subjects design

Ensuring equivalence of groups prior to introduction of the independent variable could be particularly important with small sample sizes, because random assignment procedures are more likely to produce equivalent groups as the _____.

sample size increases

Identify ways in which a pretest can be disguised when its awareness is a problem. (Check all that apply.)

-By administering the pretest in a completely different situation with a different experimenter -By embedding the pretest in a set of irrelevant measures

Identify an experimental procedure that cannot be used in a repeated measures design.

A psychotherapy treatment

Identify a true statement comparing the repeated measures design with the independent groups design.

Repeated measures design has greater ability to detect an effect of the independent variable.

The experimental design in which half the participants receive only the posttest, and the other half receive both the pretest and the posttest is formally called a _____.

Solomon four-group design

In experimental designs, which of the following primarily influences the decision of whether to include or omit a pretest?

The equivalence of the groups in the experiment

Identify an accurate statement about a Latin square that is used to counterbalance the order of the conditions in a repeated measures design.

The number of orders is equal to the number of conditions.

In a Solomon four-group design, which of the following is an indicator that there is no impact of the pretest on the results of the study?

The posttest scores are the same in the two control groups.

A researcher plans to assess the effect of physical exercise on performance in an exam by conducting two tests; one test is to be conducted with participants performing physical exercise before writing an exam and the other with participants writing the exam without performing any prior physical exercise. In the context of repeated measures design, what is the approach that the researcher should adopt to assess this effect?

The researcher should conduct the tests under both conditions on the same group of participants.

A variable that varies along with the independent variable is called _____.

a confounding variable

Use of _____ enables one to assess the effects of attrition.

a pretest

The goal of a matched pairs design is to achieve the same _____ that is achieved with a repeated measures design without the necessity of having the same participants in different experimental conditions.

equivalency of groups

An independent groups design is commonly known as a between-subjects design because comparisons are made between _____.

different groups of participants

An advantage of the repeated measures design is that few research participants are needed because _____.

each individual participates in all conditions

In a matched pairs design, the matching variable will be _____.

either the dependent measure or a variable that is strongly related to the dependent variable

The goal of a matched pairs design is to achieve the same _____ that is achieved with a repeated measures design without the necessity of having the same participants in different experimental conditions. Multiple choice question.

equivalencies of groups

A matched pairs design ensures that groups are _____ prior to introduction of the independent variable manipulation.

equivalent on the matching variable

A pretest-posttest design makes it possible to ascertain that the _____.

experimental and control groups were equivalent at the beginning of an experiment

A researcher using a posttest-only design chooses two levels of the independent variable, such as a(n) _____ group that receives a treatment and a(n) _____ group that does not.

experimental; control

With complete counterbalancing, it is possible to determine the _____.

extent to which an order is influencing the results

An advantage of repeated measures designs is that they are _____.

extremely sensitive to finding statistically significant differences between groups

True or false: In a posttest-only design, the people who are put in differing conditions should differ in a systematic way.

false

True or false: In an independent groups design, participant differences can be an explanation for the results of an experiment.

false

True or false: When a pretest affects the way participants react to a manipulation, it is easy to generalize the results to others who have not received the pretest.

false

A deterioration in performance from the first to the second condition in a repeated measures design is attributed to a(n) _____.

fatigue effect

A test using a repeated measures design is conducted to determine the effects of watching a movie before taking a math test. In the first condition, students are asked to answer the test without watching the movie. In the second condition, they are asked to answer the same test after watching the movie. It is observed that there is a deterioration in performance from the first to the second condition. In this scenario, the deterioration in performance is attributed to a _____.

fatigue effect

A study using the pretest-posttest design was conducted to determine the effect of regular strenuous physical exercise on students' grades. The researchers randomly divided the participants into an experimental and a control group. The study was designed for a period of 12 months with 100 students in each group. After 6 months, only 40 participants remained in the experimental group. The results obtained at the end of the study were faulty. In this scenario, the faulty results can most likely be attributed to _____. Multiple choice question.

high attrition rates

A Solomon four-group design is used to assess the ____

impact of a pretest

A research group plans to analyze the effect of college education on the social behavior of Americans. To increase the likelihood that any difference between the control group and the experimental group is due to the effect of the independent variable, the research group should _____.

increase the sample size

A procedure in which participants are randomly assigned to various conditions so that each participates in only one group is called a(n) _____.

independent groups design

As a final step of a posttest-only design, the effect of the _____ is measured.

independent variable

In basic experiments, researchers must make every effort to ensure that the only difference between an experimental group and a control group is the _____.

independent variable

Greenwald (1976) has pointed out that in actual everyday situations, one sometimes encounters _____.

independent variables in an independent groups fashion

When the results of an experiment can confidently be attributed to the effect of the independent variable, the experiment is said to have _____.

internal validity

A technique to control for order effects without having all possible orders is to construct a(n)

latin square

In a repeated measures design, performance on the second task is likely to improve because of the practice gained on the first task. This improvement is called a practice effect, or _____.

learning effect

In a posttest-only design, participants are randomly assigned to two conditions. This is done to _____.

make the groups equivalent

The method of assigning participants to conditions in an experiment by first matching people on a participant variable is called a _____.

matched pairs design

In a matched pairs design, the researcher forms matched pairs that have approximately equal scores on the _____.

matching variable

Sean's performance in a math test is assessed using a repeated measures design. First, he takes the test in a noisy room. Later, he takes the same test in a quiet room. Sean's test scores show that he has performed better in the second test. In this scenario, the improvement is best described as a _____.

practice effect

In an independent groups design, different participants are assigned to each of the experimental conditions using _____.

random assignment

A research group studying the effect of sugar consumption on stress wants to use the posttest-only design for an experiment. To avoid potential selection differences in the experiment, the researchers must _____.

randomly assign the participants to two groups

In a matched pairs design, after obtaining the measure of the matching variable from each individual, the participants are _____.

rank ordered from highest to lowest based on their scores on the matching variable

Any experimental procedure that produces a relatively permanent change in an individual cannot be used in a(n) _____.

repeated measures design

When assigning participants to experimental conditions, the procedure in which each participant is assigned to all levels of the independent variable is called a(n) _____.

repeated measures design

An obvious advantage of a repeated measures design is that it _____ than an independent groups design.

requires fewer research participants

In the context of the pretest-posttest design, the likelihood that the groups will differ in any systematic way decreases as the _____.

sample size increases

The procedures used in a posttest-only design must achieve two equivalent groups to eliminate any potential _____.

selection differences

A major problem with a repeated measures design stems from the fact that _____.

the different experimental conditions must be presented in a particular sequence

a major problem with a repeated measures design stems from the fact that _____.

the different experimental conditions must be presented in a particular sequence

A posttest-only design has a high degree of internal validity because _____.

the groups are equivalent prior to the introduction of an independent variable

In basic experiments, which of the following is included in the simplest possible experimental design?

the independent variable and the dependent variable

In addition to counterbalancing the order of treatments, researchers using repeated measures design need to carefully determine the _____.

time interval between presentation of treatments and possible activities between them