Inquizative 3
memory operational or conceptual?
conceptual
operational or conceptual? number of text messages sent per day
- Operational Variable(s)
A frequency claim does not have to include an actual number. true or false
True
Casual claim
Whereas an association claim merely notes a relationship between two variables, a causal claim goes even further, arguing that one of the variables is responsible for changing the other. 2 variables + causes
number of meetings missed per week
absenteeism
"Tanning changes your brain"
causal claim
"Teenage pot smoking affects intelligence"
causal claim
Aggressive video games lead to aggressive thoughts in players.
causal claim
Identify each statement as illustrating an association, a causal, or a frequency claim. Nurturing parents lower the risk of depression in kids.
causal claim
Identify each statement as illustrating an association, a causal, or a frequency claim. Sleep problems may worsen ADHD symptoms.
causal claim
The MMR vaccine does not cause autism.
causal claim
association or causal claim? Drinking eight cups of water a day may boost energy levels.
causal claim
association or causal claim? Giving a thoughtful gift makes the gift giver feel closer to the recipient.
causal claim
effectiveness of study method operational or conceptual?
conceptual
tolerance for spicy food operational or conceptual?
conceptual
Researchers are investigating whether elementary school children differ significantly in their critical-thinking ability at various ages by measuring such differences between first, second, and third graders. Each student at Cedar Elementary School receives the same intelligence test, and the researchers then compare their scores. The researchers also record the age of each student, to see whether age is linked to performance on the test. Only participants whose first language is English are studied. Label each element from this study as either a constant or a variable. elementary school
constant
Frequency claims
describe a particular rate or degree of a single variable. Identify each quality as required or not required to make a causal claim.* Frequency claims are easily identified because they focus on only *one* variable
number of years in school
education
Causal claims that use tentative language are actually association claims. true or false
false
Two frequency claims in the same dataset can always be combined into an association claim. true or false
false
"One-third of college students prefer taking notes by hand"
frequency claim
"You gotta have friends? Most have just two true pals"
frequency claim
Forty-four percent of Americans struggle to stay happy.
frequency claim
Researchers are investigating whether elementary school children differ significantly in their critical-thinking ability at various ages by measuring such differences between first, second, and third graders. Each student at Cedar Elementary School receives the same intelligence test, and the researchers then compare their scores. The researchers also record the age of each student, to see whether age is linked to performance on the test. Only participants whose first language is English are studied. Label each element from this study as either a constant or a variable. grade level in elementary school
grade level in elementary school
number of times someone smiles per day
happiness
variable
implies, is something that varies, so it must have at least two levels, or values.
amount of stress manipulated or measured?
manipulated
gender of participant
measured
number of decision tasks performed manipulated or measured?
measured
Researchers place volunteers in an fMRI machine, which detects brain activity in the occipital cortex (the back of the brain). The brain activity in the occipital cortex is measured or manipulated?
measured!
measured variable
one whose levels are simply observed and recorded.
operational or conceptual? type of beverage consumed (caffeinated versus caffeine-free)
operational variables
amount of time hand is held in ice-cold water
pain tolerance
Ximena wants to measure the effects of amount of body spray on perceived attractiveness. She divides her research assistants into groups and applies no body spray, a small amount of body spray, or a large amount of body spray to each group. Ximena then asks passersby on campus to rate the attractiveness of each participant on a scale of 1 to 5 following a three-minute interaction. In this example, the variable amount of body spray has ________ levels, and the variable of attractiveness has __________ levels
three ---- five
Not all claims presented in the media are based on research. true or false
true
Aaliyah recently started using social media to advertise her business, and she wants to compare social media advertising (on Facebook and Twitter) to more traditional forms of advertising (on TV and in newspapers) to see which is more effective. She looks at the effectiveness of the marketing strategies by comparing the total number of responses generated from the traditional ads to the total number of responses generated from the social media ads. Which element of Aaliyah's study is the manipulated variable?
type of marketing
Researchers are investigating whether elementary school children differ significantly in their critical-thinking ability at various ages by measuring such differences between first, second, and third graders. Each student at Cedar Elementary School receives the same intelligence test, and the researchers then compare their scores. The researchers also record the age of each student, to see whether age is linked to performance on the test. Only participants whose first language is English are studied. Label each element from this study as either a constant or a variable. intelligence test scores
variable
Researchers are investigating whether elementary school children differ significantly in their critical-thinking ability at various ages by measuring such differences between first, second, and third graders. Each student at Cedar Elementary School receives the same intelligence test, and the researchers then compare their scores. The researchers also record the age of each student, to see whether age is linked to performance on the test. Only participants whose first language is English are studied. Label each element from this study as either a constant or a variable. student age
variable
number of strong arguments versus weak arguments
persuasiveness
manipulated variable
variable a researcher controls, usually by assigning study participants to the different levels of that variable.
association claim
when one variable changes, the other variable tends to change, too. More simply, they may be said to be related. 2 variables + one changes other but not cause, just *related* This claim involves two variables (social media use and relationship status), and the phrase "less likely" suggests that they are linked, but that one does not necessarily cause the other.
constructs
A variable of interest, stated at an abstract level, usually defined as part of a formal statement of a psychological theory. See also conceptual variable.
operational
A variable of interest, stated at an abstract level, usually defined as part of a formal statement of a psychological theory. See also conceptual variable.
conceptual
A variable of interest, stated at an abstract, or conversational, level. Also called construct. See also conceptual definition.
Identify each quality as required to make a causal claim.
- At least one variable must be manipulated. - Two variables must be correlated. - One variable must occur before the other. - No other explanations exist for the change in the outcome.
Jorge spots the newspaper headline "Eating pizza makes you angry." Reading the article carefully, Jorge finds that the researchers asked participants how many slices of pizza they consumed in the previous week, as well as how angry they felt in the previous week. Identify the false statements about the study and the news article.
- In the study, the number of pizza slices consumed was manipulated., to open the options. - The headline is reporting an association claim., to open the options. -The author of the news article should change the headline to "Eating pizza may lead to anger."
Jorge spots the newspaper headline "Eating pizza makes you angry." Reading the article carefully, Jorge finds that the researchers asked participants how many slices of pizza they consumed in the previous week, as well as how angry they felt in the previous week. Identify the true statements about the study and the news article.
- The study described in the article supports an association claim.
Page 563.1. Variables While reading news online, Johan comes across the headline "When stress is increased, men rush ahead, women more cautious." (The article is based on a study conducted by Lighthall et al., 2011.) In this study, researchers asked men and women to perform a decision task as many times as possible in a set period, in either a stressed or an unstressed condition. In the unstressed condition, men and women performed similarly. However, in the stressed condition, the number of decision tasks that men performed increased, while the number that women performed decreased. Identify each element of this study as either a variable or a constant variables: constants:
- amount of stress - number of decision tasks performed - length of the set period - type of decision task
variable(s)
- days of the week - time of day - percent of positive-emotion words
Which of the following variables must be measured?
- height of children - age - outdoor air temp - nationality
level(s) of a variable
- midnight, noon - 5.4, 5.6, 5.8, 6.0 - Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
which could be either measured or manipulated?
- time spent outside - hours spent studying - calorie intake - amount of medication
Researchers want to know whether the age at which people begin using a cell phone is associated with their level of extroversion. The researchers will examine the number of people that participants interact with in a day. Which of the following words describe "extroversion" in the context of this study?
- variable - measured - conceptual
Two frequency claims based on separate datasets are presented together: "Ice cream sales are at a record high" and "Summer heat breaks numerous records." What can we safely assume about this information?
Each claim by itself is true, but the two claim are not necessarily related to each other
Terrance creates a study analyzing how broccoli consumption is related to long-term health outcomes. Ultimately, Terrance finds a zero association between eating broccoli and long-term health outcomes. When asked to predict the health outcomes of those who dislike broccoli, what should Terrance say?
Terrance should not make a prediction
A recent study by Walker et al. (2015) demonstrated that increased online social comparison was related to an increase in disordered eating behavior. Select the scatterplot that best represents this claim.
The claim by Walker is a positive association—when one variable increases or decreases, the other variable does the same.
Professor Lee is curious about whether there is any pattern to which students earn extra credit in her course. She examines this question by graphing on a scatterplot her students' exam scores and the number of extra-credit points they earned. She finds that the students with the lowest exam grades tend to have the most extra-credit points. Select the scatterplot that best represents Professor Lee's result.
The lower the scores, the higher the extra-credit points, making this an example of a negative association. negative association
Which type of claim should Danté use if he wants to make a prediction that a person's well-being is based on their friendship quality?
association
association or causal claim? Depression in the elderly may predict dementia.
association
association or causal claim? Folic acid is tied to more advanced toddler talk.
association
association or causal claim? Sweetened drinks are linked to depression risk.
association
"Former NFL players at higher risk for brain, mood problems"
association claim
"Social media users less likely to be in relationships"
association claim
Identify each statement as illustrating an association, a causal, or a frequency claim. People who run on a treadmill are less likely to be stressed.
association claim
Identify each statement as illustrating an association, a causal, or a frequency claim. Pet ownership is tied to greater well-being.
association claim
People with ADHD work one month less per year than those without.
association claim
Shy people are better at reading facial expressions.
association claim
causal claim, frequency claim, or association claim? a correlational study conducted by Harvard University
association claim
causal claim, frequency claim, or association claim? a study in your research methods class in which you measure two variables
association claim
association or causal claim? Ice applied to a twisted ankle prevents swelling.
causal claim
causal claim, frequency claim, or association claim? an experiment in psychological science
causal claim
Researchers are investigating whether elementary school children differ significantly in their critical-thinking ability at various ages by measuring such differences between first, second, and third graders. Each student at Cedar Elementary School receives the same intelligence test, and the researchers then compare their scores. The researchers also record the age of each student, to see whether age is linked to performance on the test. Only participants whose first language is English are studied. Label each element from this study as either a constant or a variable. intelligence test
constant
Researchers are investigating whether elementary school children differ significantly in their critical-thinking ability at various ages by measuring such differences between first, second, and third graders. Each student at Cedar Elementary School receives the same intelligence test, and the researchers then compare their scores. The researchers also record the age of each student, to see whether age is linked to performance on the test. Only participants whose first language is English are studied. Label each element from this study as either a constant or a variable. students' primary language
constant
Identify each statement as illustrating an association, a causal, or a frequency claim. Fifty-three percent of Americans say that the Internet has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic.
frequency claim
Identify each statement as illustrating an association, a causal, or a frequency claim. Most students prefer in-person classes.
frequency claim
Sixteen percent of teens have considered suicide.
frequency claim
This claim involves one variable (number of friends), which suggests that it is a frequency claim. It describes the frequency, or amount, of people's friendships.
frequency claim
causal claim, frequency claim, or association claim? ratings released by Nielsen Media Research that capture how much each TV show is watched
frequency claim
causal claim, frequency claim, or association claim? the FBI's Uniform Crime Report on the number of crimes in the United States
frequency claim