Research Methods In-class Review (2016)

Placebo

A harmless pill administered to the Control Group in drug studies.

Confirmation Bias

A high school hockey coach believes that #7 is a great player. As he observes a tryout, the coach makes note of all of the good plays #7 makes but fails to recognize all of the mistakes #7 makes. This is an example of

Overconfidence

A new business owner believes his business has a 90% chance of succeeding past the first year despite statistics indicating it was a less than 30% chance. He was shocked when he had to close it down after four months. This is an example of

Aggression

A psychologists wants to know whether exposure to testosterone in adult female rats increases their aggression. What is the dependant variable?

Testosterone

A psychologists wants to know whether exposure to testosterone in adult female rats increases their aggression. What is the independent variable?

Hindsight Bias

A researcher announces after the election results are posted that he knew all along that the upset that occurred was going to happen. This is an example of

Case Study

A researcher conducted an in-depth study of one NFL player who had multiple concussions to determine the impact of brain damage on cognitive function. Which research method was utilized?

Test Scores

A researcher wanted to study the effects of sleep deprivation on student test scores. What is the dependent variable?

Amount of Sleep

A researcher wanted to study the effects of sleep deprivation on student test scores. What is the independent variable?

Survey

A self-report of one's thoughts, feelings and beliefs.

Random Sample

A set of items that have been drawn from a population in such a way that each time an item was selected, every item in the set has an equal chance of being selected.

Hindsight Bias

A sports broadcaster reports after the Viking win the Superbowl that he knew they were going to be crowned champions after winning their first five games. This is an example of

Overconfidence

A student leaves a job interview almost certain they will be offered the job only later to be surprised to find out it was offered to someone else. This is an example of

Teens Taking the New Ritalin

A therapist wants to test a new form of Ritalin designed to increase the ability of teens with ADHD to take accurate notes in class. Who would be in the experimental group?

Case Study

An in depth study of an individual.

Naturalistic Observation

Dr. Love wants to discover whether professional tennis players do better when they make eye contact with their opponent just before serving the ball in actual matches. Which research method should he utilize?

Correlational Research

Explores the relationship between two variables.

Experiment

In a study one-half of the participants were given a new drug for reducing anxiety and the other half were given a placebo. The participants came in for examinations weekly, and after six months they were assessed using a temperament survey. Which research method?

Cross-sectional Study

In a study, researchers set up a controlled environment at a university and observed and compared the motor skills of groups of children who were 12 months-old, 14 months-old, and 15 months-old to make generalizations about how motor development occurs over time. Which research method?

Naturalistic Observation

Jane Goodall is a primatologist most known for her long-term study of wild chimpanzees. She watched and recorded their behavior in the jungles of Tanzania. This is an example of which research method.

Naturalistic Observation

Making observations about an individual without manipulating the environment.

Double-blind Procedure

Neither the researcher nor the participant knows which group received the placebo and which group received the drug treatment.

Random Assignment

Procedure in psychology experiments to ensure that each participant has the same opportunity to be placed in any given group.

Naturalistic Observation

Psychologists who are interested in differences in play styles by gender observe preschoolers at a daycare center. The daycare center has a set up which allows researchers to view children playing through a two-way glass. Which research method is being used?

Experiment

Researchers at Princeton University exposed two groups of mice to cold water (stressor). One group exercised regularly, and the other were sedentary. The mice in the exercise group did not experience as much anxiety as the mice who were sedentary. Which research method?

Confounding Variable

Something impacting the DV that is not the IV.

Survey

The New York Times calls 500 randomly selected people on the phone and asks them a series of questions about who they plan to vote for in the upcoming election. Which research method is being used?

Operational Definition

The specific way a variable is to be carried out in an experiment.

Longitudinal Study

The study of a group of individuals over the course of their lifetime is this type of study.

Survey

This is an example of which research method?

Experimental Research

This is the only research method that explains the cause of behavior.

Descriptive Research

This research method is useful for describing behavior.

Correlational Research

This research method is useful for predicting behavior.

Experimental Group

Those being exposed to the IV.

Control Group

Those not being exposed to the IV.

Independent Variable

What is being manipulated or changed.

Dependent Variable

What is being measured.

Survey

While surfing the web, Orlando notices a pop up which asks him to answer a series of questions about the best rock bands of all time, and he chooses to participate. Which research method?

Replication

Why operational definitions are important in experimental design.

Weak Negative Correlation

r = -0.2

Strong Negative Correlation

r = -0.9

Weak Positive Correlation

r = 0.3

Strong Positive Correlation

r = 0.9