Chapter 2 test bank

Between subject design

- A research design in which different groups of participants are randomly assigned to experimental conditions or to control conditions

Critical thinking skills are a good thing to read about, but they are not essential to the effective study and application of psychology.

False

Which statement best captures the basic idea underlying the experimental method?

It is important to manipulate an independent variable to look for an effect on a dependent variable. Correct: The goal of this method is to make strong causal claims about the impact of one variable on the other.

In Robert Rosenthal's study of the effects of expectations, some students were led to believe that the rats they were training were maze-bright and other students were told their rats were maze-dull, although the rats were actually all the same. What did Rosenthal find in the study?

The rats labeled bright were found to be much better learners. The problem mentions expectancy which assumes if people are told information the results will mirror that

If the information produced by research or testing accurately measures the psychological variable or quality it is intended to measure, it is said to be valid.

True

Questionnaires and surveys are examples of self-report measures.

True

Within-subject design

a research design that uses each participant as his or her own control, for example, the behavior of an experimental participant before receiving treatment might be compared to his or her behavior after receiving treatment.

The results of a research study would be confounded if

a variable other than the independent variable has influenced a participant's behavior.

In a between-subjects design, participants in the ________ condition are NOT exposed to the experimental treatment.

control

The main reason that psychological researchers use the correlational research is to

determine whether two variables are related.

Imagine that you have been hired to assist in an experiment investigating the verbal abilities of boys and girls. In preparing for the experiment, you read a research study that found higher verbal abilities in girls than boys. If this information about gender leads you somehow to communicate to the girls in the experiment that they should do better than the boys, we say that the ________ effect is operating.

expectancy Correct: Expectancy effects occur when a researcher or observer subtly communicates to the participants the behavior he or she expects to find, thereby producing the desired reaction (higher verbal abilities in girls than in boys). The experimenter's expectations (that girls will do better than boys) rather than the independent variable (gender) may actually have triggered the demonstration of higher ability levels in girls.

If the results of a test or experiment are consistent and dependable, such that they can be repeated under similar conditions at different times, psychologists would say that the findings are valid.

false

When psychologists conduct research, all data and methods must eventually be open for public verifiability. In other words, the general public determines whether to accept or reject the conclusions reached by a researcher.

false

In the context of conducting psychological research, control procedures are intended to

hold constant variables and conditions other than those related to the hypothesis.

The main reason that psychological researchers use the experimental method is to

make claims concerning causality. Correct: In an experimental setting, researchers most often wish to demonstrate a cause-and- effect relationship between two variables. The independent variable can be manipulated in this setting to demonstrate the effect that it has on participants

If a researcher defines variables or conditions in terms of the specific procedures used to determine their presence, he or she is using a(n) ________ definition.

operational

One study described in your book examined the effects of ginkgo biloba as an answer to one's memory problems. The study highlighted the importance of utilizing which one of the following controls?

placebo control

A researcher theorizes that people are likely to perspire more when telling embarrassing stories than when telling funny stories. Volunteers are asked to record a memory of an embarrassing or a funny incident and their perspiration is measured. On some days, but not others, the lab where the recordings are done is very hot. Based on this information, the researcher should be concerned most about

the presence of a confounding variable. Correct: The heat in the laboratory is just as likely to be causing perspiration as is the memory of the embarrassing or funny story. The heat is confounding or confusing the cause-effect relationship.