PSY-5 (Ch.2 The Methods of Social Psychology)
Many social psychology research findings seem obvious—but only after we know what they are. What is the term for people's tendency to say that they could have predicted outcomes after they already know what occurred?
hindsight bias
Social psychologists can demonstrate - by telling a fact to group A and asking them if they could have predicted it, and then not telling the fact to group B and asking for their predictions.
hindsight bias
The following are questions that a correlational researcher might ask. Match each to the term that it most closely relates to.
"Is there a relationship between variable 1 and variable 2?" -correlational research "By entering the study with set values on variables, what other factors did the participant introduce that are unknown to me [the researcher]?" -self-selection "Does variable 1 causally influence variable 2, or is it the other way around?" -reverse causation "Is there some other variable that influences variable 1 and variable 2?" -third variable
Which of the following statements about external validity are accurate?
Accurate: -When the purpose of the research is to generalize directly to the outside world, external validity is crucial. -A good way to ensure external validity is to conduct a field experiment in a real-world situation, observing participants who do not know that they are being studied. Not accurate: -External validity is the degree to which investigators are confident that only the manipulated variable could have produced the results. -A high degree of external validity is necessary for any experimental research to be useful.
Which of the following statements can be correctly applied to the experimental element known as the control condition?
Apply: -In the Darley and Batson Good Samaritan experiment involving seminarians, the control condition was the assigning of the "not late" condition to some of the participants. -In the study by Cohen, Nisbett, and others involving some students getting shoved in a narrow hallway, the control condition was that a second group of students were not subjected to getting shoved. Do not apply: -It differs from the experimental condition in that it lacks the one ingredient hypothesized to produce the expected effect on the independent variable. -The more ways it differs from the experimental condition, the better it works.
Which of the following statements can be correctly applied to the reflection exercises called thought experiments used by social psychologists?
Apply: -They can be useful in situations where testing a proposition would be too expensive or unethical. -They are critical-thinking exercises in which you think through how you would test a particular hypothesis before testing it or instead of testing it. -They can allow researchers to form new hypotheses that are preferable to their initial speculations. Do not apply: -They are only used in situations where an idea cannot be tested for some reason. -They are useful tools in avoiding hindsight bias.
Which of the following statements about correlational research are correct?
Correct: -Researchers look at degrees of relationships between variables. -The media often reports correlational research findings. Correlation does not establish causation. Not correct: -A correlation of 0 means that there is a perfect correlation between variables. -In correlational research, researchers almost never determine the cause of behavior.
Which of the following describe hypotheses?
Describe: -Childhood obesity results from lack of exercise. -More students experience illness during final exams than during any other period. -If person A likes person B, who dislikes person C, person A will either come to dislike person C or begin to dislike person B. Do not describe: -The universe began with the Big Bang. -People like to believe that they think like everyone else does, so they work hard to be consistent with one another.
Which of the following statements describe statistical significance?
Describe: -If the probability of achieving the finding is .05, or 1 in 20, it is considered to have statistical significance. -The number of cases upon which a study is based affects the statistical significance. -A study's finding has statistical significance when the probability of achieving the result by chance is less than some specified quantity. Do not describe: -The difference between groups in a study has no impact on statistical significance.
Which of the following statements describe the value of social psychology research?
Describe: -It provides us with practical information that can help us better navigate everyday situations such as dating and interviews. -It shows us that some of our everyday ideas about how people behave are mistaken. -It helps us understand how our beliefs about why we behave as we do can be mistaken. Do not describe: -It teaches us about how our emotions affect certain areas of the brain. -It helps us predict the effects of personal characteristics on a person's behavior.
Which of the following statements describe the debriefing procedure?
Describe: -Researchers must explain what the experiment was intended to evaluate. -Researchers are obligated to explain what aspects of the research involved deception. -Debriefing is especially important when participants have been deceived or felt uncomfortable. Do not describe: -Researchers do not need to explain why participants may have been made to feel uncomfortable. -Institutional review boards have no authority to grant permission to deceive.
Which of the following statements about surveys are factual?
Factual: -The results of "reader surveys" in magazines need to be viewed with suspicion in terms of reflecting national opinions. -A biased result can occur when the types of people who respond to surveys are not representative of the population or desired target group. -Surveys are one of the most used research methods in social psychology. Not factual: -Convenience sampling is a method of random sampling that provides unbiased results.
Decide whether each of the following better matches the concept of reliability or the concept of measurement validity.
For example, you take an IQ test twice, and you get roughly the same score. -reliability This is the correlation between some measure and some outcome the measure is supposed to predict. -measurement validity For example, this is determined in IQ tests by comparing IQ scores with performance in jobs. -measurement validity This is the degree to which a measure gives the same result on repeated occasions, or the degree to which two measuring instruments yield the same result. -reliability
Population
Group you want to know about (eg., US college students)
Which of the following conditions must be met for a study to have internal validity?
Must be Met: -debriefing participants in the pilot study to gain some insight as to their understanding of the experimental design -an experiment setup that is realistic and believable by participants -random assignment Do not need to be met: -conducted using a field experiment -more than one variable that produces the results
Which of the following are possible explanations when the results of an original study are not replicated in a subsequent study?
Possible Explanations: -The original result was a fluke. -It was a fluke that the original result was not replicated; the finding is actually valid. -The replication attempt was faulty. -The original research design was faulty.
Who of the following are required to be found among the members of a university institutional review board (IRB)?
Required: -one person not connected to the institution -a scientist -a nonscientist Not required: -an attorney -someone connected to the field of human rights
Determine if each of the characteristics below better describes correlational research or experimental research.
Researchers simply determine if a relationship exists between two or more variables. -correlational research Investigator has no control over the level of a particular participant's score on a given variable. -correlational research In this type of research, we can never be sure about causality. -correlational research This type of research involves independent variables and dependent variables. -experimental research People are randomly assigned to different conditions or situations. -experimental research This type of research lets investigators make strong inferences about how different situations or conditions affect people's behavior. -experimental research
Random samples
are likely to capture the proportions of given types of people in the population as a whole (ie., US college students)
Match the types of research below with examples of the studies that used those methods.
The gradual introduction of television across the United States allowed researchers to study its effects in this type of experimental research. -natural experiment Cohen, Nisbett, and others compared the reactions of individuals getting shoved in a narrow hallway. -experimental research To study children in the U.S. Midwest, Roger Barker and Herbert Wright watched kids' behavior, including when they went to school and played. -observational research Nisbett and Cohen asked people in different regions of the United States about their attitudes on violence. -surveys Nisbett and Cohen analyzed murder records in the U.S. South and found that the most common type of homicide there involved some type of insult. -archival research
conducting research to determine how to counter the effects of the tobacco companies' efforts to encourage people to smoke
applied research
researching what motivates teenagers to engage in unhealthy activities
basic research
Scientific researchers use _____ research to learn about some phenomenon in its own right, with the goal of using those findings to build valid theories about some aspect of the world; whereas _____ research is used in attempts to directly solve a real-world problem.
basic, applied
Convenience samples
can produce proportion that are severely skewed away from the actual proportions in the population as a whole.
In _____ research, different levels of the independent variable are _____, and this is hypothesized to be _____. The dependent variable is _____ and is hypothesized to be _____ of the independent variable.
experimental, manipulated, the cause of an outcome, measured, affected by manipulation
Match each of the following terms to its definition.
extent to which a measure predicts outcomes it is supposed to measure -measurement validity how closely an experimental setup resembles what people experience in the real world -external validity degree to which different measuring instruments, or the same instrument at different times, produce the same values for a given variable -reliability measure of the probability that a result could have occurred by chance -statistical significance tendency of extreme scores on a variable to be followed by, or associated with, less extreme scores -regression to the mean extent to which investigators know that only the manipulated variable could have produced the results -internal validity
Trying to charm his social psychology professor, Clifton tells her that taking her class makes people happier. Unimpressed by Clifton's attempt to flatter her, the professor challenges him to demonstrate his understanding of experimental design by creating an experiment to prove his statement. Match each component of Clifton's experiment to the appropriate experimental design term.
hypothesis -students who complete social psychology will be happier theory -taking social psychology makes people happier dependent variable -how happy students are at the end of the semester independent variable -whether students take social psychology
Participants in social psychology and medical research projects governed by IRBs must give -, except in some studies, which use -. In this case, the researcher must show the IRB why it is necessary to delay informed consent until after participation.
informed consent, deception
Participants in social psychology and medical research projects governed by IRBs must give _____, except in some studies, which use _____. In this case, the researcher must show the IRB why it is necessary to delay informed consent until after participation.
informed consent, deception
The degree to which we know that no influence other than the manipulated variable produced the results of an experiment is called its - validity, while an experiment's - validity is how closely its setup approximates what is found in the real world.
internal, external
making an effort to try to stop young people from smoking by coming up with a public service advertisement
intervention
A researcher is studying the relationship between exam grades and the amount of coffee (in cups) that students drink on the exam days. The scatterplots show correlations based on information collected for five different exam days. Scatterplot A shows a perfect _____ correlation between coffee consumption and exam grade; the more coffee the students consume, the _____ their exam scores. The other four scatterplots show _____ correlations between coffee consumption and exam grade; the more coffee the students consume, the _____ their exam scores. These correlations are all of different strengths, and scatterplot E shows a perfect _____ correlation.
negative, lower, positive, higher, positive
This term refers to the tendency for extreme scores to be followed by, or to accompany, less extreme scores. This pattern is visible in the figure, which shows a normal distribution and is frequently called a bell curve.
regression to the mean
following up a study into how to counter tobacco companies' efforts with another study to make sure the results can be reproduced
replication
Please match each example with the appropriate term.
researching what motivates teenagers to engage in unhealthy activities -basic research following up a study into how to counter tobacco companies' efforts with another study to make sure the results can be reproduced -replication conducting research to determine how to counter the effects of the tobacco companies' efforts to encourage people to smoke -applied research making an effort to try to stop young people from smoking by coming up with a public service advertisement -intervention
Match the survey method to the correct type of sampling being described.
sending an email to all of the students in the campus photography club to survey them about campus health services -convenience sampling selecting every 100th student on a university registration roster to survey them about campus health services -random sampling computer selecting 50 names from the enrolled student body to survey them about campus health services -random sampling contacting students coming out of the health center to answer a survey about campus health services -convenience sampling
Match each of the terms below with the most appropriate description of it.
the idea that people like their thoughts to be consistent with those of others and will do a lot of mental work to achieve such consistency -balance theory existing data, such as census records, used to find out the circumstances under which social phenomena take place -archives a body of related propositions intended to describe some aspect of the world -theory a prediction about what will happen under particular circumstances -hypothesis method of research used by social psychologists and anthropologists that involves watching some phenomenon at close range -participant observation