PSYCH 303- Research Methods Final (Exam 1)

Which of the following phrases would NOT indicate that a researcher is making a causal claim?

"Is at higher risk of"

Journalists make scientific research more __________. They tend to ______________, not change the statistics. Clearly reporting the study or interviewing the researcher would not be misrepresenting the science.

-accessible to the public -exaggerate the strengths of the findings

Basic research is intended to _____________ Translational research bridges _________________ Applied research___________

-enhance the general body of knowledge -between basic research and applications -starts out with a particular problem in mind

Good theories are: 1) 2) 3)

1) falsifiable 2) parsimonious 3) supported by the data

Which of the following is NOT an example of applied research?

A cognitive psychologist who examines people's ability to distinguish between colors based on light exposure

A Type I error is known as which of the following?

A false positive

Diego is interested in examining the relationship between a person's attachment style and his or her relationship satisfaction. He finds 65 studies that have examined this topic. He combines the results of all these studies and calculates an effect size. His research is most accurately described as:

A meta-analysis

Research suggests that the time a student spends studying for an exam is positively related to the grade that student receives on the exam. However, last week you took an exam without studying and got an A on the exam. What should you conclude about the relationship between study time and exam scores?

Although your experience with one exam is an exception, the research findings explain a certain proportion of the many possible cases.

What is an example of applied research?

An educational psychologist who looks for a way to increase math skills in 8-year-olds

Which of the following is the difference between anecdotal claims and frequency claims?

Anecdotal claims are not based on scientific studies, but frequency claims are

Sasha believes that she is a nice person. To confirm this, she asks all her friends whether she is a nice person and they all agree that she is. Sasha concludes that she is a nice person and says she has evidence of it. However, she does not ask any of her enemies whether they think she is a nice person. Sasha would likely draw a different conclusion if she did which of the following?

Asked her enemies if she was a nice person

Research that is done specifically to add to our general understanding of psychology, like distinguishing the components of extraversion or predicting the time it takes a person to determine whether an object is a face or another object, is known as:

Basic research

What is one way Journals and magazines are not similar?

Both do not publish peer-reviewed articles

A psychiatrist is testing a drug that treats depression He has given the drug to all his patients and all of them have experienced a decrease in depressive symptoms. Although this is interesting, his experience is limited because he does not have a:

Comparison group that did not receive the drug

What does it mean to say that research is probabilistic?

Conclusions are meant to explain a certain proportion of possible cases.

To evaluate how wel a study supports a frequency claim, you need to focus on evaluating which of the following validities?

Construct and external validity

What is one way to avoid being misled by journalism reports on scientific research?

Consult the source of the article — the original scientific findings.

__________ is a good way to avoid being misled by journalism reports.

Consulting the original scientific findings

Daniel's teacher tells him that his theory about dating is not strong because it is not falsifiable. What does she mean?

Daniels theory cannot be disproven

Lana is writing her first empirical journal article. Although she thinks she knows why she found the results she did, she also wants to mention some alternative explanations for her findings. In which section will she mention these alternative explanations?

Discussion

What is the last section of an empirical journal article?

Discussion

what is a limitation of Google Scholar compared to PsychINFO?

Google Scholar is not limited to just psychology and related fields

Stefan wants to make a causal claim in his dissertation. Which of the following is necessary?

He must conduct an exeriment

Elliot is double majoring in English and psychology. He plans on being a high school English teacher and is only majoring in psychology because he finds the classes interesting. What is not an important reason for him to become a good consumer of research:

He will likely need to be a producer of research

You and your friends go to see a speaker on campus, Dr. Darian, an "expert" on getting into graduate school. What should make you less skeptical about his advice?

His recommendations are based on research he conducted for his dissertation.

Which of the following validities is not examined in all research claims?

Internal validity

Both James and Thomas have theories that explain why listening to classical music while reading is associated with increased recall of the material. James' theory is much simpler than Thomas'. Thomas created his theory a few months before James did. What conclusion can you draw from this situation?

James theory would be considered better because it is more parsimonious

Dr. Stewart is an editor of a psychology journal. She wants to ensure that reviewers give honest reviews of the papers they are asked to read. Which of the following could she do to increase the likelihood of honest feedback?

Make sure the identity of peer reviewers is unknown

When examining the statistical validity of a frequency claim, on should look for the:

Margin of error estimate

Matthew is reading an empirical journal and wants to know whether the authors used the Big Five Inventory (BFI-44) or the NEO-PI to measure extraversion. In which section would he find this information?

Method

Occam's razor states that the simplest solution is the best, all things being equal. This speaks to a theory's:

Parsimony

Psychological scientists may choose to publish their work EXCEPT:

Popular magazines

Dr. Ellison finds a relation between the amount of sleep and problem solving. Specifically, having a higher amount of sleep the night before an exam is associated with higher scores on two measures of problem solving. This is an example of which type of association?

Positive Association

Which of the following is considered among psychologists to be the best, most comprehensive place to find psychological research articles?

PsycINFO

_______ is the most comprehensive place to find psychological research articles.

PsycINFO

Which of the following is true of publishing in the field of psychology?

Publishing in psychology involves a peer-review process

which of the following is true of the research process?

Researchers rarely stop at one study — they usually follow up on findings with additional studies.

What type of source is most likely to contain only information that has been rigorously peer-reviewed?

Review Journal Articles

Which of the following is true of operational definitions?

Some psychological concepts are more difficult to operationally define than others.

Which of the following is NOT a research claim?

Teens spend too much time texting and driving

Edward believes that there are a lot of differences between men and women on a variety of different dimensions. He believes this because when he thinks about books that have been written on men and women, he can recall only books that say men and women are different (e.g., Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus) and cannot recall any that say men and women are the same. His reliance on what comes to mind is an example of which of the following?

The Availability heuristic

Hannah just finished reading an empirical journal article for a class project. What information might she get out of reading the references section of her article?

The name of an article that researched a similar topic

Which of these is NOT a characteristic of an edited book?

The peer-review process for edited books is more rigorous than for that of a journal.

Dr. Gonzalez is a peer reviewer for a manuscript submitted to a journal. He is likely to provide comments on everything EXCEPT:

The prestige/reputation of the author

A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behavior in children. You know this relationship may not be causal because you are not sure which occurred first—watching television or being aggressive. You are questioning which of the following rules of causation?

The rule of temporal precedence

Franchesca read about Elliot et al.'s (2007) study in which students scored lower on a cognitive test when the test had a red booklet cover. Franchesca is interested in the idea that the color red influences the perception of caution. Franchesca decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students rate themselves on several achievement-related characteristics, including critical reasoning skills, vocabulary, and math ability. Like the original study, the students write their self-ratings in booklets of either red, green, or white color. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students with red booklets would rate themselves lower than students with white or green booklets. Franchesca runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. Which of the following is the data in this study?

The self-ratings of the students

ognitive test when the test had a red booklet cover. Franchesca is interested in the idea that the color red influences the perception of caution. Franchesca decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students rate themselves on several achievement-related characteristics, including critical reasoning skills, vocabulary, and math ability. Like the original study, the students write their self-ratings in booklets of either red, green, or white color. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students with red booklets would rate themselves lower than students with white or green booklets. Franchesca runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. Franchesca's process of conducting a study to evaluate whether the influence of the color red extends to self-ratings can best be described as which of the following?

The theory data cycle

Some theories are better than others. Which of the following is NOT considered a feature of a good theory?

The theory makes sense intuitively

When the data from a study do not support the theory behind the study's hypothesis, what does that mean for the theory?

The theory should be revised

A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behavior in children. You are curious as to whether peer pressure is really to blame (peer pressure encourages you to watch television and peer pressure encourages you to be aggressive). You are questioning which of the following rules of causation

The third-variable rule

Which of the following characteristics sets scientific journals apart from magazines?

They are peer-reviewed

Translational research is best thought of as _______ basic research and applied research.

a bridge between

Research findings do not explain every case, but they explain

a certain proportion of the many possible cases

What is the problem with being swayed by a good story?

a good story may not be supported by data

Seligman (1975, 1991) proposed that animals who cannot escape an aversive outcome don't even try to avoid the aversive experience later, when they can escape it, because they don't perceive themselves as having control ("learned helplessness"). Latecia thinks this concept may apply to people's working conditions. She conducts a study and has 20 research participants work in an office space with some dilapidated supplies (e.g., pens that barely write, crumpled papers). The participants are split into two rooms. In one work room, Latecia offers to replace any of the run-down supplies with newer items. In another work room, Latecia tells the participants that they have to work with what they have. After a few days of working with this set-up, both groups' work spaces now include both the old supplies as well as new supplies. Latecia predicts that the participants who had to work with the dilapidated supplies for the first few days of the study will continue to use the less functional supplies on the last day, even when there are new supplies available in the room. Latecia's prediction that "the participants who had to work with the dilapidated supplies for the first few days of the study will continue to use the less functional supplies on the last day" would best be described as which of the following?

a hypothesis

Which of the following is primarily a consumer of research information?

a marriage and family counselor

Which of the following is an example of basic research?

a study investigating whether children of divorced parents are more likely to be divorced themselves

Seligman (1975, 1991) proposed that animals who cannot escape an aversive outcome don't even try to avoid the aversive experience later, when they can escape it, because they don't perceive themselves as having control ("learned helplessness"). Latecia thinks this concept may apply to people's working conditions. She conducts a study and has 20 research participants work in an office space with some dilapidated supplies (e.g., pens that barely write, crumpled papers). The participants are split into two rooms. In one work room, Latecia offers to replace any of the run-down supplies with newer items. In another work room, Latecia tells the participants that they have to work with what they have. After a few days of working with this set-up, both groups' work spaces now include both the old supplies as well as new supplies. Latecia predicts that the participants who had to work with the dilapidated supplies for the first few days of the study will continue to use the less functional supplies on the last day, even when there are new supplies available in the room. Seligman's proposal that "animals who cannot escape an aversive outcome don't even try to avoid the aversive experience later, when they can escape it, because they don't perceive themselves as having control" would best be described as which of the following?

a theory

Which of the following could be considered a source of empirical evidence?

a thermometer (a thermometer could be used to produce empirical data)

what is the first section of an empirical journal article?

abstract

what is an example of being a producer of research?

administering an anxiety questionnaire

In research, a confound is ____________.

an alternative explanation for an outcome that comes about because more than one thing changed at the same time.

What type of research is done with a practical problem in mind?

applied research

Research done specifically to add to our general understanding of psychology is known as ______________.

basic research

The two biases of intuition discussed in the text are:

being swayed by a good story and being persuaded by what comes easily to mind

In a developmental psychology class, Trina learned about Baumarind's (1971, 1991) work on parenting styles. She recognized that her parents used an authoritarian style of parenting, as did all her relatives. Since that was the style of parenting she planned to use, she researched the advantages to that style, while ignoring any studies that support the use of another parenting style. What is the term for what she was doing?

cherry-picking the evidence

Dimitri is interested in understanding the effects of sleep deprivation on short-term memory. Which of the following is an empirical approach Dimitri could take to answer this question?

design and execute a study which measures short-term memory function following different amounts of sleep

Empiricism involves collecting data to:

develop, support, or challenge a theory

A single study is not sufficient to __________. Generally many studies are done to support or disprove a theory.

disprove or prove a theory

Psychological scientists base their conclusions on the evidence. They collect data and use it to develop, support, or challenge a theory. This approach is known as ____________.

empiricism

Which of the following is a common way that journalists misrepresent science when they write about it for a popular audience?

exaggerating the strength of the findings

Good theories are __________, which means they can be disproven.

falsifiable

The Theory-Data Cycle involves generating a research design from a ______, developing a _________, and collecting ________ to test that hypothesis.

from a theory, developing a hypothesis, and collecting data

what is an example of the type of people will likely NOT find it important to be a consumer of psychological research professionally?

gardeners

As empiricists, psychologists know what they know because they ____________.

have conducted studies on people and animals acting in natural environments or in specially designed situations

An independent variable is one that:

is manipulated

A dependent variable is one that:

is measured

what is a benefit to using a wiki to conduct psychological research?

it can be corrected quickly

What is the reason that scientific journals use peer review?

it ensures that the studies published are of the highest quality

Compared with doing a generic Internet search, why is PsycINFO a superior way to find scientific sources?

it searches only sources in psychology and related fields

What is not a reason that a journalist may misrepresent a psychology study in a magazine:

journalists are unethical

When more than one thing changes simultaneously, you can

never be sure which one is the cause of an outcome

While the editor of the book is careful to select only experts to write chapters, the peer-review process is

not as rigorous as that of a journal

In behavioral research, inferences are

not expected to explain all cases all the time.

Another word for hypothesis is a/an

prediction

theories cannot be ________. Data can only support a theory.

proven

The peer-review process in the field of psychology is

rigorous and keeps obviously flawed studies from being included in scientific journals

While a magazine has an editor, articles and information aren't subject to ____________.

subject to scrutiny by experts in the field

The Peer-review cycle process is started by

telling the scientific world about your findings

Franchesca read about Elliot et al.'s (2007) study in which students scored lower on a cognitive test when the test had a red booklet cover. Franchesca is interested in the idea that the color red influences the perception of caution. Franchesca decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students rate themselves on several achievement-related characteristics, including critical reasoning skills, vocabulary, and math ability. Like the original study, the students write their self-ratings in booklets of either red, green, or white color. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students with red booklets would rate themselves lower than students with white or green booklets. Franchesca runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. The data matched Franchesca's prediction. What conclusion can Franchesca make?

the data support the theory

Franchesca read about Elliot et al.'s (2007) study in which students scored lower on a cognitive test when the test had a red booklet cover. Franchesca is interested in the idea that the color red influences the perception of caution. Franchesca decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students rate themselves on several achievement-related characteristics, including critical reasoning skills, vocabulary, and math ability. Like the original study, the students write their self-ratings in booklets of either red, green, or white color. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students with red booklets would rate themselves lower than students with white or green booklets. Franchesca runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. Franchesca writes up her experiment and submits it to a journal to be published. What is this process called?

the peer-review process

Pavlina believes that people in red cars are much more likely to speed than people in cars of other colors. She is probably the victim of what tendency?

the present/present bias

Who is responsible for deciding which validity is prioritized in a study?

the researcher

A statement, or set of statements, that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another is a ________________.

theory

Which of the following outlines the correct order of steps in the theory-data cycle?

theory, research design, hypothesis, data

Theories need to be revised when:

they are not supported by data

What is not a reason psychological scientists publish their research:

to get money from the journals where their work appears

When research connects a different study (basic research) to an application is is _________.

translational

After reading about Harlow's contact comfort theory, Dr. Borden wonders if these findings would apply to touch and cuddling speeding up weight gain in premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit. He designs a study to test this idea. What type of research is Dr. Borden's study?

translational research

Dr. Hoda measures job satisfaction and number of years of education. In examining her scatterplot, she sees that the cloud of points has no slope. This indicates which type of relationship?

zero association