Research Methods & Data Analysis 1

cronbach's alpha

- average all possible correlations of each item & number of items - 0.70 is acceptable & the closer to 1 the better

chapter 1: research producers & consumers

- both have a commitment to empiricism ( answering psychological questions w/ direct, formal observations ) - evidence-based treatments ( therapies that are supported by research )

chapter 1: how scientists work

- identified by what they do, what they value, & how they think - cupboard theory vs contact comfort theory ( in experiment about monkeys they chose contact comfort w/ fake mom ) - good theories are falsifiable - scientist strive to follow 4 norms ( universalism, communality, disinterestedness, organized skepticism )

confirmatory hypothesis testing

- the tendency to ask only the questions that will lead to the expected answer ( confirmation bias ) - your existing opinion changes how you view info

example of theory-data cycle

- theory: children learn better from their teachers than a computer because children pay more attention to their teachers & attention supports learning - question: would children learn new words better from their teacher or a computer game - hypothesis: children will learn new words better when taught by their teacher, compared to a computer game - data: number of words that child can correctly match to a picture

statistical errors

- type 1: say an effect exists when it does not, false positive ( worst kind of error ) ( ex: old guy, you're pregnant ) - type 2: say no effect exists when one is there, false negative or a miss ( not as damaging ) ( ex: pregnant lady, you're not pregnant )

qualities of a good theory ( supported by data )

- w/o support from data, no evidence that the explanation accounts for something real - single piece of evidence is poor support - supporting data from multiple studies, from multiple labs, & replication are crucial

Which of the following r values indicate the least uncertainty? a) -.93 b) -.10 c) .45 d) .89

-0.93

Which of the following r values indicate the strongest correlation? -0.93 -0.32 0.45 0.89

-0.93

a measure must be reliable to be valid..

..but a reliable measure is not necessarily valid

several reasons for poor interrater reliability

1) measure itself is unreliable ( if scores inconsistent within a rater they will also be inconsistent across raters ) 2) raters are biased ( raters not scoring accurately they may not agree 3) raters are poorly trained ( raters have different criteria their scores will diverge ) 4) score is too subjective ( score relies on jugment, individual differences can reduce interrater agreement

The theory-data cycle: a) Allows researchers to refine their theories in response to new data. b) Is a measure of how valid a theory is. c) Only concerns theories that make causal claims. d) Is only used for applied research.

Allows researchers to refine their theories in response to new data.

In one of her articles, Dr. LaSalle makes the claim: "Research shows that making more money correlates with spending less time talking with your spouse." Which type of claim is Dr. LaSalle making? a) Association claim b) Causal claim c) Anectodal claim d) Frequency claim

Association claim

The local news ran a story about a baby who suffered a deadly spider attack while playing outside. The neighborhood becomes quiet as families keep their kids inside so they won't be bitten by deadly spiders. A) No comparison group B) The good story C) Availability heuristic D) Cherry-picking

Availability heuristic

Which one of the following claim is a frequency claim? a) Between 5% and 10% of the population have dyslexia. b) Making children gesture brings out implicit knowledge and leads to learning. c) Physically fit children do better at math. d) Couples who experience parental interference in their love relationship report intensified feelings of romantic love.

Between 5% and 10% of the population have dyslexia.

Andrew and Olivia just finished their research project for class. They found that people with morning classes have a lower quality of sleep than those who have night classes; they conclude that morning classes are linked to poor sleep quality. Little did they know, everyone who takes morning classes in their sample drinks massive amounts of caffeine all day long and everyone with night classes never drink caffeine. What is wrong with their conclusion? a) Caffeine intake is a confound. b) They do not have a comparison group. c) They cherry-picked their data. d) They operationalized sleep quality poorly.

Caffeine intake is a confound.

A researcher thinks students who take notes by hand will learn the material better than those who take notes by typing. She tests this in her laboratory by having participants watch documentaries and informing them they will be tested on the material. Half watch a documentary about the history of baseball and are instructed to take notes by hand; half watch a documentary about America's most wanted criminals and where they may be now. She compares groups on memory for the material based on a multiple choice test. What kind of claim would the researcher hope to make with their experiment? A) Frequency B) Association C) Causal

Causal

The cornerstone of psychology as an empirical science is: a) Developing theories that support any possible outcome b) Developing theories that depend on good logic c) Collecting data to test a prediction based on theory d) Collecting data without any guiding theory

Collecting data to test a prediction based on theory

Psychologists are empirical scientists; therefore, _______ . a) Data is used to prove a theory is right b) Intuition can be used to derive knowledge for how the mind works c) They use logic to prove that their theories are right d) Data is used to test whether a theory makes the correct predictions

Data is used to test whether a theory makes the correct predictions

Psychologists are empirical scientists; therefore, _______ . A)They use logic to prove that their theories are right B) Data is used to prove a theory is right C) Data is used to test whether a theory makes the correct predictions D) Intuition can be used to derive knowledge for how the mind works

Data is used to test whether a theory makes the correct predictions

Dimitri is interested in understanding the effects of sleep deprivation on memory. Which of the following is an empirical approach Dimitri could take to answer this question? A) Ask his psychology teacher for his opinion on the effects of sleep deprivation on memory B) Design and execute a study which measures memory following different amounts of sleep C) Watch several (fictional) movies about sleep deprivation and use the characters' experiences to develop a story that makes sense D) Consider his own experiences with sleep and memory

Design and execute a study which measures memory following different amounts of sleep

What is meant by the characteristic of exhaustiveness in the frequency table bins? a) Every item fits into a bin b) Each bin has the same range c) Outliers are included d) Each item fits in no more than one bin

Every item fits into a bin

A researcher thinks students who take notes by hand will learn the material better than those who take notes by typing. She tests this in her laboratory by having participants watch documentaries and informing them they will be tested on the material. Half watch a documentary about the history of baseball and are instructed to take notes by hand; half watch a documentary about America's most wanted criminals and where they may be now. She compares groups on memory for the material based on a multiple choice test. Is this a correlational study or an experiment? A) Correlational B) Experiment

Experiment

A researcher is conducting a study on how the wording of questions affects people's responses. In her study, she only includes native speakers of English, and excludes people under 40 to ensure hearing is adequate. These decisions about her sample hurt the study's: A) External validity B) Internal validity C) Construct validity D) Statistical validity

External validity

She then finds out that only 5% of the children's families are willing to participate. The change in study design reflects a decrease of _______ validity, and an increase in _______ validity. A) Internal; External B) External; Internal C) Statistical; Internal D) Construct; Statistical

External; Internal

You test your hypothesis that greater time outdoors is related to less anxiety. Your correlation is r = -.40, p=.08. Your conclusion should be to: a) Fail to reject the null hypothesis b) Reject the null hypothesis c) Support the alternative hypothesis d) Report your correlation as statistically significant

Fail to reject the null hypothesis

When examining the construct validity of an association claim, one should look for: A) How well the measure of each variable measures the concepts they're intended to measure B) Whether the association is positive C) Whether the sample was randomly chosen from the population D) How much the measure of one variable is tied to the measure of the other variable in the association E) Whether there is a third variable that could explain the association

How well the measure of each variable measures the concepts they're intended to measure

Which of the following is true of the relationship between hypotheses and theories? A) Hypotheses are steps taken to determine if the theory is accurate B) Theories are used to determine if hypotheses are accurate C) Multiple theories are needed to test if a hypothesis is accurate D) Hypotheses and theories are synonymous terms E) None of the above

Hypotheses are steps taken to determine if the theory is accurate

Which of the following is true of the relationship between hypotheses and theories? a) Hypotheses are steps taken to determine if the theory is accurate b) Theories are used to determine if hypotheses are accurate c) Multiple theories are needed to test if a hypothesis is accurate d) Hypotheses and theories are synonymous terms

Hypotheses are steps taken to determine if the theory is accurate

How would I assess inter-rater reliability of your new questionnaire? A) Assess consistency of answers between two people that you know are narcissistic B) Assess consistency of the pattern of responses to each question C) Assess the consistency of a given participants answers over multiple tests D) Inter-rater reliability would be more appropriate for an observational measure of narcissism

Inter-rater reliability would be more appropriate for an observational measure of narcissism

In order to measure motivation to study, Dr. Maine designs a survey with 6 items, all of which try to capture that construct. What reliability does Dr. Maine need to test? A) Test-retest B) Interrater C) Internal D) None of the above

Internal

In order to measure motivation to study, Dr. Maine designs a survey with 6 items, all of which try to capture that construct. This is a test of which of the following? a) Internal reliability b) Test-retest reliability c) Interrater reliability d) Content reliability

Internal reliability

Which of the following is NOT an example of being a producer of research? A) Administering a questionnaire of PTSD symptoms B) Conducting a study that involves observing the behavior of adolescents who have been bullied on social media C) Interpreting research about education for your local school board D) Measuring where the neurotransmitter dopamine is low in brains of patients with schizophrenia

Interpreting research about education for your local school board

Which of the following is NOT an example of being a producer of research? a) Measuring where the neurotransmitter dopamine is low in brains of patients with schizophrenia b) Interpreting research about education for your local school board c) Administering a questionnaire of PTSD symptoms d) Conducting a study that involves observing the behavior of adolescents who have been bullied on social media

Interpreting research about education for your local school board

Dr. Johnson is studying children's interactions with their mothers while playing with some toys. He and a research assistant are recording how many physical approach and eye gaze behaviors the children exhibit. The two sets of observations are strongly correlated, r = .88. A) Test-retest B) Interrater C) Internal D) None of the above

Interrater

A researcher is curious how different types of candy impact a child's impulsivity. He divides children into groups: one group receives Snickers bars; the other receives hard candies. He then measures how quickly the children reach for the candy. What kind of variable is the type of candy? A) Measured B) Manipulated C) Constant

Manipulated

When examining the statistical validity of a frequency claim, one should look for the: A) Strength of the association B) How representative the sample was C) Margin of error of the estimate D) How well the research measured the concept they hoped to measure E) The probability that the researcher missed a true relationship

Margin of error of the estimate

A researcher is curious how different types of candy impact a child's impulsivity. He divides children into groups: one group receives Snickers bars; the other receives hard candies. He then measures how quickly the children reach for the candy. What kind of variable is reaching time? A) Measured B) Manipulated C) Constant

Measured

A researcher is interested in whether children that sleep less exhibit more behavioral problems in school. They survey parents about their children's sleep habits, and survey teachers about the behavioral conduct of those children. They find that children who sleep less have greater behavioral problems. What kind of variable is sleep? A) Measured B) Manipulated C) Constant

Measured

A researcher is interested in whether children that sleep less exhibit more behavioral problems in school. They survey parents about their children's sleep habits, and survey teachers about the behavioral conduct of those children. They find that children who sleep less have greater behavioral problems. What kind of variable is the behavioral problems? A) Measured B) Manipulated C) Constant

Measured

A researcher thinks students who take notes by hand will learn the material better than those who take notes by typing. She tests this in her laboratory by having participants watch documentaries and informing them they will be tested on the material. Half watch a documentary about the history of baseball and are instructed to take notes by hand; half watch a documentary about America's most wanted criminals and where they may be now. She compares groups on memory for the material based on a multiple choice test. What is the dependent variable that is measured? A) Type of note-taking B) Type of documentary C) Memory for learned material D) Group

Memory for learned material

Barry is studying the effects of a major natural disaster on people living nearby. He finds that many of the victims are depressed and show stress-related symptoms. Why can't Barry conclude that the natural disaster caused the depression and stress-related symptoms? A) No comparison group B) Depression and stress are confounds C) His explanation is story with no data D) All of the above

No comparison group

What measurement scale is: College major (1=Psychology, 2=Neuroscience, 3=Health and human physiology, 4=Sociology, 5=Other) A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Ratio

Nomina

A researcher is interested in whether children that sleep less exhibit more behavioral problems in school. They survey parents about their children's sleep habits, and survey teachers about the behavioral conduct of those children. They find that children who sleep less have greater behavioral problems. As a potential third variable, the researcher decides to measure medication type and classifies medications as "depressants", "stimulants", "hallucinogen", or "other." What measurement scale is this? A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Ratio

Nominal

A researcher is interested in whether children that sleep less exhibit more behavioral problems in school. They survey parents about their children's sleep habits, and survey teachers about the behavioral conduct of those children. They find that children who sleep less have greater behavioral problems. The behavioral problems survey asks teachers to pick whether the child is disruptive in class "never", "sometimes", or "always." What measurement scale is this? A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Ratio

Ordinal

Military ranks (e.g., Colonel, Captain, etc) are: A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Ratio

Ordinal

What measurement scale is: Birth order of siblings A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Ratio

Ordinal

What measurement scale is:Score on an self-esteem questionnaire where 10 is the minimum (lowest self-esteem) and 40 is the maximum (highest self-esteem). A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Ratio

Ordinal

A researcher is interested in whether children that sleep less exhibit more behavioral problems in school. They survey parents about their children's sleep habits, and survey teachers about the behavioral conduct of those children. They find that children who sleep less have greater behavioral problems.The sleep survey asks parents to indicate number of hours the child sleeps on a typical school night. What measurement scale is this? A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Ratio

Ratio

What measurement scale is: Minutes of vigorous physical activity per week A) Nominal B) Ordinal C) Interval D) Ratio

Ratio

Todd is studying the effect of popularity on academic success for his research methods project. He decides to measure popularity by asking each elementary school student to tell him how many friends he or she has. He assumes that more friends means the student is more popular. Which of the following best describes this variable? a) Ratio variable b) Categorical variable c) Self-report measurement d) Ordinal variable

Ratio variable

A researcher is interested in whether children that sleep less exhibit more behavioral problems in school. They survey parents about their children's sleep habits, and survey teachers about the behavioral conduct of those children. They find that children who sleep less have greater behavioral problems. Which variable would we want to manipulate to turn this association claim into a causal claim? A) Sleep B) Behavioral problems

Sleep

You develop a new 10-question survey of a stable trait narcissism that can be used online. You first test this on your friends by sending them the survey every three times in a month to test the consistency of their overall score across test. Your are testing the ________ reliability of your measure. A) Test-retest B) Interrater C) Internal D) None of the above

Test-retest

Dr. Rodriquez is considering conducting a study examining whether narcissistic people have poorer romantic relationships than those who are not narcissistic. One of her first tasks is to determine which of her participants are narcissistic and which are not. She decides to use the scale created by a colleague, the Donal scale. Question 1 reads, "I tend not to think about other people as much as I think about myself." Question 2 reads, "I do not have a high opinion of myself." Question 3 reads, "I think other people think I am really special."Before using the measure in her study, Dr. Rodriquez gives the measure to a group of participants on the first day of the semester and again on the last day of the semester. She then compares the scores between the two time points. This is a test of which of the following? a) Test-retest reliability b) Construct reliability c) Internal reliability d) Interrater reliability

Test-retest reliability

Anton is reading an empirical article on the relations between bullying and self-esteem. Anton is concerned that the researcher made a Type I error. What does that mean? a) The researcher concluded there was a relationship, but there isn't really one. b) The researcher failed to establish the first rule of causation. c) The research did not make a Type II error. d) The researcher failed to consider a third variable.

The researcher concluded there was a relationship, but there isn't really one.

In previous studies, Dr. Schulenberg has established that finding meaning in one's everyday work activities can lead to greater success in the workplace (e.g., productivity, creativity). He is curious as to whether this can happen in the college classroom. Specifically, he is curious whether finding meaning in one's classroom experience can lead to greater academic performance. In the spring semester, he has his teaching assistant randomly assign half the class to write a paragraph each class period about how the material has meaning for their lives (meaning group). The other half writes a paragraph about what they did to prepare for class (preparation group). To measure academic performance, he gives the students a midterm essay exam and a final exam. What is the null hypothesis in this study? a) There is no difference between the meaning and preparation group in terms of their academic performance b) Meaning group has greater academic performance than preparation group c) Preparation group presents greater academic performance than meaning group d) There is not sufficient information to answer the question

There is no difference between the meaning and preparation group in terms of their academic performance

Why is there asymmetry in reliability and validity? (Why can a reliable measure be invalid, but a valid measure can't be unreliable?) a) Unreliable measures provide inconsistent data b) Low reliability damages face validity c) Validity is more subjective than reliability d) There are more types of validity than reliability

Unreliable measures provide inconsistent data

Why is there asymmetry in reliability and validity? (Why can a reliable measure by invalid, but a valid measure can't be unreliable?) A) Low reliability damages face validity B) Validity is more subjective than reliability C) There are more types of validity than reliability D) Unreliable measures provide inconsistent data

Unreliable measures provide inconsistent data

Dr. Sheffield is a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating pathological gambling. Pathological gambling is defined as being unable to resist impulses to gamble. Bothered by not having a good measure that he can give to clients to determine whether they are suffering from this condition, he creates a new measure of pathological gambling. The measure has 15 questions, and it takes 20 minutes to complete.If Dr. Sheffield's measure does not actually measure pathological gambling, his measure is said to lack which of the following? a) Validity b) Reliability c) Conceptualization d) Operationalization

Validity

Vanessa claims that she sleeps better when she falls asleep to music. She has a comparison condition, because she has noticed that she does not listen to music every night, only when she remembers to plug in her iPod. She typically remembers to plug in her iPod on nights when she is able to finish studying earlier. What problem do you see in Vanessa's reasoning about sleeping better to music? a) Vanessa may be sleeping better because she is less distracted by studying/going to bed sooner. b) Vanessa's belief that she sleeps better with music is not falsifiable. c) Vanessa is biased because she sleeps in the same bed every night d) There is no problem with her reasoning

Vanessa may be sleeping better because she is less distracted by studying/going to bed sooner.

Vanessa claims that she sleeps better when she falls asleep to music. She has a comparison condition, because she has noticed that she does not listen to music every night, only when she remembers to plug in her iPod. She typically remembers to plug in her iPod on nights when she is able to finish studying earlier. What problem do you see in Vanessa's reasoning about sleeping better to music? A) Vanessa's belief that she sleeps better with music is not falsifiable. B) Vanessa may be sleeping better because she is less distracted by studying/going to bed sooner. CONFOUND C) Vanessa is biased because she sleeps in the same bed every night D) There is no problem with her reasoning

Vanessa may be sleeping better because she is less distracted by studying/going to bed sooner. CONFOUND

Why is it critical that a measure has good discriminant validity? A) We want to make sure we are measuring the entirety of the construct B) We want to make sure we are only measuring one construct C) Because constructs aren't real if they're hypothetical

We want to make sure we are only measuring one construct

Why is it critical that a measure has good discriminant validity? a) We want to make sure we are only measuring one construct b) We want to make sure we are measuring the entirety of the construct c) Because constructs aren't real if they're hypothetical d) None of the above

We want to make sure we are only measuring one construct

As your sample size increases... a) Your confidence interval gets narrower b) Your confidence interval gets wider c) Your confidence level increases d) Your confidence level decreases

Your confidence interval gets narrower

prediction ( hypothesis )

a way of stating the specific outcome that the researcher expects to observe if the theory is accurate

"associations between screen-based media use & brain white matter integrity in preschool-aged children"

association claim

"unexpected brain structures tied to creativity & to stifling it" source= medical center

association claim

experience ( 3 sources of info )

basing decisions on past experiences as a sole source of knowing - problem: small set of possibilities w/ no comparison group - ex: I never wear a mask & I haven't gotten sick yet - data need to be considered comparatively

bias blind spot

belief that we are unlikely to be biased by problems above

"scientists reveal why forest bathing or going to the beach boosts our well-being"

causal claim

"stress reduces self-control" book

causal claim

nominal variable

classifies objects in discrete categories 1) categories are mutually exclusive each has 1 category 2) categories have no logical order only qualitative differences

external validity

degree to which the results of a study & its conclusions generalize to a larger population or to other situations - ex: if i conducted this study in a new university, would i expect the same results?

statistical validity

degree to which the statistical results support the claim - how much uncertainty is in the data that led to the claim? - numbers

empiricism

deriving knowledge from observation & experimentation - psychological science relies on observing & measuring phenomena to test theories w/ data

theorists

develop theories to explain how humans think, feel, & behave

internal validity

extent to which the effect arises because of the experiment treatment, & not some alternative variable - ex: living in dorms causes higher social satisfaction w/ campus experience ( year in college? )

"a quarter of the world's population now uses facebook every month"

frequency claim

construct validity

how well variables in a study measure what they are intended to measure - strong construct validity means that the measure provides an exhaustive & selective estimate of the theoretical construct

discriminant validity

lesser or weak correlation of the measure w/ other measures of other constructs - reflects whether measure is only measuring what it intends to measure

a theory is not enough..

logic/reasoning is not enough as they rely on assumptions which needs data to support

Dr. Demir-Lira is interested in examining if there is a correlation between the number of Facebook friends one has and his/her self-esteem. She collects a sample of 800 students from the quad. John interested in this question collects data from a sample of 80 students. Ariel collects data from 8 students to address the same question. Sojeong collects data from 8000 students. Whose confidence interval is likely largest? a) n=8 b) n=80 c) Sample size does not influence the size of the confidence interval d) n=800

n=8

Barry is studying the effects of a major natural disaster on people living nearby. He finds that many of the victims are depressed and show stress-related symptoms. Why can't Barry conclude that the natural disaster caused the depression and stress-related symptoms? a) No comparison group b) Depression and stress are confounds c) His explanation is story with no data d) All of the above

no comparison group

ratio scales

numeric scale w/ equal intervals between steps & true zero value - allows us to examine ratios between scores - ex: weight, height, income, reaction time, accuracy

interval variable

numeric scales w/ equal intervals & no true zero - ex: temperature in F or C ( zero isn't lowest possible value )

College football rankings (e.g. first rank, second rank) use what measurement scale? a) Ordinal b) Nominal c) Ratio d) Interval

ordinal

ordinal scales

rank ordering of categories so you can compare different levels - categories are discrete but have meaningful order - ex: finish order in race

empiricists

rely on empiricism to test the theories

cherry-picking

selecting info that supports a particular position, usually a controversial one ( confirmation bias )

intuition ( 3 sources of info )

sense of knowing w/o direst evidence or experience, such that the info feels like it is known instinctively ( cannot explain how or why you know something ) - problem: shortcuts from intuition can lead us astray --> power of stories & metaphors --> availability heuristic --> present/present bias - ex: things that come to our minds 1st is what we use the most

data

set of observations representing the values of some variable, collected from one or more research studies

authority ( 3 sources of info )

someone in a position of authority tells you something is true, thus must be true - problems: can be biased, what is expect enough for truth, different domains

theory

statement or set of statements that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another

falsifiable

theory must be testable, such that some imaginable pattern of data can prove it wrong - theories cannot explain every possible outcome

validity vs. reliability

validity- measure of adequacy reliability - measure of consistency - reliability is necessary for validity but it is not sufficient for validity

parsimony ( qualities of a good theory )

when 2 theories both explain data equally well, the simpler theory is preferred

confound

when more than one thing changes at a time that may have caused an outcome & because they happened together & could've both caused the outcome --> don't know the cause