Research Psychology 20 (7-12)
There are two general categories of control conditions: (1) the no-treatment control condition, a condition that involves no treatment whatsoever (participants receive a zero level of the independent variable); and (2) the placebo control condition, a condition that involves the appearance of a treatment but from which the active, effective elements have been removed.
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To examine more complex, real-life situations, researchers often design research studies that include more than one independent variable or more than one quasi-independent variable. These designs are called factorial designs.
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Which research design is commonly used to help establish the reliability or validity of a measurement procedure?
The correlational design
What is measured by the Pearson correlation?
The degree of linear relationship
A researcher conducts a survey to determine the average number of text messages that college students send or receive during a typical 1-hour class. Which research strategy is being used?
The descriptive research strategy
A placebo control condition is...
a condition in which participants receive a placebo instead of the actual treatment.
In an experiment, a no-treatment control condition is...
a condition in which the participants do not receive the treatment being evaluated.
A mixed design is...
a factorial study that combines two different research designs.
A correlation, or correlation coefficient, is...
a numerical value that measures and describes the relationship between two variables.
The placebo effect refers to...
a positive response by a participant to an inert medication that has no real effect on the body. The placebo effect occurs simply because the individual thinks the medication is effective.
A pre-post design is...
a research study in which a series of observations is made over time for one group of participants.
A survey research design is...
a research study that uses a survey to obtain a description of a particular group of individuals.
In naturalistic observation, or nonparticipant observation...
a researcher observes behavior in a natural setting as unobtrusively as possible.
A between-subjects experimental design requires...
a separate, independent group of individuals for each treatment condition.
In an experiment, a treatment condition is...
a situation or environment characterized by one specific value of the manipulated variable. An experiment contains two or more treatment conditions that differ according to the values of the manipulated variable.
In a negative relationship, there is...
a tendency for two variables to change in opposite directions; increases in one variable tend to be accompanied by decreases in the other.
In a positive relationship, there is...
a tendency for two variables to change in the same direction; as one variable increases, the other also tends to increase.
What is the appropriate hypothesis test for a within-subjects design comparing mean differences for three treatment conditions?
A repeated-measures analysis of variance.
Which of the following describes a completely counterbalanced within-subjects experiment?
A series of treatments is presented in every possible sequence.
When a group of individuals is being tested in a series of treatment conditions, any outside event(s) that influences the participants' scores in one treatment differently than in another treatment is called a ________ effect.
History
Which of the following is an option for limiting the variance within treatment conditions?
Hold a participant variable constant
Which of the following maximizes the likelihood of a successful research result?
Increase the differences between treatments and decrease the variance within treatments
When comparing means in a two-group design, which statistical analysis is most appropriate?
Independent-measures t-test
Which of the following is the primary threat to internal validity for nonequivalent group designs?
Individual differences between treatment groups
In a within-subjects research study comparing different treatment conditions at different times, what kind of validity is threatened by factors that change over time, such as history and maturation?
Internal validity
How does the descriptive research strategy differ from the experimental or nonexperimental research strategies?
It does not concern relationships between variables.
How does holding a variable constant prevent the variable from becoming a confound?
It eliminates the possibility that the variable will be substantially different from one group to another.
Which of the following is an advantage of the between-subjects design versus the within subjects design?
It eliminates the risk of order effects.
In an experiment, what is the purpose for manipulating the independent variable?
It helps establish the direction of the relationship and it helps eliminate the third-variable problem.
A researcher exposes people to a stressful situation (such as public speaking) to examine the effect of stress on depressed mood. Why would the researcher also include a measure of stress?
It is a manipulation check.
During a study using the behavioral research strategy, it is common to have two observers record behavior simultaneously. What is the purpose for this procedure?
It is used to ensure the objectivity of the measurements.
Which of the following is the primary limitation of a two-group design?
It may not provide a complete picture of the relationship between the variables.
Which of the following characteristics are necessary for an extraneous variable to become a confounding variable?
It must change systematically when the independent variable is changed.
What is the purpose for using a control condition in an experiment?
It provides a baseline that can be used to evaluate the size of the treatment effect.
Which of the following is a potential problem with holding a participant variable constant?
It threatens the external validity of the study.
In a within-subjects study that extends over a relatively long time, it is possible that there will be systematic changes in the participants' skills or knowledge during the time of the study. If these changes influence the participants' scores, causing scores at the end of the study to be different from scores at the beginning, then what is the effect called?
Maturation
A cross-sectional developmental design is an example of which general category of research designs?
Nonequivalent group designs
Which of the following accurately defines compensatory equalization?
One group demands the same benefits received by another group.
Which of the following accurately defines compensatory rivalry?
One group works extra hard to make up for not receiving the benefits received by another group.
How do studies using the experimental research strategy differ from other types of research?
Only experiments can demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.
Which of the following accurately describes the scores in a between-subjects experiment?
Only one score is obtained for each participant.
Which technique would probably be used by a researcher who wanted to observe behaviors in a private social club?
Participant observation
When researchers use behavioral observation techniques to measure behaviors in movies, what is the measurement process called?
Content analysis
An experiment includes a treatment condition, a no-treatment control, and a placebo control. Which two conditions should be compared to determine the size of the effect that is actually caused by the treatment?
Placebo versus treatment
What design is being used by a researcher comparing depression scores before and after treatment in one group of clients?
Pre-post design
In a differential research design, what term is used to identify the participant variable that is used to define the groups?
Quasi-independent
A within-subjects design has no individual differences between groups. There is only one group of participants, so the group of individuals in treatment I is exactly the same as the group of individuals in treatment I; hence, there are no individual differences between groups to confound the study.
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An experiment always involves comparison of measures of the dependent variable across different levels of the independent variable. To accomplish this, a treatment condition (an experimental condition) and a no-treatment condition (a control condition) often are created.
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Because a between-subjects design compares different groups of individuals, there is always the possibility that the characteristics of one group can be substantially different from the characteristics of another group.
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Developmental research designs are a type of nonexperimental research. The purpose of developmental designs is to describe the relationship between age and other variables.
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Extraneous variables become confounds when they change systematically along with the independent variable. After identifying a short list of extraneous variables that have the potential to become confounding variables, it is possible to actively or passively control these variables.
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Factorial designs are commonly described with a notation system that identifies not only the number of factors in the design but also the number of values or levels that exist for each factor. For example, a 2 x 3 factorial design is a two-factor design with two levels of the first factor and three levels of the second factor.
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If you are using a random process (such as a coin toss) to assign people to treatment conditions, it is still possible for all the high-IQ individuals to be assigned to the same condition.
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In a between-subjects design individual differences have the potential to produce high variance in the scores within each group or treatment condition. High variance within groups can obscure any treatment effects that may exist.
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In a within-subjects design, because each participant appears in every treatment condition, each individual serves as his own control or baseline. This makes it possible to measure and remove the variance caused by individual differences.
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In an experiment, a researcher always manipulates the independent variable.
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In correlational research, researchers examine three characteristics of a relationship: the direction, the form, and the degree of consistency.
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In naturalistic observation, a researcher tries as unobtrusively as possible to observe behavior in a natural setting.
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In the observational research design, researchers observe behaviors for the purpose of describing behaviors.
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Major weaknesses of survey research include low response rates, nonresponse bias, and the self-report nature of the design.
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Nonexperimental and quasi-experimental studies always contain a threat to internal validity that is integral to the design and cannot be removed. As a result, these two research strategies cannot establish unambiguous cause-and-effect explanations.
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One disadvantage of between-subjects designs is that they require a relatively large number of participants.
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Order effects can be a confounding variable in a within-subjects design.
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Participant observation is used in situations in which inconspicuous observation is not possible; instead, the researcher interacts with the participants to observe and record behaviors.
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Quasi-experimental studies make some attempt to control threats to internal validity but nonexperimental studies typically do not.
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Randomization does not guarantee that extraneous variables are really controlled; rather, it uses chance to control variables.
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Techniques for establishing equivalent groups of participants include random assignment, matched assignment, and holding variables constant.
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The correlational research strategy simply describes relationships between variables, and does not explain the relationships or determine their underlying causes.
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The differential research design, and the posttest-only nonequivalent control group design, make no attempt to limit the threat of individual differences between groups and are classified as nonexperimental.
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The general goal of a between-subjects experiment is to determine whether differences exist between two or more treatment conditions.
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The goal of the descriptive research strategy is to describe the variables being examined as they exist naturally.
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The potential confounding influence of individual differences is a particular problem for between-subjects designs.
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The pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design reduces the threat of individual differences and is classified as quasi-experimental.
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The primary advantage of a between-subjects design is the fact that each individual score is independent of the other scores because each participant is measured only once.
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The primary advantage of a within-subjects design is that it essentially eliminates all the problems based on individual differences that are the primary concern of a between-subjects design.
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The primary disadvantage of a between-subjects design is individual differences. In between-subjects designs, individual differences can become confounding variables and produce high variance.
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The primary disadvantage of a within-subjects design is that the scores obtained in one treatment condition are directly related to scores in every other condition.
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The relationship between scores across treatments creates the potential for the scores in one treatment to be influenced by previous treatments, previous measurements, or previous experience. This general problem is called an order effect because the current scores may have been affected by events that occurred earlier in the order of treatments.
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The results from a factorial design provide information about how each factor individually affects behavior (main effects) and how the factors jointly affect behavior (interaction).
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The two basic characteristics that distinguish the experimental research strategy from other research strategies are (1) manipulation of one variable while measuring a second variable and (2) control of extraneous variables.
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The two standard methods of active control are (1) holding a variable constant and (2) matching values across the treatment conditions.
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The value of a factorial design is that it allows a researcher to examine how unique combinations of factors acting together influence behavior.
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In an experiment, the _________ is the condition in which the treatment is administered and the ________ is the condition in which the treatment is not administered.
experimental condition....control condition
A researcher moves an experiment out of the laboratory and into the real world. This type of research is called.
field study
Matching involves assigning individuals to...
groups so that a specific participant variable is balanced, or matched, across the groups.
Cohorts are...
individuals who were born at roughly the same time and grew up under similar circumstances.
A(n) ____________ exists between the factors when the effects of one factor depend on the different levels of a second factor.
interaction
When the results of a two-factor study are graphed, the existence of nonparallel lines (lines that cross or converge) is an indication of a(n) ___________ between the two factors.
interaction
Dr. Jones hopes to demonstrate that children who eat a more nutritious breakfast tend to have more academic success than their peers. If this result is obtained, then ______________ would be the predictor variable and __________ would be the criterion variable for the study.
the nutrition in the breakfast; the level of success
Contrived observation, or structured observation, is...
the observation of behavior in settings arranged specifically to facilitate the occurrence of specific behaviors.
In participant observation...
the researcher engages in the same activities as the people being observed in order to observe and record their behavior.
Random assignment is...
the use of a random process to assign participants to treatment conditions.
A __________________ has a series of observations for each participant before a treatment or event and a series of observations after the treatment or event. A treatment is a manipulation administered by the researcher, and an event is an outside occurrence that is not controlled or manipulated by the researcher.
time-series design
A within-subjects experimental design, or repeated-measures experimental design, compares...
two or more different treatment conditions by observing or measuring the same group of individuals in all of the treatment conditions being compared.
Content analysis involves...
using the techniques of behavioral observation to measure the occurrence of specific events in literature, movies, television programs, or similar media that present replicas of behaviors.
Maturation is...
when a group of individuals is being tested in a series of treatment conditions, any physiological or psychological change that occurs in participants during the study and influences the participants' scores.
An ______________ occurs whenever two factors, acting together, produce mean differences that are not explained by the main effects of the two factors. On the other hand, if the ___________ for either factor applies equally across all levels of the second factor, then the two factors are independent and there is no interaction.
interaction between factors...main effect
In a between-subjects experiment, if the participants in one group have characteristics that are different from the participants in another group, then which of the following is threatened?
internal Validity
Researchers often use simulation experiments in an attempt to obtain the _________ of an experiment and still keep much of the _________ of research conducted in the real world.
internal validity, external validity
Archival research...
involves looking at historical records to measure behaviors or events that occurred in the past.
In restricted random assignment, the group assignment process is...
limited to ensure predetermined characteristics (such as equal size) for the separate groups.
Although field studies tend to have higher external validity than traditional laboratory studies, what risk do they tend to have?
lower internal validity
The mean differences among the levels of one factor are called the ____________ of that factor.
main effect
A non-experimental design...
makes no attempt to minimize threats to validity.
A researcher exposes people to a stressful situation (such as public speaking) to examine the effect of stress on depressed mood. Why would the researcher also include a measure of stress?
manipulation check
In a matched-subjects design, each individual in one group is...
matched with a participant in each of the other groups.
A college professor reports that students who finish exams early tend to get better grades than students who hold on to exams until the last possible moment. The correlation between exam score and amount of time spent on the exam is an example of
negative correlation
A __________________ is a research study in which the different groups of participants are formed under circumstances that do not permit the researcher to control the assignment of individuals to groups, and the groups of participants are, therefore, considered ____________. Specifically, the researcher cannot use random assignment to create groups of participants.
nonequivalent group design...nonequivalent
Research indicates the people who suffer from depression also tend to experience insomnia. However, it is unclear whether the depression causes insomnia or the lack of sleep causes depression. What problem is demonstrated by this example?
the directionality problem
The experimental research strategy establishes...
the existence of a cause-and effect relationship between two variables. To accomplish this goal, an experiment manipulates one variable while a second variable is measured and other variables are controlled.
Order effects occur when...
the experience of being tested in one treatment condition has an influence on the participants' scores in a later treatment condition(s).
If a between-subjects experiment produces 50 scores in treatment 1 and 50 scores in treatment 2, then how many participants were in the entire experiment?
100
How many separate groups of participants would be needed for a between-subjects, two-factor study with three levels of factor A and four levels of factor B?
12
A researcher who is examining the effects of temperature and humidity on the eating behavior of rats uses a factorial experiment comparing three different temperatures (70˚, 80˚, and 90˚) and two humidity conditions (low and high). How many factors are in the experiment?
2
How many independent variables are there in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design?
3
A researcher reports that there is no consistent relationship between grade point average and the number of hours spent studying for college students. Which of the following is the best description for the correlation between grade point average and the number of hours studying?
A correlation near zero
A researcher would like to examine the relationship between self-esteem and academic performance for high school students. Instead of a correlational study, what other kind of study could the researcher use?
A differential study comparing academic performance scores for a group of high self-esteem students and a group of low self-esteem students
A research study evaluates changes in behavior related to age by examining one group of participants who are all roughly the same age, at different times. What is the name for this research design?
A longitudinal developmental design
Which of the following is an advantage of a two-treatment within-subjects design compared to a multiple-treatment design?
All of the above are advantages of a two-treatment design.
How can order effects be measured and evaluated?
All of the above are ways to measure and evaluate order effects
What kind of research was used to study the brain surgery patient H. M. who lost the ability to store new memories?
Case study research
What is the appropriate statistical analysis for comparing non-numerical data for a differential design comparing samples representing two populations?
Chi-square test for independence
Which of the following is common in within-subjects experimental designs but is impossible in a pre-post design?
Counterbalance order of treatments
Which research design is used by a researcher comparing self-esteem scores for children from divorced families versus scores for children from families with no divorce?
Differential research design
In an observational study of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, you record how much time each child spends playing alone during a 30-minute observation period. Which method of quantifying behavior is being used?
Duration
Which statement best characterizes a between-subjects experimental design?
Each participant is assigned to one condition of the experiment.
Which of the following accurately defines diffusion?
Elements of the treatment in one group have spread to another group.
A field study involves creating a real-world atmosphere in a laboratory to duplicate a natural environment or situation; a simulation involves moving an experiment from the laboratory into the real-world environment.
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In the cross-sectional research design, the same group of individuals is followed and measured at different points in time; hence, cohort effects are not a problem. However, cross-sectional research is extremely time-consuming for participants and researchers, and participant dropout can create a biased sample.
F
In the short run, a random process guarantees a balanced result, however, in the long run there is a chance that randomization will not work.
F
One disadvantage of between-subjects designs is that they require a relatively large number of participants.
F
The defining characteristic of a within-subjects design is that it uses a single group of individuals, and tests or observes each individual in all of the different treatments being compared.
F
The longitudinal research design compares separate groups of individuals with each group representing a different age. The advantage of this design is that the researcher need not wait for participants to age to examine the relationship between a variable and age. However, the cohort or generation effect is a major weakness.
F
Which of the following does not guarantee that a specific participant variable will not become a confounding variable?
Randomizing the variable across treatments
Which of the following is a possible use for a factorial design?
Reduce variance in a between-subjects study
The multiple-choice questions in an exam are examples of which type of survey question.
Restricted
For a within-subjects study comparing two treatments, A and B, a researcher expects that practice in the first treatment will improve the participants' scores in the second treatment. If the order of treatments is counterbalanced, then what scores will be influenced by the practice?
Scores in treatment A for half the participants and scores in treatment B for half the participants.
When comparing means in a single-factor multiple group design, which statistical analysis is most appropriate?
Single-factor ANOVA
What is an advantage to administering a survey over the Internet?
Survey can be individualized based on responses
A major strength of the observational research design is that the researcher observes and records actual behaviors.
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For an experiment that compares two treatment conditions with ten scores in each treatment, which design would require fewer subjects?
Within-subjects design
A researcher reports a positive relationship between sugar consumption and activity level for a group of 8-year-old children. However, the researcher cannot be sure whether the extra sugar is causing the children to be more active or whether the extra activity is causing the children to eat more sugar. Which of the following is demonstrated by this example?
The directionality problem
Which of the following accurately describes the idiographic approach to research?
The intensive study of one individual
Which of the following is a defining characteristic of the correlational research strategy?
The intent is to demonstrate the relationship between variables.
Which of the following is the primary advantage of a pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design, in comparison to other nonequivalent group designs?
The pretest scores can help reduce the threat of individual differences between groups
The results from a correlational study show a positive relationship between aggressive behavior for 6-year-old children and the amount of violence they watch on television. Based on this relationship, which of the following conclusions is justified?
The results from a correlational study show a positive relationship between aggressive behavior for 6-year-old children and the amount of violence they watch on television. Based on this relationship, which of the following conclusions is justified?
A clinical psychologist measures body satisfaction for a group of clients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa each day for 1 week before and for 1 week after the psychologist begins a series of group therapy sessions. What kind of design is being used?
Time-series
Which of the following commonly occurs in a correlational study?
Two variables are measured.
A researcher uses a correlation to demonstrate that a new 5-minute test for intelligence produces scores that are strongly related to the scores from traditional IQ tests. What is the researcher attempting to demonstrate about the new 5-minute test?
Validity
How can variance be reduced in a between-subjects design?
all- Use counterbalancing / Counterbalance and use a factorial design with the order of treatments as a second factor / Use a factorial design adding a participant variable (such as age) as a second factor
A manipulation check is...
an additional measure to assess how the participants perceived and interpreted the manipulation and/or to assess the direct effect of the manipulation.
A factor is...
an independent variable in an experiment, especially those that include two or more independent variables.
The ___________ involves the in-depth study and detailed description of a single individual (or a very small group). A case study may involve an intervention or treatment administered by the researcher. When a case study does not include any treatment or intervention, it often is called a ___________.
case study design...case history
Progressive error refers to...
changes in a participant's behavior or performance that are related to general experience in a research study but not related to a specific treatment or treatments.
Instrumentation refers to...
changes in the measuring instrument that occur during a research study in which participants are measured in a series of treatment conditions.
The _______________ is the squared value of a correlation and measures the percentage of variability in one variable that is determined, or predicted, by its relationship with the other variable.
coefficient of determination
A ___________ study uses two different research strategies in the same factorial design. One factor is a true independent variable (experimental strategy) and one factor is a quasi-independent variable (nonexperimental or quasi-experimental strategy).
combined strategy
In the ______________________, two or more variables are measured to obtain a set of scores (usually two scores) for each individual. The measurements are then examined to identify any patterns of relationship that exist between the variables and to measure the strength of the relationship.
correlational research strategy
For a within-subjects design, counterbalancing is...
defined as changing the order in which treatment conditions are administered from one participant to another so that the treatment conditions are matched with respect to time.
The longitudinal developmental research design examines...
development by observing or measuring a group of cohorts over time.
The terms cohort effects and generation effects refer to...
differences between age groups caused by unique characteristics or experiences other than age.
A _________________ is a research study that simply compares preexisting groups. This type of study uses a participant characteristic such as gender, race, or personality to automatically assign participants to groups. The researcher does not randomly assign individuals to groups. A dependent variable is then measured for each participant to obtain a set of scores within each group. The goal of the study is to determine whether the scores for one group are consistently different from the scores of another group. This type of research is classified as a nonexperimental research design.
differential research design
Like true experiments, the nonexperimental research strategy and the quasi-experimental research strategy typically involve comparison of scores from different groups or different conditions. However, these two strategies use a nonmanipulated variable to define the groups or conditions being compared. The nonmanipulated variable is usually a participant variable (such as college graduate vs. no college) or a time variable (such as before vs. after treatment). The distinction between the two strategies is that ____________ designs make little or no attempt to control threats to internal validity, whereas ___________ designs actively attempt to limit threats to internal validity
nonexperimental....quasi-experimental
In the observational research design, the researcher...
observes and systematically records the behavior of individuals to describe the behavior.
Carry-over effects occur when...
one treatment condition produces a change in the participants that affects their scores in subsequent treatment conditions.
Individual differences are...
personal characteristics that differ from one participant to another.
A ____________________________ compares two nonequivalent groups of participants. One group is observed (measured) after receiving a treatment, and the other group is measured at the same time but receives no treatment. This is an example of a nonexperimental research design.
post-test-only nonequivalent control group design
When a correlational study demonstrates a relationship between two variables, it allows researchers to use knowledge about one variable to help predict or explain the second variable. In this situation, the first variable is called the ___________ and the second variable (being explained or predicted) is called the _________.
predictor variable...criterion variable
A _________________________ compares two nonequivalent groups. One group is measured twice, once before a treatment is administered and once after. The other group is measured at the same two times but does not receive any treatment. Because this design attempts to limit threats to internal validity, it is classified as quasi-experimental.
pretest-post-test nonequivalent control group design
Within the context of nonexperimental and quasi-experimental research, the variable that is used to differentiate the groups of participants or the groups of scores being compared is called the _______________, and the variable that is measured to obtain the scores within each group is called the ______________ .
quasi-independent variable...dependent variable
Field study is...
research conducted in a place that the participant or subject perceives as a natural environment.
An experiment or a true experiment attempts to...
show that changes in one variable are directly responsible for changes in a second variable.
The students in one gym class receive a self-esteem program as part of their sports training. To evaluate the program, a researcher measures self-esteem for the students before and after the program and compares their scores with those from another class that did not receive the program but was measured at the same two times. What kind of design is being used?
within-subjects designs
