UVM PSYS053 Exam 1
From an ethical standpoint, in what way is researching prisoners with tuberculosis similar to researching children with ADHD? a. Both groups of participants have less autonomy than other types of participants. b. Researchers must ensure anonymity when dealing with both types of participants. c. Researchers do not have to have written informed consent with these groups of participants. d. Neither group of participants can provide informed consent.
a. Both groups of participants have less autonomy than other types of participants.
In which of the following ways are content and face validity similar? a. Both involve subjective judgments. b. Both are preferred by psychologists as ideal measures of validity. c. Both are very difficult to establish. d. Both involve asking participants for their opinions about the measurement.
a. Both involve subjective judgments.
The following situations can influence ethical decision making EXCEPT a. the principle of beneficence b. the principle of justice c. the principle of integrity d. the principle of respect for persons
a. the principle of beneficence
Which of the following is true about large effect sizes in an association claim? a. All else being equal, there will be greater likelihood of finding a zero in the 95% CI. b. All else being equal, there will be greater likelihood of a finding being important in the real world. c. All else being equal, there will be a greater likelihood of finding a non-statistically significant relationship. d. All else being equal, there will be greater likelihood of establishing construct validity.
b. All else being equal, there will be greater likelihood of a finding being important in the real world.
Which of the following is true of behavioral observation? a. It is a more reliable and valid method than self-report methodology. b. It may tell a different story than data collected by self-report questions. c. It requires a research assistant to be with the participant at all times. d. It requires recording technology, such as video cameras.
b. It may tell a different story than data collected by self-report questions.
Dr. Guidry conducts a study examining the relationship between the number of friends one has and the experience of daily stress and life satisfaction. She randomly samples 1,500 elderly men and women in Nashville, Tennessee (the state capital), located in the southern United States. Below are her findings: • Life satisfaction and experience of daily stress: r = −.57, 95% CI [ −.77, −.37] • Number of friends one has and experience of daily stress: r = .09, 95% CI [ −.27, .45] • Number of friends one has and life satisfaction: r = .36, 95% CI [.12, .60] According to the guidelines for interpreting effect sizes, what type of effect size has Dr. Guidry found for the association between number of friends and life satisfaction? a. unusually large in psychology b. moderate c. small or weak d. very small or very weak
b. moderate
When examining an association in which one variable is categorical and one is quantitative, which of the following is most likely to be used? a. a scatterplot b. an outlier c. a bar graph d. a curvilinear association
c. a bar graph
Which of the following questions assesses internal validity when evaluating causal claims? a. Are the groups large enough to find a significant difference? b. How well did the experiments manipulate the variables? c. To what populations can we generalize this claim? d. Did the researcher randomly assign participants?
d. Did the researcher randomly assign participants?
Statistical significance depends on which of the following? a. sample size and number of variables analyzed b. number of outliers and direction of the association c. direction of the association and strength of the association d. sample size and effect size
d. sample size and effect size
Using a computerized measure of implicit opinions, such as the Implicit Association Test, is a way to address a. acquiescence. b. nondifferentiation. c. fence sitting. d. socially desirable responding.
d. socially desirable responding.
Your friend Alanna says that when examining validity, you always want to see positive correlations. Why is she wrong? a. Both the strength and the direction of a correlation matter when examining validity. b. Correlations are not used to examine validity. c. The strength of a correlation matters, but the direction of a correlation does not matter. d. Negative correlations are desirable when examining validity.
a. Both the strength and the direction of a correlation matter when examining validity.
Zariah placed five identical pairs of black socks on a table and asked passersby to rate which pair of socks were their favorites. Although the socks were exactly the same, people rated the last pair of socks as having the highest quality. How should Zariah interpret this result? a. People are not always able to accurately explain their responses. b. Zariah needs to consider the accuracy of flashbulb memories. c. People were giving socially desirable responses and not being honest. d. Zariah was mistaken, and the socks actually did differ in quality.
a. People are not always able to accurately explain their responses.
Professor Kramer has decided to measure how happy his students are with his teaching this semester. He is teaching two classes this semester—Psychology and Law and Introduction to Neuroscience. He gives his students a survey. Dr. Kramer plans to give his survey only to his Psychology and Law students because he sees them on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and he can spare the class time (unlike in his Introduction to Neuroscience class, which only meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays). Which of the following is true? a. This will lead to a biased sample because the type of students who take Psychology and Law may be different from the type of students who take Introduction to Neuroscience. b. This will lead to a biased sample because of self-selection. c. This will lead to a biased sample because the Psychology and Law students have a lot of time to complete the survey. d. The will lead to a sample that is representative of both of his classes.
a. This will lead to a biased sample because the type of students who take Psychology and Law may be different from the type of students who take Introduction to Neuroscience.
Ethical decision making is a. based on a balance of priorities. b. determined by legal experts. c. as easy as a yes-no decision. d. based only on what is good for society.
a. based on a balance of priorities.
If a measurement looks like it is a plausible operationalization of a conceptual variable, then it has a. face validity. b. interrater reliability. c. subjectivity. d. credibility.
a. face validity.
Professor Kramer has decided to measure how happy his students are with his teaching this semester. He is teaching two classes this semester—Psychology and Law and Introduction to Neuroscience. He gives his students a survey. If all the students in Dr. Kramer's two classes complete the survey, then Dr. Kramer has done which of the following? a. enhanced sampling bias b. relied on a census c. collected too much data d. decreased the external validity of his study
b. relied on a census
In order to use the known groups paradigm to establish criterion validity, which of the following is necessary? a. The groups must be composed of experts in the field of psychology. b. Prior to testing, similarity between the groups must be demonstrated. c. After testing, the groups should have significantly different scores on the measure. d. At least three groups must be used.
c. After testing, the groups should have significantly different scores on the measure.
Which of the following ethical violations did NOT occur in the Tuskegee Study? a. Participants were not told they had been infected with the disease. b. Researchers prevented participants from seeking treatment. c. Participants in the study were given/infected with the disease. d. Researchers told participants they were receiving treatment even though they were not.
c. Participants in the study were given/infected with the disease.
Why is it important for researchers to replicate a study? a. Replicating a study reduces the likelihood of outliers. b. Replicating a study gives the researcher larger effect sizes. c. Replicating a study gives the researcher additional estimates of the association. d. Replicating a study increases the likelihood of a significant association.
c. Replicating a study gives the researcher additional estimates of the association.
What does it mean that "reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity"? a. If a measure is reliable, it is also valid. b. Reliability and validity are the same concept. c. Reliability and validity are unrelated concepts. d. If a measure is valid, it is also reliable.
d. If a measure is valid, it is also reliable.
Which of the following is true of 95% CIs? a. It involves testing effect sizes. b. It is only done when you have two quantitative variables. c. It is necessary for establishing internal validity. d. It deals with precision estimates about the population.
d. It deals with precision estimates about the population.
Which of the following is true of moderators? a. They help establish a cause and effect relationship. b. They decrease effect size. c. They weaken statistical significance. d. They can inform external validity.
d. They can inform external validity.
Professor Kramer has decided to measure how happy his students are with his teaching this semester. He is teaching two classes this semester—Psychology and Law and Introduction to Neuroscience. He gives his students a survey. What is Dr. Kramer's likely population of interest? a. all psychology majors and minors b. all students in his Introduction to Neuroscience class c. all students at the university d. all students he is currently teaching
d. all students he is currently teaching
In looking at a scatterplot of interrater reliability, why would a researcher want to see all the dots close to the line of agreement? a. because it indicates that the researcher's measurement will also have high test-retest reliability b. because it indicates that the researcher's measurement is valid c. because it indicates a negative relationship d. because it indicates that the researcher's two research assistants/raters are making similar measurements
d. because it indicates that the researcher's two research assistants/raters are making similar measurements
Unobtrusive observation is done to counteract which of the following? a. observer effects b. nay-saying c. observer bias d. reactivity
d. reactivity
Which of the following is an association claim? a. "Being visited by dogs in the hospital causes decreases in recovery time." b. "A majority of Americans like dogs." c. "Owning a dog is related to higher life satisfaction." d. "Dog traveled 500 miles to find its owners."
c. "Owning a dog is related to higher life satisfaction."
A correlation-based statistic called ________ is commonly used to determine internal reliability. a. Pearson's r b. kappa c. Cronbach's alpha d. a scatterplot
c. Cronbach's alpha
Which of the following ethical violations proposed by the Belmont Report was NOT committed in the Tuskegee Study? a. Participants were not treated respectfully. b. Participants were harmed. c. Participants were not given monetary payments for their time. d. Participants were from a disadvantaged social group.
c. Participants were not given monetary payments for their time.
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. To test his measure, Dr. Sheffield gives his measure to a group of his clients and at the same time measures how many times they have been gambling in the past month. He predicts that clients who score higher on his measure will also report gambling more times in the past month. This procedure is meant to provide evidence for which of the following? a. criterion validity b. content validity c. discriminant validity d. face validity
a. criterion validity
A study by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) involved telling teachers that some of their students were "bloomers" and would achieve rapid academic success within the next year. In fact, these students were no different than any of the other students in the class. At the end of the year, the "bloomers" showed more gains in IQ than the other students. It appeared that the teacher had unintentionally treated the "bloomers" in special ways. This is an example of which of the following? a. observer effects b. self-report operationalization c. a masked study design d. observer bias
a. observer effects
In which of the following cases would a large sample especially be needed? a. a study of people who have been to the doctor in the past year b. a study of first-time homeowners c. a study of teenagers whose parents are both deployed overseas in the military d. a study of high school students
c. a study of teenagers whose parents are both deployed overseas in the military
A local committee that reviews research that is conducted on animals is known as a. an AIRB. b. an AWA. c. an IACUC. d. an IRB.
c. an IACUC.
Which of the following questions is necessary to ask when interrogating statistical validity? a. Is there a restriction of range? b. Is there a potential moderator? c. Are the variables measured in a reliable way? d. Is random assignment affecting the findings?
a. Is there a restriction of range?
Why is plagiarism a violation of ethics? a. It is akin to lying. b. It violates an APA standard. c. It violates a Belmont principle. d. It makes psychology researchers look bad.
b. It violates an APA standard.
What do purposive, convenience, quota, and snowball sampling have in common? a. They produce large samples. b. They result in samples where some people are systematically left out. c. They are all probability sampling techniques. d. They are considered ethical sampling options.
b. They result in samples where some people are systematically left out.
The study that found that two-thirds of Americans had experienced at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE) did not use a random sample. What conclusion should you make about the results of the study? a. We are uncertain about the generalizability of the results. b. We can generalize the results of the study to all Americans. c. The results are incorrect because the study did not use a random sample. d. We can generalize the results of the study only to Americans with adverse childhood experiences.
a. We are uncertain about the generalizability of the results.
Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Rock Music When Playing Board Games." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Fancourt, Burton, & Williamon, 2016.) In the study, men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music. Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music. In this study, the researchers recorded how many errors participants committed. This is an example of which of the following? a. a measured variable b. a variable's level c. a manipulated variable d. a constant
a. a measured variable
When bivariate association claims do not meet the criteria of temporal precedence and internal validity, this means that ________ cannot be ________. a. causal inferences; made b. covariance; established c. hypotheses; tested d. construct validity; interrogated
a. causal inferences; made
If a question has response options that are anchored with adjectives, this is known as a(n) a. semantic differential format. b. agreement scale. c. open-ended format. d. Likert scale.
a. semantic differential format.
Which of the following indicates that an article's causal claims are based on research? a. The article describes how manipulated variables were operationalized. b. The article compares two groups of individuals. c. The author describes their creative solution to a scientific problem. d. The article includes a direct quote from an expert in the field.
a. the article describes how manipulated variables were operationalized.
Mrs. Raynor, a school psychologist, tracks the number of students that are reported by teachers as having concerning behaviors in the classroom. At the end of the year, she calculated that 12.4% of the students in her school have been identified as having behaviors that impact their performance in the classroom. She understands that there is a margin of error to this estimate and reports that the number of children who have behavior problems at school may be as low as 10.2% and as high as 14.6%. What is the term for the calculated range of 10.2% to 14.6%? a. the confidence interval b. the frequency range c. the confidence estimate d. the point estimate
a. the confidence interval
One criterion for determining that X causes Y is that a. we can determine that X occurs before Y. b. we can determine that Y occurs before X. c. we can generalize the results to our population of interest. d. we have adequate operational definitions.
a. we can determine that X occurs before Y.
Dr. Gore is conducting a survey examining people's opinions toward funding for collegiate athletics on his campus. He notices that several participants agree with all 12 questions. This is most likely due to a. faking bad. b. acquiescence. c. fence sitting. d. observer bias.
b. acquiescence.
Research articles that use terms such as unbiased sample, random samples, or representative sample allow for readers to a. make a frequency claim. b. be confident in a study's external validity. c. skip interrogating statistical validity. d. reject the conclusions made by the researcher(s).
b. be confident in a study's external validity.
Which of the following is a unique threat to construct validity found only in behavioral observation? a. socially desirable responding b. observer bias c. acquiescence d. fence sitting
b. observer bias
What is the best way to balance characteristics about participants that can lead to alternative explanations for findings? a. manipulated variables b. random assignment c. operationalization of variables d. correlational studies
b. random assignment
What is one reason that causal claims cannot be made from correlational studies? a. participants are randomly assigned to groups b. the temporal order of the variables is unknown c. correlations are not sensitive enough to detect causal associations d. correlational studies only involve a single variable
b. the temporal order of the variables is unknown
Which of the following is an example of convenience sampling? a. Researchers reached out to participants attending Gambler's Anonymous meetings. b. Researchers asked international college students to recommend other international students to participate in their study. c. Researchers recruited participants from online websites, such as Prolific Academic. d. Researchers oversampled Latinx participants for their study and adjusted their results.
c. Researchers recruited participants from online websites, such as Prolific Academic.
Dr. Kushner is planning on conducting a study next semester. He is curious as to whether sleep deprivation is associated with poorer cognitive performance. For example, if you sleep poorly the night before a big exam, will you do worse? Dr. Kushner is especially curious about selective sleep deprivation, where people are kept from entering REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Using an electroencephalograph (EEG) to monitor brain waves, he plans to let participants sleep until they enter REM sleep and then wake them. After the participants are awake for one minute, Dr. Kushner plans to let them return to sleep. As they enter REM sleep again, he will wake them again and follow the same procedure. He plans to do this through the entire eight-hour sleep session. The following morning, participants will be asked to take a sample SAT test. Imagine that Dr. Kushner is a clinical psychologist who volunteers his time at a local prison counseling several inmates. Because of his connections there, he is considering using prisoners as his participants. The institutional review board (IRB) that reviews his committee must have which of the following as a member? a. the prison warden b. a prisoner c. a prisoner advocate d. a criminal justice professor
c. a prisoner advocate
Masked or blind study designs are designed to deal with a. yea-saying biases. b. faking good. c. observer bias. d. bystander effect.
c. observer bias.
Which of the following is a dependent variable? a. one that is manipulated b. one that is kept constant c. one that is measured d. one that has one level
c. one that is measured
A helpful tool for visualizing test-retest reliability and interrater reliability is a a. correlation coefficient. b. bar graph. c. scatterplot. d. Cronbach's alpha.
c. scatterplot.
In a scatterplot, the direction of the relationship can be seen by the a. the presence of a line drawn through the dots. b. spread of the dots. c. slope of the line. d. number of dots.
c. slope of the line.
The following situations can influence ethical decision making EXCEPT a. bad experiences of other researchers. b. scientific discoveries. c. the possibility of additional grant funding. d. changing social norms.
c. the possibility of additional grant funding.
Dr. Kushner is planning on conducting a study next semester. He is curious as to whether sleep deprivation is associated with poorer cognitive performance. For example, if you sleep poorly the night before a big exam, will you do worse? Dr. Kushner is especially curious about selective sleep deprivation, where people are kept from entering REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Using an electroencephalograph (EEG) to monitor brain waves, he plans to let participants sleep until they enter REM sleep and then wake them. After the participants are awake for one minute, Dr. Kushner plans to let them return to sleep. As they enter REM sleep again, he will wake them again and follow the same procedure. He plans to do this through the entire eight-hour sleep session. The following morning, participants will be asked to take a sample SAT test. As a psychologist who primarily does research, Dr. Kushner is most concerned with which APA standard of ethics? a. 6 b. 2 c. 4 d. 8
d. 8
Dr. Sanchez conducts a simple random sample of 500 men who became fathers for the first time in the past year. He finds that 23 % of them report being unsure of their ability to be good fathers, plus or minus 4 %. What does this mean? a. The true percentage of fathers who feel this way is 23%. b. If this study was done many times, the estimate of father uncertainty would be 23% about 4% of the time. c. We can be 4% sure that the estimate of father uncertainty would be 23% of fathers. d. If the study was done many times, the estimate of father uncertainty would be between 19% and 27%.
d. If the study was done many times, the estimate of father uncertainty would be between 19% and 27%.
Which of the following is an advantage of polling organizations using Internet panels over landline panels? a. Landline panels are biased through self-selection, while Internet panels are not. b. Internet panels are always representative of the population of Americans. c. Internet panels give more accurate responses than samples obtained through landlines. d. It is easier to follow up with Internet panels and track how their opinions change over time.
d. It is easier to follow up with Internet panels and track how their opinions change over time.
Anton and his friends are discussing a study he read about in his developmental psychology class. In the study, the researcher made the claim that most middle school students who are bullied have low self-esteem. Clarissa questions the study, saying, "I am not sure that I am convinced. I am not sure you can really measure being bullied." Quinn also questions the study, saying, "Which middle school students did they study? I am curious if they included both private and public school students." Manish is also curious about the study, asking, "I wonder how strong the relationship is between bullying and self-esteem. Could you predict one from the other?" Quinn's concern is addressing which of the following? a. the study's internal validity b. the study's construct validity c. the study's external validity d. the study's statistical validity
c. the study's external validity
Dr. Ewell, a developmental psychologist, is planning on conducting a study that involves watching children play together to determine how sharing behavior occurs in same-sex friend pairs compared to opposite-sex friend pairs. Dr. Ewell decides to collect his data at a neighborhood park. He has his two research assistants pose as a married couple having a picnic. While having their picnic, they take detailed records of the sharing behavior of the children and note whether the pairs are same sex or opposite sex. This technique is known as a. a blind study design. b. a double-blind study design. c. unobtrusive observation. d. delayed observation.
c. unobtrusive observation.
