Chapter 2 research methods

In order to assess whether viewpoints on decriminalization of marijuana for medical purposes change with age, four groups of participants, ages 20, 30, 40, and 50, are asked whether they support this issue. What is one flaw of this design? a. Marijuana has already been decriminalized in some places. b. Social or cultural factors may influence the results, not age. c. Recruitment could be a challenge because people of different ages are difficult to sample. d. Longitudinal research is time consuming.

b. Social or cultural factors may influence the results, not age.

The scientific process is ________, involving both inductive and deductive reasoning. a. correlational b. circular c. iterative d. iatrogenic

b. circular

What kind of research is Saanvi conducting if she tracks six groups of participants, each group a different age, over several years, assessing them on her variable of interest once every six months? a. correlational b. longitudinal c. sequential d. cross-sectional

b. longitudinal

A(n) ________ is a description of how the researchers will measure the variables of interest. a. theory b. operational definition c. hypothesis d. experimental plan

b. operational definition

________ are the most commonly used species for animal research. a. primates b. rodents c. cats and dogs d. birds

b. rodents

________ (IRB) reviews research that is involves the use of human participants. a. Institutional Research Board b. Institutional Research Bureau c. Institutional Review Bureau d. Institutional Review Board

d. Institutional Review Board

Which correlation coefficient best represents a moderate relationship showing fewer anxiety symptoms in people who report higher life satisfaction? a. -0.53 b. -0.21 c. +0.78 d. +0.13

a. -0.53

In a ________ study, both the researchers and the participants are unaware of the group assignments. a. double-blind b. randomly assigned c. pilot d. control

a. double-blind

Research shows that people who smoke cigarettes are more likely to get lung cancer than those who do not smoke. This research alone demonstrates that ________. a. there is a predisposition toward both smoking and lung cancer b. there is a relationship between smoking and lung cancer c. smoking contributes to lung cancer d. smoking causes lung cancer

b. there is a relationship between smoking and lung cancer

Simplicity of conducting the study is to ________ as ability to test large numbers of participants is to ________. a. case studies; naturalistic observation b. experiments; surveys c. archival research; surveys d. archival research; naturalistic observation

c. archival research; surveys

A(n) ________ variable is a factor that affects both variables of interest in research and may falsely give the impression of a cause-and-effect relationship. a. independent b. control c. confounding d. dependent

c. confounding

A negative correlation means ________. a. two variables increase together, but they are associated with an undesirable outcome b. a third variable eliminates a correlational relationship c. one variable decreases as the other increases d. there is a relationship between two variables, but it is not statistically significant

c. one variable decreases as the other increases

The ability of a research study or psychological instrument to consistently produce a given result is called ________. a. operationalization b. validity c. reliability d. standardization

c. reliability

Studies that cannot ethically be conducted as experiments with typical human participants ________. a. can only be examined using a descriptive or correlational approach b. are used to form strong opinions that are logical and intuitive c. are not possible to test with any form of empirical methods d. can sometimes be tested with animal studies

d. can sometimes be tested with animal studies

Dr. Mattar is interested in knowing more about brain injury to the occipital cortex, and he studies patients individually in order to gain in-depth knowledge about their behaviors. These studies would best be described as ________. a. surveys b. cross-sectional c. correlational d. case studies

d. case studies

Which of the following is not part of obtaining informed consent? a. letting participants know that participation is voluntary b. reviewing that data is confidential c. obtaining the participant's signature or a signature from the parent or guardian if the participant is a minor d. explaining the hypothesis to the participants

d. explaining the hypothesis to the participants

The belief that strange behavior is linked to the occurrence of a full moon is an example of a(n) ________. a. internal attribution b. factual assertion c. theory d. illusory correlation

d. illusory correlation

A group of researchers investigated the effects of two vocabulary learning strategies on word retention two weeks later. In this example, learning strategy is the ________ variable and word retention is the ________ variable. a. control; experimental b. dependent; independent c. experimental; control d. independent; dependent

d. independent; dependent

Psychological knowledge is advanced through a process known as ________, which involves a prescribed series of steps designed to achieve the desired knowledge. a. deductive reasoning b. the experiment c. inductive reasoning d. the scientific method

d. the scientific method

Professor Devine and her colleagues are interested in assessing whether active versus passive play causes a preference for sweet or salty foods in toddlers. They assign groups of children to either an active play, passive play, or no play group and record their food choices when presented with a variety of sweet and salty foods. In this study, ________ is the independent variable and ________ is the control group. a. active play; passive play b. no play; type of play c. food choice; no play d. type of play; no play

d. type of play; no play