chp 4

The values of a(n) _____ variable are set by the experimenter.

independent

According to the text, confounding variables:

are a greater threat to the internal validity of correlational research than to that of experimental research.

Conducting your research in the laboratory provides an advantage because you:

can exercise tight control over extraneous variables.

According to Mook (1983), with regard to external validity, much laboratory research is designed to tell us what _____ happen, rather than what _____ happen in the real world.

candors

In a _____ relationship, changes in one variable produce changes in another.

casual

Variables are said to be _____ if their effects cannot be separated.

confounded

A design in which subjects are exposed to only one treatment condition is called a(n):

demonstration.

If the effects of an extraneous variable cannot be held constant, it is best to:

randomize its effects across treatments.

Dr. Harrison writes down the names of her subjects on slips of paper and puts them in a box. She shuffles them and begins to draw names one at a time. She assigns every other subject to the experimental group of her experiment. This is an example of:

randomly assigning subjects to the conditions of the experiment.

In the context of a research design, which of the following is a factor affecting external validity?

reactive testing

Experimental mortality refers to a source of confounding in which:

subjects drop out of a study more often in one condition of the experiment than in another because of the effects of the condition.

A weakness of experimental research is that:

. sometimes you cannot manipulate the variables of interest.

A difference between correlational and experimental research is that in experimental research you:

. try to hold extraneous variables constant during the course of your experiment.

_____ can sometimes improve the generality of results from laboratory research.

Conducting a simulation

_____ aims at classifying behaviors in a given research area and identifying the variables involved in explaining the behavior of interest.

Exploratory data collection and analysis

_____ is defined as the ability of a research design to adequately test a hypothesis.

Internal validity

Which of the following is an advantage of interpreting results of a study using a correlational rather than an experimental approach?

It helps in determining how naturally occurring variables relate in the real world.

Which of the following is an obstacle in the way of drawing clear causal inferences from correlational data?

The directionality problem

Dr. Smith varies the temperature of her laboratory (70F, 80F, or 90F) and notices that her subjects' aggression increases with temperature. This illustrates:

a causal relationship between temperature and aggression.

Hypothesis testing normally begins:

after you have collected enough information about a behavior to begin developing supportable explanations.

Which of the following is listed in the text as a factor affecting internal validity?

all correct

In a simple two-group experiment, the group of subjects not receiving the treatment is called the _____ group.

control

A(n) _____ relationship is one in which values of variables covary in some way, but not necessarily causally.

correlational

When you cannot manipulate independent variables or want to observe naturally occurring variables, the strategy of choice is a(n):

correlational research.

An experiment explored the effect of alcohol consumption (1, 3, or 5 drinks) on simulated driving. The simulated driving constitutes the _____ variable.

dependent

According to the text, the time to be concerned about internal validity is:

during the design phase of your research.

In a simple two-group experiment, the group of subjects receiving the treatment is called the _____ group.

experimental

In the context of a research design, a demonstration differs from an experiment in that a demonstration:

exposes a group of subjects to only one treatment condition

Manipulating an independent variable involves:

exposing subjects to at least two levels of the independent variable.

The degree to which your research results extend beyond your study refers to the study's

external validity

If you are interested in conducting basic research, you might be more concerned with _____ than with _____.

external validity; internal validity

A(n) _____ variable is a variable that may affect the behavior you are investigating but is not of interest to you.

extraneous

Causality can be inferred from correlational research.

false

If a strong correlational relationship exists between two variables, then they must be causally related as well.

false

If two variables covary systematically, you can infer that one caused the other.

false

In correlational research, you manipulate independent variables

false

The goal of correlational research is to systematically manipulate extraneous variables and look for related changes in the dependent variable.

false

The value of an independent variable is determined by a subject's behavior

false

In correlational research, your main interest is to:

find out whether two or more variables covary and to establish the direction of any observed relationship

According to the text, the objective of research is to:

gain insight into the underlying mechanisms of behavior.

To make a demonstration into a true experiment, you must:

have an independent variable.

Performance changes observed over time due to age or fatigue may confound changes to the variable being studied. This source of confounding is called _____.

history

When specific events occur between multiple observations taken over time, confounding due to _____ may result.

history

One way to control the influence of extraneous variables is to:

hold extraneous variables constant across the levels of your independent variable.

_____ is defined as a scientific activity that consists of forming tentative explanations for behavior and then validating those tentative explanations.

hypothesis testing

According to the text, if during the design phase of your research you discover a problem with internal validity, you should:

identify the source of the problem and redesign your study.

In the context of research design, exploratory data collection and analysis involves:

identifying the variables involved in explaining the behavior of interest.

The third-variable problem means that:

in a correlational study there may be a third, unobserved variable that actually causes changes in the observed variables.

According to the text, correlational research is useful:

in the early stages of research to identify variables that might be causally related.

According to the text, nonexperimental research:

includes designs not specifically aimed at identifying relationships between variables

Dr. Jones is interested in studying the effect of the number of bystanders present at an emergency on the number of subjects who help the victim. She varies the number of bystanders (1, 3, or 5) and records how many subjects help under each condition. In this example, the number of bystanders is the _____ variable.

independent

Unobserved changes in criteria used by observers or in instrument calibration contribute to confounding due to:

instrumentation

The term _____ refers to the degree to which your research design evaluates the hypothesis that it was intended to evaluate.

internal validity

Dr. Wong conducts a correlational study and is able to determine that variation in his criterion variable relates solely to changes in his predictor variable. Dr. Wong's study is high in:

internal validity.

Although tight control over experimental conditions gives you high levels of _____, it may result in low levels of _____.

internal validity; external validity

According to the text, _____.

it is often impossible to eliminate all sources of confounding in a study

A confounding variable poses little threat to internal validity if:

its effect on the dependent or criterion variable is known to be small.

The main difference between correlational and experimental research is that in experimental research you:

manipulate independent variables and look for changes in the dependent variables.

According to the text, the two defining characteristics of experimental research are:

manipulating an independent variable and controlling extraneous variables

The directionality problem:

means that sometimes you cannot clearly specify the direction of causality of a relationship observed in a correlational study.

Correlational research belongs to a broader category called _____.

nonexperimental research

In correlational research, you:

observe two or more variables and determine what relationships exist between them.

Dr. Smith conducts a correlational study of the relationship between religious affiliation and attitudes toward abortion. In this example, religious affiliation would most likely be used as a(n) _____ variable and attitudes toward abortion as a _____ variable.

predictor; criterion

If not controlled, extraneous variables can:

produce uncontrolled changes in your dependent variable.

Dr. Ames conducts a correlational study of the relationship between maternal age and attachment. He finds that the two variables are significantly related. Dr. Ames can safely conclude that the two variables are:

related in some way, but no causal inference should be made.

what are the three R's?

replacement, reduction, refinement

If an extraneous variable provides an alternative explanation for your results, then a(n) _____ hypothesis exists.

rival

In an experiment, internal validity means:

showing that changes in your independent variable caused observed changes in your dependent variable.

Using participants who have been selected on the basis of their extreme scores on some measure introduces the possibility of _____ as a source of confounding.

statistical regression

Internal validity is threatened by:

the operation of extraneous, uncontrolled variables.

According to the text, _____. (pt 2)

the results from research need not always predict behavior in the real world

A common complaint about using animals such as rats as research subjects is that:

the results obtained may not apply to the behavior occurring under natural conditions in the "real world."

Dr. Jones conducts a correlational study of the relationship between the preference for violent television programming and aggression in children. She finds that the two variables are correlated and concludes that an increasing preference for violent television programs causes more aggression. Which of the following is most likely to be a potential obstacle in drawing a clear, causal inference from such correlational data?

the third variable problem

If a causal relationship exists between variables, then:

the value of your dependent variable will depend, in part, on the value of your independent variable.

A weakness of the experimental strategy is that:

tight control over extraneous variables may limit the generality of your results.

To manipulate an independent variable, one must expose participants to at least two levels of that variable. The specific conditions associated with each level are called the _____ of the experiment.

treatments

Causal relationships can be clearly established only with experimental research.

true

Control over extraneous variables is an important characteristic of experimental research

true

In experimental research, you manipulate independent variables and look for related changes in the value of the dependent variable.

true

One way to control the effects of extraneous variables is to randomize their effects across treatment groups.

true

Subjects in the control group are not exposed to your experimental treatment.

true

Subjects in the experimental group are exposed to your experimental treatment.

true

The third-variable problem is one reason why you should not infer causality from correlational data.

true

The value of a dependent variable is determined by a subject's behavior.

true

Your ability to distinguish causal from correlational relationships depends on the degree of control you have over the variables.

true

Your choice of a research design affects the quality of the conclusions you can draw from your data.

true

The great strength of experimental research is that:

you can identify and describe causal relationships.

An advantage of field experimentation is that:

your results may have more external validity than the results from a laboratory experiment.