Psychology Ch 2

An extraneous variable that has not been measured that accounts for the relationship between two other variables know as?

A Third Variable problem.

Which of these values represents the strongest correlation?

-.80

For a person to give informed consent to participate in a research study, which of the following should they be given.

-That they have the right to withdraw from the study at any time. -Information about what they will be doing in the study. -Information about any known risks or benefits that they might experience as part of their involvement.

A researcher is curious about people's satisfaction with their lives. What type of research might they chose to answer this question?

Descriptive Research.

Two basic categories of statistics are _________ and ________.

Descriptive and Inferential.

A researcher asks people to fill out a questionnaire, with the goal of learning about relationships between their political and spiritual beliefs. This is an example of __________________ research.

Descriptive.

Descriptive research serves the purpose of?

Determining the basic dimensions of a phenomenon and defining what it is or how often it occurs; but it cannot provide casual information.

After analyzing data, what would researchers do next?

Draw conclusions about their research.

The 3rd step in the scientific method is the need to collect and analyze data, that is, the testing of hypotheses by conducting ________________ research by collecting and analyzing data.

Empirical.

In an experiment, which group(s) have their experiences manipulated by the researcher?

Experimental group.

What term describes the influence of an experimenter on research participants?

Experimenter Bias.

There are two kinds of validity in experimental designs, _____________________ validity and ______________ validity.

External and Internal.

An experimental design actually reflects the real-world issue it was meant to address. This design is considered to have ____________ validity.

External.

If a researcher finds that texting while driving increases the chances of having an accident, her research is said to have ________________ validity.

External.

What is the term for an educated guess based on a theory that can be tested?

Hypothesis.

What type of validity refers to whether the changes in the dependent variable changes in the dependent variable are due to the manipulation of the independent variable?

Internal Validity.

What is the downside to laboratory research?

It can lead to biased samples.

Why is a random assignment important in an experiment?

It reduces the likelihood of preexisting differences between groups of participants.

An operational definition is an objective description of how a research variable is going to be _______________ and observed.

Measured.

Mean?

Most often describes the average.

A researcher wants to study the play habits of elementary school children. Over a one year period, he watches children playing with each other during their recess periods on the playground at the local elementary school. What type of research setting is this an example of?

Naturalistic Observation.

What is the defining feature of a double-blinded experiment?

Neither the experimenter nor the participants know who is in which group until after the data is collected.

The ________________ effect happens when changes in an experimental group are caused by participants' expectations rather thinly an active drug agent.

Placebo.

What type of experimental design does not randomly assign participants to treatment or control groups?

Quasi-Experimental.

Cady was being interviewed for a research study. Her interviewer was quite attractive and she found herself answering questions to impress him. This is an example of _____________________ bias.

Research Participant.

In order for observations to be effective they must be _______________.

Systematic.

True or False: A double-blind study allows researchers to distinguish the special effects of the independent variable from the possible effects of the of the experimenter's and the participants' expectations about it.

TRUE.

True or False: When interpreting correlations, the strongest are indicated by the correlational coefficients that are CLOSEST to zero.

TRUE.

After formulating hypotheses and predictions, what step must a psychologist take next?

Test the hypotheses and predictions through empirical research.

The key feature of a Correlational Study is?

That the factors of interest are measured or observed by how they are related.

A researcher finds that the more hours students part per week, the lower their GPA's are. She questions whether there may be other issues affecting the student's GPAs that weren't taken into account, such as the number of hours spent studying, class attendance, or the number of hours worked at campus jobs. What are those additional factors called?

The Third Variable problem.

What is random assignment?

The assignment of participants to research groups by chance.

A researcher conducts an experiment to test whether giving students caffeine will improve their exam grades. What are the independent and dependent variables in this experiment?

The independent variable is caffeine and the dependent variable is the exam scores.

Median?

The number that is exactly in the middle once the scores have been arranged from lowest to highest.

Which of the following are reasons that researchers might use correlational research?

To investigate real-world events. To use one variable to predict the value of another variable. To conduct research in situations where it would not be ethical to carry out an experiment in another way.

A psychologist is studying sadness. Sadness would be considered a ______________ in this study.

Variable.

Correlational research is about establishing relationships between two ________________.

Variables.

Which of these is amor limitation of the case study method or research?

We may not be able to generalize to the larger population.

A correlation of ___________ means there is no relationship between two variables.

Zero.

Meta-analysis is?

a method by which researchers can combine results across a variety of different studies to establish the strength of an effect.

Research participant bias is?

the influence of the research participants' expectations on their behavior with an experiment.

An independent variable is?

the manipulated experimental factor in an experiment.

What is a theory?

A broad idea, or set of closely related ideas, that attempts to explain certain observations.

A woman becomes very ill. Her doctor has never seen her symptoms before. He collects data about where she has been over the last weeks, with whom she has been in contact, what she has eaten, and so on. What type of research is the doctor conducting?

A case study.

A researcher is interested learning how children are affected by the death of a parent. It would be unethical, of course, to kill parents just to see the results. In such a case, the next best option is ______________.

A correlational research.

Researchers studying the long-term effects of an antidepressant have asked participants every 6 months for the last decade to undergo blood work, a physical, and a short mental status exam. They are now compiling their research. What type of research have they been conducting?

A longitudinal design.

Negative Correlation-

A negative correlation exists when one variable increases while the other variable decreases.

Which of the following phenomena would be an example of a placebo effect?

A participant reports less joint pain when administered a placebo instead of a round of pain killers.

Positive Correlation-

A positive correlation exists when both variables move in the same direction as one variable increases, so does the other variable.

What is a longitudinal design?

A systematic observation that involves obtaining measures of interest in multiple waves over time.

Zero Correlation-

A zero correlation means that their is no relationship between the variables and their association cannot be predicted.

Why is it important for survey questions to be clear and understandable? (multiple choice answer) A. Because the participants' responses must clearly reflect their feelings about the topic. B. Because the questions may be used to define the operational value. C. Because the researcher wants to lead the participant toward the correct answer. D. Because the questions must clearly measure the specific topic being studied.

A. Because the participants' responses must clearly reflect their feelings about the topic. B. Because the questions may be used to define the operational value. D. Because the questions must clearly measure the specific topic being studied.

Which of the following statements are true about descriptive research: (multiple choice answer) A. Descriptive Research can tell us how happy people are. B. Descriptive Research cannot tell us what makes people happy. C. Descriptive Research cannot tell us why people are happy. D. Descriptive Research can't tell us what to do to be happy.

A. Descriptive Research can tell us how happy people are. B. Descriptive Research cannot tell us what makes people happy. C. Descriptive Research cannot tell us why people are happy.

A ___________________ _________________ is a factor that can change in an experiment in response to changes in an independent variable.

Dependent Variable.

Which of the following choices represents a sample group from a population of women in the workplace only?

All female executives.

Nancy is doing a research project. She's worried about being systematic and whether she should bring someone along to make sure she is being accurate. She's concerned about technology and wonders whether she should record her research in writing, by sound, recording , or video. What type of research is she conducting?

An Observation.

A researcher finds that the number of hours spent watching TV is positively correlated with anxiety over being the victim of a violent crime. Which of the following conclusions are drawn from these results?

As TV watching increases, so will the anxiety over being the victim of a violent crime.

Mode?

Describes the most frequently occurring score in the data set.

Which of the following is an example of Correlation Research Data? A. You watch children playing on the playground and count the number of times they argue. B. A friend tells you that he spent 4 hours at Starbucks this week and his GPA is 3.1. You spent 6 hours at Starbuck this week and your GPA is 3.5. C. You fill out and online questionnaire at the retail store.

B. A friend tells you that he spent 4 hours at Starbucks this week and his GPA is 3.1. You spent 6 hours at Starbuck this week and your GPA is 3.5.

In quasi-experimental research, why is participant assignment to a treatment or a control group not randomly determined? (multiple choice answer) A. Assigning participants to random groups is too much work for the researcher. B. Assigning participants to random groups maybe unethical or impossible. C. This type of research is used to assess differences between existing groups. D. This type of research is used to examine participants who are already in groups.

B. Assigning participants to random groups maybe unethical or impossible. C. This type of research is used to assess differences between existing groups. D. This type of research is used to examine participants who are already in groups.

A therapist takes a full history of a client and finds that she has exhibited symptoms of depression since she was five years old. What type of descriptive research is this an example of?

Case Study.

One drawback of the ____________ study is the inability to generalize the results to a broader population.

Case.

In one famous study, participants were asked to issue electric shocks to another person. They didn't know that the person being shocked was an actor, and the "shocks" were fake. The actor was playing a role of ___________ in this study.

Confederate.

A researcher is studying how trauma might affect a person's day-to-day functioning. What types of research might the designer choose to conduct this study?

Correlational, Descriptive, Experimental.

What type of research design measures variables at a single point in time?

Cross-Sectional.

_____________ refers to all the information researchers collect in a study.

Data.

A cross-sectional design is a study in which the researcher _________________.

collects data at one point in time.

An experiment?

involves manipulating one or more variables in order to determine their effect on other variables?

A Case Study?

is an in-depth look at an individual.

What is a naturalistic observation?

observing behavior in real world settings.

A Survey?

presents a standard set of questions, or items, to obtain people's self reported attitudes or beliefs about a particular topic.

A correlational coefficient is most often represented in data by the letter ______________.

r.