Research Methods Exam 1

institutional review board (IRB)

A committee at each institution where research is conducted to review every experiment for ethics and methodology.

experimental design

A design in which researchers manipulate an independent variable and measure a dependent variable to determine a cause-and-effect relationship

pseudoscience

A fake or false science that makes claims based on little or no scientific evidence.

Theory

A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data

between-subjects design

A research design in which different groups of participants are randomly assigned to experimental conditions or to control conditions.

scientific method

A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and stating conclusions.

outlier

A value much greater or much less than the others in a data set

Which of the following is based on casual observations rather than rigorous or scientific analysis?

Anecdotes

hindsight bias

I knew it all along phenomenon

empirical research

Research based on the collection of data

independent variable

The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.

dependent variable

The outcome factor; the variable that may change in response to manipulations of the independent variable.

A teacher wants to evaluate the effectiveness of a study strategy in helping her students learn new vocabulary words. She has some of her students learn the words using a strategy she read about in a teaching journal. She has the rest of the students study using the approach she originally taught them. The teacher then administers the vocabulary test to all of the students and compares the results of the two groups. What type of research design is the teacher employing?

a between-subjects design

Law

a descriptive statement or equation that reliably predicts events under certain conditions

research protocol

a detailed series of steps that lets the researcher know the order in which to administer the study and provides a script of what the researcher should say and do

within-subjects design

a research design that uses each participant as his or her own control; for example, the behavior of an experimental participant before receiving treatment might be compared to his or her behavior after receiving treatment

loss of confidentiality

a researcher must protect the privacy of individuals; a potential risk to participants

operational definition

a statement of the procedures (operations) used to define research variables. For example, human intelligence may be operationally defined as what an intelligence test measures.

cost-benefit analysis

a study that compares the costs and benefits to society of providing a public good

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

explanatory variable

a variable that we think explains or causes changes in the response variable

The owner of a coffeehouse wants to know if her customers will drink more coffee depending on the smell of the room. To test this, she hires a psychologist who sets up three similar rooms, each with its own smell (coffee, cinnamon buns, or bacon and eggs), then arranges to have 30 students spend an afternoon in each room while being allowed to drink all the coffee they like. The amount each participant drinks is recorded for each of the three scents. What is the dependent variable?

amount of coffee consumed

informed consent

an ethical principle that research participants be told enough to enable them to choose whether they wish to participate

When something happens that is the exception to the rule or distinct from the majority of other cases, it is called

an outlier

After graduate school, you begin your career as a counselor for clients who have an eating disorder. You want to be sure to provide your clients with the best possible treatment, but are unsure whether Treatment A or Treatment B is better. To test this, you collect data that will allow you to compare the two treatment types. Which type of skills will be most important for determining the superior treatment?

analytical skills

A cognitive psychologist is interested in studying memory in the context of eyewitness testimony. What type of research is this?

applied

Tom is investigating how different strategies for reducing anxiety can improve test performance, while Jerry is studying the impact of stress on memory recall. Even though both are studying memory, Tom's research would be considered _______ research whereas Jerry's work would be considered ______ research.

applied; basic

Which of the following questions is outside of the scope of science?

are our lives predestined of predetermined?

nonmaleficence

avoidance of harm or hurt

While surfing the Internet, you come across a personality test that can determine your personality based on a combination of your favorite color, your favorite food, and your favorite hobby. Upon taking the test, you are impressed by how accurate it is. Which of the following likely explains the test's accuracy?

barnum effect

empirical

based on practical experience rather than theory

You have just taken a job as a peer tutor for first-year students at your school. You notice that many of the students mistakenly believe that they are doing better than other students in the course, and that they will have no problem catching up if they fall behind. Which two flaws in thinking (in order) are these students expressing?

better-than-average affect; overconfidence

Even after having all of his arguments refuted by his girlfriend, Ryan proclaims that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and he isn't changing his. Ryan is exhibiting which flaw in our thinking?

better-than-average effect

Santiago is applying to be RA at his college. He believes his leadership abilities are above those of typical applicants. Yet, when asked during his interview to provide examples of being a good leader, he could not think of any. Which of the following explains why he struggled to answer the question?

better-than-average effect

Dyala is planning her thesis and needs to generate a hypothesis. Because most people seem to think Facebook is bad for college students, she decides to study how the use of Facebook can help students' transition to college. Which of the following strategies did Dyala use to generate her hypothesis?

change the directionality

scientific integrity

commitment to intellectual honesty and adherence to ethical principles in scientific research

Michele believes her boss is an extremely difficult person. To see if her belief has merit, she asks all of her co-workers who have also had problems with him in the past if they believe the same thing. Michele's conclusion based on her "research" into this question may be erroneous because of which flaw in our thinking?

confirmation bias

Which of the following would most likely represent an ethical dilemma for a person?

determining whether or not to report your manager for stealing from the register

Lily is developing a research question for the study she is conducting this semester. She settles on, "What is the meaning of life?" The primary reason that the scientific method cannot be used to answer this question is

direct observation on this topic would be difficult

nonexperimental design/correlational design

does not include any "treatment" or assignment to different conditions

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

introspection

examination of one's own thoughts and feelings

Who are the "peers" in the peer review process?

experts in the field

justice

fairness; rightfulness

Which of the following characteristics of good hypotheses is important for minimizing our natural flaws in thinking?

falsifiability

nonempirical research

gaining knowledge with the use of nonsystematic methods such as the examination of personal experiences and opinions

Billy Ray is having a problem with weeds in his vegetable garden. He wants to determine the best way to control the weeds, but wants to approach it empirically. Which of the following is the best example to the empirical approach?

he could try out several different solutions one by one to see what works best for him

to ensure confidentiality during a study, the researcher would do all of the following except

highlight an individuals responses by name in a presentation

integrity

honesty

autonomy

independence

In an experimental design, the researcher manipulates the and measures the .

independent variable; dependent variable

Sitting outside the student center, Joseph sees a student with full hands drop her smartphone. As she struggles to pick it up, he wonders what would motivate him to help and realizes that he would have helped had he been closer to the student. This inspires him to hypothesize that proximity influences the willingness to help someone in need. What was his strategy for developing a good hypothesis?

introspection

Tia wants to determine what people find offensive. She thinks about times that other people have offended her and concludes that what is offensive to her is probably offensive to most people. In this circumstance she is using which of the following to reach her conclusion about others?

introspection

representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

selecting only homeless individuals to participate in our study even though we have no real theoretical reason to use the homeless violates which ethical principle?

justice

You see a video online in which a prominent businesswoman explains that her experience in a specialized kindergarten class that focused on creativity and individuality is the reason for her success. You decide to test this by following a group of children from age 5 until age 25 to see if their educational experiences correspond with their career success. What type of design would be the best way to study this?

longitudinal

deception

misleading participants about the true purpose of a study or the events that will actually transpire

Luke really likes the new Dodge Challenger sports car, but is undecided about whether to spend the money to buy one. To make his decision easier, he creates a list of 25 reasons why he likes the car. Is this a good idea?

no, listing so many reasons will probably be difficult and make you like it less.

Dr. Ndukwe attends a party where several people, upon learning that she is a psychologist, offer suggestions for things she could study in her research. One person suggests, "My dog is completely neurotic. You should study whether dogs have different personalities." Although she believes this is a silly idea, Dr. Ndukwe decides to conduct a study to see if it is true. Which characteristic of science is she exemplifying?

open-mindedness

The president of your company has asked you to evaluate a proposal to buy a rival business. The president gives you the proposal, which includes supporting documents such as past and projected sales of the company. Which of the following research skills do you think would be least helpful in this task?

problem-solving skills

While watching tv one day, you see an infomercial in which a spokesperson wearing a white lab coat starts describing a new medical breakthrough diet that helps people lose 10 lbs a week. You immediately question the effectiveness of the diet because the claims being made appear to be

pseudoscientific

Andrea and Beau are doing a study to see if puppies and sunshine make people happy. To test this, they randomly assign 500 male and female participants to one of the following conditions: exposure to puppies and sunshine or no exposure to puppies and sunshine. Both conditions take place out on the college's quad. Participants complete measures of life satisfaction and general happiness. What is the independent variable(s)?

puppies and sunshine

basic research

pure science that aims to increase the scientific knowledge base

In a Theories of Personality class, you fill out a questionnaire that indicates you are an extravert. You then learn that researchers describe extraverts as enthusiastic, talkative, and assertive. You immediately question that research because you remember several times in the past when you were not at all assertive. What has most likely led to your conclusion?

relying on anecdotal vs. scientific evidence..

replication

repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different participants in different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances

longitudinal study

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

applied research

scientific study that aims to solve practical problems

A car salesperson tells Rudy that a particular model of car is the safest in its class. Rudy does not accept such claims at face value and demands to see the latest safety report. What characteristic of science is Rudy displaying?

skepticism

When Samantha is told about an article in a magazine that claims listening to music on Spotify increases intelligence, she is full of questions about who was in the study, how many people were in it, and so on. What characteristic of science does this demonstrate?

skepticism

The defining characteristic of empirical reasoning is that we use _____ in order to evaluate our ideas about the nature of our world.

systematic observations

After seeing a scary movie, you begin to wonder how watching such a movie can influence how you feel about the people sitting nearby. For example, could being scared make you feel friendlier toward them? Since you want to test this empirically, which of the following is the best option?

systematically observe moviegoers sitting in the same set of seats during several types of movies to see which groups act friendlier toward each other.

law of small numbers

tendency to overstate the probability that a certain event will occur when faced with relatively little information

belief perseverance

tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them

an informed consent form should address all of the following except

that the participant cannot quit after signing the informed consent

conceptual definition

the abstract or theoretical meaning of a concept being studied

anonymity

the condition of being unknown

a marriage counselor wants to evaluate the efficacy of a new approach to help couples commmunicate better in public settings among strangers. before this study can be conducted, approval is needed from all of the following groups except

the institutional animal care and use committee

ethics

the principles of right and wrong that guide an individual in making decisions

The key distinction between scientific and nonscientific questions is whether or not

the question can be empirically tested

In a study of first-year college students from a private university in California, 56 men and 88 women examined the influence of relaxation techniques on relieving anxiety associated with starting college. All students received a pamphlet containing information about good sleep habits. Next, half of the participants were taught a breathing exercise while the other half did nothing. What is the constant?

the sleep-habit pamphelet

overconfidence phenomenon

the tendency to be more confident than correct - to overestimate the accuracy of one's beliefs

A market researcher collects reactions to a new cookie before it hits the marketplace. The researcher tells some participants the cookie is low in calories, while other participants receive no information about the cookie. Next, each participant eats three cookies and then completes a questionnaire assessing their opinions. What is the independent variable in this study?

the type of information provided about the cookie

criterion variable

the variable that we are trying to estimate or predict

beneficience

to do good

assent

to express agreement when you are not old enough to give consent.

respect

to look up to someone; to show honor

paraphrase

to restate in other words

plagarism

using others' ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of information

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a good hypothesis?

vagueness

A psychologist was hired by a local winery to conduct a taste test of four new wines. For the taste test, the psychologist had 100 participants come into the lab, take a small sip of each wine, and rate the taste on several characteristics. Between each wine, participants ate a small cracker. What type of design did the psychologist use?

within-subjects design

Which of the following is probably not very effective in helping the results from your study contribute to the scientific knowledge of psychology?

writing an APA style paper about your study for your psychology class