PSY200 Module 03: Quiz - Research Methods

The statement "Eating less spinach is associated with a shorter life span" is an example of:

a correlation

People who drink more alcohol tend to earn less money. This is an example of:

a negative correlation.

The less children watch violent television programming, the less aggressive they will tend to be. This is an example of:

a positive correlation.

Manipulation and random assignment are two key features of:

an experiment.

Researchers wanted to see if listening to calm music would reduce heart rates. Half of the research participants sat quietly and listened to calm music, and the other half sat quietly and listened to no music at all. The group that did NOT listen to the music is called the:

control group.

In the context of an experiment, the variable that is measured is termed the _____ variable.

dependent

Researchers wanted to see if listening to calm music would reduce heart rates. Half of the research participants sat quietly and listened to calm music, and the other half sat quietly and listened to no music at all. The group that listened to the music is called the:

experimental group

What is the only way to determine a causal relationship between two variables?

experimentation

In the context of an experiment, the variable that is manipulated is termed the _____ variable.

independent

In an experiment, researchers exposed half the children to 2 hours of violence on television every day for a month and made sure that the other half saw no violence on television at all. At the end of the month, they measured the aggressiveness in the children. The fact that the researchers arranged for some children to watch violence on television and others to not is an example of:

manipulation.

Correlation is to _____ as experimentation is to _____.

measurement of variables; manipulation of variables

Reggie is curious about how many women versus men shake the handle of the gas pump after they finish fueling their automobiles. Reggie positions himself inside a minimart, where he appears to be a shopper, but all the while he is casually looking out a large window and recording the pump behavior of women and men at the fueling stations. What type of research is Reggie conducting?

naturalistic observation

A _____ correlation is associated with a less-is-more relationship.

negative

A _____ correlation is associated with a more-is-more and less-is-less relationship. Group of answer choices

positive

Examine Figure 2.1 and then answer the following question(s). (Scenario 2.1) Figure 2.1 illustrates a(n) _____ correlation between variables A and B.

positive

In the context of an experiment, participants in the experimental group:

receive a particular manipulation.

What does the term manipulation mean in the context of performing an experiment?

the ability to change a variable in order to determine its causal powers

Use Scenario 2.2 to answer the question(s) below.A psychologist was interested in the effects of sleep deprivation on performance on a vigilance task. Forty college students served as participants and were placed in either the sleep-deprivation group or the control group by coin flip. Both groups spent the night before the study in a sleep laboratory, but only the control group was allowed to sleep. By the next morning, the sleep-deprived group had been awake for the last 24 hours. At this time, both groups were provided a nutritious breakfast and, shortly thereafter, testing began in sound-attenuating cubicles, each equipped with a computer. The vigilance task consisted of monitoring the computer screen. Participants were instructed that red dots represented allied spacecraft and green dots represented enemy spacecraft. Throughout the 2-hour-long task, red dots moved across the screen in irregular patterns. Occasionally and unpredictably, a green dot would quickly move across the screen in a haphazard pattern. When a green dot appeared, the task of the participant was to move a stylus over the green dot and press a button, "destroying" the enemy spacecraft. The psychologist measured the percentage of these enemy targets that were detected and destroyed. The results of this fictitious experiment are shown in Figure 2.2. (Scenario 2.2) The dependent variable was:

the instructions given.

Use Scenario 2.2 to answer the question(s) below.A psychologist was interested in the effects of sleep deprivation on performance on a vigilance task. Forty college students served as participants and were placed in either the sleep-deprivation group or the control group by coin flip. Both groups spent the night before the study in a sleep laboratory, but only the control group was allowed to sleep. By the next morning, the sleep-deprived group had been awake for the last 24 hours. At this time, both groups were provided a nutritious breakfast and, shortly thereafter, testing began in sound-attenuating cubicles, each equipped with a computer. The vigilance task consisted of monitoring the computer screen. Participants were instructed that red dots represented allied spacecraft and green dots represented enemy spacecraft. Throughout the 2-hour-long task, red dots moved across the screen in irregular patterns. Occasionally and unpredictably, a green dot would quickly move across the screen in a haphazard pattern. When a green dot appeared, the task of the participant was to move a stylus over the green dot and press a button, "destroying" the enemy spacecraft. The psychologist measured the percentage of these enemy targets that were detected and destroyed. The results of this fictitious experiment are shown in Figure 2.2. (Scenario 2.2) The independent variable was:

the percentage of enemy targets destroyed.

Research has shown that there is a correlation between the amount of violence a child sees on television and the aggressiveness of the child's behavior. One explanation of this correlation is that children who are aggressive and watch a great deal of violence on television lack adult supervision. This explanation describes what type(s) of correlation(s)?

third-variable