Psychology Test 1
If a researcher does a study at your school and asks for volunteers, but only psychology students sign up to take part, what is the sampling problem of this study?
Sampling bias
What is the word used to describe data that provides depth of detail in the description of people, places and conversations?
Rich data
Which of the following is not part of an inductive content (thematic) analysis?
A checklist of behaviors to look for in the notes
What is the relationship between a sample and a population?
A sample is a group that is representative of the larger pool of people from which it is drawn.
Which of the following is NOT essential for a study to be a "true" experiment?
All ethical considerations must be met
Independent measures designs have the problem of participant variability. What does this mean?
Differences in the traits and past experiences of the participants in each condition may affect the results of the study.
What is the key difference between a quasi-experiment and a "true experiment?"
In a quasi experiment, participants have a trait that determines which condition they are in; in a true experiment, they are randomly allocated.
How does method triangulation affect the credibility of a study?
It increases credibility because we can know that it was not the choice of method alone that led to the results of the study.
The school is doing a study on student attitudes toward exercise. Students are given a survey which gives them a statement and then asks them to rank how strongly they agree with it. For example, the students read a statement like: I exercise in order to fit in with friends. Then they are asked to choose how strongly they agree with this statement: Strongly agree; agree; no opinion; disagree; strongly disagree. What type of survey is this?
Likert Scale survey
When testing the difference in memory skills for two groups, one group ended up having more non-native English speakers in it than the other. What would we call this confounding variable?
Participant variability
Which of the following is NOT true of a repeated measures design?
Participants are less likely to show demand characteristics than in an independent samples design.
Which of the following is NOT a difference between qualitative and quantitative data?
Qualitative data is more reliable than quantitative data.
What is an advantage of unstructured interviews?
Researchers are not restricted in what they may ask an interviewee
Which of the following is the best explanation of the difference between a quasi-experiment and a natural experiment?
The IV in both is not manipulated but in quasi the IV is a trait of an individual while in in a natural experiment it is an environmental factor
What is meant when a researcher says that the results have "theoretical generalizability?"
The findings can be used to generate new theories or extend our undestanding of existing theories.
Which of the following is NOT an example of an interviewer effect?
The interviewer does not follow a list of questions, but investigates questions that occur to him during the interview process.
Which of the following is a limitation of a covert observation?
There are ethical concerns about deceiving the participants.
What does it mean if a case study has "transferability?"
There is enough information about the context of the study that the findings can be applied to a similar situation
Which of the following is NOT true of a case study method?
They are generalizable to a larger population
Why is it important for a researcher to include reflexivity in a research report?
To allow the reader of the report to recognize any potential biases in the research, based on the researcher's beliefs or past experience.
What is the key difference between an unstructured and a structured interview?
Unstructured interviews are based on themes and does not have a strict list of questions that must be followed in a specific order.
Which of the following is an example of a stratified sample?
a sample which 30% male and 70% female which is the composition of your high school's population.
When discussing and evaluating research, which of the following are significant aspects to be considered?
a) Is the sample representative or is there a sampling bias? b) Does the study meet ethical standards? c) Is the study overly artificial in its procedure? Could it predict what happens in "real life?" d) Are the findings of the study supported or challenged by the findings of other studies?
When the researcher reveals any deception used in a study and gives the participant the right to withdraw their data. This is which ethical consideration?
debriefing
When a researcher has used deception, it is vital that at the end of the experiment the researcher...
debriefs the participants
When a study that is done in a lab actually predicts what happens outside of the laboratory - in the real world, it has:
ecological validity
Participants were told that they would take part in a study on human attraction. They were then asked to formally agree to take part in the study. Which Ethical consideration does this describe?
informed consent
Which of the following strategies increases the generalizabilty of a single case study?
providing rich data about the context of the study
The sampling method which can be generalized to the widest, most general population is:
random sample
When participants change their behaviour because they know that they are being observed, this is called:
reactivity
Which of the following is important if researchers hope to determine the reliability of their findings?
the procedure must be highly standardized
Which of the following is not an advantage of field experiments?
they are easily replicated
Participants leaving in the same psychological and physiological condition as they came refers to which ethical standard
undue stress and harm
A researcher wants to find out if talking on a hands-free mobile phone affects one's driving ability. Participants were asked to take a driving test in a driving simulator that monitored their mistakes. In one condition, the participants were asked simply to take the driving test. In the second condition, the participants were asked to dial up a friend and to have a conversation while taking the driving terst. Half the group did the first condition and half the group did the second condition. Then both groups took a one hour break before taking the test again - but in the other condition. What is the best description of the design of this study?
A counterbalanced repeated measures design
Festinger's study of the Doomsday cult is an example of what type of observation?
A covert, naturalistic participant observation
A researcher wants to see the effect of stress on the health of teachers in an IB school. Blood pressure and t-cell cell count is measured when they are hired. They are also interviewed about their level of stress and fill in a checklist survey regarding their health. Every year thereafter, the researchers carry out these blood tests to measure the long-term effects of stress and carry out interviews to discuss work stress and their health over the past school year. What type of study is this?
A longitudinal, prospective case study
Which of the following is an example of an intrinsic case study?
A study of how well a mindfulness program at a local school helps teachers and students to reduce their stress.
Why are case studies often considered to have high credibility?
Case studies use method triangulation so we know that it was not the choice of the research method that led to the results.
What is meant by the statement: The case study is not a research method itself, but rather a research strategy?
Case studies use other research methods (they are a combination of research methods)
A researcher hyptothesizes that boys will demonstrate more physical aggression on the playground, whereas girls will show more verbal aggression. This is exactly what he finds! What would be your concern about this study?
Confirmation bias
Which of the following sampling techniques describes a sample taken from an office of accountants all working at Mercedes Benz?
Convenience (opportunity) sampling
Which of the following is a strength of a participant observation?
It is a control for researcher bias.
Which ethical consideration is the most common concern when carrying out a focus group interview?
It is difficult to guarantee that other members of the interview won't share information disclosed in the focus group to people outside of the group.
Which of the following is not a characteristic of a good theory?
It is reductionist- that is, it is focused on a single approach
Which of the following is not a limitation of a naturalistic observation?
Low levels of ecological validity.
Which of the following is true of an inductive approach to carrying out observations?
Researchers analyse the data to see what ideas "emerge" from their notes in order to decide what is important about the study.
What is the difference between the results and findings of a study?
Results are the DATA and findings are the INTERPRETATIONS of the data
A researcher wants to study men who have been victims of domestic violence. The researcher knows four men from a local emergency shelter. What would most likely be the most efficient way for him to find more participants?
Snowball sampling
Which of the following is NOT an order effect?
Social desirability effect
Which of the following is NOT an example of triangulation?
Taking results of a study back to the participants and asking for their feedback
Which of the following would be true if all members of the team record a similar level of aggressive play on a playground while watching the same group of children?
The reliability of the data would be strong.
A case study is done on small, Catholic school in rural Kenya to see how they deal with bullying. What is important to consider when looking at the transferability of the findings?
The size, culture, and location of the school
What does it mean when we say that the interpretation of the data may be subjective?
There is not a "correct" interpretation of the data and it is open to the biases of the researcher.
Which of the following is a null hypothesis for a study of the role of aerobic exercise on one's mood?
There will be no significant difference in the scores on a test for depressive symptoms among 16 year-old female participants who run on a treadmill and those that do not excercise.
Which of the following is NOT true of a case study?
They are highly controlled in order to avoid researcher bias
Which of the following is NOT a limitation of a focus group?
They are not highly naturalistic
Why would a researcher use a matched pairs design?
To control for participant variability within a sample
A researcher wanted to study how mothers handle stress when they are with their child. A series of lab observations were carried out where mothers were given a very frustrating task to complete with the promise that they would be paid 20 dollars if they completed the task in the time allotted. They had been instructed to bring their 2 - 3 year old child with them to the lab. After writing up an interpretation of the mothers' behaviour, the researcher shared the interpretations with the mothers to see whether they felt that the interpretation reflected their experience in the lab. Why did the researcher do this?
To establish credibility
What is the term used for the type of generalizabilty where we assume that a situation in which many of the variables are the same is likely to result in the same findings as the original study?
Transferability
In order to carry out your internal assessment on problem-solving in adolescents, you use an MYP English class. What type of sample is this?
an opportunity (convenience sample)
Deception can cause problematic issues with other ethical standards, which of the following ethical standards can be commonly linked to deception?
informed consent, right to withdraw, undue stress and harm
If extraneous (confounding) variables are not well controlled, this may affect...
internal validity
What is the name given to the plan for carrying out an interview?
interview schedule (or guide)
If an experimental situation is too artificial, psychologists say that it lacks
mundane realism
When participants are selected because they have a certain characteristic - for example, they are all smokers, this is which sampling method?
purposive
A researcher carries out a study where the participants were asked to give electric shocks to a student in a study of learning. After the experiment, the researcher asks the participant why he thinks that he was willing to shock the student. He says that he "knew all along that this was fake." This is an example of
screw-you effect
Which of the following is not a problem with retrospective studies?
they are highly time consuming
Which of the following would be a well written AIM for a research summary
to investigate whether surprising and personally significant events cause flashbulb memories in American males
What would be a significant ethical considerations to the following scenario? A child psychologist wants to test the effect of television violence on children's behaviour. After parental consent has been obtained, she will show a group of 6 year old children a movie in which a murderer hunts down and kills small children. She will then have the children work in pairs on a frustrating puzzle to see if they exhibit any aggression toward each other.
undue stress or harm
