Research Methods in Psych exam 3
Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) conducted a study examining whether taking notes by hand could lead to deeper processing of material than taking notes with a laptop. They flipped a coin to assign one half of the students participating in their study to watch a video lecture while taking notes with paper and pencil, and the other half of the students to watch the same video lecture while taking notes with a laptop. Thirty minutes after the lecture, all students look the same test on the material covered in the lecture, and a research assistant with no knowledge of the two groups graded the tests. The results showed that students who took notes by hand scored higher on conceptual questions (e.g., compare-and-contrast questions) than students who took notes with a laptop. Match each causal criterion to the corresponding component of the study.
- Participants were randomly assigned to take notes by hand or to take notes using a laptop. Internal validity - The students who took notes by hand scored higher than the students who took notes with a laptop. covariance - Participants took notes (either by hand or using a laptop) before taking the test. temporal precedence
A school district is comparing two reading programs for high school students who are reading below grade level. Two schools with very similar student bodies are used to test the programs, with a different program being used at each school. Identify the threat to internal validity described in each scenario that might occur in this study.
- The pretest reading scores are much higher at High School A than High School B. The posttest shows that High School A's reading scores decreased significantly. regression to the mean - High School B hosted a Math Olympiad competition, and students there spent a lot of time studying for math. In the posttest, High School A has greater improvement in reading. selection-history threat - The school district employee who assessed the pretest was sick, so a new, less-experienced employee went to assess the posttest reading performance. Both groups show improvement in the posttest. Correct label: instrumentation threat - The reading program at High School A is known to be much more rigorous than the one at High School B. The posttest shows more improvement at High School A, but more students also dropped out of that program. attrition threat
Match each threat to the appropriate prevention method.
- remove participant scores from the pretest attrition threat - use a comparison group history threat maturation threat regression threat - use a posttest-only design instrumentation threat
Label each example with the correct mode. Labels can be used more than once.
A researcher is recreating a previous study from liberal arts colleges at large public universities. generalization mode Researchers design a study to understand what, specifically, compels people to help others in emergency situations. theory-testing mode A lab is conducting a series of studies to understand the effects of emotion on the written word. theory-testing mode Two researchers are attempting to replicate a finding from the United States in Japan. generalization mode
Match each type of replication study to the correct description.
A team of researchers recreates a previous experiment on persuasion exactly as it was written in the original publication. direct replication A researcher is recreating an experiment on study habits and adding in ethnicity as a new factor to see if there are any differences. replication-plus-extension A scientist attempts to replicate the better-than-average effect with niche talents such as playing musical instruments, rather than in the classroom. conceptual replication
Zareen reads a psychology journal article with these badges.
Conclusion(s) The researchers conducted only the analyses that they had originally planned to conduct. The article reports all of the variables in the study, even those that did not produce significant results. Not Conclusion(s) The researchers made it possible for other researchers to rerun and confirm their statistical analyses. The researchers might have modified their hypotheses after collecting data.
Which of the following are factors that can contribute to a null effect in a study?
Factor(s): situation noise floor effect weak manipulation Not Factor(s): large sample size too much power
Which of the following examples represent factorial designs?
Factorial Designs: - Researchers found that the effectiveness of a bullying intervention depended on whether or not the student had been previously bullied. -Experts found that younger people quit smoking faster using nicotine patches, but older people quit faster using nicotine gum. Not Factorial Designs: -Researchers found that the older people are, the more conservative they are. -Over 6 weeks, those who took part in a college mental health program were more likely to do well on final exams than those who did not.
In a quasi-experiment by Minke (2011), the effectiveness of a Danish halfway house (a place for people with criminal backgrounds to learn skills for reintegrating into society) that mixes offenders with nonoffenders was compared with that of the control condition of halfway houses housing only offenders. The measurement of effectiveness was based on rate of recidivism (relapse in criminal behavior) in former inmates. Identify the threat to internal validity in each scenario that might have occurred in this study.
Inmates were allowed to choose their own halfway house. selection effects In their measurement of recidivism, researchers did not include inmates who were sent directly to prison from their halfway house for violations. attrition threat Inmates in the mixed halfway house were provided with job training opportunities, while inmates in the only-offenders halfway house were not. selection-history threat Inmates in the mixed halfway house showed lower rates of recidivism only because they understood the purpose of the study. demand characteristics
There are several threats that specifically apply to one-group, pretest/posttest experiments. Match each threat to the example that best represents it
Observers code social behavior as less friendly over time. instrumentation threat A large clearance sale takes place during a study on shopping behavior. history threat The three healthiest participants withdraw from a study on metabolic syndrome. attrition threat Participants change their answers on a racism scale after seeing it a second time. testing threat Students in a study on grade performance naturally improve their grades during the study. maturation threat Participants show very high stress scores on the pretest and returned to average on the posttest. regression threat
Label each transparent research practice with its alternative questionable research practice.
Open Materials: underreporting null effects Open Data: p-hacking Preregistered: HARKing
Identify whether each example is either a quasi-experiment or a true experiment.
Quasi-Experiment Researchers track sick days taken at a company after each occasion that the company assigns mandatory overtime. Researchers examine bad classroom behavior following recess at a school that has one recess period versus another school that has two. Researchers look for differences in texting behavior between baby boomers and members of Generation Z. True Experiment Researchers randomly assign two separate groups to complete two different mindfulness strategies to see which strategy results in less stress. Researchers randomly assign volunteers for a video game study to play either a violent game or a nonviolent game for 6 months.
Which of the following statements are reasons we can rule out alternative explanations for the results in a stable-baseline design?
Reason(s): The results were replicated in other participants. The study involved multiple measurements of behavior before the introduction of the intervention. Not Reason(s): The introduction of the intervention was staggered across different groups. The baseline was a single, extreme low point which improved after the intervention was introduced.
Janae is conducting a study on the effects of meditation on stress with both highly anxious and non-anxious participants. She finds that, overall, highly anxious participants report greater levels of stress and that, overall, participants in the meditation group report lower levels of stress than the group that does not practice meditation. She also finds that the impact of meditation on stress is particularly strong for highly anxious participants. Which of the following are significant results in Janae's study?
Significant: main effect for anxiety main effect for meditation anxiety × meditation interaction Not significant: main effect for stress anxiety × stress interaction
Researchers conducted several replication studies surrounding a paradigm initially developed by Deese (1959). With this paradigm, when participants are given a list of words to recall that has to do with a particular word but does not include it, they tend to falsely recall this word, even though it was not on the list. For example, if participants are given a list that includes the words sandal, towel, sunscreen, and waves, then they would falsely remember the word beach even though it was not on the list. Identify the type of replication that was conducted in each study.
The researchers administered the words one at a time to some participants, while administering them all at once to others.replication-plus-extension replication-plus-extension The researchers used the same list of words and the same procedure as the original study.direct replication direct replication The researchers used a different list of words from the original study.conceptual replication conceptual replication
Grimstvedt and colleagues (2010) examined the effect of placing signs encouraging the use of stairs near elevators. Based on their design, Liu Wei designs a study for his campus. He selects four buildings and starts by measuring elevator and stair use in those buildings for a month. He then posts signs encouraging the use of stairs near the elevators and measures elevator and stair use in the buildings for another month. Identify the true and false statements about Liu Wei's study.
True Statement(s) Liu Wei is utilizing a stable-baseline design. Liu Wei's study involves a within-groups design. False Statement(s) Liu Wei's study design has high external validity. Liu Wei's study is a quasi-experiment.
Horselenberg and colleagues (2003) conducted an experiment based on Kassin and Kieche (1996) in which participants were falsely accused of striking a computer key that caused important data to be deleted. The first study showed that 69% of the participants were willing to sign a confession that they had struck the key. In the later study, researchers changed the procedure so that in addition to signing the confession, participants were asked to give up part of their compensation for participating in the study. Identify the true and false statements about what the researchers could have done to achieve certain goals in their study.
True Statement(s) The original study was conducted in the United States. If they wanted to strengthen external validity, the researchers could have conducted their replication study in the Netherlands. If they wanted to increase experimental realism, the researchers could have made the lab situation closely parallel false confessions of a crime. False Statement(s) If they wanted to strengthen external validity, the researchers could have increased the number of participants in the study. If they wanted to strengthen construct validity, the researchers could have conducted several different replication studies.
Identify the true and false statements about quasi-experiments.
True Statement(s): Many quasi-experiments would be unethical if treated as true experiments. Quasi-experiments allow scientists to study real-world phenomena in real time. False Statement(s): Researchers conducting quasi-experiments are not trying to make causal claims. Correlational studies and quasi-experiments are identical designs.
Leonard and colleagues (2017) conducted a study looking at whether babies would give more effort to a task after viewing an adult give a lot of effort to the task. More than 100 babies ranging from 13 to 18 months were recruited for the study. Researchers flipped a coin to see which babies would be in the "effort" condition (with an adult modeling hard work to pull out a toy from a box) and which babies would be in the "no-effort" condition (with an adult simply pulling out a toy from a box without working hard). The results showed that the babies in the effort condition persisted longer on a novel task than the babies in the no-effort condition. Suppose you come across an online news article about Leonard and colleagues' (2017) study with the headline "Watching hardworking adults can motivate babies." What type of claim is the headline making?
causal
For each type of effect listed—main effects, two-way interactions, and three-way interactions—identify the maximum number of possible effects that could be tested in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design.
correct: 3 main effects 3 two-way interactions 1 three-way interaction incorrect: 3 three-way interactions 2 two-way interactions 2 main effects
presenting the levels of the independent variable to participants in different sequences
counterbalancing
Asher is recording children's playground behavior to investigate the differences between third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. For each session, he sits on the swings with a notebook and counts the sizes of groups and types of activities for each grade. Asher notices that several children in each grade come over to the swings, but then walk away once they notice him sitting there. Because they walk away, they are not counted in the study. Asher finds that the younger grades tend to do more group activities, while the older grades tend to engage in more individual activities. What problem is affecting Asher's quasi-experiment?
demand characteristics
Aditi is researching whether participants feel more satisfied after drinking a regular soda or a diet soda. She has participants drink both types of soda in random order and measures their level of satisfaction after tasting each one. The amount of satisfaction is the ________ and the type of soda is the _______ in her study
dependent independent
When researchers manipulate a variable in a study, that study is typically referred to as a(n) experiment. The manipulated variable is often called the independent variable. A manipulated variable always has more than one level, or condition, and researchers alter it to see if it will produce a change in the dependent variable, which is typically measured.
experiment independent condition dependent
A group of researchers is measuring foot traffic in a museum. Recently, one half of the museum was redone in order to encourage more foot traffic. Researchers are counting the number of attendees in this new zone versus other zones that have not been redone. On the first day that researchers are recording foot traffic, several buses of schoolchildren arrive at the museum unexpectedly for a field trip. After a day of testing, the new zone appears to be getting just as much foot traffic as the other zones. What problem is most likely affecting this quasi-experiment?
history threat
An external event, rather than the independent variable, changes scores of the dependent variable.
history threat
In one study by Duke and colleagues (2011), researchers gave participants orange juice with either trace amounts of alcohol or enough alcohol to get them legally drunk. Researchers then measured the participants' aggressive behavior using a game in which they were allowed to administer shocks to people they thought were other participants. Match each aspect of the experiment to the correct type of variable.
independent variable - amount of alcohol dependent variable - aggressive behavior control variable - amount of orange juice
This figure represents the results of a study on alcohol and aggression, with aggression operationalized as how long participants are willing to administer an electric shock to others. Identify the variables represented in the figure. Not all items will have a match.
independent variable: alcohol intake dependent variable: duration of shock
Initially, raters are quite strict in their ratings of prosocial behavior in videotapes of a preschool class, but after 3 hours of rating, their criteria become more lenient.
instrumentation threat
The way the researcher measures a variable changes over the course of an experiment.
instrumentation threat
What is typically the most important effect that is uncovered in a factorial design?
interaction effect
In a factorial design with two independent variables, researchers would need to review one _________ and two _______. If each independent variable has two levels, this design would also yield four _______, which are the averages of each level of an independent variable across all levels of the other independent variable.
interaction effect(s) main effect(s) marginal mean(s)
Amir is conducting a study in which women and men watch one of three television commercials (charity, political, or control) in order to see which combination of commercial and gender lead to the most helping behavior. Identify the number of main effects and interactions Amir is likely to find in his study. Not all items will have a match.
interaction: one main effect: two
Teachers introduce four different third-grade classrooms to longer recess periods starting at different time points, to find out whether longer recess will help decrease classroom misbehavior.
multiple-baseline design
Page 40813.1. Quasi-Experiments A company that owns several hospitals in rural areas of the South goes bankrupt and closes all its hospitals. Researchers become aware of this situation and use public health records to document the average age at death of residents in communities where the hospitals closed, and in other communities that were matched on several variables but did not lose their hospitals. The researchers collect death records in the two communities for several years before and after the closure of these hospitals to investigate the effect the closures had on life expectancy. What type of design are the researchers using?
nonequivalent control group interrupted time-series design
a quasi-experiment with two groups that are measured repeatedly before, during, and after some event
nonequivalent control group interrupted time-series design
a quasi-experiment with one treatment and one control group that measures the dependent variable only once
nonequivalent control group posttest-only design
a quasi-experiment with a treatment and a control group that measures the dependent variable before and after the treatment
nonequivalent control group pretest/posttest design
A graduate student predicts that people eating sweets will be friendlier than people eating healthy foods. She has one group of participants eat donuts and interact with one another. She has another group of participants eat carrot sticks and interact with one another. She codes each participant's level of friendliness.
observer bias
Identify each term as related to only factorial designs or related to either single independent variable designs or factorial designs.
only factorial: mixed design interaction difference in differences Single Independent Variable or Factorial Designs: main effect independent variable within-groups design
In a within-groups design, exposing participants to one level of the independent variable can change how they respond to the other levels of the independent variable. This problem is generally referred to as a(n) order effect, of which there are various types. One specific type is known as a(n) carryover effect. This occurs when exposure to one level of the independent variable contaminates how other levels of the independent variable are perceived. Another type is a(n) practice effect, which occurs when participants change their responses because of repetition of the dependent variable rather than because of the independent variable itself. It is also possible that repeated exposure to the independent variable may cause participants to guess the hypothesis of the experiment, also known as a(n) demand characteristic.
order effect carryover effect practice effect demand characteristic.
study completed separately from the main study to confirm the effectiveness of a manipulation
pilot study
The thought of treatment, rather than the treatment itself, causes participants to report changes.
placebo effects
Rukmini is running a study to examine the effect of music genre on mood. She randomly assigns participants to three conditions: rock, jazz, and country. She has the participants rate their mood, then listen to their assigned music for 20 minutes, and then fill out the mood questionnaire again.
pretest/posttest design
Leigh is interested in looking at how caloric intake affects performance. She conducts a study in which participants drink a cup of water before completing a task and then eat a small meal before completing the task again 5 hours later. Leigh is using a _______ design. Based on her study design, she should be concerned about _________. She can address this issue by using ________ in her experiment.
repeated measures practice effects counterbalancing
Terrance wants to find out whether sweet or salty snacks make people more satisfied. He first gives everyone a salty snack and has them rate their level of satisfaction. Then, he gives everyone a sweet snack and has them rate their level of satisfaction again.
repeated-measures design
conducting multiple studies on the same question to get more precise estimates
replication
Cristián is a teacher in a program for children with autism. He is working with one boy and wants to see whether using a good-behavior sticker system will be effective for reducing his particular problem behavior. He begins by noting the boy's problem behavior for a week before beginning the sticker system. Then he tries using the sticker system for 2 weeks and notices a drop in the boy's problem behavior. For the next 2 weeks after that, he discontinues the sticker system and notes an increase in the boy's problem behavior. What kind of design is Cristián using to test this intervention?
reversal
When a researcher inadvertently creates a condition with a fundamentally different type of participant than another condition, this can create a ________ . Researchers can combat this issue by using ________ to arbitrarily assign participants to each level. In some cases, especially with smaller sample sizes, researchers will deliberately assign participants to groups so that each group has a similar makeup for a particular attribute they are concerned about. This is known as creating ________.
selection effect random assignment matched groups
Frances is conducting a study on concreteness and memory in her dorm room with several of her hallmates. She creates a list of 12 concrete items (e.g., pencil and table) and a list of 12 abstract items (e.g., justice and freedom). Her hallmates view each word for 1 second and then recall them in order. Contrary to Frances' prediction, the study shows a null effect. The study has a null effect likely because of _________, which led to ________ variability.
situation noise too much within-groups
Shilpa wants to examine whether time of day affects grocery shoppers' moods. She finds that people who shop for groceries earlier in the day are happier than people who shop later in the evening. After Shilpa collects her data, the manager tells her that the store usually has more items in stock in the morning.
systematic variability
What criterion for causation is clearly established by manipulating the independent variable?
temporal precedence
Candice has created an intervention to find out whether using imagination increases children's spatial reasoning abilities. She randomly recruits kindergarteners from city schools and pretests them with a spatial reasoning task. After a week of her intervention, she measures the children's spatial reasoning again using the same survey. All the children score better on the assessment the second time compared with the first. What threat to internal validity may be present in Candice's experiment?
testing threat
Imagine you are reading this sentence from a popular press article. "Researchers tested a series of different newspaper articles and found that articles about crimes using abstract (versus concrete) language and containing a Black (versus White) perpetrator increased racial bias, but only among those who watched the news every day." What term or phrase best describes the main result in this study?
three-way interaction
Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) conducted a study examining whether taking notes by hand could lead to deeper processing of material than taking notes with a laptop. They flipped a coin to assign one half of the students participating in their study to watch a video lecture while taking notes with paper and pencil, and the other half of the students to watch the same video lecture while taking notes with a laptop. Thirty minutes after the lecture, all students look the same test on the material covered in the lecture, and a research assistant with no knowledge of the two groups graded the tests. The results showed that students who took notes by hand scored higher on conceptual questions (e.g., compare-and-contrast questions) than students who took notes with a laptop. Identify the true and false statements about Mueller and Oppenheimer's (2014) study.
true: The design of the study involved a comparison group. The researchers were trying to test a causal claim. false: The study involved random sampling. The study did not include any control variables.
a quasi-experiment with a single group of participants that is measured repeatedly before, during, and after some event
interrupted time-series design
an extra dependent variable that can be used to help researchers evaluate how well an experimental manipulation worked
manipulation check
Jafari wants to control for intelligence in his study. He sorts the list of participants according to their IQ scores and then forms groups, making sure the groups are balanced in terms of IQ scores. Finally, he randomly assigns each group to one of the conditions of his study.
matched-groups design
Gathercole and Baddeley (1990) examined phonologic memory skills in older children with disordered language development, using a control group comprised of typically developing younger children who were matched on verbal abilities.If they had done a follow-up study with the same participants a year later, which type of threat to internal validity would the difference in the participants' ages most likely have caused?
maturation
Participant behavior changes spontaneously over time.
maturation threat
Participants show spontaneous change.
maturation threat
Participants' responses are altered by an event outside the control or interest of the study.
history threat
Extreme scores gravitate back toward average.
regression threat
Participants' future performance is changed because of their interaction with a measure.
testing threat
Marcos is testing how video game performance affects aggression. He randomly assigns participants to play either an easy video game or a difficult video game. Some of his participants have never played video games before.
unsystematic variability
On the first exam in an Introductory Psychology class, the grades are lower than Professor Mutola expected. She suspects that multitasking is to blame. She bans computers and smart phones from her class between the first and second exams. When she compares the two sets of exam scores, she finds a significant improvement on the second exam. Match each threat to internal validity to the corresponding scenario that might happen in Professor Mutola's study.
- When rechecking her data, Professor Mutola finds that the five students with the lowest scores on the first exam dropped the class. attrition threat - Professor Mutola looks back over the second exam and discovers it was an easier exam. instrumentation threat - Professor Mutola notes that every semester students always do better on the second exam because they are more used to the class. maturation threat
Label each issue with the solution that would best prevent within-groups variability from obscuring group differences
- individual differences within-groups design - measurement error reliable, precise scales more measurements - situation noise experimental control
Imani and her three research assistants are doing a study on sociability in college students, with participants either in one-on-one or in small groups. She later finds out that one of her research assistants is much chattier than the others in both the one-on-one and small group conditions.
unsystematic variability
On Monday, an instructor has his class sit in chairs for 2 minutes before completing a reading quiz. On Wednesday, he has the same class do 2 minutes of jumping jacks before completing the same reading quiz that they took on Monday.
testing threat
Participants change their responses based on past assessment.
testing threats
Which of the following strategies are methods for addressing criticisms about external validity in small-N studies?
Method(s) combine the results of single-N studies with those of other studies specify a limited population to generalize to Not Method(s) set up a comparison group present the data in a graph check the operationalization of the variables
Travis is comparing the effects of music type on productivity. His research assistants tell him they really enjoy the upbeat music condition.
systematic variability
Koordeman and colleagues (2011) conducted a study on the effect of commercials on alcohol consumption. Participants watched commercials for one of two types of beverages: alcoholic or nonalcoholic. Researchers then measured their consumption of alcohol during a 2-hour movie. Finally, participants completed a questionnaire on their usual weekly drinking habits. The results showed that typically heavy drinkers were influenced to drink more alcohol when they saw alcohol commercials, whereas the type of commercial did not influence the alcohol consumption of typically light drinkers. What is a factor in this study?
type of commercial
To establish a causal claim, researchers often prioritize _________ validity over _________ validity. While researchers hope to ________ their findings to other people and settings, in experiments, they focus more on ensuring the independent variable does not accidentally ___________ with another variable.
INTERNAL EXTERNAL GENERALIZE SYSTEMATICALLY VARY
What is the main difference between quasi-experiments and correlational studies?
Quasi-experiments have more intentional samples, such as targeted groups with particular qualities.
Identify the true and false statements about cultural psychology and related studies.
True Statement(s) Cultural psychology studies how people's cultures shape who they are. Cultural psychology is an example of research in generalization mode. False Statement(s) The majority of participants in published psychology journal articles are representative of the world's population. Studies that take place in the real world are more valuable than studies conducted in a laboratory.
Identify the true and false statements about factorial designs.
True: Adding a participant variable to a design with an existing independent variable is one way to increase external validity. Interactions help outline the limits of an effect. False: If a design has no significant interaction, it would also not have main effects. If a design has no significant main effects, it would also not have an interaction.
Gokhan wants to examine whether coffee increases productivity. He creates two conditions in his study—2 cups of coffee per day and 2 cups of water per day—and asks his participants to sign up for the condition they prefer. In the morning, participants drink either 2 cups of coffee or 2 cups of water. At the end of the day, participants rate their level of productivity on a scale of 1 ("not productive at all") to 10 ("extremely productive"). Which of the following descriptions are applicable to Gokhan's experiment?
applicable: independent-groups design selection effect posttest-only design not applicable: random assignment pretest/posttest design within-groups design
Kiana designs a study to examine the juice preferences of preschool children. She has the children drink a small cup of apple juice and then a small cup of orange juice. She then asks the children which of the two was their favorite.
concurrent-measures design
Identify the true and false statements about null effects.
true: Measurement error causes null effects because it leads to high within-groups variability. It is possible for researchers to find null effects because the independent variable really does not cause a significant difference. Studies with null effects should be replicated and included in meta-analyses. false: Researchers should not report null effects because they are not informative. Null effects only happen in posttest-only designs.
Yan and Sengupta (2011) examined the effects of price, attractiveness, and consumer type on the perceived tastiness of and rated satisfaction with a dish of fried rice. The study had a between-groups design and included varying levels of price (inexpensive or expensive), attractiveness of picture (attractive or unattractive), and type of consumer (self or classmate). Identify the true and false statements about this study.
true: There are eight cells in this study. There are two dependent variables in this study. false: The researchers could have examined two possible two-way interactions in this study. This study is a 2 × 3 factorial design.
Sora is examining whether more hours of sleep and higher quality of sleep decrease stress in college students. She asks her participants to report their level of stress, the number of hours of sleep the night before, quality of sleep the night before, and other demographic variables. Match each questionable research practice to the corresponding scenario that might occur in Sora's study. Labels can be used more than once.
- After looking at her results, Sora decides to control for several new variables, including gender. p-hacking - After looking at her results, Sora decides to restate her hypothesis as "more sleep increases stress." HARKing - Sora finds that stress is not associated with quality of sleep, so she does not include it in her results. underreporting null findings - Sora's results are almost significant, so she removes two participants who slept only 2 hours. p-hacking
Match each type of factorial design to the correct definition.
- Each cell of each of the independent variables has unique subjects. independent-groups factorial design - Each participant experiences all combinations of the independent variables. within-groups factorial design - All participants experience all levels of one independent variable but only one level of another independent variable. mixed factorial design
Professor Zhao wants to test the effectiveness of review sessions on test performance. He randomly assigns the students in his 50-student Introduction to Psychology class to one of two review sessions, each being taught with a different technique. Identify the problem that is most likely causing a null effect in each scenario that might happen in Professor Zhao's study.
-All 50 students get all 10 test questions incorrect, regardless of the review session they are in. floor effect - All 50 students get all 10 test questions correct, regardless of the review session they are in. ceiling effect - Professor Zhao measures the effectiveness of the review sessions with pass/fail categories. He finds that there is no difference between the students in the two review sessions. insensitive measure - The review sessions are different in that one is held in-person and the other is held through video conferencing, although they both cover the same content. weak manipulation
anhong designs a study in which she has a group of younger adults (18-24 years old) and a group of older adults (50-65 years old) recite a poem by memory, once in front of a large audience and once in a room by themselves. She counterbalances the order of these tasks between participants. She has the participants rate their level of anxiety right before they recite the poem each time. The factorial notation for Vanhong's study is _______ and it is a(n) _________ factorial design.
2x2 mixed
Chee has designed a study examining how exam scores are affected by time of day (morning versus night), type of exam (essay versus multiple choice), and gender (male versus female). Chee's design would be denoted as 2 × 2 × 2. In Chee's design, how many total cells will there be?
8
Identify the following examples as either small-N or large-N designs.
Small-N Design(s): - Researchers give patients with dissociative identity disorder different treatments; then they take the treatments away to see how effective they were. - Researchers administer 50 trials of a memory task to a patient with anterograde amnesia. Large-N Design(s): - Forty participants complete 25 trials of a "go/no-go" task designed to measure decision making. - Researchers compare the average performance of 15 early-decision college students to the average performance of 15 typical students.
A therapist studies a patient with obsessive-compulsive disorder for several weeks before initiating treatment.
Stable-baseline design
Leonard and colleagues (2017) conducted a study looking at whether babies would give more effort to a task after viewing an adult give a lot of effort to the task. More than 100 babies ranging from 13 to 18 months were recruited for the study. Researchers flipped a coin to see which babies would be in the "effort" condition (with an adult modeling hard work to pull out a toy from a box) and which babies would be in the "no-effort" condition (with an adult simply pulling out a toy from a box without working hard). The results showed that the babies in the effort condition persisted longer on a novel task than the babies in the no-effort condition. What element of the study signals that it was an experiment?
The babies were randomly assigned to the effort and no-effort conditions.
Identify the true and false statements about replicating studies.
True Statement(s) A study that has been replicated is more credible than a study that has not been replicated. False Statement(s) A direct replication reproduces every single detail of the original study. If a study gets significant results, it does not need to be replicated. Conceptual replications are less useful than direct replications in assuring that a finding is reliable.
Telutci is conducting a semester-long study on whether the frequency of in-class quizzes will improve performance on the final exam for research methods and general psychology courses. He finds these results:
True: Telutci needs to calculate four marginal means for this study. There is likely a quiz frequency × course type interaction in Telutci's study. There is likely a main effect of quiz frequency in Telutci's study. False: There are four factors in Telutci's study. There is likely a main effect of course type in Telutci's study.
More participants from one group or condition decline to continue participating than from another.
attrition threat
Participants leave a study in a systematic way.
attrition threat
Therapists introduce a patient with antisocial personality disorder to an intervention involving the reinforcement of positive behavior; then, the therapists remove it several weeks later to see how it affects the patient's behavior.
reversal design
Groups vary systematically on traits other than the levels of the independent variable.
selection effects
Identify the true and false statements about null effects.
true: If there is not enough between-groups difference, it can result in a null effect. Null effects can occur in any experiment. false: Researchers rarely find null effects in experiments. Decreases in within-groups variability can lead to a null effect.
