Unit (Chapter 2): Research Methods

1, positive correlation, upwards

Based on the information provided in the chart above, which scatter plot best represents the relationship between study hours and test grades.

Empirical approach

Basing decisions or conclusions on observable evidence describes which of the following?

An illusory correlation

The sequential occurrence of two highly unusual events is most likely to contribute to

Random assignment

To accurately infer cause and effect, experimenters should use

Random assignment

To assess the effect of televised violence on aggression, researchers plan to expose one group of children to violet movie scenes and another group to nonviolent scenes. To reduce the chance that the children in one group have more aggressive personalities that those in the other group, the researchers should make use of

naturalistic observation

To compare the pace of life in different countries, investigators measured the speed with which postal clerks completed a simple request. This best illustrates the use of a research method known as

Naturalistic observation

To study the development of relationships, Dr. Rajiv carefully observed and recorded patterns of verbal and nonverbal behaviors among boys an girls in the school yard. Which research method did Dr. Rajiv employ?

Theory

What do scientists call an explanation that organizes observations and predicts future behaviors or events?

+0.50

Which of the following correlations between annual income and education level would best enable you to predict annual income on the basis of level of education?

The experimental treatment is absent

Which of the following is true for those assigned to a control group?

Jean Piaget

Which of the following researchers used the case study method, carefully observing one exceptional individual in depth to reach conclusions that might be true of all of us?

2, strong negative correlation

Which of the following scatter plots represents a relationship with a correlation coefficient that would be close to negative one (-1)?

2, negative correlation, downwards

Which of the following scatter plots represents the strongest negative correlation?

Case study

Which research method is typically used to examine one participant in depth, usually because the individual's situation/behavior is rare or unusual?

The survery

Which research method would be most appropriate for investigating the relationship between the religious beliefs of Americans and their attitudes toward abortion?

Replication

Which technique involves repeating the essence of an earlier research study with different participants and in different circumstances?

Random assignment

Which technique most clearly minimizes the likelihood that any outcome differences between the experimental and control conditions can be attributed to age or personality differences in research participants?

What do you mean? How do you know?

Which two questions exemplify the scientific attitude?

Larger, representative sample sizes help ensure reliable and valid results.

Why are researchers careful to use large, representative samples in their studies?

repeated research with similar results increases confidence in the reliability of the original findings

Why is replication important to science?

Critical thinking

A questioning attitude regarding psychologists assumptions and hidden values best illustrates...

See picture

A researcher gathered evidence about the number of times different age students consult the internet to check facts for research reports. Participants between 10 and 15 years old consulted the internet an average of 10.1 times during the research report, and participants between 15 and 25 years old averaged 7.3 times. Explain what "statistical significance" would mean in the context of this study.

See picture

A researcher wants to investigate people's attitudes toward violence on television. Explain which of the following research methods the researcher should use and why: case study, survey, or naturalistic observation.

Informed consent

A researcher who gathers and analyzes data from student essay test responses without talking with the students about the study violates which ethical principle of human experimentation?

Culture shapes our behavior, but certain underlying processes guide people everywhere.

American males shake hands in greeting; Japanese men bow. However, people can communicate with a smile. What does this tell us about the role of culture in understanding our psychology?

An operational definition

An experiment was designed to study the potential impact of alcohol consumption on emotional stability. A specification of the procedures used to measure emotional stability illustrates...

Assuming that correlation proves causation

An extensive survey revealed that children with relatively high self-esteem tend to picture God as kind and loving, whereas those with lower self-esteem tend to perceive God as angry. The researchers concluded that the children's self-esteem had apparently influenced their views of God. This conclusion best illustrates the danger of

The placebo effect

The relief of pain following the ingestion of an inert substance that is presumed to have medicinal benefits illustrates

By testing only two groups, Coach Vroman's sample size may be too small and unrepresentative

Coach Vroman attended a clinic to improve his basketball coaching skills. Afterward, he randomly assigned his seventh-grade players to two groups: Group 1 will be coached by the new method and Group 2 will be coached by his old method. He then measured their performance at one team practice to judge the effectiveness of the new coaching method. Which of the following might affect the statistical significance of his study?

See picture

Construct a scatter plot to represent the correlation between smoking and anxiety. Describe the direction of the correlation and give two possible explanations for it.

His sample is not representative of the population

Dr. DeVries is interested in measuring how practice in problem solving affects this ability. THe population of interest is high school seniors, and the sample consists of students who attend an exclusive college preparatory school. Half of the sample receives practice in solving particular types of problems, while the othe half does not. Both groups take the same problem-solving test. Which of the following might best explain why Dr. DeVries may not be able to generalize his findings?

14

During the last Central High School basketball game, the starting five players scores 11, 7, 21, 14, and 7 points, respectively. For this distribution of scores, the range it

Standard deviation

Evelyn wants to know how consistent her bowling scores have been during the past season. Which of the following measures would be most relevant to this specific concern?

Critical

Examining correlation also evidence to determine what further research would be needed to establish a causal relationship is an example of ______ thinking?

See Picture

Five studetns received the following test scores; 7, 11, 5, 6, and 11. Calculate the mode, median, mean, and range of this distribution of scores. Which measure of central tendency would change the most if an additional test score of 2 was included in the distribution?

10, 22, 8, 9, 6

For which of the following distributions of scores would the median most clearly be a more appropriate measure of central tendency than the mean?

The hindsight bias

Formulating testable hypotheses before conducting research is most directly useful for restraining a thinking error known as...

The hindsight bias

Giving half the members of a group some purported psychological finding and the other half an opposite result is an easy way to demonstrate the impact of...

better reading ability is associated with greater physical weight among children

If the correlation between the physical weight and reading ability of children is +0.85, this would indicate that

An experiment

In a test of the effects of sleep deprivation on problem-solving skills, research participants are allowed to sleep either 4 or 8 hours on each of three consecutive nights. This research is an example of

Control

In an experiment designed to study the effectiveness of a new drug, research participants who receive a placebo are participating in the ________ condition.

independent variable

Knowing the difference between an experimental condition and a control condition is most relevant to understanding the nature of

7

Mr. and Mrs. Berry have five children aged 2,3,7,9, and 9. The mead in age of the Berry children is

A hypothesis

Professor Delano suggests that because people are especially attracted to those who are good-looking, handsome men will be more successful than average-looking men in getting a job. The professor's prediction regarding employment success is an example of...

The hindsight bias

Professor Smith told one class that alcohol has been found to increase sexual desire. He informed another class that alcohol consumption has been found to reduce sexual appetite. The fact that neither class was surprised by the information they received best illustrates the power of...

Students' scores tended to be very similar to one another

Professor Woo noticed that the distribution of students' scores on her last biology test had an extremely small standard deviation. This indicates that the

Surveys; experiments

Random sampling is to _____ as random assignment is to ______.

Overconfidence

Sasha believes that she is a very good driver. Her belief leads her to take unnecessary risks, such as driving too fast and cutting in front of other drivers. Sasha's driving appears to be affected by...

The median is greater than the mean and less than the mode

Seven members of a boys' club reported the following individual earnings from their sale of cookies: $2, $9, $8, $10, $4, $9, and $7. In this distribution of individual earnings

Common psychological processes

Slender women are considered especially beautiful in one country; in another country, stout women are seen as particularly attractive. In both countries, however, women perceived as very beautiful receive preferential treatment. This best illustrates that ________ often underlie cultural differences.

See picture

Speaking at a college graduation ceremony, Professor Robson compared college graduates with adults who are less educated. She correctly noted that college graduates pay more taxes, vote more frequently, engage in ore volunteer activities in their communities and are less likely to go to jail than less-educated adults. The professor concluded that colleges obviously do great things for society. How might you reasonably challenge the way the professor reached her conclusion?

Wording effects

Surveys indicate that people are much less likely to support "welfare" than "aid to the needy." These somewhat paradoxical survey results best illustrate the importance of

May be unrepresentative of what is generally true

The biggest danger of relying on case-study evidence is that it

Population

The complete set of castes from which samples may be drawn is called a(n)

The placebo effect

The healing power of positive expectations is best illustrated by