3980 Review Questions
Naomi is studying the effect of popularity on academic success for her research methods project. To do this, she has elementary school students rate how popular each member of their class is. She then uses this information to rank the students on popularity (e.g., John is the most popular, Vanessa is the second-most popular). Which of the following best describes this variable? A. An ordinal scale of measurement B. A categorical measurement C. A self-report measurement D. An interval scale of measurement
A
After reading the chapter, Cyril says to himself, "I am sure other people might engage in faulty thinking but I never would." What is Cyril experiencing? A. Bias blind spot B. Faulty intuition C. Confirmatory hypothesis testing D. Motivated thinking
A
RESEARCH STUDY 3.1 Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Female Engineering Majors' Effort on Math Problems Depends on Sex of Role Model." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Stout, Dasgupta, Hunsinger, and McManus, 2011.) In the study, female students were asked by either a male math major or a female math major to complete a math test. Female students tried to solve more of the math problems when asked by a female math major than they did when asked by a male math major. How many variables are mentioned in this study/headline? A. Two B. Three C. Four D. Five
A
Research studies are superior to personal experience because: A. They include at least one comparison group B. They avoid constants C. They use confederates D. An authority is involved
A
Sasha believes that she is a nice person. To confirm this, she asks all her friends whether she is a nice person; they all agree that she is. Sasha concludes that she is a nice person and says she has evidence of it. However, she does not ask any of her enemies whether they think she is a nice person. This is an example of which of the following? a. Cherry-picking of evidence b. Fourth cell reasoning c. Availability heuristic d. Overconfidence
A
The belief that the participants in a research study should be representative of the type of people who would also benefit from the findings of the research stems from which principle of the Belmont Report? A. The principle of justice B. The principle of beneficence C. The principle of respect for persons D. The principle of integrity
A
Upon receiving IRB approval, Dr. Kline trusts his graduate student to conduct the study. However, his graduate student does not conduct the study and instead provides Dr. Kline with invented results that support his hypotheses. This is known as which of the following? A. Data fabrication B. Plagiarism C. Data falsification D. Intellectual property destruction
A
Another word for data is a/an _________. A. Theory B. Observation C. Prediction D. Outcome
B
Dr. Ellison finds a relation between the amount of sleep and problem-solving. Specifically, having a higher amount of sleep the night before an exam is associated with higher scores on two measures of problem-solving. This is an example of which type of association? A. Negative association B. Positive association C. Zero association D. There is not enough information to answer this question
B
Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less tie communicating with their spouses, study says." Dr. LaSalle makes the claim: "Research shows that making more money correlates with spending less time talking with your spouse." Which type of claim is Dr. LaSalle making? A. Anecdotal claim B. Association claim C. Causal claim D. Frequency claim
B
In the previous study, the authors recorded how many math questions (out of 10 questions) participants tried to solve. This is an example of which of the following? A. A constant B. A measured variable C. A variable's level D. A manipulated variable
B
Which of the following events did NOT occur in the Tuskegee Study? A. Researchers told participants they were receiving treatment even though they were not. B. Participants in the study were given/infected with the disease. C. Participants were not told they had been infected with the disease. D. Researchers prevented participants from seeking treatment
B
Which of the following is NOT an example of coercion? A. A researcher hinting to participants that their employer will be told if they do not participate B. A researcher offering 3 points of extra credit to college students to participate in a study C. A researcher offering homeless participants $1,000 to participate in a study D. A researcher telling participants that he will be fired if he is unable to recruit at least 50 participants
B
All of the following are true of IRBs in the United States EXCEPT: A. They can be found in settings other than colleges and universities B. They are mandated by federal law C. They must have a psychologist as a member D. They must have at least five members
C
Another word for hypothesis is a/an ________. a. Theory b. Observation c. Prediction d. Outcome
C
Benjamin is a social psychologist who studies marriage. He believes that marital satisfaction has two components: the ability to trust one's partner and a belief that one can be a good spouse. He conducts a study to test his ideas. Assuming that his data match his theory, which of the following statements should he make? A. "The data prove my theory." B. "My theory is generalizable." C. "The data provide support for my theory." D. "The data complicate my theory."
C
Establishing construct validity would probably be most important for which of the following? A. A measure of blood pressure B. A measure of the number of seizures a person has per week C. A measure of religiosity D. A measure of obesity
C
For his research methods class, Felipe plans to watch how teachers treat children in their classrooms who have ADHD. He will evaluate how positively or negatively the children are treated. This is an example of what type of measurement? A. Self-report measurement B. Physiological measurement C. Observational measurement D. Archival measurement
C
Matthew is reading an empirical journal article and wants to know whether the authors used the Big Five Inventory (BFI-44) or the NEO-PI to measure extraversion. In which section would he find this information? A. Introduction B. Results C. Method D. Discussion
C
Psychological scientists may choose to publish their work in all of the following EXCEPT: A. Edited books B. Scientific journals C. Popular magazines D. Full-length books
C
When examining the statistical validity of a frequency claim, one should look for the: A. Strength of the association B. Statistical significance C. Margin of error estimate D. Length of the measurement
C
Which of the following ethical violations proposed by the Belmont Report was NOT committed in the Tuskegee Study? A. Participants were harmed. B. Participants were not treated respectfully. C. Participants were not treated by actual doctors. D. Participants were from a disadvantaged social group
C
Which of the following people will likely NOT find it important to be a consumer of psychological research professionally? A. High school teachers B. Human resource managers C. Gardeners D. Sales representatives
C
________ is the approach of collecting data and using it to develop, support, and/or challenge a theory. A. Falsifiability B. Theorizing C. Empiricism D. Application
C
An educational psychologist is testing the discriminant validity of a new measure of numerical learning difficulties. He gives his measure to a group of students along with another measure of verbal learning difficulties, which he predicts should not be strongly related to numerical learning difficulties. Which of the following correlations would the psychologist hope to find in order to establish discriminant validity? A. r=1.0 B. r =−1.0 C. r=0.83 D. r=−0.18
D
Angela reads about a study in which cell phone use is associated with migraine headaches. She says, "Well, that study is not valid because I use a cell phone more than anyone I know and I never get migraines." Based on her comment, Angela may be forgetting which of the following? A. Science is based on empiricism. B. The study has been replicated. C. The study did not properly define cell phone use. D. Science is probabilistic.
D
Dr. Smitherman insists that all his research assistants know how to be producers of research. All of the following relate to this requirement EXCEPT: A. He wants to make sure they understand how to write in APA style B. He wants to make sure they understand why anonymity is important. C. He wants to make sure they understand how to interpret study results and graphs D. He wants to make sure they have previously been participants in research studies
D
In considering whether research is ethical, which of the following are balanced against each other? A. Inconvenience to participants versus benefit to the researcher B. Time investment of the study versus complexity of the study C. Importance of the research versus financial cost to conduct the study. D. Risk to participants versus value of the knowledge gained
D
Which of the following phrases would NOT indicate that a researcher is making a causal claim? A. "Curbs" B. "Seems to decrease" C. "Suggests a change" D. "Is at higher risk of "
D
For her research methods class, Serena plans to interview several teachers about their attitude toward teaching children who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is an example of what type of measurement? A. Self-report measurement B. Physiological measurement C. Observational measurement D. Archival measurement
A
Hosea is studying the relationship between caffeine consumption and problem-solving ability. Which of the following is a quantitative way to operationalize problem-solving ability? A. The time spent solving a math problem B. The type of puzzle solved (Sudoku puzzle or a crossword puzzle) C. Whether participants used insight or trial-and-error techniques to solve the problem D. The report of a teacher about whether a student is a good or bad problem solver
A
In the theory-data cycle, theories first lead to ________. A. Questions B. Answers C. Data D. Research
A
What is the difference between a ratio scale of measurement and an interval scale of measurement? A. A ratio scale of measurement has a zero value that actually means "nothing" or "the absence of something," but an interval scale does not. B. An interval scale of measurement is a type of measurement used for categorical measurements, but a ratio scale is used for quantitative measurements. C. An interval scale has equal intervals, but a ratio scale does not. D. A ratio scale of measurement cannot be used to compare people's scores, but interval scales can (e.g., Phillip is twice as fast).
A
A psychiatrist is testing a drug that treats depression. He has given the drug to all his patients and all of them have experienced a decrease in depressive symptoms. Although this is interesting, his experience is limited because he does not have a: a. Reliable way to measure depressive symptoms b. Comparison group that did not receive the drug c. Hypothesis d. Psychotherapy to supplement the drug
B
Anton is concerned that the researcher made a Type I error. What does that mean? A. The researcher failed to consider a third variable. B. The researcher concluded there was a relationship, but there isn't really one. C. The researcher failed to establish the first rule of causation. D. The research did not make a Type II error.
B