Research Methods I - Practice Exam 1

Translational research is best thought of as ______ basic research and applied research. a) Superior to both b) A bridge between c) Inferior to both d) Another term for

A bridge between

You submit a study for approval by the institutional review board (IRB), and they tell you that written informed consent is required. Which of the following can be excluded from your informed consent document? a) A statement of benefits b) A statement of risks c) A list of procedures d) A description of the study's hypothesis

A description of the study's hypothesis

What is the problem with being swayed by a good story? a) Good stories are not falsifiable. b) Scientific findings never have commonsense explanations. c) A good story may not be supported by data. d) A good story is never the true explanation for a scientific finding.

A good story may not be supported by data.

Diego is interested in examining the relationship between a person's attatchment style and his or her relationship satisfaction. He finds 65 studies that have examined this topic. He combines the results of all studies and calculates an effect size. His research is most accurately described as a) PsychWiki b) A review journal article c) A meta-analysis d) A chapter in an edited book

A meta-analysis

RESEARCH STUDY 4.1: Dr. Kushner is planning on conducting a study next semester. He is curious as to whether sleep deprivation is associated with poorer cognitive performance. For example, if you sleep poorly the night before a big exam, will you do worse? Dr. Kushner is especially curious about selective sleep deprivation, where people are kept from entering REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Using an electroencephalograph (EEG) to monitor brain waves, he plans to let participants sleep until they enter REM sleep and then wake them. After the participants are awake for one minute, Dr. Kushner plans to let them return to sleep. As they enter REM sleep again, he will wake them again and follow the same procedure. He plans to do this through the entire eight-hour sleep session. The following morning, participants will be asked to take a sample SAT test. Imagine that Dr. Kushner is a clinical psychologist who volunteers his time at a local prison counsling several inmates. Because of his connections there, he is considering using prisoners as his participants. The institutional revire board (IRB) that reviews his comittee must have which of the following as a member? a) A criminal justice professor b) A prisoner advocate c) The prisoner warden d) A prisoner

A prisoner advocate

RESEARCH STUDY 4.1: Dr. Kushner is planning on conducting a study next semester. He is curious as to whether sleep deprivation is associated with poorer cognitive performance. For example, if you sleep poorly the night before a big exam, will you do worse? Dr. Kushner is especially curious about selective sleep deprivation, where people are kept from entering REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Using an electroencephalograph (EEG) to monitor brain waves, he plans to let participants sleep until they enter REM sleep and then wake them. After the participants are awake for one minute, Dr. Kushner plans to let them return to sleep. As they enter REM sleep again, he will wake them again and follow the same procedure. He plans to do this through the entire eight-hour sleep session. The following morning, participants will be asked to take a sample SAT test. Imagine that Dr. Kushner is a clinical psychologist who volunteers his time at time at local prison counseling several inmates. Because of his connections there, he is considering using prisoners as his participants. Why is this choice potentially problematic? a) Prisoner are unable to give informed consent. b) More prisoners may want to participate than Dr. Kushner can actually study. c) According to the Belmont Report, prisoners are entitled to special protection. d) Prisoners do not make good participants since they may not tell the truth.

According to the Belmont Report, prisoners are entitled to special protection.

Research that is done specifically to solve a practical problem, like increasing memory ability or decreasing symptoms of depression, is known as a) Empirical Research b) Translational Research c) Applied Research d) Basic Research

Applied Research

Which of the following statements is an operational definition of "fear of snakes" that could be assessed as a structured question? a) Asking, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how afraid snakes are you?" b) Assigning the participants to keep a "daily fear diary" in which they track their fear level. c) Asking the question "When was the last time you saw a snake?" d) Measuring the heart rate following the exposure to snakes.

Asking, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how afraid snakes are you?"

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) Motivated thinking b) Bias blind spot c) Faulty intuition d) Confirmation bias

Bias blind spot

Which of the following allow us to make strong predictions using association claims? a) Strong positive associations. b) Strong negative association. c) Neither strong positive associations nore strong negative associations. d) Both strong positive associations and strong negative associations.

Both strong positive associations and strong negative associations.

Which of the following best describes an abstract? a) Index of authors in the field of psychology. b) Description of studies recently published in other psychology journals. c) Computerised database. d) Brief summary of an article

Brief summary of an article

RESEARCH STUDY 3.2: Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time 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. Ramon making? a) Association claim b) Frequency claim c) Statistical claim d) Causal claim

Causal claim

You read a news article titled, "New Drug Reduces OCD Symptoms in Mice" about a recent scientific study. To evaluate whether the title's claim is supported, you should do which of the following? a) Ask yourself whether the implication makes intuitive sense. b) Ensure that the authors operationally define OCD. c) Research the frequency of OCD in mice. d) Check whether the authors established the three criteria for a causal claim.

Check whether the authors established the three criteria for a causal claim.

Kalaiha just read a story in the most recent issue of Psychology Today that has grabbed her interest. As a thoughtful consumer of information, what should Kaliah do? a) Read Psychology Today cynically b) Start with the assumption that the coverage of the story is an inaccurate representation of the original research study. c) Contact the science journal to ask additional questions about the topic. d) Consider comparing the media coverage of the story to the original research report.

Consider comparing the media coverage of the story to the original research report.

RESEARCH STUDY 1.2: Dr. White reads about a new theory that states that depression is caused by increased levels of estrogen in the womb. To test this theoru, she conducted a study comparing in amniotic fluid in individuals who were later diagnosed with depression with the level of those who did not develop depression. Dr. White found no differences between the groups in estrogen levels in the amniotic fluid. In this study, estrogen levels in participants were the a) data b) hypothesis c) theory d) research question

Data

A study suggesting a link between the measles, mups, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism led to reduced vaccination rates and increased rates of measles. This example demonstrates the serious implications of a) Using deception. b) Failing the Principle of Justice c) Data falsification/fabrication d) Legal protection of lab animals

Data falsification/fabrication

RESEARCH STUDY 3.2: Dr. Ramon makes the following claim: "Watching television leads people to spend less time 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 of the following statements is true of Dr. Ramon's and Dr. LaSalle's claims? a) Dr. Ramon's claim makes a stronger statement than Dr. LaSalle's claim. b) Dr. LaSalle's claim is the same as Dr. Ramon's claim. c) Dr. LaSalle's claim makes a stronger statement than Dr. Ramon's claim. d) Dr. Ramon's claim involves more variables than Dr. LaSalle's claim.

Dr. Ramon's claim makes a stronger statement than Dr. LaSalle's

Elliott is double majoring in English and psychology. He plans on being a high school English teacher and is majoring in psychology only because he finds the classes interesting. Which of the following is an important reason for him to be a good consumer of research? a) His psychology advisor may ask him for his help in copyediting a research article. b) He will probably want to read research related to enhancing his teaching. c) He will have to produce research before he can consume it. d) He will likely need to be a participant in research studies as part of his psychology major.

He will probably want to read research related to enhancing his teaching.

In which of the following way is an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) different from an institutional review board (IRB)? a) Seeking permission from an IACUC is recommended but not required for animal research; IRB approval is required for human research. b) IACUCs are optional at universities conducting animal research; IRBs are mandatory at universities conducting human research. c) IRBs must follow federal guidelines, but IACUCs do not have federal guidelines to follow. d) IACUCs monitor the care and treatment of animals throughout the study; IRBs do not monitor the care of human participants throughout the study.

IACUCs monitor the care and treatment of animals throughout the study; IRBs do not monitor the care of human participants throughout the study.

When is it acceptable for a researcher to study participants only from a specific group, such as a researcher studying depression in a sample of Native American women? a) If the specific group being studied is especially prone to the problem being studied (e.g., if depression rates are higher in Native American women) b) It is never acceptable for such a specific group to be studied. c) If the specific group studied has participated in similar research previously (e.g., studies of intelligence in Native American women). d) If the researcher has special access to the specific group (e.g., the researcher works on a Native American reservation).

If the specific group being studied is especially prone to the problem being studied (e.g., if depression rates are higher in Native American women)

Why is plagiarism of violation of ethics? a) It violates an APA standard. b) It is akin to lying. c) It violates a Belmont principles. d) It makes psychology researchers look bad.

It violates an APA standard.

Which of the following is a reason that a journalist may misrepresent a psychology study in a magazine? a) Journalists may not personally have the scientific background to understand the study. b) Journalists are unethical c) Journalists may count on their readers to check the original scientific journal. d) The peer-review process for journalists sometimes makes them miss important facts

Journalists may not personally have the scientific background to understand the study.

Which of the following could be an independent variable in a causal claim? a) One that has one level. b) One that is measured. c) One that is manipulated. d) One that is kept constant.

One that is manipulated.

Which of Robert Merton's scientific norms describes the idea that scientists should always accurately report the findings of their study even if the findings do not support the scientist's hypothesis or theories? a) University b) Organised Skepticism c) Communality d) Disinterestedness

Organised Skepticism

Which of the following ethical violations proposed by the Belmont Report was NOT committed in the Tuskegee Study? a) Participants were not treated respectfully. b) Participants were not given monetary payments for their time. c) Participants were from a disadvantaged social group. d) Participants were harmed.

Participants were not given monetary payments for their time.

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) Positive association b) Negative association c) Zero association d) Causal association

Positive association

Advice that is based on _____________ is most likely to be correct. a) Authority's conclusions b) Personal experience c) Intuition d) Research

Research

You read research that found that first-born children tend to have higher IQ's than their siblings. However, you typically earn higher grades than your older brother. Scientists might explain this discrepancy by saying that a) You have cherry-picked to support your conclusion. b) Your intuition is better than research. c) You have fallen prey to you blind spot bias. d) Research is probabilistic.

Research is probabilistic.

What is the primary difference between researchers and non-researchers? a) Researchers rely exclusively on logic. b) Researchers test their intuition with systematic, empirical observations. c) Researchers are strongly influenced by authority figures. d) Researchers rely on personal experience and intuition.

Researchers are strongly influenced by authority figures.

In considering whether research is ethical, which of the following are balanced against each other? a) Importance of the research versus financial cost to conduct the study. b) Inconvenience to participants versus benefit to the researcher. c) Time investment of the study versus complexity of the study. d) Risk to participants versus value of the knowledge gained.

Risk to participants versus value of the knowledge gained.

RESEARCH STUDY 2.1: Sariyah is studying subliminal messages and weight loss. She is curious whether people will lose more weight if they hear subliminal messages that encourage weight loss ("I don't eat that food", "you want to be thin" etc.) in the music compared to people who do not have subliminal messages in their music. She studies 40 people and finds the following results: # of people who lost weight vs. # of people who did not lose weight Exposed to Subliminal Messages: (cell A) 15 ppl vs. (cell C) 5 ppl Not Exposed to Subliminal Messages: (cell B) 10 ppl vs. (cell D) 10 ppl To understand whether the subliminal messages have an effect, Sariyah needs to consider which of the following cells in the chart? a) She must consider Cells A and C. b) She must consider only Cell A c) She must consider Cells A and B d) She must consider all of the cells.

She must consider all of the cells.

Which of the following is true of students' views of deception and harm in research studies? a) Students usually are tolerant of studies that use major deception. b) Students typically find the negative effects of deception to be diminished during debriefing. c) Students are not tolerant of any degree of deception. d) Students find the negative effects of deception to be worsened by debriefing.

Students typically find the negative effects of deception to be diminished during debriefing.

Which aspect of the peer-review cycle allows for the greatest amount of honesty in reviews? a) The possibility of rejection b) The anonymity of the peer reviewers c) The frequency of publication d) The number of peer reviewers

The anonymity of the peer reviewers

A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behaviour in children. You are curious as to whether peer pressure is really to blame (peer pressure encourages you to watch television and peer pressure encourages you to be aggressive). You are questioning which of the following criteria of causation? a) The criterion of covariance. b) The third-variable criterion. c) The criteria of temporal precedence. d) The criterion of external validity.

The criteria of temporal precedence.

A common finding in the study of aggression is that exposure to television is associated with increased aggressive behaviour in children. You are curious as to whether peer pressure is really to blame (peer pressure encourages you to watch television and peer pressure encourages you to be aggressive). You are questioning which of the following rules of causation? a) The criterion of covariance. b) The criterion of temporal precedence. c) The third-variable criterion. d) The criterion of external validity.

The criterion of temporal precedence.

Dr. Hadden wants to conduct a study that will allow him to make claims that apply to all college students. Which of the following validities is he prioritizing? a) The statistical validity of the study. b) The external validity of the study. c) The internal validity of the study. d) The construct validity of the study.

The external validity of the study.

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1: Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Rock Music When Playing Board Games." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Fancourt, Burton, & Williamon, 2016.) In the study men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music. Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music. Which of the following is a variable in this study? a) The gender of the participant. b) The type of game. c) The volume of the music. d) The gender of the researcher.

The gender of the participant.

RESEARCH STUDY 3.4: Dr. Kang, a cognitive psychologist, conducts an experiment examining the effect of emotion on memory. He provides lists of 15 words to two groups of participants at his university. He puts the names of all the participants in a hat. The first 20 names he assigns to group A and the last 20 he assigns to Group B. Group A is given a list of words that are very emotional in content (e.g. passion, murder). Group B is given a list of words that are neutral in content (e.g. houseplant, desk). He then measures how many words each group is able to remember after being distracted for 5 minutes by watching a video about the history of the university. He finds that Group A remembers 15% more words than Group B. Which of the following is the dependent variable in Dr. Kang's study? a) The number of words remembered. b) The length of the distractor task. c) The content of the words. d) The number of words on the list.

The number of words remembered.

The following situations can influence ethical decision making EXCEPT a) Changing social norms. b) Scientific discoveries. c) Bad experiences of other researchers. d) The possibility of additional grant funding.

The possibility of additional grant funding.

The need to balance the potential costs and benefits to participants taking part in a research study is done to address which principle of the Belmont Report? a) The principle of justice. b) The principle of respect for persons. c) The principle of integrity. d) The principle of benefice.

The principle of benefice.

RESEARCH STUDY 4.1: Dr. Kushner is planning on conducting a study next semester. He is curious as to whether sleep deprivation is associated with poorer cognitive performance. For example, if you sleep poorly the night before a big exam, will you do worse? Dr. Kushner is especially curious about selective sleep deprivation, where people are kept from entering REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Using an electroencephalograph (EEG) to monitor brain waves, he plans to let participants sleep until they enter REM sleep and then wake them. After the participants are awake for one minute, Dr. Kushner plans to let them return to sleep. As they enter REM sleep again, he will wake them again and follow the same procedure. He plans to do this through the entire eight-hour sleep session. The following morning, participants will be asked to take a sample SAT test. Dr. Kushner's decision about the type of participants to recruit should be informed by which of the following principles of the Belmont Report? a) The principle of justice. b) The principle of integrity. c) The principle of respect for persons. d) The principle of beneficence.

The principle of justice.

The issue of obtaining informed consent deals with which of the following principles of the Belmont Report? a) The principle of respect for person. b) The principle of integrity. c) The principle of beneficence. d) The principle of justice.

The principle of respect for person.

RESEARCH STUDY 1.1: Deci and Ryan (1985, 2001) have proposed that three fundamental needs are required for human growth and fulfillment: relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Susan predicts that students who have these needs met in their psychology class feel happier and more satisfied with the class. She collects data and finds that students who feel more related and competent do feel happier, but that feeling more autonomous does not seem to matter. Susan thinks that maybe autonomy is necessary only when people are in situations in which they are not being evaluated. Susan's hypothesis was not completely supported by her data. What does this mean? a) Susan must have collected the data incorrectly. b) The theory may need to be amended. c) The theory is completely wrong. d) Susan must have analysed the data incorrectly.

The theory may need to be amended.

RESEARCH STUDY 3.1: Anderson is reading his morning paper and sees the following headline: "Men Should Avoid Rock Music When Playing Board Games." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Fancourt, Burton, & Williamon, 2016.) In the study men and women played the game "Operation" when listening to different types of music. Male participants performed worse when listening to AC/DC than when listening to Mozart, but female participants' performance did not differ based on music. Which of the following is a constant in this study? a) The number of researchers. b) The type of game. c) The gender of the participant. d) Effort put into playing the game

The type of game.

One of the reasons that research studies are superior to personal experience is that a) They include at least one comparison group. b) They avoid constants. c) They use confederates. d) An authority is involved

They include at least one comparison group.

Marcella is conducting a PsychINFO search for her treatments for autism spectrum disorder by searcher "autism treatment." However, her search is returning too many results. If she is interested in getting more specific results, Marcella could search a) "Autism treatment" and "behavioural" and enter an age range of interest. b) "Autis*treatment". c) "autism spectrum disorder" or "treatment" or "symptom imporvement". d) Using the "or" function for all thesaurus synonyms for autism.

Using the "or" function for all thesaurus synonyms for autism.

RESEARCH STUDY 4.1: Dr. Kushner is planning on conducting a study next semester. He is curious as to whether sleep deprivation is associated with poorer cognitive performance. For example, if you sleep poorly the night before a big exam, will you do worse? Dr. Kushner is especially curious about selective sleep deprivation, where people are kept from entering REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Using an electroencephalograph (EEG) to monitor brain waves, he plans to let participants sleep until they enter REM sleep and then wake them. After the participants are awake for one minute, Dr. Kushner plans to let them return to sleep. As they enter REM sleep again, he will wake them again and follow the same procedure. He plans to do this through the entire eight-hour sleep session. The following morning, participants will be asked to take a sample SAT test. To address the Belmont principle of beneficence, Dr. Kushner would need to ask which of the following questions? a) Can the participants in my study give full, informed consent? b) Are the people in my study going to benefit as much as the people who are not in my study? c) What can I do to decrease the potential harm experienced by my participants? d) Am I trained sufficiently to conduct this study?

What can I do to decrease the potential harm experienced by my participants?

In which of the following scenarios should you be skeptical of an authority? a) When they have a scientific degree. b) When they have conducted scientific research of the topic. c) When they based their opinions on their intuition. d) When they present all the evidence on a topic.

When they based their opinions on their intuition.

RESEARCH STUDY 3.5: Jenny reads the following headline on an online article: "If You're Sexist, People Will Think You're Racist, and Vice Versa." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Sanchez and colleagues, 2017.) This study found that members of stigmatized groups are threatened by prejudice directed at other stigmatized groups. Their results showed that White women can be threatened by racism, and men of colour threatened by sexism, and that these perceptions made participants expect unfair treatment. The results of this study can be generalised to which of the following groups? a) Individuals receiving unfair treatment. b) Women of colour. c) White women and men of colour. d) All underrepresented groups.

White women and men of colour.

A scatterplot is a graph a) That shows changes over time on a variable. b) With points plotted to show a possible relationship between two sets of data. c) Used to show causal associations. d) That shows the size of a difference on a variable between two groups.

With points plotted to show a possible relationship between two sets of data.