Research Methods Test (1)
A researcher who is conducting an opinion survey asks viewers who are watching a political debate to dial 1-800 number and record their opinion to the "question of the day". In this case the researcher is likely to have
a biased sample
Dr. Stillingworth is interested in people's reactions to a controversial jury verdict. Dr. Stillingworth calls people at their home between the hours of 1:00 pm and 3:30 pm on a Tuesday afternoon. In this example Dr. Stillingworth has most likely selected
a biased sample
Dr. Licciardi predicts that if people are observed while they perform a complex task they will make more errors. Dr. Licciardi's prediction is an example of
a hypothesis
To determine whether students would like more courses scheduled in the late afternoon and evening hours the student services department sends questionnaires to 50 students selected at random from the 5,000 who are registered at the campus. In this instance, the 5,000 students who are registered at the campus would be
a population
Random assignment of subjects occurs when
all subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the groups or conditions
An advantage of naturalistic observation is that it
allows for cause-and-effect conclusions to be drawn
The statistic that indexes the degree to which we may predict the value of one variable from a second variable is the
correlation coefficient
The main advantage associated with the experimental method is
its precise control
When variability in a data set is large, the standard deviation will be ______; when variability is small, the standard deviation will be ______
large; small
Sampling bias is a problem because it
limits the generality of the findings
Dr. Redding has found a correlation of +.65 between snoring and weight. This indicates that
overweight individuals tend to snore more than underweight individuals
If we were to measure the height and weight of 100 adult women, we would find that these two measures are
positively correlated
The FDA found that people who used a particular diet drug combination had more heart valve defects than people who had not taken the diet drug combination. This suggests that the use of the diet drug combination and heart valve defects are
positively correlated
In experiments, placing subjects in experimental groups such that each subject has an equal probability of ending up in any experimental group is referred to as
random assignment
The final setup in a scientific investigation is to
report the findings
Dr. Critelli is studying aggression in children and plans to define aggression as the number of times one child pushes or strikes another child. Defining aggression in this way would
represent operational definition
Which is NOT among the goals of psychology?
searching for absolute truths about behavior
Suppose a researcher discovered a +.87 correlation between the length of a person's toes and the number of shoes the person owns. In general, people who own the fewest number of shoes would have
small toes
Charley tells you that 17 out of the 30 students enrolled in his English class scored exactly 62 points on the last exam. Conceptually, this is the same thing as saying
the mode for that particular English exam was 62
Of the following, the correlation coefficient that indicates the weakest relationship between the two variables being measured is
+.01
Of the following correlation coefficients, the one that would allow the most accurate predictions of one variable based on the other variable would be
+1.00
Which of the following statements about correlations is false?
A and B correlate +1.00; therefore, they are causally related
The purpose of a control group is to
Isolate the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable
Imagine that the personality traits of openness and extroversion and positively correlated. If Andrea's score in openness is extremely low
She would most likely score at the low end of the extroversion scale
A sample is representative if
its composition is similar to the composition of the population
A standardized measure used to obtain a sample of a person's behavior is called
a psychological test
When subjects are administered a series of written questions designed to assess their attitudes, opinions, or behavior, this is called
a questionnaire
To discover whether residents of a city are in favor of building a new sports stadium the team's owner randomly selected and interviewed 500 of the city's 500,000 residents. In this instance, the 500 people that the owner interviewed would be
a representative sample
A general strategy for collecting empirical data is called
a research method
One of your friends is writing a research paper, and wants to obtain information about the depth of personal information people typically reveal during the first date. Directly observing a large number of people during a first date will be difficult, so your friend asks for your advice on the best way to collect this type of date. The best suggestion would be for your friend to use
a survey
A theory is
a system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations
A hypothesis is
a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables
Dr. Marqueta believes that "misery loves company". Based on this belief, Dr. Marqueta predicts that people who have received bad news will seek out other people. Dr. Marqueta's belief is an example of ____________ and her prediction is an example of ______________.
a theory; a hypothesis
By definition, an extraneous variable is
a variable, other than the independent variable, that may influence the dependent variable
The use of reinforcement principles to modify a child's unruly behavior reflects the goals of science that deals with
application and control
Jackson is working with a company to help them develop more effective training programs for their employees. He has spent a great deal of time reviewing all the documentation the company has about previous training opportunities they have provided for their employees. Up to this point in time, Jackson has been engaged in
archival research
Maria plans to study the relationship between self-esteem and being raised in a single-parent or a two-parent family. She decides she must used correlational research, rather than experimental research, to investigate this problem because correlational studies
can be used to investigate factors that would be impossible to manipulate in an experimental study
Trevor plans to study the relationship between people's responses to highly stressful situations and their overall health. He decides he must use correlational research, rather than experimental research, to investigate this problem because correlational studies
can be used to study either positive or negative relationships, whereas experiments can only be used to study positive relationships
Dr. Kincaid was interested in the topic of autistic savants. In the initial part of the investigation Dr. Kincaid carefully observed and compiled detailed files on three individuals who were autistic savants. Dr. Kincaid is conducting
case study research
The mode in a group of scores describes that __________ for that group of scores
central tendency
Inferential statistics help us determine whether _______ played a role in an experiment
chance
When two variables are linked and their individual effects cannot be separated out, we speak of the variables as being
cofounded variables
Subjectivity and the danger of focusing attention selectively is probably greatest in
compiling a case study
The experimental group
consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment with regard to the independent variable
An operational definition
describes the actions and procedures used to measure or control a variable
The two basic types of statistics are
descriptive and inferential
Statistics that are used to summarize and organize data are called
descriptive statistics
To generalize results to a population, we must first
draw a representative sample from the population of interest
The scientific approach assumes that...
events are governed by some lawful order
The ability to infer a cause-and-effect relationship is associated only with the
experimental research method
Suppose that students who work more hours at their jobs tend to have lower grade point averages and also tend to get less sleep. If we were to correlate the two variables of grade point average and number of hours of sleep, we would find that the correlation coefficient is
greater than zero, but less than one
Derrick designed an experiment in which participants listened to a persuasive speech delivered either by a person who was very tall or a person who was average height. In addition, the speeches were delivered either by individuals wearing business clothes or by people wearing casual clothes. In this example, Derrick
has two independent variables, and will be able to determine if height and style of clothing interact
Imagine that the personality traits of conscientiousness and extroversion are negatively correlated. If Wilfred's score in conscientiousness is extremely low
he would most likely score at the high end of the extroversion scale
If we view an experiment as an attempt to establish a cause-effect relationship, the ________ variable would be the cause and the _______ variable would be the effect
independent; dependent
Statistics that are used to interpret data and draw conclusions are called
inferential statistics
By definition, a sample
is a subset of the population who actually participate in a research study
By definition a population
is the group of people to whom the conclusion of the study will apply
Carmella is in a class where the scores on the second midterm exam ranged from 75 to 85 points. Conrad is taking the same course, but in his section the scores ranged from 50 to 98 points. In this example the standard deviation in Carmella's class should be
lower than the standard deviation in Conrad's class
The experiment is a research method in which the investigator
manipulates a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observes whether there are changes in a second variable as a result
Your grade point average is an example of which measure of central tendency?
mean
Answering the question of "how" something works is MOST closely associated with which goal of science?
measurement and description
The score that falls exactly in the center of a distribution of scores such that half are below and half are above it is the
median
Dr. Zelke surveys 50 university students to discover the relationship between textbook price and ratings of readability. Dr. Zelke finds that for these two variables the correlation coefficient is -.70. This indicates that
more expensive books tend to receive lower readability ratings than less expensive books
A group of researchers wanted to investigate allegations of sexual harassment on a company's assembly line. To make their observations, the researchers took jobs working on the assembly line and pretended to be new employees. In this example, the researchers were using
naturalistic observation
Jolyn believed that there were gender differences in driving habits. To test this assumption she stood near a quiet intersection. Jolyn recorded the gender of each driver who approached a stop sign, and also whether the individual came to a complete stop before proceeding into the intersection. Jolyn is conducting
naturalistic observation
As the number of bystanders increases, people are less likely to help someone who is in distress. This suggests that the size of a crowd and helping behavior are
negatively correlated
The use of mathematics to organize, summarize, and interpret numerical information is referred to as
statistics
In descriptive/correlational research, the investigator
systematically observes two variables to see whether there is an association between them
A scientific theory has to be
testable
A dependent variable in an experiment refers to the variable
that changes value because of the systematic manipulation in the experiment
In the featured study on the use of subliminal self-help tapes, one of the independent variables was
the actual purpose of the tape
Diaz conducts a decision-making experiment to determine if people reason more logically when they have more time to decide. All the participants who are under 40 are allowed 15 minutes to reach a decision about a problem; all the participants over 40 are allowed 20 minutes to reach a decision about the same problem. Diaz has a problem with his experimental design because
the age of the participants is cofounded with the independent variable
A researcher found that clients who were randomly assigned to same-sex groups participated more in group therapy standards than clients who were randomly assigned to coed groups. In this experiment, the dependent variable was
the amount of participation in the group therapy sessions
A group of researchers wanted to determine whether children would behave more aggressively after watching violent television programming. Half the children in the study watched a violent television show, the other children watched a non-violent television program. In the study the control group is
the children who watch the non-violent television program
A group of researchers wanted to determine if people will eat more food in a room with red paint and red decorations than in a room that is decorated blue. Half the participants in this study ate in the red room and half ate in the blue room. The researchers then measured how much food was consumed in each of the two rooms. In this study the independent variable was
the color of the decorations in the room
The correlation coefficient is a measure of
the degree of relationship between two variables
A group of researchers conducts a study to determine if children's performance is affected by the presence of other children. First the children are taken to a room with no other children and timed while they complete a puzzle. Later the same children are taken to a room with four other children and timed while they complete a similar puzzle. In the study, the length of time it takes to complete the puzzle would be
the dependent variable
Manipulating a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observing the changes in a second variable defines
the experimental approach
One of the disadvantages of the experimental method is
the face that experiments often can't be done for practical or ethical reasons
In a study designed to test the effects of a new drug developed to treat Alzheimer's disease half the patients were given the actual drug while the other half of the patients were given a placebo. In this study, the experimental group is
the group who received the actual drug
Perhaps the greatest disadvantage or limitation associated with descriptive research method is
the inability to control
Researchers who were studying plant growth raised plants in two separate rooms. One room had taped conversations playing 24 hours a day; the other room was silent. The researchers found that the plants grew better in the room which had the conversations playing. In this study, the type of room (conversation or silent) would be
the independent variable
A correlation coefficient of zero describes
the lack of a relationship between two variables
When the scores for a recent chemistry exam were calculated the mean was 60 and the median was 65. Later the professor discovered that one score had been recorded incorrectly; it has been entered into the computer as a 5, instead of a 50. When this correction is made
the mean will change but the median will stay the same
Carla earned 78 points on her statistics exam. Ten of the students in her class earned higher scores than she did, and ten earned lower scores than Carla. Based on this information, you can conclude that Carla's score of 78 points is
the median of her class
In Margaritte's sociology discussion group 4 out of 5 students are between the ages of 19 and 23; the fifth student is 54 years old. If Margaritte wants to report the statistic that best represents the "average" age for her discussion group, she should report either
the median or the mode, because these numbers will be more representative
A group of researchers wants to determine if people are more likely to follow directions if the person giving the directions if in a uniform. Half the participants are directed to a parking spot by a uniformed security guard the other half are directed by an individual wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt. In this study the dependent variable would be
the number of participants who park in the spot they are directed to
In the featured study, the researchers found
the observed changes matched the labels on the tapes, not the content of the tapes
Sometimes a subject's expectations may lead to behavior change in the absence of any effective treatment. This is referred to as an example of
the placebo effect
The median is
the score that falls exactly in the center of a distribution
Georgeanna calculated descriptive statistics for the age of residents in a nursing home. She reported the mean age as 75 years, with a standard deviation of 10 years. Later she found that she had made an error in her calculations. One resident's age was entered as 27 when it should have been 72. When this correction is made
the standard deviation for the data set will decrease
In the featured study on the use of subliminal self-help tapes, one of the dependent variables was
the subject's beliefs about their personal improvement
Bill received a poor performance evaluation in his job last year. Since then Bill has started working through his lunch hour, he has taken on four special projects, and enrolled in night classes to upgrade his computer skills. If Bill receives a better evaluation at his next performance it will be hard for him to figure out why because
the three actions he took are confounded with each other
Dr. Kalmagura plans on introducing a new exam review procedure in his chemistry classes. To check the effectiveness of the new procedure he is going to have half of his students try the new technique for one semester, while the remaining students review in the way they have always done in the past. He asks each student to decide which of the techniques they would like to use, the new technique or the standard. In this example, Dr. Kalmagura's procedure illustrates
the use of non-random assignment
An independent variable in a experiment refers to
the variable deliberately manipulated by the experimenter
If the correlation coefficient between the amount o exposure to television violence and aggressive behavior was found to be +.43, we could conclude that
there is a positive relationship between those two variables
A researcher has children watch 30 minutes of violent television, and then counts the number of times they hit each other afterward in a one-hour play period as a measure of aggression. The researcher concludes that the television violence causes aggression. However, this conclusion is invalid because
there was no control group
Naturalistic observation, case studies, and surveys all have in common that
they do not manipulate the variables under study
"Statistically significant" means that the results of an experiment most likely
were not due to chance
Paulo tells you that he just completed an experiment in his botany class and the results he obtained were statistically significant. This means that the results he obtained
were unlikely to be a result of chance variations in his sample