Ch 2 (e) Experiments

Question 1

Because she had a serious traffic accident on Friday the 13th of last month, Felicia is convinced that all Friday the 13ths will bring bad luck. Felicia’s belief best illustrates

Answer 1

illusory correlation

Question 2

The King James Version of the Bible was completed when William Shakespeare was 46 years old. In Psalm 46 of this translation, the forty-sixth word is “shake,” and the forty-sixth word from the end is “spear.” Before concluding that the biblical translators were trying to be humorous with these specific word placements, you would be best advised to recognize the danger of

Answer 2

perceiving order in coincidental events

Question 3

A researcher interested in proving a causal relationship between two variables should choose which research method?

Answer 3

experiment

Question 4

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

Answer 4

experiment

Question 5

A research method in which an investigator manipulates factors that potentially produce a particular behavior is called a(n)

Answer 5

experiment

Question 6

To exercise maximum control over the factors they are interested in studying, researchers engage in

Answer 6

experimentation

Question 7

The most foolproof way of testing the true effectiveness of a newly introduced method of psychological therapy is by means of

Answer 7

experimental research

Question 8

Researchers are interested in studying the relationship between poor prenatal nutrition and early cognitive development. Because of ethical concerns, which research method would be most appropriate for researchers to use?

Answer 8

correlational

Question 9

Researchers are interested in studying the impact of drugs on human fetuses. In this case, why would a correlational study be more appropriate than an experiment?

Answer 9

because participants could not be ethically assigned to an experimental or control condition

Question 10

Researchers use experiments rather than other research methods in order to distinguish between

Answer 10

causes and effects

Question 11

To accurately infer cause and effect, experimenters should use

Answer 11

random assignment

Question 12

To provide a baseline against which they can evaluate the effects of a specific treatment, experimenters make use of a(n)

Answer 12

control condition

Question 13

In the hypothesis “Students who study a list of terms in the morning, just after waking up, will recall more terms than students who study the list just before falling asleep,” what is the independent variable?

Answer 13

time of day

Question 14

In the hypothesis “Students who study a list of terms in the morning, just after waking up, will recall more terms than students who study the list just before falling asleep,” what is the dependent variable?

Answer 14

number of terms remembered

Question 15

In an experiment, researchers manipulate one factor to see its effect on another factor, called the

Answer 15

dependent variable

Question 16

When you read a bar graph, it is most important for you to

Answer 16

note the range and size of the scale values

Question 17

Bar graphs allow researchers to

Answer 17

compare groups