Chapter 9

Question 1

Are there any rules for operationalizing conceptual variables?

Answer 1

No, it depends on the variable. cost, practicality, ethical concerns. and researcher’s creativity

Question 2

How can we implement experimental control/

Answer 2

(1) Ensuring only the IV changes across conditions (2) Avoiding alternative explanations such as demand characteristics and experimenter expectancy effects

Question 3

How can we optimize the operational definitions of the IV and DV?

Answer 3

(1) Avoiding ceiling and floor effects (2) Appropriately pairing IV and DV

Question 4

Demand characteristics

Answer 4

Any feature of an experiment that might inform participants of the purpose of the study or how he/she is expected to behave; a threat to internal validity

Question 5

Hawthorne Effect

Answer 5

A participant is aware that he or she is being observed, thus performance is affected

Question 6

Evaluation Apprehension

Answer 6

The anxiety that comes from being evaluated influences performance

Question 7

What are the ways to avoid demand characteristics?

Answer 7

Single blind study, distractor/filler items, using deception or unobtrusive measures to disguise the actual purpose of the study, asking participants what they thought the research was about

Question 8

Single blind study

Answer 8

Keep the participant blind to the hypothesis of the study and the treatment group they are part of

Question 9

Distractor/filler items

Answer 9

Items included in a questionnaire measure that have little to do with the actual research question

Question 10

Experimenter expectancy effects or Experimenter bias

Answer 10

Researcher knows what condition participants are in and intentionally or unintentionally manipulates an experiment in order to find the expected effect and confirm the hypothesis

Question 11

Experimenter expectancy in police line-ups

Answer 11

Police may influence the eyewitness in choosing a certain suspect

Question 12

Clever Hans effect

Answer 12

A horse named Hans taps out the answers to math equations but the experimenter provided involuntary cues through small head or eye movements for the answers

Question 13

What are the ways to avoid experimenter expectancy effects?

Answer 13

double blind study and computer study

Question 14

Double blind study

Answer 14

Keep both the researcher and participant blind to the hypothesis of the study or to the participant’s particular group or condition; Usually require an experimenter that administers the independent variable and another experimenter that administers the dependent variable

Question 15

Computer study

Answer 15

Have a computer run the study to minimize the interactions between researcher and participant

Question 16

Interaction effects

Answer 16

Various social components of the researcher/participant interaction may affect the results

Question 17

Biosocial effect

Answer 17

characteristics of the researcher(s) can affect the behavior of the participant

Question 18

Psychosocial effect

Answer 18

attitude of the researcher can affect the behavior of the participant

Question 19

Ceiling effect

Answer 19

Majority of the dependent variable values approach the upper limit; The measure is too easy and everybody does well so it fails to detect difference; Little variability in scores and hard to see the effect of IV

Question 20

Floor effect

Answer 20

Majority of the dependent variable values approach the lower limit; The measure is too hard and everyone does poorly so it fails to detect difference; Little variability and hard to see the effect of the IV

Question 21

Strong vs. weak IV

Answer 21

(1) Strong IV is likely to generate a large change in the DV (2) Weak IV is unlikely to generate a large change

Question 22

High vs. Low sensitivity DV (measurement of DV or DV itself)

Answer 22

(1) Highly sensitive DV changes easily, enables us to detect small differences (2) Low sensitivity DV is resistant to change

Question 23

What are the two types of operational definitions of the IV?

Answer 23

Straightforward manipulations and staged manipulations

Question 24

Straightforward manipulation of IV

Answer 24

Operationalizations that involve manipulating the independent variable using instructions or other stimulus materials in a simple and obvious way

Question 25

Mundane realism

Answer 25

the extent to which the experiences in a study resemble closely an experience of everyday life

Question 26

Staged manipulations

Answer 26

Operationalizations of an independent variable that involve creating a complex situation that participants experience; Deception is often used to conceal the fact that
the situation is a ruse

Question 27

What are the two main reasons why staged manipulations are employed/

Answer 27

(1) Researcher may be trying to create a certain psychological state in participants (2) To simulate situations that occur in the real world

Question 28

Confederate (or an accomplice) in staged manipulations

Answer 28

May be used to create a particular social situation or administer the independent variable; Usually introduced as another participant in the experiment

Question 29

Experimental realism

Answer 29

The extent to which the experiences in a study are experienced by participants as impactful and engaging

Question 30

Manipulation strength

Answer 30

degree to which levels of an independent variable differ from each other

Question 31

Pros and cons of straightforward manipulation

Answer 31

Pros: simple and easy, very common; Cons: can be too artificial, demand characteristics

Question 32

Pros and cons of staged manipulations

Answer 32

Pros: better simulation, can avoid demand characteristics; Cons: may arouse suspicion, can be difficult to proceed as planned

Question 33

Manipulation check

Answer 33

a measure used to determine whether the manipulation of the independent variable has had its intended effect on a participant

Question 34

What are the advantages of a manipulation check?

Answer 34

(1) You can change the procedures in the actual study if the manipulation is not effective in a pilot study (2) Can determine if the independent variable is the reason for an effect/no effect on the dependent variable

Question 35

What are the ways to operationalize measured variables?

Answer 35

Self-report measure, behavioral measure, and physiological measure

Question 36

Self-report measure

Answer 36

An operationalization of a variable that involves asking people to explicitly indicate something about themselves (e.g., personality, behaviour, attitudes, typically using rating scales with descriptive anchors

Question 37

Behavioral measure

Answer 37

An operationalization of a variable that involves directly observing and precisely recording an aspect of behaviour (e.g. rate or number of times behavior occurs, duration, reaction time).

Question 38

Physiological measure

Answer 38

An operationalization of a variable that involves observing and recording a response from the body (e.g. galvanic skin response, EMG, ECG, EEG, MRI, fMRI)

Question 39

Sensitivity

Answer 39

the ability of a measure to detect differences or changes

Question 40

How can you diagnose a potential ceiling or floor effect?

Answer 40

Look for average values close to the minimum or maximum possible score

Question 41

What are the ways to avoid order effects from multiple measures?

Answer 41

(1) Present the most important measures first (2) Counterbalance the order of presenting measures or rely on complete randomization of order

Question 42

Pilot study

Answer 42

A trial run where data is collected from a few participants before the actual study but not using it as part of the official data set

Question 43

What are the advantages of a pilot study/

Answer 43

(1) Preliminary manipulation check (2) Ensure that all research team members know how the study works (3) Make minor adjustments before spending money or “real” participants

Question 44

How can observational research minimize demand characteristics?

Answer 44

The observer is hidden and unobtrusive measures are used so people are not aware that an experiment is taking place or that they are being observed

Question 45

Placebo effect

Answer 45

we are unaware whether or not the improvement in a participant’s condition is caused by the properties of the drug or by what he/she expected to feel after taking it

Question 46

Placebo group

Answer 46

a control group given the expectation of improvement through treatment in order to control for the psychological effects of receiving a treatment (e.g. participants are given an inert or a harmless substance instead of a drug)

Question 47

What are the 2 potential sources of experimenter bias?

Answer 47

(1) Experimenter may unintentionally treat participants differently depending on the condition they’re in (2) Experimenter can change the interpretation and record of behaviors for people in different conditions