Chapter Two: Methodology

Question 1

Social psychology is an _________ science with a well-
developed set of methods to answer questions about social
behaviour.

Answer 1

empirical

Question 2

Science is a cumulative process alternating between
__________ and __________.

Answer 2

• theories
• hypothesis

Question 3

Social psychologists develop a theory, test specific hypotheses derived from that theory and, based on the results, revise the
theory and formulate new hypotheses. What is this called?

Answer 3

Continual process of theory refinement

Question 4

In social psychology, Researchers will sometimes observe a _________, develop a _______ about why it occurred, and then design a ______ to see if they are right.

Answer 4

• phenomenon
• theory
• study

Question 5

What are the 3 types of methods used to study social problems?

Answer 5

1. observational methods (what is the nature of the phenomenon?)
2. correctional methods (what is the relationship between variable X and variable Y?)
3. experimental methods (Is variable X a cause of variable Y?)

Question 6

________ and ________ _________ are examples of
observational research.

Answer 6

• ethnography
• archival analysis

Question 7

TRUE OR FALSE: When is comes to ethnography, Behaviors to be observed don’t need to be clearly defined beforehand.

Answer 7

FALSE: Behaviors to be observed must be clearly defined
beforehand.

Question 8

What is an example of ethnography?

Answer 8

Observations of school bullying using waist-
pouch microphone technology.

Question 9

Why is archival analysis a power observational method?

Answer 9

because it provides a unique look at the values of a culture.

Question 10

What is an example of archival analysis?

Answer 10

Comparing magazine images across time or
sub-groups.

Question 11

What are the two advantages of surverys?

Answer 11

they enable the researchers to:
– Judge the relationship between variables that are often
difficult to observe.
– Sample representative segments of the population
through random selection.

Question 12

A major limitation of correlations is that they do not tell the
_______ _________of the relationship; they only indicate if two
variables are _______.

Answer 12

• causal direction
• related

Question 13

The only way to determine causation is through
____________.

Answer 13

experimentation.

Question 14

When it comes to the experimental method, the researcher _________ _________ participants to different conditions and ensures that these conditions are ________, except for the __________ variable.

Answer 14

• randomly assigns
• identical
• independent

Question 15

Experiments strive to achieve high ________ validity.

Answer 15

internal

Question 16

To maintain internal validity, researchers must keep
everything about the situation the same except the
___________ ___________. This is accomplished by controlling all extraneous variables and by ___________ _________ people to different experimental conditions.

Answer 16

• independent variable
• randomly assigning

Question 17

With random assignment to conditions, all participants
have an _____ _________ of taking part in any condition of an
experiment.

Answer 17

equal chance

Question 18

The results are _________ if the probability is less than 5 in
100 that the results are due to chance factors instead of the
independent variables.

Answer 18

significant

Question 19

Experiments also strive to achieve external validity, which
is the extent to which the results of a study can be
_________ to other situations and other people.

Answer 19

generalized

Question 20

What are the two kinds of generalizability?

Answer 20

– Generalizability across situations.
– Generalizability across people.

Question 21

To overcome the artificiality of the experimental setting,
researchers aim for ______________ __________. They will use _______ _________ to heighten this.

Answer 21

• psychological realism
• cover stories

Question 22

What is the best way to ensure generalizability?

Answer 22

randomly select participants from the entire population

Question 23

Field experiments is an excellent way to increase _______ ______.

Answer 23

external validity

Question 24

When conducting experiments in psychology, there is almost
always a _______-_____ between internal and external validity (i.e.,
between Having enough ________ over the situation to ensure that no extraneous variables are influencing the results, and Ensuring the results can be ___________ to everyday life.)

Answer 24

• trade off
• control
• generalized

Question 25

TRUE OR FALSE: Generally, both internal and external validity are not captured in a single experiment

Answer 25

TRUE

Question 26

Most social psychologists opt first for ________ validity,
conducting lab experiments in which people are ______ _________ and extraneous variables are ________.

Answer 26

• internal
• randomly assigned
• controlled

Question 27

Basic research is conducted purely for reasons of
_______ ________.

Answer 27

intellectual curiosity

Question 28

Applied research involves studies designed to solve a
particular ______ ________; building a theory of behaviour is
usually __________ to solving the problem.

Answer 28

• social problem
• secondary

Question 29

Researchers are required to take actions to ensure the
_______, _______, and __________ of the research participants.

Answer 29

• health
• welfare
• comfort

Question 30

In what situation would you be required to arrange a debriefing session?

Answer 30

when deception is used in the study

Question 31

In studies, Participants must be told that they can ________ at any
time, without any negative consequences. Also, _______ and _______ of participants’ responses must also be assured.

Answer 31

• withdraw
• anonymity
• confidentiality

Question 32

What are the six ethical principles of psychologists in the conduct of research?

Answer 32

1. respect for dignity of persons
2. informed consent
3. minimizing harm
4. freedom to withdraw
5. privacy and confidentiality
6. use of deception