Unit 2 Chapter 2

Question 1

Which goal of science is most closely associated with answering the question of “how”
something works?
a. understanding and prediction
b. measurement and description
c. application and control
d. search for truth

Answer 1

b. measurement and description

Question 2

What do we call any measurable conditions, events, characteristics, or behaviours that are
controlled or observed in a study?
a. confounds
b. variables
c. correlations
d. hypotheses

Answer 2

b. variables

Question 3

Forensic profilers use information about known serial killers to make statements about the
likely next-steps of a new killer, and to anticipate a pattern of behaviour. Which goal of the
scientific enterprise does this reflect?
a. application and control
b. measurement and description
c. the search for truth
d. understanding and prediction

Answer 3

d. understanding and prediction

Question 4

Which goals of science are reflected in the use of reinforcement principles to modify a child’s
unruly behaviour?
a. understanding and prediction
b. application and control
c. measurement and description
d. determinism and teleology

Answer 4

b. application and control

Question 5

What is a theory?
a. a system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations
b. a preliminary proposal that has yet to be tested
c. a statement of research results that have been proven correct
d. a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables

Answer 5

a. a system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations

Question 6

There are multiple goals in science, and researchers move between goals at various points in
their research. Which goals can researchers move between if they have a theory??
a. from application to control
b. from concept to description
c. from description to understanding
d. from understanding to application

Answer 6

c. from description to understanding

Question 7

Which of the following must be true of a scientific theory?
a. It is well established and not disputed.
b. It is accepted by others.
c. It is testable.
d. It is correct

Answer 7

c. It is testable.

Question 8

Which of the following patterns is typical of theory construction?
a. a gradual iterative process that is always subject to revision
b. a process that results in concrete findings that are accepted by other scientists
c. a standard step-like process that quickly moves toward the truth
d. a circular process that typically leads nowhere

Answer 8

a. a gradual iterative process that is always subject to revision

Question 9

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. Which of the
following terms characterizes Dr. Marqueta’s prediction?
a. theory
b. hypothesis
c. variable
d. application

Answer 9

b. hypothesis

Question 10

What is a hypothesis?
a. a conclusion drawn from an experiment
b. a random guess as to what might happen in an experiment
c. a system of interrelated ideas used to explain a set of observations
d. a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables

Answer 10

d. a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables

Question 11

How are hypotheses typically expressed?
a. as theories
b. as predictions
c. as statistics
d. as variables

Answer 11

b. as predictions

Question 12

Dr. Licciardi predicts that if people are observed while they perform a complex task, they will
make more errors. Which of the following terms is Dr. Licciardi’s prediction is an example
of?
a. theory
b. inferential statistics
c. hypothesis
d. operational definition

Answer 12

c. hypothesis

Question 13

Dr. Malm predicts that if teachers ignore students who act up in class, fewer students will act
up in class. What is the scientific term for Dr. Malm’s prediction?
a. operational definition
b. inferential statistics
c. hypothesis
d. theory

Answer 13

c. hypothesis

Question 14

A researcher is measuring the heart rate of subjects as an index of anxiety. In this study, what
is heart rate?
a. negatively correlated with anxiety
b. independent variable
c. confounded variable
d. operational definition of anxiety

Answer 14

d. operational definition of anxiety

Question 15

What is an operational definition?
a. It provides a logical basis for each term.
b. It states relationships to other variables.
c. It describes the actions and procedures used to measure or control a variable.
d. It separately defines each term used

Answer 15

c. It describes the actions and procedures used to measure or control a variable.

Question 16

Dr. Critelli is studying aggression in children and plans to define aggression as the number of
times one child pushes or strikes another child. What is Dr. Critelli doing when he defines
aggression in this way?
a. operating the theory
b. creating a hypothesis
c. implementing a hypothetical definition
d. providing an operational definition

Answer 16

d. providing an operational definition

Question 17

Dr. Dieringer wants to study attachment patterns in single-parent families. She plans to define
the strength of attachment as the time it takes for the parent to respond when the infant starts
to cry. Why is this definition important?
a. It allows others to understand exactly what Dr. Dieringer means by “attachment.”
b. It allows Dr. Dieringer to generate a scientific hypothesis.
c. It prevents research assistants from violating ethical guidelines for psychological
research.
d. It requires a double-blind research design.

Answer 17

a. It allows others to understand exactly what Dr. Dieringer means by “attachment.”

Question 18

Dr. Hessels is examining how different people respond to frightening events. She will have
participants walk through a haunted house at a local amusement park, and each participant
will be outfitted with a heart monitor. She will use the changes in heart rate as a measure of
stress. What are two ways that such changes in heart rate can be described?
a. an operational definition and a case study
b. a case study and a physiological recording
c. a physiological recording and a direct observation
d. an operational definition and a physiological recording

Answer 18

d. an operational definition and a physiological recording

Question 19

A group of students are administered a series of written questions designed to assess their
attitudes, opinions, and behaviour related to studying. What is this method called?
a. a psychological test
b. a questionnaire
c. a paper-based interview
d. a direct written observation

Answer 19

b. a questionnaire

Question 20

A psychologist monitors changes in the subject’s heart rate as the subject watches a violent
movie. What is this data-collection technique called?
a. archival records
b. direct observation
c. psychological testing
d. physiological recording

Answer 20

d. physiological recording

Question 21

What is the term for a standardized measure used to obtain a sample of a person’s behaviour?
a. experiment
b. survey
c. case study
d. psychological test

Answer 21

d. psychological test

Question 22

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.
What research technique is Jackson using?
a. meta-analysis
b. direct observation
c. psychological testing
d. archival research

Answer 22

d. archival research

Question 23

Of the following pairs, which pair contains two data collection techniques that are most likely
to involve direct contact between the researcher and the research participant?
a. direct observation and interviews
b. questionnaires and interviews
c. archival research and questionnaires
d. archival research and psychological testing

Answer 23

a. direct observation and interviews

Question 24

Ling answered a series of written questions that asked about her attitudes and opinions on a
number of current issues. What is this method of data collection called?
a. a questionnaire
b. archival research
c. a standardized psychological test
d. direct observation

Answer 24

a. a questionnaire

Question 25

Dr. Amalie is a social psychologist who is interested in the effects of group size on efficiency
and on the satisfaction of individual group members. In a study conducted by Dr. Amalie’s
research team, three different group sizes were used. Large groups had 20 people, medium
groups had 10 people, and small groups had 4 people. There were 10 sessions run with each
type of group and each group contained different individuals, so the total number of groups
was 30 and the total number of participants was 340. All participants were students at the
school where Dr. Amalie works. The groups were told that they needed to come to agreement
about which movie to select for an upcoming student movie night. The time that it took each
group to come to a decision was recorded. Afterward, each subject was asked to rate his or her
satisfaction with the group’s decision (on a scale from 1-10, where 10 is totally satisfied).
The results were as follows:
Mean time required to come to an agreement (all differences are statistically significant):
Large groups: 20.7 minutes
Medium groups: 16.4 minutes
Small groups: 10.3 minutes
Mean satisfaction rating for individuals (all differences are statistically significant):
In large groups: 4.6
In medium groups: 7.5
In small groups: 8.8

In this study, what is the operational definition of efficiency?
a. difference between speed and satisfaction
b. size of the group
c. satisfaction ratings
d. speed of decision making

Answer 25

d. speed of decision making

Question 26

Which type of study did Dr. Amalie’s research team conduct?
a. experiment
b. double-blind procedure
c. case study
d. naturalistic observation

Answer 26

a. experiment

Question 27

Which of the following is a measure of central tendency from this study?
a. The satisfaction rating for large groups is 4.6.
b. The difference in decision time between small groups and large groups is 10.4
minutes.
c. There was a total of 340 participants in the study.
d. The range of potential satisfaction scores is from 1 to 10

Answer 27

a. The satisfaction rating for large groups is 4.6.

Question 28

What conclusion can you draw from the results of this study?
a. Smaller groups are more likely to be influenced by the opinion of one individual.
b. Group size is confounded with satisfaction ratings.
c. Medium-sized groups have only a moderate amount of disagreement.
d. Larger groups take longer to come to a decision

Answer 28

d. Larger groups take longer to come to a decision

Question 29

What is the independent variable in this study?
a. satisfaction of individual group members
b. efficiency, as measured by speed of decision making
c. group size
d. leadership strategies

Answer 29

c. group size

Question 30

. How many dependent variables are used in this study?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 10

Answer 30

b. 2

Question 31

There appears to be a correlation between efficiency and satisfaction, such that the less time
required to make a decision, the greater the satisfaction of the group members. Which of the
following correlation coefficients would reflect this relationship?
a. +0.85
b. +0.05
c. 0.00
d. -0.79

Answer 31

d. -0.79

Question 32

In the Featured Study, some individuals crossed a high, fear-arousing bridge, while others
crossed a low, non-frightening bridge. In this study, what do we call the type of bridge?
a. naturalistic observation
b. dependent variable
c. operational definition
d. independent variable

Answer 32

d. independent variable

Question 33

In the Featured Study, individuals who had just recently crossed a bridge were met by either a
male or a female confederate of the researcher. What do you call the type of confederate in
this study?
a. confounding variable
b. independent variable
c. extraneous variable
d. dependent variable

Answer 33

b. independent variable

Question 34

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is a projective test that contains ambiguous stimuli
that are to be interpreted by the participant. In the Featured Study, participants crossed a
bridge and then completed the TAT. How did the researchers use participants’ responses to
the TAT in this study?
a. as a dependent variable
b. as a confounding variable
c. as an extraneous variable
d. as an independent variable

Answer 34

a. as a dependent variable

Question 35

You’re planning a night out with a special someone, and you’d really like your date to find
you particularly attractive and arousing. Which of the following activities would be
particularly useful for enhancing the amount of sexual thoughts that your date experiences,
according to the results of the Featured Study on the effects of arousal on attraction?
a. a soothing evening of chamomile tea and soft jazz music
b. doing something that you already enjoy, in order to show your date the “real you”
c. a visit to a local gallery, where your date’s favourite artist is having an exhibit
d. a trip to an amusement park, followed by a horror movie

Answer 35

d. a trip to an amusement park, followed by a horror movie

Question 36

Amanda tells you about her date with Brett the night before. They went to the local
amusement park, where they rode roller-coasters, attempted a climbing wall, and went into the
House of Horrors. At first, Amanda wasn’t that interested in Brett, but by the end of the night
she found herself very attracted to him. What insights could you provide, given the results of
the Featured Study on the effects of arousal on attraction?
a. She must really be in love, because people who experience fear-inducing stimuli
often end up showing fear or revulsion to people nearby.
b. We tend to seek out dangerous events when we are with someone whom we want
to impress, so if she tried to climb a wall then she must have feelings for Brett.
c. Fear-inducing events can lead us to interpret our arousal as attraction, instead of
fear, if we are around potential mates.
d. She must be overcompensating for her guilt about not wanting to go out with Brett
in the first place, so she’s convinced herself that he’s attractive

Answer 36

c. Fear-inducing events can lead us to interpret our arousal as attraction, instead of
fear, if we are around potential mates.

Question 37

According to your text, what is the final step in a scientific investigation?
a. analyzing the data
b. rejecting the hypothesis
c. reporting the findings
d. debriefing participants

Answer 37

c. reporting the findings

Question 38

What is a scientific journal?
a. a personal diary kept by a scientist
b. a detailed record of the daily procedures followed in conducting a study
c. a periodical that publishes technical and scholarly articles
d. a collection of biographies of famous scientists

Answer 38

c. a periodical that publishes technical and scholarly articles

Question 39

Why is publication of research findings extremely important to the scientific method?
a. It allows for critique and self-correction.
b. It forces the writer to be clear.
c. The royalties help the researcher pay for the research.
d. It brings recognition to the research worker.

Answer 39

a. It allows for critique and self-correction

Question 40

Which of the following is a general term for collecting empirical data?
a. descriptive statistic
b. hypothesis
c. research method
d. case study

Answer 40

c. research method

Question 41

Which of the following terms refers to differing approaches to the observation, measurement,
manipulation, and control of variables in empirical studies?
a. validity operationalizations
b. research methods
c. statistical analyses
d. inductive techniques

Answer 41

b. research methods

Question 42

What does a researcher do when conducting an experiment?
a. in-depth investigation of an individual subject, through detailed documentation
b. observation of behaviour as it occurs in its natural environment
c. systematic observation or measurement of two variables to see whether there is an
association between them
d. manipulation of a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observation of
whether there are changes in a second variable as a result

Answer 42

d. manipulation of a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observation of
whether there are changes in a second variable as a result

Question 43

Which approach is defined by manipulating a variable under carefully controlled conditions
and observing the changes in a second variable?
a. experimental approach
b. survey approach
c. testing approach
d. naturalistic approach

Answer 43

a. experimental approach

Question 44

In an experiment, what do you call the variable that is controlled or manipulated by the
researcher?
a. stimulus variable
b. dependent variable
c. control variable
d. independent variable

Answer 44

d. independent variable

Question 45

What is an independent variable in an experiment?
a. a variable that provides an alternative explanation for the results of the experiment
b. a variable that is held constant across experimental conditions
c. a variable that the experimenter believes will change in value because of
systematic correlations that exist in the experiment
d. a variable deliberately manipulated by the experimenter

Answer 45

d. a variable deliberately manipulated by the experimenter

Question 46

A group of researchers investigates the effects of gingko biloba on animal memory. During
the first part of the study, the animals learn to run a maze while they are not receiving the
supplement; in the second part of the study, the animals learn to run a different maze while
they are receiving the supplement. In each case the researchers count how many trials it takes
before the animals can run the maze pattern without making any errors. What is the
independent variable in this study??
a. the number of trials it takes to run the maze without making any errors
b. the type of animal that the researchers select for the study
c. the presence or absence of the supplement in the animal’s diet
d. the age of the animals in the stud

Answer 46

c. the presence or absence of the supplement in the animal’s diet

Question 47

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 a red room and half ate in a blue room. The researchers then measured how much
food was consumed in each of the two rooms. What is the independent variable in this study?
a. the colour of the decorations in the room
b. the type of food that was available during the study
c. the amount of food that was consumed
d. how hungry the participants were at the end of the study

Answer 47

a. the colour of the decorations in the room

Question 48

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 that had the conversations playing. In this study,
what would you call the type of room (silent versus conversation)?
a. placebo
b. independent variable
c. dependent variable
d. extraneous variable

Answer 48

b. independent variable

Question 49

Researchers who were studying memory had participants learn a list of words after consuming
a soft drink with caffeine or a decaffeinated version of the same soft drink. The researchers
then counted the number of words that were recalled from the list. In this study, what would
you call the type of beverage (caffeinated or decaffeinated)?
a. extraneous variable
b. dependent variable
c. confounding variable
d. independent variable

Answer 49

d. independent variable

Question 50

What is a dependent variable?
a. a variable that changes value because of the systematic manipulation in an
experiment
b. a variable deliberately manipulated by an experimenter
c. a variable that the experimenter is depending on to cause something to happen in
an experiment
d. a variable held constant across experimental conditions

Answer 50

a. a variable that changes value because of the systematic manipulation in an
experiment

Question 51

Researchers studying the effects of sleep deprivation tested the physical coordination skills of
25-year-old males who had been sleep deprived for 24, 36, or 48 hours. In this study, what is
the dependent variable?
a. the length of time the participants had been sleep deprived
b. the type of physical coordination task the researchers use
c. the age of the research participants
d. the physical coordination skills of the men in the study

Answer 51

d. the physical coordination skills of the men in the study

Question 52

A group of researchers wants to determine if people are more likely to follow directions if the
person giving the directions is in a uniform. Half the participants are directed to a parking spot
by a uniformed security guard; the other half are directed to a parking spot by an individual
wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt. In this study, what is the dependent variable?
a. the gender of the person driving into the parking lot
b. the number of participants who park in the spot they are directed to
c. the type of clothing worn by the person giving the directions
d. the distance between the parking spot and the entrance

Answer 52

b. the number of participants who park in the spot they are directed to

Question 53

A group of researchers conducts a study to determine if a child’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 this study, what do you
call the length of time it takes to complete the puzzle?
a. extraneous variable
b. control variable
c. dependent variable
d. independent variable

Answer 53

c. dependent variable

Question 54

An industrial designer wants to determine if the new design for a piece of office equipment
will result in fewer errors. The designer sets up a machine with the old design in one room,
and a machine with the new design in a second room. He counts how many errors are made
using each of the two machines. In this study, what do you call the number of errors made?
a. extraneous variable
b. dependent variable
c. independent variable
d. control variable

Answer 54

b. dependent variable

Question 55

f we view an experiment as an attempt to establish a cause–effect relationship, how can we
define the relationship between the variables in an experiment?
a. The independent variable is the cause, and the control variable is the effect.
b. The dependent variable is the cause, and the independent variable is the effect.
c. The control variable is the cause, and the independent variable is the effect.
d. The independent variable is the cause, and the dependent variable is the effect.

Answer 55

d. The independent variable is the cause, and the dependent variable is the effect.

Question 56

A researcher found that clients who were randomly assigned to same-sex groups participated
more in group therapy sessions than clients who were randomly assigned to co-ed groups. In
this experiment, what is the dependent variable?
a. whether or not the group was co-ed
b. how much the clients’ mental health improved
c. the clients’ attitudes toward group therapy
d. the amount of participation in the group therapy sessions

Answer 56

d. the amount of participation in the group therapy sessions

Question 57

Nula is conducting a study in which one group is exposed to loud music while completing a
writing assignment and the other group has quiet conditions. Further, Nula examines the effect
of gender within these groups. Therefore, she is examining the effects of both noise and
gender on participants’ performance on a writing task. Which of the following reflects the
type of variables present in this study?
a. one independent variable and two dependent variables
b. one control variable and two independent variables
c. one independent variable, one control variable, and one dependent variable
d. two independent variables and one dependent variable

Answer 57

d. two independent variables and one dependent variable

Question 58

What is an experimental group?
a. It must be chosen to be as different from the control group as possible.
b. It consists of the subjects who do not receive the special treatment.
c. It consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment with regard to the
independent variable.

d. It consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment with regard to the
dependent variable

Answer 58

c. It consists of the subjects who receive some special treatment with regard to the
independent variable

Question 59

In an experiment designed to test memory processes, one group was given special instructions
and asked to group the items on a list into categories while trying to memorize them. A
second group of participants was given the same list, but did not receive any special
instructions. In this study, which group is the experimental group?
a. the group that received the special instructions
b. the group in which the participants remember the most items from the list
c. the group that did not receive any special instructions
d. the group in which the participants remember the fewest items from the list

Answer 59

a. the group that received the special instructions

Question 60

. 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 (sugar pill). In this study, which group is the experimental group?
a. the group that showed evidence of an improvement in their memory
b. the group that received the actual drug
c. the group that received the placebo
d. the group of patients that was not included in the study

Answer 60

b. the group that received the actual drug

Question 61

Phong and Mikaela both take part in a research study that is investigating the effects of sleep
deprivation on reaction time. Phong is kept awake for 24 hours straight, while Mikaela
follows her normal sleep routine. Which group is Phong in?
a. the hypothesis group
b. the control group
c. the dependent variable group
d. the experimental group

Answer 61

d. the experimental group

Question 62

What is the purpose of the control group?
a. to isolate the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable
b. to correlate the dependent variable with the independent variables
c. to make statistical significance more likely
d. to make the experiment more complex

Answer 62

a. to isolate the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable

Question 63

A researcher wants to see if a protein-enriched diet will enhance the maze-running
performance of rats. One group of rats is fed the high-protein diet for the duration of the
study; the other group continues to receive ordinary rat chow. What types of groups are
represented in this study?
a. The high-protein group is an experimental group; the rat chow group is a control
group.
b. Both groups are experimental groups.
c. Both groups are control groups.
d. The high-protein group is a control group; the rat chow group is an experimental
group.

Answer 63

a. The high-protein group is an experimental group; the rat chow group is a control
group.

Question 64

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 television violence causes aggression. Why might this
conclusion be invalid?
a. It is unethical to force children to watch violent television.
b. There was no control group.
c. Aggression wasn’t operationally defined.
d. The study is strictly correlational.

Answer 64

b. There was no control group.

Question 65

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. Which group is the control group?
a. the children who watched the violent show
b. the children who behaved the most aggressively at the end of the study
c. the children who behaved the least aggressively at the end of the study
d. the children who watched the non-violent program

Answer 65

d. the children who watched the non-violent program

Question 66

Jack believes that patrons in his bar will be more likely to leave a tip if the tip jar already has
some money in it. To test this belief, he has the tip jar empty about half the time when a
customer approaches the bar; the rest of the time he ensures there is at least $5.00 in the jar
when a customer approaches. In Jack’s experiment, which is the control group?
a. the patrons who see an empty tip jar
b. all the patrons who leave the bar without tipping
c. the patrons who see a tip jar that contains at least $5.00
d. all the patrons who leave a tip when they leave the bar

Answer 66

a. the patrons who see an empty tip jar

Question 67

Dr. Prutherow believes that people who are under stress will develop more colds than people
who are not under stress. When he randomly selected 10 participants and exposed them to
high levels of stress, he found that 9 of the participants developed colds. Based on these
results, he concluded that stress causes an increase in colds. What is a fundamental flaw in Dr.
Prutherow’s study?
a. He didn’t measure the independent variable when the study ended.
b. There was no dependent variable in his study.
c. There was no control group for comparison.
d. He didn’t formulate a hypothesis before he collected his data.

Answer 67

c. There was no control group for comparison.

Question 68

What is an extraneous variable?
a. the same thing as a dependent variable
b. a variable, other than the independent variable, that may influence the dependent
variable
c. a variable that is completely irrelevant to both the independent and dependent
variables
d. a variable that affects the control group but not the experimental group

Answer 68

b. a variable, other than the independent variable, that may influence the dependent
variable

Question 69

What do you call a variable, other than the independent variable, that appears to have
influenced the dependent variable in a study?
a. univariate
b. extraneous variable
c. redundant variable
d. covariate

Answer 69

b. extraneous variable

Question 70

What do we call two variables that are linked, and their individual effects cannot be separated
out?
a. codependent
b. confounded
c. independent
d. dependent

Answer 70

b. confounded

Question 71

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 who are over 40 are allowed
20 minutes to reach a decision about the same problem. What is the problem with this
experimental design?
a. The age of the participants is confounded with the independent variable.
b. There are two control groups and no experimental group.
c. There is no dependent variable in the experiment.
d. The time allowed for the decision is confounded with the independent variable

Answer 71

a. The age of the participants is confounded with the independent variable

Question 72

In experiments, what do we call the placement of subjects in experimental groups such that
each subject has an equal probability of ending up in any experimental group?
a. random forecasting
b. random selection
c. random assignment
d. random sampling

Answer 72

c. random assignment

Question 73

What is random assignment?
a. Subjects are allowed to choose which group or condition they would like to be in.
b. All topics have an equal chance of being assigned to a particular experimenter.
c. A different method is used to assign each subject to a group or condition.
d. All subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the groups or
conditions.

Answer 73

d. All subjects have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the groups or
conditions.

Question 74

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 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 whether they would like to use the
new technique or the standard technique. What procedure is illustrated in this example?
a. a double-blind research design
b. informed consent in research
c. the use of non-random assignment
d. a correlational research design

Answer 74

c. the use of non-random assignment

Question 75

Braeden received a poor performance evaluation in his job last year. Since then Braeden has
started working through his lunch hour, taken on four special projects, and enrolled in night
classes to upgrade his computer skills. Why will it be hard for Braeden to figure out the cause
if he receives a better evaluation at his next performance?
a. He failed to use a double-blind procedure to test his hypothesis.
b. None of the actions he took are likely to be related to his overall job performance.
c. The three actions he took are confounded with each other.
d. He didn’t formulate a research hypothesis before implementing the changes

Answer 75

c. The three actions he took are confounded with each other.

Question 76

In a study of the effect of fatigue on task performance, participants were asked to complete a
series of puzzles. One day, all participants completed puzzles after 24 hours without sleep. On
another day, the same participants completed puzzles after sleeping for at least eight hours.
What can be said about the research methods used in this study?
a. The control and experimental groups were entirely confounded with one another.
b. There was no control group, so the study is seriously flawed.
c. Participants served as their own control group, in order to examine the effect of the
independent variable under different conditions for the same individuals.
d. Participants provided their own matched controls, so that the researchers were
unable to determine whether the independent variable had any functional impact.

Answer 76

c. Participants served as their own control group, in order to examine the effect of the
independent variable under different conditions for the same individuals

Question 77

What does it mean when there is an interaction between two variables?
a. The measurement of the dependent variable depends on the effect of the
independent variable.
b. The measurement of one dependent variable gets added to the measurement of
another.
c. The effects of one independent variable get added to the effects of another.
d. The effects of one independent variable depend on the effects of another.

Answer 77

d. The effects of one independent variable depend on the effects of another.

Question 78

Dr. Shingwauk designed an experiment in which participants listened to a persuasive speech
delivered either by a very tall person or a person of average height. In addition, the speeches
were delivered by people wearing either business clothes or casual clothes. Dr. Shingwauk
asked listeners to fill out a survey about impressions of the speaker’s credibility. In this study,
what is Dr. Shingwauk looking to determine?
a. Does a double-blind procedure lead to greater credibility of speakers, independent
of the effects of appearance?
b. Do height and clothing style interact to influence judgements of credibility?
c. Does persuasion interact with any other factors?
d. Does the persuasiveness of the speech depend on the additive effects of height and
clothing style?

Answer 78

b. Do height and clothing style interact to influence judgements of credibility?

Question 79

What is the main advantage associated with the experimental method?
a. its precise control
b. it can be generalized to multiple contexts
c. its ability to duplicate real life in the laboratory
d. its appeal to participants

Answer 79

a. its precise control

Question 80

Which research method gives researchers the ability to infer a cause-and-effect relationship?
a. correlational
b. experimental
c. case history
d. empirical

Answer 80

b. experimental

Question 81

What is one disadvantage of the experimental method?
a. experiments often can’t be done for practical or ethical reasons
b. only one variable can be studied at a time
c. length of time necessary to complete the study
d. inability to generate cause-and-effect conclusions

Answer 81

a. experiments often can’t be done for practical or ethical reasons

Question 82

Which of the following is FALSE regarding the experimental method?
a. It is virtually impossible to conduct a true experiment with human beings.
b. It is impossible to manipulate certain variables.
c. It produces artificial situations that may not be applicable to real life.
d. It cannot be used to study certain issues

Answer 82

a. It is virtually impossible to conduct a true experiment with human beings.

Question 83

What do researchers do when conducting descriptive or correlational research?
a. They simultaneously manipulate two or more independent variables.
b. They systematically describe patterns of behaviour and discover relationships
among variables.
c. They manipulate a variable under carefully controlled conditions and observe
whether there are changes in a second variable as a result.
d. They expose subjects to two closely related treatment conditions

Answer 83

b. They systematically describe patterns of behaviour and discover relationships
among variables.

Question 84

Which of the following is a descriptive research method?
a. quasi-experimental designs
b. double-blind procedures
c. experimental studies
d. naturalistic observation

Answer 84

d. naturalistic observation

Question 85

What do naturalistic observation, case studies, and surveys all have in common?
a. They can show causal relationships.
b. The results obtained cannot be analyzed statistically.
c. They do not directly observe behaviour.
d. They do not manipulate the variables under study.

Answer 85

d. They do not manipulate the variables under study.

Question 86

Which of the following research methods is represented in this example? A researcher goes to
a playground for an hour each day for two weeks and records the number of times that a girl
and a boy are playing together.
a. experiment method
b. naturalistic observation method
c. survey method
d. case study method

Answer 86

b. naturalistic observation method

Question 87

What do we call recording all instances of an event for a particular time period (such as how
many times an older brother strikes his younger brother during a given week) without the
subjects’ awareness?
a. naturalistic observation
b. compiling a case study
c. conducting an experiment
d. correlational research

Answer 87

a. naturalistic observation

Question 88

You are sitting on a park bench in a major metropolitan area from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and you
note the number of people who walk by, whether or not they litter, and their sex. What type of
research method are you are engaging in?
a. naturalistic observation
b. case study research
c. experimental research
d. casual observation

Answer 88

a. naturalistic observation

Question 89

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. What type of research is being conducted in this
example?
a. correlational research
b. case study research
c. survey research
d. naturalistic observation

Answer 89

d. naturalistic observation

Question 90

A local hospital wanted to assess the way its patients were being treated. The hospital hired
several researchers to act as patients and record the way hospital personnel handled the
admitting and preliminary evaluation procedures. What sort of research is being conducted in
this example?
a. naturalistic observation
b. correlational research
c. survey research
d. case study research

Answer 90

a. naturalistic observation

Question 91

Jolyn believed that there were gender differences in driving habits. To test this hypothesis, 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. What sort of research is Jolyn conducting?
a. psychological testing
b. naturalistic observation
c. experiment with two dependent variables
d. case study research

Answer 91

b. naturalistic observation

Question 92

What is a distinct advantage of naturalistic observation?
a. It allows behaviour to be studied in realistic settings.
b. It involves random assignment.
c. It approximates the experimental method.
d. It allows for cause-and-effect conclusions to be drawn.

Answer 92

a. It allows behaviour to be studied in realistic settings.

Question 93

Which of the following is a major problem with naturalistic observation?
a. It works well with animals but is virtually useless for studying human behaviour.
b. Researchers have a difficult time determining whether a setting is truly natural.
c. It is limited by the constraints of random sampling and random assignment.
d. It is difficult to observe behaviour without having an influence on that behaviour

Answer 93

d. It is difficult to observe behaviour without having an influence on that behaviour

Question 94

Stephanie is observing a group of adolescents at the mall and documenting their rate of
swearing. The group keeps looking over at Stephanie and pointing at her, and they get louder
and more obnoxious the longer she observes them. Which of the following terms describes
Stephanie’s effect on the group?
a. stereotyping
b. phenotyping
c. reactivity
d. confounding

Answer 94

c. reactivity

Question 95

Which of the following techniques is most likely to prove useful in determining why one
particular child is afraid to go to school?
a. descriptive study
b. case study
c. naturalistic observation
d. experiment

Answer 95

b. case study

Question 96

Dr. Kincaid was interested in the topic of musical genius. In the initial part of the
investigation, Dr. Kincaid carefully observed and compiled detailed files on three individuals
who were musical geniuses. What sort of research is Dr. Kincaid conducting?
a. correlational
b. survey
c. experimental
d. case study

Answer 96

d. case study

Question 97

In which of the following would there be a high risk of effects of subjectivity and selective
attention?
a. doing naturalistic observation
b. compiling a case study
c. running experimental studies
d. conducting surveys

Answer 97

b. compiling a case study

Question 98

NASA wanted to know if extended periods of weightlessness would have an impact on longterm circulatory function. The agency located seven former astronauts who had spent more
than one month in space under conditions of weightlessness, and tested all aspects of their
cardiovascular function. What sort of research did NASA conduct in this situation?
a. experimental research
b. survey research
c. case study research
d. correlational research

Answer 98

c. case study research

Question 99

One of your friends is writing a research paper and wants to obtain information about the
depth of personal information people typically reveal during a 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 data. What would be the best research option for your
friend to use?
a. case study
b. survey
c. archival research
d. double-blind observational study

Answer 99

b. survey

Question 100

Estavan received a questionnaire in the mail asking about his general buying habits. He was
asked to identify the specific products that he typically buys, and the amount of each product
that he typically uses. Which type of research will Estavan have taken part in if he completes
the questionnaire and returns it?
a. archival research
b. naturalistic observation
c. survey method
d. case study approach

Answer 100

c. survey method

Question 101

Which of the following types of research allows psychologists to study the widest range of
phenomena?
a. descriptive research
b. introspective research
c. functional research
d. hypothetical deductive research

Answer 101

a. descriptive research

Question 102

What is perhaps the greatest disadvantage or limitation associated with descriptive research
methods?
a. the inability to control events and isolate cause-and-effect linkages
b. the fact that these methods usually focus attention too narrowly on a single
variable
c. the inability to look at important variables like nutritional effects on behaviour
d. an insensitivity to ethical concerns

Answer 102

a. the inability to control events and isolate cause-and-effect linkages

Question 103

What is the greatest advantage associated with descriptive research methods?
a. a sensitivity to ethical concerns and the overall comfort of research participants
b. the ability to explore questions that cannot be examined using experimental
procedures
c. the ability to focus on specific, isolated behaviours
d. the isolation of cause-and-effect linkages in behaviour

Answer 103

b. the ability to explore questions that cannot be examined using experimental
procedures

Question 104

Trevor plans to study the relationship between individuals’ responses to highly stressful
situations and their overall health. He decides he must use correlational research, rather than
experimental research, to investigate this problem. What is the most likely reason that Trevor
chose a correlational method?
a. Correlational studies have higher internal validity than experiments.
b. Correlational research can be used to investigate factors that would be unethical to
manipulate in an experimental study.
c. Correlational studies tend to be more accurate than experiments.
d. Correlational research can be used to study direct relationships, but not inverse or
indirect relationships.

Answer 104

b. Correlational research can be used to investigate factors that would be unethical to
manipulate in an experimental study.

Question 105

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 use correlational research, rather than
experimental research, to investigate this problem. What is the likely reason that Maria chose
a correlational method?
a. Correlational studies can be used to study either positive or negative relationships,
whereas experiments can be used to study only positive relationships.
b. Correlational studies have higher internal validity than experiments.
c. Correlational methods tend to be more accurate than experiments.
d. Correlational studies can be used to investigate factors that would be impossible to
manipulate in an experimental study.

Answer 105

d. Correlational studies can be used to investigate factors that would be impossible to
manipulate in an experimental study

Question 106

What do researchers call the use of mathematics to organize, summarize, and interpret
numerical information?
a. algebra
b. statistics
c. functional analysis
d. calculus

Answer 106

b. statistics

Question 107

Which of the following is NOT one of the uses of statistics?
a. interpret observations
b. organize observations
c. summarize observations
d. prove observations

Answer 107

d. prove observations

Question 108

What are the two basic types of statistics?
a. sampling and correlative
b. central tendency and variability
c. parametric and correlational
d. descriptive and inferential

Answer 108

d. descriptive and inferential

Question 109

What type of statistics is used to summarize and organize data?
a. computational
b. numerical
c. descriptive
d. inferential

Answer 109

c. descriptive

Question 110

What is the score that falls exactly in the centre of a distribution of scores, such that half the
scores fall below that score and half the scores fall above it?
a. median
b. mean
c. standard deviation
d. mode

Answer 110

a. median

Question 111

What is the median?
a. the difference between the largest and the smallest scores in a distribution
b. the score that falls exactly in the centre of a distribution
c. an arithmetic average of the scores in a distribution
d. the score that occurs most frequently in a distribution

Answer 111

b. the score that falls exactly in the centre of a distribution

Question 112

Which measure of central tendency is your grade point average an example of?
a. mode
b. mean
c. median
d. midpoint

Answer 112

b. mean

Question 113

What does the mode of a group of scores represent?
a. its association with another group of scores
b. the midpoint
c. its central tendency
d. its variability

Answer 113

c. its central tendency

Question 114

Tian tells you that 17 out of the 30 students enrolled in his English class scored exactly 62
points on the last exam. Which of the following states the same concept?
a. The standard deviation for that exam was 62 points.
b. The mode for that exam was 62 points.
c. The mean for that exam was 62 points.
d. The median for that exam was 62 points.

Answer 114

b. The mode for that exam was 62 points.

Question 115

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 had been entered into the computer as a 5, instead of as a 50. What will happen to the mean
and median once the score is entered correctly?
a. The mean for the exam will change, but the median will stay the same.
b. Neither the mean nor the median for the exam will be affected.
c. The median for the exam will change, but the mean will stay the same.
d. Both the mean and the median for the exam will change.

Answer 115

a. The mean for the exam will change, but the median will stay the same.

Question 116

Carla earned 78 points on her statistics exam. Ten of the students in her class earned higher
scores than she did, and ten students earned lower scores than she did. Based on this
information, what can you conclude about Carla’s score?
a. It is the mean for her class.
b. It is the median for her class.
c. It is the standardized score for her class.
d. It is the mode for her class.

Answer 116

b. It is the median for her class.

Question 117

In Margaritte’s sociology discussion group, 4 of the 5 students are between the ages of 19 and
23; the fifth student is 54 years old. Which statistic should Margaritte use if she wants to
report the statistic that best represents the typical age for her discussion group?
a. the mean or the median, because these numbers are typically the same
b. the mean or the standard deviation, so additional statistics can be calculated
c. the median or the mode, because these numbers will best represent the typical class
member
d. the mean or the mode, because these numbers are not affected by extreme scores in
the distribution

Answer 117

c. the median or the mode, because these numbers will best represent the typical class
member

Question 118

Which of the following can be said about a distribution of scores where the mean is lower
than the median and mode?
a. The median and mode must be the same.
b. The standard deviation is high.
c. The distribution is positively skewed.
d. The distribution is negatively skewed.

Answer 118

d. The distribution is negatively skewed.

Question 119

What can be said about the relationship between variability in a data set, and the standard
deviation?
a. When variability is high, the standard deviation is small.
b. The standard deviation does not reflect the variability in the data set.
c. A large standard deviation means that there is a great degree of variability in the
data set.
d. As variability increases in a data set, the standard deviation becomes more variable
as well

Answer 119

c. A large standard deviation means that there is a great degree of variability in the
data set.

Question 120

Dr. Greyeagle 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. What will happen to the standard deviation when this correction is made?
a. It will decrease.
b. It will increase.
c. It will not change.
d. It will increase, but only if the mean remains the same.

Question 121

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, what can be said about the standard deviations in the two classes?
a. The standard deviation will be lower in Carmella’s class.
b. The standard deviations will be negatively correlated.
c. The standard deviation will be less predictable in Carmella’s class.
d. If the number of students is the same, the standard deviations will be the same.

Answer 121

a. The standard deviation will be lower in Carmella’s class.

Question 122

If the distribution of test scores for a midterm is normal, approximately what percentage of the
class should have a score that falls within two standard deviations of the mean?
a. 34 percent
b. 68 percent
c. 95 percent
d. 99 percent

Answer 122

d. 99 percent

Question 123

Terry’s midterm test score falls at the 10th percentile. If there are 100 people in the class, how
many scored the same or lower than Terry?
a. 0 percent
b. 10 percent
c. 90 percent
d. 100 percent

Answer 123

b. 10 percent

Question 124

What is the statistic that indexes the degree to which we may predict the value of one variable
from a second variable?
a. mode
b. correlation coefficient
c. standard deviation
d. mean

Answer 124

b. correlation coefficient

Question 125

What does the correlation coefficient measure?
a. the central tendency
b. the degree of relationship between two variables
c. the difference between the largest and smallest scores in a data set
d. the amount of variability in a data set

Answer 125

b. the degree of relationship between two variables

Question 126

What would we likely find if we were to measure the height and weight of 100 adult women
and calculate a correlation coefficient on the data??
a. Height and weight are negatively correlated.
b. Height and weight are increasingly correlated.
c. Height and weight are positively correlated.
d. Height and weight are uncorrelated.

Answer 126

c. Height and weight are positively correlated.

Question 127

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, who would you predict to own the fewest
shoes?
a. people with large toes
b. people with medium-sized toes
c. people with either very large or very small toes
d. people with small toes

Answer 127

d. people with small toes

Question 128

Dr. Macator predicts that people will act more aggressively during the heat waves of summer
than they will during the cold spells of winter. Which of the following reflects Dr. Macator’s
prediction?
a. Temperature and aggression are uncorrelated.
b. Temperature and aggression are negatively correlated.
c. Temperature and aggression are positively correlated.
d. Temperature is independently correlated with aggression

Answer 128

c. Temperature and aggression are positively correlated.

Question 129

The Ministry of Health found that people who used diet drugs had more heart valve defects
than people who had not taken any diet drug. Which of the following reflects this finding?
a. Heart valve defects and diet drug use are independent of one another.
b. Heart valve defects are positively correlated with the use of diet drugs.
c. Heart valve defects and use of diet drugs are negatively correlated.
d. Heart valve defects and diet drug use are interactive variables, with no
correlational relationship.

Answer 129

b. Heart valve defects are positively correlated with the use of diet drugs.

Question 130

Imagine that the personality traits of openness and extraversion are positively correlated.
Andrea just took two tests that measure openness and extraversion, respectively. If Andrea’s
score in openness is extremely low, what would you predict about her extraversion score?
a. She would most likely score at the low end of the extraversion scale.
b. It is impossible to predict how she is likely to score on the extraversion scale
without more information.
c. Her extraversion score would be corrected based on her openness score.
d. She would most likely score around the mean of the extraversion scale

Answer 130

a. She would most likely score at the low end of the extraversion scale.

Question 131

Dr. Vishnu has found that students who score higher than 85 percent on the first midterm tend
to earn scores of 75 percent or better on the final exam, while students who score less than 60
percent on the first midterm often end up with a failing grade on the final exam. What can be
said about the relationship between scores?
a. Dr. Vishnu should change the final so it is fairer to students who are not doing well
in the course.
b. Students who do poorly on the first midterm give up and study less for the final.
c. Scores on the first midterm and the final exam are positively correlated.
d. Dr. Vishnu is biased against students who do poorly on the first midterm

Answer 131

c. Scores on the first midterm and the final exam are positively correlated

Question 132

Suppose a researcher discovered a strong negative correlation between the length of people’s
hair and the amount of money they paid for their automobile. In general, what could you
predict about people’s hair length if you know that they paid very little for their cars?
a. They have very long hair.
b. They have either very long or very short hair.
c. They have mid-length hair.
d. They have very short hair

Answer 132

a. They have very long hair.

Question 133

Mice who received gingko biloba in their diets made fewer errors in a maze-running task than
mice who had not received gingko biloba. What does this suggest about the use of gingko
biloba and maze-running errors among mice?
a. Use of gingko biloba and maze-running errors are positively correlated.
b. Use of gingko biloba and maze-running errors are weakly correlated.
c. Use of gingko biloba and maze-running errors are uncorrelated.
d. Use of gingko biloba and maze-running errors are negatively correlated.

Answer 133

d. Use of gingko biloba and maze-running errors are negatively correlated

Question 134

As the number of bystanders increases, people are less likely to help someone who is in
distress. What is the relationship between the number of bystanders and the likelihood of
helping?
a. They are negatively correlated.
b. They are indirectly correlated.
c. They are uncorrelated.
d. They are positively correlated.

Answer 134

a. They are negatively correlated

Question 135

Imagine that the personality traits of conscientiousness and extraversion are negatively
correlated. Vladimir’s scores fit the typical pattern. If Vladimir’s score in conscientiousness is
extremely low, how would he score on extraversion?
a. He would probably score close to the median on the extraversion scale.
b. He would most likely score at the low end of the extraversion scale.
c. It is impossible to predict how he is likely to score on the extraversion scale
without more information.
d. He would most likely score at the high end of the extraversion scale.

Answer 135

d. He would most likely score at the high end of the extraversion scale.

Question 136

Suppose that students who work more hours at their jobs tend to have lower grade point
averages, and also tend to get less sleep. What would the correlation coefficient be if we were
to correlate the two variables of grade point average and number of hours of sleep?
a. greater than 1, but less than 2
b. equal to 0
c. less than zero, but greater than -1
d. greater than 0, but less than 1

Answer 136

d. greater than 0, but less than 1

Question 137

. Dr. Hackle has found that no matter how students score on the first midterm, all the students
in her class tend to score between 75 percent and 80 percent on her final exam. Which of the
following values would best represent the correlation between the grades?
a. near 1
b. near -1
c. near 0
d. near 0.5

Answer 137

c. near 0

Question 138

What is represented by a correlation coefficient of “zero”?
a. absence of a linear correlation between two variables
b. a negative correlation between two variables
c. a perfect linear correlation between two variables
d. a positive correlation between two variables

Answer 138

a. absence of a linear correlation between two variables

Question 139

Of the following, which correlation coefficient indicates the strongest relationship between
the two variables being measured?
a. +3.45
b. +0.65
c. 0.00
d. -0.89

Answer 139

d. -0.89

Question 140

Of the following, which correlation coefficient indicates the weakest relationship between the
two variables being measured?
a. +0.95
b. +0.01
c. -0.69
d. -4.50

Answer 140

b. +0.01

Question 141

Of the following correlation coefficients, which one would allow the most accurate
predictions of one variable based on the other variable?
a. +1.23
b. +0.65
c. 0.00
d. -0.79

Answer 141

d. -0.79

Question 142

Of the following correlation coefficients, which one would yield the least accurate predictions
of one variable based on the other variable?
a. +0.99
b. +0.17
c. 0.00
d. -0.49

Answer 142

c. 0.00

Question 143

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 -0.70. What does this indicate?
a. More expensive books tend to receive lower readability ratings than less expensive
books.
b. Increasing the price of a book will lead people to think that it is more readable.
c. Increasing a book’s price will cause a decrease in its readability rating.
d. There is no relationship between book price and ratings of readability.

Answer 143

a. More expensive books tend to receive lower readability ratings than less expensive
books.

Question 144

What could we conclude if the correlation coefficient between amount of exposure to
television violence and aggressive behaviour was found to be +0.43?
a. Watching television violence tends to cause aggressive behaviour.
b. People who watch the most television violence tend to be the most aggressive.
c. Being an aggressive person tends to cause one to watch more violent television.
d. People who watch the most television violence tend to be the least aggressive.

Answer 144

b. People who watch the most television violence tend to be the most aggressive.

Question 145

Which of the following statements about correlations is NOT correct?
a. A and B correlate +1.00; therefore, they are causally related.
b. A and B correlate +1.00; if you know A you can predict B without error.
c. A and B correlate -1.00; if you know A you can predict B without error.
d. A correlation of +.90 gives better predictability than a correlation of +.60

Answer 145

a. A and B correlate +1.00; therefore, they are causally related.

Question 146

What do we call statistics that are used to interpret data and draw conclusions?
a. significant
b. descriptive
c. numerical
d. inferential

Answer 146

d. inferential

Question 147

Which type of statistic allows us to determine whether the results of an experiment occur due
to chance?
a. standard deviation
b. measures of central tendency
c. descriptive
d. inferential

Answer 147

d. inferential

Question 148

Which of the following questions best represents the logic of hypothesis testing?
a. Are the scores of the experimental group lower than the scores of the control
group?
b. Is any observed difference between the groups too large to have easily occurred by
chance?
c. Are the scores of the experimental group higher than the scores of the control
group?
d. Does the experimental group differ from the control group on the independent
variable?

Answer 148

b. Is any observed difference between the groups too large to have easily occurred by
chance?

Question 149

What does it mean to say that the results of an experiment are “statistically significant”?
a. The results had practical significance.
b. Differences in measurements of the dependent variable resulted from chance
variations.
c. Different results for the experimental and control groups were not due to chance.
d. The results were important enough to publish

Answer 149

c. Different results for the experimental and control groups were not due to chance.

Question 150

Paulo tells you that he just completed an experiment in his botany class, and the results he
obtained were statistically significant. What does this mean?
a. His results were likely to be caused by a single strong variable.
b. His results were unlikely to be a consequence of chance variations in his sample.
c. His results are important and will likely have an impact in the field of botany.
d. His results will be of interest to people, even if they are not botanists.

Answer 150

b. His results were unlikely to be a consequence of chance variations in his sample.

Question 151

Masali conducted a study in which she measured the response time for males and females to
complete a spatial task. She found that the mean response time was 1.48 minutes for males
and 1.63 minutes for females. What must Masali do to be confident that an actual difference
exists between males and females?
a. calculate a correlation coefficient
b. calculate an inferential statistic
c. obtain a larger sample
d. redo the experiment

Answer 151

b. calculate an inferential statistic

Question 152

Dr. Arnold conducted a study where he found significant results. Dr. Bernhardt found those
results interesting, and he conducted the same study in his own lab, but did not find significant
results. After discussing their results at a conference, the two researchers found a few minor
differences between their procedures that could explain their different results. This led to the
development of new theories. What aspect of scientific evaluation is depicted in this series of
events?
a. peer-reviewed publication
b. experimenter bias
c. statistical analysis
d. replication

Answer 152

d. replication

Question 153

What is a sample?
a. a subset of the population who actually participate in a research study
b. a group of people to whom the conclusion of the study will apply
c. a group that contains fewer than 50 people or animals
d. all the volunteers who express an interest in the study

Answer 153

a. a subset of the population who actually participate in a research study

Question 154

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, what do we call the
5,000 students who are registered at the campus?
a. an independent variable
b. the biased sample
c. the population
d. the representative sample

Answer 154

b. the biased sample

Question 155

To discover whether residents of a city are in favour 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, what do we call the 500 people whom the owner interviewed?
a. the representative sample
b. the biased sample
c. the population
d. a dependent variable

Answer 155

a. the representative sample

Question 156

What must we do in order to generalize results to a population?
a. ensure that all the variables have been operationally defined
b. select a biased sample from the population of interest
c. oversample selected subgroups in the population
d. draw a representative sample from the population of interest

Answer 156

d. draw a representative sample from the population of interest

Question 157

A researcher who is conducting an opinion survey asks viewers who are watching a political
debate to dial a toll-free number and record their opinion on the “question of the day.” What
type of sample has the researcher created?
a. a random sample
b. a biased sample
c. a representative sample
d. a binary sample

Answer 157

b. a biased sample

Question 158

How should a researcher select subjects for a study in order to generate results that are
generalizable?
a. Subjects should all be chosen from the same geographical area and socioeconomic
class.
b. Subjects should be allowed to choose which group they would like to be in.
c. Subjects should come from a wide range of different age groups.
d. Subjects should be carefully chosen so they are a representative sample of the
population

Answer 158

d. Subjects should be carefully chosen so they are a representative sample of the
population

Question 159

Why is sampling bias a problem?
a. It makes it impossible to use inferential statistics.
b. It limits the generality of the findings.
c. It makes the effect of the independent variable appear to be bigger than it really is.
d. It makes it difficult to avoid a confounding of variables

Answer 159

b. It limits the generality of the findings.

Question 160

Dr. Stillingsworth is interested in people’s reactions to a controversial jury verdict. Dr.
Stillingsworth calls people at their home between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on a
Tuesday afternoon. In this example, what type of sample has Dr. Stillingsworth most likely
selected?
a. a biased sample
b. a redundant sample
c. a bimodal sample
d. a representative sample

Answer 160

a. a biased sample

Question 161

Sometimes a subject’s expectations may lead to behaviour change in the absence of any
effective treatment. What do we call this tendency?
a. placebo effect
b. socially desirable responding
c. sampling bias
d. experimenter bias

Answer 161

a. placebo effect

Question 162

When do placebo effects occur?
a. when two variables are confounded by the fact that they have previously been
associated with one another
b. when, due to their expectations, subjects experience some change from a
nonexistent or ineffective treatment
c. when, in clinical drug trials, the sample is not representative of the population
d. when subjects are influenced by the social desirability bias

Answer 162

b. when, due to their expectations, subjects experience some change from a
nonexistent or ineffective treatment

Question 163

Dr. Limmex is trying to get government approval for a new drug to treat anxiety. Dr. Limmex
claims that 14 percent of the people who took this new drug reported reduced anxiety;
however, other researchers claim that 14 percent of patients who receive no treatment also
report reductions in their anxiety levels. What could explain patient improvement in Dr.
Limmex’s study?
a. improper assignment to groups
b. non-representative sampling
c. placebo effects
d. self-report bias

Answer 163

c. placebo effects

Question 164

In an investigation of the effects of caffeine on concentration, half the participants were given
colas that contained caffeine and half were given decaffeinated colas. In this study, what is
decaffeinated cola?
a. a random factor
b. a confounding variable
c. a dependent variable
d. a placebo

Answer 164

d. a placebo

Question 165

Dr. Voegeli is testing the effects of a new diet supplement on the endurance levels of several
groups of athletes. One group receives 50 ml per day of the supplement. A second group
receives 50 ml per day of a substance that has no active component, but looks and tastes just
like the supplement. A third group receives nothing at all. In this case, what would we call the
second group?
a. the experimental group
b. the comparison group
c. the control group
d. the placebo control group

Answer 165

d. the placebo control group

Question 166

Darla has sent out a survey in which she is asking people to provide information about their
attitudes on a number of sensitive subjects. Why might Darla expect responses to the survey
to be somewhat distorted?
a. because of statistical artefacts
b. because of social desirability bias
c. because of placebo effects
d. because of meta-analytic controls

Answer 166

b. because of social desirability bias

Question 167

How do subjects tend to answer questions about themselves when they are being influenced
by the social desirability bias?
a. in a socially approved manner
b. in a socially rebellious manner
c. by agreeing with nearly every statement
d. by disagreeing with nearly every statement

Answer 167

a. in a socially approved manner

Question 168

When is a researcher most likely to encounter problems with the social desirability bias?
a. when implementing the experimental method
b. when conducting naturalistic observations
c. when compiling or analyzing case studies
d. when collecting self-reports

Answer 168

d. when collecting self-reports

Question 169

Subjects’ self-reports often indicate that they are healthier, happier, and less prejudiced than
other types of evidence would suggest. What is the most likely explanation for these sorts of
results?
a. a tendency to agree with almost every statement
b. faulty memory
c. social desirability bias
d. experimenter bias

Answer 169

c. social desirability bias

Question 170

Reinhold is filling out a psychological test, and as he reads each question he thinks about the
way most other people would probably respond. When he answers, he selects the alternative
that he thinks will present the most favourable impression. What tendency will Reinhold’s
answers reflect?
a. placebo effect
b. social desirability bias
c. non-representative participation
d. negative response set

Answer 170

b. social desirability bias

Question 171

What do we call the tendency to respond to questions in a manner unrelated to the content of a
question?
a. counter placebo effect
b. cognitive confabulation
c. response set
d. counter confound

Answer 171

c. response set

Question 172

Konrad dislikes completing questionnaires, so each time he fills one out he always circles the
same answer, such as “strongly agree” or “strongly disagree.” What tendency does Konrad’s
behaviour reflect?
a. placebo effect
b. sampling bias
c. social desirability
d. response set

Answer 172

d. response set

Question 173

Malinda is filling out a survey for a marketing agency in order to be eligible for a grand prize
drawing. She doesn’t actually read many of the questions, and simply answers “yes” to
everything. What do we call this tendency?
a. placebo effect
b. interaction effect
c. social desirability bias
d. response set

Answer 173

d. response set

Question 174

Which of the following is an example of experimenter bias?
a. An experimenter explicitly instructs subjects to complete tasks in a particular
order, rather than allowing them to choose the order of completion.
b. An experimenter tries to make a favourable impression on the research subjects by
being friendly and by providing a great deal of information.
c. An experimenter conducts her study in a completely objective manner.
d. An experimenter’s belief in his own hypothesis affects either the subjects’
behaviour or his observations of the subjects.

Answer 174

d. An experimenter’s belief in his own hypothesis affects either the subjects’
behaviour or his observations of the subjects.

Question 175

What is the typical consequence of experimenter bias?
a. The effects of the bias confirm the experimenter’s expectations.
b. The results of the study are not statistically significant.
c. There is evidence of the placebo effect in the results of the experimental group.
d. Experimenters often doubt their results when they first see them

Answer 175

a. The effects of the bias confirm the experimenter’s expectations.

Question 176

Melvin and Leigh are interviewing students at their campus to determine if the students agree
or disagree with a proposed policy change. Melvin believes the proposed policy change is a
good idea, but Leigh believes the change will be bad for students. Nearly all the students who
Melvin interviewed supported the policy change, but nearly all the students who Leigh
interviewed disapproved of the change. Which of the following research problems could
account for the different results?
a. placebo effects
b. double-blind procedures
c. confounded dependent variables
d. experimenter bias

Answer 176

d. experimenter bias

Question 177

What method is often used to control for experimenter bias effects in research?
a. non-representative sample
b. reverse control group
c. socially desirable procedure
d. double-blind procedure

Answer 177

d. double-blind procedure

Question 178

What do we call the experimental procedure in which both the experimenter and subject are
unaware of who is in the experimental group and who is in the control group?
a. double-blind
b. single-blind
c. stereotaxic
d. placebo control

Answer 178

a. double-blind

Question 179

Dr. Hugo designs an experiment to test the effectiveness of a new antidepressant. Half of the
participants will receive the drug and half will receive a sugar pill, but neither the participants
nor the researchers who administer the drug will know who is receiving the drug and who is
receiving the sugar pill. What has Dr. Hugo designed?
a. a double-blind research study
b. an unethical research procedure
c. a study that will minimize self-report bias
d. a correlational study with two confounded factors

Answer 179

a. a double-blind research study

Question 180

Scarlett is a graduate student who is observing children playing together after watching a film.
She knows that some children saw a film that contained graphic scenes of violence and some
children saw a non-violent film, but she doesn’t know which film each child she is observing
watched. What would we call this type of procedure?
a. correlational
b. blind
c. confounded
d. unethical

Answer 180

b. blind

Question 181

Dr. Anishnabe designs a research study in which neither the subjects nor the research
assistants who interact directly with the subjects know which is the control group and which is
the experimental group. What is the most likely reason that Dr. Anishnabe chose this type of
research design?
a. It reduces the impact of experimenter bias.
b. It avoids the need to obtain ethics approval for the study.
c. It minimizes the possibility of self-report bias.
d. It ensures that the sample is not biased.

Answer 181

a. It reduces the impact of experimenter bias.

Question 182

Other than the obvious convenience, why might a researcher choose to collect survey data on
the Internet?
a. Online participants are less likely to develop response sets.
b. All procedures are automatically double-blind.
c. The transparency of research methods in Internet-mediated research reduces the
risk of the placebo effect.
d. The greater sense of anonymity when using Internet-mediated surveys reduces the
influence of the social-desirability bias

Answer 182

d. The greater sense of anonymity when using Internet-mediated surveys reduces the
influence of the social-desirability bias

Question 183

Which of the following statements is most accurate?
a. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the use of deception in
psychological research.
b. Although deception has been used in the past, it has recently been banned by the
American Psychological Association and the Canadian Psychological Association.
c. Deception has been fairly common in psychological research since the 1960s.
d. Deception has never been used in psychological research.

Answer 183

c. Deception has been fairly common in psychological research since the 1960s.

Question 184

Which of the following is NOT one of the arguments that critics have used against the use of
deception in psychological research?
a. Lying is inherently immoral.
b. Subjects may be made to feel foolish when the true purpose of the study is
revealed.
c. Subjects are likely to experience severe physical or psychological harm in this type
of research.
d. The subjects’ ability to trust others may be undermined

Answer 184

c. Subjects are likely to experience severe physical or psychological harm in this type
of research.

Question 185

Zigfried Rosenblat, Jr. took part in a study on sexual deviance last year. He was somewhat
dismayed when he read an article in a weekly journal discussing sexual deviance in which one
patient was referred to as ZRJ. Although the article claimed all names had been disguised to
protect personal identities, Zigfried is convinced he is the individual described in the article.
In this case, which ethical principle did the researchers likely violate?
a. responsible caring
b. responsibility to society
c. respect for the dignity of persons
d. integrity in relationships

Answer 185

c. respect for the dignity of persons

Question 186

Dr. Jacobsen is investigating the link between social support networks and grades in school.
Students in his classes are required to complete survey forms related to this research. If a
survey form is not completed by the end of the semester, then a student’s grade is reduced by
10 points. In this case, which ethical principle might be violated?
a. responsible caring
b. responsibility to society
c. use of deception
d. respect for the dignity of persons

Answer 186

d. respect for the dignity of persons

Question 187

Which of the following ethical guidelines includes recommendations to psychologists that the
field of psychology has a responsibility to increase knowledge and promote the welfare of all
human beings?
a. integrity in relationships
b. responsible caring
c. responsibility to society
d. respect for the dignity of persons

Answer 187

c. responsibility to society

Question 188

Which of the following is generally accepted regarding the use of animals in research, under
Canadian ethical guidelines??
a. Animals can be used in research laboratories, but only in observational studies, not
experimental studies.
b. Animals can be used for any form of research, regardless of the dangers associated
with that research.
c. Animals are used in research when there is a strong expectation that the results will
benefit both humans and animals.
d. Animals can be used in research but can be harmed only when there is clear
evidence that the results will lead to treatments or cures for existing human or
animal disorders.

Answer 188

c. Animals are used in research when there is a strong expectation that the results will
benefit both humans and animals.

Question 189

Why must Canadian researchers using animals adhere to ethical guidelines that are set by the
three major research funding agencies, collectively known as the Tri-Council?
a. to be promoted within their university
b. to have their research funded by the national granting agencies
c. to have their research approved by independent provincial ethical boards
d. to avoid criminal prosecution

Answer 189

b. to have their research funded by the national granting agencies

Question 190

Which of your text’s unifying themes is illustrated by the fact that researchers focus their
attention on findings that are unlikely to have occurred by chance?
a. Psychology is theoretically diverse.
b. Our experience of the world is highly subjective.
c. Behaviour is determined by multiple causes.
d. Psychology is empirical.

Answer 190

d. Psychology is empirical.

Question 191

Which of your text’s unifying themes is illustrated by the publishing of research results so that
others can subject the methods and conclusions to critical scrutiny?
a. Our experience of the world is highly subjective.
b. Behaviour is determined by multiple causes.
c. Psychology is empirical.
d. Psychology is theoretically diverse

Answer 191

c. Psychology is empirical.

Question 192

Which of your text’s unifying themes is illustrated by the fact that subjects sometimes report
beneficial effects from a placebo treatment?
a. Our behaviour is shaped by our cultural heritage.
b. Heredity and environment jointly influence behaviour.
c. Psychology is empirical.
d. Our experience of the world is highly subjective.

Answer 192

d. Our experience of the world is highly subjective.

Question 193

Which of your text’s unifying themes is illustrated by the fact that research results can be
affected by experimenter bias?
a. Psychology is theoretically diverse.
b. Our experience of the world is highly subjective.
c. Our behaviour is shaped by our cultural heritage.
d. Behaviour is determined by multiple causes.

Answer 193

b. Our experience of the world is highly subjective.

Question 194

Who is the target audience for articles published in technical and scholarly journals?
a. professionals in that field
b. the general public
c. anyone with an interest in the topic
d. students majoring in that field

Answer 194

a. professionals in that field

Question 195

Although there are several types of journal articles, which type is most common within
psychology?
a. manuscripts that propose new theories that are intended to stimulate research
b. reports that describe original, empirical studies
c. articles that describe and evaluate new treatment methods for psychological
disorders
d. papers that summarize and reconcile the findings from a large number of studies
on a specific issue

Answer 195

b. reports that describe original, empirical studies

Question 196

What is the major difference between review articles and articles that report original empirical
studies?
a. Review articles summarize findings from a large number of studies on a specific
topic, whereas most empirical articles are more limited in scope.
b. Review articles are published in journals while empirical articles are published in
books or monographs.
c. Review articles are used to evaluate new books that are on the market, whereas
empirical articles report new findings.
d. Review articles are reviewed by experts before they are published in the journal,
unlike most empirical articles

Answer 196

a. Review articles summarize findings from a large number of studies on a specific topic, whereas most empirical articles are more limited in scope.

Question 197

Where would you look to find a database of research literature in psychology, and brief
summaries of individual research studies?
a. Canadian Psychological Association home page
b. Psychological Review
c. Psychology Today
d. PsycINFO

Answer 197

d. PsycINFO

Question 198

What does PsycINFO contain?
a. full text of articles published in 100 major psychological journals
b. brief abstracts of psychological research published in journal articles, books, and
chapters in edited books
c. descriptive listings of all the current Web resources related to the field of
psychology
d. alphabetical listing of the titles of all the psychological research studies published
in a year

Answer 198

b. brief abstracts of psychological research published in journal articles, books, and
chapters in edited books

Question 199

Why read an abstract?
a. It can be quickly scanned to determine whether the rest of the article is relevant for
your purposes.
b. It shows a detailed description of the research methods that the researchers used.
c. It provides you with all of the results and detailed statistics, so you can determine
whether the results are significant.
d. It summarizes all the research that led the researchers to their current hypothesis.

Answer 199

a. It can be quickly scanned to determine whether the rest of the article is relevant for
your purposes.

Question 200

In which section of a journal article would you look for the hypotheses for a research study?
a. results
b. methodology
c. reference
d. introduction

Answer 200

d. introduction

Question 201

Where in a journal article would you look for the data obtained in a research study, along with
the statistical analyses?
a. discussion
b. results
c. method
d. introduction

Answer 201

b. results

Question 202

. Which of the following is the correct sequencing of the sections of the main body of a journal
article?
a. introduction, discussion, method, results
b. introduction, results, method, discussion
c. introduction, method, results, discussion
d. introduction, method, discussion, results

Answer 202

c. introduction, method, results, discussion

Question 203

. What is provided in the reference list at the end of a research article?
a. abstracts for all the previous research studies by the same authors
b. list of related articles on the same topic, by a variety of authors
c. bibliographic information for any studies referred to in the article
d. the author’s phone number, address, and website

Answer 203

c. bibliographic information for any studies referred to in the article

Question 204

What is anecdotal evidence?
a. general information that has little direct bearing on the issue under consideration
b. statistical information that has been altered to support a specific point of view
c. information that is gathered from a variety of sources
d. personal stories about specific incidents and experiences

Answer 204

d. personal stories about specific incidents and experiences

Question 205

What can we conclude from studies that have investigated the influence of anecdotal
information?
a. People are not influenced by anecdotal information, and tend to view it as nonrepresentative and biased.
b. People tend to be influenced by anecdotal information, even when they are
forewarned that the information is not representative.
c. People are influenced by anecdotal evidence only when they have not been
forewarned that it may be misleading.
d. People are influenced by anecdotal evidence only when it is provided by someone
they know and trust

Answer 205

d. People are influenced by anecdotal evidence only when it is provided by someone
they know and trust

Question 206

Annabel is planning to buy a cordless phone. She has narrowed her choice down to a
Northtech X7 model and a Telecom G-Pro model. Alfred tells Annabel, “Consumer Reports
did extensive testing and rated the Northtech X7 as the highest overall. The same article
indicated that the Telecom phone was unreliable and needed frequent service.” Francine tells
Annabel, “My uncle had a Northtech X7 phone, and he had nothing but problems with it. He
decided to switch to the Telecom phone, and he hasn’t had any problems.” Which phone is
Annabel likely to buy, based on the research results reported in the Critical Thinking
Application?
a. The Telecom phone, because she will be more persuaded by the anecdotal
evidence.
b. The Northtech X7 phone, because she will be more persuaded by objective
evidence.
c. Neither phone, because she would prefer to do her own research rather than rely on
subjective opinions.
d. Neither phone, because the two reports her friends provided conflict with each
other.

Answer 206

a. The Telecom phone, because she will be more persuaded by the anecdotal
evidence.

Question 207

Which of the following is important to the scientific method, because the scientific method is
intolerant of error?
a. subjects
b. placebo effects
c. replication
d. hypotheses

Answer 207

c. replication

Question 208

Which method do researchers use precisely because our experience of the world is highly
subjective?
a. psychoanalytic methods
b. extraneous variables
c. double-blind procedure
d. case studies

Answer 208

c. double-blind procedure

Question 209

Which of the following sets of concepts is NOT a closely related set?
a. correlation, sample, journal
b. method, results, discussion
c. experiment, independent variable, control group
d. mean, median, mode

Answer 209

a. correlation, sample, journal

Question 210

Imagine that a group of researchers designed a study to test the effectiveness of subliminalmessage weight-loss tapes. Half the participants receive real tapes, and half receive similar
tapes with the subliminal messages removed. The experimenter keeps track of which
participant is in which group. All the participants are told that their tapes contain subliminal
messages. What type of study is this?
a. anecdotal research
b. case study
c. double-blind procedure
d. single-blind study

Answer 210

d. single-blind study

Question 211

Imagine that a group of researchers designed a study to test the effectiveness of subliminalmessage weight-loss tapes. Half the participants receive real tapes, and half receive similar
tapes with the subliminal messages removed. The experimenter keeps track of which
participant is in which group. All the participants are told that their tapes contain subliminal
messages. What type of study is this?
a. anecdotal research
b. case study
c. double-blind procedure
d. single-blind study

Answer 211

d. single-blind study

Question 212

Imagine that a group of researchers conducted a single-blind study designed to test the
effectiveness of subliminal-message weight-loss tapes. Suppose the researchers found that
everyone lost weight during the study, even those who were given tapes without any
subliminal messages. What could we conclude from the results?
a. The independent and dependent variables in the study are negatively correlated.
b. There is evidence that the study contained confounding variables.
c. There is evidence of a placebo effect.
d. Subliminal tapes are effective in promoting weight loss.

Answer 212

c. There is evidence of a placebo effect.

Question 213

Dr. Klassen is conducting a study on attitudes about drug use. She wants to administer a
survey. Which of the following groups of issues should she pay most attention to when she is
designing her study?
a. random sampling, use of a control group, inferential statistics
b. representative sampling, self-report bias, response set
c. representative sampling, experimenter bias, ethics regarding deception
d. random assignment, experimenter bias, placebo effects

Answer 213

b. representative sampling, self-report bias, response set

Question 214

Dr. Friesen wants to investigate whether store clerks behave in a discriminatory manner
toward teenagers. He is trying to decide between using naturalistic observation and using a
questionnaire. What would be the best choice?
a. Questionnaires, because clerks would become angry and refuse to participate if
they knew you were spying on them.
b. Naturalistic observation, because you can record behaviour and avoid self-report
bias.
c. Questionnaires, because you’ll be able to make cause-and-effect statements.
d. Naturalistic observation, because clerks would likely refuse to respond to
questionnaires.

Answer 214

b. Naturalistic observation, because you can record behaviour and avoid self-report
bias.

Question 215

Design a simple experiment to investigate the effects of television violence on children’s
aggressive behaviour, being sure to identify the independent and dependent variables, and the
experimental and control groups.

Answer 215

There are numerous possible experimental designs. Make sure there is an explicit, testable
hypothesis; that “television violence” and “aggressive behaviour” are operationally defined;
that children are randomly assigned to groups; that the control group is exposed to nonviolent
television rather than to no television at all

Question 216

Design a simple descriptive/correlational study to investigate the relationship between
television violence and children’s aggressive behaviour.

Answer 216

Again, there are numerous possibilities. Make certain that both variables are operationally
defined; that a specific descriptive/correlational method (such as naturalistic observation or
survey) is selected; that causation is neither stated nor implied.

Question 217

What are the relative weaknesses and strengths of descriptive/correlational research as
opposed to experimental research? Under what conditions would a psychologist choose one
method as opposed to the other?

Answer 217

Experimental research is the more powerful of the two methods, in that it allows precise
control over the independent variable and therefore yields cause-and-effect conclusions. On
the other hand, experiments may be somewhat artificial and often cannot be done for ethical
reasons. Descriptive/correlational studies are conducted in the subjects’ natural environment,
they are easier and faster to do than experiments, and they can be done ethically in many
circumstances in which experiments cannot. However, the researcher has little control over
extraneous variables, and so cause-and-effect conclusions cannot be drawn. The choice
between the two methods is a function of practical and ethical considerations.

Question 218

What is the difference between a positive correlation and a negative correlation? List some
specific variables that you predict would be positively correlated, and variables that would be
negatively correlated, with alcohol consumption by college students.

Answer 218

Positive correlation: As scores on variable X increase, scores on variable Y tend to increase,
too. Examples: alcohol consumption and body weight; alcohol consumption and number of
missed classes
Negative correlation: As scores on variable X increase, scores on variable Y tend to decrease.
Examples: alcohol consumption and coordination; alcohol consumption and grade point
average

Question 219

Describe the problems in research associated with placebo effects and experimenter bias, and
explain how you would attempt to prevent these problems within a research design.

Answer 219

Placebo effects: participants may expect an effect of an experimental treatment, and so will
feel an effect or show a change in behaviour. This change is due to expectancy, not to
manipulation of the independent variable. You would deal with this problem by having a
placebo control group (a group that gets an inert version of the independent variable) so that
you can compare the change in the experimental group to the change in a group that received
a placebo.
Experimenter bias: researchers may unwittingly lead participants to respond in a particular
way, or may interpret their data in a particular way that confirms their pre-existing
hypotheses. In order to avoid this effect, it is recommended that the studies be designed as
single-blind (where the experimenter doesn’t know which condition the participants are in) or
double-blind (where neither the experimenters nor the participants know who is in which
group) [NOTE: A double-blind study may also control for some aspects of placebo effects, so
long as both active and inert versions of the I.V. are given]