1



The Scientific Method

Theory: An integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts behavior.

Hypothesis: A testable prediction often implied by a theory.

Operational Definitions: Statements (descriptions) of the procedures used to define research variables.

Replication: Repeating the essence of a study, usually with different participants and in different situations.

Hindsight Bias: The tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that you knew that was how it would turn out.

Goal of research: To describe, predict, & explain behavior.

I. Research that Describes only

Case Study: A descriptive technique in which one person is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.

Naturalistic Observation: Observing & recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without manipulating or controlling the situation.

Survey: A techniques for obtaining self-reported attitudes or behaviors of people, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of them.

     Population: All of the people in a particular group from with a sample may be drawn.

     Random Sample: A subset of people who fairly represent the population because each person has an equal chance of being selected.  Using a random sample increase the generalizability (external validity) of a study.

Generalizability: The extent to which results of a study can be applied to the outside world. 

Also called External Validity.

False Consensus Effect: The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Social Desirability Bias: Tendency of subjects to present themselves in a socially desirable light.

II. Research the Describes and Predicts Behavior (Non-Experimental Designs)

Correlational Research: Research that seeks to measure the RELATIONSHIP between two variables without trying to determine causality or manipulating either of the variables.

     Scatterplot: A graphed cluster of dots, each which represents the values of two variables.  The slope of the dots represents the direction (+ or -) of the relationship while the amount of "scatter" suggests the strength of the correlation.

     Correlation Coefficient: A statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus how well either factor predicts the other. The statistic is always between -1.00 and +1.00.

A Positive correlation coefficient means that as one variable increases, so does the other.

A Negative correlation coefficient means that as one variable increases, the other decreases (i.e., an inverse relationship).

Regardless of the strength of the relationship, correlations cannot tell us that one variable CAUSES changes in the other because:

     1) Variable X could be affecting variable Y OR

         variable Y could be affecting variable X.

     2) Third variables could be affecting BOTH variables X and Y.

     Illusory Correlation: The perception of a relationship between two variables where none truly exists.

Differential Research: Research that involves comparing two or more exiting groups on some variable of interest.  The groups are typically based on some pre-existing subject variable (e.g., gender, age, IQ, personality trait, etc.)

III. Research that Describes, Predicts, & Explains Behavior (i.e., cause and effect)

The True Experiment: A research method in which an investigator manipulates one or more factors (independent variables) in order to observe the effect on some behavior or mental process (dependent variable).  By randomly assigning participants to groups, other relevant factors are controlled.

     Independent Variable: The factor that is being manipulated by the researchers.  The theoretical "cause" in the cause and effect relationship.

     Dependent Variable: The factor (a behavior or mental process) that is being measured by the researchers.  The variable that is predicted to change in response to the manipulation of the IV.

     Operational Definitions: Specific statements describing how the the IV is manipulated and how the DV is measured.

     Random Assignment: Assigning participants to control and experimental conditions on the basis of chance, thus minimizing pre-existing differences between the groups (i.e., it controls preexisting subject variables.

     Experimental Condition (or Group): The condition of an experiment that exposes participants to the treatment of interest, that is, to one level of the independent variable.

     Control Condition (or Group): The condition of an experiment that contrasts with the experimental condition and serves as a comparison for evaluating the effect of the treatment.

*At the conclusion of an experiment, the mean scores the experimental and control groups receive on the DEPENDENT VARIABLE are COMPARED to determine if a statistically significant difference exists.

Internal Validity: The extent to which one can be confident that the manipulation of the IV caused the changes in the DV.  Internal validity can be assured only if all potential confounding variables have been controlled.

Control Techniques used to control confounding variables.

    Random Assignment: Controls pre-existing subject variables.

    Control Group: Controls history, maturation, and testing effects.

     Placebo: An inert substance given to the control group in place of an actual medication.  It controls the Placebo Effect.

Placebo Effect: Experimental results caused by the subjects' expectations alone.

Double-Blind Design: An experimental procedure in which both the research participants and the research staff are ignorant (blind) about whether subjects are in the control or experimental groups (commonly used in drug-evaluation studies).  This type of design controls subject and experimenter effects.

              Subject Effects or Biases: Any response by subjects in a study that does not represent how they would normally behave if not under study.  Two powerful subject effects are the placebo effect and the demand characteristics of the study.

              Demand Characteristics: Aspects of the study that suggest to the subjects what type of behavior is expected or desired by the researchers.

              Experimenter Effects or Biases: Any behavior of a researcher that might affect the behavior of the subjects or affect the measurement and recording of the dependent variable.

The Quasi-experimental Design: Designs similar to true experiments, but without all of the control techniques built in (e.g., random assignment may not be used).

Comparison of Common Research Designs

| |Non-experimental |Experimental |

| |Correlational |Differential(Correlational) |Quasi-experimental |True Experiment |

|Manipulation |No manipulation of |No manipulation of variables. |Manipulation of the independent |Manipulation of the |

| |variables. | |variable |independent variable |

|Subjects |Subjects are NOT assigned|Subjects cannot be randomly assigned to|Subjects are NOT randomly assigned |Subjects are randomly |

| |to groups. Usually, there|groups. The groups of subjects differ |to control and experimental groups |assigned to control and |

| |is only ONE group of |on some PRE- EXISTING variable (ex: |because it is logistically difficult|experimental groups. |

| |subjects. |gender) |(e.g., comparing 3rd period and 5th |(Ex: control group gets |

| |However, subjects are |Subjects should still be randomly |period AP psych classes after each |regular teaching and the |

| |Randomly SELECTED for |selected for participation |class has be "treated" |experimental group gets |

| |participation. | |differently.)  But, there are |new teaching method) |

| | | |control & experimental groups in |If possible, they should |

| | | |this type of design....just no |be randomly selected for |

| | | |random assignment. |participation. |

| | | |If possible, they should be randomly| |

| | | |selected for participation. | |

|Variables |Two variables (X and Y) |Subjects are divided into groups based |Subjects are in pre-formed groups. |The Independent variable |

| |are measured and the |on a pre-existing variable (X) (such as|But, unlike correlational and |(IV) is manipulated and |

| |STRENGTH and DIRECTION of|sex, religion, etc.) and compared on |differential research, an |the dependent variable |

| |the RELATIONSHIP is |some other variable (Y) (i.e., IQ, |independent variable (IV) is |(DV) is measured. The |

| |determined. |self-esteem, depression, anxiety, |manipulated and the groups are |groups’ scores on the |

| |(Ex: measuring GPA and |etc.). |measured & compared on a dependent |dependent variable are |

| |depression level) | |variable (DV). (Ex: Using one |then COMPARED to determine|

| | | |teaching technique with 3rd period |if a STATISTICALLY |

| | | |and a new technique with 5th period.|SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE |

| | | |Then the two classes would be |EXISTS. |

| | | |compared on final grades (the DV) to|  |

| | | |see if a statistically significant | |

| | | |difference existed) | |

|Statistics |Pearson product-moment, |Chi-square, t-test, ANOVA, |Chi-square, t-test, ANOVA |Chi-square, t-test, ANOVA |

| |correlation (Pearson’s r)|point-biseral correlation | | |

|Conclusions |Variable X co-varies with|Differences in variable X may be |While we may be able to draw some |Changes in the IV CAUSED |

| |variable Y (i.e., there |RELATED to the differences in variable |causal conclusions, we can’t do it |changes in the DV. We can |

| |is a relationship between|Y, but cause and effect cannot be |with as much confidence as if we had|be most confident when we |

| |the two variables.) Cause|proven. |used a TRUE experimental design. |have controlled for as |

| |and effect cannot be | |(This is due to lack of random |many threats to internal |

| |proven. | |assignment and other controls). |validity as possible. |

 

III. External Validity

External Validity: The generalizability of the results of the study. The extent to which the results of a particular study can extend to other subjects, times, and settings. Can you generalize your results to a wider set of circumstances outside of the experiment?

The more NATURAL* the setting, the LARGER the sample, and the more REPRESENTATIVE the sample is of the larger population from which it was drawn, the greater the external validity of the study.

REPLICATING a study using different subjects in different settings with slightly different procedures will help you demonstrate external validity of a study. *Keep in mind that while a "natural" setting increases external validity, it greatly decreases internal validity

Scales of Measurement:

Nominal Scale: A set of categories for classifying people or objects (e.g., eye color, gender, political affiliation)

Ordinal Scale: A scale indicating the order or relative position of items or people based on some criterion (i.e., 1st place, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)

Interval Scale: Scale with equal distances between points, but with no true zero point (e.g., temperature, most psychological tests)

Ratio Scale: Scale with equal distances between points and with a true zero point, thus we can say something is twice as much as something else (e.g., inches of rainfall, distance in miles, etc.)

Measures of Central Tendency

Mean: Arithmetical average calculated by dividing a sum of values by the total number of cases

Median: Point that divides a set of scores in half.

Mode: The most frequent score in a distribution of scores

*Of these three measures, the MEAN is most affected by outliers or extreme scores.

Measures of Variation

Range: Difference between the largest and smallest scores in a distribution.

Variance: A statistical average of the amount of dispersion around the mean in a distribution of the scores.  It is the Standard Deviation squared.

Standard Deviation: A statistical measure of the amount of dispersion in a set of scores.  Specifically, it is the square root of the average squared deviations from the mean of a set of scores.  It is simply the square root of the variance.

*Of the three measures, the STANDARD DEVIATION is most affected by outliers.

Distributions of Scores

Normal Curve: Hypothetical, bell-shaped distribution of scores that occurs when a normal distribution is plotted as a frequency polygon.

In a normal distribution, the mean, median, and mode are all equal and divide the distribution in half (the 50th percentile).

Percentile Rank: Reflects the percentage of subjects who score lower than the subject in question The Normal Distribution

[pic]

Positively Skewed Distribution: A distribution where most scores are clustered at the lower end of the curve, with a few very high scores creating a long "tail" to the right.  In this case, the mean is greater than the median and the median is greater than the mode.

Scatterplot: A graphed cluster of dots, each which represents the values of two variables.  The slope of the dots represents the direction (+ or -) of the relationship while the amount of "scatter" suggests the strength of the correlation.

Correlation Coefficient (r): A statistical measure of the extent to which two factors vary together, and thus how well either factor predicts the other. The statistic, r,  is always between -1.00 and +1.00.

A Positive correlation coefficient means that as one variable increases, so does the other.

[pic]

A Negative correlation coefficient means that as one variable increases, the other decreases (i.e., an inverse relationship).

[pic]

Regression to the Mean: The tendency for extreme or unusual scores to fall back (regress) toward their average.

Statistical Significance: Probability that the results obtained were due to chance (represented by the value of 'p').

In psychology, it is standard that a p-value of .05 or less means that results were statistically significant (i.e., not due to chance).

t-test: A statistical procedure designed to test the difference between the means of two groups

Test Construction

Reliability: Ability of a test to produce consistent and stable scores. Test-retest Reliability: give the same test to the same group of subjects twice and correlate the results.

Validity: Ability of a test to actually measure what it has been designed to measure.

     Face Validity: Do the questions "appear" to measure the construct of interest.

     Content Validity: Does the test adequately sample the skills or knowledge that it is supposed to measure.

     Predictive Validity: The success with which a test  predicts the behavior it is designed to predict.  This is assessed by computing the correlation between the test scores (e.g., SAT scores) and the criterion (e.g., college GPA).

      Criterion: The behavior that a test is designed to predict.

      Restricted Range: A narrow range of scores (such as only very high GRE score for graduate school admission) reduces the predictive validity of the test.

Standardization: Giving individual scores meaning by comparing them with the performance of a pretested group (e.g., give the test to a large representative sample of subjects and determine the mean and standard deviation.  Now, you know if individual score are high, low, or average).

[pic]

OUTLINE OF AN EXPERIMENT

(or How to Kick Butt on the AP Psychology Exam Essay)

    I. Identify you subjects

A. Provide a reasonable number (ex: 100-300 subjects AT MOST)

B. Provide any subject characteristics that are important (ex: 100 subjects suffering from depression)

C. While it often is not possible, talk about selecting a random sample (or representative sample) of subjects who AGREE to participate in your study.

II. RANDOMLY ASSIGN your subjects to a:

A. CONTROL GROUP and an

B. EXPERIMENTAL GROUP

C. Mention that random assignment will make the groups equivalent with respect to PRE-EXISTING SUBJECT VARIABLES.

II. Identify the:

A. Independent Variable (the variable you will manipulate and that you believe will cause a change in the dependent variable

B. Dependent Variable (the variable you will measure and that you believe will be AFFECTED by the I.V.)

    IV.    Operationalize (provide an operational definition for) the:

A. Independent Variable: Explain how you will MANIPULATE it. Explain how the two groups will be treated DIFFERENTLY with respect to the I.V.

B. Dependent Variable: Explain SPECIFICALLY how you will MEASURE the D.V.

V. Discuss CONTROL techniques you will use and what they control. ALWAYS include:

A. Random Assignment to the control and experimental groups.

                          This controls pre-existing subject variables

                  B.     Use of a control group.

                           This controls for history, maturation, and testing effects

VI. Other Control Techniques: (Discuss these when they are appropriate for the experiment)

A. Single or double-blind design to control subject and experimenter biases

B. Use of a placebo to control the placebo effect (which includes experimenter and subject biases)

C. Any other EXTRANEOUS variables you want to be the SAME in both groups. This allows you to rule out alternative explanations for your results.

VI. Describe how you would EVALUATE your results

A. Explain that you will COMPARE the control and experimental groups with respect to the DEPENDENT VARIABLE

B. Explain that you need to find a STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE (not a correlation) between the scores of the two groups.

C. Explain that to be sure of your results, you would probably want to REPLICATE your experiment.

 

Ethics: The APA has strict guidelines which must be followed when using both human and animal subjects.

___ 1. After the horror of 9/11, many people said the CIA and FBI should obviously have foreseen the likelihood of this form of terrorism. This perception most clearly illustrates:

A) the false consensus effect.

B) the hindsight bias.

C) random sampling.

D) the placebo effect.

|___ 2. |When Leanne heard about experimental evidence that orange juice consumption triggers hyperactivity in children, she |

| |questioned whether the tested children had been randomly assigned to experimental conditions. Leanne's reaction best |

| |illustrates: |

|A) |illusory correlation. |

|B) |an illusion of control. |

|C) |the hindsight bias. |

|D) |critical thinking. |

|E) |overconfidence. |

|___ 3. |Stacey suggests that because children are more impulsive than adults, they will have more difficulty controlling their |

| |anger. Stacey's prediction regarding anger management exemplifies: |

|A) |a hypothesis. |

|B) |the hindsight bias. |

|C) |illusory correlation. |

|D) |the false consensus effect. |

|___ 4. |Which research technique is most directly useful for avoiding the thinking error known as the false consensus effect? |

|A) |operational definition |

|B) |naturalistic observation |

|C) |random sampling |

|D) |experimental control |

|E) |case study |

|___ 5. |Professor Carter observes and records the behavior of grocery shoppers as they select items to purchase. Which type of |

| |research is Professor Carter employing? |

|A) |survey research |

|B) |case study |

|C) |experimentation |

|D) |naturalistic observation |

|___ 6. |A negative correlation between people's physical health and their marital happiness would indicate that: |

|A) |poor physical health has a negative impact on marital happiness. |

|B) |marital unhappiness promotes poor health. |

|C) |higher levels of marital happiness are associated with lower levels of physical health. |

|D) |marital happiness has no causal influence on physical health. |

|___ 7. |Mr. Brown has gathered evidence that the self-esteem of students is negatively correlated with their typical levels of |

| |anxiety. Before he uses this evidence to conclude that self-esteem reduces anxiety, Mr. Brown should first be reminded that:|

|A) |events often seem more probable in hindsight. |

|B) |random sequences of events often don't look random. |

|C) |sampling extreme cases leads to false generalizations. |

|D) |we often exaggerate the extent to which others share our opinions. |

|E) |correlation does not prove causation. |

|___ 8. |Which method offers the most reliable way of assessing whether athletic performance is boosted by caffeine consumption? |

|A) |the survey |

|B) |the case study |

|C) |the experiment |

|D) |naturalistic observation |

|___ 9. |In drug-treatment studies, double-blind procedures minimize outcome differences between experimental and control conditions |

| |that could be attributed to: |

|A) |replication. |

|B) |random assignment. |

|C) |operational definitions. |

|D) |random sampling. |

|E) |placebo effects. |

|___ 10. |In an experimental study of the extent to which mental alertness is inhibited by sleep deprivation, alertness would be the: |

|A) |control condition. |

|B) |independent variable. |

|C) |experimental condition. |

|D) |dependent variable. |

|___ 11. |In order to assess whether sense of humor is affected by sexual stimulation, researchers exposed married couples to either |

| |sexually stimulating or to sexually nonstimulating movie scenes prior to watching a comedy skit. In this research, the |

| |independent variable consisted of: |

|A) |reactions to the comedy skit. |

|B) |level of sexual stimulation. |

|C) |marital status. |

|D) |sense of humor. |

|___ 12. |One person in a ten-person group is ten times older than any of the other members. With respect to age, it is most likely |

| |that the majority of group members are younger than the group's: |

|A) |mode. |

|B) |median. |

|C) |mean. |

|D) |standard deviation. |

|___ 13. |The ________ is a measure of ________. |

|A) |standard deviation; central tendency |

|B) |mean; variation |

|C) |correlation coefficient; central tendency |

|D) |mode; variation |

|E) |median; central tendency |

|___ 14. |Janet has five brothers who are 4, 6, 6, 9, and 15 years of age. The mean age of Janet's brothers is: |

|A) |5. |

|B) |6. |

|C) |7. |

|D) |8. |

|E) |9 |

|___ 15. |Random samples provide ________ estimates of population averages if the samples have small ________. |

|A) |good; means |

|B) |good; standard deviations |

|C) |poor; means |

|D) |poor; standard deviations |

|___ 16. |Jamie and Lynn were sure that they had answered most of the multiple-choice questions correctly because “the questions |

| |required only common sense.” However, they each scored less than 60% on the exam. This best illustrates: |

|A) |illusory correlation. |

|B) |random assignment. |

|C) |the false consensus effect. |

|D) |the hindsight bias. |

|E) |overconfidence. |

|___ 17. |Psychological theories: |

|A) |organize scientific observations. |

|B) |explain observed facts. |

|C) |generate hypotheses. |

|D) |do all of the above. |

|___ 18. |Which research method runs the greatest risk of collecting evidence that may be unrepresentative of what is generally true? |

|A) |naturalistic observation |

|B) |the case study |

|C) |experimentation |

|D) |the survey |

|___ 19. |Every twenty-fifth person who ordered a subscription to a weekly news magazine was contacted by market researchers to |

| |complete a survey of opinions regarding the magazine's contents. The researchers were most clearly employing a technique |

| |known as: |

|A) |naturalistic observation. |

|B) |the double-blind procedure. |

|C) |random sampling. |

|D) |the case study. |

|E) |replication. |

|___ 20. |Surveys are most likely to indicate that reckless behavior and self-control are: |

|A) |independent variables. |

|B) |positively correlated. |

|C) |dependent variables. |

|D) |negatively correlated. |

|___ 21. |A correlation of +0.70 between children's physical height and their popularity among their peers indicates that: |

|A) |higher levels of popularity among one's peers is associated with greater physical height in children. |

|B) |there is no statistically significant relationship between children's height and their popularity. |

|C) |being unusually short or tall has a negative impact on children's popularity. |

|D) |children's height has no causal impact on their popularity. |

|___ 22. |A tendency to notice and remember instances in which our premonitions of disaster are subsequently followed by harmful |

| |events is most likely to contribute to: |

|A) |random assignment. |

|B) |the hindsight bias. |

|C) |illusory correlations. |

|D) |the placebo effect. |

|___ 23. |In order to test the potential effect of hunger on taste sensitivity, groups of research participants are deprived of food |

| |for differing lengths of time before they engage in a taste-sensitivity test. This research is an example of: |

|A) |correlational research. |

|B) |an experiment. |

|C) |survey research. |

|D) |a case study. |

|E) |naturalistic observation. |

|___ 24. |Researchers control factors that might influence a dependent variable by means of: |

|A) |random assignment. |

|B) |replication. |

|C) |naturalistic observation. |

|D) |operational definitions. |

|___ 25. |In a study of factors that might affect memory, research participants were assigned to drink either an alcoholic or a |

| |nonalcoholic beverage prior to completing a memory test. Those who drank the nonalcoholic beverage participated in the |

| |________ condition. |

|A) |survey |

|B) |control |

|C) |experimental |

|D) |correlational |

|___ 26. |In an experimental study of the effects of dieting on weight loss, dieting would be the: |

|A) |control condition. |

|B) |independent variable. |

|C) |operational definition. |

|D) |dependent variable. |

|E) |placebo. |

|___ 27. |The ________ can be a particularly misleading indication of what is average for a ________ distribution of scores. |

|A) |mean; skewed |

|B) |median; skewed |

|C) |mean; normal |

|D) |median; normal |

|___ 28. |The ________ is a measure of ________. |

|A) |median; variation |

|B) |range; central tendency |

|C) |standard deviation; variation |

|D) |correlation coefficient; central tendency |

|___ 29. |Ahmed has five sisters who are 3, 3, 5, 9, and 10 years of age. The number “5” represents the ________ of the sisters' ages.|

|A) |mode |

|B) |median |

|C) |mean |

|D) |range |

|___ 30. |Differences between two samples are least likely to be statistically significant if: |

|A) |the samples are small and the standard deviations of the samples are small. |

|B) |the samples are large and the standard deviations of the samples are large. |

|C) |the samples are small and the standard deviations of the samples are large. |

|D) |the samples are large and the standard deviations of the samples are small. |

|___ 31. |Which of the following best describes the hindsight bias? |

|A) |Events seem more predictable before they have occurred. |

|B) |Events seem more predictable after they have occurred. |

|C) |A person's intuition is usually correct. |

|D) |A person's intuition is usually not correct. |

|___ 32. |Juwan eagerly opened an online trading account, believing that his market savvy would allow him to pick stocks that would |

| |make him a rich day trader. This belief best illustrates: |

|A) |the false consensus effect. |

|B) |illusory correlation. |

|C) |hindsight bias. |

|D) |overconfidence. |

|___ 33. |To say that “psychology is a science” means that: |

|A) |psychologists study only observable behaviors. |

|B) |psychologists study thoughts and actions with an attitude of skepticism and derive their conclusions from direct |

| |observations. |

|C) |psychological research should be free of value judgments. |

|D) |all of the above are true. |

|___ 34. |The scientific attitude of humility is based on the idea that: |

|A) |researchers must evaluate new ideas and theories objectively rather than accept them blindly. |

|B) |scientific theories must be testable. |

|C) |simple explanations of behavior make better theories than do complex explanations. |

|D) |researchers must be prepared to reject their own ideas in the face of conflicting evidence. |

|___ 35. |The scientific attitude of skepticism is based on the belief that: |

|A) |people are rarely candid in revealing their thoughts. |

|B) |mental processes can't be studied objectively. |

|C) |the scientist's intuition about behavior is usually correct. |

|D) |ideas need to be tested against observable evidence. |

|___ 36. |Theories are defined as: |

|A) |testable propositions. |

|B) |factors that may change in response to manipulation. |

|C) |statistical indexes. |

|D) |principles that help to organize, predict, and explain facts. |

|___ 37. |You decide to test your belief that men drink more soft drinks than women by finding out whether more soft drinks are |

| |consumed per day in the men's dorm than in the women's dorm. Your belief is a(n) ________, and your research prediction is |

| |a(n) ________. |

|A) |hypothesis; theory |

|B) |theory; hypothesis |

|C) |independent variable; dependent variable |

|D) |dependent variable; independent variable |

|___ 38. |Which of the following is true, according to the text? |

|A) |Because laboratory experiments are artificial, any principles discovered cannot be applied to everyday behaviors. |

|B) |No psychological theory can be considered a good one until it produces testable predictions. |

|C) |Psychology's theories reflect common sense. |

|D) |Psychology has few ties to other disciplines. |

|___ 39. |Which of the following is not a basic research strategy used by psychologists? |

|A) |description |

|B) |replication |

|C) |experimentation |

|D) |correlation |

|___ 40. |To ensure that other researchers can repeat their work, psychologists use: |

|A) |control groups. |

|B) |random assignment. |

|C) |double-blind procedures. |

|D) |operational definitions. |

|___ 41. |After detailed study of a gunshot wound victim, a psychologist concludes that the brain region destroyed is likely to be |

| |important for memory functions. Which research strategy did the psychologist use to deduce this? |

|A) |the case study |

|B) |a survey |

|C) |correlation |

|D) |experimentation |

|___ 42. |Your roommate is conducting a survey to learn how many hours the typical college student studies each day. She plans to pass|

| |out her questionnaire to the members of her sorority. You point out that her findings will be flawed because: |

|A) |she has not specified an independent variable. |

|B) |she has not specified a dependent variable. |

|C) |the sample will probably not be representative of the population of interest. |

|D) |of all the above reasons. |

|___ 43. |One reason researchers base their findings on representative samples is to avoid the false consensus effect, which refers to|

| |our tendency to: |

|A) |overestimate the extent to which others share our belief. |

|B) |falsely perceive a relationship between two events when none exists. |

|C) |underestimate errors in our judgment. |

|D) |make all of the above reasoning errors. |

|___ 44. |Well-done surveys measure attitudes in a representative subset, or ________, of an entire group, or ________. |

|A) |population; random sample |

|B) |control group; experimental group |

|C) |experimental group; control group |

|D) |random sample; population |

|___ 45. |A professor constructs a questionnaire to determine how students at the university feel about nuclear disarmament. Which of |

| |the following techniques should be used in order to survey a random sample of the student body? |

|A) |Every student should be sent the questionnaire. |

|B) |Only students majoring in psychology should be asked to complete the questionnaire. |

|C) |Only students living on campus should be asked to complete the questionnaire. |

|D) |From an alphabetical listing of all students, every tenth (or fifteenth, e.g.) student should be asked to complete the|

| |questionnaire. |

|___ 46. |A psychologist studies the play behavior of third-grade children by watching groups during recess at school. Which type of |

| |research is being used? |

|A) |correlation |

|B) |case study |

|C) |experimentation |

|D) |naturalistic observation |

|___ 47. |If height and body weight are positively correlated, which of the following is true? |

|A) |There is a cause-effect relationship between height and weight. |

|B) |As height increases, weight decreases. |

|C) |Knowing a person's height, one can predict his or her weight. |

|D) |All of the above are true. |

|___ 48. |Which type of research would allow you to determine whether students' college grades accurately predict later income? |

|A) |case study |

|B) |naturalistic observation |

|C) |experimentation |

|D) |correlation |

|___ 49. |A researcher was interested in determining whether her students' test performance could be predicted from their proximity to|

| |the front of the classroom. So she matched her students' scores on a math test with their seating position. This study is an|

| |example of: |

|A) |experimentation. |

|B) |correlational research. |

|C) |a survey. |

|D) |naturalistic observation. |

|___ 50. |If eating saturated fat and the likelihood of contracting cancer are positively correlated, which of the following is true? |

|A) |Saturated fat causes cancer. |

|B) |People who are prone to develop cancer prefer foods containing saturated fat. |

|C) |A separate factor links the consumption of saturated fat to cancer. |

|D) |None of the above is necessarily true. |

|___ 51. |If shoe size and IQ are negatively correlated, which of the following is true? |

|A) |People with large feet tend to have high IQs. |

|B) |People with small feet tend to have high IQs. |

|C) |People with small feet tend to have low IQs. |

|D) |IQ is unpredictable based on a person's shoe size. |

|___ 52. |Joe believes that his basketball game is always best when he wears his old gray athletic socks. Joe is a victim of the |

| |phenomenon called: |

|A) |statistical significance. |

|B) |overconfidence. |

|C) |illusory correlation. |

|D) |hindsight bias. |

|___ 53. |Illusory correlation refers to: |

|A) |the perception that two negatively correlated variables are positively correlated. |

|B) |the perception of a correlation where there is none. |

|C) |an insignificant correlation. |

|D) |a correlation that equals –1.0. |

|___ 54. |The strength of the relationship between two vivid events will most likely be: |

|A) |significant. |

|B) |positive. |

|C) |negative. |

|D) |overestimated. |

|___ 55. |Which of the following research methods does not belong with the others? |

|A) |case study |

|B) |survey |

|C) |naturalistic observation |

|D) |experiment |

|___ 56. |Which of the following research strategies would be best for determining whether alcohol impairs memory? |

|A) |case study |

|B) |naturalistic observation |

|C) |survey |

|D) |experiment |

|___ 57. |To prevent the possibility that a placebo effect or researchers' expectations will influence a study's results, scientists |

| |employ: |

|A) |control groups. |

|B) |experimental groups. |

|C) |random assignment. |

|D) |the double-blind procedure. |

|___ 58. |Which of the following procedures is an example of the use of a placebo? |

|A) |In a test of the effects of a drug on memory, a participant is led to believe that a harmless pill actually contains |

| |an active drug. |

|B) |A participant in an experiment is led to believe that a pill, which actually contains an active drug, is harmless. |

|C) |Participants in an experiment are not told which treatment condition is in effect. |

|D) |Neither the participants nor the experimenter knows which treatment condition is in effect. |

|___ 59. |In a test of the effects of air pollution, groups of students performed a reaction-time task in a polluted or an unpolluted |

| |room. To what condition were students in the unpolluted room exposed? |

|A) |experimental |

|B) |control |

|C) |randomly assigned |

|D) |dependent |

|___ 60. |Rashad, who is participating in a psychology experiment on the effects of alcohol on perception, is truthfully told by the |

| |experimenter that he has been assigned to the “high-dose condition.” What is wrong with this experiment? |

|A) |There is no control condition. |

|B) |Rashad's expectations concerning the effects of “high doses” of alcohol on perception may influence his performance. |

|C) |Knowing that Rashad is in the “high-dose” condition may influence the experimenter's interpretations of Rashad's |

| |results. |

|D) |Both b. and c. are correct. |

|___ 61. |Martina believes that high doses of caffeine slow a person's reaction time. In order to test this belief, she has five |

| |friends each drink three 8-ounce cups of coffee and then measures their reaction time on a learning task. What is wrong with|

| |Martina's research strategy? |

|A) |No independent variable is specified. |

|B) |No dependent variable is specified. |

|C) |There is no control condition. |

|D) |There is no provision for replication of the findings. |

|___ 62. |In order to determine the effects of a new drug on memory, one group of people is given a pill that contains the drug. A |

| |second group is given a sugar pill that does not contain the drug. This second group constitutes the: |

|A) |random sample. |

|B) |experimental group. |

|C) |control group. |

|D) |test group. |

|___ 63. |In order to study the effects of lighting on mood, Dr. Cooper had students fill out questionnaires in brightly lit or dimly |

| |lit rooms. In this study, the independent variable consisted of: |

|A) |the number of students assigned to each group. |

|B) |the students' responses to the questionnaire. |

|C) |the room lighting. |

|D) |the subject matter of the questions asked. |

|___ 64. |The concept of control is important in psychological research because: |

|A) |without control over independent and dependent variables, researchers cannot describe, predict, or explain behavior. |

|B) |experimental control allows researchers to study the influence of one or two independent variables on a dependent |

| |variable while holding other potential influences constant. |

|C) |without experimental control, results cannot be generalized from a sample to a population. |

|D) |of all the above reasons. |

|___ 65. |In an experiment to determine the effects of exercise on motivation, exercise is the: |

|A) |control condition. |

|B) |intervening variable. |

|C) |independent variable. |

|D) |dependent variable. |

|___ 66. |In an experiment to determine the effects of attention on memory, memory is the: |

|A) |control condition. |

|B) |intervening variable. |

|C) |independent variable. |

|D) |dependent variable. |

|___ 67. |The procedure designed to ensure that the experimental and control groups do not differ in any way that might affect the |

| |experiment's results is called: |

|A) |variable controlling. |

|B) |random assignment. |

|C) |representative sampling. |

|D) |stratification. |

|___ 68. |What is the mean of the following distribution of scores: 2, 3, 7, 6, 1, 4, 9, 5, 8, 2? |

|A) |5 |

|B) |4 |

|C) |4.7 |

|D) |3.7 |

|___ 69. |What is the median of the following distribution of scores: 1, 3, 7, 7, 2, 8, 4? |

|A) |1 |

|B) |2 |

|C) |3 |

|D) |4 |

|___ 70. |What is the mode of the following distribution: 8, 2, 1, 1, 3, 7, 6, 2, 0, 2? |

|A) |1 |

|B) |2 |

|C) |3 |

|D) |7 |

|___ 71. |Which of the following is the measure of central tendency that would be most affected by a few extreme scores? |

|A) |mean |

|B) |range |

|C) |median |

|D) |mode |

|___ 72. |What is the mode of the following distribution of scores: 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 14? |

|A) |2 |

|B) |4 |

|C) |5 |

|D) |6 |

|___ 73. |What is the mean of the following distribution of scores: 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 4, 6, 9, 1, 4? |

|A) |2 |

|B) |10 |

|C) |6 |

|D) |15 |

|___ 74. |Bob scored 43 out of 70 points on his psychology exam. He was worried until he discovered that most of the class earned the |

| |same score. Bob's score was equal to the: |

|A) |mean. |

|B) |median. |

|C) |mode. |

|D) |range. |

|___ 75. |The four families on your block all have annual household incomes of $25,000. If a new family with an annual income of |

| |$75,000 moved in, which measure of central tendency would be most affected? |

|A) |mean |

|B) |median |

|C) |mode |

|D) |standard deviation |

|___ 76. |What is the median of the following distribution: 10, 7, 5, 11, 8, 6, 9? |

|A) |6 |

|B) |7 |

|C) |8 |

|D) |9 |

|___ 77. |Which of the following is the measure of variation that is most affected by extreme scores? |

|A) |mean |

|B) |standard deviation |

|C) |mode |

|D) |range |

|___ 78. |A lopsided set of scores that includes a number of extreme or unusual values is said to be: |

|A) |symmetrical. |

|B) |normal. |

|C) |skewed. |

|D) |dispersed. |

|___ 79. |Esteban refuses to be persuaded by an advertiser's claim that people using their brand of gasoline average 50 miles per |

| |gallon. His decision probably is based on: |

|A) |the possibility that the average is the mean, which could be artificially inflated by a few extreme scores. |

|B) |the absence of information about the size of the sample studied. |

|C) |the absence of information about the variation in sample scores. |

|D) |all of the above. |

|___ 80. |In generalizing from a sample to the population, it is important that: |

|A) |the sample be representative. |

|B) |the sample be nonrandom. |

|C) |the sample not be too large. |

|D) |all of the above be true. |

|___ 81. |The football team's punter wants to determine how consistent his punting distances have been during the past season. He |

| |should compute the: |

|A) |mean. |

|B) |median. |

|C) |mode. |

|D) |standard deviation. |

|___ 82. |In generalizing from a sample to the population, it is important that: |

|A) |the sample is representative of the population. |

|B) |the sample is large. |

|C) |the scores in the sample have low variability. |

|D) |all of the above are observed. |

|___ 83. |The set of scores that would likely be most representative of the population from which it was drawn would be a sample with |

| |a relatively: |

|A) |large standard deviation. |

|B) |small standard deviation. |

|C) |large range. |

|D) |small range. |

|___ 84. |Dr. Salazar recently completed an experiment in which she compared reasoning ability in a sample of females and a sample of |

| |males. The means of the female and male samples equaled 21 and 19, respectively, on a 25-point scale. A statistical test |

| |revealed that her results were not statistically significant. What can Dr. Salazar conclude? |

|A) |Females have superior reasoning ability. |

|B) |The difference in the means of the two samples is probably due to chance variation. |

|C) |The difference in the means of the two samples is reliable. |

|D) |None of the above is true |

|___ 85. |If a difference between two samples is not statistically significant, which of the following can be concluded? |

|A) |The difference is probably not a true one. |

|B) |The difference is probably not reliable. |

|C) |The difference could be due to sampling variation. |

|D) |All of the above can be concluded. |

|___ 86. |When a difference between two groups is “statistically significant,” this means that: |

|A) |the difference is statistically real but of little practical significance. |

|B) |the difference is probably the result of sampling variation. |

|C) |the difference is not likely to be due to chance variation. |

|D) |all of the above are true. |

|___ 87. |Your best friend criticizes psychological research for being artificial and having no relevance to behavior in real life. In|

| |defense of psychology's use of laboratory experiments you point out that: |

|A) |psychologists make every attempt to avoid artificiality by setting up experiments that closely simulate real-world |

| |environments. |

|B) |psychologists who conduct basic research are not concerned with the applicability of their findings to the real world.|

|C) |most psychological research is not conducted in a laboratory environment. |

|D) |psychologists intentionally study behavior in simplified environments in order to gain greater control over variables |

| |and to test general principles that help to explain many behaviors. |

|___ 88. |A friend majoring in anthropology is critical of psychological research because it often ignores the influence of culture on|

| |thoughts and actions. You point out that: |

|A) |there is very little evidence that cultural diversity has a significant effect on specific behaviors and attitudes. |

|B) |most researchers assign subjects to experimental and control conditions in such a way as to fairly represent the |

| |cultural diversity of the population under study. |

|C) |it is impossible for psychologists to control for every possible variable that might influence research participants. |

|D) |even when specific thoughts and actions vary across cultures, as they often do, the underlying processes are much the |

| |same. |

|___ 89. |Which statement about the ethics of experimentation with people and animals is false? |

|A) |Only a small percentage of animal experiments use shock. |

|B) |Allegations that psychologists routinely subject animals to pain, starvation, and other inhumane conditions have been |

| |proven untrue. |

|C) |The American Psychological Association and the British Psychological Society have set strict guidelines for the care |

| |and treatment of human and animal subjects. |

|D) |Animals are used in psychological research more often than they are killed by humane animal shelters. |

|___ 90. |Psychologists' personal values: |

|A) |have little influence on how their experiments are conducted. |

|B) |do not influence the interpretation of experimental results because of the use of statistical techniques that guard |

| |against subjective bias. |

|C) |can bias both scientific observation and interpretation of data. |

|D) |have little influence on investigative methods but a significant effect on interpretation. |

Research Methods SG 1 Answer Key

|1. |B |

|2. |D |

|3. |A |

|4. |C |

|5. |D |

|6. |C |

|7. |E |

|8. |C |

|9. |E |

|10. |D |

|11. |B |

|12. |C |

|13. |E |

|14. |D |

|15. |B |

|16. |E |

|17. |D |

|18. |B |

|19. |C |

|20. |D |

|21. |A |

|22. |C |

|23. |B |

|24. |A |

|25. |B |

|26. |B |

|27. |A |

|28. |C |

|29. |B |

|30. |C |

|31. |B |

|32. |D |

|33. |B |

|34. |D |

|35. |D |

|36. |D |

|37. |B |

|38. |B |

|39. |B |

|40. |D |

|41. |A |

|42. |C |

|43. |A |

|44. |D |

|45. |D |

|46. |D |

|47. |C |

|48. |D |

|49. |B |

|50. |D |

|51. |B |

|52. |C |

|53. |B |

|54. |D |

|55. |D |

|56. |D |

|57. |D |

|58. |A |

|59. |B |

|60. |D |

|61. |C |

|62. |C |

|63. |C |

|64. |B |

|65. |C |

|66. |D |

|67. |B |

|68. |C |

|69. |D |

|70. |B |

|71. |A |

|72. |B |

|73. |C |

|74. |C |

|75. |A |

|76. |C |

|77. |D |

|78. |C |

|79. |D |

|80. |A |

|81. |D |

|82. |D |

|83. |B |

|84. |B |

|85. |D |

|86. |C |

|87. |D |

|88. |D |

|89. |D |

|90. |C |

-----------------------

Normal Curve

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download