· Web viewSample Answer: This is a quasi-experimental design. The major criticism of the conclusion is that cause-and-effect relationships are not possible to determine based

OpenStax Psychology Test BankChapter 2: Psychological Research

Chapter 2: Psychological Research

* = Correct answer

Multiple Choice

1. The belief that strange behavior is linked to the occurrence of a full moon is an example of a(n) ________.

A. correlationB. fact*C. illusory correlationD. opinion

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3

2. Spurling et al. investigated the effects of two vocabulary learning strategies on word retention two weeks later. In this example, learning strategy is the ________ variable and word retention is the ________ variable.

A. control; experimentalB. dependent; independentC. experimental; control*D. independent; dependent

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.2, 2.2

3. A(n) ________ is a well-developed set of ideas that proposes an explanation for observed phenomena.

A. conclusionB. hypothesisC. operational definition*D. theory

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3

4. Which correlation coefficient best represents a moderate relationship showing fewer anxiety symptoms in people who report higher life satisfaction?

*A. –0.5B. –0.2C. +0.4

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D. +0.7

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.2

5. Krista and Tatiana Hogan are participants in a(n) ________ of conjoined twins who are joined at the head.

*A. case studyB. experimentC. naturalistic observationD. survey

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2

6. In a ________ study, both the researchers and the participants are unaware of the group assignments.

A. control*B. double-blindC. pilotD. randomly assigned

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2, 2.4

7. Lesley, a sociology major, believes that money is the key to happiness. Her friend Stephen, a psychology major, believes that good health is the key to happiness. How might the two friends resolve their disagreement?

A. They could ask their friends and see which perspective has the most support.B. They could conduct a study with students on their campus to see which perspective has the most support.C. They could research archives of newspapers, magazines, and other media to see if there are reports on the topic.*D. They could research peer-reviewed articles to see if either perspective is supported.

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.2, 1.3, 2.1

8. Trephination is the ________.

A. method that supposedly proved that the world is flat*B. procedure where a large hole is created in the forehead so that evil spirits can escapeC. technique that helps ensure the validity of experimental results

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D. theory that mental illness is caused by demonic possession

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.2

9. Which of the following would be difficult to assess using empirical research?

A. the abilities of non-human primates to use sign languageB. the reaction time for participants to indicate they heard a ball drop on a tableC. whether a baby is crying because he is sad, hungry, or in pain*D. whether the id, ego, or superego is most responsible for emotional reactions

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.4

10. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a good hypothesis?

A. It can be tested using empirical methods.B. It is an if-then statement.*C. It is complex.D. It is falsifiable.

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.4

11. ________ is a reduction in the number of research participants as some drop out of the study over time.

*A. attritionB. experimenter biasC. generalizabilityD. single blinding

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 2.4

12. What is a limitation that affects the generalizability of research results?

A. control groupsB. operational definitionsC. random assignment*D. small sample size

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.4

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13. Dr. Mattar is interested in knowing more about brain injury to the occipital cortex, and he studies patients individually in order to gain in-depth knowledge about their behaviors. These studies would best be described as ________.

*A. case studiesB. correlationalC. cross-sectionalD. surveys

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.2

14. Patwardhan et al. report data from a study where they hired experimental confederates to attend speed dating events, posing as daters, and carefully take notes on the behaviors of the daters. What type of research design did they use?

A. case studyB. experiment*C. naturalistic observationD. survey

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.2, 2.1, 2.2

15. ________, an anthropologist, contributed to our understanding of chimpanzee behavior in the wild, using naturalistic observation.

*A. Jane GoodallB. Sigmund FreudC. Suzanne FangerD. Tatiana Hogan

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1

16. ________ assesses the consistency of observations by different observers.

A. attrition*B. inter-rater reliabilityC. the control groupD. validity

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.4

17. Green et al. used a ________ from their ________ of interest in order to make a ________.

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A. generalization; sample; hypothesisB. population; sample; generalization*C. sample; population; generalizationD. sample; population; hypothesis

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.2, 2.4

18. In order to assess whether viewpoints on decriminalization of marijuana for medical purposes change with age, four groups of participants, ages 20, 30, 40, and 50, are asked whether they support this issue. What is one flaw of this design?

A. Longitudinal research is time consuming.B. Marijuana has already been decriminalized in some places.C. Recruitment could be a challenge because people of different ages are difficult to sample.*D. Social or cultural factors may influence the results, not age.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5

19. ________ research studies the same groups of participants over time.

A. archivalB. correlationalC. cross-sectional*D. longitudinal

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 2.2

20. A group of preschool-age children are enrolled in a study that plans to follow them over time in order to assess behaviors and other characteristics that may predict later development of schizophrenia. This is an example of a(n) ________ design.

A. cross sectionalB. experimental*C. longitudinalD. survey

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.3, 2.2

21. ________ research uses past records or data sets to investigate research questions or to look for patterns or relationships.

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*A. archivalB. correlationalC. experimentalD. survey

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3, 2.2

22. Which of the following would be the best example of a valid naturalistic observation study in driving behavior?

A. assessing behaviors from a police cruiser dash camB. having passengers rate the driver’s behaviorC. using footage from red light cameras*D. watching footage obtained from cameras set up unobtrusively on various streets

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2

23. Which of the following research designs will allow cause-and-effect conclusions?

A. correlational*B. experimentalC. quasi-experimentalD. survey

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.2, 2.4

24. Stan and Jenny are in a psychology course that requires them to repeat an experiment that researchers have conducted in the past, in order to determine whether they produce the same results. This is called ________.

A. inter-rater reliabilityB. reliability*C. replicationD. validity

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.2, 2.4

25. ________ means that there is a relationship between two or more variables.

A. cause-and-effect*B. correlationC. reliability

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D. validity

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 2.2

26. The possible range for a correlation coefficient is ________.

A. between –1 and 0*B. between –1 and +1C. between 0 and +1D. between 0 and +100

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2

27. A negative correlation means ________.

A. a third variable eliminates a correlational relationship*B. one variable decreases as the other increasesC. there is a relationship between two variables, but it is not statistically significantD. two variables increase together, but they are associated with an undesirable outcome

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.2

28. Which of the following represents a weak positive correlation?

A. –0.9B. 0*C. +0.2D. +0.9

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

29. Which of the following represents a strong negative correlation?

*A. –0.9B. –0.2C. +0.2D. +0.9

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2, 2.4

30. A ________ is a graphical view of the strength and direction of a correlation.

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A. bar graphB. correlation coefficientC. histogram*D. scatterplot

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 2.2

31. On a graph of a correlation coefficient, points falling near to a straight sloped line indicate ________.

*A. a strong correlationB. a weak correlationC. it is unclear from the information givenD. no correlation

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.4

32. Research shows that people who smoke cigarettes are more likely to get lung cancer than those who do not smoke. This research alone demonstrates that ________.

A. smoking causes lung cancerB. smoking contributes to lung cancerC. there is a predisposition toward both smoking and lung cancer*D. there is a relationship between smoking and lung cancer

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.4

33. A(n) ________ is a variable that affects both variables of interest and may falsely give the impression of a cause-and-effect relationship.

*A. confounding variableB. control variableC. dependent variableD. independent variable

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

34. Sandra strongly believes that attending daycare is detrimental to children’s development so she decides to write her psychology term paper on this topic. She does a literature search and finds several sources supporting her opinion, but she finds that the majority of research indicates

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that children attending daycare experience healthy development. She writes a paper using the sources that find negative associations with daycare attendance. This is an example of ________.

*A. confirmation biasB. confounding variableC. correlational researchD. observer bias

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5

35. A basic experiment involves a minimum of ________ participant group(s).

A. one*B. twoC. threeD. four

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.2, 2.4

36. The ________ group does not get the experimental treatment.

A. alternate experimental*B. controlC. dependentD. independent

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.2, 2.4

37. A(n) ________ is a description of how the researchers will measure the variables of interest.

A. experimental planB. hypothesis*C. operational definitionD. theory

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.2

38. Researchers are conducting a study where they have concerns that the participant’s beliefs and/or the experimenter’s beliefs may skew the results. Therefore, they chose to conduct a ________ study.

A. control

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*B. double-blindC. double-controlD. single-blind

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5

39. Simply expecting something to happen can make it happen. This describes ________.

A. experimenter biasB. observer biasC. participant bias*D. placebo effect

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.1, 2.2

40. The ________ is controlled by the experimenter.

A. confounding variableB. dependent variable*C. independent variableD. variability

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.2, 2.4

41. Devine et al. are interested in assessing whether active versus passive play causes a preference for sweet or salty foods in toddlers. They assign groups of children to either an active play, passive play, or no play group and record their food choices when presented with a variety of sweet and salty foods. In this study, ________ is the independent variable and ________ is the control group.

A. active play; passive playB. food choice; no playC. no play; type of play*D. type of play; no play

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.2, 2.1, 2.4

42. Harrison et al. are conducting a study assessing the ability of depressed versus non-depressed participants to remember negative emotions in a short story about a family whose car breaks down. They plan to ask participants to read the story and then make a list of the emotions expressed in the story. Before beginning the study, they make a list of negative emotions (e.g.,

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sadness and anger) that they will record from the participants’ responses. In this example, negative emotions are the ________.

*A. dependent variableB. independent variableC. operational definitionD. significant variable

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.2, 2.4

43. Which of the following is not a potential problem associated with relying on college students as participants in psychological research?

A. It may be difficult to generalize findings to other groups.B. They are more educated than the general public.*C. They have higher attrition rates than other populations.D. They tend to be more liberal than the general public.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.3, 2.1, 2.4, 2.5

44. In order to maximize the chances that experimental groups represent the population of interest, researchers should conduct ________ and ________.

A. blind group assignment; blind samplingB. blind group assignment; random samplingC. blind sampling; random group assignment*D. random sampling; random group assignment

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 2.4, 2.5

45. A sample that ________ is most likely to yield generalizable results.

A. has at least 20 participantsB. has at least 200 participants*C. is large and randomly selectedD. is small and specifically selected

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.4, 2.5

46. Drs. Goran and Lieberman are interested in assessing differences in pain threshold between men and women. They recruit male and female participants to a study that assesses tolerance for thermal pain. This is an example of a(n) ________ study.

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A. caseB. correlationalC. experimental*D. quasi-experimental

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.2, 2.4

47. A(n) ________ is conducted in order to determine whether there are meaningful differences between two groups in a study.

A. correlation coefficientB. scatterplot*C. statistical analysisD. validity assessment

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

48. What is one task that a peer reviewer is not likely to participate in?

A. conducting his or her own research in the same subject areaB. looking for flaws in the way a study was conducted*C. suggesting magazines that may be interested in publishing the researchD. verifying that the research meets ethical standards

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.4

49. Peer reviewers ________.

A. are similar to magazine editors*B. help ensure quality control in reporting scientific findingsC. work for the authors of scientific articlesD. work for the journals that publish scientific research findings

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.2, 2.4

50. Research describing a link between childhood vaccines and autism has been ________.

A. confirmed by multiple studiesB. found to have been based on falsified dataC. published once but not confirmed*D. retracted due to a financial conflict of interest by the author

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Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.2, 2.5

51. ________ refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result.

A. generalizability*B. reliabilityC. statistical significanceD. validity

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.4

52. ________ refers to the ability of an instrument or tool to accurately measure what it is supposed to measure.

A. generalizabilityB. operational definitionC. reliability*D. validity

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.4

53. An intelligence test yields the same results when administered on three separate occasions. However, the test’s results are more strongly correlated with hours spent doing homework than they are with other standardized intelligence tests. This test has________ reliability and ________ validity.

A. high; high*B. high; lowC. low; highD. low; low

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 2.2, 2.4

54. ________ is the tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs.

*A. confirmation biasB. experimenter biasC. illusory correlationD. sampling bias

Difficulty: Easy

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APA Standard: 1.3, 2.1, 2.2

55. Many studies that cannot ethically be conducted as experiments with typical human participants ________.

*A. are possible to test with animal studiesB. are possible to test with participants from prison populationsC. are possible to form strong opinions that are logical and intuitiveD. are not possible to test with empirical methods

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.4, 3.1

56. Ethics need to be considered when ________ scientific research.

A. conducting and reviewingB. designing and reviewing*C. designing, conducting, and reviewingD. reviewing and publishing

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 3.1

57. ________ (IRB) reviews research that is conducted using human participants.

A. Institutional Research BoardB. Institutional Research Bureau*C. Institutional Review BoardD. Institutional Review Bureau

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 3.1

58. Which of the following is not part of obtaining informed consent?

*A. explaining the hypothesis to the participantsB. letting participants know that participation is voluntaryC. obtaining the participant’s signature or a signature from the parent or guardian if the participant is a minorD. reviewing that data is confidential

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 3.1

59. ________ are the most commonly used species for animal research.

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A. chimpanzeesB. fruit fliesC. pigs*D. rodents

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 3.1

60. The ________ reviews research conducted using animal subjects.

*A. IACUCB. IRBC. NIHD. NIMH

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 3.1

61. Simplicity of conducting the study is to ________ as ability to test large numbers of participants is to ________.

A. archival research; naturalistic observation*B. archival research; surveysC. case studies; naturalistic observationD. experiments; surveys

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 2.2, 2.4

62. American researchers studying the effects of physical attractiveness on compliance wish to expand the cross-cultural generalizability of their findings to a Lebanese population. They travel to Lebanon and recruit local residents, whom the American researchers rate as attractive or unattractive, to act as experimental confederates. However, they are unable to replicate their research findings. What is a potential problem with this research?

A. Inter-rater reliability has not been assessed.B. Language barriers will prevent successful research from occurring.C. The study may not be reliable due to differences in expectations for compliance between cultures.*D. The study may not be valid due to differences in standards of attractiveness between cultures.

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5

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63. Magali and Jean-Gabriel have been asked to design a study investigating happiness across the lifespan. They decide their study will involve going to the mall and asking people of a variety of ages if they are happy or unhappy. What is the most serious flaw of this design?

A. People will know that they are part of a research study and may decline participation.B. Survey data is not as valid as experimental data.C. Their results will depend on how busy the mall is.*D. They have not defined happiness or how it will be measured.

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5

64. Which of the following statements is not a hypothesis?

A. Aggressive behaviors in female rats will be increased by testosterone administration, compared to a control group.*B. Anxiety disorders are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental influences.C. College students with higher conscientiousness will achieve higher overall GPAs than those with lower conscientiousness.D. Rats with damage to their cerebellum will display deficits in motor coordination, using the rotarod test.

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 2.4

65. An upper-level psychology class is conducting an experiment on racial prejudice that involves having participants rate the likeability of faces in a set of photos. However, they tell participants that the study is about the effects of aging on likeability. When participants are finished, they are thanked for their time and leave the experiment. In this example, the class forgot to ________ in order to resolve the ________ in the study.

A. debrief participants; ageist attitudes*B. debrief participants; deceptionC. pay participants; deceptionD. pay participants; use of personal photos

Difficulty: Difficult APA Standard: 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.4, 3.1

66. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was ethically problematic because ________.

A. only black men were invited to participate*B. participants were not allowed to seek available treatmentC. penicillin was not administered to the men’s wivesD. the study was continued for approximately 40 years

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Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.2, 3.1

67. A ________ is least likely to be involved in the IRB decision regarding whether a study will be permitted.

A. librarian at the research institutionB. local independent grocer with interests in academic researchC. scientist who conducts research at a university*D. veterinarian

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 3.1

68. ________ are subjects of psychological research.

A. clientsB. individuals*C. participantsD. people

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1,

69. ________ can be used to assess ________.

A. reliability; validity*B. statistical analyses; reliabilityC. statistical analyses; validityD. validity; reliability

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.4

70. One hundred introductory psychology students are surveyed about their intended majors. The results indicate that more women than men intend to pursue a psychology major, whereas more men than women intend to pursue a history major. What do these results indicate?

A. Despite advances in feminism, there are still gender inequalities in post-secondary studies.B. More women than men attend college.C. The research sample is invalid because men and women are not equally represented.*D. There is a relationship between gender and intended major.

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3, 2.1

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71. The ________ variable measures effects of the independent variable.

A. confounding*B. dependentC. experimentalD. independent

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2

72. A major advantage of case studies is ________.

*A. detailed informationB. generalizabilityC. large sample sizeD. quick data collection

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2, 2.4

73. ________ is/are often conducted with large numbers of participants and can even be conducted by phone, email, or mail.

A. archival researchB. case studies*C. surveysD. university experiments

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2

74. A(n) ________ case study is conducted by gathering detailed information about participants who are psychological patients.

*A. clinicalB. experimentalC. naturalisticD. patient

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2

75. The only way to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables is to conduct a(n) ________.

A. detailed literature search

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*B. experimentC. studyD. survey

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.1, 2.2

76. The D.A.R.E. program is an example of ________.

A. a highly successful drug use intervention programB. a highly successful suicide intervention programC. a psychological research study that has helped shape public policy*D. why empirical research is needed

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3, 2.2,

77. The scientific process is ________, involving both inductive and deductive reasoning.

*A. circularB. cyclicalC. perfectionisticD. unpredictable

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2

78. Scientific knowledge is advanced through a process known as ________.

A. deductive reasoningB. inductive reasoningC. the experiment*D. the scientific method

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2, 2.4

79. Research on ________ subjects must always involve ________.

A. animal; a full debriefingB. animal; obtaining informed consentC. human; a full debriefing*D. human; obtaining informed consent

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2, 2.4, 3.1

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80. Which of the following is a scientific way of determining facts?

A. common opinions*B. empirical studiesC. intuitionD. lucky breaks

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2, 2.4

Short Answer

81. What are clear definitions of inductive and deductive reasoning?

Sample Answer: Inductive reasoning describes the process where empirical observations lead to new ideas, whereas deductive reasoning describes the process of ideas being tested against the empirical world.

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.1, 4.1

82. What are three safeguards to ensure that animal research is conducted ethically?

Sample Answer: Three safeguards include the following: the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) reviews all animal research and must give approval before research occurs, there are mandatory inspections of animal care facilities, and research is designed so that pain and distress are minimized.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 3.1, 4.1

83. There is a positive correlation between taking multivitamins and using recreational drugs. What does this mean, and what are three possible underlying relationships between the variables?

Sample Answer: There is a relationship between taking multivitamins and using recreational drugs, and the two variables increase in incidence together. It could be the case that taking multivitamins causes an increase in drug use, that drug use causes an increase in taking multivitamins, or there could be a third variable underlying both effects. Therefore, multiple cause-and-effect relationships are possible, but none are demonstrated by this correlational relationship.

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.4, 4.1

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84. What is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory?

Sample Answer: A hypothesis is a testable prediction about how the world will behave if our theory is correct. A theory is a well-developed set of ideas that proposes an explanation about observed phenomena. Therefore, testing numerous hypotheses can result in a theory that explains broader phenomena than the results of a single experiment.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.2, 2.4, 4.1

85. From a scientific perspective, what is the major criticism of Freud’s theories?

Sample Answer: Freud’s theories are problematic from a scientific perspective because they are not falsifiable: They cannot be tested in a way that either proves or disproves them.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.2, 4.1

86. What is one strength and one weakness of archival research?

Sample Answer: One strength of archival research is that it is an inexpensive type of study to conduct, and one weakness is that the researcher does not have control over the type of data that is collected.

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2, 2.4, 4.1

87. Using an example, what is the difference between a population and a sample?

Sample Answer: A population is the overall group that the researchers are interested in studying, whereas a sample is the subset of individuals who participate in the actual study. For example, preschool-aged children may be the population, but the sample may be a group of 50 preschool children in the Seattle area.

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2, 2.4, 4.1

88. What is an example of a longitudinal research study?

Sample Answer: Researchers want to investigate whether participating in a breakfast program during elementary school is associated with better grades. They study a group of children assigned to either no breakfast program or receiving a breakfast program. Researchers collect data on their academic progress in grade 1, grade 6, grade 9, and grade 12.

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 2.4, 4.1

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89. What is the difference between a positive correlation and a negative correlation?

Sample Answer: When two variables are positively correlated they move in the same direction together: both either increasing or decreasing. When variables are negatively correlated they move in opposite directions: one increasing while the other is decreasing.

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.4, 4.1

90. What is experimenter bias, and what is a strategy that experimenters can use to minimize this effect?

Sample Answer: Experimenter bias is when the researcher’s expectations may skew the study results. Experimenter bias can be reduced by conducting a double-blind study: Neither the researcher conducting the study nor the participants know which group they are in.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.3, 2.4, 4.1

91. Jamila is in a study that aims to evaluate the effects of a new vitamin drink on energy levels. She is told that she will be in the group receiving the drink and is asked to rate her energy levels at different points throughout the day. She feels very energized by the drink and rates her energy levels high. At the end of the study, she is debriefed and told that the experiment involved deception. She was actually in the group that received only flavored water. What is this type of effect called, and how could it be prevented in a future experiment wishing to evaluate the vitamin drink?

Sample Answer: Jamila experienced a placebo effect. In future experiments, the placebo effect could be prevented by conducting a blinded study.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.4, 4.1

92. A group of researchers are interested in determining if women are more likely than men to use their spouse’s name in casual social conversations, and they are further interested to know if it makes a difference whether their conversation partner is male or female. They assign their sample of men and women to engage in conversations with either a male or female experimental confederate (a researcher acting like another participant). Researchers conclude that the gender of the conversation partner causes a difference in the number of times that men use their spouse’s name. What type of research design is this, and what is a major criticism of the conclusion?

Sample Answer: This is a quasi-experimental design. The major criticism of the conclusion is that cause-and-effect relationships are not possible to determine based on this design.

Difficulty: Difficult

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OpenStax Psychology Test BankChapter 2: Psychological Research

APA Standard: 1.1, 2.1, 2.4, 4.1

93. The textbook discusses the Tuskegee Syphilis Study as an example of research that would not be considered ethical by today’s standards. If this study were proposed today, who would make the decision about whether it can proceed using federal funding, and who participates in this committee?

Sample Answer: An institutional review board (IRB) composed of members of the institution’s administration, scientists, and community members would decide whether this study could be conducted.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.1, 3.1, 4.1

94. Patil et al. have conducted a survey of alcohol use in college students on three campuses in one city and have found widely varying results by campus. How could the researchers follow up on these results and get more detailed information about opinions regarding alcohol use on each campus.

Sample Answer: The researchers could design a new survey that focuses on opinions related to alcohol use, rather than just levels of alcohol use. The researchers could also gather data on other variables that they believe might be related to alcohol use in order to conduct correlational analyses.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.4, 2.5, 4.1

95. What is the role of skepticism in scientific research?

Sample Answer: Skepticism is expected at all levels of research, from study design, to interpreting findings, to peer review, and to thinking about results that are published in scientific journals.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.4, 4.1

96. What does empirical mean?

Sample Answer: Empirical means that research findings are grounded in observable, tangible evidence that can be replicated by any competent researcher.

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.2, 4.1

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OpenStax Psychology Test BankChapter 2: Psychological Research

97. A telephone survey is conducted, asking 3,000 participants to anonymously report the number of hours that their children watch television for each week. What is one advantage and one disadvantage of this study design?

Sample Answer: An advantage is that the large number of participants increases the generalizability of the results. A disadvantage is that the researchers are relying on self-reported findings, which often have limitations.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.4, 4.1

98. What is the only type of research design that can give cause-and-effect findings, and why is this type of design not used for all research questions?

Sample Answer: The experiment is the only type of research design that can give cause-and-effect findings. However, not all studies are designed as experiments primarily because it would often be unethical or impossible to assign individuals to groups. Also, experiments may create a study context that does not reflect reality.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.4, 3.1, 4.1

99. What is the purpose of creating an operational definition?

Sample Answer: The operational definition precisely defines the measures in a study, making it clear to others exactly how and what the researcher is measuring.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.4, 4.1

100. What are four types of study designs used by psychologists?

Sample Answer: Study designs used by psychologists include naturalistic observations, case studies, archival research, surveys, correlational studies, quasi-experiments, and experiments.

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.4, 4.1

101. What is a debriefing?

Sample Answer: Debriefing occurs after the participant’s involvement in the study is finished, and it must occur if deception has taken place. Debriefing includes a discussion of the true and complete study purpose, how the data will be collected and used, reasons why debriefing was necessary, and how to obtain more information about the study.

Difficulty: Moderate

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OpenStax Psychology Test BankChapter 2: Psychological Research

APA Standard: 2.4, 3.1, 4.1

102. In a statistical analysis, what is the threshold for determining whether a result is significant, and what does the threshold mean?

Sample Answer: The threshold for significance is that we expect that 95 times out of 100 we would observe the same results. Therefore, we expect that only 5 times out of 100 we would get the results by chance alone. When this happens, we can attribute experimental results to effects of the independent variable.

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 2.4, 4.1

103. What are the advantages and disadvantages of case studies?

Sample Answer: A main advantage of case studies is the large amount of detailed data that can be collected. A main disadvantage is that data from case studies do not generate information about cause-effect-relationships.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 4.1

104. Give an example of a researcher from another discipline who has conducted research relevant to psychology.

Sample Answer: Jane Goodall, an anthropologist, has contributed to the field of psychology through her observational studies of chimpanzees in the wild.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.2, 2.1, 4.1

105. Ava and Ben are both observing the same participants and recording data to compare later. What type of reliability are they planning to assess, and why would they do so?

Sample Answer: They are assessing inter-rater reliability as a way to ensure that their study is well-designed with clear operational definitions and an easily measurable dependent variable.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.4, 4.1

106. Research regarding the D.A.R.E. program, as discussed in the text, is an example of psychological research that can be used to help shape public policy. Why is it important to have empirical findings on this widely implemented and expensive program?

Sample Answer: Empirically based findings are important to have because they allow for objective facts to be available. In the case of the D.A.R.E. program, empirically based findings

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OpenStax Psychology Test BankChapter 2: Psychological Research

allow the public and public policy makers to critically evaluate the effectiveness of the program and determine whether the resources used to implement it are justified.

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 3.3, 4.1

Essay

107. You want to design a study to evaluate whether an anti-bullying program causes a reduction in bullying behavior among middle school students. Describe your study design in enough detail that another researcher could replicate it, including stating your research hypothesis, indicating your independent and dependent variables, and explaining your rationale for the design. What are two potential criticisms of your study?

Difficulty: DifficultAPA Standard: 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.3, 2.4, 3.3, 4.1

108. Using examples, what are key features of the scientific method that ensure scientific findings are based on fact?

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.4, 4.1

109. Compare and contrast case studies, surveys, and naturalistic observation, giving an example of each.

Difficulty: EasyAPA Standard: 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 4.1

110. How are experiments different from all other types of research studies? What are the different ways to assign participants to groups?

Difficulty: ModerateAPA Standard: 2.4, 4.1

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