Psychology Research Methods Exam 1

The first prospective study examing smoking and lung cancer, conducted in 1954, found that smokers were 10 times more likely than non-smokers to develop lung cancer. Identify the one condition for inferring causation that this study did not address.

Identify two types of reliability.

Consider the following excerpt: The efficacy of a brief prevention program (BP) aimed at arresting the development of chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was examined with 10 recent remale victims of sexual and nonsexual assault who received 4 sessions of a cognitive-behavioral program shortly after the assault. Their PTSD and depression severity was compared with that of 10 matched recent female assault victims who received repeated assessments of their trauma-related psychopathology (assessment control: AC). The BP program consisted of education about common reactions to assault and cognitive-behavioral procedures.

1. What is the independent variable? How many levels does it have?
2. What is/are the dependent variables?
3. What is the scientific hypothesis?
4. What is the null hypothesis?
5. Explain why the internal validity of this study is relatively low.
6. How does low internal validity affect our interpretation of the results of this study?
7. Identify two strategies of control that were used in this research.

What is the primary goal of a correlational study?

The term variable may best be defined as a:

• Numerical value assigned to an observation.

• Single number that allows one to summarize, analyze, or evaluate a group of observations.

• Label assigned to an observation.

• Property of an event that can assume any of a range of values.

A researcher records the amount of light it takes to detect a small visual stimulus in a dark room. Luminance is the variable being measured and may be thought of here as physical energy. What level of measurement is most likely involved in making this observation?

• Interval

• Ordinal

• Ratio

• Nominal

Random error refers to change in the measurement of a variable that can be attributed to:

• Chance

• The amount of time between measurements

• Systematic error

• Confounding

Face validity is:

• Lacking in the Rorschach test

• More of a public relations question than a scientific one

• Unrelated to a test's actual validity

• All of the above

The Kuder-Richardson-20 is a measure of:

• Validity

• Internal validity

• Internal consistency

• Test-retest reliability

If an investigator were to define aggression in terms of the frequency and intensity of shock administered to another person, he or she would have used:

• Rationalism

• A scientific technique

• Converging operations

• An operational definition

Regression to the mean can occur when:

• A person scores extremely low on one test scores closer to the mean at a second testing

• Scores on two measures are not perfectly correlated

• Subjects are selected because they scored extremely high on a pretest measure

• A and c

• All of the above

If people who drop out of a study are systematically different from those who remain, which of the following is a threat to internal validity?

• History

• Testing

• Selection

• Maturation

• Mortality

If a measure is not __________, then it cannot be __________.

• Valid, internally consistent

• Valid, reliable

• Reliable, valid

• A and b

Friedman and his colleagues (1980) showed that their ACT measure of expressiveness was, as expected, highly correlated with measures of exhibition and extraversion. These results provide evidence of the measure's _______ validity.

• Consistent

• Content

• External

• Convergent

Which of the following is used to maximize the external validity of a study?

• Systematic replication

• Direct replication

• Random assignment of subjects to conditions

• Random selection of subjects from the population of interest

• B and d

The extent to which a research design is sufficiently precise or powerful enough to detect relationships among the operationalized constructs is known as:

• Statistical conclusion validity

• Internal validity

• Construct validity

• Type I error

• Type II error

In a study of emotional distress, an experimenter randomly assigns subjects to either see a violent film first and then read a transcript of a violent incident, or read the transcript first and then see the film. Which of the following strategies was used to control for order effects?

• Balanced Latin square

• Latin square

• Counterbalancing

• Matching

• Subjects as own control

In a study of emotional distress, an experimenter randomly assigns subjects to either see a violent film first and then read a transcript of a violent incident, or read the transcript first and then see the film. Film versus transcript is a(n):

• Extraneous variable

• Between-subjects variable

• Within-subjects variable

• Dependent variable

In a study of emotional distress, an experimenter randomly assigns subjects to either see a violent film first and then read a transcript of a violent incident, or read the transcript first and then see the film. Order is a:

• Repeated measures variable

• Between-subjects variable

• Within-subjects variable

• Dependent variable

If an experimenter is not interested in examining the effects of age in an experiment, she might control for age by:

• Including only those subjects who are 30 years old

• Randomly assigning subjects of all ages to the treatment and control conditions

• Not asking subjects how old they are

• A and b

• B and c

Subtle cues in a laboratory study which subjects can use to guide their behavior are known as:

• Signaling cues

• Performance indicators

• Demand characteristics

• Measurement expectancies

A student complains that his psychology test was unfair and, "Did not cover the material!" In other words, he is complaining that the test lacks:

• Power

• Criterion validity

• Internal validity

• Content validity

There are trade-offs associated with each research strategy. For example, in order to maximize control, laboratory experiments often sacrifice:

• Power of the independent variable to affect the dependent variable

• Realism

• External validity

• B and c

Which of the following is not a major role of a theory?

• Guide new research

• To explain laws

• To organize knowledge

• To describe behavior

• To predict new laws

The term power refers to:

• The probability of finding a significant difference when a difference does not exist in the population

• The probability of committing a Type II error

• The probability of finding a significant difference when a difference exists in the population

• The probability that a statistical test will account for unexplained variability

Which of the following is a disadvantage of a matched-pairs design?

• Pretesting may increase demand characteristics.

• Members of each pair cannot be randomly assigned to conditions.

• Power is often increased.

• Causal conclusions cannot be drawn.

Those differences between subjects that cannot be controlled (for example, gender and race) are known as:

• Experimental variables

• Organismic variables

• Control variables

• Subject variables

Which one of the following terms least belongs with the others?

• Y-axis

• Independent variable values

• X-axis

• Horizontal

Which one of the following would be best for conveying the shape of the frequency distribution of 250 test scores?

• Rank-order distribution

• Histogram

• Cumulative frequency distribution

• Ungrouped frequency distribution

Scattergrams represent data commonly analyzed by which statistic?

• Chi-square

• Analysis of variance

• Correlation coefficient

• T-test

A bar graph should be used when the:

• Dependent variable is a discrete variable

• Independent variable is a discrete variable

• Dependent variable is a continuous variable

• Independent variable is a continuous variable

Laboratory research, as opposed to field research, is:

• Generally preferred because it is easier to achieve control.

• The only way to achieve satisfactory experimental control.

• Required by government funding agencies.

• Better because participants expect formal settings.

Subjects may be used as their own control when:

• A within-subjects condition is not possible.

• There are likely to be sequence effects.

• Experiencing one condition is unlikely to influence the response to another.

• Using statistical control is impossible.

What is the main purpose of matching?

• To control for order effects

• To control for sequence effects

• To reduce initial differences between the experimental and control groups on the dependent variable

• To reduce the amount of variability among subjects within each treatment group

• B and d

Statistical control is:

• Generally preferable to experimental control.

• A way of equating subjects on paper that are actually not equal.

• The same as randomization.

• All of the above

Which one of the following is not a good specific strategy for achieving control in research?

• Building nuisance variables into the experiment.

• Using subjects as their own control.

• Using statistical controls.

• Making designs more complex.

The threat of confounding is particularly serious in research using:

• True experiments

• Randomization

• Assignment of subjects to conditions

• Subject variables

• All of the above

If a researcher finds a result in a laboratory setting but not in a real world setting, the finding:

• Lacks internal validity

• Lacks statistical validity

• Lacks ecological validity

• Cannot be published

When a researcher asks the question, "Have subjects been pre-selected so as to represent the extremes on the variable of interest?", she is concerned with which one of the following potential threats to internal validity?

• Regression effect

• Subject selection

• Testing effect

• Maturation

When a researcher asks the question, "Was the subject dropout rate during the course of the study equal over the various conditions or more pronounced in certain treatment groups?", she is concerned with which one of the following potential confounds?

• Random error

• History (events outside the laboratory)

• Regression

• Morality

Role demands are a source of:

• Subject bias

• Selection bias

• Experimenter bias

• Evaluation bias

Accepting the information in an instructor's lecture without examining the book or asking about the source of the ideas is an example of which way of knowing about behavior?

• Logic

• Intuition

• Authority

• Science

The suggestion to take an aspirin to relieve a headache would be considered ________ while ________ would be concerned with the reason that the aspirin works.

• Law, theory

• Parsimonious, excessive

• Technology, science

• Science, technology

A law may best be defined as a statement that certain events:

• Are regularly associated with each other.

• Occur regularly.

• Are caused by preceding events.

• Explain one or more events.

Which is not a way to judge a good theory? How well it:

• Predicts new laws

• Explains existing laws

• Guides research

• Agrees with common sense

The idea that scientific progress does not proceed in a straightforward manner, but rather consists of normal science, followed by shifts to other ways of thinking, is Kuhn's concept of a ________.

• Law

• Paradigm

• Theory

• Hypothesis

Although the general public does still go to see shows on Broadway, their reluctance to see new and unfamiliar shows is a potential threat to the vitality of the theater. One indicator of a show's performance is how long it plays on Broadway. For the shows playing during the week of June 5, 2011, information was collected regarding how long each show was on Broadway and its attendance during the week. Is attendance quantitative or categorical?

• Quantitative

• Categorical

Although the general public does still go to see shows on Broadway, their reluctance to see new and unfamiliar shows is a potential threat to the vitality of the theater. One indicator of a show's performance is how long it plays on Broadway. For the shows playing during the week of June 5, 2011, information was collected regarding how long each show was on Broadway and its attendance during the week. What kind of scale would be best used to measure attendance?

• Ratio

• Interval

• Nominal

• Ordinal