Psychology Learning Curves 2a & 2b: Empiricism and Methods of Observation & Methods of Explanation and Thinking Critically About Evidence

Empiricists attempt to understand natural phenomena through the use of:

observation

In addition to reliability and validity, good measurements should also have:

power

What is one efficient way that researchers have of representing vast amounts data?

graphic representation

Which statement BEST describes the relationship between a theory and a hypothesis?

A hypothesis is derived from a theory.

When a device actually measures what it is supposed to be measuring, that device has:

construct validity.

Which statistic is a measure of variability?

standard deviation

A psychologist observes that some people exposed to a traumatic childhood experience develop anxiety disorders later in life, while others do not. This example illustrates:

variability

"It gives me a completely different result each time I take it!" Kishara exclaims, after completing a social media quiz for the third time. Kishara is disputing the quiz's:

reliability

Cindy notes the number of times elementary school children pick specific colours as their favorite colour. She arranges this information in graph form using bars to represent each colour. This is an example of a:

frequency distribution.

After hearing that people are more likely to yawn after seeing others yawn, a(n) _____ will directly observe people to determine if this is true.

empiricist

Kris has heard that people are more likely to yawn after seeing others yawn. She decides to develop her own theories about why this may be true. Kris can be called a(n):

theorist

Big Pun, a famous rapper, weighed more than 600 pounds. What might someone conclude about the variability of weights in a sample if a researcher included the weight of Big Pun?

She might think that there was wider variation than actually exists.

Which statement presents an example of a demand characteristic?

Sara rates her professor favorably on a critique because he is watching the class and collecting the data personally.

Professor Knice gives an exam to his introductory psychology class of 300 students, and everyone earns a grade of A. The exam probably lacks the _____ to detect which students studied and which did not.

power

The number of social media followers one has is a potential ______ definition of popularity.

operational

A scientist theorizes that several billion years ago, a large asteroid collided with the earth, knocking tons of rock into space and creating the moon. Which statement constitutes a research hypothesis that follows from this theory?

Moon rock is made of the same elements as earth rock.

The general goal of scientific research into why people behave the way they do compared with others is to:

identify the causal relationships that explain differences between groups.

A correlation observed in the natural world is known as a _____ correlation.

natural

External validity is:

the characteristic of an experiment in which variables have been operationally defined in a realistic way.

The number of different types of Olympic medals (gold, silver, bronze) that a country wins is an example of a:

variable

How do researchers determine if random assignment has failed?

Researchers use inferential statistics.

What is the relationship between statistical significance and internal validity?

If an experiment has statistical significance, chances are very good that it has internal validity.

If there is a positive correlation between the amount of sleep a student receives and reported levels of anger, this means that, as the amount of sleep decreases, anger:

decreases

Suzanne is a personal trainer who is studying the effects of a protein supplement on the muscle mass of her clients. She has randomly assigned her clients to a group that receives the supplement and one that does not. She calculates muscle mass of both groups at the beginning of her study, again at 4 weeks, and finally at 8 weeks. These two groups have different experiences that are known as the _____ of the study.

conditions

Which statement presents a reason the similarity of a sample and population does not always matter?

A result can be important even when the sample is not representative of the population.

If reported levels of anxiety decrease as the amount of sleep increases, this is a _____ correlation.

negative

Which example illustrates random assignment?

Participants in a drug study are assigned to either experimental or placebo groups using a coin toss.

Internal validity is:

the characteristic of an experiment that establishes the causal relationship between variables.

If age increases with an increase in height, this describes a _____ correlation.

positive

If a researcher studies the effects of different amounts of sugar on the activity level of rats, the activity level of the rats is called:

a variable.

Uwe thinks his dog is losing his hair because Uwe switched him to a new brand of food. Uwe gradually reduces the amount of food from the new brand and increases the amount of the old brand until the dog is only eating the old brand of food. The variable that was manipulated is:

the type and amount of dog food.

Which example illustrates a causal relationship?

determining that the gene that results in red hair also causes lower pain tolerance

Celeste wants to understand why her identical twin sisters are more alike than are she and their older sister. Celeste is interested in which goal of scientific research?

identifying the causal relationships that explain differences between groups

A(n) _____ is a way to gather knowledge by studying a single individual.

case method

Researchers want to see if playing with a specific toy increases the verbal abilities of young children. One group of children plays with the new toy for 4 hours a week for 4 weeks and is given a vocabulary test at the end of the experiment. The other group of matched pairs follows the same schedule, but these children play outside instead of with the toy. Whether the children play outside or with the toy is the _____ variable.

independent

The characteristic of an experiment in which variables have been operationally defined in a realistic way is:

external validity.

Kaci wants to examine how including a picture of a menu item influences how often a person orders that menu item. The number of times a person orders that specific menu item is the:

dependent variable.

Noted developmental psychologist Jean Piaget based his theory in large part on in-depth examinations of his own three children. Piaget's work exemplifies _____ research.

case method

The word hangry refers to the relationship between hunger and anger often observed in everyday life. The textbook refers to this type of relationship as a _____ correlation.

natural