Content Questions (Social Psychology, Statistics, and Test Construction)

Those with privilege may hold beliefs that they are superior to others or others are inferior to them, that they have the power to impose standards, and that their reality is the same experience for everyone. This sort of worldview is known as:

A. ethnocentric monoculturalism.

B. prejudice.

C. racism.

D. discrimination.

a.

According to Hays (2001), would a 25-year-old person be considered privileged?

A. Yes, their age affords them rights that other age groups do not have.

B. No, the age group identified as privileged is between 30 and 60 years of age.

C. No, age is not included in the groups Hays identified.

D. Yes, 25-year-olds are more able-bodied than older people, which affords them greater privilege.

b.

In the context of attitude change, "inoculation" refers to:

A. reducing the likelihood that a listener will be persuaded by a message.

B. increasing a listener's attention to a message.

C. reducing the likelihood that a listener will forget a message.

D. increasing the attractiveness of the person delivering the message.

a.

In a research study on bystander intervention, a participant hears someone fall and cry out in pain in an adjacent room. In this situation, the participant is most likely to respond to this apparent need for help when he/she is:

A. alone

B. with a friend

C. with a stranger

D. with three or more other people

a.

The belief that watching someone else act aggressively will serve to reduce one's own aggressiveness is most consistent with the notion of:

A. attitude inoculation

B. vicarious reinforcement

C. catharsis

D. desensitization

c.

Sherif (1935) used which of the following to investigate conformity to group norms?

A. Visual cliff

B. Jigsaw classroom

C. Door-in-the-face technique

D. Autokinetic effect

d.

During a family therapy session, the therapist tells the 8-year-old son that he should keep annoying his sister, even though it makes her very mad. The boy says, "I don't have to if I don't want to." The boy's response to the therapist's request is best described as a manifestation of which of the following?

A. Paradox

B. Double-bind

C. Source derogation

D. Psychological reactance

d.

A father is quite upset about his 11-year-old son's recent unwillingness to do as he is told, and he tells his son, "I'm the boss around here and you must do as I say." The father is relying on which type of social power to control his son's behavior?

A. Expert

B. Referent

C. Legitimate

D. Coercive

c.

Which of the following is not considered an example of a social norm in American culture?

A. Shaking hands when meeting someone

B. Saying niceties

C. Calling to let someone know you'll be late

D. Looking down when conversing with someone

d.

A person with symbolic racist views is least likely to oppose which of the following?

A. Welfare

B. Medicaid/Medicare

C. Affirmative Action

D. Bilingual election ballots

b.

When a person's internal motivation to perform a task is weakened, this is known as the:

A. availability heuristic.

B. dilution effect.

C. psychological reactance.

D. overjustification hypothesis.

d.

Asch (1946) found that some characteristics (e.g., warm and cold) influence the impressions people form of others more than other characteristics do, and he referred to these influential characteristics as:

A. stable attributes

B. central traits

C. schemata

D. stereotypes

b.

Moscovici (1985) found that individuals with a minority opinion are most likely to change the minds of those holding the majority opinion when those with the minority opinion:

A. express their opinion as consistently as possible.

B. use ingratiation techniques to gain the acceptance of members of the majority.

C. initially agree with the majority position and gradually introduce their own opinion.

D. point out the ways in which they agree with the majority.

a.

According to social comparison theory:

A. we feel better when people like and appreciate us.

B. we often judge our own actions by looking at those of other people.

C. we tend to imitate other people who we perceive to be most like us.

D. we are most attracted to people who compare favorably with us.

b.

In general, a communicator of a persuasive message will produce the greatest amount of attitude change in a listener when the communicator is _____ in credibility and the discrepancy between the listener's initial position and the position advocated by the communicator is _____.

A. high; moderate

B. high; small

C. low; large

D. low; moderate

a.

Participants in a research study are injected with epinephrine, which produces mild arousal. One-half of the participants are told to expect arousal while the other half are told that the injection will have no physiological side effects. Each participant is then placed in a waiting room with a confederate who has been instructed to act in an angry manner. Subsequently, participants who were told to expect arousal from the epinephrine report no change in their emotional state, while those who were told to expect no side effects report feeling angry. Results of this study provide evidence for which of the following?

A. Attribution theory

B. Dissonance theory

C. Self-serving bias

D. Self-perception theory

d.

The elaboration likelihood model predicts that the recipient of a persuasive message is more likely to use the peripheral route of information processing when:

A. the person delivering the message is a well-liked and attractive.

B. the recipient is in a neutral or slightly negative mood.

C. the message is considered important or personally relevant by the recipient.

D. the recipient has a high need for cognition.

a.

In Zimbardo's (1972) prison study, students were randomly assigned to enact the role of either a prisoner or prison guard and were placed in an environment that simulated an actual prison. Results of the study indicated that:

A. introverted prisoners and extroverted prison guards more easily adapted to their roles than did extroverted prisoners and introverted prison guards.

B. prisoners and prison guards more easily adapted to their roles when they were paid for participating in the study than when they were not paid.

C. prisoners and prison guards both quickly adapted to their assigned roles to such an extreme that the study had to be terminated early.

D. prisoners and prison guards actively resisted their assigned roles and often deliberately engaged in "role reversal."

c.

_____________ refers to publicly acting in ways that are consistent with what is requested by another person in order to obtain a reward or avoid punishment while privately disagreeing with the request.

A. Identification

B. Internalization

C. Commitment

D. Compliance

d.

The results of research on the "jigsaw classroom" are consistent with which of the following?

A. The results of Sherif's Robber's Cave study

B. The results of Zimbardo's deindividuation study

C. The predictions of Berkowitz's frustration-aggression hypothesis

D. The predictions of Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action

a.

Schachter's (1959) conclusion that "misery loves miserable company" is most consistent with the predictions of which of the following?

A. Social impact theory

B. The overjustification hypothesis

C. The notion of psychological reactance

D. Social comparison theory

d.

Raymond R. and his wife have not been getting along for some time, and Raymond has recently started thinking about seeking a divorce. The problem with getting a divorce is that it will require Raymond to either divide the business he and his wife have or to sell his share of the business to her, neither of which appeals to him. The problem with staying with his wife is that Raymond will have to continue putting up with her nagging and his feeling that he has no "life of his own." Assuming that Raymond is experiencing an "avoidance-avoidance conflict," it is most likely that he will do which of the following in the near future?

A. Choose one of his two options and feel confident that it was the correct one

B. Alternate between the two options, first choosing one and then the other

C. Antagonize his wife in order to force her to make the decision to get a divorce

D. Decide that "no one is really satisfied anyway" and, consequently, stay with his wife

b.

Research on the "intergroup contact hypothesis" has demonstrated that antagonism between members of two groups is most likely to be reduced when:

A. members of the two groups are initially provided with numerous opportunities for casual (superficial) contact.

B. members of the two groups are provided with incentives for getting along while interacting.

C. the leaders from each group meet to discuss the issues underlying the antagonism before group members interact.

D. interactions between group members provide opportunities to disconfirm negative stereotypes.

d.

According to Baumeister, Catanese, and Wallace (2002), a man may feel that his personal freedom is being restricted when a woman refuses his sexual advances and, as a result, become aggressive toward the woman. Baumeister and his colleagues suggest that, in some circumstances, sexual aggression toward women by men may be attributable to which of the following?

A. Sublimation

B. Psychological reactance

C. Coercive power

D. Behavioral catharsis

b.

The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion predicts that:

A. central route processing produces attitude change that is more persistent over time than does peripheral route processing.

B. in terms of short-term effects, central route processing produces a greater amount of attitude change than does peripheral route processing.

C. central route processing relies more on environmental cues than does peripheral route processing.

D. central route processing produces positive attitude change while peripheral route processing is more likely to produce negative attitude change.

a.

Research on __________ has found that people tend to pay more attention to information that confirms their beliefs about themselves than to information that contradicts those beliefs.

A. frustration-aggression hypothesis

B. heuristics

C. schemas

D. metamemory

c.

The tendency to take credit for our successes but to blame other people or external circumstances for our failures is referred to as the:

A. fundamental attribution bias.

B. confirmation bias.

C. self-serving bias.

D. optimism bias.

c.

In a research study, prison inmates and counselors working at the prison were asked to explain why the inmates had committed their crimes. In response, the inmates cited situational factors, while the counselors attributed the offenses to the dispositional characteristics of the inmates. Which of the following predicts the outcome of this study?

A. Fundamental attribution bias

B. Self-serving bias

C. Actor-observer effect

D. False consensus effect

c.

According to Berscheid's (1991) emotion-in-relationships model, strong emotions in romantic relationships occur when:

A. interactions between partners deviate from expected patterns.

B. interactions between partners become coercive.

C. a partner's internal working model of intimate relationships is not effective.

D. a partner's unrealistic expectations about romantic relationships are contradicted.

a.

Solomon Asch (1958) found that a research participant's conformity to group norms was substantially reduced when:

A. the stimulus was unambiguous.

B. even one of the group members (confederates) deviated from the group norm.

C. the participant was not directly pressured to conform to the group norm.

D. the discrepancy between the judgment of the confederates and the judgment of the participants increased over time.

b.

Which of the following emphasizes the role of the costs and rewards of a relationship on a person's decision to stay in the relationship?

A. Gain-loss theory

B. Expectancy theory

C. Social exchange theory

D. Social comparison theory

c.

You are convinced that you are psychic because you're able to predict when close friends are going to call you on the phone. As a result, you always notice the times when your predictions are correct but ignore those times when they're not. This is an example of which of the following?

A. Correspondence bias

B. Confirmation bias

C. Self-fulfilling prophecy effect

D. Post hoc fallacy

b.

When Rosenhan's (1973) pseudo-patients were admitted to a mental health facility after reporting that they were "hearing voices," they were:

A. recognized as being normal by most staff members but not by the other patients.

B. recognized as being normal by the other patients more often than by the staff members.

C. not recognized as being normal by the staff members or patients until they stopped faking their symptoms.

D. not recognized as being normal by the staff members or patients even after they stopped faking their symptoms.

b.

Sherif and Hovland's (1961) "social judgment theory" is useful for understanding which of the following?

A. Interpersonal attraction

B. Attitude change

C. Attribution of cause

D. Impression formation

b.

Lewin's (1936) "field theory" predicts that human behavior is a function of:

A. the person's attitude, values, and beliefs.

B. the person's actual and perceived abilities.

C. the characteristics of the person and the person's environment.

D. the antecedents and consequences of the behavior.

c.

"Self-verification theory" predicts that a person with low self-esteem will prefer to receive evaluations from others that:

A. confirm his/her own negative self-evaluations.

B. refute his/her own negative self-evaluations.

C. avoid addressing his/her self-evaluations.

D. are clearly non-evaluative.

a.

According to Sherif and Hovland's (1961) "social judgment theory," a person's latitudes of rejection, non-commitment, and acceptance are affected by which of the following?

A. The person's level of involvement with the topic addressed by the persuasive message

B. The person's perceptions about the consequences of altering his/her opinion or behavior

C. The person's self-efficacy beliefs

D. The person's level of cognitive dissonance

a.

Aronson and Linder's (1965) "gain-loss theory" predicts that we will like a person most when his/her evaluations of us are:

A. initially positive and remain positive.

B. initially negative but become positive.

C. initially positive but become negative.

D. initially and subsequently neutral.

b.

As a supervisor, Jason J. always tries to modify his communication and managerial style so that they "match" the style and characteristics of the particular employee he is interacting with. Based on this information, you can conclude that Jason:

A. is high in self-monitoring.

B. is high in initiating structure.

C. has low self-efficacy beliefs.

D. has an internal locus of control.

a.

Which of the following is true about a person who is faced with an "approach-avoidance" conflict?

A. The closer the person gets to his/her goal, the stronger the desire to approach it.

B. The closer the person gets to his/her goal, the stronger the desire to avoid it.

C. Regardless of his/her proximity to the goal, the person's desire to avoid the goal is stronger than his/her desire to approach it.

D. Regardless of his/her proximity to the goal, the person's desire to approach it is equal to the desire to avoid it.

b.

In a research study, a social psychologist offers participants either $1.00 or $20.00 to tell potential participants that a dull experiment was very interesting. With regard to "cognitive dissonance theory" and "self-perception theory," which of the following is true?

A. Cognitive dissonance theory predicts that participants in the $1.00 condition will subsequently report greater liking for the dull experiment. Self-perception theory predicts that participants in the $20.00 condition will subsequently report greater liking for the dull experiment.

B. Self-perception theory predicts that participants in the $1.00 condition will subsequently report greater liking for the dull experiment. Cognitive dissonance theory predicts that participants in the $20.00 condition will subsequently report greater liking for the dull experiment.

C. Cognitive dissonance theory and self-perception theory both predict that participants in the $1.00 condition will subsequently report greater liking for the dull experiment than will those in the $20.00 condition.

D. Cognitive dissonance theory and self-perception theory both predict that participants in the $20.00 condition will subsequently report greater liking for the dull experiment than will those in the $1.00 condition.

c.

When a listener is exposed to both sides of an argument, a "primacy effect" is most likely to occur when:

A. the first side of the argument is presented immediately before the second side and the listener's attitude is measured immediately after presentation of the second argument.

B. the first side of the argument is presented immediately before the second side and the listener's attitude is measured at a later time.

C. there is a delay between presentation of the first and second sides of the argument and the listener's attitude is measured immediately after presentation of the second argument.

D. there is a delay between presentation of the first and second sides of the argument and the listener's attitude is measured at a later time.

b.

Research on persuasion has found that people who argue against their own self-interest are:

A. usually viewed by listeners as untrustworthy.

B. usually viewed by listeners as credible.

C. viewed as reliable by uninformed listeners only.

D. viewed as knowledgeable by listeners who have low-esteem.

b.

Research on persuasion revealed that, one month following exposure to a persuasive message, participants in the study could remember the message, but they had forgotten the source of the message. This result is a manifestation of which of the following?

A. Primacy effect

B. Deindividuation

C. Sleeper effect

D. Correspondence bias

c.

People who frequently view media violence are most likely to:

A. exhibit high levels of empathy for the victims of violence.

B. judge aggressive retaliation as unacceptable and unjustifiable.

C. report that they have been the victims of unprovoked violence.

D. overestimate the likelihood that they will be a victim of violence.

d.

The "jigsaw technique" is a(n):

A. individual decision-making strategy.

B. cooperative learning strategy.

C. method for reducing susceptibility to persuasion.

D. method for decreasing conformity to group norms.

b.

A co-worker says, "It never fails. Every time I plan to go hiking with my children, it rains." Assuming that your co-worker's claim is not really true, her statement is best described as a manifestation of which of the following?

A. False consensus bias

B. Hedonic relevance

C. Base rate fallacy

D. Illusory correlation

d.

Which of the following is most important for reducing the negative effects of crowding on behavior?

A. Diffusion of responsibility

B. Level of self-monitoring

C. A sense of control

D. Behavioral incentives

c.

A movie viewer is most likely to report feeling uncomfortable in a crowded movie theater when he/she is viewing a ________ film.

A. frightening

B. sexually arousing

C. humorous

D. boring

d.

According to Herek (1991), harassment of and violence against lesbians and gay men is the result of:

A. an antisocial predisposition.

B. extreme authoritarianism.

C. homophobia.

D. heterosexism.

d.

Berkowitz (1971) revised the original frustration-aggression hypothesis by proposing that frustration leads to aggression only when:

A. the aggressor anticipates positive consequences for acting aggressively.

B. there are aggressive cues in the environment.

C. the recipient of the aggression has low status.

D. the recipient of the aggression provoked the aggressor.

b.

In a research study, boys observe a model acting aggressively toward an inflatable "Bobo" doll. For some boys, the model is rewarded for acting aggressively; for others, the model is punished; and, for others, the model is neither rewarded nor punished. Subsequently, all boys are offered incentives for acting aggressively toward the doll. Based on your knowledge of Bandura's (1983) research on "social learning theory," you predict that:

A. only boys who observed the model being rewarded for being aggressive toward the doll will themselves act aggressively toward the doll.

B. only boys who observed the model being rewarded or receiving no consequence for being aggressive toward the doll will themselves act aggressively toward the doll.

C. only boys who observed the model being punished for acting aggressively toward the doll will themselves act aggressively toward the doll.

D. all boys (those who saw the model being rewarded, receiving no consequence, or being punished for being aggressive toward the doll) will themselves act aggressively toward the doll.

d.

"Cognitive dissonance theory" is most useful for understanding:

A. interpersonal attraction.

B. minority influence.

C. self attributions.

D. attitude change.

d.

A therapy client is exhibiting a "depressive attributional style" when she consistently attributes the negative events she experiences to:

A. internal, stable, and global factors.

B. external, stable, and global factors.

C. internal, unstable, and specific factors.

D. external, unstable, and specific factors.

a.

The predictions of "social exchange theory" are most applicable to one's relationship with:

A. close friends.

B. parents.

C. romantic partners.

D. business associates.

d.

Research by Herek and colleagues (2000) on the attitudes of heterosexual men and women toward gays and lesbians has found that all of the following have been linked to higher levels of sexual prejudice EXCEPT:

A. being of younger age.

B. high levels of authoritarianism.

C. conservative political views.

D. lower levels of education.

a.

Zimbardo's (1970) "deindividuation model" applies to which of the following?

A. Cooperative behavior

B. Aggressive behavior

C. Sexual prejudice

D. Self-attributions

b.

Which of the following has been used to explain the phenomenon known as the "Zeigarnik Effect"?

A. Bystander apathy

B. Intergroup cooperation

C. Deindividuation

D. Psychic tension

d.

_____________ predicts that our perceptions of fairness in relationships are more important than the absolute costs and rewards of being in that relationship.

A. Social comparison theory

B. Social judgment theory

C. Equity theory

D. Self-verification theory

c.

Ajzen's (1991) "theory of planned behavior" predicts that attitudes are good predictors of a person's behavior when the measure of attitudes assesses the person's:

A. intrinsic motivation

B. ego involvement

C. behavioral intention

D. past behavior

c.

The belief that other people are paying more attention to our appearance and behavior than they actually are is known as the:

A. spotlight effect.

B. the actor/observer effect.

C. the shrinking violet effect.

D. the center stage effect.

a.

Heider's (1958) "balance theory" describes attitude change as a function of which of the following?

A. Categories of judgment

B. Fear arousal

C. Cognitive consistency

D. Behavioral intentions

c.

According to Kelman (1961), the possible responses to social influence are:

A. compliance, identification, and internalization.

B. conformity, compliance, and obedience.

C. compliance, conformity, and internalization.

D. rejection, concession, and compliance.

a.

Stanley Milgram investigated which of the following at Yale University in the 1960s?

A. The willingness of individuals to conform to group norms even when those norms were obviously incorrect

B. The willingness of individuals to obey an authority even when doing so had harmful consequences for someone else

C. The ability of individuals holding a minority opinion to influence the opinion of the majority

D. The ability of exposure to repeated conflict among groups to generate hostility and aggression toward members of the outgroup

b.

The "base rate fallacy" refers to the tendency to:

A. believe that a particular chance event is affected by the occurrence of previous events.

B. overestimate the link between two events that are unrelated or only slightly related.

C. focus on a specific case rather than general information when reaching a conclusion or making a judgment.

D. overestimate the number of people who share one's beliefs, opinions, and attitudes.

c.

Research on prejudice indicates that certain conditions can reduce intergroup hostilities. Which of the following conditions would be MOST effective for reducing racial prejudice displayed by groups of White and African American children?

A. The children are required to cooperate in order to achieve a common goal.

B. The children are confronted with a "common enemy."

C. Contact between the children occurs daily over an extended period of time.

D. The children are provided with norms that prescribe courtesy and friendliness.

a.

In his book, The Nature of Prejudice, Gordon Allport concludes that:

A. stateways cannot change folkways.

B. stateways can only intensify existing folkways.

C. stateways are often in advance of folkways.

D. folkways always proceed stateways.

c.

Autocorrelation would most likely be a problem when an investigator uses which of the following research designs?

A. Between group

B. Latin square

C. Solomon four-group

D. Time-series

d.

For their dissertation research, a graduate student administered a measure of state anxiety to a group of college students on five consecutive days before and after the students participated in a stress reduction workshop. Which of the following research designs did the graduate student use?

A. Time-series

B. Latin square

C. Static-group comparison

D. Multiple-baseline

a.

Which of the following would be useful for measuring the strength of the relationship between two continuous variables when their relationship is nonlinear?

A. Eta coefficient

B. Phi coefficient

C. Spearman rho

D. Pearson r

a.

When using protocol analysis, a researcher asks an individual to _____.

A. brainstorm with other problem-solvers

B. think aloud while solving a complex problem

C. identify alternative strategies for solving the problem

D. construct a cognitive map of a problem

b.

When reviewing the data collected from their study's three treatment groups, a researcher discovers that the standard deviations of the three groups differ. If the researcher analyzes the data using the t-test for independent samples, this is _____.

A. not a problem

B. not likely to be a problem as long as the three groups have the same number of participants

C. not likely to be a problem as long as all three distributions have a rectangular shape

D. not likely to be a problem as long as the data represent an interval or ratio scale of measurement

b.

An investigator uses a factorial ANOVA to assess the effects of two independent variables on a dependent variable and obtains significant main and interaction effects. When interpreting the results, the investigator should _____.

A. ignore the interaction since the main effects are significant

B. interpret the main effects with caution since the interaction is significant

C. interpret the interaction with caution since the main effects are significant

D. re-analyze the data since these results are not possible

b.

To analyze the data collected in a study that includes a single independent variable and three dependent variables, we would use a MANOVA (multivariate analysis of variance) rather than three separate one-way ANOVAs because _____.

A. we want to statistically remove the effects of a confounding variable

B. at least one of the dependent variables is an extraneous variable

C. we want to reduce the probability of making a Type I error

D. we want to avoid conducting a post-hoc analysis

c.

Squaring the multiple correlation coefficient (R) produces a measure of the _____.

A. relative amount of dispersion (variability) in a set of scores

B. degree to which a true score can be expected to vary from an obtained score

C. correlation between two variables when the effects of a third variable have been statistically removed

D. the amount of variability shared by three or more variables

d.

A researcher would use an ABAB design rather than an AB design in order to control which of the following threats to the study's validity?

A. Diffusion

B. Attrition

C. Instrumentation

D. History

d.

A research participant's score on the dependent variable is the amount of time (minutes) it took to complete a task. When assigning scores to participants, the researcher discovers that three of the 60 participants did not complete the task, and the researcher assigns them the maximum amount of time given to participants to work on the task. Which of the following is the best measure of central tendency for the data collected in this study?

A. Harmonic mean

B. Arithmetic mean

C. Mode

D. Median

d.

When the correlation between high school students' GPA and amount of time they spend studying each week is _____, this means that about 15% of variability in GPA is accounted for by the amount of time spent studying.

A. 0.02

B. 0.15

C. 0.39

D. 0.85

c.

In which of the following types of research do research participants act as their own no-treatment "controls"?

A. Single-subject

B. Cross-sectional

C. Ex post facto

D. Double-blind

a.

Researchers would use an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to _____.

A. analyze the effects of an independent variable on two or more dependent variables

B. statistically control variability in the dependent variable due to the effects of an extraneous variable

C. adjust for systematic differences between groups that occurred as part of the experimental treatment

D. determine if there is a significant interaction between two or more independent variables

b.

A psychologist conducts a t-test and concludes that the results are "significant at the .01 level." This means that _____.

A. there is a 1% chance the psychologist will incorrectly reject the null hypothesis

B. there is a 1% chance the psychologist will incorrectly retain the null hypothesis

C. there is a 99% chance the psychologist will incorrectly reject the null hypothesis

D. there is a 99% chance the psychologist will incorrectly retain the null hypothesis

a.

A researcher would use "counterbalancing" to _____.

A. control multiple treatment interference

B. ensure an equal number of participants in each group

C. match subjects on a confounding variable

D. ensure that the sample is representative of the population from which it was drawn

a.

"Sampling error" is _____.

A. the tendency of sample statistics to vary from one another due to unintended effects of the treatment

B. the tendency of sample statistics to vary from population parameters due to the effects of systematic error

C. the tendency of sample statistics to vary from population parameters due to the effects of random error

D. the tendency of sample statistics to vary from population parameters due to the unreliability of the measuring instruments

c.

To assess the effectiveness of a behavioral intervention on the caloric intake of young women with anorexia nervosa, you obtain a sample of women who have just received this diagnosis and determine the average number of calories each woman consumes each day during the week before and the week after the intervention is applied. Which of the following statistical tests will you use to analyze the collected data?

A. T-test for a single sample

B. T-test for dependent (or correlated) samples

C. T-test for independent samples

D. T-test for multiple samples

b.

When using a "multiple-baseline" design, a researcher will _____.

A. apply and then withdraw the same treatment multiple times

B. change the performance criterion gradually over the course of the study

C. compare two or more treatments that are simultaneously applied to the same participant(s)

D. sequentially apply a treatment to different behaviors or participants

d.

Which of the following bivariate correlation coefficients would you use to determine the degree of association between gender and reaction time (as measured in seconds)?

A. Spearman rho

B. Point biserial

C. Phi coefficient

D. Pearson r

b.

If a teacher adds 10 points to each score in a distribution of scores, this will _____.

A. affect the mean of the distribution but not its standard deviation or variance

B. affect the mean and range of the distribution but not its standard deviation or variance

C. affect the standard deviation and variance of the distribution but not its mean

D. not affect the mean, range, standard deviation, or variance of the distribution

a.

A psychologist compares the effectiveness of three brief interventions for obsessive-compulsive disorder by randomly assigning adults who have received this diagnosis to one of the three interventions and measuring their symptoms prior to the beginning of treatment and one week, one month, and six months following treatment. Which of the following types of research design is the psychologist is using?

A. Between-groups

B. Within-subjects

C. Mixed

D. Counterbalanced

c.

The scattergram for scores on a measure of test anxiety and a measure of math achievement reveals that students with moderate levels of anxiety obtain the highest achievement scores, while students with low and high levels of anxiety obtain lower achievement scores. If the Pearson r is used to measure the degree of the association between test anxiety and math achievement scores, the resulting correlation coefficient will _____.

A. underestimate the relationship between the variables

B. overestimate the relationship between the variables

C. under or overestimate the relationship between the variables

D. accurately estimate the relationship between the variables

a.

Which of the following behavioral observation techniques would be most useful for evaluating the extent to which a student remains on-task while the teacher is talking?

A. Event recording

B. Latency recording

C. Interval recording

D. Duration recording

c.

Trend analysis is a type of analysis of variance used when _____.

A. the independent variable is quantitative

B. the dependent variable is qualitative

C. a researcher uses a cross-sectional research design

D. a researcher uses a factorial research design

a.

In a scatterplot, the correlation between two variables is equal or close to zero when _____.

A. the range of Y scores at each value of X is equal to the total range of Y scores

B. the range of Y scores at each value of X is about the same

C. the range of Y scores is equal to the range of X scores

D. the range of Y scores at each value of X is different

a.

To reduce the likelihood that experimenter expectancy will bias the results of a research study, you would use which of the following techniques?

A. Single-blind

B. Double-blind

C. Random selection

D. Random assignment

b.

When a distribution of scores is normally shaped, approximately what percent of scores fall between the mean and the score that is one standard deviation above the mean?

A. 25

B. 34

C. 50

D. 68

b.

To increase statistical power, you would _____.

A. increase beta from .001 to .01

B. increase alpha from .01 to .05

C. use a nonparametric statistical test

D. decrease the sample size

b.

To test the validity of a model that describes the causal relationships among a set of variables, you would use which of the following techniques?

A. Path analysis

B. Logistic regression

C. Cluster analysis

D. Multitrait-multimethod matrix

a.

A teacher converts students' raw scores on a 200-item test to percent correct scores. What scale of measurement do the converted scores represent?

A. Ordinal

B. Interval

C. Ratio

D. Nominal

c.

An educational psychologist conducts a study to assess the effects of an educational program designed to improve the academic performance of children diagnosed with a mild intellectual disability. The psychologist matches 30 children with mild intellectual disability on the basis of their IQ test scores and randomly assigns the members of each matched pair so one member is assigned to the experimental group and the other is assigned to the control group. The psychologist administers the program to the children in the experimental group and following completion of the program, administers an achievement test to all children and calculates a total correct score for each child. Which of the following should the psychologist use to assess the effects of the treatment on achievement test scores?

A. T-test for a single sample

B. T-test for independent (unrelated) samples

C. T-test for dependent (related) samples

D. Two-way ANOVA

c.

An organizational psychologist consulting for a manufacturing company is developing a selection battery to help the company answer the following question: "What group (assembly-line workers or clerical workers) does the job applicant most closely resemble?" Which of the following multivariate techniques would be useful for this purpose?

A. Discriminant analysis

B. Multiple regression

C. Factor analysis

D. Path analysis

a.

When designing a research study, an investigator would be concerned about the impact of pretest sensitization on the study's external validity if _____.

A. the investigator's knowledge of how participants performed on the pretest affects how the investigator scores the post-tests

B. the participants know which group (experimental or control) the investigator assigned them to

C. the investigator revises the post-test on the basis of how participants responded to the pretest

D. taking the pretest changes how the participants react to the treatment

d.