Psychology Chapter 2

A large group of people whom you want to know about is called a __________.

population

Expectations by the experimenter that might influence the results of an experiment or their interpretation are called __________.

Experimenter bias

By studying a _____, scientists hope that they can generalize the results of their investigation to the _____.

sample; population

Which of the following is an example of demand characteristics affecting an experiment?

A participant changes his response to a question because he has the feeling that the experimenter wants him to do so.

Most people would agree that anxiety can lead to sleep loss. However, Dr. Jenkins believes that sleep deprivation can also cause increased anxiety. Which research method would allow him to test a cause-effect relationship between the two?

Experimental

The use of deception in psychological research is:

generally acceptable when absolutely necessary for the research.

A subset of cases selected from a larger population is a __________.

sample

Experimenter bias can best be controlled using ________.

double-blind control

Under which of the following circumstances would the mean be the best measure of central tendency to use?

The data are positively skewed.

Ann is convinced that corporal punishment (e.g., spanking) is a good way to discipline a child because she knows a child whose behavior improved because of it. Whether or not you agree with her, Ann is using a flawed argument. Which type of evidence is she using?

Anecdotal

Claiming that something is true because 'it should be obvious" is really just _____.

an appeal to common sense

The _____ is a measure of variability around the mean of a distribution.

standard deviation

One of the main reasons for using a laboratory for psychological research is to:

allow the researchers to control certain factors.

Mr. Marshall hired June to collect data from a group of subjects. Neither June nor the subjects were aware of the independent variable that Mr. Marshall had manipulated. This is an example of _______.

double blind control

_______________assumes that there are facts about the world that can be observed and tested independently from the individual who describes them.

Objectivity

In order to make objective measurements, psychologists generally measure ___________.

behavior

In research, the object, concept, or event being measured is called a ____________.

variable

The perception of a statistical association between two variables where none exists is known as ______________.

illusory correlation

Which of the following aspects is critical the experimental but not correlational design?

random assignment

The __________ variable is what the experimenter manipulates (or varies).

independent

In an experiment, a researcher wants to avoid the presence of _______________.

confounding variables

The group that receives the manipulation of an independent variable is called the _______________.

experimental group.

Observing behavior as it happens in real-life natural settings without imposing laboratory controls is known as the __________.

naturalistic observation method

A detailed, well-researched biography of a famous historical person is technically an example of the __________ method of research.

case study

When you watch dogs play in the park or watch how your professors conduct their classes, you are engaging in a form of __________.

naturalistic observation

______________ is a method where researchers typically use interviews, phone surveys, and questionnaires to directly collect responses from the people being studied.

Self-reporting

__________ is consistency of measurement.

reliability

Brittany, a softball player who plays catcher for the local college, has thrown out base stealers at a 42, 39, and 41 percent rate over her three years. Her performance could be considered which of the following?

Reliable

__________ is the extent to which a measure assesses what it claims to measure.

Validity

The degree to which one set of results can be applied to other situations, individuals, or events is called __________.

generalizability

Support for a claim that is based on a story about an individual or event is called ___________ evidence.

anecdotal

Claims based on common sense:

may be true, but cannot be evaluated by this standard alone.

Research in which a carefully selected group of people is asked a set of predetermined questions in interviews or through questionnaires is known as __________.

survey research

A research method in which the real-life behavior of a pre-selected person or a group is studied at an in-depth level for some time through the use of observation, interviews, and writings (such as letters) is the _____________ method of research.

case study

Naturalistic observation is ____________________.

studying behavior in its natural context

As part of an assignment, Linda's class was asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire on sexual discrimination. Which research method was Linda's professor using?

survey

Which of the following is NOT a descriptive research method?

experiment

A(n) ____________ involves an extremely deep and detailed information-gathering from a single individual over a long period of time.

case study design

Dr. Watson wanted to know which gender was better at sharing at the sixth-grade level, so he went to the local middle school to observe lunch periods. This is a form of ____________.

naturalistic observation

Two variables are said to have a correlation when scores on one variable:

are related to scores on the second variable

A graph that can be used to represent the pattern of relationship between scores from two variables is called a ____________.

scatterplot

Collecting objective data without interference in the subject's normal environment is associated with ________.

naturalistic observation

The degree of relationship between two or more variables is __________.

correlation

A researcher wished to study the relationship between high school grades and college grades

correlation

A correlation tells us:

whether two variables are related

A psychologist uses the correlational method to _________.

identify relationships between variables

Which of the following is true?

Researchers typically study samples because it is often too difficult to study populations.

The most important factor to ensure that one's results apply to other people in other settings is to use

a random sample.

Ecological validity refers to:

the degree to which naturalistic research techniques are used.

The term demand characteristics refers to:

unintended cues that suggest how study participants should behave.

An important danger of the various types of research bias discussed in Chapter 2 is that they lead us:

to draw incorrect conclusions and then become convinced that they are accurate.

What is the best way to reduce the social desirability bias in research?

provide anonymity and confidentiality

As children grow older, their discretionary income usually increases. The best conclusion to draw about the variables age and income are that they are:

positively correlated

In an experiment to test the effects of anxiety on performance, the dependent variable is the __________.

person's performance

In an experiment, a researcher manipulates one variable to see how it affects a second variable. The second variable, which is observed for any possible effects, is called the __________.

dependent variable

If explanation of the causes of thoughts, feelings, and behavior is a psychologist's goal, then the __________ method of research should be used.

experimental

In a controlled experiment, the group not subjected to a change in the independent variable, and used for comparison with the group receiving the experimental change, is the __________ group.

control

An experiment is said to be __________ when neither researchers nor participants are aware of who is in the experimental or control group.

double-blind

The peer review process is designed to:

identify flaws in a research study's methods, findings, and conclusions.

Without the process of replication as part of the scientific process, what would happen?

Incorrect results would often go uncorrected.

In an experiment, a researcher manipulates one variable to see how it affects a second variable. The manipulated variable is called the:

independent variable.

Using both independent and dependent variables is associated with which of the following types of research used in psychology?

experimentation

In psychological studies, randomization is used to ensure that:

each person has an equal chance of being assigned to each group.

The method of psychological research which utilizes a control group, a dependent variable, and an independent variable is

the experiment.

Which of the following is a strength of experiments?

They allow for the establishment of cause-effect relationships.

The purpose of an experiment is to discover whether there is a relationship between the ___________ and the ___________.

independent variable; dependent variable

Cause-and-effect conclusions can be drawn from the results of an experiment because:

the independent variable is manipulated while other possible causes of change in the dependent variable are held constant.

In an experiment, the group of subjects to which the experimental group is compared is called the:

control group

To obtain objective information, researchers sometimes must deceive their subjects. Ethically, research involving deception must always _________.

explain the deception to the subjects after the data are collected and obtain their informed consent to use the information obtained

What is the purpose of an institutional review board?

to help protect research participants from abuse

What is informed consent?

Volunteers agree to participate in a study after the purpose, tasks, and risks of the study are explained to them.

Confidentiality requires researchers to do which of the following?

Remove any specific information that can be connected with a participant when sharing data.

The degree to which an instrument measures what it is intended to measure is known as _____.

validity

When psychologists question how well the results of a study apply to other samples or perhaps other situations, they are inquiring about the _____ of the study.

generalizability

In a single-blind study, the participants do not know the purpose of the study or the condition to which they are assigned. What is the difference in a double-blind study?

The researcher also does not know which condition the participants are in

Dr. Rose gives a standardized personality test to a group of psychology majors in January and again in March. Each individual's score remained nearly the same over the two-month period. From this, Dr. Rose can infer that the test is _____.

reliable

You overheard someone claiming that 12-step programs are the only way to really quit abusing alcohol "Because my brother is a doctor and so he should know." Regardless of the accuracy of the claim, this and other appeals to authority do not qualify as good evidence because:

authority does not mean that the claim is based on sound, scientific evidence.

When psychologists observe behavior and record data in the environment where it normally occurs, they are using _____.

naturalistic observation

What does it mean to say that two variables are negatively correlated?

An increase in one variable is associated with a decrease in the other.

A researcher sets up an experiment to test a new antidepressant medication. One group receives the treatment, and the other receives a placebo. The researcher then measures depression using a standardized self-report measure. What is the independent variable in this case?

Whether the individuals received the treatment or a placebo

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee that determines:

whether the benefits of a proposed study outweigh its potential risks.

Which of the following is not a requirement for informed consent?

Participants need to have a face-to-face meeting with the researcher before volunteering.

In a memory study, researchers have participants study a list of words, and then tell them it was the wrong list and that they should forget it. This deception is meant to see how effectively participants can forget something they have already studied. If the researchers plan to debrief the participants afterward, would this design meet the standards of an ethical study?

Yes, given that the participants are not at risk and that they will be debriefed, this seems to be an ethical study.

The _____ always marks the 50th percentile of the distribution.

median

In a survey of recent graduates, your college reports that the mean salaries of the former students are positively skewed. What are the consequences of choosing the mean rather than the median or the mode in this case?

The mean is likely to provide a number that is higher than the largest cluster of scores.

Imagine an experiment where the mean of the experimental group is 50 and the mean of the control group is 40. Given that the two means are obviously different, is it still possible for a researcher to say that the two groups are not significantly different?

Yes, the two groups could overlap so much that the difference was not significant.

Which of the following is an advantage of using non-human subjects in psychology research?

Many lab animals have relatively short life spans, so several generations can be observed.

_______________ are a set of techniques used to organize, summarize, and interpret data.

Descriptive statistics

As part of an assignment, Linda's class was asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire on sexual discrimination. Which research method was Linda's professor using?

survey

A correlation of .00 means:

two variables are unrelated

Which of the following is a measure of central tendency?

mode

The term statistical significance implies that the results are ________________.

not likely due to chance

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.

independent and dependent

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

It is complex.

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

Small sample size

________ research studies the same groups of participants over time.

Longitudinal

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

Archival

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

correlation

Which of the following represents a strong negative correlation?

-0.9

The ________ group does not get the experimental treatment.

control