Research Methods ASU Exam 1Written With Accurate Answers Pass Guaranteed

"All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best." Which principle does this describe? - correct answers Parsimony A statement, or set of statements, that describes general principles about how variables relate to one another is a... - correct answers theory After reading about Harlow's contact comfort theory, Dr. Borden wonders if these findings would apply to premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit. He desings a study to test whether touch or cuddling could speed up weight gain in premature babies. What type of research is Dr. Borden's study? - correct answers translational research Daniel's teacher tells him that his theory about dating is not strong because it is not falsifiable. What does she mean by this? - correct answers Daniel's theory cannot be disproven Dimitri is interested in understanding the effects of sleep deprivation on short-term memory. Which of the following is an empirical approach Dimitri could take to answer this question? - correct answers he could design and execute a study that measures short-term memory function following different amounts of sleep Franchesca read about Mrazek et al.'s (2013) study in which students scored higher on the GRE after completing a 2-week mindfulness training course. Franchesca is interested in the idea that practicing mindfulness improves the ability to control one's mind from wondering. She decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students practice either mindfulness or read and then take a test of attention. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students who had practiced mindfulness would perform better on the attention test. She runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. Franchesca writes up her experiment and submits it to a journal to be evaluated by fellow scientists for publicaition. What is this process called? - correct answers the peer-review process Franchesca read about Mrazek et al.'s (2013) study in which students scored higher on the GRE after completing a 2-week mindfulness training course. Franchesca is interested in the idea that practicing mindfulness improves the ability to control one's mind from wondering. She decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students practice either mindfulness or read and then take a test of attention. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students who had practiced mindfulness would perform better on the attention test. She runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. Franchesca's process of conducting a study to evaluate whether the effects of practicing mindfulness extend to tests of attention can best be described as which of the following? - correct answers the theory-data cycle Franchesca read about Mrazek et al.'s (2013) study in which students scored higher on the GRE after completing a 2-week mindfulness training course. Franchesca is interested in the idea that practicing mindfulness improves the ability to control one's mind from wondering. She decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students practice either mindfulness or read and then take a test of attention. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students who had practiced mindfulness would perform better on the attention test. She runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. Which of the following is the data in this study? - correct answers the students' performance on the attention task Franchesca read about Mrazek et al.'s (2013) study in which students scored higher on the GRE after completing a 2-week mindfulness training course. Franchesca is interested in the idea that practicing mindfulness improves the ability to control one's minds from wondering. She decides to conduct a similar study in which she has students practice either mindfulness or read and then take a test of attention. Franchesca predicts that, in line with the original study, students who had practiced mindfulness would perform better on the attention test. She runs the study and finds that the results match her prediction. The data matched Franchesca's prediction. What conclusion can Franchesca make? - correct answers the data support the theory Psychological scientists base their conclusions on evidence. They collect and use data to develop, support, or challenge a theory. This approach is known as... - correct answers empiricism Research done specifically to add to our general understanding of psychology is known as... - correct answers basic research Seligman (1975, 1991) proposed that animals that cannot escape an aversive outcome don't even try to avoid the aversive experience later, when they can escape it, because they don't perceive themselves as having control ("learned helplessness"). Latecia thinks this concept may apply to people's working conditions. She conducts a study and has 20 research participants work in an office space with some dilapidated supplies (e.g., barely functional pens, crumpled papers). The participants are split into two rooms. In one work room, Latecia offers to replace any of the run-down supplies with newer items. In another work room, Latecia tells the participants that they have to work with what they have. After a few days of working with this setup, both groups' work spaces now include the old supplies as well as new supplies. Latecia predicts that the participants who had to work with the dilapidated supplies for the first fe - correct answers a hypothesis Seligman (1975, 1991) proposed that animals who cannot escape an aversive outcome don't even try to avoid the aversive experience later, when they can escape it, because they don't perceive themselves as having control ("learned helplessness"). Latecia thinks this concept may apply to people's working conditions. She conducts a study and has 20 research participants work in an office space with some dilapidated supplies (e.g., barely functional pens, crumpled papers). Some participants are placed in one room and some in another. In one work room, Latecia offers to replace any of the run-down supplies with newer items. In another work room, Latecia tells the participants that they have to work with what they have. After a few days of working with this setup, both groups' work spaces now include the old supplies as well as new supplies. Latecia predicts that the participants who had to work with the dilapidated supplie - correct answers a theory Some theories are better than others. What are the features of a good theory? - correct answers parsimonious, falsifiable, and supported by data What is one way to avoid being misled by journalism reports on scientific research? - correct answers Consult the source of the article (i.e., the original scientific findings). When the data from a study do not support the theory behind the study's hypothesis, what does that mean for the theory? - correct answers The theory should be revised. Which of the following characteristics sets scientific journals apart from magazines? - correct answers Scientific journals are peer reviewed. Which of the following could be considered a source of empirical evidence? - correct answers a thermometer Which of the following is a common way journalists misrepresent science when they write about it for a popular audience? - correct answers exaggerating the strength of the findings Which of the following is an example of basic research? - correct answers a study investigating whether children of divorced parents are more likely to be divorced themselves Which of the following is primarily a consumer of research information? - correct answers marriage and family counselor Which of the following is true of publishing in the field of psychology? - correct answers Publishing in psychology involves a peer-review process. Which of the following is true of the research process? - correct answers Researchers rarely stop at one study; they usually follow up on findings with additional studies. Which of the following outlines the correct order of steps in the theory-data cycle? - correct answers theory, research questions, research design, hypothesis, data Which type of research is done with a practical problem in mind? - correct answers applied research A school district decides to compare a new math textbook with the textbook that has been used for the past few years. Each of the fourth graders in one school is randomly assigned to be in one of two classes, one in which a teacher continues using the old book and another in which a new teacher uses the new book. The school administrators compare the average scores of the two classes on a mathematics standardized test at the end of the year to determine which book is better. Which of the following is a potential confound in this study? - correct answers The teachers have different amounts of teaching experience. A(n) _____ by Cartwright-Hatton and his colleagues (2010) summarizes 10 studies on the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) as a treatment for anxiety disorders of childhood and adolescence. - correct answers review journal article After two students from his school commit suicide, Marcelino thinks that the most likely cause of death in teenagers is suicide. What type of bias is affecting his thinking? - correct answers the availability heuristic As part of an assignment for his Introduction to Psychology class, Gilbert has to read a journal article, summarize it, and compare it with what is reported in his textbook. Gilbert selects the article "Effects of Severe Daily Events on Mood," Stone and Neale (1984). Assuming that the article is written in accordance with APA style guidelines, what is the correct order of sections Gilbert should expect to find in this article? - correct answers Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References As part of an assignment for his Introduction to Psychology class, Gilbert has to read a journal article, summarize it, and compare it to what is reported in his textbook. Gilbert selects the article "Effects of Severe Daily Events on Mood," Stone and Neale (1984). If Gilbert wanted to repeat the study, which section would he consult to find the details of the study's design? - correct answers Method As part of an assignment for his Introduction to Psychology class, Gilbert has to read a journal article, summarize it, and compare it to what is reported in his textbook. Gilbert selects the article "Effects of Severe Daily Events on Mood," Stone and Neale (1984). If Gilbert wanted to read about the study's contributions and significance, he should look at which section of the article? - correct answers Discussion Carolyn sometimes taps on the basketball before shooting a free throw. She has noticed the times when she taps and makes the free throw more than she notices the times she makes the free throw without tapping the ball. Carolyn is experiencing which of the following? - correct answers the present/present bias Dr. Friedman suspects that women who work outside the home might be frustrated with the balance of responsibilities in their household. She devises a survey to give to married women employed outside the home that includes the question "Does your spouse bother to help you around the house?" What is the problem with Dr. Friedman's approach? - correct answers It is an example of asking hypothesis-confirming questions. Even when people are aware that individuals generally think in a biased way, they tend to think that they are unlikely to fall prey to those biases. This kind of bias is called which of the following? - correct answers bias blind spot Hilda is studying the effects of a major natural disaster on people living nearby. She finds that many of the victims are depressed and show stress-related symptoms. Why can't Hilda conclude that the natural disaster caused the depression and stress-related symptoms? - correct answers She doesn't have a comparison group. In a developmental psychology class, Trina learned about Baumarind's (1971, 1991) work on parenting styles. She recognized that her parents used an authoritarian style of parenting, as did all her relatives. Because that was the style of parenting she planned to use, she researched the advantages to that style while ignoring any studies that support the use of another parenting style. What is the term for what Trina was doing? - correct answers cherry-picking the evidence In research, a confound is - correct answers an alternative explanation for an outcome that comes about because more than one thing changed at the same time. Pavlina believes that people in red cars are much more likely to speed than people in cars of other colors. She is probably the victim of what tendency? - correct answers the present/present bias Research suggests that the time a student spends studying for an exam is positively related to the grade that student receives on the exam. However, last week, you took an exam without studying and got an A on the exam. What should you conclude about the relationship between study time and exam scores? - correct answers Although your experience with one exam is an exception, the research findings explain a certain proportion of the many possible cases. The idea that things that easily come to mind tend to guide our thinking is known as which of the following? - correct answers the availability heuristic What does it mean to say that research is probabilistic? - correct answers Conclusions are meant to explain a certain proportion of possible cases. Which of the following is NOT a format in which psychological scientists typically publish their research? - correct answers popular magazine articles Which of the following is NOT a reason why basing one's conclusions on research is superior to basing one's conclusions on personal experience? - correct answers Research definitively proves theories. Which of the following is NOT a reason why basing one's conclusions on research is superior to basing one's conclusions on intuition? - correct answers Intuition always leads you to a conclusion that is incorrect. Which of the following is NOT an example of faulty thinking that might occur when relying on intuition? - correct answers testing your hunches through systematic, empirical observations Which of the following is a quantitative technique used in some review articles that combines the results of many studies and gives a number that summarizes the magnitude of a relationship? - correct answers meta-analysis Which of the following is a reason to trust the advice of authorities? - correct answers Authorities systematically and objectively compare different conditions. Which of the following is considered one of the best, most comprehensive ways to find psychological research articles? - correct answers PsycINFO Which of the following is the term used in psychology to describe a person who is an actor playing a specific role as part of an experiment? - correct answers confederate Which of these is NOT a characteristic of an edited book? - correct answers The peer-review process for edited books is more rigorous than for that of a journal. A recent headline read, "School Lunches Make Kids Fat." The article cited a study comparing children at two schools. The school with the lower obesity rate only had a few children who ate lunch provided by the school. The other school had a greater percentage of obese children and most of these children ate school lunches. No mention was made that many of the children who eat school lunches are low-income children who receive free lunches. Poverty is a major factor in obesity. Which validity is threatened by the potential confound, poverty? - correct answers internal validity For an association claim, you interrogate the following validities: - correct answers statistical, construct, and external Heather reads an article entitled, "Waist Circumference Associated with Life Expectancy." She wants to use the correlation reported in the article to predict her own life expectancy based on her waist circumference. What kind of correlation would allow her to make the most accurate prediction? - correct answers a strong positive correlation In most experiments, tradeoffs are made between validities because it is not possible to achieve all four at once. What is the most common tradeoff? - correct answers Increased internal validity results in decreased external validity. It has been reported that half of Americans show road rage. For this claim to have strong external validity, which of the following would have been the best sample for the researcher to have used? - correct answers a cross-section of American drivers representing men and women; people from the city, suburbs, and farms; and people of all ages Jenny reads the headline, "Tea Party Supporters Have Slipped To 20 Percent." She asks, "What is the margin of error of the estimate?" What validity is she interrogating? - correct answers statistical validity Marvin reads a journalistic report of a research study and asks, "How strong was the effect?" Which validity is Marvin asking about? - correct answers statistical validity Phuong is conducting an experiment on proofreading. All participants are asked to read a passage with several typos and correct the errors. However, one group proofreads by reading silently, a second group proofreads by reading aloud, and a third group proofreads by reading the passage silently backward. The researcher calculates the average number of errors found in each group and finds that both the reading silently and reading aloud groups found more errors than the reading silently backward group. What are the variables in this study? - correct answers type of proofreading and number of errors found Professor Lee is curious if there is any pattern to who earns extra credit in her course. She examines this question by graphing a scatterplot of her students' exam grades and the number of extra credit points earned. She finds that the students with the lowest exam grades tend to have the most extra credit points. What type of association is this? - correct answers negative Professor Nakum designs a memory experiment to test the effect of word familiarity on memory. Three lists of words are created: common words, uncommon words, and made-up words. Participants study one of the lists of 30 words for 5 minutes, do math problems for 5 minutes, then write all the words they recall from the list. Their score is the number of words correctly recalled. Which of the following is the independent variable in this study? - correct answers the type of word list Professor Nakum designs a memory experiment to test the effect of word familiarity on memory. Three lists of words are created: common words, uncommon words, and made-up words. Participants study one of the lists of 30 words for 5 minutes, do math problems for 5 minutes, then write all the words they recall from the list. Their score is the number of words correctly recalled. Which of the following is the dependent variable in this study? - correct answers the number of words correctly recalled Professor Nakum designs a memory experiment to test the effect of word familiarity on memory. Three lists of words are created: common words, uncommon words, and made-up words. Participants study one of the lists of 30 words for 5 minutes, do math problems for 5 minutes, then write all the words they recall from the list. Their score is the number of words correctly recalled. How were the words for each list selected? - correct answers to operationalize different levels of the independent variable "familiarity" Professor Nakum designs a memory experiment to test the effect of word familiarity on memory. Three lists of words are created: common words, uncommon words, and made-up words. Participants are randomly assigned to study one of the lists of 30 words for 5 minutes, do math problems for 5 minutes, then write all the words they recall from the list. Their score is the number of words correctly recalled. The use of random assignment of participants increases which of the following? - correct answers internal validity of the study Reading the news on the Internet, Johan comes across the headline, "When Stress is Increased, Men Rush Ahead, Women More Cautious." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Lighthall et al., 2011.) In this study, men and women were asked to perform a decision task as many times as possible in a set period, in either a stressed or unstressed condition. In the unstressed condition, men and women performed similarly. However, in the stressed condition, the number of decision tasks performed by men increased while the number performed by women decreased. Which of the following is a variable in this study? - correct answers the amount of stress Reading the news on the Internet, Johan comes across the headline, "When Stress is Increased, Men Rush Ahead, Women More Cautious." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Lighthall et al., 2011.) In this study, men and women were asked to perform a decision task as many times as possible in a set period, in either a stressed or unstressed condition. In the unstressed condition, men and women performed similarly. However, in the stressed condition, the number of decision tasks performed by men increased while the number performed by women decreased. Which of the following is a constant in this study? - correct answers the amount of time to perform the decision task Reading the news on the Internet, Johan comes across the headline, "When Stress is Increased, Men Rush Ahead, Women More Cautious." (This headline is based on a study conducted by Lighthall et al., 2011.) In this study, men and women were asked to perform a decision task as many times as possible in a set period, in either a stressed or unstressed condition. In the unstressed condition, men and women performed similarly. However, in the stressed condition, the number of decision tasks performed by men increased while the number performed by women decreased. In this study, the number of decision tasks performed is best described as which of the following? - correct answers a measured variable There is a negative association between exercise and obesity. Which of the following would a researcher need to demonstrate to make the claim that a lack of exercise causes obesity? - correct answers The lack of exercise came before the obesity. What are the three criteria that are required for a causal claim? - correct answers covariance, temporal precedence, and internal validity What is the name for the measured variable in an experiment? - correct answers the dependent variable What kind of a claim is the following headline making? "Former NFLers at Higher Risk for Brain, Mood Problems." - correct answers association claim What kind of a claim is the following headline making? "You Gotta Have Friends? Most Have Just Two True Pals." - correct answers frequency claim Which of the following claims is an association claim? - correct answers Depression in the elderly may predict dementia. Which of the following is an example of a causal claim? - correct answers Ice applied to a twisted ankle prevents swelling. Which of the following is an operational definition of stress? - correct answers a measurement of the amount of a "fight or flight" hormone in saliva Which of the following questions addresses construct validity? - correct answers How well has the researcher measured or manipulated the variables in the study? Dr. Johnson wants to investigate whether the physiological measure, heart rate variability, varies over time or whether it is a trait that stays stable within the same person over time. He records participants' heart rate variability once at the beginning of the semester and once at the end of the semester. He finds a high positive correlation (r = .55) between the first and second time points. Which of the following would a scatterplot of these results (heart rate variability at the beginning of the semester on the x-axis, heart rate variability at the end of the semester on the y-axis) look like? - correct answers The cloud of points would slope upward from left to right. Dr. Johnson wants to investigate whether the physiological measure, heart rate variability, varies over time or whether it is a trait that stays stable within the same person over time. He records participants' heart rate variability once at the beginning of the semester and once at the end of the semester. He finds a high positive correlation (r = .65) between the first and second time points. Which type of reliability is he examining? - correct answers test-retest Dr. Kamran studies domestic violence and has designed a self-report scale that is meant to assess men's negative attitudes toward women. To validate her scale, she administers it to two groups of recently incarcerated male prisoners: prisoners convicted of domestic violence and prisoners convicted of other crimes. Dr. Kamran finds a statistically significant difference in the mean scores of the two groups. Which technique is Dr. Kamran using to validate her scale? - correct answers known-groups paradigm Dr. Nolan gives his new anxiety measure to a group of his colleagues who are anxiety experts. They agree that the questions on the measure appear to assess anxiety symptoms. This suggests that Dr. Nolan's measure has which of the following types of measurement validity? - correct answers face validity Georgina graduated as valedictorian of her high school class because of her class ranking. What type of scale is used for the quantitative variable of class ranking? - correct answers ordinal scale In a study of aggression in children, a researcher has his undergraduate research assistants watch a group of children on the playground, and record the number of instances of physical or verbal attacks. Which category of measured variable is this researcher using? - correct answers observational measures Josiane has found an online test that claims to measure IQ. It consists of choosing the correct definitions for a series of words. She is concerned that it doesn't include tests of other things that are part of IQ, such as problem solving or visual-spatial ability. Which type of validity is she questioning? - correct answers content validity Julie has developed an intervention to improve the relationship between parents and preschool-aged children. To evaluate the effectiveness of her intervention, Julie video records the parents interacting with their children at the end of the study. She has two research assistants watch the videos and rate the level of warmth in the interaction. Julie then correlates the ratings of the raters. She finds a high positive correlation (r = .87) between the two raters. Which of the following types of reliability is she examining? - correct answers interrater Julie has developed an intervention to improve the relationship between parents and preschool-aged children. To evaluate the effectiveness of her intervention, Julie video records the parents interacting with their children at the end of the study. She has two research assistants watch the videos and rate the level of warmth in the interaction. Julie then correlates the ratings of the raters. She finds a high positive correlation (r = .87) between the two raters. Which of the following would a scatterplot of these results (ratings by the first research assistant on the x-axis, ratings of the second research assistant on the y-axis) look like? - correct answers The cloud of points would slope upward from left to right. Lorenzo is studying aggression in children. He administers a questionnaire to the children that asks them about their feelings of aggression. Which type of measure is the questionnaire? - correct answers self-report Lorenzo is studying aggression in children. He administers a questionnaire to the children that asks them about their feelings of aggression. Lorenzo runs a statistical test to find how consistent the responses are to different wordings of items on the questionnaire given to the children. Which type of reliability is he examining with this questionnaire? - correct answers internal Lorenzo is studying aggression in children. Lorenzo and his lab partner observe the children while they play, and record instances of aggression. The total number of instances of aggression for each child is used to quantify the aggressiveness of each child. Which type of quantitative variable is this? - correct answers ratio scale Mendoza et al. (2009) introduced a coin-rotation task as a convenient test of motor dexterity. It involves timed completion of twenty 180° rotations of a nickel using the thumb, index, and middle fingers. The results were compared with the results of another widely used test of motor dexterity, the finger-tapping task, in which participants tap their index fingers as many times as possible in 10 seconds. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between the finger-tapping task and the coin-rotation task (r = −.40). Which of the following would a scatterplot of these results (coin-rotation scores on the x-axis, finger-tapping scores on the y-axis) look like? - correct answers The cloud of points would slope downward from left to right. Mendoza et al. (2009) introduced a coin-rotation task as a convenient test of motor dexterity. It involves timed completion of twenty 180° rotations of a nickel using the thumb, index, and middle fingers. Research participants' results on the coin-rotation task are compared with their results on two widely used tests of motor dexterity: the finger-tapping task and the grooved pegboard task. Which empirical way of assessing construct validity is being used? - correct answers convergent validity Mendoza et al. (2009) introduced a coin-rotation task as a convenient test of motor dexterity. It involves timed completion of twenty 180° rotations of a nickel using the thumb, index, and middle fingers. Research participants' results on the coin-rotation task are compared with their results on a test of grip strength (a measure of another construct: global upper-extremity strength). The correlation between the coin-rotation task and the grip strength task were found to be not statistically significant. This comparison provides support for which type of measurement validity? - correct answers discriminant validity Professor Morgan questions whether the ratings he receives from his students on "teaching effectiveness" indicate how much the students learn in his class or whether they are just a reflection of how much his students like him. Which aspect of the ratings is he questioning? - correct answers the measurement validity of the ratings Some colleges no longer require the SAT I or the ACT tests; instead, they base their admissions on other factors, such as high school GPA. A major reason they have done this is they have found a low correlation between the scores on the tests and the students' freshman-year GPA. In other words, they were concerned that college entrance exams lacked which type of validity? - correct answers criterion validity Sun Mi is designing a questionnaire on loneliness. She is concerned that some features of loneliness are similar to depression and to low self-esteem. Which type of validity does she need to show to demonstrate that her questionnaire assesses loneliness and not depression or low self-esteem? - correct answers discriminant validity The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) receives a complaint that some of their employees who administer the road test pass a much higher percentage of test takers than other employees. In this example, what aspect of the road test is being questioned? - correct answers the interrater reliability of the road test When using a measure to assess a trait that is expected to remain stable over time, a researcher would expect to get consistent results each time the measure is used. This type of reliability is known as which of the following? - correct answers test-retest Which of the following can you learn from a scatterplot that you cannot learn from the correlation coefficient? - correct answers the values for each pair of measurements Which of the following is an example of a categorical variable? - correct answers declared major in college Which of the following is an example of a physiological measure? - correct answers skin conductance Which of the following is an operational definition of memory? - correct answers the accuracy with which a person can retell a short story based on the number of correct details Which statistic is used to represent the internal reliability of multiple-item self-report scales? - correct answers Cronbach's alpha