Deck 5: Using the Scientific Method in Psychology

Question 1

What variables were controlled in this study?

Answer 1

The same female and male experimenter was used. Both experimenters were rated as moderately attractive. Requests were made on weekdays and not between class periods or during rainy weather.

Question 2

Is this first hypothesis a synthetic statement, an analytic statement, or a contradictory statement? Explain.

Answer 2

It is a synthetic statement because it can be either true or false.

Question 3

Control refers to

A) directly manipulating an independent variable in a research study.
B) managing unwanted variables that could influence the results of a research project.
C) Both (a) and (b).
D) None of the above.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A research method involving independent and dependent variables is referred to as a(n)

A) case study.
B) naturalistic observation.
C) experiment.
D) survey.

Question 5

There are two independent variables in this study. What is one of the independent variables?

Question 6

What is the dependent variable?

Question 7

Read the following article and answer the questions that follow:
Clark, R. D., & Hatfield, E. (1989). Gender differences in receptivity to sexual offers. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 2, 39-55.
The authors list two competing hypotheses on p. 48. What is the first hypothesis?

Question 8

Janet conducts a study and finds that, similar to previous research, students by themselves worked harder than students in groups (a phenomenon known as social loafing). In addition, she found that social loafing could be lessened if the students in the group knew each other well. Janet's study represents

A) replication.
B) replication with extension.
C) lack of control.
D) a synthetic study.

Question 9

In Table 1, what percentage of women approached by a male requestor agreed to go to bed with him that night?

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a component of an experiment?

A) Control of extraneous variables
B) Manipulation of the independent variable
C) Measurement of the dependent variable
D) Manipulation of the dependent variable

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a key element in the scientific method?

A) Objective measurements
B) Self-correction of errors
C) Confirmation of findings
D) Having extraneous variables

Question 12

In Table 1, what percentage of men approached by a female requestor agreed to go to bed with her that night?

Question 13

Read the following article and answer the questions that follow:
Clark, R. D., & Hatfield, E. (1989). Gender differences in receptivity to sexual offers. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 2, 39-55.
Is this first hypothesis stated as directional or nondirectional? Explain.

Question 14

The variable that the experimenter manipulates is referred to as the ____________ variable.

A) extraneous
B) independent
C) dependent
D) confounding

Question 15

Do the results in Table 1 support Hypothesis #1 or Hypothesis #2? Explain.

Question 16

An empirical study is based on

A) the presence of extraneous variables.
B) synthetic statements.
C) contradictory statements.
D) objectively quantifiable observations.

Question 17

Restate the first hypothesis in general implication form.

Question 18

Which of the following scenarios correctly depicts the self-correcting nature of science?

A) Jane controls various extraneous variables in her study on self-esteem.
B) Mark conducts a replication with extension study on deindividuation and finds that the previous research reached a faulty conclusion.
C) Kelly conducts a study illustrating a cause-and-effect relationship between distraction and reading comprehension.
D) Ray conducts an empirical research study on racial discrimination.

Question 19

Read the following article and answer the questions that follow:
Clark, R. D., & Hatfield, E. (1989). Gender differences in receptivity to sexual offers. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 2, 39-55.
According to your text, "You find a research idea when you identify a gap in the current knowledge base…" . What was the gap in the knowledge base, according to the authors?

Question 20

Which of the following components in the scientific method best characterizes science, according to the text?

A) Confirmation of findings
B) Objectivity
C) Control
D) Self-correction

Question 21

The statement "Daisies are flowers" is an example of a(n) ________ statement.

A) analytic
B) synthetic
C) contradictory
D) irrational

Question 22

The ____________ variable is the causal part of a cause-and-effect relation.

A) extraneous
B) independent
C) dependent
D) confounding

Question 23

Changes in the __________ variable should be caused by the _________ variable.

A) first independent; second independent
B) first dependent; second dependent
C) dependent; independent
D) independent; dependent

Question 24

A research hypothesis should consist of a(n) _________ statement.

A) analytic
B) synthetic
C) contradictory
D) irrational

Question 25

Undesired variables that could invalidate an experiment are referred to as ________ variables.

A) independent
B) dependent
C) extraneous
D) intrinsic

Question 26

The statement "Students with good study habits earn good grades" is an example of a(n) _______ statement.

A) analytic
B) synthetic
C) contradictory
D) irrational

Question 27

Shayla conducts a study in which a confederate dresses up either in nice clothes or shabby clothes. The confederate goes to the mall and asks people for directions. Shayla hypothesizes that more people will help the confederate when he is nicely dressed rather than shabbily dressed. Which of the following represents control of an extraneous variable?

A) The type of clothing worn by the confederate at the mall
B) The number of people who stop to give directions
C) The same student is used as the confederate (sometimes dressed in nice clothes and sometimes dressed in shabby clothes)
D) None of the above.

Question 28

Mary is interested in determining if active learning strategies promote better student learning than passive learning strategies. She teaches groups of volunteer students for one hour, using active learning strategies with half of the students and passive learning strategies with the other half of the students. The students are then given a test over the material and Mary records the number of items each student answers correctly. In this study, the independent variable is __________ and the dependent variable is __________.

A) type of learning strategy; number of correct answers
B) number of correct answers; type of learning strategy
C) number of correct answers; the test
D) type of learning strategy; the test

Question 29

Cause-and-effect explanations answer the ______ questions in research.

A) what
B) where
C) when
D) why

Question 30

________ statements are always true.

A) Analytic
B) Synthetic
C) Contradictory
D) Irrational

Question 31

The ____________ variable is the effect part of a cause-and-effect relation.

A) extraneous
B) independent
C) dependent
D) confounding

Question 32

The data in an experiment represent the __________ variable.

A) independent
B) dependent
C) extraneous
D) control

Question 33

A researcher manipulates the __________ variable and measures the effect on the _________ variable.

A) extraneous; independent
B) independent; extraneous
C) dependent; independent
D) independent; dependent

Question 34

The experimenter's predicted outcome of a research project is known as a(n)

A) theory.
B) hypothesis.
C) extraneous variable.
D) problem.

Question 35

In one study, half of the rats are given one food pellet each time they correctly run a maze, and the other half of the rats are given two food pellets each time they correctly run a maze. The researchers record the average amount of time it takes the rats to run the maze. In this study, the number of food pellets represents the __________ variable.

A) independent
B) dependent
C) extraneous
D) intrinsic

Question 36

________ statements can be either true or false.

A) Analytic
B) Synthetic
C) Contradictory
D) Irrational

Question 37

In one study, students read a fictitious job application. The applications are identical except that half have a female name ("Joan") and half have a male name ("John"). The students rate the likelihood of the applicant succeeding at the job. What is the dependent variable?

A) The name on the job application
B) The students
C) The students' ratings of the applicants' success
D) The gender of the students

Question 38

The statement "If children watch violent television, then they will be more violent than children who do not watch violent television" is written in

A) contradictory form.
B) general implication form.
C) analytic form.
D) iambic pentameter.

Question 39

Cause-and-effect relationships can be determined through

A) replications.
B) experiments.
C) empirical research.
D) None of the above.

Question 40

________ statements are always false.

A) Analytic
B) Synthetic
C) Contradictory
D) Rational

Question 41

A ________ research hypothesis specifies the outcome of an experiment.

A) nondirectional
B) directional
C) independent
D) dependent

Question 42

Describe the two meanings of control in the scientific approach.

Question 43

Proctor and Capaldi (2001), who presented an alternate view of hypothesis testing, argued that researchers should use more ___________ logic with new research areas.

A) deductive
B) inductive
C) directional
D) independent

Question 44

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Most researchers adopt nondirectional hypotheses.
B) Most researchers adopt directional hypotheses.
C) Most researchers adopt non-falsifiable hypotheses.
D) Most researchers state their hypotheses using analytic statements.

Question 45

"Individuals who undergo therapy will differ in their levels of depression from those who do not undergo therapy." This hypothesis is an example of a

A) contradictory statement.
B) nondirectional research hypothesis.
C) directional research hypothesis.
D) non-falsifiable hypothesis.

Question 46

Why is science considered empirical?

Question 47

Reasoning that proceeds from specific cases to general theories is referred to as

A) the principle of falsifiability.
B) inductive logic.
C) deductive logic.
D) serendipity.

Question 48

"Depressed individuals who receive therapy will be less depressed than those in the control group who do not receive therapy." This hypothesis is an example of a

A) contradictory statement.
B) nondirectional research hypothesis.
C) directional research hypothesis.
D) non-falsifiable hypothesis.

Question 49

What is the dependent variable in the following statement? "If people are put in groups, then they will be less likely to help a stranger than when they are by themselves."

A) Group size (group or individual)
B) Likelihood to help a stranger
C) The participants
D) The researcher

Question 50

The principle of falsifiability refers to the idea that

A) reasoning should proceed from specific cases to general theories.
B) reasoning should proceed from general theories to specific cases.
C) research should be capable of producing results that do not support the hypothesis.
D) hypotheses should be composed of analytic statements.

Question 51

Which of the following statements about hypotheses is true?

A) Hypotheses must never be falsifiable.
B) Psychologists are able to prove their hypotheses to be true or false.
C) Hypotheses should be composed of analytic statements.
D) Hypotheses should be stated in general implication form.

Question 52

Distinguish between replication and replication with extension.

Question 53

Darley and Latane (1968) conducted a series of experiments after hearing about the murder of Kitty Genovese. On the basis of results from these experiments, they came up with a principle known as the bystander effect. This example illustrates

A) inductive logic.
B) deductive logic.
C) a contradictory statement.
D) an analytic statement.

Question 54

Under what circumstances is it best to use a nondirectional hypothesis?

A) when the researcher is relatively certain of a prediction
B) when the researcher would like to increase the chances of finding a statistically significant result
C) when there is a possibility that the results could turn out the opposite of that which is expected
D) when the researcher has not read the past literature on the topic

Question 55

What does it mean to say that science is self-correcting?

Question 56

What is the independent variable in the following statement? "If rats are reinforced with five food pellets for each correct response, then they will make more correct responses than rats that are reinforced with zero food pellets."

A) Number of correct responses
B) Number of food pellets (five or zero)
C) Number of rats
D) The researcher

Question 57

Briefly describe the key elements in the scientific approach.

Question 58

Jasmine uses her knowledge of past research on social facilitation to help formulate a hypothesis for her experiment. This example illustrates

A) deductive logic.
B) inductive logic.
C) serendipity.
D) a contradictory statement.

Question 59

Reasoning that proceeds from general theories to specific cases is referred to as

A) the principle of falsifiability.
B) inductive logic.
C) deductive logic.
D) serendipity.

Question 60

A ________ research hypothesis does not predict the exact outcome of an experiment.

A) nondirectional
B) directional
C) independent
D) dependent

Question 61

Suppose a researcher is interested in determining whether playing violent video games causes aggression in children. She obtains a sample of children and brings them individually to a laboratory setting. Half of the children play a violent video game and half play a nonviolent video game. After playing the game for 30 minutes, the children then play with toys in a separate room and an observer records the number of aggressive acts displayed by each child.
a. What is the independent variable in this study? How many levels does this independent variable have? What are those levels?
b. What is the dependent variable in this study?
c. What extraneous variables should the researcher control?

Question 62

Define the three types of statements described in the text (synthetic, analytic, and contradictory) and give an example of each. Which type of statement should you use for hypotheses and why?

Question 63

Compare and contrast inductive and deductive logic.

Question 64

Why do Proctor and Capaldi (2001) believe that hypothesis testing can be harmful in the early stages of theory-building? What do they propose researchers do instead?

Question 65

What is general implication form? Give an example of a hypothesis written in general implication form.

Question 66

Describe the principle of falsifiability.

Question 67

Explain the difference between a directional and nondirectional hypothesis. Describe the circumstances under which a researcher would prefer a directional hypothesis over a nondirectional hypothesis. Describe the circumstances under which a researcher would prefer a nondirectional hypothesis over a directional hypothesis.

Question 68

What are the key characteristics of an experiment? Why do researchers value experiments so much?