Deck 4: Approaches to Psychological Measurement

Question 1

The observation of behavior in settings that are arranged specifically for observing and recording behavior is called ______ observation.

A)participant
B)contrived
C)contaminated
D)naturalistic

Answer 1

B

Question 2

True-false questions are most appropriate for

A)asking whether an event or experience occurred.
B)measuring self-reported feelings.
C)assessing attitudes.
D)asking questions about the frequency of a behavior.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following is an unobtrusive measure of people's interest in a particular exhibit in a museum?

A)Interviewing them about their interest
B)A self-report questionnaire
C)Fingerprints on the glass case of the exhibit
D)Heart rate while looking at the exhibit

Answer 3

C

Question 4

To measure the use of computer terminals located in different areas of the library, a researcher installs a program to measure the amount of time each terminal is actively used. This is an example of a(n)________ measure.

A)unreliable
B)unobtrusive
C)physiological
D)undisguised

Question 5

Measures of events that occur in the brain and other parts of the nervous system are called ________ measures.

A)cerebral
B)anatomical
C)operational
D)physiological

Question 6

In the dyadic interaction paradigm,

A)participants are video-recorded without their knowledge.
B)the researcher pretends to be another participant.
C)interactions between participants are observed through a one-way mirror.
D)participants are tested one at a time.

Question 7

An interview schedule

A)is needed only for long interviews.
B)displays the times at which particular individuals are to be interviewed.
C)is developed as each interview proceeds.
D)presents the questions to be asked during an interview.

Question 8

A researcher who indicates on a sheet each time a behavior occurs is using a(n)

A)observational diary.
B)narrative record.
C)observational rating scale.
D)checklist.

Question 9

Participants in a study were asked to rate their mood on the following scale: Pleasant :_____:_____:_____:_____:_____:_____:_____: Unpleasant
This item used a

A)fixed-alternative response format.
B)Likert scale.
C)frequency rating.
D)bipolar adjective scale.

Question 10

Reaction time is a measure of

A)duration.
B)latency.
C)task completion time.
D)intensity.

Question 11

Disguised observation is used to counteract the problem of

A)error variance.
B)naturalistic observation.
C)participant observation.
D)reactivity.

Question 12

When researchers use self-report diaries to obtain information about people,

A)participants allow researchers to study their personal diaries and journals.
B)researchers keep track of what their participants do each day.
C)participants record information about their lives on a daily basis.
D)participants reveal their innermost thoughts and feelings.

Question 13

A full description of everything a participant says and does is called a

A)narrative record.
B)content analysis.
C)diary.
D)tally sheet.

Question 14

When they use observational measures, researchers usually examine

A)interitem reliability.
B)interrater reliability.
C)duration.
D)acquiescence.

Question 15

A researcher who measures how long participants will keep their arms immersed in ice water is using a measure of

A)latency.
B)duration.
C)reaction time.
D)interbehavior latency.

Question 16

Questionnaire is to interview as _________ is to

A)reliable; valid.
B)interrater; interitem.
C)written; oral.
D)question; answer.

Question 17

A researcher who asks parents to report on the behavior of their children is using

A)an observational measure.
B)indicants.
C)self-reports.
D)knowledgeable informants.

Question 18

Why is the question "How much do you like English and math?" not a good one to use in an interview with students?

A)Conditional information follows the key idea of the question.
B)It is double-barreled.
C)The response format is inappropriate.
D)It is not reliable.

Question 19

Contrived observation is essentially the opposite of ___________ observation.

A)participant
B)reactive
C)contaminated
D)naturalistic

Question 20

Reactive behaviors

A)change when people know they are being observed.
B)are people's natural reactions.
C)must be measured using physiological methods.
D)are a problem with nonhuman, but not human, participants.

Question 21

Why are researchers concerned about whether the behaviors they study might be reactive?

Question 22

What is the difference between a measure of duration and a measure of latency? Give an example of each.

Question 23

What type of reliability is most important in observational research?

Question 24

What is the difference between narrative records and field notes?

Question 25

What is participant observation? Give an example of when it might be used.

Question 26

Give four recommendations for writing good questions for use in questionnaires or interviews.

Question 27

Which of the following is not good advice for an interviewer?

A)Appear to be interested in the respondent's answers.
B)Reword questions for different respondents.
C)Conceal your own reactions to the respondent's answers.
D)Ask questions in a logical sequence.

Question 28

A researcher who collects data from existing records and documents is probably conducting

A)interviews.
B)archival research.
C)diary research.
D)a content analysis.

Question 29

Which of the following is least likely be a source of data for archival research?

A)Newspaper articles
B)Medical records
C)Responses to interview questions
D)Personal letters

Question 30

Describe three types of physiological measures, and give an example of each type.

Question 31

Which of the following is most important to a researcher who conducts a content analysis?

A)Interrater reliability
B)Interitem reliability
C)Content reliability
D)Test-retest reliability

Question 32

Which of the following is not an advantage of questionnaires over interviews?

A)Easier to administer
B)Anonymity can be guaranteed
C)Less time required to train researchers
D)Provides more valid responses

Question 33

The social desirability response bias is

A)a problem in all research on human beings.
B)reduced when participants' responses are anonymous.
C)not a problem in observational studies.
D)the tendency for researchers to treat certain participants more positively.

Question 34

Acquiescence is to ________ as nay-saying is to

A)agreement; disagreement.
B)participation; nonparticipation.
C)desirable; undesirable.
D)false; true.

Question 35

Distinguish between disguised and undisguised observation.

Question 36

Why do researchers sometimes use knowledgeable informants?

Question 37

Having coders practice a textual coding system in advance helps to improve

A)content reliability.
B)test-retest reliability.
C)interitem reliability.
D)interrater reliability.

Question 38

Which of the following is not an advantage of interviews over questionnaires?

A)Better for illiterate respondents
B)Less expensive to administer
C)Can explore more complex issues
D)Ensures respondents understand the questions

Question 39

When would you conduct a content analysis?

A)To measure the contents of a participant's personality
B)To quantify written or spoken text
C)To integrate the results of several studies on the same topic
D)To study the contents of people's daily lives

Question 40

Describe the dyadic interaction paradigm.

Question 41

Why is it important for researchers to have precise operational definitions of behaviors in observational studies?

Question 42

What is a diary methodology?

Question 43

Discuss the issue of how many response options to offer respondents on a questionnaire.

Question 44

Give four recommendations for effective interviewing.

Question 45

Describe two ways in which researchers can reduce the likelihood that their data will be contaminated by the social desirability response bias.

Question 46

What is a multi-item scale?

Question 47

Describe the steps you would go through to conduct a content analysis.

Question 48

What is archival research? Give three examples.