Deck 2: Research Methods in Psychology

Question 1

Psychology research involves the collection of both __________ measurements and __________ descriptions of behaviour.

Answer 1

quantitative; qualitative

Question 2

What is the meaning of the expression 'nullius in verba', the motto of the Royal Society of London?

Answer 2

take nobody's word for it

Question 3

Provide an example of scientific question and describe how it can be addressed scientifically.

Answer 3

Research question must address something tangible (it allows for the collection of empirical data). Concepts/variables/phenomena must be defined precisely. A congruent method of data collection must be proposed (e.g. questionnaires, experiment, interview).

Question 4

According to your textbook, which of the following sequences CORRECTLY represents the stages in the process of conducting psychological research?

A) Think of a testable question - design the study - data collection - choose a method - data analysis - dissemination of findings
B) Think of a testable question - choose a method - design the study - data collection - data analysis - dissemination of findings
C) Choose a method - think of a testable question - design the study - data collection - data analysis - dissemination of findings
D) Choose a method - design the study - think of a testable question - data collection - data analysis - dissemination of findings

Question 5

Decision based on intuition and anecdote must be avoided in psychology research practice as they are non-scientific approaches.

Question 6

Looking for the prevalence of good people in the world is an example of non-scientific question.

Question 7

A statement about the putative relationship between two variables is termed a(n) _______.

A) anecdote
B) law
C) theory
D) hypothesis

Question 8

Which of the following is not a stage of the scientific research method?

A) Comparing personal intuitions with observed data
B) Obtaining ethical clearance
C) Disseminating findings
D) Design the study

Question 9

Dr Foster wants to measure how the level of anxiety pre-exam influences exam performance in a sample of 134 university students. Dr Foster will likely conduct her research using:

A) anecdotes
B) quantitative measurements
C) qualitative descriptions
D) common sense

Question 10

Provide an example of quantitative measurement.

Question 11

Recall the levels of analysis described in Ch. 1 of your text. If you were sympathetic to the notion that psychology should limit itself to clearly observable phenomena, on which level of analysis might you concentrate?

A) the biological level
B) the psychological level
C) the environmental level
D) all of the above

Question 12

To be approved on a reliable scientific journal a study needs to go through a process of peer review.

Question 13

__________ is the process of evaluation of the soundness and quality of study carried out by a group of experts in the field. Only after this process a study can be published and its findings shared.

Question 14

List at least four ways thorough which scientific knowledge can be disseminated.

Question 15

Describe the stages necessary for a study to be published on a scientific journal.

Question 16

What are the possible outcomes of a peer review?

A) Accept, revise, reject
B) Accept, reassess, reject
C) Accept, reread, reject
D) Accept, review, reject

Question 17

A paper that has been published on a renowned journal is a sufficient proof that the study is flawless.

Question 18

It's always important to read a paper with a __________ mindset. In fact, even published papers can contain weaknesses and inaccuracies.

Question 19

Why it's always advised to read published papers with a sceptical mindest?

Question 20

Why aren't media a reliable source of scientific information?

Question 21

Observational methods allow to collect:

A) anecdotes
B) interviews
C) numerical data
D) qualitative descriptions

Question 22

What are the three key attributes for a good research?

A) Reliability, interpretability, applicability
B) Reliability, falsifiability, importance
C) Interpretability, validity, applicability
D) Reliability, validity, importance

Question 23

The three attributes to consider for a good research are __________.

Question 24

Which example of reliability without validity is reported in your textbook?

Question 25

Discuss why phrenology is an example of discipline whose methods are now considered as highly reliable but surely not valid.

Question 26

It's difficult to know whether findings in psychology are replicable because for most of the scientific journals direct replications of existing studies are not as interesting as new research.

Question 27

Which of the following factors does not influence reliability?

A) sample size
B) stability
C) timescale
D) systematic error

Question 28

What is referred to as the 'file-drawer problem' in scientific research?

Question 29

With respect to the factors that influence reliability, which of the following statements is CORRECT?

A) A measure of trait anxiety is less reliable than a measure of state anxiety
B) A measure of state anxiety is less reliable than a measure of trait anxiety
C) A measure of state anxiety is highly reliable because it measures the anxious nature of people
D) A measure of trait anxiety if not very reliable because it provides a measure of anxiety in a particular situation.

Question 30

Which of the following is the most reliable measure?

A) A scale assessing post-surgery depression
B) A scale assessing anxiety levels after witnessing a violent crime
C) A scale assessing extroversion in young adults
D) A scale assessing language skills immediately after a traumatic brain injury

Question 31

With respect to the factors that influence reliability, which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

A) Larger samples may help improving reliability as they provide a better estimate of the characteristics of the general population.
B) A researcher must always take into account the influence of extraneous factors.
C) For a measure to be reliable it's better if the phenomenon being measured changes over time.
D) Longer time-intervals between two consecutive measurements increase the risk of extraneous factors influencing the data.

Question 32

Why is it important to draw a random sample when trying to predict the outcome of a political election?

Question 33

Sampling bias creates a nonrepresentative sample.

Question 34

Split-half reliability consists of:

A) Including only half of the scores randomly selected
B) A common issue of reliability associated with most questionnaires
C) An index of insufficient reliability for a certain measure
D) Calculating two separate scores using even-numbered and odd-numbered items to measure reliability

Question 35

Dr Forster created a new questionnaire to measure customers' satisfaction towards a brand-new technological product. He is running some further analyses to make sure that his questionnaire is truly measuring what is intended. What is Dr Forster assessing?

A) Construct validity
B) Criterion validity
C) Internal validity
D) Ecological validity

Question 36

Ecological validity is also referred to as external validity.

Question 37

If a measure has __________ criterion validity, it should correlate with other measures of the same attribute over time.

Question 38

An experiment with poor __________ validity will likely produce results which are not generalizable to real-life situations.

Question 39

What is the weakest form of validity assessment? Why?

Question 40

Dr Murphy's latest experiment has high reliability but very poor ecological validity. What does it mean?

Question 41

In 1977, the developmental psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner famously pointed out that much of the developmental psychology of the time was "the science of the strange behaviour of children in strange situations with strange adults for the briefest possible periods of time". Which common problem of psychological research was Bronfenbrenner referring to?

Question 42

Observational methods can only be used by quantitative research.

Question 43

Time-sampling technique is used in observational research and consists of sampling participants at given time intervals.

Question 44

Which of the following statements regarding observational methods is INACCUARTE?

A) Observational methods are recommended if one wants to study the causal relationship between two variables.
B) Observational methods are non-intrusive.
C) Observational methods are good as 'exploratory' methods to generate new research questions.
D) Observational methods can be used to observe both animal' and human's behaviour.

Question 45

Observer bias is a risk when employing observational methods. Which of the following practices is used to address this potential issue?

A) Split-half reliability
B) Time-sampling
C) Cross-check
D) Interobserver agreement

Question 46

Dr Yu is recording the number of violent scenes appearing in a random sample of 50 movies from 1970 to 1979. What type of methodology is Dr Yu using?

A) observational quantitative
B) observational qualitative
C) predictive
D) experimental

Question 47

Researcher bias is not an issue when observational methods are used.

Question 48

Observational methods entail:

A) manipulating more variables to study the effect on a variable of interest
B) examining existing records, such as census documents
C) asking a sample of individuals a set of questions
D) examining behaviour in the setting in which it typically occurs

Question 49

Which of the following alternatives correctly identifies BOTH an advantage AND a disadvantage of observational methods?

A) Observational methods are highly reflective of actual behaviour, but they can only be applied to the study of animals.
B) Observational methods are highly reflective of actual behaviour, but they are prone to biases.
C) Observational methods allow cause-and-effect conclusions, but they can be highly artificial.
D) Observational methods allow control over variables, but they are prone to biases.

Question 50

Describe the main differences between longitudinal and cross-sectional designs.

Question 51

Cohort effects are a common risk in longitudinal studies.

Question 52

Lara wants to study the influence of cognitive stimulation on language development in a group of infants who were adopted at the age of 2. She chooses to use a __________ design.

Question 53

What are 'cohort effects' in cross-sectional designs?

Question 54

Provide an example of something that can be investigated using a questionnaire.

Question 55

With respect to 'sampling bias', which of the following statements is INCORRECT?

A) Sampling bias is associated with questionnaire's response rate.
B) Sampling bias indicates that respondents may not be representative of the studied population.
C) Questionnaires are particularly prone to 'sampling bias'.
D) Sampling bias is particularly evident in face-to-face surveys.

Question 56

Carol administered a survey about child abuse to 1000 anonymous new parents and found no reports of a parent exhibiting this type of behaviour. Knowing the number of incidences of child abuse reported each year, Carol suspected some type of bias attributed to the erroneous results. Which type of bias most likely affected this study?

A) researcher bias
B) self-presentational bias
C) sampling bias
D) experimental bias

Question 57

Philip is conducting a survey of dating attitudes and behaviours among young adults as part of his masters' thesis work. Philip distributes questionnaires to 300 randomly selected students enrolled in an introductory psychology course at his university. The 300 students constitute Philip's ________. The people to whom he assumes his results will generalize are termed the _______.

A) control group; population
B) experimental group; population
C) population; sample
D) sample; population

Question 58

Many people were surprised by the results of the 'Brexit' referendum because the 'remain' outcome was the favoured in many polls preceding the vote. Which of the following research methodology flaws may have led to this inaccurate prediction?

A) The estimates may have been based on data from a sample that was not representative of the population
B) The wording of the questionnaire items may have been vague and biased
C) Self-presenting bias may have prevented respondents from voicing their honest opinions
D) All of the above

Question 59

Questionnaires are an excellent technique as they can provide information about every type of phenomenon because people very generally very good at introspection and self-report.

Question 60

A journalist at a local newspaper is writing an article on the next election for mayor. She develops a survey asking people who they will vote for in the next election and then e-mails it to local schools and businesses. On the basis of her survey she concludes that 65% of the voters will vote for candidate Emma Huffington and publishes her prediction in the newspaper. On election day, she is completely bewildered as only 35% of the people voted for Emma Huffington. What type of bias has likely affected the journalist's predictions and how?

Question 61

In experimental designs a researcher has control over one or more variables.

Question 62

The variable that is manipulated by the experimenter is called __________. The variable that is measured by the experimenter is called __________.

Question 63

Which of the following research methods is the best way to establish causal relationship between variables?

A) Observational methods
B) Surveys
C) Experiments
D) Interviews

Question 64

Dr Foster is studying whether a change in oxygen levels delivered to patients with anxiety disorder can increase the likelihood of experiencing panic-attack-like symptoms. 'Oxygen levels' is:

A) the dependent variable
B) the pre-test
C) the independent variable
D) the post-test

Question 65

Experiments have high ecological validity as they show people's natural behaviour.

Question 66

Which of the following research methods allows the manipulation of one or more variables?

A) time-sampling
B) experiment
C) observational
D) survey

Question 67

In a typical __________, psychologists manipulate the ________ to study the effect on a _________.

A) experiment; dependent variable; independent variable
B) experiment; independent variable; dependent variable
C) survey; independent variable; dependent variable
D) survey; dependent variable; independent variable

Question 68

________ is a technique that helps researchers ensure their sample is representative of the population.

A) Random assignment
B) Random allocation
C) Convenience sampling
D) Geographic sampling

Question 69

__________ allows to create two groups of participants that are not consistently different from one another.

A) Random allocation
B) Random assignment
C) Convenience sampling
D) Geographic sampling

Question 70

Which of the following sequences is the correct sequential process of an experiment?

A) Manipulation of the independent variable; random allocation; measurement of the dependent variable.
B) Random allocation; manipulation of the dependent variable; measurement of the independent variable.
C) Random allocation; manipulation of the independent variable; measurement of the dependent variable.
D) Manipulation of the dependent variable; random allocation; measurement of the independent variable.

Question 71

With respect to a basic experimental design, which of the following statement is correct?

A) The control group receives a treatment. The experimental group doesn't.
B) Both the control group and the experimental group receive the treatment, but at different times.
C) The experimental group receives the treatment. The control group doesn't.
D) There is only one group known as the 'experimental group'.

Question 72

Dr Murphy is investigating the effect of caffeine on students' performance on a memory task. She randomly allocates 200 university students into two groups. She asks Group A to drink 30ml of black coffee 30 minutes before the memory task, whilst Group B is asked to drink 30ml of water instead. Group B is:

A) the experimental group
B) the basic group
C) the control group
D) the independent group

Question 73

Dr Murphy is investigating the effect of caffeine on students' performance on a memory task. She randomly allocates 200 university students into three groups. Thirty minutes before the task, she asks Group A to drink 30ml of black coffee, Group B to drink 50ml and Group C to drink 100ml. Group B is:

A) the control group
B) the experimental group
C) a condition that varies quantitatively from the others
D) a condition that varies qualitatively from the others

Question 74

Dr Brown is investigating the effect of different types of beverages on students' performance on a memory task. She randomly allocates 200 university students into three groups. Thirty minutes before the task, she asks Group A to drink 30ml of black coffee, Group B to drink 30ml of orange juice and Group C to drink 30ml of Coke. Group B is:

A) the control group
B) the experimental group
C) a condition that varies quantitatively from the others
D) a condition that varies qualitatively from the others

Question 75

Dr Brown is interested in finding out whether different types of beverages and nicotine influence students' performance on a memory task. She randomly allocates 200 university students into three groups. Thirty minutes before the task, she asks Group A to drink 30ml of black coffee, Group B to drink 30ml of orange juice and Group C to drink 30ml of Coke. In addition, she makes sure that in each group half of the participants are regular cigarette smokers and smoke one cigarette 10 minutes before the memory task. How many independent variables are used in Dr Brown's experiment?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 5

Question 76

What are the independent variables in this experiment?

Question 77

What type of experimental design is Dr Brown using?

Question 78

One of the advantages of factorial designs is that by adding more conditions to an experiment is possible to look at possible __________ between variables.

Question 79

In a factorial design different conditions can vary either __________ or __________ from each other.

Question 80

Dr Bird is conducting a detailed examination on the effects of different types of psychotherapy either in combination or without pharmacological treatment on the manifestation of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Dr Bird is undertaking:

A) a survey
B) a factorial design experiment
C) an observational study
D) a correlational study