Question 1

1) External validity concerns:&#10;A) The extent to which findings will generalise&#10;B) The extent to which findings are accurate&#10;C) The extent to which the setting of the research study was realistic&#10;D) The extent to which confounding variables may have affected the research

Accepted Answer

External validity concerns are related to the generalizability of the findings. It refers to the extent to which the results of a study can be applied to other populations, settings, and situations beyond the sample studied. B, C, and D are not related to external validity concerns. Accuracy is related to internal validity, the setting of the research study being realistic is related to ecological validity, and confounding variables are related to internal validity as well.

Question 2

2) Internal validity concerns:&#10;A) The extent to which findings might have been affected by statistical error&#10;B) The extent to which findings will generalise&#10;C) The extent to which findings may have been affected by factors unconnected with the independent variable&#10;D) The extent to which findings might have been affected by confounding variables related to the independent variable

Accepted Answer

Internal validity refers to the degree to which an experiment accurately establishes a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables, without being affected by extraneous factors.

Question 3

3) Demand characteristics concern:&#10;A) Participants' attempts to please the experimenter by behaving in accordance with the hypothesis&#10;B) The tendency of participants to behave in ways thought to be socially acceptable&#10;C) The subtle cues participants pick up which tell them what a researcher is looking for&#10;D) The tendency of participants to demand a fee for participation

Accepted Answer

Demand characteristics refer to the subtle cues or expectations that participants pick up from the researcher or the experimental situation which may guide their behavior or responses in a way that aligns with the hypothesis or expectations of the study. This can affect the validity of the results as participants may not be responding authentically. A and B are related to participant bias or social desirability bias, which is different from demand characteristics. D is not related to demand characteristics at all.

Question 4

4) If a researcher did not wish the participants or the testers/data gatherers to know the condition to which each participant has been allocated in an experiment the design to use would be a:&#10;A) Single blind&#10;B) Double blind&#10;C) Triple blind&#10;D) Venetian blind

Accepted Answer

Double blind design is used when both the participants and the testers/data gatherers are unaware of the condition to which each participant has been allocated in an experiment. This is done to prevent any kind of bias or influence on the results. Single blind design only involves participants being unaware of their allocated condition while the testers/data gatherers are aware. Triple blind design involves participants, testers/data gatherers, and the analysts being unaware of the allocated condition, but this is not relevant to the question. "Venetian blind" is a type of window blind and not a design in research methods.

Question 5

5) A researcher asks a group of participants to solve a list of anagrams: first in a cold room and then, with a different list, in a hot room. The results in the hot room are higher thus the researcher concludes that heat improves cognitive ability. Which of the following is a likely confounding variable?

A) Some participants are better at anagram solving
B) Heat
C) Practice with anagrams
D) Cold

Accepted Answer

The practice effect with anagrams is a likely confounding variable, as participants may have improved on the second list due to increased familiarity with the task from the first list. The other options (A, B, D) are not confounding variables as they are the independent variable (heat), a participant characteristic (skill at anagram solving), or a control condition (cold).

Question 6

6) One group of participants is given water to drink while a second group is given a drink of normal (non-diet) Coca Cola. The Coca Cola group performs faster on a task of putting 20 pegs into appropriate holes. It is assumed that the caffeine in the Coca Cola has had an effect. Which of the following is a likely confounding variable?

A) The hardness or softness of the water
B) The weight of the pegs
C) Sugar in the Coca Cola
D) Colouring in the Coca Cola

Accepted Answer

The presence of sugar in the Coca Cola may also have had an effect on performance, making it a confounding variable. It is not relevant whether the water was hard or soft or the weight or coloring of the pegs.

Question 7

7) A researcher tells some young students that an experiment will involve solving maths problems to different kinds of music. Those who agree to participate are asked to solve a set of calculus problems while light classical music is playing in the background. After a rest they are again asked to solve a set of equivalent mathematical problems but this time the background is Madonna's greatest hits. The researcher predicts that the students, being young, will perform better while listening to pop music. A possible confounding variable in the music experiment could be:

A) Participant differences in mathematical ability
B) Participant morbidity
C) Population validity
D) Order effects

Accepted Answer

Order effects could be a confounding variable because the performance on the second set of problems could be influenced by the order in which the music types are presented, regardless of the music type itself.

Question 8

8) A researcher gives participants either a list of one syllable words or a list of three syllable words to learn and recall. She finds that the participants given three syllable words recall significantly fewer words than participants given one syllable words. She concludes that three syllable words are harder to recall because their length takes up more space in memory. A likely confounding variable in this experiment could be:

A) Order effects caused by participants learning two lists of words
B) Participants guessing that one and three syllable word performance are being compared
C) The fact that three syllable words might also be less common than one syllable words
D) The type of breakfast participants had eaten

Accepted Answer

Three syllable words might inherently be less common and less familiar to participants than one syllable words, which could influence recall ability independently of their length. This difference in familiarity, rather than just the memory space they occupy, could be a confounding variable affecting the results.

Question 9

9) The phenomenon popularly known among psychologists as the Hawthorne Effect occurs if participants:&#10;A) Guess what hypothesis the researcher is testing&#10;B) Alter their behave because they know they are being observed&#10;C) Try to please the experimenter&#10;D) Behave in accordance with perceived social norms

Accepted Answer

The Hawthorne Effect occurs when participants alter their behavior because they know they are being observed. This can often lead to artificial results in research studies, as the behavior being observed is not natural or representative of how the individual would behave in their daily life.

Question 10

10) The possibility that a researcher's knowledge of the hypothesis being tested in a research study might influence results in support of the hypothesis is known as:&#10;A) Social desirability&#10;B) Participant expectancy&#10;C) Experimenter expectancy&#10;D) Demand characteristics

Accepted Answer

Experimenter expectancy, also known as the Rosenthal effect, refers to the possibility that a researcher's knowledge of the hypothesis being tested may unconsciously influence the results in support of the hypothesis. This can occur through subtle cues the researcher gives to participants or through biases in data collection and analysis.

Deck 4: Validity in Psychological Research