Deck 2: Doing Social Psychology Research

Question 1

All social psychological research must begin with a(n)

A) question.
B) independent variable.
C) subject variable.
D) control group.

Answer 1

question.

Question 2

Which of the following best describes the primary goal of basic research?

A) To examine human behavior in real-world settings
B) To test specific hypotheses derived from a specific theory
C) To integrate the different research methodologies within one subfield of social psychology
D) To solve practical problems

Answer 2

To test specific hypotheses derived from a specific theory

Question 3

All else being equal, social psychologists prefer a(n)________ theory to a(n)_______ theory.

A) complex; simple
B) simple; complex
C) intuitive; counterintuitive
D) popular; unpopular

Answer 3

simple; complex

Question 4

Social psychologists use the scientific method when they study human behavior in order to

A) allow other social psychologists to attempt to replicate the findings.
B) ensure that the right people get credit for the research.
C) provide a solid theoretical foundation for social psychological research.
D) encourage social psychologists to conduct more basic, rather than applied, research.

Question 5

One of the problems with searches for social psychological studies on the Internet generally, without the aid of a database like PsycInfo, is that the results of such a search can vary wildly in

A) accuracy.
B) relevance.
C) quality.
D) All of these

Question 6

Hypotheses must be all of the following except

A) explicit.
B) testable.
C) predictive.
D) comprehensive.

Question 7

Melissa's research examines the cognitive processes involved in persuasion and how those processes can be used to persuade women to have yearly mammograms.This work represents an integration of

A) hypothetical and theoretical research.
B) specific and general research.
C) basic and applied research.
D) independent and dependent research.

Question 8

Britney believes that exposure to violent television increases aggressive behavior by making people's own aggressive thoughts more accessible.Christina believes that violent television increases aggressive behavior by impairing people's cognitive abilities, which in turn makes them worry less about the consequences of their behavior as well as more likely to have aggressive thoughts.If we knew that violent television indeed increases aggressive behavior but knew nothing else on this topic, which of the two theories should we prefer?

A) Britney's because it is more testable than Christina's
B) Britney's because it is simpler than Christina's
C) Christina's because it is more empirical than Britney's
D) Christina's because it is more testable than Britney's

Question 9

An explicit, testable prediction about the conditions under which an event will occur is a(n)

A) theory.
B) independent variable.
C) hypothesis.
D) correlation coefficient.

Question 10

Which of the following concerning research questions in social psychology is false?

A) Research questions can be inspired by real-world events.
B) Social psychologists sometimes develop research questions based on their own personal experiences and observations.
C) Social psychologists can only develop testable research questions by reading about prior research in the field.
D) Music, poetry, and literature can all inspire research questions.

Question 11

Social psychologists use electronic databases, such as PsycInfo to

A) find published research on a particular topic.
B) determine the scientific and moral value of their research question.
C) help them select a random sample of participants from the population of interest.
D) increase the external validity of their research.

Question 12

One major difference between research in social psychology versus research in other fields such as chemistry is that

A) social psychology is less of a science than many other fields.
B) many people have commonsense intuitions about the questions that social psychologists study empirically.
C) social psychologists are less likely to rely on empirical observation to draw conclusions.
D) in social psychology, researchers are less concerned with theories and more concerned with data.

Question 13

In encouraging social psychologists to generate useful, practical theories, Kurt Lewin

A) set apart reliability issues from validity issues.
B) urged the synthesis of basic and applied research.
C) reduced the distinction between hypotheses and theories.
D) emphasized the importance of experimental methodologies.

Question 14

The problem with Freudian theory was that

A) it failed to generate new hypotheses.
B) it was not sufficiently testable.
C) it did not pique the interest of other researchers of the time.
D) it did not enhance our understanding of psychological processes.

Question 15

An organized set of principles used to explain observed phenomena is called a(n)

A) theory.
B) hypothesis.
C) educated guess.
D) personal bias.

Question 16

Which of the following is not a testable hypothesis?

A) Women tend to have more opposite-sex friends than men.
B) Stereotypes are more likely to impact judgments when people are tired.
C) People smile more when they are lying than when they are telling the truth.
D) Refusing to help someone in need is morally wrong.

Question 17

Adarah is learning about research methods in her social psychology course.She will experience all of the following benefits except

A) she will become a more critical consumer of information in general.
B) she will develop a better appreciation for the advantages of anecdotal stories.
C) the findings she learns about in class will be easier to understand and remember.
D) it will improve her reasoning about everyday events.

Question 18

A hypothesis provides a means of ________ a theory.

A) testing
B) proving
C) generalizing
D) creating

Question 19

"Moms prefer Brand X of peanut butter," a commercial claims.Sarah wonders what other brands were used as the comparison group.Which benefit of learning about research methods is Sarah displaying?

A) Critical evaluation of information
B) Better memory for the results of studies
C) Better understanding of studies
D) Enhanced self-esteem

Question 20

All of the following are goals of basic research except

A) solving practical or real-world problems.
B) testing psychological theories.
C) building a foundation of knowledge for the field.
D) discovering general principles of behavior.

Question 21

A researcher wanted to see if alcohol consumption raises or lowers a person's self-esteem.In one condition, he gives participants three glasses of punch spiked with alcohol and in the other he gives participants three glasses of plain punch.After participants finish their punch, they complete the Rosenberg (1965)self-esteem scale.In this study, self-esteem is the ________ and the score on the Rosenberg questionnaire is the ________.

A) conceptual independent variable; operational independent variable
B) conceptual dependent variable; operational dependent variable
C) operational dependent variable; conceptual dependent variable
D) conceptual independent variable; operational dependent variable

Question 22

Johanna is participating in a study on social contacts and subjective well-being.Each evening around 6 p.m., Johanna is supposed to record in a journal the number of social interactions she had that day that were longer in duration than 5 minutes.The researcher is using _____ self-report in this study.

A) interval-contingent
B) event-contingent
C) signal-contingent
D) bogus pipeline

Question 23

Johanna is participating in a study on social contacts and subjective well-being.At random times during the day, she receives a text message to which she responds with information about who she was with and how happy she is feeling.The researcher is using _____ self-report in this study.

A) interval-contingent
B) event-contingent
C) signal-contingent
D) bogus pipeline

Question 24

Social psychologists tend to prefer which of the following research methods above all others?

A) Meta-analysis
B) Correlational research
C) Experimentation
D) Descriptive research

Question 25

Which of the following is not true of applied research in social psychology?

A) It was pioneered by Kurt Lewin.
B) It is more experimental than basic research.
C) It contributes to solutions of social problems.
D) It is often conducted by researchers who also conduct basic research.

Question 26

In a study concerning the cues that signal deception, Winston uses the number of times a person shifts in his or her seat as a measure of lying.Virginia points out that people may shift their position because they are nervous about being perceived as a liar, even though they are actually telling the truth.Virginia is questioning the _____ of Winston's measure of lying.

A) construct validity
B) interrater reliability
C) mundane realism
D) internal validity

Question 27

Which of the following is not mentioned in your book as a new technology used by social psychologists in obtaining observational data?

A) Polygraphs (lie detector machines)
B) Eye tracking
C) fMRI
D) Computer-based reaction time measurement

Question 28

The different research methods used by social psychologists tend to emphasize all of the following except

A) an objective approach.
B) a variable approach.
C) a systematic approach.
D) a quantifiable approach.

Question 29

Which of the following has been shown to increase the accuracy of self-reports?

A) Experimental research
B) Construct validity
C) Bogus pipeline
D) Random sampling

Question 30

Which of the following examples best reflects the use of interrater reliability?

A) In a study examining the creativity of children's paintings, several judges are asked to rate the creativity of each painting. The degree to which the judges agree in their ratings is assessed.
B) In a study examining the favorite foods of college students, a large sample of students rate several foods according to their preferences. The degree to which students' responses are correlated is assessed.
C) In a study examining toy preferences of toddlers, the children are left alone to play with several toys for an hour. During the first half-hour, one researcher observes their play. During the second half-hour, a second researcher observes their play. The researchers' observations are then compared.
D) In a study examining well-being in the elderly, respondents living in different nursing homes are asked to rate the quality of their nursing home. Researchers then obtain a copy of participants' medical records. The relationship between the quality ratings and actual health is assessed.

Question 31

Self-report measures and observational measures are similar in that both

A) can be influenced by social desirability concerns.
B) require high interrater reliability to be considered accurate.
C) are subject to biases and distortions in memory.
D) provide direct access to people's thoughts and feelings.

Question 32

Which of the following is false about construct validity?

A) It is relevant to both the dependent and independent variables in a study.
B) It can be identical for two researchers who have different operational definitions of the same conceptual variable.
C) It ensures that the study is high in internal validity.
D) It facilitates the testing of both hypotheses and theories.

Question 33

Construct validity is best defined as the extent to which

A) the independent variable caused the observed change in the dependent variable.
B) the operational definitions reflect the conceptual variables of interest.
C) the experimental procedures are involving and meaningful to the participants.
D) different constructs within the study are correlated with one another.

Question 34

Researchers have developed interval-contingent, signal-contingent, and event-contingent report methods to

A) reduce memory distortions in self-report measures.
B) amplify memory distortions in self-report measures.
C) increase the role of values in the research process.
D) observe participants' behavior unobtrusively.

Question 35

Sapna is interested in the influence of nutrition on reaction time.She assigns participants to eat a salad and fruit for dinner every day for a week or to eat fast food each day.She then brings participants into the lab and asks them to push a button on a keyboard as fast as they can every time they hear a particular sound.What are the operational definitions of the variables in Sapna's study?

A) Nutrition; whether participants eat a salad or fast food
B) Nutrition; reaction time
C) Whether participants eat salad or fast food; reaction time
D) Whether participants eat salad or fast food; how quickly they push the button when they hear the sound

Question 36

Your book describes a study in which participants were provided with information about either the success rate or failure rate of condoms.The findings of this study indicate that

A) college students tend to be naively ignorant of the risks associated with some of their behaviors.
B) the simple wording and/or positioning of a question can have a drastic effect on self-report responses.
C) participants often lie when they are asked about sensitive personal issues.
D) All of these

Question 37

To assess the extent to which students are reading their textbooks, a professor notes how creased the spine of each book is.This professor is relying on

A) a descriptive study.
B) signal-contingent self-reports.
C) event-contingent self-reports.
D) observational measures.

Question 38

In comparison to self-report measures, observational measures are not affected by

A) experimenter expectancy effects.
B) participants' social desirability concerns.
C) sampling biases.
D) participants' memory biases.

Question 39

Rhianna is participating in a study on social contacts and subjective well-being.After each social interaction that is longer than 5 minutes in duration, Rhianna logs into a site and responds to a series of questions about how she is feeling.The researcher is using _____ self-report in this study.

A) interval-based
B) event-based
C) signal-based
D) bogus pipeline

Question 40

Which of the following statements concerning self-report measures is false?

A) They allow researchers access to individuals' private thoughts and feelings.
B) They are not influenced by the phrasing of a question or the response options provided.
C) They are sometimes inaccurate because people intentionally present themselves in a socially desirable way.
D) One problem they have is that individuals may not explicitly remember the thoughts or behaviors they are asked about.

Question 41

A television producer is interested in whether women like soap operas more than sitcoms.The producer uses a random number table to select a sample of 100 households, and then makes phone calls to these households every afternoon for three weeks.Of those who were home when the producer called, 75% reported they liked soap operas more than sitcoms.Which of the following might raise questions about the results?

A) The use of archival data
B) The representativeness of the sample
C) The construct validity of the measure
D) The operational definition advanced by the magazine

Question 42

The sign on a correlation indicates the _____ of the relationship between the two variables it measures.

A) nature, or quality,
B) strength
C) power
D) direction

Question 43

In principle, the purpose of random sampling is to make sure that research participants

A) have the right to withdraw from a study without incurring any penalty.
B) are fully informed as to the procedures and hypotheses of the study.
C) do not differ from one another in systematic ways.
D) constitute a representative sample from the population of interest.

Question 44

Which of the following is an example of a negative correlation?

A) The more pets you own, the greater your physical health tends to be.
B) The more money people make, the bigger their house tends to be.
C) The more alcohol you consume, the lower your GPA tends to be.
D) The more points, the higher the score.

Question 45

What is one general difference between descriptive and correlational research methods?

A) Descriptive research does not look at relationships between variables.
B) Descriptive research is more useful when one wants to infer causation.
C) Correlational research cannot make use of archival data.
D) Correlational research imbues the researcher with more control over the research participants.

Question 46

Suppose the correlation between the number of times couples go to the movies and the number of times they go out to dinner is +0.79.Among the following conclusions, which one is not consistent with this computation?

A) The more often that couples go to the movies, the more often they go out to dinner.
B) The less often that couples go to the movies, the less often they go out to dinner.
C) There is a strong positive correlation between the number of times couples go to the movies and the number of times they go out to dinner.
D) Because the correlation coefficient is less than 1.0, the association between these two variables is very weak and probably unreliable.

Question 47

Which of the following does not make use of random sampling?

A) Public opinion polling
B) Election Day exit polling
C) Market research telemarketing surveys
D) A population census

Question 48

A study that examines existing records or databases is referred to as a

A) case study.
B) archival study.
C) anecdotal study.
D) survey.

Question 49

For which of the following questions would a researcher be most likely to use an observational study?

A) Is memory for television commercials influenced by the tune of the music included in the commercial?
B) Does taking a social psychology course cause one to be happier?
C) Does smoking marijuana lead to increased aggression?
D) Do banks tend to offer minorities lower interest rates on home mortgages than non-minorities?

Question 50

The most important aspect of sampling in a survey study is

A) its inclusion of equal numbers of individuals from different groups in the population.
B) the number of people in the sample.
C) the ratio of the sample size to the population size.
D) the extent to which the sample in this study matches the population proportionally in terms of demographic variables.

Question 51

To examine potential gender differences in the qualities individuals seek in their romantic partners, HaeJin compares the personal ads placed by men and women.HaeJin is conducting a(n)

A) survey study.
B) observational study.
C) archival study.
D) experiment.

Question 52

Which of the following correlation coefficients reflects the strongest meaningful relationship?

A) -0.67
B) 0
C) +0.86
D) +1.25

Question 53

Luke would like to know if there is a relationship between the number of psychology courses people take and their level of empathy.He surveys a randomly selected group of college students.Each student indicates the number of psychology courses he or she has taken and then completes an empathy scale.Luke's research is best described as a(n)

A) correlational study.
B) experiment.
C) prospective study.
D) archival study.

Question 54

Social psychologists use descriptive research in order to describe

A) general patterns and trends in the variables of interest.
B) cause-and-effect relationships between independent and dependent variables.
C) associations between two or more variables of interest.
D) the strength of an observed effect.

Question 55

When decreases in one variable are accompanied by decreases in another variable, the variables are described as

A) negatively correlated.
B) positively correlated.
C) causally related.
D) prospectively related.

Question 56

Which of the following statements concerning correlational research is true?

A) In correlational research, variables are measured but not manipulated.
B) In correlational research, one variable is manipulated and one is measured.
C) Correlational research can be conducted using observational, but not archival, measures.
D) Correlational research can be conducted using archival, but not observational, measures.

Question 57

Vito finds a correlation of -0.35 between procrastination behaviors and academic achievement.Which of the following is an appropriate conclusion for Vito to draw?

A) Procrastination leads students to perform more poorly.
B) Poor academic performance causes more procrastination.
C) Elimination of procrastination behaviors will lead students to perform better.
D) None of these

Question 58

Latrell, the editor of a popular sports magazine, would like to know more about the demographics of the magazine's readers.He designs a questionnaire to assess this information and sends it to a random sample of the magazine's readers.Latrell is conducting a(n)

A) survey.
B) observational study.
C) archival study.
D) experiment.

Question 59

The primary goal of using correlational research is to

A) determine the causal relationship between an independent and dependent variable.
B) describe the population's average score on a particular measure.
C) manipulate one variable but hold the other constant.
D) determine the nature and strength of the association between two measured variables.

Question 60

Carmella finds a correlation of +0.47 between self-esteem and academic achievement.Which of the following is the most appropriate interpretation of this correlation?

A) High self-esteem motivates students to achieve more academically.
B) Doing well academically increases students' self-esteem.
C) The higher students' self-esteem, the greater their academic achievement.
D) As self-esteem increases, academic achievement decreases.

Question 61

Which of the following statements concerning correlational research is false?

A) Correlational research aids researchers in the development of new hypotheses.
B) Correlational research permits researchers to determine whether one variable can predict another.
C) Correlational research is often useful for studying phenomena for which experimentation is impractical or unethical.
D) Correlational research allows researchers to measure relationships between independent and dependent variables.

Question 62

Causation cannot be inferred from correlational studies because

A) they are so low in external validity.
B) they do not involve the manipulation of variables.
C) they are always conducted outside of the research lab.
D) researchers have too much control over the variables in correlational research.

Question 63

Relative to experimental studies, the primary disadvantage of correlation studies is that

A) they are more labor-intensive.
B) cause and effect cannot be determined with them.
C) the results are more difficult to understand.
D) the choice of variables that can be studied is limited.

Question 64

Subject variables are characterized by all of the following except

A) they are neither dependent nor truly independent variables.
B) they cannot be manipulated or randomly assigned.
C) they may include gender and ethnicity of participants.
D) they are essential for field experiments.

Question 65

In comparison to field experiments, laboratory experiments

A) permit researchers greater control.
B) allow more naturalistic observation of behavior.
C) are less susceptible to experimenter expectancy effects.
D) have fewer problems caused by the limitations of self-report data.

Question 66

Among the following, which is most relevant to ensuring that any differences one obtains after the experimental manipulation of a study have been produced only by that manipulation?

A) Statistical interactions
B) External validity
C) Construct validity
D) Experimenter control

Question 67

Random assignment is essential to establishing causality because it

A) permits researchers to verify that they have a diverse and representative sample of participants.
B) reduces the possibility that individual characteristics of the participants produced the observed results.
C) increases the external validity of the experiment.
D) allows researchers to determine whether or not their operational definitions reflect the variables of interest.

Question 68

One of the many advantages of correlational research is that

A) it allows researchers to study variables that cannot be manipulated in the lab.
B) it allows the researcher to test for and determine the nature of causal relationships.
C) it exhibits high internal validity.
D) it tends to be statistically significant.

Question 69

To examine the impact of group size on conformity behavior, Stanley has groups of two, five, or ten people stand on a city street and stare up at a window.Stanley then records the number of passersby who stop and stare at the window.This study is an example of a(n)

A) meta-analysis.
B) archival study.
C) experiment with one independent variable.
D) experiment with two independent variables.

Question 70

The procedure used to ensure that research participants have an equal chance of being placed in either the experimental or control group in an experiment is called

A) random assignment.
B) random sampling.
C) debriefing.
D) experimental realism.

Question 71

Camryn uses a survey to measure the association between students' grade point average and weekly consumption of alcohol.She finds that higher GPAs tend to predict lower levels of alcohol consumption (and vice versa).This study is best described as a(n)

A) experiment.
B) observational study.
C) concurrent study.
D) correlational study.

Question 72

In an experiment, the independent variable is _______ while the dependent variable is _______.

A) held constant; varied
B) correlational; descriptive
C) manipulated; measured
D) general; specific

Question 73

In a well-designed experiment, all participants must

A) be treated in exactly the same manner except for the specific differences the experimenter wants to create.
B) not realize that they are involved in an experiment.
C) be influenced by experimenter expectancy effects.
D) be allowed to choose their own experimental conditions without interference or bias from the experimenter.

Question 74

A researcher was interested in the effects of mood on aggression.She decided to see how receiving an insult or a compliment affects aggression, and she measured aggression by having participants administer small shocks to another participant.The researcher found that participants in the insult condition were more aggressive than those in the compliment condition.One of her colleagues reads about this research and voices concern that people in the insult condition may have been more naturally aggressive than people in the compliment condition, causing the differences observed by the researcher.This concern about pre-existing differences between participants in the two conditions would only be valid if

A) participants were not a representative sample of the population.
B) participants were not randomly assigned to the condition.
C) participants were not randomly selected from the population.
D) All of these

Question 75

Which of the following is true of correlational research?

A) It is a powerful way to establish causal relationships between variables.
B) It allows an experimenter to control extraneous variables.
C) It permits researchers to determine whether one variable is predictive of another.
D) It is limited to the study of variables that can be measured in the laboratory.

Question 76

Random assignment is a defining feature of an experiment.It means that

A) participants are able to select the particular experimental manipulations they wish to experience.
B) participants were randomly selected from the population of interest.
C) whether participants are in one condition or another is determined at random.
D) participants are assigned to the experimental conditions on the basis of their pre-existing differences.

Question 77

Experiments require all of the following except

A) equal treatment of participants in different groups except for the manipulation of the independent variable.
B) control over experimental procedures.
C) manipulation of an independent variable.
D) a laboratory environment.

Question 78

Professor Collison studies the impact of violent video games on aggression.Aggression is the _____ in this research.

A) independent variable
B) dependent variable
C) interaction term
D) subject variable

Question 79

Buster runs an experiment in which she finds that participants placed in a good mood by a happy film clip are more likely to offer help to a fellow participant than participants who see a sad film clip.Gob suggests that perhaps this difference simply results from the fact that the participants in the happy film clip condition were more helpful people to begin with.What methodological aspect of a successful experiment can Buster point to in order to refute this criticism?

A) External validity
B) Random selection
C) Random assignment
D) Manipulation

Question 80

Dr.Vandelay found the correlation between shoe size and sexual deviancy to be +0.83.Which of the following can you conclude from this correlation?

A) As shoe size increases, sexual deviancy increases.
B) As shoe size increases, sexual deviancy decreases.
C) There is virtually no relationship between shoe size and sexual deviancy.
D) Engaging in sexually deviant acts causes your feet to grow.