Deck 3: The Study of Adult Development and Aging: Research Methods

Question 1

Selective attrition typically involves the people initially most ______________ dropping out of a longitudinal study earliest.

A) motivated
B) infirmed
C) active
D) capable

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which research method was used in the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) study on aging and sexuality in which older adults reported on their sexual experiences?

A) Focus groups.
B) Interviews.
C) Case studies.
D) Daily diaries.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Because age cannot be an independent variable, research on aging uses a______________ type of design.

A) true experimental
B) bidirectional
C) quasi-experimental
D) semi-structured

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The gradual loss of cognitive abilities as individuals get closer to death is referred to in research terms as:

A) terminal drop.
B) unreliability.
C) mortality control.
D) correlational fallout.

Question 5

When the unhealthy members of a sample die out, the scores of the survivors seem to "rise" even though they may not change in reality. This research problem in studies on aging is referred to as:

A) sequential growth.
B) time of testing.
C) selective attrition.
D) qualitative analysis.

Question 6

The fact that the "Greatest Generation" was raised in the 1930s, leading them to share certain sociocultural influences, is an example of which factor affecting developmental research results?

A) time of measurement
B) aging
C) cohort
D) mediation

Question 7

Researchers studying the effects of videogame training on the cognitive abilities of older adults expose separate groups of male and female participants to a training condition and two other groups to a no-training condition in performance on a cognitive test. They then conduct a similar comparison involving male and female younger adults. In this study, the only true independent variable is:

A) videogame training
B) age group
C) cognitive performance
D) gender

Question 8

A researcher conducting a cross-

A) Limit the young adult group to college students to minimize bias.
B) Examine the older adults in a computer lab to control test conditions.
C) Pay the college students but not the older adults for participating.
D) Include a middle-aged group to reduce the age span being compared.

Question 9

Researchers conducting cross-

A) They do not have to worry about practice effects.
B) The data are not affected by selective survival.
C) They have eliminated all possible cohort effects.
D) They can give different measures to different age groups.

Question 10

A British documentary film maker followed a group of children every 7 years starting when they were 7 years old and continuing to track them down through age 56. This film comes closest to which type of developmental research design?

A) Cross-sectional
B) Longitudinal
C) Cross-sequential
D) Time-sequential

Question 11

In a prospective study of development, researchers use which type of approach?

A) Compare people at one time who did and did not experience a major life transition.
B) Track participants before and after they experience a major life transition.
C) Ask participants to recall what they were like when they were younger.
D) Interview close friends and relatives of participants over several time points.

Question 12

In a cross-

A) terminal drop.
B) practice effects.
C) cohort differences.
D) lack of confidentiality.

Question 13

Online headlines from a major new study report that sexual interest diminishes as people get older. However, as you read the article in more detail, you realize that the study only compared people of different ages. Therefore, this study was _____________ and could not permit conclusions about age changes.

A) cross-sectional
B) prospective
C) cross-sequential
D) observational

Question 14

Classifying groups of people studied in developmental research based on when they were born involves distinctions based on which type of categorization?

A) cohort
B) age
C) sectional
D) time of measurement

Question 15

The social, historical, and cultural influences that affect people during a particular period of time refer to _______ effects.

A) Age
B) Cohort
C) Time-of-measurement
D) Normative

Question 16

Age cannot be used as an independent variable in developmental research because:

A) People usually lie about their birthdate.
B) There are no statistics to analyze age-based data.
C) It cannot be manipulated by the experimenter.
D) There are no good theories about aging.

Question 17

Developmental researchers who study time of measurement effects on psychological functioning are most interested in finding out:

A) how people born at different years compare.
B) the effect of aging on performance.
C) how current social conditions affect scores.
D) whether the least able drop out first.

Question 18

A psychologist is conducting a study on the effect of intergenerational contact on happiness ratings, focusing on how such contact can be beneficial to older adults. In one condition, she pairs an older adult with a young child and in the other she pairs two older adults with each other. Both sets of pairs meet for 30 minutes at a time. In this study, the dependent variable is the:

A) pairings of young with old vs. old with old.
B) happiness ratings of the older adults.
C) length of time spent in contact.
D) number of words each pair exchanges while they meet.

Question 19

A researcher studying retirement is concerned that most of the available data come from people who are already retired, instead of following people up through the transition. The best approach to counter this problem would involve which type of research design?

A) cross-sectional
B) prospective
C) sequential
D) archival

Question 20

Although always a problem in research on aging, the issue of selective attrition most clearly affects what type of study?

A) Longitudinal
B) Sequential
C) Laboratory
D) Observational

Question 21

In the National Social Life, Health and Aging Study, researchers collected data on the sex lives of adults 57 to 85 years of aging by using which type of methodology?

A) Focus group
B) Laboratory
C) Observational
D) Interview

Question 22

An archival study examining a woman's age of first marriage and her probability of divorce would involve what type of procedure?

A) Interviewing women of different ages to find out how they feel about marriage.
B) Gathering divorced women into small groups and asking them about their experiences.
C) Examining day-to-day variations in the happiness ratings that married women provide.
D) Looking at divorce statistics in a given population and comparing age groups of women.

Question 23

Researchers who want to test causal hypotheses about a set of relationships involving age and other variables are likely to use which specific type of design?

A) Cross-sequential.
B) Structural equation model.
C) Quasi-experimental.
D) Correlational.

Question 24

In epidemiological studies, researchers obtain prevalence statistics when they want to investigate the percent of people who:

A) ever had a given disease.
B) first show symptoms of a disease.
C) had a disease and are now recovered.
D) were at risk but didn't get the disease.

Question 25

The cross-sequential design is designed to allow researchers to determine whether cohort and ___________ influence the patterns of results in developmental studies.

A) time of measurement
B) age
C) education
D) nationality

Question 26

Researchers attempting to predict whether or not a person will develop a disease from a set of risk factors are most likely to use the statistical method called:

A) structural equation modeling.
B) logistic regression.
C) mediational analysis.
D) latent variable measurement.

Question 27

In multivariate correlational studies testing _________, researcher compare the correlation between two variables with and without the effect of a third.

A) moderation
B) association
C) description
D) mediation

Question 28

In the cohort-sequential design, researchers manipulate cohort and:

A) time of measurement
B) gender
C) age
D) date of birth

Question 29

In multivariate study, researchers are attempting to understand the joint contributions of age and gender to the outcome of scores on a measure of depression. Because age does not predict gender nor does gender predict age, both variables have the status of being:

A) structures
B) moderators
C) latent
D) mediators

Question 30

Although only experimental studies can ultimately test causality, many researchers in the field of aging use multivariate techniques, such as ____________, because they allow for testing inferences about causality.

A) archival methods
B) path analyses
C) cross-sectional studies
D) case reports

Question 31

In a study examining the factors that influence whether drivers of different ages are likely to speed through an inter

A) survey
B) observational
C) sequential
D) qualitative

Question 32

The _____________ refers to the approach that combines the three sequential designs.

A) Most Efficient Design
B) Three Factor Method
C) Cohort Sequential Design
D) Quasi Statistical Model

Question 33

A researcher finds that after completing all three analyses in the Most Efficient Design, the 50-year-olds differ from the 60-year-olds in two of the three analyses. To conclude that age was a factor in producing these results, which design would need to show no significant effects?

A) Time-sequential
B) Cohort-sequential
C) Age-sequential
D) Cross-sequential

Question 34

A method in which researchers gather data from multiple sources for an in-depth analysis of particular individuals is called a(n) _______ study:

A) prevalence
B) incidence
C) survey
D) case

Question 35

The qualitative method would be most appropriate for research investigating topic in the psychology of aging?

A) The effects of aging on memory.
B) Age differences in daily experiences.
C) The prevalence by age of psychiatric disorders.
D) How older adults feel about grandchildren.

Question 36

For a researcher in a given field to find that both the time-sequential and the cohort-sequential designs produce significant age effects, then it is possible that the results reflect true ________ aging:

A) historical
B) social
C) personal
D) cultural

Question 37

The Most Efficient Design would most likely be employed when researchers wish to compare the effects of:

A) gender vs. age
B) education vs. cohort
C) age vs. cohort
D) months vs. years

Question 38

The most appropriate method of analysis for data obtained from focus groups, such as older adults discussing their views about healthcare, would be:

A) qualitative.
B) correlational.
C) structural.
D) epidemiological

Question 39

In a large-scale study investigating the relationship between intelligence and lifestyle, researchers administer a set of 10 intelligence tests which they then convert into one underlying factor. They relate this underlying factor, in turn, to various lifestyle variables such as exercise, diet, and leisure activity participation. The converted intelligence factor is known, in structural equation modeling terms, as a(n):

A) latent variable.
B) moderator.
C) multiple factor.
D) outcome variable.

Question 40

In ____________ studies of aging, researchers collect data from more than one cohort at more than one time period.

A) sequential
B) longitudinal
C) sectional
D) prospective

Question 41

The role of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) in the research process involves which procedures?

A) Ensuring that all participants provide information that is anonymous.
B) Funding researchers who work at that institution to conduct their work.
C) Requiring that researchers protect the rights of their participants.
D) Ensuring that investigations carried out at that institution are published.

Question 42

What is the purpose of sequential research?

Question 43

The ethical principle of debriefing requires that a researcher who uses deception in an experiment is obligated to:

A) continue to maintain the deception so that participants don't leak the findings.
B) intervene by counseling directly any participants who seem to show distress.
C) ensure that participants don't leave the experiment until they have completed it.
D) provide a complete description of the study's purposes and answer any questions.

Question 44

The ethical principle of ____________ cannot be maintained in longitudinal study, where researchers must keep track of the names of their participants.

A) anonymity
B) confidentiality
C) informed consent
D) portability

Question 45

Ethical guidelines require that researchers obtain ________________ in which they provide information about a study's risks and benefits to each participant and then obtain their signature indicating they understand it:

A) assisted feedback
B) confidential disclosure
C) informed consent
D) known agreement

Question 46

A researcher obtains information about one of her older participants in a study that suggests the participant may have difficulty driving. According to the ethical principle of ______________, however, she cannot report this to the participant's family.

A) confidentiality
B) professionalism
C) informed consent
D) freedom of information

Question 47

Define age, cohort, and time of measurement. What is each variable intended to represent?

Question 48

List and define two multivariate correlational approaches. How are these used to overcome the problem that
"correlation does not equal causality"?

Question 49

To evaluate the relationship between gender and psychological well-being, a researcher examines a set of 45 studies that all include similar types of measures. The researcher then is able to provide a measure of "effect size" to indicate the strength of the relationship. This type of approach is called a(n):

A) meta-analysis
B) archival study
C) focused analysis
D) descriptive study

Question 50

Tests that produce consistent results are said to be psychometrically:

A) valid
B) reliable
C) predictive
D) replicable

Question 51

A personnel manager develops a test to determine whether he will be able to predict how well employees will be able to keep up with the technological advances in their field from questions that measure their ability to learn new information. This test is intended, then, to meet the psychometric quality known as:

A) criterion validity.
B) test-retest reliability.
C) convergent validity.
D) internal reliability.

Question 52

Why are age, cohort, and time of measurement dependent on each other? Why is this a problem in research on adult development and aging?

Question 53

What is the reason that researchers do not allow cause-and-effect conclusions to be drawn from correlational
studies?

Question 54

Define a longitudinal and a cross-

Question 55

What are the three sequential designs in the Most Efficient Design?

Question 56

Which type of epidemiological study do researchers use when they want to estimate the percent of people who first show symptoms of a disease?

A) Prevalence
B) Multivariate
C) Incidence
D) Descriptive

Question 57

What solutions have researchers developed to overcome the problems of descriptive research designs?

Question 58

Compare an experimental with a quasi-experimental design. Which type of design is used in studies on aging?

Question 59

A test that measures what it is supposed to measure and does not relate to something else stands up to the psychometric criterion known as ____________ validity.

A) discriminant
B) criterion
C) convergent
D) differential

Question 60

Tests that are intended to measure personality need to meet psychometric criteria showing that they actually do relate to personality. These criteria refer to a test's:

A) reliability
B) equivalence
C) validity
D) consistency

Question 61

Describe how you would apply the sequential designs to a study you develop. Analyze how the pattern of
results you obtain would indicate the effects of age, cohort, and time of measurement.

Question 62

Describe why it is important for researchers to establish the reliability and validity of measures for each age
group in a cross-

Question 63

Provide examples of each of the following methods:
1) Case study
2) Observational study
3) Focus group

Question 64

Analyze the issue of psychometrics (reliability and validity) in research on aging. Why is it important for
researchers to ascertain that measures are equally applicable to each age group in a study? Do the same
considerations apply in longitudinal research designs?

Question 65

Design a study on a topic of interest to you using longitudinal and cross-

Question 66

You are hired to be a consultant in a nursing home to study socialization patterns of residents. Which research
method would give you the most useful data? Why?

Question 67

What are the four components of ethical standards in research?

Question 68

List the four forms of validity and provide an example of how each would be measured.

Question 69

Why were ethical standards developed and why are they important?

Question 70

Discuss the problems involved in simple correlational designs and explain the advantages to using multivariate
designs instead. Think of a research example to illustrate these points.

Question 71

What are the two forms of reliability? Why are each important?

Question 72

Describe how you would go about ensuring the rights of participants in a study on memory and aging. How
would you address the construct of "capacity"? Why is it important to consider in research with older adults?
Design a consent form, a debriefing form, and a set of guidelines to use that will ensure protection of the
confidentiality of data.