Question 1

A scientist, conducting a research study on sleep and learning, questions her own objectivity and decides to let a third person, not associated with conducting the experiment, score the tests. The scientist is probably trying to eliminate __________.
a. experimenter bias
b. sample bias
c. control bias
d. treatment bias

Accepted Answer

The answer of A scientist, conducting a research study on...

Question 2

A researcher is able to conduct an experiment on study habits in his laboratory and he finds some exciting results. What is one possible shortcoming of using this method?
A) Results from laboratory experiments do not always generalize to real-world situations.
B) Experiments do not provide evidence about cause-and-effect relationships.
C) It is not possible to conduct experiments on issues such as study habits.
D) Laboratory experiments do not control for confounding variables.

Accepted Answer

While laboratory experiments can provide useful data, the findings may not always apply to real-world situations. This limits the generalizability of the results.

Question 3

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee that determines:
A) whether a hypothesis is valid.
B) whether the benefits of a proposed study outweigh its potential risks.
C) whether a study should be published in a scientific journal.
D) whether animal research is overall an ethical practice.

Accepted Answer

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) specifically evaluates research proposals to determine whether the potential benefits of the study outweigh the potential risks to participants. They are not responsible for determining the validity of a hypothesis, deciding whether a study should be published in a journal, or evaluating the ethical practices of animal research.

Question 4

What does it mean to say that two variables are negatively correlated?
A) An increase in one variable is associated with a decrease in the other.
B) An increase in one variable is associated with an increase in the other.
C) A decrease in one variable is associated with a decrease in the other.
D) The two variables have no relationship.

Accepted Answer

When two variables are negatively correlated, an increase in one variable is associated with a decrease in the other. In other words, as one variable goes up, the other variable goes down.

Question 5

Which of the following is not a requirement for informed consent?
A) Participants need to know the nature of the stimuli to which they will be exposed.
B) Participants need to understand any potential physical, psychological, or social risks involved in the research.
C) Participants need to have a face-to-face meeting with the researcher before volunteering.
D) Participants need to know the approximate duration of the study.

Accepted Answer

While it is important for researchers to communicate with potential participants and answer any questions they may have, a face-to-face meeting is not always necessary or feasible, especially in larger studies. Informed consent can also be obtained through written materials or online modules, as long as the information is clear and accessible.

Question 6

In a memory study, researchers have participants study a list of words, and then tell them it was the wrong list and that they should forget it. This deception is meant to see how effectively participants can forget something they have already studied. If the researchers plan to debrief the participants afterward, would this design meet the standards of an ethical study?
A) No, it is not okay to mislead individuals during the course of a study.
B) Yes, given that the participants are not at risk and that they will be debriefed, this seems to be an ethical study.
C) No, because the researchers should not debrief the participants-it will simply cause them to become angry.
D) Yes, because participants fully understood all aspects of the study.

Accepted Answer

The study is ethical because the participants are not at any risk and they will be debriefed afterward. Deception is sometimes necessary in research, but it must be minimized and disclosed afterwards. Since researchers intend to debrief participants, this study design meets ethical standards.

Question 7

Expectations by the experimenter that might influence the results of an experiment or their interpretation are called __________.
a. experimental blinds
b. experimenter bias
c. sample bias
d. treatment bias

Accepted Answer

The answer of Expectations by the experimenter that might influence...

Question 8

A hypothesis test is conducted after an experiment to:
A) determine whether the two groups in the study are exactly the same.
B) determine how well the two groups are correlated.
C) see if the groups are significantly different, as opposed to being different due to chance.
D) summarize the distribution using a single score.

Accepted Answer

A hypothesis test is used to determine if the difference in results between two groups is significant or if it could have occurred by chance. Therefore, choice C is the correct answer. The other options are not the purpose of a hypothesis test.

Question 9

A researcher sets up an experiment to test a new antidepressant medication. One group receives the treatment, and the other receives a placebo. The researcher then measures depression using a standardized self-report measure. What is the independent variable in this case?
A) Whether the individuals scored high or low on the depression measure
B) Whether the individuals received the treatment or a placebo
C) Whether the individuals were experiencing depression before the study began
D) Whether the individuals, depression decreased or increased during the study period

Accepted Answer

The independent variable in this experiment is whether the individuals received the treatment (antidepressant medication) or a placebo. This is because it is the variable that is being manipulated by the researcher to see how it affects the dependent variable (depression scores). The other options listed are not independent variables, but rather they are either extraneous variables or the dependent variable.

Question 10

The process of setting up two or more groups in an experiment is called _____.
A) correlation
B) observation
C) random assignment
D) selection

Accepted Answer

Random assignment is the process of setting up two or more groups in an experiment. Correlation refers to the relationship between two variables, observation is simply watching and recording data, and selection is not a process commonly used in experimental design.

Question 11

A psychologist, studying pilot trainees, picks a select group of trainees who is hopefully representative of all other trainees. The group of trainees being studied by this psychologist is collectively known to researchers as a __________.
a. sample
b. population
c. target group
d. control group

Accepted Answer

The answer of A psychologist, studying pilot trainees, picks a...

Question 12

Imagine an experiment where the mean of the experimental group is 50 and the mean of the control group is 40. Given that the two means are obviously different, is it still possible for a researcher to say that the two groups are not significantly different?
A) Yes, the two groups could overlap so much that the difference was not significant.
B) Yes, if the difference was not predicted by the hypothesis.
C) No, because the two groups are clearly far too different for the difference to not be significant.
D) There is not enough information to answer this question.

Accepted Answer

Even though the means of the two groups are different, there could be so much variability within each group that the difference between the two means is not statistically significant. This highlights the importance of calculating a measure of variability, such as standard deviation, and conducting a statistical test to determine whether the difference is significant or occurred by chance.

Question 13

You overheard someone claiming that 12-step programs are the only way to really quit abusing alcohol "Because my brother is a doctor and so he should know." Regardless of the accuracy of the claim, this and other appeals to authority do not qualify as good evidence because:
A) they always lack common sense.
B) authority figures are likely to distort the truth.
C) authority does not mean that the claim is based on sound, scientific evidence.
D) authority is typically based on anecdotal evidence.

Accepted Answer

Appeals to authority rely on the credibility of someone without considering whether their claim is backed up by scientific evidence. Just because someone is an authority figure or has a certain profession, it does not mean that their claim is automatically true or based on reliable evidence. Additionally, even experts can have biases or be mistaken in their beliefs. Therefore, authority alone is not enough to qualify as good evidence.

Question 14

When psychologists observe behavior and record data in the environment where it normally occurs, they are using _____.
A) case studies
B) naturalistic observation
C) the supervisory method
D) artificial observation

Accepted Answer

Naturalistic observation involves observing and recording behavior in the natural environment where it occurs. This method allows for the study of behavior as it would naturally happen without any intervention or manipulation by the researcher. This can provide more valid and reliable data compared to artificial observation in a controlled environment. Case studies involve studying specific individuals in-depth, and the supervisory method is not a commonly used research method.

Question 15

Researchers should store their data after they present or publish it because:
A) Other researchers may want to examine the data before conducting a replication study.
B) Other researchers may want to reinterpret the data using different techniques.
C) The process of informed consent requires it.
D) Both a and b are true.

Accepted Answer

Both options A and B are valid reasons for researchers to store their data after they present or publish it. By making the data available, other researchers can examine and verify the results obtained by the original study, and by reinterpreting the data with different methods, they may shed further light on the phenomenon under investigation. The process of informed consent does not specifically require researchers to store their data after publication, but it does require them to obtain consent from participants before collecting data, and to inform them about the ways in which the data will be treated and shared.

Question 16

A histogram is created that presents data on the number of mistakes participants in a research study made on a memory test. The vertical axis indicates:
A) the frequency of errors made.
B) the total number of participants.
C) the gender of the participants.
D) the mean number of errors made.

Accepted Answer

The vertical axis on a histogram represents the frequency or count of observations falling within each bin or interval. In this case, the histogram is displaying the number of mistakes made on a memory test, so the vertical axis would show the frequency of errors made.

Question 17

After completing a naturalistic observation study, a researcher does not quite have enough evidence to support her hypothesis. If she decides to go back to her records and slightly alter a few of the observations to fit her hypothesis, she is engaged in _____.
A) scientific forgery
B) scientific misconduct
C) correcting the data
D) ethical behavior

Accepted Answer

The researcher is engaging in scientific misconduct by altering the observations to fit her hypothesis. This behavior is unethical and can undermine the validity and reliability of the study's results. Scientific forgery would involve intentionally fabricating data instead of altering existing data. Correcting the data would involve making legitimate changes based on errors or mistakes that were made during the observation process. Ethical behavior would involve conducting the study with integrity and reporting the findings accurately, even if they do not support the hypothesis.

Question 18

In a survey of recent graduates, your college reports that the mean salaries of the former students are positively skewed. What are the consequences of choosing the mean rather than the median or the mode in this case?
A) The mean is likely to provide a number that is lower than the largest cluster of scores.
B) The mean is likely to provide a reliable estimate of where the scores cluster.
C) The mean is likely to provide a number that is higher than the largest cluster of scores.
D) The mean provides the 50th percentile of the distribution, making it the best choice to depict this cluster of scores.

Accepted Answer

When a distribution is positively skewed, the mean is typically higher than the median and the mode, reflecting the influence of high outliers on the calculation. Therefore, the mean salary would likely be higher than the largest cluster of salaries, which are better represented by the median or mode.

Question 19

A large group of people whom you want to know about is called a __________.
a. control group
b. treatment group
c. population
d. sample

Accepted Answer

The answer of A large group of people whom you...

Question 20

The _____ always marks the 50th percentile of the distribution.
A) mean
B) median
C) mode
D) standard deviation

Accepted Answer

The median marks the 50th percentile, as it is the value that separates the top 50% and the bottom 50% of the distribution.

Quiz 2: Reading and Evaluating Scientific Research

A researcher is able to conduct an experiment on study habits in his laboratory and he finds some exciting results. What is one possible shortcoming of using this method?

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a committee that determines:

What does it mean to say that two variables are negatively correlated?

Which of the following is not a requirement for informed consent?

Expectations by the experimenter that might influence the results of an experiment or their interpretation are called __________. a. experimental blinds b. experimenter bias c. sample bias d. treatment bias

A hypothesis test is conducted after an experiment to:

A researcher sets up an experiment to test a new antidepressant medication. One group receives the treatment, and the other receives a placebo. The researcher then measures depression using a standardized self-report measure. What is the independent variable in this case?

The process of setting up two or more groups in an experiment is called _____.

A psychologist, studying pilot trainees, picks a select group of trainees who is hopefully representative of all other trainees. The group of trainees being studied by this psychologist is collectively known to researchers as a __________. a. sample b. population c. target group d. control group

Imagine an experiment where the mean of the experimental group is 50 and the mean of the control group is 40. Given that the two means are obviously different, is it still possible for a researcher to say that the two groups are not significantly different?

You overheard someone claiming that 12-step programs are the only way to really quit abusing alcohol "Because my brother is a doctor and so he should know." Regardless of the accuracy of the claim, this and other appeals to authority do not qualify as good evidence because:

When psychologists observe behavior and record data in the environment where it normally occurs, they are using _____.

Researchers should store their data after they present or publish it because:

A histogram is created that presents data on the number of mistakes participants in a research study made on a memory test. The vertical axis indicates:

After completing a naturalistic observation study, a researcher does not quite have enough evidence to support her hypothesis. If she decides to go back to her records and slightly alter a few of the observations to fit her hypothesis, she is engaged in _____.

In a survey of recent graduates, your college reports that the mean salaries of the former students are positively skewed. What are the consequences of choosing the mean rather than the median or the mode in this case?

A large group of people whom you want to know about is called a __________. a. control group b. treatment group c. population d. sample

The _____ always marks the 50th percentile of the distribution.