Question 1

Six different students spent $10, $13, $2, $12, $13, and $4, respectively, on entertainment. The mode of this group's entertainment expenditures is

Accepted Answer

The mode is the value that appears most frequently, which in this case is $13.

Question 2

The dependent variable in an experiment is the factor

Accepted Answer

The answer of The dependent variable in an experiment is...

Question 3

The percentage of students whose average grades fall into various performance levels could be represented by a

Accepted Answer

A bar graph would be the best choice as it allows for a clear visual representation of the percentage of students falling into different performance levels. It also allows for easy comparison of the performance levels. Standard deviation, scatterplot, and correlation coefficient are not appropriate for this type of data.

Question 4

The healing power of positive expectations is best illustrated by

Accepted Answer

The placebo effect is the phenomenon where people experience improvement in their health or symptoms simply because they have positive expectations about a medication or treatment, even if the medication or treatment itself has no real therapeutic effect. This illustrates the healing power of positive expectations.

Question 5

Measures of central tendency are most useful for

Accepted Answer

Measures of central tendency, such as mean, median, and mode, are used to summarize data and give a general idea of where the data is centered. They are often used in descriptive statistics to provide a simple summary of a dataset. Random sampling and random assignment are methods used in research design, while constructing scatterplots is used in data visualization and analysis.

Question 6

Research participants drank either caffeinated or decaffeinated beverages in a study of the effects of caffeine on anxiety levels. Those who received the caffeinated drinks were assigned to the ________ group.

Accepted Answer

Participants who received the caffeinated drinks were given a treatment (caffeine), making them part of the experimental group. The control group would have received a placebo or no treatment to compare the effects of caffeine. The other options (survey and correlational) are not relevant to the design of this study.

Question 7

Distinguishing between an experimental group and a control group is most relevant to specifying the nature of

Accepted Answer

Distinguishing between an experimental group and a control group is most relevant to specifying the nature of independent variables. In an experiment, the independent variable is manipulated and its effects are measured on the dependent variable. The experimental group is the group that receives the independent variable while the control group does not receive it. This allows researchers to compare the effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable while controlling for other factors that may influence the results. Random sampling and standard deviation are not directly related to experimental or control groups, while confounding variables are controlled for by the use of control groups.

Question 8

To provide a baseline against which they can evaluate the effects of a specific treatment, experimenters make use of a(n)

Accepted Answer

A control group is a group that is not given the treatment being studied, but is used for comparison to the experimental group. It allows experimenters to see if any changes in the experimental group can be attributed to the treatment, and not to other factors. Using a control group helps establish a baseline against which the effects of the treatment can be evaluated.

Question 9

In an experimental study of the extent to which sexual arousal is stimulated by laughter, sexual arousal would be the

Accepted Answer

Sexual arousal is the dependent variable in this study, as it is what the researchers are observing as a result of the independent variable (in this case, laughter).

Question 10

The mode, median, and mean are measures of

Accepted Answer

The mode, median, and mean are all measures of central tendency, which describe the typical or central value in a set of data. The mode is the most frequently occurring value, the median is the middle value in a sorted list of data, and the mean is the average of all values.

Question 11

The mode of a distribution of scores is the

Accepted Answer

The mode is the most frequently occurring score in a distribution. It is not related to the arithmetic average or the range of the scores. It also does not indicate the percentage of scores exceeding a certain point.

Question 12

Conducting a case study best illustrates

Accepted Answer

Conducting a case study is an example of the descriptive method, as it involves in-depth analysis and description of a single individual, group, event, or phenomenon. This method is useful when researchers want to gain a more detailed understanding of a particular situation or behavior. Random sampling, the correlational method, and the double-blind procedure are all different research methods that are used to investigate different types of research questions.

Question 13

In a test of the effects of cigarette smoking on physical health and development, groups of monkeys were raised in either a smoke-free or smoke-infested environment. Monkeys in the smoke-infested environment were assigned to the _______ group.

Accepted Answer

The group of monkeys in the smoke-infested environment is clearly a part of an experimental group, as they are being exposed to the manipulated variable (cigarette smoke) in order to test its effects on physical health and development. The other choices (correlational, survey, and control) do not accurately describe this situation.

Question 14

In a psychological experiment, researchers are interested in studying the potential effects of the ________ variable.

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the variable that the researcher manipulates or controls in an experiment in order to see its effect on the dependent variable. Therefore, researchers would be interested in studying the potential effects of the independent variable. The dependent variable is the variable that is being measured or observed and is expected to be influenced by the independent variable. Confounding variables are variables that are not controlled for in an experiment and could affect the results, while random variables are variables that occur randomly and cannot be controlled or manipulated by the researcher.

Question 15

To study some effects of alcohol consumption, Dr. Chu tested the physical coordination skills of 21-year-old men who had just drunk either 4, 2, or 0 ounces of alcohol. In this study, the independent variable consisted of

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the characteristic that the researcher manipulates, in this case, the amount of alcohol consumed (0, 2, or 4 ounces). The other options listed are either dependent variables or extraneous variables.

Question 16

Abdul has volunteered to participate in an experiment evaluating the effectiveness of aspirin. Neither he nor the experimenters know whether the pills he takes during the experiment contain aspirin or are merely placebos. The investigators are apparently making use of

Accepted Answer

The double-blind procedure is being used because neither Abdul nor the experimenters know whether the pills he takes contain aspirin or are merely placebos, which helps to eliminate experimenter bias and increase the validity of the results.

Question 17

The arithmetic average of a distribution of scores is the

Accepted Answer

The arithmetic average of a distribution of scores is also known as the mean. It is calculated by adding up all of the scores and then dividing by the total number of scores. Therefore, the correct choice is D - mean. The mode is the most frequently occurring score, the median is the middle score when the scores are arranged in numerical order, and the standard deviation measures the amount of variation in the distribution of scores.

Question 18

To assess the effectiveness of flu vaccine for county residents, Mr. Carlson wants to administer vaccine injections to all county residents rather than give half of them a placebo injection. Mr. Carlson is most clearly underestimating the importance of

Accepted Answer

By not creating a control group, Mr. Carlson will not be able to compare the effectiveness of the flu vaccine to a group that did not receive the vaccine or received a placebo. This comparison is essential for determining the true effectiveness of the vaccine. Testing a large sample (A), operationally defining procedures (B), and replicating observations (C) are also important, but they are not as directly related to the issue of underestimating the importance of a control group.

Question 19

Which procedure is most likely to be used to control for possible confounding variables?

Accepted Answer

Random assignment is the procedure most likely to be used to control for possible confounding variables. This method involves randomly assigning participants into different groups, ensuring that any differences between the groups cannot be attributed to pre-existing differences in the individuals themselves. This helps to reduce the impact of any confounding variables that may be present in the study. Statistical significance and standard deviation are methods used to analyze data, while the double-blind procedure is a method used to control for experimenter bias.

Question 20

In an experiment designed to study the effectiveness of a new drug for treating diabetes, research participants who receive a placebo have been assigned to the ________ group.

Accepted Answer

The control group is the group that does not receive the treatment being studied, but rather receives a placebo or no treatment. This allows researchers to compare the effects of the treatment to the effects of not receiving the treatment. Therefore, in this experiment, the participants who receive the placebo are assigned to the control group.

Quiz 3: A: Research Strategies