Question 1

Define what is meant by the reliability and the validity of a test that is used to measure intelligence.

Accepted Answer

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Question 2

Describe the longitudinal research design and state which factors are confounded.What is the advantage of this design and what is the role of selective attrition?

Accepted Answer

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Question 3

A developmental researcher asks young and older adults to study a list of words.Half of the young and half of the older adults are told to use visual imagery when they study the list and the other half are given no imagery instructions.After they study the list,all participants are tested for how many words they can remember.This research has a __________.

Accepted Answer

The research has a multifactor design because it involves more than one independent variable: age group (young vs. older adults) and study method (imagery instructions vs. no imagery instructions).

Question 4

Which correlation shows the strongest association between two variables?

Accepted Answer

-.75 shows the strongest association because correlation values closer to -1 or 1 indicate a stronger relationship, regardless of the sign.

Question 5

Being able to generalize the findings obtained from a sample of research participants to the population from which this sample was drawn refers to the ___________ of a research study.

Accepted Answer

External validity refers to the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized or applied to other settings, people, times, and measures. It is about the applicability of the study's findings beyond the specific conditions of the study.

Question 6

A researcher measures the amount of time older adults spend each week engaging in mentally challenging activities and also the scores they earn on a test of intelligence.The researcher finds that the more time older adults spend engaging in mentally challenging activities,the higher their scores on the intelligence test.On the basis of this finding,which of the following conclusions would the researcher be justified in drawing?

Accepted Answer

The correct conclusion is that there is a positive relationship (correlation) between the amount of time spent engaging in mentally challenging activities and intelligence test scores, as indicated by the finding that more time spent on such activities is associated with higher scores. This does not necessarily imply causation (choices A and B), nor does it suggest a negative relationship (choice D).

Question 7

Which type of study is best for identifying cause and effect?

Accepted Answer

Experimental studies are specifically designed to determine causality by manipulating one variable to see its effect on another, allowing researchers to identify cause-and-effect relationships.

Question 8

Many traditional psychometric tests of intelligence measure abilities that children or young adults use in school.Some psychologists have argued psychometric tests are not appropriate for measuring the kinds of cognitive intellectual abilities older adults use in their everyday lives.These psychologists are worried about the _________ when these are used for older adults.

Accepted Answer

The concern is about the ecological validity of psychometric tests, which refers to how well the results of a test apply to or predict real-world performance. The psychologists are worried that traditional psychometric tests may not accurately reflect the cognitive abilities older adults use in their daily lives, questioning the tests' relevance or applicability to real-world settings for this age group.

Question 9

In which kind of research studies are participants randomly assigned to levels of an independent variable?

Accepted Answer

Experimental studies are characterized by the random assignment of participants to different levels of an independent variable, which allows for the establishment of cause-and-effect relationships.

Question 10

Dr.Perkins places rats that always lived in a deprived environment into a new "enriched" environment with an exercise wheel and toys to stimulate the rats' problem-solving capabilities.After two weeks in the enriched environment,the rats seem more alert than they were before.Dr.Perkins decides to try the same thing with a new sample of rats,which also seem more alert after spending two weeks in the new environment.This means that Dr.Perkins replicated his findings on the second sample of rats.However,when Dr.Perkins wants to know whether the rats became more alert because of the exercise wheel or because of the toys,he is concerned with the issue of _____________.

Accepted Answer

Dr. Perkins is concerned with internal validity, which refers to the extent to which a causal conclusion based on a study is warranted, which is compromised by confounding variables or other sources of error. In this case, determining whether the increased alertness in rats is due to the exercise wheel or the toys directly relates to the study's internal validity.

Question 11

Describe the cross-sectional research design.Which factors are confounded in this design and why is this design the most commonly used in developmental research?

Accepted Answer

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Question 12

What does the lifespan developmental perspective propose about gains and losses over the life span?

Accepted Answer

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Question 13

As far as the ethics of conducting research,which guideline(s) is (are) important?

Accepted Answer

All of the choices listed are important ethical guidelines for conducting research. Obtaining informed consent ensures participants are aware of and agree to the study's procedures and risks. Safeguarding privacy protects participants' personal information. Ensuring benefits outweigh discomforts respects participants' well-being and the value of the research.

Question 14

The best way to compare a sample of young and older adults on how they perform on a memory test is to test a group of young adult undergraduates and a group of older adult nursing home residents.

Accepted Answer

This comparison introduces confounding variables such as health status and living environment, which may not accurately reflect age-related differences in memory performance.

Question 15

A group of young adults and a group of older adults are instructed to study a list of words and then are given a memory test.The researcher conducting the study finds that,on average,the memory test scores of the older group are lower than the memory test scores of the young group.This study is an example of a _________.

Accepted Answer

This study is an example of a quasi-experimental approach because it compares two groups (young adults and older adults) that are not randomly assigned, focusing on the effect of an inherent characteristic (age) on memory test scores.

Question 16

Compare the viewpoint of a behavioral scientist who approaches the study of behavior with mechanistic metamodel and the viewpoint of a scientist who approaches the study of behavior with an organismic metamodel.

Accepted Answer

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Question 17

What are the three factors that must be considered when researchers conduct developmental studies?

Accepted Answer

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Question 18

Professor Sanchez conducts a memory study in which young and older adults are randomly assigned to one of two different levels (or conditions) of an instruction variable.Those assigned to one instruction condition are just told to study a list of words,which they will later be asked to recall.Those assigned to the other instruction condition are told to use visual imagery when they study a list of words which they will later be asked to recall.Professor Sanchez finds that,on average,the young and older adults given visual imagery instructions recall more words than do the young and older adults just told to study the words.In this study,what is the independent variable?

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the factor that is manipulated by the researcher to observe its effect on the dependent variable. In this study, the instruction condition (just studying the words vs. using visual imagery) is manipulated to see its effect on memory recall, making it the independent variable.

Question 19

The _______ of a study refers to whether there can be accurate identification and interpretation of the factor(s) responsible for an observation.

Accepted Answer

Internal validity refers to the extent to which a study can accurately identify and interpret the factors responsible for an observation, ensuring that the observed effects are due to the manipulated variables and not to other external factors.

Question 20

_______ refers to whether a measure used to assess an underlying characteristic (for example,depression) has the same degree of internal validity for different age groups.

Accepted Answer

Heterotypic continuity refers to the degree to which a measure used to assess an underlying characteristic has the same degree of internal validity for different age groups.

Quiz 2: Theory and Method in Studying Aging and Older Adulthood