Question 1

At the core of ethical standards for human research is the idea that participation should involve

Accepted Answer

The answer of At the core of ethical standards for...

Question 2

Noreen is a graduate student in psychology. She is designing a study regarding health care decision making among teenagers. Which of the following research participants can legally provide his or her own informed consent?

Accepted Answer

In most states, individuals who are 18 years old and above are considered adults and are able to provide their own informed consent. Therefore, the 18-year-old male with HIV/AIDS would be able to legally provide his own informed consent. The other participants may require additional legal and ethical considerations, as they may not have the capacity to make decisions or may be minors.

Question 3

Permission obtained from a research participant after the risks and benefits of an experimental procedure have been thoroughly explained is called

Accepted Answer

Informed consent is the process by which a research participant voluntarily agrees to participate in a research study after being informed of the potential risks and benefits associated with the study. It is an essential ethical consideration in research and is designed to protect the rights and welfare of research participants. The other answer choices are not applicable in this context.

Question 4

Dr. Harmon has conducted a study of social networks and health within an isolated community. Which of the following would breach a research participant's right to confidentiality?

Accepted Answer

Storing the completed surveys and the key linking names and code numbers on Dr. Harmon's laptop, to which he and his wife have the password, breaches the research participant's right to confidentiality because it allows for potential unauthorized access to the personal information of the participants. The other answer choices demonstrate appropriate measures taken to maintain confidentiality.

Question 5

Analysis of SAT test data shows that the differences on the mathematics portion of the SAT test between male and female test-takers are

Accepted Answer

The term "statistically significant" indicates that the differences observed between male and female test-takers on the mathematics portion of the SAT test are unlikely to have occurred by chance. This suggests that there may be systematic differences between male and female students' mathematical abilities or experiences that influence their performance on the SAT math section. However, this does not necessarily mean that these differences are consistent with performance in college mathematics courses or that they accurately reflect male and female students' overall mathematical abilities.

Question 6

Research using animals must demonstrate a(n)

Accepted Answer

All research using animals must have a clear scientific purpose in order to justify the use of animals.

Question 7

The "Connecting to Research" feature indicates that one critique of Professor Bem's recent study of extrasensory perception (ESP) is that

Accepted Answer

The "Connecting to Research" feature discusses criticisms of Professor Bem's study, including the fact that he allegedly changed his research methods in the middle of the experiment without proper explanation. This has been a major critique of the study, as it could have influenced the results and compromised the scientific validity of the findings. None of the other answer choices are mentioned as criticisms of the study in this context.

Question 8

Even though people who volunteer to participate in research are probably quite different in important ways from those who do not volunteer, most psychologists have chosen to prioritize

Accepted Answer

Most psychologists prioritize research ethics over the generalizability of research results, ensuring that the treatment of participants and the integrity of the research process are maintained, even if it means the results may not apply to a broader population.

Question 9

Dr. Harmon has conducted a study of social networks and health within an isolated community. Which of the following would breach a research participant's right to privacy?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Dr. Harmon has conducted a study of...

Question 10

According to federal guidelines, research animals

Accepted Answer

Research animals may be euthanized in accordance with veterinary standards, ensuring that the process is humane and follows established guidelines for animal welfare.

Question 11

Apply your critical thinking skills to the accompanying research study description. Use the five critical thinking questions provided in the text as a basis for your response. 
What am I being asked to believe or accept? 
What evidence supports this position? 
Are there other ways this evidence could be interpreted? 
What other evidence would I need to evaluate these alternatives? 
What are the most reasonable conclusions? 
A newspaper headline reads "Intellectual pursuits key to preventing Alzheimer's disease?" The researchers scanned the brains of healthy seniors with no memory loss and asked the seniors to recall how much reading, writing, and game-playing they did when they were growing up. The researchers found that those who reported doing daily brain activities from a young age had low levels of amyloid plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's disease. The study involved fewer than 100 participants and could not account for certain factors that may have confounded the results, including socioeconomic factors, diet, and overall health behaviors that might also contribute to amyloid plaque formation and Alzheimer's risk. It also asked participants, whose average age was 76, to recall how much reading, writing, and game-playing they did when they were in elementary school, high school, and as young adults.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Apply your critical thinking skills to the...

Question 12

Dr. Jothi wants to know whether men or women are better drivers and so designs a study to examine this question. Dr. Jothi writes up the plan for the research, including a hypothesis, before beginning the data collection. Which of the following would represent a null hypothesis for this study ?

Accepted Answer

The null hypothesis typically states that there is no effect or no difference between groups. In this case, stating that there will be no differences between the driving abilities of men and women aligns with the definition of a null hypothesis.

Question 13

Statistical methods that allow experimenters to make generalizations from samples to larger populations are called

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics are used to make inferences or generalizations from a sample to a larger population. Descriptive statistics summarize and describe data, probability distributions describe the likelihood of outcomes, and representative samples are a type of sample that accurately represents a larger population.

Question 14

Describe the basic structure of a research experiment. Include the definition and purpose of the hypothesis, independent variable, dependent variable, control group, experimental group, and random assignment.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the basic structure of a research...

Question 15

Researchers working in universities and other agencies must receive the approval of institutional review boards (IRBs) for human participant research and institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) before conducting research

Accepted Answer

Institutional review boards (IRBs) and institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs) are required for all research involving human participants and animals respectively if the research is to be federally funded. Private funding does not necessarily require IRB or IACUC approval. Vulnerable populations and questionable purposes are factors that may require additional scrutiny from IRBs/IACUCs but are not the sole determinants for their necessity.

Question 16

Professor Wyler has obtained a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to study the effects of violence in film on attitudes toward aggression among teenagers. He would like to study the effects in a range of socioeconomic settings, from impoverished to very wealthy communities. Should he obtain approval from his institutional review board? Why or why not? Discuss potential ethical issues that he should consider related to research in an impoverished community.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Professor Wyler has obtained a grant from...

Question 17

In the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, researchers from the U.S. Public Health Service

Accepted Answer

The Tuskegee syphilis experiment was conducted between 1932 and 1972 by researchers from the U.S. Public Health Service who studied the progression of syphilis in a group of African American men without providing diagnosis or treatment. The study continued even after a cure for syphilis was discovered, and the men were not informed of their condition or offered treatment, leading to numerous health complications and deaths. This experiment was a major violation of medical ethics and led to significant changes in research regulations and guidelines.

Question 18

Psychology has accepted as a standard for statistical significance the odds of 5 out of 100 that an observed result is

Accepted Answer

Psychology, like many other scientific disciplines, has adopted the standard for statistical significance as p < .05, which means there is less than a 5 out of 100 chance that the observed results are due to chance. This threshold is used to determine if the results of an experiment are unlikely to have occurred by random variation alone, and thus suggest a real effect.

Question 19

A standard for deciding whether an observed result is due to chance is called

Accepted Answer

Statistical significance is the standard used to determine if an observed result is due to chance or if it is a significant finding. This is done by calculating the probability of obtaining the observed result if the null hypothesis (the assumption that there is no significant difference or relationship between groups or variables) were true. If this probability, or p-value, is less than a predetermined level (usually 0.05), then the result is considered statistically significant and not due to chance.

Question 20

Regarding Cali's study of the stress levels of domestic workers with green cards, which of the following would be the most reasonable form of incentive for each interviewee?

Accepted Answer

Offering an amount that approximates the domestic worker's hourly rate respects the value of their time and ensures that participation in the study does not result in financial loss, making it a reasonable and ethical incentive.

Quiz 2: The Measure of Mind Methods of Psychology