Question 1

Brian wants to study how toddlers tackle difficult situations by themselves in their parents' absence.While observing the children in a playground,Brian helps Timmy,a two-year-old,tie his shoelace.This is an example of

Accepted Answer

Brian's action of helping Timmy tie his shoelace shows experimenter bias, as he has interfered with the natural behavior of the toddler that he was supposed to observe.

Question 2

_____ characteristics are any aspects of an experimental research study that communicate to participants how the experimenter wants them to behave.

Accepted Answer

Demand characteristics are cues in an experiment that can lead participants to guess the researcher's hypothesis, potentially altering their behavior. This can include subtle cues such as the tone of voice or posture of the experimenter, as well as more obvious factors such as the study instructions or procedures. Confounds are factors that can affect the outcome of an experiment but are not of interest to the researcher, while meta-analytic refers to the statistical combination of findings from multiple studies. Placebos are inactive substances or treatments given to control groups for comparison with an experimental group receiving the active treatment.

Question 3

In an experimental research study,which of the following groups is an experimental group?

Accepted Answer

The experimental group is the group that is subjected to the change or manipulation of the independent variable in order to observe its effect on the dependent variable.

Question 4

In an experimental research study,the control group is the

Accepted Answer

The control group in an experimental research study is the group that is not subjected to the manipulated independent variable. This group is used as a baseline for comparison with the experimental group that is exposed to the independent variable. This helps to determine the true effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable. Options A, B, and D do not accurately describe the role of the control group in an experimental research study.

Question 5

Dale,a researcher,conducts a study to determine the effects of color blue on mood.During the study,he is friendlier toward the female participants than he is toward the male participants,which makes the women feel more relaxed during the study.He concludes that blue color is more likely to have a relaxing effect on women than on men.Dale's study is vulnerable to

Accepted Answer

Dale's behavior during the study suggests that he has experimenter bias, which occurs when the researcher's expectations or preferences influence the results of the study. By being friendlier to female participants, Dale may have inadvertently influenced their behavior or responses during the study, potentially leading to inaccurate or biased results. Confederate bias refers to a similar issue in which a researcher's confederate (i.e., accomplice) unintentionally influences the study outcomes. Double-blind bias occurs when both the researcher and the participants are unaware of which group they're in (e.g., treatment vs. control), which could prevent bias in both directions. Research participant bias refers to participants intentionally or unintentionally altering their responses to conform to what they believe the researcher wants or to present themselves in a certain light. While this is also a potential issue in any study, the scenario presented in this question seems to be more indicative of experimenter bias.

Question 6

An experimenter studies the relationship between caffeine and reaction time.She designs her experiment with four groups.Group 1 receives 100 mg of caffeine each in their cups of coffee,group 2 receives 200 mg of caffeine each in their cups of coffee,group 3 receives 300 mg of caffeine each in their cups of coffee,and group 4 receives no coffee.Twenty minutes later,participants from all the groups are given a reaction-time test. In this experiment,which group is the control group?

Accepted Answer

The control group is the group that does not receive the treatment being tested. In this experiment, the treatment being tested is the varying doses of caffeine. Therefore, the group that receives no coffee (group 4) is the control group.

Question 7

Which of the following is a caution about experimental research?

Accepted Answer

While experimental research is designed to establish causal relationships between variables, it is important to note that a finding may still not be valid if the study design or methods used were flawed in some way. Therefore, caution must be taken to ensure the results are both reliable and valid. Option A is incorrect because correlation does not imply causation. Option B is also incorrect because quasi-experimental designs do not always allow for strong causal conclusions. Option D is incorrect because the use of confederates may increase rather than decrease experimenter bias.

Question 8

The _____ consists of participants in an experiment who are as much like the experimental group as possible and who are treated in every way like the experimental group except for a manipulated factor,the independent variable.

Accepted Answer

The control group is used as a baseline comparison for the experimental group, with the key difference being that the manipulated independent variable is absent in the control group. This allows researchers to isolate the effects of the independent variable on the experimental group, by comparing their results to the control group. The confederate group refers to individuals who are part of the study but are secretly working with the researchers, while the confound group refers to participants who unintentionally affect the results of the study. The double-blind group refers to both the researchers and participants being unaware of the group's assignment to avoid bias.

Question 9

In the context of experimental research,internal validity refers to the

Accepted Answer

Internal validity refers to the degree to which changes in the dependent variable are genuinely due to the manipulation of the independent variable. It is important to control all extraneous variables that may influence the dependent variable so that the effects observed can be attributed to the independent variable being studied.

Question 10

The influence of a researcher's expectations on the outcome of a research study is known as _____ bias.

Accepted Answer

Experimenter bias occurs when a researcher's expectations or beliefs influence the outcome of a study. This can occur in many ways, such as through unintentional cues given to participants or through the selection of measures that bias the results in a certain direction. Control bias refers to errors in the selection or assignment of control groups, participant bias refers to the influence of participants' beliefs or behaviors on the outcome of a study, and third variable bias refers to the influence of an unmeasured variable on the outcome of a study.

Question 11

Noelle,a psychologist,conducts a study to establish whether caffeine increases the ability to run.She has two groups of participants run on a treadmill for 15 minutes.One group drinks regular coffee before running,while the other group drinks decaffeinated coffee before running.The group that drinks decaffeinated coffee is the

Accepted Answer

The group that drinks decaffeinated coffee is the control group. The control group is the group that does not receive the treatment or intervention being studied, in this case, the group that does not receive caffeine. The group that drinks regular coffee before running is the experimental group, as they are the group that receives the intervention being studied - in this case, the group that receives caffeine. The term "confederate" generally refers to someone who is part of the research team but pretends to be a participant to manipulate the study. The term "confound" refers to a variable that was not controlled in the study and may have influenced the results.

Question 12

Dr.Smith conducts an experiment on motivation.His experimental group is administered the independent variable.His control group is not.Dr.Smith hires Jack to act as a research subject who has little motivation despite the encouragement provided to him during the experiment.Dr.Smith wants to see how Jack's behavior affects the motivation of the actual research subjects in the experimental group.In this experiment,Jack is serving as

Accepted Answer

Jack is serving as a confederate, meaning he is playing a role in the experiment to manipulate the behavior of the actual research subjects. He is not the independent variable, as that is being administered to the experimental group. He is also not the dependent variable, as his behavior is not being measured or observed.

Question 13

Leslie hypothesizes that teenagers who read magazines develop low self-esteem because of the unrealistic expectations set by the actors and models in the magazines.To study this,she designs a questionnaire to assess confidence levels.Two groups take this questionnaire-one that reads a magazine before taking the questionnaire and one that does not.The group that reads the magazine is the

Accepted Answer

The experimental group is the group that is exposed to the independent variable in an experiment. In this case, the independent variable is the magazine reading, and Leslie is trying to see if it affects confidence levels. Therefore, the group that reads the magazine is the experimental group. The control group, on the other hand, is the group that is not exposed to the independent variable and is used for comparison purposes. A confederate group is a group that is working with the experimenter and may influence the results in some way. A confound group is not a commonly used term in experimental design.

Question 14

Professor Bobson conducts a study that requires his participants to fill a questionnaire with two options: "ethical" or "unethical." This leads most of his subjects to choose the ethical option.The professor's choice marking his options as ethical or unethical is the study's

Accepted Answer

The professor's choice of marking his options as ethical or unethical is an example of demand characteristics. Demand characteristics refer to cues within an experiment that suggest to the participants what the experimenter expects to find or how they should behave, leading to a change in behavior that is not the result of the independent variable being manipulated. In this case, the labeling of the options as ethical or unethical is a cue that can influence participants to choose the ethical option, regardless of their true beliefs or opinions.

Question 15

Dr.Stanley predicts that interviewers who smile at their interviewees are more effective at eliciting honest responses than interviewers who do not.To study this,he asks Stacy to smile at the experimental group of interviewees and not smile at the control group of interviewees.In this study,Stacy is the

Accepted Answer

In this study, Stacy is a confederate, meaning she is playing a role in the experiment to manipulate the independent variable (smiling or not) for the experimental group and control group. The experimenter would be the person in charge of the overall study design and execution, which is not specified in this scenario. The variable in question is the effect of smiling on eliciting honest responses, and the confounder (if there is one) is not mentioned.

Question 16

A(n)_____ consists of participants in a study who are exposed to the change that the independent variable represents.

Accepted Answer

The experimental group is the group of participants in a study who are exposed to the change that the independent variable represents. The control group is the group that does not receive the change and is used as a comparison to the experimental group. Independent group and confederate group are not commonly used terms in experimental research.

Question 17

In a study to determine whether viewing pictures of poverty-stricken children increases the tendency for people to donate money to charity,the experimental group sees pictures of poor children before being asked to donate to charity.The control groups sees pictures of random landscapes.In this study,the operational definition of the dependent variable is the

Accepted Answer

The operational definition of the dependent variable is the amount that the experimental group chooses to donate. This is because the study is specifically looking at whether the viewing of poverty-stricken children increases the tendency to donate money to charity. The amount that is donated would be the best indicator of whether or not this is true. The choice of landscape pictures (A) does not directly relate to the dependent variable, nor does the gender of the children in the pictures (C) or the gender ratio in the groups (D).

Question 18

Which of the following statements is true of quasi-experimental designs?

Accepted Answer

Quasi-experimental designs do not randomly assign participants to conditions, unlike true experimental designs. Instead, participants may be naturally grouped based on pre-existing conditions or characteristics, and the researcher measures the effects of the independent variable on the groups. While quasi-experimental designs can provide valuable information, they do not allow for strong causal conclusions because of the lack of random assignment.

Question 19

In experimental research,_____ are factors that systematically and undesirably influence the dependent variable.

Accepted Answer

Confounds are variables that can affect the dependent variable, making it difficult to interpret the findings of an experiment. These variables are often unintentional and can cause misleading results if not controlled. Confederates are individuals who are involved in the experiment and may help the researcher, while placebos are inert substances used in control groups to compare with the active treatment. Hypotheses are predictions about the relationship between variables and are not related to the experimental design's potential confounding variables.

Question 20

In an experimental study,external validity refers to the

Accepted Answer

External validity refers to the extent to which the experimental design reflects the real-world issues it explores, meaning how applicable the findings are to the broader population outside of the experiment. It is concerned with the generalizability of the results and whether they can be applied in other settings or to other populations. Therefore, option D is the correct answer. Option A is incorrect because external validity is not concerned with whether the results can improve human life, but with whether the results can be applied to other contexts. Option B is incorrect because experimenter bias is a form of internal validity, which refers to the extent to which the experiment establishes a causal relationship between variables. Finally, option C is incorrect because replication is a matter of reliability rather than external validity.

Quiz 2: Psychologys Scientific Method