Question 1

A psychologist wishes to investigate whether the children who act most upset after parental divorce remain highly upset later, or whether they in fact become better adjusted in the long run as a result of "letting their feelings out" at first. This question calls for which kind of study?

Accepted Answer

A longitudinal study involves following a group of individuals over an extended period of time, making it the best choice for investigating whether the emotional response of children to parental divorce is stable over time or whether it changes. A double-blind experiment involves randomly assigning participants to two groups, with neither the participants nor the researchers knowing which group each individual is in, and manipulating an independent variable to see if it affects an outcome variable. A cross-sectional study involves comparing different groups of people at the same point in time. A single-blind experiment involves randomly assigning participants to two groups, with only the researchers knowing which group each individual is in, and manipulating an independent variable to see if it affects an outcome variable. Neither of these types of studies would be appropriate for investigating how the emotional response of children to parental divorce changes over time.

Question 2

Infants with a "difficult" temperament are likely to grow up to be difficult children and eventually troubled adults. That statement must be based on evidence from which kind of study?

Accepted Answer

The statement suggests that there is a long-term association between temperament in infancy and later outcomes. Therefore, a longitudinal study that follows individuals over time would be the most appropriate to gather evidence and support this claim. A single-blind or double-blind study would not be appropriate in this case as they are typically used to reduce bias in experimental designs rather than examine associations between variables. A cross-sectional study only measures data at one point in time and cannot examine how individuals change over time.

Question 3

Yesterday Professor Eaton asked children of different ages (6 through 12) to list their favorite foods, and then compared the results for different ages. This is an example of which kind of study?

Accepted Answer

This is a cross-sectional study because it examines different age groups at one point in time to compare their favorite foods. It is not a longitudinal study because it does not follow the same individuals over time. It is also not a double-blind or single-blind study because there is no manipulation of variables or blinding of participants or researchers.

Question 4

An investigator who uses a longitudinal design

Accepted Answer

A longitudinal design examines the same group of people at different points in time, tracking changes as they age. Therefore, option A is the correct choice.

Question 5

Dr. Publisher reports a study comparing 3-year-old, 5-year-old, and 7-year-old children, all tested at the same time. Which kind of research design is this?

Accepted Answer

This is a cross-sectional research design because different age groups are being compared at the same time.

Question 6

Suppose researchers want to compare the abilities of 60-year-olds to those of 80-year-olds, but they worry about finding equivalent samples at the two ages. To minimize that problem, the best design for this study would be

Accepted Answer

Longitudinal design allows researchers to follow the same group of individuals over time, which essentially eliminates the potential problem of finding equivalent samples at different ages. This design ensures that any differences observed between groups are not due to cohort effects, but rather changes that occur over time due to the aging process.

Question 7

What does a researcher examine in a longitudinal design?

Accepted Answer

A longitudinal design involves examining a single group of people over a period of time. This allows researchers to track changes in behavior, attitudes, and skills over time and identify potential causes of these changes.

Question 8

One advantage of a cross-sectional study over a longitudinal study is that a cross-sectional study

Accepted Answer

Cross-sectional studies can be completed more quickly than longitudinal studies because they only require data to be collected at one point in time, as opposed to following participants over an extended period.

Question 9

A cross-sectional research study in developmental psychology examines

Accepted Answer

Cross-sectional research involves comparing different age groups at one point in time. Therefore, option B - several different groups of people, of different ages - is the correct answer. A is incorrect because it describes a longitudinal study, C involves comparing different cultures rather than ages, and D describes a type of observational study but does not involve comparing different age groups.

Question 10

In which kind of study does an investigator study different groups of people, of different ages, at the same time?

Accepted Answer

A cross-sectional study involves studying different groups of people of different ages at the same time. This allows for comparisons between age groups and can provide information about age-related changes in a certain trait or outcome. Cross-cultural studies involve comparing different cultures, longitudinal studies involve following the same group of individuals over a period of time, and factor analysis involves identifying patterns or relationships between different variables.

Question 11

Suppose you wish to study the development of personality in children, but you are worried that you might accidentally select different kinds of people at different ages. Which experimental design should you use?

Accepted Answer

A longitudinal design is best suited for studying the development of personality in children because it involves following a single group of individuals over time, allowing for the examination of changes that occur within individuals as they mature. This helps to ensure that any differences found in personality are due to age-related development rather than differences in the groups chosen for each age level, which could occur in a cross-sectional design. Psychoanalytic and anecdotal designs are not experimental designs and do not provide the necessary control to study personality development.

Question 12

An investigator measures the moral reasoning of a group of 12-year-olds, and four years later measures their moral reasoning again to determine how it has changed. This study follows which design?

Accepted Answer

The study follows a longitudinal design because the same cohort of participants is being measured over time to examine changes in their moral reasoning.

Question 13

To study the effects of age on adult memory, an investigator administers a memory test to a group of college students and then as soon as possible administers the same test to those students' parents and grandparents. The design of this study is best described as

Accepted Answer

The design of this study involves comparing different age groups (college students, parents, and grandparents) at the same point in time, which is characteristic of a cross-sectional study.

Question 14

In which kind of study does an investigator repeatedly study the same group of people as they get older?

Accepted Answer

Longitudinal studies involve repeatedly studying the same group of people over a period of time, typically as they get older. Cross-cultural studies compare different cultural groups, while cross-sectional studies examine different groups of people at one point in time. Factor analysis is a statistical technique used to identify underlying factors or patterns in data.

Question 15

On the average, young adults today know more about computers than do their parents, who know more than the grandparents. This difference is probably an example of

Accepted Answer

The difference in computer knowledge between younger and older generations is likely due to a cohort effect, which refers to differences that are due to the historical and social context in which individuals grew up. Younger generations grew up in a time when computers were becoming more prevalent and were likely exposed to them at a younger age, whereas older generations may not have had that same exposure or access. Demand characteristics, experimenter bias, and selective attrition are all explanations for differences in study outcomes, but are not relevant to this specific example.

Question 16

A researcher demonstrates that most children display a temperament at age 7 that is similar to their temperament at age 2. The study that led to this must have followed which kind of design?

Accepted Answer

This study followed a longitudinal design, as it tracked the same set of individuals over a period of time to investigate how their temperament changed or remained stable.

Question 17

What does an investigator examine in a cross-sectional design?

Accepted Answer

In a cross-sectional design, an investigator examines different people (of different ages) at one point in time. This is a type of observational study that can provide information about prevalence and the relationship between variables at a single point in time.

Question 18

Dr. Patience studies a group of 3-year-olds, and then retests the same children when they reach ages 5 and 7. What kind of research design is this?

Accepted Answer

This research design is longitudinal because it follows the same group of individuals over an extended period of time and assesses changes in their development.

Question 19

One advantage of a cross-sectional design for studying age differences is that it

Accepted Answer

Cross-sectional studies can be completed relatively quickly because they involve observing different age groups at one point in time, rather than following the same group over a long period.

Question 20

A psychologist studies 21 children on their first day of school, and examines the same children again on the last day. This is a __________ research design.

Accepted Answer

A longitudinal research design involves observing and measuring the same group of individuals over an extended period of time to study developmental changes or stability. In this case, the psychologist is studying the same group of children on their first day of school and their last day, making it a longitudinal design. Double-blind and cross-sectional designs involve different methods of data collection and analysis, and cross-sequential research designs involve a combination of both longitudinal and cross-sectional designs.

Quiz 5: Nature, Nurture, and Human Development