Deck 2: Reading and Evaluating Scientific Research

Question 1

Most people would agree that anxiety can lead to sleep loss. However, Dr. Jenkins believes that sleep deprivation can also cause increased anxiety. Which research method would allow him to test a cause-effect relationship between the two?

A) Naturalistic observation
B) Experimental
C) Correlational
D) Survey

Answer 1

B

Question 2

_______________assumes that there are facts about the world that can be observed and tested independently from the individual who describes them.

A) Subjectivity
B) Objectivity
C) Validity
D) Generalizability

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is an example of demand characteristics affecting an experiment?

A) An experimenter draws the wrong conclusions from a study because she did not use the correct statistical analysis.
B) A participant changes his response to a question because he has the feeling that the experimenter wants him to do so.
C) An experimenter stops using a test because it does not appear to be reliable.
D) A participant in a double-blind experiment believes she is in the control group.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Keisha performs an experiment with two randomly assigned groups of school children. The first group is allowed 15 minutes of recess play before a math test, while the second group watches a video before the test. When she analyzes the test scores, she finds that there is a statistical difference between the groups, with the recess group scoring higher on average. Which conclusions can be drawn from this result?

A) The difference between the scores for the two groups is probably due to random chance.
B) The difference between the scores for the two groups is likely due to their differing pretest activities, and did not happen by chance.
C) Students who are good at math prefer recess to watching a video.
D) Students who are good at math prefer watching a video to recess.

Question 5

Which of the following is one of the five characteristics of quality research listed in the textbook?

A) using subjective measurements
B) keeping sensitive results secret
C) making sure results can be replicated
D) avoiding generalizing results

Question 6

Ann is convinced that corporal punishment (e.g., spanking) is a good way to discipline a child because she knows a child whose behavior improved because of it. Whether or not you agree with her, Ann is using a flawed argument. Which type of evidence is she using?

A) Anecdotal
B) Objective
C) Generalizable
D) An appeal to authority

Question 7

The _____ is a measure of variability around the mean of a distribution.

A) mean
B) median
C) mode
D) standard deviation

Question 8

Why it is a bad idea to draw conclusions from anecdotal evidence?

A) Such conclusions usually go against common sense.
B) Anecdotes are reliable only if they come from experts, which they rarely do.
C) Anecdotes are a single-blind technique, not a double-blind method.
D) There is no way to know if the anecdote is true or if it will generalize to other people and situations.

Question 9

In order to make objective measurements, psychologists generally measure ___________.

A) behavior
B) introspection
C) thoughts
D) feelings

Question 10

Under which of the following circumstances would the mean be the best measure of central tendency to use?

A) The data have a normal distribution.
B) The data are positively skewed.
C) The data are negatively skewed.
D) The mean is always the best measure of central tendency

Question 11

What does a correlation coefficient of -0.94 indicate about two variables?

A) The variables are weakly associated, with both increasing together.
B) The variables are strongly associated, with both increasing together.
C) The variables are weakly associated, with one increasing as the other decreases.
D) The variables are strongly associated, with one increasing as the other decreases.

Question 12

Imagine Dr. Martin finds that a sense of humor is positively correlated with psychological well-being. From this, we can conclude that:

A) humor causes people to be healthier.
B) health causes people to be funnier.
C) people who have a good sense of humor tend to be healthier.
D) people who have a good sense of humor tend to be less healthy.

Question 13

A teacher notices that on the last science test, some students did very well, while other students performed poorly or had grades in the middle of the pack. If she wanted to measure how "spread out" all of the scores were, which descriptive statistic could she use?

A) Median
B) Mode
C) Standard deviation
D) Mean

Question 14

Claiming that something is true because 'it should be obvious" is really just _____.

A) anecdotal evidence
B) an appeal to common sense
C) an appeal to authority
D) generalizability

Question 15

A group of researchers are studying depression in a sample of patients. Each researcher independently assesses the level of depression in each patient, but their assessments do not match. The problem with the research is that:

A) depression cannot be studied scientifically.
B) the researchers do not have an objective measure of depression.
C) there are too many researchers.
D) the patients are not really depressed.

Question 16

The use of deception in psychological research is:

A) not a serious issue.
B) never acceptable.
C) generally acceptable when absolutely necessary for the research.
D) acceptable only in nonhuman research.

Question 17

Which of the following statements describes the amount of cognitive and emotional risk to participants allowed in psychological research today?

A) Any amount of risk is acceptable.
B) No amount of risk is acceptable.
C) A little risk is always acceptable, but more than minimal risk is never acceptable.
D) The amount of acceptable risk depends in part on the likely benefits from the study.

Question 18

By studying a _____, scientists hope that they can generalize the results of their investigation to the _____.

A) sample; population
B) population; sample
C) convenience sample; random sample
D) random sample; convenience sample

Question 19

Which of the following is subjective?

A) the height of a tree
B) the speed of a reflex
C) the weight of a soil sample
D) the value of a painting

Question 20

Any property of an organism, event, or something else that can take on different values is called _____.

A) an operational definition
B) data
C) a variable
D) a case study

Question 21

The purpose of operational definitions in science is to:

A) keep participants from knowing which treatment group they are in.
B) reduce demand characteristics.
C) increase ecological validity.
D) carefully define terms and variables so they can be objectively studied.

Question 22

According to your text, which of the following have researchers concluded about the effects of meditation on stress?

A) Stress can be measured only by self-report.
B) Stress responses are best measured by changes in blood pressure.
C) Stress is most accurately assessed by measuring cortisol levels in saliva examples.
D) A good study would show that all three measures reflect the same changes in stress when people have (or do not have meditation training.

Question 23

The degree to which one set of results can be applied to other situations, individuals, or events is called __________.

A) objectivity
B) reliability
C) validity
D) generalizability

Question 24

__________ is the extent to which a measure assesses what it claims to measure.

A) Operationalization
B) Reliability
C) Validity
D) Control group

Question 25

Dr. Sparks is concerned because he gave Julie a new intelligence test that he personally designed and her scores do not seem very consistent. Which aspect of psychological testing is Dr. Sparks concerned with?

A) Validity
B) Self-report measures
C) Reliability
D) Falsifiability

Question 26

Brittany, a softball player who plays catcher for the local college, has thrown out base stealers at a 42, 39, and 41 percent rate over her three years. Her performance could be considered which of the following?

A) Valid
B) Invalid
C) Reliable
D) Not reliable

Question 27

Although not ideal, researchers often use _______________ samples, which are samples of individuals that are the most readily available.

A) random
B) confound
C) ecological
D) convenience

Question 28

One way to increase the possibility that research results will generalize is to study a ____________ sample.

A) small
B) large
C) single-person
D) convenience

Question 29

Before beginning a study on the health effects of obesity, a group of researchers agree that, for the purposes of their research, anyone with a Body Mass Index greater than 30 kg/m² will be considered obese. This is an example of _______________.

A) a confounding variable
B) an operational definition
C) convenience sampling
D) an appeal to common sense

Question 30

Which of the following is true?

A) Researchers typically study populations because it is often too difficult to study samples.
B) Researchers typically study samples because it is often too difficult to study populations.
C) Researchers typically include both samples and populations in their research.
D) Researchers typically avoid studying both populations and samples.

Question 31

Ursula works in an office. One day, her boss tells her that researchers will be in the office to observe productivity. Because she knows she is being observed, Ursula finds that she is working harder than she normally does. What is this an example of?

A) the placebo effect.
B) the Heisenberg principle
C) a single-blind study
D) the Hawthorne effect

Question 32

______________ is a method where researchers typically use interviews, phone surveys, and questionnaires to directly collect responses from the people being studied.

A) Generalizing
B) Random sampling
C) Self-reporting
D) Blind sampling

Question 33

The most important factor to ensure that one's results apply to other people in other settings is to use

A) a convenience sample.
B) extremely small sample sizes.
C) random assignment.
D) a random sample.

Question 34

__________ is consistency of measurement.

A) Random assignment
B) Validity
C) Reliability
D) Confounding variable

Question 35

In research, the object, concept, or event being measured is called a ____________.

A) data unit
B) population
C) variable
D) sample

Question 36

Ecological validity refers to:

A) whether the results of a laboratory study can be applied to the real world.
B) the impact of a scientific study on the environment.
C) the degree to which animal research can be applied to humans.
D) the degree to which naturalistic research techniques are used.

Question 37

When assessing patients' personalities using an "ink blot" test that she created, Dr. Hardcastle is gaining confidence in the test's reliability. Which of the following is likely to be happening?

A) Her patients are enjoying being tested every day.
B) The test is generating approximately the same results each time.
C) The test is measuring what it is supposed to be measuring.
D) The test is likely to be uninformative.

Question 38

The term demand characteristics refers to:

A) a set of personality traits that most good scientists share.
B) unintended cues that suggest how study participants should behave.
C) statements that describe the specific measures that are used to record observations.
D) claims based on anecdotal evidence.

Question 39

A researcher uses a blood pressure cuff (technically called a sphygmomanometer) to measure the blood pressure of participants while they are shown sexual, violent, or relaxing videos. The blood pressure measurement in this study is an example of ______________.

A) a variable
B) a sample
C) self-reporting
D) a demand characteristic

Question 40

Jasmine took a self-administered online intelligence test three times yesterday and obtained scores of 124, 128, and 125. This made her feel great because the score she received from the psychologist last month at school was only a 95. What characteristic might the online test be lacking?

A) Reliability
B) Validity
C) Both reliability and validity
D) Nothing, the test appears to have both reliability and validity.

Question 41

A mechanism by which experts in a field carefully screen the work of their colleagues is known as ____________.

A) experimental validity
B) experimenter bias effect
C) peer review
D) peer assessment

Question 42

Lisa, a college student, had a great time at the party last night. She danced, sang karaoke, and even played the "Rock Band" video game-all behaviors that she had never exhibited in public before. She had been drinking the "punch" all night long, which she was told contained high levels of alcohol. Lisa was quite surprised to find out the next morning that the punch did NOT contain any alcohol. What concept may explain Lisa's behavior?

A) The Rosenthal effect
B) Illusory correlations
C) The nocebo effect
D) The placebo effect

Question 43

Without the process of replication as part of the scientific process, what would happen?

A) Incorrect results would often go uncorrected.
B) Demand characteristics would have larger effect on data.
C) The Hawthorne effect would increase.
D) Samples would be less representative of the populations they came from.

Question 44

How does conducting a double-blind study attempt to remedy the effect of bias?

A) The experimenter does not know but the participant does know what condition the participant is assigned to
B) The experimenter and the participant both know what condition the participant is assigned to
C) The experimenter knows but the participant does not know what condition the participant is assigned to
D) Neither the experimenter nor the participant knows what condition the participant is assigned to

Question 45

One difficulty in conducting medical research is that participants often assume that any treatment will be effective in alleviating their symptoms. Therefore, a researcher has to design an experiment that measures the influence of ____________.

A) random selection
B) medical confounds
C) the Rosenthal effect
D) the placebo effect

Question 46

An experiment is said to be __________ when neither researchers nor participants are aware of who is in the experimental or control group.

A) single-blind
B) unfalsifiable
C) a placebo
D) double-blind

Question 47

What is the best way to reduce the social desirability bias in research?

A) use random sampling
B) provide anonymity and confidentiality
C) use random assignment
D) submit the research to peer review

Question 48

In general, which of the following is true about anecdotal evidence?

A) It is reliable as long as the facts are correct.
B) It takes a long time to collect.
C) It is the basis for most scientific conclusions.
D) It is poor and unreliable.

Question 49

The main purpose of replicating studies is to:

A) keep the scientific community aware of the results.
B) renew drug and technology patents based on the research.
C) ensure that the results are correct.
D) secure extra funding.

Question 50

Eila is participating in a psychological experiment for one of the graduate students at her university. She is pretty confident that she knows the true intent of the study and is trying to answer the questions accordingly. A common pitfall in experiments, Eila is falling prey to ______________.

A) intentionality
B) the Rosenthal effect
C) observer bias
D) demand characteristics

Question 51

Claims based on common sense:

A) should be considered true.
B) should be considered false.
C) may be true, but cannot be evaluated by this standard alone.
D) should be considered true, but only if offered by an expert in the subject.

Question 52

Support for a claim that is based on a story about an individual or event is called ___________ evidence.

A) anecdotal
B) narrative
C) objective
D) authoritative

Question 53

When people report feeling better after taking medication even though it hasn't had time to be effective, they are experiencing _________________.

A) the experimenter bias effect
B) low reliability
C) the placebo effect
D) confirmation bias

Question 54

Dr. Wilkins randomly assigns subjects to one of two groups. He is interested in the effects of caffeine on anxiety levels. He gives subjects in the first group an extra two cups of coffee a day for six months. The second group receives an extra two cups of decaffeinated coffee a day for the same time period. Importantly, subjects do not know whether they are being given regular or decaffeinated coffee. By providing one group with decaffeinated coffee, Dr. Wilkins is trying to account for which potential element of the experiment?

A) participant fraud
B) inter-rater reliability
C) the placebo effect
D) variability

Question 55

In a single-blind study, who is "blind" to the treatment?

A) the peer-reviewers
B) the participants
C) the experimenters
D) both the experimenters and participants

Question 56

An important danger of the various types of research bias discussed in Chapter 2 is that they lead us:

A) to become anxious or depressed about our place in the world.
B) to draw incorrect conclusions and then become convinced that they are accurate.
C) to doubt our intuition and gut feelings in important real-life circumstances.
D) to underestimate our general levels of cognitive abilities and skills.

Question 57

Appeals to authority are generally considered a(n) ____________ kind of evidence because _______________________.

A) reliable; experts know a lot about their subjects
B) reliable; experts don't want to ruin their reputations by being wrong
C) unreliable; most experts don't know what they are talking about
D) unreliable; expertise is not actually evidence

Question 58

The peer review process is designed to:

A) block alternative therapies from being made available to the general public.
B) identify flaws in a research study's methods, findings, and conclusions.
C) make researchers feel bad when their article is not published.
D) place obstacles in front of people whose theories differ from mainstream science.

Question 59

Louis is participating in a survey on undergraduate drug use. When the interviewer asks Louis whether he has used illegal drugs in the last 6 months, he lies and says 'no' because he doesn't want the interviewer to have a poor opinion of him. Louis's response is an example of ________________.

A) socially desirable responding
B) sampling bias
C) peer review
D) an appeal to authority

Question 60

Alex, a freshman in college, wants to know how many of her dorm mates have tried marijuana, so she decides to survey everyone on her floor. Despite rumors to the contrary, the results suggest that fewer than ten percent of her classmates have tried the drug. What is the most likely explanation for her findings?

A) People being interviewed often change their answers to increase the chances that they will be viewed favorably.
B) Her dorm mates did not understand the question.
C) Alex did not calculate the findings correctly.
D) Surveys are not an acceptable means to gather new information.

Question 61

Sarah, a graduate student in psychology, just heard about a five-year-old child who has already learned calculus. She is thinking about conducting an in-depth study of the child for her dissertation. Sarah is considering which research method?

A) naturalistic observation
B) experiment
C) correlational
D) case study

Question 62

Watching behavior in real-world settings is known as ___________.

A) a case study
B) a correlation design
C) naturalistic observation
D) a self-report

Question 63

A(n) ____________ involves an extremely deep and detailed information-gathering from a single individual over a long period of time.

A) case study design
B) correlational design
C) experimental design
D) naturalistic observation design

Question 64

Dr. Watson wanted to know which gender was better at sharing at the sixth-grade level, so he went to the local middle school to observe lunch periods. This is a form of ____________.

A) case study
B) naturalistic observation
C) experimental design
D) confirmation bias

Question 65

If you are interested in examining the relationship between the number of class days missed and one's subsequent semester grade point average, you would be best served to use a(n) ________ to study this relationship.

A) case study design
B) correlational design
C) experimental design
D) naturalistic observation design

Question 66

Hopefully, the amount of time a student spends studying would show a(n) __________ correlation with the student's grades.

A) negative
B) zero
C) positive
D) illusory

Question 67

Which of the following is one of the questions that a researcher should ask herself before conducting a research study?

A) "How can I avoid using statistics to analyze my results?"
B) "What research strategies should I use to test my hypothesis?"
C) "Will I be able to prove my hypothesis?"
D) "How can I guarantee that I obtain subjective results?"

Question 68

Dr. Schott's scatterplot reveals no real patterns or clusters. In fact, the data seems to fall randomly on the graph. This pattern of results is most likely from which type of correlation?

A) positive
B) zero
C) negative
D) skewed

Question 69

Which of the following statements is true about naturalistic observation?

A) It recreates natural conditions in the laboratory as closely as possible to make an experiment more valid.
B) It involves observing behavior in its natural context.
C) It is basically the same process as objective introspection.
D) It involves observing behavior in the lab without taking formal notes or using technological equipment to measure the experimental findings.

Question 70

Why is it difficult to make generalizations based on the results of case study research?

A) Because case study research is, by definition, immune to the error of making generalizations.
B) Because case studies involve far too many people to allow for generalizations. You would be better off using a research design that uses fewer participants.
C) Because a case study involves only one or a few subjects, their actions may be atypical and not representative of a larger group of people or population.
D) Because the statistics involved in case study research do not allow one to draw larger conclusions about a population.

Question 71

Kia and her friend are discussing why so many child actors become troubled adults. Kia says, "Obviously they were spoiled as children, which made them unprepared to become adults." From a scientific point of view, what is wrong with Kia's statement?

A) It is based on anecdotal evidence.
B) It is an appeal to authority.
C) It is an appeal to common sense.
D) Nothing; it is a well-supported conclusion.

Question 72

_____________ research does not an attempt to explain how or why something happened, but instead it is an opportunity to present observations about the characteristics of the subject.

A) Descriptive
B) Quasi-experimental
C) Experimental
D) Subjective

Question 73

There is a negative correlation between wearing one's seat belt and the severity of injuries received during an accident. Which statement correctly illustrates this correlation?

A) The more often you wear your seat belt, the more serious the injury you are likely to receive in an accident.
B) The more you wear your seat belt, the less likely you are to suffer serious injuries in an accident.
C) Wearing your seatbelt prevents you from being injured in an accident.
D) Failing to wear your seat belt increases the likelihood that you will sustain serious injuries in an accident.

Question 74

Dr. Potter, an English professor, is curious about his students' attitudes toward one of his favorite books. What research method is he most likely to use to gather this information?

A) case study
B) survey
C) experiment
D) correlational

Question 75

A researcher is interested in determining how frequently bullying behavior occurs in real-life settings. This researcher would best be advised to use the _________________.

A) case study design
B) correlational design
C) experimental design
D) naturalistic observation design

Question 76

As the average daily temperature in Des Moines, Iowa, decreases the number of persons who are observed wearing sweaters in the workplace increases. This is an example of a(n) ________ correlation.

A) illusory
B) negative
C) positive
D) zero

Question 77

Which of the following is NOT a descriptive research method?

A) case study
B) naturalistic observation
C) experiment
D) survey

Question 78

Which of these is a type of correlation discussed in your text?

A) Normal
B) Parallel
C) Skewed
D) Negative

Question 79

Two variables are said to have a correlation when scores on one variable:

A) are unrelated to the scores on the second variable.
B) are related to scores on the second variable.
C) cause the scores on the second variable.
D) are different from the scores on the second variable.

Question 80

A graph that can be used to represent the pattern of relationship between scores from two variables is called a ____________.

A) bar graph
B) frequency polygon
C) histogram
D) scatterplot