Deck 8: Solving Problems: Controlling Extraneous Variables

Question 1

Social Variables The demand characteristics of an experiment may result in a subject

A)following his/her own interpretation of the experimenter's directions.
B)trying to confirm the experimental hypothesis.
C)trying to guess the experimental hypothesis.
D)all of these

Answer 1

all of these

Question 2

Physical Variables Tim prevented noise from distracting his subjects by testing them in a soundproof room.This illustrates the control technique called

A)balancing.
B)constancy of conditions.
C)elimination.
D)isolation.

Answer 2

elimination.

Question 3

Physical Variables Sometimes we cannot remove physical variables and it is impractical to hold them steady.In these cases, we can control them using

A)balancing.
B)constancy of conditions.
C)elimination.
D)isolation.

Answer 3

balancing.

Question 4

Physical Variables When an extraneous variable systematically changes across treatments,

A)the extraneous variable has the same value in the control and experimental conditions.
B)the extraneous variable has one value in the control condition and a different value in the experimental condition.
C)the independent variable has no effect on the dependent variable.
D)this presents a lower risk of confounding than when it changes randomly.

Question 5

Physical Variables When Heather ran all the subjects in condition A on Thursday and those in condition B on Friday, she confounded her experiment with a ____ variable.

A)context
B)personality
C)physical
D)social

Question 6

Physical Variables Lindsay videotaped instructions for subjects to ensure that all subjects in each condition receive the same information.This illustrates the control procedure of

A)balancing.
B)constancy of conditions.
C)counterbalancing.
D)elimination.

Question 7

Physical Variables Experimenters remove potentially confounding extraneous variables when they employ

A)balancing.
B)constancy of conditions.
C)counterbalancing.
D)elimination.

Question 8

Physical Variables Sometimes physical variables like ____ cannot be controlled through elimination.

A)a blinking fluorescent light
B)noise from a custodian's vacuum
C)seeing classmates walk by a window
D)the weather

Question 9

Physical Variables Balancing is a control procedure that

A)distributes the effect of physical variables equally across the treatment conditions.
B)distributes the effect of the independent variable equally across all of the treatment conditions.
C)ensures that subjects in all conditions experience nearly identical physical variables.
D)removes potentially confounding physical variables from the testing situation.

Question 10

Physical Variables Which of these should be controlled using constancy of conditions instead of elimination?

A)a poster for a controversial speaker
B)bright room lighting
C)interruptions by students opening the door
D)visual distraction by classmates outside the room

Question 11

Social Variables Anna participates in a social psychological experiment in which she observes pairs of lights that are briefly turned on and off in a completely darkened room.Although the distance between each pair of lights in the Hex paradigm is always identical, the experimenter asks, "Is the first pair of lights farther apart or closer together than the second pair?" This question, which implies that Anna should perceive different spacing, illustrates the concept of a

A)demand characteristic.
B)physical variable.
C)placebo effect.
D)Rosenthal effect.

Question 12

Social Variables Which of these are social variables?

A)demand characteristics
B)experimenter biases
C)response sets
D)demand characteristics and experimenter bias

Question 13

Physical Variables By randomly assigning subjects to treatment conditions, many extraneous variables are automatically ____ across conditions.

A)balanced
B)eliminated
C)isolated
D)kept constant

Question 14

Physical Variables In ____, an experimenter controls physical variables by keeping all aspects of treatment conditions as nearly similar as possible.

A)balancing
B)constancy of conditions
C)elimination
D)isolation

Question 15

Physical Variables Although James wanted to run all the subjects in his experiment by himself, he realized that he couldn't complete the experiment in time without a second experimenter.To control for experimenter personality, he ran half the subjects in each condition and his roommate ran the other half.This strategy is called

A)balancing.
B)constancy of conditions.
C)elimination.
D)isolation.

Question 16

Physical Variables Michele ran all treatment conditions during the evening to control for the effect of time of day.Which control technique did she use?

A)balancing
B)constancy of conditions
C)elimination
D)isolation

Question 17

Physical Variables Which of these could be a physical variable in an experiment?

A)level of illumination
B)temperature
C)time of day
D)all of these

Question 18

Social Variables Experimenters generally want subjects to be as naïve as possible concerning the experimental hypothesis to reduce confounding by

A)context variables.
B)demand characteristics.
C)experimenter bias.
D)response sets.

Question 19

Physical Variables ____ are aspects of the testing conditions that need to be controlled.

A)Context variables
B)Demand characteristics
C)Physical variables
D)Social variables

Question 20

Physical Variables Chase is designing an experiment that requires intense concentration and is concerned about confounding by outside noise.If he can use any of the control techniques discussed in this chapter, his first choice should be

A)balancing.
B)constancy of conditions.
C)elimination.
D)isolation.

Question 21

Social Variables In Orne and Scheibe's (1964) sensory deprivation experiment, the "Emergency Tray" and alarm button in the experimental condition were

A)demand characteristics.
B)extraneous variables.
C)latent cues.
D)placebos.

Question 22

Social Variables Hannover and Kuhnan (2002) informed their subjects were that they would be participating in a study of eye-witness identification and that they would be part of a "police line-up." This constituted a ____ to disguise the experimental hypothesis.

A)cover story
B)double-blind experiment
C)quasi-experiment
D)single-blind experiment

Question 23

Social Variables ____ is a form of confounding due to an experimenter providing implicit or explicit cues to subjects to respond in a particular way.

A)Experimenter bias
B)History threat
C)Response set
D)Response style

Question 24

Social Variables In a double-blind experiment,

A)control and experimental subjects are told cover stories.
B)experimenters do not know which treatment the subjects are receiving.
C)subjects do not know which treatment they are receiving.
D)neither the subjects nor the experimenter know which treatment the subjects are receiving.

Question 25

Social Variables Placebo effects in drug trials are due to

A)demand characteristics.
B)experimenter bias.
C)maturation threat.
D)response set.

Question 26

Social Variables Single-blind experiments only control for

A)context variables.
B)demand characteristics.
C)experimenter bias.
D)response set.

Question 27

Social Variables Experimenters sometimes make errors in recording data that tend to favor the experimental hypothesis.This is an example of

A)demand characteristics.
B)experimenter bias.
C)the Rosenthal effect.
D)demand characteristics and experimenter bias.

Question 28

Social Variables In animal studies, experimenters should not handle animals in treatment conditions differently than those in control conditions since this would be a form of

A)demand characteristic.
B)experimenter bias.
C)history threat.
D)the Rosenthal effect.

Question 29

Social Variables Researchers implanted electrical devices into patients diagnosed with congestive heart failure.They randomly assigned patients to either an experimental condition (device turned on) or control condition (device turned off) for 6 months.Neither the subjects nor the supervising physicians knew their treatment condition until the study ended.Which design did these researchers use?

A)double-blind experiment
B)ex post facto study
C)pretest/posttest
D)single-blind experiment

Question 30

Social Variables Tammy's experiment compared the effectiveness of videotape and textbook presentation of a history lesson.Unexpectedly, her demeanor changed with each treatment condition.She appeared worried during the videotape condition because the audiovisual equipment periodically broke down.In contrast, she seemed relaxed in the textbook condition during which subjects read from a book.Which problem does this illustrate?

A)confounding by a context variable
B)experimenter bias
C)history threat
D)selection threat

Question 31

Social Variables Which of these techniques to control demand characteristics involves deception?

A)cover story
B)double-blind experiment
C)quasi-experiment
D)single-blind experiment

Question 32

Social Variables Wasson and colleagues' (1984) study of outpatient health care in elderly men kept both the patients and health-care providers from knowing

A)the medication administered to the patient.
B)the patient's admitting diagnosis.
C)the patient's prognosis.
D)whether the patient was assigned to only one health-care provider.

Question 33

Social Variables Russ suffers from social anxiety and participated in a 6-month study of a drug developed to treat this disorder.While the physician who provided his medication knew that Russ was in the experimental group, he did not disclose this information to Russ until the study was completed.Russ participated in a(n)

A)double-blind experiment.
B)ex post facto study.
C)quasi-experiment.
D)single-blind experiment.

Question 34

Social Variables A double-blind experiment is not possible in studies like the hypothetical investigation of cartoons and children's art described in this chapter.Instead, an experimenter can take precautions like keeping the person who scores their drawings "blind" to their treatment condition, and standardizing testing and scoring procedures.These steps help control confounding due to

A)context variables.
B)experimenter bias.
C)Rosenthal effects.
D)subject selection threat.

Question 35

Social Variables Researchers should not routinely employ cover stories because they

A)are a departure from fully-informed consent.
B)can confound a study with demand characteristics.
C)involve deception.
D)are a departure from fully-informed consent and involve deception.

Question 36

Social Variables Graduate students who were told their rats were either "maze-bright" or "stupid" observed dramatic differences in maze performance.The "maze-bright" rats quickly learned to run the maze while the "stupid" rats did poorly.What do these results illustrate?

A)experimenter bias
B)selection threat
C)the Rosenthal effect
D)experimenter bias and the Rosenthal effect

Question 37

Social Variables A swimming instructor, who was told his athletes had outstanding motor coordination and the potential to become excellent swimmers, coached them so well that they became excellent swimmers even though their motor skills were really about average.These results illustrate

A)experimenter bias.
B)selection threat.
C)the placebo effect.
D)the Rosenthal effect.

Question 38

Social Variables What does a double-blind experiment control?

A)demand characteristics
B)experimenter bias
C)confounding by context variables
D)demand characteristics and experimenter bias

Question 39

Social Variables In single-blind experiments,

A)experimenters are unaware of the treatments given to subjects.
B)experimenters encourage subjects to guess the experimental hypothesis.
C)subjects do not know which treatment they are receiving.
D)subjects do not receive feedback on their performance.

Question 40

Social Variables Rosenthal proposed all of these explanations of how "special" teacher expectations affected student performance on IQ tests except

A)teachers gave "bloomers" more feedback.
B)teachers gave "bloomers" more chances to ask questions.
C)teachers rewarded "bloomers" with increased privileges.
D)teachers taught "bloomers" more challenging material.

Question 41

Personality Variables Pat's relationship with his girlfriend during the 3 weeks he ran subjects resembled a very scary roller coaster ride.Their frequent fights and making up affected his performance in the lab.Some days he was angry and withdrawn while on others he was happy and outgoing.His inconsistent demeanor in both treatment conditions probably

A)increased statistical power.
B)made it harder to detect the effect of the IV.
C)made subject responses more variable.
D)made it harder to detect the effect of the IV and made subject responses more variable.

Question 42

Personality Variables Rosenthal reported that when an experimenter acts in a friendly manner, subjects sometimes

A)achieve higher scores on adjustment tests.
B)achieve higher scores on intelligence tests.
C)learn better.
D)all of these

Question 43

Personality Variables Keesha's study involved deception.She was supposed to truthfully inform control subjects that they might not have time to solve a difficult puzzle and lie to experimental subjects that previous subjects completed the same puzzle with time to spare.Sadly, she has no talent for lying.While she was relaxed in the control condition, she was visibly anxious in the experimental condition.This systematic change in her emotional state

A)confounded her experiment.
B)made it easier to detect the effect of the IV.
C)made subject responses in each condition more variable.
D)made it easier to detect the effect of the IV and made subject responses in each condition more variable.

Question 44

Context Variables Select the title that best follows the authors' suggestions for obtaining an unbiased sample.

A)"The Extreme Body Art Study"
B)"The Heavy Metal Music Experiment"
C)"The Sexual Practices Survey"
D)"The Social Attribution Experiment"

Question 45

Context Variables All of these are context variables except

A)experiment selection by subjects.
B)how experimenters assign subjects to conditions.
C)how experimenters recruit subjects.
D)how experimenters score data.

Question 46

Personality Variables McNemar's (1946) statement that "The existing science of human behavior is largely the science of the behavior of sophomores" challenged the ____ of academic research.

A)demand characteristics
B)experimenter bias
C)external validity
D)internal validity

Question 47

Personality Variables Zack is excited about how experimenter personality can positively influence subject performance.He says, "This is so cool! I'm going to smile at all my experimental subjects and they're going to perform like Pavlov's dog for me." What issue has Zack overlooked?

A)external validity
B)internal validity
C)selection threat
D)selection-interaction threat

Question 48

Context Variables When subjects sign up for studies that are scheduled at a convenient time or have an exciting title, this can

A)bias the sample.
B)confound the experiment.
C)reduce internal validity.
D)result in selection threat.

Question 49

Personality Variables Experimenters who have a ____ demeanor obtain the most natural subject behavior.

A)distant
B)hostile
C)pleasant
D)warm

Question 50

Personality Variables Volunteer subjects may differ from nonvolunteers in that volunteers may be

A)less authoritarian.
B)more politically and socially liberal.
C)more intelligent.
D)all of these

Question 51

Personality Variables ____ interviewers often obtain the best data and the most usable responses.

A)Aggressive
B)Authoritarian
C)Hostile
D)Likeable

Question 52

Personality Variables When you are the only experimenter, the best way to control the effect of your personality on subject performance is to

A)adjust experimental procedures to each subject's personality.
B)adjust your demeanor to each subject's personality.
C)minimize face-to-face contact.
D)adjust experimental procedures and your demeanor to each subject's personality.

Question 53

Personality Variables All of these describe experimenters who score high on the social desirability scale except

A)they are more enthusiastic.
B)they are more friendly.
C)they obtain more "I don't know" answers from respondents.
D)they smile more at their subjects.

Question 54

Context Variables Cat was concerned that she might have difficulty obtaining subjects because it was late in the semester.She brainstormed with her teammates and then said, "Most of the experiments advertised this semester have totally boring titles like 'The Attribution Experiment.' If we select an exciting title like 'The Extreme Sports Study,' we'll recruit hundreds of subjects." The problem with Cat's solution is that it could

A)confound her experiment.
B)reduce external validity.
C)reduce internal validity.
D)result in selection threat.

Question 55

Context Variables Timothy is a shy undergraduate who was pressured by his roommate to help run a field experiment where he had to ask mall shoppers a large or small favor.Since he found most subjects intimidating, he only approached grandmothers and stray children in the large favor condition, and impatient shoppers in the small favor condition.Timothy's behavior

A)confounded the experiment.
B)illustrated the Rosenthal effect.
C)introduced a demand characteristic.
D)was ethically inappropriate.