Deck 6: Surveys and Observations: Describing What People Do

Question 1

Why are double-barreled questions problematic?

A)They may have poor construct validity.
B)They may be too easy to answer.
C)They are leading questions.
D)They are too conceptual.

Answer 1

They may have poor construct validity.

Question 2

Forced-choice question formats are especially good at dealing with which of the following issues?

A)Fence sitting
B)Faking good
C)Response sets
D)People self-reporting more than they can know

Answer 2

Fence sitting

Question 3

A study by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) involved telling teachers that some of their students were "bloomers" and would achieve rapid academic success within the next year. In fact, these students were no different than any of the other students in the class. At the end of the year, the "bloomers" showed more gains in IQ than the other students. It appeared that the teacher had unintentionally treated the "bloomers" in special ways. This is an example of which of the following?

A)Observer bias
B)Observer effects
C)A masked study design
D)Self-report operationalization

Answer 3

Observer effects

Question 4

Which of the following is true when asking people questions about themselves?

A)The confidence people have in their memories is not strongly related to the accuracy of their memory.
B)People are very good judges of the reasons for their behavior.
C)People are better able to remember vivid memories.
D)If people are inaccurate in reporting their reasons for behavior, it is because they are deliberately trying to be deceptive.

Question 5

Another word for observer effects is:

A)observer bias.
B)expectancy effects.
C)interrater reliability.
D)unobtrusive observation.

Question 6

In developing a measure of "need for cognition" (the degree to which people like thinking and problem-solving), Dr. Jonason asks his participants to rate their agreement with the following statement: "I frequently solve and enjoy solving crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles." What is the problem with this question?

A)It is a forced-choice question.
B)It is a double-barreled question.
C)It has a double negative.
D)It is a leading question.

Question 7

How do reverse-worded items address shortcuts?

A)They slow down readers, making them answer more carefully.
B)They give people more answer options.
C)They are easier for people to read.
D)They ask each question twice so the participant answers twice.

Question 8

RESEARCH STUDY 6.1: Professor Singh creates a survey to measure how happy his students are with his teaching this semester. He is teaching two classes: Psychology and Law and Introduction to Neuroscience. He writes the following questions for his survey:
A.What was your favorite part of this class?
B.Please rate how much you agree with the following statement using the scale below: This was one of my favorite classes all semester.

C.Which of the following is most true of you? a. I am a very serious student. b. I try only as hard as I have to.
D. How easy did you feel this class was?

Which of the questions above is an example of a question that uses a Likert scale?

A)Question A
B)Question B
C) Question C
D) Question D

Question 9

Dr. Gore is conducting a survey examining people's opinions toward funding for collegiate athletics on his campus. He notices that several participants agree with all 12 questions. This could be an example of all of the following EXCEPT:

A)a response set.
B)acquiescence.
C)yea-saying.
D)fence sitting.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true of observational data?

A)Observational measures automatically have good construct validity.
B)Observational measures cannot be used to make causal claims.
C)Observational measures can be used to make frequency claims.
D)Observational measures provide better information than self-report data.

Question 11

Dr. Paul is concerned about a fence-sitting response set when he conducts his survey. Which of the following might you recommend to decrease fence sitting?

A)Using reverse-worded questions
B)Using scales with an even number of response options
C)Providing a "no opinion" option
D)Using a Likert scale

Question 12

RESEARCH STUDY 6.1: Professor Singh creates a survey to measure how happy his students are with his teaching this semester. He is teaching two classes: Psychology and Law and Introduction to Neuroscience. He writes the following questions for his survey:
A.What was your favorite part of this class?
B.Please rate how much you agree with the following statement using the scale below: This was one of my favorite classes all semester.

C.Which of the following is most true of you? a. I am a very serious student. b. I try only as hard as I have to.
D.How easy did you feel this class was?

Which of the questions above is an example of a forced-choice question?

A)Question A
B)Question B
C) Question C
D) Question D

Question 13

RESEARCH STUDY 6.2: Dr. Ewell, a developmental psychologist, is planning on conducting a study that involves watching children play together to determine how sharing behavior occurs in same-sex friend pairs compared to opposite-sex friend pairs.
Dr) Ewell is concerned that the children will behave differently because of the presence of research assistants. He is concerned about:

A)reactivity.
B)observer bias.
C)faking good.
D)interrater reliability.

Question 14

Which of the following increases accurate responding?

A)Nay-saying response sets
B)Fence sitting
C)Reverse-worded questions
D)Acquiescence

Question 15

In his measure of "need for cognition" (the degree to which people like thinking and problem-solving), Dr. Jonason asks his participants to rate their agreement with the following statement: "I have never not enjoyed thinking." What is the problem with this question?

A)It is a forced-choice question.
B)It is a double-barreled question.
C)It has a double negative.
D)It is a leading question.

Question 16

Masked, or blind, study designs are designed to deal with:

A)yea-saying biases.
B)bystander effect.
C)observer bias.
D)faking good.

Question 17

RESEARCH STUDY 6.1: Professor Singh creates a survey to measure how happy his students are with his teaching this semester. He is teaching two classes: Psychology and Law and Introduction to Neuroscience. He writes the following questions for his survey:
A.What was your favorite part of this class?
B.Please rate how much you agree with the following statement using the scale below: This was one of my favorite classes all semester.

C.Which of the following is most true of you? a. I am a very serious student. b. I try only as hard as I have to.
D. How easy did you feel this class was?

Which of the questions above is an example of an open-ended question?

A)Question A
B)Question B
C) Question C
D) Question D

Question 18

Which of the following is the most direct way to control for question order effects?

A)Give the survey questions to different groups of people.
B)Prepare different versions of the survey, varying the order of the questions.
C)Combine multiple questions into single questions.
D)Order effects cannot be controlled for.

Question 19

RESEARCH STUDY 6.1: Professor Singh creates a survey to measure how happy his students are with his teaching this semester. He is teaching two classes: Psychology and Law and Introduction to Neuroscience. He writes the following questions for his survey:
A.What was your favorite part of this class?
B.Please rate how much you agree with the following statement using the scale below: This was one of my favorite classes all semester.

C.Which of the following is most true of you? a. I am a very serious student. b. I try only as hard as I have to.
D. How easy did you feel this class was?

Which of the questions above is an example of a question that uses a semantic differential scale?

A)Question A
B)Question B
C) Question C
D) Question D

Question 20

Dr. Gahan decides to create a questionnaire asking about people's attitudes toward immigration (a socially sensitive topic). He should be most concerned about which of the following?

A)People self-reporting more than they can know
B)Fence sitting
C)Faking bad
D)Negatively worded answers

Question 21

RESEARCH STUDY 6.2: Dr. Ewell, a developmental psychologist, is planning on conducting a study that involves watching children play together to determine how sharing behavior occurs in same-sex friend pairs compared to opposite-sex friend pairs.
Imagine that Dr. Ewell calculates a correlation (e.g., ICC) for his two raters. Which of the following would be the best value for Dr. Ewell to find?

A)−0.92
B)0.02
C)0.89
D)1.15

Question 22

RESEARCH STUDY 6.2: Dr. Ewell, a developmental psychologist, is planning on conducting a study that involves watching children play together to determine how sharing behavior occurs in same-sex friend pairs compared to opposite-sex friend pairs.
Imagine that Dr. Ewell wants to videotape the children interacting in the park. Which of the following is true?

A)He will likely need to get permission to videotape the children prior to doing so.
B)If he uses hidden cameras, he does not need to tell the participants they have been videotaped.
C)He will be unable to use videotape because he is studying children.
D)He can use the videotapes regardless of whether the adult objects as long as the child agrees.

Question 23

RESEARCH STUDY 6.2: Dr. Ewell, a developmental psychologist, is planning on conducting a study that involves watching children play together to determine how sharing behavior occurs in same-sex friend pairs compared to opposite-sex friend pairs.
Which of the following is Dr. Ewell likely to give his research assistants to prevent observer bias?

A)A video camera
B)A developmental psychology textbook
C)A codebook
D)Binoculars

Question 24

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using open-ended questions?

A)The answers provided are often spontaneous.
B)The answers are unscientific.
C)The answers must be coded.
D)The answers are not taken seriously by participants.

Question 25

Which of the following is a poll likely to measure?

A)A person's attitude toward their doctor
B)A person's feelings about people diagnosed with cancer
C)A person's thoughts about whether they prefer Advil or Tylenol
D)A person's opinions about a healthcare law

Question 26

Which of the following determines the construct validity of a survey question?

A)How well it is worded
B)How many people answer it
C)How short it is
D)How many response options it has

Question 27

In which of the following studies is self-report the best data collection option?

A)A study examining the intensity of pain during natural childbirth
B)A study examining the health of children born via natural childbirth
C)A study examining discussions about natural childbirth between mothers and doctors
D)A study examining the breathing styles used during natural child birth

Question 28

Dr. Jewell is interested in measuring people's attitudes toward proposed tax cuts. One of his items reads, "People who support cutting taxes are not well informed about how the government works." What is the problem with this question?

A)It is a forced-choice question.
B)It is a double-barreled question.
C)It has a double negative.
D)It is a leading question.

Question 29

RESEARCH STUDY 6.2: Dr. Ewell, a developmental psychologist, is planning on conducting a study that involves watching children play together to determine how sharing behavior occurs in same-sex friend pairs compared to opposite-sex friend pairs.
Dr) Ewell is concerned that the children will behave differently because of the presence of research assistants. Which of the following could he do to address this concern?

A)Make the observations himself instead of using a research assistant
B)Have two undergraduate research assistants make the observations instead of just one
C)Observe the same-sex friend pairs on the first day and the opposite-sex friend pairs on the second day
D)Hide a video camera in the daycare center and record the children playing without them knowing

Question 30

Which of the following is true of interrater reliability?

A)It is measured with an ICC.
B)It is necessary to calculate only if you have four or more raters.
C)It does not need to be calculated if your research assistants are well trained.
D)If interrater reliability is established, it means the observations are also valid.

Question 31

Faking good is also known as:

A)fence sitting.
B)acquiescence.
C)socially desirable responding.
D)nondifferentiation.

Question 32

RESEARCH STUDY 6.2: Dr. Ewell, a developmental psychologist, is planning on conducting a study that involves watching children play together to determine how sharing behavior occurs in same-sex friend pairs compared to opposite-sex friend pairs.
Dr) Ewell decides to collect his data at a neighborhood park. He has his two research assistants pose as a married couple having a picnic. While having their picnic, they take detailed records of the sharing behavior of the children and note whether the pairs are same sex or opposite sex. This technique is known as:

A)a blind study design.
B)unobtrusive observation.
C)delayed observation.
D)a double-blind study design.

Question 33

RESEARCH STUDY 6.2: Dr. Ewell, a developmental psychologist, is planning on conducting a study that involves watching children play together to determine how sharing behavior occurs in same-sex friend pairs compared to opposite-sex friend pairs.
Imagine that Dr. Ewell wants to videotape the children interacting in the park. Why would most psychologists have no problem with the ethics of Dr. Ewell's study?

A)His research topic is interesting.
B)People in a public park do not expect their behavior to be private.
C)Research with children is generally not risky.
D)Observing children is the only way to collect data about this topic.

Question 34

RESEARCH STUDY 6.2: Dr. Ewell, a developmental psychologist, is planning on conducting a study that involves watching children play together to determine how sharing behavior occurs in same-sex friend pairs compared to opposite-sex friend pairs.
Dr) Ewell decides to collect his data at a neighborhood park. He has his two research assistants pose as a married couple having a picnic. While having their picnic, they take detailed records of the sharing behavior of the children and note whether the pairs are same sex or opposite sex. Given his use of two research assistants, he must establish the of their measures.

A)face validity
B)convergent validity
C)interrater reliability
D)test-retest reliability

Question 35

Unobtrusive observation is done to counteract which of the following?

A)Observer bias
B)Observer effects
C)Reactivity
D)Nay-saying

Question 36

Observer bias relates mainly to , whereas observer effects stem from

A)validity; reliability
B)researchers; participants
C)faking good; faking bad
D)outcomes; expectations

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT a way to deal with reactivity?

A)Blending in with the surroundings
B)Waiting to begin observations
C)Measuring the behavior unobtrusively
D)Using multiple observers

Question 38

Which of the following is another term for response sets?

A)Observer bias
B)Nondifferentiation
C)Socially desirable responding
D)Uniqueness

Question 39

The construct validity of observations can be threatened by all of the following EXCEPT:

A)observer bias.
B)observer effects.
C)reactivity.
D)socially desirable responding.

Question 40

Which of the following questions is most likely to result in a socially desirable answer?

A)"How often do you shop online?"
B)"Have you ever sent a 'sext' (a sexually explicit message or photo)?"
C)"When was the last time you tweeted/retweeted?"
D)"Why did you choose your Facebook profile photo?

Question 41

If a question has response options such as strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, and strongly disagree, this is known as a(n):

A)Likert scale.
B)agreement scale.
C)semantic differential format.
D)open-ended format.

Question 42

State three ways that a researcher could reduce reactivity in a study and why each one is effective.

Question 43

A question that leads people to answer in a particular way is known as a(n):

A)leading question.
B)double-barreled question.
C)negatively worded question.
D)ordered question.

Question 44

A researcher wants to know what people really do, not what they think they do. Which method would you advise him to use?

A)Behavioral observations
B)Self-report questions
C)Both behavioral observations and self-report questions are equally good for finding out what people really do.
D)Neither behavioral observations nor self-report questions is desirable for finding out what people really do.

Question 45

RESEARCH STUDY 6.3: Dr. Omiata is working on creating a survey designed to measure people's attitudes toward marijuana use. For each statement, the person is asked to rate their agreement on a 5-point scale. A selection of his statements is below.

A.I think that people who illegally ruin their lives by smoking pot are all alike.
B.I think that marijuana should be legal in all 50 states and that people should have easy access to it.
C.Marijuana consumption should never not be controlled.
D.People who smoke marijuana are breaking the law.
For each of Dr. Omiata's statements, state whether it is well worded. If it is not, indicate what the problem is and how it could be fixed.

Question 46

Which of the following is true of behavioral observation?

A)It requires recording technology, such as video cameras.
B)It requires a research assistant to be with the participant at all times.
C)It may tell a different story than data collected by self-report questions.
D)It is a more reliable and valid method than self-report methodology.

Question 47

Which of the following is a good reason a researcher may give for using observational methods as opposed to self-report methods?

A)"I do not want to have to worry about the construct validity of my conceptual variable."
B)"I do not want to have to worry about ethics."
C)"I want to measure something that people may not know how often they do it."
D)"I want to make a causal claim."

Question 48

Why might question order affect how people respond to a survey or poll?

A)People cannot understand multiple questions.
B)People are lazy.
C)People may try to appear consistent.
D)People are easily confused.

Question 49

Julian creates a survey asking participants first to report how happy they are in their marriage and then second to report how happy they are in their life. His advisor, Dr. Fuentes, recommends that he create a second version of the survey that reverses the order of these questions. Why is Julian's advisor recommending this?

A)He is concerned that Julian has a double-barreled question.
B)He is concerned that Julian's results could be affected by question order.
C)He is concerned that Julian's participants will use shortcuts.
D)He is concerned that Julian's participants will try to fake good.

Question 50

Which of the following is a unique threat to construct validity found only in behavioral observation?

A)Acquiescence
B)Fence sitting
C)Socially desirable responding
D)Observer bias

Question 51

Which of the following is true of question wording?

A)It has no effect on the results of a survey/poll.
B)No research has scientifically demonstrated that question wording affects the answers participants give.
C)Differences in how questions are worded always lead to different results.
D)Researchers may alter the wording of a question to determine if it does have an effect on the results.

Question 52

Dr. Leman is interested in using a survey to study people's experiences with natural disasters, like Hurricane Sandy and the tornadoes that hit Joplin, Missouri, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Provide one reason why a survey is a good method to study this topic and one reason that a survey may not be a good method.

Question 53

Write three questions designed to measure liking for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches-one forced-choice, one open-ended, and one with a response scale (can be of any type).

Question 54

Explain why each of the following poses problems to a measure's validity: response sets (acquiescence, nay-saying, and fence sitting), socially desirable responding (faking good or faking bad), and inability to report.

Question 55

Dr. Katz is interested in studying self-esteem. He is especially curious as to whether people who have higher self-esteem say the words I and me more often than those who have low self-esteem do. He has decided to poll people and ask them how often they say these words during the day. Explain why you would advise him not to use this method and explain what alternative you would propose.

Question 56

Dr. Smith is interested in measuring how adults view sexual behavior in teenagers. She asks the following two questions.
i.Is it okay for boys under the age of 18 to be sexually active?
ii.Is it okay for girls under the age of 18 to be sexually active?
Explain why Dr. Smith should be worried and how she can correct the problem.

Question 57

What is an advantage of open-ended questions? What is a disadvantage?

Question 58

Explain why observational methods are typically seen by most psychologists as ethical.

Question 59

Explain the difference between observer bias and observer effects and give an example of each.

Question 60

Why would behavioral observation be a good research method for studying a high-frequency behavior (e.g., number of words spoken in a day or number of steps taken in a week)?

A)It will take less time to collect the data.
B)Participants would not be able to accurately keep track of so much data.
C)It is cheaper to collect data than it is to self-report data.
D)Researchers do not need to obtain participant consent for behavioral observation.

Question 61

Dr. Overup decides to use a hidden camera to videotape the behavior of people on dates at a local restaurant to determine how they express affection in public. State which threat to construct validity Dr. Overup is trying to address. Briefly discuss how she should deal with the ethics of the hidden camera.

Question 62

Explain how a masked or blind design deals with both observer bias and observer effects.

Question 63

Explain why socially desirable responding happens. Name one way to decrease the likelihood of its occurrence.

Question 64

Dr. Overup decides to use a hidden camera to videotape the behavior of people on dates at a local restaurant to determine how they express affection in public. She has three research assistants code each video. She calculates an ICC of .94 for their rating of affection. Explain how Dr. Overup should interpret this value and what it tells her in terms of the reliability and validity of her measure.

Question 65

There are several ways to decrease socially desirable responding. Choose one of these and explain why it decreases this response tendency.