Deck 13: Interpreting the Results of Research

Question 1

Assume that Professor X has decided to conduct a quasi-experiment where students are assigned to an experimental type of class instruction based on their performance on this final exam.(To qualify for participation,students must either score above 90 percent or below 60 percent).Which problem would be most likely to interfere with the ultimate conclusion that student ability influenced the effectiveness of the instruction?

A) regression to the mean
B) measured differences between the groups of students
C) the scale attenuation problem
D) interactions between matched variables

Answer 1

regression to the mean

Question 2

The issue of scale attenuation in the dependent variable refers to the problems of interpretation when performance is:

A) nearly perfect
B) around the mean
C) neither perfect nor poor
D) either nearly perfect or very poor

Answer 2

either nearly perfect or very poor

Question 3

Of the following,which characteristic represents the most desirable property of experiments?

A) regression artifact
B) scale attenuation
C) statistical reliability
D) experimental reliability

Answer 3

experimental reliability

Question 4

Why does regression to the mean frequently occur?

A) Experimenters take multiple measures of behavior.
B) Assignment of participants is often based on factors that are not under experimenter control.
C) Experimenters prefer to randomly assign participants to conditions.
D) Scale attenuation effects are unavoidable.

Question 5

Which of the following is not a type of experimental replication?

A) direct replication
B) indirect replication
C) systematic replication
D) conceptual replication

Question 6

A ceiling effect would be suggested if:

A) the performance of all groups is very poor
B) the performance of any group is nearly perfect
C) the performance of all groups is at chance levels
D) performance changes markedly across test trials

Question 7

Scale attenuation problems might best be overcome by:

A) making a hard task harder
B) making an easy task easier
C) using counterbalancing
D) conducting pilot research to know how to adjust task difficulty

Question 8

Suppose that you were an A student,but on your last test you received a B,and the average of the class was a C)The phenomenon of statistical regression suggests that on your next test you will most likely receive a(n):

A) A
B) A-
C) B
D) C

Question 9

Assume that a student in a psychology course scored particularly low on an exam compared to others in the class and to his own usual level of performance.We should expect any subsequent exam scores from this student to be higher,even without knowing anything about this student's general abilities in the course.This best represents an example of ____.

A) a regression artifact
B) a deviant-case analysis
C) maturation
D) carryover effects

Question 10

How might regression artifacts have been avoided in the Westinghouse-Ohio evaluation of Head Start?

A) matching groups based on a pre-test score
B) replicating the experiments in another locale
C) randomly assigning the participants
D) ignoring selection of participants based on socioeconomic status

Question 11

Assume that you cast a die 10 times,and the average of all the numbers that are obtained is 5.What condition below should you expect to occur?

A) The average score should be 2 for the next 10 rolls.
B) The die must be weighted.You would not obtain the same average score using a standard die.
C) The average score should be closer to 3.5 after 1,000 rolls.
D) The same average score (5)should be expected regardless of how many times the die is cast.

Question 12

Regression to the mean should not occur if:

A) many measurements are taken
B) each measurement is error free
C) measurements are not reliable
D) only one measurement is taken

Question 13

Consider a multiple-choice exam with four alternatives per question.What score (in terms of percentage correct)defines a floor effect?

A) 0
B) 25
C) 50
D) 75
E) 100

Question 14

Experimental reliability may be established by:

A) control over possible confounding variables
B) use of operational definitions
C) conducting parallel forms of the experiment
D) replication with an additional sample of similar participants
E) correlating one half of the experiment with the other

Question 15

Confidence in the reliability of an experimental result increases when:

A) the same conclusion is reached using a different method
B) the experiment is repeated
C) the experiment is based on a small number of observations
D) the finding disappears upon the controlled manipulation of a potentially irrelevant variable

Question 16

The problem of regression artifacts:

A) refers to research results produced by statistical regression
B) is based on the fact that any individual score will approach the mean of the group across repeated tests
C) only occurs when there are no population differences among the participants
D) cannot influence the outcome of an experiment when a single test score is used as a basis for assigning participants to conditions.

Question 17

Regression artifacts can be avoided by:

A) use of matched subjects
B) random assignment of participants
C) counterbalancing
D) use of natural treatments

Question 18

Einstellung refers to the tendency of people who are trying to solve a problem:

A) not to use a functional object in an unusual way
B) to waste a lot of time looking for the most efficient solution to the problem
C) to repeat a previously successful strategy
D) not to use a strategy more than once

Question 19

Careful consideration of Head Start indicates that:

A) Head Start provides no benefit
B) Head Start benefits only those people below the mean
C) the program should be just for disadvantaged children
D) no conclusion is reasonable

Question 20

Yonelinas et al.(2002)could not conclude that medial temporal lobe damage disrupted the conscious retrieval of past events because:

A) recall and recognition performance was identical
B) floor effects were observed for participants with brain damage
C) recognition performance was nearly perfect regardless of whether or not participants had temporal lobe damage
D) recall performance was identical for individuals with and without temporal lobe damage

Question 21

Direct replication of an experiment involves:

A) repeating the original experiment with slight changes in the participant population
B) repeating aspects of the original experiment,but changing likely irrelevant variables
C) demonstrating the phenomenon with a new paradigm or set of experimental operations
D) repeating the original experiment with the original participants

Question 22

Which of the following is an example of a direct replication?

A) administering the same exam twice to a methods class
B) delivering an assessment in a new location to see if that affects results
C) comparing performance on a practical,verbal exam with a written test
D) comparing neurophysiological and behavioral measures on a perceptual task

Question 23

As a general rule,a way of guarding against scale attenuation problems involves avoiding extremes in performance.

Question 24

Converging operations are important in psychology because:

A) convergent reliability is established
B) clear definitions are necessary for communication
C) they serve to eliminate alternative explanations of a phenomenon
D) they usually eliminate regression artifacts

Question 25

The main cause of regression artifacts is measurement error.

Question 26

The procedure of converging operations is quite similar to:

A) direct replication
B) indirect replication
C) systematic replication
D) conceptual replication

Question 27

The best conclusion about the Head Start studies is that the program does not work.

Question 28

Reliable measures do not show regression to the mean.

Question 29

Replicated results are usually preferred to statistically reliable results.

Question 30

The drinking fountain experiment on personal space is best considered as a(n)____ ____ of the prisoner experiment.

A) partial replication
B) direct replication
C) systematic replication
D) conceptual replication

Question 31

A researcher decides to repeat an experiment after changing the instruction set.Then,he/she decides to repeat the experiment yet again,this time involving a different type of participant.This is most likely an example of a ____.

A) direct replication
B) systematic replication
C) conceptual replication
D) converging operations approach

Question 32

A conceptual replication involves repeating an experiment as closely as possible.

Question 33

Scale attenuation imposes arbitrary limits on behavior.

Question 34

Conceptual replication of an experiment involves:

A) repeating the original study with the original participants
B) repeating the original study with a slightly different subject population
C) demonstrating the phenomenon with an entirely new paradigm or set of experimental conditions
D) changing numerous variables not thought to be critical to the phenomenon under consideration

Question 35

Sanitioso and colleagues' converging operations experiments on memory search for autobiographical information collectively appear to reveal an influence of ____.

A) priming
B) motivation
C) participant knowledge of the experimenter's goal(s)
D) demand characteristics

Question 36

A ceiling effect generally means that performance is too poor or too low to detect differences in behavior.

Question 37

In the Head Start studies,regression artifacts were present because of a failure to have two sample groups from the same population.

Question 38

Kinzel found that violent prisoners have:

A) larger personal space bubbles than nonviolent prisoners
B) smaller personal space bubbles than nonviolent prisoners
C) smaller personal space bubbles than non-prisoners
D) a larger personal space area in the front than behind

Question 39

Systematic replication of an experiment involves:

A) repeating the original experiment with the original participants
B) repeating the original study with a slightly different subject population
C) demonstrating the phenomenon with an entirely new paradigm or set of experimental conditions
D) changing numerous variables not thought to be critical to the phenomenon under consideration

Question 40

An unreliable test also is an invalid test.

Question 41

The notion that we have an invisible bubble protecting us from invasion is called personal space.

Question 42

Converging operations are similar to conceptual replications.

Question 43

Violent,aggressive prisoners have smaller personal spaces than do nonviolent prisoners.

Question 44

In a systematic replication,attempts are made to replicate a phenomenon in an entirely different way.

Question 45

A concept defined by converging operations is unlikely to be altered as additional evidence continues to be acquired on the given research topic.