Deck 3: Sex Research Methods

Question 1

Who did William Masters first propose recruiting as participants for his study of the sexual response cycle?

A) Married American women
B) Unwed mothers from a local shelter
C) Sex trade workers
D) Graduate students at the University of Washington

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following has always been a significant challenge for researchers in conducting sexuality research?

A) Finding participants
B) Understanding the theories of sexuality
C) Reliability of surveys
D) Providing adequate compensation for study participants

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A study in which participants have been selected at random to accurately represent the population of interest in terms of gender, racial, socioeconomic, behavioural, and other characteristics is known as ___________.

A) rigid sampling
B) purposeful sampling
C) random sampling
D) reliability

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Specifically in sexuality research, even when random sampling techniques are used, a representative sample may be difficult to ascertain because ____________.

A) people who are willing to participate in research related to sex differ from those who would not
B) there is little to no evidence regarding the accuracy of random sampling in sex research
C) people lie to make themselves appear more socially desirable to the researcher
D) few people are ever willing to participate in sex research

Question 5

Talisha is designing a study in which she is determined to measure the effects of porn on female arousal. She is seeking to statistically prove or disprove the hypothesis that men are more likely to be aroused by porn. From what perspective is Talisha most likely approaching her study?

A) Medical model
B) Post-positivist
C) Rational
D) Positivist

Question 6

Richard von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis (1886) is often credited as the first text to approach sexuality from a modern scientific perspective. Which acts were pathologized in this text?

A) Sadism
B) Same-sex attraction
C) Fetishes
D) All of the above

Question 7

When researchers want to make sure the results of their research apply to the whole population, what must they must generate?

A) A random sample
B) A large sample
C) A convenience sample
D) A significant hypothesis

Question 8

What were the findings of research into the vaginal blood flow patterns (a physiological measure of arousal) of Asian-Canadian women who reported sexual guilt and lower arousal?

A) Reports of low arousal predicted low vaginal blood flow levels.
B) Blood flow levels were comparable to women who did not report low arousal or guilt related to sex.
C) Reports of low arousal predicted higher than average vaginal blood flow levels.
D) Self-report of arousal is a good predictor of vaginal blood flow levels.

Question 9

What is an essential responsibility of researchers who conduct research?

A) Making participants feel safe
B) Paying participants for their time
C) Using the most up-to-date technology possible
D) Avoiding using sex offenders as participants

Question 10

What is the major criticism of the positivist approach to sex research?

A) It fails to differentiate between female and male sexual response cycles.
B) There is no reliance on statistical data that is often not supported in peer-reviewed research.
C) There is an over-simplification of sexuality to include only measurable, observable, physical, and behavioural events.
D) There is an over-emphasis on the cultural and social contexts within which the research is conducted.

Question 11

The positivist approach to sex research is often reflected in the medical approach to human sexuality. This can be observed in the treatment in variations of women's sexual response as "dysfunctional." What is the criticism of this approach to treating women's sexual response?

A) It over-emphasizes the unique needs of women, therefore making diagnosis impossible.
B) This approach relies on a male model of sexuality and places expectations on women that may not be appropriate.
C) Women's sexual response rarely differs from men's, which influences accurate diagnosis of dysfunctions.
D) It follows flexible definitions of normal sexual behaviour, which makes diagnosis difficult.

Question 12

The sixteenth-century Arabic text by Sheikh Nefzaoui, The Perfumed Garden for the Soul's Recreation, claims that the orifice of the uterus acts as a suction-pump to pull every last drop of sperm from the man during intercourse for fertilization purposes. What is this known as?

A) The female sexual response cycle
B) The upsuck theory of orgasm
C) Male inevitability caused by the female organ
D) The climax-coitus orgasm theory

Question 13

What is one criticism of the positivist approach to studying sexuality?

A) It ignores disconfirming evidence and isn't scientifically valid.
B) It does not allow for the exploration of "taboo" subjects.
C) It lends itself to bias.
D) It ignores personal experience; and to understand sex you must understand personal experience.

Question 14

What was the focus of Richard von Krafft-Ebing's approach to sexuality in Psychopathia Sexualis?

A) Describing "normal" and "abnormal"
B) Describing all behaviours along a continuum
C) Describing causes of abnormality
D) Describing cross-cultural trends in sexual phenomena

Question 15

What research method did Alfred Kinsey use in his 1939 study of human sexual behaviour?

A) Experiments
B) Surveys
C) Interviews
D) Observations

Question 16

Who is known as the "father of sexology"?

A) Iwan Bloch
B) Richard von Krafft-Ebing
C) Sigmund Freud
D) Alfred Kinsey

Question 17

How did Iwan Bloch approach in sex research the natural variations in sexual phenomena such as masturbation and same-sex attraction?

A) By surveying sexual behaviours in a longitudinal study
B) By describing their occurrence across cultures and in healthy, "normal" individuals
C) By interviewing thousands of participants about their sexual histories
D) By observing patterns of sexual response in the laboratory

Question 18

Alfred Kinsey's research addressed a wide variety of topics, including marriage, sexual education, physical history, nocturnal sex dreams, masturbation, heterosexual experiences, same-sex sexual activity, and sexual contact with animals. What method did he primarily use to investigate these topics?

A) Self-report questionnaires
B) Observation
C) Secondary data-analysis
D) Interviews

Question 19

What was one major criticism of Alfred Kinsey's work?

A) He used questionnaires.
B) He deceived participants into revealing personal information.
C) He used a non-random sample.
D) He used a random sample.

Question 20

What are the major criticisms of Kinsey's research?

A) Inaccuracies in the reported prevalence of various behaviours and disorders
B) Oversampling of non-white ethnic groups
C) Use of random sampling
D) None of the above

Question 21

Although Masters and Johnson are often credited as the first to use observational techniques in sex research, there were a number of other researchers who had used this method. What was the actual reason that their techniques were innovative?

A) They enabled researchers to understand the prevalence of certain sexual responses.
B) They were the first to use direct observations of cervical contractions and blood flow changes during orgasm in a female patient.
C) They were the first to observe mechanical interactions between the penis and vagina.
D) They enabled researchers to measure sexual response.

Question 22

What was one criticism of Masters and Johnson's observational approach to the study of physiological sexual responses in humans?

A) They focussed on the orgasm as the "normal" outcome of sex.
B) They oversampled the African American population in their studies.
C) They oversampled university students in their study.
D) They treated same-sex relationships as "normal" at a time when same-sex relationships were not tolerated in society.

Question 23

Aaron scores a 6 on Kinsey's scale of sexual orientation. What can you infer about Aaron's past sexual experience from this score?

A) He had more than incidental heterosexual behaviour.
B) He had more than incidental homosexual behaviour.
C) He had exclusively homosexual behaviour.
D) He had exclusively heterosexual behaviour.

Question 24

Gabriela is conducting qualitative research in sexuality. What is one topic she may be studying?

A) Vaginal blood flow during and after intercourse
B) Sex hormone levels in gay and straight men
C) Words people use to describe feelings during oral and vaginal sex
D) The correlation between Kinsey's sexual orientation scale scores and people's score on a test measuring emotional intelligence

Question 25

How did Kinsey develop his sexual orientation scale?

A) Qualitative methods only
B) Quantitative methods only
C) Qualitative and quantitative methods
D) Correlations

Question 26

It can be implied from Masters and Johnson that the goal of sex is ____________.

A) pleasure
B) orgasm
C) reproduction
D) improved mental health

Question 27

What is the value of using qualitative methods?

A) They never introduce bias into the study and therefore are generalizable to almost all populations.
B) They allow the researcher to objectively identify and measure behaviour and physical processes (erection, vaginal lubrication, etc.) that occur during sexual activity.
C) They are able to account for subjective aspects of sexuality that are difficult to measure, such as a person's attitudes, beliefs, and emotions about sexuality.
D) They account for both the subjective and objective aspects of human sexuality and therefore provide the best analysis for research findings.

Question 28

What is the value of using quantitative methods?

A) The never introduce bias into the study and therefore are generalizable to almost all populations.
B) They are able to account for subjective aspects of sexuality that are difficult to measure, such as a person's attitudes, beliefs, and emotions about sexuality.
C) They allow the researcher to objectively identify and measure behaviour and physical processes (erection, vaginal lubrication, etc.) that occur during sexual activity.
D) They account for both the subjective and objective aspects of human sexuality and therefore provide the best analysis for research findings.

Question 29

What type of investigations can be helpful at the start of a research project because they may identify important issues not captured by general summaries?

A) Quantitative
B) Qualitative
C) Correlational
D) Empirical

Question 30

Why do some researchers believe qualitative approaches are unnecessary to the research process of sexual behaviour?

A) They are not applicable to general populations.
B) They do not accurately represent real-life situations.
C) They are difficult to interpret.
D) None of the above

Question 31

Riza wishes to summarize patterns of sexual attitudes and behaviour. What kind of research design will he use?

A) Descriptive
B) Correlational
C) Psychophysiological
D) Translational model

Question 32

What research design is useful when researchers wish to summarize patterns of sexual attitudes and behaviour, and/or generate ideas for future research by documenting aspects of sexuality through observation and participants' self-report?

A) Inductive research designs
B) Descriptive research designs
C) Mixed-methods research designs
D) Correlational research designs

Question 33

What are the strengths of the direct observation research method?

A) Descriptive; has increased ecological validity and accuracy; can provide much contextual information
B) Enables researchers to uncover detailed descriptions that reflect the richness of individual's lived experiences
C) Retains meaning and richness of data
D) Can evaluate clinically important patient groups, offers some degree of control over experimental parameters

Question 34

What are the weaknesses of quasi-experiments?

A) Cannot be used to make strong statements about cause and effect; unknown influence of confounding variables
B) Prone to inaccuracies when records are incomplete; variables in past records may not be ideal measures of current interests
C) Cannot infer causation; may be confounded by related but distinct constructs
D) Can be ethically implausible to use in research involving human subjects

Question 35

Using standardized procedures to evaluate the causal relationship between two variables using randomization, generally in quantitative research, is known as ___________.

A) experiments
B) archival data-mining
C) surveying
D) correlational design

Question 36

What is one disadvantage of descriptive studies?

A) They are susceptible to memory bias and responder bias.
B) The results are not usually generalizable.
C) They are prone to inaccuracies when records are incomplete.
D) They can be ethically implausible to use in research involving human subjects.

Question 37

Which research method allows for inference of cause and effect relationships?

A) An experimental design
B) A quasi-experimental design
C) A correlational design
D) A descriptive design

Question 38

Which type of study involves examining two or more variables that change in relation to one another?

A) Experiment
B) Survey
C) Case study
D) Correlational research design

Question 39

If it is important for participants of a research study to remain anonymous, which of the following methods should you use?

A) A survey
B) An experiment
C) A quasi-experiment
D) A case study

Question 40

A negative correlation between genital sensitivity and number of past sexual partners may suggest that individuals who have had many sexual partners have lower genital sensation than do individuals who have had few sexual partners. Yet this correlation can easily be explained by a third variable: age. Which concept is being illustrated here?

A) Correlation is not causation
B) Referencing is not validity
C) Memory bias interferes with results
D) Responder bias

Question 41

Which of the following requires that an individual make simple perceptual judgments on whether a stimulus is detectable, whether the stimulus is more or less intense than a previous sensation, and in some cases whether the stimulus is painful?

A) Thermography
B) Quantitative sensory testing
C) Doppler ultrasonography
D) Penile strain gauge

Question 42

Which tool is used to indirectly detect changes in blood flow associated with brain regional neural activity, including the most common technique, which is to assess cognitive, emotional, and sensory processes associated with sexual arousal, orgasm, genital pain, and even romantic love?

A) Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
B) Quantitative sensory testing
C) Penile photo-plethysmography
D) Penile strain gauge

Question 43

Animals that share important physiological and biological characteristics with humans, to the degree that they can be studied to reveal broad biological and behavioural patterns that are also present in humans, is known as __________.

A) behavioural models
B) chimps
C) replica dualisms
D) model organisms

Question 44

Amy is planning to set up a laboratory in which she studies sexual behaviours in relation to the physiological processes that underlie these behaviours. What discipline will she be primarily studying under?

A) Social sciences
B) Biology
C) Psychiatry
D) Behavioural neuroscience

Question 45

Rachel is conducting a study focussing on female sexuality in individuals with a history of childhood sexual abuse, and it is important for the participants to remain anonymous. Which research method or design would be best to use?

A) Survey
B) Interview
C) Direct observation
D) Case study

Question 46

Fateema has decided to use archival data-mining as part of her study on sexual behaviour. Which of the following obstacles may she come across?

A) The variables used in the past may not measure current interests.
B) The records used in the past will not allow her to infer causation.
C) It will be difficult to organize all the information obtained.
D) It will be difficult to quantify the data.

Question 47

Gerald would like to study couple communication as a predictor of divorce. Which of the following research methods/designs would be most useful?

A) Archival data-mining
B) Experiment
C) Quasi-experiment
D) Direct observation

Question 48

Which of the following research designs is the least intrusive on its subjects?

A) A case study
B) A survey
C) Direct observation
D) An experiment

Question 49

What kind of design involves identifying themes of meaning in a text or set of observations?

A) Content analysis
B) Case study
C) Descriptive study
D) Surveys

Question 50

When conducting observational studies, researchers generally try to avoid interfering with the phenomena they are observing in order to do which of the following?

A) Preserve ecological validity
B) Record things more accurately
C) Prevent memory bias
D) Prevent theoretical bias

Question 51

Which of the following is the best definition of memory bias?

A) The tendency for a participant to answer questions in a way she or he believes the researcher expects
B) A bias that can result from an individual's strict adherence to a specific theoretical approach
C) A bias that results from the fact that different people interpret behaviours and situations in different ways, based on their personal experiences, opinions, and beliefs
D) A bias that results from cognitive processes that interfere with the way in which a person remembers an event

Question 52

During direct observation, researchers generally try to avoid interrupting the phenomena they are observing. What are they trying to preserve?

A) Environmental reliability
B) Ecological validity
C) Memory bias
D) Social desirability

Question 53

Juanita is recording people's reactions after viewing BDSM porn for the first time. She later goes back and reviews the recordings and reports on them in her research. By using this technique, what is she avoiding?

A) Ecological observation
B) Participant interference
C) Memory bias
D) Interpretive anxiety

Question 54

Using video recordings, John Gottman monitored conversations between mixed-sex and same-sex couples at his laboratory. He found that participants' expressions of positive or negative emotion during a 15-minute couple conversation about marital conflict could predict marital outcome years later. During this research, if Gottman had had other researchers working with him analyze the recordings, what concern would he be addressing?

A) Interpretation bias
B) Memory bias
C) Participant bias
D) Responder bias

Question 55

John Gottman's work on couple communication in the prediction of divorce demonstrates the advantages of which research methodology?

A) Interviews
B) Surveys
C) Direct observation
D) Experiments

Question 56

Pete is summarizing detailed descriptions from a small sample of individuals who participated in his research project. Which of the following statements is most likely true?

A) Pete used a qualitative approach.
B) Pete used a quantitative approach.
C) Pete will not be able to draw any generalizable conclusions from his research.
D) Pete probably conducted a focus group.

Question 57

Which research method can be used qualitatively to uncover patterns or themes that naturally emerge from the research and to develop new ways of describing certain phenomena?

A) Quasi-experimental
B) Focus group
C) Longitudinal research
D) Content analysis

Question 58

Sandeep is conducting a study on marital conflict in same-sex couples versus mixed-sex couples. One of his concerns is the possibility of responder bias. Which research method is he likely using?

A) Survey
B) Interview
C) Direct observation
D) Case study

Question 59

When working with case studies, why is it an issue for researchers that there is a lack of a control group or experimental design?

A) It makes the information gathered unreliable.
B) It prevents the researcher from being able to draw any conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships.
C) It means there may be an interpretation bias.
D) None of the above

Question 60

Carolyn is working on a study about a poorly understood aspect of sexuality that would be unethical to study through the use of experiments. Which of the following research methods or designs would be more suitable?

A) Quasi-experiments
B) Direct observation
C) Case study
D) None of the above

Question 61

Which of the following is the best definition of responder bias?

A) The tendency for a participant to answer questions in a way she or he believes the researcher expects
B) A bias that can result from an individual's strict adherence to a specific theoretical approach
C) A bias that results from the fact that different people interpret behaviours and situations in different ways, based on their personal experiences, opinions, and beliefs
D) A bias that results from cognitive processes that interfere with the way in which a person remembers an event

Question 62

Freud and Breuer's case study of Anna O. illustrates how objective interpretation of a person's behaviour can be limited by which of the following?

A) Memory bias
B) Theoretical bias
C) Responder bias
D) Interpretation bias

Question 63

How might researchers avoid a biased result while conducting a survey?

A) Sample from a large group
B) Sample from a group with a wide variety of demographic characteristics
C) Select participants at random
D) All of the above

Question 64

Cindy Graham and her colleagues at the Kinsey Institute wanted to identify factors that can increase or decrease the level of a women's sexual arousal. They began by holding focus groups, after which they drew meaning from the sessions' transcripts. Based on the transcripts, the researchers noted that the participants judged how sexually aroused they felt based on certain physical cues, including genital "tingling, warmth, fullness, swelling, and lubrication." Which method were the researchers using?

A) Longitudinal study
B) Case study
C) Sexual psychophysiology
D) Qualitative content analysis

Question 65

Dr. Chen is interested in whether there is a relationship between the number of older brothers a man has and his score on Kinsey's sexual orientation scale at age 30. What type of design will Dr. Chen use?

A) A correlational design
B) An experimental design
C) A quasi-experimental design
D) A case study design

Question 66

The National Health and Social Life Survey found that approximately what percentage of women under the age of 30 experienced pain during intercourse?

A) 2 per cent
B) 5 per cent
C) 10 per cent
D) 20 per cent

Question 67

Helen is creating a survey for her research project. What should she do to ensure the data she gathers will be valid and reliable?

A) Create open-ended questions.
B) Use proper scientific terms.
C) Use clearly worded multiple choice questions.
D) Make sure concepts don't overlap in a single question.

Question 68

Which term refers to a psychological, behavioural, and/or biological variable that changes along with the manipulated experimental variable?

A) Independent variable
B) Confounding variable
C) Dependent variable
D) Subject

Question 69

Why are experimental research designs rarely used in human sexuality research?

A) It is unethical.
B) It is impractical.
C) It is impossible to create truly random assignments to experimental and control groups.
D) All of the above

Question 70

Afshan is investigating whether physical activity can enhance sexual arousal in women. Which research method/design is she most likely using?

A) Delayed control-group design
B) Experimental design
C) Quasi-experimental design
D) None of the above

Question 71

Warren is conducting a research study where he is asking participants to rate the intensity of erotic stimuli. Which research method/design is Warren most likely using?

A) Case study
B) Interview
C) Experiment
D) Quasi-experiment

Question 72

Why is psychophysiological research popular in current research on sexuality?

A) It provides a purely objective measure of sexual experience.
B) It provides a purely subjective measure of sexual experience.
C) It allows subjective experiences to be related to physiological changes occurring at the same time.
D) It eliminates the problem of demand characteristics.

Question 73

If you want to study female sexual arousal using a method that shows results in real time with no delay, which method would you use?

A) Vaginal photoplethysmography
B) Labial thermistor
C) Doppler ultrasonography
D) Thermography

Question 74

What is one weakness of using penile volume plethysmography to study male arousal?

A) It is the most expensive method available.
B) It does not provide data in real time.
C) It does not measure the firmness of an erection.
D) The tight-fitting apparatus is uncomfortable during an erection.

Question 75

Deidre is conducting research on sexual arousal in females and is taking a psychophysiological approach. Which of the following methods would be best for measuring genital vascongestion?

A) Vaginal photoplethysmography
B) Vaginal pulse amplitude
C) Doppler ultrasonography
D) None of these methods will conclusively show a correlation between clitoral or vaginal blood flow and self-reported sexual arousal.

Question 76

What is one criticism of vaginal pulse amplitude as a measure of arousal?

A) There is no conclusive evidence that light reflected is correlated with arousal.
B) There is no conclusive evidence that blood flow is correlated with arousal.
C) There is no conclusive evidence that electrical activity is correlated with arousal.
D) The device is so uncomfortable that it actually may impede sexual arousal.

Question 77

What is the most common and reliable method for measuring male arousal?

A) Penile thermography
B) The penile strain gauge
C) Penile photoplethysmography
D) Penile volume plethysmography

Question 78

What is the most valid and reliable use of female vaginal blood flow as a measure of arousal?

A) Within-subject comparisons
B) Control group comparisons
C) Between-subject comparisons
D) Delayed control group comparisons

Question 79

What has been found in studies using quantitative sensory testing techniques?

A) No physiological differences in pain transduction in people who report pain during sex
B) Increased sensitivity to both genital and non-genital pain for people who report pain during sex
C) Differences in pain sensitivity for women who report pain during sex but not for men who report pain during sex
D) Decreased non-genital pain sensitivity and increased genital pain sensitivity in people who report pain during sex.

Question 80

Which of the following can researchers study using brain imaging technology?

A) Arousal
B) Orgasm
C) Love
D) All of the above