Deck 10: Conducting Social Psychology Experiments: Practical Matters

Question 1

When research participants will do virtually whatever a researcher asks them to-even when the task is incredibly dull, repetitious, and meaningless-Orne (1962) suggested they were:

A) reducing dissonance
B) displaying psychological realism
C) being good subjects
D) affected by the independent variable

Answer 1

being good subjects

Question 2

Ideally, to properly influence participants, a research setting should be:

A) simple
B) familiar
C) involving
D) all of the above

Answer 2

all of the above

Question 3

Cues that suggest the true purpose of a research project are called:

A) experimental biases
B) demand characteristics
C) good subject effects
D) none of the above

Answer 3

demand characteristics

Question 4

A social psychologist asks a research participant to "help me out by acting as the experimenter in this study." She is most likely trying to reduce the study's:

A) experimental biases
B) demand characteristics
C) good subject effects
D) none of the above

Question 5

An experiment relies on two researchers to deploy the independent variable and measure the dependent variable. When neither researcher knows whether a given participant is in an experimental or a control condition, the study is using a:

A) double-blind procedure
B) multi-method approach
C) quasi-experimental design
D) nonreactive measures

Question 6

Debriefing is not always required once a social psychology experiment is over.

Question 7

Ross, Lepper, and Hubbard (1975) found that debriefing:

A) was sufficient to eliminate the impact of false feedback
B) was not sufficient to eliminate the impact of false feedback
C) had no impact on the influence of false feedback
D) none of the above

Question 8

It is both ethically and experimentally permissible to ask participants not to discuss the nature of your experiment with others until all data collection is completed.

Question 9

A research participant takes part in your study but just before you administer the dependent variable, she says she must leave. As the experimenter, you are still required to give her a credit slip indicating she completed the experiment.

Question 10

An experimental sign-up sheet should contain:

A) a time, date, and place where the study will occur
B) a contact number or email address for the experimenter
C) a brief description of the task the participants will perform
D) all of the above

Question 11

What is the so-called "good subject effect"? Why does it present particular problems for social psychological research?

Question 12

What is a cover story? Why is it often a necessary part of a social psychology experiment?

Question 13

Describe some of the qualities that a good research setting needs so that participants are properly drawn into and influenced by it.

Question 14

What are demand characteristics? Why do they pose problems for psychological research?

Question 15

List and discuss some tactics or procedures for dealing with demand characteristics in social psychology experiments.

Question 16

Why are experimenter expectancy effects (which were first discussed in chapter 5) a form of experimenter bias? What can a researcher do to reduce or eliminate this problem?

Question 17

Discuss some of the methods a social psychologist can use to reduce experimenter bias.

Question 18

Why is record keeping so important for an piece of psychological research? Why is good record keeping a researcher's ethical responsibility?

Question 19

What is debriefing? Why is debriefing especially important when conducing social psychological research? What sorts of things can a social psychologist learn during a debriefing?

Question 20

List some of the important guidelines for conducting a debriefing at the conclusion of an experiment.

Question 21

As part of an experimental manipulation, an experimenter falsely informs a participant that "you did worse on this intelligence test that over 90% of the people who have been in this study." Discuss why a social psychology researcher should hesitate to give such false feedback even when a debriefing will follow at the end of the study.

Question 22

What is a debriefing sheet? Why can it be a useful part of the debriefing process?

Question 23

If a research participant quits a study early, must the investigator still provide him or her with credit or payment for taking part? Why or why not?

Question 24

What is the minimal sort of information that should appear in sign-up sheets used to recruit participants for a social psychology or other experiment?

Question 25

If your psychology department lacks a human participant pool and a place to post sign-up sheets for experiments, what are some other appropriate and ethical techniques you can use to recruit research participants?