Question 1

Which of the following occurs when researchers' expectations about a situation cause them to see what they expect to see or to make incorrect inferences about the behaviour they observe?

Accepted Answer

Experimenter bias occurs when researchers' expectations about a situation cause them to see what they expect to see or to make incorrect inferences about the behaviour they observe. This can lead to inaccurate results and conclusions. Situational bias refers to the influence of the environment or context on behaviour, inferential bias involves drawing incorrect conclusions from data, and selection bias refers to biases in the selection of participants for a study.

Question 2

What is given to the control group in many drug experiments?

Accepted Answer

In many drug experiments, the control group is given a placebo, which is a harmless substance that has no therapeutic effect. This is done to ensure that any changes in the experimental group are due to the actual medication being tested and not simply the placebo effect.

Question 3

In order to test the effect of praise on learning, a group of students receive verbal encouragement every time they do something correct. At the end of the semester, their grades are recorded and analyzed. What is missing from the above design?

Accepted Answer

The experiment lacks a control group where students are not receiving verbal encouragement, and their grades can be compared to the experimental group. Without a control group, it is difficult to determine if the verbal encouragement was the sole factor in improving the grades.

Question 4

Which of the following statements is not true of a control group?

Accepted Answer

A control group should not be exposed to the independent variable, as its purpose is to provide a baseline for comparison to the experimental group, which is the group that is exposed to the independent variable.

Question 5

Random assignment is used to control for

Accepted Answer

Random assignment is used to control for selection bias, which is the possibility of non-random differences between the groups being studied that can impact the results. By randomly assigning participants to each group, researchers can create two groups that are equivalent in terms of preexisting differences, making it less likely that any observed differences are due to factors other than the treatment or intervention being studied. Random assignment may also help control for subject bias, which is a type of selection bias that occurs when participants self-select into a study, but it is not primarily used for controlling the placebo effect or experimenter bias.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is not true of experimenter bias?

Accepted Answer

Experimenter bias can influence the researcher's interpretation of experimental results (A), the researcher's expectations can become a self-fulfilling prophecy (C), and it can be controlled if the researcher uses the double-blind technique (D). However, it can also influence the subjects' behavior (in addition to the researcher's interpretation of that behavior), so statement B is not true.

Question 7

Which of the following is not a limitation of the experimental method?

Accepted Answer

The experimental method is designed to determine cause-effect relationships, so this statement is not a limitation of the method.

Question 8

Monica has the participants for her experiment sign up on a sheet of paper. She then cuts each name out individually, and places all the names in a box. Monica then pulls the first name out of the box and writes the name on the list for the experimental group in her study. The second name from the box is written on the list for the control group. She repeats this action until all the names are listed in one of the two groups. This procedure is called

Accepted Answer

This procedure is called random assignment, as Monica is randomly assigning participants to either the experimental or control group by pulling names out of a box. Placebo effect refers to the belief that a treatment is effective even if it is inactive. Selection bias refers to a potential issue if the groups are not representative of the population. Experimenter bias refers to when the researcher's own beliefs or expectations may unintentionally influence the results of the study.

Question 9

A researcher conducting a study testing the effects of caffeine on attention is concerned about experimenter bias. The way for her to reduce this problem would be to

Accepted Answer

Using the double-blind technique would be the best choice to reduce experimenter bias. This involves neither the researcher nor the participants knowing whether they are receiving the treatment or a placebo, which helps to eliminate any potential bias from the researcher's expectations or the participants' beliefs about the effects of the treatment. Random assignment and the use of a placebo can also be helpful, but they do not directly address experimenter bias. Bearing in mind the potential placebo effect is also important, but it is not a solution to the problem of experimenter bias.

Question 10

Research results can be influenced if a researcher unconsciously behaves differently toward subjects in the various groups based on his or her preconceived notions. This is called

Accepted Answer

Experimenter bias occurs when a researcher unconsciously behaves differently toward subjects in the various groups based on his or her preconceived notions. This can lead to skewed or biased results in the research study.

Question 11

Who knows which subjects are in the experimental and control groups when the double-blind technique is used?

Accepted Answer

In a double-blind experiment, neither the experimenter nor the subjects know which group they are in. This helps to eliminate bias and increase the validity of the results.

Question 12

The group of subjects in an experiment that is exposed to the experimental environment but not given the treatment is known as

Accepted Answer

The control group is the group of subjects in an experiment that is exposed to the experimental environment but not given the treatment. This group is used as a comparison to the group that receives the treatment in order to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. The sample refers to the group of individuals or items that are selected to participate in the study, the random sample is a subset of the larger population that is selected randomly, and the population refers to the entire group of individuals or items that the researcher is interested in studying.

Question 13

Which of the following is not a true statement?

Accepted Answer

Properly conducted experiments cannot be completely free of influence from the researcher's expectations, as double-blind studies and other measures are used to try and minimize these influences.

Question 14

A psychologist conducted a study in which she studied the relationship between caffeine consumption and the ability to store words from a list in memory. The control group in the experiment was comprised of subjects who

Accepted Answer

The control group in this experiment would be the group of subjects who consumed no caffeine, as they would provide a baseline for comparison to the experimental group that did consume caffeine. Choices A and B are not appropriate as the control group should not have a perfect memory recall or be excluded from the task altogether. Choice D is not appropriate as the consumption of caffeine should have some effect on memory storage.

Question 15

The placebo effect occurs when a subject responds according to

Accepted Answer

The placebo effect occurs when a subject responds to a substance or procedure not because of any specific properties of the substance or procedure itself, but rather because of the subject's beliefs or expectations about the treatment.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is not true about an experimental group?

Accepted Answer

An experimental group is exposed to both the independent variable (manipulated by the researcher) and the dependent variable (the outcome or response measured by the researcher). The control group is the one that is only exposed to the dependent variable, serving as a reference point to compare the effects of the independent variable in the experimental group. Therefore, option B is not true.

Question 17

The phenomenon of experimenter bias shows that psychologists

Accepted Answer

Experimenter bias refers to the unconscious influence of the experimenter's own expectations on the behavior of the participants in a study. This can lead the experimenter to selectively attend to, and interpret, information that supports their theoretical preferences, which is reflected in their research findings.

Question 18

When the new drug was tested, both the researcher and the patients knew who was getting the new drug and who was getting a sugar pill that looked like the drug. If possible, this researcher should have used

Accepted Answer

The double-blind technique would ensure that neither the researcher nor the patients know who is receiving the new drug and who is receiving the sugar pill. This would prevent any potential biases or expectations from influencing the results of the study.

Question 19

The procedure which guarantees that all participants in an experiment have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the groups is referred to as

Accepted Answer

Random assignment ensures that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any of the experimental groups, thus minimizing the potential for bias and increasing the internal validity of the study.

Question 20

The double blind technique is used to control for the effects of

Accepted Answer

The double blind technique is used to control for the effects of experimenter bias, which occurs when the researcher's expectations or beliefs about the outcome of an experiment influence the results. By keeping both the researcher and the participants blind to the conditions of the study, this form of bias is eliminated. Selection bias, a poorly defined dependent variable, and individual differences among subjects are not addressed by the double blind technique.

Quiz 1: Introduction to Psychology