Question 1

In a balanced Latin square design:

Accepted Answer

In a balanced Latin square design, each treatment precedes and follows every other treatment equally often, ensuring that all treatments are equally distributed across the rows and columns. This design helps in controlling for two blocking factors.

Question 2

When would it be appropriate to completely counterbalance a set of conditions?

Accepted Answer

Complete counterbalancing is most appropriate when there are a limited number of conditions and the order of these conditions is expected to influence the outcome (dependent measure). This approach ensures that each condition is presented in each possible order across participants, helping to control for order effects.

Question 3

Advantages of within- over between-subjects designs include all of the following except that:

Accepted Answer

Within-subjects designs actually have a higher chance of contamination between treatments because the same subjects are exposed to all treatments, potentially carrying over effects from one treatment to the next.

Question 4

In a completely counterbalanced experimental design:

Accepted Answer

In a completely counterbalanced design, all possible orders of treatments are used to ensure that the order does not affect the outcome. This helps in controlling order effects across conditions.

Question 5

Careful experiments should include:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Careful experiments should include:
...

Question 6

Counterbalancing is used:

Accepted Answer

Counterbalancing is used in within-subjects designs to distribute order effects evenly across treatments, ensuring that each condition is tested in each possible order to control for order effects.

Question 7

For between-subjects designs,randomization and matching are techniques used in an attempt to:

Accepted Answer

Randomization and matching are techniques specifically used to ensure that groups are equal at the start of an experiment. This helps in controlling for confounding variables and ensures that any differences observed between groups can be attributed to the manipulation of the independent variable rather than pre-existing differences between the groups.

Question 8

Which of these variables should not be included in the placebo group of a between-subjects experiment?

Accepted Answer

Treatment-specific demand characteristic effects should not be included in the placebo group of a between-subjects experiment because they are directly related to the specific treatment being tested, and including them in the placebo group would contaminate the control conditions by introducing expectations or behaviors specific to the treatment rather than maintaining a neutral comparison group.

Question 9

Randomization is usually preferred to matching for establishing group equivalence because:

Accepted Answer

Randomization is preferred because it helps control for both known and unknown confounding variables, whereas matching requires knowledge of all relevant variables, which may not be possible.

Question 10

Which statement about matching along subject variables is true?

Accepted Answer

Matching on one variable can indeed lead to mismatches on other variables because it focuses on aligning participants based on a specific characteristic, potentially ignoring disparities in other areas.

Question 11

A major disadvantage of within-subjects designs is that:

Accepted Answer

The effect of one treatment may alter the effectiveness of another in within-subjects designs due to carryover effects, where the influence of one condition can affect the participant's response in subsequent conditions.

Question 12

Which of the following is not a reason for subject attrition?

Accepted Answer

Reliance on random assignment of participants to conditions is a methodological choice in experimental design aimed at reducing bias and ensuring that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any given condition. It does not inherently cause subject attrition, which refers to participants dropping out of a study. The other options (B, C, D) are common reasons why participants might not complete a study.

Question 13

A major disadvantage of between-subjects designs is that:

Accepted Answer

Between-subjects designs involve different groups of participants for each condition, which can lead to variability in participant characteristics. This variability can obscure the effects of the treatment because differences in outcomes may be due to participant differences rather than the treatment itself.

Question 14

Assume that a researcher is interested in determining the potential effect of alcoholic beverage intake on test performance.Each student agrees to drink either 0,1,2,4,or 8 beers the night before the exam,as assigned by the experimenter.The experimenter appears to be relying upon a ____ design.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Assume that a researcher is interested in...

Question 15

What is the most effective way to minimize the differences between two groups of participants if you have already identified their important characteristics that could influence the dependent measure?

Accepted Answer

Matching the groups along the important characteristics ensures that the groups are equivalent on those variables, minimizing differences that could affect the dependent measure.

Question 16

In a Latin square design:

Accepted Answer

In a Latin square design, each treatment appears exactly once in each row and column, ensuring that each treatment occurs equally often in each ordinal position.

Question 17

Dr.No is thinking of doing a controlled study on the effects of various levels of radiation on the health of his enemies.Why might he want to consider conducting it as a between-subjects study (rather than as a within-subjects study)?

Accepted Answer

In a between-subjects study, each subject is exposed to only one level of radiation, preventing any carryover effects from one level to another, which could influence the results.

Question 18

In Brady,et al.'s (1958)experiments,"executive monkeys" could prevent shocks from being delivered to them and another ("helpless")monkey.Contrary to the original conclusions,it now appears that the "executives" died from ulcers because of:

Accepted Answer

The original study had a selection bias, as monkeys that were more likely to make avoidance responses were chosen as "executives," leading to higher stress levels and ulcers.

Question 19

To try to obtain equivalent groups in between-subjects designs in an unbiased way,it is generally best to:

Accepted Answer

The answer of To try to obtain equivalent groups in...

Question 20

The difference between a within-subjects and a between-subjects design is:

Accepted Answer

In a within-subjects design, each participant is exposed to all conditions or treatments, allowing for direct comparison of their responses across these conditions. This means each participant effectively acts as their own control, which helps to control for individual differences that might otherwise confound the results.

Quiz 9: Experimental Design