Question 1

A study examines scores on an employment test and job performance six months later. This study is most likely attempting to establish
A)criterion validity
B)face validity
C)reliability
D)construct validity

Accepted Answer

The study is examining the relationship between scores on the employment test and job performance, which is a way of establishing criterion validity. Criterion validity refers to the extent to which a test is related to a particular criterion, such as job performance.

Question 2

If an IQ test is reliable and a child scores 115, what is known?
A)the child will only be an average student in school
B)the student will perform at a level in school that is about 15% higher than others
C)the IQ test is a good measure of intellect
D)the person has a higher IQ than someone who scores 95

Accepted Answer

A reliable IQ test means that it consistently measures what it is supposed to measure. If a child scores 115, it indicates that their IQ is higher than someone who scores 95, assuming the test is reliable and valid.

Question 3

A test with a minimum amount of measurement error is said to be
A)reliable
B)valid
C)both alternatives a. and b.
D)none of the above

Accepted Answer

Reliability refers to the consistency and stability of a measurement, indicating minimal measurement error.

Question 4

On the "Connectedness to Nature" scale, convergent validity was established when it was found that a correlation existed between scores on the scale and
A)SAT scores
B)scores on a test of social desirability
C)scores on the NEP ("New Ecological Paradigm")test
D)scores on a shyness test

Accepted Answer

Convergent validity is demonstrated when a measure correlates well with other measures that it is theoretically expected to correlate with. The "Connectedness to Nature" scale is expected to correlate with the NEP test, which also measures environmental attitudes and beliefs.

Question 5

Guéguen and Ciccotti (2008)tested whether having a dog present would lead women to provide their phone numbers to inquiring men. In this study, a nominal scale of measurement was used for which variable?
A)gender
B)whether or not a dog was present
C)whether or not phone numbers were provided
D)a nominal scale of measurement was not used in this study

Accepted Answer

The answer of Guéguen and Ciccotti (2008)tested whether having a...

Question 6

Magazine surveys about your mental health
A)have been shown to be highly reliable
B)have criterion validity but not construct validity
C)have construct validity but not criterion validity
D)have face validity but not construct validity

Accepted Answer

Magazine surveys about mental health often appear to measure what they claim to measure (face validity) but may lack the rigorous scientific basis needed for construct validity.

Question 7

On a reaction time test, which of the following factors could contribute to measurement error?
A)subject attentiveness
B)equipment irregularities
C)increased boredom if the task lasts too long
D)all of the above

Accepted Answer

All the factors listed can contribute to measurement error: subject attentiveness can vary, equipment irregularities can affect timing, and increased boredom can lead to inconsistent responses.

Question 8

Which of the following is true about construct validity?
A)it is never established in a single study
B)it is concerned with the question of whether the construct being measured is a meaningful construct
C)it is concerned with the question of whether a tool developed to measure a construct is the best one available
D)all of the above

Accepted Answer

Construct validity is concerned with the question of whether the construct being measured is a meaningful construct, and whether a tool developed to measure a construct is the best one available. It is never established in a single study, as it requires multiple studies to provide evidence for the validity of a construct.

Question 9

A test is said to be reliable if ___________, and valid if it _____________.
A)its results are repeatable; measures what it is supposed to measure
B)has a sufficiently high amount of measurement error; measures what it is supposed to
C)its results are repeatable; is low in measurement error
D)measures what it is supposed to measure; is low in measurement error

Accepted Answer

Reliability refers to the consistency of a test's results over time, meaning the results are repeatable. Validity refers to whether the test measures what it is intended to measure.

Question 10

When phrenologists assessed the trait of "destructiveness" by measuring skull contour, their measurements were
A)reliable and valid
B)reliable but not valid
C)valid but not reliable
D)neither reliable nor valid

Accepted Answer

The answer of When phrenologists assessed the trait of "destructiveness"...

Question 11

For each of the following, a construct is paired with a measure. Which measure has the least content validity?
A)creativity - crossword puzzle completion
B)delay of gratification - choosing to wait for a larger reward
C)verbal intelligence - vocabulary
D)short-term memory - recall of nonsense syllables

Accepted Answer

The answer of For each of the following, a construct...

Question 12

In the early reaction time research, reaction times for seemingly complex events were occasionally equal to the reaction times for simpler events. How could this have happened?
A)the simple additive model was inadequate
B)the equipment must have malfunctioned
C)the complex event was really much simpler
D)the experimenters did not have sufficient training

Accepted Answer

The simple additive model was inadequate because it did not take into account the fact that the complex event was actually a series of simpler events that were processed in parallel.

Question 13

If an personality test is able to produce results similar to results produced by other valid measures of personality, then we can say the test has good
A)predictive validity
B)concurrent validity
C)face validity
D)reliability

Accepted Answer

Concurrent validity refers to the extent to which test results correlate with other measures of the same construct that are taken at the same time.

Question 14

When considering a student's overall standing in a class (first, second, third, etc.), which measurement scale is being used?
A)nominal
B)ordinal
C)interval
D)ratio

Accepted Answer

Ordinal measurement scale is used when considering a student's overall standing in a class (first, second, third, etc.) because the data can be ranked in order, but the differences between the ranks are not necessarily equal.

Question 15

A test might not appear to be a good test of intelligence and yet it might do a very good job of predicting how well someone does in school. That is, this test
A)has both face validity and predictive validity
B)has criterion validity but not face validity
C)is reliable but not valid
D)has criterion validity but lacks reliability

Accepted Answer

This test has predictive validity because it predicts how well someone does in school, even though it might not appear to be a good test of intelligence.

Question 16

Which of the following is true about measures of behavior?
A)they are more likely to be valid than reliable
B)they all include some degree of measurement error
C)measurement error can be eliminated completely by careful researchers
D)if a measure has content validity, it is almost certain to be reliable

Accepted Answer

All measures of behavior include some degree of measurement error, as it is impossible to measure behavior with perfect accuracy.

Question 17

When using a(n)______ measurement scale, the most that can be said is that one score is greater than another.
A)nominal
B)ordinal
C)interval
D)ratio

Accepted Answer

An ordinal scale allows for the ranking of items, indicating that one score is greater than another, but it does not provide information about the magnitude of difference between the scores.

Question 18

The results of an inkblot test might be quite different when given to the same person on two different occasions. If this is the case, then based on this fact alone, the inkblot test is
A)not reliable but probably valid
B)not reliable
C)not valid
D)neither reliable nor valid

Accepted Answer

Reliability refers to the consistency of a test's results over time. If the inkblot test yields different results on different occasions for the same person, it indicates a lack of reliability.

Question 19

On the "Connectedness to Nature" scale, divergent validity was established when it was found that no correlation existed between scores on the scale and
A)SAT scores
B)scores on a test of social desirability
C)both alternatives a. and b.
D)none of the above - the outcomes in alternatives a. and b. supported convergent validity

Accepted Answer

Divergent validity is the extent to which a measure does not correlate with measures of unrelated constructs. In this case, the "Connectedness to Nature" scale was found to not correlate with SAT scores or a test of social desirability, which suggests that it is not measuring the same constructs as these other measures.

Question 20

Classification is the major purpose of a(n)________ scale of measurement.
A)nominal
B)ordinal
C)interval
D)ratio

Accepted Answer

A nominal scale of measurement is used for classification purposes, where data is categorized without any order or ranking.

Quiz 4: Sampling, Measurement, and Hypothesis Testing

A study examines scores on an employment test and job performance six months later. This study is most likely attempting to establish

If an IQ test is reliable and a child scores 115, what is known?

A test with a minimum amount of measurement error is said to be

On the "Connectedness to Nature" scale, convergent validity was established when it was found that a correlation existed between scores on the scale and

Guéguen and Ciccotti (2008) tested whether having a dog present would lead women to provide their phone numbers to inquiring men. In this study, a nominal scale of measurement was used for which variable?

Magazine surveys about your mental health

On a reaction time test, which of the following factors could contribute to measurement error?

Which of the following is true about construct validity?

A test is said to be reliable if _, and valid if it ___.

When phrenologists assessed the trait of "destructiveness" by measuring skull contour, their measurements were

For each of the following, a construct is paired with a measure. Which measure has the least content validity?

In the early reaction time research, reaction times for seemingly complex events were occasionally equal to the reaction times for simpler events. How could this have happened?

If an personality test is able to produce results similar to results produced by other valid measures of personality, then we can say the test has good

When considering a student's overall standing in a class (first, second, third, etc.) , which measurement scale is being used?

A test might not appear to be a good test of intelligence and yet it might do a very good job of predicting how well someone does in school. That is, this test

Which of the following is true about measures of behavior?

When using a(n) ______ measurement scale, the most that can be said is that one score is greater than another.

The results of an inkblot test might be quite different when given to the same person on two different occasions. If this is the case, then based on this fact alone, the inkblot test is

On the "Connectedness to Nature" scale, divergent validity was established when it was found that no correlation existed between scores on the scale and

Classification is the major purpose of a(n) ________ scale of measurement.