Question 1

The sum of the number of times a person/group responds to a question represents which type of way to assess a measure?

Accepted Answer

The sum of the number of times a person/group responds to a question represents the frequency of responses, which is a way to assess a measure.

Question 2

Dave has asked participants in his study to identify which ethnic category fits them best.Dave is using an)________ scale.

Accepted Answer

Dave is using a nominal scale because he is asking for categorical data without any inherent order or magnitude. The options for ethnic category do not have any quantitative value and cannot be ranked in any meaningful way, making it a nominal scale.

Question 3

There are three ways to assess each type of measure for dependent variables.Which of the following is one of those three ways?

Accepted Answer

Percent correct is a way to assess accuracy in a dependent variable measure. The other choices (A, C, and D) are types of dependent variable measures but do not represent a way to assess them.

Question 4

When a researcher classifies data into one of two or more categories, the researcher is using an)________ scale.

Accepted Answer

Nominal scale is used to classify data into categories where there is no inherent order or ranking among the categories. This fits the scenario described in the question where the data is being classified into categories but there is no ranking involved.

Question 5

Chris is studying what females consider attractive in male partners.Chris has defined attractive in terms of physical characteristics of males.Chris has just used an)________ .

Accepted Answer

Chris has defined the term attractive in terms of physical characteristics, which is an example of an operational definition that specifies how a variable will be measured or observed.

Question 6

Lauren is conducting a study on stress management in newly hired employees at a large corporation.She is measuring the levels of stress through blood work and EKG monitoring of the new hires.Lauren is collecting ________measures for her dependent variable.

Accepted Answer

Lauren is measuring the levels of stress through blood work and EKG monitoring, which are both physiological measures.

Question 7

Ted has developed a new test of mental ability.As he is giving it to participants, he begins to notice that nearly all of his participants are scoring on the lower end of his test.Ted realizes that he is experiencing a________ due to the difficulty of his test.

Accepted Answer

A floor effect occurs when a test is too difficult for most participants, resulting in scores being clustered at the lower end of the distribution. This is the opposite of a ceiling effect, which occurs when a test is too easy for most participants, resulting in scores being clustered at the upper end of the distribution. The Yerkes-Dotson Law refers to the relationship between arousal and performance, and the degree of response effect refers to the phenomenon of participants providing responses that reflect their level of knowledge or understanding rather than the accuracy of the stimulus presented.

Question 8

In the text, an article was described about Saturday morning cartoons.Specifically, the article stated there was a positive relationship between childhood aggression and violent cartoons.However, no mention was made of how the term "violent cartoons" was defined.Thus, the researchers had failed to use an) ________when reporting their study.

Accepted Answer

An operational definition is a specific and measurable way to define a concept or variable, which is crucial in research to ensure consistency and accuracy in measurements. In this case, the term "violent cartoons" needs to be operationally defined to understand what specific cartoons the researchers are referring to and what constitutes as "violent" content. Without an operational definition, the study's findings may lack clarity and may be subject to misinterpretation.

Question 9

The average of correct responses to overall responses represents which type of way to assess a measure?

Accepted Answer

The average of correct responses to overall responses represents the percentage of correct responses, which is a form of assessing the degree of accuracy in a measure. Therefore, the best choice is D - percent correct.

Question 10

What type of scale is a researcher using when they collect demographic information such as ethnicity, religion, sex, or school classification?

Accepted Answer

The researcher is using a nominal scale as they are collecting data that can be classified into discrete categories such as gender, ethnicity, and religion. Nominal scales do not have any order or numerical value associated with them.

Question 11

James' study was conducted on the influence of study habits on math performance.James tracks the average number of correct responses that participants have before and after being exposed to different study habits.James is assessing his cognitive measure with________ .

Accepted Answer

The best choice is percent correct because James is measuring the number of correct responses before and after exposure to study habits. Percent correct reflects the participants' accuracy in answering math questions, which is the most relevant measure to assess the influence of study habits on math performance. Reaction time, frequency of responses, and degree of response are not appropriate measures in this study.

Question 12

Adam is conducting a study on cartoon violence in Saturday morning cartoons.He has defined cartoon violence as those acts that would result in serious bodily harm leading to a hospital visit.Adam's definition of cartoon violence is an example of an)________ .

Accepted Answer

Adam's definition of cartoon violence is an operational definition, as it specifies the precise criteria for what constitutes cartoon violence in his study (i.e. acts that would result in serious bodily harm leading to a hospital visit). A nominal definition simply assigns a name to something without further explanation, a behavioral definition focuses on observable behavior, and an attitudinal measure assesses people's attitudes or opinions on a particular topic.

Question 13

Lisa is conducting a study investigating the effects of ethnicity on humor.Specifically, she has different participants watch comedy routines from several comedians.For each participant, she records the number of times they laugh for each comedian.Which way is the dependent measure of humor being assessed?

Accepted Answer

The dependent measure of humor being assessed is the frequency of laughter, which is recorded for each participant. This is a measure of how often they respond to the comedy routines with laughter, making it a frequency of responses.

Question 14

Robyn is conducting a study investigating the effects of ethnicity on humor.Specifically, she has different participants watch comedy routines from several comedians.For each participant, she records the intensity of their laughs for each comedian.Which way is the dependent measure of humor being assessed?

Accepted Answer

The intensity of laughs is a measure of the degree of response, which is the dependent measure of humor being assessed.

Question 15

The intensity of a response to a stimuli represents which type of way to assess a measure?

Accepted Answer

The intensity of a response to a stimuli represents the degree of response, making option C the correct choice. Reaction time (A) measures the time it takes for someone to respond to a stimulus, while frequency of responses (B) measures how often a response occurs. Percent correct (D) measures the accuracy of responses. While all of these methods can be useful in assessing a measure, none specifically address the intensity of response.

Question 16

Jill has been working on developing a new task to test the reaction time of athletes.As she begins to test athletes using her new task, she notices that all the athletes are scoring extremely high on her test.Jill's task has fallen prey to a ________.

Accepted Answer

The scenario describes all athletes scoring extremely high on the test, indicating that they have reached the maximum level of performance that the task is capable of measuring. This is known as a ceiling effect, which occurs when a test or task is too easy for the participants, resulting in high scores across the board. The Yerkes-Dodson Law pertains to the relationship between arousal and performance, and is not applicable in this scenario. The floor effect refers to the opposite situation, where a test or task is too difficult for participants, resulting in low scores, which is not applicable here. Degree of response is not a relevant concept in this context.

Question 17

There are several types of measures for dependent variables.Physiological measures________ .

Accepted Answer

Physiological measures assess a person's biological state, such as heart rate, blood pressure, or brain activity. Therefore, option A is the correct choice. Options B, C, and D are incorrect because they do not relate to physiological measures.

Question 18

While conducting a study, you notice that most of the scores fall at the upper range of the response option.This pattern of data is known as a ________.

Accepted Answer

A ceiling effect occurs when the majority of the scores fall towards the upper end of the response options, indicating that the measure may not be sensitive enough to detect differences among individuals at the higher end of the scale.

Question 19

When conducting a study, you notice that most of the scores fall primarily at the lower range of the response option.This pattern of data is known as the ________.

Accepted Answer

The pattern described is known as the floor effect. This occurs when most of the scores fall at the lower end of the response option, indicating that the task or measure may have been too difficult for the participants. The ceiling effect, on the other hand, occurs when most scores fall at the upper end of the response option, indicating that the task or measure may have been too easy. The Yerkes-Dodson Law refers to the relationship between arousal and performance, while the degree of response is not a commonly used term in psychology research.

Question 20

When conducting research, it is important to properly define how a concept or idea will be measured.This is known as an) ________.

Accepted Answer

An operational definition is a specific definition that identifies exactly how a concept will be measured or observed. This is essential for ensuring consistent and accurate results in research. The other options (ceiling and floor effects, degree of response) do not relate to the process of defining how a concept will be measured.

Quiz 7: Selection of Variables, Operational Definitions, and Measurements Issues