Question 1

Single-case experimental designs use several strategies to improve their internal validity.Which of the following is one of these strategies?

Accepted Answer

Repeated measures is a strategy used in single-case experimental designs to increase internal validity by having the participant serve as their own control, reducing the impact of individual differences and extraneous variables. Random assignment is not applicable in single-case designs, as there is only one participant. Process measures and placebo controls may be used in some cases, but they are not specific strategies used to improve internal validity in single-case designs.

Question 2

Combining twin and adoption studies, researchers often study monozygotic twins raised in different families.Using this method, what do similarities in behaviours, traits, and psychological disorders between monozygotic twins raised apart help researchers to determine?

Accepted Answer

Similarities in behaviors, traits, and psychological disorders between monozygotic twins raised apart help researchers to determine the effects of genes on psychological functioning. This is because monozygotic twins share 100% of their genes, so any similarities between them that cannot be attributed to their environment must be due to genetic factors.

Question 3

A researcher is testing the effects of violent media images on tolerance for aggressive behaviour by showing either nonviolent or violent movie scenes to participants and then asking the participants to rate the level of aggression they perceive in children interacting on a playground.Which of the following is the independent variable?

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the variable that the researcher manipulates, which in this case is whether the participants are shown nonviolent or violent movie scenes. The other options (B, C, and D) are dependent variables, as they are measures that are influenced by the independent variable.

Question 4

At this point, the human genome project has been successful in producing which of the following?

Accepted Answer

The human genome project has produced a rough draft of the mapping of all human genes, but not a complete and detailed listing of each gene and its function.

Question 5

While studying the impact of nutrition on intelligence, a researcher gives one group of rats a vitamin-rich diet while the other rat group eats Big Macs.While observing the rats run a complicated maze, the researcher notes that the vitamin-enhanced rats' maze is more brightly lit than the Big Mac rats' maze.What is the difference in lighting in this study?

Accepted Answer

The difference in lighting is a confound because it is an extraneous variable that could influence the outcome of the experiment (the rats' performance in the maze) in addition to the intended independent variable (the type of diet). This makes it difficult to determine if the diet alone is responsible for any observed differences in intelligence or maze-running ability.

Question 6

What is a hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

A hypothesis is a prediction about behavior that is derived from theory and is tested through research. It is an educated guess based on available evidence that leads to a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. Hypotheses are important because they allow researchers to test specific predictions and refine theories based on the results of their research.

Question 7

Dr.Ahmed, an epidemiological researcher, is studying the psychological experiences of the residents of Fort McMurray, Alberta, following the devastating fire that engulfed the town.What research method is Dr.Ahmed most likely using?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Dr.Ahmed, an epidemiological researcher, is studying the...

Question 8

A researcher is studying how people of different ages tend to experience anxiety.The researcher interviews anxious adolescents, young adults, individuals in their 30s and 50s, and those over 70.What do the individuals in each age group represent?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A researcher is studying how people of...

Question 9

A researcher interested in understanding the relationship between panic attacks and alcohol abuse might choose to study the effects of anxiety induction in the lab on how much alcohol research participants choose to drink.Which statement would be most accurate, given this information?

Accepted Answer

In this study, the researcher is interested in understanding how anxiety induction affects the amount of alcohol participants choose to drink. Therefore, the amount of alcohol participants choose to drink is the dependent variable as it is the outcome of interest that is expected to be influenced by the anxiety induction. The level of anxiety induced is the independent variable as it is the variable that the researcher is manipulating to understand its effect on the outcome of interest. The number of panic attacks is not mentioned in the scenario and is not a relevant variable in this study.

Question 10

In which situation might you observe the "allegiance effect" in a double-blind study?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In which situation might you observe the...

Question 11

Family studies are often used to help determine whether a psychological disorder has a genetic component.Which of the following patterns is typical for a disorder that is influenced by genetics?

Accepted Answer

This pattern is typical for a disorder that is influenced by genetics. Siblings of the person with the disorder are more likely than cousins to have the disorder, and cousins are more likely to have the disorder than the general public. This indicates that there may be a genetic component to the disorder, as there is a higher likelihood of it being passed down through close familial relationships. This pattern is seen in disorders such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Question 12

What does the term "external validity" refer to?

Accepted Answer

External validity refers to the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized or applied to individuals, settings, or situations beyond those studied. It is concerned with whether the results obtained from a particular sample can be meaningfully extended to a larger population.

Question 13

A researcher studies the impact of stress on college students' exam scores.Whether the results of this study help us to understand the relationship between job performance and stress levels of real-life organizational workers is a question of which of the following?

Accepted Answer

External validity refers to the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to real-life situations. In this case, if the results of the study on college students' exam scores can be applied to understand the relationship between job performance and stress levels of real-life organizational workers, it would indicate high external validity. Therefore, the question of whether this study helps us to understand this relationship relates to external validity.

Question 14

The internal validity of a study can be increased by using which of the following to create different research groups?

Accepted Answer

Randomization is the process of assigning participants to different groups randomly, which reduces the risk of systematic bias in the study. This helps to increase internal validity by ensuring that any differences between the groups are due to the manipulation of the independent variable and not to pre-existing differences between the participants. Valid measures and generalizable methods are important for ensuring the accuracy and generalizability of the study findings, but they do not directly address internal validity. The personal characteristics of potential participants should not be used to create different research groups as it can result in systematic bias.

Question 15

A child is having temper tantrums at home, at school, and at his grandparents' house.After working with the parents for a while, the therapist believes that the child is being rewarded for his tantrums in each setting because his teacher, parents, and grandparents generally give him what he wants just to make him stop yelling.The therapist devises a plan to stop his tantrums but implements the plan at home first, at school the following week, and at the grandparents' home several weeks later.From a research perspective, what is this strategy an example of?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the multiple baseline design, where the intervention is implemented in a staggered manner across different settings or behaviors to establish a functional relationship between the intervention and the behavior change.

Question 16

What problem is shared by the placebo, control method, and the withdrawal design method?

Accepted Answer

All three methods involve withholding or removing a treatment or intervention, which can raise ethical concerns about denying people potentially beneficial care. This is especially relevant when conducting research on vulnerable populations or severe illnesses where withholding treatment could be harmful. The ethical ramifications of this issue must be carefully considered and addressed in the design and implementation of these methods.

Question 17

What is one problem with longitudinal research?

Accepted Answer

Longitudinal research takes a long time to complete, and during this period, the research question may become outdated or irrelevant due to changes in societal context or scientific advancements.

Question 18

Your friend was the recipient of a nine-month research grant.Based on her interests, she can choose one of the four areas of concentration.She has always wanted to work with street youth.Based on this fact, what prevention strategy will she most likely choose?

Accepted Answer

A selective prevention strategy focuses on providing targeted interventions for a specific population, in this case, street youth. This aligns with your friend's interest in working with this group and would likely be the most effective strategy for addressing the unique needs and risks of this population. Universal prevention strategies aim to prevent problems for a general population, positive development strategies focus on promoting the well-being and strengths of individuals and communities, and indicated prevention strategies target individuals who are already showing early signs of a problem. While these strategies may have some relevance to working with street youth, they would not be as specifically tailored to this population as a selective prevention strategy.

Question 19

What is the main advantage of longitudinal research over cross-sectional research?

Accepted Answer

Longitudinal research is particularly valuable for its ability to assess changes in individuals over time, which is crucial for understanding development, learning, aging, and other processes that unfold across different stages of life. Unlike cross-sectional research, which compares different groups at a single point in time, longitudinal research follows the same group of individuals over time. This approach avoids cohort effects, which are differences between age groups that stem from their unique historical or social contexts, rather than from actual developmental or aging processes. By tracking the same individuals, longitudinal studies can more accurately attribute observed changes to the passage of time or the effect of interventions, rather than to differences between cohorts.

Question 20

The more a researcher controls internal validity by restricting the study to participants who are similar to one another, the less of which type of validity will the study generally contain?

Accepted Answer

The more a researcher restricts the study to participants who are similar to one another, the less generalizable the findings are to the larger population, which means the study will have low external validity. However, controlling internal validity is still essential, and it refers to the extent to which a study establishes a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Clinical validity and sequential validity are not relevant to the question.

Quiz 4: Research Methods