Question 1

Placebo effects

Accepted Answer

Placebo effects can decrease internal validity because they can cause changes in the participant's condition that are not due to the experimental treatment, making it harder to attribute outcomes directly to the treatment being tested.

Question 2

A researcher is concerned that his expectations about the effectiveness of a new drug are influencing the reports of participants in his studies. Specifically, he believes that this new drug is effective and has shared this information with participants in his research. Now he is wondering if this might be affecting people. In order to better control the effect of his own expectations on participants, this researcher should

Accepted Answer

The double-blind procedure is the best method to control for the researcher's expectations influencing the participants' reports. In a double-blind study, neither the participants nor the researchers know who is receiving the actual treatment versus a placebo, thus minimizing bias from both parties' expectations.

Question 3

The concept of replication is most closely associated with which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Replication is most closely associated with reliability. Replication involves repeating a study or experiment to see if the same or similar results can be achieved, which is a key aspect of testing the reliability of the findings. If results are consistent across multiple replications, it suggests that the findings are reliable.

Question 4

Meta-analysis is used to

Accepted Answer

Meta-analysis is a statistical technique used to combine the results of multiple studies on the same topic to derive a consolidated finding, enhancing the overall statistical power and reliability of the conclusions.

Question 5

The ethical guideline that refers to how participants should be given full descriptions about the procedures involved in a study and told that they are free to withdraw from a study at any time is called ______________.

Accepted Answer

Informed consent involves providing participants with all relevant information about the study, including its procedures and their rights to withdraw at any time, ensuring they understand and agree to participate willingly.

Question 6

In an experiment, the main difference between internal validity and external validity is that

Accepted Answer

Internal validity refers to the extent to which a study can demonstrate a clear cause-and-effect relationship, while external validity relates to how well the findings can be generalized to other contexts or populations.

Question 7

Being able to duplicate findings of a given study is a concept of?

Accepted Answer

Replication is the concept that refers to the ability to duplicate the findings of a given study, ensuring that the results are consistent and reliable across different experiments or trials.

Question 8

The process of repeating an experiment to determine whether the same results can be obtained is called ___________.

Accepted Answer

Replication is the process of repeating an experiment to determine if the same results can be obtained, ensuring the reliability and validity of the results.

Question 9

An experimental group listened to 10 minutes of a Mozart sonata, a control group listened to 10 minutes of relaxation to instructions, while the other control group listened to silence. The Mozart group performed much better on a subsequent test of spatial abilities than the two control groups. The results of this experiment are not valid because

Accepted Answer

Confounding variables, which are variables that the researcher failed to control, or eliminate, damaging the internal validity of an experiment, could explain the difference in performance between the groups. These variables could include prior exposure to music, natural differences in spatial abilities, or even the psychological effects of listening to music versus silence or relaxation instructions.

Question 10

A psychologist specializes in a research area in which there is an ongoing debate about the effectiveness of a particular treatment. In order to gain more information, this psychologist reviews approximately 50 studies that have utilized this particular treatment, and using this information, the psychologist finds that the vast majority of the studies found the treatment to be effective. This psychologist has just completed what is best described as a(n)

Accepted Answer

A meta-analysis involves reviewing and synthesizing the results from multiple studies to draw a general conclusion about a particular treatment or intervention's effectiveness. In this case, the psychologist reviewed around 50 studies on a treatment and concluded that it is generally effective, which is characteristic of a meta-analysis.

Question 11

Participants in a double-blind study (where neither experimenters nor participants know which group receives the treatment) show improvement in blood pressure recordings after receiving a sugar pill or a new medication that treats high blood pressure. The results suggest

Accepted Answer

The improvement in blood pressure recordings after receiving a sugar pill suggests the placebo effect, where participants experience a perceived or actual improvement in their condition despite receiving a non-active treatment.

Question 12

The degree to which the results of a study can be generalized to other people, settings, and conditions is called __________.

Accepted Answer

External validity refers to the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized or applied to other settings, populations, or situations outside of the original study conditions.

Question 13

The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists includes all of the following requirements for psychologists using human subjects EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists emphasizes protecting and promoting the welfare of participants, avoiding harm, and obtaining informed consent. However, it does not specifically require providing monetary compensation for subjects' time and participation. Compensation practices may vary and are not a universal ethical requirement.

Question 14

A researcher concluded a study that looked at the effect of meditation on attention span improvement on 50 participants. If this researcher intends to transfer this knowledge to the entire country then this would be a concept of?

Accepted Answer

External validity refers to the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized or applied to other settings, populations, or situations beyond the study conditions. In this case, the researcher's intention to apply the findings from a study on 50 participants to the entire country involves generalizing the results, which directly relates to external validity.

Question 15

Considerations about whether the setting of an experiment is public or private and the manner in which information gained in an experiment will be recorded and distributed are most relevant to which ethical area?

Accepted Answer

Ensuring privacy and confidentiality is directly related to considerations about the setting of an experiment (public or private) and how information from the experiment will be recorded and distributed. This involves protecting participants' personal information and ensuring that their participation remains confidential.

Question 16

When discussing the concept of replication, the text presents research related to psychics and paranormal abilities. Which of the following best summarizes the current state of this research and the attitude that science should have toward it?

Accepted Answer

Over 30 years of scientific research has not provided solid evidence for paranormal phenomena, but it's important for science to remain open-minded yet skeptical, continuing to investigate these phenomena under rigorous conditions.

Question 17

Ethical guidelines for the treatment of animals in research state that if there are experimental risks for animals, these risks need to be justified by the importance of the research. However, a problem associated with this guideline is that

Accepted Answer

The difficulty in determining what constitutes "justified" risks is a recognized challenge in applying ethical guidelines to animal research. This involves subjective assessments of the potential benefits of the research against the potential harm to the animals, which can vary significantly among researchers and oversight bodies.

Question 18

The goal of meta-analysis is to

Accepted Answer

Meta-analysis aims to reach overall conclusions about a phenomenon by combining the results of multiple studies.

Question 19

Dr. Sussman conducts a study on the effect of various motivational factors on job performance. In her study, she does an excellent job of controlling extraneous factors and as a result, we can have high confidence in the causal conclusions she draws. However, the participants in her study were from a select group of the population and, therefore, Dr. Sussman will be rather limited in terms of her ability to apply her results to other people and situations. Taken as a whole, this study would be said to have ___________ internal validity and __________ external validity.

Accepted Answer

The study has high internal validity because it effectively controls extraneous factors, allowing for strong causal conclusions. However, its external validity is low because the results may not generalize well to other populations or situations due to the select group of participants used.

Question 20

In Canada, research ethics rules are determined by the

Accepted Answer

The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS 2) is a central document that guides the ethical conduct of research involving humans in Canada. It is jointly created by the three federal research agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), collectively known as the Tri-Council.

Quiz 2: Studying Behaviour Scientifically