Question 1

Dr.Noyd conducts an experiment to determine whether talking to a psychiatrist makes depressed people less depressed.He randomly divides participants who scored highly on a depressive inventory into two groups.Group A discusses their problems with a psychiatrist while Group B does nothing.He finds that Group A shows significantly more improvement in their depression than does Group B.In Dr.Noyd's experiment,the experimental group refers to the ____.

Accepted Answer

The experimental group refers to the group of individuals who discuss their problems with a psychiatrist (Group A). They are the ones receiving the treatment (talking to a psychiatrist) and are being compared to the control group (Group B) who does not receive any treatment. Therefore, the correct answer is B. Choice A refers to differences observed, which does not specifically refer to any group. Choice C refers to the scores on the depressive inventory, which were used to identify the participants but not to differentiate between the experimental and control groups. Choice D refers to the process of assigning participants randomly to the two groups, but this does not define the experimental group itself.

Question 2

Quisley's hypothesis is that listening to classical music improves intellectual performance.He randomly divides a mathematics class into two rooms.In room A,music by Mozart plays softly in the background during a lecture.In room B,the students listen to a lecture without background music.The independent variable is ____.

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the variable that is changed or manipulated in an experiment, which in this case is whether music played during a lecture. This is the variable being tested to determine its effect on intellectual performance. The other options are either not directly relevant to the hypothesis or not mentioned in the scenario.

Question 3

Researchers who want to find the best explanation of a phenomenon when they have several rival hypotheses should ____.

Accepted Answer

To determine the best explanation of a phenomenon among several rival hypotheses, researchers should conduct controlled research using experimental methods. This helps to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between variables and eliminates alternative explanations, leading to a stronger conclusion. Describing the correlation among the variables or conducting research in the real world may not be enough to establish causality or eliminate alternative explanations. Continuing to observe the phenomenon may be useful but may not necessarily lead to a clear winner among the rival hypotheses.

Question 4

To investigate the effects of exercise on mathematical problem-solving ability,a researcher assignsparticipants to one of two groups.One group cycles on an exercise bike for one hour,and the other group performs no exercises.Afterward,both groups work on a set of math problems and their performances are compared.In this experiment,the group that does not exercise is the ____.

Accepted Answer

The answer of To investigate the effects of exercise on...

Question 5

The Harvard Business School is famous for teaching MBA students about business by using the casestudy method.A Harvard MBA who attempts to apply knowledge from a case study to a new situationshould keep in mind that case studies may not be ____.

Accepted Answer

Case studies are often limited in scope and may not be representative of all situations. While they may provide valuable insights and lessons, the specific circumstances of a case study may not apply to every situation. It is important for MBA students to approach new situations with an open mind and a willingness to adapt their knowledge and skills to the specific context at hand.

Question 6

Jon believes that exercise is a cause of higher levels of life satisfaction.If Jon plans to study this hypothesis experimentally,his independent variable would be the ____.

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the variable that the researcher manipulates or changes in order to see if it has an effect on the dependent variable. In this scenario, Jon believes that the amount of exercise is the cause of higher levels of life satisfaction. Therefore, he would manipulate the amount of exercise his participants receive and measure the effect on their level of life satisfaction. Thus, the independent variable would be the amount of exercise the participants in the study receive.

Question 7

A researcher is interested in determining whether test performance of students can be improved by providing them with individual tutoring.The researcher randomly divides fifty first-year college students into two groups.In Group A,the instructor lectures to them for three hours per week.Group B receives an equal amount of lecturing,but their instructor also meets with each student for thirty minutes every week.Each group takes the same final exam.The test performance of students in Group B is about the same as that of students in Group A.This study is an example of a(n)____.

Accepted Answer

This study is an experiment because the research randomly divides the participants into two groups and manipulates the independent variable, which is providing individual tutoring to Group B, while keeping the instruction method for Group A constant. The researcher also measures the dependent variable, which is the test performance of the students.

Question 8

Dr.Adcock is a community psychologist studying whether a special program instituted for an at-risk group of junior high school students decreases behavior problems.At-risk students are randomly assigned to either Group A,the special program,or Group B,a study hall meeting at the same time.In this experiment,Group A is the __________ while Group B is the __________.

Accepted Answer

Group A is the experimental group receiving the special program, while Group B is the control group receiving no intervention. Therefore, Group A is the independent variable and Group B is the dependent variable. This matches the definition of an experimental group and a control group.

Question 9

Dr.Jones is studying the effects of fatigue on aggression.He hypothesizes that the more fatigue a person is experiencing,the more aggressively the person will behave.Dr.Jones's control group should be composed of ____participants.

Accepted Answer

The control group should be composed of participants who are similar to the experimental group in every way except for the independent variable being tested, which in this case is fatigue. Therefore, the nonfatigued group would serve as the control group for this study.

Question 10

Professor Beamish administers a survey to better understand stealing behaviors that occur in the workplace.Even though the survey is administered anonymously,employees may still not respond truthfully.According to your text,this occurs because some people ____.

Accepted Answer

The text suggests that some employees may not respond truthfully to a survey about workplace stealing because they do not want to admit embarrassing things about themselves, even if the survey is administered anonymously. This suggests that people may be concerned about self-presentation and social desirability bias, which can lead them to provide answers that they think are more socially acceptable, rather than truthful. The other options (A, C, D) are not mentioned in the text as reasons why employees might not respond truthfully.

Question 11

Dr.V wanted to test her hypothesis that sugar improves memory,so she gave one group of participants candy sweetened with sugar and another group candy sweetened with NutraSweet.Then she compared the performance of the two groups on a test of recognition memory.Dr.V's research method is ____.

Accepted Answer

Dr.V's research involved manipulating the independent variable (sugar vs NutraSweet candy) to observe its effects on the dependent variable (performance on a test of recognition memory). This is the definition of an experimental research method.

Question 12

Randy,a community psychologist,is working with a community AIDS organization on a project to help reduce HIV transmission.He decides to gather as much information from as many people as possible about their sexual behavior patterns.Which research method would be the best choice for him to use?

Accepted Answer

Surveys would allow Randy to gather information from a large number of people about their sexual behaviors in a relatively short amount of time. It would also allow for anonymity, which may encourage participants to be more honest in their responses. Naturalistic observation and case studies may not provide enough data and an experiment would not be ethical to directly manipulate sexual behavior.

Question 13

James reads a magazine ad about a drug that doctors say may help college students perform better on multiple-choice type tests.Being the inquisitive person that he is,James decides to do an experiment to see if the magazine's claims are true.He administers the drug to one of his classes,and gives the other class a placebo.James then tests the students in both groups on material they have recently discussed in class.In this example,the experimental group is the ____.

Accepted Answer

The experimental group is the group of students who received the drug, as they are the group being tested to see if the drug has an effect on their test performance. The placebo group serves as the control group for the experiment. The test performance of the students is the dependent variable being measured, and the age of the students is not relevant to the experimental design.

Question 14

An experimenter wants to determine if taking a specific amount of the drug Prozac relieves depression.Which element will be most in need of an operational definition in this study?

Accepted Answer

The dependent variable, which in this case is the relief of depression, requires an operational definition to specify how relief from depression is measured or identified in the study. This ensures clarity and objectivity in assessing the outcome of taking Prozac.

Question 15

Giorgi wants to manipulate certain aspects of his study to understand the effect of those changes.Such manipulation is a foundational part of ____.

Accepted Answer

Experimentation involves manipulating certain aspects of a study to understand the effect of those changes. Naturalistic observation, surveys, and case studies do not involve manipulation.

Question 16

Dr.Kermit is interested in studying whether the readers on Reading Rainbow cause higher student reading scores than the readers on Avocado Alley.To answer his question,Dr.Kermit should use which research method?

Accepted Answer

The best research method to answer Dr. Kermit's question is an experiment. An experiment allows Dr. Kermit to manipulate the independent variable (in this case, type of reader program) and measure its effect on the dependent variable (student reading scores). This will provide the most clear and cause-and-effect answer to Dr. Kermit's research question.

Question 17

Franz is conducting an experiment to study the effects of wearing heavy clothing on weight-lifting performance.He gives Group A heavy sweatshirts and lets Group B wear whatever they wish.He measures the amount of weight they can lift after the workout.Group B is the ____ group.

Accepted Answer

Group B is the control group, as they are not given any intervention or treatment (heavy sweatshirts) and are being used as a baseline for comparison with Group A.

Question 18

A psychologist who is interested in determining the effects of a new diet regimen on the stress tolerance level of severely intellectually impaired patients would most likely choose which research method?

Accepted Answer

The controlled experiment method would be the best choice for this type of research as it allows for manipulation of the independent variable (new diet regimen) and measurement of its effects on the dependent variable (stress tolerance level of severely intellectually impaired patients) while controlling for potential confounding variables. This is the most rigorous method for establishing cause-and-effect relationships between variables.

Question 19

An experimenter who conducts a study under highly controlled conditions often reduces the ____.

Accepted Answer

Highly controlled conditions may limit the variability of the results, making it difficult to generalize findings to other populations or situations. However, this does not necessarily reduce the scientific value of the results, the likelihood that the research hypothesis will be confirmed by the results, or the strength of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

Question 20

P.W.Herman wants to know whether consumption of alcoholic beverages affects peoples' bicycling abilities.He suggeststhat the alcohol itself doesn't have any negative effects,but that people who drink alcohol expect to have their riding abilities impaired so they "act drunk." To control for the participants' expectations,P.W.gives half of his sample vodka and the other half of his sample vodka-flavored water.P.W.is using a(n)____research method,and the vodka-flavored water is a ____.

Accepted Answer

P.W. is using an experimental method because he is manipulating an independent variable (consumption of vodka) to measure its effects on the dependent variable (bicycling ability). The vodka-flavored water is a placebo, meant to control for the participants' expectations without actually giving them alcohol. Therefore, the correct answer is C: experimental; placebo.

Quiz 2: Research in Psychology