Question 1

When research participants will do virtually whatever a researcher asks them to-even when the task is incredibly dull, repetitious, and meaningless-Orne (1962) suggested they were:

Accepted Answer

Orne (1962) suggested that participants often act as "good subjects," meaning they try to fulfill the perceived expectations of the researcher, even if the task is dull or meaningless.

Question 2

Ideally, to properly influence participants, a research setting should be:

Accepted Answer

A research setting should be simple to avoid unnecessary complexity, familiar to ensure participants are comfortable, and involving to engage them effectively.

Question 3

Cues that suggest the true purpose of a research project are called:

Accepted Answer

Demand characteristics are cues in an experiment that reveal the true purpose of the study to participants, potentially influencing their behavior.

Question 4

A social psychologist asks a research participant to "help me out by acting as the experimenter in this study." She is most likely trying to reduce the study's:

Accepted Answer

By having the participant act as the experimenter, the psychologist is likely trying to reduce demand characteristics, which are cues that might influence participants to behave in a way they think the experimenter expects.

Question 5

An experiment relies on two researchers to deploy the independent variable and measure the dependent variable. When neither researcher knows whether a given participant is in an experimental or a control condition, the study is using a:

Accepted Answer

A double-blind procedure is when neither the participants nor the researchers know who is in the experimental or control groups, preventing bias in the deployment and measurement of variables.

Question 6

Debriefing is not always required once a social psychology experiment is over.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Debriefing is not always required once a...

Question 7

Ross, Lepper, and Hubbard (1975) found that debriefing:

Accepted Answer

Ross, Lepper, and Hubbard (1975) found that even after participants were debriefed and informed that the feedback they received was false, the initial false feedback continued to influence their beliefs and judgments.

Question 8

It is both ethically and experimentally permissible to ask participants not to discuss the nature of your experiment with others until all data collection is completed.

Accepted Answer

It is ethically permissible to request confidentiality to prevent biasing future participants, as long as it does not harm or deceive participants.

Question 9

A research participant takes part in your study but just before you administer the dependent variable, she says she must leave. As the experimenter, you are still required to give her a credit slip indicating she completed the experiment.

Accepted Answer

The participant has completed the experiment up to the point of administering the dependent variable.

Question 10

An experimental sign-up sheet should contain:

Accepted Answer

An experimental sign-up sheet should include all necessary information such as time, date, place, contact details, and a brief description of the task to ensure participants are well-informed and can easily reach out for any queries.

Question 11

What is the so-called "good subject effect"? Why does it present particular problems for social psychological research?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the so-called "good subject effect"?...

Question 12

What is a cover story? Why is it often a necessary part of a social psychology experiment?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is a cover story? Why is...

Question 13

Describe some of the qualities that a good research setting needs so that participants are properly drawn into and influenced by it.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe some of the qualities that a...

Question 14

What are demand characteristics? Why do they pose problems for psychological research?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are demand characteristics? Why do they...

Question 15

List and discuss some tactics or procedures for dealing with demand characteristics in social psychology experiments.

Accepted Answer

The answer of List and discuss some tactics or procedures...

Question 16

Why are experimenter expectancy effects (which were first discussed in chapter 5) a form of experimenter bias? What can a researcher do to reduce or eliminate this problem?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why are experimenter expectancy effects (which were...

Question 17

Discuss some of the methods a social psychologist can use to reduce experimenter bias.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss some of the methods a social...

Question 18

Why is record keeping so important for an piece of psychological research? Why is good record keeping a researcher's ethical responsibility?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why is record keeping so important for...

Question 19

What is debriefing? Why is debriefing especially important when conducing social psychological research? What sorts of things can a social psychologist learn during a debriefing?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is debriefing? Why is debriefing especially...

Question 20

List some of the important guidelines for conducting a debriefing at the conclusion of an experiment.

Accepted Answer

The answer of List some of the important guidelines for...

Quiz 10: Conducting Social Psychology Experiments: Practical Matters