Question 1

Imagine that a group of researchers conducted a single-blind study designed to test the effectiveness of subliminal-message weight-loss tapes. Suppose the researchers found that everyone lost weight during the study, even those who were given tapes without any subliminal messages. What could we conclude from the results?

Accepted Answer

The fact that everyone lost weight, including those who were given tapes without any subliminal messages, suggests that there is a placebo effect at work. This means that the mere belief in the effectiveness of the tapes may have led to weight loss, regardless of whether or not there were any actual subliminal messages present.

Question 2

Design a simple descriptive/correlational study to investigate the relationship between television violence and children's aggressive behaviour.

Accepted Answer

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Question 3

Which of the following is important to the scientific method, because the scientific method is intolerant of error?

Accepted Answer

Replication is important to the scientific method because it involves repeating experiments to ensure that the results are consistent and not due to chance. This helps to reduce the likelihood of error and increases confidence in the findings.

Question 4

Which method do researchers use precisely because our experience of the world is highly subjective?

Accepted Answer

Researchers use the double-blind procedure precisely because our experience of the world is highly subjective. The double-blind procedure involves neither the participants nor the researchers knowing which group is the control group and which is the experimental group. This is done to avoid the experimenter's bias and the placebo effect, both of which can influence the participants' experiences and outcomes.

Question 5

What are the relative weaknesses and strengths of descriptive/correlational research as opposed to experimental research? Under what conditions would a psychologist choose one method as opposed to the other?

Accepted Answer

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Question 6

Dr. Klassen is conducting a study on attitudes about drug use. She wants to administer a survey. Which of the following groups of issues should she pay most attention to when she is designing her study?

Accepted Answer

Dr. Klassen should pay most attention to representative sampling, self-report bias, and response set when designing her study as these issues are most relevant to survey research. Random sampling and the use of a control group are more relevant to experimental studies, while inferential statistics are important for analyzing data but not necessarily for survey design. Experimenter bias and ethics regarding deception are also important considerations but are not specifically related to survey design. Random assignment and placebo effects are relevant to experimental studies but not necessarily to survey research.

Question 7

What is the difference between a positive correlation and a negative correlation? List some specific variables that you predict would be positively correlated, and variables that would be negatively correlated, with alcohol consumption by college students.

Accepted Answer

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Question 8

Design a simple experiment to investigate the effects of television violence on children's aggressive behaviour, being sure to identify the independent and dependent variables, and the experimental and control groups.

Accepted Answer

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Question 9

Annabel is planning to buy a cordless phone. She has narrowed her choice down to a Northtech X7 model and a Telecom G-Pro model. Alfred tells Annabel, "Consumer Reports did extensive testing and rated the Northtech X7 as the highest overall. The same article indicated that the Telecom phone was unreliable and needed frequent service." Francine tells Annabel, "My uncle had a Northtech X7 phone, and he had nothing but problems with it. He decided to switch to the Telecom phone, and he hasn't had any problems." Which phone is Annabel likely to buy, based on the research results reported in the Critical Thinking Application?

Accepted Answer

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Question 10

Which of the following sets of concepts is NOT a closely related set?

Accepted Answer

Correlation and sample are related to statistical analysis, while journal is more related to publication and dissemination of research findings. Therefore, these concepts are not closely related.

Question 11

Where in a journal article would you look for the data obtained in a research study, along with the statistical analyses?

Accepted Answer

The results section is where the data obtained in a research study and the statistical analyses are presented. This section typically includes tables, graphs, and statistical analyses of the data collected.

Question 12

What is anecdotal evidence?

Accepted Answer

Anecdotal evidence refers to personal stories about specific incidents and experiences, often shared to support a certain point of view. It is not considered strong evidence because it is based on individual experiences and may not be representative of the broader population or situation being considered.

Question 13

Describe the problems in research associated with placebo effects and experimenter bias, and explain how you would attempt to prevent these problems within a research design.

Accepted Answer

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Question 14

Which of the following is the correct sequencing of the sections of the main body of a journal article?

Accepted Answer

The correct sequencing of the sections of the main body of a journal article is introduction, method, results, and discussion. The introduction provides an overview of the research question and the context of the study. The method section describes the procedures used to collect and analyze data. The results section presents the findings of the study, often in the form of tables, charts, and graphs. The discussion section interprets the results, evaluates the implications of the findings, and places the study in a broader theoretical or empirical context. Option C is the correct order of these sections.

Question 15

What can we conclude from studies that have investigated the influence of anecdotal information?

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that people tend to be influenced by anecdotal information even when they are forewarned that it is not representative. This is because anecdotes are often more memorable and vivid than statistical or factual data, leading people to rely on them even when they may not be accurate or representative of the larger population.

Question 16

Imagine that a group of researchers designed a study to test the effectiveness of subliminal-message weight-loss tapes. Half the participants receive real tapes, and half receive similar tapes with the subliminal messages removed. The experimenter keeps track of which participant is in which group. All the participants are told that their tapes contain subliminal messages. What type of study is this?

Accepted Answer

This is a single-blind study because the participants are aware of their group assignment (whether they received the real or fake tapes), but the experimenter knows who received which tape.

Question 17

Dr. Friesen wants to investigate whether store clerks behave in a discriminatory manner toward teenagers. He is trying to decide between using naturalistic observation and using a questionnaire. What would be the best choice?

Accepted Answer

Naturalistic observation would be the best choice in this scenario because it allows the researcher to directly observe the behavior of store clerks without relying on self-report, which can be biased. Additionally, using questionnaires in this situation could potentially be problematic because store clerks may be hesitant to answer questions honestly or may refuse to participate altogether.

Question 18

What is provided in the reference list at the end of a research article?

Accepted Answer

The reference list at the end of a research article provides bibliographic information for any studies referred to in the article. This allows readers to locate and read the referenced studies for further information and to evaluate the validity of the research presented in the article.

Quiz 2: A: The Research Enterprise in Psychology