Question 1

An exercise physiologist examines the relationship between the number of sessions of weight training and the amount of weight a person loses in a month.If a curvilinear relationship exists,what should the results be like?

Accepted Answer

A curvilinear relationship means that there is a point at which the relationship changes direction. In this case, it means that as the number of weight training sessions increases, the amount of weight lost will continue to increase, but at a decreasing rate until it reaches a point where it levels off or even starts to decline. This is consistent with option D, where weight loss initially increases with more weight training sessions but then starts to decline after a certain point.

Question 2

A researcher asks male and female participants to rate the guilt of a defendant on the basis of their physical attractiveness.Which of the following is a response variable?

Accepted Answer

Guilt ratings are the variable that the researcher is specifically interested in measuring and analyzing in this study. The other variables mentioned (gender of the research participant, the defendant's physical attractiveness, and the defendant's gender) may be considered independent variables that could potentially impact the guilt ratings.

Question 3

Which one of the following is a situational variable?

Accepted Answer

Situational variables refer to the environmental or external factors that can affect behavior or outcomes. In this case, temperature in the room is a situational variable because it is an external factor that can potentially influence behavior, mood, and performance. The other options listed (reasoning ability, performance on a weight-lifting task, and ratings for the humor of several comic strips) are not situational variables as they do not refer to external factors in the environment.

Question 4

Random variability exists because

Accepted Answer

Random variability exists because relationships between variables are rarely perfect. Even in cases where there is a strong positive or negative relationship between two variables, there will still be some variability in the data points. This is due to factors such as measurement error, natural variation in the data, and individual differences among the subjects being studied. Therefore, random variability is an inherent part of any dataset, and researchers must take this into account when trying to draw conclusions from their results.

Question 5

Dr.King asks student teachers to assign a punishment for misbehavior displayed by an attractive versus unattractive child.The response variable would be

Accepted Answer

The response variable is the variable that is being measured or observed in the experiment. In this case, the assigned punishment is the variable being measured, making it the response variable. The other variables - student teachers, child's attractiveness, and misbehavior - may be independent or control variables.

Question 6

A researcher is interested in the effect of caffeine on a driver's braking speed.She takes four groups of participants and gives each group a different dose of caffeine,then measures their reaction time.Which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

The independent variable is the dose of caffeine given to each group, which has four levels (four different doses). The dependent variable is the driver's braking speed, which is measured through their reaction time. Therefore, statement A is incorrect as the dependent variable is not the number of levels, and statements C and D are incorrect as they incorrectly identify the independent and dependent variables.

Question 7

A researcher asks male and female participants to rate the desirability of potential neighbors on the basis of the potential neighbour's occupation.Which one of the following is a situational variable?

Accepted Answer

The potential neighbor's occupation is a situational variable because it is a characteristic of the situation being studied and can influence the outcome of the study. The gender of the research participant, desirability ratings, and number of participants who responded, are all individual or operational variables that are under the control of the researcher, rather than being a characteristic of the situation.

Question 8

A researcher observed that people who have a large number of pets also live in houses with more bathrooms than people with fewer pets.Which of the following conclusions might be correct?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a correlation (having a large number of pets and more bathrooms) without a clear causation. It is possible that another variable, such as income or lifestyle, is causing people to have larger houses with more bathrooms and also own more pets. It is important to consider other potential variables before making a conclusion about the relationship between pet ownership and bathroom count. Choices A, B, and D are unlikely explanations based on the information given.

Question 9

What is the primary advantage of a field experiment over a laboratory experiment?

Accepted Answer

The primary advantage of a field experiment over a laboratory experiment is that variables are investigated in a natural context. In a field experiment, researchers can study the behavior of participants in a real-life setting, which increases the ecological validity of the study. In contrast, laboratory experiments are often conducted in an artificial setting, which may not accurately reflect the behavior of participants in the real world.

Question 10

A researcher investigated the relationship between alcohol intake and reaction time in a driving simulation task.Participants drank either one ounce or three ounces of alcohol and were then measured on braking speed at a simulated red light.The dependent variable was the

Accepted Answer

The dependent variable in this study is the braking speed at the simulated red light, as it is the variable being measured and potentially impacted by the alcohol intake of the participants. The amount of alcohol (A), the red light (C), and degree of intoxication (D) are all independent variables that are being manipulated or observed to understand their impact on the dependent variable of braking speed.

Question 11

Dr.Sears observes that the more time a person spends in a department store,the more purchases they tend to make.The research method used in this study can best be described as

Accepted Answer

The research method used in this study is non-experimental, as there is no manipulation of variables or control group. It is simply an observation of a natural behavior.

Question 12

A researcher had participants eat the same flavoured ice cream packaged in a round or square carton.The participants then indicated how much they liked the ice cream.The dependent variable is

Accepted Answer

The dependent variable in this experiment is the ice cream rating, as this is what is being measured as a result of the manipulation of the independent variable (shape of the carton). The other variables listed (gender of participant and flavor of ice cream) are not relevant to the dependent variable being measured in this study.

Question 13

When a researcher manipulates temperature of a room in order to examine the effect it has on task performance,the different temperature conditions are referred to as the _____ of the variable.

Accepted Answer

The different temperature conditions that are being manipulated are referred to as the "levels" of the variable. Option A (subjects) refers to the individuals participating in the study, option B (responses) refers to the outcome or result of the task performance, and option C (reliability) refers to the consistency or stability of a measurement tool or assessment.

Question 14

Professor Bonds asked students to name different factors that may change with a person's age.The students identified weight,height,and number of friends.These factors would be examples of

Accepted Answer

Weight, height, and the number of friends are all characteristics that can vary or change across individuals, so they would be considered variables. Mediators refer to factors that help to explain why or how a relationship exists between two variables, but that is not applicable in this case. Operational definitions describe how a variable is measured or defined, which is also not relevant here. Constants, on the other hand, refer to factors that remain the same across individuals or situations, so that doesn't apply either.

Question 15

Which of the following alternatives is NOT correct?

Accepted Answer

Randomization is not used in the non-experimental method. Non-experimental method is a research design where participants are not assigned to different groups for comparison, thus randomization does not play a role in eliminating the influence of third variables. Instead, researchers use statistical control or matching to limit the impact of extraneous variables.

Question 16

To assess the strength of relationship between beer sales and outdoor temperatures,Adolph would want to

Accepted Answer

To assess the strength of relationship between beer sales and outdoor temperatures, the best choice is to calculate a correlation coefficient as it will help to determine if there is a positive or negative correlation between the two variables. Selling beer only on cold or hot days or stopping selling beer altogether will not provide any information about the strength of relationship between beer sales and outdoor temperatures.

Question 17

A psychological process that is responsible for the effect of an independent variable on a dependent variable is referred to as a(n)_____ variable.

Accepted Answer

A mediating variable is a psychological process that explains the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable. It occurs when the independent variable affects the mediating variable, which in turn affects the dependent variable. This is also known as an indirect effect. Therefore, D) mediating is the best choice.

Question 18

Which of the following is least true of an operational definition? It

Accepted Answer

An operational definition should enable others to replicate a study's findings. Therefore, preventing others from replicating results is least true of an operational definition.

Question 19

Two researchers tested the hypothesis that college students' grades and happiness are related.One researcher operationally defined happiness as the number of hours spent at leisure activities.The other researcher defined happiness as the amount of achievement one feels as measured on a 10-point scale.Which of the following statements is accurate?

Accepted Answer

The difference in operational definitions of happiness could potentially lead to different results. The two researchers are measuring different aspects of happiness, and thus their results may not be directly comparable. Additionally, neither researcher is necessarily measuring the "true" definition of happiness, as it is a subjective construct that could be interpreted in many different ways.

Question 20

Law students who scored low versus high on a measure of dominance were asked to assign punishment to a drunken driver involved in an accident.The participant variable would be

Accepted Answer

The participant variable in this scenario is the dominance level of the law students. This is the variable that is being manipulated and measured to see how it affects their judgment in assigning punishment to the drunken driver. The other options listed (assigned punishment, drunken driver, accident) are not participant variables but rather aspects of the scenario being observed.

Quiz 4: Research Design Fundamentals