Question 1

Which of the following statements is NOT true of animal studies?

Accepted Answer

Studies conducted on animals can have ethical issues surrounding the treatment of the animals. Animal welfare must be taken into consideration, and animal research is subject to regulations and oversight to ensure that the animals are treated humanely. Therefore, statement B is not true.

Question 2

In a meta-analysis, the results of each study are transformed into a statistic that is common across all studies. This is called the _____.

Accepted Answer

The common statistic that is calculated in a meta-analysis is the effect size. This allows for the combination and comparison of results across studies. Option A is close, but misspelled; option B is not accurate as there are multiple statistical strategies that can be used in a meta-analysis; and option C is too general and doesn't specify which statistics are being used.

Question 3

As part of Seligman and colleagues' animal study, it was discovered that the dogs in Group E, the experimental group, were unable to recognize opportunities for control that arose. The researchers labeled this set of behaviors _____.

Accepted Answer

The researchers labeled this set of behaviors learned helplessness deficits. Learned helplessness refers to a state in which an individual learns to behave passively and become helpless, even when opportunities for control are presented, due to experiencing uncontrollable aversive events in the past. The dogs in Group E had previously been subjected to uncontrollable electric shocks and then placed in a situation where they could have easily escaped the shocks, yet they failed to do so. This behavior was characteristic of learned helplessness.

Question 4

The probability that both twins will have a disorder if one twin has the disorder is called the _____.

Accepted Answer

The probability that both twins will have a disorder if one twin has the disorder is referred to as concordance rate. This term is frequently used in twin studies to determine the influence of genetics on a particular trait or disorder. A high concordance rate indicates a significant role of genetics in the development of that disorder.

Question 5

Seligman and colleagues posited that the learned helplessness deficits could be applicable to individuals with the psychological symptoms of:

Accepted Answer

Seligman and colleagues hypothesized that the deficits observed in learned helplessness were applicable to individuals with depression, as they exhibited a similar sense of helplessness and lack of control over their situations. There is no research evidence to suggest that this theory applies to individuals with anxiety, compulsion, or disorganized behaviors.

Question 6

Which of the following provides researchers with the most control over laboratory conditions and third variables?

Accepted Answer

Animal studies provide researchers with the most control over laboratory conditions and third variables because they can manipulate and control environmental factors and genetic factors to create homogenous populations of animals for study. Additionally, animal studies allow for the manipulation of variables that would be unethical to manipulate in human studies.

Question 7

Dizygotic twins share _____ of their genes.

Accepted Answer

Dizygotic (fraternal) twins develop from separate eggs fertilized by separate sperm. They share about 50% of their genes, the same as any other sibling.

Question 8

A statistical technique for summarizing the results across several studies is called a _____.

Accepted Answer

A meta-analysis is a statistical technique used to combine and summarize the results of multiple studies on a particular topic. It allows for a more comprehensive analysis of the data across studies and can provide more accurate estimates of the effect size for a given phenomenon. The other options listed (demand characteristic, multiple statistical significance test, and correlation coefficient) are not specifically related to summarizing results across studies.

Question 9

Alias, a Native American, was being reprimanded by his 3^rd grade teacher for talking during class. The teacher became agitated when Alias constantly looked at the floor while she was talking to him. In the conversation, she repeatedly told Alias, "Look at me when I am speaking to you." Although he attempted to look at the teacher, he found it difficult and his gaze always returned to the floor. What explanation can be offered for this situation from a cross-cultural perspective?

Accepted Answer

In some Native American cultures, direct eye contact during communication can be seen as a sign of disrespect or aggressiveness. Alias may have been adhering to this cultural norm, which the teacher was not aware of, leading to a misunderstanding in their communication. It would be important for the teacher to be aware of and sensitive to cultural differences in communication to better understand and communicate with all students.

Question 10

Which of the following is true of single-case experimental designs?

Accepted Answer

Single-case experimental designs allow researchers to pinpoint the types of behaviors that can be affected by interventions. These designs are used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in a single participant over time, allowing the researcher to carefully analyze how the intervention is impacting the targeted behavior. However, because only one participant is studied, it is not possible to generalize the results to the wider population.

Question 11

To conduct family history studies, researchers must _____.

Accepted Answer

To conduct family history studies, researchers must clearly identify the probands (individuals with a specific disorder) and control groups, and then trace family trees to determine if there is a genetic component to the disorder. Options A, B, and C may be relevant in conducting a study, but they are not specific requirements for conducting family history studies.

Question 12

Studies that do not support the hypothesis they are designed to test are less likely to get published than studies that do. This is known as the _____.

Accepted Answer

The described phenomenon is commonly known as the file drawer effect or file drawer problem, which refers to the bias towards publishing statistically significant results while ignoring nonsignificant or null findings. This can lead to an overestimation of the true effect size and may affect the validity and generalizability of research findings.

Question 13

In a(n) _____, an intervention might be given to the same individual but begun in different settings or to different individuals at different points in time.

Accepted Answer

The multiple baseline design is the only one of the options presented that involves administering an intervention to the same individual in different settings or to different individuals at different points in time. In this design, the intervention is introduced at staggered intervals across different settings or participants, allowing for comparisons of behavior before and after the intervention within each setting or participant. This design is useful when it is not feasible or ethical to withdraw the intervention once it has been introduced.

Question 14

Which of the following statements is true of meta-analyses?

Accepted Answer

Meta-analyses can overcome some of the problems of small numbers of participants in an individual study by pooling data from multiple studies. However, the other statements are not entirely true. While meta-analyses can be methodologically strong, there is still room for error if the included studies have their own limitations. The results of meta-analyses may still be subject to bias, particularly if there is publication bias and studies with non-significant results are not included. Finally, meta-analyses give more weight to studies with larger sample sizes or more precise estimates, so they do not necessarily give equal representation to all studies.

Question 15

For which of the following studies would separating genetic and environmental factors be problematic?

Accepted Answer

The answer of For which of the following studies would...

Question 16

_____ allow researchers to search for associations between specific genetic abnormalities and psychopathology.

Accepted Answer

Molecular genetic studies examine specific genes or genetic mutations in individuals with a certain psychological or behavioral condition. This allows researchers to look for associations or correlations between certain genetic abnormalities and the manifestation of psychopathology. Adoption studies examine whether there is a higher frequency of certain conditions among biological or adoptive family members. Twin studies compare the concordance rates of certain conditions in identical and fraternal twins, while family history studies examine the prevalence of certain conditions within a family.

Question 17

In adoption studies, if a disorder is strongly influenced by _____, then researchers should see _____ rates of the disorder among biological relatives of the adoptee than among the adoptive relatives.

Accepted Answer

If a disorder is strongly influenced by genetics, researchers should see higher rates of the disorder among biological relatives of the adoptee than among the adoptive relatives, because biological relatives share more genetic material with the adoptee.

Question 18

Which of the following statements is NOT true of cross-cultural research?

Accepted Answer

Verbs and pronouns are not necessarily universal across languages, and researchers may need to account for linguistic and cultural differences in their analysis. The other statements are true of cross-cultural research.

Question 19

Michael and Michelle are adolescents who share the same birthday. Michael received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. On the other hand, Michelle shows no signs of mood disturbance. In this example:

Accepted Answer

Dizygotic twins share about 50% of their genes, similar to regular siblings, and the concordance rate for bipolar disorder is lower in dizygotic twins compared to monozygotic twins.

Question 20

Ryan is interested in conducting a family history study. His focus is compulsive behaviors. His sample will consist of first-degree relatives. Therefore, Ryan's sample will probably consist of _____.

Accepted Answer

First-degree relatives refer to biological relatives such as parents, siblings, and children. Therefore, the sample will consist of families with biological children. Families with adopted or stepchildren would not meet the criteria for first-degree relatives. Families without children would not be relevant to the study of compulsive behaviors.

Quiz 4: The Research Endeavor