Question 1

Mary suspects that a new violent afternoon TV show is the reason for her son's sudden increase in aggressive behavior towards his sister. Which research approach would best help Mary evaluate this suspicion?

Accepted Answer

An experimental research approach is best suited to evaluate Mary's suspicion. Only through an experiment can you manipulate the variables (exposure to violent TV show) and measure the outcome (aggressive behavior towards sister) to establish a causal relationship.

Question 2

Discuss three reasons of the five reasons mentioned in the textbook why it is beneficial for one to learn and know about the scientific method.

Accepted Answer

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Question 3

Dave is interested in whether one's support for prayer in schools is associated with one's religiosity. This type of question is most characteristic of

Accepted Answer

Relational research is concerned with exploring relationships between variables, such as the association between support for prayer in schools and religiosity. Descriptive research is focused on describing or summarizing a phenomenon or group. Laboratory research is conducted in a controlled environment to examine cause-and-effect relationships, and experimental research involves manipulating variables to determine their impact on an outcome.

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT one of the orienting attitudes of scientists described in the text?

Accepted Answer

The ability to be correct is not an orienting attitude of scientists. Rather, scientists aim to be as accurate as possible through a rigorous process of testing and verifying their theories.

Question 5

What are Peirce's four strategies for formulating explanations? Which of these strategies is the least desirable? Why? Which is the most desirable? Why?

Accepted Answer

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Question 6

Amala spends several hours at a local playground observing how often the children engage in cooperative as well as competitive activities. Amala's investigation can best be described as

Accepted Answer

Amala's observation of the children at the playground is an example of descriptive research, where the researcher observes and describes a phenomenon without any intervention or manipulation of variables.

Question 7

Which of the following questions is beyond the scope of relational research?

Accepted Answer

Relational research is concerned with examining the nature and strength of the relationship between variables. Therefore, questions A, B, and D are all relevant to relational research. However, the question in option C relates to causality, which is beyond the scope of purely relational research. Causality requires experimental or quasi-experimental designs that control for extraneous variables and manipulate the independent variable to observe its effect on the dependent variable.

Question 8

What are the three broad research approaches described in the text? Give an example of the type of question each approach addresses.

Accepted Answer

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Question 9

What is methodological pluralism and why has it been accepted by behavioral scientists?

Accepted Answer

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Question 10

Why is an accepted rhetoric one of the features of the scientific method? Describe some aspects of this rhetoric.

Accepted Answer

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Question 11

Describe five of the nine characteristics listed in the textbook that good researchers possess.

Accepted Answer

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Question 12

To evaluate questions of causality, scientists must conduct

Accepted Answer

Experimental research is the best way for scientists to establish causality between variables because it involves manipulating an independent variable and measuring the effect on a dependent variable while controlling for extraneous variables. Relational, laboratory, and descriptive research cannot establish causality as effectively as experimental research.

Question 13

When they finished describing the events, John and Mary felt sure they knew how the events were related. What strategy should they use next?

Accepted Answer

Conducting relational research would help John and Mary to test and validate their hypothesis on how the events are related. This involves collecting and analyzing data to determine the degree of association or correlation between the variables involved in the events. This approach would help John and Mary to confirm or disconfirm their assumptions and provide empirical evidence to support their conclusions. Option A is incorrect because it suggests only stating their observations and outlining the relationships without any empirical support. Option C is not relevant in this scenario because it involves using preexisting knowledge to make predictions, which may not be applicable. Option D is not a strategy for validating assumptions and conclusions, but rather a personal trait.

Question 14

Brian suspects that his new late-night cappuccino habit is the cause of his recent insomnia problems. Which research approach would best help Brian evaluate his suspicion?

Accepted Answer

An experimental approach would best allow Brian to test whether his late-night cappuccino consumption is causing his insomnia. He could randomly assign himself to either a group that drinks a cappuccino before bed or a group that does not, and then measure the difference in their sleep patterns. This type of study would allow him to make causal inferences about the relationship between cappuccino consumption and insomnia.

Question 15

Interested in the effect of outside employment on academic performance, a professor asks his students how many hours a week they work and compares this to current grade point averages. The professor's inquiry is an example of which broad research approach?

Accepted Answer

The professor's inquiry is an example of a relational research approach as they are looking at the relationship between outside employment and academic performance. They are not manipulating any variables or conducting an experiment, and are simply collecting data to analyze the relationship between these two variables.

Quiz 1: Behavioral Research and the Scientific Method