Question 1

One of the pairs of terms below consists of two very similar threats to validity.Which pair?

Accepted Answer

History and maturation are similar threats to validity because they both involve changes in participants over time that are not due to the independent variable being studied. History refers to external events that could affect the outcome of the study, while maturation refers to natural changes that occur in participants over time. Both can obscure the true effects of the independent variable and undermine the internal validity of the study.

Question 2

Regression toward the mean occurs because:

Accepted Answer

Regression toward the mean occurs because most measurements are a combination of true scores and error, and extreme scores are more likely to be due to error. Therefore, when a measurement is repeated, there is a high probability that the extreme score will move closer to the true score, resulting in regression toward the mean.

Question 3

In an experimental study of cooperation,the experimenter makes people in the experimental condition feel like they have no choice but to cooperate with a confederate.Kermit was assigned to this condition of the study and felt that he was being treated like a puppet.As a result,he actively tried to disconfirm the experimenter's hypothesis by refusing to cooperate.This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Participant reactance refers to the tendency of participants to rebel against the manipulation or control of the experimenter. In this scenario, Kermit actively tried to disconfirm the experimenter's hypothesis by refusing to cooperate because he felt like he had no choice but to do so. This is an example of participant reactance. Participant expectancies refer to the beliefs or expectations that participants have about the purpose of the study, while demand characteristics refer to cues or cues that suggest the purpose of the study and can influence participants' behavior. Evaluation apprehension refers to the concern that participants have about being evaluated by the experimenter or other participants.

Question 4

The Implicit Association Test (IAT)assesses people's unconscious associations about objects.The IAT would be used in an instance when the experimenter is trying to:

Accepted Answer

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) is designed to uncover unconscious or implicit biases, thereby minimizing participant reaction bias, as participants may not be able to control or recognize their implicit reactions.

Question 5

In their research on the door-in-the-face technique and blood donation,Cialdini and Ascani (1976)were concerned about the possibility of experimenter bias.What steps did they take to eliminate or reduce this methodological problem?

Accepted Answer

The answer of In their research on the door-in-the-face technique...

Question 6

The most common threat to the internal validity of research designs is probably:

Accepted Answer

Confounds are variables that are not being studied but affect the outcome variable, making it difficult to determine if the independent variable truly had an effect. Confounds can threaten the internal validity of a study by introducing alternative explanations for the results, leading to inaccurate conclusions. Experimenter bias, participant expectancies, and regression toward the mean can also threaten internal validity, but they are not as common as confounds.

Question 7

During the first quarter of his freshman year in high school,Dinky received a very low score on a vocabulary test.Three months later Dinky took test again,and he scored much higher on the test.Dinky's improvement can be explained by:

Accepted Answer

All the options provided can contribute to Dinky's improvement. Maturation could have played a role as Dinky naturally developed and improved his vocabulary over time. Regression toward the mean suggests that after an unusually low score, Dinky's performance would likely improve towards his average on a subsequent test. Testing effects imply that having taken the test once, Dinky would be more familiar with the test format or specific vocabulary, leading to better performance the second time.

Question 8

The tendency for people to change their behaviors just because they have been asked what they intend to do in the future is known as:

Accepted Answer

The mere measurement effect is the tendency for people to change their behavior after being asked about their intentions or attitudes towards a particular behavior. This effect occurs even if the individuals are not given any information or feedback on their responses. Retroactive interference refers to the interference of new information with previously learned information. The Hawthorne effect refers to the increase in productivity that occurs when people are being observed or experimented on. Causation refers to the relationship between cause and effect in which one event causes another event to occur.

Question 9

Experimenter bias and _______ can become very similar in some experiments.

Accepted Answer

Experimenter bias and participant expectancies can become similar in some experiments because both involve the experimenter or participant inadvertently affecting the outcome of the study through their own biases or expectations. Regression toward the mean refers to the tendency for extreme scores to move toward the average on subsequent measurements, and maturation refers to the natural developmental changes that occur over time. Attrition refers to the loss of participants from a study over time. None of these factors are related to experimenter bias in the same way as participant expectancies.

Question 10

Demand characteristics refer to:

Accepted Answer

Demand characteristics are subtle cues in an experiment that suggest to participants how they should behave, such as the experimenter's expectations or the design of the study. This can lead to participants altering their behavior or responses to match what they believe the experimenter wants to see, which can compromise the validity of the study.

Question 11

The Literary Digest error concerning the outcome of the 1936 U.S.Presidential election was apparently caused by:

Accepted Answer

The error was caused by both selection bias and nonresponse bias. The Literary Digest used telephone and magazine subscriber lists to conduct their poll, which led to a biased sample of mostly wealthy and Republican voters. Additionally, only a small percentage of those sampled responded to the survey, which further skewed the results towards certain groups.

Question 12

Whereas confounds threat____,artifacts threat____.

Accepted Answer

Confounds threaten internal validity by suggesting that the observed effects in an experiment could be due to variables other than the one(s) being studied. Artifacts threaten external validity by suggesting that the findings might not generalize to other contexts, populations, or situations outside of the experimental setting.

Question 13

Which of the following threats to validity could often be thought of as a form of attitude polarization?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following threats to validity...

Question 14

A research design in which someone tests a claim about a variable by exposing a person to the variable and showing that the person thought,felt,or behaved as expected is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

A pseudo-experiment involves testing a claim by exposing a person to a variable and observing the expected outcome, but it lacks the rigorous controls and randomization of true experiments.

Question 15

Rosenthal and Fode's study of "maze-bright" and "maze-dull" rats provides an excellent example of:

Accepted Answer

Rosenthal and Fode's study of "maze-bright" and "maze-dull" rats is an example of experimenter bias. This is because the researchers had expectations about the performance of the rats based on their classification as "maze-bright" or "maze-dull," which could have influenced their observations and interpretations of the results.

Question 16

Madeline plans to stand outside of a BMW dealership and ask the people she sees who they think will win the 2012 presidential election.Her study will most likely suffer from which of the following methodological problems?

Accepted Answer

Madeline's study is likely to suffer from selection bias because she is only asking people who may have a bias towards or against certain political parties, and not obtaining a representative sample of the population.

Question 17

Which of the following represents the most serious threat to internal validity?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following represents the most...

Question 18

Which of the following threats to validity CANNOT be corrected by simply adding a control group to a researcher's design?

Accepted Answer

Participant reaction bias involves changes in participants' behavior due to their awareness of being observed or their perceptions of the study, which cannot be controlled merely by adding a control group.

Question 19

Which of the following procedures or techniques requires little or no active deception?

Accepted Answer

Unobtrusive observations involve observing people or their behavior without their knowledge or awareness, and do not typically require any deception. The other options all involve some level of active deception to elicit information or behavior.

Question 20

Both testing effects and:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Both testing effects and:
...

Quiz 5: How Do We Misinterpret