Question 1

Asperger's syndrome is no longer considered a disorder in the current DSM-5, which health care professionals use to diagnose psychological disorders. Many clinicians had trouble conceptualizing this change and changed the measurement practices multiple times within the course of the year to assess their patients. It is now very difficult for the clinicians to compare the data from the year because of:

Accepted Answer

The change in diagnostic criteria for Asperger's syndrome is an example of instrumentation, which refers to changes in the measuring tool or methodology used in research or clinical practice. The clinicians changed their measurement practices multiple times within the year to adapt to the new DSM-5 criteria, making it difficult to compare data over time. The other options (A, C, D) are not relevant to the given scenario.

Question 2

Forty 9-year-olds were read the same book by their parents every night for one month. The 9-year-olds were tested about the book after the first reading, and then every week thereafter. They were asked to name characters and describe different parts of the books, as well as read passages of the book for themselves. The researchers saw drastic improvement in their skills with this particular book so the performed the same experiment again, but this time they changed the book after a week and asked the same questions. They did not see the same type of improvement as in the initial study. What was the most likely occurring during the initial study?

Accepted Answer

The most likely occurrence during the initial study was the testing effect. This is a phenomenon where repeated testing or exposure to information can improve retention and recall of that information. In this case, the repeated readings of the book likely helped the children retain and comprehend the information better. However, when a new book was introduced after a week in the second experiment, the testing effect may not have been as strong since the children were not as familiar with the material.

Question 3

Dr. Pullman had an overwhelming number of freshmen sign up for his study once he offered extra credit. He was asking students to be hooked up to an EEG machine as well as to experience a low-voltage shock when they answered questions incorrectly. The participants had to return to the lab on three occasions in order to gain enough data to answer Dr. Pullman's hypotheses. After the first full round of participation, Dr. Pullman was told by the administration that he could not offer extra credit for participation in his experiment, so he had to remove the offer of extra credit. What should Dr. Pullman be concerned with?

Accepted Answer

Mortality, in the context of research, refers to the loss of participants from a study over time. Since Dr. Pullman had to remove the offer of extra credit, he should be concerned with the possibility that participants may drop out or choose not to return for subsequent sessions, affecting the continuity and integrity of his research data.

Question 4

What would be the most likely threat to internal validity for adult's anxiety and depression scores during the decade of 1929-1939, known for the stock market crash?

Accepted Answer

The most likely threat to internal validity for adult's anxiety and depression scores during the decade of 1929-1939 would be the history effect, because this period was known for the stock market crash and the Great Depression, which could have had a significant impact on participants' mental health, with or without the intervention or treatment being studied. The other options (testing effect, instrumentation, and sensitization effect) are not as relevant or likely to affect internal validity in this specific scenario.

Question 5

A current issue in the mental health community is the change from DSM-IV to DSM-5 in 2013. As a result, many diagnoses and questionnaires are not applicable any longer. Many studies that were ongoing had to change their diagnostic labels as well as the way they were measuring constructs among participants. This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

The issue described relates to instrumentation, as the change in diagnostic criteria and questionnaires requires a shift in the way mental health constructs are being measured.

Question 6

Families signed up to have their child be a part of a new social skills group starting at the local community building. These families all have a child with an autism spectrum disorder and that child has difficulty initiating and maintaining social interaction with peers. The families are told by the clinician that the program is 6 weeks long and has helped many children improve their social skills. The group meets four times a week for 2-hour sessions. After the first week some of the families did not see improvement and the families got together to discuss whether this program was worth the effort and time. What should the program developers be more concerned with?

Accepted Answer

The program developers should be concerned with "mortality," which refers to participants dropping out of the program. If families do not see immediate improvement, they might withdraw their children from the program, affecting the program's overall effectiveness and evaluation.

Question 7

Forty 9-year-olds were studied for 3 years and their attention to tasks and reading comprehension were assessed every month. The researchers implemented an academic program and detail-to-task program for each child over the course of the 3 years. The researchers published a paper noting that there were tremendous increases in attention to detail and reading comprehension from when the child was 9 years old to when the child was 12 years old. Researchers need to be careful claiming credit for this change because _____ may also account for the change.

Accepted Answer

Maturation is the gradual unfolding of an individual's genetic blueprint, which may account for changes observed over time. The children in this study were followed for 3 years, during which they were likely to experience natural developmental changes that could influence their attention to detail and reading comprehension, making it difficult to attribute these changes solely to the implemented academic and detail-to-task programs.

Question 8

Which of the following best addresses the nature of the threat to internal validity that is caused by attrition?

Accepted Answer

Attrition refers to when participants drop out of a study before it is completed. This can lead to a biased sample and affect the internal validity of a study. The differential dropping out of participants means that the dropout rate is not equal across different groups or conditions, which can create a sampling bias and threaten internal validity.

Question 9

Dr. Nolan conducted an attention task study on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week. The same participants attended each of the study workshops. During the Wednesday workshop the fire alarm was set off and all occupants had to vacate the building for 30 minutes. What should Dr. Nolan be most concerned with?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Dr. Nolan conducted an attention task study...

Question 10

Which of the following is an advantage of within-subjects designs?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is an advantage...

Question 11

Which of the following is an advantage of within-subjects designs?

Accepted Answer

Within-subjects designs use the same participants for all conditions, which means fewer participants are needed compared to between-subjects designs. This can save time and resources.

Question 12

Dr. Croft studies the relation between political affiliations, personality traits, educational attainment, and financial wealth. She recruited participants in the local area between the ages of 25 years and 55 years. During Dr. Croft's study the United States economy crashed and the dollar lost most of its value. This was a huge economic change for the entire country. What should Dr. Croft be most concerned with when reviewing her data prior to the crash and after the economic crash?

Accepted Answer

Dr. Croft should be most concerned with the history effect. The economic change could have had a significant impact on the variables that she was studying, and it could have affected the relationships between the variables. This could threaten the internal validity of her study. Dr. Croft needs to take into account the potential confounding effects of the economic change to draw accurate conclusions from her data.

Question 13

Dr. Rappaport is studying short-term memory and attention in relation to a simple and repetitive cognitive task. However, starting in the fifth hour of the 10-hour study he noticed the participants start to yawn and take coffee breaks. Not only were the participants fatigued, but they also were jumpy due to the increased caffeine intake. What should Dr. Rappaport be concerned with?

Accepted Answer

Dr. Rappaport should be concerned with testing effects, as repeated exposure to the task may influence performance, and maturation, as participants' fatigue and increased caffeine intake over time can affect their cognitive performance.

Question 14

In a _____ participants are repeatedly measured on the dependent variable over time.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In a _____ participants are repeatedly measured...

Question 15

Which of the following best addresses the nature of the threat to internal validity that is caused by instrumentation?

Accepted Answer

Instrumentation refers to changes in how a variable is measured during a study, which can threaten internal validity because it becomes difficult to determine whether changes in the outcome variable are due to the intervention or due to changes in the instrument used to measure the variable.

Question 16

Which of the following is a possible solution to a threat of internal validity?

Accepted Answer

Using a comparison group not exposed to the treatment helps to control for alternative explanations for the observed effects, thereby enhancing internal validity. Options A and B may increase internal validity, but they are not direct solutions to threats of internal validity. Option C may actually increase threats to internal validity.

Question 17

What would be the most likely threat to internal validity for children's depression scores on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day?

Accepted Answer

The most likely threat to internal validity for children's depression scores on June 6, 1944, would be the history effect. This is because D-Day was a significant historical event that, in addition to any other factors, could have affected the children's depression scores. For example, if a child had a family member or loved one who was directly impacted by the event, then this could have led to a temporary increase in their depression scores. This threat to internal validity is not applicable to the other options listed.

Question 18

Dr. Hasimoto lectured on the differences between within-subjects designs and between-subjects designs and noted that a within-subjects design enhances the power of studies because:

Accepted Answer

Within-subjects designs involve testing the same group of participants under different conditions, which reduces the impact of individual differences between participants. This increased control over individual differences enhances the power of the study as it allows for greater certainty about the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable.

Question 19

A seventh-grade world cultures class visited New York City on September 11, 2000, and then completed a survey regarding their mood, interest in the city, and cultural differences between the United States and the Middle East. The next year the following seventh grade class visited New York City on September 11, 2001. The students were present during the September 11^th attacks and witnessed all of the chaos and terror in the city. When the students safely made it back to school they were asked to complete the same surveys that the students last year did. When considering the data from the current seventh-grade class what should the teacher be most concerned with?

Accepted Answer

The answer of A seventh-grade world cultures class visited New...

Question 20

Individual differences are handled in between-subject designs by using:

Accepted Answer

The answer of Individual differences are handled in between-subject designs...

Quiz 10: Within-Subjects Designs: Can Watching Reality Tv Shows Be Good for Us

What would be the most likely threat to internal validity for adult's anxiety and depression scores during the decade of 1929-1939, known for the stock market crash?

Which of the following best addresses the nature of the threat to internal validity that is caused by attrition?

Which of the following is an advantage of within-subjects designs?

Which of the following is an advantage of within-subjects designs?

In a _____ participants are repeatedly measured on the dependent variable over time.

Which of the following best addresses the nature of the threat to internal validity that is caused by instrumentation?

Which of the following is a possible solution to a threat of internal validity?

What would be the most likely threat to internal validity for children's depression scores on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day?

Dr. Hasimoto lectured on the differences between within-subjects designs and between-subjects designs and noted that a within-subjects design enhances the power of studies because:

Individual differences are handled in between-subject designs by using: