Exam 2: How Psychologists Do Research

People who are willing to take part in surveys usually have opinions and views that are different from those who decline to take part. This phenomenon is called:

A variable that is predicted to be affected by an experimenter's manipulations in experimental research is called a(n):

Which of the following statements is true?

____________ is a technique that allows a researcher to combine data from numerous studies.

According to your textbook, the likelihood of lying about a sensitive topic on a survey is reduced when respondents:

How wise is popular wisdom? In Chapter 1, we pondered how many old sayings have other old sayings that contradict them. For example, a common saying is, "You can't teach old dogs new tricks." But we also hear, "You are never too old to learn." Now that you have read Chapter 2, design a research study in order to test these sayings. Provide your reasoning in selecting a particular research method, subjects, and other key details.

Two sets of observations assessing hours spent watching television and grade point averages among elementary school children are compared. Which of the following is the most likely outcome?

Researchers use descriptive statistics when they want to:

Unlike plays and poems, scientific theories are not judged by how pleasing they are. Instead, a theory must be backed by empirical evidence if it is to be taken seriously. Integrate this information from Chapter 2 with the critical-thinking guideline, "Avoid Emotional Reasoning," that you studied in Chapter 1.

Inferential statistics are:

An essential part of scientific thinking is not only how to use statistics correctly, but also how to identify the misuse of statistics. For this, students should:

What makes psychological research scientific? This chapter points out the importance of precision in the pursuit of knowledge. How does this principle of good science correspond to the critical-thinking guideline, "Define Your Terms," discussed in Chapter 1?

The tendency to look for information that supports one's own belief is called:

When two variables have a strong positive correlation, the correlation coefficient will be close to _____.

Which of the following is a descriptive method used in psychological research?

An advantage of observational studies is that:

A research hypothesis proposes that consuming low carbohydrate diets results in increased weight loss. One group of participants follows a low-carb diet for three weeks, whereas a second group follows a high-carb diet containing the same number of calories for three weeks. The average number of kilograms lost for each group is then is compared. What is the dependent variable?

Psychologists typically consider a result to be significant if it would be expected to occur by chance _______________ times in 100 repetitions of the study.

_______________ are fake treatments or inactive substances used as a control in an experiment.

Which research method did Sigmund Freud rely upon? Analyze what you know about his theory given your understanding of research methods. What are the strengths and limitations of his approach?