Exam 2: Methodology: How Social Psychologists Do Research

Recall that Latané and Darley observed the number of participants in each condition who left their cubicles to help the alleged victim of a seizure. The ________ was the dependent variable in their experiment.

Where do theories come from in social psychology, and how do social psychologists refine them?

Complete the analogy: hindsight bias: _________:: hypothesis: _________.

Which of the following would be most likely to share a research lab and equipment with the biology department or medical school?

The authors of your text state that the basic dilemma of the social psychologist is the trade-off between internal and external validity. What is the best way to resolve this dilemma?

The notion of "the basic dilemma of the social psychologist" refers to

Why do researchers go to great lengths to create cover stories and devise elaborate situations in their studies to cover up the true purpose of the study?

When social psychologists observe something in everyday life that is interesting, how is such information useful in research?

A researcher investigated the relationship between self-esteem and choice of a partner in a "getting acquainted" situation. To do this, she had students take a personality test and then she gave them feedback (based on random assignment) indicating either that the test found them to be "mature, insightful, and socially skilled" or "immature, inflexible, and overly critical." After receiving this feedback, students chose a partner to interact with by looking at photos of people of the opposite sex who were either high or low in physical attractiveness. The study just described is a(n)

If a researcher is interested in learning about people's attitudes about environmental issues, the research method he should employ is

A researcher concludes that frustrating people by giving them a task that is impossible to complete causes them to behave more aggressively. Only ________ warrants this type of conclusion.

Assume that Latané and Darley want to demonstrate the external validity of their 1968 experiment on bystander intervention. To do this, they conduct a study in which participants solve crossword puzzles alone, or in large or small groups. While the participants are working on the puzzles, they overhear a woman fall from a ladder and cry out, "Oh, my leg! I can't move it!" The researchers then observe and record the number of participants who attempt to help. The study described here represents a(n) ________ of the original "seizure" study.

What is one of the main problems faced by researchers who want to test their theories cross-culturally?

One of the greatest advantages of surveys is that researchers

In which of the following disciplines are students most likely-by virtue of their experiences-to sigh, "Big deal. I could have predicted that"?

Internal validity is to ________ as external validity is to ________.

Dr. Hyder hypothesizes that aggression in humans has a basis in our genetic adaptations in our distant past. Dr. Hyder's theory is most in line with ___________.

Dr. Fodor has found that when college sophomores at his university work in pairs to solve difficult Sudoku problems, they often resolve the problems more quickly and accurately than those who work alone. However, Dr. Fodor wishes to replicate his findings to generalize that working in pairs is more effective than working alone. In what two main ways would you suggest he replicate his findings, and in what ways should he go about conducting these replications?

Using random selection is a way to ensure that

Which of the following is not one of the purposes of debriefing?