Exam 2: Research Methods

"When a researcher correctly employs the principles of empiricism,(s)he guarantees that the information they acquire will be completely accurate." Which of the following is true of this statement?

Which of the following statements is true with regard to the ethical consideration that addresses causing harm or discomfort to research participants?

What is the main difference between an experiment and a correlational study?

One famous story from the history of psychology describes a horse whose trainer claimed that he could do simple arithmetic problems and had learned to spell words.What was the name of that horse?

During the months prior to the last presidential election,Wynn spent most of his free time at events supporting the republican candidate.He participated in the campaigning,went door to door in support of this candidate,and fully immersed himself in his goal to have the republican candidate elected.The day before the election he told his wife,"I just know that our candidate is going to win.Everyone says they are going to vote for him!" Wynn is very surprised the next day,however,when his candidate loses.Which of the following tendencies explains why Wynn was so sure his candidate would win?

Because research benefits humanity as a whole,researchers do not have to be concerned with causing pain or discomfort to a few research participants.

It is very important for a researcher to be skeptical in order to make sure that all possible explanations for a research outcome are considered.

What is meant when the results of a research study are said to have "statistical significance?"

A graphical representation of a data set where the scores cluster on one end rather than in the middle is known as a ___________ distribution.

A single participant is to a(n)____________ as a large number of participants is to a(n)___________.

__________ studies allow us to make predictions about one variable based on the knowledge of another.

The fact that our responses to certain stimuli are not consistent - that on a day to day basis people may not be as predictable as you'd expect them to be - illustrates which of the empirical challenges related to studying people?

Dr.Fishkill is conducting a research study investigating racism among high-school students.His research method involves sitting down with volunteer students whose parents have given consent,and asking them questions about their beliefs regarding race.Whenever he asks a question that might reveal some level of racism,he unconsciously cocks one eyebrow and lowers his voice slightly.As a result,his research showed that virtually none of his participants held any racist beliefs.What error has Dr.Fishkill made in his method?

Which of the following is a type of validity with which researchers must be concerned?

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-II)is a 567-question self-report assessment tool that psychologists use to gather information about various parts of an individual's character and psychological make-up.The MMPI-II could best be described as what type of research tool?

After the disaster of Hurricane Katrina in 2005,many people come forward and said that they knew that the levees in New Orleans should have been built stronger,and that they just knew that a catastrophe like this was coming.In research this is known as the __________.

Random assignment is an important technique to remember when doing descriptive research.

"Oh MAN," you complain! "I knew that I should have sold my stock in Google when it was over $600 a share! Now it is under $400 a share and I lost all of my profits." This kind of statement that suggests that we knew the right path to take after it is too late is what researchers call __________ bias.

In order to counteract the __________variable problem that affects correlational research,a psychologist might use the matched samples or matched pair technique.

In a formal experiment,the participants who are subjected to an independent variable make up the ____________ group.