Exam 2: Research Methods

In an experimental research design,the variable or condition that is manipulated by the researcher is called the __________ variable.

Clever Hans was the young boy who was taught to be afraid of white,furry animals by Rosalie Reyner and John B.Watson

One problem that exists when a researcher uses surveys and questionnaires is that the data they collect may not be accurate.As your author points out,even if a respondent is "unfailingly honest" and has no intent to provide answers that are untrue,why might their responses still be inaccurate or incomplete?

Which of the following statements is true regarding the use of the scientific method?

Dr.Ayers conducts a correlational study examining the relationship between ice cream consumption and death by drowning.She finds that there appears to be a strong relationship between these two variables.Which of the following conclusions would be inappropriate for Dr.Ayers to make?

In a formal experiment,the participants who are given no treatment or a treatment that is believed to have no effect make up the __________ group.

In a __________ experiment,both the research and participants are kept unaware of which participants are assigned to which participant group.

Melissa's car has a really cool electronic readout that tells her the car's fuel economy.The readout says "Average Miles per Gallon." In statistical terms,this feature is telling Melissa the __________ miles per gallon that her car gets.

What is the main difference between dogmatic beliefs and empirical beliefs?

Professor Spiegelman's introduction to psychology class has 19 students.On the first exam,the students produce the following set of scores: 100,100,97,97,92,86,86,85,81,80,76,72,72,72,71,68,62,59,and 48.What is the median score on this exam?

A graphical representation of a data set with an even distribution of results is called a __________ curve.

All but which of the following are examples of descriptive research designs?

What is the median in a set of scores?

If the probability level of a study is greater than 5%,then what do researchers begin to get concerned about?

In 1971,a now famous experiment was conducted by psychologist __________,who assigned some participants to be mock prisoners and others to be mock prison guards.The project had to be discontinued within 5 days because of the unforeseen results that lead to extreme emotional and physical distress among the "prisoners."

Which measure of central tendency refers to the arithmetic average of a group of numbers or values?

The false consensus effect occurs when a person overestimates ___________.

Why is it important to make sure that different participant groups are roughly equivalent in terms of personal characteristics (e.g.,age,gender)before any independent variable is introduced?

Dogmatism is an essential component of critical thinking.

Bess conducts a study about the effects of a new weight loss program for women.She finds that the new program helps a significant number of her participants lose between one and three pounds over the first six months.Her statistical analysis reveals that the results of her study are statistically significant.What can be said about the practical significance of her study?