Exam 2: Methodology: How Social Psychologists Do Research

The biggest problem with using random assignment and controlling extraneous variables in an experiment is that

According to your text, a perfect study would involve

Participants in a classic experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram (1963) found themselves in the uncomfortable position of being asked to administer increasingly strong shocks to a learner every time he made a mistake.Videotapes of the participants showed them laughing hysterically, chain-smoking, sweating, and fidgeting nervously.Based on these videotapes, it could be inferred that Milgram's experiment was high on

In a study of frustration and aggression, some participants were exposed to an accomplice who insulted them, and others were exposed to no such insult.Participants were then allowed to recommend whether the accomplice should be fired.Those who were insulted were more likely to retaliate by recommending that the accomplice lose his job.In this experiment, the ________ was the dependent variable.

Which of the following techniques is most likely to be used by social neuroscientists?

The method in which the researcher assigns participants to different conditions and ensures that these conditions are identical except for what has been systematically manipulated, best describes the _________ method.

Provide a hypothesis that can be tested using the experimental method.Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable in your experiment.

Which statement below best captures the major ethical dilemma faced by experimental social psychologists?

Complete the following analogy: independent variable is to ________ as dependent variable is to ________.

A researcher discovers a strong positive correlation between ice cream sales and the incidence of violent crimes.Based on this, we can conclude that

Consider the following (fictitious) conclusion reached by a social psychologist: "After analyzing a sample of over 578 experiments, we have concluded that the question of whether men are more likely than women to help is difficult to answer.Based on the findings of this large number of studies, we have concluded that men are more likely to help when helping demands physical risk or 'chivalry'; otherwise, there are no reliable gender differences in helping." This conclusion about the reliability of the relationship between gender and helping was most likely based on

When a researcher examines several replications of a phenomenon, he would be most likely to examine these data using the statistical technique of

Researchers conduct an experiment in which participants watch either a violent film or a nonviolent film.After watching the film, the researchers take saliva samples from participants to test for levels of a hormone called testosterone.According to the authors of your text, what technique are these researchers using?

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.

Which of the following could be a research article reporting the results of basic research?

The authors of the textbook explain the controversy of whether viewing pornography makes people prone to sexual violence or not.How are such controversies resolved in the field of social psychology? By using

According to the authors of your text, the hindsight bias is

Because evolutionary psychology is based on assumptions of conditions thousands of years ago that led to the reproductive success of some more so than others, it makes evolutionary hypotheses

Which of the following best defines the term "sample"?

Describe three different ways that experimental social psychologists can enhance the external validity of their experiments.